The first task really did involve dragons. Harry was in over his head and he knew it.
Amethyst had gotten Peridot to spill the beans. Whereas teachers weren't supposed to help the champions, Peridot wasn't actually an employee of the school and could technically help all she wanted.
No doubt if Harry or Steven showed up to a contest in some sort of armored Mecha everyone would scream foul, even assuming the contest was held far enough outside the wards that it would actually work. Still, Amethyst wasn't one to follow the rules and she certainly wasn't going to leave Steven unprepared.
Steven, being who he was made sure all the champions knew what the first challenge involved. Undoubtedly he'd decided that leaving anyone in the dark would make it more likely that someone would get hurt, which was something he couldn't abide.
He doubted that any of the other champions would have been as generous, but Steven was who he was.
Steven had even tried to brainstorm strategy with him. Any other person, and Harry would have assumed they were trying to get an advantage over him, but Steven simply cared about everyone. They were friends.
Unfortunately, Steven didn't know any more about magic than Harry did. He was actually a little less proficient than Harry in Defense class, although he more than made up for it with his ability to dodge spells faster than anyone.
Hermione was more helpful, but even she was only a fourth year. There was a limit in how much information she could cram into her head and more importantly into his. Relying on spells that he'd just learned recently was a good way to get hurt or killed.
Facing a fire breathing dragon wasn't the best time to try to remember whether it was swish or flick or to try to remember a tongue twisting pronunciation.
Harry would have to focus on learning one spell and learning it well; any more than that and he was sure that the memory would leave his head in an instant.
As he stood waiting for the others to draw which dragon they would face from the bag, Harry felt his legs trembling. He didn't want to be here; he'd have traded almost anything to be anywhere else.
He only hoped that his fear didn't show on his face. The others looked stoic and unconcerned, although it might simply be that they were covering up their own fears. Steven looked more concerned for everyone else than he did himself.
Steven stepped aside to let Harry pick before him.
Harry reached his hand in and pulled out his dragon. As he saw which one it was, he closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. He'd drawn the Swedish Short Snout. He'd been afraid that with his luck he'd have gotten the worst dragon of the lot, the Hungarian Horntail.
The short snout would be difficult; it was one of the better fliers of the lot, but it wasn't nearly as vicious or fast as the Horntail.
As he saw Steven pick the last figurine, the Horntail, Harry felt almost guilty. Steven didn't look afraid, only cheerful. He was probably relieved that nobody else was in as much danger.
Now all there was to do was wait.
Brushing soot off himself, Harry grinned weakly. It had been a close thing, but he'd managed to use his broom to outfly the short snout. The crowd was going wild, and now that it was over, he felt almost magnanimous.
Better yet, he would be able to watch the last bout with the other champions, since whatever Steven did couldn't change his performance now.
He settled into the champion's box next to Fleur, who politely congratulated him.
As the handlers pulled the last of the dragons into the arena, Harry felt his stomach clench. This dragon wasn't anything like the one he'd faced. It was visibly bigger, faster and much more vicious.
It snapped angrily at its handlers and it tried to spray flames at the audience. Fortunately there were spells to protect the audience. After a couple of unfortunate tournaments in the thirteenth century, organizers had learned their lessons.
This thing was a monster, and Steven was going to have to face it.
He looked across the arena, searching for Hermione, She was sitting next to Ron, and her face looked pale and drawn. She looked as though she was about to pass out, and Ron didn't look better.
He looked guilty and sick.
Now that Harry thought about it, Steven wasn't as invulnerable as his aunts. They were sentient rocks, with bodies that were only illusion. As long as the stones at their core weren't damaged, they could never die. They could be killed and reform over and over again.
Steven...no one knew what would happen if he actually died. The chances that he would reform were slim. Hermione had asked Pearl once, when Steven was out of earshot occupied with something else. Pearl had admitted that no one knew what would happen, but having Rose return was more likely than Steven being reborn.
He could see Pearl in the stands as well. She too looked paler than usual, although on her that was almost impossible. Amethyst was with her, and it looked as though she was almost visibly having to restrain her from jumping down into the arena and killing the dragon herself.
If Steven actually did get hurt, he didn't think the dragon would last long afterwards.
Peridot on the other hand seemed to be enjoying the whole thing. She was eating popcorn and was throwing it at the back of a group of Slytherins further down the stands. Whether it was in response to something they were saying or just because she was enjoying harassing them, Harry couldn't tell.
The handlers were running now, getting away from the agitated dragon. It was crouched over the eggs, it's black scales shining.
At the other end of the arena, Steven stood. His wand wasn't out; instead, he was holding his ukulele.
While he played the guitar now, he still played his original instrument sometimes, either for the sound or because it was smaller and easier to carry.
The noise of the crowd rose.
Steven had been making a name for himself for years. While he wasn't as famous as Harry, he'd earned his fame more honestly. The parents of the Hufflepuff students he'd saved cheered and stamped their feet.
This only seemed to agitate the Horntail. It roared and struggled against it chains.
Harry noticed Professor Moody in the audience nearby. He was leaning forward, and there was an odd expression on his face. It almost looked as though he was waiting on something, anticipating what Harry didn't know.
Why it bothered him, he wasn't sure. Everyone in the audience was anticipating something, even if it was only Steven getting torn limb from limb. This seemed almost predatory though.
The dragon lunged against its chains once again, and Steven began to walk forward.
"It's ok big guy." he said softly.
The crowd quieted quickly, undoubtedly wanting to hear what Steven had to say.
"I know you want to protect your eggs, and I'm sorry I have to scare you like this, but there's something I have to get." Steven's voice was low and soothing.
The dragon snarled and lunged forward, breathing flame in his direction.
Seemingly not daunted at all, Steven stepped forward. He put his hands on his ukulele and he began to play.
It was a song he'd played for them before; something about life and death and love and birth. Except this time he was playing it differently. It was slower, more melancholy. Instead of being about the rush of life and death it was more about peace and love.
The crowd was suddenly silent. This wasn't what they'd been expecting to see at all. Instead of some great contest of magic between man and beast, instead all they saw was a small child singing and walking slowly toward the slavering beast.
He reached the farthest point the dragon could breath its flames, and as it breathed at him, he calmly stepped to the side. The flames barely missed him.
From recent experience, Harry knew that even being close to the flames was hot enough to hurt, but Steven didn't show any sign that it bothered him. Instead he simply walked closer and closer to the monster.
Once he got within the range of it's teeth and claws, even his speed and agility weren't likely to save him.
Only, the dragon wasn't moving as quickly now as it had been. It breathed blast after blast of fire, but it was exhausting itself.
Dragons weren't meant to breathe this much flame. The flames were meant to incapacitate their prey so they could move in and finish them off with tooth or claw.
Steven kept singing and playing. He made dodging look easy, and now that Harry was watching, he wasn't making a lot of forward progress. He was moving side to side a lot and only incrementally forward.
At last the dragon stopped breathing flame.
It's sides heaved and it stared at Steven as he continued to play. It was getting visibly calmer, and it was watching him warily.
It hadn't been this calm even with its handlers.
Steven carefully edged around it, making sure never to present his back to it. No matter how calm it seemed now, it would undoubtedly lunge the moment he wasn't looking.
Almost seeming hypnotized, the dragon's eyes never left Steven. It simply backed up protectively over the eggs.
The flaw in Steven's plan was obvious. The dragon didn't have to be active in order to protect the eggs. All it had to do was interpose itself between Steven and the eggs and eventually it would regain enough energy to lash out at him.
He was within reach of the dragon's claws now, but incredibly it didn't lash out at him. It simply hissed and backed up even further.
Steven was coming to the end of his song; he'd played two choruses already, and he didn't seem likely to go for a third.
As the song ended, Steven simply dropped his ukulele and suddenly he was moving faster than he'd ever moved before.
He was rolling underneath the dragon and the crowd gasped. All the dragon had to do was slam it's weight down and Steven would be done for.
Harry heard Pearl scream out in the audience. He and the entire audience leaned forward as the dragon slammed its weight down, only to see that somehow Steven had already managed to roll out from underneath its tail and he was already lunging for the golden egg.
He grabbed the egg and he was already running.
The dragon screamed, lunging with its full weight against the chains as it tried to get the egg thief. Steven was already outside of its range, although it still could blow fire assuming it had the energy.
The dragon handlers were already running forward. The challenge was all but over. Steven had gotten the egg, and he'd gotten away unscathed. He was only moments from being safe.
The crowd roared its approval, but the roar changed suddenly as some members of the crowd saw something others couldn't see. There were cries of dismay as the dragon lunged again. It stepped on Steven's ukulele, smashing it beyond recognition.
Steven was outside of the range of its fiery breath, but the crowd behind the dragon still seemed upset. Harry couldn't see what they could see, but there was definitely a commotion.
The dragon lunged, this time with more force than it had used any time previously.
The chain holding the dragon suddenly snapped.