Magnolia Crescent

Chapter Thirty-Six

Challenges

Harry shook off the haze in his mind, clutching onto the golden egg he had snatched from the dragon. He felt his legs hit the ground, but he was so far up in cloud nine after his stunt that he didn't even notice when he was walking into the Champions tent. He glanced up, noticing that Krum, Fleur and Cedric went wide-eyed when they saw the egg under his arm.

"So, seems like the test was not as hard as they made it out to be," Krum said, glancing at the broom under Harry's arm before relaxing into the bench.

"And next up is Zachary Jackson, representing the Salem Witches Institute of America!" an announcer roared. Harry closed his eyes, remembering how unhappy Sirius had been when he found out that Harry still didn't have a plan.

"Harry, if there is one thing a trouble maker always has, it's a plan. Look, use a skill. What are you good at?" Sirius asked.

"I can only – " he started, realizing that he had formed a plan.

And with that, Harry had a plan. He summoned his broom and used it to get the egg. It was simple but not quite as smooth as he would have hoped. But he was still in one piece so it had worked out well enough.

"I just hope that nutty woman leaves me alone," he mused to himself. Rita Skeeter had really been getting to him. Sirius said that he would have a talk with (him/her) on the matter later. But with the last minute pic with Hermione, things were starting to get uncomfortable. His face felt a little warm to be honest; he liked Hermione, but not in that way.

"So, how did you do it?" Krum asked. "I thought using a broom wasn't allowed."

"I used a summoning spell. Once it starts up, anything goes – as long as you enter with your wand only," Harry replied.

"Ah, I wish I had thought of that. My spell caused some damage on the dragon. That'll probably dock me some points," he admitted.

"I did zome rezerch. In most cazes, these are only for ze plazing. Ze pointz are not az important az one would think, but they are helpful," Fleur explained.

"So, as long as you show up, you are good?" Harry asked, considering the idea of doing nothing for the next task.

"No, the less pointz you have, the longer you wait at the ze end. So, it is best to get as many as you can. But ze final text is the most important," Fleur replied.

"Why? Don't tell me you don't plan on giving your all," Cedric asked. Harry recalled giving him a hint on the dragon as well.

"Of course not. But knowing that is good if you find yourself in a risky situation," Harry replied. "I really don't care who wins as long as I make it out alive."

"What iz ze the worst that could happen?" Fleur asked. "You got out in one piece – what could happen to ze rezt of us?" she asked.

"AHHHHHHHH!" The massive scream cut over a gasping crowd. The other three Champions jumped to their feet.

Harry could still hear low screams as a group of wizards rushed by. He saw Zach clutching at his shoulder. Blood dripped stained his red and white tournament shirt. Brom sat him down and pulled his wand out of his robes. After a moment, the blood flow stopped and he urged Zach to eat something.

"All right, everyone, clear out," Bagman said, beginning to urge everyone out of the tent. "No cameras – the boy is going to be just fine but we need everyone out."

Harry glanced at Zach, horrified to see that his right arm was completely gone. He glanced up, but didn't notice anyone while Brom seemed to cast a spell. Zach closed his eyes, falling in on himself while the other Champions were pushed out of the tent.

"I zeem to 'ave spoken too soon. I 'ope he is alright," Fleur said.

"I am not feeling so good about all this," Krum said. Cedric, however, remained silent.

"Well, if there ever was a time to have a life and death situation, at least he had someone to pick him back up," Harry said. Fleur looked at him in horror.

"It would be better if there hadn't been ze situation in ze first place!" she cried out. Harry just glanced up at her.

"I see your point," Cedric said, having been familiar with some of things that had been said about Harry in the past few years.

"Now then, my young Champions, we are going to be having a meeting in the same room where we met and had the Wand Weighing ceremony. Make sure each of you are there; we have a few things that need to be discussed," Bagman said.

"Iz this about – " Fleur asked but she was cut off.

"No, it may be brought up, but for now, get some rest and make sure you are ready to listen," he replied. And with that, he was off.

"I am not so zure about zis anymore," Fleur admitted, hugging herself tightly.

"Harry!" Hermione cried out, catching him outside of the tent and grabbing him in a massive hug.

"That was crazy," Ron said, smiling as Hermione released their friend.

"We saw what happened. That Ridgeback got ahold of his arm and ate it. He had tried a cloaking spell but it didn't work," Hermione explained.

"That's not good – bones are one thing but regrowing an entire arm is still undiscovered magic, Leo commented, biting his lip. Harry couldn't help but frown, knowing the value of the egg. Without it, Zach would be at a bigger disadvantage.

"Harry, um, congratulation," Neville said in a quiet voice.

"Hey, he's breathing and that's what is important – cause my friend Harry here, just had an amazing time and is now moving up in the contest. Let's celebrate!" Ron declared, his smile spreading across the group.

"Bread pudding for all!" Luna cried out. Harry smiled.

"Well, let me know how that works out," Leo said. "I have detention to get to," he admitted, walking off with his hands shoved into his robes.

"Well, they can't really had to the common room, can they?" Ron reminded.

"If you don't tell, I won't," Luna smirked.

"I would rather not get into any more trouble than I already am. As it is, Professor McGonagall is more terrifying than the dragon," Harry said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Suit yourself," Luna said, her smile slipping into a frown. "No pudding for you," she said with a pout, poking him on the nose.

Harry let out a low yawn the next morning, trying to combat the ringing in his ears. The egg was supposed to give him a clue for the second task, but all it had given him was a headache. Not that all the celebrating they had done last night helped much. Grudgingly, he pushed aside the covers. There was a Champions meeting he needed to get to.

"Well now, bringing you all here was important," Brom said, standing in front of the five Champions. The other three Headmasters were standing to the side. "So far, Zach has been stabilized and he should be well enough to participate in some of the events."

"Zome?" Fleur asked.

"Yes, which leads us to point number two," Brom said, placing his hands behind his back. "Due to the recent additions of both Mister Jackson and Mister Potter, we have had an increased demand for seating on the tournament. So, we are going to be having a few public contests – places where we can have a far greater turnout," he explained.

"Wait, I thought there was only going to be three challenges. How is this going to work?" Cedric asked, raising his hand a bit before realizing it.

"While they will be considered in the points, they are more to, how do you say, spread out the love of the games," Karkaroff explained. "We are setting up one of the events over the Atlantic Ocean and, thanks to the combined governments, will be one of the most secure places. We have agreed to add in a dueling tournament, as well as the first use of Quidditch," he said with a sly smile.

Harry glanced over at Krum. "Can't say how that would be unfair," Harry muttered. Cedric silently nodded his head.

"I would like to talk about security," Dumbledore commented. "It would be simply horrible if this became the second international incident."

"Constant vigilance!" Moody cried out. There was a moment of startled silence. "I shall be monitoring every wizard in the area. Not to mention that the only way in or out will be with Portkey. No false faces this time, and goblins will be adding in a few tricks of their own as well," he added.

"Yes, Harry?" Dumbledore asked, noticing Harry's hand in the air.

"Are we required to participate?" he asked. "I don't feel all that good dueling against students who are so much further in their studies," he said, hoping for a way out since he hadn't wanted to be in the tournament from the beginning.

"Well," Dumbledore began but the back door opened up. "Ah, hello, Zachery," he said. The American walked in, the left sleeve of his cloak stuffed into the pocket.

"Sorry sir, but I was a little slow getting out of bed," he apologized, taking a seat in the back of the group. Harry glanced back at him. He looked pretty bad – enough to fail to notice the look he was getting.

"Well then, it will be taking place in late November. There should be little problem getting everything together. You've got a bit of time; get a team together and practice your dueling. Brom, I expect you will fill in your student," Karkaroff said, looking at the American Headmaster.

"Oh, and I forgot to mention. The two tournaments are going to have a price awarded to the winner. So do bring you're A-game. Of course, there will be rules set; they are floating near the door,"Brom added. Everyone seemed to get a bit more interested.

Harry glanced over at Krum and Fleur. He wasn't sure about her, but the Quidditch portion was almost perfectly built for Krum. It seemed someone was trying to placate at least him, and by extension, Karkaroff. He glanced around, his mind working to find some hidden meaning or motive hidden in all this. And that meant, that whatever was going on, there was a lot more than he could see. Since Sirius had informed him of Karkaroff's former Death Eater position, he was the prime suspect. But he seemed more interested in getting Krum to win, making the contest even more dangerous.

Harry stood as the other Champions walked off, more lost in thought. He had a lot more on his plate, and his mind was pretty spilt. If it wasn't for Hermione, his grades would have already gone down the gutter.

He walked along, his feet blindly moving to his destination. A thundering crowd could be heard even before he even opened up the door to the Dueling Club. The crowd was massive and teachers had begun to put up some stands. Harry glanced up, seeing Ron on the stage. He shouted a spell that Harry couldn't hear over the crowd, keeping his wand up.

"Hi, Harry!" Luna shouted. Harry only just heard her voice.

"Luna, what happened to your eye?" he asked, noticing the black mark over her left eye.

"Oh, well, we haven't been having much luck," she admitted. "One of the Slytherin students got in a lucky shot."

"Ouch," Harry said, glancing up to see Malfoy was Ron's opponent. Ron spun to the ground, landing flat out on the stage. Malfoy threw his hands in the air, waving them to the crowd's roaring approval. Ron slammed his fist on the stage as Hermione tried to help him up. Instead, he ignored her, fuming as Neville took his place.

"I wouldn't," Luna warned, stopping Harry in his tracks. "He may be your friend again, but he's not been very happy since our recent string of losses."

"Did he say anything about it? I could help," Harry offered. Luna put a hand on his shoulder, a smile flitting from her face.

"Harry, you want to help, but Ron is still unhappy with the fact that he's lost one of his best duelists. Not to mention, Hermione hasn't been putting in as much lately," Luna said. Harry nodded in understanding. "Besides, we are still in the championship. This is just wrapping up the season, if you will," she explained.

"Fair enough. I should try and get that egg figured out but I've not been having much luck," he admitted with a sigh.

"Well, between Hermione and Ron, they should be able to help you come up with something. I mean, Hermione's studied everything she could get her hands on. And Ron's grown up with a very big family. He should have something to go on," Luna said off-handedly.

"Ron was never one to pay attention. What about you, it was just massive screeching," Harry offered, hoping Luna would know.

"Sorry, but my dad and I look for things – we don't really talk about what has been proven. But if it is a clue, maybe it can be deciphered. Or maybe it's a monster you have to fight, just like a hero. Maybe you even have to save someone!" she cried out, jumping up and down.

"Seems like it would be different than that, but it's a nice thought. Thanks, Luna," he said, smiling. Luna skipped along after him. "You may want to head to the nurse and get that eye looked at."

"If it will keep you and Ron away from each other, in your own way without even thinking," Luna reminded. Harry took a deep breath.

"Okay, lead the way," he said. Luna skipped away. "What could it be?" he mused. "Maybe Sirius could help. Luna, can we take a quick detour?"

"Sure, I kind of like the black eyes. It makes me look cool," she said, doing a rather poor impression of a tough girl. Harry looked at her scrunched up face and smirk.

"Luna, just no," he said, frowning slightly. "You're too cute to have a black eye," he said, mentally freezing for letting that slip out of his mouth. "Now, we need to find Sirius," he said quickly, trying to brush it under the rug. All of a sudden, he felt a massive weight on his back. A pair of hands locked around his neck.

"Thanks for noticing," Luna said, kissing him on the cheek before vanishing down the hall. Harry was still frozen dead in his tracks.

Lots of things going on in the chapter. Sorry for the delay, guys. My fiance has started a new original work that he has been quite engrossed in and I have been very busy trying to finish up some crochet plushes for my neighbor's grandkids. Anyways, enjoy and please R&R!

~LE