Chapter Six: In Which Essays Are Completed
Alarmed as she was by Sirius' warnings about Karkaroff, Hermione still thought that the dragons were the more pressing problem.
Harry was nonchalant, however.
"I'm forced to compete, but that doesn't mean I have to make an honest effort to win!"
Hermione was rendered speechless.
Very soon, it was the day of the First Task. Harry entered the stadium.
"Accio!" he muttered.
A chair, parchment and writing materials were summoned from somewhere. He sat on the chair, and started writing. The crowd watched wth fascination, thinking this was some elaborate plan. They were disappointed when they realised Harry wasn't doing anything awesome, he was just doing an essay for school. He did so until the judges were forced to declare the task over. Bagman and Dumbledore gave him ten points and five points respectively. The other judges gave him a zero.
Everyone looked at Dumbledore and Bagman suspiciously.
"The five points are for Harry's determination and perseverance to complete his Potions homework! His studious nature deserves credit!" explained Dumbledore.
Bagman wasn't well versed in the verbal arts, so he just said, "Uh — what he said."
The day of the Second Task rolled around, but Harry didn't really care. It seemed Hermione was taken hostage as a task for him. They would not let her be harmed, so he just summoned his chair, parchment and writing materials. The scoring began when all hostages had been rescued and everyone was comfortable. Harry was given ten points by Bagman, zero by all the others.
Everyone looked at Bagman suspiciously, again.
He didn't say anything.
Then came the day of the Third Task. Harry was the last to go into the maze. (Because his points sucked)
He walked one metre into the maze, and sent up red sparks. He was 'rescued' and made to sit in the audience. It turned out the Triwizard Tournament wasn't spectator-friendly at all; the people watching were supposed to just sit in the stands until the champions came out (or screamed horribly as they were killed by some nasty creature, he thought morbidly). The prospect of sitting pointlessly seemed boring to him, so he summoned the usual stuff and did his work.
The other people stared at him, but then they always did. . . .
AN: Nowhere is it mentioned that he has to actually participate to the best of his ability! So he becomes Lazy! Harry for this chapter!
I sure loved how Harry just sent up red sparks. If Harry didn't want to compete and just wanted to survive, he shouldn't have been trying so hard to win! Contrary to popular belief, the Triwizard Tournament does not ensure the competitors' full efforts in tasks. One can simply surrender.