AN: This is literally my first fanfiction. Don't expect high quality content because I certainly don't. In the future I will probably read this and think it is a piece of garbage. But right now, I am proud of it. Therefore, advice is not only allowed but encouraged. I shall also warn you, I am going to change most canon events, so don't expect the timeline to be precise.
On a happier note, please join the Haphne server! Link: discord dot gg/pKSdvJQvhU
We do several weekly activities such as a discussion club, Care of Magical Creatures lessons and our own movie/anime club!
1st of November 1994, Guest Room nº4, Hogwarts
Harry had been asked to talk with Sirius and Remus. Since Harry also wanted an explanation for their performance at the Great Hall, he thought it couldn't come at a better time. And since he was a champion, no one would put up much of a fuss over him skipping History.
"So… what happened yesterday, Harry? We got your letter, but we would prefer to hear it from you again." Remus asked.
And Harry told them everything. From Ron's vision at the end of last year, to what Moody had said at the back room. Both adults were quite surprised at Karkaroff's presence, and Sirius seemed particularly affected.
"What is wrong with Karkaroff? The guy was glaring at me all the time! I know I was uninvited to the tournament, but Maxime seemed to calm down by the end of the meeting…"
"I am not surprised by that at all Harry." Sirius responded. "Karkaroff was a Death Eater during the war, but he managed to avoid Azkaban, like many others."
"He bribed his way out of it too?"
"No. He sold his Death buddies over to the authorities. He listed as many Death Eaters as he knew, until he got free for 'collaborating with justice'. Never mind all the people he murdered!"
"Honestly, apart from your crazy cousin and her buddies, did the Ministry send any Death Eaters into prison?" Harry had to ask.
"They sent more; I can bear witness to that! But I would bet that around half of the Death Eaters arrested got free due to 'being Imperius victims'. They then started bribing people, and they began gaining power again."
Harry had known that Lucius Malfoy was one of these people. But he had never realised the amount of corruption this country was suffering of. If Voldemort were to return, he would have half of his job done already!
"But no more talking about that." Remus interrupted. "We are here to help you with this damned tournament, and make sure you get out of it alive. Have you been preparing yourself before the choosing, or do you have any plans we can help you with?"
"I've been practicing my duelling for the last couple of weeks. I've made sure to keep up with studies, but I don't believe that can help when faced against seventh years…"
"That's good for a start. We can work on both of those things during the year. And we can use the History class time as well. Everyone knows it is useless anyway…"
"Yeah, at least the time will be well spent. But are you sure you will be able to help me? I don't think the champions are allowed external help…" Harry argued.
"Technically a headmaster can't help their champion. But that rule is not really enforced. The goblet only creates a contract between the participants and the Goblet. It only forces you to take part and will kill you if you murder another contestant." Remus replied.
"As for the 'cheating'… Do you believe Karkaroff won't be doing the same? And Maxime will do her best to beat Hogwarts too! We can't help you during the tasks themselves, but that doesn't mean we can't give you a little push to prepare!" Sirius pointed out.
"Exactly! We are not a real school either, so we don't need to follow those rules. How can the Goblet punish a school that doesn't exist? I would love to see that!" Remus laughed.
"By the way, I almost forgot. You said you were duelling before… You got your hands on some dummies for target practice? Or did you have Ron and Hermione actively fighting?"
"Ermmm… I was actually practicing with Daphne…" Harry mumbled.
"You were practicing with the Great Miss Greeny! How interesting…" Remus teased.
"And Harry said they were duelling… Is that how kids call it these days?"
"I hate you!" Harry told them.
"Nah you don't."
2nd of November 1994, Hagrid's hut
Harry was taking his godfather to Hagrid's hut. It was time the man got his motorcycle back.
"Can you finally tell me why are we here? If you wanted to go out, we could have just sneaked to Hogsmeade!"
"I am here because there is something waiting for you! Hagrid showed it to me the other day, and I would have told you before, hadn't I been chosen for the tournament!"
Sirius stopped still at that. Harry knew that the idea of a present was good enough to keep him thinking.
"Now stay here and close your eyes. I am going to bring her out!" Harry announced.
"Fine! But it better be something good!" Sirius warned.
Harry entered the storage room again and unwrapped the motorbike. He pushed it out of the hut, until it was in front of his godfather.
"Okay, open your eyes now!"
Sirius opened his eyes and stared at his old motorbike with disbelief.
"She is back! You brought Minnie back!" He cheered.
"Minnie?"
"That is her name after all! I can't believe it… It has been so long since I last saw her!" Sirius said, while he continued caressing the bike.
"Hagrid has been keeping her in his hut all this time… Do you need some alone time?" Harry teased.
"Ha ha! Very funny! I will have you know that this was a chick magnet back in my days!"
"You needed Minnie to get laid or what?" Harry continued.
"No, but it added to my rebel image! What do you think about her?" The Marauder asked.
"Would need a wash, but I tried it last week and it turned on, so the mechanical parts should be good. Will you teach me?"
"You want to? Really?"
"Yeah! My neighbour had a Harley and I always wanted to try!"
"Is it not your attempt to captivate the Great Miss Greeny?"
"Unlike you, I don't need Minnie for that! And could you stop with that?" Harry blushed.
"Not until I see you kissing her! Go back to the castle, I think Remus wanted to teach you some spells. I need to thank Hagrid!"
3rd of November 1994, Room of Requirement
Harry was having his weekly duelling session with Daphne again. They had both had enjoyed it the first time, and the competitive spirit was also encouraging.
They also loved spending time alone with the other, even if the both of them were to shy to admit it.
Harry was collecting himself from the floor (he had fallen prey to a well-timed tripping hex) when Daphne asked:
"So… Are you going to tell me or not?"
"Tell you what?"
"Tell me what the hell happened two days ago, during the selection! How did your name end up there?" She asked, … worriedly?
"I don't even know! I didn't do it!" Harry replied again.
"I already knew that. But surely Moody has found something out already?"
"Someone confounded the Goblet into thinking there are four schools. They entered my name under that one, and since I was the only student, I got chosen. I don't know who did it, but I wouldn't be surprised if it were Voldemort or someone working under him."
"How could he even do that? Isn't he… dead?" Daphne asked, stuttering.
"He isn't really alive, but he isn't dead either. He is similar to a ghost, but able to possess people's bodies. He did that to Quirrell during first year…"
"All those points! You did something to Quirrell right?"
"I may or may not have burned him alive. But you can say nothing!"
"Urrgggh! You are incorrigible! Why did you even need to confront him? Couldn't Dumbledore, do it?"
"No, because he wasn't at the castle when I encountered him. During first year he was at a meeting, and he was kicked out of the castle during our second…"
"Second year… I don't even want to know. What are you going to do now?" She spoke. She had been closing up on him and was now standing in front of him. Looking at him with her deep blue eyes…
"I am working with my godfather on spells that might be useful. I've been duelling with you as well, but I know nothing about the First Task. They really want us to improvise!"
"I don't even know what to say… Please Harry, don't do anything stupid!"
She was now hugging him. It felt quite different to the other hugs he had ever received.
"Don't worry about it." He said, returning the hug awkwardly.
"Believe me when I say, that surviving this tournament is my top priority."
13th of November 1994, Potion's class
Harry was brewing with Daphne again. Ever since their conversation about the tournament, she had been quite worried about him. Something that pleased him and confused him at the same time.
He liked the fact that she was concerned for him. That meant that she cared for his life, and she wished for his survival. However, he didn't know why she cared. Did she care, because they were rivals and friends, or did she care because of something else?
He still hadn't found the nerve to confess to her about his feelings, and he was stressing because of it. The duelling sessions with her didn't help either. All that time alone with her was heaven and torture at the same time.
They were halfway through the lesson, when Colin Creevey entered the classroom:
"Professor Greengrass! I need to take Harry Potter immediately. It is something related to the Tournament."
"Alright Mr. Creevey. Mr. Potter, make sure to pick up your things. You will be evaluated on what you have done up to this point. If you finish before the class is over, you are allowed to return."
Harry quickly gathered his things and left the room with Colin.
"What do you think about the Tournament Harry?" The younger boy asked.
"About the fact that a lot of participants have died in the past? Absolutely gleeful! I am not scared for my survival at all!" Harry said sarcastically.
"Yeah… No need to say it like that, you know?"
"Sorry Colin." Harry apologised. "I have been too stressed since I was chosen…"
"I suppose that fighting against three older students doesn't make it easy either. You only need to beat one though! You will make quite the impression if you manage to beat at least one!"
"Thanks Colin. You can never have enough encouragement."
Their conversation was cut short, because they had finally reached their destinations. Colin bid his goodbyes, and Harry entered the room.
The other champions were already there, along with the heads of the other schools. Harry went straight to Remus, who was standing alone in one of the corners.
"Ready for this, Harry?"
"They are just checking our wands, right? Nothing else if my memory doesn't fail me."
"I believe they want to take a few photographs as well." The werewolf replied.
Harry groaned. He didn't want to make the newspaper if he could avoid it.
Suddenly, someone grabbed Harry's arm. Harry turned around and pointed his wand at the offender. Turns out, it was a middle-aged woman with blonde hair and glasses, who was stabbing Harry with her long fingernails.
"Excuse me, who are you?" Harry asked.
"Rita Skeeter. Journalist for the Daily Prophet. If I may have a few words with you Mr. Potter?"
"I don't believe so. Nothing against you Madame, I just have a 'no interviews' policy." Harry replied.
"Don't worry, it will just be a short one!" She said, trying to drag Harry.
"Are you trying to interview a minor Ms. Skeeter?" Remus asked. "Last time I checked you needed their guardians' consent before beginning right? Have you talked to Sirius Black over the matter?" Remus asked, smirking.
Rita paled considerably. Sirius may have not committed the crimes, but he was still scary to a big part of the population.
"No, I don't remember so…" She muttered. "Maybe another time?" She added, before quickly leaving their presence.
Both Harry and Remus breathed in relief.
"Do you know who she was Harry?" The man asked.
"Yeah… And I still remember her last article about Dumbledore this summer. If you hadn't saved me, I would have begun screaming."
"That would have been quite the spectacle. I believe we are both quite glad that didn't happen."
The rest of the ceremony went just as it was supposed to be.
Ollivander had been brought in as the expert, and he went ahead to check the participants' wands. Harry found out Delacour was actually part veela, but apart from that, there was nothing else remotely interesting.
After they were all done, it was time for the photographs. The Prophet's photographer had insisted on Harry going first. Since he wanted to avoid it as much as possible, Harry warned them that he wouldn't do that unless he was getting paid for it.
Much to his disappointment, they agreed to pay him. They even had a contract prepared for that! The other contestants insisted on that as well, and Harry spent some minutes inspecting it with Remus.
In the end, they all signed the contracts. The photographs were taken, and Harry was finally free from the Tournament business until the first task.
He hoped the photos were half decent, and that his friends wouldn't laugh at him for looking like a moron.
15th of November 1994, Outside of Hagrid's Hut
Harry was doing his Runes homework at the common room. He was about to begin another paragraph on his essay, when Ron sat down next to him:
"Harry, we need to talk." He said morosely.
"What is wrong Ron, what happened?"
"I have just finished talking to my brother, and it is important you come with me."
"What do the twins want that is so important?"
"Not the twins, Harry. It was Charlie." Ron pointed out.
"Charlie? But isn't he supposed to be working in Romania?"
"Yes, but he has been forced to return, because of the first task."
The gears began grinding inside Harry's head. If Charlie was here, and it was because of something related to the first task, it could only mean one thing:
"Dragons?" He whispered.
"That is right, Harry. Dragons."
Without any further explanation, they both left the common room towards the library. Hermione said she had wanted to finish an essay, and they hoped they would find her there.
As soon as they got there, Harry and Ron rushed the library quickly in search of Hermione. They found her sitting on a desk all the way back, perfect for what they were supposed to do:
"Hey, Hermione." Harry greeted.
"Shh! Don't you see that I am concentrated? This is very important!"
"As important as your best friend being in danger of being burned alive?" Ron asked.
"WHAT?!" Hermione blurted.
Harry thanked the spells he had casted before sitting down. If it weren't for them, half of the library would have noticed them already.
"We have found out what the first task is going to be about, Hermione." Harry said.
"I found my brother Charlie by Hagrid's hut. They are bringing dragons, Hermione." Ron added.
"Are they insane? Do they want to kill the champions before the second task even?"
"The first answer is yes. The second one is that they probably only want to hurt us badly." Harry replied.
"Has your brother said anything else Ron?" She asked.
"He has invited us to see them tonight. It is better if Harry comes with the cloak, though. I don't want to know what would happen if they found out he was cheating…"
Four hours later…
Ron and Hermione were walking towards the edge of the forbidden forest. Harry was going with them under the invisibility cloak, and he had cast silencing charms on his footsteps as well.
"Where is your brother supposed to meet us, Ron?"
"Charlie said he would wait for us here, besides Hagrid's hut. Maybe we are early?"
"No, you are not! Sorry for the delay, I was enjoying one of the renowned rock cakes." A voice replied.
"Charlie! What were you doing?"
"Hagrid invited me over for tea. Been talking to him about his classes. Have you enjoyed Creatures so far?"
"Yes! Hagrid makes for a surprisingly good teacher." Hermione replied.
"That's good! But let's get straight to the dragons, shall we? They will be the main stars of the First task overall!"
With that, they entered the forest, going deeper and deeper. To try and distract herself from the fear, Hermione asked:
"The dragons are supposed to be for the first task… But what are the champions supposed to do against them? Fighting a dragon one against one seems insane to me…"
"Seems insane because it is!" Charlie replied. "They won't be doing that, thank Merlin. It takes about a dozen wizards to stun a dragon, and after that, we are all exhausted. The dragons will be guarding something the champions need to take, but it is only slightly better."
"How so? Dealing with a dragon in a distance seems easier than tackling it directly, right?" Ron asked.
"Usually, yes. But they are not regular dragons. They are female nesting dragons. They get extremely protective from anything that could endanger their little ones. Bringing them here has been a nightmare!"
It was at this point that their conversation was interrupted by a loud roar. Which could only mean one thing…
A DRAGON!
They reached a clearing in the middle of the forest. There stood four giant cages, with a huge dragon inside each of them. Harry would have admired for hours, if he wasn't forced to compete.
"I remembered you saying they were big, but I never expected this." Ron said.
"They are impressive, aren't they? And wait until they breathe fire. That is when you really appreciate them!"
"That sounds nice Charlie. But they are not the same, what are the differences?" Hermione asked.
"The smaller one, is the Welsh Green. It is the tamer one. They usually eat sheep and avoid human contact as much as possible." He said, pointing at the one on the left.
"The one on the right of her is the Swedish Short Snout. It has the worst fangs by far. They are highly poisonous, but they only use them in fights against other dragons." He continued.
"Next to it is the Chinese Fireball. It is the fastest of them. Her flames can reach quite far as well."
"And last but not least, the Hungarian Horntail. I don't envy the champion that gets her. It is the most dangerous species. Her flames reach the furthest, she is the second fastest, and her tail is completely covered by horns. If you get a direct hit from it, you probably won't live to tell the tale."
16th of November 1994, Great Hall
Harry was having lunch by himself. Hermione remained in the library, researching more about dragons, while Ron had left with his siblings to see Charlie again.
It was at this point, that Harry saw Cedric Diggory walking out of the Hall. Seeing his fellow champion apparently ignorant of their fate, Harry decided to help him out.
The Boy-Who-Didn't-Sign-Up-For-The-Tournament quickly stood up, before leaving in the chase of the Hufflepuff Champion. Harry found himself lucky that there didn't seem to be anyone else in the corridor at the time.
"Cedric! Cedric wait!"
"What do you want Harry? Is there another surprise event I didn't know of?"
"No! It is about the First Task." Harry responded.
Cedric perceived the change in Harry's speak. Whatever he had been told, it couldn't be good.
"Did they say anything about what we are going to do?"
"No… But I found out regardless."
"So? Came to tell me you cheated? That is not very smart on your part, Harry." The Hufflepuff said.
"I came here to warn you. We are going to be dealing with dragons Cedric. Dragons!"
"You are joking, right?" But looking at Harry in the eyes, Cedric quickly realised that the younger boy was being serious.
"What are they thinking? We are going to die out there!"
"We don't have to fight them, but we have to steal something from them. Right now, I believe only the two of us know, but I am not sure. I wouldn't put it past Karkaroff to have told Viktor already…"
"Yeah…" Cedric confirmed. "My dad warned me to be careful around him. He was one of the Death Eaters who avoided Azkaban…"
"Do you think we should tell Delacour?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, we should do that just in case. Have you seen her recently though?"
"Now that you say it, she just avoids the Great Hall all the time…" Harry remembered.
"If we see her, we tell her. If not, I will not be chasing her around. She already has too many boys following her." Cedric said.
"Agreed."
28th of November 1994, Triwizard Stadium
Harry had just arrived at the Stadium that had been arranged for the tournament. Despite it not being as big as the one at the World Cup, it was still quite impressive.
Before Harry could admire it properly, he was interrupted by Ludo Bagman. The retired beater asked him to go to a tent on the right, which would serve as the preparation room.
Harry was actually the first to arrive. And as you should expect, he had prepared the task properly.
After seeing the dragons, he had dragged Ron and Hermione to the Marauder's Academy training room. AKA the room where Sirius and Remus were staying. Once there, the five of them had sat there for hours, trying to make the safest plan possible.
They still didn't know what they were supposed to do exactly but at least Harry had something to work with. Which was better than going there without a clue.
"Harry, are you there?"
Harry replied in the positive and was soon greeted by Daphne's image. She was looking at him sadly.
'She is worried for me'. Harry guessed.
"Daphne, is everything ok?"
"I am worried for you, you know that?" She asked.
"Yeah. Figured that out already. There is nothing I can do to ease your worries, right?"
"There is only one thing really…"
"What is it?" Harry asked.
"Make sure to get out of there alive, and in one piece." She spoke.
"I will do everything I can to do it, okay? But I need you to cheer on the stands…"
"Of course, I will do that! Why do you think I brought this for?" She said, pointing at the Gryffindor scarf.
"You still have it?"
"I always kept it."
She gave him a tight hug, before saying goodbye. Daphne then left the tent in order to get to her seat.
Meanwhile…
Rita Skeeter was witnessing the biggest exclusive of the year. The Boy-Who-Lived had a girlfriend! And it was a daughter from an old pureblood family as well… There had been rumours of the boy being a parselmouth a couple of years ago. Maybe she could use that somehow?
While Rita the water beetle was working on the details of her new article, she didn't notice someone looking at her.
Pidwidgeon was not your usual owl. He knew he was smaller and more energetic than the other owls. He also knew that this difference in behaviour caused most of the older owls to look at him in disappointment.
Because of that, he usually didn't come back from his hunt until later in the day, when the other owls were already asleep.
And today was his lucky day! In a branch near to the humans was a very tasty-looking beetle. It had been a while since he had last found one!
Jumping from the branch he was resting on, Pidwidgeon dived for the beetle, and in one fell swoop, he managed to capture him with his beak.
He returned to his branch, and quickly ate the beetle. It tasted different than what he was used to, but maybe it was just a different type of beetle.
He stopped thinking about that. He felt quite full, and maybe it was time to return to the castle already.
In a totally unrelated event, Rita Skeeter disappeared the day of the First Task. No one would hear from her again, and no body was ever found. In all honesty, there was no investigation either.
The woman had made so many enemies, that most people didn't want anything to do with her anymore.
Harry was not left alone for long. Soon enough, the rest of the champions entered the tent, and after a couple minutes of polite conversation, the ministry officials entered the room.
It was at this point, that they began hearing cheers from the crowd outside, and everything became clear for the champions. Soon after that, Bagman began speaking:
"Good morning, everyone. The first task will begin shortly. The task consists in getting a golden egg, which will serve as a clue for the second task. Once you have it, you will have to cross the arena to the finish line. Points will be awarded for style and speed and lost due to injury or taking too much time, between other factors."
"And Ludo forgot about the most crucial part." Crouch joined. "To get the egg, you will have to avoid a mother dragon as best as possible. The golden egg will sit next to her real eggs, so she will be quite protective. Since we have one dragon for each of you, the only thing left to do now is to choose who gets what. Ludo, if you could."
Bagman then extracted a tiny bag from his pocket, and approached Fleur Delacour:
"Inside this bag, there are four model dragons standing for the real ones. The dragon you choose will have a number on its back, showing the order you will participate in. Ms Delacour, ladies first." He said, pointing at the bag.
Fleur extracted a miniature Swedish Short Snout, with a number two on its back.
Bagman then passed the bag to Cedric, who got the Welsh Green with a number one.
Krum was next, and he picked the Chinese Fireball with a number three.
When it got to Harry, he already knew what to expect. He got a unicorn with a number five.
Nah, just kidding. He obviously got the Horntail with the number four.
An hour later…
Loud cheers could be heard again. Which could only mean that Krum had gotten past the Chinese Fireball.
Harry had to give it to the other champions. They had all managed to complete the task, and it seemed that they would all survive to tell the tale.
A loud cannon was heard from outside. It could only mean that it was finally Harry's turn.
Harry left the tent to find himself on the border of the arena. Hundreds, and even thousands of people were attentively looking from the stands.
But none of them could distract Harry from the Hungarian Horntail. The dragon looked majestic in the arena, and it was now staring at him too.
Harry slowly moved towards one of the rocks in front of him. Reacting to Harry's movement, the dragon breathed fire.
Harry was able to look at it from behind one of the rocks. If he hadn't moved quickly, he would have been roasted already.
Harry sneaked a glance towards the dragon and saw that it was standing between him and the egg.
Not wanting to confront the dragon, Harry tried the first part of the plan:
"Accio golden egg!" The egg twitched but stood in its place.
Harry realised they must have spelled it against summoning, so he tried to do something else.
"Accio rock!"
A rock flew quickly towards Harry, who was forced to duck in order to avoid it.
'That means I can summon other things.' Harry deduced.
Harry then had a smart idea. He couldn't summon the egg. But he could summon other things. If he managed to throw something at the egg and stick it, maybe he could summon the whole pack?
That would solve the whole 'get the egg' part of the task. But he would still need to distract it somehow.
That could wait for a second. First things first.
"Incarcerous!" Harry yelled, pointing at the egg. The egg got tightly wrapped in cloth, and the dragon stared at it intently.
But Harry gave her no chance, he quickly cast a sticking charm on said cloth, and then yelled:
"Accio cloth!" It rushed towards him, dragging the egg along for the ride.
It was rushing a bit too fast for Harry's comfort, so he casted:
"Arresto Momentum!"
The egg stopped inches away from Harry's face. 'That would have been a nasty hit!'
Now there was only one thing left to do: get across the arena.
But there was a problem. Harry was currently the only thing remotely tasty for the dragon to eat. That meant that the dragon wouldn't let Harry go unless it was distracted.
Then Harry cast an exploding charm towards one rock on his left. He then ran as fast as he could towards the right, taking advantage of the distraction to hide behind a bigger rock.
A huge rush of heat on Harry's left meant that he had avoided the fire again.
Taking advantage of his success, Harry repeated the process another two times.
He could now see the exit!
Harry tried the procedure once more, only to be forced back into the rock he had been hiding in.
The dragon had seen the trick! He could use it no more!
Harry was forced to think about a solution again. If only he could transform something into an animal, then maybe he could distract the dragon. Unfortunately, that wasn't taught until fifth year. Harry could probably try something, but it wouldn't be good enough for the dragon's tastes.
But it didn't need to be a real thing… If only he could cast an illusion…
Unless… Of course! Harry knew of one spell that could help him in this occasion:
"Expecto Patronum!"
Prongs jumped into the arena. Harry had made sure to make him bigger than usual, to make it harder for the dragon not to notice. And the dragon seemed to be taken by Prongs!
Slowly but steadily, Harry made Prongs move towards the other end of the arena. During that process, Harry was also approaching the exit.
It was at that point, less than fifty feet away, that Harry began to grow tired. He had been forced to use more power than usual for the patronus, and it was taking its toll with the boy.
Hoping that the dragon was far enough, Harry stopped the spell and rushed towards the exit without looking back. Hearing a loud roar from the dragon, Harry dived into the line.
And it was just in time. Harry turned around from the safe area to see the dragon fire scorching the rocks just inches away from the exit.
He had made it. He had survived the first task.