Chapter 21
The First Task
KIARA
I got up on Sunday morning and dressed so inattentively that it was a while before I realised that I was trying to pull my hat onto my foot instead of my sock. When I'd finally got all my clothes on the right parts of my body. I hurried off to find Chris and Sian, who were situated at the Lion-Heart table in the Great Hall, where they were eating breakfast with Beth, Kestrel and Merida. I felt too queasy to eat anything, so I waited until Chris and Sian had finished eating, then I dragged them out into the grounds for another walk. It was there that I told them all about the dragons, and about everything my parents had said, as we took another long walk around the river.
They were both clearly alarmed by my parents' warnings about Kula, but they both agreed that the dragons were the more pressing problem.
"Let's just try and keep you alive until Tuesday evening," Sian said desperately, "and then we can worry about Kula."
We walked three times around the river, trying all the way to think of a simple spell that would subdue a dragon. Nothing whatsoever occurred to us, so we retired to the library instead. Once there, I pulled down every book that I could find on dragons, and the three of us set to work searching through the large pile.
"Talon-clipping by charms ... treating scale rot ... this is no good, this is for nutters like Mina who want to keep them healthy ..."
"Dragons are extremely difficult to slay, owing to the ancient magic that imbues their thick hides, which none but the most powerful spells can penetrate ... but my parents said that a simple spell would do it ..."
"Let's try some simple spellbooks, then" said Sian, throwing aside Men Who Love Dragons Too Much.
She returned to the table with a pile of spellbooks, set them down and the three of us began to flick through each in turn, Sian whispering non-stop at mine and Chris' elbows. "Well, there are Switching Spells ... but what's the point of Switching it? Unless you swapped its fangs for wine gums or something, that would make it less dangerous ... the trouble is, like that book said, not much is going to get through a dragon's hide ... I'd say Transfigure it, but something that big, you really haven't got a hope, I doubt even Professor Darbus ... unless you're supposed to put the spell on yourself? Maybe to give yourself extra powers? But they're not simple spells, I mean, we haven't done any of these in class; I only know about them because I've been doing OWL practice papers ..."
"Sian," Chris said through gritted teeth, "will you shut up please? You're constant talking isn't helping Kiara to concentrate, you know."
I smiled gratefully at Chris, but the gratification was short-lived; for all that happened when Chris and Sian fell silent was that my brain was filled with a sort of blank buzzing, which didn't allow room for concentration. I stared hopelessly down the index of Basic Hexes for the Busy and Vexed: instant scalping ... but dragons had no hair ... pepper breath ... that would probably have increased the dragon's firepower ... horn tongue ... just what I needed, to give it an extra weapon ...
I was distracted by Sian, whose head had just popped up and spun towards the door, before she bent her head low again, face flushing. I looked round and saw Kopa, followed by Kovu Outsider. Kopa didn't even look our way, which I found odd, for I was sure that he would have looked at Sian. Whatever had happened between clearly had yet to be resolved. Anyhoo, Sian then suggested that we take our books back to the common room, so that we could concentrate better away from Outsider's fan club. But Chris and I weren't fooled; we just knew that she wanted to get away from the library because she was going to get distracted by Kopa's presence.
She wasn't wrong about Outsider's fan club though, for as we left the library, a gang of girls tip-toed past us in the library, one of whom was wearing a South African scarf tied around her waist.
0000
I barely slept that Sunday night. When I awoke on Monday, I seriously considered - not for the first time in my Dragon Mort years - running away from Dragon Mort. But as I looked around the Great Hall at breakfast time that Monday morning, and thought about what leaving the castle would mean, and I knew I couldn't do it. Dragon Mort at the time was my second home, the first, obviously, was my grandmothers' cottage. And speaking of my grandmothers, I knew that they and my parents would have been extremely disappointed that I had left, no matter how scared I was. At Dragon Mort and with my grandmothers I was happy ... well, I supposed that I must have been happy with my parents, too, but of course I couldn't remember that. Although, living in the Pride-Lands now, I can see why I was happy with my parents back in the day.
Anyhoo, somehow the knowledge that I would rather be at Dragon Mort facing a dragon, than back in the south of Wales, where I would have to face Aunt Mavuto and Uncle Frank (as well as my grandmothers) was good to know; it made me feel slightly calmer. I finished my bacon with difficulty (my throat wasn't working that well) and as Chris, Sian and I got up, I saw Georgia Diggs leaving the Badger-Stripes table.
It hit me then that Georgia still didn't know about the dragons ... the only person that didn't, if I was right in thinking that Legrand and Kula had already told Ferdinand and Outsider ...
"Chris, Sian, I'll see you both in the greenhouses," I said, coming to my decision as I watched Georgia leaving the Hall. "Co on, I'll catch you up."
"Kiara, you'll be late, the bell's about to ring - " Sian began, but I cut her off.
"I'll catch you up, OK?"
Chris dragged Sian off towards the grounds, as I went to the marble staircase. By the time I reached the bottom, Georgia was at the top. She was with a load of her sixth-year friends. I didn't want to talk to Georgia in front of them; they were among those who had been quoting Peter Meter's article at me every time I went near them. I followed Georgia at a distance, and saw that she was heading towards the Charms corridor, and that gave me an idea. Pausing at a distance from them, I pulled out my wand, and took careful aim.
"Diffindo!"
Georgia's bag split. Parchment, quills and books spilled out of it onto the floor. Several bottles of ink smashed.
"Don't bother," said Georgia in an exasperated voice, as her friends bent down to help her, "tell Winds I'm coming, go on ..."
I was congratulating myself that for once one of my plans had gone without a hitch, for that was exactly what I had been hoping for. I slipped my wand back inside my robes, waited until Georgia's friends had disappeared into their classroom, and hurried up the corridor, which was empty of everyone but myself and Georgia.
"Hi," said Georgia, picking up a copy of A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration that was splattered with ink. "My bag just split ... brand new quill and all ..."
I didn't want to beat about the bush, so I just decided to get straight to the point. "Georgia, the first task is dragons."
"What?" said Georgia, looking up.
"Dragons," I said, speaking quickly, in case Professor Winds came out to see where Georgia had got to. 2They've got four, one for each of us, and we have to get past them."
Georgia stared at me. I saw some of the panic that I had felt since that infamous Saturday night flickering in Georgia's grey eyes.
"Are you sure?" Georgia said, in a hushed voice.
"Dead sure," I said. "I've seen them."
"But how did you find out? We're not supposed to know ..."
"Never mind," I said quickly - I knew Mina would be in trouble if I told the truth. "But I'm not the only one who knows. Ferdinand and Outsider will know by now - Legrand and Kula know about the dragons, too."
Georgia straightened up, her arms full of inky quills, parchment and books, her ripped bag dangling off one shoulder. She stared at me, and there was a puzzled, almost suspicious look in her eyes.
"Why are you telling me?" she asked.
I looked at her in disbelief. I was sure that Georgia wouldn't have asked that if she had seen the dragons herself. I wouldn't have let my worst enemy face those monsters unprepared - well, perhaps Malty or Triphorm ... saying that now, though, I do feel guilty about the things I thought or said about Triphorm in those days, but that's entirely beside the point.
"It's just ... fair, isn't it?" I said to Georgia. "We all know now ... we're on the same footing, aren't we?"
Georgia was still looking at me in a slightly suspicious way when I heard a familiar clinking noise behind me. I turned around and saw Crazy-Head Grumpy emerging from a nearby classroom.
"Come with me, Pride-Lander," she growled. "Diggs, off you go."
I stared apprehensively at Grumpy. Had she overheard us? I sincerely hoped not. "Er - Professor, I'm supposed to be in Herbology ..."
"Never mind, Pride-Lander. In my office, please ..."
I followed her, wondering what was going to happen to me, as my self-congratulation for talking to Georgia faded to be replaced by panic, which had resonated through my body. Many questions went through my head: What if Grumpy wanted to know how I'd found out about the dragons? Would Grumpy go to Crighton and tell on Mina, or would she just turn me into a ferret instead? Well, it would have been easier for me to have got past a dragon if I was a ferret, for I'd have been smaller, less prone to injury, much less easy to see from a height of fifty feet ...
I followed Grumpy into her office. Grumpy closed the door behind us, all of her magical eyes fixed on me, as well as her normal ones. I'm not going to lie, having someone with six eyes staring at you is rather unnerving and pretty creepy.
"That was a very decent thing you just did, Pride-Lander," Grumpy said quietly.
I didn't know what to say to that; that certainly wasn't the reaction I had expected at all. At any rate, the panic that I had felt started to fade.
"Sit down," Grumpy said, and I sat, looking around.
I had visited that office twice before my fourth year, under two of its previous occupants. In Professor Gold's day, the walls had been plastered with beaming, winking pictures of Professor Gold herself. When Meers had lived there, you were more likely to come across a specimen of some fascinating, new Dark creature he had procured for us to study in class. In Grumpy's day, however, the office was full of a number of exceptionally odd objects that I supposed Grumpy had used in the days when she had been an Auror.
On her desk stood what looked like a large, cracked glass spinning top. I recognised it at once as a Sneakoscope, because I owned one myself, though it was much smaller than Grumpy's. In the corner on a small table stood an object that looked something like an extra-squiggly, golden television aerial that was humming slightly. What appeared to be a mirror hung opposite me on the wall, but it was not reflecting the room. Shadowy figures were moving around inside it, none of them clearly in focus.
"Like my Dark detectors, do you?" said Grumpy, who was watching me closely.
"What's that?" I asked, pointing at the squiggly golden aerial.
"Secrecy Sensor. Vibrates when it detects concealment and lies ... no use here, of course, too much interference - students in every direction lying about why they haven't done their homework. Been humming ever since I got here. I had to disable my Sneakoscope because it wouldn't stop whistling. It's extra-sensitive, picks up stuff about a mile around. Of course, it could be picking up more than kids' stuff," she added in a growl.
"And what's that mirror for?"
"Oh, that's my Foe-Glass. See them out there, skulking around? I'm not really in trouble until I see the whites of their eyes. That's when I open up my trunk."
She let out a short, harsh laugh, and pointed to the large trunk under the window. It had seven keyholes in a row. I wondered what was in there, until Grumpy's next question brought me sharply back to earth.
"So ... found out about the dragons, have you?"
I hesitated. I had been afraid of this talk - but I hadn't told Georgia, and I certainly wasn't going to tell Grumpy that Mina had broken the rules.
"It's all right," said Grumpy, sitting down and stretching her wooden leg with a groan. "Cheating's a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament and always has been."
"I didn't cheat," I said sharply. "It was - a sort of accident that I found out."
Grumpy grinned. "I wasn't accusing you, lass. I've been telling Crighton from the start, she can be as high-minded as she likes, but you can bet old Kula and Legrand won't be. They'll have told their Champions everything they can. They want to win. They want to beat Crighton. They'd like to prove she's only human."
Grumpy gave another harsh laugh, and her magical eyes swivelled around so fast that it made me feel queasy to watch them.
"So ... got any ideas on how you're going to get past your dragon yet?" said Grumpy.
"No," I said.
"Well, I'm not going to tell you," said Grumpy gruffly. "I don't show favouritism, me. I'm just going to give you some good, general advice. And the first bit is - play to your strengths."
"I haven't got any," I said, before I could stop myself.
"Excuse me," growled Grumpy, "you've got strengths if I say you've got them. Think now. What are you best at?"
I tried to concentrate. What was I best at? Well, that was an easy one for me to answer, really -
"Quidditch," I said dully, "and a fat lot of help - "
"That's right," said Grumpy, staring at me very hard, her magical eyes barely moving at all. "You're a damn good flier, from what I've heard."
"Yeah, but ..." I stared at her. "I'm not allowed a broom, I've only got my wand - "
"My second piece of general advice," said Grumpy loudly, interrupting me, "is to use a nice, simple spell which will enable you to get what you need."
I looked at her blankly. What did I need?
"Come on, girl ..." whispered Grumpy. "Put them together ... it's not that difficult ..."
And then it clicked. I was best at flying. I needed to pass the dragon in the air. For that, I needed my Firecracker. And for my Firecracker, I needed -
"Chris, Sian," I whispered, when I had sped into greenhouse three ten minutes later, uttering a hurried apology to Spud as I passed him, "Chris, Sian - I need you to help me."
"What do you think we've been trying to do, Kiara?" Sian whispered before Chris could say anything, their eyes round with anxiety over the top of the quivering Flutterby Bush they were pruning.
Chris, Sian, I need you to teach me how to do a Summoning Charm properly by tomorrow afternoon."
0000
And so we practiced. We skipped lunch, and headed for a free classroom, where I tried with all my might to make various objects fly across the room towards me. I was still having problems. The books and quills kept losing heart halfway across the room and dropping like stone to the floor.
"Concentrate, Kiara, concentrate ..." Sian hissed.
"What d'you think I'm trying to do?" I said angrily. "A filthy great dragon keeps popping up in my head for some reason ..."
"That's because you're scared," said Chris. Sian and I stared at him. Chris shrugged and said, "It's your subconscious telling you that you're scared by forming itself into the thing you fear the most - in this case, a dragon. And you have every right to be. But if you're going to survive tomorrow, you have to get over that fear. Now, take a deep, calming breath, and let's try again ..."
I wanted to skip Divination to keep practicing, but Chris didn't want to miss Arithmancy and Sian didn't want to miss Ancient Runes, and there was no point staying without them. I therefore had to endure over an hour of Professor Crystals, who had spent half the lesson telling everyone that the position of Mars in Relation to Saturn at that moment meant that people born in July were in great danger of sudden, violent deaths.
"Well, that's good," I said loudly, my temper getting the better of me, "just as long as it's drawn-out, I don't want to suffer."
I was sure that I had seen Chrissie's lips twitch and tremble as though she was going to laugh; she certainly caught my eyes for the first time in days, but I still felt too resentful towards Chrissie to care. I spent the rest of the lesson trying to attract small objects towards me under the table with my wand. I managed to make a fly zoom straight into my hand, though I wasn't sure that was owing to my prowess at Summoning Charms - perhaps the fly was just stupid.
I forced down some dinner after Divination was done, then returned to the empty classroom with Chris and Sian, using the Invisibility Cloak to avoid the teachers. We kept practicing until past midnight, and we would have stayed longer had it not been for the annoying poltergeist Weeves, who showed up, and thought that I wanted things thrown at me, and so started chucking chairs across the room at me. Chris, Sian and I left in a hurry before the noise attracted Matchstick, and we went back to the Lion-Heart common room, which was mercifully empty when we got there.
At two o'clock in the morning, I stood near the fireplace, surrounded by heaps of objects - books, quills, several upturned chairs, an old set of Gobstones and Nikita's toad, Tina. Only in the last hour had I really got the hang of the Summoning Charm.
"That's better, Kiara, that's loads better," Sian said, looking exhausted, but very pleased.
"Well, now we know what to do the next time I can't manage a spell," I said, throwing a Rune Dictionary back to Chris, so that I could try again, "threaten me with a dragon. Right ..." I raised my wand once more. "Accio Dictionary!"
The heavy book soared out of Chris' hand, flew across the room, and I caught it.
"Kiara, I really think you've got it!" said Sian delightedly, as Chris nodded in agreement.
"Just as long as it works tomorrow," I said. "The Firecracker's going to be much further than the stuff in here; it's going to be in the castle, and I'm going to be out there in the grounds ..."
"That doesn't matter," said Chris firmly. "Just as long as you're concentrating really, really hard on it, it'll come. Kiara, we'd better get some sleep ... you're going to need it."
0000
I had been focusing so hard on learning the Summoning Charm the evening before, that some of my blind panic had left me. It returned in full measure, however, on the morning of the first task. The atmosphere in the school was one of great tension and excitement. Lessons were to stop at midday, giving all the students time to get down to the dragons' enclosure - though of course, they did not yet know what they would find there.
I felt oddly separate from everyone around me that day, whether they were wishing me good luck or hissing "We'll have a box of tissues ready, Pride-Lander" as I passed. It was a state of nervousness so advanced that I wondered whether I mightn't just lose my head when they tried to lead me out to my dragon, and start trying to curse everyone in sight.
Time was moving in a more peculiar fashion than ever for me that day, running past in great dollops, so that one moment I was sitting down in my first lesson, History of Magic, and the next, walking into lunch ... and then (Where had the morning gone? The last of my dragon-free hours?) Professor Darbus was hurrying over to me in the Great Hall. Lots of people were watching.
"Pride-Lander, the Champions have to come down into the grounds now ... you have to get ready for your first task."
"OK," I said, standing up, my fork falling onto my plate with a clatter.
"Good luck, Kiara," Sian whispered.
"Yeah, you'll be fine!" Chris said, with a wink.
"Yeah," I said, in a voice that was most unlike my own.
I left the Great Hall with Professor Darbus. She didn't seem like herself, either; in fact, if I thought Chris and Sian looked anxious, then it was nothing to how Professor Darbus looked, for she looked downright terrified. As she walked me down the stone steps and out into the cold November afternoon, she put a trembling hand on my shoulder.
"Now, don't panic," she said, "just keep a cool head ... we've got wizards on hand to control the situation if it gets out of hand ... the main thing is just to do your best, and nobody will think any worse of you ... are you all right?"
"Yes," I heard myself say. "Yes, I'm fine."
She was leading me towards the place where the dragons were, around the edge of the Forest, but when we approached the clump of trees behind which the enclosure would be clearly visible, I saw that a tent had been erected, its entrance facing us, screening the dragons from view.
"You're to go in here with the other Champions," said Professor Darbus, in a rather shaky sort of voice, "and wait for your turn, Pride-Lander. Miss Baxter is in there ... she'll be telling you the - the procedure ... good luck."
"Thanks," I said in a flat, distant voice. She left me at the entrance of the tent. I went inside.
Ferdinand Desjardin was sitting in a corner on a low wooden stool. He didn't look nearly as composed as usual, but rather pale and clammy. Kovu Outsider looked even grumpier than usual, and every so often would emit a low growl at nothing in particular, which I supposed was his way of showing nerves. Georgia was pacing up and down. When I entered, she gave me a small smile, which I returned, feeling the muscles in my face working rather hard, as though they'd forgotten how to do it.
"Kiara! Good-oh!" said Baxter happily, looking around at me. "Come in, come in, make yourself at home!"
Baxter looked somehow like a slightly overgrown cartoon figure, standing amid all the pale-faced Champions. She was wearing her old Lancashire robes again.
"Well, now we're all here - time to fill you in!" said Baxter brightly. "When the audience has assembled, I'm going to be offering each of you this bag - " she held up a small sack of purple silk, and shook it at us - "from which you will each select a small model of the thing you are about to face! There are different - er - varieties, you see. And I have to tell you something else, too ... ah, yes ... your task is to collect the golden egg!"
I glanced around. Georgia had nodded to show that she had understood Baxter's words, and then started pacing around the tent again; she looked slightly green. Ferdinand Desjardin and Outsider hadn't reacted at all. Perhaps they thought they might be sick if they opened their mouths; that was certainly how I was feeling in that tent. But they, at least, had volunteered for this thing ...
And in no time at all, hundreds upon hundreds of pairs of feet could be heard passing the tent, their owners talking excitedly, laughing, joking ... I felt as separate from the crowd as if they were a different species. And then - it felt about a second later to me - Baxter was opening the neck of the purple silk bag.
"Ladies first," she said, offering it to Georgia Diggs.
She put a shaking hand inside the bag, and out came the perfect, tiny model of the blueish-grey Swedish Short-Snout, with the number "one" tied around its neck. Baxter then handed the bag to Ferdinand Desjardin, who also had a case of trembling hands; for when he pulled his shaking hand back out of the bag, he held in his hand the Welsh Green, which had the number "two" around its neck; and I knew, by the fact that Ferdinand showed no sign of surprise, but rather a determined resignation, that I was right: Monsieur Legrand had told him what was coming.
The same held true for Outsider. He pulled out the scarlet Chinese Fireball. It had a number "three" around its neck. He didn't even blink, just stared at the ground.
Then it was my turn. Knowing what was left, I put my hand into the silk bag, and pulled out the Hungarian Horntail, and the number "four". It stretched its wings as I looked down at it, and bared its miniscule fangs at me.
"Well, there you are!" said Baxter. "You have each pulled out the dragon you will face, and the numbers refer to the order in which you are to take on the dragons, do you see? Now, I'm going to leave you in a moment, because I'm commentating. Miss Diggs, you're first, so just go out into the enclosure when you hear a whistle, all right? Now ... Kiara ... could I have a word? Outside?"
"Er ... yes," I said blankly, and I followed her out of the tent. Baxter led me a short way into the trees, and then turned to me with a motherly expression on her face.
"Feeling all right, Kiara? Anything I can do to help?"
"What?" I said. "I - no, nothing."
"Got a plan?" said Baxter, lowering her voice conspiratorially. "Because I won't mind sharing a few pointers, if you'd like them, you know. I mean," Baxter continued, lowering her voice still further, "you're the underdog here, Kiara ... anything I can do to help ..."
"No," I said, so quickly that I knew I sounded rude, "no - I - I've decided what I'm going to do, thanks."
"Nobody would know, Kiara," said Baxter, winking at me.
"No, I'm fine," I said, wondering why I kept telling people that, and wondering when I'd ever felt less fine in my life (there were other times in the future, but we'll get to them later). "I've got a plan worked out, I - "
A whistle had blown somewhere.
"Good Lord, I've got to run!" said Baxter in alarm, and she hurried off.
I walked back into the tent, and saw Georgia emerging from it, greener than ever. I tried to wish her luck as she walked past, but all that came out of my mind was a kind of hoarse grunt.
I went back inside to Ferdinand and Outsider. Seconds later, we heard the roar of the crowd, which meant Georgia had entered the enclosure, and was face to face with the living counterpart of her model ...
It was worse than I could ever have imagined, sitting there and listening. The crowd screamed ... yelled ... gasped like a single, many-herded entity, as Georgia did whatever she was doing to get past the Swedish Short-Snout. Outsider was still staring at the ground, while Ferdinand had taken to retracing Georgia's steps, round and round the tent. And Baxter's commentary made everything much, much worse ... horrible pictures formed in my mind as I heard: "Oooh, narrow miss there, very narrow" ... "She's taking risks, this one!" ... "Clever move - pity it didn't work!"
And then, after about fifteen minutes, I heard the deafening roar that could only mean one thing: Georgia had got past her dragon, and had seized her golden egg.
"Very good, indeed!" Baxter was shouting. "And now the marks from the judges!"
But she didn't shout out the marks; I supposed the judges were holding them up and showing them to the crowd.
"One down, three to go!" Baxter yelled, as the whistle blew again. "Mr Desjardin, if you please!"
Ferdinand was trembling from head to foot; I felt more warmly towards him than I had done up to that point, as he left the tent with his head held high, and his hand clutching his wand. Outsider and I were left alone, at opposite sides of the tent, avoiding each other's eyes.
The same process started again ... "Oh, I'm not sure that was wise!" we heard Baxter shouting gleefully. "Oh ... nearly! Careful now ... good Lord, I'd thought he'd had it then!"
Ten minutes later, I heard the crowd erupt into applause once more ... Ferdinand must have been successful, too. A pause, while Ferdinand's marks were being shown ... more clapping ... then, for the third time, the whistle.
"And here comes Mr Outsider!" cried Baxter, and Outsider marched out, leaving me quite alone.
I remember feeling much more aware of my body than usual when I was left alone; I was very aware of how fast my heart was pounding, and how my fingers tingled with fear ... yet at the same time, I seemed to be outside myself, seeing the walls of the tent, and hearing the crowd, as though from far away ...
"Very daring!" Baxter was yelling, and I heard the Chinese Fireball emit a horrible, roaring shriek, while the crowd drew its collective breath. "That's some nerve he's showing - and - yes, he's got the egg!"
Applause shattered the wintery air like breaking glass; Outsider had finished - it would be my turn at any moment.
I stood up, dimly noticing that my legs seemed to be made of marshmallows as I did. I waited, my heart beating so fast that I thought it was going to jump out of my chest. And then I heard the whistle blow. I took a deep breath for courage, then walked out through the entrance of the tent, as the panic rose into a crescendo inside me. And then I was walking past the trees and through a gap in the enclosure fence.
I saw everything in front of me as though it were a highly coloured dream. There were hundreds and hundreds of faces staring down at me from stands which had been magicked there since I'd last stood at that spot. And there was the Horntail, at the other end of the enclosure, crouched low over her clutch of eggs, her wings half-furled, her evil, yellow eyes upon me, a monstrous, scaly black lizard thrashing her spiked tail, leaving yard-long gouge marks in the hard ground. The crowd was making a great deal of noise, but whether friendly or not, I didn't know or care. It was time for me to do what I had to do ... to focus my mind, entirely and absolutely, upon the thing that was my only chance ...
I raised my wand.
"Accio Firecracker!" I shouted.
I waited, every fibre of my being hoping, praying ... if it hadn't worked ... if it wasn't coming ... I seemed to be looking at everything around me through some sort of shimmering, transparent barrier, like a heat haze, which made the enclosure and the hundreds of fingers around me swim strangely ...
And then I heard it, speeding through the air behind me; I turned and saw my Firecracker hurtling towards me around the edge of the woods, soaring into the enclosure, and stopped dead in mid-air beside me, waiting to be mounted. The crowd was making even more noise ... Baxter was shouting something ... but my ears didn't seem to be working properly ... listening could wait ...
I swung my leg over the broom, and kicked off from the ground. And a second later, something miraculous happened ...
As I soared upwards, as I felt the familiar feeling of the wind rushing through my hair, as the crowd's faces became mere flesh-coloured pinpricks below, and the Horntail shrank to the size of a dog, I realised that I had not only left the ground behind, but also my fear ... I was back where I belonged ...
All it was was another Quidditch match ... just another Quidditch match, and the Horntail was just another ugly opposing team ...
I looked down at the clutch of eggs and spotted the gold one, gleaming against its cement-coloured fellows, residing safely between the dragon's front legs. "OK," I told myself, "diversionary tactics ... let's go ..."
I dived. The Horntail's head followed me; I knew just what it was going to do, and pulled out of the dive just in time; a jet of fire had been released exactly where I would have been had I not swerved away ... but I didn't care ... for me, that was no more than dodging a Bludger ...
"Great Scott, she can fly!" yelled Baxter, as the crowd shrieked and gasped. "Are you watching this, Mr Outsider?"
I soared higher in a circle; the Horntail was still following my progress; its head revolving on its long neck - if I kept on doing that, I would make the dragon dizzy - but better not push it too long, or it would be breathing fire again -
I plummeted just as the Horntail opened its mouth, but this time I was less lucky - I missed the flames (obviously!), but the tail came whipping up to meet me instead, and as I swerved to the left, one of the long spikes grazed my shoulder, ripping my robes -
I could feel it stinging as I heard screams and groans from the crowd, but the cut didn't seem to be deep ... I then zoomed around the back of the Horntail, and a possibility occurred to me ...
The Horntail was too protective of her eggs, which was why she didn't want to take off. As much as she writhed and twisted, furled and unfurled her wings, and kept her fearsome yellow eyes fixed on me, she was afraid to move too far from them ... so I decided to try and persuade her to do it, or I'd never get anywhere near them ... the trick was to do it carefully, gradually ...
I began to fly, first one way, then the other, not near enough to make her breathe fire to stave me off, but still posing sufficient threat to ensure she kept her eyes on me. Her head swayed this way and that, watching me out of those vertical pupils, her fangs bared ...
I flew higher. The Horntail's head rose with me, her neck now stretched to its fullest extent, still swaying, like a snake before its charmer ...
I rose a few more feet, and she let out a roar of exasperation. I was like a fly to her, a fly she was longing to swat; her tail thrashed again, but I was too high to reach now ... she shot fire into the air, which I dodged ... her jaws opened again ...
"Come on," I hissed, swerving tantalisingly above her, "come on, come and get me ... up you get, now ..."
And then she reared, spreading her great black leathery wings at last, as wide as those of a small aeroplane - and I dived. Before the dragon knew what I had done, or where I had disappeared to, I was speeding towards the ground as fast as I could go, towards the eggs now unprotected by her elaborated front legs - I had taken my hands off my Firecracker - I had seized the golden egg -
And with a huge spurt of speed, I was soaring out over the stands, the heavy egg safely under my uninjured arm, and it was as though somebody had just turned the volume back up - for the first time, I became properly aware of the noise of the crowd, which was screaming and applauding as loudly as the Irish supporters at the Quidditch Friendly -
"Look at that!" Baxter was yelling. "Will you look at that! Our youngest Champion is the quickest to get her egg! Well, this is going to shorten the odds on Miss Pride-Lander!"
I saw the dragon-keepers rushing forwards to subdue the Horntail, and, over at the entrance to the enclosure, Professor Darbus, Professor Grumpy and Mina were hurrying to meet me, all of them waving me towards them, their smiles evident even from the distance I was at. I flew back over the crowd, the noise of the crowd pounding my eardrums, and I came to a smooth landing, my heart lighter than it had been in weeks ... I had got through the first task ... I had survived ...
"That was excellent, Pride-Lander!" cried Professor Darbus as I got off the Firecracker - which from her was extravagant praise. I noticed that her hand shook as she pointed at my shoulder. "You'll need to see Matron before the judges give out your score ... over there, she's had to mop up Miss Diggs already ..."
"Yeh did it, Kiara!" said Mina hoarsely. "Yeh did it! An' agains' the Horntail an' all, an' yeh know Kat said that was the wors' - "
"Thanks, Mina," I said loudly, so that Mina didn't blunder on and reveal that she had shown me the dragons beforehand.
Professor Grumpy looked very pleased, too; her magical eyes were dancing in their sockets.
"Nice and easy does the trick, Pride-Lander," she growled.
"Right then, Pride-Lander, the first-aid tent, please ..." said Professor Darbus.
I walked out of the enclosure, still panting, and saw Matron standing at the mouth of a second tent, looking worried.
"Dragons!" she said in a disgusted tone, pulling me inside. The tent was divided into cubicles; I could make out Georgia's shadow through the canvas, but Georgia didn't seem to be badly injured; she was sitting up at least. Matron examined my shoulder, talking furiously all the while. "Last year Stingers, this year dragons, what are they going to bring into this school next? You're very lucky ... this is quite shallow ... it'll need cleaning before I heal it up, though ..."
She cleaned the cut with a dab of some purple liquid which smoked and stung, but then poked my shoulder with her wand, and I felt it heal instantly.
"Now, just sit quietly for a few moments - sit! And then you can go and get your score."
She bustled out of the tent and I heard her go next door and say, "How does it feel now, Diggs?"
I didn't want to sit still; I was still too full of adrenaline. I got to my feet, wanting to see what was going on outside, but before I'd reached the mouth of the tent, I heard a pair of feet running towards the tent, and then next thing I knew, I felt a pair of arms engulf me, with such force that I staggered back slightly.
When I had regained my composure, it was then that I recognised the familiar scent of the boy whose arms were wrapped around me: the smell of pine and fresh berries. I then recognised the shock that came from the embrace, and when I closed my eyes, I saw colours and shapes and pictures flash before me, each vivid, but I also felt his fear and anxiety and strong sense of relief that had just started to come through. I remained frozen for a few moments before I wrapped my arms around Chris, and started to rub my hands up and down his back in order to soothe him.
After a few moments of being in his warm embrace, Chris let go of me. I smiled reassuringly at him, as he gently stroked a few locks of my hair from my face, and looked at me with relief pouring from his eyes, so much relief that I was shocked. And I wasn't the only one; for when Chris stood aside, I saw two other people standing at the entrance of the tent. It was Sian - and Chrissie of all people!
"Kiara, you were brilliant out there!" Sian said shakily. Her eyes were brighter than normal, and I could see she was struggling to hold back tears. "You were amazing! You really were!"
But my eyes were on Chrissie, who was very white, and was looking at me as though I were a ghost.
"Kiara," she said, very seriously, "whoever put your name in that Goblet - I - I reckon they're trying to do you in!"
It was as though the last few weeks had never happened - as though I had met Chrissie for the first time right after I'd been made Champion.
"Caught on, have you?" I said coldly. "Took you long enough."
Chris and Sian stood on the outskirts of our circle, watching us nervously, both looking from one of us to the other. Chrissie opened her mouth uncertainly. I knew she was about to apologise and, suddenly, I found that I didn't need to hear it.
"It's OK," I said, before Chrissie could get the words out. "Forget it."
"No," said Chrissie. "I shouldn't've - "
"Forget it," I said.
Chrissie grinned nervously at me, and I grinned back.
Next thing Chrissie and I knew, Sian had dashed forward and had embraced us both at the same time. We were shocked at this, Chris included; I could see him out of the corner of my eye, watching us with an expression that was torn between shock and amusement, which isn't surprising, for I've learnt over the years that everything with Sian is almost always unpredictable. Anyhoo, Sian quickly let go of Chrissie and I, looked at us with an expression that was torn between happiness and exasperation, and said, "Honestly, you two have been behaving like a pair of ninnies these past few weeks!" Then letting out a half-chuckle, she left the tent, shaking her head as she went.
Chris, Chrissie and I stood in shock for a few moments, before we laughed at Sian. After the laughter had subsided, Chris told us he was going to see if Sian was all right, and left me and Chrissie alone.
"You know, sometimes I really do not understand my sister," Chrissie said, shaking her head. "Kiara, c'mon, they'll be putting up your scores ..."
Picking up the golden egg and my Firecracker, feeling more elated than I would have believed possible an hour ago, I ducked out of the tent, Chrissie by my side, talking fast.
"You were the best, you know, no competition. Georgia did this weird thing where she Transfigured a rock on the ground ... turned it into a dog ... she was trying to make the dragon go for the dog instead of her. Well, it was a pretty cool bit of Transfiguration, and it sort of worked, because she did get the egg, but she got burnt as well - the dragon changed its mind halfway through and decided it would rather have her than the Labrador; she only just got away. And that Ferdinand boy tried this sort of charm; I think he was trying to put it into a trance - well, that kind of worked, too, it went all sleepy, but then it snored, and this great jet of flame shot out, and his pants caught fire - he had to put it out with a bit of water out of his wand. And Outsider - you won't believe this, but he didn't even think of flying! He was probably the best after you, though. Transformed himself into a lion and ran in all directions, trying to make the dragon come after him - which it kind of did, but it trampled some of the real eggs - they took marks off him for that; he wasn't supposed to do any damage to them."
Chrissie drew breath as she and I reached the edge of the enclosure. With the Horntail removed, I saw the five judges sitting at the other end in raised seats that were draped in gold.
"It's marks out of ten for each one," Chrissie said, and as I squinted up the field, I saw the first judge - Monsieur Legrand - raise his wand into the air. What looked like a long, silver ribbon shot out of it, which twisted itself into a large figure of eight.
"Not bad," said Chrissie, as the crowd applauded. "I supposed he took marks off for your shoulder ..."
Mrs Clutch came next. She shot a number nine into the air.
"Looking good!" Chrissie yelled, squeezing my shoulder.
Next, Crighton. She, too, put up a nine. the crowd was cheering harder than ever.
Lynn Baxter - ten.
"Ten?" I said in disbelief. "But ... I got hurt ... what's she playing at?"
"Kiara, don't complain!" Chrissie yelled excitedly.
And then Kula raised her wand. She paused for a moment, and then a number shot out of it, too - four.
"What?" Chrissie bellowed furiously. "Four? You lousy biased scumbag, you gave Outsider ten!"
But I didn't care, and I wouldn't have cared if Kula had given me zero; Chrissie's indignation on my behalf was worth about a hundred points to me. I have never told Chrissie that to this day (I'm sure she'll find out once she reads this, though), but my heart felt lighter than air as I turned to leave the enclosure. And it wasn't just Chrissie ... those weren't only Lion-Hearts cheering in the crowd; now that I think about it, when they had seen what I was facing, most of the school had been on my side, as well as Georgia's ... I didn't care about the Snake-Eyes, for I took whatever they threw at me after that.
"You're in first place, Kiara! You and Outsider!" said Kat Fang, hurrying to meet me as we set off back towards the school. "Listen, I've got to run, I've got to go and send Uncle Matt an owl, because I swore that I'd tell him what happened - but that was unbelievable! Oh yeah - and they told me to tell you that you've got to hang around for a few more minutes ... Baxter wants a word, back in the Champions' tent."
Chrissie said she would wait, so I re-entered the tent, which somehow looked quite different to when I'd first entered it; more friendly and welcoming. I thought back to how I'd felt dodging the Horntail, and compared it to the long wait before I'd walked out to face it ... there was no comparison, the wait had been immeasurably worse.
Ferdinand, Georgia and Outsider all came in together.
One side of Georgia's face was covered in a thick orange paste, which was presumably mending her burn. She grinned at me when she saw me. "Good one, Kiara!"
"And you," I said, grinning back.
"Well done, all of you!" said Lynn Baxter, bouncing into the tent, and looking as pleased as though she personally had just got past a dragon. "Now, just a quick few words. You've got a nice long break before the second task, which will take place at half past nine on the morning of February the twenty-fifth - but we're giving you something to think about in the meantime! If you look down at those golden eggs you are all holding, you will see that they will open ... see the hinges there? You need to solve the clue inside the egg - because it will tell you what the second task is, and enable you to prepare for it! Oh, and the egg also hides a secret in it, which you will need for the second task! All clear? Sure? Well, off you go, then!"
I left the tent, re-joined Chrissie, and we started to walk back around the edge of the Forest, talking hard; I wanted to hear about what the other Champions had done in more detail. Then, as we rounded the clump of trees behind which I had first heard the dragons roar, a wizard leapt out from behind them.
It was Peter Meter. He wore acid-green robes that day; the Quick-Quotes Quill in his hand blended perfectly against them.
"Congratulations, Kiara!" he said, beaming at me. "I wonder if you could give me a quick word? How you felt facing the dragon? How you feel now about the fairness of the scoring?"
"Yeah, you can have a word," I said savagely. "Goodbye. Will that do for you?"
And without waiting for an answer, I set off back to the castle with Chrissie (see, I told you it wouldn't be long before Chrissie and I made up).
A.N.: Hello, dear readers! Sorry I haven't updated in a while. This chapter was supposed to be up on the tenth of July (my birthday, in case you want to know), but unfortunately my power went out, and I've had trouble with moving and changing my broadband and all sorts of hard stuff that life sometimes throws at us - but never fear, I'm back now! I should also tell you that I have finished writing out the fifth book on paper and have started on the sixth. And how brilliant was the Cursed Child script? Yes, I have read it, if you want to know. Anyway, I'll be back with another chapter some time this week.
