Chapter 6: Into the Fire

"Good luck, Lloyd," I said. I walked him up to the contestant tent, but this was as far as I could go.

He swallowed and looked up at me. "I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

I put my hand on the second year's shoulder. He was trembling. "Hey," I consoled my friend. "Don't worry. I'll be watching out for you. You'll be okay."

Lloyd nodded, but the trembling didn't stop.

"Just remember what we taught you."

Lloyd nodded again.

A voice from inside the tent broke the silence. "Come on contestants, gather round." It was that annoying man who put Lloyd through all this in the first place.

I glowered him for a moment before turning back to my friend. I took my hand off his shoulder. "You're going to do great," I said, both for his benefit and mine.

A ghost of grin splayed on Lloyd's face. "Sure," he replied, and then he disappeared into the tent. I sighed, wishing I was going instead of the second year, but I couldn't fight this battle for him.

I slipped up into the stands and looked for the rest of my friends, who had saved me a seat. Nya waved me down. We were almost at the top of the risers, and from here I could see what the first task was with terrible clarity.

Dragons. Real fire breathing dragons. Three of them were being kept in a pit near the arena, one for each contestant. My heart sunk into my stomach. No amount of training could prepare Lloyd for this.

One of the judges stood up from his box. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm Ludo Bagman, and I give you the first task, dragons!" He paused for dramatic effect before continuing. "The contestants must steal the golden egg from their own dragon without damaging the other eggs to receive the most points."

Ludo Bagman looked out at the arena to make sure the first dragon, a bluish gray thing, was set up in the center on her nest. "Let the first task—"

A loud cannon blast cut the poor judge off. He shrugged, as if to say, 'what can you do?' and then sat back down. I looked toward the tent as the Hogwarts champion emerged onto the field.

"Go, Cedric, Go!" His peers yelled.

The dragon snapped and roared as Cedric edged toward the nest. He dodged behind a boulder, and whipped out his wand. He whispered a charm, and transfigured a nearby rock into a…dog?

"Is he serious?" Jay asked.

"I guess," I replied.

The golden lab yipped and pranced in front of the dragon, tempting it forward. While the dragon was distracted, Cedric darted toward the nest. He was almost there, when the beast turned around. The crowd shrieked.

It spewed fire, catching the Hogwart's champion on the arm. He winced, but kept sprinting toward the nest, till he grabbed the golden egg. The five judges murmured amongst themselves for a moment before giving their marks. 38 total.

Next was Fluer, the pretty French lady, who was still wearing her fancy uniform to fight her dragon. She flourished her wand and charmed the dragon to sleep. She edged toward the nest, right as beast snored and caught her skirt on fire. Fluer stomped and rolled, until at last she just shot a jet of water to put the flames, like a cheap version of elemental magic. In the end, she got the egg, and the judges gave her 33 points.

I swallowed. It was Lloyd's turn. They brought the beast out, roaring and struggling every step of the way. Why did he have to get the toughest dragon? He was twelve years old for crying out loud!

I looked over at my friends, who looked twice as worried as I did. The cannon rumbled in my ears, and Lloyd edged out of the tent. The whole arena went still. The dragon spotted the invader and breathed a massive bout of flames at him. Lloyd dove for cover and hid as the blaze kept coming and coming.

I jumped out of my seat. My friend was in trouble. "USE YOUR POWERS!" I yelled.

"You got this, Lloyd!" Cole called, picking up where I left off.

Soon, all of us were shouting encouragement, until Lloyd darted out from behind the rock, blasting water from his hands to quench the flames.

"Yes!" Nya called.

I couldn't believe it! Lloyd was beating the dragon back. He was using all five elements to force the dragon off its nest so he could grab the egg. Earth to keep the beast off balance, fire and lightning to attack, and finally, ice and water to counter the flames.

The dragon was getting desperate. It was trapped head to toe in ice, and Lloyd was almost to the nest. I was practically jumping up and down with excitement. Lloyd was going to make it. He might even win at this rate!

Crack!

The dragon reared its ugly head. The remaining ice shattered. Lloyd froze. The beast was almost on top him. It opened its mouth, revealing its horrible row of teeth.

"I can't watch!" Jay cried.

I couldn't tear my eyes away. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. Lloyd lifted his arms in front of him like a shield. I ran to the end of the aisle and took the stairs two at a time. I was not going to let Lloyd die. I promised I would look after him.

Green energy crackled between Lloyd's hands, and pulsed in ball toward the angry dragon. The beast flew backwards, and for a moment nobody moved. Even the crowd fell silent.

Then, "Lloyd, the golden egg!" It was Zane, the one voice of reason in our little group.

The second year snapped out of his trance, and darted toward the nest before the mother woke up. He lifted his prize above his head, and our school went wild.

"That's my son!" Garmadon yelled at the top of his lungs. "He defeated a Hungarian Horntail!" I looked over at the teachers' booth, where everyone except Master Wu was watching, since he was one of the judges. Garmadon's face was a mix of pure joy and relief to see his son alive and well.

I looked back at the field, where the second year was already being swarmed by a heap of fans. I quickly made my way through the crowd and lifted my little friend onto my shoulders.

"I knew you could do it," I told him, craning my neck to see my friend's face.

He smiled down at me, and I grinned back. I waded back over toward the judges' box to see his marks. The rest of our friend group came to join us, right as the announcer, Ludo Bagman waved his wand in the air, forming a ten, the highest mark.

"I can't believe it," Lloyd said, "I wasn't that good."

"Don't complain about it, just take it," Jay scolded.

"Besides, that green magic was amazing!" Nya encouraged.

Next was Barty Crouch. He gave Lloyd a seven, so did Dumbledore. Wu gave a generous nine, and last was Madame Maxime. Right now, Lloyd had the same score as Fleur, and only needed few more points to tie with Cedric. The French judge could put the second year in first place!

She waved her wand and…and…it's a…six? Not the greatest score, but as I did the math in my head, a grin split across my face.

"Lloyd, you're in first place!" I exclaimed.

"What?"

"You scored 39 points, while Cedric scored 38," Zane explained. My neck was getting sore, so I set the second year down on the ground. Lloyd didn't look convinced, even though Zane's math was flawless.

"What about Fleur?" Lloyd asked.

Jay laughed. "Dude, she only got 33 points. You've won!"

Lloyd looked around. The crowd was going wild, and the other schools were staring in shock.

At last, he just shook his head. "I don't believe it."

"Everyone, settle down, I have an important announcement," Barty Crouch called. "Contestants, the golden egg you just won contains a vital clue for the next task. Without it, you will have little chance of succeeding." He stared at each contestants before continuing. "The second task will be held on the 24 of February. We will see you all then."

And with that, the crowd was dismissed. We made our way back to the Bounty.

"So what do you think the clue is?" Cole asked.

"I don't know," Lloyd replied.

"Well, let's find out," I suggested. "Open the egg."

Lloyd pulled the clasp, and a horrid shriek pierced the air. My ears throbbed. Then, just as soon as it started, the shriek stopped. We all looked at each other.

"What was that?" Jay demanded.

"The clue?" I replied uncertainly.

"How are we supposed to figure that scream out?" Cole asked.

"Perhaps it's some kind of code," Zane suggested.

"How do we crack it?" I asked him. We needed to figure out this clue as quickly as possible so we could train for the next task. Silence greeted my question.

After a moment, Lloyd yawned. "For now, can I get some rest? Fighting that dragon took a lot out of me."

"Yeah."

"Of course."

"Get all the rest you need."

Once Lloyd was gone we all looked at each other. How were we going to get our friend through this one?

AN: The tasks will be pretty much the same as Harry Potter. But there will be some differences too. Thanks for sticking with me! Please review.