The day had finally come. November has rolled around rather quickly, yet it felt weird for Harry. After dreading the day, after all these days of training and preparing, after lying awake overnights after nights, the day started so similarly to his normal school days. There wasn't a thunderstorm or a clear sky but a normal North English morning with light rain and grey clouds covering the sky from horizon to horizon. The difference was inside of Harry. It took him a few moments to realize that he tried to pull his jumper over his legs that morning and was absentminded when he climbed up the stairs of his trunk almost forgetting a grumbling Gryph down there. Harry had to apologize to the reptile when he put him around his neck. Gryph flicked his tail against Harry's neck, somewhat reminiscent of a swat over the back of his head.
The boys' dorm was empty with the exception of Neville sitting on his bed, nervously eyeing Harry's trunk. The boy with the snake tugged in his robes and the black phoenix on his shoulder blinked in surprise.
"Oh Neville, were you waiting for me?" He asked, closing his trunk and locking it like he had done every morning ever since his name had come out of that blasted goblet. Combing through his hair, he turned, seeing Neville stand up from his bed. the chubby boy nodded smiling a little shyly.
"Of course." Nothing more was said and it wasn't needed. Harry nodded slowly, while a smile spread across his face. He appreciated Neville's quiet way of support greatly.
He turned walking down the stairs from their dorm room, Neville closely behind. But when he stepped into the common room rousing applause and cheering greeted him. Most of Gryffindor was there, whooping, clapping and calling out.
"You can do it!"
"Way to go Harry!"
"Show Warrington what a real Hogwarts champion looks like."
These and more calls were out, while Harry felt like stones filled his stomach. They would stop cheering when he would forfeit in the task right from the beginning. He was thinking about telling them right away but when he saw all the grinning and laughing faces he just couldn't do it. Still, it felt like chilling ice was filling his veins. For them, this was all just great fun and games. Nothing bad could happen really. It was just like having a Quidditch match.
Fred and George both linked their arms under Harry's pulling him to the portrait hole, through the crowd. Some people clapped on Harry's free shoulder and back, one almost knocking Dawn from her perch. The Phoenix wasn't amused by this in any way and form and made her distaste known by pecking at the intruding hand. The Weasley Twins pushed their way through the crowd finally grinning at Harry while they made their way through the portrait hole, shutting it behind themselves. George turned to nod towards the Fat Lady.
"Move Harry, we only got five minutes. Then our time is up."
The portrait that protected the Gryffindor common room had made a deal with the twins. They would rearrange some other portraits, the ones the Lady disliked were hung down into the dungeons, far away from here in a cloak and daggersque night out while the portrait of her best friend was hung right in the same corridor, so she didn't have to move through a few dozen frames, just to meet up with her.
In return she had promised not opening for five minutes, a rather extreme measure, she would normally never do. Opening for everyone who wanted out was her main duty of course. Not opening was almost sacrilege for her, but this offer couldn't be dismissed and so she had agreed, negotiating the twins down to five minutes, from the hour they had first asked for.
Harry finally struggled free, turning to the two. His eyebrows frowned and he narrowed his eyes. Dawn chirped, batting her wings twice.
"All right, what is this about?" He said. Fred and George just grinned.
"Oh, well Proooongslet." Fred drawled out, making Harry really wish Sirius had never called him that way in front of the twins.
"We thought benevolent as we are,"
"That you would dislike the whole commotion."
"So in our great wisdom."
"We decided."
"That it would be good."
"To rescue you and plan your escape."
Harry frowned in surprise. While they were good blokes, they would let such an opportunity slide? Harry wasn't convinced and he said so.
Fred clutched his heart in mock hurt.
"Really Prongslet, you wound us. Well, of course, we thought about it, but." He raised a finger and George lifted his, too.
"Calmer head prevailed." They waved over to a door on the side and to Harry's surprise, it revealed Ginny, smiling at him. She walked over to her brothers, handing over a slip of parchment. Fred bowed slightly, with a grin taking the slip.
"Thank you very much, sister, of mine. Now, you remember our bargain." His grin didn't falter as Ginny nodded.
"I will not tell mom about the stash of Zonko products you hid beneath the floorboard in your room."
Fred and George nodded in synch, bowing once more.
"Always a pleasure doing business with you, little Ginny. We are off, he is all yours." And almost like they were sucked up from the ground both twins disappeared. Harry blinked a little confused, turning to Ginny. He wasn't sure what to say, but if she had really made the twins help him, she was sent by heavens.
"Thanks, Gin." He mumbled, scratching the back of his head. The girl walked over, nodding.
"No problem Harry. I know how much you hate the crowds." She said with a slight smirk. Harry nodded, smiling back.
"Okay let's go on, there are only a few minutes left." She said, grabbing his hand and pulling him along. A secret passageway later, they were in a quiet little classroom, where on the teacher's desk was a picnic basket filled with food. Harry sighed in relief, no Great Hall, this was just what he needed.
"Thanks again, Ginny. I don't know if I could have gotten down to the Hall like that." It was weird, talking to her. While Narcissa's words were still in the back of his head, she felt different, more normal. It was weird. Ginny just shrugged, digging out the food, handing him some. It wasn't such attention-seeking as it had been before.
"No problem. I remember how much I hated all of my family fussing about when I finally went here. So I had the twins help me with this and get me down to the kitchen." She buttered a scone for herself, looking out into the distance. She had understood one thing over the whole goblet and Cho thing. Harry didn't want some admirer, some fangirl. He wanted someone else, calmer. So she tried her hardest, keeping it in, no pushing, no aggressive moves, not being clingy, just being there as a friend. That would get him, she was sure of it.
Harry, on the other hand, had no idea what was going on in her head, but he was glad whatever happened to her. It was so much easier talking to her now.
"How did you even manage to do that?" He asked, frowning slightly. Ginny smirked a little, taking a bite.
"Well, for one thing, I knew they wouldn't want mom to find their stash, so that was an easy given. Never said I wouldn't tell dad though." She added innocently. Harry laughed once, while Dawn took off from his shoulder. There were a few spiders and bugs in the room and she wanted her breakfast as much as Harry did.
"And the parchment?" He asked still chuckling. Ginny's grin turned even wider.
"Well, there is one thing they wanted to get their hands on for quite some time. They knew I had the information but couldn't get it themselves, so they were eager to trade."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "And what would that be?"
Ginny giggled slightly. "The name of Percy's girlfriend."
Harry remembered her mention it at the end of the second year. He raised an eyebrow.
"Really they wanted that and helped you, for the name of Percy's girlfriend?" Harry was a little surprised.
"Oh yes, of course. Teasing you today would be cruel and also just a one-day thing, but teasing Percy with his girlfriend would be a long time investment." She said with a shrug, handing Harry a bottle of pumpkin juice. Harry opened it pouring the both of them a cup full. He snorted slightly.
"And they went for it as it seems." He said, making Ginny chuckle slightly.
"You know them, there is almost no one they love to pull pranks more on than Percy. Maybe Malfoy." She again shrugged. While her two brothers could tend to be a little mean towards their older brother, they were never downright cruel. To this day she thought that the punishment for turning Ron's teddy into a spider had been enough to at least give them some sense of proportion. Not much but enough.
Harry hummed in agreement and chewed on a small sausage. For a minute both of them were just eating, silent, not saying anything. Harry was lost in his thoughts while Ginny held in her giddiness. She was having a picnic with Harry. Maybe not but close enough. This was what she always had dreamed of. Or at least part of the things she dreamed off. But Harry was in a gloomy mood and it was clear why that was.
"How are you feeling? About the task I mean." Ginny cursed herself for not keeping it in. She looked at her slice of bread not looking at the black-haired boy. If there was one clear indicator that she said something wrong than it was that the black phoenix that had dashed through the room sharply turned and quickly landed on the boy's knee, cooing up at him.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean..." She trailed off, not knowing what to say. Harry sighed, shaking his head.
"No need. It's not your fault. Its just...I'm so fed up with the stuff. All the stares, the whispered conversations all this is bull." Harry grumbled staring into Dawn's eyes.
Ginny wasn't sure what to say, so she said nothing. Harry didn't mind, he could talk to someone at least. Of course, he could talk to Sirius or Hermione or Narcissa but they didn't get it really.
"And they will laugh even more after today." He said with a little anger in his voice. Ginny frowned.
"You will do well Harry, I'm certain." She said emphatically. Harry shook his head.
"No. They will all laugh because I will drop out right after the start." He brushed his hands through Dawn's feathers, an action that always calmed him down.
Ginny looked surprised.
"Really?" She blurted out. Harry nodded again, sighing.
"Yeah. It was Sirius idea and he is right. It is the safest option. Whoever put me in the tournament most likely did it to kill me, so dropping out is the best option. These tasks are made with adult wizards in mind, not some teenager who is just average in school." His voice was a little bitter.
Ginny reached out, stopping her hand for a moment before she placed it on Harry's forearm.
"I know this sucks. Will you at least look at the challenge? Maybe you don't have to drop out, maybe it can be handled."
Harry shook his head. "I know already what the challenge is. I can't beat a dragon, even though I trained hard for it."
Now Ginny looked shocked. "A d-dragon?"
Harry bitterly nodded. "Yeah. A dragon."
Ginny stared at him for a moment, then she nodded. "Then it won't be so bad. No one could laugh at you for backing out against a dragon. We visited Charlie once, in the reservoir. Anyone who sees a dragon will not be surprised for you to not deal with it."
Harry gritted his teeth slightly, unconvinced. "Like Malfoy would care."
Now Ginny snorted in amusement. "Who cares about Malfoy? He is a pathetic little guy who lost to you on every turn. No one cares for his opinion, except for Slytherin and let's be honest, that was a lost cause from the start. Gryffindor is with you and Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw will come around when they see what being a champion really means. I don't think anyone would believe you putting your name in after today."
Harry looked over, a little uncertain but feeling slightly better. He nodded with a small smile.
"Maybe you are right. Thanks."
"Don't mention it, Harry." Ginny said with a smile before returning to her breakfast.
For the following ten minutes, both of them said nothing while they just ate quietly side by side. When they finished, Ginny looked at her watch.
"It's almost time for classes. Maybe we should leave."
Harry nodded, feeling slightly better. Still, he sighed.
"I have no idea why we have to participate in classes today at all. Like I could concentrate."
Ginny nudged him with her shoulder. "It's just two segments, you will survive. I suppose all teachers will not be harsh if you are distracted."
"Let's hope you are right. I have Transfiguration and History today. What about you?"
Ginny made a face. "Potions."
Harry looked over in sympathy. "That sucks."
They walked towards the door while talking, Ginny nodding slowly.
"Thanks."
When they reached it, Harry stopped for a moment. "Thanks, Ginny for this. It really helped." And he meant it. For just a few minutes he had been able to escape the chaos and just could stop thinking about all the bullshit. Also, her pep talk really helped because it was not from someone he had the feeling just said these 'don't bother about others' or 'they will come around' comments to make him feel better. Ginny actually seemed to believe it, making it easier to believe her in turn.
Ginny swept her red hair over her shoulder, smiling.
"No problem, Harry."
Ginny turned out to be right. During Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall didn't mind him staring into nothingness, stroking Dawn on his table. His mind was wandering around, not really noticing much about the lesson. Hermione next to him huffed shortly but said nothing. Professor McGonagall asked him one question and then left him to it when he just murmured he had no idea. She turned a blind eye to the entire scene, only sending him an encouraging smile at the end of class and giving none of them homework for the day.
Professor Flamel was also kind enough not commenting on his behaviour. In fact, minutes after the beginning of the class Ember flew from her desk to Harry's nuzzling the cooing Dawn and Harry was happy to just watch the two of them cuddling and smiled, while his fingers played with Dawn's tail feather. In fact, this was the best part of the day since he didn't realize how fast the class went by. His mind was so focused on his little familiar, that he almost jumped when the bell rung.
There was just lunch before the task and while the beginning of the day went kind of well, these thirty minutes were worse than anything before. Every thirty seconds someone from Gryffindor came over, wishing him luck and even though he was glad for the support, he didn't manage to eat properly, not that he was of great appetite. Also, it always pulled his mind back to the task and he felt like throwing up in anxiety. This was worse than any Quidditch match combined. He just wanted it to be over with but at the same time, he didn't want it to happen at all. So the thirty minutes crawled by slower and slower. At least after fifteen minutes, Hermione threatened to hex everyone who came up to him so he was mostly left alone. That didn't help much because Hermione was enough on her own. Harry loved her to death but he was stretched pretty thin when the bell rang and she had asked him for the tenth time if his summoning charm was on point.
With the bell, most students quickly stood up, hastily making their way out. Harry wasn't eager to be in the bulk of the students, so he hung back, with Hermione and Neville waiting with him. The Slytherins made a show of cheering for Cassius, who walked at the forefront of his entire house, as well as most of Ravenclaw. The foreign delegations seemed a lot quieter. The Japanese were looking as disciplined as they had ever shown, walking in formed rows and in an even pace, while the Germans were too few for being extremely loud. Svenja was obviously fretting over an annoyed and tired looking Ulrich. Hermione had shut up at least for now, just shifting back and forth, not knowing what to really do. Harry waited, again petting Dawn. She had been the best distraction for the entire day so he stuck to this. The small bird chirped and rubbed her head on his chest, eager to show her affection. Also, she seemed to understand that they were going towards danger, something that they hadn't done together before. Harry smiled and stared into her golden eyes. She blinked back at him and thrilled shortly.
"Harry? I think we can go now." Neville said quietly. There was almost no one left in the hall, just a few first years, that seemed to struggle with their stuff. Even the teachers had left, with the exception of Professor McGonagall, who hovered at the teacher's table. Harry nodded once to his head of house before standing up. His bag was picked up by Neville, who waved him off when he tried to take it.
"I will take care of this Harry. You just focus all right?" The timid boy said with a smile while Hermione nodded in agreement. Obviously, they planned for this in advance. Harry nodded with a thankful smile.
They moved slowly to the doors, but when they were just at the threshold, a cold voice called out.
"Lord Peverell."
Harry looked to the side and near the entrance, her arms crossed over her chest was Daphne Greengrass. Her sister and Tracey Davis also stood there, a few meters back. Harry nodded to his friends and walked over to her.
"Heiress Greengrass. How can I help you?" He asked with a tired sigh.
"I merely wanted to remind you that we are scheduled for revising potions tomorrow. Don't be late Harry." And with these words, she turned. Her blond hair flowed behind her, while she was walking away with her sister and best friend. Harry smirked slightly. This was obviously Daphne's way of saying good luck.
"I will be there Heiress Greengrass." He called after her.
The way down the slope was rather quick. Practically overnight, a huge stadium had been created on the grass of the field. Large wooden beams were holding up a building that looked a lot like the old ruins in Rom. From the inside there could already be heard the voice of Ludo Bagman amplified by a sonorous spell, telling the students about the upcoming task. He spoke of danger and a spectacle, making Harry's stomach lurch even more. Professor McGonagall was walking a bit behind them, in case they got lost as if there was a way of getting lost on that short distance.
To the side of the arena was a tent, large and made up of white cloth. McGonagall walked up to the three friends, pausing next to them.
"Mr Longbottom, Miss Granger, you will have to go to the entrance. Lord Peverell, you will have to go to into the tent, it's where the champions will wait for the beginning."
Harry nodded slowly. Neville fiddled a little bit, before stretching out his hand, shaking Harry's. The chubby boy looked a little lost for a moment.
"Harry..." He just said and the young lord smiled nodding.
"Thank you, Neville." No words were really needed to be said. He smiled and Neville stepped back. Hermione brought her arms around Harry's shoulder, hugging him with a fierce grip. Harry smiled into the bushy hair of his best friend hugging her back.
"Good luck Harry." She mumbled. Harry smiled brighter, strengthening his hug for a moment.
"Don't worry Mione. I will drop out, no problem."
At that Hermione stepped back, her hands still on Harry's shoulders. She looked Harry into the eyes, blinking slowly. Her eyes were damp.
"I hope so. I know your luck, Harry." With another squeeze of his shoulders, she also stepped back and waved when Harry and professor McGonagall walked towards the tent. Harry turned while walking waving at the two of them. He turned and felt the gloomy mood return in quick steps. Sooner than he wanted they reached the tent. McGonagall stopped before turning to Harry.
"Lord Peverell, you will do well and make Gryffindor proud." She said. Harry gulped, nodding slowly. Then McGonagall's stern demeanour melted away and she looked at her student with such care and warmth Harry had always suspected underneath her stern way, but still was more than happy to find out was really there. She placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Take good care of you, Harry. Drop out before you get hurt." She said with a brittle tone. Harry felt his heart warm a little and he nodded.
"I will Aunt Minnie." He mumbled out with a smirk. McGonagall chuckled a little.
"I will let that slide. Just today. Now get inside, they're waiting."
She pulled back the tent flap and Harry with one last nod, dodged into the inside. There was obviously a silencing charm on the tent since all sounds were muffled. In the centre was a free space and to the sides a few couches and armchairs. In one was Ulrich sitting in one of those, his head hanging low like he was sleeping. Cassius stood to the other side, far away from the entrance. His whole arrogant demeanour was gone, he looked pale, blinking rapidly. Akiko, on the other hand, was like Ulrich totally calm or at least appeared this way. She was quietly talking one of the other inhabitants of the tent.
Narcissa looked over her shoulder and nodded slowly, excusing herself from the Japanese girl, who in return bowed slightly. She walked quickly over to Harry, placing her hand on his shoulder, Sirius and Remus right on her tail. Harry was too surprised to see them do anything. It needed a moment before he really understood what was going on. Finally, Narcissa pulled back, Harry still surprised.
"Cissy, Padfoot, Moony, what are you doing here?" He tried to get his bearing back. Sirius snorted, winking at him.
"You really think we would leave you to yourself in this, kiddo?" He asked handing Dawn over to a delighted Narcissa. He then also put his arms around Harry, hugging him close to his chest. Harry's hands came up gripping into Sirius shirt, while he smiled into his godfather's shoulder. He hugged with more vigour, feeling some relief in their presence. The smell of Sirius robes over the last half-year had become the smell of safety and home really, so he felt like a big weight has been taken off him.
Parting, Sirius ruffled his hair for a moment, with a smirk.
"So are you ready Prongslet?" He asked looking Harry up and down. The boy nodded, looking at the exit for a moment. Sirius frowned slightly.
"No, I think there is something wrong there." The older man said, walking around the confused boy with a frowning face. Dawn chirped and returned to Harry's shoulder, nuzzling close to him. The boy looked over his shoulder at his godfather.
"What's wrong?"
Sirius nodded to himself, snapping his fingers. "You can't go out there in your school robes. That would be..."
He left the end hanging and Narcissa finished the sentence while handing Harry a large bag. "..unbefitting for a Lord."
Sirius chuckled shaking his head. "I wanted to say uncool, but you know, same old same old."
Harry looked into the bag, blinking, he looked back up again at his smiling family. "You can't be serious." He said, baffled.
His godfather just laughed, shaking his head. "I thought by now I have learned that in fact, I am Sirius."
Narcissa scowled at the bad joke while Harry just shook his head. The tall thin woman nodded to him. "Go put it on, Harry." She said pointing at a changing booth.
After a few minutes, Harry emerged from the booth, clad in complete duelling robes, made from the one material more resilient than Dragonhide, Basilisk scales. While Dragonhide was smoother and therefore the primary material for high-level duelling robes Basilisk scales was pretty much indestructible by anything short of a goblin or dwarf made weapon. It even stopped most spellfire, but the drawback was its rarity. The sheer amount of galleons they would have paid for that must have been absurd but it was also dark blue with the Peverell and Black coat of arms on his shoulders. Probably Narcissa insisted on this. Harry looked down onto himself. The material was light but firm, like canvas maybe. All three adults looked at him with pride and glowing eyes.
"This is too much," Harry mumbled out, staring at them. Sirius laughed, shaking his head.
"No, it is not. Your safety is never a price too high to pay."
Harry blinked, still looking down. "But...but I will just drop out." He whispered, still overwhelmed by the expensive gift. Remus shook his head in the back, raising his finger in a teacher-like manner.
"You never know Harry. I don't like it but there might come the day where this will save your life." Over his shoulder was a broom, looking brand new, yet again something more they had obviously bought just in case.
Harry was still not sold. "But...I will outgrow it soon." He had grown a bit during the last few months, still one of the shortest of his classmates but still, he had the high hopes one day that would change. This time Narcissa stepped closer, correcting the way the robe was hanging from his shoulder, smoothing it over. She even pointed her wand shortly at his hair, putting the same spell Alicia had used before he had gone to Hogsmeade. Leave it to Narcissa Black to think even in these moments about the sight he was.
"Don't you worry young lord. These robes wouldn't be top of the line if it weren't for the fact that they grow with you. And it was Lord Greengrass pleasure to help you."
Harry looked with more horror at the robes lifting the hem.
"Lord Greengrass paid for this?" He looked in panic and was about to take it off, when Narcissa held onto the hem, stopping him from doing so. She nodded while Sirius spoke.
"No, not directly. You see, I remembered what you told us during the summer about your adventure in the Chamber of Secrets. So I got in contact with your headmaster. With the help of an Indian parseltongue, we went down into the Chamber retrieving the carcass. I must say, we have seen the snake and to think you have killed such a...Harry, you are the most courageous young man I have ever met." His hand rested on Harry's shoulder and Dawn rubbed her head on it.
Harry felt his face blush hard at the compliment. "How did you come in and out, without anyone seeing you?"
Sirius laughed, shaking his head. "Really Harry? You know magic is a thing right? We used a portkey."
Slowly Harry nodded, still blushing slightly. "But what about Lord Greengrass?"
"He has a business specialized in dragonhide duelling robes. They worked day and night for the past few weeks, to get this ready. It is embedded with so many protection and shielding charms, you could probably jump from the astronomy tower and would survive. Maybe don't land on your head."
Harry was still too confused to really comprehend.
Narcissa smiled, brushing off a little non-existing speck of dust from Harry's shoulder.
"Lord Greengrass would be pretty upset if he sees you walk out there with something else on you."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "He is here?" He asked in real surprise.
"Of course. Most of the most influential figures are here, this tournament is a big event, first in centuries. Also, he is in an alliance, his honour demands for him to come."
Harry groaned out, blushing. "Oh god, this is even worse, I thought only the school would see me do it the coward's way." He rubbed his forehead in annoyance. Sirius smirked shaking his head.
"Lord Greengrass is a Slytherin to the boot. There is nothing wrong in admitting that something can't be done I think-"
But whatever Sirius was thinking, he never got it out since he was interrupted by Ludo Bagman, Miss Umbridge and Dumbledore walking in. Bagman once again had this toothy grin, white and bright, as you would expect from a former Quidditch star. Sirius placed his hand on Harry's shoulder once more. Even though he was showing nothing in his face, Harry could feel his godfathers hand now tremble in anxiety, nervous and worried about his godson. While it was warming Harry's heart, it didn't help his nervousness at all knowing that his godfather was unsure what the day would bring, no matter his strong words.
"Welcome my dear champions, to the First Task of the Triwizard tournament."