Chapter 4

The first task was upon them. Harry and Hermione made their way to the stands and sat with the Weasley family. They could hear the Dragons and wondered how the champions would cope.

'Holy Merlin they have to face Dragons?!' Fred exclaimed.

'Bet you're glad you aren't in the tournament Harry' George followed.

Harry grinned.

'I'll say I am. Do you really think I'd last against a Dragon?'

'And knowing Harry's luck, he'd probably have to face up against the worst of them' Hermione remarked.

'Too true' the twins said solemnly.

OOO

Julian sat in the tent listening half heartedly to Ludo Bagman babble on. After seeing the Dragons he'd got into conversation with Cedric and remarked:

'I wonder what we'll have to do for the first task. In the past tournaments challengers were said to have to face something. Perhaps it will be some form of creature. It couldn't be too easy a creature. Maybe something big. Wouldn't it be amazing if we had to face a Dragon?'

He'd given a look to Cedric at the mention of a Dragon, and the boy had picked up on it and stared at him wide eyed. Julian had just smiled a little, given the Hufflepuff a tiny nod, and wandered away.

Cedric was pacing nervously, running though all the spells he knew in his head and trying to figure out which would help him face a Dragon. Viktor was sitting stiffly in a corner while a pale faced Fleur sat nearby wringing her hands. When Bagman offered her the bag, Julian betted with himself at who would get what Dragon for amusement. He owed himself fifteen galleons by the time Bagman came to him and with a huff Julian stuck his hand in and brought out his miniature.

'Well that's that. I've got to get out to the judge panel. Mr Diggory you will be going out first. Just wait for the whistle' Bagman said and left the tent.

'You think they'll let us keep these?' Julian mused as his mini Hungarian Horntail prowled over his hand. The three gave him looks of surprise and bemusement.

'You don't seem all that worried. Does anything scare you?' Cedric remarked. He remembered the brunette as a prefect when he started school and always thought of him as a nice guy, even though he was in Slytherin.

Julian shrugged.

'Not really. Anyway Dragons are intelligent. I bet they'll just hand over the egg if you ask them respectfully' he replied absently.

He missed, or ignored the enlightened looks on his fellow champion's faces. They heard a whistle blow and Cedric took a breath and left the tent. The three listened as cheers rang our round the stands. Julian grinned as not even two minutes later Bagman announced that Cedric had the golden egg. He sounded shocked. Sniggering to himself Julian nodded to Fleur as she left for her turn. Once more it took no more than two minutes later for her to finish and Viktor was called out. The boy gave Julian an amused look as he left the tent. Julian idly played with the mini Dragon until it was his turn. He didn't have to wait long.

OOO

'I hate to say this, but this is quite boring' Harry said as he watched the third Dragon knock the golden egg over to the Viktor. All three champions had bowed and asked the Dragons politely for the eggs, and all three Dragons obliged.

'It might be boring, but at least no one got hurt. I can't believe they would bring in mother Dragons and their eggs. Any female would be protective of their young, someone could have been killed!' Hermione fumed.

Harry nodded his agreement like a good boyfriend. She was right, and he did get some amusement by watching the faces of the judges. From the expressions none of the adults thought the champions would do something as simple as ask the Dragons for their aid, and better yet for the Dragons to oblige. He grinned when it was Julian's turn. This ought to be amusing.

OOO

Julian placed the mini Dragon on his shoulder and walked out the tent. He spotted the nest of eggs, then glanced up at the huge Dragon. She looked bored, idly playing with the chains that held her to the ground. They both knew she could have snapped them at any time, but it would have caused panic and someone may have got hurt. Besides, she knew what was going to happen, so why put up a struggle.

'Great Mother' he greeted with a bow.

She bowed back with a purr, giving a confused look to the mini Dragon on his shoulder. It roared back and she snorted in amusement, realising it was not real. The nature's child had been correct, none of the mother's eggs were harmed and each mother happily handed over the fake egg in the clutch. She bent and picked up the golden egg, stepping over and handing it to the human. Julian took it and gave her another bow of thanks.

'Thank you Great Mother. How are your clutch? Will it be long until they hatch?'

She purred in delight and brought her head round, nudging the human over to her eggs. Proudly she snuffled them. Julian knelt beside them and looked at her.

'May I?' he asked, reaching out but not touching any of them.

She snorted her agreement and he smiled, gently placing his hand over one of the eggs. It was warm, and he could sense the life inside.

'Oh they are beautiful! You must be so proud' he breathed, holding his ear close to the egg to hear the heartbeat.

She ruffled her wings with a grunt. She was proud! This was her third clutch and she had yet to loose a hatchling. Julian stood and held out his hand, smiling when she bent and snuffled it with her snout.

'I hope they grow to be as great and intelligent as their mother' he said.

She stretched out her wings and gave a roar. She liked this human, he was very respectful. Julian bowed once more before heading back to the tent. The mini Dragon on his shoulder had stayed there the whole time, purring and grumbling away.

OOO

Harry was a mixture of amazement and amusement. He truly could not believe he'd just watched Julian walk over to a mother Dragon's eggs and be allowed to touch them. Heck the Dragon even pushed him over! And she was the worst looking one! The judges couldn't believe it either. This had by far topped anything they had seen so far, and some were wondering just how powerful Julian was to have such control over the great beast.

Harry turned to Hermione while the points were being called. Seeing the points showed that some of the judges had obvious favourites, like Karkaroff. Julian had been out there the longest, but his simple act had been a shock to all involved that he received a couple of extra points, giving him a small lead.

'Looks like you were right. Had that have been me I would have had to deal with the worst Dragon. And I couldn't have seen me walking up to her and asking nicely for the egg'.

Hermione just stared at him.

'He…he just…it…?!'

Harry grinned and stood, offering her his hand.

'You and everyone else Mione'.

She snapped out her stupor and mocked glared at him, before sighing and taking his hand. Together they headed back to the castle.

OOO

'Alright Julian spill. What did you do?'

Julian stopped by the lake and looked back as the three came over to him. They'd already been spoken to by the judges and the nurse, as well as fans, before making their escape.

All four had spoken a bit at the wand weighing ceremony and, while each still wanted to win (with the exception of Julian who was just in it for the fun) they had all decided to be friendly with each other. The original three had each thought back to that decision and realised it had been a good one. They hoped their good fortune would continue.

'Do? What makes you think I did anything?' he asked, tilting his head innocently.

Cedric grinned.

'Don't give me that. You must have done something. You weren't even scared'.

'Why would I be scared of Dragons? I agree with Hagrid, they're just big softies when you get to know them' Julian replied with a shrug.

Fleur and Viktor had listened to the conversation with some amusement.

'I have a feeling you know more than you let on' Fleur said.

Viktor just nodded in agreement. Julian grinned.

'Not like I told the Dragon mothers to leave you guys alone. How was I supposed to do that when I only just heard about them today' he said.

The three shared looks of bemusement, and their attention soon turned to the eggs.

'Looks like they open here' Cedric mused.

'Well what are we waiting for? You first Mr Diggory' Julian replied.

With a smile the Hufflepuff opened his egg, and all cringed when it started screeching.

'What in the world!' Cedric cried.

Julian was looking at the egg thoughtfully. Before Cedric could close it he snatched it and threw it into the lake.

'Monsieur?!' Fleur gasped.

Julian shrugged.

'Sorry. It was a bit much'.

'You didn't have to throw it in the lake' Cedric grumbled.

Julian turned to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

'Well…you'd better go get it then'.

And before anyone could protest, he pushed the Hufflepuff in. The three watched as Cedric scrambled for a bit, then went still. Julian smirked as the Hufflepuff then grabbed the egg and surfaced.

'Sorry about that Mr Diggory, I meant to just nudge you over. Here let me dry you up'.

He focused on the fire element and let it flare over Cedric, drying the Hufflepuff. Cedric nodded his thanks, his eyes still on the egg. He was used to seeing the elder use the elements and had gotten over the surprise during his first year at Hogwarts. The other two looked on with amazement at the easy use of fire. Both had been told that the assistant was an Elemental, but while they both knew that that meant, neither had ever met one before and had no real idea what Elementals were capable of.

Both had a sudden realisation, if Julian was in this competition to win, they hadn't a hope.

'Well I suppose we'd better get to work on figuring out these eggs huh? I wonder what all that screeching is about. Kinda sounds like a friend of mine singing in the shower. Perhaps there's a way to hear it without bursting our eardrums' Julian pondered, starting up a conversation with the mini Dragon still sitting on his shoulder as he wandered off.

Cedric grinned at Fleur and Viktor's confused look.

'You know, the screeching did sound different underwater' he offered.