The Triwizard Tournament really begins!

RON XV

"Potter, the champions have to come down into the grounds now. You have to get ready for your first task."

Cedric Diggory was already gone, having left fifteen minutes ago with Professor Sprout. And now, it was Professor McGonagall who just told Harry he was expected as well. Most of the Great Hall was looking at him. Harry stood up and silently followed McGonagall, leaving Hermione behind, alone. She sat next to him most of the time, and seldom was with Ron lately. Especially since the recent visit to Hogsmeade. Ron knew that she and Harry had gone to visit Hagrid that night, like he asked them. Ron had refused. He wasn't to see Hagrid if Harry would be present. He wouldn't spend time with the person who thought of him as someone stupid. But Hermione had gone anyway, of course. And she spent absolutely all her time, really all her time, with Harry after that. Ron didn't know what they were doing, but truth be told, he preferred not to think about it. The article in the Daily Prophet was already hard to digest. No need to add on top of that.

Everyone around was talking excitedly about the upcoming first task. In less than an hour, they would see the champions in action. Ron wasn't feeling the anticipation like Dean, Seamus, or even Neville. Even he seemed to have been won to the Tournament's fever. Truth be told, Ron felt some of it, but he didn't feel like enjoying it really. So he kept filling his stomach without saying a word.

Ron thought about what it would be like to participate to the Tournament. He never had the chance to participate to a real competition. He wondered how it would feel. Perhaps he could ask Harry once this was all over. But Ron remembered it was impossible. Lately, he had been thinking a lot about asking this or that to Harry. He did ask indirectly to Hermione how he was, but she always told him to ask the question himself to Harry, something Ron refused to do. Not before Harry apologized. Ron could live with Harry being the champion of Hogwarts, but not with his friend considering he was stupid.

Maybe a quarter of an hour later, Dumbledore stood up, and everyone went silent, waiting for what he was about to announce.

"Well, everyone. Now that we have filled out stomachs, the time has come. The first task is about to begin." People murmured in anticipation. "It will take place in the grounds, near the Forbidden Forest. Might I remind everyone that it is strictly forbidden, as the name suggest, to enter the forest. Anyway, it wouldn't be in your interest to do so, for you would miss the first task. You will be told further details about the task when you arrive. Please follow the professors as they lead you."

The Great Hall exploded in talk once Dumbledore was done. All students stood up and rushed to arrive first at the site of the first task. Ron joined the movement, but he waited to walk next to Hermione. Unlike most people, Hermione did not look excited at all at the prospect of seeing the first task. This didn't make Ron's mood any better.

"So, how do you feel?" he said.

"How do I feel? Our friend is about to participate to a competition that might get him killed," Hermione reminded him once more.

"Come on. It was a long time ago. Harry risks nothing," he told her, once more. They had faced much more dangerous things over the last few years, anyway.

"Well, you're wrong," Hermione said.

"Alright," he retorted, fed up. "I'm wrong all the time, I know."

He kept walking next to her for the rest of the way outside, but they didn't exchange any further word. Instead, Ron talked to Ginny who wasn't far away.

"Excited?" he asked his little sister.

"A little. Though I wonder what they will face," she said.

At least, his little sister was behaving more normally. Ron did not speak a lot to her lately. Ginny had given him kind of a cold shoulder since his dispute with Harry. Ron should not have been surprised. Ginny was still in love with him after all this time, and she would believe anything Harry would tell. No one was on Ron's side.

"Fred and George are taking bets on the results of the day," Ginny said. "Many are betting on Krum and Cedric. Harry has the worst odds."

Ron wasn't surprised about that.

They went out in a long line, the professors keeping them somewhat in order. Ron heard the fever of the Tournament everywhere around him. He looked around to see where the first task would take place, and what it would be. But they had to walk for quite some time. They followed the border of the Forbidden Forest, until they were so far from the school that the castle almost disappeared behind the tall trees. Finally, they distinguished lines of benches arranged in what looked like a small Quidditch pitch or something like that, but without the rings or the towers.

Slowly, they climbed wooden stairs that led to the benches. Being shoved and shoving other people, Ron reached a place where he could sit, between Ginny and Hermione. His friend was twisting her hands uncontrollably. Ron was beginning to feel himself shaking in waiting.

At the end of the benches, at an extremity of the arena, five raised sieges had been placed, covered in gold.

"I guess these are for the judges," Ron supposed aloud, but no one replied to him.

He was right. In the minutes that followed, Dumbledore, Karkaroff, Maxime and Crouch all came to sit. Only Bagman remained absent. Ron wondered where he was.

The benches kept slowly filling. They made a full circle, except for two opening, one wide and giving on the forbidden Forest, the other leading to two tents. Ron looked across the arena, which was very far from the usual Quidditch pitch. It was filled with stone and rubble of various shapes and sizes. He wondered why this was meant. There was no clue as to what the champions were expected to perform in this arena.

"What do you think the first task will be?" he asked Hermione, but it was Ginny who answered.

"I don't know. What can all this be for?"

Ron was as clueless as his little sister. Around them, conjectures went wide. Some thought the champions would have to fight each other in this place, and the last one standing would be victorious. Others thought they might have to find something hidden in this place, which looked almost like a maze without organization. Ron thought that maybe they hadn't seen everything, but he was dying to finally know what the first task would be.

Conversations flowed all around, confusing themselves as everyone waited for the first task to officially begin. And then a whistle resonated through the entire place, and everyone stopped talking. The silence was heavy as they waited for something to happen.

"Look!" Ginny said, pointing towards the seats of the judges. Ludo Bagman was running to his seat, taking his place with the other judges, but unlike the other who sat down a long time ago, he stayed up. And he pointed his wand to his throat. Ron didn't hear the spell, but he was sure of what it was. And he couldn't believe what was going to happen once again.

"Ladies and Gentlemen. Boys and Girls," the former Beater loudly shouted enthusiastically. "Welcome! Welcome to the first task of the first Triwizard Tournament in two hundred years!"

The crowd exploded in cheers and cries. Some brandished banners and flags. Others blew whistles. And dozens of badges shone in the sunlight. Ron was won by the ambient excitement and joined the applauses. He couldn't believe that they would actually get Ludovic Bagman to comment the tasks. Certainly, he would also comment the second and the third as well.

"If you're from Hogwarts, give me a cheer."

Most of the arena shouted.

"If you're from Durmstrang, give me a cheer."

Despite their small numbers, the people of Durmstrang proved to be quite loud.

"If you're from Beauxbatons, give me a cheer."

The students of Beauxbatons couldn't manage to be as loud as their counterparts, though they were heard nonetheless.

"Good. Very good. So, the first task. It's been kept a secret for a long enough. Do you want to know what it is?" The crowd roared in approval, Ron first. "I cannot hear you. DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT IT IS?"

The common roar that followed was even louder.

"Good. That is very good. So, let's stop the waiting. I present to you the goal of this task."

He extended his hand to the arena below. Out of nowhere, a golden, shining, spheric object, appeared, and came to rest in the hands of Bagman.

"The golden egg."

The object left Bagman's hands and travelled down to the arena, where it landed among other rocks of similar size and shape. No one was talking, and everyone looked at the golden egg.

"Each and every champion must take his own golden egg. This is the goal of today's task. Each egg contains a clue as to what is waiting for them in the second task."

So that was it? They were just to take an egg? It may be made of gold, that may be of interest, but Ron didn't see the challenge in that.

"But…" The whole crowd was listening, waiting for Bagman's next words. "The egg will have a guardian. Each champion must get past his guardian and fool its vigilance to take their egg. And now, let me introduce you to our first guardian. The Swedish Short-Snout."

Ron couldn't believe what he just heard. But then he couldn't believe what his own eyes showed him. For he saw the person who could only be his brother, Charlie. He, along with a few other wizards, led a large beast with a lizard's head and large wings to the center of the arena, where it settled over the eggs.

Everyone was agape in front of the large blue dragon. Until it blew fire in the sky, its long blue flames raising high, causing both terror and shouts of fear along with applauses and cheers. Ron remained still, staring at the beast. So… that was the first task. He looked at his brother walking away with the other wizards, leaving the dragon behind to cover what Ron now understood was his nest with its eggs, among which was the golden egg.

"Each champion will have his own guardian. And each will have to get through the guardian to recover their egg. And now, let us welcome our first champion… Cedric Diggory!"

Most of the crowd cheered so loudly it almost pierced Ron's ears. He looked around, searching for Diggory, until he found him walking out of a tent at one extremity of the arena.

For a moment, under slowly vanishing cheers of the crowd, Diggory stayed there, unmoving. Ron wondered if this fool had a problem of bowels. It would be quite funny to see him so afraid he would sully his smallclothes.

But Diggory advanced after a while, and in a decisive way. He began very far from the dragon, so for a time he could progress without problem. But as he progressed, he used the larger stones more and more as cover. It proved useful when the dragon shot fire at him, and the fire hit one of those large stones instead of Diggory himself. People gasped, but next they cheered at Diggory for successfully hiding behind a stone.

For a moment, Ron saw nothing. Diggory had to be still hiding behind this stone. The dragon, however, seemed to have lost interest in the stone in question and was looking around.

"Where has he gone? Where is Diggory? What is the handsome boy doing right now?" Bagman kept commenting.

Bagman didn't seem to see him either. And then, all of a sudden, the dragon swung his tail around, smashing the rocks around him. And Ron caught something. All of a sudden, Diggory appeared, on the ground, near the place where the dragon swept, among the debris. And the dragon cast fire. Cedric produced water with his wand, but it wasn't enough. But it gave him enough time to hide behind another nearby rock.

"Ooooh! A narrow miss there, very narrow. Too bad a dragon cannot be fooled by a Disillusionment Charm only."

Diggory then tried to throw spells at the dragon, but they all ricocheted on his scales. Not a single one caused any damage. All Diggory got from this was additional damage to the rocks near the dragon, destroying the cover he could have used, forcing himself to put distance between him and the beast once more. And then he started throwing levitation spells at rocks, making them rise in the air, then letting them drop. Ron wasn't sure what he was trying to do. Maybe to attract the dragon's attention away from him with big noise behind its back. However, it failed. It was only when Cedric raised a very large rock behind the dragon, then dragged it in his direction, making it collide with the dragon at relatively high speed, that it worked. The dragon turned away from Cedric to look in the direction where the rock had come from. Cedric ran towards the egg, but the beast immediately turned back to him and fired. Luckily enough for Diggory, he wasn't close enough and avoided the flames by crouching on the ground. Only the back of his shirt got some fire, and he extinguished it quickly with his wand while returning into hiding.

"He's taking risks, this one!" Bagman said as people kept loudly encouraging the champion below. In the meantime, Ron could feel Hermione was very stressed next to him.

"You had any idea that they were going to fight dragons?" he asked her while still looking at Diggory.

"Yes, I knew," she said, leaning to say it in his ear. Ron looked at her, taken aback. "Remember when Hagrid invited us to his home? At midnight? It was to show this to us."

Ron was agape, but at the same moment, people gasped once more. Apparently, Cedric had tried again the trick with the Disillusionment Charm and ran straight for the egg, but he deviated once more when the dragon noticed him, in time to avoid one of its wings. These two played cat and mouse like that for a very long time. Cedric tried to distract the dragon in many ways, and to hide himself using various techniques, but it never worked. And then, after avoiding the flames once more, he threw another spell to a rock. Ron thought it would go straight to hit the dragon, but instead, the rock was changed into a dog. The dog began wandering through the arena, heading towards the dragon after a while. The dragon breathed fire on the animal, but the animal ran away, the dragon continuing to send fire at the animal. Ron caught sight of another movement. Diggory was disillusioned once more, and he was making it for the golden egg again. The dog kept running around, keeping the dragon's attention away from Diggory as he kept approaching the egg. The dragon even made two steps towards the dog. Right as Cedric must have been only two or three meters from the golden egg, the dragon turned on himself. This time, however, Cedric did not retreat.

He ran for the egg, and Ron saw it rolling away from the nest. Large flames erupted. The Disillusionment Charm stopped. Cedric slid on the ground, grabbing the golden egg and running away under both the cheers of the crowd and the fire of the dragon. Part of his uniform was carbonized.

"He got it! He got it! Diggory got it! Very good! Very good indeed!" The crowd was celebrating, especially the girls. Ron politely clapped, though even he had to admit that it was impressive. Hermione was doing the same next to him.

"And now, the marks from the judges!"

Ron didn't know the judges were giving marks. He wondered how they would appear. There was no magical board like at the Quidditch World Cup. But he got his answer quickly, as Madame Maxime, at the other extremity of the arena, raised her wand, and a silvery ribbon came out of it, displaying a large eight. Crouch gave his score next, a seven. Dumbledore gave an eight. Bagman also gave an eight. Finally, Karkaroff gave a seven.

"Very good results! A very courageous young man! Those ladies who want him should hurry before someone else gets there first." Some people laughed. "One down. Three to go. Miss Delacour, if you please!"

Ron looked intently at the tent as the girl from Beauxbatons emerged under cheers. He got the impression this time, the loudest cheers came from boys. Even from far, she looked stunning. There was no way any girl at Hogwarts could have such an effect.

Fleur Delacour took a much different approach to that of Cedric Diggory. She didn't try to use any kind of brute force against the Welsh Green that replaced Diggory's dragon. Charlie and his colleagues had switched dragons while scores were being given, and they also placed new eggs, including a golden one, of course. Instead, the girl from Beauxbatons opted for a strategy to purely distract her dragon. She even attempted to transfigure a large stone into another dragon, but it was too unstable, and the transfiguration collapsed as quickly as it appeared. Every time the dragon sent its narrow jets of fire towards Fleur, she managed to avoid it, in part because she kept her distances much better than Diggory.

She also seemed to be sending spells at the dragon, but to no great effect. However, Ron slowly got the impression that the dragon was getting slower, less reactive. It still was dangerous though, no doubt. Fleur avoided other flames by an inch, but it wasn't as quick as it was in the beginning. Ron held his breath each time fire was thrown.

Then she cast yet another spell Ron didn't understand, and this time, the beast started to stagger, and looked away from Fleur. People gasped, wondering what was going on. Then Fleur started to advance. She didn't progress as quickly as Cedric did. She was probably more careful. The dragon looked half-asleep, and she might not want to wake it up. The beast got a little away from its eggs. Fleur was only a few feet away from the eggs. However, the moment she approached to take the egg, the dragon turned and snored in her direction.

Her skirt caught fire. Ron was surprised with the calm she reacted with. She produced some water with her wand, and the fire went out. The dragon looked like he wasn't entirely conscious of what he just did. She then carefully grabbed the egg, and she ran away.

New cheers welcomed her success. "Wow! This girl surprised us all today!"

Many people from Hogwarts cheered her as well, including Ron. When the judges gave their scores, the champion of Beauxbatons arrived at the same total as Cedric. Both were tied.

Next came Krum. This was definitely the most impressive performance cheers of the day he received. He faced a Chinese Fireball, a dragon that was way more dangerous than the two they got earlier. But Krum gave the creature quite a fight.

This was a play of hide-and-seek. Krum moved quickly from place to place. People got to see there that he wasn't only agile and fast on a broomstick. He was also on his feet. The face-off between the best Seeker in the world and the dragon was a real fight, with large balls of fire meeting various spells that caused explosions and flash of lights. Ron cheered and gasped like he never did before. At some point, Krum even created some kind of shield around him to protect himself from the fire, and it worked. He kept targeting the dragon, and the dragon kept becoming more ruthless, angrier.

Such chaos reigned that it was hard to see something on the ground with the rising dust. Flames settled in some places. Then, Krum slid on the ground at some place, and he had to hide behind one of the remaining large rocks. The dragon headed towards him, getting closer and closer, his head lowering. And then, Krum came out of his cover and cast a spell straight at the head.

Instantly, the dragon drew away. It raised its head to the sky, roaring horribly, throwing fire everywhere.

"Very daring! That's some talent he's showing."

The dragon wandered around, its eyes closed, looking in agony. Ron guessed Krum got it right in the eye. The tail and wings swung in all directions. Krum was approaching the eggs, avoiding the wild dragon. One of the feet of the large creature fell on its nest, and a part of the eggs were crushed. Krum kept running and grabbed the egg, running away immediately as it was in his hand.

Krum probably got the biggest applause of the day. He also got better scores. The judges gave him two more points than Fleur and Cedric. People were still cheering.

"We have seen three champions and three dragons in action."

As Bagman said the words, Ron realized it was now Harry's turn. Damn. How was Harry going to face his dragon? Ron wouldn't know how to do it himself.

"Please welcome our fourth and last guardian, the Hungarian Horntail!"

Ron's mouth opened wide in shock. He heard too much about that dragon.

"It can't be!" Hermione exclaimed, shocked. "Harry got the worst!"

Ron found himself silently agreeing with Hermione as Charlie and all his men dragged the large black beast in the arena. It was barely controlled, and even with all the experts handling it, the dragon managed to throw fire towards the crowd. Luckily enough, it was on the other side from where Ron was sitting, and it seemed the crowd was protected by some sort of protective spell for the flames stopped before reaching the people there. Ron would have been glad to see many Hufflepuffs and Slytherins who bore symbols of their support to Diggory panic like this, if he hadn't been more panicked by the mere fact that the Hungarian Horntail was there.

When Charlie and his friends left it behind, the dragon settled very protectively over his eggs. It almost crouched over them, covering them with his scales and spikes. Its tail was hitting the ground behind it, leaving large marks in the ground and destroying the surrounding rocks.

"And now," Bagman announced, "the fourth and last champion of the Tournament. The Boy Who Lived. Harry Potter!"

The crowd unleased its roars. Ron perceived both the cheers and boos. Badges turned green. Strangely enough though, the encouragements sounded as powerful as the sounds against Harry. And it wasn't because Ron was in a part where more supporters of Harry settled. About half the crowd was actually cheering for him, much more than what Ron would have expected.

His friend came out of the tent, and remained at its exit, very far away from the dragon. Harry then raised his wand… and nothing happened. He lowered it again, and that was all. Nothing happened at all.

Ron tried to look better at his friend. Even from far away, he got the impression that Harry was afraid. Maybe he was simply too afraid, too uncertain as to what to do to advance.

"What is he going to do?" he asked Hermione.

He really wanted to know now. He wanted to know how Harry could possibly survive such an encounter. The flames of the Hungarian Horntail could reach a length of about fifty feet. How could Harry go around these? Why didn't they give him an easier dragon? It would have been more fair. But Hermione didn't give an answer to his question. She looked too worried. And for the first time in a very long time, Ron was worried for his friend as well.

They waited. The cheers for Harry subsided while uproars against him increased. What would he do? What was he waiting for? But what would Ron do if he was in his place? All of a sudden, it seemed to Ron that even a thousand Galleons and being exempt from exams was not worth being in a close space with a Hungarian Horntail. Harry would certainly not be able to use the same methods as the other champions. Most of the spells they used were never taught to them. And Harry could hardly try to hide to make his way to the golden egg. The dragon was guarding it very closely. Ron also knew that the Hungarian Horntail had a better smell and vision than most other breeds, could throw fire over a longer distance, and his tail was not only longer but more dangerous if it touched you. And the space around the nest had been levelled by previous encounters between champions and dragons. Especially those of Diggory and Krum caused such destruction to their surroundings that it was now flat terrain, with very little opportunity to hide. Ron didn't see how to approach the dragon sufficiently to take the golden egg and run away quickly enough to not end up as meat for its dinner.

Harry still didn't move, and a larger part of the crowd was complaining loudly against him. Bagman seemed to be doing his best to make him look better.

"Well, it seems that Harry is considering his options. Let's never underestimate the value of assessing your opponent. This could save your life."

But the crowd kept shouting him down. And then, Hermione screamed.

"There!"

Ron followed her finger pointing to the sky. And he saw it. Harry's Firebolt was thrusting through the air, flying straight to him. It slowed down as it approached, and stopped in the middle of the air, next to him.

"How…?" Ron said, speechless. Was the Firebolt capable of flying to its master on its own? He never heard that such a feat was possible for any broom, even a Firebolt.

"A Summoning Charm! It worked!" Hermione beamed at Ron as she said so. "Harry has been practicing non-stop yesterday to master it."

So… Ron's eyes grew wide. That was why he spent so much time with Hermione lately. He was trying to master a spell to…

"Wait!" Bagman exclaimed. "Is that really what I think?" Harry mounted his broomstick, and he took off quicker than Ron ever remembered him doing. "A Firebolt!"

The crowd cheered this time. Ron watched his friend rising in the air, far above the dragon, gaining speed. Then, he dived. The dragon spat fire, but he didn't spit it towards Harry. He spat it on the path Harry was following. Hermione screamed, like many other people. But Ron had seen Harry pull this trick many times, so he wasn't surprised when Harry lurched aside and avoided the fire.

"Great Scott, he can fly!"

The crowd soared in excitement, following Ron's lead. Whoever still booed against Harry was drowned by the cheers and Bagman's comments.

"Are you watching this, Mr Krum?"

Ron looked towards the place where the champions who already completed the task were sitting, but it was too far to know what Krum felt at seeing Harry fly like this.

In the meantime, Harry did not lose any time. He gained altitude once more, in a circle, in a movement that reminded Ron of one tactic used by the Ravenclaw team to score points while diving towards the opposite goalposts. So he knew what was coming. Harry dived as he thought about it. The Hungarian Horntail drew fire once more, and Harry avoided again… almost.

The crowd gasped and screamed as the tail of the dragon tore through the air and hit Harry. He swerved, and Ron wasn't sure it was intentional this time. He was afraid that his best friend would lose control. And when the dragon spat fire once more, he feared the worst, but Harry managed to duck the fire, proving he was still in control. Ron drew a breath of relief. No, this competition was really not something funny. The last thing Ron wanted in this moment was to find himself in the arena of one of these tasks.

"Oh, it seems that the Horntail is not going to give him an easy time," Bagman declared. "But Potter counterattacks… Oh, that one was close… He avoids again… Another attempt… No, the Horntail closes it… Potter still in the game… The Horntail won't get him… But Potter isn't getting the egg either…"

Bagman's comments became secondary as Ron watched his friend avoid death more than once. Harry was way faster than any other champion on his Firebolt. He could also attack from the air instead of the ground, something the others couldn't do. Despite this, he was facing the most dangerous dragon of the lot. The Horntail didn't let him approach near his eggs enough. After a time, Harry began to turn around the beast. In fact, he began to slalom between the rocks on the ground. The Hungarian Horntail tried to get him, and he almost succeeded a few times, but he always missed in the end, only achieving to destroy the rocks over a larger perimeter around its nest. And then, Ron caught Harry brandishing his wand.

Ron only ever saw Harry cast a spell once while flying. It was during a Quidditch match. He had produced a large silvery shape back then, a Patronus. Ron's eyes widened when he saw a similar silvery form come out. Only, this time, it was a much better defined shape. And it ran straight towards the dragon's nest while Harry kept flying around the dragon.

"Is that what I believe? A Patronus?"

The Horntail turned its attention towards the Patronus as it approached, and it spat fire straight on it. The Patronus was engulfed by the flames. Harry used the opportunity to approach the nest from behind, but he swerved upward when the large tail threatened to hit him once again. Ron groaned. It failed. Cedric had used a similar trick with the labrador on the Swedish Short-Snout to get the golden egg. But it seemed the Hungarian Horntail would be far harder to trick.

"Oh, too bad! It was a good idea, with prospects but… Wait. The Patronus is still there!"

Indeed. Ron realized that Bagman was right. As probably most of the crowd, he believed the Patronus was destroyed when it was engulfed into flames, but it somehow survived. And it was running back towards the Horntail who blew at it once more. The Patronus emerged from the fire, unscathed like before. The dragon roared. He was definitely furious. He spat fire towards Harry, who avoided it. Then the dragon targeted the Patronus, and Harry again. The Patronus was invulnerable to the fire while Harry kept dodging it, and the tail and wings of the dragon.

As the Horntail kept missing, it grew more restless, and Harry gained more and more altitude. Until the Patronus finally vanished by itself.

"Oh! It seems Harry is alone now."

Indeed, Harry was alone. And very high as well. With the Patronus gone, the Hungarian Horntail turned his whole attention on Harry. Its tail flew high, extending to its maximum. And it missed. Harry was simply too high, flying in circles very fast. The dragon shot fire, trying to intercept Harry's trajectory with it. But Harry ducked and avoided it each time, modifying slightly his trajectory while continuing to perform circles. Twice, thrice, the dragon fire missed him, and more. The beast roared in fury.

For a time, there were only the dragon roaring his fury, and Harry flying very fast and very high, out of reach. Well, he was out of reach as long as the dragon remained on the ground. Just as Ron thought about it, the Hungarian Horntail deployed its wings wide. And the dragon flew up.

Many people screamed, including Hermione next to Ron. He never thought she could push such a shrill shriek. Ron would have put hands on his ears in other circumstances. He heard her even over the cries and shouts of the crowd. Many people cowered away or covered their eyes to not see what would be coming. But Ron saw everything. And Ginny as well, for she seemed to realize what was going to happen before Harry reacted.

"It's a trick!" his little sister shouted.

Harry proved her right a second later. The Hungarian Horntail sent another volley of fire. But Harry was already diving down at full speed, towards the nest. The dragon was flying up, and it struggled to stop its momentum and go back to the ground. It seemed to understand too late what Harry had done. But the dragon didn't understand it too late to try one last thing. It rolled over itself, turning its head to the ground. It was a moment after Harry caught the golden egg.

The crowd roared in victory, but died down instantly, as the Hungarian Horntail blew fire towards Harry the instant he flew away from the nest. The crowd screamed and gasped one last time as Harry barely swerved in time to avoid the huge ball of fire that engulfed a large area near the nest, without touching the eggs. But Harry came out unscathed, the egg against his chest.

"He did it!" And the crowd exploded for good this time, drowning most of Bagman's speech. Ron wasn't sure he would have cared what he said anyway. He was screaming, out of joy and excitement, like everyone else around. Hermione jumped on him, almost toppling him over the benches.

The Horntail was screaming as well, in rage, but Ron barely gave it any attention as his brother and the other dragon-keepers rushed to control it, which they barely managed. Ron only looked at the Horntail to laugh at how it was furious that a fourteen-year-old with glasses got the better over him. In the meantime, Harry flew down to the tents on the other side of the arena, where Diggory previously disappeared and didn't come back from.

Ron thought he heard Hermione say something next to him, but it was impossible to understand it in the chaos. She did grab his arm though, bringing him away from the benches, getting a few students toppled in the process. But she was oblivious to their protests and kept dragging Ron away. Ron didn't protest though, as he had a very good idea of where Hermione was leading him. They went out of the arena, then walked inside the tent they first saw when arriving, emerged from it and headed towards the other tent. No one noticed them. The celebrations were far too big and loud for anyone to notice two students entering there even if they shouldn't.

This tent was not an open layout like the previous one. This one was divided into cubicles. They noticed Cedric through the translucent web, and Harry's through another one. They were not hard to differentiate. Harry was way smaller than Cedric. Hermione ran straight towards Harry's spot and removed the canva. He was already looking at them, sitting on a makeshift bed.

"Harry, you were brilliant!" Hermione immediately said. "You were amazing! You really were!"

Apart from a rip on his right shoulder where the dragon probably hit him and some soot covering his face from the fire, he looked all fine. Ron and Harry stared at each other for a very long time. Harry didn't look angry. Ron thought it was already something, considering he was the one who could have ended up as meat for a dragon not long ago. Harry just looked at him.

"Harry…" he began, "whoever put your name in that Goblet… I reckon they're trying to do you in!"

This was the best he could acknowledge. After seeing what this tournament really was about today, Ron had to admit that someone needed to be the greatest idiot in the world (Cedric Diggory, for example), to foolishly and willingly put his name in the Goblet of Fire. Ron himself never really considered seriously to put his name. They all talked about it, but this was simply wishful thinking, a dream they all knew they could never achieve. Only Fred and George were stupid enough to try and get into it for real. Ron and Harry could do stupid things from time to time, but they were not suicidal.

"Caught on, have you? Took you long enough," Harry commented.

Indeed. He wasn't wrong. Now, the sense of Harry's words weeks ago made much more sense. You're doing a really good impression of being stupid! He didn't mean that Ron was actually stupid. He only meant that he looked like one. And Ron had to admit there was some truth in it.

"It's okay," Harry then said. "Forget it."

But Ron had to say something. "No. I shouldn't have…"

"Forget it," he insisted.

Finally, they exchanged grins. It was over. It was finally over. The best proof of that was how Hermione hugged them both afterwards, saying they were both stupid. She wasn't wrong.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I chose Ron as POV because it allowed to see all champions in the task, and also because it gave us the chance to see how Ron realized that the Triwizard Tournament is a way more serious challenge than he initially thought.

Please review.

Next chapter: Hannah