Despite Harry's discovery that the first task included dragons, though that's the only information he possessed, Hermione insisted they have two different plans. One was designed for Harry to actively succeeding in the task before him, and the other was for actively not participating.
"I don't see the point of this Hermione," Harry complained as they continued working on his summoning spell.
"Harry you're unbelievably competitive," Hermione answered bluntly. "I don't trust you not to get into that arena and stupidly want to win."
"No, I'm not," Harry said.
"Really? Didn't you tell me that you purposefully took off on a broom after Malfoy in your first year?" Sirius asked from the two-way mirror they'd propped it up so he could correct their spell work.
"Nor do I trust the judges not to attempt to force your hand," Hermione said ignoring both wizards. "Therefore, we need to prepare for both contingencies."
While Harry grumbled under his breath, Hermione knew he recognized she was right, especially after Sirius agreed with her.
"I don't like being ganged-up on," Harry told them, his voice full of petulance.
"Then stop being lazy and complaining," Hermione snapped back at him. She sighed when he looked at her with a hurt expression, "Sorry Harry, I'm just concerned about the task. Forcing students to face dragons of all things!"
"Sorry pup," Sirius said from the mirror. "Hermione's right. Dragons aren't a creature to take lightly, and I don't trust Fudge or Dumbledore at this point. I'd be shocked if they don't try to force you to actively try to win, and I'd rather we have a backup plan."
"I know, I know," Harry said irritated at the both his godfather and best friend. "That doesn't mean I have to like it."
"Alright Lily," Sirius said sarcastically as both students turned and looked at him. "Your mum hated being corrected, especially by me or James. She always got right pissed the few times it happened. Not graceful that one."
Neither Hermione or Sirius commented on the sudden grin that appeared on Harry's face at the memory. A few more practice attempts, and Harry had mastered the summoning spell. "I wish I could just summon the cloak. That way no one would see me compete. It'd serve them right for trying to force the issue."
"Well there is the disillusionment spell," Sirius said thoughtfully. "Normally you wouldn't learn it till your seventh year, but you've been able to pull off the Patronus which is considered more advanced."
"What's it do?" Hermione asked curiously. "Can you teach us?"
"It doesn't make you truly invisible, more like a chameleon where you blend in with your surroundings. It still would be difficult to actually see you from the stands," Sirius answered. "I can teach you, but you'd need to mask your scent Harry if you went near the dragon. It'd also piss off Albus to no end, not to mention not being able to see you would make it more difficult for the judges to make a decision."
Harry and Hermione were grinning by the end of Sirius' assessment of Harry's new plan. However, as they both continued to struggle with mastering the disillusionment spell, their glee faltered until Sirius pulled Remus into the mirror to help correct their wand motions.
The morning of the first task, Harry was struggling to eat, despite Hermione's insistence that he do so. Ron's snide comments to Dean and Seamus certainly didn't help, and while Fred and George's terrible attempts at flirting with Hermione alleviated Harry's stress it only infuriated her. It wasn't until Hermione hexed both twins simultaneously that they finally backed off, while making puns about being wounded by love. Harry was in stitches from laughing so hard over the situation. Ron's ears, on the hand, were burning red.
After Harry drew both the dragon and his placement, he was informed he would go third against the Hungarian Horntail. The youngest champion, facing the fiercest breed of dragon had the audience enraptured, and salivating over whether he would survive or not. Irritated by her classmates, Hermione openly grinned when Harry entered the arena and successfully cast a disillusionment charm on him. Knowing the plan, she hoped he remembered the anti-scent charm.
Their plan was for him to literally sit in place until the judges ruled against him. All around her, students were whispering about how Harry Potter managed to vanish, and she held the twin mirror up (discreetly) so Sirius and Remus could watch.
It took the judges an hour to realize something was amiss. After the second hour, the judges were demanding intervention and asking if the youngest champion was even alive. By the third, the judges finally order a hominum revelio charm cast, which of course was ineffective considering the audience. Finally, at the fourth hour mark, Harry's disillusionment charm faded, and the judges saw him sitting in the exact spot he disappeared from. Hermione shook her head when she saw the golden egg in his lap, while Sirius laughed uproariously at his godson's audacity to complete the task and waste everyone's time.
"James would be so proud!"
"Lily would've been furious," Remus muttered as he shook his head.
"Details Moony," Sirius answered still laughing. "Good call on preparing him Kitten."
"I don't know whether to be proud or if I should kill him."
"Keep in mind how much time you would have wasted on tutoring him if you murder my godson," Sirius told her. "Also, I'd adopt you for revenge and make your dating life miserable."
"She's fourteen," Remus interrupted. "Hermione should not have a dating life."
"When did you two become a couple?" Hermione asked, trying to change the topic and mock the two wizards.
"I think it was fifth year," Sirius said offhandedly, as Hermione's jaw dropped, and Remus punched him in the arm.
"I'm telling Harry!"
"He doesn't know?" Sirius asked before turning to Moony. "Haven't we snogged in front of him?"
"Pads I'm going to murder you," Remus growled.
"Aww, I haven't heard that since the last time I irritated James."
"On that note, I'm going to go find Harry," Hermione said before putting the mirror away. She made her way down to the champion's tent, and once inside hugged Harry. Before she could finish congratulating him, a bright flash exploded, and a curly-haired blonde was asking questions.
"Is this the Chosen One's girlfriend? My readers will be ever so interested to learn he's no longer a bachelor!"
"Ew."
"Gross."
Hermione and Harry looked at each other after they'd spoken simultaneously and grinned. The reporter did not seem to care about their mutual responses and continued asking questions.
"Come on, let's head out and see your scores," Hermione said, grabbing Harry's hand and dragging him past the obnoxious reporter. True to Sirius' predictions, the judges took nearly two hours arguing amongst themselves about how to effectively score Harry's attempt. While most students looked irritated at the delay, Hermione and Harry kept giggling over it.
Eventually, when the judges did finally come to a consensus, Harry and Hermione were shocked to see they'd scored him well enough to tie for second place.
"Clearly you're terrible at losing," Hermione muttered. "We should've expected that, after all you won a quidditch game by swallowing the snitch."
Rather than be irritated by her response, Harry laughed uproariously and asked about Sirius and Remus' response. When she told him, he continued laughing over the banter between Remus and his godfather.
"Poor Remus," Harry said. "Can you imagine dating Sirius? He'd be a nightmare!"
Unfortunately, their glee came to a halt once they were seated by the fire in the common room. Rather than celebrate, which the Weasley twins insisted upon, most of the students grumbled about Harry's strategy.
"He clearly cheated," Ron loudly said to Seamus and Dean. "I mean becoming invisible, how are we supposed to know how he got the egg?!"
"Harry it's not your fault when people can't recognize spectacular magical skill when you see it," Hermione said in equal volume to ensure Ron could hear her insult.
"I mean, he cheated to enter the tournament, is anyone really surprised he'd cheat to get to second place in the first task?" Ron continued, his ears turning pink over Hermione's insult.
"Mione, it's not worth it," Harry muttered. "Just ignore him."
"You didn't cheat!"
"We know that, but we're not going to be able to change Ron's mind. Just let it go."
"It's a shame our house has him as a champion," Ron continued. "Can you imagine the embarrassment it'll cause us?"
Losing her temper, Hermione pulled her wand and pointed it at Ron, "Watch your mouth!"
Before Ron could react, she hit him with the same slug spell he'd tried to use on Draco Malfoy in their second year.
"I'm going to bed Harry."