Chapter 13
"This is not funny Harry! I have been hounding you for weeks and nearly had several anxiety attacks just thinking about it. Tell me your plan." Penelope was hounding the boy for what felt like the tenth time that week, but Harry merely groaned at the girl's persistence.
"The task is in an hour, Penny. Just wait and watch like everyone else." The boy said calmly with only a tiny bit of anxiety at the thought of facing his dragon today.
The girl looked like she was going to start screaming at him or cursing him at any moment, but thankfully she did neither, and took his offered arm and followed him onto the grounds. Rumors had definitely been going around about the two for about a month now. When people asked Harry directly however he merely stated that he was raised with pureblood customs, and never allowed a friendly lady to walk by herself, and always offered his company by his arm. This silenced most of the Slytherins and Ravenclaws, but for the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor they were certain there was something between the head girl and the future Dark Lord Potter as some joked.
As the two descended onto the grounds and the whispers went up, the girl said quietly, "I am genuinely worried about you, Harry. This task is dangerous, and people die. What if you slip, what if…"
"Relax, Penny I have a good plan, and I promise everything is going to be okay. At this point I would appreciate it if you were more concerned about my brother. His plan is not nearly as foolproof as mine."
She groaned, "I am worried enough just thinking about you. If I start thinking about your brother I will be sick."
"He isn't that bad."
"HARRY!" She said smacking him hard on the arm, "Please tell me who you went over this plan with.
Shaking his head now at the girls' antics Harry said, "No one except Justin knows my plan. I thought he would get a kick out of it so I told him what my plan was."
Penny stopped and stared at him with a clearly dumbstruck look. Things Harry found amusing were not usually the slightest bit funny at all to normal people. This made the head girl even more nervous than before, "I am going to be sick I think. You told me you talked with someone magically competent!"
Harry easily took her hand patting it gently forcing a calming charm through her body. The girl immediately eased up and looked at the boy thankfully and the duo continued the walk down the path only to be greeted by Justin, "Harry, you can't go through with this. I was up all night thinking about it, and you simply can't do it. It's too risky. You thought my plan was crazy, but the more I think about yours the crazier it sounds."
Reaching the tent where the other four champions were waiting, Harry freed his arms from Penny and threw his arm around his brother, "You, my brother, need to worry about your own task. Have I ever claimed to do magic I couldn't? I need you to focus on yourself, because if I have to jump in and interfere with your task I doubt the consequences will be good."
Justin swallowed hard, and steeled his nerves over, "Alright, Harry. I trust you, and for what it's worth, the plan you came up with for me is at least fairly safe."
Penny didn't seem to know how to take this, so before Harry entered the tent he brought the girl in for a hug, "It's going to be okay, Penny. Now do something for me. During the task I need you to focus more on the champions than the dragons okay. It is important to me that I see how each of them perform, so that way I can figure out easier ways for our team to beat them in duels. We are going to see some habits come out because they are all going to be nervous, so stay focused for me."
"Whatever you think is best, Harry. Just please be careful."
Harry grinned at the girl as they separated, "Enjoy the show, Penny. It's going to be quite momentous."
With that, Harry left the concerned girl behind as he guided his brother into the tent.
When the brothers entered, Dumbledore gave them an approving nod. The two came in united, and that was something Dumbledore greatly approved of.
Dumbledore waved his arm around, "All the champions are now here, so gather around."
The six champions formed a loose circle around him, and Dumbledore smiled at them. "You've all waited for this day. You have all spent your whole magical education preparing for a moment where you may need your magic to save your life, and today is the day that you will get to see if it paid off. Your task is not simple, and knowing as little as you do going into this task is daunting, but now is the time for you all to know that your first task will be...taking a dragon egg from the nest of a dragon."
No one seemed surprised, which obviously pleased Dumbledore, because he did not raise an eyebrow that no one seemed to pale further, or panic, "Your nerves are commendable, and a testament to the strength of each of you. Now you are only allowed to enter with a wand in this first task, and you will each be drawing a dragon model from a bag that has six different species. The dragon will have your number, and we will tell you the type of dragon you will face. Are there any questions?"
No one said a word so Dumbledore said, "Ludo, the bag."
Bagman grinned as he strolled forward with a sack towards Fleur Delacour. She looked to Aimee, her headmistress, and then surprisingly Harry, and put on a brave face as she delved her hand into the bag. The girl easily pulled out her dragon and revealed it to the group. "Ah, the Welsh Green, and you will compete 2nd, my dear," Bagman said.
Fleur gave a shaky smile at the group, and Harry nodded at her with a wink. Aimee was next and drew the Norwegian Ridgeback with the number 4 around its neck. Krum drew a Chinese Fireball with a 3. Followed by Alexia Volkoff who drew the Hebridean Black dragon wearing the number 5. Then it was Justin's turn, and Harry already knew that he was going to pull the Ukrainian Ironbelly, but he didn't know it was going to have the number one on it. Harry wanted to curse Grindelwald for his lack of foresight that his brother was going to have to go first, and Harry saw the slightest bit of fear flick across Justin's face.
Harry was last, and pulled theHungarian Horntail, not needing to see the number six to know he would be competing last. He exchanged a look with his brother as Dumbledore said, "Ladies and gentleman, the first task will begin at the sound of the cannon."
The cannon immediately went off and Justin paled. Harry exchanged a look with Dumbledore, and he strode across the tent putting both hands on his shoulders whispering, "Remember the strategy. The broom first. Fly around. Conjunctivitis. After blinding it you have to create very loud noises. Justin, at all costs you survive the task. Nothing else matters."
Justin nodded, looking numb, and Harry brought his brother in for a tight hug, and this time he whispered, "I will be right here. If anything goes terribly wrong you have my word I will be there. Do your best. Make me proud."
Justin looked determined at his words, and his fear was overshadowed by his desire to make his brother proud. He exited the tent with his head held high.
Harry quickly made his way towards the back of the tent to exit, but two Aurors he wasn't familiar with were blocking the way, "Sorry, Potter you gotta stay in here. It could be considered an advantage if you watched your brother's task."
Harry stared at the men in surprise, but understood their reasoning. However, that still didn't mean he cared, "Do you really think the two of you can stop me from making sure my brother completes his tasks safely?"
His wand dropped into his hand, and both Aurors scrambled for theirs preparing for a fight but a female voice shouted, "Non! Stop!"
Harry turned to see Fleur standing, now looking at the Aurors, "Let him go. If it were my seester I would want to know she is okay too."
Krum nodded his agreement, "Da, his brother more important than any tournament. Let him have peace of mind."
The Aurors looked to the other two champions and Aimee said, "Harry clearly trained his brother. I doubt he could gain any advantage from seeing how he does. I am okay with it."
They all looked at the final champion and she merely shrugged, "No difference to me."
The Aurors took one last look at Harry who had his wand now sparking in his hand as he heard the roar of the dragon, and one of them opened the tent. Harry turned to Fleur and mouthed a 'Thank you' and ran up the dirt path just in time to see his brother zooming around on his broom flinging curses at the angry dragon. The dragon was an impressive species, and clearly huge and pissed off. Harry began mumbling, "Come on, Justin, hit it in the damn eyes. We did hours of fast-paced target practice. You can do this."
Just as he said it, Justin landed a direct hit on the beast's eyes causing it to wail with pain and rage. Harry let out a sigh of relief. That was the hardest part right there. As Justin continued to fly around he was creating deafening noises from a spell Harry created himself. The spell simulated the effects of a flashbang, and the after effects left your ears nearly bleeding. Harry could tell Dumbledore or one of the other judges was quick to unleash protective charms around the arena, because he couldn't see anyone reacting in pain. He did, however, notice that the dragon was not having a good time.
Justin swept down low to make a first attempt at the egg, and barely kept his head on his shoulders when the dragon flung its iron-like tail at him. It was a close call, and Justin just missed the egg. He made another attempt, but Harry now noticed some of the eggs were damaged, and hoped his brother didn't destroy his clue. On his second dive bomb attempt Justin was clearly throwing everything he had into the flashbang spell, and this time the dragon nearly fell over in pain as he took the egg triumphantly.
Harry yelled in excitement for his brother, and only wished his brother could see him as he finally realized the crowd was on their feet screaming and applauding. Harry then saw his brother look over at him and the boy gave him a grin, and pointed at him with a cocky smile. The message was clear, beat that. Harry grinned back at the boy, "Game on, kid."
He marched back down to the tent and gave grateful nods to each of the champions as Fleur gave him a wink as she marched her way out towards the arena. Aimee was the one to ask Harry, "I'm guessing by that grin he did pretty good."
"Definitely not bad for a fourteen year old kid. It was a damn good attempt. He completed his task, though I am sure he won't get a high score. I am just glad he is okay." Harry said easily.
The girl nodded, and the crowd began cheering as Fleur made her way out to her fight against the dragon.
Harry felt much lighter now that his brother had been successful. He didn't care to hear the scores, or anything of the like, so he took his time now to focus on himself as he got on his knees and closed his eyes. He shut the world out, and truly began to focus.
Time clearly passed, because the next thing he knew a soft hand was on his shoulder, and one of the Aurors from before said, "You're up, kid."
Harry nodded at the man, and as he reached the exit of the tent he turned to the two Aurors, "No one left to protect here. Get a seat and watch history be made."
He didn't look to see their reactions as he walked out of the tent, and began making his way towards a small cave that led towards the arena. He closed his eyes and relaxed one last time. He smiled, knowing his master was about to watch his greatest feat of magic yet.
Entering the arena, the young man immediately began eyeing the Horntail one hundred yards in front of him. The dragon was positively massive, and it seemed like it was double the size of the Ukrainian Ironbelly his brother faced. As he looked from the dragon to the eggs he reached into his pocket drawing his wands, and raising them for the dragon and audience to see. He then set them on the ground calmly, and began walking forward as if nothing could stop him from getting to the eggs and the nest. The dragon reared its head back in a great roar as the young man began to approach him, and the crowd was deadly quiet after Harry had seemingly decided that suicide was the best option.
As Harry approached, the dragon ripped its head back and let loose a giant stream of fire. This caused several in the crowd to scream in panic, and Harry even heard several people call his name out, but Harry was completely focused, and lazily threw his right hand up to redirect the fire off to the side. The crowd all gasped at the sight of his control of wandless magic, and watched as the young Potter heir approached the dragon's nest. The dragon seem to notice quickly that his fire was not hurting the young wizard in the slightest so quickly whipped its body around to swat at the boy, but once again Harry did not reach for either of his wands back at the entrance to the arena, and merely deflected the tail with a massive purple shield charm that was recognized by only two. Gellert Grindelwald and Albus Dumbledore. Dumbledore felt his body begin to freeze as he realized he had not seen that shield in nearly fifty years, and the man that had cast it had been his one great love. A terrible feeling sat in the man's stomach suddenly, and he watched the Potter heir move towards his task with great determination and unwavering confidence.
The dragon now seemed surprised as it just stared at the wizard for a moment, and then shot its mouth towards him with hundreds of teeth bared at the boy. Of all the things to do at that moment, Harry just grinned. He knew he was going to have to upset this dragon to the point that he was within his right to slay it, so he began his plan.
Flicking out his hand, he conjured two long metal cords that quickly wrapped around the dragon's mouth. Then he gestured sharply, and an eerie purple light came from the ground itself in front of the dragon and causing it to freeze. At this point, Harry began calmly waving his hands around, while striding towards the eggs. Rocks, rocks, and more rocks were being summoned from the stadium and encasing the dragon as it was currently motionless. Whispers went up throughout the crowd as Harry calmly grabbed his egg, but did not stop in his hand motions as the rocks were turning into metal, and slowly making the dragon his prisoner as he walked away.
The roar of applause started somewhere and it went up loudly as the still frozen dragon was unmoving. Just as Harry made it to the exit, he flipped his hand in an upwards motion and the dragon broke the cables that had been put around its mouth and roared in anger trying to break free from its cage, but was seemingly unable to do so.
Harry knew this was only the first part, and began to wonder just what his master had done to ensure that the dragon became angry enough to break free. The dragon handlers were moving towards the cage cautiously, and Harry turned to face them as they approached. Harry recognized Charlie Weasley leading the group as they all began throwing stunners together at the beast, but instead of becoming subdued the creature became much angrier than before, and began thrashing impossibly hard at Harry's steel cage, quickly breaking out of it.
Harry dropped his egg at the entrance to the cage, summoning both of his wands to him knowing that the creature was in a blind rage. It swept its tail hard, knocking three of the six dragon handlers across the stadium, either dead or severely injured, and Harry spurred into action.
Flicking out his hand now he transfigured two massive rocks into even more massive metal cords, and began smacking the beast around with the massive metal objects while screaming at the dragon keepers, "GET BACK. SAVE THE OTHERS!"
Harry wasn't sure if they were listening, but he kept his focus on the flailing body of the dragon as it attempted to impale him with his massive tail. Harry summoned a massive head-to-toe black shield, which made a huge gong-like sound as it was deflected. The dragon roared out furiously as one of the cords connected with its face, and knocked it backwards hard. Harry, for his part, was moving closer and closer to the nest, as he continued to beat it back.
The dragon then took flight, creating a massive gust of wind, and even knocking his freshly created metal cords back, causing the crowd to gasp at the now flying and extremely pissed-off dragon. Harry could tell it was on a chain however, and dropped his cords hurling massive blasters at the dragon. The dragon attempted to swoop in his direction, but the chain stopped the beast once, and then twice. Harry noticed the chain shook with great effort and the young man had to fight back the grin this time, realizing he was close to truly justifying the slaying of this beast. The massive dragon roared out, and Harry flung a mighty blasting curse rocking it backwards and back onto the ground, only for it to roll to its feet, clearly breaking the chain and causing the audience to scream in panic.
Harry noticed a large dome now enclosed the arena, and Harry realized the time to slay his dragon was now. He picked up the fallen metal cords he transfigured earlier in the fight, and quickly turned them into massive spears. As the dragon came hurling towards him, he launched one of the sharp tipped objects through its left wing tearing straight through it. The dragon roared in agony and blew a massive breath of fire into the area of the crowd, but Harry threw a massive ward up in case the dome above him didn't hold, and the dragon fire was stopped.
The dragon was now on a much less dangerous rampage with its inability to fly, but it was still climbing through the rocks trying to get to Harry with unrivaled fury. The dragon in all its blind anger ripped apart its own wing to free itself from Harry's first spear shot, and stalked towards Harry., as he shot the second spear through the dragon's other wing, completely disabling its ability to fly. The monster was severely injured now, and it was beyond being able to be subdued because of its rage.
The dragon gave a final bellow of fire in desperation, and Harry easily slashed it aside with his Thunderbird wand, and used his Zouwu wand to draw a massive blue circle of fire. The only two things in the circle were Harry and the dragon, and Harry began moving his wands like a conductor organizing a performance. His wand motions were fluid, and the fire began to close in. The dragon seemed to realize it was in trouble as it reared back, attempting to strike him again, but instead of any of Harry's magic intercepting the dragon, the cursed fire leapt forward from the circle, and began attacking the beast in the form of a dragon. The nature of protego diabolica was to destroy anything unloyal to the creator, and it couldn't have been more blatant that the dragon desperately wanted to harm its opponent.
The fire entered the creature's mouth, and began to tear it apart, disintegrating it with each slow agonizing ticking of the clock. It took less than thirty seconds before the only thing that remained of the dragon was a pile of ashes.
Harry stared at where the dragon had once been and took a knee. He bowed his head for thirty seconds to the stunned silence of the crowd. He then rose to his feet, and walked over to where Charlie Weasley, and the other dragon handlers were laying on the ground, injured, but alive, "Come on, Charlie, get up. This is no place to die."
The man winced as Harry gave him an offered hand, helping him to his feet, while the ward above dropped. Medi witches and wizards began apparating into the stadium to begin treating the few that were too injured to move. The applause hit Harry's senses next, and it was massive. It was clear that none in attendance could ever remember seeing such a powerful display of magic, and the fact that his task was completed without a wand, and then were only drawn to slay the beast was an incredible feat. Charlie struggled, but managed to raise Harry's hand into the air to the roaring approval of the crowd. It wasn't long before medi witches and wizards took Charlie from Harry, and told him to go to the champions tent after checking that he hadn't sustained any injuries.
Harry made it to where the Aurors had been stationed at the entrance to the champions tent without hindrance. Seeing the two men staring at him in awe made the young man merely shrug as he continued past them to one of the chairs. Madame Pomfrey turned to face him the moment he entered the tent, "Any injuries?"
Harry yawned slowly, clearly realizing the other champions didn't know what happened, "I could use a pepper-up potion, but other than that, not a scratch. I am in need of a pretty powerful nap though."
The other champions looked at the boy in amazement, not even a scratch was seen on the boy, and they didn't even know the amazing part. He looked just like he had when he had gone into the stadium though so they suspected nothing. Madame Pomfrey even seemed to not believe that the boy was uninjured, but was currently dealing with some burns on Viktor's back.
It didn't take long for Harry's parents to arrive, and Lily rushed to her son, embracing him tightly, "That was the stupidest thing I have ever seen anyone do in my life! You put down your only weapons in a fight, then complete your task only to save those men's lives and slay the dragon. I demand resorting to Gryffindor."
James grinned at the boy putting a hand on his shoulders, "The judges are deliberating, but my guess is they will give you full marks on all accounts. You were the fastest, you were the only uninjured competitor, and you saved the lives of all those dragon handlers who were trying to subdue the beast. Son, that was one of the bravest, most incredible things I have ever seen."
Harry took the compliments with a smile, but doubted he would get full marks. Dumbledore would claim it was likely within his skill to trap the beast and that killing it was unnecessary, which, between Harry and Dumbledore, was undoubtedly true. When he separated from his mother a small bullet hit him in the chest in the form of his brother, "You idiot! I thought you were joking when you said you were literally going to do the whole task wandlessly."
Harry actually chuckled at this, embracing his brother for only a moment then pushing him back a bit, "How often do I actually kid with people?"
The boy blushed a bit, "Hardly ever. But Merlin, Harry, I don't even think Dumbledore would have tried to take on a dragon without a wand."
"Right you are, Mr Potter…Harry that was some astonishing magic I just witnessed you use. Far beyond the level I expected you to be on even after all that has happened. I am curious as to the origins of some of the spells you used. The shield and the fire most particularly. It was head-to-toe, and seemingly solid, but it disappeared when you were done with it, and the spell you used to create the fire I thought was lost to antiquity. Who taught it to you?" The old headmaster questioned.
Harry looked the man in the eye when he said, "An old friend. He taught me all things in magic and wandless magic, including that shield. The purple time spell that I used on the dragon, however, I read about in his notes. I had not even attempted the spell until today."
James looked at his son in surprise, "You used a spell that you had never tried before when the dragon tried to eat you?"
"I trust my magic implicitly." Harry said simply.
Dumbledore was still staring at the boy asking, "Who was this mentor of yours? He must have been very powerful, and I know for a fact it is beyond the magic that either of your parents are capable of. In fact I doubt few people in Lady Potter's department would even recognize some of the magic you used. I may be the only wizard alive in this country to recognize the two spells you used."
Harry stared at the man defiantly now, "The most powerful wizard to ever roam the continent since Merlin himself. You are a smart man headmaster. I think you know who trained me. I think you know just where I got my attitude and skills from. You did create the monster that he would become."
Dumbledore looked like he was going to go for his wand, but thought better of it, "He died a few years ago. I know that for a fact."
Shaking his head the boy said, "You should know by now that unless you see the body yourself that people are never really gone."
The Potter family watched the exchange between their son and headmaster in confusion, but did not interrupt when Dumbledore said, "I hope you know the dangerous game you are playing Harry. He is a master manipulator."
"He didn't need to manipulate me, Dumbledore. He came to me in a time when I needed guidance, and a teacher to show me the way. He prepared me to protect my family, and my brother, and has never asked for a single thing in return. Know this, headmaster, had he come for a rematch I can assure you things would have gone much differently. I give you this reassurance though, he is a changed man, and he instilled values in me that he got after the war. I think you may have been proud of the man that he had become after all was said and done. When it is time to reveal my teacher to the world they will respect the name once again, as they should have all along." Harry said, turning his back on the man now and walking out of the tent with everyone having wide eyes.
Lily Potter turned to Dumbledore asking, "Albus? Who trained Harry to do all that?"
Dumbledore stared at the retreating Potter as he exited the tent and began to walk back alone towards the castle, "I know who, but I do not know how."
James, being impatient, asked, "Well, don't keep us in suspense."
Justin was just as curious as the rest, but said nothing while looking at the headmaster's expressions trying to read what the man was thinking or feeling, but he was getting no read from the man. Dumbledore spoke again, "It is Harry's story to tell. I fear this is not the place to discuss such things. I must attend to the judges."
With that the old man left the tent as well, following the Potter heir.
Harry's heart was racing when he made it to the stands. The first person to catch sight of him was Penny as she tackled him into a hug, "You are insane! It's official. All the Gryffindors were right, you have lost your mind somewhere in all that brilliance!"
Harry laughed at the girl as she released him, and he clapped hands with Herbert and Cedric while accepting a hug from Heidi, "Well, what can I say? I told you it was going to be something worth watching. Now, have I missed the scores?"
Just then he looked up to the podium, and saw the judges conferring quietly. He could see the scores were already on the board, and his brother had finished above Krum, and Beaucart, but fell short of Fleur, and Volkoff. This was a nice surprise to Harry, and he wondered just how poorly the other two must have done to lose more points than Justin would have for having the eggs crushed.
Only another moment passed before Dumbledore began speaking using the sonorus charm, "After deliberation with the judges it has been decided that Harry Potter will be given full marks for his outstanding use of magic, and his quick thinking that saved the lives of the dragon handlers. Well done, Mr Potter."
Cedric and Herbet both forced Harry's hands into the air, as the section he was in erupted into cheers and applause. The young man gave a smile to the crowd who cheered his name, and briefly caught the eye of an older gentleman who tipped his hat to him. He immediately recognized the man's magic even through the disguise, and gave him an appreciative smile. Knowing that one day soon his secret was going to come out.
(A/N) Dumbledore knows. The dynamic of the story is coming to a point where change is inevitable. Once a secret is out its a lot like fire, difficult to contain, and disastrous if it spreads. Stay tuned for more! If you want to read all the way through Chapter 18 you can join my discord today! Cheers everyone.
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