AN: Hi there everyone. Thank you for your support. Here it is, the start of the tournament. Hopefully you all will like it. If not, feel free to flame me (after logging in, that is) and I will flame you back. Don't kill me at it's end though...and review. Enjoy.

Ch 9: The First Task Begins

Harry entered the 'tent of the champions' hand in hand with Fleur. Either she chose to ignore the little detail or just didn't mind it at the time, Harry didn't know. He was just happy to touch her as much as he could.

These past few days with Fleur had made him yearn for some direct skin contact from her for some reason. He would always get a kind of an adrenaline rush whenever he could initiate such contact and a little happy smile would bloom over his face, filling him with a kind of pleasant euphoria. He felt as if he could conquer the depths of Atlantis itself and fight Merlin and Morgana single handedly with Fleur by his side.

She didn't even hurt him like before with her ridiculous training methods or it was probably more like he was adapting to them better than he had initially thought he would. His broken bones didn't even hurt as much. Just a teensy beensy bit…but he could tolerate that.

He knew it was ridiculous but he couldn't help it.

He had always known that his crush on Cho Chang was pathetic. It was nothing more than a school boy fantasy, a first at that, which would have taken place a little earlier in his life had it not been for the Dursleys stunting his social and emotional growth. But with Fleur, it was all different.

It was magical.

Not like Fleur's Veela allure or something but more like true l-

"Harry" shouted Bagman happily, jerking him away from his happy thoughts. Harry almost decided to strangle the overly cheerful man on the spot but that would have required him to take his hand away from Fleur and so it wasn't worth it. The man continued without taking any notice of Harry's perpetuating scowl. "Come in, Come in. Make yourself at home. We were just wondering where our youngest champion was."

Harry didn't answer and allowed himself to be lead to the only secluded spot in the overly crowded tent by the French girl.

They both sat down on two comfortable chairs and he looked around to gauge how the others were coping with their anxiety issues. They, after all, had no one to hold hands with.

Cedric was sitting alone near Bagman with his eyes closed and a look of intense concentration on his face. His lips were moving silently as if he was memorizing a particularly difficult textbook on the very day of the exam. Harry was reminded of Hermione for a moment and a sudden pang of sadness made its way to his heart. The girl had looked a little lost and a little afraid today when he was coming down from the common room. She had probably wanted to hug him or something but chickened out at the last moment. So much for being a Gryffindor.

He shook his head in resignation and moved forward. Krum and Dumrov were sitting on the opposite sides having a staring match with each other (or were they glaring?) for some reason. Harry was getting increasingly unsure as to the emotional stability of the Durmstrang students after observing these two. He had heard that Dark Arts was bad business for a Wizard's mental health but it couldn't be that bad. What did Karkaroff really teach at that school? It always seemed that their faces were stuck in that expression. They always scowled.

'Potato', as Harry too had started calling the girl in his mind, was glaring as well. At Fleur and their still adjoined hands alternatively. As their eyes met once, Harry widened his eyes and bared his teeth, giving her the best dark look he could muster at a moment's notice. She looked away.

Harry finally turned towards his very own companion and smiled at her. During their practice together, they had somehow gone from being a teacher and a student to being companions. Fleur was understandably the only one Harry could talk to, for obvious reasons, and she herself had no friends to call her own. Also, he had noticed a certain tension between her and the headmistress these past days, though she refused to share any reasons with him. Nonetheless Harry was glad that he was the one she was closest to, if only at Hogwarts.

Fleur looked at him and raise an eyebrow. "What waz zat?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't like her."

"You don't even know 'er."

"Don't need to. She's a frenchie. Frenchie's are bad." he said wiggling a couple of fingers at her.

Fleur snorted, semi-offended at the insult thrown at her country. "I am a frenchie az well, eef you somehow forgot eet."

"Ah! But you are my frenchie, dear. That makes all the difference in the world."

Though she tried to keep a bored expression on her face, Harry saw the tiny curving of her lips but it was gone the next second and he couldn't tell if he had imagined it. "My, my, little 'Arry Potter is growing up."

Harry smiled. "Your influence, dear Fleur. Entirely your influence."

"It waz my pleasure." she answered primly.

"Eet waz my pain." he retorted, mimicking her accent.

Fleur sighed. "You are such a child, 'Arry. I wonder how much fun I weel 'ave preparing you after this task."

Harry's smile faded a bit. "Are you threatening me, Miss Delacour?"

Fleur winked. She actually winked at him. "Of course, Mr. Potter."

Before Harry could formulate a proper response to that, a horde of judges comprising of the headmasters and Mister Crouch entered from somewhere through the tent.

"Ah, Dumbledore" Bagman greeted in his loud voice. "We were waiting for you all. Has our esteemed audience settled?"

Dumbledore had a very severe expression on his face and none of the twinkle in his eyes, not unlike how he looked on the night Harry was chosen as a champion by the Goblet. The old man seemed concerned and that did not bode well in Harry' mind. He and Fleur glanced at each other and for the first time since Harry had known her, Fleur looked unsettled. She was determined though and squeezed his hand to show her support.

Harry gave her a small smile.

"Ah, yes, Ludo. The audience has settled quite well and is clearly anticipating the event to start." the headmaster replied.

"Well, well, well." the old Quidditch fanatic rubbed his palms together. "We can't let them wait for much longer. Shall we start this then?"

Karkaroff and Maxime nodded behind Dumbledore and Mister Crouch motioned for Bagman to continue.

Bagman turned towards the now attentive champions and called them forward. "All the champions, here please. Form a circle around me."

They did as such.

"Now, I will be your commentator for the entirety of the event, so you will hear me quiet often even during the task. Listen to me pretty well, as that might save your life in there." he said grandly.

"The task was initially designed to test your courage in the face of the unknown. Then, we were gifted three extra champions out of nowhere and we decided to make it a little more interesting. Now, it will test your courage, daring and strength in the face of the unknown."

"What is this unknown exactly?" asked Harry when Bagman quite deliberately paused and no one else spoke.

"I am coming to that, Mr. Potter. Do not worry." said Bagman with a beaming smile. "Firstly, this will be a team event." Harry beamed. "Both champions from each school will pair up and participate together as a team." Harry scowled.

Fleur snorted beside him as Potato glared at her yet again. Krum and Dumrov didn't give away their thoughts as their stony expressions barely changed. Cedric looked as if he was constipated. It seemed he didn't have much confidence in Harry's abilities with a wand.

"The arena has been divided into three concentric circular segments. The outermost segment itself has been partitioned into three parts. All six participants will enter the arena simultaneously through three separate gates. Each team will fight a…creature of significant size…"

"Ludo…" Dumbledore said with a warning tone.

"Fine, Albus, fine." Bagman huffed. "We'll tell them this one, alright, but at least let me explain it all to them first."

Dumbledore nodded.

"Thank you. So, where was I? Yes. So, you will have to fight this creature we'll be telling you about soon. All three creatures in this segment are of a different breed. It's your luck what you get. You can either incapacitate or kill the creature but you should do something that will cost you the least amount of time. With me so far?"

All the champions nodded.

"Now, as soon as these creatures are down, the wards to the inner level will disperse but only for those that have defeated their first foe. Inside, you will get a couple of the rarest creatures you would probably ever see in your lives. And I mean, a real couple. We won't tell you about them though, so it would be a surprise. Here, there won't be any partitions to separate you from the other teams. It's your choice if you want to defeat these creatures together or throw others in their path."

"What?" questioned Cedric. "You mean, we are allowed to attack each other as well."

"Of course. This is a competition, isn't it? No unforgivables though."

Harry was feeling a little faint, looking at the now grinning Dumrov. He looked like a maniac as he rounded his neck to look at all the champions one at a time. Krum didn't react.

"There are no wards to the innermost gate to stop you from entering the third level. You just have to get past the creatures and they won't follow. That will be difficult though, mark my words. And of course, there is one last creature in our innermost level. He is a guard by nature itself. If any of you get past him somehow, you will see a shield. The student of the school that touches it first wins."

"You mean we have to defeat six dangerous creatures in all?" asked the squat French. Harry noticed that her accent was noticeably better than Fleur's. "This all seems too awfully complex for the first task."

Bagman nodded. "As we said, we made changes to the initial plan. We decided to start it with a bang. Mr. Crouch even graciously allowed us to use all the budget we had allotted for the next two tasks."

Cedric asked something sensible. "What would you do for those tasks, then?"

"Err…"

Fleur snorted. "Isn't eet obvious? They all think none of us weel survive this."

A silence as thick as naked flesh and just as raw descended the inhabitants of the tent. Nobody breathed. None of the other champions had even guessed what Fleur had so casually spoken. It felt like they were being thrown to not only Lions in a cage, but Lions in a cage that were purposely starved for far longer than necessary just so the beasts could tear them apart with such animalistic fury that their chunks of flesh would fly in showers of blood and they would howl with pain, too weak to fight.

And the sheep would enjoy.

Frankly, Harry was probably the only one beside Fleur who took this statement without paling. What can you say? He was already preparing to die for the past month or so. This was no news to him.

"You can't be serious." said Cedric accusingly. "You are murdering us."

"Now. Now." said Bagman trying to calm down the frightened boy. "Let's not be too hasty here. There's nothing to fear except for what you signed up for. You were told this tournament is dangerous, weren't you?"

That wasn't the best thing to say apparently.

"But…But…" said Cedric paling further.

"I still suggest we should go back to the original task." said Dumbledore in a somber tone.

"Nonsense." objected Karkaroff. "We decided it and it is done Dumbledore."

"You are putting your own students at risk as well, Igor. Do not forget."

"My students are not pussies." Karkaroff laughed but stopped short as all the females including the huge Madam Maxime turned towards him.

"It's all in the name of fun. Don't worry, my boy." said Bagman trying to break the tension, thumping the Hufflepuff on his back. "You will do great. Don't you want to know what we have for you now?"

With that, Bagman took out a velvety pouch from somewhere deep in his pockets.

"Here, Ms. Delacour. You go first. This will be your first opponent."

He motioned for Fleur to take out something from the pouch. Her hand went inside and she raised an eyebrow at Bagman for some reason as she felt something around and grinned. "You went all out for zis, non?"

After a moment when everyone waited with baited breath, she took out a small black ugly lizardish creature out of the bag. It had large horns on its head, black beady eyes and its back was filled with small scales which got larger as it got around to its tail. The small miniature dragon looked at the still grinning Fleur and eyed her up, finally letting out a small puff of air and then an equally small flame which stopped short of reaching her.

Nobody spoke up until Fleur nipped the tiny little dragon on its snout and happily commented, "Cute, izn't 'e 'Arry?"

Harry nodded uncertainly.

"Well, that's the Hungarian Horntail for you Beauxbatons." said Bagman lightly. "Vicious little beasts, they are."

"Dragons…?" Potato asked.

Cedric was just opening and closing his mouth like a fish which was being held just above the surface of water forcefully, longing for a drop of water to save itself another moment of life.

Krum and Dumrov grunted in unison, as if it was normal for them to be playing with Dragons in Durmstrang. No, really. What?

"Yes." Bagman clapped excitedly. "Aren't they exciting?"

"Not so much if you have to face them." murmured Harry under his breath but Bagman ignored him, extending the pouch towards Krum. He got a green Chinese Fireball and Cedric hesitantly pulled out a blue Swedish Short-Snout. That one looked a little less dangerous than others, but then again, it would probably be a lot bigger outside.

"Well, there you are! That's it." said Bagman. "We'll just be going now and I'll call you all outside in a couple of minutes. Ready yourselves champions because this won't be easy."

With a last look, he went out with Mr. Crouch, Karkaroff and Maxime following them without a word. Dumbledore, however, remained. Looking around all the champions in turn, he sighed.

"I am terribly sorry, students. I tried to keep them from changing the initial plans but Minister Fudge intervened on behalf of Ludo…" Taking out a hanky from somewhere in his pockets, he rubbed his half-moon spectacles and put them back on. "I have no doubt that you all possess undeniable courage and represent the best your country has to offer. Do not doubt yourselves in the face of fear, for it will not help you. Throw all you can at the beasts outside and just try to live one more second each time the thought of giving up comes to your mind. I am confident that you will succeed."

A sad smile broke out on his face. "It is indeed sorrowful that our society lusts for blood so much in the name of enjoyment. Alas, it leads credence to the fact that humans themselves are beasts. Nevertheless, I wish you all the best, warriors. Whoever might win, you all are champions. Do not forget." His speech finished, the venerable headmaster turned around and strode towards the entrance of the awning.

But as Harry had already predicted, he stopped once more and turned to look him directly in the eye. "I remember a boy of twelve slaying a deadlier creature, a basilisk if I must, with the help of only an enchanted sword. If done once, nothing stops you to do it again."

Was that a hint?

~X~X~X~X~

Harry stood outside a long set of wooden doors, which were blocking his view from the chorus of spectators that were gathered around the huge arena for the first task of the previously named Triwizard Tournament, with Cedric Diggory by his side.

A little further on his left along the circular wall stood the Durmstrang champions, Victor Krum and Vlad Dumrov. On his other side were the two students from Beauxbatons, Nicole Moreau and Fleur Delacour. Each pair was standing outside two similarly huge gates, that would be opening up anytime now to pit them against beasts older than the human species themselves.

Harry's eyes were glued to the last of the names mentioned above. She was not overly tall for a girl but not too small either, an inch or so more than his current height. She had long silvery hair and a lazy smile tug at her rosy red lips even now. Her skin was exquisite, softer than silk, one simple touch enough to convince even the dead to wake up and do a little jig. She was always confident, no matter who she stood up against. He knew that she would prefer dying over loosing her pride.

She was beautiful in every sense of the word he could think of.

She had trained him, made him capable of at least having a chance of living through some accursed tournament. And he was a stranger to her at that time. She was the only one who had seen his desperation, his fear, his sheer shock at the situation he had found himself into against his wishes, and contrary to others, she had actually helped him as much as she could.

It was a testament to how much he had grown attached to her that he was still thinking about her in front of these doors that would open anytime now, heedless to that very thing that he had feared for so many days.

If this was his last day…

And Harry Potter made a decision.

He did not take any notice of the shouts of the older Hufflepuff boy as he ran in full tilt towards the older French girl. It did not look as if it was much of a margin, but in reality it was. The arena was huge, so Fleur was standing at a much more distance to him than he had initially assumed. But he ran and did not stop.

Fleur turned to look in his direction, coming out from her own musings, and her eyebrows went up into her hairline as she saw him sprinting towards her with a probably frantic look on his face.

As he finally reached her, stopping just before colliding into her, Fleur opened her mouth to say something but before she could prepare herself, Harry reached across the space separating them, hooked his hand around the back of her neck, and yanked her forward forcefully, bringing her mouth up to his in a searing kiss.

Birds froze, Winds halted and Time itself stopped its eternal run as two passionate souls collided with each other after a millennia of agonizing want. Harry took her tiny waist in one of his hands and grasped her long flowing hair roughly in a fist, mashing his lips into hers with a great force. He moved his lips against hers eagerly, forcing her to move her own lips in sync with him.

She tasted better than anything he had eaten in his entire life. She was a drug, his drug, and he was addicted to her. Oh how he had wanted her for so long and now he finally had her…it didn't matter if she wanted him or not. She was His and his alone.

Fleur remained still and stiff as a board for a full minute but then slowly relaxed in his arms and put her hands around his neck. She clung to him, trying to pull him still closer to her, opening her mouth for him to do as he pleased. Her tongue brushed his lips and Harry let her take control of their kiss. She used her tongue to explore his mouth and allowed Harry to roam his hands all over her body. Their tongues clashed and danced against each other, sating their needs and making them all the more desperate for more.

Her smooth slim figure rose parts in him that had never woken up to this degree before. She was his to touch as much as he wanted. He slid his arms over her slowly, enjoying every inch of her as much as he could. His hands cupped her ass and Fleur let out a moan of appreciation. He pinched her once and she pulled at his hair in response. He could take as much of her skin as he wished. Her shoulders, her stomach, her breasts…

"…rry…Harry?" Someone was shaking him. "Are you there? Stop daydreaming. We have to go…the dragon is waiting for us."

"What?" Harry asked, confused.

"Dragon, Harry." said Cedric, shaking him once more for good measure. "Look at him, he is looking at us."

Harry looked up and sure enough, the doors were opened. Ignoring the Dragon on the other side, he groaned. "No. No. No. That shouldn't have been a dream…This is...it couldn't have been a dream."

"It was." said Cedric in a sympathetic tone, as if he knew all along what Harry was thinking.

"God, why do I live?" Harry said, looking up at the sky to seek some answers. "It's not like I have something worth living for if that was a fucking dream."

"Harry…"

"What?" he snapped.

"Dragon."

"Why do you want to…fine. Dragon. I'll kill that bloody bastard and make my dream come true…Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa."

And Harry Potter let out a huge roar…he had a Dragon to slay.

~X~X~X~X~

Terribly Sorry...Then again, maybe not! Poor Harry...

I wanted to cover the whole battle in one go. Next Chapter is huge. But first, Review this one please!