Sorry for the delay I needed to find a muse in order to make me feel that writing this would be fun and I have. I hope you all enjoy and thank you all for the love and support.
Days passed of training, of dreams, of planning. Harry couldn't figure out why he was now recalling memories of Tom Riddle but could only assume that, as Dumbledore once told him, the power that was transferred to him also incorporated the memories. The ritual must have assumed that these memories were necessary to keep otherwise why would they have stayed as they had.
But it also gave him an advantage he had not expected. With the memories came an innate ability of how to quickly do wand movements in a way that one would have to be a similar expert to recognize the spell being cast. It also helped him how he could tune himself out to everything else and focus on something almost cold like. As if he was a snake on the hunt slowly slithering until he-
"Harry?" The voice cut through his thoughts as he turned and saw the other three champions gather near him days before the task.
"Dragons."
"Dragons?" Victor's heavy accent made it sound more like dragoons to him but he still seemed piqued in the situation. "The First task…." His eyes widened in surprise and understanding.
"You're joking right?" Cedric asked in shock as he looked between all of them. "How do you even know?"
"I was in the Forbidden Forest a couple days ago with a friend. We were just enjoying a walk and well… we stumbled on them."
"And they expect you, someone three years our minor, to go up against them?!" Fleur's voice grew in octaves as if she herself was insulted. "This is why I hate the English….well most of them. Merci Harry. You did not need to inform us and keep this advantage."
"What you will learn Fleur is that I did not want to be in this damned tournament." She seemed to blush at the attention and looked away.
"You really didn't enter this….I'm sorry Harry." Cedric admitted. "I should have believed you from the start. After all, you'd have to be an idiot to ignore everything over the years.."
"Everything?" Krum asked. "What has been happening at this school?"
"Well let's see first year a defense teacher possessed by Voldemort,-"
"What?"
"-a 70 foot basilisk in second year,-"
"That explains the petrifications…"
"-a mass murderer godfather who actually is innocent and a professor who forgot to take their potion on a full moon, oh don't forget the Dementors,-"
Fleur starred in pure shock as Harry kept going.
"-and finally this year with this tournament….." Harry finished to the awestruck of the seventh years who looked like someone had just pissed in their juice.
"I… must apologize once again Harry. You are not a little boy like I called you." Fleur bent her head in an apologetic bow.
"It is fine Flowers." The nickname had simply rolled off Harry's tongue as he ran a hand through his shoulder length hair which he had tied back in a ponytail. He again didn't notice the flush of red to the cheeks of Fleur. It was taking everything in her to be able to be in his presence. She still felt the shock of feeling her allure blasted back at her like it was. In a way it subdued her in a way. "All I care about is getting through this thing alive and with my magic."
"That is understandable Harry." Krum grinned before looking at them all. "Maybe now I'll have competition." His smirk was friendly enough but there was an excitement to it.
"In your dreams Bulgarian Brute." Cedric counters with his own smirk.
"I didn't say I had any intention to lose though ya know?" Harry grinned.
"Boys, boys ... .it's ladies first remember?" They turned to Fleur who's smile and confident stance with her hands on her hips. It was here that the four of them had begun a bond between them all. They made an understandable agreement between them that they wouldn't train together but if they had heard something involved in the tournament they would inform each other.
The day of the tournament soon came as Dumbledore looked at the arena that was made. It was an excellent arena to showcase each of the dragons and the champions' expertise. Even the ward scheme was something magical.
"Excellent work Young Master William." Dumbledore spoke as he approached the eldest of the Weasley children. "I can clearly see your skill. And you are sure nothing can enter or leave after the gates are shut?"
"Professor Dumbledore!" Bill smiled as he saw his old teacher. "Yes sir, it should enable the safety of not only the viewers but also the safety of the competitors from outside involvement."
"Excellent and please William, you no longer need to call me Professor. You are no longer my student." He playcatted his former student as he cast a few detection charms himself. He lost attention to anything extra that was being said until Bill's brother Charlie began to walk over his hand slipping from the hand of another dragonologist upon the sight of his brother. "Ah Charles."
"Charlie sir."
"Right, forgive me, my old age catches up with me." Dumbledore smiled. "Are the dragons quite ready?"
"Yes, however I must once again argue against the use of the dragons. The travel away from their homes have caused three of the dragons to lose two eggs each, and worst of all the Hungarian's clutch has become infertile due to this event. There is no way to guarantee the safety of the person who goes up against her."
"It will be fine Charlie… We have put precautions in place." Dumbledore stated waving off the concerns.
"If you say so Dumbledore….just… make sure you're ready for it…"
"I am always prepared for Charlie..." Dumbledore's tone grew more steel as his eyes grew stormy.
Meanwhile in a tent near the four champions paced and sat in their own ways steadily preparing themselves for the first task.
"Ah good you are all here!" Ludo Bagman entered the tent with a bag he was carelessly swinging beside him. "Now if you'd come here in a circle….Fleur here, Mr. Krum….Harry? Harry here." And thus they were placed in the semi circle around him. "Now as the crowds are beginning to come I will be offering you to reach into this bag to select the thing you will face this day. There are different…..variants you can say and your task is to collect one thing. THE GOLDEN EGG!" He grandiose before offering them the bag. "Miss Delacour? Ladies first." Fleur looked at the others pensively before she reached down into the bag and gulped as she felt something move before pulling out a tiny model dragon which moved and hissed at them. "The Welsh Green Dragon." Krum proceeded after her retrieving the Chinese Fireball which spit fire up at the man's face. Cedric reached in and hissed as he felt the teeth dig into his gloved hand and he pulled out the Swedish Short-Snout which held on by its teeth to the gloved hand.
Hary snickered as he watched this before fixing his stare when Cedric glared at him. His breath went in as he sighed. He had a bad feeling about this as he reached in and instantly heard the hissing of it as he pulled it out.
"B̸u̵r̷n̵!̶ ̴B̸ï̶t̷ḙ̵ ̴B̶i̵ṱ̵e̸!̶ ̷F̵í̴l̷t̵h̸ÿ̶ ̷H̵a̴n̷d̸s̷!̶" He heard from the model in his hand as it swung its spiked tail straight into Harry's fingers. It looked up at him but stopped when he visibly glared down at it as if it was scolded."
"Yes. These are very real models of very real dragons!" Ludo grinned looking at them. "We shall start with the Hogwarts Champion, then Beauxbaton and Drumstrang's, and finally Young Harry here to finish it all up. The best for last as they say!" This caused Harry to frown in annoyance and as Ludo swung his clothing to go back out it seemed that the back of his robes had the words "I HAVE DRAGONPOX UNDER MY BELT!"
After he left Harry rolled his eyes "Bloody Git." He was surprised when it was Cedric who spoke at the same time causing the both to start laughing followed by the others as well. "Could use a butterbeer before we start, right Harry?"
"I know what you mean." Harry smiled before pulling one out of the bag he brought. "That's why I got the twins to hand me a stash." He threw Cedric one who caught it expertly.
"What is this Butterbeer?" Krum asked before quickly snatching a bottle flying at him.
"It tastes like butterscotch." Harry told him before gently handing one to Fleur instead of throwing it like the others which she took softly.
"Merci." She smiled and looked around before flicking her hand up and a talon sprouted from her finger which she used to snap the cap off.
"You are a true Vella after all." Krum mentioned as he watched to which he received a nod.
"Oui, it is not something I wish to fully publicize as I am sure people of your calibers….and Cedric can understand."
"Hey!"
"Hush now Cedric the popular kids are speaking." Harry teased which caused another rumble of laughter. "But you're right Fleur we all can understand…even Mr. Pretty Boy there." He jabbed a thumb at Cedric who stuck his tongue at Harry. As they drank the sweet drink they all felt a tension that had been building on their shoulders leaving them to which they were all thankful as it would have left them to potentially make mistakes unnecessarily.
Soon, however, they heard Ludo begin to announce to the crowd and the rumble of the people made it clear that the time had drawn to a point. Thus did it start…when Cedric was called and began to head out for his task. This once again bred some tension but not as much as they had before. In Fact it was clear in the face of Krum and Fleur that the break was well needed. The crowd cheered and awed behind them as Harry sat beside Fleur and slowly he reached over and took her hand and squeezed to comfort her. She smiled briefly at him and down to their hands which she had interlocked them softly. It felt good to have someone there for both of them as she looked back up into his eyes. Those eyes she could have sworn were green as emeralds now showed a gray outer edge which seemed to cause the green closer to the center to flare out almost flamelike and they simply drew her in and caused a shiver to run in her spine. What it meant she had no clue but it wasn't fully a feeling she disliked.
It wasn't too much longer when the cheering sounded off again and what sounded like celebration music which Harry knew was most likely being done by Flitwick. A man came to the tent and looked around before smiling.
"Miss Delacour, it's your turn."
As she stood Harry gave her hand one more squeeze and mouthed the words 'Good Luck' to which she smiled and nodded back to him as she headed out. This left Krum and Harry to sit together in silence.
"I have to ask." Harry said as he looked at him.
"How do you do that feint so smoothly, I have been working on it since I saw you do it at the World Cup."
Krum smiled and sat down across from him. "When you are going downward don't pull up till you are about your broom's shaft length away from the ground. Stay slow enough to keep the other seeker following you and don't let up. Then Speed up in the last couple meters and pull upwards as fast as you can. I hear you have a firebolt too so the control rune on the broom is strong enough to compensate for the swift change. Keep your hands tight on the broom and your chest to it as well. If you don't you can pull the broom straight into your chest and knock the air out of you."
And so they spoke and spoke about quidditch techniques that have aided the other. Not too much longer however Krum was called himself and all that was left was Harry. Harry closed his eyes and breathed in for a moment in time and simply felt everything. He felt the room shift some and slightly as he sat until he stood and walked. When he opened his eyes he was at the gates to enter the arena.
The crowd had grown silent as they watched the Hungarian Horntail be dragged into the arena. A handler with red hair nearly was crushed by a claw as he tried desperately to hold tightly to the chain that wrapped around the mouth of the dragon. The dragon could do truly nothing as its batch of eggs damned to infertility were placed in a nest similarly to one she would have at home. She pulled at the chains harder at the sight while the handlers placed one last egg in the clutch, a golden false egg but sprayed with pheromones in order to make sure the dragon did not attack it.
With puffs of fire coming from its nose the handlers all looked at each other nervously before the order was given and they dropped their restraints. They ran as they heard the magic holding the restraints in place lasted only long enough for them to get out before they were torn like scissors through parchment. A cheer rose from the Slytherins ,led by the blonde ponce of his ferretness, as a gout of fire nearly caught the slowest of the handlers who had to summon a bolder to protect herself before sliding out of the arena.
Harry didn't wait for any signal to tell him to enter as he slowly walked in and his eyes met the yellow anger filled eyes of the mother. As Harry took her in he could tell it was a female. Anger coursing in those eyes was only that of a mother wanting to protect her kin. A look that haunted many nightmares of his own when he remembered the night his parents died. Its black scales seemed duller but no less intimidating with the bronze five foot horns, and two foot spikes that ran along its tail. An elderly dragon then, perhaps one nearing the end of her breeding cycle and thus this was most likely her last clutch. The handlers looked unnerved when the silted yellow eyes seemed to shudder and the horntail stepped back slightly similarly to when they saw a new dragon enter into a flock and the alpha caused them to step back in fear.
"I say this only once." Harry's voice echoed through the arena. His wand was not raised, not even drawn from the holster as he slowly began to walk as the crowd watched in fear. He could almost taste the fear he felt from the Gryffindor house where he knew Hermione stared at him, her heart most likely pounding in her chest.
The horntail starred as she gave a nervous keening sound, her body attempting to lay over the eggs, winds spread out to protect them from anything that could come. Harry noticed that the sound made no words which made sense to him, sometimes a roar was simply a roar. And Yet she made no aggressive movement, no snapping of teeth or bellowing of fire. Not even a sweep of her tail to poise it in preparation to strike. Harry walked forward slowly but yet confidently in his movements, the ground before him shifting as it did to make a clear and straight path for him to the hand came up and pressed softly against her nose as he gently rubbed it.
"I̸ ̶c̶a̵n̸ ̶h̷e̵l̵p̶,̶ ̴i̵f̸ ̶y̵o̶u̶ ̸l̶e̵t̸ ̸m̸e̴" A moment passes long and tedious as a few gasps could be heard from the people who were not present in the second year of Hogwarts. Then she stood and raised her wing on her right side to give the boy access. Harry walked beside her and kneeled by the clutch. His hand came up softly and he placed it softly on each of the eggs, six in total. He lifted them one by one as an almost smoke-like substance emitted from Harry and around the eggs as he did until it seemed the smoke wrapped around them tightly. He placed them back gently. The mother came and laid beside Harry as they watched the eggs which caused the crowd to begin muttering.
One by one a crack was heard and slowly six hatchlings of the most endangered dragon in the world broke through their eggs. The Horntail nuzzled Harry's hand softly in thanks, in some innate way she had known her children had been lost but now… she could be with her young. Harry lifted up the false egg and shook his head at it in frustration as he hissed to the dragon.
"F̷o̸r̶g̵i̷v̵e̵ ̸u̶s̷ ̵f̷o̷r̸ ̷t̴h̶i̵s̶,̴ ̴w̷e̵ ̵a̷r̸e̷ ̶a̴ ̶f̷o̶o̸l̶i̴s̶h̸ ̷p̵e̷o̶p̴l̷e̴.̵ ̵Y̷o̸u̵r̵ ̵y̵o̴u̷n̶g̸ ̶n̴e̴e̴d̶ ̷y̵o̴u̴ ̵g̴o̶.̶.̷.̴ ̷b̷e̸ ̸f̷r̷e̷e̵ ̵a̷n̴d̶ ̷r̸a̵i̴s̷e̶ ̷t̸h̵e̷m̵.̵̝̟̲͙̮͇̱̩̤̮̃͊̀̉͝͠" Harry smiled at the dragon who opened its maw and made a noise which led the hatchlings to her. They slid into her mouth similar to that of a crocodile. The dragon flapped its wings and took off to the sky flying past the barrier and over to where her cage had been calmly. These lands were not her own and the handlers she knew were kind and would take her home. Harry simply watched in awe before he picked the golden egg back up and walked from the stunned arena.
