A/N - Harry Potter, JKR, blah blah blah, you know the score. Re-reading this chapter, I noted there's a similarity between my re-imaging of the first task and that done by the absolutely fantastic LeQuin in their story "Harry Potter and the Last Chance". It wasn't deliberate but I was clearly influenced by that story. If you haven't read it, you absolutely should. LeQuin is an incredible writer.

Chapter 7 - The Dragon Was The Easy Bit

Harry was alone in his ante-room sitting quietly. All the champions were confined to their rooms to ensure that they didn't steal any ideas from the others which might aid them in their own attempts. He heard the other champions be called, heard the muted roar of the crowds from the outside, heard the commotion as each champion left and the even greater commotion when they returned. The waiting was interminable. After each champion returned there was an extended wait until that dragon was subdued and removed so it could be replaced with the next. As Harry was last to go, his wait was the worst. He went over the plan in his head time and again, trying to synthesise every possible variable, come up with plans B, C, D, E and F.

He honestly didn't know how long he had sat there when the flap opened and the gurning visage of Ludo Bagman poked through. "Right then Potter, you are up."

Harry stood on autopilot and tried to still his churning mind. With a deep breath he steeled himself and stepped through the tent with as much determination as he could muster. He promised himself he would present a confident face to the crowds, no matter how much his stomach may be threatening to run away.

The main flap to the tent opened for the youngest champion and he heard - no, felt the noise as it hit him when he walked out. The rocky arena was spread before him, bordered on three sides by baying crowds. The crowd behind him stretched the full width of the arena, the stands to the sides went into the first fifteen or so feet. After that it was all rock, all undulating ground and at the end, sitting on a raised dias, all dragon,

Harry glanced around at the crowds with the sight reminding him of the ancient Roman arenas. 'Are you not entertained' ran through his mind as he turned again to get his first good look at the dragon.

"Fuck!"

That one word was a decent summary of the conglomeration of thoughts running through Harry's mind. The thing was huge. From snout to tail it was fifty feet if it was an inch. It was covered in magic resistant scales, there were huge horns not only at the joint of each wing, but in a row running the length of the tail. 'Why couldn't it be the fucking Hungarian Cottontail' Harry thought.

At the urging of Bagman he stepped over the start line causing the amplified voice of Bagman to announce that the final competitor had commenced their task. The sound of the crowd increased. Harry was sure there would be as many cheering for the dragon as there would be for him, but found he didn't care.

He raised his wand and spoke the only two words needed. "Accio Firebolt!" The crowd of course didn't hear the incantation so were not aware of what was going on. Harry just stood there waiting. After what seemed like an eternity he heard the tell-tale whistle of his broom flying through the air. It came to a stop beside him and before his nerve left him, Harry jumped on and pushed his magic into it causing him to rocket off in the direction of the walking oven which was guarding the item he had to retrieve.

The dragon was focussed on the shape hurtling toward her, beady eyes never wavering as she tried to work out what was happening. Instinct took over and she drew back her mighty head before thrusting it forward and unleashing a jet of magical flame. The shape veered off up and to the side, clearly out of the way of the jet of fiery death. She flapped her wings to take off and try and follow the shape, but found she could only hover, the chain attached to the collar around her neck preventing her fro, going too far. The shape swooped back into view and flashed across her line of vision. The head of the beast waved from side to side, the magic in the body having recharged enough to allow another gout of flame to issue forth. Again the figure just flew out of the way. The dragon was getting pissed off and flapped her wings harder, straining at the chain.

When the figure flew before her again she saw it raise an arm before a jet of water hit her on the face, rapidly being turned into a block of ice. Now she was pissed. The heat emanating from her mouth meant that the ice wasn't long in being melted away, but had left freezer burns around her mouth. She flapped furiously against the chain and thought she could feel movement further than she was able to make previously. When the figure flew in front of her and then off to the side, she whipped her head around to try and follow. The figure was getting close to her clutch of eggs and she found a previously undiscovered level of rage take over her. Her wings thrashed the air as her massive body mass made repeated thrusts against the chain.

It has long been said that a chain is only as good as its weakest link. That was proven to be the case here. With a screech the dragon rose, the weak link in the chain shattering. Somehow above the din Harry heard the tinkle of metal hitting stone. His head spun around as he saw the dragon leap into the sky.

"FUCK!"

With lazy flaps of her wings the dragon built up speed and flew toward him, her head rearing back with the tell-tale motion which preceded the roaring flame. Harry poured magic into the broom and took off at speed up the valley of the arena, realising too late that he was effectively leading the dragon toward the crowds. He sensed as much as saw the flame race toward him and threw himself toward the ground, feeling the soaring heat pass overhead. He pulled back up and twisted in mid air trying to change direction hoping the dragon would follow but there was a limit to where he could go. In an ideal world he would try and fly over or under the dragon and pull her back toward the far end of the arena where the golden egg was, but that currently wasn't an option. For as fast as Harry could fly on his broom, the dragon could match him.

Harry bought some time flying in loops around the middle of the arena, doing all he could to keep the dragon distracted. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the great head heave back once again and turned his full attention to the initial flame, trying to work out whether he needed to climb or dive. Climb was the answer, and he just got out of the way of the flame in time. By now the dragon had noticed that there were more shapes further up and however its focus was still on the shape in front of it. Tiring of the cat-and-mouse game, the dragon charged at the shape, causing Harry to spin around and fly off. Desperately trying to come up with a plan, he slowed down fractionally to make sure that the dragon kept her attention on him. The cat and mouse game also gave Harry some valuable information he thought he could use.

Harry had worked out that there was a gap of around twenty to thirty seconds after each gushing fire the dragon spat out which he surmised was needed for the dragon to re-charge. The dragon also always reared its head before casting the flame. Harry had assumed that the spectator areas were warded but he didn't want to be proved wrong. Sadly, it looked like he wasn't going to be given a choice, the dragon was now effectively herding him up the remainder of the valley toward the area where it flared out for spectators. A plan snapped into his mind, it would be hard, damn near impossible, but it was the only one he had.

Just as he approached the end of the valley with the dragon on hot (literally!) pursuit he veered up, assuming correctly that another gouge of flame was due. He looked around to see the tell-tale rearing of the head and the flame start to flood toward him. This time he dropped out of the sky, much in the manner that he did during the quidditch match although he pulled out of the dive long before he got near the ground. His impetus and momentum were now taking him closer to the crowd.

It was now or never.

In the back of his mind, Harry was reminded of a time when he used to fly his T-16 training broom and he used to try and bullseye womp rats with stinging hexes. Despite having such a large head, the shape of the dragon's mouth meant that when it was open, the gap between the upper and lower jaws wouldn't be much bigger than a womp rat. More importantly, the inside of a dragon's mouth wasn't magically resistant the same way its scales were. He realised that he'd missed his opportunity this time around and that the dragon was getting worryingly close to the crowd. He flipped round on his broom and flew directly toward the dragon, getting ready to slew off to the side at the last second. As he flew toward the dragon, he flicked out his wand and with nothing else to lose, fired of a powerful stinging hex, hoping just to hit something unprotected and, more by luck than judgement, hit the dragon's eye.

The scream the dragon unleashed was unholy. WIth one eye blinded, it had lost the shape which had caused it so much pain but instinctively cut loose a new swathe of flame. Harry had noticed that he was now being ignored and was almost tempted to head back up the valley toward the golden egg, but seeing how close the last flame was to the crowd put paid to that idea. Swinging around again he overtook the dragon which by some coincidence was flying half-blindly toward the Gryffindor section. Harry knew he had only seconds to get in position. Pouring speed into the broom he performed an almost impossible looking maneuver and found himself face to face once again with several tons of enraged dragon.

Harry could barely hear the terrified screams of the crowd behind him as he finalised his plan in his head. With a muttered "fuck it" he waited until he saw the first slight movement of the dragon's head and then shot toward the beast. The closer he could be the more likely it was his plan would work. Time seemed to slow down as he flew toward the opening maw. He was less than three feet away now, if this shot missed he was going to die. He raised his wand and taking quick aim fired off a massively overpowered piercing hex, watching as the hex flew directly into the open mouth of the dragon, before erupting out the back of its neck. Dragon scales may be magically resistant on top, but underneath they were as vulnerable as anything else.

The amount of magic Harry pushed into the spell threatened to cause him to black out, but he somehow stayed conscious, watching as the light faded from the dying dragon's eyes and if fell from the sky, the air vortices causing him to almost lose control as the beast plummeted. Such was Harry's concentration on staying on his broom he never noticed the flailing tail as the dragon spiralled to the ground, landing with force just feet away from the front of the Gryffindor stand. Harry's broom wobbled as the displaced air almost threw him off, before he felt pain which was more than he could ever remember before. A bludgeoning pain was first closely followed by a sharp pain which felt like liquid fire spreading from his shoulder. He dared to look and saw the remains of one of the tail horns deeply embedded in his shoulder. It had been broken off as the tip of the tail acted as a whip, otherwise the effect would have been much worse.

Harry haphazardly lowered himself toward the ground, he still had to get up to the other end of the valley and back with the golden egg. He was flying slowly, completely oblivious to the commotion everywhere in the stands. After what seemed like an eternity he reached the nest and gingerly picked up the golden egg, before turning to start to fly back. Halfway back to the start line, Harry's magic, already massively depleted from the amount used between his aerial acrobatics in avoiding the dragon, then the overpowered spell which killed it, gave up and his broom fluttered to the ground, taking him with it.

Faced with no other option, Harry stood up, swaying unevenly before finally, slowly, putting one foot in front of the other and walking back to the line. If he allowed himself to focus on anything other than that line which was inching ever closer he wouldn't have made it. Instead his eyes never wavered from his goal. Each staggering step took him closer and closer and when he finally crossed the line after what felt like an eternity, Harry Potter collapsed into the ground, his world going black.

As soon as Harry had crossed the line and Bagman had announced to the crowd that he had successfully completed the task, four people left their seats to rush down to the champions tent. Two came from the VIP seats, one from the Ministry section and one from the Gryffindor stands. The latter had to run around the now thoroughly dead dragon to get there. As she did, Hermione couldn't help but shudder at the sheer size of the beast that utterly drawrfed her.

James and Lily didn't have to get up close and personal with the beast, but couldn't help but flick their eyes between it and their now comatose son who was being picked up by some helpers and carried to the tent. Madam Pomfrey was already waving her wand over the boy. James' eyes were filled with anger, Lily's weren't far behind. Amelia joined them at the tent, the shock of what she had just witnessed evident on her face.

James wanted a target for his rage and soon found one. "DUMBLEDORE! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU AND THE REST OF YOU FUCKING IDIOTS PLAYING AT!"

Dumbledore was honestly as shocked as anyone else. As he watched the aerial dance with mounting horror, the prospect of being the headmaster whose school was responsible for killing the boy who, alive or not was still regarded as a hero in the wizarding world. He didnt' even try to stop the fury of James Potter.

"You sat there and looked me in the fucking eye and said that you had done all your could to minimise the risks of the tournament. How in the name of FUCK is making a fucking fourteen year old face a fucking DRAGON safe, never mind the fact that the dragon could break through it's shackles like they were paper. You do realise that if Harry hadn't managed to down the beast you would have had a fucking massacre on your hands, dont you!"

Dumbledore looked all of his 100 plus years. "I am well aware James. I know nothing I can say will change what happened, but I assure you I am as shocked as anyone at what transpired. I argued against the use of dragons, something I am more than willing to take a Vow to demonstrate, however what is not commonly known is that the Goblet sets the tasks. The organisers will enter parchments which represent all of the possible tasks which may be attempted. The goblet will then eject three of them. The order in which they are issued represents the order of the tasks. The tasks themselves were determined by the mages who initiated the first tri-wizard tournament, reputed to have included Merlin himself, Lailoken and Buile Suibne. As you will appreciate, those three were essentially the founders of the modern magics. Whilst there had been magic in the world since time immemorial, those were the three who did so much to codify it, led by Merlin. It's also no surprise that those three, along with Morgan Le Fey are purported to be the ancestors of the four founders of Hogwarts."

James was aware of some of this but for once in his life, wasn't in the mood for a history lesson. He was about to launch another tirade when he was cut off by Amelia.

"I am going to be raising the events of today in the Wizengamot. I am aware that Hogwarts operates somewhat outwith the normal dynamic of the Ministry but regardless, that so many children were put in such danger can't be ignored."

Lily had just nodded at that and raised her hand to stop the rest speaking. "This is a time for these conversations, after we find out how Harry is. Dumbledore, where is he?"

No sooner had she spoken than the slender figure of Hermione Granger came barreling through the tent, still shaking off the last helper who tried to stop her getting in. "How's Harry?" she asked breathlessly.

Lily gave her a hug. "We are just going to find that out."

Dumbledore pointed toward the anteroom Harry had used before the task. The Potters moved off leaving Hermione and Amelia. Amelia was still giving Dumbledore the riot act, leaving Hermione to quietly move to the side. Lily had looked around to see where the young witch was before beckoning her over and conjuring a seat. "Let us go in and see how he is, once Poppy confirms what state he's in we will see about getting you into say hello."

Lily was beyond touched that Hermione had ignored pretty much every protocol to come and make sure that her friend was ok.

The two went into the room to see Poppy still waving her wand over the prone figure on the bed. "How is he Poppy?"

The healer's head whipped up at the voice. "Lily! He's going to be fine, he's magically and physically exhausted. I had to remove the dragon spike manually, they are magically resistant so I couldn't vanish it. I have had to vanish the scapula, it was shattered beyond repair. The poor thing must have been in agony. Anyway, he's going to be in the infirmary for a few days, it will take 24 hours for the bones to regrow once I can get some skele-gro into him, but I can't do that until he wakes up."

"When do you think he will wake?"

"I hope he will stay asleep for at least the next day, maybe more."

James asked Poppy some more questions as Lily went outside to let Hermione know what was going on. Given that Harry would be unconscious for the next day at least, the young witch thanked Lily for letting her know and made her way back to Gryffindor Tower with a promise that Lily would let her know when Harry woke, and that when he was compos mentis after his potions regime she could visit as often as she liked.

- oOoOoOo -

Harry had spent an uncomfortable few days in the infirmary where he was visited regularly by his parents and, of course, Hermione with the added surprise being that Neville Longbottom popped in a couple of times, as did Roger Davies and Cedric Diggory.

He had found out that all of the competitors had been injured to some degree, although none were as bad as Harry. Cedric had tried to distract his dragon by transfiguring stones into animals. Whilst that worked enough to get the dragon off the nest but as soon as the dragon hit the animals with fire, the transfiguration failed, causing the dragon to turn back just as Cedric was getting the egg. Fortunately, the chains for his dragon held and whilstCedric was able to get out of the way of the dragon itself, he was still burned by the flames as he escaped.

Fleur for her part used her Veela powers to subdue the dragon and was going to escape unscathed until a screaming Bagman woke it back up. She was caught by a talon which gouged her back but that was quickly healed. Viktor temporarily blinded his dragon with a conjunctivitis curse which caused it to thrash about much two real eggs were destroyed. Like Fleur, he was injured by the dragon thrashing, this time a broken arm as well as some burns. Harry was upset that real eggs were destroyed, which along with the guilt he he felt at having to kill the dragon he faced was causing him to become withdrawn.

His mother noticed what was wrong when she was visiting alone one day. After fifteen minutes of monosyllabic answers, she finally asked what was wrong. Harry looked at her, green eyes meeting green.

"I knew when I fired that hex that if it hit I was going to kill the dragon. It was just doing what dragons do, it was protecting its nest. What right did I have to kill it? Maybe if I wasn't so weak or if I had studied harder, learned more, maybe I could have found a way to stun it."

Tears fell from both as Lily contemplated what was eating her son from the inside. Despite everything they had faced neither James nor Lily had ever killed. During the war James had come close, but neither had taken a sentient life. Lily was proud of her boy not only because he made the hardest choice of all, but because he knew the toll it would take and was trying to bear that as best he could.

"If you hadn't, baby, what would have happened? Dozens, maybe hundreds of people, including you, would have died. Your dad and I might have been next, Hermione would have been in the line of fire. Yes, what you did was horrible, but that doesn't mean you are. You were stuck in an impossible situation and you handled it better than anyone had any right to think you would."

Harry was still having a hard time believing it so eventually Lily spoke to James who swallowed his ire and in turn spoke to Dumbledore. As a result of this Harry had a most unexpected visitor.

"Harry Potter?" The voice was clearly nervous.

"Yeah, who are you?"

"Erm, I'm Charlie. Charley Weasley. I came over from Romania with the dragons, I heard that you were having a hard time coping with what happened."

"You could say that, Mr Weasley." At hearing the name Harry became detached and formal.

"Charlie, please. Look, before we start, I know you have had issues with my youngest brother. As soon as he knew I was here he came to see me and, well, made it clear he wasn't a fan. I know the history between your parents and mine, I never agreed with mum making dad approach to request the arrangement." Charlie shrugged his shoulders. "I've got no problem with you or your family. Ron has always been unfortunately like mum."

Harry nodded. "Thanks. What happened at the task, how did the dragon break free?"

Charlie sat down with a sigh. "It was a cock up, pure and simple. Dragon tethers are calibrated based on the dragon they need to hold. We had three and a spare, calibrated to hold the Fireball, the next biggest, for the three dragons we thought we would need. When we were told we needed a fourth it was all hands on deck to get one found and transported. In all the excitement no one thought to check that they had sent a properly calibrated tether. We assumed, wrongly, that the Fireball's tether would be strong enough. For that I both personally and on behalf of the reserve, apologise."

"I just wish… "

"That you didn't have to kill it? Look Harry, if you didn't we would have had to. The Horntails are known to be aggressive, but that one was utterly berzerk. With the manpower we had, there is no way we would have been able to subdue it enough to stop it killing everyone in the stands. We had a dragon rated ballista on hand."

That knowledge helped the ache in Harry's heart ease a little and the two fell into conversation.

"So if you are based in Romania, does that mean you are at Dragosani?"

Charlie looked surprised. "You heard of us? Yeah, I am. Boris Dragosani would have come over himself, but with all the nasty business with Harry Keogh in the 70s, he's still pretty much persona non grata in the UK." He snorted a laugh. "There must be something with him and people called Harry!"

Harry was about to ask for details, knowing nothing of what Charlie was talking about when the older redhead said it was time to go. They had a dragon carcass to render and three others to get ready to transport. With a final note that Harry could expect some compensation from the Dragosani reserve, he left.

True to Poppy's prediction Harry spent almost the entire week in the infirmary. By the time the 29th came he was itching to get out. When he was finally released he had missed all the meals so ate in the suite with his parents. The following day he was back in the great hall looking for Hermione, by now firmly established in his mind as his best friend. She had been his most frequent visitor after his parents, and the two had grown closer, although there still seemed to be an unspoken barrier between them at times. Neither would really speak about things which were overtly personal, preferring to discuss magic both theoretical and practical, as well as some general chats about their other likes.

Neither had the benefit of proper childhood friendships to act as benchmarks so both were learning as they went along. Harry reintegrated into student life but was aware that something had changed. Whilst there were still stares and whispers, the looks which accompanied them were no longer suspicious or hostile for the most part. Most students, predominantly Gryffindors, now looked at Harry with something approaching awe. Being isolated for the previous week as he was, Harry was not fully aware of just how quickly his epic battle against the Horntail had entered the annals of Hogwarts lore. If he had been asked, he would have said that he didn't care. All he wanted to do was to get back to classes and some degree of normality.

With the Friday Feast being on December 2nd, it was chosen to mark the official start of the Yule period in Hogwarts. When Harry and Hermione got to the great hall for dinner they were surprised that there were no Beauxbatons or Durmstrang students. The same question was being asked throughout the hall and was answered when the headmaster stood up before the feast started.

"You may have noticed that our friends from the other schools are absent this evening" started the ancient one. "They are dining in their own accommodations tonight so that they too can commence their Yule celebrations according to their own traditions, and to hear the same announcement as you are about to receive." Dumbledore paused for dramatic effect.

"On Saturday 24th December, in honour of the tri-wizard tournament, there will be a Yule Ball, which will be open to fourth years and above. Third years may attend if they are being escorted by an older student. The ball will be in the traditional style for the first part, followed by the Wierd Sisters for the second." That brought a cheer from the assembled throng. After holding his hand up for silence the headmaster continued. "An extra Hogsmeade weekend has been scheduled for the 16th to allow any students who require dress robes to purchase them from the village, or indeed should anyone wish to get something nice for their date!" The old man's eyes had their trademark twinkle as realisation set in throughout the hall. Those who were going would have to find dates!

During dinner talk was of nothing else. Harry noticed that Hermione seemed… well he couldn't quite put his finger on it… different? Whatever it was, he filed it in the back of his mind for future consideration. As the feast ended, Professors McGonagall and Sprout appeared with Cedric Diggory in tow.

"Mr Potter, may I have a moment of your time?" Harry nodded. "Would you accompany us to my office?" Harry nodded again and looked at his friend.

"I want to get my homework done anyway, I've got some catching up to do."

Harry winced at that, knowing that Hermione's catching up was because she had spent so much time with him in the infirmary. Hermione of course noticed and gave him a genuine smile to indicate that it was ok.

Upon reaching the office the four sat as McGonagall spoke. "You are both champions so as such will have be involved with the opening of the ball." she started. "The four champions and their dates will be introduced and will conduct the first dance alone which will take place immediately after the meal. After the first dance has concluded the rest of the attendees can join the dancefloor."

Harry looked at Cedric who just shrugged, knowing that he already had a date in mind anyway. Harry looked like he wanted to say something but thought better of it so just nodded. McGonagall then went over the protocols for the evening before sending the students on their way.

That night, Harry couldn't sleep. He had told his parents about the ball only to find that they already know, having been forewarned by Minerva. James had given him a knowing smile and a wink before Harry, citing tiredness had gone to bed.

As he lay there thinking he wondered just exactly how he was supposed to go about asking a girl, well, one girl anyway, how to go to the ball with him. He knew who he wanted to ask, but had no idea how to go about it. He would have, he thought, to work on a plan and come up with a solution. All Harry's life had been spent being taught complicated things, being trained how to use his brain as well as his magic. The principles of Occam's Razor however, had never been taught him, the idea that the simplest solution is the correct one, in this case the simplest solution being just to go up to the girl in question and ask her outright.

Harry Potter had many strengths but he also had many faults. Overthinking things was one of his major flaws. He found himself spending the next few days going over various scenarios in his head, particularly when he was with Hermione who, he noticed, was getting more and more… well… whatever it was that she was getting. That same first… thing… that he had noticed on the night that the ball was announced.

So it came that it was a full week after the announcement before Harry had finally hit on the solution. He didn't need a grand gesture, he didn't need to try and persuade anyone of anything, he just needed to be himself. If he was being honest, he had figured it out some days previously, but for some inexplicable reason was too nervous to actually do the deed.

He decided to finally get it done on the Friday afternoon, before heading to the great hall. He knew the target of his quest would be in the library. She always was on a Friday, getting work done before dinner. As he approached the library his throat was oddly dry.

'Why does it feel like facing a dragon was the easy part?' he thought to himself as he approached the table that he had come to know so well in his short time at Hogwarts. Exactly as expected she was there, although she was not working away as he thought she would be, but she was sitting there was a strange look on her face. It gave him pause for a second, before he ploughed on.

"Hermione". The word snapped her out of whatever reverie she was in.

"Harry?" She had clearly seen the look on his face.

Time to show that if he had been in sorted, he'd have followed his parents into Gryffindor. "I was looking for you. I've been an idiot" he started, nervously. "I've been thinking about something for the past week, well, overthinking really, but I realised that it's not… " he tailed off, aware he was about to start rambling. He took a deep breath.

"Hermione, would you do me the honour of going to the Yule ball with me?"

Hermione's eyes widened and she had an even stranger look on her face. "I… You… Why?"

"Because… I mean… As soon as I realised I had to go I thought about asking you, but then I got nervous and then I started to overthink it and then it really got stuck in my head that I had to make a gesture, make an event out of asking and then… " he stopped his ramble before almost immediately starting a new one. "Of course, I mean if you don't want to I understand…"

He was silenced by a look. "Of course I want to." That was a good sign. The way it was said though also indicated that there was a…

"...But…"

And there it was.

She sighed. "I think there's going to be a problem."