The morning dawned, clear and cold. Well into winter, the air was blisteringly cold with the threat of snow in the air. The wind blew constantly, making people shiver despite their wraps and cold-weather clothes.
It was the day of the First Task and the watchers were filling the stands of the school's Quidditch pitch. Renovated by the Ministry and other magicals, the once flat ground was a rocky landscape. Boulders and large stones and rocks dotted the ground, forming a large arena. Numerous protections had been layered onto the stands, protecting the watchers from what was about to happen.
At the center of the newly remade arena, sat a large nest. The ground was softer there and the indented land was surrounded by nesting materials. Several large dragon eggs were placed carefully there as well as a large golden one, obviously different and seemingly out of place compared to the others. Various dragonkeepers and other magicals stood on the sidelines at the ready while students and watchers took their seats.
Hermione looked at Harry who sat beside her and was on edge, looking at the arena with concern. "Are you okay?" she asked, voice heavy with concern.
Harry shrugged limply. "I'm worried," he said at last. "Evan was confident, said he had it all under control. But he's about to go against a dragon by himself." He and the rest had been awed when Ludo had explained the First Task to them. That each Champion would be going against a dragon by themselves and will have to try and get the golden egg out without harming the other eggs. It was a daunting task to think about, much less see happen in front of them.
Hermione, after a moment's hesitation, reached out and took one of Harry's hands in hers, squeezing it tightly. "I'm sure he knows what he's doing," she said encouragingly.
Harry looked down with surprise at their joined hands but did not pull back. He smiled a little at Hermione, equal parts grateful for the support and still nervous. "I think so," he said. "But…the closest thing I have to family is down there right now." He snorted. "Not counting the Dursleys. It's weird, but I actually really do think of him like my brother now."
"He cares a lot about you," Hermione said. "It doesn't surprise me." Her hand convulsed and she gripped his hand even more tightly. "Oh no. I just thought about…you being down there."
"Yeah, that didn't escape me either," Harry said grimly. "If it wasn't for him, I'd be the one about to face down a dragon." He looked at her and saw the look of horror on her face and he took a deep breath, squeezing her hand back. "He's only been here for a few days but I owe him so much."
Ron looked at them and their joined hands before coughing awkwardly. "Yeah. Bit mad when you think about it," he said and the other two nodded with him. "But remember how he kicked Crouch Jr around? I know he wasn't a dragon, but I bet he's going to do something equally as cool. Did he tell you anything?"
"Just that if it works, it'll be cool," Harry sighed. "Well, he did say something else." He looked at his friends. "That it'll settle a bet and that he's fulfilling a promise to Dean."
"What does that mean?" Ron asked, looking over at their friend and housemate who was talking to Seamus.
"No idea, but knowing him, it'll be impressive," Harry said.
Luna looked at him with her slightly over-large eyes. "I have faith in him," she said simply.
Harry smiled. "Me too," he whispered.
-0-
"You do not look nervous at all," Fleur remarked.
"What gives you that impression?" Evan asked.
"You are playing with an owl," Fleur said dryly.
The Champions had assembled in the preparation tent, a large structure to one side of the former pitch and current arena. There, Ludo and much to Evan's delight, Percy Weasley who was filling in for Crouch Sr, had given the Champions their instructions. None of the Champions had betrayed the fact that they already knew they would be going against a dragon, all showing varying degrees of nervousness.
Cedric wore his feelings openly, looking the most nervous. He was going first and would be going against a Swedish Short-Snout dragon, having taken out a small model of the dragon from a large bag. He had paled some but looked resolute in the face of his fear. Viktor had pulled out a Chinese Fireball dragon model and looked at the snarling hissing dragon with professional placidity, though he too looked faintly nervous. Fleur had taken a deep breath when she removed the Welsh Green dragon from the bag, her eyes flickering from sapphire blue to golden amber and back as she tried to take measured breaths.
Evan was the least nervous of them. He had smiled down at the model of the Hungarian Horntail without batting an eye. He had even shaken his head each time the Champions revealed their dragons, making McGonagall who accompanied him give him a strange look. Like at the Weighing Event, he had arrived last but not indecently so. What was the strange part was he came with a snowy owl that was riding along with him, her head popping out of the front of his robes and looking very comfortable there. Then after they were giving their dragons and the order in which they will be competing, he sat in a corner and was playing with the owl.
He had openly laughed when the owl, unimpressed by the hissing and snarling horntail model, had sat on it until it subsided with wounded pride. After the dragon model had calmed down, he and the owl played with a length of rope, tugging on it together from either end. Cedric, going first, had paced at the tent's exit while Viktor sat in one corner, conversing with Karkaroff in Bulgarian. Fleur had spoken a little with Maxime and after some nervous pacing of her own, had wandered over to Evan's corner.
"We're bonding," Evan sniffed. "We only met yesterday and I want to have a nice relationship with Wisteria, Wisty for short."
"Wisteria?" Fleur repeated, smiling a little. She blinked when Wisteria dropped her end of the rope and turned her head around, giving the French witch a very cool look that made Fleur respond out of reflex and indignation.
"That's her name! She's sweet like the flower, also white, and I adore her," Evan said, smiling when Wisteria turned back to him and barked lovingly.
Fleur smiled a little at the sight before she sighed, her fingers knotted together.
"You'll be fine," Evan said, not looking up at her.
"Because I was in the future?" she asked, feeling slightly better.
"Sure, I mean, your counterpart did fine," Evan said, tugging on the rope after Wisteria picked her end back up. "But you're not exactly her and she's not exactly you, strictly speaking. You went into this determined, and that'll carry you through. If you didn't have the ability, the Goblet wouldn't have chosen you."
She nodded. "And you?"
"Oh I know what I'm doing this time around so yeah, I'll be fine too." He looked up at her and winked. "Thanks for asking though."
She smiled again. Something about his nature nettled her just a bit and she turned her nose up slightly, looking down at him. "Do not be too confident, Monsieur Potter. Would it not be embarrassing if you did worse than me, knowing what is to come?" She blanched a little when Wisteria turned her head again and hissed at her.
Evan laughed, petting the snowy owl. "If I'm beaten honestly, then no, it wouldn't be embarrassing." He smiled again. "If, I'm beaten, that is. Bonne chance, Mademoiselle Delacour."
She nodded back. "Bonne chance." She walked away from him, feeling more relaxed yet even more determined than when she first approached him.
-0-
"I'm glad you aren't down there," Ron said, awed.
The first three Champions had done their trials and all had completed it with varying degrees of success. Cedric went first and he had done a mass transfiguration, turning a lot of the stones into various animals of different kinds. They ran around the field, confusing the Swedish Short-Snout. The dragon's head had whipped around, trying to chase after the various conjured beasts and Cedric had run in and gotten to the nest without trouble. As he was running out, the dragon caught sight of him with the egg and attacked. She blew a stream of fire that winged him, sending him tumbling and his robes ablaze. The handlers managed to subdue the dragon and helped put the fire out as soon as he crossed the finish line. Everyone had been gratified to see that he managed to get out with minimal injury, cheering loudly for him.
Viktor was next and he had faced the fearsome looking Chinese Fireball. He cast several spells at it, most of them bouncing off the dragon and enraging it. He then transfigured a few rocks into a Bludgers and sent them zooming at the dragon. Assaulted by the magical missiles, Viktor managed to get out with the egg though he had taken a small blow from the dragon's tail in the middle of the run. He had managed to cross the finish line faster than Cedric and had scored slightly better than him because of it.
Fleur had walked onto the field with confidence that only wavered slightly in the face of the Welsh Green. Steeling herself, she began to sing, weaving a complicated symbol with her wand. Her singing was hypnotic, entrancing the dragon and more than a few in the audience. Harry had blinked a few times, vaguely reminded of the Quidditch World Cup. This time he had not been as affected, and had mused as to why, not realizing that he was still holding Hermione's hand. Others had not fared as well and more than a few had to be jolted or shaken or struck by their neighbors.
The song had put the dragon to sleep, though a sleepy snort had set her robes on fire, forcing her to extinguish them with a spell. Despite that, her smile could be seen from all around the pitch as she quickly and cautiously reached the nest while still singing and left with the golden egg in triumph to loud applause.
"Me too," Harry said, shaking his head. "I have no idea what I would do." They watched in silence as the handlers took the snoozing Welsh Green out of the arena. A low murmur of awe and fright filled the air as the Hungarian Horntail was brought in. The dragon was much larger than the others and was covered in sharp horns and spines. She whipped the air with her tail, growling and snarling with evident displeasure. Cinders fell from her nostrils and mouth, scorching the stone as they fell.
"Oh my goodness," Hermione breathed, staring at the primal and primordial creature before them. "I hope he will be okay."
"Me too," Harry whispered and their hands tightened. He looked up and blinked when Hedwig and Wisteria flapped in, settling down onto Harry's lap in tandem. "Oh hey you two, come to watch too?"
The owls nodded and plumped down comfortably, looking at the dragon with interest but without any obvious concern.
"Is he okay?" Harry asked.
Wisteria nodded. She nodded firmly and barked loudly, flapping her wings with confidence.
"That's good," Harry said, feeling a little bit better.
"Here he comes," Luna said. "Go Evan!"
-0-
Evan walked out onto the pitch and looked around. He let out a deep sigh of satisfaction and the people that could see his face were confused by his expression of fond nostalgia. "It's pretty much the same," he said, amused. "That's the rock I hid behind waiting for my broom. Huh, that's incredible."
He looked up at the immense dragon that towered over him. "I think you're the exact same too. Still nice and big and intimidating despite me being taller and older. Gosh, it's almost enough to make me feel nostalgic despite how close I came to serious injury the last time."
"Our last Champion seems to be…conversing with the dragon," Ludo said and there was some laughter from the crowd. "Perhaps he thinks he can negotiate the prize from the dragon just from talking?" He scowled when Evan waved his wand and a large magical hand shimmered into being above him and made a very rude hand gesture at the announcer, eliciting even more laughter as well as a muffled groan from McGonagall.
"Fine, some people just won't let other people take their time," Evan said. He reached into a pocket and took out a small model. It was of a monster that looked like a dragon. It was reptilian, standing on two hind feet with a long tail. Rows of spines climbed up from the tip of the tail to the monster's neck and its mouth was open in a roar. Evan murmured several incantations and gently pieced the skin of his palm with the metallic teeth that the model had. It began to pulsate in his hand and he threw the model into the air.
People gasped as the model grew suddenly and rapidly. In no time at all, it landed on both now gigantic feet with a heavy thump that shook the ground and the arena. People screamed and cried out as the model monster moved with primal grace, the tail whipping back and forth, shoulders hunched. Large red eyes gleamed in the light and it looked around slowly, taking in its surroundings. The horntail immediately went on guard, seeing this giant lizard monster that was taller than the dragon and of comparable weight.
"What the hell is-" Ron started to say, eyes wide.
"No it can't be-" Hermione began.
"GODZILLA!" Dean shouted with delight, jumping to his feet. He was not the only one that recognized the now larger than life-like lizard monster. Other students from other Houses and some from the visiting schools also shouted the name, jumping up and cheering when they saw it, drawing the attention and confusion of others near them.
The horntail roared, shooting a plume of fire into the air. An obvious challenge. Godzilla roared out loud too, a roar full of threat and an answering challenge that made others cry out from alarm. She looked down at Evan, asking a question without speaking.
"Go get her!" Evan shouted, pointing at the horntail. "Fight! Show her who's boss! But no killing and be gentle if you can! She's just full of maternal fury."
Godzilla nodded and after another loud mighty roar, charged. The horntail roared back and surged forward and the two giant beings collided, making the air shatter from the sound of their impact. They clawed at each other, grabbing and grappling. Tails whipped through the air and they hissed and snarled as they pushed and shoved. The horntail's wings beat the air and she shoved Godzilla back. Godzilla hunched lower and dug her legs into the rocky ground, stopping her from sliding back anymore.
"This is amazing!" Dean shouted, hands in the air.
"How did he even make her?!" Hermione asked, eyes wide. "That's incredible magic!"
"Go Godzilla!" Harry and Luna cheered.
Evan had cast a series of spells over the nest, protecting the eggs from falling and flying debris. After that, he stood to the side and shouted encouragement to his model that fought the dragon, not even trying to go for the egg. "You can do it! You got her! Who's the biggest and best kaiju here?! You are!"
Loud cheers were heard as Godzilla managed to hoist the horntail up and throw her with a heavy toss, followed by a heavy hit by her tail. The dragon rolled and came up on all fours and screamed from irritation and rage. Her head snapped back and her jaws opened and a stream of fire cascaded all over Godzilla. Godzilla shielded her face and head with her forearms and when the fire died, she glared bloody murder at a suddenly nervous horntail. A heavy thrum filled the air, building in tempo and pitch and the spines along her back turned blue and then it was her turn to open her jaws wide and a long gout of bright blue flame flew at the horntail.
"Atomic fire!" Dean shouted, echoed by others.
Wisteria and Hedwig, who had danced up and down on Harry's lap when Godzilla appeared, threw their heads back and roared loudly too, flapping their wings.
The horntail was knocked over by the impact of Godzilla's fireblast and she shook her head drunkenly. Godzilla then flipped the dragon onto her back and pinned her down physically, lying across her and roaring triumphantly.
"I knew it!" Evan shouted, punching the air. "Godzilla beats dragon!" He gave the happy Godzilla two thumbs up and turned to look at the judges table with a deeply satisfied expression, crossing his arms in front of him. At their blank stares, he turned quizzical before he jolted. "Oh right, the egg." He dispelled the charm covering the nest and walked over, picking up the golden egg and walked across the finish line to thunderous applause.
He waved his wand again and Godzilla got up, roaring victory once more. She walked to Evan and shrank with every step before turning into the small hand-sized model once more and he caught her and patted her fondly, putting her securely into his pocket. The handlers ran to the horntail, giving Evan awed and irritated looks, and checked the dragon over. The horntail was subdued and looked very sulky, but otherwise unharmed aside from some scrapes and bumps.
"That was brilliant!" Harry said, all smiles as he applauded and the owls danced in victory on his lap.
"That was incredible!" McGonagall cried, looking at Evan with pride. "That was a lot of transfiguration magic!"
"I had a good teacher," he said, smiling at her with fondness. He started walking to the tent but McGonagall held him back slightly. "What?"
"Your scores?" she prompted, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Oh right," he said, and turned to face the judges. Dumbledore was the first and he held his wand up and a gleaming silver ribbon shot out of his wand. It curved and formed a nine, floating in the air. Maxime was next and she scored him the same. Percy's nine joined theirs. There was some murmuring when Karkaroff conjured a five and Ludo threw an eight into the mix.
Evan snorted richly and smiled at McGonagall's look of confusion. "I don't care what Karky scores me and I bet Ludo was a bit pissy because of what I did when he made fun of me."
"It was a bit rude," she said, giving him a small smile.
"Oh? Shoot. I was going for very rude," Evan mused. He grinned at her when she sighed.
"To the tent with you," she said, shaking her head but unable to hide her smile.
Evan entered the tent where the other Champions were and they were soon joined by the judges. "What was that?!" Fleur cried when he walked in.
"Her name is Godzilla and she's a kaiju," Evan said, showing her the model proudly. "I made her myself! The model, not the idea. She's a monster from Japanese and modern folklore. Normally she's a lot bigger. 165 feet tall and several many tons. I made her a little smaller to make it more of an even match."
"Could you have made her larger?" Viktor asked, looking amused and impressed.
"Maybe!" Evan smiled.
"Well done, all of you," Ludo said, smiling at them but his expression turned pawky when he looked at Evan, narrowing his eyes when the younger man waved back cheerily. "Now, to prepare you for the Second Task, you will find that your prizes hold a surprise. Once you figure that out, you'll find the clue to the next challenge!"
"Wait."
Everyone turned and stared at Evan. His expression and mood had changed in an instant and he stared at the golden egg in his hands. "This better not be the same." He twisted the top of the egg and it opened, revealing a shimmering interior. A shrill sound filled the air, emanating from the egg. Others clapped hands to ears or winced at the screeching but Evan only looked even angrier. He conjured a globe of water that floated in the air and he threw the egg in. The screech went away and the faint sound of melodious music replaced the caterwauling.
"Wha, hey, you-" Ludo sputtered, glaring at Evan and the heads of schools and other officials and professors looked on with surprise.
Evan dunked his head into the globe and after a moment, pulled his head out. Water dripped off of him but he ignored it. His eyes burned and so great was his ire, it seemed to dry him in an instant. "No," he said, his tone grim and final.
"No what?" Karkaroff snapped back.
"No, we're not doing this. You're not taking innocent people who have nothing to do with this into the fucking Black Lake during the winter," Evan said, glaring at them.
"What?!" Cedric cried and Fleur and Viktor looked equally surprised.
"You've ruined it!" Ludo complained.
"I don't fucking care," Evan snapped. "You know, I've always been a little appalled at how cheap life can be in the Wizarding Worlds, how little people care about danger sometimes, and that's saying something coming from me. Magic can fix a lot but it isn't perfect. Things always can happen. And I'm not going to idly watch you take innocent people and tell us that someone has taken 'something we've sorely missed' and it turns out it's real people who are taken to the bottom of a lake to be our hostages. I'm not doing that this time."
Some of the professors looked at each other with surprise and unease while the heads and Ludo looked at each other. Dumbledore quirked an eyebrow at the others. Maxime had the grace to look uncomfortable while Karkaroff and Ludo glared at Evan.
"And don't give me they volunteered for this or will or some shit like that," Evan continued, pointing a finger at them. "Why wouldn't they trust you? But what if the charms fail down there? What if something goes wrong? They still drown down there. We," he pointed at the Champions and himself, "volunteered for this. We went in accepting the risks. They didn't. And I'm not about to wait and see who you idiots think will be the one I will sorely miss and risk their lives for a stupid tournament."
Evan looked over at Fleur and grimaced. "Especially if one of them is a little girl."
Fleur stared at him. "What does that mean?" she asked, her voice going cold.
"They would have picked your little sister to be your hostage," Evan said flatly.
"YOU WHAT?!" Fleur whirled and glared at a very uncomfortable Maxime. Fleur's blue eyes turned amber and wisps of smoke started to waft from her. "YOU WOULD SEND MY LITTLE SISTER INTO THE LAKE?!"
"It was a suggestion," Maxime said swiftly, trying to placate Fleur. "Besides, all necessary precautions would have been-"
"NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS?! There would not be enough precautions for that?!" Fleur shouted, her magic pulsating out and making the air twist around her.
Viktor looked at Karkaroff with a look of disgust. "There is no honor to that," he said gruffly. "I agree with Evan. Why do we need hostages?"
"To drive up drama," Ludo said. "For urgency."
"We went into this to win fame and money, we don't need more urgency," Cedric said with disbelief. "That's crazy!"
"It does not matter," Karkaroff said, glaring at Evan. "The Second Task is about three months away. It is done."
"You're telling me that all of you heads and the Ministry can't come up with a new task in less than three months?" Evan gasped, hand to his mouth. "With all that intelligence and power? Maybe some things are impossible!"
"Mister Potter-," Dumbledore said weakly.
"Watch your tongue, boy," Karkaroff growled.
"Ex-member of a terrorist organization makes a sound of incomprehension?" Evan said, glaring back at Karkaroff.
"What?" Karkaroff sputtered.
"What I mean is, better magicals than you have tried to actually kill me and I'm still walking and they're not, so maybe you're the one that should watch your tongue," Evan said. Another shift of magic filled the air and everyone paused and stared at him.
Evan looked coolly at the heads and officials. "Fine. Let's do this democratically. If my fellow Champions want to keep the Task as is, I'll play along."
"No!" Fleur said loudly.
"No," Viktor agreed.
"Nope," Cedric said, shaking his head.
"Then it looks like you have to change it," Evan said, crossing his arms. "You have plenty of time. If you still won't, I'll go down to the Village Beneath and I'll tell the merfolk that if they entertain this nonsense, I will burn their village to the ground. I will literally figure out how to burn an underwater village. Then rebuild it because it won't be their fault completely but that won't keep me from doing it in the first place."
"You really think you can threaten us?" Ludo asked, staring at him.
"Bagman, I'd break your limbs and wrap you in a bow and hand you over to Gringotts for them to deal with your cheating gambling arse without a second thought," Evan hissed, making Ludo pale.
"I believe it will not be difficult for us to come up with an alternative," Dumbledore said, projecting calm into the air. "Though, that will mean you will have less time to prepare, just to warn you."
"I'm fine with that," Evan said. He looked at the other Champions and they nodded in agreement with him. He reached into the globe of water and closed the egg and took it out, dispelling the water with a wave of his wand. "I'm keeping the egg though. I earned it and I bet Wisteria would love to use it as a nest." He turned on his heel and walked out of the tent without another word.
"Fleur, you don't think that I would let anything happen to her," Maxime said, looking down at her.
"Accidents happen like Evan said, and she had no reason to be involved in the first place!" Fleur followed Evan out, still shaking with fury.
Viktor gave a silent Karkaroff a look and with a snort, left too. Cedric looked at the others and after shaking his head, followed after.
"Do not say it," Maxime said, looking at Dumbledore.
"Say what?" Percy asked, eyes large.
"I did say that I do not think the Second Task would go over well," Dumbledore said quietly. "Especially after learning more about Evan's nature."
"He really is something," Percy said, looking at the tent's exit. "So like Harry, only much less shy."
"That, is an understatement," Dumbledore said wryly.
-0-
After leaving the tent, Evan stopped and looked to the side. Rita was standing at the tent flap and was scribbling furiously, her eyes gleaming and her mouth curled into a grin that would impress a magical cat. When she saw Evan, she raised an eyebrow.
"Go ahead," Evan said, smirking.
The grin somehow grew wider and she blew a kiss at him and dashed off, still writing. Chuckling, Evan continued to walk, stopping only when someone called for him. He turned and waited for Fleur, Viktor, and Cedric to catch up.
"You could have kept that knowledge to yourself," Viktor remarked. "Or told us ahead of time and allowed for us to complete it in a swifter and safer way."
"Sure, but I still hated it when I did it the first time, and didn't want to deal with it this time." He scowled, remembering four young people floating in the inky-black depths of the Lake, looking pale and lifeless. "It's fucked up."
"They would have taken my sister!" Fleur growled, her eyes still slightly amber.
Evan nodded. "Yeah, really fucked up in my opinion."
"Who were our hostages?" Cedric asked.
Evan turned mildly uncomfortable. "Oh uh, probably better if I don't say who because it involves things of a personal nature that I don't want to directly influence here."
"Well now I want to know even more," Cedric said with a grin.
"Maybe later," Evan grinned back.
"It is good of you to be so considerate of things," Viktor said with approval.
Evan shrugged. "Like I said. I'm here to compete honestly, make sure my little brother has a good life, and take care of something very important the best way I know how. Not trying to do anything else or influence things that way."
"I believe you." Viktor clapped him on the shoulder. "Thank you, my friend. I feel better knowing what we have avoided."
"Just make sure you don't blame me if we hate what comes instead," Evan smiled.
"I will try not to," Viktor laughed and with a wave, walked away.
"So about you telling me that thing," Cedric said.
"Later!"
"It is later!" Cedric left with a laugh, rubbing absent-mindedly at his side and arm where the dragon's fire had winged him.
"Evan, thank you," Fleur said softly when it was just her and him. "I love my little sister dearly and the idea of her being in the Lake alone…" She shuddered.
Evan patted her on the shoulder. "I know," he said sympathetically. "I don't have a problem with them being mad and irritated at me for changing things. It wasn't right to begin with."
"Why?" she asked as he turned to leave. "I mean, I understand and am grateful for what you said. And I agree, accidents happen. But why be so adamant about not letting it happen in the first place? Krum is right. If we knew beforehand, we could have done it very swiftly instead and we would be in your debt."
"I don't want people in my debt first of all," he replied easily. "And well…" He looked cold all of a sudden. Not as in being serious or lacking empathy and warmth, but like someone suffering from a bitter chill that was deep in the bones. "It doesn't take much to be kind to children, to protect them. If I don't do what I can to prevent things, I'm no better than anyone who failed me before. Who failed Harry."
He nodded at her and walked away, lost in thought and memory.
Fleur watched him leave and she sighed softly, the heat of her fury slowly dissipating and being replaced by something else. Something warmer.