Chapter 99
"Come on, Hermione," Harry begged. "Please!"
"I'm sorry, Harry," Hermione said. "I can't."
"But why?" Harry whined. "I'm close, I know I am!"
"You know why, Harry," Hermione said. "You were there when I talked to Professor Flitwick. I can only use the classroom during breaks in between classes; I could probably get it during meals too, if there's time. Come on, we have to get to Care of Magical Creatures."
"Fine," Harry said morosely, relenting at last and helping her check the room to make sure it was clean while she closed the window again. He couldn't take the risk of practising without her in case Professor Flitwick returned.
"Look Harry," Hermione said as they continued onto class. "I suggest that you practise in classes if you have time, and I'll meet you in between. I'm also willing to make it a short lunch and come practice with you then."
Harry nodded, still feeling morose.
Hermione reached up and gave him a hug.
"Let's get you through tomorrow night, and then we can worry about Karkaroff, okay?"
"Yeah, okay," Harry said and nodded.
After lunch, Harry trudged up to the Divination tower, trying to ignore the many buttons that faced him claiming Potter Stinks along with the jeers from the students. The class seemed to drag on as he was forced to endure an hour of Professor Trelawney's sickly sweet otherworldly voice as she spent half the lesson telling them that the position of Mars in relation to Saturn at that very moment meant that people who were born in July were in great danger of sudden, violent deaths.
"Well, at least that's good," Harry said in a raised voice, his temper getting the better of him. "Just so long as it's not drawn out. I don't want to suffer!"
He caught Ron's gaze for a moment and saw the boy's lips twitch in an almost smile before it dropped as though he realised they were still at odds, but he was too resentful to care. He spent the rest of the lesson trying to attract small objects under the table, muttering under his breath. He caught a fly, but didn't know if it was really from the summoning charm or just being stupid.
As the time for class to end came closer, Harry closed his books, ignoring Professor Trelawney's lecture that was still going on about his ultimate demise due the planet alignments, and packed them in his bag. When the first toll of the bell began, he jumped up from the table, knocking the crystal ball off its stand onto the floor and darted for the door, rushing downstairs and heading to the Great Hall kitchens. He quickly fixed a plate and headed back out, passing Hermione.
"I'll grab something and be right behind you," she said as he passed.
Harry nodded and headed up to the Charms classroom once more and waited for Hermione to join him. When she got there, they ate quickly and went straight to work, practising until Professor Flitwick stopped by to check on them and let them know it was nearly curfew. They cleaned up the pillows that they had scattered around in case someone came in, and closed the window once more before heading up to Gryffindor tower.
Students were still filling the common room, so they found a quiet corner and used pillows and books until the others retreated to the dorms. After a while, Harry went up to his dorm and grabbed his broom from under the bed, being careful to keep quiet.
"Are you ready for this?" Hermione asked, taking the broom from him and walking to the far side of the room.
"I think so," Harry said. "I have to be able to do this. I'm running out of time."
Hermione nodded and lowered the broom, letting it go.
"Accio broomstick," Harry said and waved his wand.
The broom shook but barely moved an inch.
"Try again," Hermione called. "It worked with the pillows and books. It should work now."
"I know," Harry said. "That's what I don't get." He paused and exhaled a breath. "Accio broomstick!"
Again, the broom shook, but barely moved otherwise.
"Wait," Hermione said, looking at the broom thoughtfully.
"What?" Harry asked.
"You said that you were working with summoning a dictionary earlier, right?"
"Yeah," Harry said. "Why?"
"Do it again," Hermione said.
Harry sighed, looking at her disbelievingly.
"Come on, Harry," she said. "I want to see it."
"Accio dictionary," Harry said and waved his wand. "See?" Harry replied as he plucked the dictionary out of the air as it came to him.
Hermione set out several books excitedly.
"Now try those," she said.
"Accio books," Harry said pointing to them. "Ow!" Harry cried out as Hermione watched as the books bombarded him.
She sighed and shook her head, taking the books in her arms again and returning them to where they were.
"Are you alright?" she asked, returning to him.
"Yeah," Harry replied, rubbing his head.
"Okay, try again, this time, one at a time," Hermione said.
Harry looked at her sceptically, but sighed and waved his wand.
"Accio Charms book," he called, and they watched as the charms book levitated and came to his waiting hand. Hermione took it from him and nodded with a smile, for him to continue. "Accio history of magic book," Harry said, the book came over and Hermione snatched it, her smile widening. Harry finished calling the books over and sighed. "It makes no sense," he said. "See, I can do these just fine, why not the broom?"
"It makes perfect sense," Hermione replied with a smile.
"How so?" Harry asked.
"Because you're generalising the spell, just like you did with the books," Hermione told him. "You have to be specific. Come on, try it."
"But the books came over," Harry protested.
"Come on," Hermione encouraged. "Try."
"Accio Firebolt," Harry said loudly, and the broom sailed over into his hand and he looked at it with wide eyes.
"See! I knew you could do it!" Hermione said smiling.
They continued to practise to the wee hours of the morning, putting obstacles in its path and moving it to various locations, but it worked every time. Harry started yawning around 1:30, and by 2 a.m. Hermione was also.
"It's late," Hermione said. "You need to get some sleep, you'll need your strength for tomorrow."
Harry nodded and helped her collect her books, and clean up the common room before grabbing the broom and climbing the stairs back to the dorm. Putting his broom under his bed, he yawned again and had barely removed his robes before he was falling asleep as he crawled into bed.
The next day was tough, and his anxiety grew even more as the hours counted down before he'd have to face the dragon. Lessons stopped at mid-day, the final class before lunch and Harry was headed down, his stomach churning from nerves, wondering if it wouldn't be a good idea to skip the meal all together.
"Come on Harry," Hermione said after their practice session in the charms classroom after their History of Magic class. "You should at least try to eat something. You're going to need your strength and be able to focus. I'm sure everyone will be too busy talking about the task to bother you today, why don't you come to the Great Hall and sit with Ginny, Lee and the twins and I?"
"Okay, fine," Harry said. "It might be better than in the kitchens today with the elves talking my ear off, anyway, especially since I don't know when I need to go."
"It's settled then, come on," Hermione said after the rest of the room had been cleaned up.
Harry had just sat down at the table and was debating on trying to eat or not when there was a tap on his shoulder and he turned to see Professor McGonagall standing there. Harry paused and looked around when he realised the Great Hall had fallen silent and noticed everyone watching them and his stomach clenched as he looked up at her again.
"Potter, the champions have to come down onto the grounds now," Professor McGonagall said stiffly. "You have to get ready for your first task."
"Okay," Harry said, feeling his throat tighten as he stood.
"Good luck," Hermione whispered. "I know you'll do fine, Harry."
"Yeah," Harry replied and followed Professor McGonagall out of the hall.
Hermione found herself walking out onto the grounds a short time later with Fred, George,
Ginny and Lee. She may have told Harry that he'd do well, and she believed it, but doing well and surviving the task were two different things in her mind.
"Hey, Hermione," Ginny called, drawing the girl's attention. "Do you want to go get some seats with us?"
"Oh, um," she murmured. "I - Actually, I'll be right back..." She darted off before they could respond and headed for the tent she saw near the pitch, knowing that it had to be where Harry was when there was nothing else around besides the pitch, which from the hill, looked utterly transformed.
"Your attention please," Professor Dumbledore's voice sounded loudly over the din of the crowd with the sonorous charm. "This is a great day for all of us. Each of the three tasks involves very considerable danger. Please keep your seats at all times."
Hermione edged around the tent to the far opening as the professor spoke, jumping as a dragon roared though she continued watching for any sign of those within. Suddenly, she saw Harry's shadow fall upon the tent wall near the rear opening.
"Psst!" she signalled quietly.
"This will minimise any risks you may be exposed to," Professor Dumbledore's announcement continued.
"Harry, is that you?" she asked, separating the flap, but wanting to remain hidden.
"Yeah," Harry said, stepping closer.
"I'm sure we all wish our champions..." Dumbledore droned on.
"How are you feeling?" Hermione asked. "Okay?"
"...the greatest of luck," Professor Dumbledore said.
"The key is to concentrate," Hermione said when Harry didn't reply. "After that, you just have to..."
"Battle a dragon," Harry finished.
Hermione whimpered, and threw aside the flap, pushing her way into the tent, and clung to Harry in a tight hug, surprising him, but he hugged her back.
There was a camera flash and they jumped apart, looking up to see Rita Skeeter and a photographer coming in from the other side.
"Young love," Rita Skeeter crooned as she stepped into the tent. "Oh, how..." she paused, looking thoughtful. "Stirring," she finished with a smile. "If everything goes... unfortunately today, you two may even make the front page."
"You have no business here," Viktor Krum said angrily, coming up behind her. "This tent is for champions - and friends."
"No matter," Rita said after checking her floating notepad and quick quotes quill. "We've got what we wanted."
Viktor moved to dodge the quill as it caressed his face and looked at her in disgust.
There was another flash of the camera from the photographer to get a picture of all the champions, before they departed moving past Professor Dumbledore, Igor Karkaroff, Mr Filch, Mr Crouch and Madam Maxime as they entered.
"Good day, champions," Professor Dumbledore greeted brightly. "Gather round, please."
Hermione froze as he stood behind her, daring not to breathe and willing herself to be small and unnoticed.
"Now, you've waited, you've wondered, and at last the time has arrived," he continued. "A moment only four of you can fully appreciate. What are you doing here, Miss Granger?" he asked, noticing her for the first time as he looked around.
Hermione groaned.
"Oh, um," Hermione stammered. "Sorry, I'll just...go." She hesitated, looking at Harry worriedly.
"Barty, the bag," Professor Dumbledore said, moving on as Hermione left the tent.
She quickly made her way to the stands but when she got there, she frowned. The only spot now available was with Ron. Ignoring him, she sat down and tried to calm her nerves and her pounding heart.
Hermione guessed that the order of the champions had been announced while she'd been in the tent talking with Harry when the cannon sounded and everyone started chanting for Cedric. Looking out onto the transformed pitch, she saw the Swedish Short Snout, the silvery blue dragon that they had studied roar and breathe bright blue flames. She cocked her head as she studied it and realised that its 'fire' didn't look like flames at all, but was more like extended waves of blue lightning like the pictures of the blue dragons in the book by Sindri Suncatcher that looked like electrical currents, and based on its behaviour attitude, she realised that the Swedish Short Snout was definitely a blue dragon, rather than a hybrid with a silver dragon, if Suncatcher's book could be believed.
She watched, in anxious anticipation as Cedric made his way from the entrance. The dragon saw him and Hermione gasped, unconsciously taking a hold of Ron's arm as she watched Cedric dodge behind a large outcropping of rock as the Swedish Short Snout's electric fire came his way.
Minutes ticked by and while Hermione knew that Cedric was thinking, trying to work out how best to get the golden dragon egg, she heard a murmur in the crowd of people wondering if he'd lost his nerve. She watched as he looked out from behind the rock, but ducked back quickly when the dragon sent another blue lightning bolt of flame his way.
She saw him look back the way he'd come and then look ahead to the next outcrop of rock, and knew he was calculating the distance. The next moment, he darted behind the next out crop, barely missing being hit by another bolt of blue electric fire. This was repeated several times before he came to the out crop closest to the nest. It was then that she realised his goal was the outcrop on the other side of the dragon.
She watched as he waved his wand though he was too far away for her to hear, his lips moved as he cast a spell and the outcrop morphed into a stone Labrador that started barking incessantly. It was a brilliant move, distracting the dragon.
Once the dragon turned, Cedric darted out and grabbed the golden egg. Hermione gasped along with the rest of the crowd when the dragon turned back when he was halfway to the outcropping and shot a stream of electric fire toward him as he leapt behind the out cropping for cover, but not before the blue flames burned the back of his leg.
She winced, covering her mouth as he cried out in pain, but saw that he'd pulled himself fully under the cover of the rock, avoiding any more hits as the dragon keepers came out and stunned the dragon, knocking it out.
Cedric pushed himself up from the ground and limped out of the arena with the help of the dragon keepers and Madam Pomfrey as he clutched his egg.
Sighing, she sat back on the bench letting out a breath as they awaited the next champion. Once they'd helped Cedric up the path, the dragon keepers returned and levitated the unconscious dragon back into a cage behind a mirage of rocks at the back of the pitch. A moment later, the gate opened and there was another loud roar as the nest of eggs was replaced and a new golden egg was put out. The wall flickered as the common Welsh Green dragon emerged and everyone around her began chanting for Delacour.
Fleur appeared and she looked so small and scared, Hermione felt sorry for her. She hoped that Fleur was so small that she might go unnoticed if she moved carefully down the path, but that hope was dashed with the Welsh Green roared and a green gas filled the air causing the crowd and Fleur to cover their nose and mouths, their eyes beginning to water as they burned.
Fleur ducked behind the outcrop of rock as the Green then sent a burst of flame that ignited the gas causing an explosion that forced the crowd back in their seats. When the dust settled, they saw Fleur had crawled to the next outcrop away from the nearly destroyed one she'd been behind.
From the outcrop, she raised her wand and called out loudly, "Somnus!"
She ducked back quickly, flattening herself to the ground as the dragon released another green cloud.
She waited for it to ignite it, before she crawled slowly through the dusty air to the next outcrop. "Somnus!" Fleur tried again, pointing her wand around the rock, and pointing it at the dragon. Hermione tensed, inhaling sharply against the sting of the gaseous air when she saw the dragon release another cloud, knowing what was coming.
After another jet of fire to ignite the gas, Fleur had crawled closer, moving to the final outcropping before the nest and Hermione held her breath, hoping this time it worked.
"Somnus!" Fleur called out, waving her wand more steadily this time.
The crowd watched as the dragon stumbled as it moved about, blinking owlishly, and waited. Hermione saw it belch as if to release another cloud, but this time nothing came out as it wobbled and fell near the nest, its eyes closed, and its breathing deep, and Hermione realised that she'd put it to sleep. The crowd watched, as Fleur stood to her full height and leapt for the nest, but the dragon moved in its sleep before she reached it, and a flame shot forth through its nose as she leapt over it to reach the nest, catching her skirt on fire before she touched the golden egg. When she realised what had happened, she cried out in alarm and quickly smothered the flames before retrieving her egg, costing her points.
Slightly disappointed at this, she frowned before she smiled as she realised she'd still completed her task. As she left the arena after checking to make sure she wasn't burned, the dragon keepers returned and removed the eggs, levitating the dragon back to its holding place behind the camouflaged wall. When they returned, they had another clutch of eggs, and there was another roar of a dragon, but before it appeared through the wall, the dragon keepers cast Ventus to clear the residual gas from the air of the arena.
Once the air was cleared, the Chinese Fireball was released and the crowd began to chant, "Krum! Krum! Krum!"
Hermione closed her eyes briefly, recalling the same chant at the Quidditch World Cup, but opened her eyes again as she realised this was much more dangerous. She noticed that he was much clumsier on the ground than on a broom as he lumbered hunched over but not all that low to the ground toward the first outcrop.
The dragon roared and shot a jet of crimson flame toward the outcropping, and Viktor cast a spell at it as he lumbered to the next outcrop, but the spell went wide. This was repeated as Viktor worked his way closer, each time the distance of the spell closing on the dragon. Finally, he was within one outcrop to the nest, and he hit the dragon with his spell right in the face, calling out "conjunctivitis!"
The dragon roared, stumbling around, its eyes shut as it swayed, roaring again and crashing into the rocks before it collapsed. It pushed itself to its feet again, trying to move closer to its nest, continuing to roar out in pain as it swayed and stumbled, and Hermione gasped as it crushed some of the eggs before it collapsed again and began to convulse as Viktor leapt out from behind the outcropping and scooped up the golden egg from amid the crushed and broken eggshells.
Hermione's heart ached at the thought of the lost dragons as the crowd cheered as Viktor held the egg above his head. She was relieved that he hadn't been hurt, nor anyone hurt too seriously, so far, but her anxiety only heightened knowing that one champion was left, one who hadn't near the knowledge of the others... Harry, her best friend.
Hermione watched as the dragon keepers cleared the crushed eggs and got the seizing dragon settled down and moved before the final nest and another dragon were brought out — she swallowed at the sight of it. According to the books they had looked through, it was the most dangerous of the dragons brought for the tournament. The Hungarian Horntail.
"Three of our champions have now faced their dragons," Professor Dumbledore announced, his voice amplified once again. "And so each one of them will proceed to the next task. And now our fourth and final contestant."
Hermione watched anxiously, looking for Harry as the crowd chanted his name. It was a moment before he stepped out of the cave at the start of the path that the others had taken, and peered around him, looking so small. It was like he was a mouse trying to sneak around a large cat in a game of cat and mouse.
The crowd clapped as he appeared and looked around, then fell silent to watch when he noticed the location of the golden egg. Hermione bit her lip as he stepped out, making his way toward it.
"Oh!" the crowd cried out as Harry dodged the large barbed tail of the horntail as it smashed down onto the rocky path. The dragon roared and the crowd screamed as Harry got out of the way a second time. Hermione held her breath as she watched when he seemed frozen as he stared down the dragon before dodging behind a rock as a burst of flame shot his way.
The dragon flew around the arena on a length of chain, roaring and smashing its tail again, and Harry barely dodged it. Hermione watched as he tried to scramble to his feet, but fell into a ravine off the main path. The crowd gasped as the dragon flew down and knocked him further down the ravine. The dragon exhaled another stream of flame, and the crowd sat back to avoid the heat. When the fire had dissipated, Hermione leaned up, pounding the railing.
"Your wand, Harry!" Hermione cried. "Your wand!"
"Accio Firebolt!" Harry shouted and waved his wand, breaking through the panic that had taken hold.
Hermione watched as he scrambled behind a large boulder when the horntail sent another stream of fire his way after flying around to get a better angle. She was on the edge of her seat, hoping that it wouldn't take the broom long to get to them from Gryffindor tower's boy's dorm where Harry had told her he'd left the window open that morning, making sure that he was the last one to leave the dorm. She bit her lip, only imagining how scared Harry must be, not taking her eyes off the arena and suddenly saw the broom fly by in her peripheral vision.
She saw Harry peer out from behind the boulder, knowing he was looking for it as well, and duck back when the horntail inhaled a breath, seeking cover as it burned the rock with its flame.
"YES!" Hermione cheered when she saw Harry jump on the broom, barely escaping another spout of flame as he took to the air. "Woohoo!"
"Yeah!" the crowd cheered around her.
They saw Harry make for the egg, but missed, and a groan went through the crowd as Harry made a retreat to circle around and make another pass.
As he flew, the dragon followed and the crowd gasped as the chain snapped.
"Bloody hell," she heard Ron murmur in shock.
Hermione watched as Harry panicked once more, turning from his pass to get the egg and headed toward the stands where the teachers sat, taking the shortest route to escape, leaning forward to urge the broom to move as fast as it could when he heard the dragon right behind him, and a loud snap of the chain as the dragon broke free, followed by a gasp of the crowd. The dragon followed, its tail smashing through the awnings as the staff dodged its weighted tail.
"Yeah! Whoo!" Hermione heard George shout behind her.
"Yeah!" Fred yelled alongside his twin. "Well done, dragon!"
Hermione searched the skies around her, her fear growing when she didn't see where Harry had gone. It was only when she heard the angry roars of the dragon that her fear was minutely assuaged, and she knew that it hadn't captured Harry yet.
Dread filled her though, the longer the minutes ticked by with no sign of Harry or the dragon though the roars came from the direction of the castle. "Smart, Harry," she murmured to herself trying to calm her nerves. She realised that he was trying to put something between himself and the dragon, and what better than the towers and turrets of the ancient castle. Harry was an exceptional flyer after all, he could also make use of the many narrow archways through the courtyards and the bridges. Still as time dragged by with no sign of them, her anxiety only grew stronger.
Suddenly there was a long roar that echoed through the ravine near the aqueduct, and Hermione looked around to see that she wasn't the only one on the edge of her seat, and looking for Harry. She could see the worry etched on Hagrid's face. Several more minutes of anxious silence passed and then Harry appeared over the knoll, his broom trailing smoke, but he was alive!
"Yes!" Hermione cried out loudly, raising her arms in the air and clapping. "Yes!" Relief washed over her as the crowd around her cheered. She wanted to go down and hug him after he collected the egg, but Professor McGonagall, Hagrid, and Professor Moody were already there, and ushering him out of the arena to see Madam Pomfrey. Smiling, knowing he was in good hands, she hurried to catch up with Ginny after leaving the pitch.
"Where are Lee and the twins?" Hermione asked, catching up with her.
"Oh, they're off taking in and giving out money," Ginny replied with a laugh and roll of her eyes.
"You mean, they were betting on the task?" Hermione asked.
"Yep," Ginny replied. "They were taking bets before you got here."
"Oh?" Hermione asked, glad that she'd missed it.
"Yeah," Ginny replied laughing. "They had Cedric at 7-4, Fleur 10-1, Viktor Krum 5-1 and Harry at 30-1."
"I feel sorry for them," Hermione said.
"Why?" Ginny asked curiously.
"Well, it looks like they went broke," Hermione answered. "All four made it through the first task."
"Oh, no, Hermione," Ginny said with a grin. "Fred and George aren't stupid. They weren't taking bets on who would make it through the task."
"They weren't?" Hermione asked in confusion.
"No," Ginny replied. "It was who made it through the fastest. Harry beat them all."
"Well, then, they still lost money, didn't they?" Hermione asked.
"Not much," Ginny answered. "Not many were betting that Harry would make it through, much less the fastest."
Hermione just sighed and shook her head.