Hari didn't see Cedric again until the morning of the first task. She was sitting at the breakfast table staring at a plate full of food, but unable to eat any of it. Hermione was to her left, pestering her about eating, and Ron was to her right, eating like he'd never seen food before. Hari glanced up at the staff table to find Snape staring directly at her. While trying to avoid his gaze she caught Cedric's over at the Hufflepuff table. He smiled and waved at her, and she did her best to return the sentiment. She managed to eat a piece of toast, but threw it up twenty minutes later while alone in the bathroom.
Walking into the champions tent was awkward. Not just because she was the last one to arrive, but also because everyone was looking at her with pity. After they selected their dragons Ludo Bagman tried to take her out of the tent to give her advice, but he was so obviously making her uncomfortable that Cedric grabbed her hand and pulled her over to where the other champions were.
"That guy is such a creep," Hari whispered.
"Do you have a plan?" Cedric asked, rubbing his hands together nervously.
"Pretty sure I'm just gonna die," Hari deadpanned.
Cedric let out some nervous laughter, "Me too."
"Hey, are you guys going to keep your minis?" Hari asked the champions.
"No," Fleur said quickly.
Cedric and Viktor just shook their heads.
"Can I have them?" she asked.
Viktor scrunched up his nose and ran his eyes over Hari's form, which had Cedric's blood boiling for reasons he refused to admit to anyone, including himself. "Why?" Viktor asked.
Hari just shrugged and said, "They're cute." Everything about her was so sincere that Cedric couldn't help but laugh as he passed over the Short-Snout mini.
"Only you, Potter," he said, shaking his head.
Fleur tossed her mini over will little fanfare. As soon as the Welsh Green was in the air it flew into Hari's hands. Viktor, on the other hand, stood up and gently handed his over to Hari.
"You will take care of them?" he asked, with only a hint of suspicion in his eyes. Hari nodded happily in response as Cedric's name was called.
"Good luck!" Hari yelled as he left the tent.
"Hari, my dear," Saltivas called. "I have made alterations to your cloak, to incorporate your house." She wore a warm smile as she handed the cloak over. The smaller crest on the front had been replaced with a crest containing the Wampus cat. It was embroidered in the same golden thread as the back. With six legs and a beautiful, flowing tail, Hari had a hard time looking away.
"Why Wampus?" she asked Saltivas. She had a vague idea of what each house represented, but couldn't recall the specifics.
"However reluctant you may be, you are a warrior," Saltivas whispered so that only Hari could hear her. "Strong, brave, and very hard to kill." She graced Hari with a wink just as Cedric came back inside.
He was covered in burns but wore a wild smile. Krum was second, and made it back relatively quickly. Hari didn't even notice that Fleur had left until she came back in and Bagman was corralling her out of the tent.
It took a minute for her eyes to adjust to the bright light, and when they did she wished they hadn't. The Hungarian Horntail was at the far end of the enclosure, but it took up her entire field of vision. She could make out the white tips of eggs near its legs, but didn't have time to think as it launched fire at her. She landed poorly on her shoulder as she hid behind a boulder but couldn't feel it.
"Accio Firebolt!" she yelled.
While she waited, she increased the density of the boulder so it would be able to sustain the onslaught of fire and snuck a glance at the dragon which had been slowly advancing. More fire shot at her as she ducked back behind the boulder, and her Firebolt came flying form the stands. She ran out and leapt on it as it approached, taking to the sky where the dragon couldn't follow.
Now that her feet were off the ground, Hari found her confidence.
"~Hey!~" she yelled at the angry dragon, accidentally slipping into Parseltongue, "~Come and get me!~"
The dragon launched itself off of the ground and shot more flames at her, but Hari flew out of its way. "~Speaker! You will pay for threatening my young!~" the dragon accused, and Hari almost fell off of her broom in shock. Her voice was deep and low. It came out as a guttural growl, but she could understand it.
The dragon lunged again but Hari was quick. She zoomed up out of reach and circled overhead, "~I don't want to hurt you or your young! I just need the fake egg! I don't want to be here either!~"
The dragon backed off a little, crouching on the ground to protect her eggs and narrowing her eyes at Hari. "~Explain,~" she demanded.
Hari took that as an invitation and very slowly flew back to the ground, dropping her broom without a second thought and putting her hands up in surrender. The crowd ooh-ed and awed, but Hari paid them no mind. "~I didn't want to compete. Someone entered me to try and kill me. I think it's horrid, what they've done to you. They shouldn't have put your eggs in danger, and I'm sorry."
Hari had been taking small steps forward, and the dragon hadn't objected yet. She seemed to be mulling over Hari's words, but went right back into attack mode when Hari stepped on a twig. She lunged slightly but Hari remained firm, frozen in place with her hands up and no intent to grab for her wand.
"~Why should I believe you?~" the dragon hissed, swinging her tail around to protect the eggs and showing off her spikes.
"~Smell your eggs! One of them is fake,~" Hari said.
"~I know it's fake!~" the dragon snapped and pulled her neck in closer to the nest, "~Why should I believe that you won't harm the real ones?~"
"~I…~" Hari faltered, because why should a nesting mother trust her? What could she possibly say that would ease the dragons fears? The longer it took her to answer, the more suspicious the dragon became, and then she had a grand idea. "~I swear on my life and my magic that I will not do anything to intentionally harm you, your eggs, or dragon kind.~"
Magic rushed out between the two of them, meeting in midair as the vow was accepted, and the crowd went wild. While bonding with the elves had filled Hari with warmth, the vow felt cold; more similar to how Dumbledore's had. It had happened faster than she'd expected and she was suddenly overcome by the magic surrounding them. It was nothing compared to the elves or Dumbledore. The sheer volume and intensity of magic in the air made her nose bleed, but she kept her feet firmly planted on the ground. The dragon brought her face close to Hari's, close enough to turn her into dinner, but instead, she smelled Hari. The sharp intake of breath made Hari's hair fly forward, and the exhale had her stumbling backwards.
"~You may approach,~" the dragon said slowly while withdrawing.
Hari moved forward cautiously, keeping her hands visible and her eyes on the dragons. Once she reached the nest, she grabbed the golden egg and began her retreat, never fully turning her back to the fire-breathing beast. Once she was far enough away, she summoned her broom to her hand wandlessly and silently while keeping her eyes firmly planted on the dragon. Once she was getting close to the exit, the Horntail spoke again.
"~You have brought honor to your name, child. You will come see us before we depart.~" It wasn't a request, but Hari nodded anyway, then ducked into the tent and fell down onto her knees, shaking with adrenaline.
"Hari!" Cedric called out, looking worried even though he was the one covered in burns. Madam Pomfrey was on her before Cedric could move, and she was brought to a bed to be examined.
"I can't believe they speak Parsel," Hari said, mostly to herself.
"What?" Krum asked.
"The dragons, they can speak Parseltongue," Hari said. Her hands were shaking and her head was fuzzy. She had dropped her egg at some point and Cedric was handing it back to her. Pomfrey shoved a vial into her hands and Hari downed it without question, feeling the effects immediately.
"A calming draught," she told Hari. "It's a miracle you've no major injuries this time."
"Thanks Madam Pomfrey," Hari said with a wink. Madam Pomfrey gave her a stern look, but also blushed a little and rushed off to let the judges know they were all okay.
"So you just spoke to it?" Cedric asked. "And it let you take the egg? How'd you even know Parseltongue would work?"
"I didn't," Hari admitted, not looking at anyone, "It was an accident, I just slipped into it, like I do with snakes."
"That's wicked," Cedric said, wide eyed.
"You are a parselmouth?" Krum asked, equally wide eyed.
"Yeah," Hari said, still a little out of it.
"HARRIET ROSE POTTER!" Hermione screamed as she entered the tent to the obvious displeasure of multiple adults.
"Hey, Mione," Hari said as innocently as she could muster while scrambling off of her bed and hiding behind Cedric, eyes wide with fear.
Hermione paid no mind to her attempt to flee and enveloped her in a tight hug. "Don't ever do that again," she begged. "You're okay, right?" she pulled back and looked Hari over frantically.
"I'm always okay, Mione," Hari reassured her.
Hermione let herself be pushed back into the stands while everyone in the tent looked to Hari.
"Stared down a dragon but you're scared of Hermione Granger," Cedric teased.
"You'd be scared too," Hari insisted. "You have no idea what the three of us get up to, and Hermione does all our research." Cedric did pale a little at that, but they were quickly ushered out to get their scores before anyone could say more.
Krum and Hari both were tied for first place with forty-five points each. Fleur came in second with forty points, as she had lulled her dragon to sleep and didn't get that injured, and Cedric came in last with thirty-five points.
The twins were able to sneak Hari out into the forest two days after the first task, though Charlie wasn't very happy about it.
"You shouldn't be out here, it's dangerous," he said. But Hari ignored him and went over to the Horntails enclosure with her four dragon minis flying around her.
"~I came back,~" she said. The dragon throat rumbled as she uncurled herself from the eggs and faced Hari.
"~My child,~" she said. The other dragons were paying attention now too, all craning their heads to get a better look at Hari.
"~My child,~" they said together.
Hari looked at them in confusion, but they spoke before she could question them. She had eyes only for the dragons, so she didn't notice the twins and the keepers watching the entire exchange.
"~First chosen by the elves. Are you worthy of us?~" the Chinese Fireball asked.
"~I don't know,~" Hari told them honestly.
"~We shall see,~" the Horntail said. "~Come closer, child. Share your mind with me.~"
Hari did what she was told and walked right up to the bars and grasped them in her hands. The Horntail head seemed to slither up to her, and when their eyes met Hari's consciousness was thrust forward into the dragons.
She was small, so small. And her mother was large. Larger than everything, larger than life itself. So fierce and beautiful. Her mother called her Asha. She was mothers favorite out of all of her nestmates. They lived in a dense and tall forest, hidden away from the humans. They were happy.
She's larger now, almost ready to have her first clutch of eggs. Mother has left the forest. Her nestmates have as well. There isn't enough food for all of them anymore. Only the strong and young remain.
She's left the forest to find food. She's lost all but one hatchling and the poor babe needs to eat.
Fire. Human screams. Darkness.
She wakes up in a different forest. This one has food, but it does not have her hatchling, so she tries to escape. She learns that escape is futile the hard way. The humans keep themselves mostly hidden, working from the outside. It takes a long time for Asha to realize that they saved her. It takes longer for her to stop lashing out at them.
Hari's consciousness is thrown out of Asha's mind as the dragon penetrates her own, and suddenly she's reliving things she never wanted to think about.
The first memory is what she sees when dementors are near. Her mother begs for her life, and Voldemort laughs before killing her. Then her time at the Dursleys goes by in flashes. Hunger. Pain. Loneliness. Then Quirrell makes a brief appearance, just long enough for her to watch him die again. Asha lingers on memories of the basilisk and Hari can feel an anger that isn't her own. Then she's falling off her broom during Quidditch.
Asha leaves her mind forcefully and raises her head into the air, shooting out flames and crying in agony. Hari cries as well while she falls to the ground, though she can't be sure if she's crying for herself or for Asha. It doesn't matter.
When Asha has emptied her lungs of fire, she turns to the other dragons, "~She is the one. The child of prophecy.~"
They charged into action immediately, burning holes in their cages that were just large enough to stick their heads out. Hari heard the keepers screaming, but Charlie kept them away, which was probably safer for everyone.
"~Come child,~" said the dragon furthest away from her, the Welsh Green.
Hari approached cautiously, stopping only when the dragon told her too. She positioned herself so that the Welsh Green could hover its head over her. The Welsh Green mini flew onto her shoulder, and the other three mini's stayed back.
"~My gift to you is memory,~" she said. Then she opened her mouth wide and someone screamed her name. Hari looked up into the dragons throat as a rush of hot air enveloped her. It was over in a second, and Hari wasn't sure she felt any different. The Welsh Green chuckled, or tried to at least, and nudged her over to the Short-Snout.
"~My gift to you is strength,~" she said, and repeated the motions of the Welsh Green, positioning herself above Hari and exhaling down on her. The Short-Snout's mini had replaced the Welsh Green on her shoulder, and again the other three mini's stayed well outside the dragons range. This one lasted longer, and Hari could feel her aches and pains dulling as it continued.
Hari went to stand in front of the Horntail again, but was nudged further, to the Chinese Fireball.
"~My gift to you is the flame,~" she said, and didn't wait a single second to engulf Hari in her burning breath. This one went on for longer than she would have liked. It was much hotter than the others, and while it was painful, it wasn't unbearable. She didn't notice the Chinese Fireball's mini on her shoulder until it was over.
Finally, she stood in front of the Horntail, ready for whatever Asha would gift her with.
"~My gift to you is protection. I give you my flesh and my claws. I give you my home. Use them well, Slayer of the False King," Asha said. When Asha's breath passed through Hari she was accosted with memories that were not her own. Memories of how to get back to that forest. The one that all dragons knew was safe. "~You are mine and I am yours. Now and forever more,~" Asha said.
"~Now and forever more,~" Hari said back. Then she was carefully picked up and brought into Asha's enclosure, settling her down between Asha's front legs. Asha's mini settled in beside her and the other mini's went off to the dragons they were modeled after.
"~You will stay tonight,~" Asha said in a tone that would make Molly Weasley proud. The tone that says 'that wasn't a suggestion young lady.'
With the excitement over, the dragons brought their heads back into their own enclosures and allowed the keepers patch up the cages.
"Hari! Are you alright?" Fred called. Hari looked up at him, but she was tired and he was blurry.
"I'm fine, Fred!" she called back. "I'm staying the night," she said through the haze. "Take the cloak and don't get caught." Then she laid her head down and fell asleep.