The Serpent of Durmstrang
A/N: This is a rewrite of the Dragon of Durmstrang, where mistakes were made and are going to be corrected, while the story and writing will be improved. This is also my NaNoWriMo prep story, so all reviews are appreciated. Also, all my works are down at the moment. They will all be rewritten one at a time, so do not fret!
Chapter Eleven
The night after the First Task was quite possibly the best and worst for Harry Potter. The celebrations within the Durmstrang ship was something to remember, with booze being passed around like candy, and the professors turning a blind eye. To say the least, Harry did not get enough sleep, yet he had the best one so far these past few weeks.
The next two weeks after the task had most of everyone in Durmstrang scrambling around due to the exams that were scheduled just before the Christmas holidays. Harry was exempt from them, and therefore had the most time for himself. Viktor had cursed his name more than a couple of times already, while Kassandra had taken to glaring at him when they ever saw each other in the study lounge of the ship.
Harry took this time to unwind and relax, stowing away the Golden Egg from the first task, and instead taken to reading light novels. The pressure of the tournament weighing less, especially since the next task was scheduled for February, a long ways away in his opinion.
"Harry, do you want to join the team?"
"What?" Harry replied, causing Viktor to grumble and hit him on the back of the head.
"Stop spacing out. I was asking if you wanted to join the Durmstrang team for the Quidditch pick-up game tomorrow?"
Harry shook his head, "Can't, the Highmaster wouldn't be too happy about that."
"Fuck him, we need a good chaser," Viktor cursed, "and you're a good chaser, at least compared to the other blockheads in our year."
"Thanks for the compliment, I think?" Harry sighed. He had wanted to join the team they were building since Viktor was approached by a gangly red-headed seventh year from Gryffindor. Ronald, if he remembered the name correctly, wanted to, in the spirit of inter-school unity, host a pick-up of Quidditch between the three schools. From what he had heard, Beauxbatons was still very reluctant, especially since Quidditch was not one of their forte's, but Durmstrang, especially Viktor, was immediately gung-ho about it.
The second they had all come back from the ship that night, Viktor had immediately started drafting their year-mates into making a team, nitpicking the best and discarding the worst. And ever since that night, Viktor had pestered him about playing as their chaser, but a quick intervention by their Highmaster made sure Harry was not allowed to join in the fun.
Viktor stood up and stretched, eyeing Harry before a smirk played on his lips, "Well, you better head to bed, you have a big day tomorrow."
Harry nodded, his barely kept excitement was showing through a small smile, "Yes, that I do."
Both boys started heading towards their respective rooms. Harry more pensieve than ever, already thinking about his date with Fleur tomorrow. He had a rough plan on what they would be doing, and he was hoping it would go without a hitch.
As Harry turned to his door, Viktor stopped him with a hand on his shoulders, "Since you're not playing, you better come watch tomorrow afternoon."
"I will, promise!"
Viktor nodded, and let Harry walk inside his room. A quick Tempus spell told Harry it was just past eleven, and he already knew he wasn't going to get any sleep that night. Tossing and turning, Harry replayed the worst possible scenarios that could happen the next day, and before he knew it, he had barely slept a wink and it was already dawn.
With a grunt, Harry stood up from his bed and started to prepare with a cold shower to wake himself up fully. A quick change of clothes, and he was as presentable as he can be. Wearing a grey-coloured sweater, with a white collared shirt inside. Harry rolled up his sleeves, trying his dragon-hide boots that was tucked underneath a dark blue pair of jeans. Harry was not the most fashionable, but he did well for himself.
A quick once over, and a nod, he finally deemed himself ready. Harry stepped outside of his room into a pitch-dark corridor. While it was the exam season, Harry knew most of the Durmstrang students, even the girls, were late risers during the weekend.
"You look surprisingly presentable."
Harry walked into the study lounge that led to the doors, and saw Aleksander smirking at him tiredly, while Kassandra and Alanna were behind him yawning quite loudly.
"You guys are up early," Harry quipped, nervously adjusting his collar, "What's the special occasion?"
"You are, you little shit," Aleksander spat back playfully, "look girls, he looks so grown up!"
Alanna nodded, "He does look very mature, I think she'll like it."
"Very plain looking, if you ask me," Kassandra scoffed, although taking a minute to drink Harry's choice of clothing.
"You guys are not making this easier, you know that, right?" Harry sighed, shuffling his foot left and right.
There was a momentary pause, before Aleksander walked up to Harry and gave him a slap on the back, "You will do fine, just be yourself!"
"She'll be chased away in no time," Kassandra nodded, "but if she doesn't, then you have a keeper."
Harry arched his eyebrow at that comment. He expected that from the rest of his friends, but not Kassandra, the girl who professed her growing affections for him just a few months ago. Kassandra saw his shocked stare, and smiled back softly with a nod. From that, Harry knew she was behind him no matter what her feelings are, it seems their talk got through to her.
"Go get her, lover boy!" Aleksander laughed, pushing Harry a little towards the door of the ship. He looked back, and couldn't help but smile widely at his friends. He was proud to call them his friends, even Viktor whom he knew was a heavy sleeper.
Before Harry left through the door, he called out, "I'll be watching the game later, so don't you you guys disappoint me!"
Quickly slipping out before any quip was made in return, Harry did his best to lengthen the time of his journey towards the Beauxbatons carriage. His face betrayed his steady gait, already chewing on his cheek while eyes stared straight into nothing. The butterflies seemed to be in full swing in his stomach, and his heart was not helping his nerves either.
As he finally neared the carriage, he could see that there was light pouring out from the windows. He was told yesterday by Fleur's friends to knock on the door when he arrived, and Fleur will be out shortly after. They had planned to leave early, keeping out of the crowd and the attention they were sure to attract if they left much later in the day.
With a soft knock, Harry patiently waited, his heart thumping heavily on his chest. He was sure Fleur had stood him up after the first three seconds, but was stumped at the door opened to reveal a smiling Fleur. Harry couldn't help but admire her visage, her black long-sleeve shirt and jeans were accented with a light-brown scarf. Harry assumed she had cast some heating charms on her outfit, especially since the English winters were unforgiving.
"Wow...you look beautiful," Harry blurted out, his face turning crimson after realizing what he had said.
Fleur turned a darker shade of pink, "Thank you, you look really good as well," she replied, before giggles could be heard from behind her.
Without warning, Zoe's head poked out of the door of the carriage and smirked at Harry, "You better take good care of her, or else," before making a scissor motion that made Harry cringe.
"Will do!" Harry replied with as much confidence as he could muster, before nervously taking Fleur's hand and leading her towards the carriages by the gates of the school. They were both quietly walking, with Harry setting a slow pace as they marveled at the serene landscape of a winter at Hogwarts.
As they approached the carriages, Harry finally broke the silence with a cough, "So, did your friends give you a hard time as well?"
"I thought you'd never break the awkward silence, Harry," Fleur giggled, while Harry pouted, "Oh hush, I was just hoping you'd do it before it got even more awkward!"
"To be honest, I'm really nervous…" Harry admitted, scratching the back of his head while smiling nervously at the French girl. Fleur squeezed Harry's hand and smiled at him brilliantly, with a blush still dusting her cheeks.
"Well, since you admitted it first, I have to say I was nervous as well," Fleur gave him a nod, "But let's enjoy the day, just like the last time."
Harry, feeling a bit bolder at this point, smiled brightly at Fleur, "Sounds good! So, why don't we play a game then? We take turns telling each other something we don't know about ourselves," Harry finished, before quickly adding, "I was told this was a good way to get to know each other."
"Okay, you know, Zoe had suggested the same thing this morning," Fleur quipped, winking at Harry, who blushed furiously. Zoe, who had approached him yesterday about the knocking of the door, had also given him this idea as an icebreaker between him and Fleur. Even with their multitude of letters, Zoe was sure there were a lot of things Harry didn't know about Fleur. Case in point, she had asked if Harry knew Fleur's favourite colour, and he had no answer for her. It seems that Zoe had also told Fleur the same thing.
The ride to Hogsmeade was full of exchanges between Harry and Fleur. From the simplest of things such as their favourite colour, to the most intimate ones about their family and friends. They had a great time getting to know each other even more, and they had both commented on how right Zoe was, which they both promised not to tell her because of her inflated ego. Harry realized how much he had not known about Fleur, and Fleur realized just how complex Harry's life was, unlike all the books had said about him.
Before finally getting off at Hogsmeade, both teens had grown closer and more comfortable around each other. So much so that Harry didn't even hesitate in taking Fleur's hand openly after they had exited the carriage and started their trek into the magical village.
"What's the plan today, Mister Potter," Fleur smirked playfully at Harry, "You asked me out to this date, so you had better be prepared!"
Harry smiled back, a shudder ran through his spine as he realized how beautiful Fleur was under the light falling snow, "Well, I had planned on going around the usual stores, just browsing around as we get to know more about each other, then lunch at the Three Broomsticks. Afterwards, I was going to ask you if you wanted to watch the scrimmage between Hogwarts and Durmstrang."
"Hmm...sure, we can watch the scrimmage," Fleur replied thoughtfully, "I was never good on a broom, but I always enjoyed a good Quidditch game!"
"I hope it will be a good game," Harry replied, then smirked, "Hogwarts has to have a pretty good team to beat Durmstrang."
"Such school pride, Mister Potter!" Fleur chided.
"I take pride in my friends," Harry replied back, smirking, "especially since they have Viktor leading them."
"Isn't that a little bit unfair?"
"The Gryffindor-pride wouldn't be deterred, if what my godfather told me was true."
Before they both knew it, a few hours had already passed as they conversed about anything and everything. Harry couldn't stop laughing at some of the escapades Fleur and her friends had gone through throughout their years at Beauxbatons. It seems Zoe had always been the mastermind, and more often than not, they had always ended up getting caught. Fleur herself couldn't quite get the hang of Viktor Krum the studious Durmstrang student. To most of everyone that only knew Viktor as a Quidditch star, it was hard to imagine the poster-boy of professional Quidditch to be very studious.
Very quickly, they found themselves sitting in the booth they had shared the first time they had visited the village together. Harry ordered a light lunch, while Fleur ordered the same thing, with both of them sharing bottles of butterbeer.
"Did your godfather really do that?"
"Oh yes," Harry laughed, "he had pissed off Remus so much that Remus made sure to drug him, and then hang him off of a traffic light in the middle of Bern in his birthday suit!"
"What happened? Did the muggle law enforcement get involved?"
"Mhm! He was sent to jail for a few days for public indecency, and since he was so drunk, he couldn't even muster himself up to apparate away!"
Fleur couldn't stop her chuckling, as they were brought their food, "So what happened afterwards?"
"Let's just say Remus got this just desserts…"
"I don't like the sound of that at all."
Harry shook himself with mirth, as he tried his best not to snort in his shepherd's pie in between his chuckles at the memory. It was one of his most cherished ones, and the first prank he had ever pulled.
"So, it's your turn, tell me something about your family."
"Hmm, well my little sister has a really big crush on Harry Potter!"
Harry almost choked on his food, before sputtering, "Two questions, how old is your sister? And did she own the unsolicited Harry Potter novels such as the Philosopher's Stone?"
Fleur nodded her head, which made Harry grumble even more, "She's about eight, and owns all seven books!"
"No way! Even the shitty ones? The sixth and seventh books?!"
"Yup, sorry, Harry."
"Noooooo!"
Lunch passed quickly, and afterwards the two headed up towards the direction of the Quidditch stadium. From what Harry could see, it seems most of the Hogwarts students had shown up and were cheering loudly. One stand seemed to have been claimed by Beauxbatons, while another had Durmstrang students.
"Where should we…"
Harry looked towards Fleur, and shrugged. They were technically still on a date, and if Harry were to be honest, he really did not want to give up Fleur's company. His hand clasped onto hers, he led them towards a group of Hogwarts students all clad in yellow.
"Cedric!"
Cedric Diggory looked up from his position and saw Harry Potter and Fleur Delacour waving at him. The champions had been friendly since the First Task. There was something about facing a dragon that brought people together.
"Harry, Fleur! Over here!" Cedric waved them over to the two seats beside himself. His friends had mostly occupied the other side, which left the ones on his right unoccupied.
Cedric saw their intertwined hands, and smirked, "So, you two, huh?"
"Well, it's our first date," Harry smiled back, holding Fleur's hand just a bit tighter as he saw some of the older Hufflepuff males ogling his date.
Fleur sidled up close to Harry and whispered softly, "It's okay, I only have eyes for you."
Harry blushed crimson, before smiling softly at Fleur, which was returned by the blonde. They both took their seats beside Cedric, who immediately shook both their hands in greeting.
"So, which team do you both think will win?"
"Durmstrang, of course," Harry smirked at Cedric, who only shook his head as he pointed towards the already gathering players from both teams. Viktor could be seen doing stunts on his broom, which was his way of 'stretching' before the match, which the fans loved.
"I have to agree with Harry, Durmstrang seems to be the stronger contender," Fleur nodded, her eyes trailing the two female players on the Durmstrang team, before realizing who they were, "Harry, all of your friends are playing?"
"Yup!" Harry nodded, pointing towards Aleksander who was already taking his place in the middle of the pitch, "Aleksander is a decent keeper, probably the best in the school at the moment. And the girls, oh man, they're wicked fast chasers!"
"Do you play, then, Harry?"
Harry smiled, "Well, I play the best alongside the girls. We make a good chaser line-up when we have pick-up games in Durmstrang."
"You weren't allowed to play too, huh?" Cedric grimaced, glaring holes at the silver-haired Slytherin who was eyeing the Durmstrang seeker.
Cedric was shoved to back, taking him out of his stupor, before a bubbly raven-haired girl chirped, "Cedric's just not happy he wasn't allowed to go up against Krum! Hi, I'm Cho, by the way!"
Fleur giggled at the girl's antics, already acquainted with her since Beauxbatons was forced to sit in the Ravenclaw tables. Harry smiled back, and shook her hand, "Harry Potter, and it seems I'm not the only one being babied around here."
"Men and their sport," Fleur shook her head, followed by Cho who nodded solemnly.
Just then, a loud voice echoed throughout the stands, which started the Quidditch match. Viktor was immediately on the prowl, and from Harry's position, he knew the Bulgarian wanted to end the match as soon as possible. On the other side of the pitch, Harry could see the Hogwarts seeker tailing Viktor, while dodging the bludgers sent at him by the Durmstrang beaters.
"Krum isn't holding back," Cedric commented, following the Bulgarian seeker's moves as he decimated another formation that the Hogwarts chasers were attempting.
"Viktor seldom holds back in Quidditch, he's not the best for nothing."
Sixty points later, and Hogwarts was still lagging behind with only one of the six goals being theirs. The chaser line up of the Hogwarts team consisted of a red-headed girl, and two lithe-formed boys. The three seemed perfectly well on their own, but lacked synergy when playing together. From their position, they could hear the red-headed girl, Cedric called her Ginny, berating her two chasers who scowled menacingly.
Fleur watched Ginny loop around Aleksander, before shooting the goal. The quaffle had almost entered the right-most ring, but bounced back out to everyone's dismay. From her position, she could see the girl scowling at her two teammates, both of which shrugged and continued the game as if nothing happened.
"That girl doesn't seem to be doing very well with her team," Fleur turned to Cedric, who only sighed.
"Ginny Weasley, she's very talented, but also very prejudiced. Those two chasers in their team are probably the best ones in the school right now, but coincidentally, they're both from Slytherin."
"Ah, house rivalry, wasn't it?" Harry remembered Sirius' discussion about the infamous Slytherin versus Gryffindor matches, and the mostly never ended without some nasty comment being thrown by either side.
Cedric nodded, before clapping, "Krum's chasing the snitch!"
With a quick dive, and a Wrongski Feint, Viktor emerged with the golden snitch in her right hand, to the dismay of the Hogwarts team, and the joy of the rest of the crowd in the stands. All around, everyone's voice came together and echoed the name: KRUM in celebration.
"That was...anticlimactic," Cedric sighed, as they all started leaving the stands, filing through the small corridors in small rows.
"I did tell you, didn't I?" Harry smirked.
"I still think Durmstrang cheated because of Krum."
"Sore losers, that's what you guys are."
"Shut up, Harry."
They all laughed, as they finally reached the exit that led to the path towards the castle. Cedric's eyes gleamed, and before they could break off, he cornered both his fellow champions. Harry was puzzled, while Fleur had the same expression.
Cedric made sure to tell his friends to go on ahead, while giving Cho a small peck on the cheek. He rounded on both his fellow champions and let out a sigh, "Be honest, both of you, did you know about the dragons before the First Task?"
Harry winced, while Fleur stood stoically, staring at everything besides Cedric. The Hufflepuff sighed loudly, his shoulders loosening, "To be honest, I knew too, but I didn't take the hint."
"Wait, what?"
Cedric looked at Harry and smiled, "Well, Professor Flitwick had hinted about the dragons, but I didn't think much about it. I suppose I was too caught up with being the champion, and let it go to my head."
Fleur glanced at Harry, before replying, "It is a custom, to my knowledge, for the schools to cheat in the first task."
"That's what I heard too," Harry nodded.
"Well, I guess that's that!" Cedric turned away and headed towards the castle. Before he could go too far, he glanced back at his two fellow champions and smirked, "Do me a favour and take a bath with your eggs in tow. You can even do it together!"
Harry blushed heavy red, while Fleur was almost in the same shade. They could hear Cedric laughing as he finally caught up with his friends. Harry watched him leave, and could only smile at the Hufflepuff.
"Why would he help us?" Fleur asked quietly, switching back to French.
Harry shook his head, "He's a good guy. He knows now that the competition is life and death, and since he considers us his friends, he feels obligated to make sure we're not caught unprepared."
"But he knows we cheated! If it were me…" Fleur couldn't finish the thought. If it were her, truthfully, she would not have cared at all, and have left her competitors in the dust, or dead. Winning was the central part of this competition, and she was willing to do anything. However, being friends with Cedric, and becoming closer to Harry, these past few weeks have changed her outlook in life. This competition was less about winning now, but more about surviving. She had even gone through the lengths to warn Harry about the dragons, which her old self would not have done at all, making sure she had a leg-up in the competition.
Harry smiled as he steered Fleur away from the stands, and taking her back to the carriage, "Cedric, he's something else. But he's right, we need to focus on surviving, and less about winning. This tournament is more dangerous than I've imagined, and we need to make sure we come out alive."
Fleur stared into Harry's gaze, and could not help but feel that when he mentioned we, he did not account for Cedric. The intensity of his conviction made her blush once more, and steeling herself. This tournament was turning out to be more dangerous than she initially imagined, and she better got a hold of herself before anything bad happens.
As they neared the Beauxbatons carriage, Fleur couldn't help but feel a little bit sad at the thought of their date ending. She could feel Harry's grip on her tighten just a little, before she gave his hand a squeeze, and glanced up at him with a small smile.
"I guess this is it," Harry sighed, fumbling around, unsure of what to do.
Fleur smiled shyly, "Yeah…"
"Uhm, Fleur, I was wondering if we could do this again?"
"Yes! I mean...yes, of course," Fleur's eagerness surprised even herself, and got a hold of herself before she could embarrass herself further.
"Great! Uhm, how about next week?" Harry scratched the back of his head, before continuing quite rapidly, "Or if that's too soon-"
"Next week sounds good, Harry," Fleur replied, before gathering up her nerves and tip-toeing, giving him a chaste kiss on the lips.
Harry was stunned for a moment, and before he knew it, the kiss had ended. Fleur smiled softly at him, her fingers on her lips, before turning around and heading into the carriage. She felt herself slump on the door, her heart determined to break free from her chest. Before she could move an inch, however, she heard Harry scream with delight from outside the carriage. She couldn't help but sport a silly grin as she slowly made her way back to her room. The day had gone perfectly, and she was already looking forward to their next date.
Turning towards her room, she could see light illuminating from the door crack, and realized her friends must be waiting to interrogate her. She gave a huge sigh, before whispering to herself, "Time to face the wolves."