Chapter three: The First task

Everyone was gathered in half a circle around Mihal, who was elevated above the heads of the tall men by a crate he was standing on. He waited until everyone quieted down before he started.

'Today is the big day men! Oh and ladies,' he added quickly as he looked at Alicia in the front row. She crossed her arms and waved off the laughs around her. 'The first task of the Triwizard Tournament will be held this afternoon. Four champions have been chosen. They will each be assigned a dragon, and they will have to get past them to get this…'

At this point, someone next to him opened a box. Mihal took out a shiny golden egg. 'This is their price. I don't really know what it means, but we have given the eggs to the dragons a week ago. They have accepted them as their own, and will guard them as such. This is not going to be easy for the candidates! Dumbledore has set up an arena close to the castle. We will move the dragons there now, and then release one dragon per round into the arena. Of course we must keep them hidden to not spoil the surprise.'

Alicia huffed. It is all about the spectacle. Maybe a fireball or two will be thrown into the crowd, that might light them up! Her thoughts were with Harry. In her mind she could see him struggling to not get roasted or impaled or torn to shreds.

'For each dragon, we will have an emergency team. This team interferes if the contestant is lethally injured or gives up. To the Swedish Shortsnout the team will be Christian, Daniel…'

Her concentration was interrupted when someone bumped into her shoulder. It was Charlie.

'I put you in my team,' he murmured.

'And which dragon will that be?' she asked, already getting a feeling she knew which one that would be.

'For the Hungarian Horntail: Charlie, Alicia, Andrei and Virgil,' Mihal announced.

'You seemed to have bonded with our horned lady last time,' Charlie said with a satisfied look on his face. He had been practicing that line. Ever since he placed her in that team.

'Fine,' she said while exhaling. 'I can handle anything now.'

He bumped her shoulder again. 'That attitude will get you killed. Get your head in the game Fata foc. Today, we write history.'

It didn't seem like writing history. Sure there were lot of spectators gathering in the stands, and the air seemed to hum with anxiousness and excitement, but she wasn't sure it would make the history books. Unless Harry died today. Then she would go down in history as the girl who murdered Harry Potter.

From the moment she had heard Harry was one of the champions, she was sure he would be picked for the Horntail. Not by his choice, but by choice of whoever wanted him in the competition. This person was trying to kill him. Best to do so with the most aggressive dragon species one could find! Seeing she was convinced Harry would be picked for the Horntail, it would come down to her to save his life.

Everyone was on standby. They had already decided the order for the dragons to appear, so Alicia knew she was last. There was time. Time she was going to use. When most of the men were occupied with drinking and eating, she sneaked out around the arena. On the other side was a large tent, big enough to hide the arena and the dragon cages from view from the entrance. She knew all of this was to build up the tension for the audience. But it was also the resting place for the champions.

A shrill whistle went off and she could hear it when the Swedish Shortsnout was released into the arena. The oohs and ahhhs of the crowd indicated that he was not yet aggressive. That is usually how it starts. Later there is running and screaming.

She made sure no one was around when she slipped into the tent. Inside there were three people. Victor Krum was sitting on a crate. He stared at the floor like he hoped it would open up and suck him in. To her left was Fleur Delacour. The pretty girl looked very nervous, if the nail biting was anything to go by. And finally there was Harry, who looked pale too. But he seemed ready in a sort of way.

'Alicia?' he said as he noticed her come in. The other two looked up too but said nothing. Alicia decided to walk over to him and embrace him in a quick and strong hug.

'I had to see you quickly. The dragons are picked then? Which one did you get?' she asked as she kneeled in front of the bench he was sitting on.

'The Horntail,' he said with a low voice. It was almost sarcastic, like he wanted to add what else?

Alicia sighed. 'Of course. Did you think of a plan? Do you have something when you walk into that arena?'

It was his turn to sigh. 'Yes. I'm not a complete moron. And please don't offer help-,'

'I wasn't going to. I only want to make sure you stick to your plan. I trust you,' she told him. She placed a hand over his arm and gave it a quick squeeze. He showed her the hint of a smile.

'Besides, I'm on the emergency team for the Horntail. You get that, right? I will be there if it really goes sideways. I trust you. Trust in me too.'

This almost made his eyes watery. She noticed how he had to look away and blink a couple of times to compose himself. 'I trust you,' he whispered back.

She smiled broadly at him and squeezed his arm one more time. 'You can do this Harry. You aren't a living legend for nothing!'

'Are those scars from dragons?' asked Fleur, who had come closer to the two old friends. Victor was behind her, eying the two like he was afraid she would give Harry the golden tip to win the competition.

She stood up slowly and faced Fleur. 'Most of them.'

They were distracted by a loud shouting and cheering. Cedric must have gotten his egg.

'That is my cue to leave. Good luck all of you. Oh and Harry, it kinda goes without saying but watch out for the Horntails horned tail. Some people get too distracted by the teeth and claws that they forget that,' Alicia said as she was leaving. One final look at Harry showed her that her visit had given him some colour back in his face and a small smile on his lips. It was the best she could do for now.

Now all she had to do was keep him alive.

The tension was too much to bear. Alicia had bitten off three nails and had pulled out a tuft of hair. Watching Fleur and Victor was bad enough, but seeing Harry, clever clever Harry, summoning his broom and flying around the agitated dragon brought her a mixed feeling of pride and nausea. It had been a brilliant plan to get in the air. The dragon was tethered to the ground by a massive chain, but it wasn't even trying to get away. She was protecting the eggs – including the golden one. Harry was getting closer and closer to the Horntail in an attempt to make her take flight.

As he swept down again Alicia could see the tail raising up to smash him off his broom.

'Look out for the tail!' Alicia shouted before she could think. However her shout was muffled by the many sounds from the audience. Harry was quick, but not quite quick enough. One of the horns ripped open his shoulder.

'Shit!' She exclaimed, ready to jump into action. Charlie and Virgil held her back.

'Not yet Alicia! Can you at least try not to sound so biased?' Virgil asked, a frown plastered to his serious face. Alicia whipped her head around to give him a scowl. 'You can kiss my biased ass Virgil! That is my friend up there, in mortal danger!'

He gave her a look but said nothing. It didn't matter anymore how biased she was. She couldn't help him anymore at this point. The only thing she had to refrain herself from doing, was running into that arena and helping him. Not unless he was dying.

There went another nail.

Harry had finally driven the dragon so crazy that she was jumping off from the ground and flapping her gigantic wings out. She took flight and for a moment Alicia thought the chain would snap. But before too much pressure could be set on the chain, Harry was diving for the nest. He was a blur as he sped past them, snatching the golden egg and getting himself out of range from the dragon.

'He did it! He got the egg!' Charlie said in disbelief.

Moments later their team ran out. All of them cast sleeping spells on the Horntail, making her calmly settle back on the ground. The chain had held, the eggs were still whole and Harry was alive. Alicia took a shuddering breath. Relief washed over her as they all worked together to levitate the beast back in her cage. Once all the locks were back on, she could really relax. Her heart was pounding in her ear and she suddenly felt exhausted. She crashed down in the grass and stared at the cheering crowd.

Charlie came over for a high-five. 'That went smoother than expected.'

'Damn straight. I thought that chain would snap,' Alicia said. She ran a hand through her untidy hair and felt cold sweat on her neck.

'Days like these are good for the heart! I haven't felt my heart beat so quickly in years. And I work with dragons daily!' Charlie said while placing a hand over his heart. Even sitting next to him at a decent distance, she could hear his heartbeat.

'I think that is because usually the only people who come close to the dragons are professionals. Now we exposed four kids to them. Guess you are just as biased as I am,' Alicia said with a chuckle. She ruffled his hair, making the braid less tidy.

'Of course. Mum is treating him like one of her own children. Speaking of which, I need to write to her that Harry is alright.'

Alicia smiled at nothing in particular. There was just this immense relief. This immense pressure that was lifted from her chest. It had felt like she hadn't breathed properly since she heard Harry was chosen. She jumped back to her feet and offered a hand to her currently best friend.

'Come on. Let's find our champion.'

There was a crowd of people surrounding Harry when he stood by the entrance of the arena. There were a lot of Gryffindors, but also Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. Even teachers wanted to congratulate him.

Charlie pushed towards the boy with the untidy black hair and spoke to him briefly. He needed to tell Harry that he was needed in the tent for some more instructions. They had run into Ludo Bagman, who had recognized Charlie as a friend of Harry. It had pained her a bit that she wasn't recognized as one.

After she saw Harry disappear into the tent, she turned around to see the group of cheering people that waited for him. A broad smile crossed her face.

'Blimey! Isn't that our Nessie?'

'It is! Nessie!'

Before she knew it she was pulled into a hug with Fred and George Weasley.

'Hello boys! Good to see you!' she said back. She was so happy right now. All the memories of school started flooding back to her. All the parties in the Gryffindor tower. She was overwhelmed with the nostalgia. Also because no one had called her Nessie in a long time.

Charlie caught up on that too. 'Nessie? Is that what you call Fata foc?' he said with a smile on his face.

It wasn't just the twins. Ron, Hermione and Ginny had also stayed. 'What does Fata foc mean?' Ginny asked her older brother.

He was positively beaming at Alicia. 'It means Fire girl. Not just because of the dragons, but mostly because of her attitude. Also, she liked it better than Fata lup.' He winked.

Alicia's face reddened and she shook her head. 'Nessie, Fata foc…I'm whatever people want me to be,' she said jokingly. The rest didn't seem to catch her angry glance at the oldest present Weasley.

'We are going to celebrate Harry's victory tonight! You should come! For old times' sake,' Fred said, not even a little bit subtle how badly he wanted her to come. She sighed and tried to hide a smile.

'Alright then.'

There was a high-five, some cheering and a quick kiss on her cheek. Then the twins left. She shook her head as she watched them go.

'You sure you can handle yourself tonight?' Charlie asked with a cheeky smirk on his face. Alicia punched him softly. 'I can handle all Weasleys.'

They waited for Harry to return. He was looking so much better than before the challenge. He saw Alicia and hugged her quickly.

'You didn't watch the tail.'

'Hey, shut up.'