Hey again, thank you so much for the amazing revies, I was overwhelmed by the amount of support you all gave me last chapter!
Shoutout to Fivefatducks for always reviewing despite me not being able to answer due to you not being logged in ^.^ Appreciate it nonetheless.

Enjoy!

Chapter twenty - Friends to the Rescue

''Harry, Harry!'' he looked up from his book and cancelled the privacy spells around his bed that he always put up since the incident with Ron hearing him speaking in Parseltongue in his sleep.

''Neville?''

''Gran answered already,'' the boy enthusiastically said. ''And guess what, she can help!'' The door to the boy's dorm flew open and Ginny ran in, another letter in her hand.

''Mum wrote back, she said she didn't know anything about the Task itself, otherwise she'd instantly have told you, but she said I should ask Charlie. Apparently he's involved. Harry, do you know what this could mean?''

Both halted, looking at each other's letters and then at Harry, who was certain that his appearance wasn't any better than it had been since Madam Pomfrey had healed his knee the evening before -after a long scolding and deducted points over being out past curfew. He hadn't slept a wink, instantly digging through his books for anything he could find on dragons. The other boys of the dorm had now woken too, rather groggily and annoyed at not only noise being made so early in the morning, but also because of Ginny. Especially Ron threw her a vicious look, which the girl easily ignored. Harry was surprised that both she and Neville had been up early enough to check the Owlery already instead of waiting for the post in the morning. Well, the entrance was on the same floor as the Gryffindor common room, so they might have made a quick trip there right after waking. He felt touched that they were helping him so much. However...

''I already know,'' he quietly spoke, rubbing his bloodshot eyes. ''Found out yesterday evening. Dragons. Couldn't exactly talk to anyone about it since it was very late and I was in the hospital wing.''

''Hospital wing? Going on adventures alone again?'' Ron spoke, his mouth twisting into a strange smile that wasn't a smile at all.

''It involved a lot of eight-legged nightmares, I think you'd have passed even if I asked you.''

''Wow,'' Dean spoke. ''Sounds exciting. But did you mention dragons?''

Harry nodded mutedly. ''I saw four of them, all as big as a house. I've... I've got no clue what to do guys, honestly. All of the spells I've learnt till now are pretty useless, dragons are impervious to nearly any magic! I can only cast shields and protection charms and hope not to get hit.''

Not to mention that it would be odd if the dragon would die a horrifying death if it tried to eat him, not something he'd want to reveal.

''Wait...'' Harry looked up at Ron with irritation. The guy's attitude was really grating on his nerves. That disappeared when he was met with a look of pure horror. ''Dragons? Adult ones?''

''Looked like it,'' he answered slowly. ''They sure spit loads of fire and their claws were about this long.'' His estimated gesture made Seamus whistle through his teeth and Neville choked on air.

''Charlie has told me loads about those things,'' Ron continued, an edge of panic in his voice. ''They're vicious, normally a fully-trained team of magicians is needed to even stun them!''

''So I've read,'' Harry answered curtly.

''And you are sure that this is for the Tournament?''

''They're hiding four different dragon breeds in the forbidden forest, on a place where I know that we definitely didn't have dragons before. So yes... yes, I'm damn sure.''

Ron sat down on the bed and looked down at his hands. ''Merlin... I... Harry.'' When he looked up, all contempt from the past weeks had melted away. ''No-one would be stupid enough to voluntarily fight a dragon. Not even you and you've gone up against a Basilisk. Harry...'' Ron's voice became rather weak. ''Whoever threw your name in that Goblet definitely wants to kill you!''

Everyone stared at Ron, including Harry, although he could feel a smile pulling at his lips and the knot in his stomach finally loosened. It was as if the past weeks hadn't counted at all. He stared at Ron's insecure face and suddenly had the feeling that he had to say something before Ron broke out in a waterfall of apologies.

''Forget it. It's okay,'' he said, ignoring the half-stuttered 'Sorry'. ''Really.''

''We'll... we'll go then,'' Dean spoke awkwardly, walking out of the door despite being in his pyjamas, followed shortly by the Seamus.

''Both of you,'' Harry called out before Ginny and Neville could sneak out too. ''Thanks a lot. It's great to know that, even if I hadn't found out myself, I wouldn't have had to face that thing without a clue.''

The door closed and he turned to Ron again, who was staring at his feet. Harry let himself fall down on the bed, right next to his friend. ''Good thing Hermione isn't here now, I think she would have broken out in tears over our stupidity,'' he spoke to lighten up the mood. Ron perked up and grinned at him.

''I know right? Totally crazy, our Hermione. Hey... does that offer for flying together still stand?''

''Only if you help me to survive this battle. I think you know more about dragons than I do.'' It was absolutely great to be able to converse again with his friend, who also sounded as if he'd missed their talks by the way Ron wouldn't shut up for the next hour about anything that came to mind, drifting from dragons to anything Harry had missed during his time being 'locked up in the library by Hermione' as Ron called it. They only made their way downstairs when their stomachs started to rumble too loudly, only to find out that breakfast was over and they were late for their first class already. In true friendship, Harry hexed Ron and together they headed for the Infirmary, Harry with the excuse of his knee still hurting and Ron obviously needing to as his hands had swollen up to the point where they looked like fleshy, cartoonish gloves.

''Mad idea Harry. Brilliant, you're starting to equal Hermione in scariness,'' his friend whispered when Madam Pomfrey was at the other side of the room. Harry just grinned at him, glad he'd managed to convince the nurse that his knee still hurt and needed to be looked at again. ''So,'' Ron continued. ''You need a tactic for a battle like this.''

''I figured I'd just shoot everything I've got,'' Harry said.

''No, that's never going to work with a dragon! You've got to play on your strength, or its weaknesses, or both!''

''I don't feel particularly strong in anything... I am mediocre to bad in all of my classes. About dragon weaknesses I also have no clue yet. I read that all dragons have very different abilities and while I saw them behind a fence, it was pretty dark and I am sure that there are multiple red dragons for example.''

Ron put on his thoughtful look that he usually only had during chess games. ''Get as much info on your opponent... I suppose you don't know how the dragons get assigned?'' Harry shook his head. ''Bugger. Then you'll have to either find that out still and see if you could manipulate the outcome, or prepare for each dragon, which will be difficult considering that you don't have much time left. I only know that one of the basic spells Charlie always uses in a flame-freezing spell that binds to his clothes so they don't catch fire, I'd recommend that in either case. It wouldn't work to stop an entire direct stream of dragon fire, but could avoid getting you burned nonetheless.''

''One spell that I do know already then,'' Harry sighed in relief. They'd covered that one last year in Transfiguration. ''Not sure what you mean with binding though, you mean enchanting my clothes?''

''From what I gathered, if you just cast it on your clothes it won't work, it needs to somehow be woven into it or connected to it, much higher-level in magic... Maybe your French friend can help you there.''

Harry nodded. ''Okay. And further?''

''Not sure.. stunning spells only work in large groups of people, so do most other offensive spells. The only one whom I thought could deal with dragons at Hogwarts handed his a teddy bear,'' Ron shrugged. ''No idea how to contact Charlie on this short notice. Romania isn't next door. So Harry, are you in for another crazy idea?''

''Shoot.''

''We're going to have to find out what dragons you're fighting, so we have to return to the forest, preferably tonight.''

''Glad to have you back, mate,'' Harry grinned. As much as he loved Hermione, he much preferred Ron's hands-on approach in tough situations than the advice of pouring over books for hours in the hope of finding a single shred of theory that might be helpful. The door to the infirmary was slammed open and they both jumped at the sound.

''Silence in here!'' Madam Pomfrey shouted, getting red in the face. ''My patients need rest. Professor, that also goes for you, you cannot just barge in here and-''

Barty ignored the nurse and strode up to Harry, glowering at his leg. ''Heard you had an accident Potter.''

''I fell off the stairs,'' he said with an as neutral face as possible.

''I'm sure. Office, now.'' With an apologetic look at Ron and a fake limp, Harry got off the bed, reassuring Madam Pomfrey that he'd return again. He lost the limp the instant they walked out the door. ''You should really get sneakier if you run around in the forbidden forest,'' the Death Eater grumbled. ''Half the school knows you got injured now and the judges are worried that you know something.''

''They'd be right to worry then,'' he simply replied as they went into Moody's office. ''Just like they should worry about Delacour, and Krum. Both of them have known for far longer, I've observed their training.''

''I know. Good move, that cloak you have is useful. Can't stop this thing though,'' Barty grinned, tapping on Moody's blue eye. ''The only good thing that comes out of impersonating this bastard. So, fill me in. It became about time that you figured out some clues.''

Harry got comfortable in the small, dark room, lighting the fire as if he owned the place. It felt like it, after having spent quite a bit of time here in the past weeks. It was easy to fall back into the routine of taking care of everything like he had at Riddle house when Barty was around, even if he didn't look like himself. ''I had hoped that your hints would be more obvious, but in the end I stumbled across the dragon pen on accident,'' Harry shrugged when he was finished and sat down on one of the leather chairs Barty had brought in recently. ''Probably one dragon for each champion that we have to fight. Krum uses heavy defence and something that looked like stingers, Delacour focuses on ice and a sort of lullaby to get the dragon to fall asleep. Up until now I've only heard that I should bind a flame-freezing charm to my clothes and apart from that, I don't know. I'll have to go back to the forest today with a friend of mine who knows more about dragons than I do, to identify them. You wouldn't happen to know how the dragons are assigned?'' Barty stroked his chin.

''Had hoped you'd have slightly more than that... it's a rough start to work with. Hmm, I do know how you get your dragon... I suppose it wouldn't count as me directly giving you large clues, I doubt the info will be very useful. They'll have you pick miniature dragons from a bag. While that means that you could probably feel for shape and size, it won't do much good, you'll have to pick last as the youngest one. Trying to manipulate the other Champions into all not fishing out the dragon that you want to have is magic that goes way above your head still, so don't even try. Identifying the dragons is a good idea still though. I could tell you of course which ones they'll use but I think it is better for you to see them up close yourself. How did you end up in the forest 'on accident', is what I want to know.''

''Not in the forest itself, only that particular spot. I went there to fight some Acromantulas.''

A silence filled the room for a moment until Barty broke out in wild laughter. ''You went. to fight. Acromantulas?'' he wheezed. ''Thought it was a good idea to die before the first task?'' Harry gave the other an annoyed look.

''I don't see what's so funny about it. I've escaped the herd before when I was twelve and figured that I certainly should be able to deal with some now. I cannot only practise on lifeless dummies, plus I needed to know what those fancy shields the Dark Lord gave me did. And good thing that I did too, I now know that I should not let any direct attack from that dragon even graze me, else we'll have an unexplainable bloodbath on our hands. The spider that tried to chomp my head off literally got shredded. Another that tried to bite me wailed in pain as if tortured. How would you have me explain that to Dumbledore if one of those dragons kicks the bucket.''

''What do buckets have to do with dragons?'' Barty asked, entirely confused.

''When it gets dragged down by merfolk,'' Harry translated after a moment of searching for the wizarding equivalent.'' What I'm saying is, that it perhaps wasn't a good idea to put me in a Tournament where things attack me when I cannot let anyone in on the fact that I have dark magic hanging around me, ready to murder whatever hits me. It's even more inconvenient than just letting it blast my arms away.''

''Just find a way around it kid, you're much better with arms intact in my opinion. Also try not to piss off any spiders, you can be lucky that those shields work and they didn't actually rip your head off. I would have been majorly pissed at you otherwise. So, are there any spells until now that you'll need help with?''

Harry thought of commenting about Barty not having anyone to be pissed at anymore if he was headless now, then decided it wasn't worth the argument. That realisation might just set the man over the edge. ''I have no idea how to bind charms to objects. I thought I'd actually ask Dixie about that first. It is getting suspicious if you constantly drag me up to your office, the judges might catch onto you helping me. As for the rest, I'll come up with a strategy after identifying all the dragons. If I cannot pick my own, I'll have to prepare for all, right?'' Barty nodded at that.

''Good luck then, come here if you need anything. Don't forget to have another look at your books, there should be specific spells against dragon fire.''

Ron was still waiting when Harry showed up in the Infirmary again. His hands had been healed by now and it looked like he was using any excuse to stall leaving. When catching a glimpse of Harry, he finally abandoned those tactics and ran to the door, thanking Madam Pomfrey, who wore the typical annoyed look that she always had when knowing students were only here to skip class. ''Can't wait till Fred and George finish testing their skiving candies,'' Ron groaned. ''Would have made all of this a lot easier. So, we still have a good chunk of the day left. You think we can get away with not attending any other classes?''

Harry checked the time and considered their options. ''They're on the first hour of care of magical creatures now... Then there's a free period anyways and lastly double transfiguration. I seriously doubt that we can skip McGonagall's lesson when she finds out we were already dismissed from the hospital wing now. Hagrid won't mind if we take the rest of Care free I think. How about we wait for Hermione? We can't really be seen hanging out anywhere else than the common room now. I want to check some of my books for some spells anyways, it isn't smart to try sneaking into the forest by day.''

''Why not, we can just get your cloak,'' Ron suggested. ''We've got nearly two hours, so. The more time you have to prepare, the better right?'' Harry tried to find excuses not to, in the end admitting to himself that he just didn't think he could face those dragons again so soon. Pushing that aside, he gave Ron a nod. He couldn't hide and run and pretend those things did not exist.

''Hermione will kill us for still not being there during our free period,'' Harry warned Ron. ''I'm sure she'll have been told about the dragons by now.'' The boy suddenly looked very concerned.

''I hope that her worry for you will outshine her murderous intent. Let's do this!''

One would think that a trip to the Forbidden Forest would be much less creepy by daytime, but all the sunlight in the world could not penetrate far beyond the forest's border. An unsettling chill lay beneath the crowns of the tall trees, trails of fog drifting low over the ground. It reminded Harry heavily of the Dementors he'd had to face at a lake not far from here. Perhaps the forest was even worse by day. At least at night he could pretend that the cold seeping into his bones and the ominous shadows were normal. He finally removed the cloak when they were in far enough, because he didn't want to have Ron breathing down his neck all the time. Hopefully his friend could find the way back because he wasn't going in front again.

''It should be around here,'' Harry muttered, straining his ears. ''Oddly quiet.''

''Amplio'' Ron spoke, pointing the wand at his ears. It was a spell that they'd recently learned in Transfiguration, Harry recalled. He stayed silent to not interfere with Ron's now enhanced hearing, which would last for a couple of minutes. ''This way,'' his friend finally muttered, apparently having picked something up.

Why do I always forget that I can use magic at the most inconvenient times,'' Harry spoke. ''Thanks.''

''I noticed that both you and Hermione do that. Remember the Devil's snare when Hermione asked me for wood?'' They had a hearty laugh at that as they continued down an animal track, until they could hear shouts in the distance. Keeping low to the ground, Harry and Ron headed in further, until finally he could make out parts of the pen. It looked like the dragons weren't alone this time. ''Shit,'' Harry muttered, throwing the cloak over again. ''Of course there would be animal handlers by day, I forgot about that. Didn't see anyone last night.'' One of the dragons suddenly roared and with astonishment, Harry saw that a person had jumped on its back, patting the spikes to try and calm it down. ''Wait, is that...''

''No way!'' Ron hissed. ''Charlie?'' he threw off the cloak despite Harry's warning and ran up to the gate to watch his brother point his wand at the dragon's temple and firing off a spell that had the beast falling down, unconscious.

''Under control!'' Ron's brother shouted, wiping the sweat on his forehead away. ''Man, this is a nasty girl, not envious of whoever has to get past her.''

''Charlie!'' Ron shouted, making Harry mutter a string of curses beneath his breath.

The man jumped off the dragon and rushed to the palisade. 'Ron? What are you doing here? You're supposed to be at school. Don't tell me Fred and George set you up to go into the forest. If they did, I'll tell mum so she can rip them to shreds.''

''Nothing like that, I heard some rumours and... erhm... so these are for the Tournament then, I guess?''

Charlie didn't answer at first, turning away to reply to one of his colleagues. ''Sure. No Frank, it's fine, just my little brother. Merlin knows how he found us. Ron! we're going to open the gate so you can come in, but stick close to me, yeah? Don't want to send mum and dad your charred pieces back.

''Wicked!'' Ron exclaimed as the wood creaked, a gate appearing. Harry secured the invisibility cloak once more and snuck closer to be able to go through the gate as well before it closed. ''Wow, dragons huh?'' his friend said, watching the foul beasts in awe. All four were tied to different parts of the large pen, groups of animal handlers standing around with drawn wands.

''Yep. No idea why the Ministry allowed it apart from that they'll definitely make a spectacle. We had to get that one here in a rush,'' Charlie pointed at the smallest dragon, a plump green one that snarled at them. ''Not as dangerous as the others, they couldn't order a fourth dragon from abroad on such short notice. A Common Welsh Green,'' he told Ron. ''Still pretty vicious... It doesn't like humans very much, neither being around them nor actually hunting them. Preys on cattle and such, especially sheep. Not much to it apart from its regular dragon traits of magical resistance, flames and sharp teeth and claws. It's the only dragon to have four legs though, quite a rarity, we're still not entirely sure how that happened and how its related to other species, considering that in the animal kingdom, a few legs more or less are usually a sign of animals belonging in entirely different families. Should still be a challenge, considering the Champions don't actually have to fight them.''

''Oh?'' Ron perked up. Charlie gave him a calculating look.

''Are you on terms with Harry again?''

''Depends...'' Ron carefully said, making Charlie throw him a rough grin. The man bowed down and whispered something to his little brother that Harry didn't quite catch, but which had Ron laughing.

''Sure thing. Then yes.''

''Good. Well then, while these girls will definitely attack, the aim of the Champions won't be the dragons themselves, but a false egg. They wanted nesting mothers specifically, so that is why they're so aggressive even now. Each dragon on its own is more dangerous than they normally would be due to this, but as I said, they've only have to get past them and remove the fake egg that lies in the nest. My main concern is the real eggs, the Ministry insisted that we do not remove them. With how rare dragons are, I am terrified of any getting damaged. I sure hope Harry will be careful with that.''

''Will tell him,'' Ron muttered so softly that the other handlers couldn't hear. ''So what about the other three?''

''The one I just took out was the Swedish Short-Snout. Very quick to blow up and strikes suddenly. It has a hotter flame than any of the others, so hot it turns blue. For humans, its fire-breath is actually an advantage, because the heat doesn't matter much when you fight it: dragon fire, no matter of what heat, will melt straight through flesh and bone and the range of the Short-Snout is much shorter than the others'. Other things to watch out for are the claws, arguably its strongest weapon, and the back spikes. It will literally roll over its prey just to pierce it on its back. They use this also to hunt aquatic mammals, diving in the ocean and ripping open the belly of their prey by swimming under them. Advantages are that you won't have to watch for poison on this one, and it's eyesight is quite bad. Sneaking around the back from a large distance might be a good idea to not even get noticed. Most dangerous position to be in is right next to its flanks.

Moving on, that red one over there is a Chinese Fireball. Its elongated body is quite typical for most Asian dragons as they are related more to snakes after some breeding with Naga. Still dangerous enough, it can release large clouds of fiery breath in quick succession, effectively without pause if it wants to. Those golden spiked folds of skin you see at the neck are responsible for that, they channel air through there in gusts, puffing them up. That also gave it its nickname 'Liondragon'. Even if you target that and stop the fire, it has enough tricks up its scales to be lethal: constriction, agile aerial movement, sharp eyesight... not to mention that these are clever.''

''Any weaknesses?'' Ron asked hopefully.

''No, you can only hope to disable its advantages. Attack its eyes first and then the air sacks.'' Harry would have laughed at that word if he wasn't feeling so sick to his stomach. ''It's pretty deadly all around and can move fast enough. It's also long enough that no matter where you stand, you'll be in a bad position.''

''They really thought of something evil for these tasks, didn't they,'' Ron commented, looking a bit green. What about that?'' he jerked his chin towards the last dragon, a gigantic black, horned thing that looked more like a lizard than any of the other species. It was calm now, or at least seemed that way, lying down flat on the ground, observing each movement with large amber eyes.

''That? That's a Hungarian Horntail. Honestly, my advice would be to try and run as fast as possible to grab the egg without even bothering to attack it. It won't work. I love dragons but that is a nasty breed if I've ever seen one. Armed from front to back with spikes, poison, fire, you name it. Quick temper, long range of breath, massive strength in those muscles. I honestly don't know if the Champion who gets this shouldn't just give up unless they can figure out a way to get super speed...''

He and Ron were both silent on the way back, the sight of the Horntail swimming through Harry's mind.

''You okay?'' his friend asked with concern.

''Not in the slightest. What if I get the Horntail?''

''Only a one in four chance right?'' Ron tried to cheer him up.

''With those spikes? Fat chance, if the other champions know what dragons there are, they're going to avoid that one, I found out that we'll have to draw miniatures from a bag, and I'm going to have to go last.''

Ron whistled softly. ''We'll better get a damned good plan for all of these then. I suppose you'll only have to get a tactic for three dragons though, anything that works on the Horntail, Fireball or Short-Snout should be enough for the Welsh one.''

''Only three deadly beasts to conquer then,'' Harry spoke, not feeling very optimistic. ''You don't figure that they can speak Parseltongue? Charlie did say something about Naga...''

Ron hesitated. ''I hadn't thought of that. They are a kind of reptile I suppose. You want to turn around again?''

Harry frowned. ''It's a bit late to turn back now, we'll only make class in the nick of time. I'll see if there are any mentions of it in books, I really don't feel up to returning here once more. It could be a possibility to keep in mind, the Basilisk also spoke Parsel and that is also not exactly merely a snake. Then again, I can imagine dragons are more like lizards...'' Perhaps he'd dream about Voldemort tonight and could just ask, that would save him time.

After a long trek to the castle, they came face-to-face with a hysterical Hermione in the common room, who had a shouting session at the both of them for being reckless, stupid, and mainly for not including her. She still acted pissed when walking to Transfiguration, but by the way she suddenly drew the both of them close, they were safe. ''You are both such idiots,'' she cried. ''I've been trying for weeks to get you to talk to each other again and then you just sneak off for hours after finding out that Harry has to face those dreadful creatures.

''Don't let Hagrid hear you, he might be offended on behalf of poor little Norbert,'' Harry said. His attempt at humour flew over Hermione's head, since she asked with a shocked face:

''Norbert isn't one of them, is he?''

''No no, they're all female dragons,'' Ron hastened to say. ''No worries, none that we know back there. Come on, we should celebrate that I stopped being a jerk.''

Hermione exhaled in disdain, her nose flaring in a way that reminded him of McGonagall with startling clarity. ''If we'd start with that we'd be having parties every few months with how often you make a fuss. I still haven't forgotten last year.''

''I'll do better,'' Ron promised, sulking a bit.

''No chattering!'' their Transfiguration teacher reprimanded the three of them. She strode past them, and as she did, he could swear she whispered ''Good luck with the dragon, Potter,'' to him. It was so fleeting that he might have imagined it. Still, her possible words of encouragement gave him enough strength to sit through the lesson and actually pay attention, even when his stomach felt hollow at each thought of dragons. The fact that it couldn't kill him wasn't such a comfort as he'd hoped: being revealed in front of his friends to have turned his back to what they believed in, without having a chance to explain himself to them, may be worse than being ripped apart by teeth and claws.

That feeling of dread stuck with him throughout the rest of the day and evening, giving him trouble with sleeping as well. Harry tossed and turned under his blankets, wiping the nervous sweat off his hands every few minutes. It wasn't long now anymore until there wouldn't be any chains and tamers in between him and one of those beasts, not long until the flames would sear through the open sky, trying to reach him. He could feel the heat, tongues of fire licking at his heels as he desperately tried to escape a gigantic shadow with wings that obscured the sun.

Scales glittered and an amber eye stared into his soul, its pupil narrowing as it focused on its prey. Harry was helpless here. He stumbled over rocks and branches, uselessly trying to grab his wand, which was of course nowhere in sight. Panicking, he grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it up, hoping to hit those evil eyes of death so he could make a run for it. Up in the air soared a dragon egg, which split open and revealed the faces of his friends, crying out for help. Help he couldn't give them now he was trying his best not to die. The dirt missed - Harry hadn't expected anything else -, and so did any stones that he sent after it. The earth shook as massive paws ripped it open, the dragon ever coming closer, a mass of angry black spikes and fire. He froze like a deer, unable to tear his gaze away.

The jaws snapped shut. Not, as the frightened teen had expected, closing over his head, instead halting an inch away from the outstretched hand of Voldemort, who had appeared out of thin air in front of Harry. The dragon growled lowly, then bowed its head and retreated. ''Having unpleasant dreams, I see.'' the Dark Lord spoke, turning to observe Harry with a calculating look. ''Dreams can be a useful tool for all sorts of things, but you should not let them overwhelm you. Just like you shouldn't let this coming task engulf your sense of reason.''

''Reason!'' Harry croaked. ''I've only been able to beat the monsters I have till now with pure luck and because I had no time to do anything but fight in that moment. This... stepping into that arena willingly is...'' his voice caught in his throat.

''All you need is preparation and a strategy,'' Voldemort spoke, his face serious. ''Evan, I told you that I shall not give you any tasks that I feel you cannot handle and I fully think you are capable of this. What you lack is trust in your own capabilities, and the ability to keep a cool head in situations such as these. You cannot always accidentally find yourself in danger and run on adrenaline alone. This, a task where you know days in advance of it taking place, is a prime opportunity to learn how to prepare for and handle future battles. And trust me, you are much better off having a dragon as opponent than a particularly skilled magician.''

Harry thought upon that for a while. He supposed that it would indeed be horrible to have to fight against an opponent who could use a varied range of magical abilities he had no idea of. At least with dragons, he knew where their strengths and weaknesses lay. With the ones who had weaknesses, that was. He looked around at the make-shift arena his mind had come up with. It wasn't even very realistic, now he took a good look. Half of it consisted of half-drawn, hazy lines and parts overlapped with forest. His dreams were definitely not comparable to the clear, pristine spaces of Voldemort's mind, which could have existed in reality. A branch flickered in and out of existence, reminding Harry of something he'd still wanted to ask.

''Dragons don't happen to speak Parseltongue, do they?''

A smile tugged at the corners of Voldemort's mouth. ''What a Slytherin thing of you to think of. Regrettably it shan't be that easy for you, none of the species imported for this Tournament would be apt at speaking it. The Fireball may understand a few words, but not more than a dog is able to understand human language beyond simple commands. Very few dragons are related close enough to snakes to speak Parsel to an acceptable degree and most of those are aquatic species.''

''What did you do to the dragon here?''

Voldemort rose his eyebrows. ''This was a mere figment of your imagination child, I simply dispelled it like I would do with any dark thought, its form had nothing to do with that.'' The man spread his arms. ''All the answers you need are either in your own head already or in the books I sent, and Barty will help you master any spell you choose to use. You are making this much more difficult for yourself than necessary.''

''Perhaps that's what it looks like to someone for whom the earth could bloom beneath his feet if you only wished for it.''

''How poetic,'' Voldemort remarked dryly. ''No, it is how it looks to someone who has seen the potential of many people, either under my own tutelage or that of my followers. You are a magician, as long as you have the will and the power, you can achieve anything. And I certainly do not believe that the one person who is linked to me is not powerful enough.'' He stepped closer to Harry, so close that each speck in those dark ruby eyes was visible. ''You will not disappoint me.''

The teen swallowed any sarcastic response he could have given to that and only nodded, trying not to let anxiety rule his head. ''I won't,'' he promised. Even if he didn't yet know how he would possibly be able to keep his word, he'd agreed to this and would do anything he could, even if he'd have to return to fight Acromantulas each night for the coming week.

''Good. Go now, you know your orders. I will be looking forward to see how you tackle this, especially how you'll incorporate heavy magic to display it to the public.''

''I haven't forgotten about that,'' Harry hesitantly said, ''but I am not very confident about learning such difficult magic in such a short period of time.'' An annoyed look clouded the man's face suddenly.

''You shall, the consequences if you do not even make an attempt will not be pleasant for you.''

As soon as the threat was uttered, the world around Harry vanished in a whirl of colours.

He woke confused and more than a bit scared, instantly grabbing the books he'd hid under his bed to frantically flick through them in search of anything that could possibly help.

Sooo, Ron and Harry are on good terms again.. For how long, I wonder?
Coming up in the next chapter: the First Task! No spoilers on how much it will divert from canon though ;P
xx GeMerope