No amount of coaxing from her roommates could get Bree to come out from under the bed. Eventually they decided that the mentally unhinged blond would come out when she was hungry and left her alone. Bree did come out after a few hours, not because she was hungry, but because Muffin kept hitting her in the face. ("This is my spot. You get out.")

Hermione tried to get Bree to tell her what was wrong. Bree just muttered something incoherent about aliens in suits and 1969, then went to bed.


Bree woke up early the next morning to find Muffin sitting on her chest and prodding her in the face. Seeing that her human was awake Muffin gave Bree a look that, roughly translated, meant "Give me food human slave."

Bree got up, fed the cat, and then couldn't get back to sleep.

It was to early to have breakfast, so Bree went to the kitchens were the house elves, rather enthusiastically, fed her.

After breakfast Bree researched the different kinds of dragons using "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" so that she could formulate a Plan B. Plan A was trying to forfeit.

The Chinese Fireball, also known as the Liondragon, is a dragon native to China. The Fireball is scarlet and smooth scaled with a fringe of golden spikes around its face. The Fireball's snout is slightly short ending with hooked beak on the top jaw. Its name is derived from the mushroom-shaped flame that is emitted through its nostrils when angered, along with the large mushroom shaped flame it shoots from his mouth. The Chinese Fireball breed of dragons generally yield females that are larger than males. The Chinese Fireballs are also very fast and clever, at least for a dragon.

"Joy."

The Common Welsh Green, or just Welsh Green, dragon is a native of Wales.

It nests in the higher mountains regions where a reservation has been set up for it. This dragon is a relatively subdued breed (with the rare exception of the Ilfracombe Incident).

"What the heck is the Ilfracombe Incident?" Bree muttered, flipping through pages.

The Ilfracombe Incident occurred in 1932, when a rogue Common Welsh Green dragon attacked a group of sunbathers at Ilfracombe, in Devon, England. The attack was thwarted by a vacationing wizarding family who also proceeded to cast the largest group of Memory Charms seen in the twentieth century preformed by the Toke family. Despite their mass charming, some escaped from their Memory Charms, including a certain "Dodgy Dirk" who maintains to this day, much to the obvious confusion of Muggles, that a "dirty great flying lizard" punctured his lilo.

"What on earth is a lilo?" That information, however, was not in the book. Bree went back to reading about the Common Welsh Green.

It prefers to prey mainly on sheep and other small mammals and to avoid human contact altogether. The Welsh Green's roar is rather distinctive and somewhat melodious and it issues its fire in narrow jets.

"Well that would make it easier to dodge."

The Swedish Short-Snout is a dragon native to Sweden. It lives in wild, uninhabited areas, mostly the northern mountains of Sweden. Its scales are silvery blue, and its powerful flame is also a brilliant blue color - and hot enough to reduce timber and bone to ashes in seconds. Its attractive skin is much sought after for the making of gloves and shields. Since it rarely comes into contact with humans, the Short-Snout has less deaths to its name than most dragons. However, the Short-Snout is nevertheless one of the most dangerous species due to its agile flying and extremely hot fire that it produces. The Short-Snout tends to be less able on the ground because of its lack of forward limbs.

"Great, so keep it on the ground… How do I do that?"

The Hungarian Horntail is a dragon native to Hungary and is considered to be the most dangerous dragon breed. It has black scales, a spiked tail, and bronze horns protruding from its head. It has yellow eyes with vertical pupils. Its roar is a yowling, screeching scream, and its flame can reach to about fifty feet. While having a very far reaching flame the Horntails breath can reach extremely high temperatures as and can turn stone red hot in seconds.

"Dear Lord, God in heaven, I know it's been awhile, sorry. You know I never ask for much, but please, please, don't let me get the Horntail. I don't want to die jest yet."

The Peruvian Vipertooth is a dragon native to eastern and north-eastern Peru. Its scales are smooth and copper-colored. It also has black ridge-markings and short horns on its head. Like the Norwegian Ridgeback, its fangs are venomous. It is the smallest known breed of dragon, about fifteen feet (five meters) long and able to conceal itself well from Muggles.

The Vipertooth feeds on goats and cows, but is notorious for its particular craving for humans. In the late 19th century, Vipertooth numbers once went on an alarming increase and became a serious threat to wizards and Muggles alike. The International Confederation of Wizards was forced to send an extermination squad in to reduce the Vipertooth population.

"I'm going to get eaten or fried." Bree muttered. She thought about spells that might help her against a dragon.

Aqua Eructo created a jet of clear water, and then controls it. Which is potentially useful against a dragon.

Glacius spell with great range, could freeze things to ice and could be melted by Incendio. Not so useful. Dragon fire burned hotter than Incendio.

Obscuro caused a blindfold to appear over the victim's eyes, obstructing their view of their surroundings. If the dragon couldn't see he then it couldn't fry her. And then inspiration struck. Mythbusters style inspiration.

Insane laughter filled the halls. Several of the more timid students wet and hid. Snape went on high alert, Smith had been absent from breakfast… The foreign students just looked confused and the more experienced Hogwarts students looked at them with pity. They had no idea what was to come. But perhaps it was better that way, ignorance is bliss after all.


Bree ordered a certain substance through owl order. A whole lot of a certain substance that was kept in a container that was spelled to be bigger on the inside and feather-light. She then tested the substance, along with a few spells, until she had it perfected. This would either be totally awesome, or would kill her while still looking totally awesome. Either way there would be an epic fireball and the blond pyromaniac was okay with that.


On the morning of the day of the first task, the atmosphere in the school was one of great tension and excitement. Lessons were to stop at midday, giving all the students time to get down to the dragons' enclosure - though of course, they didn't yet know what they would find there.

At lunch Professor McGonagall was hurried over to the Gryffindor table. Lots of people were watching.

"Potter, Smith, the champions have to come down onto the grounds now… You have to get ready for your first task."

"Okay," said Harry, standing up, his fork falling onto his plate with a clatter.

"You ready for this?" George whispered. Bree nodded and followed Harry.

Bree felt an uncharacteristic lump of terror growing in her stomach as they walked. Professor McGonagall didn't seem herself either. As she walked Bree and Harry down the stone steps and out into the cold November afternoon, she put her hands on their shoulders.

"Now, don't panic," she said, "just keep a cool head… We've got wizards standing by to control the situation if it gets out of hand… The main thing is just to do your best, and nobody will think any the worse of you… Are you all right?"

"Yes," Harry said. "Yes, I'm fine."

"I'm fine too." Bree stated. In truth she felt like throwing up.

McGonagall was leading them toward the place where the dragons were, around the edge of the forest, but when they approached the clump of trees behind which the enclosure would be clearly visible. A tent had been erected, its entrance facing them, screening the dragons from view.

"You're to go in here with the other champions," said Professor McGonagall, in a rather shaky sort of voice, "and wait for your turns. Mr. Bagman is in there… he'll be telling you the - the procedure… Good luck."

"Thanks," said Harry, in a flat, distant voice. McGonagall left them at the entrance of the tent. Harry and Bree went inside.

Fleur Delacour was sitting in a corner on a how wooden stool. She didn't look nearly as composed as usual, but rather pale and clammy. Viktor Krum looked even surlier than usual. Cedric was pacing up and down. When Harry entered, Cedric gave him a small smile, which Harry returned, though it looked forced.

"Harry! Bree! Good-o!" said Bagman happily. "Come in, come in, make yourself at home!"

Bagman looked somehow like a slightly overblown cartoon figure, standing amid all the pale-faced champions. He was wearing his old Wasp robes again. "Well, now we're all here - time to fill you in!" said Bagman brightly. "When the audience has assembled, I'm going to be offering each of you this bag" - he held up a small sack of purple silk and shook it at them - "from which you will each select a small model of the thing you are about to face! There are different - er - varieties, you see. And I have to tell you something else too… ah, yes… your task is to collect the golden egg!"

"Can I forfeit?" Bree asked.

"No. The magical contract with the cup prevents that," Bagman answered.

"Can I stand there and do nothing until people get bored and send me away?" Bree tried.

"Well… yes. But you might get injured." Bagman said.

And in no time at all, hundreds upon hundreds of pairs of feet could be heard passing the tent, their owners talking excitedly, laughing, joking. And then Bagman was opening the neck of the purple silk sack.

"Ladies first," he said, offering it to Fleur Delacour.

She put a shaking hand inside the bag and drew out a tiny, perfect model of a dragon - a Welsh Green. It had the number two around its neck And Bree knew, by the fact that Fleur showed no sign of surprise, but rather a determined resignation, that she had knew what was coming.

Bree was next. She pulled out a tiny Peruvian Vipertooth with a number five around it's neck.

"Poisonous and man-eating. Fun." Bree deadpanned.

Krum pulled out the scarlet Chinese Fireball. It had a number three around its neck. He didn't even blink, just sat back down and stared at the ground.

Cedric put his hand into the bag, and out came the blueish-gray Swedish Short - Snout, the number one tied around its neck. Harry put his hand into the silk bag and pulled out the only dragon left. The Hungarian Horntail, with the number four around it's neck. It stretched its wings as he looked down at it, and bared its minuscule fangs.

"Well, there you are!" said Bagman. "You have each pulled out the dragon you will face, and the numbers refer to the order in which you are to take on the dragons, do you see? Now, I'm going to have to leave you in a moment, because I'm commentating. Mr. Diggory, you're first, just go out into the enclosure when you hear a whistle, all right?

Now… Harry… could I have a quick word? Outside?"

"Er… yes," said Harry blankly, and he got up and went out of the tent.

The whistle sounded and Cedric looked quite green as he exited the tent. Harry came in moments later. Seconds hater, they heard the roar of the crowd, which meant Cedric had entered the enclosure and was now face-to face with the living counterpart of his model.

The crowd screamed, yelled, and gasped as Cedric did whatever he was doing to get past the Swedish Short-Snout. Krum was still staring at the ground. Fleur had now taken to retracing Cedric's steps, around and around the tent. And Bagman's commentary made everything much, much worse. "Oooh, narrow miss there, very narrow"… "He's taking risks, this one!"… "Clever move - pity it didn't work!"

"What did Bagman want?" Bree whispered to Harry.

Harry frowned. "He wanted to give me advice." he answered. Bree looked confused for a moment, then her eyes lit up.

"He bet on you." she told Harry.

"What?"

"In the tournament. If you do well, he'll make money."

"But he's a judge."

"So?"

Harry didn't respond and silence resumed.

And then, after about fifteen minutes, Harry heard the deafening roar that could mean only one thing: Cedric had gotten past his dragon and captured the golden egg.

"Very good indeed!" Bagman was shouting. "And now the marks from the judges!"

But he didn't shout out the marks. Bree supposed the judges were showing them to the crowd.

"One down, three to go!" Bagman yelled as the whistle blew again. "Miss Delacour, if you please!"

Fleur was trembling from head to foot. She heft the tent with her head held high and her hand clutching her wand.

The same process started again…"Oh I'm not sure that was wise!" they could hear Bagman shouting gleefully. "Oh… nearly! Careful now… good lord, I thought she'd had it then!"

Bree distracted herself by letting her model dragon scurry over her hands.

Ten minutes later, Harry heard the crowd erupt into applause once more… Fleur must have been successful too. A pause, while Fleur's marks were being shown… more clapping… then, for the third time, the whistle.

"And here comes Mr. Krum!" cried Bagman, and Krum slouched out, leaving Harry quite alone.

"Very daring!" Bagman was yelling, and Harry heard the Chinese Fireball emit a horrible, roaring shriek, while the crowd drew its collective breath. "That's some nerve he's showing - and - yes, he's got the egg!"

Applause shattered the wintry air like breaking glass. Krum had finished. It would be Harry's turn any moment. The whistle blew. Harry left the tent. Bree was left all alone.

She heard Bagman shouting that Harry had summoned his broom. She let out a slightly hysteric giggle that caused to model dragon to stare at her strangely.

"Great Scott, he can fly!" yelled Bagman as the crowd shrieked and gasped. "Are you watching this, Mr. Krum?"

Bree found that just allowing the model dragon scurry across her fingers was no longer enough of a distraction. She decided to name it.

The crowd gasped and screamed. Bagman shouted. Bree ruled out the names Frank and Beelzebub.

The crowd screamed again. Louder this time. Bagman shouted about Harry having been hit by the Horntail's tail. Bree squeezed her eyes shut, then remembered the dragons were all female. She named the model Barbara.

"Look at that!" Bagman was yelling. "Will you look at that! Our youngest champion is quickest to get his egg! Well, this is going to shorten the odds on Mr. Potter!"

Bree put the model into her pocket, stood up, and steeled herself for the whistle.

Harry's score was shown. Clapping. Then the whistle.

She walked out through the entrance of the tent, and past the trees, through a gap in the enclosure fence. There were hundreds and hundreds of faces staring down from stands. And there was the Vipertooth, at the other end of the enclosure, crouched low over her clutch of eggs, her wings half-furled. Slitted eyes stared at Bree. Copper scales glinted and sharp teeth gnashed. Bree spotted the golden egg among the clutch of real eggs. The Vipertooth was to small to cover the eggs completely with her body and moved protectively in front of them.

Bree pulled out the canister and used a levitation charm to position it high in the air.

"Bombarda!" she shouted. The spell it hit canister and it exploded, releasing a plume of white powder. Bree was about to follow up with Incendio, but the dragon beat her to it, spitting flame of its own. The powder ignited into a fireball, consuming the Vipertooth and a large portion of the field. The crowd gasped and shrieked.

After a moment the fireball subsided, leaving a blacked somewhat sticky residue behind. The dragon was distracted, trying to get the gunk out of it's eyes and off it's hide. Bree quickly ran forward grabbed the gold egg, then ran out of the enclosure, shrieking at the top of her lungs.

"What was that?" Professor McGonagall asked after Bree had exited the enclosure and had stopped screaming. Bree looking back at the blackened field and saw the dragon keepers rushing forward to deal with the Vipertooth. She turned back to McGonagall.

"Coffee creamer. Highly flammable." she stated.

"And you just happened to have that with you?" McGonagall asked skeptically.

"Well, I saw this thing on Mythbusters with an air cannon and I thought that if I modified it I could"

"No." McGonagall interrupted.

"But I"

"No."


663. If it happened on Mythbusters, I can't do it at school.


Fred and George came rushing down from the stands.

"They're about to put up your score!"

Madame Maxime - raise her wand in the air. What hooked like a long silver ribbon shot out of it, which twisted itself into a large ten.

Mr. Crouch came next. He shot a number ten into the air.

"Looking good!" Ron yelled, thumping Harry on the back.

Next, Dumbledore. He too put up a ten. The crowd was cheering harder than ever.

Ludo Bagman - eight.

The twins booed.

And now Karkaroff raised his wand. He paused for a moment, and then a number shot out of his wand too - one.

She was tied with Cedric. Just behind Harry and Krum, who were also tied.

Bree had to go back to the tent because Bagman wanted to talk to the champions. Harry was already there. Fleur, Cedric, and Krum all came in together. One side of Cedric's face was covered in a thick orange paste, which was presumably mending a burn. He grinned at Harry when he saw him.

"Good one, Harry."

"And you," said Harry, grinning back.

"Well done, all of you!" said Ludo Bagman, bouncing into the tent and looking as pleased as though he personally had just got past a dragon. "Now, just a quick few words. You've got a nice long break before the second task, which will take place at half past nine on the morning of February the twenty-fourth - but we're giving you something to think about in the meantime! If you look down at those golden eggs you're all holding, you will see that they open… see the hinges there? You need to solve the clue inside the egg - because it will tell you what the second task is, and enable you to prepare for it! All clear? Sure? Well, off you go, then!"

Bree went back to the castle.


There was a big party in the Gryffindor common room, as there always is whenever anything that's even minutely wroth celebrating happens. Gryffindors like to party.

Sirius and Remus were there. They had come to see the first task and had stuck around to celebrate. There were mountains of cakes and flagons of pumpkin juice and butterbeer on every surface; Lee Jordan had let off some Filibuster's Fireworks, so that the air was thick with stars and sparks; and Dean Thomas, who was very good at drawing, had put up some impressive new banners, most of which depicted Harry zooming around the Horntail's head on his Firebolt, or Bree's fireball, though a couple showed Cedric with his head on fire.

"What did you use to make that fireball?" Sirius asked.

"Coffee creamer. I've got another jar left, if your interested." Bree said.

"He's not." Remus interjected just as Sirius opened his mouth.

"Blimey, this is heavy," said Lee Jordan, picking up the golden egg, which Harry had left on a table, and weighing it in his hands. "Open it, Harry, go on! Let's just see what's inside it!"

"He's supposed to work out the clue on his own," Hermione said swiftly. "It's in the tournament rules…"

"Actually they just said that we couldn't get help from teachers." Bree stated, looking pointedly at Sirius and Remus. Sirius grinned.

"Yeah, go on, Harry, open it!" several people echoed.

Lee passed Harry the egg, and Harry dug his fingernails into the groove that ran all the way around it and pried it open.

It was hollow and completely empty - but the moment Harry opened it, the most horrible noise, a loud and screechy wailing, filled the room.

"Shut it!" Fred bellowed, his hands over his ears.

"What was that?" said Seamus Finnigan, staring at the egg as Harry slammed it shut again. "Sounded like a banshee… Maybe you've got to get past one of those next, Harry!"

"It was someone being tortured!" said Neville, who had gone very white and spilled sausage rolls all over the floor.

"You're going to have to fight the Cruciatus Curse!"

"Don't be a prat, Neville, that's illegal," said George. "They wouldn't use the Cruciatus Curse on the champions. I thought it sounded a bit like Percy singing… maybe you've got to attack him while he's in the shower."

"Want a jam tart, Hermione?" said Fred.

Hermione looked doubtfully at the plate he was offering her. Fred grinned.

"It's all right," he said. "I haven't done anything to them. It's the custard creams you've got to watch -"

Neville, who had just bitten into a custard cream, choked and spat it out. Fred laughed.

"Just my little joke, Neville…"

Hermione took a jam tart. Then she said, "Did you get all this from the kitchens, Fred?"

"Yep," said Fred, grinning at her. He put on a high-pitched squeak and imitated a house-elf. "'Anything we can get you, sir, anything at all!' They're dead helpful… get me a roast ox if I said I was peckish."

"How do you get in there?" Hermione said in an innocently casual sort of voice.

"Easy," Fred began, but was cut off when Bree clapped a hand over his mouth.

"She just wants to talk to the house elves!" she hissed.

"Going to try and lead the house-elves out on strike now, are you?" said George. "Going to give up all the leaflet stuff and try and stir them up into rebellion?"

Several people chortled. Hermione didn't answer.

"Don't you go upsetting them and telling them they've got to take clothes and salaries!" said Fred warningly. "You'll put them off their cooking!"

Just then, Neville caused a slight diversion by turning into a large canary.

"Oh - sorry, Neville!" Fred shouted over all the laughter. "I forgot - it was the custard creams we hexed -"

"You did not." Bree muttered.

Within a minute, however, Neville had molted, and once his feathers had fallen off, he reappeared looking entirely normal. He even joined in laughing. "Canary Creams!" Fred shouted to the excitable crowd. "George and I invented them - seven Sickles each, a bargain!"

Sirius bought about twenty of them.


Bree stumbled into bed at around one in the morning. She was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Her dreams were not pleasant. She dreamed of an explosion, cracks in the universe, and the end of all creation.


Coffee creamer. Because fireballs fix everything.

Review please!