And here's the seventy fifth chapter of "A Year Too Soon"! Enjoy!
* Review Response:
Darkscythe Drake, kazikamikaze24, D.J. Scales, nkh1, tumshie, Hudy Leak613, BROMBROS, BMS, thank you for your reviews, folks!
Brockster550, considering the whole lot of 'meaningful' names in the books, I wouldn't bet against that.
magitech, supposedly, astronomy knowledge is useful or even mandatory for properly planting and/or harvesting certain Magical plants, brewing some advanced potions, doing certain branches of Divination, and for certain rituals. Still doesn't sound like something that needs to be mandatory for five years. Especially since you can't have a stable schedule given that planets don't usually have fixed cycles of one Earth year in length. And Magical telescopes can't see through solid objects as otherwise the class would've been taught in a classroom during daytime, rather than at night on top of a tower.
Luiz4200, probably? There are (at least) three pairs of twins attending Hogwarts during Harry's time there: the Patils, the Weasleys and the Carrows. This might be a fluke, but I think it's plausible that one or two sets of female twins happened to be attending Hogwarts at the time Sirius was a student there.
barryc10, the Dark Mark grows weaker as Voldemort's power vanes, but even after his death it will not disappear completely. That's what I got from the books and what I use for this story.
* AN: This chapter has not been beta-read.
Disclaimer: I DO NOT own "Harry Potter" franchise. No profit is being made. Same goes for any books, video games, anime or manga I may or may not use for ideas.
"speaking"
"parseltongue"
'thinking'
written text
spells
A Year Too Soon
Chapter LXXV: Before the First Task
The next day Harry sought out Cedric Diggory to share his observations. But, like it often happens when one really needs it, getting to talk to the Hufflepuff boy turned out to be rather harder than one would think. Somehow, it wasn't until lunch that they finally were able to talk.
"A moment of your time, Cedric?" Harry asked as he approached the Hogwarts true Champion at his House's table. The said wizard nodded.
"Sure." He said. "What is it, Harry?"
"You have Astronomy tonight, right?" The Potter heir asked then. Cedric, confused by this question, nonetheless nodded.
"Yes, what about it?" He asked.
"I suggest you keep half-an-eye on the Forbidden Forest while there." Harry said. "I saw something there yesterday that I believe is a big clue towards what the First Task of the Tournament will be about. Still, I may be wrong about what I saw there, so I'd rather you - hopefully - observe it yourself and come to your own conclusions."
"I see…" Cedric said. "I'll make sure to pay some attention to the Forest then." He then made a pause, before asking: "Are you sure it's alright for you to tell me this, Harry?"
"Well… The rules we were told only forbid the Professors and the schools' staff from directly helping the Champions. As far as I can tell, there is nothing about the students helping the Champions in there, or about the Champions helping each other. So this should be fine." The Slytherin teen said.
"Alright" Cedric said. "Thank you for telling me this, Harry."
"Don't mention it." The green-eyed teen said. There was a brief pause, before the Hufflepuff spoke again:
"If and when I do see whatever you have seen in the Forbidden Forest, do you mind it if we share our findings?" He asked then. Harry thought about it for a few moments, before nodding.
"Sure, why not." He said. "Just don't expect me to be all give and no take. I'm a Slytherin, after all." He added then with a small smile. Cedric waved him off.
"And I'm a Hufflepuff." He said. "I would've insisted on a fair trade anyway." And with that they shook their hands.
~/ *** \~
While he waited for Cedric to contact him back - or for the Tournament organized to finally give him a way out of this stupid competition he didn't want to be a part of - Harry focused on researching a way to survive the First Task in the case he actually had to compete.
He still wasn't absolutely certain that the Task would involve dragons, and the evidence that led him to thinking it might was rather circumstantial, but… It was the only idea on what the First Task might be about that he had. And it looked like the other Champions had independently come up with the same idea: while studying in the library he saw Victor Krum stop by and ask for books about dragons.
So, yeah, the First Task most likely involved dragons.
Now, dragons, especially the fully-grown adults, were some of the most powerful Magical beasts out there and it would be foolish to expect a single NEWT-level student to be able to directly fight one. No, it was most likely that a dragon will be a living, fire-breathing obstacle he'd need to find a way around. That, while not easy by any means, should be doable.
Maybe.
Dragons were natural top predators. They were known mostly for their Magic-resistant scales and fire breath, but they also possessed great physical strength, sharp teeth and claws and even sharper senses. They were also pretty intelligent and some books even claimed that they were sapient.
That made Harry wonder if he could possibly negotiate with a dragon. Would a dragon even understand human speech? Or Parseltongue? - they weren't snakes, after all.
Anyway, as he brainstormed the way of getting past a dragon with Flora and Hestia, an idea came up: while the dragons indeed had sharp senses, those senses weren't actually Magical in nature. And if one were to find a way around the Magic-resistant scales, a Conjunctivitis Curse would readily rob the dragon of its superior sight.
Actually, Harry thought about it further, he didn't even need to curse the dragon directly. A thick fog could hide him visually. Conjured devices making loud noises could drown out the sounds he himself would make. And filling the area with something odorous could mask his own smell. Getting all that in place would require a bit of work, but it was still better than firing spells at a dragon and risking being roasted in return. Yeah, that sounded like a nice plan for the First Task.
And even if the Task features some other Magical beast instead, parts of this plan could still be utilized. Probably.
~/ *** \~
Three days before the First Task Harry was summoned by Professor Dumbledore. Apparently, he and the other Tournament organizers have finally found some information that could help get him out of this stupid competition. Well, that was what he had been hoping for as he ascended to the Hogwarts' Headmaster's office.
The rather grim faces of the people inside, however, told him that his hopes might have been a bit misplaced. Once the curt greetings were exchanged, Dumbledore got straight to the point of this meeting:
"Please accept our sincerest apologies, Mr. Potter, but it appears that despite our efforts you will have to participate in the Tournament." The old warlock said, before elaborating: "While we were able to find a rule that would let us remove you from the Tournament in one of the older rule books, by the time we did, it could no longer be applied to you." That certainly was bad news.
"...May I inquire about this rule, and why it can't be used anymore?" Harry asked after a rather long pause. Much to his surprise, it wasn't Dumbledore who answered him, but Madam Maxime:
"The rule in question states that a wizard or witch can be made to safely bow out of the Tournament if they fail to produce a working wand for the Weighing of Wands ceremony, Monsieur Potter." The Beauxbaton Headmistress said. "Unfortunately, we found this rule only last night when going through the code of practice from the sixteenth century. And since you've already presented your wand to this wand maker, Ollivander, and got it approved…"
"This rule cannot be used to disqualify me anymore." Harry finished for her. "Fucking damn it!" He cursed then, too upset by this turn of event to really care about the present company. But the adults in the room could understand his frustration and chose not to admonish him for his crude language.
"We are sorry, Mr. Potter, but it looks like you will have to participate in the Tournament." Professor Dumbledore said. The other headmasters didn't say anything, but Harry could tell that they indeed were sorry for failing to get him out of the Tournament - if only because it meant their own Champions will be facing more competition.
"I see…" Harry breathed out. "Thank you." There was a rather long moment of silence, before he continued: "If there is nothing else… I would like to go. I need some time alone to process all this." Dumbledore nodded.
"Of course, Mr. Potter." He said. The Slytherin teen nodded and calmly walked out of the office without saying another word.
This outwards calmness of his lasted only until he passed the stone gargoyle guarding the entrance to the Headmaster's office-slash-tower. Then Harry broke down.
Intellectually he knew that the heads of the three schools had done all they could to get him out of the Triwizard Tournament, but the fact that they couldn't still hurt. A lot. Weren't they supposed to have researched all of the rules before even agreeing to make this stupid Tournament ever happen? And now he was forced to 'pay' for this incompetence of theirs by competing a potentially-deadly competition.
It took him several minutes to recompose himself. And once he had reigned his emotions back in, Harry headed back to the Slytherin common room.
The rest of the afternoon after that passed mostly quietly. And Harry managed to somewhat get over this whole fiasco, with a lot of help from his girlfriends. Then, just after the dinner, he got approached by Cedric, who asked to talk to him about the Tournament.
"I didn't see anything in the forest back then during my Astronomy class." The Hufflepuff began. "But yesterday night, when patrolling the upper floors, I saw a flash of fire there. Was it what you were talking about?" He asked and Harry nodded in response.
"And since there should be no students - or anyone other than perhaps, Hagrid - in the Forbidden Forest at this time…" He began.
"...It means that whoever is doing that is not a student or a Professor." Cedric continued his thought. "And since there are fire-breathing creatures native to the forest, it means it must be something imported. Likely for the First Task." Harry nodded again. "And the first fire-breathing Magical creature that comes to mind is a dragon."
"That's what I thought as well." The young Slytherin said. "I also saw Krum look up dragons in the library a couple of days ago, so he too thinks the task might involve them."
"I guess it's really dragons then." Cedric said, clearly not eager to face one of those in the arena.
"Seems so." Harry confirmed. "Don't think they want us to defeat one, though. Most likely, we will just need to sneak past it. Still won't be easy."
"That it is." The older boy agreed. "Do you already have any idea how to tackle this challenge?" He asked then, before quickly adding: "Just 'yes' or 'no' as I would rather come with my own ideas."
"I have a couple, though I'm not sure if any will actually work." Harry said.
"Good." Cedric told him. "But this means I need to work twice as hard to come up with a plan of my own. Can't have my Slytherin underclassman showing me up, can I?" After a momentarily pause, he continued: "But, seriously, thank you for the tip about watching the Forbidden Forest. Without it, I would still be completely in the dark about the First Task."
"Don't mention it." An uneasy silence fell over the two teens.
"Anyway." The Hufflepuff finally broke it. "Good luck during the Task."
"You too." Harry replied. And with that they parted their ways.
~/ *** \~
Harry was very thankful that November twenty fourth, the day of the Triwizard Tournament's First Task, was Thursday and he had classes to attend. It gave him something to keep his mind off his quickly approaching 'date' with a dragon. It didn't do much to help, not really, but it was still better than the alternative of stewing in his worries for the entire morning.
But then the classes were over and he still had a couple of hours to kill before the Task. And with all anxiety and fears one would expect from someone about to face one of the most dangerous Magical beasts on the pain of potentially losing his own Magic if he refused, Harry had a hard time not turning into a nervous wreck. Having Flora and Hestia by his side certainly helped a lot.
Eventually, though, it was the time for Harry to go and face the music.
The lover trio made their way to the Quidditch stadium together, only parting their ways at its entrance. The twins went on to the stands with the rest of the students while Harry headed for the colorful tent that was clearly marked as the waiting area for the Champions.
He was about to step inside the tent when he got called by a shifty-looking Ludo Bagman, who had seemingly materialized out of the thin air right next to him.
"A moment of your time, Mr. Potter?"
"Ah, alright." Harry said once he was able to regain his wits after being surprised like that. "What can I do for you?" The Ministry official remained silent for a few moments - which made him look even more dishonest - before finally speaking up:
"Well… You're our youngest Champion, one that shouldn't even be participating in the Tournament at all, and I was worrying that you might not be ready for the First Task. So… Do you have a plan?" Mr. Bagman said, lowering his voice conspiratorially. "Because I don't mind sharing a few pointers, if you'd like them."
"I'm as prepared for the Task as I can be." Harry cut him off. Then, leveling a glare at the man, he added: "And I don't know how seriously the no-interference rule is enforced by the Magic that is now forcing me to compete, and I do not wish to find out. So, stop this."
"I… Well… You're the underdog here, Harry, so I…" Bagman tried to excuse himself, but quickly ran out of words to say under the younger wizard's continuous glare. "Ah… Very well. If you want to try making it through the Task on your own…"
Harry decided not to pay the man any more attention for the moment - despite the stunt he had just tried to pull, Ludo Bagman was still one of the Ministry officials in charge of the Tournament - and proceeded into the Champions' tent.
The first thing he noticed as he stepped inside was the quiet: the tent was clearly spelled to block all sounds coming from outside. Possibly to keep the Champions from being distracted by the loud crowds in the stands, but most likely to make it impossible for them to learn which strategies the other Champions used, and how successful they were, from the running commentary.
Shaking his head, Harry looked around. The tent was mostly empty, save for a handful of plain chairs on one side for the Champions to sit on as they waited for their turn. Only two of those were occupied at the moment as Victor Krum was yet to arrive.
Cedric was putting on a brave face, it was clear that the Hufflepuff was quite afraid of the Task ahead. But if he was afraid, then Ms. Delacour was positively terrified. The French witch was pale and was constantly shaking with fear in her seat. She also looked like she hadn't slept properly for several nights - something that even her veela powers weren't able to hide.
Exchanging a silent greeting with Cedric, Harry sat down on one of the empty chairs and waited, going over his plan for the Task in his head, trying to keep his focus on something that wasn't the general atmosphere of fear within the tent.
After several minutes, Victor Krum finally arrived. The Durmstrang Champion looked surlier than usual, which probably was how he showed his nervousness. And, apparently, he too had some idea what he will be facing in the First Task. It made Harry glad that he had given those hints to Cedric as otherwise he would've been the only Champion going in completely blind.
Krum was followed shortly by Mr. Bagman, who was now carrying a small sack of purple silk with him.
"Good afternoon." The man greeted them. Not deterred by the lack of response, he continued: "Now that we're all here, I'm going to fill you in on the Task you will be performing today. First, you will draw lots to determine the order in which you will go into the arena." He said, raising the sack in his hands for all Champions to see. "Once inside the arena, your job is to collect a treasure - a golden chest - that is guarded by a beast. You will be scored by a panel of judges based on how quickly you can do that, and how well you can avoid harm, both to yourself and to the beast. There will be a team of handlers on standby that will step in and save you in case something bad happens. Any questions?"
"Is there any actual time limit to this Task?" The Durmstrang Champion asked.
"No, there isn't any real time limit for this." Mr. Bagman replied. "But the longer you take to complete this Task, the lower your final score will be. Which may result in certain penalties during the Second and Third Tasks."
"I see." Krum said. "And what if ve fail to obtain this chest?"
"Well, this chest contains clues towards the Second Task. If you fail to obtain it now, you will still be given these clues, but at a much later date. It will make preparing for the Second Task harder for you." Krum nodded, accepting the answer to his second question. "Anything else?" Bagman asked the Champions then. Apparently, no one had any other questions. "Very well then, let us draw lots." He said as he opened the neck of the silk sack. "Ladies first."
Fleur put a shaking hand inside the bag and drew out a silvery plate with number two engraved on it. Victor was next, and his plate had number three. It was then Cedric's turn, and he drew out the lot with number one on it.
"And this leaves just Mr. Potter." Bagman said then. "You will be entering the arena last." He said while taking the final plate from his bag - the one with number four one it - and handing it over the Slytherin teen. "Now, I'm going to have to leave you in a moment, because I'm commentating. Mr. Diggory, you will be called when we are ready for you to start." And with that he walked out of the tent.
"Good luck." Harry said, mostly to Cedric, but to other Champions as well.
"You too." The Hufflepuff replied.
The next few minutes were spent in a tense silence as everyone waited impatiently for someone to come and call Cedric. Finally, a pompous-looking redhead whom Harry vaguely recognized as Percy Weasley, a Gryffindor prefect and, later, a Head Boy from a couple of years back, peeked into the Champions' tent.
"Mr. Diggory, please come." He said. Cedric let out a heavy sigh - he definitely didn't feel like he was ready to face the dragon - but got out of his chair and walked out of the tent. And once he left, the dead silence, broken only by a quiet squeaking of chairs whenever someone moved in them, returned.
Having no idea what was going on out there was nerve-wracking, and it took Harry all of his self-control not to dissolve into a terrified mess. Fleur and Victor weren't really doing much better than him, even if the latter could hide it pretty well.
An eternity later, which, in reality, was only about twenty minutes, Percy came back to retrieve Fleur. And as scared as she was of facing the beast in the arena, the French witch actually welcomed it as just sitting there and wallowing in doubt and fear was just as bad if not even worse. Unfortunately for Harry and Victor, they still had to wait for a while longer before it was their turn.
Miss Delacour seemingly took even longer to complete the task than Cedric did, but eventually Percy returned once more to announce that it was now the time for the Durmstrang Champion to go out and do the Task. Krum didn't say anything in response, but did as asked and walked out of the tent. On his way, he did stop for a brief moment to nod Harry a 'good luck'. And Harry was quick to return the gesture.
Once Victor was gone, Harry remained completely alone in the tent, and it made keeping his nervousness in check as he waited for his turn even harder for him. Eventually, though, his 'salvation' from this hell came as Mr. Weasley peeked into the Champions' tent once more.
"Mr. Potter, please come. It's your turn now." The redhead said.
"Okay." Harry responded before getting off his chair and pretty much marching out of the tent: at this point, anything was better to him than spending any more time in this pit of anxiousness. Much to his surprise, though, Percy didn't direct him towards the entrance of the Quidditch stadium and instead handed him a piece of a rope.
"This portkey will bring you to the entrance of the arena where the First Task takes place." Mr. Weasley informed him. "Say 'First Task' to activate it." As it looked like no further instructions will be given to him, Harry did as asked:
"First Task." He said. And a moment later the uncomfortable sensation of being dragged somewhere by Magic washed over him. Thankfully, the ride ended up just a second later. Apparently, somewhere on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, right in front of a large palisade-surrounded enclosure.
Immediately, he was approached by a pair of Ministry workers who waved their wands at him for a few seconds, checking him for any Magical items he might be trying to sneak into the arena when the only tool he was supposed to have there was his own wand. Once they confirmed that he wasn't trying to cheat (in that fashion, at the very least), Harry was allowed to proceed.
"Good luck, kid." One of the Ministry's workers said. "You might need it." And with those hope-bringing parting words, Harry entered the enclosure.
That's all, folks!
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