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Chapter Fifteen

By Rosa241

Percy's POV:

Oh Merlin it's actually happening! This is actually happening right now…what am I doing? What AM I doing!?

Walking down to the tent my entire body feels like jelly. Am I actually going to do this? Can I do this? Everything inside of me is screaming at me to turn back, to run as far away as I can and never come back. As I force myself to keep walking forward my eyes shift over to Harry.

He's on Professor McGonagall's other side but I can tell that he's shaking. The only reason that I'm not is because every single ounce of my energy is going into keeping myself walking right now. Harry's pale and almost looks like he's going to be sick. Despite my own worries my heart goes out to him, he shouldn't be going through this he's just a kid. He's a child and he's about to risk his life. This is so wrong.

"Now don't panic boys, there will be more than enough wizards on hand just in case things get out of hand. All you need to do is your best and that's all you can do. Nobody will think anything less of you so long as you just do your best." I barely hear her words as she speaks but I nod anyway. She seems almost as nervous as we are.

"Here we are." She says a moment later as we stop in front of a large tent. "Before we go inside there's a couple of people who'd like a word."

"Harry!" Hermione flies into Harry's arms, hugging the life out of him whilst Oliver wraps his arms around my shoulders.

"You'll be alright mate, I promise you'll be alright. You're a great wizard and you're going to be fine." Somehow I think he's speaking to himself more than to me.

"I know, I know. Promise me something?" As Oliver pulls away I can see the curious look on his face. "Promise me you'll look after the others, just in case."

"Perce-" He begins but I cut him off.

"No, no, no. Look Ol, everyone's avoiding the subject and I really need you to hear me out. Just in case anything happens, just…promise me you'll look after them. Promise me Oliver." He swallows thickly but nods his head, as he does a weight lifts off of my shoulders.

"Not that you'll need it but good luck." He gives me another hug as McGonagall ushers us into the tent.

"Good luck, to both of you." Hermione whispers rubbing the tears from her eyes.

"We'll be fine. Won't we Harry?" He seems to seriously doubt my words but he manages a small smile anyway.

As the flap of the tent finally closes my heart seems to go into overdrive. This is really happening.

Harry's POV:

Wandering into the tent my eyes dart around the small space. Firstly I gaze over to Fleur whose usually composed figure is shaking violently, causing the stool she's sitting on to vibrate wickedly. Krum on the other hand looks completely confident, on the surface at least, his pacing gives away his nerves.

"Time to fill you all in. In a short while I'm going to offer this bag up to each of you." He pulls a small purple bag out of nowhere and sets it on the table in the centre of the room. "Out of this bag you will each select a small model of what you are about to face. Now your task is to collect the golden egg."

With that Bagman leaves the tent and for a moment I don't quite know what to do. I don't know what to do with myself, where do I go, what do I do? Hesitating eventually I join Percy who's taken up a seat on the opposite side of the tent. Sitting next to him my stomach takes the chance to churn violently and it takes everything I've got not to throw up there and then.

"You okay?" He questions as I swallow heavily.

"Not really. I think I'm going to be sick." Dropping my head into my hands I force myself to take some deep breaths. What the hell am I doing!?

"You're going to be fine." He sounds far more confident that I feel. "Just be careful and don't take any risks."

"Is that before or after I pass out?"

"Look. We'll both be fine. All we have to do is try not to panic and…don't be stupid. Don't go trying to prove anything. McGonagall's right, do your best and that's all you can do. That's all either of us can do I guess." Somehow his words calm me down. My nerves are still working overtime and my stomach is still in knots but panicking won't help. Remember what Hermione said:

Keep a clear head, take a deep breath and stick to the plan.

"Yeah, we'll be fine." Settling back into my mind I run over my plan once again. Just wait until I have a moment, take a breath and then use the summoning charm. Don't rush, don't panic and don't take any risks. It sounds so easy when put like that. In reality I know it'll be anything but easy. My thoughts are interrupted as the sounds of people come rushing past the tent. Between the chattering, laughter and cheering you'd think this was a happy day. I suppose for them it is.

"They sound cheerful." My eyes are trained on the shadows of the figures passing the tent. "I wonder whether Ron's there."

"He will be." Percy's voice forces me to draw my eyes away. "Look, he's angry and upset right now but he still cares about you a lot. There is nothing in this world that would stop him from being there today."

Before we can say anything else Bagman wanders back into the tent.

"Now it's time gentlemen, and lady of course." He holds up the bag and offers it first to Fleur. With a shaking hand she pulls out a small dragon figure, the lack of surprise tells me that Madame Maxine told her student everything. "The Welsh Green. Krum?"

Krum hesitates slightly but swiftly pulls out a second dragon figure.

"The Chinese Fireball." Bagman announces as he places the bag in front of Percy. Percy wastes no time in pulling out his dragon figure, it's almost black but there's a silvery blue tint to it. "The Swedish Short-snout."

With that it's my turn. Bracing myself I put my hand in the bag and pull out the remaining dragon. The room seems to still as I open my hand.

"The Hungarian Horntail." I don't like the way his voice shakes slightly as he speaks. "Now you've all pulled out the dragon that you will be facing in the task at hand, as I said before you will need to retrieve the golden egg. The number on the dragon shows the order in which you will take on your dragon."

Looking round I see that Krum has drawn number one, Fleur is holding number two, Percy has number three whilst I'm left with number four.

"Er…Harry can I have a word please?" I'm almost on auto pilot as I follow him. He leads me to the trees before stopping and addressing me. "Are you alright? Anything I can get you?"

"No, um I'm good." Just what does he want? Haven't I got enough to deal with right now, what the hell is this about?

"You have a plan right?" What? "It's just I can give you a few pointers if you need them."

"What? No!" I know I probably sound rude right now but I can't help it.

"It's not like anyone would know." He whispers, winking at me.

"I would." With that I leave him and head back into the tent. I ignore Percy's questioning glance and settle back down, thinking over my plan.

Keep a clear head, take a deep breath and stick to the plan.

Percy's POV:

Fleur looks green as she prepares to head out. The deafening roar that erupted a few minutes ago, signalling that Krum had been successful, has died out now. It had been just over fifteen minutes since Krum had left the tent to face his dragon. Unfortunately the commentary from the stadium could be hear clear from where we were. The phrases 'very narrow miss' was doing nothing for the tension in the tent, or for my nerves. As a second whistle goes off Fleur heads out of the tent.

"Good luck." I call after her. It doesn't take long for the cheering to start, and once again the heart wrenching commentary.

"Oh I'm not sure that was wise."

"I'm scared." Harry's voice sends me jumping slightly, he's been so quiet I'd almost forgotten he was here.

"Me too." Placing my hand on his shoulder I give it a squeeze. "Everything will be fine."

The quizzical look and the tight lipped smile sends me tell me just how scared he really is. I want to say something to make him feel better but there are no words coming to me right now. Instead I settle for squeezing his shoulder again before dropping my hand.

"Oh a close call there."

Once again the commentary sends a shiver down my spine. I can't imagine what's going on out there. I'm next, soon it'll be me out there…facing the dragon.

Don't panic!

As another deafening roar goes up I steel myself and finally stand up.

"My turn I guess." Harry's hug catches me by surprise slightly but I return it gratefully.

"Don't take any risks." He says as he pulls away.

"I've no intention of doing that. I'm going to be just fine." Sounding far more confident than I feel I walk towards the exit, turning back to Harry momentarily. "See you on the other side."

My heart pounds wildly as I wait to enter the arena, I can feel the sweat dripping from me and I'm shaking violently. The noise is deafening and I can barely hear myself think. Just as panic begins to set it I hear something above the ear splitting sound.

"You can do it Perce!" I don't know how but I can tell the words belong to Fred and George. They're right, I can do this.

"I can do this." I whisper to myself. Closing my eyes I take a breath and try to block out the noise. Forget about them, forget about everyone else, just breathe and you'll be fine. The door finally open and I wander into the arena.

Forcing the crowd out of my mind my eyes dart around and I find the egg I'm looking for. The golden egg sitting across the arena seems a million miles away right now. The black and silver dragon is lying completely still right now, Impedimentia I note, but it won't be for much longer. As the whistle blares the dragon breathes into life, brought round by the wizards surrounding the field.

Quickly I dart behind the rocks as the dragon spots me. I barely make it before a wall of flame engulfs where I was previously standing. Close call.

Ignoring the roar of the crowd I force myself to wait, it would be easy to panic but I don't. Instead I force myself to keep calm. I have to wait for the right moment.

"Well…that was close, almost got him there."

The dragon seems to have figured out where I am as it sends a wall of flame around the rocks where I'm hiding.

"Protego." I mutter, just in time as the flames surround me.

"Clever thinking there, casting a protection spell."

I can hear the approval from the crowd but I attempt to block it out.

Remain calm. Don't panic.

The heat around me is searing and for a moment I don't think that I can hold the spell. Thankfully it stops just in time. For a moment it's a standoff, I don't want to move too fast, to give the game away. It almost seems as if the dragon is waiting as well.

"Well…er…he doesn't seem to be doing anything. Perhaps he's stumped?"

Crouching down I risk a glance behind the rocks. Whether it's luck or what I don't know but thankfully it doesn't see me.

"Reducto." I whisper aiming just behind the dragons tail. The rocks explode into pieces and, just as planned, the dragon spins around in a blind panic. Taking my chance, knowing that I probably won't get another, I move back from my hiding place.

"Avis." I call out waving my wand. Birds fly out from the end of my wand and a spurt of laughter erupts from the crowd.

"Well that's a…well an interesting idea…"

As the birds fly around the stadium I dart back to my hiding place and raise my wand again, aiming at the yellow flock."Oppungo!" In a flash the flock turn and head straight for the dragon. They swarm round its head, pecking at its eyes and nose. As the dragon turns its attention to fighting them off I make my move.

"Impedimentia!" I cry and can't help but breathe a sigh of relief as the dragon slows ever so slightly. Ensuring the Protego spell is still firmly in place I run. I run faster than I've ever run before and somehow, someway I make it to the egg a split second before the spells break. As I lift the egg into my arms all hell breaks loose.

Within a moment the entire world erupts into chaos. Wizards and witches dart past me to subdue the dragon, the crowd explodes and someone pulls me backwards away from the danger. A door closes and all of a sudden I find myself away from the field, a barrier between me and the dragon.

"Well done." A voice behinds me almost causes me to jump out of my skin. "A very clever plan."

"Was it?" McGonagall is standing there, a small smile in her face.

"Of course. Although that cut will need seeing to." Cut? What cut? Glancing down to my side I can clearly see the blood dripping down. When did that happen? Now that I see it the pain finally registers in my brain. Wow that hurts!

"Yeah I suppose." As she ushers me towards the medical area one thought races through my mind.

I actually did it!

Tada! I hope that was okay. I've never written anything like this before so let me know what you thought about it. Fight scenes are never easy for me.