Chapter 8 — Dragonfire
— Dimensional Twin —
After his little chat with Rita Skeeter, Harry returned to the great hall. He smiled when he noticed Susan was saving him a seat, but his sisters also seemed to be celebrating something, so he visited them first.
"Hey Rose, how d'you do on the dueling tournament?"
"Harry!" She jumped and hugged him, and he only just caught her in time. "I made first place!"
"That's great, Rose. I knew you could do it." He put her down, grinning at her. "Next up, you duel the second years', right?"
She grinned back. "Yup, the top four compete with the next year." She frowned slightly. "They know a lot more spells, though."
"Yeah, it's the biggest step up. But even if you lose your first duel there, it still means you're really good. But you might even win — speed is often more important than spell knowledge."
Rose nodded seriously. "I will do my best."
"I know, you're just as stubborn as me and Iris." He kissed her on the crown of her head, and then left to join the Hufflepuff table.
— Dimensional Twin —
Iris focused. Two days before the first task, and Harry was training her more in what he called "the noble art of pyrokinesis, also known as arson, also known as setting shit on fire".
The fires they were using were getting more and more esoteric, even though she'd sometimes caught him casting illusions to change its look. He claimed it was important for her not to be intimidated. The current fire felt almost alive. Its flames randomly seemed to form animals, and had a blackish hue, as if it was sucking in light instead of emitting it. The previous types of fire that seemed to form animals were violet, green, and normally colored.
She strained her will against Harry's, forcing it to stay away from her, while he mercilessly pushed it towards her, as if he was really trying to burn her. She shaped it into a circle a good two meters away, while trying to keep it as thin as possible. The sweat poured down her face as she strained with the effort. Harry also had his wand out, looking just as concentrated as her, as if he were dividing his attention between her and the fire itself.
"Good." He spoke after several minutes of their mental battle for control over the fire. "Now extinguish it."
She forced it lower and lower, and could feel Harry's will straining against her. He was giving her a harder time than she was used to, but she knew that they were equally stubborn. She might not be able to extinguish a magically sustained fire if he truly wanted it to burn, but it shrank before her efforts, and a minute later, it was completely out.
She let herself fall backwards on the grass, scorched in a neat circle around her. The outside of the ring wasn't nearly as neat. Harry taught her to first focus on controlling the fire close to her, before seizing total control over all of it.
"You really made that one tough, Harry." Iris was still breathless from the effort.
Harry gave her a smile, looking suspiciously satisfied. "That wasn't me."
Iris frowned at him.
"That was Fiendfyre, and you just beat it back completely unaided. You've faced it twice before that I had to help you, but this was with no help from me."
"… WHAT?"
Harry's grin became smug.
"You let me face Fiendfyre, on my own, and you didn't think to give me a warning?!"
"What is the first thing I taught you when we started these lessons?"
She thought back, stewing her anger aside for a bit. He usually had a point when he asked something like that…
"Son of a bitch…" she whispered.
"Now, now, be nice to our mom. And what was the first lesson?"
"That I need to believe myself capable of what I want to do." She sulked.
"And would you have believed yourself capable if I'd told you what you were doing?"
She shook her head.
Harry sat down next to her. "Now that you know you can handle Fiendfyre, do you still think the dragon Saturday to be that scary?"
Iris sighed and lay down on her back in the grass, closing her eyes. "No, I don't. You said you had a plan, right?"
And Harry explained.
— Dimensional Twin —
"Professor?"
Minerva McGonagall looked at the student who addressed her. Harry Potter has found his place at Hogwarts swiftly. When she first heard of his existence, she expected him to join her house, but going to Hufflepuff for being loyal to one's family wasn't something she had issues with. He'd found his groove at Hogwarts much faster than most of the first years. Or at least, the Gryffindor ones she knew. Perhaps because of the Hufflepuff mentality of never leaving one behind. He'd been here only a little over two months, but sometimes she already forgot he hadn't been here for three full years.
"Yes, mister Potter?"
"I was curious. Who will be there to support the Champions, in the minutes they await their task?"
McGonagall considered for a moment. "I don't believe any thought has been put into that yet. Why do you ask?"
He shrugged, as if it was of little concern. "Just a random thought, really. I could imagine that they'd be very nervous right before having to perform in front of so many people. I was wondering if I could keep Iris company, as moral support."
"Very well. I don't know the rules, but I don't believe it will be an issue. Five points to Hufflepuff. I'd say it'd be a shame you weren't in my house, but you're obviously feeling at home in Hufflepuff."
The boy smiled. "Thank you, Professor. Is it okay if I also take Rose with me?"
"That's fine, but no more. Otherwise the tent will get far to full. Having a crowd there won't help your sister, either."
He was a good young man, attentive to potential problems before they even arose. Now that she thought about it, she could easily see Iris freaking out if she had to wait for a long time alone, especially if she knew she'd be facing a dragon. It would be a tough task for anyone, but Iris was there three years younger than should have been, so she needed all the help she could get. If that was the company of her siblings to keep her calm, then all the better.
— Dimensional Twin —
Iris was pacing through the Champions tent. No matter her brother's assurances, she was nervous. She looked around at the other champions. Fleur Delacour and Viktor Krum both had the company of their headmasters. Cedric had Professor Sprout softly talking with him, but she was alone.
"Hey sis!"
She whirled around, startled. Then she saw her brother and sister entering. She managed a smile.
Rose, however, wasn't nearly as composed, and instead ran at her, hugging her around her waist. Her little sister hadn't even started puberty yet, which meant that the girl's head was basically at the height of her own belly as she hugged her back.
Iris felt her smile become more real. "Hey. You sure you're allowed to be here?"
Her brother grinned at her. "I'd have been here anyway, but McGonagall even agreed that it was probably a good idea. She might not be an expert on the rules, but it's close enough for me. Anyway, we wished you good luck before you totally smash this task with a hand behind your back."
She squeezed Rose for a moment, then let her younger sister go. She sat down, after which Rose decided that her lap was the perfect place to sit down. Harry leaned on the coffee table next to her seat, while she put her arms around Rose again, who snuggled up to her in response. Her little sister had always been affectionate and loved hugs. And she had to admit that just hugging her little sister also comforted her.
Much like a plushie, actually. And it wasn't childish, because she could always claim she did it just for Rose.
"I won't hold a hand behind my back. It'll require my full attention."
Harry's face turned serious. "I mean it, sis. You're ready."
She blinked. No, those weren't tears in her eyes. "Thanks."
"Everything for my sisters." He smiled at her, and reached out to mess up Rose's hair, causing the youngest Potter to pout at him.
A bright flash distracted them, but Iris was still a lot more comfortable than she'd been before. They turned around, and Rita Skeeter entered the tent, followed by her photographer, who'd just made the flash.
"Well, hello, everyone. I just want to ask you how you're all feeling before the task."
"Rita Skeeter." Harry nodded politely. "Here to gauge the mood?"
She smiled the smile of a fox who got the chickens. "Just here to ask a few questions. So Iris, as the youngest champion, are you afraid of what the ministerial incompetence has sentenced you to?"
Iris paused as she gathered her thoughts. "I have done my utter best to prepare myself for any imaginable task they could put before me. I am confident I can save my life despite, you know…"
Rita attempted a comforting smile, which looked a bit odd on her face. "Ah, thank you. Well, I wish you the best of luck." She turned around to Fleur, starting her tour across the tent like a whirlwind of barely tolerable manners and hunger for a story.
"She still makes me feel… slimy if I talk with her too much."
Harry shrugged. "Trust me, it's a lot better than not talking to her. We're on her good side now, with a very juicy carrot and a very hard stick. We can trust her to do what she does best to our advantage."
The woman darted around the tent, never staying long.
Harry grinned. "It looks like she doesn't want to stay long, probably isn't really supposed to be here. Wasn't in my time either, but she's being more cautious about it."
But if she didn't want to be caught, she failed, because after a few minutes the judges entered the tent.
"Welcome everyone, to the first task!" Ludo Bagman was far too cheerful, but Iris didn't want to take the effort to stamp the man's mood into the ground again, even if she still considered it insensitive of him, because she was still bound against her will.
Crouch was the next to speak.
"Miss Skeeter? The press isn't supposed to be inside the tent. Please leave." The politeness of his words didn't even make it into his tone, let alone his expression.
Apparently, Rita Skeeter knew exactly what she could and couldn't pull with whom.
"Very well, then. I wish all you brave champions a lot of luck." She left the tent with only slight delays. Iris wondered whether she'd try to listen in.
Ludo took the word again. "Now, it's time for you to find out what you'll be facing. If you'd all draw a creature from this bag…" he stopped as Crouch held his arm in front of him.
"First, all that aren't contenders or judges have to leave the tent. I'm confident that your support has been much appreciated, but you may not help the champions with strategizing."
Rose and Harry both gave Iris a hug, and before she knew it, they'd left the tent. She focused on the judges, along with the other champions.
Ludo offered the bag to Fleur, who was at the end of the line, right next to Iris. "Ladies first!"
Fleur Delacour gently reached into the bag. When she pulled her hand back, there was a small, green dragon perched happily on her palm. Its tail hung over the edge. When she brought it closer to her face to study, it stood up on all fours, and breathed fire at her, the size of a candle flame. Iris recognized it from reading up on the dragon types Harry had claimed could be there, and it was a Common Welsh. It was also the dragon she'd hoped she'd get. Fleur gave a shaky smile at the cute representation of the winged bringer of fiery death that would await her outside.
Ludo approached Iris, and she reached into the back herself. She couldn't tell which dragon was which, or even any difference. Apparently, the draw would be random.
She drew her hand back and turned her palm up. There she saw one she'd least preferred, the Hungarian Horntail miniature. It was mostly black, it's torso the size of her father's thumb, with long, snakelike legs and a tail. She could easily see the four spikes on the end, as small as the points of a needle. Her mind brought up the fact that the real one would have spikes as long as she was tall. The little one answered her gaze, its yellow eyes studying her, as if it had to fight her.
Then it curled up and went to sleep.
The rest of the draw she watched almost through a haze, watching Krum draw the Chinese Fireball, leaving the Swedish Shortsnout for Cedric.
She knew she was last up, and the waiting time seemed longer than it could realistically have been. One by one, the other champions left the tent until she was alone. Then the cannon fired for the last time. She collected herself, and left.
— Dimensional Twin —
Harry and Rose went up to their seats, where they knew their parents would sit. Harry had discussed it with the Hufflepuffs in advance, and they understood totally that he'd be with his family for this one.
After a few minutes, they found them, and Rose jumped into a hug with her mother.
"Hello, my children." Lily smiled at Harry over Rose's shoulder. "Ready to watch?"
Harry tried to smile, but he knew it'd look forced. "To be honest… I think I'd have an easier time down there than up here watching. I can't help but feel that if I need to intervene, I couldn't do so in time." He turned around and looked at the arena where Iris would have to fight for her life and the amusement of hundreds. "But I prepared her best I could, and she's going to be fine."
Lily managed a smile that looked slightly more confident. "I know you have. And I trust my daughter. If you could, she can. She's had so much more support than you."
"True." He sat down, leaving a chair for Rose, who was just now disengaging the hug.
"But she's last, right? So now we can just watch what the others do, without worrying." Rose spoke as she plumped down on the seat he'd left her.
"I'm curious what Delacour will do." She smiled. "Or Diggory. He's so handsome."
Harry tried to ignore that his smaller sister was considering boys handsome. "Not curious about Krum?"
She pouted. "No, he's dour."
Well, that was accurate at least. Even his Krum hadn't exactly been sociable, and he'd never again met the man after the tournament ended.
The dragon awaiting the Hufflepuff champion was silvery, but the ridge of fin-like scales on its back was a deep blue, along with its limbs and tail. The color shifted towards its torso, but also seemed to shift based on the observer. Its snout was indeed short, leaving it with a much smaller mouth than most other dragons.
"EVERYONE, WELCOME!" Bagman's voice resounded through the stadium. "Welcome to the first task of the Triwizard Tournament! This task comprises the champion stealing a golden egg from the nest of a mother dragon. The first champion will be Cedric Diggory, representing Hogwarts. He will face a Swedish Shortsnout!"
Like him or not, but Bagman was good at selling the tournament, and the audience loved him for it.
Cedric entered the arena quite a distance away from his dragon. Harry had always somewhat regretted that he hadn't been able to watch the other champions do their first tasks, but now he'd be able to see.
He saw the boy transfigure multiple dogs and had them run around the perimeter. A wizard still had some measure of control over transfigured animals, and Harry figured he'd use them as a distraction, making them come in or bark at the right moments.
Cedric then disillusioned himself and started closing in on the dragon. From the far side, dogs started darting into the dragon's range. It flamed at them with its blue fire, even catching one. The dog yelped, and the damage it sustained canceled the transfiguration. The stone was still half-melted and glowing red from the heat. If Cedric got hit with that, he'd be dead before any reactive protections could reach him.
"Some very nice transfigurations! Our Hogwarts champion is clearly going for the distraction strategy. Let's see how it goes!" Bagman's commentary sounded.
The dogs kept luring the dragon towards one side, attempting to get it off its eggs. After what felt like an hour but couldn't have been over five minutes, the dragon rose to all four of its feet, and snapped a dog in half that had come close, spitting out the stone it reverted into.
Meanwhile, in the nest, the golden egg rose, and then faded from view.
The dragon toasted another distraction, but the dogs seemed to lose coordination, and it got them faster.
Then suddenly its mouth rose, sniffing the air. It burned in a close circle around its eggs. It smelled the ground, as if it'd detected an intruder.
Had Cedric perhaps forgotten to mask his scent as well?
Regardless, all the dogs suddenly attacked, barking loudly. The dragon turned towards them and smashed them all. A minute later, they were all dust, and Cedric dropped his invisibility close to the exit of the arena, well outside the dragon's range. The boy looked winded and pale, but he'd completed the task successfully.
"Very good, very good! Our first champion has completed his task in twenty-seven minutes. Time for the scoring!"
Bagman was the first to raise his wand, a golden eight appearing into the air. Dumbledore followed with a nine, followed by Crouch. The Beauxbatons headmistress followed with a seven, and Karkaroff gave him a four.
The audience loudly shouted at that last, but he appeared to ignore it, and Bagman summarized.
"Cedric Diggory has scored thirty-seven points! Congratulations!"
— Dimensional Twin —
Fleur Delacour was the next contestant. A green dragon was brought in, slightly smaller than the silver-blue one. It seemed no less protective over its eggs, though. The Veela came in, wearing what looked like leather armor, except for being the exact silvery color the torso of the Swedish Shortsnout had been. Dragon leather? Perhaps she didn't feel confident in the natural fire resistance she had as a Veela. Harry knew he wouldn't have.
"Our second contestant is Fleur Delacour! She will face a Welsh Green dragon."
Fleur waved her wand and glowing symbols appeared on the ground near where she stood. Then she brought up a silver knife to her wrist and sliced her artery.
Harry whistled. Blood magic was illegal in Brittain, but in the tournament, it would be allowed, as the least restrictive of the laws of the competing countries would be in effect.
And she wasn't messing around — Veela blood was a powerful reactant for several purposes.
She started chanting, while Harry tried to sense what magic she was calling.
Ah, sleep. Very useful. Veela had more powerful mental magic, sleep among them. The fact that she was casting it would amplify it, her blood would, and that she was using the long ritual form of the spell would also massively increase the strength.
All spells were just shortcuts. Each spell had a ritual that would give the spell's effect, and likely much more powerful, even if it took a while to cast.
It took Fleur five minutes to cast the sleeping charm this way — a spell a first-year could learn in an hour and then cast in half a second.
But it was effective. Her spell was powerful enough to penetrate the dragon's magical resistance, and it fell asleep, curling up on itself. Fleur gently walked closer. While she'd neutralized the dragon just fine, right now it was asleep on top of the golden egg.
She started casting a spell, then aborted it. She took a thinking pose for a moment, then cast her spell. The earth flowed out of her way, lowering the eggs, including the golden one. She got close enough, and reached in to grab the golden egg, having to touch the dragon to do so.
It kept sleeping.
Fleur gently walked away. However, when she just believed she was done and turned her back to the dragon, the dragon let out a snore, shooting a flame towards her. Because she dropped her guard, she couldn't stop the fire before it hit her. She extinguished it in two seconds, but while her clothes were scorched, she appeared unhurt.
"That was close. Miss Delacour has collected the egg, but gotten hit by the fearsome animal's flames! Don't worry, she does not appear injured."
She strode to the exit, obviously unhappy.
"Now lets see her scores!"
Bagman was again first, shooting up a seven. Dumbledore scored her a seven, while Crouch gave a six. Her own headmistress gave her a nine, and Karkaroff send up a three.
"Miss Delacour scores thirty-two points!"
— Dimensional Twin —
Viktor's dragon was a bright red, with gold accenting its every feature.
"The third champion is Viktor Krum!" The audience's response to Bagman's announcement was louder than for the other two champions.
"He will face a Chinese Fireball. Will his incredibly Quidditch talent translate to outsmarting a dragon? Let's find out!"
Krum took a solid stance, just outside the reach of the mushroom-shaped fireballs the dragon was tossing at him.
His wand movements were precise, as he cast his spell straight at the dragon's eyes.
Everyone could hear him.
"Conjuctivis."
Harry could almost taste the man's magic flow. This was a painful spell.
The dragon agreed, after failing to dodge because of the spell's fast movement. It roared in pain, stomping back. Harry noticed that even in this state, it protected its eggs before anything else. It then threw an impressive amount of fire in Krum's general direction. The Bulgarian Seeker had started sprinting forwards, and shielded against the few chaotic bits for fire getting close, but dodged most of the unguided volley.
"The conjuctivis curse is a spell well-known for being able to harm a dragon, temporarily blinding it. Given proper care, the animal will not suffer any permanent effects, which the handlers will of course give." Bagman sounded less than happy at the dragon's suffering, which made Harry's opinion of him rise slightly. Gambling debts were bad, but they didn't make him a terrible person.
However, the fire would disguise Krum's scent better, since he would smell of fire instead of human, shrouding him from the dragon's remaining senses.
He reached the dragon's nest and swiftly collected the egg.
But when he dashed away, the dragon must have heard him, as she struck forward in the blink of an eye, biting at Krum, whom she missed by a hair's breadth.
Krum definitely got scared of that, and sprinted away, casting over his shoulder. In his panic, he didn't pay attention to which spells he used, and none of the piercing or cutting curses would really do anything against a dragon.
"That was close, ladies and gentlemen!" Bagman's voice sounded loud. "She definitely didn't appreciate that."
The dragon, however, seemed able to feel the useless impacts, as it homed in on his position quicker than it did before, sending fire after him.
Krum shielded barely in time, and didn't catch it all. It didn't set him alight for long, but his hair was visibly scorched.
"And he got hit! Viktor Krum was on fire, but he extinguished himself. Regardless, he's at the exit now, so let us see the scores!"
Karkaroff was first, giving his student a ten. Bagman followed with a six, Dumbledore a seven, Crouch another six, and Maxime a one, with a glare at Karkaroff.
"And Viktor Krum beats the first task with thirty points!"
— Dimensional Twin —
Harry felt a nudge in his side and looked down. Rose was trying to burrow into his side for comfort, so he put an arm around her shoulder. It was still odd, having a little sister, but he could get used to it. He looked up and saw Lily give him a smile.
"Iris' turn now, right?" Rose sounded anxious.
"Yeah." Harry answered, looking at her again. "But don't be afraid. Our sister is awesome, and she's gonna do this better than any other could."
Rose had an unsure smile, but the Bagman started his commentary again before much more could happen.
"And welcome our last Champion, Iris Potter! The issue with the Goblet of Fire hasn't been able to be resolved. So here she is, facing a Hungarian Horntail!"
Iris strode into the arena, her back straight and her wand in hand. She didn't even look at the audience. Instead, she touched the point of her wand to her throat.
$Greetings, dragon. I seek the shiny rock hidden between your eggs.$ Parseltongue didn't have words for the metals, instead calling most of them shiny rocks. The serpents had no need for differentiation, after all.
$Greetings Speaker. You may seek what you wish, but you may not come closer to my eggs. I will burn you.$
$Your fire cannot harm me, but I will harm you if you do not give me the rock.$ Iris took a step forward in challenge.
The dragon happily answered that, and launched a massive barrage of flames at the girl, making her seem even smaller in comparison.
Iris swung her wand forwards. When the fire almost reached her, she slowly drew her wand in a circle around her head.
The fire obeyed her, starting to orbit slightly above her head.
The dragon looked at the girl in confusion.
Then Iris hardened her expression, and the fire's color shifted, turning yellow, blue, then white.
Then, with a single jab, it sped off, faster than it had been when the dragon had initially breathed it. The creature was slammed backwards a meter by the force of the blow, landing on all four legs. When the fire had passed, a big visible burn was on the front of its chest.
$Have had enough, dragon? Toss me the shiny rock, and I will leave. But if you do not, I will hurt you.$
The dragon looked rebellious for a moment.
$Fine.$ she snapped. $Have your stupid rock. But leave me alone.$ She picked up the golden egg — carefully, as it was between her own eggs — and threw it to Iris. It fell about a meter from her, so she picked it up and walked to the exit.
Bagman seemed to find his voice back. "That was… amazing. Iris Potter shows an amazing control over the fire, turning the dragon's own breath against it! Apparently, she intimidated it into surrendering the golden egg to her. What a show! Now, lets see how many points she got!"
He waved his arm theatrically, and a golden 10 showed up in the air. Dumbledore echoed his mark. Maxime gave Iris an eight, Crouch a nine, and Karkaroff another four.
"And with forty-one points, Iris Potter is leading the standings!"
Harry gave Rose's arm a squeeze. "Lets go say hi to her."
They stood up, and their parents followed.
"Are we even allowed too?" Lily asked.
Harry shrugged. "It happened last time, and I don't plan on asking anything and risking a no."
While Lily looked somewhat concerned about breaking the rules while she already knew Iris was fine, James chuckled behind her.
"Well, even if I haven't had the pleasure of raising you myself, I'm still glad to know you grew up right. Lead on, lad."
— Dimensional Twin —
They entered the medical tent where Madame Pomphrey was still casting diagnostic spells on Iris, who was pouting at the delay — and using her prize as a footstool. Rose decided that if something had happened, Pomphrey would have figured it out by now, and flew at Iris to give her a hug.
The elder sister grinned while she pulled the girl close to herself. She looked up and gave a lopsided smile at her family as they approached with a tad more dignity.
"Good job, sis." Harry tried to hug her, but it became more of a hug to Rose's back than to Iris. She smiled, and did hug him back as best she could, before Harry and Rose both pulled back.
"Thanks, bro. Couldn't have done it without you."
"That's what family's for."
Lily Potter pulled Iris into a hug of her own. "Good job, my girl, but it was horrible having to watch you… stand and let the fire approach you like that without doing anything to stop it."
Iris bore with it, holding her mother. "Harry trained me in this since the start of the year. Last practice, he even had me tame Fiendfyre." She smiled as she pulled back to look her mother in the eyes. "This almost felt easy in comparison, mother. No need to stress while I got this level of support."
Lily shook her head and resumed the hug. "Still doesn't make it easy."
Harry noticed a few tears in Lily's eyes. Apparently, it really had been hard on her. Would he have been able to make it easier? He felt like a bit of a dick to not have considered it.
James stood behind them, and put a hand on Iris' shoulder, and the other on his wife's. "You did great, Iris. And you gave them a show and outscored all other champions, despite being younger. I'm proud of you."
She smiled. "Thanks, dad."
Harry felt someone grab his arms and looked down. Rose backed up against him and pulled his arms around herself. He gently hugged her from behind, as they watched their mother calm down after what Iris had done.
A quick look around showed that Pomphrey had apparently decided that Iris was okay.
Viktor Krum was on a bed, probably under sleeping potion, an elderly wizard by his side, probably his father.
Cedric was under the influence of a calming potion, despite how well he'd done. His father was talking to him, but his answers were far too relaxed for anything else. Harry didn't blame him — dragons were scary, even if Cedric had gotten away unharmed.
Last were the Delacours, on the far side of the tent. Fleur was whispering to her parents, while Gabrielle sat on her lap.
There were fewer injuries than in his time, where Cedric had suffered some permanent facial scarring during the first task.
Harry smiled. The tournament was going well.
A/N: So, that was a bit of a wait, I know. I hope to do better in the short-term future. I have joined this year's NaNoWriMo, but I will start a new fic — A Dragon's Game, which will be a Gamer fic in Skyrim. It will be published on ffnet as normal. I'm also considering QQ, but not sure about that yet. So far, A Dragon's game is online on Spacebattles, but since FFnet hates urls, you will need to google it.