Here ya go! Enjoy, thanks for those who have already reviewed! I posted this story today! Thanks guys!
The female professor looked him over as they walked towards the Champions Tent. "I probably shouldn't have to tell you this, but don't panic. Keep your head cool, there are wizards standing by and ready to take charge should the situation get out of hand." She paused and looked at the boy with a proud look, "The main thing is to do your best and know that nobody will think any different of you."
Harry snorted, "I hope after this Task they will think different of me. Maybe they'll all get their heads out of their asses and realize that I didn't put my name in that damn cup." He stated walked slightly head of her with his hands in his pockets.
McGonagall looked over her charge and noticed the slight personality change. Before the boy would try his best to change anyone's opinion of him if it was bad, but the boy before her now could care less. He was dressed in a white button up shirt that the first few buttons undone and it was untucked. She watched as he reached up and casually conjured and hair tie to tie back the slightly longer than shoulder-length hair up.
She sighed and shook her head, brushing it off to the fact that he was being forced to grow up quickly due to being in this Tournament. She led him toward the place where the dragons were, near the edge of the forest. Harry peered around and caught sight of the tent that had been erected, facing them as to screen the dragons from view. "You're to go in here with the others," She started shakily, "and wait your turn. Mr. Bagman is in there, he'll tell you the... procedure. Good luck Harry." McGonagall said, tears pricking her eyes as she watched her favorite students' son basically walk to his death.
Harry looked up at her and spared her a small reassuring smile, "Don't worry Professor. I got a plan that should cover anything I'll see here, yo." He stated while thinking, 'Though it was mostly George's idea and I already knew about the dragons...'
The woman nodded and left and Harry entered the Tent quietly. None of the other Champions noticed him, giving him the chance to look over each of them and weigh their strengths against his own.
Viktor Krum, the Champion from Durmstrang, looked even more constipated, which was his way of showing that he was anxious about the task. Cedric was pacing up and down, his face pale and eyebrows drawn. But Harry looked over both of them and landed on the French beauty.
Fleur Delacour, the part-Veela Champion from Beauxbatons, was sitting in a corner on a wooden stool. She looked slightly scared and rather pale and clammy. Harry walked over to her and cast a discreet Cheering Charm on her. She noticed the sudden influx of happiness and looked up at him in shock.
Fleur was panicking out of her mind. Ever since her Headmistress had come back from her 'date' and told her that the First Task was dragons she had been trying to figure out a game plan. But even as she put her mind to it, it slipped away and fear replaced it.
She couldn't help but think of what the younger Champion was going to do. He was only fourteen, while the three of them were seventeen and nearly complete with their schooling. He must be panicking more than she was.
She started slightly as happiness filled her and looked up to see the boy she had just been thinking about turning the tip of his wand away and smiling down at her. Only three weeks ago the boy had been a few inches shorter than her, but now he stood at a tall height of 5' 9" and had seemed to have changed completely. When she had first seen him he was shy and downtrodden over the fact that he was being forced to compete in this Tournament.
Now he seemed more laid-back and easygoing. He was taller and his skin seemed to have darkened just slightly and seemed to hold himself completely different. His hair also held a few strands of bright red. And the last change she noticed so far was that his eyes were no longer the deep emerald green that they had been, they were now a slightly glowing blue with just a small bit of green around the pupils.
She smiled back at him and he opened his mouth to say something, only to be interrupted by Bagman.
"Harry! Good-o!" the man said happily, only succeeding in grating on Harry's nerve. "Come in, come in, make yourself at home!" Harry watched as the other two Champions looked over at him in shock, only just then noticing that he was there.
Harry looked over at Fleur and rolled his eyes, gesturing at Bagman, succeeding in getting a giggle from her. Bagman looked somehow like a completely overblown cartoon figure, standing amid the Champions. He was wearing his old Quidditch robes again, "Well now that we are all here, I believe it is time to fill you in!" He said happily, as if he wasn't about to feed the teens to dragons. "When the audience has assembled, I'm going to offer each of you this bag," He held up a small purple silk bag and waved it slightly, "From which you each will draw a small model of the thing you are about to face! There are different, err, varieties, you see. And I feel obligated to tell you something else, your task is to receive the golden egg!"
Harry glanced around again, noticing Cedric nodding and continuing his pacing. He glanced over at Fleur and noticed her color fading again and Krum somehow looked even more constipated, if that was even humanly possible. Perhaps he thought that he would be sick if he said anything. Harry just felt like chuckling, not exactly knowing why he felt so calm, but something in him told him that he had been through and against worse than a dragon.
They all kept silent as the listened to the pounding of hundreds upon hundreds of pairs of feet passing the tent, their owners conversing among themselves excitedly, laughing, joking... Harry shook his head, knowing that people thought differently than those who would have to go through the task. And almost less than a second, Harry opened his eyes to see Bagman opening the neck of the purple silk sack.
"Ladies first." He said, offering it to the frozen blonde. Harry put his hand on her shoulder and tried to transfer some confidence. It seemed to work as she took a deep breath and put a shaking hand in the bag, only to draw out a tiny, perfect model of a dragon, the Welsh Green. The number two was around its neck and Harry smirked when Fleur showed no surprise at the fact of the dragon, instead a determined resignation filled her face as she glanced over at Harry. She nodded a slight thanks and Harry inclined his head back.
The same was true for Krum, who pulled out the Chinese Fireball with a number three around its neck. He didn't even blink, just sat back down and tried to imitate a piece of stone. Cedric put his own hand in the bag and came out with the bluish-grey Swedish Short-Snout with the number one tied around its neck. Harry couldn't repress the grin when he remembered the only dragon left. He stuck his hand in and pulled out the black Hungarian Horntail with the number four. It stretched its wings and looked up at him before baring its tiny fangs.
"Well, there you are!" Bagman said, "You have each pulled out the dragon you will face, and the number refer to the order in which you will start, you see? Now, I'm going to have to leave you in a moment because I'm commentating. Mr. Diggory, you're first, just go out into the enclosure when you hear the whistle, right?" The man then turned to Harry, "Now... Harry... could I have a quick word? Outside?"
Harry's glowing eyes narrowed, "Whatever you have to say to me you can say here. Last time I was pulled away from the others in this competition my name was slandered with lies. So no, I will not talk to you outside, yo. Get to commentating old man." Harry said seriously, eyes glowing a little brighter as he turned back to Fleur.
Bagman blinked in shock and quickly left, if only to appease the angry teen. Harry watched him leave and crossed his arms behind his neck as he leaned back on the pillar, "Can you believe that? First Skeeter and now that jackass. I just want to be left alone, yo." He muttered.
Fleur looked over at him, "If you 'ad gone wiz 'im I probably would 'ave thought you 'ad cheated. An official talking to you privately. Sounds, how would the English say it? Fishy." She stated, slightly surprised that the boy didn't go.
Harry snorted and looked at her with a glowing blue eye, "That is exactly why I didn't go. We all already knew about the dragons, wouldn't seem fair getting more help. And as I said before, I don't need anymore slander against me." The French beauty nodded and they all stilled as they heard the whistle.
Harry looked over at the frozen Diggory, "Good luck Cedric." He said to the boy, who looked significantly green around the gills. Seconds later, they all heard the roar of the crowd signaling that Cedric had entered the enclosure and was now face-to-face with the living a very much larger counterpart of his model. Harry flinched slightly at the sounds coming from the enclosure and had to force himself to stay seated and not run out onto the field in attempt to save the blonde. The crowd was really starting to annoy him with their screaming, yelling and gasping in unison, as Cedric tried his hardest to get past the fire-breathing beast. But what was really pressing on his nerves was Bagman's over enthusiastic commentary.
After about fifteen minutes, all three remaining Champions heard a defeaning roar that could only mean one thing: Cedric had succeeded in getting past his dragon and captured the golden egg. "Very good indeed!" Bagman shouted, "And now the marks from the judges!' Since he wasn't shouting the marks out, Harry assumed that they were presenting them to the crowd.
"One down, three to go!" Bagman yelled and the whistle blew again. "Miss Delacour, if you please!"
Fleur moved to leave the tent when a strong hand grabbed her arm and she looked up to see glowing blue eyes, "Good luck." Harry stated, receiving a smile from the older girl. She nodded and left the tent.
Now it was only Harry and Krum left in the tent, and since Krum wasn't making any move to engage in a conversation Harry decided to sort through his thoughts, only to have the reoccurring dreams interfere.
"-no! Where are you headed so fast Slum Rat?" The old baker asked him.
He laughed loudly and free from all that held him down, "Gotta get ta work before the boss man kicks my ass again, yo!" He yelled, continueing his head long rush.
The baker laughed and told him to be careful. "Where's tha fun in that!" He called back.
He was rushing a blonde and was somehow tricked out the door and turned to see it shut, "Okay, so you're good." He said as he heard it lock. He looked through the window to see Rude come in pulling on his gloves, "Yeah, Rude! Lookin' sharp!" He called, only to lose his footing and missing the scuffle inside.
"Good... You fight like the SOLDIER you once claimed to be... You haven't lost your touch..." He heard being spoken.
"I'm still out here, yo" He stated
"Hey Partner... this thing... uh... got any bite to it?" He asked the dark skinned man next to him as he held up a bomb.
"Shin-Ra technology at its finest." He stated pushing up the shades on his eyes.
"Oh, so you made it?" Harry asked, a smirk forming.
"If nothing else, it's... flashy." A grin spread across Harry's face.
"Oh, good..." He stated.
"You love it, I know."
"Looks like we're clockin out early today!" He grinned.
Bright blue glowing eyes flashed open as the fourth whistle was heard. He stood up and stretched while trying to put the dreams out of his mind. He left the tent and entered the arena to see hundreds and hundreds of faces starring down on him. ON the other end of the enclosure was the Horntail who was crouched over her clutch of eggs, wings furled and basically looking dangerous.
"Hello..." Harry said in awe. Then he scowled as the crowd overrode his thoughts and sent up a silence barrier. He then took out his model dragon and transfigured it into a pair of classy goggles and put then on his forehead. Then he switched he wand over to his left hand. "I don't suppose there's any chance that I can ask you to just give me the fake egg that is in you nest?" He asked, not expecting to get an answer. So he was swept off his feet when the dragon responded.
"You must fight me first. Prove yourself worthy to receive this egg little warrior." The dragon stated.
Reno looked up at her in shock, "Wasn't expecting that. So what must I do? How do I prove myself to you?" He asked.
The dragon chuckled, a flame poofing from its nostrils, "We fight until you can make me bleed. I will not go easy on you Lifestream Warrior! I start, NOW!" With that the dragon lunged, causing Harry to backflip away from the claw that came at him and then duck under the tail swipe.
He dodged multiple strikes and back flipped again and carved a rune into the ground with his wand as he sped around the dragon, carving runes as he went. "One more." He muttered before planting his hands on the tail that swept at him and flipping over it to land in the exact spot he needed. 'Good' He thought as he sped towards the dragon, the runes glowing a bright red as they started crackling with electricity.
He skidded to a stop in front of the dragon and raised his wand to the sky as the red lights grew larger, "Rutilas Turbine!" He shouted strongly as a shockwave of red lightning swept across the arena. Unfortunately, or fortunately, Harry blacked out for a second as the red lightning surrounded him.
"Hey Slum Rat?" He looked over at the teenager next to him.
"Whadya want Zack?" He asked, looking back at the sky.
"You ever wonder what happens to us after we die? After we go back to the Lifestream? Are we eventually reborn?" Zack asked seriously for once.
"I dunno, and frankly don't care. I like living in the now. I'll worry 'bout the future when it gets here." He stated, closing his eyes and breathing out, smoke leaving his mouth as he held the cigarette away from his mouth.
"That's... actually really deep and slightly strange coming from you." Zack stood and started to move inside, "Thanks for the talk Reno."
Glowing blue eyes snapped open as another shockwave spread through the arena. Harry's hair grew longer until it was tied back and still reaching his butt. The top of his head was spiky as every and his hair changed from black to a bright red. A red without any orange, a plain red that was more vibrant than the Weasley's. Two red marks grafted themselves on his cheeks right below his eyes.
He landed on the ground and looked over at the Horntail, who was lying on the ground, breathing heavily and bleeding from multiple places. "So does this mean I win, yo?" He asked.
"Congratulations Lifestream Warrior Reno. I gladly accept my loss to you. You fought great little one." The huge dragon picked up the small golden egg between her claws and handed it to the re-born red-headed Turk.
Reno then turned to the crowd and released the silence ward. A almost deafening roar was heard when the Turk held the golden egg up. He looked over the crowd and spotted his group of friends and grinned when he saw them already going through the changes. "Oh my, that was spectacular. Not only has Mr. Potter finished the quickest but he also had the egg handed over to him by the dragon. Judges what do you think?" Bagman and everyone else looked over at the judges.
Dumbledore sent up a glowing ten, Maxime came next and sent up a nine, as did Crouch, Bagman sent up a ten as well, and finally Karkaroff sent up a reluctant seven. That left Reno in the clear lead with a forty-five. Reno smirked and headed toward the medical tent and entered, gaining all of the other champions attention.
He looked at himself in confusion when they all stared at him in shock, then he realized it was the fact that he had changed so much, "Side affect to the spell I used." He lied, knowing that they would not believe him if he said that he was the reincarnated person from over ten thousand years ago.
He saw his group of friends enter and smiled as they walked towards him, "Yo!" He called, causing Hermione to roll her eyes. Then he caught sight of someone he didn't want to see. "Whadya want Ron?" He asked neutrally.
"I... uh wanted to apologize..." That was a far as he got.
"I don't want your apologies Ron. You betrayed my trust when you turned your back on me. You had been my friend for three years, you should have known by then that I didn't like attention. So leave." Ron looked down sadly and did as Reno asked.
Reno then looked over at Dean, "Hey partner! Howya been?" He asked.
Dean walked over a smacked him on the back of the head, "That was for dying." He stated shortly.
Reno pouted, "Its not like I wanted to die." He said.
Fleur watched as the boy-turned-man walked back into the tent and starred in shock. Where black hair had been, a long yet spiky red mane was in its place, tamed only by the ponytail that held it back. Red marks were tattooed underneath his eyes and he held himself differently.
The Veela part of her was basically a quivering mess to the red-head, constantly repeated the words Lifestream, Turk, and Warrior. And when his friends walked in it cowered even more, especially to the young brunette girl, where it repeated the same word, Cetra, over and over again.
When he was finally released from the tent, the part of Fleur stopped whimpering and she set her goal right then and there. She would find out exactly what had happened to the boy and what the hell was going on around him.
Reno felt a chill go down his spine as he felt someone planning something about himself. 'Someone is planning something, and it has to do with me. Shiiiit.' He groaed inwardly and followed his friends.
TWO UPDATES IN A DAY! WHOOO WHOOO! AND RENO IS HERE!