A/N: And here we are at the end of this chapter.

And what would you know, there are some DRAGONS in it. Sorry for the delay, but HowInMadeHowie and I wanted to describe the first task from every possible perspective, together with the other champions and the spectators commenting on how the champions fared, not just Bagman. Some scenes were very straight forwards, others needed the magical touch from HowInMadeHowie to be better then my first draft.

Now have fun reading this chapter.

It was a sunny day with only a few clouds spread over the sky. But the atmosphere was charged with anticipation, since the first task of the Triwizard Tournament was being held today. The champions were informed that they should meet in a small tent next to the stadium on the grounds near the Forbidden Forest for further instructions.

The spectators were filling in the rows above the stadium and began to wonder why the center of the field was looking like a mountainside. Hermione, Daphne and Susan were navigating the rows of seats while talking with each other. There was a reason why the small group did not just sit down on a spot they found empty, since Hermione wanted to be close to Geralt and Yen; so she could ask them if Harry had talked about his plan with them.

Susan was looking around to see if she could help Hermione in finding Harry's adopted parents when she noticed that the headmasters were not in their booth where the judges would be sitting. She thought that they may be with their champions right now before the task would start. But she soon was distracted from this line of thought when she heard Hermione calling out to Geralt who was sitting in the front row of the stadium. Right next to him was Yennefer, smiling when she turned towards the girls who were now coming over to them.

Hermione leaned over the row of seats between her and Yen and asked if she and her friends could join them. Yen nodded, still smiling. "Of course Hermione, we would like for you to keep us company. How have you been?"

Hermione, Daphne and Susan were sitting down and talked with the two adults about their school life and what was going on. But Hermione could not hold her question back that she directed towards Geralt. "Geralt? Do you know what the champions have to do?"

Geralt shrugged nonchalantly as if he was not concerned. "Just a simple case of retrieval of something, that's the general tradition of the first task so we've discovered." Hermione was about to ask further but Geralt held up his hand to forestall her question. "If you're trying to ask what kind of creature Harry is facing; I know the general gist, but not the specifics. And I can tell you right here and now I am not worried." Geralt's reassuring smile did relax Hermione, for the moment.

—-

Harry was leaning against a wooden pillar inside the tent where champions were waiting for the organizers of the tournament to tell them what they already knew. Harry observed the other champions and saw that Fleur was becoming very nervous by the second. Harry was contemplating if he should help her get over it before the headmasters came into the tent. He could hear them talking just outside, so there was not much time.

Harry moved away from the pillar and walked over to Fleur. "Calme-toi, Fleur. Tu fais une tranchée avec ton rythme."(Calm down, Fleur. You are making a trench with your pacing)

Fleur flinched a bit when she heard Harry talking to her, but breathed out in relief when she saw his worried eyes. Even if people were saying that the cat-like eyes of a Witcher were not able to convey such feelings. "Merci 'arry. Yes I am nervous. I guess you know zat ze will face?"

Her question, she saw, both Cedric and Viktor were looking at her knowingly. Seeing their reaction calmed her down a bit and she sat down on a chair in the tent. "Facing a dragon iz not zomezing we learn in school. But it is nice for everyone feeling similar. Well, except 'arry of course. You 'ave a suggestion for me to 'andle a dragon?" Fleur looked up at Harry hopefully.

Harry just shrugged and pointed at his armor. "I do it like a Witcher would, so to the best of my ability. I do not know what your specialties are, but I would suggest that you all play to your strengths."

Cedric nodded, but looked at Harry with a curious look. "I wanted to ask you Harry, what are you wearing? It does not seem to be the classical armor that a Witcher would have worn in the stories I heard."

Harry grinned and leaned against another post in the tent. "Well, we are not so stingy that we do not look at the technology that a Muggle could come up with. This armor is much more modern than our old leather armor was and also is able to protect me much better while still keeping its weight to a minimum." Harry looked down at the armor that he was given for the tournament. It was another modified UNSC Marine armor, something that, according to Callie and Cortana, was used by another elite branch of the UNSC namely the ODST, or Helljumpers as they prefered to be called. Harry had met some during his time on Infinity, and he knew that they did not joke around when they were training with each other. Having their armor instead his GUNGNIR calmed him down enough to be calm on the outside. But it would also be his first adult dragon, if he counts his brief interaction with Norbert at least.

The champions had not to wait for long before the judges entered the tent. In front of the newcomers in the tent was Dumbledore, who walked over to Cedric and placed a hand on his shoulder. Karkaroff did the same with Krum while Madam Maxime just stepped behind Fleur and looked down at her with a small smile. Keira walked over to Harry while she looked at Harry with an encouraging smile.

Bagman clapped his hands together and then began to explain what the champions had to do in this task. "If you will all reach into this bag to determine who will go in which order and also what you will encounter. Once that is done then pull out what I will explain further." Bagman held the bag over to Fleur and opened it, so she could put her hand inside.

Fleur grimaced as the bag was making a small hissing sound when she put her hand inside it and almost instantly pulled it out again with a small reptilian object in her hand. It was a small model of a green colored dragon with a number three around its neck. Fleur looked up to Madam Maxime, her nervous expression mirrored by her headmistress.

Bagman looked at the model and smiled. "Ah, the Common Welsh Green. It would most likely be the quickest today. Now, Mr Krum, if you please." Bagman walked over to Krum and held out the bag.

Viktor just put his hand into the bag and pulled it back out, opening the hand to show the others a red dragon with the number two around its neck.

Bagman nodded excitedly. "Ah, the Chinese Fireball. This is one fierce beast." If Bagman had expected that Krum would show some worry about his dragon, he was disappointed at the lack of reaction from the professional Quidditch player. But after a short while, Bagman just turned towards Cedric with the bag.

Cedric just put his hand into the bag and pulled out a silvery blue dragon with the number one around its neck. The small model was even growling at Cedric who had become pale.

Bagman nodded. "Ah, the Swedish Short Snout. Very likely the second most vicious of the four dragons present. Now that only leaves Harry." To keep the momentum going, he held the bag towards Harry.

Harry put his hand into the bag and pulled it out again with the model of a horned dragon with a spiked tail. It also had the number four around its neck. Keira looked at it, nodding in understanding.

Bagman smiled as he closed the bag and put it into a pocket in his robes. "The Hungarian Horntail. Well, that will be a sight to behold. Now, as for the order of the dragons that will be in the arena waiting for you, you will have noticed the number around the neck of your model. That is the order in which you will enter the arena. As soon as you are in the arena, you will notice that the nest of the dragon will have a golden egg among the dragon eggs. Your task is to retrieve the golden egg as fast and safely as possible. The faster and the more spectacular you get your egg will be rewarded, while collateral damage will be punished. You start as soon as you hear the cannon. Now good luck to you all. Judges, we should go to our seats. The spectators surely would welcome it if we proceed swiftly."

As the heads turned to leave, Karkaroff stopped at the entrance and gave Harry and Keia a pointed look. Harry rolled his eyes and pointed to Keira. Keira glared at Karkaroff and pulled Harry's wand from the pocket of her jacket. Keira looked at Karkaroff with a cold look. "You should be careful, Karkaroff; questioning a Witcher's honor is not a wise thing to do." Karkaroff grunted, not realizing he was just played.

Harry watched as the heads left the tent leaving the four champions alone again. To Hary's surprise Bagman paused at the tent flap and turned back to Harry with a cheerful smile. "Harry, before I go could I have a word outside?" Harry paused in brief consideration and nodded slowly and followed Bagman outside the tent. Harry frowned at Bagman's strange behavior and wondered what this was about. "Is there a problem, Mr Bagman?"

Bagman shook his head and looked around before he addressed Harry. "Oh no, no problem. I just want to make sure that you are prepared for the task. I feel, as the impartial judge, that I have a bit of a responsibility to see to the safety of the champions." Bagman explained, or tried to.

Harry stared at Bagman with a raised brow. In the most driest tone he could think of he shook his head in wonder. "Yes, because going up to nesting mother dragons is the epitome of safety." Harry shrugged. "I'm not worried, this will not be my first encounter with a dragon." Harry elected not to elaborate as Bagman stared at Harry in shock.

But before Bagman could press on the issue he heard a signal that told him he needed to be at the stadium. "Ah! I have to go, good luck Harry!" Bagman rushed off to get to the stadium so he could start the task.

It only registered with Harry that Keira is stepping up as the fifth judge on the panel; making Harry wonder what creative way she would come up with to register her scores in the absence of a wand. Still, Harry shook his head and went back inside the tent. Callie, though found Bagman's behavior suspicious and decided to file a report on it to Cortana for further analysis.

–-

Back in the stadium, Hermione noticed that the heads took their seats in their booth. She thought that the task would soon start and looked into the arena, where she saw multiple wizards walking into it with a dragon right behind them in a magical induced sleep. Some wizards were also using a levitation charm on something that looked like a nest with eggs in it.

Almost immediately Hermione was standing and was screaming in anger. "SERIOUSLY? NESTING MOTHER DRAGONS? ARE THEY OUT OF THEIR MINDS?" Hermione could have gone on, if not for Yen and Geralt both pulling her back down to her seat and calming her down.

While Hermione took some deep breaths with the help of Yen, Susan asked Geralt about his opinion on how Harry would go about doing this task.

That moment Hermione calmed down enough to listen to Geralt's explanation. "You see, Harry has a unique ability that will make this task very easy for him. Do you understand what I mean?"

The girls were thinking and talking about it until Hermione gasped. "Dragons can be classified as reptiles, just like snakes. And Harry had seemingly talked with Norbert in our first year in Hagrid's hut. That would mean that Harry plans to speak with his dragon?" Seeing Geralt grin, they turned their attention back to the arena, where the handlers finally placed the nest with the eggs at the far end from the entrance before preparing to wake up the dragon when the task would start.

After a few moments, the group saw the heads, who had arrived in their booth before the dragons were brought in, were finally sitting down after Bagman finally arrived there too. He was then met with some glares from the other judges for his perceived tardiness..

Bagman pointed his wand at his throat and cast the Sonorus charm so everyone could hear him. "Good day dear spectators, I welcome you in the name of Hogwarts and the British Ministry to the first task of the Triwizard Tournament. As you may have already noticed, this task has something to do with dragons. The champions have to retrieve a golden egg from the nest of the dragons that they had pulled from a bag before, so it was purely by chance which dragon the champions will be facing. Now for the first champion, I will call for Cedric Diggory, Hogwarts Champion. He will face a Swedish Short Snout."

Bagman then pointed towards Filch who manned the cannon and signaled him to use it. After an ear shattering blast, something Harry and the other Witchers would surely be complaining about later, the door opposite from the dragon opened and Cedric stepped out into the arena with as much confidence as he could muster. The dragon, woken up from the cannon and the handlers with stinging hexes, glared at Cedric and began to growl, but it did not move away from the nest. The dragon then breathed out her flames towards Cedric, who dove behind some rocks in the arena for cover.

—-

A bit away from the arena, the Arbiter stood on a tree branch and watched the young wizard hiding behind a rock seeing him point his wand to some stones around and transfiguring them to a pack of wolves. As the pack bolted around the boulder the young wizard was hiding behind, the wizard pointed his wand towards himself and a light engulfed him. The Arbiter blinked in surprise, he switched on his heat vision to find the young wizard again after he had seemingly vanished into thin air after the light had faded. Quickly turning his thermal vision off he reexamined the "cloak" the boy was using.

Looking at the dragon, the Arbiter saw that the beast was distracted by the pack of wolves and did not pay any attention anymore to the wizard, who sneaked around until he reached the nest. The Arbiter deduced that the light before must have a similar function like his own cloak.

In the stadium, the spectators saw the wolves run around the boulder where Cedric had hidden himself and now wondered when he would step back out again. Susan had a suspicion and asked Geralt if he could hear her housemate.

Geralt nodded and pointed on a point between the boulder and the dragon. "He is over there right now. He tries to move as silent as he can, but for me he is still loud enough so I can pinpoint his location. And while I am sure that the dragon will not be distracted by the wolves for a long time, it should buy him enough time to secure the egg."

Hermione frowned as she looked into the arena. "But dragons don't just rely on sight to track prey, surely Cedric would have considered that?"

Geralt shrugged. "Oh yes. They have a keen sense of smell, like snakes but there are too many scents to account for from here but we'll see."

The Arbiter watched the young wizard grab the golden egg he was tasked to retrieve and then sprinted away from the dragon; an action that caused said dragon to notice the wizard as Geralt had said just a moment before, the dragon was finally able to hear Cedric he began to run.

Just before Cedric was safely behind the door he had entered the arena, he felt a burst of heat coming from behind him and made the mistake to turn around. The dragon's flames hit him square on his face just as Cedric was leaning back to evade as much of the flames as he could. He was still singed on the face as he stumbled backwards through the gate, and as soon as he did the handlers stormed the arena and stunned the dragon as fast as they could.

Bagman then called this part of the first task finished. "Ah, Mr. Diggory did very well by distracting his dragon with a pack of wolves. Judges, can I have your points please."

The Arbiter watched the judges pointing their wands up in the air and then numbers appeared. Except for the silver haired woman, who held her hand up and a number appeared above it, made out of fire it seemed. While he was used to holographic interfaces above some things, he was curious on how this worked. Using his communicator, he asked John and Cortana what the maximum points were that the judges could give these champions.

It was Cortana that answered him, while John watched the handlers move the first dragon out of the arena. "The judges can give the champions up to 10 points according to the rules. But they are only human, so favoritism will also come into play. That has to be the reason why Karkaroff gave Cedric only 4 points even as Cedric had almost made a perfect retrieval of the golden egg. The nest was not disturbed in any way and the dragon was not hurt. But we will see what will happen next."

Bagman stood back up from his seat to announce the second champion. "And after an almost perfect display from Mr. Diggory, we will now see what the second champion can do. Mr. Krum will face a Chinese Fireball, a very vicious dragon known for its control of its firebreath. But we will wait for a bit until the arena is prepared for the dragon."

–-

Krum watched Harry and Fleur talking with each other while he waited for his turn to enter the arena. They had heard some snippets of what had happened in the arena while Cedric got the egg. He had a sound strategy thanks to his headmaster, so he should be able to get through this task without injury.

The champions in the tent soon heard the crowd's cheering outside and Bagman's announcement that Cedric had successfully fulfilled the assignment and that they would wait for a short time until the arena was prepared for Krum's turn. He began to pace inside the tent deep in thought.

While Krum was able to hide his nervousness well enough for anyone else to see, Harry noticed all the signs that Krum was thinking about his strategy and if it really would go out as planned. Harry told Fleur that he would talk with Krum for a bit until the older boy would go out to the arena. Fleur nodded with a nervous smile. Harry knew that he had his work cut out for him to calm everyone down enough so they could think straight. This was crucial if you face a dragon after all.

Krum saw Harry walking over to him and stopped; waiting for the canon to go off again. "Relax Viktor, you are too tense. I am sure that they have multiple safety measures so we will not be killed by the dragon in the first place. Just keep your plan in mind and execute it."

Krum just nodded and began his pacing again, going through everything in his mind.

A short while later, the canon sounded again and Harry grimaced at the volume of the blast. Krum walked out the tent towards the arena and left the other two champions alone. Fleur stood up and walked over to Harry. "Tu penses qu'il ira bien?(You think he will be okay?)"

Harry shrugged. "I hope so, else the Quidditch world would lose a promising player."

—-

Hermione watched Krum enter the arena after the cannon had woken the large red dragon in the arena. She looked over to Daphne and Susan. They were also curious on how Krum would handle the Chinese Fireball.

The big red dragon was glaring down at the wizard in front of her, but she also lowered her body enough to protect her nest with her body. All the spectators could see at this point was the red, scaly body over the nest and Krum walking up to it in the arena.

A moment later, Krum lifted his wand and cast a spell that flew towards the eyes of the Chinese Fireball. The dragon evaded the spell and responded with a fireball, which Krum evaded by jumping behind a boulder. But the heat was hot enough for the boulder to slowly melt from the heat. Krum ran to another boulder and cast the same spell again. This time it hit its mark and the dragon roared in pain.

What happened next shocked the spectators since the dragon trashed around in obvious pain and stepped on her own nest, destroying the eggs. Krum's eyes grew big and he threw every bit of caution to the wind as he ran towards the nest in hope that the golden egg was still in one piece.

Seeing the egg he was tasked to retrieve rolling away from the nest after a very hard stump from the dragon; he cast a summoning charm and caught the egg from the air just before he turned around and ran towards the arena's entrance. Just as he stepped over the threshold, the dragon handlers stormed the arena and cast overpowered stunners to stop the dragon from thrashing around.

Bagman used the moment to comment on what happened. "Oh dear, that is rather unfortunate. The destruction of the nest will surely influence the points given from the judges. Speaking of which, can I ask the judges please to rate this performance."

—-

The Arbiter watched the judges cast their points above their wands and considered how impartial they were. It was obvious to him that the black haired, bearded wizard was very biased; favoring the young wizard. The Arbiter deduced that this man had to be the headmaster of this champion. The other judges seemed to be very fair, as they gave scores that the Arbiter would have chosen for this display of skill. While it was a rather genius move to blind the dragon, however it was a mistake to use something that hurt the dragon. Just blinding the dragon or making her unable to move would have been a better solution. Except for outright killing the dragon in the first place, but according to the rules he understood that was a forbidden tactic. The Arbiter could understand why; if the wizarding world lived in secret with the mundane humans that means the dragons are rare creatures.

Seeing the next dragon brought into the arena, the Arbiter began to wonder when it was Harry's turn to confront his dragon. Looking a bit more at the newly arriving dragon, he hoped that Harry would not face this small one, or else the Arbiter would have been disappointed as this could not be a challenge at all for Harry.

—-

Hermione watched the relatively small green dragon being brought into the arena while she thought about Krum's performance. Something was strange about the whole thing, so she decided to ask Geralt about his opinion. "I am sad that the Chinese Fireball's nest was destroyed. Do you think that Krum was aiming for this?"

Geralt shook his head. "I do not think so. He was very shocked about the effect of the spell. As blinding a dragon is a very effective strategy; for a nesting mother he should have used something else. I think his original plan was not to use this spell in the first place, but his headmaster told him to do it." Geralt looked towards the judges and glared at Karkaroff. "And Karkaroff giving Krum the maximum points possible is very well in his character. As a convicted Death Eater, he would not care about collateral damage at all."

Hermione and Susan both looked shocked at Geralt, who noticed their expression and let out a sigh. "Yes, Igor Karkaroff is a convicted Death Eater. If you are wondering why he is still free, he made a deal with the British Ministry and sold out his comrades to be pardoned by the ministry. That only shows that this man has no honor. Honestly, coming here on the Flying Dutchman seems rather ironic." Geralt shook his head in amusement as he traded a knowing look with Yen.

Hermione was confused, she knew that the ship has ties to mythology of sailors but she was lost on what Geralt meant. So she prompted him to elaborate. "What do you mean it's ironic?"

Geralt looked at the girls with a shake of his head. "Ah you wouldn't have the book here I expect, but in any case it is said whoever captains the Dutchman is considered damned; mind you some argue that it's the crew that is damned but in truth it is the captain. Karkaroff's days are now numbered."

–-

In the tent, Harry and Fleur heard the end of Krum's turn for his task and now waited for Fleur to be called upon. She was once again becoming nervous, but Harry did his best to get her to calm down. But the only thing that seemed to work for now was hugging her and rubbing her back while talking to her.

Fleur calmed down and even smiled when she looked up to Harry. She then decided to have a bit of fun with him. "Tu sais, tes copines ont beaucoup de chance de t'avoir. Si tu étais célibataire, j'essaierais de te faire tomber amoureux de moi." Fleur winked at him with a teasing smile.(You know, your girlfriends are very lucky to have you. If you were single, I would try to make you fall in love with me.)

Harry laughed as he answered. "Eh bien, je ne leur ai pas encore fait part de mes sentiments, donc ce ne sont pas encore mes copines. Je dois encore réfléchir à la manière de les aborder à ce sujet, car je ne sais pas s'ils ont juste le béguin pour moi ou s'ils m'aiment comme je les aime." (Well, I did not tell them my feelings yet, so they are not my girlfriends yet. I still have to think about how to approach them about this, as I am not sure if they have just a crush for me or if they love me like I do them.)

Soon, they heard the cannon blast and Harry wished Fleur luck. After she had left the tent, he knelt down and began to meditate. Now that he was alone, he began to feel nervous himself. What if his plan did not work? He hoped that his speed and armor would be enough to get the egg before the dragon would be able to attack him.

Callie used her connection to Harry's brain to release some hormones to help Harry meditate while she looked at her scanners when it was time for them to confront his dragon.

—-

Fleur walked into the arena with her head held high. The comparatively small green dragon glared at her, its wings spread out. Fleur held her wand tightly in her hand and pointed it towards the dragon as she tried to enchant the dragon in the hope to cause the nesting mother to fall asleep. Fleur would have to use more magic then she usually did so it would have an effect on the dragon.

Her spell hit the dragon and caused it to sway above the nest. Fleur used another spell to hide her presence and hide behind a boulder between her and the dragon's nest.

The green dragon became tired and sleepy, but it looked around the arena to see if this witch was still around. Not seeing her close by, the dragon tried to sniff her out, but soon it became too tired to keep its head up. Thinking that the danger was no longer present, it stepped to a site of the nest and curled around it to sleep with the eggs beside her.

Listening, Fleur heard something that could be counted as snoring coming from the dragon and peeked around the boulder to see that her spell had worked well enough. She moved slowly towards the nest; hoping that the golden egg would be considerably easy to get from the nest.

She soon was close enough to look over the dragon's body into the nest and found the golden egg on top of the others. She smiled when she thought that this was easy now and tried to summon the egg. Her expression soon turned to a frown when the egg did not even move. Letting out a sigh, she moved closer towards the nest. Now looking around the nest, she was searching for a runestone or something similar that would keep the eggs in place when magic is used.

She soon found the runestone under the nest itself and looked at it. She saw that it was just a simple ward that stopped the summoning of an object in said ward from the outside. That was easy to counter, as she just held her wand inside the ward and cast the summoning again. This time, it worked well enough that she caught the egg with her free hand without touching the nest and risking it waking up.

She then turned around to leave the arena with her egg. She was a bit surprised when the dragon took in a deep breath and then let out a small tongue of fire out its nostrils. Fleur was just a bit too close and her robe god a bit burnt before she began to walk faster towards the exit where she used the Aquamenti charm to put out the fire on her robes before the fire burned the robes beyond repair and would leave her burnt and in her underwear.

Bagman cheered with the rest of the spectators as he turned towards his fellow judges. "After such a dignified display of skill, to which I have to admit that I did not think that you can put a dragon to sleep, we come to the scores."

Hermione looked up to the judges to see if Madam Maxime would do the same thing as Karkaroff did before and just award the maximum points to her student. But she was surprised that Madam Maxime showed a 7 for Fleur's performance. Susan and Daphne also noticed this and all three concluded that Madam Maxime was truly impartial, even if it meant that Fleur would not win this task. Until now Cedric was leading in points, but the girls could feel the tension rising while the dragon handlers brought the most vicious dragon for this task.

—-

In his tree, the Arbiter watched the handlers bringing the last dragon, and now he was sure that Harry would have his work cut out for him. 'If the young warrior really intends to fight this beast, he will have to watch both ends of this one. These spikes on its tail really are looking rather sharp. Nothing I could not handle of course, but I wonder how Harry will handle this.'

Daphne stared at the Hungarian Horntail and could only hope that Harry would be fast enough to handle this dragon. According to her knowledge, it would need at least 5 adult wizards and witches to keep such a beast for even the shortest time before they could stun it. But this nesting mother seemed to be extra vicious after the cannon woke her up.

—-

Callie called Harry back from his meditation. Just as Harry opened his eyes, the cannon fired and Harry stood up. More like talking to himself, he looked up to the tent roof. "Well then, into the fire we go."

Callie told him to watch out for any signs of his plan failing. "You have two minds in your head after all. And do not forget that the girls will wait for your safe return. Do. Not. Disappoint. them." Callie said that last part to try to ease his tension.

—-

Hermione, Daphne and Susan watched the gate open where Harry was waiting with a determined look on his face. Hermione folded her hands and prayed to every god she knew and who would listen to her to keep Harry safe. Daphne joined her in this endeavor while Susan leaned forward with her elbows on her knees. She was also bouncing her leg up and down nervously which caused Yen to use her own magic to calm the girls down a bit.

Yen looked over to Geralt, who had become very tense. She knew that he was ready to jump into the arena to protect Harry, just like she would do the same. Looking up to the headmasters' booth, she also saw that they would not be the only ones to do so. She really hoped that Harry's plan would work out fine, for the dragon's sake that is.

Yen placed her hand on Geralt's shoulder, hoping that she would be able to calm him down. But she was also preparing herself to jump into the arena if the dragon was a danger to Harry. It would not have been their first encounter with one after all.

—-

In the arena, Harry noticed that the dragon was suddenly very nervously looking at him and stepped back to protect her nest. 'Well, step one worked so far, I was not attacked immediately after entering the arena.' Harry thought rather dryly as he watched the Horntail watch him intently.

Callie just commented that Harry still needed to work on his sense of humor when they heard the dragon growling. And thanks to Harry understanding Parseltongue, they understood what the Horntail was asking. "A Witcher I have done no wrong! But..? Why do I smell the blood of the golden dragon flowing through your veins?" The dragon cocked her head in confusion from this mystery.

Harry held out his hands, palms facing the dragon to show he was not armed and leaned against a boulder that was nicely placed beside him. He then hissed in parseltongue. "Peace! I am Harry Potter, you may have heard of me in some way or form. And while you can smell the blood of Villentretenmerth in my veins; who gave me his blood freely as a blessing to become a Witcher."

At this, the Horntail snarled and whipped its tail around. "Yes, young hatchling, yet a Witcher stands before me, blessing or no! So what, did you come to kill me and take my head and eggs as a trophy? Did you seek glory by slaying me? I will not make it easy for you." The Horntail growled in warning.

Harry shook his head and looked sternly towards the Horntail, keeping her tail in his peripheral vision to make sure that he could evade a strike if the dragon attacked him suddenly. "No, I did not come to kill you, but you are correct in one point. But before I continue, may I ask your name, noble dragon?"

The Horntail snarled again, its talons digging deep into the dirt around her nest to make sure that her eggs were well protected. "I never gave my name to a human, be it a Witcher or not. Names are powerful tools after all. But as you have the blood of the high golden dragon inside you, you can address me as Ysantyr. Now, what are you here for if not to kill me or steal my children?"

Harry lowered his arms and stepped away from the boulder letting his arms fall to his side, Harry bowed his head in greeting. "As you may have noticed, we are in an arena, and I wonder if you noticed that amongst your nest lies an egg that does not belong there."

The Horntail, Ysantyr, glared at Harry for a moment. But in the end she turned to look down at her nest, extending a forelimb she tapped the golden egg with a talon. Growling she glanced at Harry with a questioning look. "This one? Yes, I noticed it when it was added with my clutch. However, it serves a purpose that I will not give it up freely."

Harry blinked in confusion. 'Purpose?' Callie did not waste a moment and quickly ran scans over the egg to see if there was anything off about it. To her surprise the results came back with an interesting puzzle. Callie reported her findings. "Harry, the golden egg is radiating heat more than the normal eggs; it's almost like the egg is acting like a heater, keeping the nest warm."

Harry glanced at the golden egg in thought. 'Almost like the old warming and heating stones we used to use before John came to Kear Morhen…I wonder' Harry looked back to Ysantyr and voiced his thoughts. "Would you consider trading? I will need to craft something similar to what the golden egg is doing."

Ysantyr cocked her head trying to understand Harry's intent. Growling, she shook her head in frustration. "Trade? Craft? These things are not concepts I understand. But if you want this egg, you will have to fight me for it!" Ysantyr snarled threateningly.

Harry shook his head. Hissing back to forestall the attack. "Wait, let me explain!" Ysantyr paused to hear Harry's explanation. "The golden egg keeps your nest warm, yes?"

Ysantyr nodded.

Harry continued. "My family used something similar in our home long ago, to keep warm on cold nights. It's a runestone, but I will need to make one to exchange for the egg so you can keep your nest warm." Harry gestured to the boulder. "I will use this, well, a part of it."

Ysantyr looked between Harry, the boulder and back to the golden egg in consideration. Turning back to Harry she slowly nodded. "I will await your stone to see if it does as you claim."

Harry sighed in relief. 'Well, on the plus side, I don't have to fight her for the egg.'

–-

The spectators were astounded that Harry seemed to have a conversation with the dragon. Hermione then heard a chuckle and looked towards Geralt who leaned back and smiled proudly at Harry's display.

Geralt turned around to look at her. "Harry seems to be negotiating with the Horntail for the golden egg. That is something only he could do if the dragon is not able to speak in common. And Borch had told us once that not many dragons have that ability, even if they are intelligent enough to learn it. I guess Harry told you that he would do this task like a Witcher would. We always try to talk with the monsters first to see if we can resolve the situation peacefully. Most times, the monsters are intelligent enough to understand us and can also answer our questions. We only fight if we are attacked because the monster is a wild one. So seeing Harry talking with the Horntail to end this task without a fight is nice to see. I am glad that we were successful in raising Harry to be calm in mind."

Hermione turned back towards the arena to see Harry pulling out his knife from one of the compartments and walking over to a big boulder.

—-

Harry ran his hand over the surface of the large boulder trying to find a point to break it down to something smaller. Callie marked a line with a line that only he could see, Harry nodded in satisfaction and stepped back a few steps to give himslef room. Keeping his eyes on the line Harry moved quickly for spectators to see but everyone in the stadium heard a lock crack when Harry jumped up in the air and spun so fast and kicked the bolder right on the line. The sheared top half of the boulder fell onto the arena floor with a thud.

Harry moved around the large boulder to the new piece and knelt down after pulling Fang from his thigh and started carving runes into the boulder. It was big enough so she could place her eggs all around it and piling something on top of the nest to protect it. Harry was thankful that Yen and Triss taught him the runic arrays that they used to use in Kear Morhen; even if they do not use them anymore they could still be used in future. When he thought about it, he remembered the runes for heat that were carved in some walls in Kear Morhen to keep the cold out in winter. And thanks to Ancient Runes class, he knew how to carve it into stone and how to activate it.

A few minutes after he had started, he did the finishing touches on the seventh rune around the boulder. Picking up the finished runestone he brought it over to Ysantyr and asked her to breathe her fire on it to see if it would work with her fire. He took a step back and watched Ysantyr take a deep breath and engulfed the runestone with fire. After she was finished, she turned towards Harry and growled at him. "This is something I have done in the past too. But the rock would lose the heat too quickly to be useful for my needs. So what's different with these runes?"

Harry investigated the runestone and began to smile. "Ah, but it did work. Normally, a rock being heated so rapidly would lose the heat quickly too or would just melt. But as you see, the boulder is still in one place and even the heat is stored for a long time in the runes itself. It will cool down much slower than it would normally do, and you can also control the heat by tapping the runes itself. The more runes light up, the hotter the boulder gets. Of course, you need to recharge the boulder in frequent intervals, but that should not be a problem for you in the reserve. Do you find this satisfactory?"

Ysantyr lowered her head to inspect the runestone. Tapping one of the runes with her talon, cautious to not scratch it, she noticed that the rune dimmed and the boulder got a bit cooler than before. Tapping the rune again, the heat rose again as the rune seemingly blazed into existence on this side of the boulder. She nodded towards Harry and stepped out of the way so Harry could pick up the golden egg from her nest while she lifted the boulder to carry it to her nest.

Harry took the egg out of the nest and waited for Ysantyr to place the boulder in its place and arrange the eggs around it. He then held the egg towards her so she could make sure that it was not one of her real eggs that he had taken. Seeing that Harry stood true to his word, she lifted her head and let out a loud growl. "BE IT KNOWN THAT I, YSANTIR, THE LADY OF THE WINDS, HAS ACKNOWLEDGING THE WITCHER HARRY POTTER TO BE A MAN OF HIS WORD. Everyone who doubts his word will feel my wrath when I find out about it. Now go hatchling and walk your path."

Harry bowed after Ysantyr had finished her proclamation, even if only he and Callie could understand her and turned around to leave the arena with his egg in hand. As he crossed the threshold of the arena, he turned back around to look at the spectators and soon found Geralt, Yen and the rest of his friends and waved at them with a broad smile.

This also seemed to break the silence as suddenly almost every spectator was cheering for Harry. Bagman took over once again after finally recovering his shock at Harry's display. "Well that was a very unorthodox method to solve this task for our young Witcher. Well, we already knew that he was a parselmouth, but seeing that this language is also understood by dragons must have been lost to history. And as this seems to be a very spectacular way from a different point of view, I want to ask my fellow judges to rate your scores now."

—-

Harry walked into the tent where the champions had to wait until everyone was finished. The reason why he did not wait outside the tent was because it was mandatory to be checked over by Madam Pomfrey before being released. As soon as he entered the tent, he was pushed to a bed by said Mediwitch and checked over. Harry looked around and saw Cedric with a paste on his face and Fleur in a different set of robes sitting on a bed. The only one who seemed to come out unscathed too much was Harry and Krum.

Harry nodded towards the other champions in the tent and saw them grinning back. Cedric lifted his upper body up to speak with Harry with a bit more decorum. "Damn Harry, your suggestion worked out fine. I was a bit surprised when the dragon suddenly breathed its fire towards me, but it was my mistake to turn around in a place where it could hit me. But how did you do?"

Harry just shrugged and explained that he just talked to the dragon and came to an agreement with it. Krum nodded to this, seeing the logic behind it. "As a Witcher, it would be obvious that you first try to talk with the dragon before fighting it. From every story I heard about your order, it is always said that a Witcher firstly seeks a peaceful resolution even if the result is that they would not be paid from the ones that contracted them. You may be able to help me analyze what I have done wrong when I cast the Conjunctivitius Curse on my dragon."

Harry thought about the spell, but had to resort to Callie if he had recalled reading about it once before. Callie answered in the positive. "Yes you have read it once in the library during a study session. I guess you just glanced at it once, as normally this spell is taught in the fifth or sixth years. While the spell does blind a target, it also causes the target to feel as if their eyes are burning like hell. I can only assume that it would cause so much pain that even a dragon would feel it. Their eyes, like most magical creatures with tough skins is, after all, considered a weak point."

Harry thanked her and told Krum that he would talk with him later about it. At the questioning look from the Bulgarian champion, Harry just pointed towards the tent's entrance and quietly explained. "Our headmasters are just outside and soon will join us."

Just then, they heard the tent flap move and the judges entered the tent. Harry saw Bagman and Dumbledore smiling, while Keira looked at Harry with pride in her eyes. Bagman then began to explain how they would continue. "Very well done, all of you. And with the first task completed, I can tell you how the points stand right now. Mr. Krum is in last place with 25 points, points were deducted because the nest was destroyed. In third place is Ms. Delacour with 38 points, and I have to say it was very well done with the deciphering of the runestone. Second place is Mr. Potter with 40 points, and while we thought that you have masterfully completed your task today, it just took a bit too long, which affected your score from some judges."

Bagman glared at Karkaroff, and Callie told Harry that according to Cortana Karkaroff had given him the lowest points possible. Harry just internally shrugged and listened as Bagman continued. "And in first place is Mr. Diggory with 45 points. He was the quickest of you all and also has shown a very good transfiguration as he turned several rocks into a pack of wolves. Now for the second task, it will be held on the 24th of February. As for what the task entails, there is a clue hidden in the golden egg you have obtained in the first task. That's everything for today, so if Madam Pomfrey cleared you to leave this tent, you can return to your friends."

Harry looked over to the mediwitch who just pointed to the exit as a signal for him that he was good to go. Harry thanked her, but just as he left the tent, he was called by Charlie Weasly, who looked very stressed out. "Harry, so good to get you before you return to the castle. I have a favor to ask, as you can speak with the dragons. We need your help to calm down the Chinese Fireball; it is rampaging every time she wakes up. And an angry dragon cannot be stunned for a long time because its inherent magic prevents it."

Harry nodded and followed Charlie, while he told Callie to inform John and if possible Lambert and Geralt, as they may have a solution for this problem.

—-

Harry saw that Geralt was already there, already being alerted by the noise that the Fireball was making right now. Charlie turned back to Harry and tried to explain the situation. "You see, since she woke up after the task and saw that her eggs were destroyed, she had tried to attack us multiple times and everything we tried to calm her down just made it angrier. So maybe you can talk with her and find out what we can do."

Harry nodded and walked a bit closer towards the Fireball. But before he could say a word in parseltongue, he heard the dragon scream. "HOW DARE YOU DESTROY MY NEST! I WILL KILL YOU ALL FOR THIS TRANSGRESSION!" The Fireball snarled loudly as it looked around wildly.

Harry lifted his hands in a calming gesture and as soon as the red dragon saw him, she wanted to bite down on him but stopped as suddenly as she had begun to move. Closing her snout, she sniffed the air around Harry and then glared back down at him. The Fireball growled as he looked at Harry. "So, I was not mistaken when I smelled someone around with the blood of the golden dragon in his veins. I was wondering why Ysantyr declared a human worthy of her praise. So you were the one to confront her?"

Harry nodded and hissed. "Yes, it was me. My name is Harry Potter and I am here now as a mediator for the handlers of the Romanian dragon reserve. They want to know what they could do to help you. Lashing at the people who care for you will not help anyone. I believe that we can find a solution that would satisfy everyone involved and you can-"

Harry was then interrupted by a snarling Fireball. He could feel the heat coming out of her mouth as she roared at him. "I SHOULD CALM DOWN? MY NEST WAS DESTROYED! IT IS GONE! WHAT I WANT IT JUSTICE! BRING ME THE ONE WHO IS RESPONSIBLE OR I WILL BURN YOU ALL TO ASH!" She let out a small stream of flames from her snout to bring some meaning to her words.

Harry stood firm, even if the handlers around him and Geralt took a step back during this declaration. Any human would move away from an angry dragon after all.

Harry took another deep breath and tried again. "What happened to you and your clutch was tragic, but you lashing out will not bring your children back. And as for the person responsible for what happened, he is untouchable right now. But if we can talk about it, I am certain that I can help you find your happiness again."

The Fireball snarled, and in a rare show of sarcasm spoke again. "Ah yes, because it is so easy for us dragons to lay eggs. You must confuse us with chickens, hatchling." "

After a the Fireball took a breath and growled and lowered her head even closer towards Harry. "If it would be possible to just replace my clutch with something of equal value to me, I would not have reacted the way I did. But my children were lost before they had a chance to see the world for themselves. So what could you give me to get over said loss? Only a worthy partner with which I could make a new clutch would be able to make me forget the one I lost."

Harry thought about it for a short time and turned towards Geralt, speaking in a tone too quiet for human ears to hear . "Would it be possible to contact Borch? I think if we can convince him to visit the Fireball in the reserve it would be beneficial to this situation."

To Harry's surprise, the dragon seemed to perk up and growled in a hopeful tone, surprising him and the others. "Yes, bring Borch to me. I saw him speaking with the human's once, but I felt that it was the golden dragon."

Harry looked at the dragon in surprise, asking himself if it was normal for a dragon to understand english. Geralt offered his knowledge, telling Harry that it was normal for them to understand humans. Harry nodded at this observation. Speaking normally again, so the handlers would understand what he was saying, he continued talking with the Chinese Fireball. "Well, it is one thing to replace your clutch with the nest itself, but I have a feeling that you do have some more requirements. So let's hear them."

The Fireball looked over the Hogwarts' grounds with a curious gaze. Soon, it turned back to Harry. "I want to stay here. In this place, there will be no danger from other dragons that could destroy my clutch."

Harry looked over to the castle, asking Callie if she could contact Cortana and Professor Dumbledore about this proposition. He soon got the confirmation that Dumbledore was on his way, but he would still need Harry's help as a mediator.

Harry turned to the handlers, telling them to get Dumbledore, and after a short discussion in his head with Callie, he asked another handler to fetch Hagrid. At the surprised look from Charlie, Harry just shrugged. "She asked to stay on the grounds of Hogwarts. And while I am sure that Hagrid would be delighted to have a full grown mother dragon to pamper while she makes a new clutch, I want to have the headmaster's opinion, as I can not decide if she can stay in the first place."

He then heard Callie chuckle in his head. "Oh, do not worry, I am sure that nothing can go wrong with Hagrid watching the Fireball. I mean, he tried to raise Norbert in a wooden hut, for crying out loud."

Harry turned back to the Fireball. "As you have heard, we have to discuss this matter with the headmaster of Hogwarts. But I am sure that we can find a solution that will satisfy us all. I hope that will suffice for now."

The Fireball lowered her head and nodded, but Harry could still feel the dragon's heat coming from her. One wrong move and they would all be ash.

—-

In his tree close by, the Arbiter was watching the exchange between Harry and the big red dragon. He had to admit that the young warrior was very well versed in seeking a peaceful resolution for these kinds of situations. Suddenly, he heard someone walking under his tree and stopped. Looking down, he found a blond haired girl he was warned about looking up tato him. After he had made sure that his cloaking device was still active and functioning correctly, he was still not sure if the warnings he was given about this girl were justified or if she was just looking at the tree by coincidence. Looking around on the path where the girl had come from, he saw that she was walking closer to the trunk of the tree he was perched on. Looking down at her, he saw that she was leaning with her back on the trunk and heard her humming a tune.

Deciding to ignore the girl for now, he turned his attention back towards Harry and the dragon. He then was surprised when the girl began to talk and seemed to address him. "You know, Harry can understand snakes and dragons, so I am sure that he will be safe. No need to worry too much. If you want, I can bring you to him after Harry has finished his business with the Fireball."

The Arbiter looked around again to make sure that no one could see him. Keeping his cloak activated, he jumped down right next to the girl. He was surprised that the girl looked up and met his eyes with a curious glance. If not for decades of combat he would have lost his cool, but nevertheless he addressed the girl in a quiet tone. "You are, indeed, very perceptive. However I am not concerned for Harry's safety; merely observing a Witcher at work. Tell me, little seer, what else do you know of me?""

Luna looked around to make sure that she was not watched by anyone before responding. She cocked her head and regarded the Arbiter as he was not hidden by his cloak, with a dreamy smile she answered in kind, her own quiet tone, understanding the need for serecy. "I see you are still seeking atonement for your people's actions in the war." Luna paused as she saw, or sensed the Arbiter stiffen. "You need not worry, I do not think that you and your people are entirely at fault. It is easy to let others lead us astray to a path of destruction and even if it is claimed to be 'holy' in nature." Luna shook her head after making the air quotes. Looking up to the clouds in the sky, as she was able to perceive it, the direction of the moon, even during the day. "Even now, you seek to right the wrongs that you feel you owe humanity. It is easy to wield a sword to strike at your enemies but it is harder to stay your hand and let others fight their own battles. Harry must fight this one on his terms. While you know that Mr Wulf has a mighty hammer to bear on his enemies, it does not compare to the spear that Harry carries."

The Arbiter was honestly surprised at the wisdom this little witch posseses. He can now understand the power she wields with her gift. Nodding his head slowly the Arbiter spoke in a quiet, yet respectful tone. "You are, indeed, very wise for one so young. While it is true I thought it was unjust to force a young warrior to compete in something he did not wish to fight in, Harry has shown everyone, even myself that he does not always need to fight to find a solution. This too, is wisdom I can understand and respect."

Luna smiled dreamily and looked into the Arbiter's eyes. "Humanity may be a young species, even on this Earth but we are an adaptive people, of course you already know that, do you not Thel 'Vadam?" Luna turned to leave the forest's edge and skipped off to the castle but before she was out of earshot she stopped and turned back to a startled Arbiter. "You should hurry and catch up with Ms Yen if you want to get a 'ride' back to Kear Morhen." Luna smiled then turned back towards the castle.

The Arbiter stared after the departing figure of the strange witch. Thinking he should pass this encounter onto Cortana, knowing the AI would want to know about this, he then moved quietly and stealthy to the gates of this strange school.

A/N: Well, here we are at the end from another chapter. Do not worry, there is more to come.

You may think it is strange to keep the Chinese Fireball on the grounds, but this idea was first a cliffhanger, but we then added the bit with Luna and the Arbiter to show that she is more than you think.

Until next time, and stay save everyone