Harry followed behind Parvati as she put up SPEW posters. "Ok, Harry, you can put one on that side" she pointed to one side of the courtyard, as she placed posters against a tree and used her wand to magically affix them.
"Ok"
Several minutes later, the last of the posters were gone. "It's almost dinner time." Harry mentioned casually.
"Hmmm." Parvati replied, as she checked off the locations that she had put up her posters from a master list.
"Do you mind if I sit with you for dinner?" Harry asked meekly.
Parvati looked at him calculatingly for a moment before smiling and replying "Sure!" brightly.
*zero*zero*
Harry kept wondering what to do next. he was sitting with the Gryffindors for dinner, next to Parvati. she was chattering away with Lavender.
"And I have read that Christian Dior will be introducing their winter line late this year - They claim it is because they are going to make a bold new statement, but I heard that their their chief designer was in hiding after his affair with an underage male models came out."
She wasn't trying to exclude him, but she seemed oblivious to the fact that he didn't know anything about the world of fashion. Harry tried to listen and pretend to be interested, but without much success: Lavender's enthusiastic stories about the treatment of 'underage male models' were kind of... eww. And He didn't know any of the Gryffindors well enough to strike up a conversation. So he did like at the Dursleys: he hunched down to weather the storm and ate methodically.
"Hey, have you got all of Hein one down?" Ron dropped into the seat across from him. Hein one was the Kata that Prof Loew was teaching them.
Harry looked up gratefully, "Yeah, though I still need to practice the turns at the end."
"Ok, good. Then you can help me with it after dinner."
Harry nodded gratefully.
"Harry, would you please come with me?" Flitwick had come up behind Harry.
"I guess the practice session is off" shrugged Harry as he got up. 'I'm free!'
"Mm" Ron replied, taking that to mean he could stuff himself without fear of throwing up during the workout.
*zero*zero*
Flitwick led Harry to a small meeting rome, where the three other Champions were already waiting, along with Bartemius Crouch, Ludo Bagman, Percy Weasley and several strangers. There was a side table piled with small snacks off to one side.
Bartemius Crouch smiled, "Welcome. I scheduled this meeting so that members of the press would have a chance to meet you before the first task. The Headmasters have kindly agreed to a short, informal session. So I am now going to stop talking and let you get to it."
Before Harry had a chance to get his bearings, a perfectly coiffured, hard faced woman dressed in a sharp business robe materialized in front of him, "So Harry, tell me how it feels to be the youngest Triwizard contestant in history?" she smiled in an artificial way as a quick quotes quill hovered over a parchment at her side.
Harry froze. He never liked talking to strangers, and this woman reminded him of Vernon. "Uhm, ok, I guess"
"Do you find you are treated differently by your classmates? Are they jealous of your status?"
"I don't think so" Harry thought the woman was barking mad, but there was no way to escape her inane questions. 'How do I know what's going on in their heads? It's not like I'm friends with them. And why would I tell *you*?'
"With the first task approaching fast, do you feel that you are ready, or do you feel that Dumbledore thrust you into a situation that you are not prepared for, in order to generate some publicity?"
Harry's mind froze - the first task was just over a week away. He had been avoiding thinking about it, but this woman had made it was unavoidable.
"Uhm. Yeah," Harry mumbled, his heart hammering, as he broke out in a cold sweat. He stood still as a statue
After several more non-answers, the woman reporter got tired of his reticence, and swooped down on easier prey.
As Harry took the opportunity to flee, he saw her jostle aside a larger man to place herself directly in front of Victor Krum.
*zero*zero*
Harry fled outside, hoping to calm down by taking a walk. He was planning to go around the lake, but when he got there, he realized that it was too dangerous to do so at night: without any illumination it was too easy to trip on one of the little gullies and fall into the lake, to be eaten by the giant squid. Or something. Harry had never been good at swimming.
Harry sighed in frustration. He didn't want to go back to the castle. He needed to be away from people, to have space to move. He thought about doing some katas, but decided that if anybody saw him, he would look like a dork.
As his mind was locked in an agitated loop, his feet took him down the fields, towards the forbidden forest. As he got to the edge of it, he turned to walk parallel, keeping a healthy distance from the trees - there was no telling what could be hiding in there.
Harry wasn't certain how long he had been walking, but the autumn chill was starting to make him uncomfortable. He considered turning back, but he felt the need to accomplish _something_ no matter how useless, so he decided to complete the circuit of Hogwarts' grounds.
*zero*zero*
He was back behind the quidditch pitch when he made his discovery. It was in an area that was hidden from view by the stands, and usually there was nothing there, except sometimes delinquent students smoking stolen cigarettes (Harry remembered the one time he had tried one - he had almost coughed up a lung. Draco thought it was hilarious, though he himself refused to try one, on the grounds that it was below him. Somehow, that didn't bother Crabbe or Goyle, both of whom smoked on the very rare occasions that they could get their hands on some cigies).
But now, there was a tent and gear strewn about, and several corrals.
Harry crept closer.
He must have stepped through a silencing charm, because all of a sudden, he heard snuffling and hooting from the corral in front of him, interrupted by a bellow from off to his right. Harry froze. could it be... He stared into the darkness - it was a clear night, but there was no moon. All of a sudden, a huge form lethargically shambled towards him.
A dragon.
A shot of adrenaline coursed through him. The first task would involve dragons.
Somehow, knowing what would kill him made Harry less anxious. He relaxed and looked at the monster, standing stock still. It really was quite attractive. The scales were rigid, and moved sinuously against each other as the dragon walked. The dragon slowly ambled along the fence and snuffled.
The dragon then reached over the fence and gently tried to bite his head off.
"Eep" Harry dropped backwards and scampered away on all fours before regaining his footing. He glanced behind him, but the dragon was somehow constrained in the corral.
But there must be a dragon keeper somewhere around, and there is no way that Harry was supposed to be back here. He glanced around, his heart hammering, and he took off at a run, back the way he came.
*zero*zero*
"I knew that" Draco replied airily.
"Then why didn't you tell me about the dragons?" Harry replied heatedly, "or do the odds favor me dying in the first task?"
"I just found out myself last night - I overheard Karkaroff telling Krum about it on my way back from dinner" Draco replied defensively.
Harry looked at him disbelievingly. The two boys were talking in the corridor. Harry's panic was giving way to anger at his friend's lack of concern.
Harry glared at Draco, and the blond boy glanced around uncomfortably, for once at a loss of words.
"Draco, I think you were on your way to the bathroom." Luna drifted in between the boys and snagged Harry's sleeve. "come along, Harry we don't want to be late for our remedial class." Draco stood for a moment, conflicted as to whether he wanted to argue with the crazy girl, or just avoid her. Avoidance won out, just in case her 'school pariah' status rubbed off.
Harry glanced at the odd girl, "It's not a remedial class. It's tutoring."
"I like being in the same class as you. It would have been better if you were in my year."
The two teens walked towards Flitwick's classroom "Uhm, I like being where I am." Harry gently tried to pull his sleeve free
"Oh, me too" Replied Luna dreamily, holding tight to Harry's sleeve.
"Umm, Luna? Do you know anything about dragons?"
"A bit. Sweden is very cold during Christmas."
"What? What does that have to do with Dragons?"
"Daddy likes to spend christmas in Sweden - All the stars twinkling through the trees is very... special. But it is so cold. The only place that's nice and warm is the dragon preserve. You see, it's rutting season for the Norwegian Ridgeback, and the males display for the females by breathing fire everywhere. Daddy and I volunteer to help put the fires out. It's really very toasty. And once night falls, the Dragons go to sleep, and we can watch the stars. You should come with me, this year." Luna replied.
Harry stopped in the hallway, "Do you know of any way to kill a dragon?"
"I am not certain if I am supposed to be helping you with the Triwizard task," she replied with an odd smile.
"How do you know I was referring to that?" Harry asked suspiciously.
"Because, unlike some, I know how to use my ears." At Harry's puzzled look, "Draco? Remember your conversation with your constipated friend?"
"Oh, yeah," Harry looked relieved.
"And besides, I doubt you will have to kill a dragon - Dragons are a protected species under the Pwyll International Game treaty of 1885" She turned and walked into Flitwick's classroom.
Harry wasn't certain, but he thought Luna might be annoyed about something. He never could tell what was going on in the odd girls mind, despite being a good judge of other people's moods (a survival skill in the Dursleys household)
*zero*zero*
Harry concentrated as he held the O-Fuda paper in his hand. then, with a flourish he threw it into the air an pronounced a word in japanese (or so he hoped).
The sheet of paper fluttered through the air, leaving a trail of identical paper turning in the breeze. Soon, the air was full of papers, hovering in a vaguely wall like shape.
But nothing further happened.
"Argg!" Harry Potter yelled in frustration.
"Venti" he cast a weak banisher at the lot, but instead of scattering the papers like confetti, the whole lot of them just flew to the other side of the classroom spinning even faster. Little pieces of paper were scattered all over. 'This is going to be a mess to clean up'. Harry didn't want to leave any evidence of his misdeeds.
"Harry, that was good progress" Hermione reassured her friend. She was holding a sheaf of notes, and she took a moment to add to them, writing down the results of this last attempt before continuing. "I wish we could get an audio clip of how the japanese is supposed to sound - I think you just need to perfect the pronunciation a little-mmm!"
A piece of swirling o-Fuda paper smacked into her head, wrapping around her face. As she struggled to get the animated paper off, Harry cast Finite Incantatem.
"Hermione, I don't have the time. The First Task is in less than a week. This spell was supposed to create a wall, to keep the dragon away from me."
"Ok, well let's see what I found about dragons instead", replied Hermione with a sigh, switching topics. She pulled out a large tome and placed it on the desk in front of her. She opened it to a bookmarked page and leaned in to read the small, crabbed writing.
Harry pulled up a chair and sat down next to the Beauxbatons girl, peering over her shoulder at the book in front of her.
"So, uhm, according to this, uhm." Hermione started, flustered, "Harry, give me some space, I can't see the book."
"Oh, sorry" he sat back.
"According to 'Mugethorps Bestiary, XXIV edition' dragon hide is very resistant to spells, but their eyes are not. The traditional method of hunting a dragon involves blinding the dragon with a spell to the eyes, followed by stabbing it with a magic sword."
"I don't think there _are_ any magic swords, outside of museums. Besides, I don't know if I am supposed to kill the dragon."
"Harry," sighed Hermione in exasperation, "you could cast a conjunctivitis spell on the dragons eyes, to blind it."
"Oh, that could work" Harry scratched his head sheepishly. "Does your book mention anything else?"
"It says that not all dragons breath fire, but for those that do, the fire is extremely hot, and can't be countered by flame extinguishing charms,. There is also a footnote saying that there are unsubstantiated rumors that Johan Slytherin (I guess he was a decedent of Salthazar) authored several spells in Parseltongue that were more effective on dragons. But given that Parseltongue can't be learned - it's an innate ability some wizards have, that's not much use to you."
"Well, ok" Harry gathered up his book bag and was about to rush off to his next class - Potions - when the thin little sliver of social graces that Harry had somehow accidentally acquired tickled the back of his mind. He turned around, "Umm, thanks for all your hard work, I really appreciate it" he half stuttered, before heading out the door.
*zero*zero*
"Potter! Are you asleep?" Snape snapped from behind Harry's left shoulder. It was Potions, Friday before the first task, and understandably enough, Harry was a little distracted.
Harry jumped. Why did that man always have to talk to him from behind? It put him in mind of a snake attacking its prey.
"Uh, no professor, I just zoned out a little."
"So I can expect a ruined potion from you again?"
"No, it's all done. The instructions just said to leave it over the hot embers after you extinguish the flames."
"If you had been paying attention earlier, Potter, you would have heard my explanation that we will not being doing that."
"Why not?" Harry asked before he could stop himself. He tried to avoid drawing attention to himself in Potions, so as to avoid being chewed out by Snape (any conversation with the sour professor involved a liberal dose of criticism, which Harry heartily disliked).
"Because this recipe is for a commercial Boundless Energy potion, and the long slow cooling off extends the shelf life of the potion. Seeing as I will be checking your potions this evening, I saw no reason to waste three hours watching your cauldrons cool."
"Oh, that makes sense" Harry replied, pushing his luck.
"Potter, everything I say makes sense. The fault is not with my words, but with your brain," Snape snapped.
Oddly, for once Harry wasn't intimidated. He wasn't certain if it was his certainty of impending death in the First Task, or if Snape was going easy on him, or what, but Harry kept his wits about him, and as the professor walked off, he poured off about half the potion into a spare flask and dropped it into his book bag before filling his exam vial to hand in to Snape.
*zero*zero*
It was the day of the first task. Harry picked at his breakfast. The eggs looked too runny, and the bacon too greasy. The toast was as dry as ashes, but he made managed to gag at least that down. He figured he would need energy for the Task.
"Hey, cheer up, by this afternoon it will be all over." Draco and his two goons dropped down opposite Harry, startling him.
"Yeah."
"Come on, you should head down to the quidditch pitch." Draco added cheerfully. He was obviously excited about watching the upcoming task. "You don't want to be disqualified for not showing up, do you"
"What, you got money riding on me again."
"Always, dude." Draco smiled, trying to make a joke out of it.
Harry pushed back his chair and stormed off.
*zero*zero*
"I'll walk with you" came a voice from behind him as Harry walked out of the great Hall. He turned in surprise to see Goyle running to catch up with him..
Harry's anger warred with not wanting to face the task all by himself "Ok".
Harry made his way down to the contestant's tent that had been erected at the edge of the quidditch pitch, with Goyle quietly lumbering at his side. It was a surprisingly warm day for this late in the year, with the sun shinning cheerfully as Harry walked to his doom.
The stands around the pitch were already full of students, parents, and random wizards from across Europe. Harry wondered if they had been magically expanded.
The noise was a physical thing. A constant push of hundreds of conversations, of yelling, cheering and annoying toy noisemakers.
"Good luck" Goyle pronounced as they reached the contestants tent. "Sorry Draco was being a dick. It happens sometimes." He added with a shrug.
Harry nodded and stepped inside. The tent had been magically expanded into a comfortable waiting room, with a water cooler, several comfortable armchairs and even a bathroom.
Krum and Cedric were already inside the tent. Cedric was pacing anxiously, while Krum was leaning back in a chair, looking at ease.
"Ah, Harry, welcome, welcome," Ludo Bagman waved him in. "take a seat. We will be starting as soon as... ah, there you are Fleur. I was just telling Harry that we are ready to start" Crouch smiled as Fleur impassively marched in and sat down primly on the edge of a chair. In addition to the four champions and Ludo, there was Percy Weasley - a recent graduate of Hogwarts, and now apparently an assistant to Bartemius Crouch.
"Ok, here is how this task will work. Each of you will have to retrieve a golden orb and cross to the far side of the pitch. The tricky part is that the golden orb is being guarded by a dragon that believes that the orb is its egg. Now traditionally, you would each face a different breed of dragon, provided by a different wizarding nation, but we decided to standardize on the Hungarian Horntail, to make the contest more even, and since we had a good stock of them at the Magyar Dragon Preserve." Ludo winked at the last statement.
"Don't worry, you will each have your own dragon."
That did nothing to reassure Harry.
Ludo picked up a pouch and held it out to the teens, "please reach into this and pull out a stone. They are numbered to determine what order you will compete in."
Harry's stomach was in knots as he pulled out a flat piece of stone. "4"
"Very well. You know your order. I need to go up to the judges stands. Mr Weasley will stay with you, in case you need anything at the last minute." The the stiff young man nodded, still without any expression.
Ludo walked out quickly.
"You ready, Harry?" Cedric asked. forcing himself to sit down.
"I hope so. Dragons are pretty tough customers."
"I Know. I can't believe they're willing to use such a dangerous creature."
With a start, Harry realized that Cedric had not known that the first task would involve dragons. He glanced at the other two champions. They didn't seem to be surprised (though with Krum, it was hard to tell - he fairly unflappable).
Harry felt vaguely guilty for not informing Cedric. He was a good guy, and Harry had learned a lot in his tutoring sessions.
There was a cheer from outside.
"I guess they're starting. Good luck, Ced."
Cedric nodded and got up. and exited the tent.
There followed more cheers.
Then quiet.
Then cheering, then a horrible sound like a collective gasp.
The three remaining champions shared a look of dread.
The moments ticked away. Then slowly, there was more cheering, starting quiet and then growing louder.
The waiting was interminable. Harry's bowls were knotting themselves up.
Percy glanced down at a parchment on his lap, "you're next, Mr Krum."
He exited, to explosive cheers. This time the cheering was in unison, and Harry could make out that the spectators were chanting "Krum, Krum, Krum."
The cheering never faded away, and in a very short time crescendoed.
"Ms. Fleur" the Gatekeeper (as Harry was starting to think of Percy) nodded at Fleur, who exited.
Cheering
Quiet
A gasp, followed by quick cheering
Harry took a moment to go to the bathroom. Inside, he pulled out the boundless energy potion that he had nicked from class. He wasn't certain what the correct dose was, but figuring 'better too much than too little' he swigged down as much as he could before hiding the flask in his robes again and finishing up other business.
When he back out, there was loud cheer from outside. Harry steeled himself.
"Mr Potter." the gate demon (erh... man) pronounced with a nod, as he expelled him into the outside.
Harry took a deep breath and stepped out of the tent.
Please review - it helps motivate me to write more (and to fine tune what I write)