Ok people, please don't kill, maim, or threaten me for not writing anything sooner, but life has been very sucky (is that even a word) lately. Work's hell, life sucks, bills are stacking up, I'm still sick, but other than that life's peachy. Also, I just bought a new computer game a little while ago that has eaten up a lot of my free time. It's called 'World of Warcraft,' a very fun game and I highly recommend it to everyone. Anywho, life goes on and I'm back to writing.
Also, if things are mixed up or incorrect please tell me so I can fix it.
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Harry flew over the Forbidden Forest, keeping an eye on Hagrid as he led Madam Maxime deep into the forest. Harry had decided to act on Draco's information, giving Draco the benefit of the doubt. Harry dipped down lower as he lost sight of the two huge people; however it was then that his senses picked up four huge sources of power a couple hundred feet ahead. Harry floated high in the air in shock at what he saw.
"Dragons! He have to go up against dragons?" Harry exclaimed in surprised shock. He watched in amazement as one dragon broke free of its restraints and prepared to take off. Ten Dragon Tamers aimed their wands and fired off a slew of Stunning spells at it, overcoming its resistance to magic and knocking it out. The great horned beast fell to the ground with a ground-shaking thud. Harry shook his head in amazement and flew back to the school.
"You're kidding, right?" Neville said nervously the next day after being told by Harry what he was up against. "They wouldn't actually make you fight a dragon…would they?"
"This is the very reason Dumbledore put an age requirement on entering the contest," Hermione said from her spot next to Ron. "The younger students just don't have the magical knowledge required for something so dangerous."
"Come on, Hermione," said Ron as he put his arm around her shoulders, "This is Harry we're talking about. Anyway, we just ask my brother Charlie how to best handle dragons."
"That would be a very bad idea, Ron," Ginny spoke up from Harry's lap.
"Huh? Why?" Ron asked cluelessly.
"Just think, git. Harry would have had to have broken at least ten rules in order to find out about the dragons, and Hagrid would get in trouble as well," Ginny scolded him. "If we go asking Charlie, then someone will find out."
"Oh, I didn't think about that," Ron replied sheepishly.
"Yeah, well I was thinking about using this as a chance to see just how strong I've gotten," Harry said softly as he played with Ginny's hair, an activity that was fast becoming one of his favorite things to do. He felt Ginny stiffen and slowly turn to face him. "Relax, I'm not going to take unnecessary chances."
"Harry, you aren't taking this seriously!" Ginny expressed firmly. "Charlie told us about a friend of his being burned to death and then torn to shreds by an angry dragon! They are extremely deadly, so promise me that you'll take this seriously."
Harry let out a sigh as he nodded. "I promise, Gin."
Later on the same day, the four Champions where called together for an event known as the 'Weighing of the Wands.' Mr. Ollivander was there to check each wand to make sure nothing was wrong with it, performing complex spells with each wand. When he came to Harry, a small smile came to his face.
"Ah, Mr. Potter, how good to see you again," Mr. Ollivander said softly as he examined Harry's wand. "Eleven inches, made from holly, with a phoenix feather core." He waved the wand and several doves appeared from the end. Mr. Ollivander handed Harry back his wand.
"Excellent, now that that's out of the way, can we get some pictures of the Champions?" a woman with funky glasses said excitedly. She came over to the four Champions and shook their hands. "Rita Skeeter, it is such a pleasure to meet all of you. Now, the readers of the Daily Prophet want to know all about you. Shall we start with the youngest?"
"I don't think so, lady," Harry scoffed. He turned to head out of the room.
"Where are you going? What about the interview?" Rita asked in surprise.
"Do it with one of them," Harry replied without turning around. "My life is not open to the public!" With that said, he continued out the door.
"I will get that interview," Rita said with a glare. Her face softened and she smiled sweetly as she turned to the other Champions. "Now, about those interviews…"
Harry waited around the corner for Cedric to leave, which was only a couple of minutes later. "Hey, Cedric, wait up," Harry called out as he walked towards the older boy.
"What is it, Harry? I have to go practice," Cedric told him seriously. "Who knows what they'll throw at us in the first task."
"Dragons," Harry replied, dead serious. "They have one for each of us."
"Ar-Are you sure? Are you certain that the first task is dragons?" Cedric asked nervously.
Harry nodded. "I saw them last night."
"Thank you, Harry," Cedric said softly as he turned and left. Harry walked the opposite direction, neither one noticing a figure lurking in the shadows.
Harry was shocked the next day when Rita Skeeter bashed him heavily in her article in the Daily Prophet, calling him an arrogant, stuck up brat who had entered himself in order to get more attention. She called for an immediate investigation into certain events in his past that seemed even slightly suspicious. Harry was shocked by the chain-reaction in the students who read the article. At first they started looking at him curiously, then suspiciously, then they started whispering about him behind his back again, and then finally they avoided him completely or spread rumors about him.
"Bloody idiots," Harry muttered under his breath as everyone besides his friends left the library when he walked in.
"Don't worry, Harry," Hermione told him. "In no time, people will forget all about the article and things will go back to the way they were before."
"Maybe," Harry conceded. "How goes the research?"
"Not too bad, but we still haven't come up with anything reliable. Why don't you go get something to eat while we keep searching?" Ginny said softly.
Harry put his hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong, Gin?"
Ginny put a fake smile on her face, though Harry could see through it. "Nothing wrong, Harry. Why would anything be wrong?"
Harry looked at her curiously, confused as to why she was lying to him.
"I guess I'm just not feeling too well right now, Harry," she told him softly.
"Anything I can do to help, Gin?" Harry asked her sincerely.
"No, it's alright. You've got a lot on your plate as it is," Ginny replied with a shake of her head. "Why don't you go practice for the first task?"
"Fine, I know how to take a hint," Harry said angrily as he stood up and stormed off. Ginny got up to go after him, but when she got to the hallway, Harry was nowhere to be seen.
Harry had flown out a window when he left the library and was instantly out of sight, which is why Ginny couldn't find him.
"Why are people such idiots?" Harry screamed when he felt he was far enough away from the castle. He let his aura go at full blast, surrounding him with a bright yellow light. He let out a roar of anger as he let his rage pour out his hands as he shot a massive beam of ki into the sky, illuminating the evening sky. Even though he was a good five miles away from the castle, people's eyes were drawn to the strange glow in the sky. Everyone looking at the light had to shield their eyes when Harry's ki exploded high in the atmosphere.
Harry floated in the sky, panting hard with exertion, amazed by the strength of the explosion and slightly scared at the depth of his rage. It seemed to go to the very center of his soul. He let out a depressed sigh.
"Even Ginny's scared of me," He muttered sadly. His eyes took a hardness to them that hadn't been there before. "If they want to be afraid, I'll give them something to be afraid of," he growled as he flew back towards the school. While he was flying, a darkness surrounded him and he plummeted to the ground.
(Harry's Mind)
"What the hell did you do?" Harry yelled as he stormed up to Rannock.
"You were about to make a huge mistake, Harry," Rannock said seriously. "I stopped you before you could do anything you'd regret later. You aren't thinking straight!"
"Oh, but I am," Harry growled. "If these spineless weaklings want to be afraid of me, I'll give them something to really be afraid of!"
Rannock scanned Harry with his senses, trying to figure out what was wrong with his descendent. He finally found what the problem was.
"Harry, what have you eaten lately?" Rannock demanded.
"Why don't you tell me? You seem to do nothing but monitor me anyway!" Harry shot back.
Rannock's reply was in the form of his fist lashing out and nailing Harry in the jaw. Harry flew through the air and crashed painfully into a brick wall. He looked around and noticed that the empty white space of his mind had been replaced by a cold, dark dungeon.
"So, you want to play it that way huh? Let's do this!" Harry shouted as he flared his aura.
(Real World)
"What's going on? What's wrong with Harry?" Ginny asked worriedly as she saw Harry's aura spring up around him. She had been worried when she saw the explosion in the sky and had grabbed Harry's Firebolt and flew to where she thought the explosion had been. She saw something at the bottom of a crater and flew closer to see what it was. She had been horrified to see that it was Harry. She levitated him back to the castle and took him to the Hospital Wing, where he was being examined by Madam Pomfrey.
"I don't know, Miss Weasley. This is all new to me," Madam Pomfrey told her.
"I believe that Harry is fighting an internal battle with himself," Dumbledore said from the doorway.
"Professor Dumbledore!" Ginny exclaimed as he walked into the room and sat down in one of the chairs.
"I just hope that the right Harry wins this battle," Dumbledore continued.
"What do you mean, Professor?" Madam Pomfrey asked curiously.
"I believe that the stress of the last few days has taken a toll on Harry's mind, and that that explosion in the sky was caused by him. I'm afraid that he may have 'snapped', for lack of a better word," Dumbledore told them sadly.
"Where is he? Where's Harry?" Ron gasped as he slid into the room, Hermione close behind him. They ran to where Ginny was sitting and stopped in shock at what they saw. "What's wrong with him?"
"We don't know, Mr. Weasley," Madam Pomfrey replied softly.
"All we can do is wait for him to wake up," Dumbledore told them all.
(Harry's Mind)
"Why are you fighting me, Harry?" Rannock asked as he blocked a punch.
"Because you punched me first," Harry replied as he tried a spin kick, growling when it missed.
"The Harry I trained would not fight for such petty reasons," Rannock told him as he slammed his foot into Harry's gut. "You are not yourself, Harry. Someone has done something to you, poisoned your mind."
"You're just saying that because I'm starting to see through the lies everyone's been feeding me from the start!" Harry yelled as he threw a ki blast at Rannock before charging forward, cocking his right fist back. Rannock batted away the ki blast, just as Harry knew he would, but Harry wasn't expecting him to grab his fist just before impact. Rannock twisted Harry around, putting him in a difficult position, with his arm behind his back and Rannock's arm around his neck, limiting the amount of air he could take in.
"Harry, there is a drug in your body, it's influencing your mind," Rannock told him calmly as he ignored Harry's increasingly weak attempts to escape his hold. "I'm afraid there is nothing that I can do to help you. This is a battle you need to fight on your own."
Harry let out a gasp of relief as Rannock released him, but was shocked when he turned around to find that his great-grandfather was no longer there. In his place, was a mirror image of Harry. In that instant, Harry felt the rage and hatred that had been clouding his mind flow out of him. He collapsed to the ground, temporarily weakened as he had been using his anger as a major source of power to fuel his fight.
"What's the matter, human? Feeling a little weak?" sneered his double as he hauled Harry to his feet. "That's the problem with you humans, no power what so ever." He smirked as he pulled Harry close before throwing him forty feet away.
Harry let out a scream of pain as he felt a few of his ribs crack and his left arm get dislocated. Harry let out a growl as he sat up painfully, cradling his left arm with his right one. He glared at his double as he straightened his left arm and popped it back in with a muffled scream. He moved his arm around a little to make sure there were no problems with it.
"Now it's on," Harry said seriously.
(Real World)
In the real world, everyone who was keeping watch over Harry was shocked when his body started jerking around and wounds appeared all over his body.
"Madam Pomfrey!" Ginny shouted as she rushed to Harry's side. Ron and Hermione were next to her a second later.
"Move aside, move aside," Madam Pomfrey commanded as she rushed to Harry's bed. With wand in hand, she started casting numerous spells to diagnose and heal Harry's wounds. However, as soon as she healed one cut or abrasion, three others would appear. It was quickly apparent that she was fighting a losing battle.
Ron, Hermione, and Ginny cornered Professor Dumbledore as Madam Pomfrey worked on Harry.
"Professor, what's going on? Will he be alright?" Ginny asked with tears in her eyes.
"I'm afraid that I don't have this answer to that question, Miss Weasley," Dumbledore replied with a sad sigh. "All we can do is wait and see if Harry pulls through this."
(Harry's Mind)
"Had enough, human?" Evil-Harry taunted as he nudged Harry's still form with his foot.
Harry groaned as he felt several ribs move around, obviously broken in many places. He pushed against the ground, trying to get to his feet again, coughing up some blood in the process. Harry managed to get into a standing position, barely having the energy to do so in the first place. "I will never give up!" Harry growled stubbornly as he desperately tried to think of anything he could do to even scratch his double. He had almost no access to his ki and he knew that he was dying. Harry watched with growing frustration as his double walked over to him, taking his sweet time. If only I had my wand. Harry thought before realization hit him. He was in his own mind! He had access to whatever he wanted!
Evil-Harry stopped as Harry stood up straight, seeming to heal instantly. His jaw dropped as a wand appeared in Harry's hand. "This is impossible! You should be dead or dying by now, not getting ready for another round!"
"You're forgetting something, stupid. This is my mind, my rules. I almost thought about that too late," Harry replied with a smirk. He aimed his wand at his double. "Now, it's time for you to die."
"You don't have the balls to kill me, human," Evil-Harry sneered. Harry got a curious look to his face.
"Why do you keep calling me human?" Harry asked as he kept his wand aimed at Evil-Harry.
"Because, I am the essence of your Saiyajin side," Evil-Harry replied superiorly.
"Bullshit. You may be stronger than me, but that is merely because I have almost no access to my ki right now," Harry told his double with a small smile. "All you are is a drug or potion someone slipped me, nothing more than a very real hallucination. One that I am now going to get rid of. Good-bye."
"No! Wait!" shouted Evil-Harry as Harry focused on his magic.
A bolt of pure magic shot from Harry's wand and through Evil-Harry's heart, causing him to explode into a thousand little pieces which quickly disintegrated. Harry let out a sigh as he felt himself float upwards as he started to regain consciousness.
(Real World)
"Hey, something's happening!" shouted Ron as he noticed that Harry had stopped twitching. As everyone crowded around Harry's still form, a black mist formed above Harry's head. "Dumbledore, what is that?"
For once, the great and supremely powerful Albus Dumbledore looked shocked. But before he could do or say anything, the mist disappeared. Dumbledore sank back into one of the many seats around Harry's bed. "That, Mr. Weasley, was what was in Harry. I think it is safe to say that Harry has beaten whatever it was."
"Got that right, Dumbledore," said a very tired Harry.
"HARRY!" Ginny shouted as she launched herself at him, grabbing him with a fierce hug. Tears streamed down her face in relief. "We thought you were going to die!"
"Hey, I'm not going anywhere, got it?" Harry told her gently a he lifted her head up to look at him. He leaned in and softly kissed her on the lips.
"Ah-hem," Professor McGonagall cleared her throat to get their attention. Harry and Ginny reluctantly pulled apart, only for Ginny to lie down on the small hospital bed next to Harry. Harry wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close to him. "I was asked to come and see if Mr. Potter is fit to compete in the first task tomorrow."
"I'll be alright with some good food, Ginny, and some sleep," Harry told her, covering a yawn with his spare hand.
McGonagall smiled slightly at Harry's attitude. He had just been through quite a mental battle, if what Dumbledore said was true, and now he was acting as if nothing had happened. "Very well, Mr. Potter, I shall inform the judges of your readiness to participate."
Harry nodded to her and then closed his eyes and leaned his head on Ginny's. He was asleep within seconds.
The next day, the very air was filled with tension as the first task was about to begin. Fred and George were walking around the stadium taking bets, Draco was flirting with a couple of Ravenclaw fourth year girls, Neville was looking for his toad, and Ron and Hermione were with Hagrid waiting for the task to start. Ginny was with Harry, even though she had been asked to leave by Professor McGonagall several times.
Harry was starting to get bored when Mr. Crouch and Dumbledore came into the tent, followed by several other people.
"Gather round, gather round," Mr. Crouch said as he took a sack that one of his assistants was holding. The four Champions formed a semi-circle around him as he explained the rules. "In this bag are four miniatures of what you will be facing, each of which has been given a golden egg. Your goal is to retrieve the Golden Egg."
After each Champion was given a dragon, the wait for Harry was on. He would go last seeing as he was the youngest.
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Harry walked out to the rocky field, looking around curiously. Before he came out, he could feel the dragon's ki, but now he felt nothing. Looking around, he spotted the golden egg he was supposed to get.
"This is too easy," Harry said to himself, his danger sense screaming at him. Looking around, he still didn't see or sense the dragon, so he ran towards the egg, hoping to get this over quickly. However, he didn't see the tail coming until it was too late.
"Harry!" Ginny shouted to him, causing him to turn towards her and see the dragon's tail swinging at him.
This is going to hurt, Harry thought as he brought his arms up to block the tail. When the tail hit him, there was a brief flash of light before Harry was thrown at high speeds towards the rocks around him. Dust and debris were thrown up as Harry crashed thru the rocks and into the wall. The people watching the task were silent as they waited for the dust to settle so they could see Harry's fate.
Ginny was on the verge of tears, thinking that she might have lost Harry forever. Tears started to fall as no movement came from the dust cloud, but then she saw some movement. She wasn't the only one to see the movement.
"Look! He's still alive!" shouted Colin excitedly.
Indeed, through the haze of dust still floating around, Harry's form could be seen walking out of the dust. When he was finally visible, most of the people watching let out a gasp of shock. His top was torn into pieces, showing a lot of well toned muscles and his pants were also torn up. Harry's face was dead serious and his tail was lashing back and forth in agitation.
"So that's how you want to do it, eh? Fine by me!" Harry growled before charging forward.
The dragon growled at him and turned to face him. It inhaled and was about to let loose its fire when Harry's fist slammed into its jaw, causing it to miss and melt a harmless boulder. It had a look of shock on its face when it turned back to face Harry.
"Oh, you didn't like that, did you?" Harry asked smugly. He was still smirking when he dodged the dragon razor-sharp tail. To say that the dragon was pissed would be like saying the sun was kind of bright.
Harry played a game of cat and mouse for a little bit, searching his pockets for his wand while dodging the dragon's fire and claws. Finally he spotted his wand lying among the rocks where he had been thrown in the beginning of the task. Just as the dragon spewed its fire, Harry jumped for his wand and cast the Shield charm. A shimmering white bubble appeared around Harry as the fire consumed the area around him.
Spectators gasped as the fire continued with no sign of Harry. Once again they waited on the edges of their seats, waiting to see if he survived. A cheer went up as he flew out of the fire and hovered in the air high above the dragon, this time completely without his shirt and his pants had been reduced to tattered shorts. Many of the girls were suddenly wondering why it got warm.
Harry looked closely at his tail, noting several singed hairs on it. He turned a murderous glare on the dragon, who was looking around for the missing half-Saiyajin.
"Now it's on! Hyah!" Harry yelled out as he started throwing ki blasts at the dragon, causing it to roar in pain and anger. It spread its wings and took to the air, circling once before diving at Harry. Harry floated backwards, stopping only when the dragon was straining against the chain holding it from flying away.
"What's the matter? Can't get me?" Harry said with a smirk, floating just a foot away from the dragon, his arms crossed in front of him. The dragon growled in anger as it tried even harder to sink its teeth into the human floating in front of it.
"Harry! Stop fooling around and get that egg!" Ginny yelled at him above the cheers and jeers of the crowd. Harry nodded at her and then winked as a loud crack echoed through the air. Harry jetted straight up as the dragon chomped down where he had been.
The dragon circled around, letting out a roar of delight as it noticed the now broken chain leading up to its collar. It was then that it realized that it had free reign to do what it wanted. It was starting to fly towards Hogsmead when a ki blast slammed into its head. It hovered in the air for a few seconds with a dazed look on its face before turning its head to look at Harry.
"Hey, you bloody flying lizard. You didn't forget about me did you?" Harry yelled as he formed another ball of ki in his right hand. "If you think that you're going somewhere, you've got another thing coming."
The dragon roared at him and swooped down at him, flying around some boulders with a nimbleness that belied its size. Harry landed on the ground, the dust swirling around him as his aura manifested in the visible spectrum. The spectators all gasped as the dragon bore down on Harry, who hadn't moved from his spot. Ginny, Ron, and Hermione were all screaming for him to move, to get out of the way, but Harry seemed deaf to their words.
To Harry, time seemed to slow to a crawl as he used his ki and magic to enhance his mind and body. His mind quickly analyzed the situation and he focused on the chain hanging from the dragon's neck. A plan formed in his mind and he centered himself, what was to come would need the strictest of timing. At the last possible moment, Harry dodged to the side, avoiding tooth and claw. As the dragon passed by, Harry grabbed the chain with one hand and planted himself with his ki. Grabbing the chain with his other hand, Harry pulled the chain as hard as he could.
The dragon let out a strangled yelp as its momentum was suddenly reversed. Harry swung the dragon around by its chain a few times before releasing the chain. The dragon tumbled around in the air before righting itself just in time to go head first in to the stadium wall. Harry smirked as he floated over the unconscious dragon before he flew over to the nest of eggs and picked up the Golden Egg.
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Ok, once again, I'd like to apologize for not writing anything for so long. I've been consumed by my work and illness, as well the fact that I've also started working on a book of my own.
Love it? Hate it? Please review. Flames will be used to light my incense. (Sandalwood)
