Harry potter and the Time of Retirement
Everything related to Harry Potter belongs to JKR
Chapter 75 – Year 4
"Let's GO! You are pretty enough, girls!" shouted Megan towards the dorm rooms, to the snickers of all the other 4th year Hufflepuff boys sitting down at their table….. and some that were still loitering in the common room. They had all been waiting for a while for the rest of their group to get ready, and apparently the girls took some extra time to look nice that day.
Everyone did, to be honest, both the students and the school. Hufflepuff's common room was quiet now but half an hour before had been full of people, flags and banners of all sizes. All in preparation for the big event – the first Trial of the Triwizard Tournament. Classes had stopped at noon, enough time for everyone to have launch and then prepare.
When Diggory had emerged from his dorm room, ready to go, most students from 5th to 7th year chose to escort him all the way. Some had tried to cheer and whistle but gave up soon enough as the tension in the air was palpable. Diggory's expression, too, had been tight: not afraid, hopefully, but not enthusiastic either. It was obvious how worried he must have been over the first task.
As the group of older students left, only the younger one remained behind, finishing their preparations. Including….
"Finally" whispered Zach, as the door opened and the group of girls went all out. Most of them glaring at Megan.
"Meg, we are not all tomboys, you know?" complained Susan, irritated. Next to her Hannah was still combing herself, while Sally seemed to be checking her lips in a portable mirror, opening and closing her mouth like a fish a couple times before smiling and closing the lid, satisfied.
"Don't you all look beautiful today" said Harry, with a smile. Justin whistled – but at him, in friendly derision. Ernie shook his head, amused, while Wayne stood up. "We are starting to be late, for real. Let's go."
Everyone followed suit, some delaying two seconds to get either a backpack or a handbag, and they finally left. There were still plenty of students on the way, or in the hallways of Hogwarts, all walking towards the space set up for the competition.
"So, we do look nice?" asked Sally, teasingly, to Harry while on the way. Harry laughed softly. "I stand by that, Justin be damned" he confirmed, with an exaggerated half bow. "Interesting choices, though. You came up with those or…?" he continued, pointing his chin at her clothes.
"Both. I modified some style I found on a magazine" said Sally. "I got my mom to send me the new issues by owl. I think she finally got used to them…. hopefully. She still complains about the smell and the noise."
"Owls needs a lot of care" confirmed Harry with a grimace. "I barely visit mine in the owlery every weekend, and I can tell she was happier when we lived together and I could focus on her a little every day." At this Hannah, that had been hovering nearby, got a couple steps closer.
"By the way, Harry... I wanted to talk to you about that" she said.
"About my owl?" asked Harry, puzzled, as Sally too made a funny face.
"No. More about your house. I talked to my parents last weekend, in Hogsmeade…" started Hannah, and Harry tensed up immediately. "He already said he doesn't want to talk about that, Hannah, remember? I should know, I was plenty curious myself" said Sally, smiling at him. Harry didn't reciprocate.
"It was a bad story, and her parents were involved after all" said Harry, with a frown. "Sally, can you give us a minute? This might be a little private."
"Private? Really?" she said, half joking, before noticing how neither Harry not Hannah were smiling. "Oh, you two mean it."
"I would appreciate a minute alone too, Sally" said Hannah, before smiling teasingly. "Don't worry, I am not trying to steal him or anything."
"Ha. Ha. Funny" said Sally, with a roll of her eyes. "Whatever, see you two later" she finally said, and sped up. While talking, the three of them had already fallen a little behind the rest of their group, so she rushed ahead. Harry waited until she was far enough before restarting to talk. "I am glad to see that is something to joke about once again, at least."
Hannah shrugged and stared at him, almost expressionless. "I tried to pin you down these last days, to be honest, but you were hard to be found after class. Are you trying to avoid us or something?"
"I would never!" protested Harry. "But after a full day of classes together, I don't mind some privacy. Besides, you know I am mostly in the library or playing quidditch."
"Nevermind" she said eventually. "Harry, my parents told me what happened. The real story, not the one in the Prophet. I guess I should thank you?"
"Are they angry at me, Hannah? Are you?" asked Harry, worried. He liked their family, after all.
"No, no, of course not" she denied immediately. "I mean, you saved mom's life, Harry. Thank you by the way, and I mean it. We do. But, well, that group of criminals was after you only, right?"
"They were" admitted Harry with a sigh.
"My parents are mighty worried, Harry" said Hannah. "They circled around it a lot, but the core of what they tried to tell me was, stay away from Harry. He was so courageous, we owe him so much, stay away from that boy."
"Talk about mixed signals" said Harry with a smile. Hannah nodded at that.
"They were really scared, Harry" she said. "Me too, once I knew everything. Mom and Dad were this close to get killed. Dad got hit by Crucio, too" she added, her voice now brittle. Harry just looked at her in silence, waiting.
"Who were those guys, Harry? Why were they after you?" she asked eventually. Harry, expecting something like this, sighed.
"I could tell, but it wouldn't help you and your parents in any way" he said. "Beside, I think the answer is pretty obvious."
"Old followers of you-know-who, so my dad said" confirmed Hannah with a nod. "But even then, it is so weird. Years passed, why try to hurt you now?"
"Because now, then, I was no longer hidden among muggles or at Hogwarts" said Harry. "I imagine, at least." Hannah didn't seem convinced.
"You have always been so unusual, Harry... Mind you, we all like you. And Go Hufflepuff, of course" she added, with a small smile that didn't last long. "But this was… scary. A group of dark wizards ready to kill to get their hands on you. And you managing to chase them away!"
"Not really, to be fair" commented Harry, immediately. "I made myself and your parents scarce, and they left because they feared the Aurors."
"So, you are the one that saved Dad, too, eh?" instantly pointed out Hannah. "He said it was so weird how one of those guys just helped him escape. It was you. With an Imperio?"
"Hannah, I am sorry, but these are all questions I don't want to answer" said Harry, shaking his head. "Especially to you. Because I care, and your Dad has a point. Don't get involved with stuff you can't handle" he added, when he saw her grimace. She remained unhappy but didn't complain.
"So, what now?" asked Harry once her silence went on long enough and they had almost reached the others, now waiting for them outside of the stadium. A lot of curious glances were heading their way.
"I don't know, to be honest. I want to thank you for helping mom and dad, for sure. I wanted you to know that I know. And I wish I could say everything will be the same, but I might avoid staying alone with you from now on" whispered Hannah, sadly and a bit red eyed.
"Aww, it's ok" said Harry, in a soothing tone, patting her on her back. "We are housemates and good neighbors, that will never change. Maybe once they catch those criminals and my house is rebuilt we can go back to spending time together. You are my favorite girl next door, I promise."
"Don't let Sally hear that" said Hannah, giggling lightly. "She might be over you, but hearing something like that would still sting. She tormented me often enough, last year."
"Did she?" said Harry, amused. "What do I do to women, eh?" he asked to the open air, only to be pinched hard in his arm by her. After that they finally catch up to the others and all together they climbed the stands in the specially prepared stadium. The first task would start soon.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" echoed the voice of Ludo Bagman. "Mostly gentlestudents and ladyscholars, sure, but also all you wizard and witches be them british or kind guest that came to witness one of our oldest contest finally back to life – welcome! Welcome to the 1994 edition of the Triwizard Tournament!"
Instantly, cheers and shouts followed his declaration. Most of the stands were covered in students but, as Bagman pointed out, there were also several adults concentrated around Dumbledore in the central section. The faculty, sure, plus some ministry officials, an half dozen of well dressed couples – probably paying attendees – and of course the other two principals of the participating schools: Madame Maxine and Igor Karkaroff.
All eyes were split between Bagman himself, commenting the event from atop a single tower placed over Dumbledore and the other guests, and the center of the field – covered in deep smoke. Not for long, though. "We had you waiting long enough, you and our brave Champions. What is waiting for them? How will they prove their courage, their skills under pressure? We kept you all in the dark, but no more! Like all heroes, they need a dragon to slay – my friends, they will not be disappointed!"
At these words, a strong wind rushed through the stands and the field, dissipating the smoke. Inside it…
"That, my friends, is a Swedish Short-snout, the first dragon waiting for the first champion! But, do not fret" said Bagman, his voice turning to soothing and comforting. "Our poor student doesn't really have to slay it. You all know how careful we were about safety in this edition! No, no…" he continued, as his voice suddenly raised in volume and fierceness. "No, he simply must try NOT to be slain! The task awaiting our first champion, Hogwarts' Champion, Cedric Diggory" and at these words another roar of support rose from the stand, starting from all Hogwarts' students "is to steal the golden egg placed inside this fearsome beast's nest! Good luck to you, Cedric, you will need it!"
At this, a pair of gates placed within the walls of the enclosure opened and from there walked out Cedric Diggory. A very, very hesitant Cedric Diggory. Most of the students in the stands stood up to cheer for him, but it was hard to see if their shouts encouraged him or not – the distance was considerable. Nevertheless, after a second of wait, Diggory raised his closed fist, wand kept in it, before taking a step onward.
"That's the spirit, Cedric! Show us all why you were selected as Champion of Hogwarts!" said Bagman, while he raised his own wand. "Three, two, one…. Begin!" he shouted.
Cedric though didn't move, and Harry had a good idea why. 'No one told him anything this time around' he thought, his face showing a grimace. He couldn't be sure of course, but… 'How do you face a dragon, if you had no time to come up with a plan?'
Cedric seemed to be thinking along the same lines, as he slowly took some steps only to stop once again, his wand immobile at his side. The cheers subsided a little, as everyone sat down again. Only isolated shouts of support towards him could be heard.
Eventually, Cedric rose his wand and swished it. Nothing happened.
"Ah-Ha! Sorry, mister Champion!" said Bagman from his tower. "That seemed a lot like an Accio, and I can promise you it won't work. The Egg itself is completely resistant to charms and spells!"
At this, a couple of students down the stands – from Durmstrang, if it was to be judged by their clothes – started whistling and booing, even if with a joking tone. A lot of people around them still watched on with resentment.
"Cedric just started, you Bulgarian pieces of…." started Justin, only to be instantly corrected by Zach. "Durmstrang cover all eastern Europe you moron, only Krum is Bulgar".
"They should still shut up. I wanna see what their hero will do against his dragon, without his precious broom" said Wayne, coldly.
"Fine that, but…" started Susan "What can Cedric even do, anyway? It's a dragon. A Dragon!"
"We need professor Hagrid here" said Ernie, amused. "That monsters fanatic would know what to do."
"I think we have the second best thing here" added Sally-Anne, smiling happily towards Harry. "It's good to have a know-it-all back among us, for these situations."
"Really?" asked Harry, glaring at her. She didn't show any embarrassment.
"She has a point, Potter" said Megan. "Start talking!"
"You were our dragon expert, in 2nd year" added Ernie.
"Let's say dragon consultant, and unpaid at that" concluded Zach with a smile.
Harry just rolled his eyes and pointed his chin towards Diggory that, as they were talking, started another strategy: probably after casting a Fumos his wand had started emitting large clouds of smoke that were now surrounding him.
"So, is he trying to avoid the dragon?" asked Zach to no one in particular.
"Not the most courageous strategy, I must say" added Megan.
"It's the smart one" said Ernie. "Jokes aside, you can't fight a dragon head on."
"Nor should he try" commented Susan, evenly. "His goal is the Egg, and only that."
"So, do you think this could work?" asked Sally to Harry.
"No, the dragon will probably spit fire at him once he is close enough" answered Harry with a grimace. "It's not the smartest strategy, but under pressure it's hard to imagine the right one."
"And what is the right one, then?" asked Zach, almost as a challenge. More faces turned towards Harry at that, including some students not from their group that were obviously listening in.
"The textbook answer is casting Conjuntivitus, because their weak spot is in the eyes" said Harry with a sigh. "That said, one could always be creative in how to approach such a task. As Susan said, the point is not to defeat the dragon."
"I guess he can't eat you if he can't see you" commented Justin, amused.
"I wouldn't bet my life on that" countered Zach.
"Will it work? Will he burn? We are about to know!" could be heard in the air in the meantime – Bagman had been commenting all along after all. They all refocused on the field and, true to his words, the dragon had just emitted a wave of fire towards the cloud of smoke, the strong wind dissipating it. Laying on the ground, parts of his robe now on fire, was Cedric that hurriedly retreated to a safer distance, stopping only to use Aguamenti. As he stood towards the dragon once again more cheers of encouragement rose towards him but it was easy to tell how some enthusiasm had waned already.
"Roasted badger for dinner tonight" quipped Zach, only to have a sizeable portion of their group glare at him. He still smiled confidently and shrugged it away.
"He survived this time, but..." admitted Wayne, grimacing. "Which madman came up with this trial anyway?" complained Susan.
"There is a chance your aunt was on the committee for this tournament, you know?" said Hannah, cautiously.
"She is in charge of school security, Hannah, not the contests" countered Susan, irritated. "It must have been some idea of that Bagman fella, I am sure."
"He is vicious and dumb enough to come up with something like this" said Harry, sneering lightly. Hannah turned towards Harry with a surprised face. "Do you have something against him, Harry? The only other times I hear you speak like that is when we talk of Snape."
"Something, yes. He was a bit of a sore loser, when I won my bet" said Harry, turning his face expressionless once again. Meanwhile, Cedric seemed to have decided on another strategy. With care and focus, he cast something on a nearby rock that soon transformed into a small dog. Still focused, he sent it away from himself, yapping all the way. Soon enough, the dragon had shifted his focus on it.
"A decoy" commented Ernie, instantly. "I can't believe a dragon would be dumb enough to fall for it."
"Still, I must say Diggory has brass balls, if you forgive my french" said Justin. "Look, he is approaching the nest again already."
"Let me take my words back, guys" added Megan, nodding. "He IS courageous."
"So long as it works…" said Hannah, turning towards Harry. Sally was more explicit. "Some comment, professor Potter?"
Harry slightly glared at her once again, before shrugging. "It can work. It still smells of desperation, though. Easy as it is to say it while being safely sitting here, he could have done better."
"Like what?" asked Megan.
"If you ask me, the main problem is getting close to the dragon" commented Zach. "If you are using transfiguration, just use it to get the Egg, too."
"Yeah, maybe" said Susan. "Create some distraction, and then use a transfigured animal to get the Egg."
"I could never create such a good transfiguration, direct it and use other spells on top of that" said Hannah, uncertain. The others, after some shared glances, seemed to agree.
"Maybe one could create a standing decoy, like a fire or again that big cloud of smoke, and only then use a small transfiguration to push the Egg away from the others" suggested Ernie, before grimacing. The more distance there was between Diggory and his dog, the less it moved quickly, and it was obvious it wouldn't survive much longer. The dragon eventually caught it with his fire, and relaxed. On the opposite side from the dog, behind the dragon, Diggory was still, slowly and carefully, trying to approach the nest.
"I can say one thing for sure, anyway" added Harry. "Diggory should have really, really, really cast a disillusionment on himself at the very least, before trying this stunt."
"Poor Cedric" said Sally. At that point they all fell silent. Even Bagman, that kept blabbering all the time until then, was finally shutting up. Everyone was just waiting to see if Diggory could reach the Egg.
He was close, so close… but the dragon, finally, noticed him once again. As it did he instantly sent a wave of fire towards Diggory. The boy rushed ahead, avoiding it by a few inches and a well cast Protego. In a final dash he managed to grab the Egg, before running away as fast as he could. The stadium exploded in cheers – each and everyone around standing up to shout or clap.
"He did it, that madman!" shouted Justin with glee, raising his fist in the air. All the other boys were doing something similar, while the girls were split between whistling or clapping. Harry, too, nodded with satisfaction and clapped before frowning. It wasn't over yet.
A gasp of dismay erupted from the stands when a new wave of fire flew from the dragon's snout towards Diggory. He casted Protego again, but his barrier – caught full on this time – gave up under pressure with some of the fire reaching him, setting both his robe and his hair on fire. He rolled on the ground screaming, trying to turn it off, but the dragon left the nest and tried to reach him. In desperation Diggory tried to run again, only to jump aside when another wave of fire was sent after him; he barely managed to stood up once again but as the dragon prepared to spit more fire, he cast Bombarda on the ground and tried to hide behind the dirt. Meanwhile, what were only shouts of encouragement or fear had turned to horror in the stands. "It is going to kill him!" screamed several students, and judging by the reaction of the faculty they shared the same fear. At one point, roughly from where Dumbledore was standing, a huge ball of light approached the dragon's head exploding soon after in a blinding flash.
The spell, whatever had been, worked: the dragon, roaring to the sky, had clearly lost his sight, at least for a while. Unfortunately Diggory too seemed unable to move away. Either way, several adult wizards in uniform were already flying on brooms towards the pair, casting Stupefy at the dragon once they were close enough. It took some time but, after several volley, the short-snouted dragon finally fell on the ground, stunned.
"Oh god" murmured Sally, tightly grabbing Harry's arm. "Is Cedric alive?"
Harry couldn't answer – he had no idea either, but he was pale. The situation was uncomfortably close to his old memories. 'Don't you dare die young again, kid' he thought, horrified.
Once the dragon had fell several of the other wizards had immediately approached Diggory and, thought the details were invisible due to the distance, it was clear they were casting spells on him. After a while, they forcefully loaded him on one of their brooms and flew away. Only one of them instead moved towards the faculty, with Bagman climbing down to reach the group.
The stadium, while not certainly silent, wasn't loud either: uncountable whispers from the audience made a distinct background hum. After Dumbledore and one man that from a distance seemed, to Harry, to be Mr. Crouch spoke with the lone flying wizard they all moved back towards the other principals.
"What is happening?" asked Ernie to the open air, frustrated. His feelings were mirrored by several similar questions and curses.
"Let's assume the best, that Diggory is unhurt" said Wayne at one point. "I imagine the problem then…."
"If he is alive" suggested Justin, quietly. Wayne frowned, and so did a couple of other faces.
"I won't even entertain that option" he countered, coldly. "So, he is alive. If he is also unhurt, the problem then is if he passed the test or not."
"I doubt being burned alive count as success, guys" said Zach with a shrug. Megan turned towards him, hostile, hands spread apart. "He got that stupid Egg, right? The second he did it, he won!"
"Technically, but yes" added Susan.
"I understand what Zach is saying, though" added Ernie. "Like it or not, Diggory didn't manage to take the Egg away from the dragon. He was still trying." At the glares of some of them Ernie grimaced, but also shrugged in a clear What do you want from me gesture.
"I imagine this is exactly what those three are arguing about" added Harry, nodding towards the three principals. "Durmstrang and Beauxbatons have only to gain if Cedric is disqualified."
"This is what they are worried about?" asked Hannah, disgusted. "We don't even know for sure if Cedric is injured!"
The conversation went on for a while, with two sides split by whether Diggory could be considered successful or not in his task. All chats stopped once the voice of Bagman could be heard once again in the air.
"My dear audience, sorry if we kept you waiting" he started. "Let me reassure everyone immediately: Hogwart's champion, Cedric Diggory, is safe even if not particularly sound. He is currently being treated for his burns, severe burns, but he is expected to recover fully. Let's have a solid round of applause for him."
At this, slowly at first and then with more enthusiasm, a series of claps and finally cheers could be heard once again in the stadium. Bagman too could be seen, and heard, clapping openly.
"Well done Cedric, well done. The theme of this task was courage, and you showed plenty. His title of Champion, I am sure we all agree now, is fully deserved" continued Bagman, as a couple shouts of "Hogwarts!" could be heard. "Now, let's move on to his score."
"Some of our esteemed guests argued that the task was not complete" said Bagman, as plenty of whistles and boos cold be heard instantly "but, after a consultation between them and our standing representative from the Ministry of Magic, Mr. Crouch, a consensus was reached. No champion could be expected to truly escape from a chasing dragon, if that happens, so taking away the Egg from the nest could be considered enough to reach the goal. Mr. Diggory succeeded in his task!"
More cheers followed, and looking around himself Harry could see several smiles. They were strained though – seemed like everyone still expected some bad news.
"All of the judges, my humble self included, will now start the evaluation process" said Bagman. "Please wait for the results!"
As Bagman climbed down his announcer's tower once again, Dumbledore and the other judges stood up. Soon after, grades made of smoke appeared from their wands.
"Four!" commented Susan, unhappily, as madame Maxime's grade appeared. "Come on!"
"The other principals really want to keep Cedric down" muttered Hannah.
"Five" said Wayne, as Mr. Crouch's grade appeared. "Fair enough, I fear."
"Dumbledore better help Cedric" said Ernie, evenly. And, immediately after…
"Six!" shouted several voices. The murmurs immediately started, but overall it seemed like no one was either happy or unhappy. "Very middle of the road grade, so typical of our headmaster" commented Zach in a sarcastic tone.
'Seven' thought Harry, at the sight of Bagman's grade. 'Even too much, all considering. Good for us anyway.'
At Bagman's grade many cheers could be heard, but they stopped instantly when Karkaroff's own appeared.
"Two? Two!" screamed Megan, outraged. She was not alone – plenty of other voices were loudly expressing their disapproval.
"Two is no different than failing!" commented Sally. "Does he think that Cedric succeeded or not?"
"Obviously no" added Zach, quietly. "The other schools might have given up on disqualifying him, I guess, but…."
Harry shook his head and sat back down on his seat. Several others, slowly, did the same. The whole stadium was still loud and chaotic, but people were slowly moving on to chatting and commenting the coming trials. Bagman himself said the next one would immediately follow, once he restarted his commenting.
"I wonder about the other two champions" said Hannah, eventually. "If they were watching Cedric, they must be terrorized by now."
"Either that, or they are reviewing their own plans" said Susan. "Still hard to come up with one on the spot" said Ernie "and I doubt they want to copy Cedric."
"I didn't mean that" exlpained Susan. "My aunt insist that cheating was rampant at the old Triwizards, since all schools are involved in planning the trials. Sooo..."
"Wait. You mean, Beautygirl and Flyboy already knew they are facing dragons?" asked Wayne, wide eyed. Susan grimaced, and then nodded. "Maybe."
"Typical" commented Zach, disgusted. "And I imagine the idea never even came up to Dumbledore to level the field for our Champion."
"A bit too early to make this comments, I think" said Harry, even though he knew how that was exactly what probably happened. "If the other two champions have it too easy, then…"
"We will see" said Megan, coldly. "If they cheated, we won't let this pass."
In the meantime, the adult wizards in uniform from before had taken out the short-snouted dragon, bringing in another one. It was time for another Champion to test its luck.