Chapter 5
I do not own anything from the harry potter universe, unfortunately.
"Normal Talking"
'Thoughts'
"Parseltongue"
Okay, Harry was not ready! Not in any shape, form, or stretch of the imagination! He had studied everything about the four dragons to such an extent that he felt he had practically grown up with the damned species. He barely got any sleep yesterday and probably have gotten none if it wasn't for Demona helping him calm his nerves.
Earlier in the day he spent the morning with Hedwig and Demona constantly going over the information and plans he had drawn up in his mind. However after lunch and he was led along with the other champions to the arena that had been erected for the event all that seemed to be draining right out of his head.
While Harry was pacing around the room, Krum had a stoic look of determination on his face. His eyes focused reminding Harry of a falcon homing in on its prey. Though he was just as nervous as Harry as shown by the beads of sweat forming on his brow.
Fleur was also sitting down her hands constantly ringing themselves her knuckles and fingers going white from how hard she gripped them together. Her eyes tried to remain focused but he caught her eyes flicking to the other champions as if to gauge if they were nervous as well.
Cedric was on his feet along with Harry just as nervous as the rest. Harry had found and told him the other day about the dragons and what species they were. The boy had been very thankful and rattled all at once. He even went about getting people to stop wearing potter stinks badges.
Harry had honestly not noticed spending much time outside of training and his newfound friends. Though even so, he was thankful, and it seemed the two Hogwarts champions were starting to become united in a way.
"You should aim vor the eyes." Krum advised the tent looking to them for the first time since entering. "They are not as protected as the rest of the Dragon." He stated, this aid was not unfounded or from the goodness of his heart.
Harry had not only sought out Cedric but the other two champions as well. He had informed both of them and while they both knew about the Dragons already, he did provide useful information with the species. It would seem that the action of aiding the other champions earned him some respect and gratitude.
"Oui, that is true." Fleur agreed having done some last-minute research herself.
"That's good but it could also piss off the Dragon as well." Harry said going towards the middle of the two followed by Cedric as they had a bit of an impromptu huddle.
"Do you all know some water-based spells?" Cedric asked looking around, but all three champions looked towards Harry who nodded.
"Are you sure? 'ave you practiced?" Fleur asked and Harry felt rather comforted that the others were concerned for him.
"Yeah, don't worry about me, or else I might just steal this whole thing out from under your noses." He said with a smirk which was met by chuckles and grins.
"Ve shall see, Potter." Krum said challengingly. They discussed for a short while longer before the flap was flung open by an enthusiastic Bagman.
"Welcome Champions!" he greeted followed by the Headmasters and Headmistress of the schools and Rita Skeeter and her reporter. "Today is the day you shall be facing the first task! In this task you shall be facing some of the most fearsome beasts of our world, the first task of the Tri-Wizard tournament is… Dragons!" he announced and expected shocked expressions and wide eyes but all he was met with was steely faces and narrow eyes filled with focus.
"Yes, now these dragons each shall have a golden egg to protect in a clutch. Your goal shall be to retrieve the golden egg while ensuring that as little damage comes to the rest of the clutch as possible. You will be scored based on your time, your employed strategies, and execution of said strategies." He said coming forward with a bag which he opened with a few tendrils of smoke unfurling from the opening.
"If you would all gather around." He instructed urging the champions around him and once they were all situated in a circle, he offed it to Fleur who was on his immediate right. "Miss Delacour." He said as the French Veela tentatively reached in and pulled out the Welsh green dragon with a number two around its neck.
"The Common Welsh Green." Bagman said as Fleur looked towards her Headmistress nervously but mentally Harry was cursing, that was going to be the easiest dragon out of them all. Bagman then went to Krum who was next to Fleur. He reached in and pulled out a familiar crimson dragon with golden spikes with a three around its neck.
"The Chinese Fireball." He announced as Krum just stared at the dragon with Hard eyes and the miniature sent one of its signature balls of fire into the air in challenge. Bagman then went to Cedric who reached in and slightly flinched as he pulled out a silver-blue dragon with a two around its neck.
"The Swedish Short-Snout." Bagman said but the other champion's eyes went to Harry, they all knew. Thanks to the information that Harry had provided they knew exactly Dragon that Harry was going to face and Harry knew it as well. He really had the worst luck.
Reaching into the warm bag he felt a prick on his finger and grasped the only Dragon that was left. Unfurling his fingers he saw the familiar black hide and bronze spikes and venomous yellow eyes.
"The Hungarian Horntail." The other champions looked towards Harry, concern clear in their eyes at the fact that the youngest of them was going to face the most vicious of all Dragon species. Harry couldn't tear his eyes away from the Dragon as Bagman continued his instruction of the task but Harry was just too shocked at his luck to listen.
He walked over to a bench sitting down the mini-Dragon still snarling in his palm. He examined it but just couldn't come with any form of coherent thought. He had seen this Dragon in its full terrifying majesty. Words could not express the amount of worry and sheer terror coursing through his body right now. That was until he felt a firm hand on his shoulder.
Looking up he saw Cedric with the other champions smiling down at him reassuring him.
"It's going to be alright Harry; besides didn't you say you were going to steal this whole tournament right out from us? Not going to let some cranky Dragon get in the way of that are you?" Cedric asked as Harry had to laugh. He looked down towards his Dragon one last time before nodding. He was ready for this. He had trained and studied with the help of his friends, and he also had Demona at his side, his ace in the hole if he needed to call on her.
Taking a few breaths and nodding he stood placing the mini-Dragon on the bench.
"Your right, I got this!" he said shaking his head and slapping his cheeks a few times.
"You've got to vait your turn, Potter." Krum said with a smirk which Harry matched. Cedric then took a deep breath himself and walked towards the front of the tent as the Headmasters and the other judges all left for their place in the stands.
"You got this Cedric!" Harry playfully cheered clapping his hands earning a laugh from the Hufflepuff boy as the Cannon went off signaling his entrance.
Harry wished he could at least hear how his fellow competitors were doing but the tent was enchanted to keep all the other noises out. After the Cannon sounded for a second time Fleur took her place and Harry and Krum both wished her luck. Then the third blast came, and Krum went with a good luck from Harry which he nodded at.
The wait was excruciating, especially with the silence he couldn't even guess if the task was going well for the others or if it was drawing to a close for them. When the cannon went off for the fourth and final time Harry nearly jumped out of his skin. Standing up he looked around the empty tent with a beating heart.
"Good luck Harry." He mumbled to himself as he exited the tent and was immediately blasted with a sudden roar of sound. A cheering crowd with more than a few jeering members in the audience as Harry had to shake his head to get his focus back. Walking forward he approached the edge of the Arena as the audience went quiet.
It was too quiet as Harry scanned the area he could see and didn't see any sight or hint of the Dragon he was to face. He did however spy the clutch of eggs with the Golden Egg he was tasked with retrieving among them. Gathering his courage he took off at a sprint heading for a boulder he wanted to use as cover.
Turns out sprinting out was his best idea as he suddenly felt a rush of air behind him and a sudden crash as the crowd gasped and groaned in response. Harry quickly turned to see the Horntail; it was clinging to the wall of the Arena near the entrance he had just come out of. The bloody thing was trying to ambush him!
When their eyes locked Harry saw a familiar flash in the Dragons' yellow eyes as his own widened as he bolted to the boulder he had been running for and all but dove behind it. If not for the padding on his uniform he would've had quite the number of scrapes but that was preferable to being barbequed. Harry registered the tongues of flame that flicked out from the side of the boulder and the sound of roaring flames as he could feel the rock warm even through his robes.
"Alright time for plan A." He said peeking out from the Boulder seeing that the Horntail was making to move to get a better shot at Harry.
"Can you hear me?" Harry hissed out as loud as he could causing the crowd to gasp out in shock at his brazen use of Parseltongue. Harry for his part nearly wanted to jump in joy when the Dragon abruptly halted its advance and a flicker of recognition passed in its eyes.
"I do not want to harm you! I only seek to obtain a false egg that has been placed in your clutch!" He hissed out as he saw the Dragons' eyes flick over to its nest and back to Harry. It then roared at Harry. In all honesty, he had not known what to expect when he thought of using Parseltongue to try and converse with a Dragon, but it certainly wasn't what was happening now.
Images were flashing in his mind, of a mountainous region with rivers in the valley and great green trees. He could even feel something with the images, a sense of home. Then he was assaulted with more pictures of chains and ropes. People casting spells and a great steel cage with hard cold bars. Then he saw images of Eggs in boxes with Wizards pouring some sort of potion over the Eggs along with four Golden Eggs and a feeling of anger passed through him.
All this happened in the single roar the Dragon unleashed at Harry as he looked towards the beast then over to the Eggs.
"You know…" He surmised as the Dragon simply grunted in the affirmative "then let me take the golden one! If I do that then this task will be over and you can return home." He tried but was met with another roar and a flooding feeling of rage, filled him as the Dragon took off and hovered over to the Egg clutch and landed over them. She roared at Harry again and a feeling of challenge overcame him as she pounded her foot on the ground and slapped her tail against the rocks with a mighty thump. The message was clear to him, the dragon was pissed, and she wasn't just going to take this lying down.
Earn it. She didn't speak the words, but he could feel them in his bones and soul as she stared him down, venomous yellow meeting determined emerald. Harry then bowed to the Dragon who, to the crowd's immense surprise, bowed back with a slight downward tilt of her head towards Harry.
Though the moment was short and fleeting as immediately the Dragon's eye's flashed and Harry dove for cover as a jet of flame rushed towards him. He quickly moved out of cover when the flames died down and brought his wand up.
"Glacius!" he yelled out casting the spell out normally as a sudden jolt of icy blue light shot out of the wand streaking towards the Dragon. With a slight flourish, the light became a sort of muzzle of ice that wrapped around the Dragons maw. It didn't last long but it gave Harry the precious moments he needed to draw the magic around him into himself.
"Metelojinx!" he called out raising his wand to the sky as a there was a pulse of energy from his wand as a dark blue ball of light shot into the sky. Harry ducked behind a boulder as he felt the spell take hold and the familiar wave of tiredness flooded through him.
The crowd gasped seeing the sky begin to swirl and darken and suddenly the whole Arena was assaulted with a ferocious gale and heavy rain. Bolts of lightning arced across the darkened clouds bathing the arena in flashes of light. To most, this might have seemed like an impressive but wasteful display of magic but it was by design.
Now Harry has rid the Dragon of one of its greatest assets, its air superiority. The Dragon roared in rage as now it too understood that, with the winds as they were, flying would be too difficult when trying to fight both Harry and the wind so now she would be forced to stay on the ground. She began to scan the Arena for Harry but saw instead a flock of black ravens suddenly shoot out from behind a boulder.
The ravens seemed undisturbed from the storm and as they flew the crowd could see what looked like black dust flowing from the bird's wings and glowing bluish-purple eyes trained on the Dragon. The Dragon growled as all the ravens suddenly began to dive towards her.
She roared, more in frustration than rage, as the Ravens all began to flutter around her head and pecking her snout and around her eyes. She began to back up shaking her head and snapping her jaws feeling a few of the ravens getting caught in her fangs. Though through the flurry of wings and feathers she did spot Harry making a mad dash towards the nest.
Taking in a breath she shot a torrent of flames in his direction forcing him to dodge and the Ravens all scattered startled by the sudden light and heat. The horntail then began to thrash her head around wildly sending the gout of flames all across the Arena scorching the remainder of the ravens and startling the onlookers who were only saved due to the warding that protected them.
It was quite a sight to see the arena glowing with heat and scorched in some parts despite the heavy rain and winds. The flash of lightning only seemed to add to the Dragon's terrifying presence as her eyes glowed in the dimness brought on by the storm.
Harry for his part slightly regretted the storm for that very reason though he still was glad for it. With the Dragon grounded she couldn't just go to the air and get a clear shot on him. And thanks to the Shadow Ravens he had summoned he managed to get her to back off her clutch.
"Glacius!" he called out again, but this time aimed for the clutch and surrounded it with a dome of thick ice. Quickly ducking back undercover, he wiped his face to keep the water from blinding him but suddenly found himself flung from his position.
The horntail had forgone long-range and instead came to him grasping the boulder in her maw and tossing it clear out of the arena. Harry barely had time to get up on his feet as she suddenly spun in place and caught Harry in the side with her tail. While the protective gear helped, he could still feel a single bronze spike sliced across his chest as he was all but flung aside.
Harry for a moment had a feeling of weightlessness as he flew through the air until it came to an abrupt end with him impacting the ground. His sight was swimming as his brain tried to catch up to the fact that he stopped moving as he desperately looked towards the Horntail who was charging forward again.
His body ached, he knew he wouldn't be able to get out of the way in time and his body was still rattled by the impact.
"DEMONA!" he cried out and in a flood of shadows and flickering crimson fire Harry suddenly felt himself being hoisted up as the hell hound formed beneath him. Without missing a beat the wolf jumped out of the was just as the Horntail's tail came crashing down on the position he was just in.
The crowd was on the edge of their seats with everyone becoming quite shocked at the sudden appearance of the very dark and demonic-looking wolf that Harry had called. Demona was a sight to behold as she almost effortlessly bounded across the Arena deftly dodging blasts of flames sent her way.
Harry for his part came back into focus as he held onto Demona's fur as he turned to look at the Dragon who appeared quite annoyed with the fact that Harry was still alive. Demona never stopped and never slowed as she continued to run around the Arena. This wasn't going to work he needed something to throw the Dragon off so that he could get in and grab the Egg.
Suddenly a flash lit up the Arena as he looked up and saw the storm he had summoned still raged overhead and his eyes widened. He only had the strength for about five or six bursts of super magic in his system. But if he would instead store up all he could and release it all at once… it wouldn't kill the Dragon but it definitely would give him the perfect chance he needed to grab the Egg and Demona could run out of the Arena with him in tow.
"Demona! Fire!" he called out as the Hell hound suddenly jumped high into the air her body twisting in the air, droplets of water flinging off her fur as the rest suddenly began to steam and her chest and throat began to glow crimson beneath her fur.
As tongues of flame snaked their way out of her snarling maw, she opened her mouth and a sudden ball of crimson fire blasted forward splashing against the Dragon who gave a surprised hiss as it shook its head. While the flames barely even scorched the Dragon the force of the attack was what he wanted as he could see it cause the Dragon to stagger.
Harry then closed his eyes as Demona continued to move occasionally shooting out balls of fire towards the Horntail to keep it from forming any form of offense. Harry felt the magic swirling in his storm, in the arena around him and even the surrounding earth as he began to draw it into himself.
In his mind, the tendrils of his magic all but lashed at the magic around him sucking it up and empowering him. He could feel his body practically thrumming with magic as when he opened his eyes the crowd was greeting with brilliant glowing emerald eyes. As Harry suddenly stood on Demona's back and jumped off just as she reached the peaks of one of her jumps effectively launching himself into the air.
Holding his wand forward he drew upon the power he had sucked up and his wand began to crackle with electricity as he converted it into the energy he needed for the spell. The crowd gasped as they watched Harry sail through the air the Dragon's eyes following him.
"FULMENIS!" he roared out as a sudden bolt of blue lightning shot from his wand. Blasting its way towards the Dragon who had reared up hoping to catch Harry in her maw and crush him. The bolt of lighting was too quick for the Dragon to react as it found its target in the Dragon's chest.
With a sudden flash of light and thunderous crack, the lightning impacted the Dragon, and the resulting boom was deafening as the rain was pushed back in a dome from the force of the spell. The force had sent both Wizard and Dragon careening in opposite direction and the Dragon crashed shaking the arena as she hit the ground crushing some boulders along the way.
Harry was lucky as Demona expertly caught him on her back and went charging towards the nest, the ice dome he had created melted away as he approached. Harry gathered what strength he had left and leaned over her sidearm extending down as he grasped the Golden Egg as they passed and Demona made a direct B -line towards the exit reaching it just as the magical exhaustion his Harry full force and that exhaustion filtered to Demona as she was forced to melt into his shadow. The sudden loss of his companion and the weakness he felt left him with little choice but to fall.
He clutched the egg close to his body as he rolled across the floor for several moments due to the momentum Demona had built up. He did come to a stop on his back as he just laid there his body aching and screaming at him. The exhaustion he would've felt in waves after using his super casting came to him all at once as he struggled to even keep his eyes open.
He went to lift his head but found he couldn't even muster the strength to do that. Suddenly he found the other champions standing over him.
"'Arry! Are you alright!?" Fleur asked kneeling down the other champions quickly following her example.
"Blimey Harry that was bloody incredible!" Cedric said placing his hand under Harry's head lifting him to a sitting position. It was here that Harry's fingers lost their strength as his egg rolled out of his grasp but Krum quickly caught it.
"It seems vat there is more to you than meet the eye da?" Krum asked holding Harry's egg for the moment. Harry for his part managed a weak smirk but as the adrenaline left his body he was suddenly very aware of a stinging burning pain across his chest.
He hissed in pain as Fleur gasped as the others finally took notice of Harry's chest wound. This was where Pomfrey came over.
"Quickly get him to a bed!" she ordered as Cedric brought one of Harry's arms around his shoulders with Krum taking the other. Harry groaned the entire way there as the pair placed him on the bed as gently as they could with Fleur helping get his legs up on the bed.
"Dragons! How on earth could they give the clear on such a bloody mad idea!" Pomfrey growled out as she went about getting the protective gear off Harry. She quickly went to work muttering incantations and waving her wand over Harry's body. After becoming satisfied with her findings, she quickly went about healing the large gash across Harry's chest.
"You're lucky Potter, besides your chest your just going to have some light bruising. I'll get some salve for your chest, won't even have a scar." She said as Harry could feel some of his strength returning under Pomfrey's skilled hand.
"Well, that's not good, that would be a really cool scar." He lightly joked as Pomfrey just rolled her eyes and Cedric and Krum chuckled while Fleur just followed Pomfrey's example. Feeling a bit better Harry finally took notice of the state of his fellow champions.
Krum looked rather unharmed despite a few scrapes and bruises. Fleur still had her perfect appearance, but it would seem some of her skirt was singed and burned but no actual wounds. Cedric seemed to be just as well off as Harry was. With bandages around the side of his face and one of his arms.
Speaking of, Pomfrey came around with a roll of bandages as she indicated for him to raise his arms which he did and she helped him get his shirt off. If Harry wasn't so tired he would've thought about it before he allowed that to happen. A series of gasps came out as he looked around and saw wide eyes.
Pomfrey just looked sad, but the other champions were quite surprised. Harry had scars, more than he should at his age. On his shoulders with a few dotting his upper arms and a series of slash-like scars littering him back. Pomfrey quickly went to work to wrap him up and once she was done, she conjured a shirt for him.
"H-harry?" Cedric asked and Harry just shook his head, he wasn't quite ready to talk about those scars to anyone just yet.
"Champions!" one of the tournament organizers called as he entered the medical tent "You're needed in the arena to receive your scores." He said waiting at the entrance for the four champions to gather themselves. Harry tenderly swung his legs over his bed and tried to stand but was pretty wobbly. Cedric was there ready to help if needed but Harry thought he would be able to make do.
He regretted that decision as he took just two shaky steps before falling to his knees. Cedric and Krum quickly were at his side helping him to stand. Fleur came in with a pair of crutches from Pomfrey. He took them and found that they did help a bit but Krum and Cedric stayed with him just in case.
The four champions made their way back out to the stadium which was cleared of all debris left with nothing more than a dirt floor. They were met with a round of very enthusiastic and energized cheers. Harry looked around before spotting his friends all in a group cheering for him.
Well except Daphne, she just smiled and was clapping, he expected that, she didn't seem like the jump up and down cheering type. Though Susan, Hermione, Tracey, and Blaise all made up for it as they had their hands in the air screaming out his name. It was here Ludo Bagman got the attention of the crowd using the sonorous charm.
"What an absolutely riveting and excellent show by our champions!" He called out his voice echoing as another wave of cheers followed. "Now going by order we will start with Mister Diggory! Using a masterful form of transfiguration to create the dog to distract the Dragon from the clutch and retrieve the egg, however, he failed to defend himself properly on the way out. Even still having the fastest time and a skillful display of transfiguration the judges have agreed to an award of thirty-three points!" he announced as Cedric got a cheer from the crowd as Harry and the other champions smiled for him.
"After that, we have Fleur Delacour, who through a wonderous display of enchantment managed to put her dragon to sleep and retrieve her egg without fail of issue. Only coming in with the second shortest time after Mister Diggory. Even upon being singed, she has received no real damage to her person there for we the judges shall award her with thirty-seven points!" Fleur smiled proud of her score and the crowd showed their appreciation as well.
"Mister Krum! Coming out with a fast aggressive tactic using the Conjunctivitis curse to blind his Dragon he, unfortunately, did not take into account his Eggs as the use of the curse caused the Dragon to damage many of the eggs in the clutch. As such we the judges have agreed that he shall be rewarded with thirty-five points!" he said as the crowd roared Krum for his part look disappointed.
"I do not deserve that." he stated, Krum knew his performance here was poor and was deserving of a much lower score Cedric certainly outperformed him.
"Now, last but certainly not least we have Harry Potter!" Bagman cried out and the resulting cheer was nearly concussive in response. "Using a brilliant display of elemental magic and weather manipulation to hinder and distract his Dragon. As well as a breathtaking display of conjuration conjuring a flock of birds as well as a fiery hound to aid him in his task. He did, however, take the longest out of all the champions but taking his displays of magic to heart we have decided to award him with thirty-six points!" he announced and the cries that followed were not cheers but cries of outrage. The crowd was making it very clear that the score was far below what it should've been.
"That is ridiculous!" Fleur cried out "' Arry out preformed me in every way!" she said.
"I agree!" Krum said with an affirmative cry from Cedric. Bagman had expected this.
"While the magic mister Potter used was exemplary, it was made to point that he took the longest out of all champions as well as using a dark form of magic at the beginning of the task warranted low scores." He tried to explain, and the crowd still wasn't pleased.
Harry couldn't believe it, he knew his performance was worth way more than just that, no offense to Fleur but he definitely displayed a lot of magic hear and great technique. Harry just shook his head as he made his way back out of the Arena followed closely by the others.
"Harry, that's crap and we all know it after what we saw." Cedric said in a supportive way.
"Indeed, to take points off for using a special ability like the snake language is, pardon moi, but it is merde!" she said and huffed. Krum didn't speak but his body language betrayed his unspoken thoughts. It didn't seem like they were going to have to find the judges to vent their frustrations as they came to them.
"Who gave 'Arry such a low score!?" Fleur demanded as they approached "I will not accept first place when I know I don't deserve it!" she said as Dumbledore and Maxime and Ludo all looked towards Igor and Barty.
"His use of Parseltongue and the other dark spells should've warranted disqualification!" Crouch said firmly his lips tight.
"I agree!" Karkaroff said but it was clear he was not the kind of man to care about the use of Dark magic, more than likely he gave harry a low score here for the same reason he probably gave Krum a very high score.
"I thought we were free to use whatever means necessary to complete the tasks ahead?" Cedric asked remembering very clearly, they made it a point to ensure the champions understood that they would have to pull on everything they had to compete in this tournament. Long before their names had even come out of the goblet, they had told them this.
"Guy's it's fine." Harry said trying to placate his fellow competitors.
"Ne, it is not, He deserves first place in this task." Krum said firmly as Karkaroff looked a little annoyed at his student.
"Be that as it may the scores have already been cast; I am sorry." Bagman stated while Crouch simply looked at Harry with his chin up and staring at him down his nose. Harry just rolled his eyes.
"In any case, well done to all of you!" Dumbledore stated his eyes twinkling though Harry noticed a slightly pensive look on his face as his eyes fell on him, but it disappeared quickly. "The Golden Egg you have retrieved from this task hold's the clue to the next task. The second task shall be held on February the twenty-fourth, you must solve the riddle of the egg by that time or else you will be ill-prepared for the next challenge you shall face. I wish you good luck and again well done!" he said and the champions nodded as they made their way to the medical tent for some final checkups.
Pomfrey was more than happy to give Harry a few energy potions to get him back on his feet but also gave him a vial of dreamless sleep so that he could get the rest he needed for the night. Returning the crutches he was provided with he exited the Arena.
No sooner than he did he was suddenly hugged by two girls, one a bushy-haired brunette and the other a strawberry blonde. They were hugging him a little too tight though.
"A-Air, I need it!" he gasped out as Hermione and Susan quickly let go.
"Sorry, we're just, really glad your okay." Hermione said as Susan nodded. Then Daphne came forward with a critical eye, almost like she was inspecting him. She gently placed a hand across his chest feeling the bandages underneath.
"That was one of the stupidest, Gryffindorish things I think I have ever seen." She said while she would never admit it she wanted to follow Susan and Hermione's example and wrap her arms around him. But she was able to restrain herself, he was hurt after all. Though she still couldn't help touching him in some way.
"Well," Harry grinned at her "I tried the Slytherin way but that didn't work out." He admitted as Daphne withdrew her hand.
"How did that work anyway? Did it talk to you?" Blaise asked and Harry shook his head.
"Not, really… I think it just sort of impressed its intent on me like it could understand me but didn't have words to talk back so it just spoke through emotion and instinct."
"So what did you say to piss it off?"
"Nothing! She was already angry at being dragged here in the first place, she was upset at what happened and made it my problem." Harry stated with a chuckle that caused him to wince.
"That score was a bunch of tripe though!" Tracey said speaking up for the first time getting affirmative nods from the rest of the group "You should've been in first place easy!"
"Yeah, why did they deduct your score so much?" Hermione asked curiously as to the reason.
"Oh, Crouch and Karkaroff didn't like that I used 'dark magic'" Harry explained using air quotes when he said dark magic. "I don't know the actual score they gave me but based on how Ludo, Dumbledore, and Maxime reacted it wasn't near what they thought I deserved."
"Well, we know that you deserve a much better score than what you got, the whole school knows. Plus I don't think anyone is going to be messing with you anymore." Susan said gently squeezing his arm in reassurance.
"Yeah, maybe I can stop by classes again. I have four months until the next task after all." Harry said getting a very big smile from Hermione.
"Good, you've been missing far too much this year as it is." She stated with a nod and Harry couldn't help the grin that came on his face.
"Well, I could've died Hermione, though I guess being expelled is worse right?" he asked as Hermione blushed at the reminder of what she said to him in their first year.
"In what twisted world is being expelled worse than death?" Blaise asked as Hermione just did her best to look as small as she could. Harry laughed and again slightly winced as his chest ached at the motion.
"We should go unless you want to be devoured by those piranhas." Daphne said indicating to the hungry eyes of the media with Rita skeeter at the forefront.
"Retreat!" Harry exclaimed earning him a laugh from his group as they quickly walked off, Harry mentally apologized to Fleur, Krum, and Cedric as he did not give them any warning as he saw all three of them disappear in a sea of flashing lights and a chorus of questions.
It was later in the evening after dinner when Harry found himself surrounded by a cheering Slytherin common room. Blaise and Tracey had accompanied him and he expected Daphne to follow but Susan had dragged both her and Hermione away for something. He found himself a bit disappointed at the lack of their presence.
However, the other Slytherin students were more than making up for it.
"I have got to say, I expected some crazy things from you but that didn't even come close!" Jones said coming forward the mad glint ever-present in her eye.
"Pay up jones you lost!" another older Slytherin student called out as Jones scowled and reached into her pocket and tossed a bag of galleons towards the boy who caught it with a whoop.
"What's that about?"
"We took bets on how you were going to get past the task."
"How I would get past? Not if I was going to die?" Harry asked and Jones rolled her eyes.
"Only Malfoy and his lot were dumb enough to bet on you dying." She explained.
"So then how did you lose?" and now her scowl was fixed on him.
"I bet, that you would use your broom and try to outfly the Dragon."
"And I told her that was a barmy idea!" the same older boy shouted as Jones just flicked her wand to him causing the chair, he was in to spin rapidly eventually leading to him falling.
Harry thought about it though, it was a totally mad idea seeing how the Dragon would've flown all its life and while Harry was good, he doubted he could outmaneuver something that had maybe centuries of experience. Plus, his broom was made of very flammable wood.
"You cost me twenty galleons by the way." She muttered bitterly with a flick of her hair.
"Well sorry to disappoint, tell me what you bet on next time, and I'll try to do that instead." He said getting a grin from Jones.
"Oh! Good idea!" she said with a cackle.
"Speaking of the next task have you checked your clue yet?" Blaise asked getting a few pouches of Galleons himself along with Tracey.
"You guys bet on me too?" he asked and they nodded.
"We saw you train once remember it plus after all the hard work you put in it would be a shame to not at least show off a little." Blaise explained shrinking the pouches and putting them in his pockets. Harry shook his head and brought up his Egg. He hadn't checked it out all that much anyway so with a shrug he unclasped the claw at the top.
That was a mistake.
Because not even a second after the four sides of the Egg had fallen did a horrid screech suddenly fill the room. Everyone soon found themselves on the ground hands covering their ears in a desperate attempt to save their hearing.
Harry struggled but was able to close the Egg and re-seal it. His ears were still ringing slightly as he shook his head surrounded by many strained faces who seemed to be in the same state of post agony as he was.
"WHAT WAS THAT!?" Jones yelled out not realizing she was screaming, or maybe she did.
"I have no bloody idea." Harry said looking at his Egg like it was a ticking time bomb.
"IS ANYBODY ELSE'S HEARING GONE?" Jones screamed out again fingers rubbing her ears in an effort to soothe them. After the fiasco with the Egg, it took a minute for everyone to get their bearings but even still, Jones insisted on talking more loudly than necessary.
For the remainder of the evening, he was asked many questions about his task, he wasn't really assaulted with questions but the Slytherin students were curious nonetheless. He divulged just a bit being pretty vague just stating that he had been training and researching new magic and kept the fact that the Hell hound he had 'summoned' was still resting in his shadow.
After he was able to satisfy their curious appetite Jone's was more than Happy to suddenly produce bottles of fire whiskey and celebrate.
At the same time Susan, Hermione, and Daphne were all making their way to the second-floor bathroom to talk some things over. However, they were cut off by a familiar head of red hair which earned a scowl from Daphne and, to Hermione's surprise, Susan.
"What do you want Weasley?" Daphne asked, well demanded more like, her voice cold and dangerous but Ron didn't seem to care as he focused on Hermione.
"Where's Harry?" He asked her but she didn't like how he asked, it was demanding in a way.
"None of your business." Daphne said again answering before Hermione could. Finally, Ron turned his attention to the Slytherin girl, but his expression was murderous.
"I wasn't asking you snake!" he spit out.
"He doesn't want to see you, I thought he made that pretty clear the other day." Susan instead offered up and his gaze turned to her same expression.
"Shut up! He only said that because of you two probably." He again spit out.
"Ron that's not fair." Hermione tried and now his gaze fell back to her.
"You're defending them!? Hermione, they don't care about Harry, they just want him for his fame."
"I wasn't aware you were looking in a mirror this whole time, because you just described yourself." Daphne replied with no small amount of snark.
"Shut up snake!" Ron screamed out his face becoming an unhealthy shade of red.
"No! You have kept Harry on a leash since he got here! You snapped at anyone that ever tried to get close to him! Now he's finally opening his eyes and stepping out on his own! I am not letting you sink your disgusting fingernail back into him!" Daphne hissed out as she and Ron engaged in a very intense glaring match.
"I…"
"You what! You know you're nothing but a pathetic weasel! Let me guess the first time you met him the first thing you asked about was his scar. Wasn't it." the slight flick of Ron's eyes was her answer "That's what I thought, you don't care about him, you want to possess him. I mean just look at first year, you tried to bully Hermione out of his life the first chance you got. You sufficiently scared off Neville and the other Gryffindors don't want to deal with you enough to hang around Harry. Not to mention the other houses, including Susan and myself; there were many students who wanted to get to know Harry, wanted to meet him. The older students especially but you were always in the way, always slobbering over Harry like a dog guarding its favorite bone!" she said heatedly.
Hermione for her part reflected on Daphne's words and found that she was right to a startling degree. It was Ron that had initially driven her off and away from Harry's side with his cruel words. If it wasn't for Harry himself, she doubted she'd even be alive right now after that event with the troll. And she did remember Neville trying to be a part of their group many times but was always ignored by Ron or driven off.
Now that she thought about it Ron did quite a lot of things to monopolize Harry's time, stealing him away from conversations, keeping him from studying, always insisting on being around him, and leading Harry everywhere for their first few years at Hogwarts. In fact, it was third year when she and Harry went on their time jumping adventure that she really spent any amount of time with Harry alone just the two of them.
"You don't deserve him, I may not have known him for long. But even I can tell that he deserves better than to be treated like some sort of trophy for you to parade around. Even Hedwig, an animal, is more deserving of his attention than you!" Daphne finished her eyes cutting into Ron like a knife as he just looked like he was about to pop a blood vessel.
"Ron, just leave him and us alone." Susan said gently nudging Daphne along and pulling Hermione along with them. The three walked away towards the bathroom and Hermione looked back seeing Ron look after them with a murderous rage set on his face.
Thankfully they were able to make it to the bathroom without any more incidents. Once in Daphne just huffed while Susan looked after her.
"That wasn't necessary you know." Hermione said walking forward.
"Oh yes, it was. Ronald is not the type of person to get the message unless you make it very clear and in his face." Daphne stated simply. Hermione couldn't argue that as she had to deal with Ron's stubbornness firsthand for three years.
"Hermione, you can't honestly say that anything Daphne said wasn't correct." Susan said squeezing Hermione's shoulder. "I mean think about it, if Harry didn't seek you out do you think you would be friends with him? Or even know him?" Susan asked and Hermione had to shake her head.
"Probably not." She admitted.
"Hermione." Daphne said looking towards her "you tasted a little of what Susan and I had to deal with for three years on repeat. You only got past Ron because of Harry and even then, he still kept you from hanging out with him too much." She explained walking over to the other two girls.
"I for one am not going to go back to that again. I know what I want, and I want Harry, I want to know him, to understand him. I want to be with him, Hermione." She explained her electric blue eyes becoming very soft as she spoke.
"So do I, I can't go back Hermione, I don't think I would be able to take never talking to him again. I know that we've only been around for a little while now but… it's hard to explain." Susan said and Daphne scoffed.
"Not for me, I've wanted him since first year and now that I have a chance I'm not losing it." she said before smiling "Well, we're not losing this chance. That is if you've finally made up your mind about our deal?" Daphne asked as Hermione couldn't help but blush a bit. But smiled despite herself.
"It's absolutely mad, you know that right?"
"It's a Hufflepuff Idea, what do you expect."
"Hey!" Susan cried out indignantly. That earned a round of giggles from the girls. Hermione for her part took a moment to think, of all the things that she and Harry had been through so far. How she fell in love with him on the back of a Hippogriff flying over the skies of Hogwarts. Seeing just how much he could grow and how strong he was with the Dragon. Just the thought of him alone made her heart warm.
"Yes, I don't want to lose him either. So, even though it's completely mad, I agree. Oh gods my parents are going kill me." Another round of giggles resounded through the bathroom as Susan spoke up.
"So, Hogsmeade. Next weekend, he should rest for this one." She said and Daphne nodded.
"Personally I think we should just drag him to a broom closet and make our desires clear but if you want to take the long road." Daphne said with a smirk and shrug as Hermione blushed at the implications.
"Oh forgive me for wanting to be a little more romantic than that." Susan said dryly. The girls talked a little while into the night about what they wanted to plan for the next Hogsmeade weekend. By the time they bid each other goodbye Hermione's worries about her decision had all but faded from her mind as she walked towards her dorm with a smile on her face. Thought's of an emerald-eyed wizard on her mind.
_Scene_
There it is the fifth chapter, again I hoped that Harry's power seemed a believable, while he called upon that power if it wasn't for Pomfrey's medical expertise he would basically be paralyzed for hours, to weak to move. I also hope that the fight scene between Harry and the Horntail was done to everyone's liking. I also the confrontation between the girls and Ron felt good as well. Now we have bit of time before the ball and the second task so I'm hoping to truly flush out some little plot points, such as the feelings of the older students towards Harry and where they come from. As well as developing the relationship between Harry and the three girls I will try to make it seem as natural as possible. Until next time this has been you Average, Ordinary, Everyday Fallen Angel.
Chapter 6
I do not own anything from the harry potter universe, unfortunately.
"Normal Talking"
'Thoughts'
"Parseltongue"
Harry sat staring furiously at the Golden Egg that sat in the center of the room. He would like nothing more than to blast the thing apart but unfortunately, he needed it to figure out how to tackle his next task. He had tried everything he could think of silencing charms being one of the main plans he had tackled. He tried revealing charms he even thought of stunning the thing like it was sentient.
However, no matter what he tried the Egg would constantly screech its unholy screech the second he tried to open it.
It hasn't been all bad however, after his rather relaxing weekend he did go back to attending a few classes with his friends and found he missed the atmosphere more than he thought. Even sitting down for potions was enjoyable, it would seem even if he was stern, without Snape constantly sneering at him he found that potions were rather interesting to learn.
McGonagall and Flitwick had been most pleased with his return to classes though McGonagall was just as stern as ever and threatened him with piles of essays should she find him lacking in any measure. Despite his excuse of being in the Tri-Wizard tournament she still expected him to keep up with his studies.
Harry had found that returning to classes was just what he needed to get his mind off his situation. The return of some form of normalcy relaxed him greatly. Also, it would seem after his display with the Horntail Malfoy was hesitant to goad him in any way. It would seem the only true Slytherin trait that the blonde git had was self-preservation.
Ron though had been very absent in Harry's life, it was nice, but Harry would be lying if he said he didn't feel at least a little regret. Ron was possessive and horribly jealous with many other flaws, but he was still Harry's friend at one point even if it was only for a moment, he couldn't believe that Ron just saw him as some sort of trophy friend. There had to have been a point where they were true friends, but even so, just a moment.
Even if he thought this, he wasn't going to seek Ron out or anything.
Shaking his head Harry grabbed his Egg and placed it in a bag before walking out of his training classroom. If he was right his friends should be in Defense Against the Dark Arts right now. Well, except for Susan. If he was remembered right, Susan would be in charms with the Claws. The only classes he shared with Susan this year were Transfiguration, Herbology, and Care for Magical Creatures. The rest were with Slytherin; those being DADA, Charms, and Potions. The rest of his classes he had with the Ravenclaws.
It didn't take him long before he reached the familiar and yet unfamiliar classroom of DADA. With the professors constantly changing every year so did the décor. Entering the classroom, he saw he had come in just as Moody was about to start his lesson. Harry took a quick look around quickly spotting both Daphne and Hermione and when they saw him, they quickly made a spot between them. As he approached, he saw that there were a few Bulgarian and French students in the class as well. He saw Blaise and Tracey sitting at a table over as well.
"Ah! Look who has graced us with his presence!" Moody called out mockingly but with no real malice in his voice.
"Sorry professor, but I just got caught up with tournament stuff." Harry said taking the spot that Hermione and Daphne had made for him with a smile.
"Excuses! If anything, you should never miss a single one of my classes! The others? Bugger them! My class? It could very well save your life in this tournament!" He stated fiercely going back to writing his lesson out on the board.
"Still no luck with the Egg?" Hermione asked quietly as she took notes of what Moody was writing.
"It'd probably be easier to turn it to an omelet at this point." Harry huffed and Daphne couldn't help the small giggle that made its way out of her mouth.
"If you do then I would like pepper and salt, light on the salt, fresh garlic with bacon, ham, and cheese." She stated with a smirk as Harry just rolled his eyes and Hermione just snorted.
This was one of the many pluses of coming back to classes, he had more time to hang out with his friends. Over the past few days, he had noticed something though. Hermione, Daphne, and Susan all seemed to be… closer to him. He didn't quite know if that was the right way to describe it.
Like just now when he walked into class, if it was Blaise and Tracey, they would've just scooted over to make room. However, with these two they always did their best to make sure he was between them. He thought to ask them about it but thought better of it. It was nice but a little confusing to him.
Daphne had become more open with him after the first task. She was still prim and proper but she wasn't so… distant. When they first started hanging out, he remembered that she would constantly hide her emotions. However lately she hadn't been so reserved. Also, she and Hermione seemed to have worked out whatever animosity was between them as they were on speaking terms now.
Actually, Harry wouldn't feel that it would be overstating that they even seemed like friends. Speaking of Hermione, she had changed a bit as well. It wasn't as notable as Daphne's change of attitude, but he did find some things she did differently. Usually, Hermione wasn't one for undue touching but lately, she had, at many moments, pressed against him. Not in a glomping manner but in moments when their shoulders might press against each other she didn't right it or separate right away anymore.
Susan was her usual kind self but like Hermione, she had been more open with touching. Many time's whenever they would walk together he would find that she walked close to him and if her hands were free sometimes their hands would brush together. Harry thought it was just a simple mistake but she had also nudged his knee with her own at times when they were studying or sitting near each other at times as well.
Like he said they were confusing, but Harry found that it wasn't… bad. In fact, he found that he quite liked the change. Not that he would admit it to the girls or point it out, a Dragon he could deal with, angry witches?... Yup no.
"How about you Potter?" Harry was snapped from his thoughts as his attention returned to Moody at the front of the class.
"What about me?" he asked dumbly causing Daphne and Hermione to let faces fall into their hands while everyone else chuckled.
Moody rolled his eyes, his large magical eye being quite unnerving in the motion.
"Protective charms, want to help me with a demonstration?" Moody asked with a grin and Harry shrugged.
"Sure." He answered before getting up and walking to the front of the class. He took his spot opposite of Moody and had his wand ready.
"Now, you little snots should all know the normal protective charm, correct?" he asked receiving nods before indicating for Harry to lift a shield.
"Protego!" he cast and from his wand, a transparent bluish shield appeared in front of him without missing a beat Moody wordlessly sent a stunner towards his shield and Harry could feel the pressure of the spell. His shield held firm though and there was only a flash of blue light before both of the spells faded.
"Good, however, what if I did something like this!" he suddenly shouted sending another stunner and Harry quickly raised his shield but was unprepared for the stone that came flying towards him and struck him in the shoulder. It wasn't fast or forceful enough to cause any damage, but it would definitely bruise.
"Constant vigilance Potter!" Moody cried out. "Who can tell me why the shield protected Harry from the stunner but not the stone?" he asked looking towards the class as Harry rubbed his shoulder.
"The shield only blocks spells, sir." Hermione informed but looked quite miffed at the fact that Moody had basically thrown a rock at Harry, so did Daphne.
"But there was magic on the stone. I used it to shoot it across the room." He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Harry then remembered what he had read on defensive enchantments from the book Pince had given him.
"The shield did block the magic that was moving the stone but couldn't stop the stone because it was a physical, not magical object."
"Yes, correct! So then how do we deal with this?" He asked the class again.
"Duck?" a Gryffindor asked receiving a few laughs in response.
"Or cast a different version of the shield charm." Moody replied before levitating the stone to Harry who took it in his hand.
"Throw that at me, Potter." He instructed and held his wand at the ready. Harry looked at the Rock for a moment before following the instruction and chucked the rock towards the DADA Professor who cast a similar shield as the one Harry cast. However, this one seemed more solid than Harry's. When the stone made contact the shield seemed to cave in a little then like rubber it sprung back into place. The stone, as a result, was sent flying back to where it came from.
Harry decided to take the Gryffindor student's suggestion and ducked before he could be hit again.
"Oh, look, ducking does work." Moody stated a bit too giddily for Harry's liking as he scowled at the Professor who just smirked.
"Do any of you know what I just did?" No one answered "I cast a defensive spell known as Protego Duo. This spell was developed by some bloke who decided he was tired of getting hit." Moody stated. He wasn't one to go into the specifics of a spell's history only caring that it worked.
"The spell acts as a physical and magical shield however the normal Protego shields are still superior at blocking spells, this spell will be used if someone decided to banish physical objects at you." Moody explained. After Harry returned to his seat, he went on to explain the wand motion and how to cast the spell. That was when Blaise finally spoke up and asked how they could tell they were doing the spell correctly. There wasn't much of a difference between this version and the normal one.
Moody just grinned wickedly while tossing a stone in his hand in the air and catching it on repeat.
By the time class had ended every student would have lumps and bruises for days. Harry for his part was able to get his shield to work well enough, so did Daphne but Hermione was had a bit of trouble with hers and it showed as she gingerly rubbed her hip.
"I like him." Harry said with a grin as Hermione just scowled at him. Daphne just rolled her eyes before waving her wand over Hermione.
"Episkey." She chanted and for a moment a gentle golden light flowed from her wand and wrap around Hermione and relief flooded her features.
"Harry?" she asked holding her wand up and He nodded.
"Please." He said as she repeated her actions with Hermione and Harry felt the few lumps he had fade away along with the pain that came with them. Blaise and Tracey soon joined them as they made their way to the great hall for lunch. It was here that Harry suddenly remembered something that annoyed him along with the Egg.
A woman by the name of Rita Skeeter.
Apparently, the revelations of Harry Potter being a Parseltongue was big news as well as the fact that he summoned what most assumed was a dark beast had painted him in a bad light. He remembered reading the prophet the next day and promptly tossing it into the fire after reading a few lines in. It would seem that whatever kept her in check the first time didn't last.
"Oh, Dark Lord Potter! I have saved you a seat!" Jones yelled out causing Harry to groan out. Jones was having way too much fun with this. After reading the prophet herself she had done her best to try to convince Harry to wear dark scary clothes when not in uniform to fit his new persona. He begrudgingly went towards Jones as she did keep spots open around her where he and his friends could sit for lunch. He was happy to see Susan already there waiting for them as they all sat down.
That was a day! When Hermione and Susan had joined him for lunch. Malfoy had been less than pleased and seemed to forget for that moment his hesitance at facing Harry but was quickly reminded of it when Harry clocked his jaw after calling Hermione a mudblood. He faced a Dragon just a few days ago, he wasn't going to put up with Malfoy. Though it did earn him detention from Snape he hadn't been dreading it.
It was this coming Friday and he found that spending any amount of time with the professor no longer filled him with dread or annoyance. They weren't besties or anything, far from it, but Snape just felt like another teacher to him now, stern but still.
Looking down towards Malfoy he saw that the git had a look of pure loathing on his mug and Harry was tempted to mock him in challenge but decided against it. As long as he didn't mess with his friends Malfoy might as well be a non-issue from now on.
"So, my lord, how has your day been thus far? Is there someone who has been troubling you? If so, I beg your pardon to allow me to deal with such a nuisance." Jones asked bowing her head though she had a huge grin on her face as Harry groaned.
"Do you have to do that? You're going to start even more rumors about me."
"First of all, yes, yes I do. Second, what do you care? You should be used to rumors by now, besides as long as you got someone as awesome as me in your corner what else could you need?" she said no short amount of bravado being added to the end of her statement.
"Hey, we're in his corner too." Susan said with a smile as Jones shrugged.
"Eh, you can have like ten percent of the corner I'll have the rest."
"No, I think we should have the majority of the corner here, I mean you're going to graduate this year anyway." Susan said before Jones laughed mockingly.
"Ha Ha Ha you doubt my power Hufflepuff, I have no problem failing every class just so I can retake a year."
"You will do no such thing!" Hermione said hotly, even in a joking manner the idea of failing on purpose was a big no-no for her. Her outburst had caused a laugh to ring through the group as they began to load their plates for lunch.
"So, Harry any luck with the Egg?" Blaise asked and Harry just shook his head.
"He'd have an easier time just making it into an omelet, right Harry?" Daphne asked with a playful smirk which he just rolled his eyes at.
"Pretty much what she said. I don't get it none of my spells seemed to work and no matter what I try the screaming just won't stop."
"What about the designs on the side?" Susan asked, it was one of the things she pointed out about the Egg. There were designs on the Egg but to Harry, it just looked like a depiction of Hogwarts nothing special.
"I don't think it means anything special but maybe I'm wrong." He said glancing at the bag which held his Egg. He looked around and spotted the other champions. Fleur was at the Ravenclaw table and seemed to be deep in thought. Cedric was sitting in Hufflepuff and seemed to be in a similar state. Krum looked normal but a professional seeker would probably be good at hiding his nervousness or confusion.
He thought about going to them for aid or even with an offer of working together but they were still competition. He liked them but it was what it was, plus he didn't want to rely on them too much if at all.
"You could give us the Egg, maybe we can figure something out." Hermione suggested and Harry smiled.
"I'd love to but If any of the organizers saw that I was getting help with the Egg then I might get disqualified. And I quite like having magic so no, but once I do figure it out, I'll come straight to you for help with a plan." He promised causing Hermione to smile widely at him.
"Oh, I guess we're not smart enough to go for help?" Daphne huffed out as Susan had a mock expression of hurt.
"What? No, I'll ask you too of course." He quickly amended and now Hermione looked offended.
"So now you're saying that I'm not good enough on my own?" She asked challengingly and Harry turned to her with wide eyes.
"No! That's not what I meant."
"Then what did you mean?" Susan asked trying to look miffed but being a Hufflepuff her nature was hard-pressed to hide her amusement.
"I just meant—" He was cut off by the sound of giggling to see the three girls holding their hands over their mouth's playful amusement dancing in their eyes. "Fine! I just won't ask any of you." He claimed smugly but Daphne just smirked at him.
"Oh sure, we'll see how that goes." Harry just huffed as he continued to eat. This was another development in the past few days as Susan, Hermione and Daphne seemed to greatly enjoy teasing him. Lunch went on rather normal after that as the group had to split again though this time Harry left with Susan as they made their way towards Care for Magical Creatures.
They traveled in comfortable silence for a while before Harry broke it.
"Hey, you know something." He suddenly said as Susan looked towards him.
"What's that?" she asked.
"I don't think I thanked any of you for helping me out with that first task." He informed looking towards her as Susan furrowed her brows.
"You don't have to do that. I mean we were all happy to help." She said sincerely and it was the truth, she was just happy with being able to be around Harry and get to know him. These past few days had been magical for her. Harry was very kind but funny too, he was also pretty smart for having slacked so much in classes up until now. She had asked him about that but was met with a flash of pain in his eyes, but it quickly vanished. She had wanted to press the issue but respected his privacy and could only hope that their relationship evolved to a point where he opened up to her fully.
"I think I do, if not for the help, then for just being with me. Don't tell the others because I have a reputation to maintain but, I was pretty lonely until you girls found me that day." He said smiling towards Susan causing her to gain a rather healthy rosy tint to her cheeks. She smiled back shyly clutching her books closer to her, even if it wasn't that much closer thanks to her bust.
"Well, thank you for not shooing us away. With what was going on at the time it couldn't have been easy to trust us. Especially since I'm from Hufflepuff and Daphne was from Slytherin."
"And Tracey." Harry added remembering that Tracey was there too. Susan nodded though she was more thinking about herself and Daphne as opposed to Tracey. She was more just there for the ride since she and Susan were together when Daphne came to find Susan that day after she overheard Harry in the Owlery.
"Right, but still." She said and Harry playfully bumped into her with his shoulder causing another flush to reach her cheeks. The two continued until they reached the class area where Hagrid was waiting for the class to assemble.
"Gather round! Gather round! I got quite the treat for you today!"
"Hagrid you say that every time!" A Hufflepuff student said exasperatedly getting a few laughs from the others.
"That's because every time it's true!" he said walking over towards where he would keep the larger creatures for class. As long as it wasn't a giant Blast-Ended Skrewt Harry would be happy.
The class followed Hagrid over to a Pen and all of them effectively had their mouths fall to the floor. In the Pen was an enormous creature, it was a sort of tanned brown color and had darker plate-like scales along its back and leathery skin. Its build was large and bulky and was quadrupedal in posture. Its legs were thick with muscles and also had the same heavy-looking plating along its leg forelegs which led to four-fingered claws.
Though that wasn't the most striking feature, no, the most striking feature was the pair of horns on the beast's head with them starting with a tanned brown color and ending in a black that shined in the sun. They rested just over the beast's brow and extended upwards at least four feet in length. Its maw had two fangs that protruded upwards like tusks and were also adorned with a beard of tentacles four of them forming a sort of mustache over the side of its mouth.
"Say hello to Benny!" Hagrid said cheerily with a wave towards the creature who now took notice of the Hagrid and students and walked over. Each step it took Harry could see its powerful muscles flex and relax with its motions. He then felt a hand firmly clench his.
Looking over he saw Susan her Hazel eyes wide in surprise and a bit of worry as the creature approached the wooden perimeter of the pen. Harry just smiled and gently squeezed her hand back to comfort her. It was here that Susan took notice of what she had done and blushed but didn't let go.
"Does anyone want to take a guess as to what this beauty is?" Hagrid asked as the creature's head lowered to Hagrid's level and its tentacles began to wrap and inspect Hagrid's outstretched hand. Now that it was closer Harry could fully appreciate how large the beast was as it stood a full five heads above Hagrid's own at the shoulder.
"That's a Graphorn!" Harry looked over and saw it was Seamus who answered, he was here along with Ron but Harry didn't linger on them for long instead wanting to focus on the beast.
"That's right Seamus, ten points for Gryffindor." Hagrid announced "The Graphorn is a very tough beast and has gained a pretty rough reputation, though it's all hogwash. You wouldn't be too friendly if you had to deal with Mountain Trolls every day." Hagrid and at the word Troll the Graphorn suddenly shook its head with a snort.
"These magnificent beasts almost died out close to a century ago, if it wasn't for Newt Scamander they would've." Hagrid said before urging the students to get their books out and notes.
"Now what we have here is a healthy male…" Hagrid then went on to describe in his usual excitable manner whenever he talked about any creature. Harry couldn't help but grin throughout the entire lesson, Hagrid's energy was rather infectious whenever he got going about a creature.
"So, while they might be Omnivorous, they do prefer a meaty meal as opposed to veggies." Hagrid finished his lecture and while Harry didn't take notes like everyone, he found that remembering Hagrid's lectures was never hard. Hagrid then quickly walked over to a metal bucket he had stashed away and the Graphorn took notice as it pawed the ground excitably.
"Speaking of this guy is looking mighty hungry, who wants to help feed him." Hagrid asked holding up a fleshy and sizable steak in his hand and most of the girls cringed at the idea. No one raised their hands as Hagrid pouted.
"Come now he won't bite your bits as long as you toss the steak high enough." Hagrid said demonstrating as he took the steak and chucked it over the fence as the Graphorn reared up to catch the meat. When it came back down the force sent a slight tremor to the ground. Hagrid's warning and the reminder of just how powerful this beast was didn't help his case.
"' Arry? How 'bout you?" Hagrid asked as Harry looked towards Susan who hid her nose in her book.
"Wow, thanks for the aid." He said and she sent him a small smile. Shaking his head, he stood up and approached the fence and could hear the powerful breaths the beast took. Through his bond with Demona, he felt the curiosity pulse through her, but he reassured her and kept her calm.
"Here ya go 'Arry." Hagrid said handing Harry a piece of steak which Harry took feeling the fleshy strip weigh down his hand. "Now I've got him to learn a little trick, real impressive stuff what I want ya to do…" Hagrid began explaining before leaning forward and whispering the rest into his ear so the rest of the class couldn't hear.
"Got it?" Hagrid asked and Harry grinned with a nod. "Right when you're ready." Hagrid said stepping back a bit.
Harry turned to the Graphorn who examined him curiously. He then held up the steak for the beast to see as it then focused on the meat. He then held up his other hand drawing the Graphorn's attention to him again. He then stretched his arm straight up with his hand bent at the wrist, so it was parallel with the ground.
He then made a sort of rock and roll sign with his hand and flicked it up.
"Horn's up!" He called out as the Graphorn took a moment before pawing the ground for a moment before it began rearing up towards the sky on its hind legs. Before it was maybe twelve feet on its legs seeing as Hagrid was about eight feet himself.
Now though, with the beast on its hind legs, it towered over even some of the small trees around them. With the sun glinting on its plated scales and horns. Most of the students got to their feet and scurried back a bit while Susan just looked on wide-eyed seeing Harry facing the now even more enormous beast.
Seeing how the warm glow of the sun seemed to envelop them as Harry held up his strange hand sign that the beast followed his order. In her eyes Harry looked, legendary for lack of a better word. She was sure there was a better word to describe him but, at that moment, they eluded her. She felt her heart flutter a bit watching Harry command such a powerful creature. At that moment the wind decided to pick up ever so slightly ruffling his cloak and hair just adding to the image she was gazing upon.
Harry held his hand up for a moment longer before he lowered his hand and the Graphorn came crashing back down, since it was much higher than when Hagrid threw the first steak, the resounding tremor and boom that came with the return to earth made Harry and the rest of the class physically jump. As the tremor shook every tree in the area and Harry wouldn't be surprised if they could feel it at the castle. Without wasting any time Harry threw the meat to the Graphorn who easily caught it.
"Well done 'Arry!" Hagrid said with a clap which slowly was joined by the rest of the class. Harry couldn't help the smile that seemed plastered on his face as he accepted the rag offered by Hagrid to clean off his hand. Returning to the group Hagrid offered the opportunity to the rest of the class though none seemed to be brave enough. After finishing feeding the Graphorn he dismissed the class.
As they left, he caught Ron looking towards him with a mixed look of jealousy and longing. Harry involuntarily shivered, he did not like Ron looking at him that way and instead just focused on Susan.
"Doesn't anything scare you?" She asked as they walked, and Harry just shrugged.
"I don't think Hagrid would ever put us in any real danger. So, I didn't really feel all that worried. But hey if you were so worried you should have just traded places with me, I'm sure he wouldn't have minded." Her eyes widened at his grin when he said this as she shook her head violently.
"I could never! That thing was enormous." She said as Harry laughed. The pair made their way to a crossroad in the hallway where they met up with Hermione and Daphne who had just gotten out of ancient runes.
"Trade?" Hermione asked playfully as Harry looked offended
"I'm not an object you know." He said indigently as Hermione and Susan giggled while Daphne smirked.
"If you were, I don't think you'd have much trade-in value, maybe I could put you on a shelf, at least you look pretty." Daphne said, Susan and Hermione's eyes widened at Daphne's brazenness and Harry blushed before he mocked scowled.
"W-well one of us has to be!" He said with a huff as he went towards potions one of his last classes for the day. Daphne just looked towards Susan and Hermione with a smile and an expression that screamed 'Yeah I know what I just said.'
"See you later Susan." Hermione said as she followed Harry and Daphne just winked. Susan mentally prayed that Daphne doesn't go back on their plan to wait for this weekend and just drag Harry into a broom closet.
They didn't have anything to go over in potions as Snape usually did the explanation and an example at the beginning of the week and then used the remainder of the week to watch over the classes brewing. This week was the shrinking solution and Harry had just about got it, Daphne had easily gotten it down on the second day, so she just was helping Hermione and Harry with their brew.
After that Harry left the two as he didn't attend the last few classes of the day, they were Herbology and Astronomy for him. He didn't dislike the classes but found he could get by without actually attending, not that he needed to with this tournament going on.
Making his way towards his usual training classroom he dropped his stuff and bag at the desk leaving the Egg there not wanting to deal with it right now. Instead, he pulled out the Black Grimoire and flipped to the second to last spell on the page and began reading.
Protego Diabolica
Harry chuckled at the irony seeing as he was just taught Protego Duo by Moody earlier today.
This spell is quite possibly one of the most powerful spells you will learn from me, This spell requires all the techniques you have learned from your previous spells and training. The flowing magic from within you to a conjured thing, the connection you had made for the summoning of the Hell Hound, the gathering of residual magical energies within your vicinity. And above all control, without control, this spell will consume not only everything around you but even yourself if you are not prepared.
That being said it is important to understand that when you cast this spell you are going to be commanding a power, unlike anything you may ever feel in your life even within this book. Even Fiendfyre will feel like child's play when you've mastered this spell. That is why I say it is one of the most powerful spells I shall impart onto you.
This spells summons living flames, a force of near unholy fire that is as unyielding and voracious as a rabid dog. When mastered these flames can protect not only yourself but anyone you view as an ally while reducing your enemies to ash and cinders. However that is not to say that this spell only exists in a protective fashion, it can also be used as a terribly destructive weapon.
These flames are not created but called upon. In a way, it is very much like conjuring a magical creature hence the need for mastery over the magical creature summoning techniques. But unlike Serpenmaiora or Corvis, it is more accurate to say it is more resembling the spell Canis Infernus. When these flames are called upon, they are wild you will need to use the technique of Canis Infernus in order to tame the flames to your will.
Once the connection is made it is permanent however the flames will not exist in this world as your hound does. These flames also have form but the magic required to call upon the true form of the flames is massive, hence why you needed to master the wild magic technique that you use to enhance your elemental magic. You may reach a point one day where this technique is no longer necessary to summon the true form of the flames, but I would not risk it.
The flames are ever hungry and ravenous, if you try to power the spell through your own magic without being ready it will consume you without remorse and without hesitation. Heed this warning well and ensure that you have mastered the previous spell techniques. This spell is crucial to the ritual you will have to perform in order to unlock this Grimoire and truly inherit my legacy.
As Harry read, he found himself becoming short of breath as the implications of just how dangerous this spell was. He's never heard of it and this was probably why. The most dangerous spell he's cast so far was the one he used to summon Demona but even that was crafted with a safety net, so he didn't get eaten if he was unsuccessful. This spell didn't have that, and it felt quite literally like he was jumping into the deep end now. Quickly flipping the page, he saw it was blank, which made him breathe out relief.
It would seem that there was no surprise warning this time, though that in itself made him nervous since that meant this spell was so serious not even the author of the book couldn't make light of the consequences. The way the book spoke about the spell wasn't filling him with confidence either, the other spells and techniques he had learned and practiced had all been rather straightforward forward even lighthearted at times.
Harry examined the diagrams and the wand motions methodically, should he risk it? Going back over the entry Harry eventually shook his head and closed his book. He pulled on all the power and training he had when he fought the Horntail. That effort had left him paralyzed from both physical and magical exhaustion. If it wasn't for Pomfrey he was sure he wouldn't have been able to move for hours maybe even the rest of the day.
No Harry would only attempt this spell if he was one hundred percent sure he was ready and right now he wasn't. Looking back over to the bag that held his Egg he scowled.
"That doesn't mean I'm going to deal with you." Harry said angrily towards the bag.
"Oh, dear it looks like he is going mad."
"Such a shame, 'e was so young."
"Vat is worse is vat we could've saved him."
Harry turned to see the door of his classroom opened and the three other champions standing in the entryway.
"What are you guys doing here? How did you even find me?"
"I asked Susan where you were, and she said you'd be here trying to figure out your Egg or training." Cedric said taking in the room "Looks like you already did a number on this place." Seeing the scorch marks and such. Harry couldn't help but look a little sheepish.
"Okay, but what are you guys doing here?" He asked still wanting that question answered.
"Ve thought that perhaps ve could try to put our heads together for this riddle." Krum said holding up his own bag which held his Egg. Fleur and Cedric were quick to follow.
"You know this is supposed to be a competition right?" Harry asked and Krum shrugged.
"In quidditch, ve are given strategies and plays of the other teams to study. I see no reason this is any different. Da?" He explained and Fleur nodded.
"I agree, not about the quidditch absurdité. But about working together, in 'istory the champions in the tournament 'ave always become lifelong friends."
"Besides it's not like they can disqualify all of us." Cedric said shutting the door behind him "So, I'm guessing that there you haven't had any luck on your part?" Cedric asked and Harry just groaned in frustration.
"Not a bit." He said walking over to his own bag and retrieving the Egg from within.
"Yes, it vould seem vat these possess a riddle vithout an answer" Krum said holding up his Egg.
Harry listened to the group as they discussed their Eggs and found himself slightly outmatched in some areas. The other champions were all in their seventh years of magical education and it showed with some of the ideas they had thought up to try to solve the Egg. Fleur was listing off enchantments she had tried but Harry couldn't honestly make heads or tails of what she was talking about. Thankfully it seemed this was an area he wasn't alone in as Krum and Cedric both held the same confusion when it came to the Veela's talk about enchantments.
"What if it has nothing to do with magic?" Harry suddenly suggested which caused the group to pause.
"What do you mean 'Arry?" Fleur asked and Harry held up his Egg inspecting it.
"Well, everything I've tried hasn't worked, plus you guys have been attempting things I can barely wrap my head around and you still haven't made any progress. So, what if flinging spells at the Egg isn't the answer." He suggested as the other three looked thoughtful.
"Maybe…" Cedric said holding up his Egg curiously.
"I see that you have taken the message of comradery into great respect." An aged voice said as the four champions whipped around to see Albus Dumbledore in the doorway, a twinkle in his eye and a smile on his lips.
"Professor!" Harry said getting up along with the others "We were… uh…" He attempted to think on his feet but there was no way he could spin a tale around this.
"Whatever is the matter, Harry? I came to find you and I did, working alone to try and solve your Egg." He said emphasizing the word alone as the champions visibly relaxed.
"So, you needed me, professor?" He asked and received a nod.
"I did indeed. Perhaps we should take this conversation to my office." He asked and Harry nodded.
"See you guy later." Harry said to the older students as he quickly re-bagged his Egg and gathered his things. With that, Harry followed the aged headmaster to his office and with a quick muttering of the password, the Gargoyle jumped aside to allow them through. Walking in Harry was ushered into the familiar office as he always seemed to be called into here at some point or another during his time at Hogwarts.
"Lemmon drops?" The professor asked but Harry shook his head Dumbledore nodded but still popped a few in his mouth. "Now Harry I've wanted to discuss your performance in the first task." He said taking a seat in his chair as Harry took his in front of the desk. Harry had expected this, Dumbledore had always wanted to be clued into Harry's life whenever something big happened. In fact, he was a bit surprised that it took this long.
"I have to say I'm concerned." Harry hadn't been expecting that, surprised sure, concerned? He didn't understand that.
"What do you mean professor?"
"What you used in the arena was very powerful magic, stronger than someone your age should be able to accomplish with the magical core you have." Dumbledore explained and Harry knew he was right, if it wasn't for the techniques he had learned from the Grimoire he wouldn't have been able to produce even half the power he did.
"And you also used highly troubling skills in full public view." Harry couldn't help but have his brow furrow slightly at that.
"You mean my Parseltongue ability?" Dumbledore nodded stroking his beard.
"Harry you must understand that ability has a very dark history that was rightfully earned. To use it so brazenly in public; well, you've already seen the results of that haven't you?" Dumbledore explained and Harry had to concede the point there though it wasn't any worse than what he was used to.
"Sir, with all due respect, it is my ability. I don't care how other people see me for using it."
"What about your friends? Ronald surely seems perturbed by this." Dumbledore asked and Harry's eyes fully narrowed now.
"We are not speaking anymore professor, honestly we're not friends anymore. I'm pretty sure I've made that clear." There was no way Dumbledore just forgot about the argument that he and Ron had a little over a week ago.
"Harry, he was a very dear friend to you, do not let a petty squabble break you apart now. Ron is foolish but he is young, perhaps if you gave him another chance, he—" Harry cut him off.
"He's had plenty of chances professor, and to be honest I don't think we were ever truly friends. But that's beside the point." Harry said wanting to get the topic of Ronald and Dumbledore sighed.
"Very well Harry, though I do hope you can find forgiveness for him. Back to the matter of your use of dark magic."
"Again, I don't see the Parseltongue as all that dark." Harry said and Dumbledore waved his hand.
"Not that, the beasts you conjured. Especially that wolf, those were not light creatures by any measure. I do not know how you've managed to summon magical creatures but perhaps you should restrain that skill."
"Why would I do that? If it wasn't for De- the wolf, I would've died in that task." Harry said suddenly feeling quite insulted at the thought of being forced to stop calling upon Demona. Though that might've been her feelings leaking through their bond.
"I can see that, however, to use such magic, it can leave a mark on your soul Harry. It can easily make you do things you previously thought… unsavory."
"Professor that's not going to happen. The spells, they don't force me to feel different of forcing my emotions to become twisted like the Unforgivables." Harry said remembering the lesson Moody gave them before the tournament even started. He remembered how the DADA professor explained how the curses relied very little on actual power on more on the horrid intent of the caster.
"You may feel that way now but dark magic, sometimes the effects cannot be seen until long after."
"Stop calling them dark, how do you know they are dark in the first place?" Harry challenged.
"How do you know they are not?" Dumbledore asked coolly and Harry couldn't help but remember the note that came with the Grimoire.
"Magic is magic." Harry said echoing the message he had learned from whoever wrote the Grimoire. "It depends on the person that uses it."
"An optimistically hopeful stance young Harry, however, I must impress the importance of leaving that kind of magic behind." Harry saw that twinkle again which drew his gaze to Dumbledore's eyes. Suddenly he felt woozy, a wave of lightheadedness suddenly filled his mind. The room around him seemed to dim like it was suddenly submerged into water and all he saw was that twinkle.
'Maybe he's right…' Harry thought for a moment, no that wasn't right. But he read the Daily Prophet he knew how people were looking at him now with the magic he was using. Perhaps…
Before he could continue this odd line of thinking a deep guttural howl ripped through his mind and suddenly it was like he was jerked awake as his eyes widened. As the room came back into focus and Harry saw a shocked look on Dumbledore's face. Harry didn't know what happened, but he suddenly felt violated for some reason.
"I… I have to go sir." He said and practically jumped from his seat. For the first time since being in Hogwarts Harry no longer felt safe in Dumbledore's Office.
_SCENE_
Whelp Here is Number six, like I said a little bit of a slow chapter getting Harry back into the flow of things after the craziness of the first task and everything leading up to it. Also, if you have any guesses as to the Author of the Grimoire, I ask you keep them out of the reviews to avoid possible spoilers. Also, Dumbledore is up to his machinations, I've tried to hint at it through the chapters so I hope this doesn't feel like it's coming out of left field. I would like y'all's opinions on the Graphorn scene, I quite like writing about creatures and I tried to mix the book description and the movie version. Until next time this has been your Average, Ordinary, Everyday Fallen Angel.