AN: I hope everyone's had a great week. As always, thank you for all the support to this story, and I hope everyone enjoys this next chapter.

Jet22345 - Thanks! Pairing I'm planning is Harry/Katie/Ginny.

GreengrassRebel - Thanks! Yep, gave Daphne some love now. She'll get more later, so you have something to look forward to. Glad you enjoyed the minor switch. It's an easy, but enjoyable way for me to put a spin on some cannon events I feel should still happen, but as you said, are not all that special. Glad you enjoy how I'm handling Rita so far. Hopefully you'll really enjoy how I handle her in the end.

scrappy8 - Thanks!

Mando-Vet - The Daily Prophet isn't going to get off easy with me, I'm with you on that. The Prophet gets away with way too much, usually without consequence, both in cannon and in so many stories. Hopefully you'll enjoy seeing what I do to the Prophet.

Arctic Wolf Fury - Glad you enjoyed the montage. Still probably needs some Rocky or Eye of the Tiger music playing in the background. Oh yeah, someday Draco will push too far, that much is very true.

stars90 - Thanks! I

Chapter 31

Harry almost didn't even want to get up the next morning. It took him a while before he even realized he was trying to pull his hat onto his foot instead of his sock when he was trying to get dressed. Finally though, he knew he owed it to his friends to find his courage, get up, and tell them the bad news.

He found all of them sitting in the Great Hall, enjoying their breakfast, happy smiles on their faces, and he hated to dampen those smiles, and he knew he was far too queasy to eat, so he waited until all of his friends plates looked to be cleared before he dragged them out onto the grounds, wanting to get some fresh air, hoping it would calm his mounting panic.

"What's going on, Harry?" Alicia said, looking at him with concern, when they finally made it outside the castle and were definitely free from anyone overhearing.

"Dragons," Harry said, the one word causing all of his friends' faces to freeze. "That's the first task."

"Are- are you sure?" Katie asked, looking pale, and Harry nodded nervously.

"I saw them. There are four, fully grown, enormous, vicious-looking dragons, and I guess each champion is assigned a dragon. I saw your brother, Charlie," Harry said, looking at Ginny. "He told Hagrid that he thinks we have to get past them, but he wasn't sure. I still can't decide if I'm happy to know what is coming or not."

"I thought the trials were supposed to be safer!" Angelina said angrily. "In what bloody world are dragons safer than damn near anything?"

"We - we just need to do some research," Hermione said nervously. "I'm sure we can come up with some spells that will help you deal with a dragon."

Harry sighed.

"The problem is we still don't know exactly what the task is," he muttered. "We also don't know what conditions the arena might be in or not. If it's just getting past the dragon, I already know a bunch of things that might allow me to get through, depending on other factors, and that includes a few spells we've already learned together."

"What's going on in that head of yours, Harry?" Katie asked softly, and she hugged his side. "What have you already thought about?"

Harry grimaced, but did feel the comfort from her gesture.

"My elemental magic could be very useful, if I need to fight the dragon, or if I need to get past it. As could some of those survival charms we've learned. They also might be completely useless. It's hard to tell since I doubt we're going to find a lot of detailed examples of people fighting dragons by themselves. Admittedly, I do have another card up my sleeve that could help me slay a dragon . . . just like I slayed the basilisk, but I doubt killing it is the intent, and I don't really want to kill it, if I don't have to. Besides, there's a high possibility I could get seriously hurt trying it."

"What other card do you have?" Alicia asked with a frown.

"My sword," Harry said.

"You want to attack it with a sword!?" Hermione barely squeaked out. "Harry, dragon hide is tough. I doubt a sword can penetrate it."

"I don't have a normal sword," Harry said quietly. "It's a divine weapon, forged from Stygian Iron. It's just as powerful as a goblin sword, like the Sword of Gryffindor, if not more powerful in some ways. It can do the job . . . but again I don't want to get that close, nor do I want to kill a dragon simply for this competition."

"You're bloody serious too," Angelina said incredulously, while Ginny looked at him in awe. "You really believe you stand a shot of killing a dragon with your sword . . . and I can't fucking argue against it! Merlin!"

"Language," Hermione chided.

The rest of his friends snorted in amusement at that, while Harry glanced at them in bemusement.

"Let's check out the library," Hermione said diplomatically. "Maybe we'll be able to find a spell or set of spells that you could use to subdue a dragon or drive one off. There has to be a simple solution, I'm sure."

Unfortunately, while they found plenty of information on dragons, it was all focused on keeping dragons healthy, a bit on anatomy, and overall avoidance of dealing with dragons. Nothing that would help them whatsoever, which forced them to start jumping down rabbit holes, thinking of spells that might be able to help him, which meant spells he could learn in only two and a half days. By the end of the day, they hadn't really come up with a conclusive plan beyond Harry's rough, mostly wing-it plan.

Harry barely slept that night. When he awoke on Monday morning, he seriously for the first time, started regretting not having listened to Dora about possibly finding a new school for him, not having left Hogwarts. But as he looked around the Great Hall at breakfast time, and thought about what leaving the castle would mean, he knew he couldn't do it, especially not when he looked at the five girls who were once again, stalwartly sitting around him, giving their all to help him.

Thoughts about how grateful he was for those who meant the most to him in his life helped clear his head slightly, and soon he was doing his best to finish his breakfast, when he noticed Cedric Diggory leaving the Hufflepuff table.

Cedric still didn't know about the dragons . . . the only champion who didn't, if Harry was right in thinking that Maxime and Karkaroff would have told Fleur and Krum, since Hagrid had shown Maxime, and Harry had run into Karkaroff as the man clearly went looking for the dragons.

"Hermione, I'll see you in the greenhouses," Harry said, coming to his decision as he watched Cedric leaving the Hall. "Go on, I'll catch you up. Kate, Angie, Leash, you mind helping me for a moment?"

The three older chasers looked at him curiously, but nodded.

"Harry, you'll be late, the bell's about to ring -" Hermione started to say.

"I'll catch you up, okay?"

The three chasers followed him as he went after Cedric.

"What are we doing, Harry?" Alicia asked.

"Cedric's the only one who doesn't know about the dragons," Harry muttered. "It doesn't seem right."

"His friends are also among those who quote those bloody articles at us," Angelina muttered, and Harry nodded in agreement.

"That's true, but still, this seems wrong to let him flounder because he doesn't have wonderful people as friends like I do," Harry said with a grin.

"Flattery will get you everywhere, Potter," Katie said in amusement. "Alright, we'll keep the goons occupied for a moment while you talk to him."

"Cedric!" Harry called out, and the boy and his large group of sixth-year friends all stopped, but while Cedric at least seemed non-confrontational, the same couldn't be said for the rest of his group.

"What do you want, Potter?" one boy said with a scowl.

"I want to talk to Cedric . . . alone," Harry said, looking Cedric in the eyes, and willing him to understand.

"Like hell we'd let a cheat like you go anywhere with him and your groupies," one girl protested, and Harry scowled while his three friends glared hard. Maybe he should just let Cedric deal with the dragon himself.

"I'll speak with him," Cedric finally said.

"Ced, no!" another one protested.

"No, it's fine," Cedric said, and he moved off with Harry down the hallway, away from everyone.

"The first task is dragons," Harry said, not wasting any time.

"What?" said Cedric, looking up.

"Dragons," said Harry. "They've got four, one for each of us, and we've got to get past them or something."

Cedric stared at him. Harry saw some of the panic he'd been feeling since Saturday night flickering in Cedric's gray eyes.

"Are you sure?" Cedric said in a hushed voice.

"Dead sure," said Harry. "I've seen them."

"But how did you find out? We're not supposed to know . . ."

"Never mind," said Harry quickly - he knew Hagrid would be in trouble if he told the truth, ""but I'm not the only one who knows. Fleur and Krum will know by now - Maxime and Karkaroff both saw the dragons too."

Cedric straightened up. He stared at Harry, and there was a puzzled, almost suspicious look in his eyes.

"Why are you telling me?" he asked.

Harry looked at him in disbelief. He was sure Cedric wouldn't have asked that if he had seen the dragons himself. Harry wouldn't have let his worst enemy face those monsters unprepared - well, perhaps Malfoy or Snape . . .

"It's just . . . fair, isn't it?" he said to Cedric. "We all know now . . . we're on an even footing, aren't we?"

Cedric was still hooking at him in a slightly suspicious way and Harry rolled his eyes. His conscience was clear, Cedric had been told. Whether he believed or not was on him.

"That's all I wanted to talk about," Harry said, moving back to his three friends. "We're done," he told them.

"Good, I don't think I'm willing to suffer anymore of the legendary kindness of the Hufflepuffs," Angelina said sarcastically, and the three girls turned and started following Harry back towards the Great Hall, where they'd split off so Harry could go to class, and the girls would go about their own schedules.

As they were passing Cedric though, Katie turned and leveled a stern look at him.

"Harry doesn't owe you shit, not with how your friends and House have been acting, but he's still helping you out. I hope you remember that the next time any person in your House talks about the friendly, fair, and welcoming attitude of Hufflepuff. Actions speak louder than words, Cedric. Remember that."

With that, she pushed past and got right back alongside Alicia, Angelina, and Harry.

"You didn't need to do that," Harry said softly.

"Yes, she did," Alicia said firmly. "Most of those people all probably think that they're generally good people and stout Puffs, but the way they've been acting is atrocious. Cedric hasn't taken shots at you, but he certainly hasn't stuck up for you, nor has he stopped his friends from taking shots at you or us, simply for standing with you. You didn't owe him that. Hagrid told you because you two are good friends. That's an advantage you've earned, not one he has. Maxime and Karkaroff told their champions. It would be up to Dumbledore to make it fair, not you."

"I really don't know what I'd do without you all," Harry said. "I hope you know that."

"No getting sappy on us, Potter," Angelina said sternly. "You've got a dragon to beat tomorrow and then we're going to celebrate properly at the afterparty. Now, get your arse to class."

Harry grinned at her as they reached the Entrance Hall, knowing this is where they would separate, but as he waved goodbye to the three girls, he turned and found himself face to face with Fleur.

"'Arry," Fleur said, nervously. "I need to tell you somezing about ze first task."

He felt warmth rise up towards his newer friend since she was trying to look out for him.

"No worries, Fleur," Harry said. "I figured it out yesterday," he said, hinting that the same time her source told her, that he'd been informed.

"And Diggory and Krum?" she asked.

"I saw Karkaroff exploring the same area," Harry whispered, "so I'm sure Krum knows, and I just told Diggory, since I knew Maxime, Karkaroff, and I knew. Figured it was only fair."

Fleur smiled at him and nodded.

"Zhen, all I will do es wish you good luck, since you will need it," Fleur said with a grin. "Clearly we will see who is the better witch. I will see you later, mon ami."

"You're going to feel really bad when I'm the better witch!" Harry called after her and he grinned as he heard her throaty laugh.

**HP**

Harry felt oddly separate from everyone the next morning, whether they were wishing him good luck or hissing insults at him as they passed. The atmosphere in the school was one of great tension and excitement. Lessons stopped at midday, which gave all the students time to get down to the dragons' enclosure, though of course nobody yet realized what they would find there.

He moved through the morning in a haze, his only comfort being Hermione next to him in classes, and the small gaps between classes when Katie or Ginny or Angelina and Alicia managed to find him, just to walk with him to his next lesson, and provide any comfort they could. Before he knew it though, it was lunch and then Professor McGonagall was hurrying over to him in the Great Hall, with a great many people watching.

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

"Okay," said Harry, standing up, his fork falling onto his plate with a clatter.

"Good luck, Harry," Hermione whispered. "You'll be fine!"

"You've got this!" Katie and Ginny said, pure belief in their tone.

"Good luck!" Angelina and Alicia whispered, their eyes showing their worry.

"Yeah," said Harry in a voice that was most unlike his own.

He left the Great Hall with Professor McGonagall, Astra walked dutifully with him, almost brushing up against him to provide him comfort. McGonagall didn't seem herself either; in fact, she looked nearly as anxious as Hermione. As she walked him down the stone steps and out into the cold November afternoon, she put her hand on his shoulder.

"Now, don't panic," she said, "just keep a cool head . . . We've got wizards standing by to control the situation if it gets out of hand . . . The main thing is just to do your best, and nobody will think any the worse of you . . . Are you alright?"

"Yes," Harry said, her panic helping to clear his own mind a bit. "Yes, I'm fine."

She was leading him toward the place where the dragons were, around the edge of the forest, but when they approached the clump of trees behind which the enclosure would be clearly visible, Harry saw that a tent had been erected, its entrance facing them, screening the dragons from view.

"You're to go in here with the other champions," said Professor McGonagall, in a rather shaky sort of voice, "and wait for your turn, Potter. Mr. Bagman is in there . . . he'll be telling you the - the procedure . . . Good luck. "

"Thanks," said Harry, in a flat, distant voice. She left him at the entrance of the tent. Harry went inside.

Fleur was sitting in a corner on a low wooden stool. She didn't look nearly as composed as usual, but rather pale and clammy. She glanced at him when he entered, and she sent him a weak, nervous smile, which he returned. Krum looked even surlier than usual, which Harry supposed was his way of showing nerves. Cedric was pacing up and down. When Harry entered, Cedric gave him a small smile, which Harry returned, feeling the muscles in his face working rather hard.

"Harry! Good-o!" said Bagman happily, looking around at him, and then glancing at Astra in concern before brushing it off. "Come in, come in, make yourself at home!"

Bagman looked somehow like a slightly overblown cartoon figure, standing amid all the pale-faced champions. He was wearing his old Wasp robes again.

"Well, now we're all here - time to fill you in!" said Bagman brightly. "When the audience has assembled, I'm going to be offering each of you this bag" - he held up a small sack of purple silk and shook it at them - "from which you will each select a small model of the thing you are about to face! There are different - er - varieties, you see. And I have to tell you something else too . . . ah, yes . . . your task is to collect the golden egg!"

Harry grimaced. It would have been much nicer to simply have to get past a dragon. Thankfully though, in the back of his mind, he felt a reassuring feeling come from Astra, letting him know that he could access a skill in the enclosure that he normally couldn't.

And in no time at all, hundreds upon hundreds of pairs of feet could be heard passing the tent, their owners talking excitedly, laughing, joking . . . Harry felt as separate from the crowd as though they were a different species. And then - it seemed like about a second later to Harry - Bagman was opening the neck of the purple silk sack.

"Ladies first," he said, offering it to Fleur Delacour.

She put a shaking hand inside the bag and drew out a tiny, perfect model of a dragon - a Welsh Green. It had the number two around its neck.

Krum pulled out the scarlet Chinese Fireball. It had a number three around its neck. He didn't even blink, just sat back down and stared at the ground.

Cedric put his hand into the bag, and out came the blueish-gray Swedish Short-Snout, the number one tied around its neck. Knowing what was left, Harry put his hand into the silk bag and pulled out the Hungarian Horntail, and the number four. It stretched its wings as he looked down at it, and bared its minuscule fangs.

"Well, there you are!" said Bagman. "You have each pulled out the dragon you will face, and the numbers refer to the order in which you are to take on the dragons, do you see? Now, I'm going to have to leave you in a moment, because I'm commentating. Mr. Diggory, you're first, just go out into the enclosure when you hear a whistle, all right? Now . . . Harry . . . could I have a quick word? Outside?"

"Er . . . yes," said Harry in surprise, and he got up and went out of the tent with Bagman, who walked him a short distance away, into the trees, and then turned to him with a fatherly expression on his face.

"Feeling alright, Harry? Anything I can get you?"

"What?" said Harry. "I - no, nothing. "

"Got a plan?" said Bagman, lowering his voice conspiratorially. "Because I don't mind sharing a few pointers, if you'd like them, you know. I mean," Bagman continued, lowering his voice still further, "you're the underdog here, Harry . . . Anything I can do to help . . ."

"No," said Harry so quickly he knew he had sounded rude, "no - I - I know what I'm going to do, thanks. "

"Nobody would know, Harry," said Bagman, winking at him.

"No, I'm fine," said Harry, wondering why he kept telling people this, and wondering whether he had ever been less fine. "I've got a plan worked out, I -"

A whistle had blown somewhere.

"Good lord, I've got to run!" said Bagman in alarm, and he hurried off.

Harry walked back to the tent and saw Cedric emerging from it, greener than ever. Harry tried to wish him luck as he walked past, but all that came out of his mouth was a sort of hoarse grunt.

Harry went back inside to Fleur and Krum, and took a seat near Fleur, before he closed his eyes and tried to center himself, reaching out with his Senses to try and feel the magic and relax, using his fledgling occlumency shields to try and stem his emotions. Seconds hater, they heard the roar of the crowd, which meant Cedric had entered the enclosure and was now face-to-face with the living counterpart of his model . . .

It was worse than Harry could ever have imagined, sitting there and listening. The crowd screamed . . . yelled . . . gasped like a single many-headed entity, as Cedric did whatever he was doing to get past the Swedish Short-Snout. Krum was still staring at the ground. Fleur had now taken to retracing Cedric's steps, around and around the tent. And Bagman's commentary made everything much, much worse . . . Horrible pictures formed in Harry's mind as he heard: "Oooh, narrow miss there, very narrow" . . . "He's taking risks, this one!" . . . "Clever move - pity it didn't work!"

And then, after about fifteen minutes, Harry heard the deafening roar that could mean only one thing: Cedric had gotten past his dragon and captured the golden egg.

"Very good indeed!" Bagman was shouting. "And now the marks from the judges!"

But he didn't shout out the marks; Harry supposed the judges were holding them up and showing them to the crowd.

"One down, three to go!" Bagman yelled as the whistle blew again. "Miss Delacour, if you please!"

Fleur was trembling from head to foot.

"Good luck, Fleur," Harry said to her. "Do great out there. I'd hate to be the better witch."

She smiled weakly at him, her eyes showing her appreciation for his words before she walked out.

The same process started again . . . "Oh I'm not sure that was wise!" they could hear Bagman shouting gleefully. "Oh . . . nearly! Careful now . . . good lord, I thought she'd had it then!"

Ten minutes later, Harry heard the crowd erupt into applause once more . . . Fleur must have been successful too. A pause, while Fleur's marks were being shown . . . more clapping . . . then, for the third time, the whistle.

"And here comes Mr. Krum!" cried Bagman, and Krum slouched out, leaving Harry quite alone.

He felt much more aware of his body than usual; very aware of the way his heart was pumping fast, and his fingers tingling with fear . . . yet at the same time, he seemed to be outside himself, seeing the walls of the tent, and hearing the crowd, as though from far away.

"Very daring!" Bagman was yelling, and Harry heard the Chinese Fireball emit a horrible, roaring shriek, while the crowd drew its collective breath. "That's some nerve he's showing - and - yes, he's got the egg!"

"Lord Hades, Lady Athena, give me strength and guidance," Harry prayed softly, and he felt a sense of calm finally steal over him, knowing that he could do nothing more than give his best out there.

Applause shattered the wintery air like breaking glass; Krum had finished - it would be Harry's turn any moment.

He stood up, and then he heard the whistle blow. He walked out through the entrance of the tent, walked past the trees, and through a gap in the enclosure fence.

He saw everything in front of him as though it was a very highly colored dream. There were hundreds and hundreds of faces staring down at him from stands that had been conjured or built there since he'd last stood on this spot. And there was the Horntail, at the other end of the enclosure, crouched low over her clutch of eggs, her wings half-furled, her evil, yellow eyes upon him, a monstrous, scaly, black lizard, thrashing her spiked tail, heaving yard-long gouge marks in the hard ground. The crowd was making a great deal of noise, but whether friendly or not, Harry didn't know or care. It was time to do what he had to do . . . to focus his mind, entirely and absolutely.

He moved towards the dragon confidently, to hide his nerves, noting the rocky terrain, which helped him in a way, since it created pockets of exactly what he needed all over the enclosure.

He saw the horntail stiffen, its eyes glaring at him, and he watched it open its mouth and he saw the bright light as fire came streaming towards him. He touched a shadow of one of the bigger rocks near him, and the whole crowd gasped as just before the flames engulfed Harry Potter, he disappeared into darkness, and that gasp of shock was echoed, when Harry appeared off to the right of the dragon and he raised his wand.

"Great Scott!" Bagman shouted. "Did he just elementally travel?!"

"Fulmen!" Harry yelled, and a white bolt of lightning, crackling with energy left his wand, striking the still fire-spewing monster on the side of the neck, causing the beast to cut off its stream of fire as it shuddered from the impact of his spell.

"This is incredible! Who knew our youngest champion had this type of magic in his back pocket?!"

It turned towards him, and blew fire towards him, but he waved his wand, putting his full concentration and will into his spells, causing the shadows from all the rocks around him to form into a shield in front of him, which solidified, taking the blast, and Harry melted into shadow again, appearing on the far right side of the enclosure. Harry launched two quick blasting curses followed by a dark bolt which impacted the dragon, causing it to roar in fury, and he melted into shadow again, appearing back where he first disappeared from.

He continued these hit and run tactics, launching his most powerful destructive spells before shadow traveling away, causing the dragon to wince back away from his spells, which were not damaging enough to kill the creature, but very unpleasant, and certainly hurt the beast.

"I don't believe it! The youngest champion seems hell bent on beating his dragon down! I'm not sure it's the wisest of strategies, but with the magic we're seeing, I'm not sure I'd bet against Mr. Potter!" Bagman's voice rang out.

Finally, Harry came back to the center, and created another shield of darkness which he started moving forward towards the dragon slowly. The dragon blew its fire, and Harry felt his strength start to wane as he stopped pulling from the environment and started putting his own strength into maintaining the shield. The flames licked the bottom of his robes and he could feel the heat, causing him to sweat, but he just needed to hold out a bit longer. Finally, the dragon had had enough and flew forward ready to physically smash Harry's shield and him. When the dragon was only a hair breath away, he melted into shadow again, appearing right next to the dragon's nest.

Harry turned back towards the flying dragon, whose back was to him, and he pointed his wand at the beast.

"FULMEN!"

His crackling lightning bolt hit the dragon on the back, where the muscles for its wings were, and the beast shuddered and collapsed to the ground, twitching from the lightning's effect on its nervous system.

"SWEET MERLIN! WILL YOU LOOK AT THAT! POTTER HAS BROUGHT DOWN HIS DRAGON!" Bagman exclaimed.

"CATENAS LIGANT!" Harry shouted ferociously, and steel chains flew from Harry's wand, wrapping around the dragon, and binding its wings and legs into its body. It wouldn't hold forever, but it would buy him time.

He quickly turned and rushed towards the cache of eggs, grabbing the gold egg from the middle of the nest, and he melted into another egg's small shadow, appearing at the exit to the enclosure just as the dragon broke the chains and immediately rushed back to her eggs, glancing over them with concern.

"Look at that!" Bagman was yelling. "Will you look at that! Our youngest champion is the second quickest to get his egg! Well, this is going to shorten the odds on Mr. Potter!"

Harry saw the dragon keepers rushing forward to subdue the Horntail, and, turning around, he saw McGonagall, Mad-Eye, and Hagrid hurrying out to meet him, smiles evident on their faces.

"Thank you, Lord Hades, Lady Athena," Harry murmured in relief as the three teachers approached.

"That was excellent, Potter!" cried Professor McGonagall, which, from her, was extravagant praise. He noticed that her hand shook as she pointed at his slightly charred robes. "You'll need to see Madam Pomfrey before the judges give out your score . . . Over there, she's had to mop up Diggory already . . ."

"Yeh did it, Harry!" said Hagrid hoarsely. "Yeh did it! An' agains' the Horntail an' all, an' yeh know Charlie said that was the wors' -"

"Thanks, Hagrid," said Harry loudly, so that Hagrid wouldn't blunder on and reveal that he had shown Harry the dragons beforehand.

Mad-Eye grinned at him.

"Nice job, lad. That'll show everyone not to mess with you. Good use of your head and talents."

"Right then, Potter, the first aid tent, please . . . " said Professor McGonagall.

Harry walked out of the enclosure, and saw Madam Pomfrey standing at the mouth of a second tent, looking worried.

"Dragons!" she said, in a disgusted tone, pulling Harry inside. The tent was divided into cubicles; he could make out Cedric's shadow through the canvas, but Cedric didn't seem to be badly injured; he was sitting up, at least. Madam Pomfrey examined Harry's legs, talking furiously all the while. "Last year dementors, this year dragons, what are they going to bring into this school next? Well, Potter, just a little bit singed near the bottoms of your robes, but easy to heal since it's minor. If only you were always this easy of a patient."

Harry grinned at the woman, always a bit amused by her teasing. She waved her wand, and Harry felt the heat down near his legs fade away, seemingly covered by something cool.

"Now, just sit quietly for a minute - sit! And then you can go and get your score. "

She bustled out of the tent and he heard her go next door and say, "How does it feel now, Diggory?"

Harry didn't really want to sit, but he at least knew to listen to the healer, but that plan went out as soon as he saw the mouth of the tent open and a mass of people came darting in. He saw Dora, Sirius, Remus, Lexie (to his surprise, but delight), Alexis, Hermione, Ginny, Angelina, Katie, and Alicia - and following behind them, Ron.

"Harry, you were bloody fantastic!" Dora exclaimed, running forward and pulling him into a hug. "I didn't realize you finally figured out elemental travel!"

"Incredible kiddo!" Sirius said, with a proud grin.

"Absolutely incredible," Lexie and Alexis said, both giving him impressed looks.

"Most impressive," Remus said, a wide smile on his face.

He turned to his friends, his nerves and adrenaline finally starting to ebb away. The three chasers, but now also accompanied by Ginny who had been taken under their wing easily, just like after every Quidditch match, mobbed him with a group hug, and all four planted kisses on his cheeks, causing him to grin and blush.

"That was bloody brilliant," Angelina said. "You did so well!"

"Awe inspiring," Katie said.

"Amazing," Alicia said.

"Bloody brilliant," Ginny said, smiling brightly.

"Harry, you were brilliant!" Hermione said squeakily. There were fingernail marks on her face where she had been clutching it in fear. "You were amazing! You really were!"

Finally, Harry glanced back at Ron, who was very white and staring at Harry as though he were a ghost.

"Harry," he said, very seriously, "whoever put your name in that goblet - I - I reckon they're trying to do you in!"

It was as though the last few weeks had never happened - as though Harry were meeting Ron for the first time, right after he'd been made champion.

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

All of his other friends watched carefully, with Hermione looking the most nervous. Ron opened his mouth uncertainly, and then finally Harry saw determination appear there.

"I'm really sorry, mate," Ron said, looking Harry in the eyes. "I shouldn't have turned on you like I did. You didn't deserve that, no matter my own personal issues."

Harry nodded, not still yet smiling, and his eyes flashed towards the girls who had stayed by him, the ones Ron had called fangirls. Ron nodded in understanding.

"Angelina, Katie, Alicia, Hermione . . . Ginny, I'm sorry for what I said, especially since you were all just being better friends than me. I shouldn't have said it."

The three older girls eyed him and then nodded, while Ginny and Hermione smiled at him, and Ron finally broke into a nervous grin, and Harry grinned back, having forgiven him completely.

Hermione burst into tears, causing most of the group to snort in amusement, while Harry was among those looking at their resident bookworm in bewilderment.

"There's nothing to cry about!" Harry told her, bewildered.

"You two are so stupid!" she shouted, stamping her foot on the ground, tears splashing down her front. Then, before either of them could stop her, she had given both of them a hug and dashed away, now positively howling.

"Barking mad," said Ron, getting some laughs at that, shaking his head. "Harry, c'mon, they'll be putting up your scores . . ."

Feeling much more elated than he would have believed an hour ago, Harry along with his friends and guardians ducked out of the tent, while his friends gave him information.

"You were the best, you know, no competition. Cedric did this weird thing where he Transfigured a rock on the ground . . . turned it into a dog, kind of like he did at the Dueling Circuit against Angelina . . . he was trying to make the dragon go for the dog instead of him. Well, it was a pretty cool bit of Transfiguration, and it sort of worked, because he did get the egg, but he got burned as well - the dragon changed its mind halfway through and decided it would rather have him than the Labrador; he only just got away."

Harry winced at that.

"Fleur tried to charm the dragon, somehow," Katie said. "She seemed to be putting it into some sort of trance, and it worked, but when it snored, she was caught by a jet of flame, which lit her skirt on fire, and she put it out with some water. Honestly, she was probably the most impressive after you. Other than the slight burn, her biggest issue was that it took a while."

"I thought Krum was the next best," Ron muttered.

"Not even close," Angelina said with a snort. "Cedric's transfiguration was pretty cool, but nothing a NEWT transfiguration student shouldn't be able to accomplish with some practice. Fleur's charm, whatever it was, worked on a fucking dragon. She got unlucky, otherwise she would have finished without any injuries."

"Krum's was the simplest, and he does have the top score currently," Alicia said, "and he did have impressive aim because he hit the dragon with a conjunctivitis curse right in the eye, blinding it, but it ended up trampling around in pain, the poor thing, and sadly squashed half of the real eggs. They took marks off for that, but personally, I think he should have lost more, but there is beauty in simplistic plans, I guess. His was definitely the quickest, though he lost time trying to avoid the dragon. Yours was definitely the most daring, and seemed the most spur of the moment."

"Because it was," Harry answered with a grin, and she laughed, ruffling his hair, while he batted away her arm.

They reached the enclosure, and Harry could see the Horntail had been taken away, and could see where the five judges were sitting - right at the other end, in raised seats draped in gold.

"It's marks out of ten from each one," Ginny said, and Harry squinting up the field, saw the first judge - Madame Maxime - raise her wand in the air. What hooked like a long silver ribbon shot out of it, which twisted itself into a large figure nine.

"Not bad!" said Ron as the crowd applauded. "I suppose she took marks off for the bottom of your cloak, just like she did with Fleur . . . "

"Not bad? Bloody fantastic is more like it!" Angelina cheered.

Mr. Crouch came next. He shot a number ten into the air.

"Awesome!" Ginny said. "He must have thought the magic was that impressive!"

"It was!" Alicia said beaming.

"Brilliant, Harry!" Katie said excitedly.

Next, Dumbledore. He put up a nine. The crowd was cheering harder than ever.

Ludo Bagman - ten.

"Fantastic!" Dora yelled.

And now Karkaroff raised his wand. He paused for a moment, and then a number shot out of his wand too - two.

"WHAT!" Dora screamed in outrage, outrage that was echoed by the rest of the group, save Harry.

"You cheating, biased bastard!" Sirius bellowed.

"He gave Krum ten!" Angelina and Ron both yelled, looking livid.

"He just did the math to figure out what he could give you to tie with Krum," Remus said, looking angry.

"Bullshit," Alicia swore.

Personally, Harry didn't care. Ron and his other friends and family's indignation on his behalf was worth all the points in the world. He didn't tell them of course, but he also enjoyed looking around seeing that it wasn't just Gryffindors cheering in the crowd. When the stakes were down, most of the school had supported him as well as Cedric.

"You're tied in first place, Harry! You and Krum!" said Charlie Weasley, hurrying to meet them as they set off back toward the school. "Listen, I've got to run, I've got to go and send Mum an owl, I swore I'd tell her what happened - but that was unbelievable! I've never seen magic like that before! Oh yeah - and they told me to tell you you've got to hang around for a few more minutes. . . . Bagman wants a word, back in the champions' tent."

His friends all said they would wait since they were all just going to go back to the castle for what was sure to be a great afterparty in the Gryffindor Common Room, so Harry reentered the tent, seeing Fleur, Cedric, and Krum already present.

One side of Cedric's face was covered in a thick orange paste, which was presumably mending his burn. He grinned at Harry when he saw him.

"Good one, Harry. "

"And you," said Harry, grinning back.

"Most impressive," Fleur said, shooting him a smile, "but next time, victory will be mine."

"Perhaps," Harry said, with a grin, feeling much better. "I heard you were brilliant, Fleur."

"Well, of course," Fleur said with a haughty sniff, but he could see the sparkle in her eyes. "For now though, I will let you be the superior witch. Next time though, it will be me."

"Well done, all of you!" said Ludo Bagman, bouncing into the tent and looking as pleased as though he personally had just got past a dragon. "Now, just a quick few words. You've got a nice break until the second task, which will take place in the evening of January the twenty-sixth, but you won't be able to be idle. No! You've got two tasks to prepare for. That's right! Two tasks. You see those golden eggs you're all holding, you will see that they open. . . see the hinges there? You need to solve the clue inside the egg - because it will tell you what the third task is, and enable you to prepare for it! The Third Task will take place at half past nine on the morning of February the twenty-fourth. Now, I'm sure you're all thinking, but Ludo, what about the second task? Well, that's where the fun begins. You see we felt you needed time to solve our puzzle and come up with a solution to the third task, which is why you have so much time with our clue. The second task though is a bit more straightforward."

Bagman grinned at them, looking just as excited and energetic as ever.

"You see, for the Second Task, you'll have to recruit a team to help you. Oh yes, you see the Second Task is a game of Capture the Flag, pitting all four teams against each other at one time! All of Hogwarts, excluding the castle, but including the inner edges of the Forbidden Forest will be open for use. Of course, we'll be altering the grounds a bit to add some challenges and throw some wrenches into your plans and ideas." Bagman grinned. "You'll be able to select where to hide your flag, though you won't know how we'll alter the landscape until the day of. You will be graded on your leadership, strategy, abilities, how many enemy combatants to neutralize, and of course how many flags you manage to secure at the end of the hour time-limit. As an added incentive, you should know that your flags will contain a clue for a future task, so the more flags you collect, the more clues you will hold for the future . . . and the less clues your opponents will have."

Bagman grinned as the four Champions exchanged glances. Harry couldn't deny that a competitive match of Capture the Flag actually sounded fun. It didn't hurt that he could involve some of his friends.

"Now, your teams are allowed to have up to ten people," Bagman said with a mischievous look. "I would advise you to be careful in building your team. You never know what you might face on the field of battle. There are no rules about who you can recruit, as long as they are students. Now, all clear? Good! Well, off you go then!"

Harry made his way out of the tent and to the crowd of his friends and family who all looked more relaxed and carefree now that the First Task was over.

"So, what did they have to say in there?" Dora asked as he approached.

"These golden eggs are a clue for the third task," Harry said, gesturing to the heavy egg."

"Third?" Hermione said with a frown and Harry nodded.

"Third, which will be held in late February. The Second Task will be held in late January and I've got recruit a team for a match of Capture the Flag, played against the other three Champions and their teams. Our flags will have clues for a future task, so the more we capture, the more clues we'll get."

"Oh, that actually sounds pretty fun," Angelina said, getting general nods of agreement.

"They did mention that they'd be placing some traps and altering the environment to throw wrenches in plans," Harry said, "but I would agree. It sounds fun."

"Well, there will be time to plan that out later," Dora said with a smile. "For now, you should go celebrate because you've earned it."

There were lots of grunts and nods of agreement, so talking lightly, they started walking towards the gates where all the adults would leave before the rest of them returned to Gryffindor Tower. However, right as they made it around a set of trees, Rita Skeeter came out from behind a clump of trees.

"Congratulations, Harry!" she said, beaming at him. "I wonder if you could give me a quick word? How you felt facing that dragon? How you feel now, about the fairness of the scoring?"

"I'm sorry, Rita," Sirius said with a savage grin, stepping in front of Harry, "but I already told Barnabas Cuffe that we would do no more interviews with the Daily Prophet, and Dumbledore mentioned to me that you aren't allowed on Hogwarts grounds anymore."

"Which means, you are trespassing, so I'm afraid we're going to have to remove you from school grounds, and file a report," Dora said impishly.

"Terrible shame, that," Lexie said, with a feral grin.

"Wish we didn't have to," Alexis agreed cheerfully.

Harry and his friends couldn't keep the grins off their faces as Rita blustered and threatened them, while Sirius, Lexie, Alexis, and Dora bound her, took her wand, and then waved as they made their way towards the gate, Remus following with a wide smile.