11

The first task…

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"If it's not related to our meetings then you can't ask me about it. What I do in my own time is my business. You don't have to worry about it. It's not like we are friends!"

Those words revolved inside Harry's head when he saw Daphne from the distance. He knew he had made a mistake when he saw her expression change from normal to that of angry when he had asked her about her and Theo. At that moment, when he heard her response, he felt like he had made a huge mistake. How he could have been so stupid to think he could ask her something like that, Harry had thought. Was it because he felt they both had opened up a little with each other, he didn't know. However, he now knew he had overstepped a little thinking he could ask Daphne something like that.

She had never been an open person. All he knew about her was that she came from an old pureblood family, had a sister named Astoria who was two years younger than her and that Daphne's best friend's name was Tracey Davis. That was everything that he knew about her and she had made it clear to him that she wasn't someone who shared her life's stories with anyone. Harry had grasped that because they had spent almost an entire month together, in meetings, and she hadn't told him one thing about her life or what she liked and disliked; that's because they never had a casual conversation. Their meetings were strictly limited to their discussions on helping him with the tournament.

As he now thought about it he realized that maybe he should not have asked her about what happened between her and Theodore Nott. However, he couldn't help but think why the two were angry at each other. He thought so because he was worried for Daphne; that maybe Theo would probably do something to hurt her. That boy was unpredictable and borderline dangerous as the students put him. According to the rumors even the Slytherins kept clear from him because of his explosive nature. It didn't help that his father was incarcerated at Azkaban, serving life sentence for committing hundreds of murders, torture and other heinous crimes as a death eater. After Draco, he was the de-facto leader of the Slytherin house because of his family background. No one dared to go against him. As for Harry, he hadn't had any conflicts with that boy either directly or indirectly so he didn't know for himself what kind of a boy Theo was but if even Draco remained composed in front of him then it meant Harry needed to be careful as well.

So if there was a conflict between Theo and Daphne then Harry knew Daphne could be in some possible danger. Of course his theory was based on what he thought of Theo as a person (which was solely based on the rumors that Harry had heard about him). He knew he could also be wrong about that boy.

Harry had tried talking to Daphne after that day, wrote her letters to ask when they were setting up another meeting but he got no response from her. It seemed his one mistake had probably cost him the only proper help that he had been able to get in order to prepare for the tournament.

A whole week went by and there was not a single meeting of Harry and Daphne and soon enough the date of the first task had arrived.

Harry woke up early in the morning to get a head start, finishing up his morning rituals so he could be at the given place for the champions in time. The four champions had been asked to gather at the small tent outside the Quidditch grounds which had been converted into a rugged-looking arena with mountainous terrains. The place was ideal because it had enough seating for the audience to watch as the tournament would take place.

Once done with his morning rituals Harry wore the jersey that had been specifically made for him as a tri wizard champion. It was similar to his Quidditch team jersey with the same colors as the Gryffindor house and his name written at the back side with number 4 written below it. Harry guessed the number meant he was the fourth champion as his was the fourth name that had come out of the goblet of fire.

He quickly donned the jersey and headed to the great hall. Despite it being quite early the great hall was fairly filled with students. Obviously they were talking about the tournament and once they all saw him walk in they all quieted down. Harry ignored them like all times as he sat at the end of the Gryffindor table and helped himself with a piece of toast, eggs and pumpkin juice. He decided it was better to have a light breakfast as that wouldn't hinder him from running away during the challenge, if such a case arose.

As he was biting into his toast the entire great hall – which only had Hogwarts students that morning – filled with cheers as Cedric walked in wearing his yellow jersey. It was the same color as his house's theme. He and Harry exchanged glances as the former nodded curtly at him. All this time Harry kept thinking about the betrayal he felt from his own house mates who were cheering for Cedric and had remained quiet for him. They talked so much about house-unity and here they were – the brave Gryffindors – ignoring him. He even saw some of them wearing this badge which had his face on it with the word 'loser' floating over his head. He had seen some of those badges even yesterday and Neville had told him that Draco had been supplying it to the students. Of course the professors confiscated most of it but it seemed like some of the students managed to keep theirs hidden so they could wear it today.

It felt bad, if Harry was being honest – to see how little trust the Gryffindors showed towards him. To see some of them wear that badge even made him feel angry at them. Of course it had happened to him before when his house members had turned against him during his second year but this time it hurt even more.

He tried hard to ignore them and was saved by Neville's arrival. "Sorry about those badges," he said as he sat beside him. "I did my best to tell them not to wear it."

"It's not your fault," Harry said. "And it's not like I care. This isn't new to me. It's funny how they call me a betrayer when it's them who are actually betraying me."

Neville looked at him sadly. It was true though, what Harry had just said. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I honestly don't know," Harry said chuckling as he tried to calm his mind. "Nervousness and fear are definitely at the top of my list. I'm also anxious…it's a mixture of all kinds of feelings I've probably ever felt in my whole life."

"I'm sorry Harry. I don't know what to say that will boost your morale," Neville said.

"You don't have to," Harry said looking at him. "The mere fact that you are the only one who has been by my side through this entire ordeal is enough to give me confidence. At least there's someone who trusts me and I am really grateful to you for that." Neville nodded before Harry looked at the Slytherin table. Daphne hadn't arrived for breakfast yet.

Neville followed his gaze and sighed. "Still no improvement?" he asked. Harry had told him what had gone down between him and Daphne.

"No," Harry said.

"Listen, I know you are worried because of her but forget everything for today," Neville said. "I know it's going to be hard but if you are not focused then it's probably game over for you. Just focus on yourself and everything will be fine."

Harry looked at Neville and for the first time he saw a confident boy instead of a nervous one. He didn't know where this kind of change had come inside Neville and it had definitely surprised Harry. He smiled slightly and nodded before he finished his breakfast and gulped down the pumpkin juice.

"I'll try not to die," Harry said smirking.

Neville smiled back. "I'll see you in the arena" he said. The two hugged each other before Harry left the great hall as everyone once again watched him go.

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Harry walked into the small tent which had been expanded from the inside. However, he stopped the moment he saw that Rita Skeeter was there talking to her cameraman. When she turned around and saw him she was obviously surprised for a moment. Harry remembered punching her in the face and that somewhat gave him confidence to not lose his composure in front of her unlike last time. Instead, he looked her straight in the eyes and smirked and for some reason it made the reporter look a bit scared. She didn't approach him and her cameraman looked at her wondering what had happened while Harry walked up to the three champions as Ludo Bagman, Bartemius Crouch, Olymp Maxime, Igor Karkaroff and Dumbledore entered the tent.

"Champions, please gather around," Crouch said as the four did. Bagman came with a small pouch as Crouch looked at Fleur. "Ms Delacour, please put your hand in the pouch and pick one out."

Fleur looked at him confused before she hesitatingly put her hand inside the pouch. Something was moving inside so there was definitely some living thing in there. She pulled out her hand a moment later as everyone saw a tiny green dragon trying to break free from her grasp. Fleur panicked for a moment seeing the tiny dragon in her hand before realizing it must have something to do with the task. Harry recognized the dragon immediately, having seen the exact one on the night Hagrid had taken him to the forbidden forest.

"The Welsh Green," Crouch said before he moved over to Krum. The seeker put his hand into the bag and pulled out a golden, snake-like dragon. "The Chinese Fireball," Crouch said before he moved over to Cedric. As the Hufflepuff put his hand into the pouch Harry began to realize that his luck was once again going to punch him in the face. His fear came true when he saw Cedric pull out the short-snout. It meant that only one dragon was left in the pouch and Harry knew what it was.

"The Swedish Short-Snout," Crouch said before moving over to Harry and looked somewhat worried himself. "And Mr Potter?" he said looking at Harry who slowly put his hand inside the pouch and felt something full of needles. He carefully grabbed it and took it out and the look on everyone's faces said it all as they saw the tiny dragon screeching in Harry's palm, trying to break free. "The Hungarian…Horntail," Crouch said as he looked at Harry like he won't be seeing him again.

Harry cursed his luck as he looked at the terrifying monster in his palm. Crouch cleared his throat to gather everyone's attention. "What you are holding in your hands are the small replicas of the actual dragons that you will be facing in your first challenge of the Tri Wizard Tournament," he said. "Your task will be to steal an egg from your dragon which contains a vital clue for your next challenge. This egg is made to look like a real one so it is up to you to find out how you are going to get it by going past the dragon. Before the start of the tournament you will be given half an hour so that you can bring any one thing other than your wand with you into the arena that you think will help you finish the challenge successfully. Use of unforgivables is prohibited and you are not allowed to kill your dragon. Breaking either of the two rules will result in your immediate disqualification and breach of the magical contract. Make sure to keep in mind that you will be timed from the moment you set foot in the arena up until you have secured the egg and left the arena. Whoever takes the least amount of time will secure the first place and will be given a reward that will prove vital in their second challenge." Harry felt a little better when he heard that his assumption was right.

"So," Crouch continued, "you will proceed as per how your name came out of the goblet. Which means," he paused and looked at Fleur, "it's your turn first, Ms Delacour. You all have half an hour starting now to get whatever you think will help you in the challenge other than your wand."

Surprisingly none of the champions left as they all looked at each other. Harry saw Fleur take out a pair of daggers which had a sleek, elvish design. The blades appeared to be made out of silver while the tangs or handles were of gold. There were engravings throughout the blades which Harry didn't understand but he knew those were runic in nature and not just mere engravings. He had heard that the Vela used to be a warrior race like the goblins but they had been made to give up that life after facing defeat at the hands of humans hundreds of years ago. They used to fight with a pair of blades which were charmed to enhance their power and fighting skills. However, nothing much was known about how they fought with the knives as compared to wands the knives were practically useless. Harry wondered how Fleur planned to face her dragon with those daggers and her wand but he had no doubt in her abilities. Her mother was a pure veela. That made her quite proficient someone who could possibly harness the skills and abilities of a veela. So Harry had no doubt that Fleur could hold out her own in the arena so he was confident that she will secure the egg.

As for Victor and Cedric, Harry was slightly amused to see when the two took out their shrunken brooms from their pockets. It seemed all seekers thought alike and in a situation like this it was somewhat predicable. They could fly at high speeds and take tight and quick turns when following the snitch. That skill would definitely come in handy when these three seekers faced their own dragons.

Viktor's was the same broom as Harry's – a firebolt – but it was the latest and fastest model. As for Cedric, he had a Nimbus 2003. However, Harry had seen Cedric fly and the Hufflepuff was a better flyer than him. Fortunately Harry had not yet faced Cedric in a match because he knew he would have a tough competition against the sixth year when going after the snitch.

Seeing that all the four champions were already prepared Crouch and Bagman decided they didn't need to wait half an hour and so the former made the announcement as they all heard the loud cheers coming from the arena. The audience definitely seemed excited that they didn't have to wait anymore for the tournament to start.

"Ms Delacour?" Crouch said as he signaled Fleur to head out into the arena. She hugged her headmistress and her sister Gabrielle, who Harry had just noticed was also present there with the rest of them before the half-veela slowly but confidently walked out.

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Thanks for reading…