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November 24, 1994
That was that. Harry was in the champions' tent and by himself; well, mostly. The other champions were inside, as were the heads of the schools and the tournament official. They all counted in some way, he supposed, but not one that mattered enough to him. Only Lucretia and Alice constituted real company since everyone else had tossed him aside.
All for the damned tournament, one that he hadn't entered his name into and one that everybody assumed he had no matter how vehemently he denied doing so. It was like his word didn't matter to the lot of them, and in that way, it showed Harry how much he was truly worth to his countrymen, his 'friends' and everybody else that was meant to be on his side.
Merlin, I sound like Ginny having one of her fits.
He shook his head, rolled his shoulders and moved to join the semi-circle that was waiting for him.
"Good good, our last champion is here," Said a man waving him over to a spot beside Cedric and in front of Professor Dumbledore.
Harry wasn't entirely fond of either of the two right now, but he did as he was bid. It wouldn't do to look so miserable or against anybody right now, not with what was at stake.
"We're glad that you've finally joined us, Harry Potter," Said a Ministry man, Barty Crouch, Harry thought his name was before turning to the unknown man. "Get a move on, the schedule is tight and we've much to do."
"Of course, Mister Crouch, of course," Said the man energetically as he withdrew a bag that seemed to be moving all by itself. "Ludo Bagman, it's a pleasure to meet all you fine young champions — in this bag, is your task. Dare I say, pick wisely!"
Harry wasn't sure how exactly they were supposed to do that, the other champions didn't seem all that impressed with the man either, not save for the French Fleur who put on a smile that was meant to seem cute or captivating to anybody who looked at her. He remembered that she was rumoured to have Veela blood like Alice's Siren, but unlike Alice, Fleur's wasn't nearly as alluring to him.
It must've done something to Bagman though, on account of the man turning towards her and offering out the little bag. "Ladies first!"
Again, the man spoke with such energy that Harry felt a bit off-kilter because of it. From that point on, he didn't pay the man any sort of attention, not until it was his turn to withdraw the dragon he'd go against. By that point, based on the looks he was being given, the one he'd pick would be a fierce one — it was at that point that he realised his zoning out had cost him hearing something.
Not like it matters any, the dragon I'm going against won't change and the extra few seconds aren't worth anything.
Harry shook his head ever so slightly and plucked out a miniature dragon. It was fierce, the little tufts of fire it blew at him enough to singe his arm hair and the spikiness of it just enough to prick his skin to draw a tiny bit of blood. There wasn't much pain, it was more uncomfortable than anything else. What bothered him beyond any of that was the dragon's appearance and what abilities it would have, if any.
"The Hungarian Horntail," Mister Crouch said with a level of fierceness before promptly moving on. "These all represent very real, very dangerous dragons. Ones that you'll each face in your first task, and one that you must overcome if you're to continue. Now, as it's time to begin, we'll go with the earlier courtesy shown — ladies first, if you'd please Miss Delacour."
Harry never thought he'd be happier in being a bloke than at that moment. Fleur looked nervous, incredibly so, and he knew he'd be just as horrified if he were expected to start off the champions.
"You alright, Harry?" Cedric asked, the boy seeming pale and unable to stand still.
"I'm good," Harry said, nodding a couple of times before sitting on a chair. "You?"
Cedric managed a weak-looking smile as he nodded a few times just as Harry had. "Mostly, I'm go— a bit nervous, actually. I found out yesterday what the task was. Did you know beforehand? Didn't seem all that nervous, is all."
"I found out the day before yesterday," Harry lied, fighting to keep himself from squirming. He felt bad for not telling or helping Cedric, but what could he do? "I think I'll be fine. I've always managed."
He should've told Cedric. If anything happened to the likeable Hufflepuff, it'd be on his shoulders, not anybody else's. Alice and Lucretia had helped him so much, they'd spent nearly every day since he'd met them with him, but he'd failed to help somebody who'd never actually wronged him.
So what if Cedric didn't defend him or offer him any sort of help, wasn't he going on about how he was supposed to be better?
"You have," Cedric said with a bit of laughter, enough so that it seemed out of place. "I'm sure you'll do fine, Harry. Always have before, just like you said… think you could offer me any advice?"
Harry blinked a few times, not expecting that in the slightest.
"What?" Harry said after a few seconds of his blinking, feeling as if he misheard the other boy's words.
Cedric looked around, his eyes settling on Krum for a few seconds, before he turned back to Harry. "You said it yourself, you've faced a lot of stuff and beat it. I've heard a lot about it too, and since you've had a couple of days, I was hoping you could give me some pointers. Maybe weak points — I don't know."
Harry bit at the bottom of his lip, plucking a piece of dry skin and chewing it as he thought about what Cedric said. "Did you find out anything about dragons yesterday?"
"Not really. Most of the books in the Hogwarts library were checked out — Hermione and Cho, I think. Cho shared them with me at the end of the day when I caught up with her, but I couldn't find wherever it was that Hermione ran off to. If there were other books, maybe in Hogsmeade or the other school's libraries, I couldn't get them even if I wanted to," Cedric said, shaking his head with a nervous edge on him.
"What do you kno—" Harry paused when a particularly loud burst of energy came from the crowd outside, and he continued when it died back down. "What do you know about dragons in general then? I could probably give you something to go off of, but it's a bit late to learn any new spells in dealing with them."
"Yeah, yeah it definitely is," Cedric shook his head and then smiled. "Suppose I should've tried to catch you, but whenever I looked for you, I always heard those two Durmstrang witches had you. I know it's not my place, Harry, especially since I didn't really speak up for you… just, just be careful, yeah? It may not seem like it, but you've still got friends at Hogwarts even if they're not the usual ones."
Harry wasn't sure what Cedric meant by that, but he nodded and moved a little closer to Cedric. "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind — I'll try to be easier to find too, they usually keep me all to themselves. Suppose I could say that it's thanks to them I'm not completely unprepared," Harry smiled fondly, thinking of the two witches before he refocused himself on helping Cedric. "They have a strong sense of smell, really strong. If you try to use smoke or something like that to cover yourself or impede that sense of smell, they'll use their wings and whirl it away. Their eyes are pretty keen too, at least most of the books I've read say as much. Merlin, even their hearing isn't all that bad."
"Is dragon hide as tough as everybody says it is?" Cedric asked, swallowing as the look of nervousness came back in full force.
Harry nodded, the crowd roared, and Krum went out when he was called; it was just him and Cedric left in the tent now.
"Most types of spells, potions and magic, in general, won't work on them. You'd need spells that were specifically made to fight dragons or weapons like the sword of Gryffindor. If you don't have something like that, your best bets trying to block its senses as long as you can while you go for the egg," Harry shrugged, looking away from Cedric. "Don't try and battle it. I know I may not have helped you out all that much, but trying to fight it without having the spells to do so won't get you anywhere."
Cedric patted Harry on the shoulder. "You definitely helped a lot more than anybody else did. Fleur and Krum, I don't think they would've helped me if I asked them. You're a good guy, Harry. Don't let the current situation at school tell you otherwise — if I don't get burnt too badly, I'll be right at your side telling everybody how wrong they are."
Another burst of sound came, followed by a louder, longer-lasting one with applause. Krum was probably finished now, and that would mean it was Cedric's turn.
"Thanks, Cedric," Harry said as he stood up to see the boy off. "Good luck, by the way. I don't think you'll need it though."
Cedric laughed, the nervous look leaving him for the last few seconds he'd be in the tent. "If you don't think I'll need it, why don't you give me all of yours too? Just to make sure, you know?"
"If that's what it takes, sure, have my luck," Harry smiled and waved at the older boy. "I'll see you in the tent when we're both done."
"Yeah. See you then… don't do anything crazy," Cedric said, dipping his head and giving a typically charming smile as he made his exit.
And then it was just Harry.
There wasn't much to do now that he was alone. Nothing to say, nobody to speak with, and while typically that was enjoyable thanks to the current situation at Hogwarts, it was anything but. Harry was left in his own mind, the anxiety he'd not felt yet only now hitting him, and incredibly hard.
When Alice and Lucretia had been with him, it wasn't nearly so bad.
Bursts of spellfire, and then silence.
Crowds gasping, cheering, whooping, screaming, and then nothing.
Harry could hardly tell what was happening thanks to the onlookers, and at one point, when it became unbearable, he put a privacy charm up. No longer did he wish to hear the sounds of the crowd when Cedric was in the arena. It was too much, and so when Bagman came for him, opening the tent with a wide smile on his face, his worries — some of them — were alleviated.
Bagman tried to say something, in fact, he did say something, but Harry couldn't hear. He half thought he was deaf for all of a few seconds, at least until he remembered why exactly it was he couldn't hear anything. Thus, with a wave of his wand, that issue was dealt with and an exasperated looking Bagman was gesturing to him.
"Mister Potter, you can hear me now, right?" Bagman asked, gesturing wildly with his hands.
Harry nodded a couple of times and replied very simply. "Yes."
That was that, and Harry was very quickly ushered out to the arena. Nothing much was said, nothing important at least, and as Harry passed the crowd he sought out only one set of important faces; Alice and Lucretia.
Both of them were towards the very front of the stands, and both were smiling directly at him — it was weird considering Lucretia's attitude and personality too. He figured right then and there he might actually be done in. If that were the case, at least he'd had a good run with pretty witches in his final few weeks. On the flip side, if everything worked out and he beat the dragon he'd be facing within the next minute, he'd get to tease Lucretia… with Alice's help.
There wasn't any way that he'd mess with either Durmstrang girl if the other wouldn't back him up — witches were crazy, he'd witnessed that enough times to know it's the truth.
"Good luck, Mister Potter," Bagman said as he gestured towards the entrance to the arena. It was surrounded by rocks and he had to go down before coming back up again, but it looked functional enough.
Harry waved to the girls and followed the path until it came to an exit, one that revealed the interior of the arena; stone. That one word was more than perfect to summarize what he saw when he entered into the first task. All of the arena was made of stone, and some of it looked awfully scorched, likely as a result of the other champions messing around with their dragon a bit too much.
Right. Dragons.
With a cursory glance for an obviously large creature, Harry came up empty. No dragon was present, but what was present was a golden egg atop a higher bit of rocks in the centre of the arena. It looked pretty, and it was incredibly shiny.
That's the egg I need to get, but where's the dragon?
Again, Harry looked around as he disregarded the crowd's loudness. There was no sign of the Hungarian Horntail that he'd pulled, not one clue in the form of sound or action. That worried him beyond measure, as it likely meant the beast was going to surprise him. Maybe as soon as he broke from his cover, possibly when he got to the egg and was in the wide-open centre of the arena.
Whatever the plan was from the obviously intelligent creature, it worried him. He hadn't expected it to be quite so human in its intelligence and planning despite having read about them.
Harry swallowed the anxiety back down his throat and took a few tentative steps outwards, his wand in hand and a spell already in his mind; the eyes would go first, they'd be the greatest threat. If that worked, he'd go for its sense of smell next and finally end with its hearing. Again, that was if everything went according to plan and beyond that, with the type of magic that it was, there was the chance he'd be punished for using it.
Alice and Lucretia had told him not to worry about that aspect though. He was meant to worry about surviving, worrying about trouble wasn't worth it.
After another few steps, Harry heard and saw the shadow it cast right above him. He half thought he was imagining it, but when the shadow began to shrink and the sound of its wings grew closer, he dove back to where he'd started. The dragon's ruse was up, and Harry was in for the fight he'd been expecting.
As a start and whilst his cover lasted, Harry began to transfigure the stone as best as he could. There wasn't any doubt in his mind that the dragon would eventually beat it down, but he needed time and a stronger position. Thus, he used the stone above him and to the sides to cover the entirety of the exit. When that was done and he could hear the horntail using its tail like a battering ram against the keep of a castle, he began to transfigure away the stone to his left — such was the side the dragon would be harder pressed to get to.
His work was fast and sloppy, not at all deserving of a high grade if his Professor would've seen the numerous jagged edges he left behind. Still, it worked, and soon enough Harry was out of the tomb he'd made for himself and out into the open while the dragon began to destroy the makeshift wall he'd made.
It didn't see him and hadn't realised he'd moved, Harry realised. It was good fortune, and unfortunately for the dragon, his first spell would go off without a hitch. The beast roared when he struck its nose with a spell meant to blind it, and based on the screech it made, the spell worked if only partially so. Regardless of how effective his casting was of it, the Horntail's vision seemed ruined enough that its nose began sniffing wildly to figure out where he'd escaped off to.
Harry wouldn't let up while it was momentarily stunned. He levelled his wand at the creature again, and with a steely resolve, he fired off his second spell — the one that was meant to deafen it.
Again, the creature screeched, only this time the sound was sadder-sounding and as if it was in pain. It was enough to make Harry lower his wand as his plan faltered, the potentially dark magic causing it pain wasn't the plan. No, the plan had been to take away its senses rather than fighting it head-on and risking injury to either of them.
Very nearly he risked a glance over to the two girls in the crowd, but when it roared again, this time so horribly that he felt the hairs prick up all across his skin, he tore off towards the egg while its head swung all about and it smashed its head against the stone. Fire too was blown about wildly, the shields placed over the crowd coming in handy then.
Finally, with the egg in his arms and the exit in view whilst the dragon raged all about with pitiful sounds, he made his escape. It wasn't glorius, he didn't feel good about his win, and as soon as he was safe, he cancelled the spells.
Harry had won using the strategy and magic they'd come up with. There was the possibility he was even alive because of them. Still, it didn't exactly feel… right, to him. Based on the looks of Bagman and Crouch when they came to usher him over to the medical tent, neither of them had expected such an outcome either.
He couldn't tell if they were angry with him.
After being brought over to the two men for a quick check for injuries and to ensure everything behind him was fine, Harry was ushered over to the medical tent. There wasn't anything wrong with him save for a scratch here and there, though that much should be obvious on account of his quick-moving, scrambling about on some rocks and so on.
Regardless, they took him to the medical tent and made sure he stayed until the nurse could look him over. He figured it was them not wanting to be responsible for the 'savior of the wizarding world' getting hurt despite his numerous assurances that he was fine. As bothersome as it was, something good did come of it in the form of him seeing the other champions.
Fleur looked mostly fine, if slightly singed here and there. Krum looked bruised in a good few places, even going so far as to nurse a side of his body on the bed he was laying in. Cedric looked the worst of the three, but when he saw Harry, he managed a smile and wink — Harry swore he could see the other boy give him an okay gesture too, but he couldn't be sure.
Anyhow, with that all done and dusted, they'd be resting for a little bit until it was time to get their scores. Nearly nobody was allowed in to see them on account of the injuries some of the champions suffered and the stressful task they'd just gone through, but Bagman and Crouch both agreed that a couple of guests each were earned by the students.
Cho and somebody not entirely familiar with Harry were the two who came for Cedric; Alice and Lucretia were the two that bolted in almost as soon as the alright was given for guests. Instantly, the two spirited him away to the emptiest corner of the tent, threw up privacy charms and began speaking.
Harry was happy with their energy and happier still with their amazed, satisfied looks.
"You did it," Alice said, peeking over his shoulder before they wrapped her arms very tightly around him, pulling Harry into the warmest, most comforting hug he'd ever experienced. "We're both so proud of you."
Lucretia nodded in a way that Harry could see it. "You did pretty well. To think we were worried over nothing, isn't that right Alice?"
Alice pulled back, placed a kiss on his forehead and threw a look at her friend. "Worried over nothing, you said?" She huffed and kept one of her arms around Harry. "Dragon's are not 'nothing'. They are dangerous as we saw with the other champions, no? We had to be worried about him too, he's our Harry now, and it's us responsible for him."
"He was fine, we taught him well and he's a good learner. Really, Harry, you did a good job while Miss Swiss here was worrying her pretty little face off," Lucretia patted him on the shoulder and used her other hand to mess his hair up worse than it already was.
He didn't mind the usually bothersome action. They were allowed whatever they wanted if they continued seeing him through all the tasks and stayed his friends.
"Thank you both, I don't think I would've made it without your help. It was wicked, the spells worked great, the studying — all of it, I don't think I would've made it without all of it," Harry smiled, a blush coming to his cheeks as he looked between the two older girls. "Thanks, really."
Alice made a soft, cooing sound as she pulled him against her again. "You are adorable, Harry."
"Yeah, what she said," Lucretia said, rolling her eyes and making a crazy gesture at Alice so that Harry could see it; he nearly laughed at the action despite the calming, affection-filled aura of Alice's that surrounded him like a blanket. "We'll continue to help you too, in case you didn't think we would. This wasn't a one time thing. We're your friends, you're stuck with us now."
Harry's smile grew as he looked at Lucretia while Alice kept making these little sounds that calmed him and comforted him. The mixture of their two personalities and presences were amazing, it almost felt like Lucretia was as much a Siren as Alice, such was the nature of her in recent times.
"We will wait for you outside, when the scoring is done," Alice said when she pulled back. "It will be time to celebrate a perfect performance."
"You don't have to leave yet, do you?" Harry practically blurted out, looking away when Alice smiled and tilted her head down at him.
Lucretia's knowing look with a smirk plastered on her face conveyed her thoughts very simply too. Ultimately, it was Alice that responded.
"You will get your score soon, and when the person comes it would probably be best if we were already gone. Trust me, we will be waiting for you the moment the scoring is over — 'Cretia and I have already planned your party," Alice kissed his forehead, then the tip of his nose and finally, the corner of his lips. "We are proud of you, happy, amazed, everything! You are wonderful, powerful and most of all, cute, Harry Potter."
Alice stepped back and Lucretia, her arms folded until she gave him a fleeting hug, said her brief goodbye-filled happy speech.
"Like I said earlier, you did an awesome job. I only hope you'll like your little celebration too, it'd be a shame if we let you down after steering you onto a path where your power can be properly utilised," Lucretia patted him on the cheek and, with a teasing smile at Alice, kissed the other corner of his lips. "Have to mess with her, don't I? Seriously, Harry, we're in shock at your performance, I can't let that be understated."
Harry smiled at the amount of affection he was given, and when the girls made their hasty exit on account of him needing to see what score he was given, his only hope was that it'd go by quickly. He didn't care all that much about what position he was given, not nearly as much as they seemed to or the other champions. No, all Harry cared for thus far was continuing his friendship with the two girls and the time he could spend with them — living too.
Staying alive was always good.
"First place, can you believe it!" Lucretia cheered loudly as she, Harry and Alice made their way down to the Durmstrang ship. "I knew you could do it, you did amazing, but first place? Shite, Harry, that's absolutely amazing."
"You said I shouldn't be surprised earlier, no? And here you are acting like you were scolding me for," Alice stuck her tongue out at the other girl, and Harry laughed at the antics the two of them got up to.
He never thought he'd grow tired of them and how they acted. Not so long as the two of them remained by his side until the end of the year came; Durmstrang and all of her students would be gone then. There was the chance he could transfer, get away from all the madness that Hogwarts and Britain had… they could join him at Hogwarts too, especially if they were in their final year.
I'll have to ask.
"Is everything alright, Harry?" Alice's concerned question and tone of voice caught him off guard.
Harry nodded a few times, his energy from the earlier task still around albeit in a smaller degree. "Yeah. I'm good. I was actually just wondering… you two never told me what year you're in, at least I don't think you did."
Lucretia looked at Alice for all of a second. "We're both in our final year of Durmstrang. Wherever we care to go for work once we're done is up to us," Lucretia ruffled his hair and pressed against him for a few seconds before pulling away with a half-smile on her face. "You're in your fourth year if I'm not mistaken."
"You're not," Harry answered.
"Perfect. I figured my Harry trivia was right," Lucretia winked at Alice then, a smug sort of look about her. "How about you, salmon? What do you know about our Harry here?"
"Always with the salmon," Alice said with a raised nose as she shot Lucretia a faux glare. "What if I called you mammal, would that be a fitting nickname for you?"
Lucretia shrugged and tossed Harry a look that said she wasn't all that impressed. Thus, with folded arms, she responded to her friend. "I don't think that'd bug me. Not like salmon or fish bugs you, gill girl."
Alice pulled Harry a little closer to her this time, taking him from Lucretia's side. "Mammal then, on account of your cow-sized breasts, overly large rear and single-minded brain."
Harry's eyes went wide at Alice's accented words, the heat in them scathing and the words themselves not too far behind. Had Fleur or any other Veela been present, he had no doubt fireballs would be flying all about the path they were currently walking along.
Well, he thought that at least. Once the two older girls laughed and sandwiched him between them, he realised it was all a game to them. All of the words, remarks and so on were simply meant to mess with one another, possibly him too.
"Harry, you asked us our year," Alice said once the playing around was finished. "Why is that? You are worried we're done with you once the school year's over, maybe?"
Lucretia scoffed and flicked him in the upper arm. "He can't think that. Not after how much time we've spent training him up and ridding his mind of those stupid notions Hogwarts has filled it with. Seriously, dark magic this or inappropriate that, how are you meant to defend yourself if you can't figure out what's being thrown at yo—"
Alice's aura picked up a notch as she said a quick 'hush' to Lucretia and focused her attention back on Harry. "There is no reason to be worried that we'll leave you. We are not like the others in the sense of being fickle with our friendships, especially not when the boy in question has slept against us or in the same room — we would be considered spoilt by the saviour, you wouldn't want our reputations in the muddied water, would you?"
"In the mud, fish," Lucretia muttered when Alice finished her exaggerated speech filled with comforting touches and batted eyelashes.
Harry hid the grin that almost came to his face thanks to Lucretia's words and shook his head. "I wouldn't want that. I'm just a bit… apprehensive? I think that's the right word, but really, I'm just nervous after how often my friends have bailed on me," he held his hands up then, "I'm not saying you two will do that either, it's just in the back of my mind."
"Keep it there," Lucretia said with a shrug as she withdrew a candy from her satchel. "It's always good to have plans in the back of your mind for anything and everything. Don't give me that look either Alice, we both know we're not leaving him anytime soon but there's no way we can tell him that and convince him of it. Not unless we use special fish magic that you haven't decided to tell me about yet."
"You are impossible sometimes," Alice said with a huff before her tone turned soft and her arms wrapped around Harry. "We're with you as long as you will have us, Harry. I promise you that."
Those final few words spoken in a coo-like tone were all he needed to finally relax for the day, and so when they reached the ship and more accurately, Lucretia's room, he fell asleep pressed up against Alice.
It was an amazing way to end the day.