Hello people. How yall doing? Hope all of you are in the pink of your health. Keep safe and let's finish this year, people. We are not long enough to welcome a new year. Let's keep going.
The next chapter is up for you. Like always, you can follow up with advanced content on my patr30n page- (dot) com / hadrianpotterpeverell. Look it up if you are interested.
Anyway, on to the chapter. Let me know how the chapter turns out. Comments are always welcome.
Chapter 13- The First Task
"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen." The voice of Ludo Bagman boomed around the arena and the gathered spectators cheered at the top of their voices.
People from different magical countries had assembled to witness the reinstatement of the legendary Tri-Wizard Tournament after a long time. The arena was packed and buzzing with anticipation for the start of the contest, but he knew otherwise. He knew what awaited the spectators and the competitors.
Dumbledore sighed tiredly as he sat next to the heads of the schools and Barty Crouch. Ludo will be joining them, and the five of them will be the judges for the competition. He had not managed to catch a moment of peace ever since he knew what the first task would be. Alastor pointed out that he seemed older than ever compared to the start of the year and he didn't doubt the man.
"I would like to extend a warm welcome to everybody assembled here. Without further ado, let us begin the first task of the prestigious Tri-Wizard tournament."
Ludo cancelled his voice-amplifying spell and approached the area occupied by the judges.
"It is time." The man said and Barty Crouch stood up joining him. "You three can stay here. Barty and I would go and complete the formalities with the champions."
Dumbledore watched the two ministry men walk away towards the champions' tent. They would be deciding on who would be facing which dragon for the task.
"So Albus?" Dumbledore faced Karkaroff who was staring at him with a challenging expression on his face.
"Are your students ready?"
Dumbledore nodded confidently, a smile adorning his face. He knew that the man would do something like this to try and bait him into reacting. He was very good at that, Karkaroff. For a man of such station and responsibility, he failed to behave accordingly. The man was as childish as they come with a penchant for getting into trouble due to his mouth.
"They are as ready." He agreed. "Two very talented boys and they would do very well. I am confident of it."
"I have to admit though, I am not very eager for what is about to happen." He nodded towards the prepared arena.
"Mr Diggory and Mr Potter are unaware of the magnitude of danger they are in. I couldn't care less about the winner of this round. I would be more than happy if all four of them were safe."
Karkaroff laughed in disbelief as he shook his head.
"Come now Dumbledore. You are telling me that your students don't know about the task?"
Dumbledore nodded his agreement. He did not hesitate to admit that.
"I never disclosed what the task was to my students. I was not supposed to talk about the task with the contestants and I did not. That was the rule wasn't it?"
Karkaroff and Maxime were visibly surprised by his words and Dumbledore had to stifle a laugh. These small things never failed to provide him with joy. He didn't blame the other two for trying to help their students. He was delighted that the two decided to keep the rules to the side and are trying to help their students.
"Surely you jest, Albus." Maxime cut in. "Your students were not aware of the tasks?"
"Would you have accepted it if I had informed my students about the task?" Dumbledore questioned.
"The two of you are already annoyed at Mr Potter being chosen as the fourth champion. You assumed that I was indirectly responsible for this and that I was doing this to give Hogwarts two chances at victory. You and I both know that if I had informed my students of the task, you would have accused us of cheating."
"Anyway," The man continued after a moment of silence. "Let's hope none of our students are harmed when all is said and done."
BREAK—--
"Good morning." Ludo Bagman greeted the champions who had occupied the special tent erected for their purpose.
Harry felt surprisingly calm despite still having no idea what the task would be. He took a deep breath as he stood towards the back of the tent wondering what the man would reveal about the task.
"Let's not stand around, Ludo. Tell them what they should do and let us get back to the arena." Barty Crouch cut in impatiently glaring at the cheerful man who nodded patting Barty on his back.
"What is the hurry, Barty?" Ludo chuckled as he approached the students. "Anyway, today marks the first day of your journey to be crowned the Tri-Wizard champion. Your first task would be dragons."
Harry froze in his place, his breath catching in his throat at the announcement. Dragons?
"Dragons?" He questioned, his voice shaky and uncertain, still unable to believe that he had heard the man right.
"Real dragons?" Cedric Diggory questioned, his voice barely above a whisper. The boy had turned as white as a sheet at the reveal of the task.
Harry observed the other two contestants and was expecting a different reaction from them than he was seeing. Delacour and Krum showed no visible reaction to Bagman breaking the news of the dragons. Cedric was shaking in his spot and Harry understood that he was hearing of this for the first time. But the other two knew beforehand.
A wave of anger surged through his body considering that he made a fool of himself by revealing what Dumbledore told him. It didn't bother him that the two knew about the task, but what disappointed him was that none of them bothered to inform himself and Cedric.
'Was this competition important enough to die for?' He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, pulling his focus back onto Bagman.
"Don't worry." The man continued cheerfully, ignoring the tension in the air. "You would have to face a dragon and retrieve a golden egg that would be placed in the middle of the arena among other dragon eggs."
"Now, you have to evade the dragon who would function as an obstacle. You don't have to worry. Trained dragon handlers have been stationed around the arena to help with the dragons and if needed, they will step up and handle the situation."
"The dragons have been drowsed with a mild sedative and hence would not be as ferocious as they usually are so, there is nothing you have to worry about. Get in, pick up the egg and leave."
"There is a catch." Crouch cut in. "The eggs are not to be harmed. The dragon eggs are your safety net. The moment they are harmed, you will lose points. Keep the eggs safe and retrieve the golden egg." He finished, glaring at Bagman for missing out on informing the students about the stipulation.
"Yes. Yes." Bagman agreed as he stepped up with the bag held in front of him. "In this bag, are the miniature model of the dragons you would be facing. Each of you must choose one and you will be facing that dragon outside."
"Any doubts?" The man was too eager for his own good and Harry had to resist the urge to smack him on his head.
"One by one." He nodded towards the bag. "Ladies first." He smiled at the French champion who walked gracefully up to the man and rummaged into the bag pulling out a miniature living model of a green dragon that huffed angrily, the small yellow eyes of the dragon glaring at the French champion. There was a small token hanging around the dragon with the number two.
"A Welsh Green," Bagman added helpfully. "You will be the second contestant, Ms Delacour."
"Mr Krum. If you will?" The Bulgarian quidditch star followed Delacour's actions, pulling out a scarlet-coloured dragon with a hint of gold. The number three was visible around the miniature dragon.
"The Chinese Fireball. Excellent. Mr Diggory?"
Cedric pulled out a silvery blue model with the number one around it. He will be going first. He still didn't seem to have recovered from the shock of learning about the dragons.
"Mr Potter?" He walked up to pick up the last remaining dragon model from the bag.
"This leaves you with the Hungarian Horntail, Mr Potter." Harry pulled out a model of a dragon which looked no different than a huge lizard but with black scales, a spiky tail, bronze horns and yellow eyes with cat-like slits.
The dragon models that they picked out of the bag were fierce, but this one was particularly vicious. The miniature Horntail was baying for his blood from the looks of it.
"You will be the last contestant, Mr Potter." Bagman finished as he stepped back next to the Crouch lord.
"You will hear when you are supposed to enter and each of you will enter with your wands only. Any other form of help outside of your wand is against the rules and would lead to consequences. I hope I am clear?" Crouch questioned, staring hard at each contestant, nodding satisfactorily when none spoke up.
"Good luck with your tasks." The man wished before leaving the tent briskly, Bagman following in his wake.
The tent descended into silence as each of them retreated into their respective seats each lost in their thoughts.
"I have one question." The other three champions faced him when he spoke up.
"When I came to you and told you about the task having something to do with fire, was I doing the right thing or was I making a complete fool of myself?" He questioned a sarcastic smile on his face.
"Did the two of you know about the task beforehand?" He pressed.
"It's a competition, Potter," Delacour smirked. "We are all here to win. That is what I am trying to do. Advantages are a part of the game. I didn't come from France to lose did I?"
"She is right." Krum cut in. "Yes, my Headmaster knew about the dragons and helped me with it. We are not foolish enough to jump into a task with no advantage."
"Why not tell us?" Cedric Diggory spoke up, finding his voice for the first time since the information about the task was revealed.
"Sorry." Krum shrugged. "Nothing personal."
Harry chuckled. He had hoped for a different answer from the two, but if they wanted a competition, he would give them one.
"Well, hoped you two would have not said that." He shook his head making sure to show his disappointment. "Don't worry about winning this anymore. I will take care of the winning part of it. You look forward to returning empty-handed to your countries."
"Overconfidence, Potter?" Delacour questioned and Harry shrugged.
"Watch me back up my words." He whispered, confident that all the three had heard him.
The tension around the room was increasing considerably and it was at that moment that they heard a loud boom go off outside and Bagman speaking.
The four of them descended into silence listening to the man speak outside the tent anticipating the call for the task.
The four heard Cedric Diggory's name being called out and the young man stood up taking a deep breath to calm himself. He couldn't be worried now that he was stepping out to face a dragon and Harry could make out the boy gathering enough courage to walk out.
"Hey, Cedric?" Harry called out as the boy made to leave. When the boy turned back to face him, Harry continued.
"Nothing is worth losing your life over this stupidity." He added. "Do what you must. I don't care if you win or lose but don't go out and die for nothing. The competition can fuck off for all it cares. You have chances for eternal glory all your life."
The young man was taken aback by the words coming out of Harry's mouth, his disbelief shared by the other two contestants.
"No thousand galleons and no goblet of fire are supposed to decide your success, Cedric. Go ahead. Do what you must. Fight hard. Win for all I care. But don't go risking it all for nothing."
The crowd's cheer was all that was heard for a few moments as silence descended around the four. Another call for Diggory came up from outside and Diggory steeled himself.
"And Cedric," Harry called out again. "Go with your head held high. You didn't fucking cheat to fear for anything." The outrage of the other champions brought a sense of satisfaction for Harry.
For the first time since the commencing of the task, Cedric laughed. The young Hufflepuff nodded his thanks and walked out of the tent with a smile on his face, something he didn't think the boy would have managed to do if he had walked out at the first call.
He felt a great amount of satisfaction in helping the young man out. Cedric was worried and rightfully so. He was worried too, but the only difference was that he hid it well compared to Cedric. Cheering him up would do wonders for his confidence stepping into danger.
He would have loved to have somebody who would do the same for him, but sadly, his only family consisted of one supposed fugitive who would be killed if he was caught sight outside of their home and a woman who would not like to be associated with his name this early after coming out of a bad marriage.
'One day, Harry. One day, you will have it all.' He sighed internally, optimistic for the future as he waited for his turn to be called up.
BREAK—--
Almost two hours later, his name was announced and he stood up, steeling himself again, and began walking out of the tent. He was tired of waiting inside and at one point, he wondered why he forgot to ask Bagman if he could watch the tasks.
"You have got this, Harry. Play to your strengths." Ignotus instructed as he was about to enter the arena.
"And for the final contestant. Please welcome the youngest Triwizard champion, Harry Potter!"
Boos and jeers were what accompanied him as Bagman announced his name. For some reason, he felt himself laughing internally. It was not a mocking laugh, but it was one of pure disappointment. It was immense how many people wanted him to fail.
It was not long before his focus shifted to the challenge he was up against. The Hungarian horntail roared ferociously at the crowd who went silent very quickly.
This dragon was no different than the miniature model he had picked up from the bag and if anything, the real version looked more fierce than the angry little thing.
"Okay. This looks pleasant." He muttered as he waited for the start of the task and soon enough, a loud buzzer rang indicating the start.
The arena went quiet in anticipation of what they were about to witness from the youngest champion among the four. He walked closer to the dragon, wincing slightly at the ear-splitting roar courtesy of the horntail.
As soon as he reached close enough for the dragon to take notice of his presence, the beast charged towards him instantly. He felt the ground shaking beneath him as the dragon made to attack him.
His wand was off in a flash, a translucent dome surrounding him at the roar of fire that the horntail unleashed upon him. This shield was not something that would prevent it for long. He could feel the heat from outside through the shield and he decided to put the next part of his plan into action.
He swiped his wand upwards and the shield broke outwards, a bright light accompanying his actions blinding the dragon for a moment. That gave him the chance to move and he decided to duck behind a rock, taking cover.
With an exaggerated flick towards the castle, Harry cast a summoning charm, waiting for his spell to take effect. It was only a few seconds later that the crowd noticed something flying towards the arena.
"Mr Potter seems to have used a summoning charm and…" Bagman frowned. "Is that a broom?"
Harry waited for his trusted broom to fly low almost hovering over the ground and when the broom reached his position, he got on top and flew away as quickly as possible and just in time as well. He turned back and watched as the dragon swiped its tail towards where he was supposed to be.
He was genuinely surprised by the result of the tail. The rock he was hiding behind turned into pieces. Why was this dragon being so aggressive? He specifically remembered Bagman telling them that the dragons were mildly sedated and would show little to zero aggression.
He had expected a reaction but was limited to growls and roars. He had not expected the dragon to charge him down breathing fire down his neck consistently.
He could feel the dragon's ire as the beast roared ferociously looking around for him. It didn't take long for the beast to notice his presence above and within moments, the dragon took to the skies.
That was unexpected. He had assumed that the dragon would be chained to stay on the ground, but he knew that something was wrong when it took flight.
Harry pushed upwards, flying away from the reach of the dragon who began to chase him upwards. When the dragon was considerably high, Harry took his chance and dived. He wanted the dragon distracted for a moment to take advantage and reach the eggs placed in the centre of the arena, but that idea was shot down immediately when the dragon caught onto what he was doing and swatted its tail towards him.
He swirled away from the spikes just in time, but he was not lucky enough to escape completely unscathed. One of the spikes caught him in his side and Harry yelped in pain, flying to his right immediately abandoning his plan.
"Fuck!" Harry swore cringing in pain as he felt some moisture in his shirt near his hips. He was bleeding. He cursed softly once more as he wiped his fingers on his pants, cringing as the pain increased considerably.
He took his eyes off for one moment and the next thing he knew, the dragon had swished its tail again, catching his broom handle and Harry was thrown off his broom.
With the pain shooting up, Harry found it difficult to focus and one moment of lapse was all it took for the dragon to push him off his broom. He immediately cast a cushioning spell for a soft landing.
The pain was becoming unbearable with every second and he was losing a lot of blood. He didn't know how long he could continue as he began feeling lightheaded.
Harry didn't want to play around anymore. He had hoped that the dragon would not react this badly considering Bagman's words, but either this dragon had not been sedated at all or the sedation had completely worn off.
The dragon stood right in between him and his target. Harry decided that he needed to make quick work of the task and finish it off. He didn't get to make the next move as a huge blast of fire consumed him instantly.
BREAK—--
Shrieks and screams rang around the arena as the fire of the dragon consumed the young man. Dumbledore and the judges jumped out of their seats, with the older man moving briskly away from the seated area towards the dragon.
He had not expected this after the first three contestants. Everything was in order. The dragons being sedated partially had been a good decision and the first three had not found much difficulty in handling their dragons.
It was challenging, but young Mr Diggory performed admirably. In a magnificent display of transfiguration, the young man changed a boulder nearby into a labrador dog, which distracted the dragon enough for him to complete his task. He didn't escape unscathed though and the boy got burnt in his face and was immediately taken into the medical wing.
Ms Delacour was very elegant and brisk. She charmed her dragon into a trance and put it to sleep. With a mild sedation being fed to the dragons, it didn't take long for the dragon to fall asleep.
Apart from the isolated incident where her skirt caught fire due to the dragon's breath, she was the quickest of the two.
Viktor Krum had been brutal in his approach. He arrived. Used a conjunctivitis on the dragon and disrupted the dragon from its state of calm. A few dragon eggs got crushed when the dragon reacted to the spell, but that was enough for Krum to sneak past the dragon and finish his task. He was the fastest to complete his task.
He was pleased that everything was going well considering his fears, but when the last dragon was brought in, he felt a sinking sensation in his heart.
The dragon was not as docile as the others had seemed when brought in. This one was high on alert, looking around, growling and spewing anger through its very breath.
The Hungarian Hornatil. It didn't take long for him to find out just how dangerous and ferocious the beast was supposed to be. Of all the dragons in the world who decided to bring this dragon, he would have to find out and when he did, he had to give a piece of his mind.
Young Harry Potter walked out of the tent and towards the arena. He carried himself confidently, which was surprising considering he learned about the task not more than a couple of hours early.
The dragon charged at him immediately, but the young man was quick enough to summon a shield to protect himself. He managed to distract the dragon away from him for a few moments and bought himself some time before he could make his next move.
The next thing they knew, he was summoning his broom and was flying off but the dragon was quick enough to follow him. He understood what the young man was doing. It was not as complicated as the other three, but Harry was thinking of getting out of this task alive and he approved it.
The dragon retaliated and the spikes caught the young man in his side as he was flying back towards the ground. He was thrown off his broom and he did well to regulate his fall. The tail had done some damage to the young man and with the way he was clutching his side, it must be something serious.
The dragon didn't remain idle and as soon as it got back onto the ground, it spat a blast of fire. Dumbledore expected some defence. He expected the young man to shield himself once again, but his heart sank when the fire consumed him.
'No.' He stood up immediately, out of his position and was pacing towards the arena.
'No. Please, please do something, Harry.' He prayed, hoping against all hope that he would fight back but when the defence didn't come, Dumbledore raised his wand aggressively only to stop when the flames flickered and dwindled to reveal a dome in the place where Harry stood.
He watched as the dome cracked and the stones that made the dome hover up in the air revealing the young man beneath his eyes pitch black almost recognisable from as far as he was standing.
He remembered the last time he witnessed those eyes turning black from his natural green and the casual display of wandless magic. Today, it seemed to be the same as the boy stood, his hand outstretched, his palm facing upwards. The rocks appeared to be floating at his command and it was proven right when Harry made a banishing motion with his hand and the rocks followed zooming towards the dragon striking the beast all at once.
A pained scream accompanied the impact and most of the arena was sure that they heard a sickening crunch as the rocks impacted against the dragon.
"Well, what do you know? He certainly had everybody fooled, young Harry Potter." Bagman continued as the noise in the arena increased considerably.
It started as a small rumble, but in a few seconds, Dumbledore felt the ground beneath them shaking and he witnessed the land cracking at the feet of the dragon.
The cracks grew bigger and suddenly gave way, and the dragon standing on top fell into the hole. The lower body of the dragon slipped into the massive hole, but the upper body didn't and the horntail was stuck in what seemed to be a painful position.
"Where did that hole come from?" Bagman questioned and Dumbledore was sure that the other judges had a similar question.
The dragon roared in anger and what Dumbledore assumed was pain. It was stuck in a very painful position, with its tail, legs and lower body cramped up into an uncomfortable position. It was trying desperately to crawl out of the hole, its hands clawing onto the ground trying to lever itself out only to fail.
The dragon zeroed in on Harry and he seemed to be angering the dragon. The dragon lunged at him, but it couldn't move. A blast of fire was directed at Harry and to the immense surprise of the crowd and the judges the young man held up his hand and with a smooth motion, deflected the fire towards the side.
"What was that!?" Bagman exclaimed. "I don't see a wand in his hand. What is Harry Potter doing and how is he doing it?"
The dragon tried once again, blasting another round of fire, but Harry repeated what he had done earlier, deflecting the flame to the side.
"Is that wandless magic?" Madame Maxine questioned, her voice laced with curiosity and wonder.
"Is that boy doing wandless magic?" She prodded again, and the Hogwarts headmaster chuckled, shaking his head.
"I have no idea, Olympe. I have no idea." He knew that the woman would see right through his words. He was fooling no one here, but he was not obligated to tell her anything and he would not be talking about young Harry's abilities without his go-ahead.
He was unsure of what the young man was doing. Shielding fire is something he was well aware of, but deflecting it entirely without a shield was not something he knew was possible. He would have to ask him about it.
BREAK—--
It was impulsive. He lost his concentration for a second and the flames were upon him. He didn't need to think much and he willed the area around him to form a protective dome cutting off the flames.
He hissed in pain as he clutched at his side once again. He would have tried to get a look at it and would have done something about it, but he decided to power through. He decided to use what he had learnt through Ignotus.
When he was out of the dome, he was quick to react, as he concentrated on the region where the dragon stood and with an instruction, the ground gave away.
To his relief, the dragon was now caught in a very difficult position and Harry decided to seize the moment. He had to fight back as the dragon spat fire once again but was ready this time as he deflected the fire away.
He waited for a few moments, watching as the dragon struggled desperately to get out of the hole and when he was sure that he could proceed, he began walking towards the eggs.
The dragon roared once again but this was not the one that he had heard for a while. This cry was of desperation and agony.
Harry kept an eye out for the dragon as he walked to the eggs and as he approached them, the dragon groaned painfully and slumped, its head hitting the ground. It was watching him. It was observing his every move, but there was an acceptance in its demeanour. Helpless acceptance.
Harry made to pick up the golden egg placed in between the other eggs and as he reached out his hand, the dragon growled pitifully, and Harry understood what was happening.
The dragon was worried about its eggs. It was worried that he was taking away the eggs. The dragon continued to whine pitifully and tried to push itself back out of the hole, but when it couldn't make it despite trying so hard, it gave up the yellow eyes of the beast welling up with tears.
Harry reached out into the mix and picked up the golden egg. Instead of walking out of the arena, he began walking back towards the dragon. The dragon saw him coming and with renewed strength, began struggling to get out of the hole.
She spewed another round of fire only for Harry to swat it away like he did before. He approached the dragon and when he was a few feet away from it, he dropped the egg in front of the dragon.
"What is he doing now?" Harry heard Bagman's question, but he stared at the dragon who had stopped struggling and was watching Harry cautiously.
"That is not your egg." He said, pointing at the egg. The dragon eyed the egg and turned back to Harry not making a sound, but alternating between watching the egg and the human next to it.
"I am sorry." Harry apologised to the dragon. "Your eggs are safe over there." He pointed towards the group of dragon eggs. The dragon looked at where Harry was pointing and faced him once again.
"Sorry, I had to trap you like that. I had to get that." He nodded towards the golden egg.
The dragon lowered its snout and began to sniff at the golden egg, trying to find out what it was all about and when learnt that the egg didn't belong among its own, prodded the egg back at Harry.
"You want me to take it?" Harry questioned, smiling as the dragon pushed the egg to his feet, nodding as it did so, growling softly which Harry considered approval.
He reached out with his hand, trying to touch the dragon, cautious about the reaction of the Horntail and the dragon pulled away quickly, shaking its head violently.
"Hey… Hey…" He raised both his hands in surrender. "I will not hurt you." He assured.
"I will not hurt you. I will free you from that hole." He willed his magic to concentrate on the hole that had trapped the humongous beast and slowly began to expand the hole from within until the dragon could free itself from the hole and crawl out.
Harry didn't step away. He wanted the dragon to know that he didn't mean harm. The dragon rushed towards where the eggs were and began sniffing around, making sure everything was in order and none of its eggs was harmed.
When it was clear that the eggs were unharmed the dragon trudged back towards where he was standing and bowed. Harry reached out and placed his palm on the beast, caressing the scale of the beast gently, drawing mutterings and applause from the crowd around him.
"Sorry, I had to do that." He apologised once again, ignoring the crowd and smiling as he heard the dragon growl softly.
"Take care will you?" An affirming snort was the answer he received from the beast and he picked up the golden egg and left the arena, a job satisfactorily done.
He never should have thought about playing around. It was a stupid decision, something he will look to avoid in the future. He did reap for his mistakes though. He could still feel the wound in his side and the pain seemed to be shooting up ever so slightly.
He reached the arena exit that led back to the tent and turned around, expecting to see his scores from the judges. They were deep in discussion, with Karkaroff being the most animated for some reason.
"An excellent performance." Bagman boomed after the judges finished their discussion. The headmaster of Durmstrang was not pleased, judging by his reaction and he was making it clear to the others though none paid attention to him.
"A surprisingly different performance from Mr Potter. A wonderful display of wandless magic to counter the dragon's fire followed by an ingenious plan to trap the dragon in a hole and cap off with befriending the most dangerous breed of dragon."
"The scores for Mr Potter would be as follows." One by one, the judges began raising their wands a blast of smoke shooting out and converting into a number to indicate Harry's scores.
Dumbledore gave him a nine along with Barty Crouch. Bagman gave him a perfect ten, Karkaroff smirked as he awarded him a five, and Madam Maxine awarded him eight points.
"That makes it forty-one points for Harry Potter. At the end of the first task, Mr Potter stands first followed by Ms Delacour with forty points." He noticed the glare Maxine directed towards the Durmstrang head and he guessed that the man had scored less for Delacour.
"In third place, Mr Diggory with thirty-nine points and in last place, Mr Krum with thirty-six points."
Bagman continued after another round of applause.
"The champions are to be present in the tent for a few minutes. Further instructions about the second task will be shared."
"That is all for today, ladies and gentlemen. The second task of the tournament would be taking place on the twenty-fourth of February. We will be seeing you soon. Thank you." Bagman finished and the spectators began emptying from the stands.
Harry clutched the egg under his arm and walked back to the tent wondering what the egg contained. He knocked on the egg, trying to gauge what was in the egg from the sound, but apart from the dull thud, there was nothing he could identify from the egg.
He was greeted by the other champions waiting in the tent, one with a half-bandaged face and the other two with disappointed frowns.
"You fine, Cedric?" Harry questioned approaching the young man who had half of his face covered with a bandage.
"I don't feel my face." Cedric chuckled as he tried standing up from his seat only for Harry to force him back down onto his seat.
"No. Don't strain yourself. How long till it cures?" Harry questioned placing a hand on the young man's shoulder.
"By sunrise tomorrow, according to Madam Pomfrey." Harry nodded with a smile as the judges began walking into the tent.
"Excellent performance, champions. That was fantastic. Especially Mr Potter. That was a very good performance, Harry. Excellent." Bagman rambled on only to stop when Dumbledore cleared his throat.
"The second task, Ludo." The man laughed, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.
"Right. Sorry about that. Moving on to the second task." He made sure that everybody was listening to him as he continued.
"The clue to what the task would entail has been locked up in the egg that you managed to retrieve." He explained, pointing to the eggs.
"Solve the clue to know your next task. The egg holds everything you would be facing in the next round so solving the clue is a necessity. Your task will take place on the twenty-fourth of February. Any questions?"
"Very well." Bagman nodded when he was met with silence. "We will be seeing you soon. Have a great day."
The judges left leaving behind the champions who sat in silence for a while. Harry decided to leave and began walking towards the exit when he remembered something.
"Well…" He began turning back to face the other three champions, especially the Durmstrang and Beaubaxtons champions.
"I won." He shrugged, taking delight at the expression of the two as Cedric chuckled, joining him.
"What do you say, Ms Delacour? Overconfidence or confidence?" He winked at the beautiful veela who flushed red in anger.
"Until next time then, Ms Delacour, Mr Krum." He waved leaving the tent with Cedric leaving behind a pair of fuming youngsters in their wake.
TBC—--
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