The First Task
Arthur woke up on Sunday morning and dressed immediately, telling David and Mike that they had to get Chrys and talk somewhere privately.
And so they went to find her in the Great Hall, finishing off her breakfast with Mary. They then went out on the grounds and stood by a tree. There, Arthur told them about the dragons, what the task is most likely to be and what Sirius told him.
"Dragons? You'd think they'd use those for the third task or something." David said.
"So Karkaroff was actually a Death Eater? That explains a lot." Chrys said.
"Regardless, we should focus on making sure you live till Tuesday evening." Mike pointed out.
And so all four stood by the tree, trying to think of a simple spell to subdue a dragon, but when they couldn't think of anything off the tops of their heads, they went to the library and pored through a large pile of books on dragons.
"This book's useless… it's just for crazy people who want to keep their dragons healthy." David groaned.
"This one says the most powerful spells can penetrate. But Sirius said a simple one can do the trick." Arthur pointed out.
"Then we'll just have to look through simple spellbooks." Chrys said as she threw aside Men Who Love Dragons Too Much.
Arthur and Mike returned to the table with a pile of spellbooks and everyone all flicked through them.
"Switching Spells… that's pointless." Chrys muttered as she shook her head.
"Transfiguring something that big will be a bloody miracle." Mike said.
Arthur was looking through Basic Hexes for the Busy and Vexed and found nothing that could help.
"Oh, bloody hell, he's back again. Why can't he just read on that stupid ship?" Chrys hissed in annoyance. Arthur saw that Krum had slouched in, casting a surly look at them, settling himself in a distant corner with a pile of books.
"We can go to the common room before his stalkers arrive." David said before they all left with a gang of girls tiptoeing past them in the library. One of them wore a Bulgaria scarf that was tied around her waist.
Arthur was barely able to sleep that night. By the time he woke up on Monday morning, he found himself just wanting to disappear and hide from everyone.
He ate his breakfast and by the time he finished his bacon, which took a while as his nerves still got to him, he got up and saw that Cedric was leaving the Hufflepuff table.
He still didn't know about the dragons as Arthur, Krum and Fleur all know. And as much as he still resented him for last year's match, he couldn't let him be the only one to not know.
"Guys, just go to the greenhouses without me, I'll catch up." He told David and Chrys.
"But you'll be late, the bell's about to -"
"Just go! I'll catch up!"
When he reached the bottom of the marble staircase, Cedric was at the top and was surrounded by his sixth year friends.
Arthur can't talk to Cedric in front of them, being among those that quoted Skeeter's article at him every time he was near them.
He followed Cedric at a distance, and seeing that he was heading to the Charms corridor, this sparked an idea in Arthur's head.
Passing at a distance from them, he pulled his wand out, took careful aim and muttered very quietly "Diffindo!"
Cedric's bag split open, causing his parchment, quills and books to spill out onto the floor with several bottles of ink smashing.
"Don't bother…" Cedric said in an exasperated voice as his friends bent down to help. "...tell Flitwick I'm coming, go on…."
This was exactly what Arthur hoped for. He put his wand back in his robes and waited until Cedric's friends disappeared into the classroom before hurrying up the corridor, which only had himself and Cedric.
"Hi." Cedric said as he picked up a copy of A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration which was now splattered with ink. "My bag just split… brand new and all…."
"The first task is dragons." Arthur went straight to the point.
"What?" Cedric asked, looking up.
"Dragons." Arthur said quickly in case Flitwick came to see where Cedric was. "There's one for each of us. And we've got to get past them"
Cedric stared at him, Arthur seeing panic in his grey eyes.
"Are you sure?" He asked Arthur in a hushed voice.
"I saw them with my own eyes." Arthur replied.
"But how did you find out? We're not supposed to know…."
"It doesn't matter." Arthur shook his head. "But Maxime and Karkaroff saw them as well and will tell their champions without hesitation."
Cedric now straightened up, his arms full of inky quills, parchment and books with his ripped bag dangling from one shoulder. He stared at Arthur with a puzzled and suspicious look in his eyes.
"Why are you telling me?" He asked.
"Because it wouldn't be fair if you were the only one that didn't know." Arthur replied. He wouldn't let his enemies face off against a dragon unprepared… well, except for Draco and Snape.
Cedric still looked at him with that suspicious glint in his eyes when that familiar metallic clunking noise came from behind Arthur. He turned to see Moody emerging from a nearby classrom.
"Come with me, Pendergast." He growled. "Diggory, off you go."
Arthur was worried as he had to have overheard them.
"But I have Herbology -"
"Never mind that, Pendergast. In my office, please…."
Arthur followed him, growing worried about what would happen to him now. He was worried that he and Hagrid would get into trouble. But then he remembered that Moody and Hagrid were talking at the Three Broomsticks. Could it be possible that he told Hagrid about the dragons or to show them to Arthur? If so, why would he do that?
Eventually, they reached the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom and walked up the steps to Moody's office. Moody closed the door behind them and turned to look at Arthur, both eyes fixed on him.
"That was a very decent thing you just did, Pendergast." Moody said quietly.
That was definitely not what Arthur expected.
"Sit down." Moody then ordered and Arthur did as he was told, looking around.
He visited this very office before under the two previous occupants. With Lockhart, the walls were plastered with nothing but beaming, winking pictures of himself. When Lupin lived here, there was a good chance of coming across a specimen of a dark creature that he procurred for them to study in class.
But currently, the office was full of various odd looking objects that Arthur thought had to have been used by Moody during his days as an Auror.
On the desk was some kind of large, cracked glass spinning top that Arthur recognised as a Sneakoscope, having owned a much smaller one himself. In the corner on a small table was an object that looked like an extra squiggly, golden television aerial. It hummed slightly.
What looked like a mirror hanging opposite Arthur on the way wasn't really reflecting the room as shadowy figures moved around inside it, none of them were in focus.
"Like my dark detectors, do you?" Moody asked, watching him closely.
"What's that one?" Arthur pointed 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." He added with a growl.
"And that?" Arthur pointed at the mirror.
"Oh, that's my Foe Glass. Seem them out there, skulking around? I'm not really in trouble until I see the whites of their eyes. That's when I open my trunk."
He let out a short, harsh sounding laugh, pointing at the large trunk under the window. There were seven keyholes in a row. Arthur wondered what was in there, but then Moody brought him back to earth.
"So… found out about the dragons, have you?"
Arthur didn't really know what to say. He really didn't want to say that Hagrid broke the rules.
"It's alright." Moody said as he sat down and stretched out his metallic leg with a groan. "Cheating's a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament and always has been."
"Well, I technically didn't cheat." Arthur retorted, making Moody grin.
"I wasn't accusing you, laddie. I've been telling Dumbledore from the start, he can be as high minded as he likes, but you can bet old Karkaroff and Maxime won't be. They'll have told their champions everything they can. They want to win. They want to beat Dumbledore. They'd like to prove he's only human."
He then made a harsh laugh with his magical eye swivelling so fast Arthur looked away to not feel queasy.
"So… got any ideas how you're going to get past your dragon yet?" Moody then asked.
"Not yet." Arthur shook his head in defeat.
"Well, I'm not going to tell you." Moody said gruffly. "I don't show favouritism, me. I'm just going to give you some good, general the first bit is - play to your strengths."
Arthur didn't consider that, in fact, he felt stupid for not thinking that because he had plenty of strengths.
"Well… I do have one trick up my sleeve, but I'm keeping that a surprise." He said, referring to his Animagus form, which he can use to get from cover to cover. "And I happen to be a natural on a broomstick."
"That's right." Moody said, staring at him very hard, his magical eye barely moving. "You're a damn good flyer, from what I've heard."
Arthur then remembered that he was only allowed his wand and so he thought of how he could get his Firebolt in the first task.
He snapped his fingers once he realised what he could do.
"I can place my broom in a place where it can come to me when I cast a Summoning Charm." He said.
Ten minutes later, after rushing to greenhouse three and apologising non stop to Sprout, he told David and Chrys his plan.
Despite not having lunch, the trio headed for a free classroom so that Arthur can practise the Summoning Charm several times to make sure he can do it.
After that, things continued as normal until the next day.
Arthur had to endure over an hour of Divination with Trelawney spending 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.
"You're just making that up after I embarrassed you!" Arthur snapped at her, finally losing his temper with her.
After Divination, he had some dinner and he went to the common room and decided to do the Summoning Charm one more time, just to ease his nerves for tomorrow.
"Accio Dictionary!" He said, pointing his wand at a Rune Dictionary that Chrys was reading and it soared right out of her hand and flew right at Arthur, who caught it.
"Show off." David muttered playfully as Arthur threw it back to Chrys, who didn't look too pleased.
The following morning when Arthur woke up, his nerves came back when he remembered what he'll be doing later.
The atmosphere in the school was one of tension and excitement. Lessons would stop at midday, giving all students time to go to the dragons' enclosure, of course, they don't yet know what they'll find there.
Arthur felt like he was in another plane of existence from everyone else. It was mainly because people either wished him good luck or hissed that they hoped he would suffer greatly.
Time started behaving oddly, rushing along in his first lesson, which was History of Magic, and then the next, walking into lunch… and then McGonagall hurried over to him in the Great Hall, making many people watch.
"Pendergast, the champions have to come down into the grounds now… you have to get ready for your first task."
"Got it." He nodded as he stood.
"You'll be fine." Chrys whispered.
"You've faced a Basilisk, remember? You can totally face a dragon." David added.
Arthur followed McGonagall out of the Great Hall. She didn't seem like herself, instead, she looked very anxious.
As she walked down the stone steps and into the cold November afternoon, she placed a hand on his 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 the worse of you… are you alright?"
"Yeah… surprisingly." Arthur replied, feeling his nerves evaporate and be replaced with determination and daring. He's about to face a dragon and he'll make it out of it alive.
She led him towards the place where the dragons were, which was around the edge of the Forest, but when they approached the clumpy trees where the enclosure was on the other side, Arthur saw a tent was now erected, its entrance facing them, screening the dragons from view.
"You're to go in here with the other champions…" McGonagall said in a shaky voice. "...and wait for your turn, Pendergast. Mr Bagman is in there… he'll be telling you the - the procedure… good luck…."
"Thanks, Professor." He said, trying his best to keep his voice even as she left him at the entrance, which he walked through.
He found Fleur sitting in a corner on a low wooden stool, now not as composed as she normally looked, now looking pale and clammy. She also wore a sweater jersey and jacket in her school colours with a dark blue.
Krum looked more surly than ever, probably due to his nerves. He wore a turtleneck sweater with his house emblem on his chest with a robe over it.
And there's Cedric, who paced up and down the tent. He wore a largely black sports uniform with a yellow sweater underneath.
As Arthur went and changed into his uniform, which were in his house colours, Cedric gave him a small smile, which Arthur ended up returning, finding that his resentment towards him was slowly fading away.
"Arthur! Good-oh!" Bagman said happily upon noticing Arthur, who had completely changed into his uniform. "Make yourself at home!"
Bagman looked a lot like an overblown cartoon figure when standing among the pale faced champions. He also wore his old Wasp robes again.
"Well, now we're all here, time to fill you in!" Bagman said brightly. "When the audience has assembled, I'm going to be offering each of you this bag -" He held up a small sack of purple silk, shaking it at them " - 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!"
Looks like Arthur's guess of what they have to do was right overall. He looked around and saw that Cedric nodded once before he paced around the tent again, looking slightly green.
Both Fleur and Krum didn't seem to react, maybe because they'd be sick if they opened their mouthes.
But Arthur felt like he was ready to face whichever dragon he'll face, even if it's the Horntail.
In what seemed like no time at all, hundreds upon hundreds of pairs of feet were heard passing the tent, as voices talked excitedly, laughing, joking etc…. Arthur felt as separate from them like they were a different species.
Bagman then opened the neck of the purple silk sack.
"Ladies first." He said, offering it to Fleur.
She put a shaking hand inside the bag, drawing out a perfect model of a Welsh Green. It also had the number 'two' around its neck.
Arthur noticed her look of surprise before it turned into determined resignation, meaning that she was indeed told by Maxime.
The same for Krum, who pulled out the scarlet Chinese Fireball, which had the number 'three' around its neck. He didn't even blink as he stared at the ground.
Cedric was next to put his hand in the bag and he, much to Arthur's slight concern, pulled out the Swedish Short Snout with the number 'one' around its neck.
Arthur took a deep breath as he put his hand in the bag and pulled out the Hungarian Horntail with the number 'four'. It stetched its wings and bared its miniscule fangs at Arthur when he looked at it. He had to admit, he found this model to be cute so he stroked it with his index finger and watched it nuzzle against it with what sounded similar to a cat's purr.
"Well, there you are!" Bagman said. "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 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 a whistle, alright. Now…Arthur… could I have a quick word? Outside?"
"Okay…." He frowned suspiciously.
He got up and went out of the tent with Bagman, who walked him a short way away to the trees. He then turned to Arthur with a fatherly expression on his face.
"Feeling alright, Arthur? Anything I can get you?"
"I don't need anything." Arthur shook his head.
"Got a plan?" Bagman then asked, lowering his voice. "Because I don't mind sharing a few pointers, if you'd like them, you know, I mean…" He lowered his voice even more. "...you're the underdog here, Arthur… anything I can do to help…."
"No!" Arthur shot back. "I already have a plan in place."
"Nobody would know, Arthur." Bagman winnked.
"I said I already have a plan in place." Arthur hissed through his gritted teeth.
A whistle then blew elsewhere.
"Good Lord, I've got to run!" Bagman said in alarm before hurrying off.
Arthur got back into the tent and saw Cedric emerge from it, greener than ever.
Seconds later as he entered, the crowd roared, meaning that Cedric entered the enclosure, now face to face with the living counterpart of his model….
To sit there and just listen to the crowd screaming, gasping and yelling like a multi headed entity was just otherworldly, as Cedric did whatever he did to try and get past the Swedish Short Snout.
Krum was still staring at the ground and Fleur was now retracing Cedric's steps, going around the tent.
And there was Bagman's commentary, which made things more unbearable as images formed in Arthur's mind.
"Ooooh, narrow miss there, very narrow."
"He's taking risks, this one!"
"Clever move, pity it didn't work!"
Then after fifteen minutes, there was a deafening roar, which meant that Cedric got past the dragon and seized the golden egg.
"Very good indeed!" Bagman shouted. "And now the marks from the judges!"
The marks weren't shouted out, meaning that the judges held them up and showed them to the crowd.
"One down, three to go!" Bagman yelled as the whistle blew again. "Miss Delacour, if you please!"
Fleur was now trembling from head to foot. Arthur gave her an encouraging thumbs up, which she nodded to before she left the tent with her head held high, her hand clutching her wand.
Now it was just he and Krum left in the tent, both on opposite sides of the tent, avoiding each other's gazes.
"Oh, I'm not sure that was wise!" Bagman's voice shouted gleefully. "Oh… nearly! Careful now… good Lord, I thought she'd had it then!"
Ten minutes passed until the crowd erupted into applause again… meaning Fleur was successful, too. Then there was a pause as Fleur's marks were being shown, followed by some clapping and then the whistle blew for the third time.
"And here comes Mr Krum!" Bagman cried out as Krum slouched out, leaving Arthur on his own.
He found himself constantly clenching his left fist and taking deep breaths to prepare himself as he heard what was going on outside.
"Very daring!" Bagman yelled as Arthur heard the Chinese Fireball emit a truly horrible roaring shriek as 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 as Krum had finished, meaning that Arthur's just about to go and face the Horntail.
He stood up, standing by the entrance to the enclosure and waited until he heard the whistle blow.
He took a deep breath and walked out and through a gap in the enclosure fence.
He saw everything in front of him like it was a highly coloured dream of some kind. There were just hundreds and hundreds of faces staring down at him from the stands that were magicked there since he last visited this area.
And there was the Horntail herself at the other end of the enclosure, crouching low over her clutch of eggs with her wings half furled and her yellow eyes fixed on him. She also thrashed her spiked tail, leaving yard long gouge marks in the hard ground that had various rocks and boulders scattered throughout.
Arthur spotted one very large boulder and decided to use that for cover.
He imagined the lion in his head and found himself in his Animagus form, causing a collective gasp from the crowd as he charged to the boulder.
"Look at that, ladies and gentlemen, Arthur Pendergast has just turned in his Animagus form!" Bagman yelled, clearly surprised but excited nonetheless. "Clever tactic there, seeking cover!"
Arthur managed to get to the boulder in a short amount of time, avoiding a shot of fire from the Horntail as he was now halfway to her.
He turned back into his human form and pulled his wand out, raising it in the sky.
"Accio Firebolt!" He yelled.
Now he just waited for a few seconds until he heard his Firebolt speeding through the air behind him. He turned to see it hurtle towards him around the edge of the woods, soaring into the enclosure and stopped in mid air beside him, and he mounted it without hesitation.
The crowd made some noise and Bagman shouted something but he didn't care to listen as he kicked off the ground and soared upwards.
The air rushed through his hair and the Horntail now looked like it was the size of a dog. Arthur was truly in his element now.
He found himself lacking any concern or fear as he went into the mindset of this being a Quidditch match, the Horntail being an opposing team.
He looked down and saw the clutch of eggs, where he spotted the golden egg gleaming against its cement coloured counterparts, residing safely between the Horntail's front legs.
"Alright… diversion… let's do this." Arthur said to himself before he dived.
The Horntail's head followed him and he knew what it would do and so he pulled out of the dive in time as a jet of fire was released where he would've been if he didn't swerve away. It was just like dodging a Bludger.
"Great Scott, he can fly!" Bagman yelled as the crowd shrieked and gasped. "Are you watching this, Mr Krum?"
Arthur then soared higher in a circle with the Horntail still following his progress; its head revolving on its long neck. Arthur knew he couldn't keep this up because it would breathe fire again.
And with that, he plummeted right as the Horntail opened its mouth. Arthur was able to miss the flames and was quick enough to swerve away from its tail that whipped up to try and get him.
He zoomed around the back of the Horntail and that's when Arthur realised something.
The Horntail didn't want to take off as she was too protective of her eggs. So despite trying to get at him, she was afraid to move too far from them.
He had to try and get her to do that, but carefully and gradually.
So he flew, first this way, then the other, not near enough to make her breath fire to scare him off, but still seeming like a threat so that she kept her eyes on him. Her head swayed back and forth, watching him with those vertica pupils and fangs bared.
Arthur then flew higher. The Horntail's head rose with him, her neck stretched to its fullest extent whilst swaying, like a snake before its charmer….
Arthur rose a few more feet, making the dragon roar in exasperation. He was now becoming a fly to her, one that she longed to swat to death. Her tail thrashed again, but he proved to be too high to reach so she shot fire into the air, which he dodged… her jaws opened wide….
"Come on… come and get me, you overgrown furnace." Arthur hissed, swerving tantalisingly above her.
She then reared, spreading her large black leathery wings finally, as wide as those of a small aeroplane.
That's when Arthur dived.
Before the Horntail knew what he had done, or had disappeared to, he sped on his Firebolt towards the ground at top speed right to the eggs, which were now unprotected by her clawed front legs.
He then took both hands off his Firebolt and seized the golden egg.
Then with a spurt of speed, he was off, soaring out over the stands with the egg safely under his right arm.
The volume seemed to have been turned up as for the first time, he was now fully aware of the crowd, who all screamed and applauded as loudly as the Irish supporters at the World Cup.
"Look at that! Bagman yelled. "Will you look at that! Our youngest champion is the quickest to get his egg! Well, this is going to shorten the odds on Mr Pendergast!"
Arthur saw the dragon keepers rushing to subdue the Horntail, and, by the entrance of the enclosure, McGonagall, Moody and Hagrid all hurried to meet him, all three waving him towards them. Their smiles were clear even from high up in the air.
Arthur flew back over the stands, the noise from the crowd pounding his eardrums as he made a smooth landing, his heart now lighter than it had been for weeks.
He had managed to survive the first task.
"That was excellent, Pendergast!" McGonagall cried as he flung his Firebolt over his shoulder. It was truly extravagant praise from her. "The way you used your Animagus form was just inspired! Go and see Madam Pomfrey just in case before the judges give out your score… over there, she's had to mop up Diggory already…."
"Yeh did it, Arthur!" Hagrid said hoarsely. "Yeh did it! An' agains' the Horntail an' all, an' yeh know Kenny said that was the worst -"
"Thanks, Hagrid!" Arthur said loudly so that Hagrid didn't blunder on and reveal that he showed Arthur the dragons beforehand.
Moody looked very pleased as well as his magical eye danced in its socket.
"Nice and easy does the trick, Pendergast." He growled.
"Right then, Pendergast, the first aid tent, please…." McGonagall said.
Arthur walked out of the enclosure, panting, and saw Madam Pomfrey standing at the mouth of a second tent, looking a bit worried.
"Dragons!" She said disgustingly, pulling Arthur inside.
The tent was divided into cubicles and Arthur made out Cedric's shadow through the canvas, yet he didn't seem to be too badly injured as he was sitting up.
Madam Pomfrey examined Arthur thoroughly to see if he had any injuries and upon seeing that he didn't, she sighed with some relief.
"Last year Dementors, this year dragons, what are they going to bring into this school next? You're quite lucky that you're a good flyer, Pendergast." She said.
She then went out of the tent and went next door saying "How does it feel, now Diggory?"
Arthur decided to get to his feet and see what was going on outside, but before he reached the mouth of the tent, David, Chrys and Mike darted inside and all embraced Arthur.
"That was brilliant!" Chrys said squeakily. Arthur noticed fingernail marks on her face.
"You showed all those that doubted you! You were truly breathtaking!" Mike said and Arthur found himself blushing at the compliment.
"I'm sure you gave Krum a run for his money, he looked utterly impressed!" David revealed.
They then broke apart and led him out.
"You were easily the best out here, without question." David then said. "Cedric Transfigured a rock on the ground into a dog. He was trying to make the Swedish Short Snout go after the dog instead of him. Despite being a good bit of Transfiguration and getting the egg, Cedric got burnt. The dragon changed its mind halfway through, deciding to go for him instead of the labrador; he was barely able to get away."
"What about Fleur and Krum?" Arthur asked.
"Fleur tried a charm, probably trying to put the Welsh Green in some kind of trance." Chrys took over. "It worked as it became sleepy, but it then snored and a jet of flame shot out, catching Fleur on fire. She had to put it out with some water from her wand."
"With Krum…" Mike then took over. "...he didn't even think of flying. He was the best before you took that spot. He hit the Chinese Fireball with a spell right in the eye. This caused it to trample around in agony, squashing half of the real eggs, which the judges take marks off for, and he wasn't supposed to do any damage to them."
Arthur felt glad then, that he didn't cause any of the real eggs to be squashed.
They eventually reached the edge of the enclosure and Arthur saw that the Horntail was taken away. And he now saw where the five judges sat. They were right at the other end, in raised seats draped in gold.
"They each mark you out of ten." David added as Arthur looked at the judges.
The first of them was Maxime, who raised her wand in the air and formed a long silver ribbon, which became a large figure ten.
Crouch was next and he formed the number ten in the air.
"Great!" Chrys said as David and Mike thuped Arthur's back.
Dumbledore was the next judge and he also formed a ten, making the crowd cheer louder than ever.
Then Ludo Bagman formed a fourth ten.
"You're tied for first place with Krum!" David shouted right into Arthur's ear.
Karkaroff was the last as he raised his wand, but he paused for a moment and the number five shot out of his wand.
"YOU STUPID, BIASSED SCUMBAG!" David now roared in outrage.
"You gave Krum a ten, you pond scum!" Mike also expressed his outrage.
Arthur, though, didn't care much as it meant he was now in first place. And it was also clear that the Gryffindors weren't the only ones cheering in the crowd. It seemed most of Hogwarts, excluding the Slytherins, was on his side as much as Cedric's.
"You bested Krum!" Kenny said as he hurried over to them. "You're in first place! Anyway, I've got to go, I need to send mum an owl because I told her I'll write about what happened. Just unbelievable! By the way, Arthur, you've got to hang around for a few more minutes… Bagman wants a word in the champions' tent."
David and Mike said they'll wait as Arthur re-entered the tent. It now seemed very different, now being more friendly and welcoming.
Fleur, Cedric and Krum all came in together.
One side of Cedric's face was covered in a thick orange paste, most likely mending the burn that he got, making Arthur wince a bit. Cedric, though, grinned at him when seeing him.
"Good one, Arthur."
"And you." Arthur replied, grinning as well.
"Well done, all of you!" Bagman said, bouncing into the tent, looking like he was pleased to get past a dragon himself. "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 fourth, but we're giving you something to think about in the meantime! If you look down at those golden eggs you're all holding, you will see that they open… see the cap on top that you can twist on the top? 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! All clear? Sure? Well, off you go, then!"
Arthur left the tent, rejoining David and Mike and they walked around the edge of the Forest and headed to the castle.
But as they rounded the clump of trees, a witch leapt out from behind them.
It was Skeeter, who wore acid green robes and had her Quick Quotes Quill (which Arthur learned from Chrys) in her hand.
"Congratulations, Arthur!" She beamed at him. "I wonder if you could give me a quick word? How you felt facing that dragon? How you feel now about the fairness of the scoring?"
"I've said it before, I'll say it again: go away." Arthur growled at her savagely before he set off back to the castle with David and Mike.
What the champions wore and the eggs will look like what they do in the film adaptation.
And I know that you might think Arthur's score was unrealistic, but when you break it down, he was the fastest to get a golden egg, he didn't get any injuries or have his uniform set on fire and none of the real eggs were squashed. So what other score can the judges give him than a ten, unless you're a biassed and sore judge like Karkaroff.
