The First Task
"AND LAST FOR NOT LEAST, ILA POTTER!"
The crowd was significantly quieter for Ila as many people, mainly the Slytherins, booed.
"OH, C'MON, HURRY UP!"
"I WANNA SEE POTTER BURN!"
"SHE PROBABLY RAN AWAY COS SHE SHAT HER PANTS!"
The crowd of Slytherins and few other people from different houses laughed. Ron watched them as he found a seat between Seamus and Dean. He had missed the other three champions.
After their fight, Ron didn't know if it was a good idea whether he should've gone. He kept up to date with all the updates about the champions in the newspapers and magazines, but he was always too afraid to ask Ila. In his honest opinion, he knew he was wrong for fighting with her. Of course, she wouldn't have put her name in the cup. He was only supposed to be mad at her for a couple of days, and then he would go and talk to her. But...it's not like she made any effort either. During their detention, he was planning on saying something to her, but time seemed to silently slip by until it was the end of the detention. As well as Ila.
Or at least that's what he told himself.
In all honesty, he just didn't dare to go up to her. He wanted to say many things to her, apologise to her, tell her why he felt like it, stop her worrying about her First Task. Every time he talked to Hermione, she would always manage to slip in how stressed out she was. He would have offered her a game of Quidditch. But he was scared.
Ila was his best friend. While it was fun to hang out with Dean and Seamus, it only took a few hours for Ron to miss Ila's banter.
Speaking of, Ila stepped out of the tents and entered the stadium. The Quidditch pitch had been modified; the hoops had disappeared. Instead of grass, it was replaced with sand and large boulders, one having the Hungarian Horntail resting upon it. The Dragon breathed deeply, smoke coming out of its nostrils. It was only then, did it hit him that Ila was going face that. Ron wiped his palms on his trousers as he watched Ila shakily look around the crowd, to find a familiar face. In the row in front of them, he saw Hermione, Lavender, and Pravati cheered loudly and waved wildly at Ila. It seemed to give Ila some peace.
"YOUR TIME BEGINS NOW!"
A whistle blew loudly, and the crowd grew in volume but that didn't affect Ila. She stood there, silently watching the Dragon move around, scoping out its new environment.
"What is she doing?" Ron yelled to the boys, who shrugged.
"MOVE IT! C'MON!" one of the Slytherins shouted at her.
"What did you expect her to do?" A boy behind them snorted. "That" - the boy pointed to Ila - "is what happens when you let a girl enter!"
Ron's ear prickled at the sound of the comment. He stood up and faced the boy, a third-year Hufflepuff.
"What did you say?" Ron said in a low tone, but the boy could easily hear what he said. In fact, everyone around them could hear him. They turned around to see what was going on.
"Ron," Hermione hissed.
The boy scoffed before standing up, only to realise just how much taller Ron was and gulped.
"Go on," Ron jibed. "You told it to your friend easily. What's the difference between me and him?"
"N-nothing," the boy stuttered.
"So why don't you go and repeat that fucking comment once more?" Ron's hands slowly raised to the boy's collar, but before he could do anything, there was a large rattling noise and groan coming from the other side of the stadium, taking everyone's attention away from Ron and the boy. He felt a tug at his trousers to find Hermione trying to make him watch what was going on with Ila.
The Dragon had found her.
"What's going to happen if Ila dies?" Parvati asked Lavender and Hermione.
"Shut up Parvati, don't say that," Hermione hissed.
"It's a genuine question-"
"Will you just shut up!" Hermione yelled.
It seemed the first Task was getting to everyone. Hermione's eyes were glued intently on the Hungarian Horntail and Ila, who looked like an ant in comparison. At least she finally realised the Dragon.
Hermione made silent prayers, hoping that Ila would at least remember the summoning charm amidst all her panic. That was the only solution that they found. It was then that Hermione cursed herself. How could she have been so reckless? She should have at least had one backup plan.
Ila took a brave to peek from her shelter of the boulder. Hermione couldn't see her face but she knew Ila too well to know that she was scared. If it weren't for the situation, Hermione felt a strange urge to laugh. She had faced You Know Who twice before this, deal with a Basilisk, which she could argue was more dangerous than a Dragon, and a werewolf.
Ila took her wand out and there was a small sense of relief in Hermione that she was finally going to use the charm.
Only for it to be driven over by a bulldozer a dozen times.
A jet of bright red emitted from Ila's wand, which was aimed at the Dragon.
Fortunately, it hit the Dragon.
Unfortunately, it also pissed off the Dragon.
A wave of fire, so large that even Hermione, who sat metres above them could feel it, burned the sand and boulders. Ila used her boulder as a shield just in time. Hermione clung to both girls hands.
"And you wonder why I'm asking what would happen," Pravati muttered under her breath.
Ila backed away from the boulder, her eyes remaining on the Dragon. The Horntail, stared at her until it opened its mouth. Another breath of fire came and Ila rolled behind another boulder. It was the first time that Hermione could see her small face.
It was as if she had faced the basilisk. She was petrified.
"Why hasn't she used her charm yet? Why hasn't she used it?"
"Mione what would you do if you were face to face with a dragon?" Hermione heard a voice behind them. It was Ron. He stepped over the bench and sat beside her.
"Ron, this is serious, she's might actually die!"
"No she won't," Ron said, but even Hermione could tell that he wasn't convinced. "She's Ila Potter...there's no way I'm gonna let her go out by a dragon."
Ron unclamped Hermione's hand and took it in his.
Another jet of red flew out of Ila's wand, this time missing the Dragon, annoying it further.
"Doesn't she realise what she's doing?" Hermione asked Ron, who she knew wouldn't have the answer.
"There's a method to her madness, Mione," Ron replied calmly. "You need to have a bit more faith in her."
The Dragon roared at another red spark and flew towards Ila, breathing breaths of fire.
Hermione stared at him. Ila ran to the other side of the stadium, causing people to boo at her cowardice. Thankfully the Dragon was chained up and couldn't reach her.
"We need to tell Dumbledore," Hermione said and stood up only to be pulled down by Ron.
"Hermione, she will get out of this," Ron said, holding her shoulders. "Dumbledore'll know when's enough's enough."
"It doesn't seem like it."
"She's not going to die before we make up Hermione," Ron said, his hand that was holding Hermione's, starting to go numb. "I can assure you that."
"Really?"
"She's not going to die," Ron said, telling himself more than Hermione.
It turned out that he spoke too soon.
Ila climbed over the boulder that she hid behind and stood on top of it. Confusion ran through Hermione's body. Ron was sure his hand have no circulation.
"What is she doing?"
Ila jumped down from the block. The Dragon roared. That didn't faze Ila. It seems that Hermione wasn't the only confused. The crowd remained silent, even Bagman stopped his commentary as they all watched in wonder as to why Ila was walking to the Dragon. Ila was close enough to get burnt to a crisp but a dragon. Ila stood there watching the Dragon. Even the Dragon seemed slightly confused, staring at and not doing anything.
It felt like hours when Ila did something. She reached for her trouser pocket and brought something out. Hermione peered closely.
It was small, neon green. Ila tapped on the badge with her wand.
A shrieking scream erupted from the badge that was so loud, the entire stadium including all the judges had to cover their ears in order to protect them. The Hungarian Horntail seemed to be the most in pain, trying to get away from the badge, moving its head away, blowing breaths of fire to calm itself down. Taking the chance, Ila threw the badge which was still screaming at the Dragon and observed where the Egg was.
"Fuck!" She cursed herself, seeing that the Egg was right underneath the Dragon. She could always try to summon it. But the thought of the Egg zooming into her, knocking her out cold and having the Dragon take its revenge made her decide against it. Instead, she raised her wand and yelled, 'Accio Firebolt!' She glanced at the Dragon, it was still annoyed. It was now trying to find the source of the badge. She only had a few moments. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon," she said through gritted teeth.
Her hand was still at the ready for her broom. How long is it going to take? She should have prepared for this a bit better. The Dragon yelled once more before giving up. It looked down at the rocks before emitting a large fire from its mouth, burning everything in its pathway. Once it was gone, the Dragon looked a lot angrier.
"While ingenious for using distractions, it hasn't worked out very well…let's see what she was planned next!"
Its eyes scanned the stadium before finding Ila. It looked murderous.
Though now that Ila thought about it, when has a dragon ever looked anything other than murderous.
Her hand was still in the air, waiting for her broom when the Dragon quickly made its way to her. It was a few steps away. It was ready to eat her. Or burn her. Or sit on her. Either way, Ila had to stay where she was. She needed the broomstick now! Where was it?
Hermione's nails dug into Ron's arm, but he didn't care. He was too busy asking himself what the hell Ila was up to, not running away from the Dragon to care.
"She's going to die isn't she?" Parvati said worriedly.
"Don't say that," Ron snapped. "She's…RUN ILA!"
Ila looked up. She saw Ron was standing up, waving wildly at her to move. She was momentarily shocked to see that he was here. Not to mention, he actually acknowledged her presence. But before she could think on it any longer, Ila felt the familiar Firebolt in her hands and pulled herself on it just in time for the Dragon to breathe fire on the exact spot that she was. She flew to the sky, a sense of peacefulness flowing through her.
"Dear Merlin, what is actually wrong with her?"
"That's what you get when Voldemort tries to kill you when you were baby."
Draco bounced his leg up and down. His hands covered his mouth, muffling a groan at the sounds of the Slytherins beside him.
"She is actually going to die and I can't wait!"
His leg stopped bouncing.
"What the fuck Parkinson?" Draco said, turning to the girl on his left.
"What?" She said innocently. "Look at her - you really think she can survive with her broom that's practically falling apart?"
Currently, Ila was whizzing around the Dragon, trying to disorientate in order for her to get the Egg that was right beneath it. ("I think I'm starting to get dizzy just by watching Ila!")At least, that was what he hoped she was doing. He hoped she actually thought this through and wasn't going off by intuition. However, from the way their conversation was last night, it didn't seem like that was far off. At least she had gotten his note and his badge. He was slightly glad that she wasn't awake to constantly question how he made the badge in the span of a few seconds.
"That doesn't mean I'm counting down the minutes until she gets burnt to a crisp."
"Bets! Bets! Take your bets!" The Weasel twins had finally made their way to where the Slytherins sat. Most either ignored them or threw them a dirty look but Parkinson looked interested.
"I'll take one," Parkinson said and Draco couldn't help but cringe at the way she talked - pretending that this wasn't the first time she took bets on something.
"What're you going to do?" One of them asked.
She hummed in response before telling them, "Ten galleons that Ila won't make it."
"Ten?" The other twin said surprised. Malfoy noted the slight jab to the rib by the other twin but it seems that he was the only one.
"Why? Is that too much?"
"No, no," one of them said, "it's actually barely anything. Merlin Parkinson, I thought your father owned the Daily Prophet."
"He does," Parkinson not before digging into her pockets, dropping all the spare change that she had.
"70 Galleons," one of them said and shared a smirk with his brother. "You sound pretty confident."
"Of course I am," she said and Malfoy couldn't help but scoff before going back to watching Ila. She was higher than the crowd itself. It looked like she was trying to figure out a plan. He should have thought about something else last night. He could've told her what actually do with the broom instead of wasting time, trying to figure it out herself. But…technically it wasn't his fault. She had fallen asleep. It took a while for him to notice. He just thought she couldn't see the book well because of the lack of light the two had. He had moved closer, her wand in his hand so that she could see the light, which was when he realised that she had fallen asleep with the book on her face. He couldn't help but smile. Even in her sleep, she looked pissed off at him. He wondered what she dreamt about. Whether it was the same for her too. From the way she was initially, it didn't seem that far off for him to think that. But…
Does that mean she liked him?
He has seen girls flirt with him before, many of them acted in a similar way but…he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Most of the girls that were around him always seemed to fake their personalities. It was like they wanted something out of him. But…Ila didn't. At least, not anything bad anyway. She only wanted him to stay in her life. To be kind to her and perhaps…they could be more than friends. The thought warmed Draco in the cold library. He couldn't leave her there. That wouldn't prove that he wanted to change. And so, he found himself carrying her, at least half carrying her, half dragging her all the way to the Gryffindor common room.
Merlin, he never knew how hard it was to carry someone, especially when they were asleep.
By the time he got to the stairs, he couldn't be bothered anymore. He couldn't care less about her feet dragging. He was tired. When he managed to make it to the girl's dorms, he too collapsed onto Ila's bed, taking a moment's rest after the feat he had pulled. It was then he realised what position he was in and what position someone could be in if he didn't leave soon. He rushed to the bathroom and grabbed a wet cloth before going back to Ila to wipe her face clean off all the makeup. He once glanced at the Witch Weekly article about the ten signs a guy likes and one of them said taking care of you was one. He hoped Ila would appreciate the kind gesture. He wasn't too comfortable to take her clothes off and dress her into something a bit more comfortable so he left her in her bed, making sure the blankets were covered so she wouldn't get cold. He then left a note under her pillow as well as leaving the badge he had made prior under as well before quickly running out of the room before anyone could see him. Looking back on it, if he wasn't so paranoid about getting caught by someone, he could have made the note a bit more extensive. At least leave a clue. But no he didn't. And now he was stuck having to watch Ila painfully figure out what to do with the broomstick for the next half an hour.
She knew what to do!
The Dragon was still beneath her, angry as ever. She tried zigzagging to the Egg but it was too close. She had to lure the Dragon away from the Egg before snatching it up quickly. Ila lowered herself down slowly, making sure she was still somewhat out of reach from the Dragon. One of its' claws reached out, trying to swat her away. She dodged it only by a few centimetres. She tried moving to the left, hoping the Dragon wouldn't catch onto what she was doing. With every move she made, the Dragon got angrier. Its claws were constantly trying to swing at her. It was to the point where the safety netting behind her, where the students would be protected ripped. Many of them screamed, huddling with each other or hiding under the benches.
"Sorry!" She called out before moving more to the right. And more…and a bit more…and a few more inches….
"Is that allowed? Does anyone know if points get deducted…no?...right…"
Right.
She was now directly opposite the Egg. The only problem was, how was she going to get it? Like with many of her plans, Ila didn't really think much about it, only going surface deep before executing the plan. This leads her into situations like this, where while she did lure the Dragon away from the Egg, it meant that it was now closer to its chain, meaning it was less restricted. Meaning…it was able to attack her more.
"An interesting take from Ila – while the rest of the champions played it safe by staying on the ground, it seems that Ila wanted a bit more of a challenge. Right now she's trapped…what will she do next?"
"I don't fucking know Bagman," Ila spat.
The Dragon stood up, no longer being restricted by the chain and Ila gulped at the sheer size of the creature. Its head ripped through the second safety netting. Not only was the size of the Dragon a slight problem for Ila, but it was now blocking her only pathway to get to the Egg before the Dragon got her. Its arms swung at her, this time, it wasn't stopping. Left and right, left and right, Ila was starting to feel a bit sick. She held on tightly with one hand while the other was on her wand, throwing out as many hexes and jinxes as she could to distract the Dragon. She cast a stinging hex, which might not have done much damage, in the long run, hit the Dragon by its side, and it roared out in pain. It doubled down, and the path was free for her to go through. Except, the Dragon looked back at her. It raised its head.
"It seems that Ila will only have a few seconds before getting seriously injured. Get the Stunners on stand by!"
Uh oh.
It opened its mouth.
Wonderful.
It was going to burn her alive.
…
No - she can't think like that. She won't. She was so close now. All she needed to do was find an opening, something that could let her get past the Dragon. But…the only one was…
…it was through the mouth of the Dragon. That was the only way. In fact, if she lifted herself higher, she could see the Egg. She only had a few seconds to do so. The Dragon was breathing hard, readying itself for perhaps the most satisfying murder it was about to complete. But…unfortunately, Ila Potter wasn't ready to die just yet.
Ila grabbed her broom, looked up to the sky, hoping that someone was looking out for her. And if they weren't, she was going to have a big talk with them. Ila leaned forward as hard she could. Her broom flew straight ahead. People gasped in anticipation, while many were telling her an idiot that was looking for a way to die.
"It seems that she's flying…she's flying straight into the dragon's mouth!"
But she couldn't concentrate on that now. She leaned even more. She was going so fast, her eyes were beginning to water, her hair was coming out of her braid. Merlin, she hoped her hair wouldn't be burnt off. She shifted her weight to the right and her broom followed. She saw the heatwaves beginning to waver. She needed to go through it now!
With all her might, she was practically lying on her broom, she flew into the Dragon's open mouth and out the other side, just as the flames erupted and burnt the top of the safety net.
"SHE'S ONLY GONE AND DONE IT!"
Ila dived headfirst to where the Egg was. Not even caring anymore at this point, she used both hands to grab the Egg. Ila grabbed the smooth, slippery surface of the Golden Egg, only realising just how heavy it was, nearly dropping it on a rock. She glanced behind her, to see that the Dragon had been stunned by a bunch – hang on is that Charlie? Ila flew straight through the hole the dragon had created moments earlier to the sky as the entire stadium cheered for her, chanting her name out loud. She had to admit, it was nice now that everyone was on her side.
"ILA! ILA! ILA! ILA!"
She saw her friends look close to death, Hermione had gripped onto Ron's shoulder for so long, he looked like he was going to pass out. Ila waved at them, nearly dropping the damn Egg again. Hermione excitedly waved back while Ron nodded, smiling at her proudly before grabbing Hermione and made his way down the stadium. Her eyes then drifted to where the Slytherins were, none of whom were standing up. Many looked displeased, while one couldn't help but looked somewhat impressed.
"Nice work," Malfoy mouthed.
Ila couldn't help but feel a sudden flutter in her stomach. It was probably the excess adrenaline. By the time she was on the ground, she was shaking so hard, she could barely hold the Egg in her arms. With the help of Madame Pomfrey, she was moved back in the Quidditch Tent, where she dropped the Egg at her feet.
"Oh, Ila!" Hermione cried as she ran up to her and hugged her. "I thought you were going to die! But you did it. You got the Egg. You're through to the next stage," but she was no longer happy for her when she moved back. "What kind of idiotic move was that? You could've been burnt alive Ila. You could've died!"
"Come off it Mione, she just defeated a dragon for merlin's sake!" Ron said, walking up to the two girls.
"Didn't realise you came to see me," Ila said, looking down at the Egg and kicking it gently.
"Nah, I wasn't here to see you," Ron said, and Ila looked up quickly. He was smiling. "I only came here to see Krum and Fleur."
Ila grinned before hugging Ron, who held her tight; neither wanted to let go. "I'm sorry, mate…I should've believed you."
"I'm sorry too," Ila said. "I should've realised…I should've done more…" The two hugged each other again. This was the longest time either had been away from each other, and it was probably the worst time of their lives. It was unspoken, but they were never going to fight again.
"And where's my apology then?" Hermione said, her arms akimbo.
"What did we do to you?" Ron asked incredulously.
"I don't know…but the constant back and forth between the two of you were pretty tiring if I say so myself," Hermione retorted. Ron and Ila looked at each other, smiled, knowing exactly what they were going to do. It looked like Hermione knew to as she started back away slowly, but it was too late. Ron and Ila tackled Hermione onto the hospital bed, hugging her as tightly as possible while apologising for everything they did wrong.
The clearing of a throat interrupted their apologies. They got up to see McGonagall, who was trying hard not to smile at the three Gryffindors.
"Don't celebrate just yet, Potter," McGonagall said. "You need to find out your scores."
With Ron and Hermione following her, Ila exited out of the champion's tent and back into the stadium. The students were still riled up from Ila's Task. She looked up at the judges' table to see that it was all three headmasters.
"Judges, please present your scores for Ila Potter," Bagman announced, his voice echoing throughout the stadium, quietening down the students. She looked around. Even from this height, she was drawn to a pair of eyes staring down at her. He had his hands in a prayer position, touching his lips as if he was nervous for what she was about to get.
Yep.
He really did have a crush on her.
Her attention went back to the judges before any other thoughts could arise. Madame Maxime was first. She held up a –
"Eight…not too bad, not too bad at all," Bagman said approvingly. "Professor Karakoff?"
He didn't look like he wanted to take part in Ila's scoring, but with all eyes on him, he grudgingly held up a random number which was –
"Four? Are you fucking kidding me, you fucking idiot!" Ron yelled, "I bet Krum couldn't do half of that - actually, he probably could."
"Language Weasley," McGonagall said sternly. Ila couldn't help but smile. They were back to normal. But it also seemed that Ron wasn't the only one who was annoyed by the score. Most of the students yelled their disagreements.
"OI! HE'S JUST AN OLD MAN!"
"WHY THE FUCK SHOULD WE LISTEN TO A PERVERT!"
"CHILD TOUCHER! CHILD TOUCHER! CHILD TOUCHER!"
"And how about you, Professor Dumbledore?" Bagman quickly asked after seeing McGonagall's face.
Dumbledore smiled at Ila and held up his number. "Ten of course."
"That's cheating!" Karakoff said accusingly. "You wouldn't let me…"
But Bagman and the rest of the students applauded for Ila, silencing any of his disagreements. "With the final scores, it seems that Viktor and Ila are tied first place, with Cedric coming second and Fleur coming third. Well done to all four champions for their bravery! Now, of course, we'll give you a break before competing in the next Task. However, I must add that the eggs you have all got aren't just trophy's to put up on your bedroom shelves. Each egg hold's a clue for what is yet to come. But enough of that. Let's cheer for the Champions as they take a well-deserved break!"
AN: Sorry for the late update (even though I don't really have a schedule). I've been really busy with exams this whole month. I have one more on Monday and once that's over, I can get back to writing properly. Things will start to pick up with Ila and Draco, so I hope you enjoy that. I also wanted to say thank you to everyone who followed and favourite the story. If you want to leave some reviews that would be great. I want to see how everyone is finding the story and anything I need to improve on. Sometimes it's nice to have another perspect. Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter!