Chapter 6: Where there's a Will there's a...Dragon?
A month went by fast, a blur. But in comparison the day of the first task was a nightmare. Waking up and realizing that I could very well be going to my doom was not at all what I wanted to be doing. I prepared myself in my red and gold track suit my mother had made for me. It had the Gryffindor emblem on the left shoulder and a big P on the back of the jacket. I put on the running shoes my dad had sent with me. I used them in the summer when I was at home, and they too were in gold and red. I looked at Hermione's bed, all neatly made. I missed her; I missed my best friend.
I walked down to the stadium with the Professor McGonagall
The tent was huge, but the stadium was bigger. All of the colors of the schools were decked out everywhere. Inside the tent were four spots, in the colors of the champion, along with beds and food baskets. I saw on my bed, feeling the velvet of the pants and touching the H stitched to my jacket. I would make my parents proud. I decided then that, if I survived, I would make it up to all of them. Suddenly, I heard a 'pst' by the back entrance. I stepped close to the cloth, and pulled open the flaps. I saw Hermione standing there. It surprised me a bit.
"Um…hi." I managed to spit out. I looked at her, and saw that she was on the brink of tears. I took her in from the cold.
"Hermione, what's wrong?" I asked. She instantly took me into a hug, squeezing me tightly. I hesitated a moment, then hugged her back. Once we pulled back, we saw that we both had tears in our eyes.
"I'm so sorry Eleanor!" she exclaimed through her tears. "I'm sorry I haven't been a very good friend."
"No, I'm sorry. I was being such a drama queen about all of this."
"No, I wasn't being a good friend. I should have been supporting you, not questioning you." We hugged again, and it felt good to have my best friend back. We both suddenly turned around and saw the other champions and their coaches gathering around.
"Now, I know we haven't had much time to talk about this but I have devised a plan."
"I'm all ears." I said. She smiled at my willingness.
"I have placed your broom by the door of the stadium. Use the spell Accio, and then call for your broom. Nimbus."
"A summoning spell?" I questioned. "That's level six magic! I can't achieve that."
"You have to try Eleanor! All you have to do is-"
"Fight whatever it is I'm up against in the hopes that my broom will come?" I asked, trying to make light of the situation. It wasn't easy. She nodded, gave me one more quick hug, then snuck out the tent door. Dumbledore and Mr. Crouch came in ready to begin the tournament.
"Having been called first, Miss Delacour will start. Followed by Mr. Krum, then Mr. Diggory and last Miss Phillips." Mr. Crouch took out a velvet bag, showing it to us.
"Inside this bag, holds what you will be facing for the first task. Miss Delacour." He said. Fleur stuck her hand in the bag, and pulled out a miniature, but very real, white dragon.
"The Alaskan Snow Dragon." He said, and passed the bag around to Krum. He pulled out a red dragon. "The Chinese Fire Bolt." Cedric pulled out a yellow dragon. "The Swedish Short-snout." The last one for was for me. Dumbledore put a hand on my shoulder as I pulled out a ferocious spiked dragon.
"The Hungarian Horntail." Of course, I get the hardest looking and ugliest one. "Each of these represent very real dragons, each with a goal to protect a golden egg. The task is simple; collect the golden egg. This you must do, for with which you can not hope to proceed to the next task. Mr. Diggory, you first." Cedric went pale, and I could see the sweat glistening on his brow. His dad patted his shoulder, and Cedric gave me a weak smile. He left to fight his dragon.
"Three of our contestants have completed the tasks. The final contestant Eleanor Phillips will conclude the first task of the tournament." A loud roar of applause came from the crowd. I was the only one left in the tent. I walked slowly towards the opening, scared for what was behind it. I opened the tent doors and was surprised to find the sun covered by grey clouds. I could hear thunder rolling in the distance. I looked around all of the cheering crowd, but their cries died down.
I looked over the terrain. It was rocky and very enclosed, the walls high and closing us around. I pulled my wand out of my pocket, ready to face the dragon. But, I couldn't see it anywhere. I moved forward slowly, anticipating an attack. I spied the golden egg, and I swiftly darted for it. But before I could reach it, the large dragon intercepted me. It reared its ugly head at me. It had a spiked head, spikes lining its back, and a nasty spiked tail. It roared loudly, penetrating the eerie silence. It instantly spotted me, blowing a hot stream of fire in my direction. I hid behind a rock just in time to miss it. I could feel the head of the fire concentrated on the rock. I noticed a chain around its neck, keeping it close to the center and giving me access to the sides and walls as a protection. I needed a distraction.
I saw a hand sized rock, and an idea sparked. I picked it up, and muttered a spell. The rock became a red bouncy ball. I turned quickly and threw the red ball across the area. I watched the dragon's attention follow the ball. This was my chance. I stood up on the rock, pointing my wand in the air.
"Accio Nimbus!" I yelled. The dragon was still distracted as I ran for the egg. I reached for it but I stumbled, missing it by inches. I looked around for my broom, knowing it was my only chance. I spied it at the edge of the ring. But as I darted for it, the spell on the rock wore off. The dragon turned his attention to me, its eyes wild for a taste for my flesh. Too bad, it was never going to happen.
I darted for my broom, its fiery breath barely missing me. I jumped onto the broom and took off to the sky but the second blast from the fire grazed my arm. The dragon became infuriated and flew at me. As it did, it broke the chain around its neck and flew into the sky.
Rain started to fall heavily. It was ice cold, and splattered my face. When I realized it was heading right for me, free as a bird, I knew I needed to loose it. But, loosing a dragon as big as a house isn't easy. I flew towards the castle, dodging its fiery darts. As I rounded the corner of a tower, I looked back and it was gone. I sighed in relief until I ran right into it. I barely missed its fire, but its tail knocked into me and threw me off balance. I fell onto the Astronomy tower, grabbing at the roof wherever I could. My feet caught on the tower water drains, breaking my fall.
As I tried to pull free, I could hear the deep roar of the dragon. I turned around and could see the spiky head, searching for me. I quickly unzipped my jacket and my black cami was instantly soaked from the downpour of the rain. I climbed along the roof, extending my hand to reach my broom which had snagged on the drain. But I wasn't close enough.
I climbed farther and I could literally hear the breathing of the dragon. Scared, I turned around and saw he was no less than twenty feet away. He breathed more fire, and I tried my best to lay flat on the roof. The fire grazed my shoulder blades, singeing my cami and exposing my back. I winced at the flames, but the rain cooled the burns quickly. I tried reaching for my broom when I noticed my wand sticking out of my pocket. Before the dragon could heart me again, I drew my wand.
"Incendio!" I cried. A burst of flame shot at the dragons eyes. A taste of it's own medicine. It yelled in pain and fell off the roof with a loud roar. I watched it fall into the grey mist, tumbling into a black abyss. With the dragon gone, I reached for my broom and flew back to the stadium.
As I flew in, roars of applause and music rippled through the air. I spied the egg and flew down. I was filthy, burned, and very cold. But I picked the egg up with both hands and raised it high. The roars of applause got even louder. As I looked up at the egg, I suddenly felt very dizzy and blacked out, falling to the rocky terrain.
I woke up in the hospital wing. My clothes had been changed to red sweats. My right upper arm was bandaged as was my upper back. I sat up and saw everyone around me.
"Hey, how long have I been out?" I asked.
"Only an hour. Dumbledore was worried about you after you passed out on the field. They didn't know what was wrong with you until Madam Pomfrey explained you were just exhausted." Hermione explained. Harry handed me the golden egg.
"All for this thing…" I muttered accepting it.
"We didn't open it. Promise." Harry said. I placed my hand on the golden clasp and turned it. The flaps opened and a bubbly crystal clear egg showed inside. But a shriek louder than the dragon filled our ears and pierced us. I quickly closed it, but the shriek left an echo in the wing. They all looked at me, taking their hands off their ears.
"What the bloody hell was that?" Ron asked.
"I have no idea." I responded.
Half an hour later I was allowed to leave. Paul, Mark, and Angela had already left for bed while Ron, Hermione, and Harry had stayed to walk me back to the dormitories. I told them the story about what happened to me after I flew out of the stadium.
"We thought you were finished when dragon took off after you." Ron said.
"Why didn't Dumbledore stop the dragon?" I asked.
"He said that they didn't have enough time or enough power to bring the dragon back." Hermione explained.
"But that was brilliant when you turned that ball into a rock. The look on the dragons face when he couldn't burn it was classic." Ron said. We arrived at the pink lady portrait. We all headed off to bed, weary of the days events.
I placed the egg on the bedside table trying to imagine what it could hold; besides a very unholy sound.
"What do you think is with this egg?" I asked Hermione. She turned to face me, setting her large book down.
"Well, it was all clear and liquidly, right?" she asked. I nodded. "Perhaps its something to help you in the next task." I rolled my eyes.
"That much I had noticed. But I meant the sound, how can a sound help me?" I asked.
"Sounds tell you things." She stated.
"But what?"
"I don't know." I gasped.
"Hermione Granger, not knowing something?" I asked in fake surprise. She quickly turned and grabbed her pillow, throwing it at me. I ducked and grabbed my own and we fell asleep with feathers on the floor.