~Winston Whittaker~
He grabbed the first model his hand made contact with and pulled it out of the sack curiously. An aesthetically pleasing silverish blue Dragon with mean eyes and a nasty attitude sat in his hand under his discerning eyes.
"The Swedish Short-Snout! Isn't she a beauty? And as deadly as she is gorgeous. Good luck to you, Mr. Whittaker!"
Ludovic Bagman, a once famous professional Quidditch player, who was way past his prime if the belly on him was anything to go by, cheerfully commented.
'I'm curious if he bet on Harriet as he did in the original. He should have high debts with the goblins. Well, he'll be disappointed this time I guess.'
Winston thought to himself as he nodded thoughtfully. He had plans for every Dragon and truthfully, even though the Swedish Short-Snout wasn't as famous as the Hungarian Horntail, it was a breed known for it's viciousness. The only reason this breed had far less human kills to it's name than the others was that it's habitat was far out of the way since it preferred wilderness and lived in mountainous terrain, making it less likely to have human contact.
If he had to rate it on a danger scale with the Horntail being the 10, he'd give it something in between 8 and 9. Of course all of them got an extra point since they were nesting Mothers and those were extraordinarily unforgiving for all the right reasons. Especially since their task was stealing a false egg from their clutch.
'Whoever thought of that idea should be thrown in front of those majestic monsters. Let them experience what they wanted students to face.'
This specific breed was known for it's extraordinarily potent magical flames and their agility. The latter shouldn't play a big role with it bound to it's nest but he still had to be careful and watch out for quick attacks from all limbs, especially the tail and the head.
One by one, they drew their Dragons with Bagman making inappropriately cheerful comments each and every time. The man was irritating even without the incriminating knowledge he had. After Harriet drew the Horntail, he gave them the details of the task before trying to convince Harriet to follow him, only to be soundly rebuffed.
"I will not be accused of cheating by seducing an official or some similarly out there crap. If I have to compete even under protest, it will be with a clean record at least."
He looked non-plussed for a moment before laughing awkwardly and scurrying off with some red splotches on his sodden face, caused by the embarrassment of being called out in such a manner by a 14-year-old witch.
After watching him leave like that with some satisfaction on her face, she turned to Winston. The amusement he radiated clearly made her a bit self-conscious, but she still grinned and sauntered over.
"If I wanna be known for seducing someone, I'd rather have it be my fellow Hogwarts Champion. But how would I possibly do that? He is, after all, known for being friendly with everyone but also for being somewhat aloof. No maiden has ever been able to brag to have conquered his heart. It seems utterly hopeless. Oh, what shall I do?"
While there was some real humour in her voice, it was clear to everyone here that most of her behaviour stemmed from nervousness. She knew of the task beforehand and had a plan to deal with it, but that didn't mean all the anxiety of facing a Dragon of all things just flew out of the window.
He stepped closer, shrinking the distance between them to mere centimeters as he gazed at her intently before lightly embracing her. He then leaned down to kiss her forehead and, shortly afterwards, the tip of her nose before pulling back slightly.
"Somehow you seem to be on the right track, I wouldn't change a thing about your approach."
The somewhat sudden PDA caused her to blush but she didn't shy away. Instead, she took one of his hands into hers and smiled slightly in gratitude. She knew he wanted to reassure her and acknowledged his efforts. Both, Krum and Fleur watched the exchange with interest but there was no surprise on their faces. They were observant enough to have noticed their relationship being more intimate than simple school mates. He leaned forward and whispered into her ear.
"Don't worry too much and stick to the plan. You'll have my assistance, should things go awry and Dumbledore is quite eager to prove himself too. Focus on staying alive. No death-defying stunts, understood?"
She nodded into his shoulder, relaxing slightly at his words. Just then, he felt a slightly playful poke against his shields. He gave Fleur Delacour a side-eye that conveyed amusement before focussing on Harriet again. While she was impressive for her age, a bit of Allure wasn't going to faze him. Harriet, who had also felt it wash over her, bristled a bit but calmed quickly when he pulled her closer.
"She's just as nervous as you. I know you two had a bit of a bad start, but she has to deal with a lot of crap and probably developed that prickly and snooty personality to keep idiots away. This is her way of reaching out since she knows that neither of us is mentally weak enough to fall under her thrall."
Harriet glanced at Fleur, who narrowed her eyes at the look. He didn't see it but if he had to guess, it was a mix of sympathy and understanding. Winston smiled lightly into her hair. It had only taken some words to give her some perspective. He was sure she would reach out to the Veela after the task.
Just then, Ludo Bagman called his name, announcing him to be the first to perform. He pulled away from Harriet, only to have her grab his collar with nervousness and determination in her eyes. She surged forward, firmly planting her lips on his. Their first kiss was a short and chaste one, shared in front of the other two Champions with adrenaline surging through their bodies. He was a bit nervous too. Even though he was confident, this was still a Dragon he had to face.
That slight anxiety fell away when she claimed his lips. All to quickly, they pulled away from each other. There was an electric feeling that surged through him from where their lips had touched.
"For good luck..."
She whispered before fleeing to the other end of the tent. He followed her movements with affectionate eyes, a smile spreading on his lips. Wordlessly, he turned around and strode out of the tent. Immediately, daylight illuminated his field of view and he saw the narrow passage that led into the arena. With measured steps, he made his way into the enormous construction that looked like a natural mountainous cliffside.
In the back of his mind, he acknowledged the cheers of the audience but his attention was firmly on the task ahead. His magic was bubbling just beneath the surface in anticipation. It had been a while since he truly had to exert himself, and he had to cull his excitement a bit with his Occlumency, lest he offered up more than he wanted to show.
Quickly he spied the Dragon, a magnificent beast of power. It was vigilantly looking for threats, protecting it's clutch with anxious fervour and he felt sorry for the creature. It was cruel indeed to rip a mother to be from her familiar environment and place her in a dangerous situation in front of a clamouring audience. Once again he affirmed his determination to neither harm the mother, nor the eggs. Those precious drakelings not yet born.
He hid himself away in a small cave he carved out quickly to suit his purpose. His wand in hand, he started to cast. Tiny, compressed tendrils made out of the surrounding stone slithered numerously all around him, only to swarm out surreptitiously. They hid themselves away in small fissures and gaps in the stony walls surrounding the nesting Mother and him. The jagged terrain helped tremendously, allowing for far more freedom in where to conceal his animated transfigurations.
Soon, he had some in nearly every crevice he could find and decided that the preparation work was done. He stepped out from the rather hidden little alcove he had created and used to perform his first piece of magic. Immediately, the Dragon noticed him and let loose a deafening warning screech and a quick burst of glowing blue flames in his direction. His answer was a shield made of rocks growing from the ground in front of him to fend off the flames as he closed in on the Dragon and her clutch confidently.
Agitatedly, her thorns rustled as she readied herself for an assault. The chains she was anchored with were long enough for a decent bit of maneuvering. He was happy about that since he needed to get her away a bit from the nest. He didn't want to accidentally hurt the younglings.
Waiting for her lunge, he readied a modified Banishing Charm that applied it's force to him instead of an object. With perfect timing, he avoided the savage attack and brought his preparations into play. Without her noticing, the tendrils clung to various parts of her body, most prominently her joints.
Her reaction to his avoidance was quick, as her head swerved around. The flames surged into his direction without the slightest pause but he had anticipated that. They were famous for their quick and deadly magical fire after all. For the first time this day, he verbalised his magic.
"Aegis Cuneos."
His calm voice echoed through the silence as a cuneiform shield took shape in front of him. It's golden glint contrasted the bright blue stream of flames that were split around it as a silent Cooling Charm kept him from being cooked alive. In the meantime, more and more tendrils managed to hold on to the Dragon. Soon it would be enough.
The Swedish Short-Snout proved to have an impressive lung volume as it kept up the burning assault for another whole minute. 'That should be enough.' He thought to himself. He had to pull off the next few parts of his plan quickly as to not give her a chance to retaliate.
He removed the Compression Charm and the Featherlight Charm on the tendrils simultaneously and moved them just right to interfere with her movements. He then softened up the ground beneath her legs. The sudden added weight and unstable ground surprised and alarmed her but he was quick to engorge the already sizable tendrils. She stumbled and he helped her along by adding weight to her back with conjured lead chains that pulled her down. With a loud crash, she slammed into the ground, groaning and raging against the weight but soon, she was bound completely as the chains and tendrils deeply anchored themselves to the ground. The earth surrounding her surged up to hold her tight too, nearly completing his set of precautions.
One last safety measure was the chain that slithered across her snout and this one too anchored itself to the ground, keeping her head down. With heavy resentment, she glared at him. There was terror for her younglings in her eyes and he couldn't leave it like that. He walked up to her, being careful to not step directly in front of her maw. He knew that even bound like this, she was still capable of small bursts of fire through her nostrils.
He put his hand on top of the bound snout and communed with his magic. He reached out, seeking a connection to the primal beast in front of him. Once he felt the extreme heat from her innate magic, he brushed up to it with his own. Distrust and heat slammed into him, threatenting to incinerate him immediately but he compartmentalized those sensations away and endeavoured to transmit his intent. To take away the false egg from her clutch.
Magic didn't lie. Especially in such a basic form. It simply wasn't capable of that and magical beasts knew that on an instinctive level. That was the only reason for the careful curiosity that he was answered with. Her eyes wandered to her clutch in the corner of her visible view. He asked for permission to approach the nest, even though he had her bound on the ground and helpless.
While Dragons weren't counted among the intelligent magical species, they weren't simple savage beasts by any means. They had a distinctive mind that was simply ruled by instinct most of the time. As such, she could perceive that he truly did not need her permission to approach and yet, he still asked. His intent also spoke of his unwillingness to harm her or her clutch. Slightly unwillingly, she allowed his approach and he did so with deliberate care in his movements. He didn't approach any of her eggs unnecessarily and only took the golden one.
He then made his way over to her and layed the egg in front of her snout. Now that it was isolated and without the notice-me-not enchantment it was kept under, she clearly recognised it's fake nature. A low growl left her bound snout and she huffed, blowing it away from herself as he smiled wrily at the dismissive nature of her gesture.
When she looked at him this time, there was a small measure of gratitude in her eyes. He touched the side of her snout again since her magic resistance made that necessary if he wanted to communicate with her. He transmitted his intent to free her and asked for safe passage out of this place. She granted it and he felt the magic in her 'promise'. She would not harm him as long as he didn't approach her nest again.
The restraints that kept her down released her one by one under the clamour of the audience. They were shocked into silence by his performance but him releasing the Dragon shocked them out of it.
Once she was free, she straightened herself completely and released a bellowing roar into the air, accompanied by the brightest flames she had released yet. She then bent down and looked at his form, tiny in comparison to her majestic appearance. He looked back without fear in his gaze and he even smiled at her. His body was relaxed as he trusted in Mother Magic.
A snort that relayed reluctant respect left her nostrils and the warm air brushed over him before she made her way back to her nest in a sulk. She curled around it protectively with her entire body, paying no more attention to her surroundings.
With the golden egg under his arm, he left the arena under the eyes of a crowd, once more stunned into silence at the sheer audacity it took to do what he did. As soon as he stepped over the wardline, however, they erupted. Loud cheers echoed through the air, drowning out even Bagman's Sonorus-enhanced voice.
He leisurely made his way to the medical tent. Madame Pomfrey was waiting for him with a stern expression on her face. He was of two minds in regards to her. Well, not really. The basics of the Healer's Oath was enshrined in consent. The magical world operated a bit differently than the mundane one in that regard. While consent is important there too, doctors often got away with overstepping those rules if it was for the safety of their patient, especially if it pertained children.
If the patient was unconscious, a healer had that privilege too, though only in regards to the most pressing issues. They were allowed to talk with the patient about their suspicions and try to convince them of their point of view, though. And from what Harriet told him, Madame Pomfrey tried that exactly one time at the start of her first year before she gave up.
Otherwise, it was likely that what she went through would have reached the Headmaster's ears far earlier. While she fulfilled the basics of her Oath, she certainly didn't go beyond that. And while he could understand that being the sole healer in a school filled with children who had access to a potentially deadly weapon was stressful even on the most benign of days, he had a hard time accepting her casual negligence.
She should have seen the signs of an abused child as she was surely trained to. She should have taken measures to try and convince her of a full disclosure. But she didn't. And Harriet suffered for it. While she technically didn't do anything wrong, he didn't hold any respect for the woman. That didn't mean he couldn't stay civil, though.
"Madame Pomfrey, a pleasure to see you. I consent to basic Diagnostics. Nothing invasive, please."
She nodded and wordlessly cast some Diagnosis Charms. Reading the results, she gave him green light.
"You show no signs of external or internal wounds and your passive magic level pretty much rules out magical exhaustion. I tentatively give you a green bill of health."
With those words, she forced a Pepper Up Potion into his hand and readied herself to receive the next potential patient. He left the tent with a slight shake of his head to observe the other Champions. Doing so wasn't forbidden as long as he stayed behind the ward line and didn't try to influence the other Champions negatively.
Doing so would cause a rather heavy backlash on his magic caused by a contract violation. The Goblet was rather ruthless in that regard. Not really worth it, all things considered. So he settled with simply watching Fleur sing a Common Welsh Green to sleep with a marvelous piece of Auditory Enchantment Magic.
The fact that it wasn't a permanent one allowed her some leeway but it was still a piece of magic that would utterly exhaust most adult Veela, showing her excellence. Her control slipped a bit in some parts, causing the audience to slightly fall under the effect too with the mentally weakest fellows actually falling asleep before the Dragon. Nevertheless, the enchantment was successful and she would have made it through the task unscathed if the Dragon hadn't snorted in her sleep, causing her robes to catch fire.
She still kept her pace and didn't hurry even as the Dragonfire left her with a less than satisfactory state of dress.just as she stepped over the wardline, he flicked his wand, transfiguring the burnt tatters into a stylish mundane inspired dress. She looked down on herself in alarm but found that what she saw fit her quite well.
"Zank you for zat. It's magnifique."
She added a smile and he nodded with some wordless amusement at her mishap. He wasn't trying to be malicious or anything, but losing most of your robes because a Dragon snorted in her sleep was quite humourous to him.
"Might I suggest some fireproof materials for your battle wear the next time you go up against a Dragon? Or at least some Fire Retardancy Enchantments? Oh, and the Transfiguration will hold the rest of the day, no worries about that."
She scowled, though he could see that she did recognise the humour in the situation. Nonetheless, she brushed past him to be bothered by the Healer in charge before joining him in watching the other two.
The Dragons were exchanged even quicker as before since the Welsh Green was soundly asleep. The next breed involved in this insanity was a Chinese Fireball. She was a rather small member of her species, but that didn't make her any less dangerous. The opposite actually since smaller translated to being more agile and trickier to deal with.
Krum strode out confidently after being called. He quickly cast an array of combat enhancements on himself. Those were specialised spells that usually lasted about an hour or slightly less. They could have varied effects such as increased hand-eye coordination and body strength. They were outlawed in official events like the Duelling Circuit and Quidditch but this tournament allowed them because of the archaic rule-system that wasn't really adjusted to modern times.
After enhancing himself as much as possible, he left his hiding place, catching the attention of the Fireball immediately. The Dragon's roar wasn't as loud as the Swedish Short-Snout's but it was no less menacing. It's quick charge was interrupted with a vicious Conjunctivitus Curse before it could even start. The pained roar pulled on his heartstrings but there was nothing he could do without losing his magic.
He'd have to talk with the Dragon handlers later. Blind Dragons oftentimes went completely berserk and refused to let anyone near them, which made them hard to treat. Sometimes, they were put down since it wasn't worth the effort, especially if the injury was caused by Dark Magic, and he wanted to avoid that ending for her.
He palmed his wand and started to cast, burrowing through the ground beneath the ward line. Fleur noticed and was watching him scandalised but she didn't call attention to them. 'She probably thinks if I try anything, I'll lose my magic and she'd have one less competitor. Well, that won't happen.' He thought to himself as he successfully reached the nest just in time to pull it under the earth and cast a Protective Enchantment in it to protect it from the physical impact of the rampaging Fireball.
Fleur, who understood what he had done, gave him a strange but softer gaze before turning her eyes to the rather spectacular battle of Krum against the Dragon. While she lost her sense of sight, she was still a formidable opponent, using her sense of smell to locate the headstrong Bulgarian. Winston continued to protect the nest while they duked it out. He also received an acknowledging nod from Dumbledore, who had noticed the nest being pulled under and had immediately connected it to him.
He didn't think he'd be under too much scrutiny later on even if the officials found out but even if he lost points for that stunt, it was worth it for protecting innocent hatchlings from their impending demise. Finally, the Fireball was beaten into submission. He rose the nest to the surface again and pulled back his magic before taking a deep breath. He wasn't exhausted, but that took more out of him than his own task since the distance he had to bridge to perform his magic was considerable.
"Zat was very nice of you."
Fleur told him silently as the only sign of acknowledgement that she'd seen what he did. She didn't even turn to him and he was fine with that. He centered himself, realising that Harriet would soon be in danger and he was heavily limited in what he could do to help her. He knew she wasn't a damsel by any means, but he was allowed to worry. Especially since the Horntail was the biggest and meanest of them all.
Pulling on his magic to stay cast-ready right beneath the surface, he didn't notice that he was exuding a visible Aura, too focused on making sure that he wouldn't miss the moment of danger that was sure to come.
She looked so tiny when she entered the arena. The way her eyes zipped around before focussing on the biggest and baddest Dragon they could have gotten, she visibly tensed up before hiding behind a boulder.
She took another moment to prepare herself before daring to cast. Her voice had a piercing quality as the spell's incantation reverberated through the air. And then, everything went to shit.
He sighed before making his way over to the wardline. After receiving confirmation from Dumbledore, he crossed it as his magic pulsed with protective intent. Behind him, a shield rose that would be guaranteed to keep inside everything that was already inside while tending off outside interference. 'Wasn't this supposed to only happen in the movies? Harriet has just as much talent as a troublemaker as her male counterpart.' He mused before contentrating. He had to prepare himself for the monumental task of subduing a loose and enraged Horntail.
~Harriet Azalea Potter~
'Ok, you got this. Just throw out that Summoning Charm and forfeit. You can do this. It doesn't have to be like usual. This time, there is no Ginny in danger to be taken over by Voldemort. There is no Philosopher's Stone to be stolen. There are no Dementors threatening to consume the only family I have left. It's just me and a Dragon out there.'
She tried to hype herself up to lose instead of throwing her everything into this. She was about to face a Dragon. Not just any Dragon but a Hungarian Horntail. A monster amongst it's kind. If everything went as planned, it would be a short meeting. Nothing bad would happen. And yet... 'Why do I have the same feeling as always when something really horrible is about to happen?'
Bagman interrupted her pessimistic thoughts by calling her name with more enthusiasm than she ever heard it called.l before. She sighed. That man just rubbed her the wrong way. From the vibes she got, Winston disliked him too, and for him to truly dislike someone, they had to be pretty bad.
'Maybe he has a thing for younger girls? He was a Quidditch Star once, and those celebrities have some really fucked up fetishes sometimes.' Creeped out by her own thoughts, she shivered before shaking her head. She couldn't afford to be distracted.
She went out there, and not for the first time in her life, she ended up feeling small and unimportant at the sheer scope of what was in front of her. The arena they had placed this close to Hogwarts was humongous. Clearly, there were enchantments in play that increased the available space inside of the wardline since from the outside, it was barely any bigger than the Quidditch Stadium. One last turn and she found herself some hundred meters away from the most terrifying thing she'd ever seen. The Basilisk was bad. But it didn't have that aura of pure menace that this Dragon radiated.
Her body was shaped like an oversized thorny lizard with wings. It was crouched over her clutch as her eyes, glinting with protective madness, wandered the grounds. They had the colour of sulfur, a glowing yellow that nearly hid the slightly darker flecks around the slit pupils. Her entire demeanour screamed violence and the only reason why she hadn't already tried to roast the audience was simply because her eggs were more important than some clamouring flies.
Harriet swallowed heavily as she hid from her gaze behind a big boulder. There was more adrenaline flowing through her veins now than in the last few years combined. 'Well, except for maybe the moment I had to cast a corporal Patronus to save my Godfather and myself.'
That memory made her heart beat even faster and she could hear her own pulse as her heart pumped her blood through her body at unprecedented speed. 'Good job, me.' She thought sarcastically at her counterintuitive mind. Looking back to the absolute monster of a Dragon, she took in her surprisingly vigilant behaviour. That shouldn't have been unexpected since she already read most of the books on Dragons that the Room recommended to her.
While she looked like the definition of violence she knew that Dragons weren't anything like the dumb beast that one might have expected. There was an instinctive cunning in her demeanour that made Harriet wary. Her timing had to be spot on. Just when nesting Mother let her gaze wander over the crowd, Harriet made her move.
"Accio Golden Egg."
Her crisp voice sounded out and she felt her magic drain from her. She fed the spell way more than usual in her adrenaline induced fervour and suddenly, something rattled audibly a few times before the sound of broken glass echoed through the arena. The only reasons why the golden egg didn't smack straight into her face were her well-honed seeker reflexes.
"Huh...?"
She didn't comprehend what just happened. Wasn't this supposed to fail? Wasn't the nest warded against all kinds of direct acquisition of the egg? Why did she suddenly have it in her hands, then? Should she still forfeit? Would they even accept it, now that she already had the objective in her hands?
Her gaze was drawn to the source of the terror-inducing roar that blasted through the arena. She thought the beast looked dangerous before. Well, she was right and wrong at the same time. If she compared the former version with this freight train filled with fury and savagery... Well, she desperately wished for the former version to return. It looked positively cuddly in comparison.
Under the terror-stricken eyes of the audience and her own, the Dragon stretched herself to her full height while roaring and the sound that should have been an understated little crack somehow drowned out even her deafening roar. It sounded like a chain. A chain breaking, to be exact. With dead eyes, she watched hopelessly as the beast noticed her sudden freedom and radiated savage glee.
'Ah. There it is. But... what exactly can I do against a force of nature like this?' She thought to herself as the Dragon rose into the air with strong wing beats. A desolate feeling spread through her for the first time since she found joy. Maybe she really wasn't made for this?
Then, with a spark of hope, she noticed that Winston was moving towards the wardline. He looked up to the judge stands and gave Dumbledore a nod. The one he received back was a grave one as the Headmaster rose to his feet while everyone else panicked. She had to give it to the old man, he had an impressive commanding presence.
"Aegis... Cupola... Maximus!"
He commanded with magic radiating through his voice while his wand danced through the air in intricate patterns. A glowing, gold-coloured shield rose from the ground exactly above the wardline just as Winston stepped over the it. It wasn't limited to a small part of the made canyon either.
The wardline was brightly glowing and visible all around the arena. The shield's ascend didn't seem to be willing to stop at all. Soon it overtook the steadily rising Dragon, much to the monstrous being's irritation, and closed off above the arena, locking Winston and her in with the beast. The Dragon's frustration mounted and it blasted the golden dome with fire so hot that she felt it from where she was still hiding.
The Shield held, though. Behind the slightly transparent layer that imprisoned all of them, Dumbledore's arms were still raised and there wasn't even a flicker of weakness in his frame. He just looked on sternly as he held up a shield the size of an entire arena with seemingly no strain at all while a Dragon blasted it with magically enhanced flames.
And then, Winston started casting. The speed at which his wand moved was unreal. She had trouble to even see his movements and her dynamic vision was leagues above most. Colourful lights started appearing and converged around the Dragon's head, distracting her from her targets. She snapped at the phantasmal glow and even shifted in the air to be able to lash out at them with more freedom in her movement.
The lights were fast though, and they seemed to be intangible, not that the incensed beast noticed in her rage. Then he started levitating rocks. Boulders, really. 'How is he moving them so fast?' She thought to herself as she saw man-sized pieces of rubble rip free from the ground and zoom through the air. Some of them hit the Dragon but most flew around it in random patterns, confusing the frustrated Horntail even more.
She noticed that some of those hitting the Dragon stuck to her as if they were glued to the massive beast. Most of them gathered around the joints and some managed to hit the wings. 'How is she still in the air with her wings obstructed like this.' She thought absentmindedly, even as she searched for an opportunity to help Winston. She didn't find any as she didn't want to needlessly interrupt his rhythm. His casting was immaculate and the Dragon didn't have a chance to even react as she was surrounded by distractions without being able to focus on anything.
Every time she tried to use her fire, a boulder would slam into her jaw from beneath, interrupting the attempt. Her swipes were either avoided by the rubble or phased through by the lights. One could see that she was growing more and more enraged as every attempt to break out of the encirclement was stifled, but it didn't help her in the least. Suddenly, one of the boulders landed on top of her snout. She blinked at the sudden visual obstruction and before she could really react, Winston's voice was heard for the first time in this entire scene.
"Gravitas Decemplicatus."
His powerful and calm voice resonated through the air as the understated glow that had surrounded him intensified. All the rubble that stuck to the Horntail gleamed in a strangely dark light. She struggled for a moment to stay in the air before she was pulled down forcefully. Under a pained roar, she landed far heavier than expected, even for a massive creature such as this one.
Once she was on the ground, chains surged out of it and bound her tightly to the earth. She couldn't even wriggle, entirely cocooned by the metal. Slowly, Winston lowered his wand, and she was sure she wasn't the only one in awe at what she'd seen. She knew he was strong. But that was an entirely different level. 'This is crazy...' She thought to herself, only to be overcome with worry when her boyfriend's knees buckled and he went down.
Quickly, she hurried over to make sure he was ok. When she came close, she could make out a low chuckle. He rose his eyes to meet her gaze and she almost smiled at the exhilaration she could see in them. The way his entire body sagged and the trouble he seemed to have to keep his eyes open obstructed the expression of joy however.
"Are you ok?"
She asked him worriedly as she knelt down besides him. Obviously, the answer was no but he smiled tiredly at her and nodded weakly.
" 'm fine. Just exhausted. It's been a while since I had to push my simultaneous casting this far. I simply overdrew my mind and magic a bit. Nothing a good night's sleep won't fix."
She just thought that she finally knew what it felt like to be on the other end of such a ridiculous answer when a stern voice interrupted their conversation.
"I will be the judge of that."
She looked around and saw that the shield was dropped and the dragon handlers were now dealing with the cocooned Horntail. Behind them, Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey had entered the arena and the latter had overruled Winston's judgment. He answered with a helpless smile.
"As always, you have my consent. Nothing too invasive please."
While people all around her were working, she took the time to surreptitiously look around. She immediately noticed a lack of panic, probably because it was overwritten by the awe at Dumbledore's and Winston's casting. Witnessing those feats of magic, she felt a fire light itself within her. She wanted that.
Not the awe from the sheep, that wasn't important at all. No, she wanted to reach that level to keep up with him. She wanted to be able to make him work up a sweat when they were duelling. And most of all, she wanted to explore magic with him. Objectively, she knew he was a bit of a monster among his peers. But this was the first time she truly saw him exert himself.
It was awe-inspiring, it was beautiful, and if she was honest in the recesses of her teenage mind, it was hot. While she was falling for him on an emotional and physical level, there was something primal in her that felt drawn to that abnormal amount of power he exerted. That peerless determination that made the world surrounding them bend to his will.
'He can not know what an effect that moment had on me. At least not yet. I'm not ready to take out relationship to the next level physically, but I'm not sure I could deny him if he radiates this much power.'
She forcefully pushed those thoughts into a tight little corner in her mind. Occlumency was useful for things like that and this wasn't even the unhealthy variant of suppressing one's memories. The thoughts were just... sidelined. While she was in thought and stewed within her hormones, the world moved on. Without even noticing, she had joined Winston, stable for now thanks to a Pepper Up, and the other Champions in the tent to wait for their verdict.
She listened to the quiet conversations that flowed through the tent. Nothing meaningful, but there was an undercurrent of camaraderie that wasn't there before. And even though she didn't add much to the conversation, the small looks and tiny smiles were enough to make her feel included. It was... nice.
Soon, they were called out and stood in front of the jurors. She thought they'd gotten their scores directly after the task but that didn't seem to be the case. She didn't know why they handled it like this but she didn't really care enough to ask. Winston was the first one to receive his score.
"You allowed us to witness your prowess in different disciplines of magic, though the most prevalent one was Transfiguration. And you truly shine with your ability to shape what you need out of your surroundings. The way you work is spectacular and I very much would like to have a discourse about the intricacies of my own signature discipline with you."
Dumbledore addressed and praised him before showing off a burning 10 above his wand. The others showed their scores wordlessly. A 9 from both, Headmistress Maxime and Bagman, another 10 from Crouch Sr. and a 7 from Karkaroff. Like hell would she give this coward of a man any respect, even in the recesses of her mind. His total score was 45, causing the crowd to cheer enthusiastically.
Already, they had forgotten just how close they came to a fiery death. It was always interesting to witness. Next was Fleur Delacour. The somewhat lonely Veela. She was determined to change that for the french girl just as Winston had changed it for her. As confused as she probably would be, she was certain that Luna would be a great friend for her. And Harriet could use some more of those too, she admitted it only to herself. She payed attention again when Dumbledore once again explained his score.
"Your enchantment was truly marvelous to watch. You weaved several spell matrices of similar effect together and reached an exemplary result by combining the intricate net you created with your heritage. Though some of us were lulled into sleep just as the Dragon was since your control wasn't entirely perfect, it didn't affect the task itself. Your little clothing mishap was unfortunate but since you weren't hurt, I see no reason to deduct points for it."
He truly liked to hear himself talk. 'Well, after that feat of magic he showed today, his words of encouragement do hit a bit different since it is easy to forget just how powerful the old man is. A reminder such as this will do wonders for his reputation. As if it wasn't overblown enough already.' She mused a bit unkindly.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the scores. 10 from Dumbledore and Maxime, 5 from Karkaroff and Bagman, the latter probably because he had to be woken up since he fell asleep from her Song. A solid 8 from Crouch Sr. finished up her score and it tallied up to 38 points. The next one was Krum.
"Your use of Battle Magic was interesting to watch. Blinding the Dragon was a valid if somewhat cruel strategy. Nevertheless, I will deduct a point for risking the destruction of an entire clutch of Dragon eggs."
9 From Dumbledore and Bagman, 8 from Maxime, 10 from Karkaroff and 5 from Crouch Sr. 'Ah, right. He is known to despise Dark Magic and the Conjunctivitis Curse is just that.' 41 points at the end. And then it was time for her own score and she really didn't care. She didn't even want to be here. Could she still forfeit? Probably not.
"A Summoning Charm that overwhelms the wards placed on the nest was not in our plans. Nevertheless, it happened and it was an impressive show of power. It wasn't especially inspired or creative, however. We will not remove any points for the malfunction of the chains as we are sure it wasn't caused by you. We will investigate thoroughly as it is expected to have been actively sabotaged."
That was fair and her score reflected it. 8 from Dumbledore, 7 from Crouch Sr and Maxime, 10 from Bagman, which creeped her out a bit, and 5 once again from Karkaroff. 37 in total. She wanted a zero. But she kept quiet. No need to antagonise those people. She'd just flunk out from the second task.
For now, she was just glad to have survived that encounter. 'This is the first time that someone promised to help me in a life-threatening situation and actually followed through. Well, except for my two former best friends.' She mused as she left together, hand in hand, with Winston after being dismissed. Bagman told them that the egg was the clue for the next task, which would happen on the 24th of February.
She suddenly halted her steps when she saw the hand-wringing and clearly distraught figure blocking their path with tears in her eyes. 'Hermione...' she thought and it was somewhat detached. She couldn't help but soften her attitude slightly when she heard the shuddering breath the girl took to try and control herself.
She knew her and she knew her well. This wasn't an act or an attempt to manipulate her. She was genuinely trying to not break down in hysterics in front of her. Harriet's eyes searched for Winston's and he gave her a reassuring smile. 'I'll support you no matter what you decide.' They seemed to say. She sighed. She wouldn't ever be able to trust her as thoroughly as she once did. But... letting go of Winston's hand, she spread her arms and had them full with a bushy-heared beauty in the next instant.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm so so sorry..."
She continued to chant while she broke downcin regret and her own nose was beginning to sting as her eyes grew hot. She took a deep breath to keep herself under control but she tightened her arms around the genius witch.
"I'll accept your apology. But that's the last chance you get. You really hurt me. You were in the unique position to rip my heart out, you know? You were the only person important enough to me to really matter back then, except for Snuffles of course."
Not once did she interrupt her chanting, but the way she tried to pull her even closer proved that she was listening.
"I accept your apology, but trust and friendship, you'll have to earn back. I'm not in the habit to forgive and forget. That's a recipe for disaster with what continues to happen around me."
For the first time since Hermione engulfed her in a bruising embrace, she stopped chanting and pulled back slightly. She looked into her eyes and almost gasped at the manic determination shining in those red-rimmed orbs.
"I will."
She just said and somehow, Harriet had no trouble to believe that. 'I've almost forgotten how single-minded she can be...' she thought to herself and felt faint worry at how far she would go to prove herself. 'It'll be fine... Probably.' She tried to convince herself, only to fail badly. 'Eh, it's a problem for future Harriet.' She concluded, already knowing that she'd probably hate herself for that moment later on. She did her best to ignore the amusement radiating from behind her.