November 1994, 4th year
"Which means you will probably have to steal a dragon egg, unless they want you to actually hatch one, and …" Pansy trailed off, staring at Lynea.
"What is it?" Lynea asked.
"Bloody hell!" Pansy exclaimed. "We totally forgot your birthday!"
"That was three weeks ago," Lynea said dryly. She hadn't even noticed.
"Merlin, Lyn! We forgot your birthday!"
Lynea shrugged. "So what? We had more important things to do."
"Wait," Harry said. "We never celebrate your birthday. Why do we never celebrate your birthday? When even is your birthday?"
"Second of November," Lynea answered almost automatically. "And it's never been all that important. Just another year to add to my life."
"That's two days after Samhain," Harry said. "Isn't that, like, special or something?"
"No? I mean, grand-aunt Naenia was born three days before Samhain and her parents always pretended her birthday was actually on the thirty-first, because that would have been special. But it wasn't and mine isn't."
"That's … an interesting coincidence," Blaise said slowly.
"Life works in mysterious ways," Lynea said sardonically. "Now, can we get back to the matter at hand? Namely, looking for ways to make sure Harry survives a dragon?"
"Why don't we celebrate your birthday, Lynea?" Harry insisted quietly.
Lynea scowled. "Because it isn't important to me and never will be. Now. Dragons."
"Why is that breed called a Chinese Fireball?" Blaise asked, who had apparently decided to listen to Lynea about changing the subject. "They don't even remotely resemble Asian Dragons."
"Dragon breed etymology," Draco drawled. "It's all made up by arrogant people thinking they know it all."
"Says the one who's name is literally 'Dragon'," Blaise snickered.
Draco rolled his eyes. "The House of Black names its children after stars and constellations, I will have you know."
"We are all aware of that," Lynea drawled. "Now kindly focus back on your task."
"So the four breeds can all breathe fire," Pansy said. "Which Theo, Lyn and Blaise can counteract with special runes. But the Hungarian Horntail is a bit trickier, because they not only are more vicious and aggressive in general, they also have spikes on their tails that could literally impale Harry."
"Knowing my luck that's the one I'll get," Harry mumbled dejectedly.
"Be nimble and dodge," Lynea said, making a note to check over the material they would be using for Harry's robes. "You have received more than enough training in that and your Seeker skills should help. You should be fine. And scratches can be dealt with easily enough."
Ideally, the material would complement the runes they were using – which meant they would have to work those out first – and give additional protection against fire and the spikes, but also allow for unrestricted movement.
"I think Pansy and Daphne should look into materials and designs for Harry's robes," Lynea said, not looking up from her notes.
"Is that even allowed?" Draco asked.
Lynea shrugged. "Who cares? We're trying to keep Harry alive, not make him win this stupid tournament."
"Harry?"
"I agree," Harry said. "They can't disqualify me, unfortunately, so I'll take every chance I get – even if they think it's cheating or something."
Blaise whistled lowly. "You did learn something about self-preservation, after all, darling."
"So, protection against dragon-fire and possibly other wounds, if we can manage," Pansy started listing off, "taking advantage of Harry's agility and skills in Defence – make sure you remember all the Shield Charms we taught you, Harry – that might just be enough to get him past the dragon. But getting away with one of their eggs … They are quite heavy, aren't they?"
"Featherlight Charm?" Theodore suggested. "Or an easier variation of it."
"Harry can just levitate it using what I taught him," Lynea said. "As long as he does it in a way no one will notice, it should be fine. Really, Harry, please don't let anyone see you can do wandless magic."
Harry nodded. "Are we sure it's going to be an egg, though? I mean, Charlie Weasley did mention they specifically asked for nesting mothers, but that could just be to make the dragons more ferocious."
"I doubt they would have anyone fight a dragon," Draco said. "Those creatures are too valuable. In fact, they might even punish you if you hurt your dragon. Or its eggs."
"Surely, they won't put the eggs in possible danger?" Blaise asked. "They will use fakes, which also makes stealing one less precarious."
Lynea raised an eyebrow. "They approved this tournament, did nothing to help Harry out of it and decided to use dragons. I don't think they have the foresight to use fake eggs. The dragon handlers will probably object, but do our lovely judges care? Do they even perceive the eggs as living beings worth protecting? Or do they just see the potential of something that could be alive at some point, but is currently just a roundish thing resembling a stone or their next breakfast?"
"If a real dragon egg gets harmed," Theodore said quietly, "there will be consequences."
"Oh, good," Pansy said. "I don't want any eggs to come to harm, but I wouldn't mind the tournament being cancelled. For Harry's sake."
"Please don't let any eggs be harmed," Harry said pleadingly.
"That reminds me of the dragon Hagrid wanted to raise in our first year," Lynea said.
Harry chuckled. "Yeah. Charlie warned Hagrid against trying to steal any of the eggs. The Norwegian Ridgeback Hagrid found is doing well, by the way."
"Hagrid had a Norwegian Ridgeback?" a voice asked.
"Oh, hello, Cedric," Harry greeted the Hufflepuff, instantly brightening up.
"Hey, Harry," Diggory returned with a soft smile. "I just wanted to check in, make sure you had a plan and all. It's the least I can do after you told me about the dragons."
"We are still working it out," Harry said, "but I will manage, thank you."
Diggory nodded. "Then I won't hold you up any longer. Good luck, Harry."
"And I almost thought he had a thing for Harry, too," Pansy said, unabashedly watching Diggory's arse disappear behind the bookshelves. "Too bad he's into Cho Chang."
"Cho is a very nice girl," Harry mumbled, his face red.
"I'm sure she is," Pansy said dismissively.
"Ah, young love," Blaise said with a sigh. "It changes people. I don't think I will ever be able to understand it."
"Agreed," Lynea said.
"I will have you repeat that to me in a few years," Pansy remarked. "When we have all grown up and truly experienced life."
"You guys are the worst," Harry said, shaking his head. "So, do you think I could use my Firebolt to outfly a dragon?"
"Don't be daft, Harry," Draco said. "A broom is made of wood. Do you want to sit on a burning broom? I don't think so."
o
They had finished the special robe for Harry in the nick of time and they really did not care about all the people who would raise objections about it as long as it kept Harry safe.
Blaise had gotten the material they had chosen delivered via owl-express-delivery. Pansy, Daphne and Luna had sewn the robe, while Lynea and Theodore had gone over the runes with Hermione a last time. Neville had assisted the rest of the Slytherins with helping Harry practice all the defensive spells once more, just to be sure. It had been a group effort through and through.
Harry was, understandably, still nervous throughout the day of the task, but he hadn't lost his confidence so far and Lynea was sure he would be able to keep a cool head as they all wished him good luck and split off for the spectator stands.
"No one is going to die today," Lynea assured her friends.
"How would you know that, Lynea?" Hermione asked.
"Necromancer," Blaise said dryly and then, "Oh, dear."
They had reached the enclosure, surrounded by thick walls of wood with high stands (also made of wood) erected around it for the spectators. They hadn't really thought that through, had they? Wooden material to protect against fire-breathing dragons, how clever.
At the moment, though, there was no dragon in sight and many of the students were chattering excitedly, wondering what kind of creature the champions were about to face. It didn't take long for everyone to settle and then Ludo Bagman came out of the champions' tent to greet the crowd and explain the First Task.
They had been right, of course they had – the champions would have to steal a golden egg from a dragon, the breed of which would be determined by draw. The first dragon that was brought in was a silvery blue Swedish Short-Snout and the champion facing it was Cedric Diggory.
It was … admittedly exciting to watch. Lynea quickly grew annoyed by the crowd that yelled and screamed and gasped all around her and Bagman's commentary wasn't all that helpful, either, but watching Diggory transfigure a rock into a dog and have the dragon chase it around was fun to watch – not so much the part, where the Golden Boy got burnt, because the Short-Snout decided he was more interesting than the dog, after all – but Diggory got away with his egg and Lynea thought that this was indeed entertaining.
Fleur Delacour faced the Welsh Green next and by that point Lynea already knew Harry would be up against the Horntail – just his luck, indeed. The Beauxbatons champion showed an impressive skill at Charms by putting the dragon to sleep. Considering how many handlers it took to subdue the ferocious beasts, it was very impressive. Delacour's skirt caught on fire when the sleeping dragon snorted, but putting out a fire with magic really wasn't very difficult. The crowd wasn't very impressed, however, and the judges didn't award her high points, either, which Lynea thought was a bit unfair, but in the end, this was all for entertainment, wasn't it? Big, scary dragons and young champions risking their life. Just like Quidditch, only with increased lethality.
Krum shot a spell right at one eye of the Chinese Fireball (Blaise loudly complained about the unfitting name of the breed), which caused the poor thing to accidentally trample some of its real eggs. The outrage from the crowd was not nearly as loud as it should have been and Krum still got the highest score so far, which – really – was not reasonable at all. Those were real dragon eggs.
"Are they –?"
"Yes," Lynea said darkly, "they're real. These idiots put real dragon eggs in danger and now some of them are dead."
"You said no one was going to die today," Blaise said, almost accusingly.
Lynea wrinkled her nose. "Apparently, I'm fallible." She learned forward and Theodore automatically put a hand on her robes to prevent her from falling over the railing as Lynea took a deep breath. "Hm … I suppose they hadn't developed to a stage that He would consider 'alive', yet. I can't see it very well from up here, but depending on how old those eggs are – or were – the hatchlings could be anywhere from a mass of cells to a little baby dragon. There is no actual moment you can pinpoint as 'this is life now', it's more of a slow progress, really. At the beginning it's just a fertilized egg and at the end it's a living dragon." She sat back down and looked at the others. "What?"
"You sounded very Muggle just now," Draco said. "So they weren't alive, yet? Is that what you were trying to say?"
Lynea shrugged. "Not in the eyes of Death, Himself. There was nothing for him to collect. But they could have grown to be alive and now they can't, anymore, and that is a real shame."
"Even if they were just a few cells at this point, wouldn't they still be alive?" Tracey asked.
"What even are cells?" Draco muttered.
Lynea shrugged. "The cells, surely. But do they already define one living being worthy of Death's gift? That's the question, isn't it?"
Because Death claimed every life, not matter how small, but His true gift he only gave to higher beings – not cells or plants, sometimes not even animals. Lynea did not know where the line was, but she was not one to question Him.
Blaise shook his head. "I hope the handlers will raise hell for this. I'm pretty sure it wasn't their idea to use the real eggs."
After the fuss over the eggs was dealt with – no hell was raised so far, but the Slytherins were still hopeful when they saw the fury with which some of the dragon handlers looked at the judges – it was Harry's turn.
Harry entered the enclosure to a mixed welcome. Some people cheered, some booed and others just waited in curiosity. Bagman commented on his unusual robes and someone in the crowd yelled "Cheater!", but Harry paid them no heed. He kept staring at the Horntail in front of him that was watching him with glowing, yellow eyes and thrashing its spiked tail on the ground like an aggravated cat.
Lynea wondered whether he would just wait and see what the judges would do if he didn't even try to get the egg, but then Harry was suddenly moving, a blue shimmer betraying the subtle Shield Charm he had cast. Not a second later, the dragon's tail came crashing down where Harry had just been standing.
Harry raised his wand, still moving, and mouthed some words no one could hear. He kept darting around in a zigzag way, keeping the attention of the dragon focused on himself, while the golden egg slowly slipped out of the nest, between the Horntail's front legs and then floated to the side. The moment it was a few feet away, Harry suddenly changed directions, ran as fast as he could, grabbed the Golden Egg and darted away from the flames that followed him right after.
It was over just like that.
Harry kept zigzagging away until he was safely out of reach, until the dragon-keepers entered the enclosure and approached the aggravated dragon.
"That was … surprisingly fast," Blaise said. "I didn't think he would actually try to get the egg."
"Why didn't any of the champions try that?" Pansy asked. "They should all be able to use Summoning Charms. We only just learned them in class."
"Because they had a plan to get past the dragons, not a plan to get the egg," Lynea said, watching the handlers subdue the Horntail and bring it out of the enclosure. "They probably didn't even think about it."
"We figured out they had to get an egg, so why do you think they didn't?" Blaise asked.
"Or," Lynea continued, "there were Anti-Summoning Charms in place and Harry only got around them because he didn't actually use Accio."
"What do you mean, 'he didn't actually use Accio'?" Tracey asked, frowning.
Lynea grinned at her. "Did that look like the Summoning Charm we practiced in class to you?" She turned to look at the judges, Dumbledore in particular. "I just hope no one noticed what he really did."
Dumbledore was talking with an excited Bagman, seemingly not watching Harry, so Lynea held onto the hope that he really had not noticed.
"If there really were Anti-Summoning Charms on those eggs," Blaise said, "then someone is bound to get suspicious."
"Harry will just have to play innocent and clueless, then," Lynea said with a shrug. "He's good at that."
Draco snorted. "He is good at being innocent and clueless."
Harry was currently talking with Professors Snape, Moody and Hagrid, who were checking him over for injuries and making sure he was alright. They all kept looking at the judges and then going back to talking.
"Now, that's completely unfair!" Draco suddenly exclaimed and Lynea almost flinched.
She turned her head and saw the number four fading away from the tip of Karkaroff's wand. She hadn't paid that much attention to the scores so far, only enough to surmise that the whole system was completely flawed and biased. But Harry wasn't trying to win, so his score didn't really matter, anyway.
After Bagman had made one last speech and then hurried off to the champions' tent, Lynea went down with the others to wait for Harry by the entrance. A woman with blonde curls and flashy green robes, quill and parchment hovering at her shoulder, approached just as Harry left the tent, but Pansy quickly intervened and distracted the reporter – Rita Skeeter, if Lynea wasn't mistaken – long enough for the others to escape.
"Cedric is still recovering from the burns," Harry told his friends. "Madam Pomfrey was fussing all over him. Viktor and Fleur are fine, though."
"'Viktor and Fleur'?" Draco asked with an arched eyebrow. "So you are on first-name basis already?"
Harry gave him a sheepish shrug. "Viktor offered first and I thought – hey, we just survived ferocious dragons, might as well."
"What's the verdict on your robe?" Lynea asked.
"Took some persuasion," Harry said, "but they eventually let it go when they realized I would just botch up the whole thing otherwise. It's not like I got to test it out, in the end. Neither the fire nor that deadly tail even grazed me." He held up the Golden Egg to the sunlight. "According to Bagman, these open and are supposed to give us clues for the next task."
"Oh?" Draco asked. "Actual, proper clues this time?"
Harry shrugged. "One can hope, right?"
"When is the next task going to be?" Lynea asked.
"At the end of February," Harry said, "So we've got more than enough time to prepare. By the way, do you know if the other Slytherins are going to throw a party I have to escape from? Or will they stop at lukewarm congratulations, you think?"
"A small gathering, to be sure," Draco said, craning his head to look for Pansy, who was hurrying to catch up with them, Millicent and Tracey at her side. "But nothing too loud and crowded. We're not Gryffindors."
Harry nodded. "That I can live with, I think."
Pansy, once she and the other girls had joined them again, confirmed what Draco had just said and their little group spent the rest of the day in their classroom, talking about the dragons and the other champions and how Harry had done. They eventually persuaded Harry to open the Golden Egg, which resulted in everyone clamping their hands over the ears at the loud screeching that came out of its hollow inside. Harry immediately shut the egg again, grimacing.
"That's Mermish," Draco said.
"What?" Harry asked.
Lynea chuckled, while Draco rolled his eyes and said, "Mermish, Harry, do keep up."
"That … sounds like Mermaids," Harry said slowly.
"We live under the lake, Harry," Lynea said in fond exasperation. "Don't tell me you never noticed any Merpeople swimming by."
Harry did not answer her. "Okay, so you say that screeching is supposed to be Mermish, but do any of you actually speak Mermish?"
"We don't have to," Lynea said. "Just put the egg under water and you should be fine."
"It's that easy?" Harry asked sceptically.
Draco sighed heavily. "Yes, Harry. Which you would know, had you paid attention in class."
Harry, mature as he was, stuck out his tongue. "What? History of Magic? No one pays attention in that class."
"Interesting that you would immediately know which one I was talking about," Draco said.
"And for the record," Tracey added, "Millie, Greg and I pay attention to Binns. Sometimes."
Millicent shrugged. "Just reading the books is more informative, though, to be honest. It's not like History of Magic is difficult, it's just a lot to remember."
"Do Merpeople lay eggs?" Lynea asked curiously. "Are their offspring like fish roe or more like amphibian eggs? Or maybe reptiles or birds – I'm not sure what the difference is. Or do they reproduce like mammals?"
Her housemates, Harry in particular, gave her strange looks.
Lynea gestured to the Golden Egg in Harry's arms and said, "Egg." She tilted her head thoughtfully. "And I was wondering about the stages hatchlings undergo in their eggs earlier and at what point one would consider them a mass of cells and at what point they start being real living beings."
"Why?" was all Harry managed to get out.
"Krum's dragon accidentally squashed some of its eggs," Blaise said. "But Lynea's death senses weren't tingling."
Lynea frowned at the way Blaise was referring to her ability to sense Death, but refrained from saying anything.
"Oh, no!" Harry said in full sympathy. "The poor dragon babies!"
"We're already plotting an intervention," Theodore said casually. "We're positive the dragon-keepers will gladly help us. Dragon eggs are rare and shouldn't be put at risk for a stupid school competition and no one thought about using fake ones?" He shook his head.
"So many words coming out of Theo's mouth all at once," Pansy joked lightly. "Must be a real tragedy."
Theodore actually rolled his eyes at that. "Dragon eggs, Pansy."
"Yes, I know, dear," Pansy said placatingly, reaching over to pet his arm. "Now, let's get out of this dreary classroom and join our housemates. I'm sure they're all eager to talk to Harry, we've given him enough of a break."
So their group gathered their things and went to the Slytherin Common Room. Some of the older Slytherins had organized some food and drinks from the kitchens and there was music playing softly in the background. True to Draco's word, the party was kept small and quiet, nothing too loud or elaborate.
Lynea watched Harry enjoy himself for a while, ate the food Millicent put in front of her and then retired to the dormitory, leaving the others to their little celebration.