It was three days before the First Task and the dragons had finally
arrived. Just as Harry had suspected, they were not happy to have
been brought here away from their home, nor were they happy to be
caged.
"The dragons are already in danger due to this tournament, but there
is no way are you risking the eggs by placing them in the arena.
They could be destroyed by accident and I'm not going to let so
many unborn dragons be killed just because witches and wizards
have such a poor sense of what is fun, " he said to the Head Dragon
Keeper of the Romanian Dragon Reserve. They were standing in a
clearing in the Forbidden Forest and the dragons were putting up
one hell of a fight several feet away.
"But Lord Potter, the tournament officials –"
"As far as I'm aware, I'm the owner of the reserve, Mr Dorian," Harry
said coldly. "The tournament officials have no business ordering you
about and neither does the International Confederation of Wizards.
There will be no eggs placed in that arena, is that clear ?"
"But Lord Potter, the eggs are part of the task," the Head Dragon
Keeper argued nervously. "It has been specifically requested by the
Triwizard Committee which has been commissioned by the I.C.W.
We have a contract, sir, and we have to go through with it."
Harry folded his arms over his chest and looked at the dragons
which were all stunned by several of the dragon handlers. The
committee wanted eggs, but he wasn't willing to risk them. So the
only option was –
"I'll contact my godfather and ensure that the British Ministry of
Magic provides you with charmed duplicates," Harry said quietly.
"Switch them with the real eggs and place them in the arena. Make
sure that the mother dragons know that their eggs are safe; I don't
want them to go on a rampage. How many are there in each clutch?"
" Ahem ," the Head Keeper stammered, looking at his notes. "There
are fifteen each, sir; that makes it sixty eggs in total."
Harry snorted. "There is no way am I risking the lives of sixty unborn
dragons for this tournament. If the Triwizard Committee discovers
the switch, just tell them that you were following orders and direct
them to Minister Black. He'll handle them," he said flatly.
"Yes sir," the wizard nodded, mentally breathing a sigh of relief. At
least he didn't have to deal with those people in case the worst
happened. He was more than happy to shift the responsibility to
someone else.
"And make sure you have Healers who specialise in dragon care
nearby," Harry ordered. "I don't want the mother dragons fatally
injured as well. Once the task is over, ensure that they are treated for
their injuries. If Healers aren't here right now, ensure that they are
present at the arena on the day of the task. Understood?"
"Yes, Lord Potter."
Harry nodded to the man but before he left, he paused. "You'll find
the substitute eggs by tomorrow evening. Also, ensure that none of
the real eggs is misplaced. I will not have anyone misuse the
situation to steal the real eggs. If I catch anyone doing that, trust me
when I say they will be looking for a new job, along with a nice stay
in prison. Ensure that your employees are clear on that matter as
well. And remember, Minister Black and I will know if we're being
deceived. Good day, Mr Dorian."
"Damn," whispered the Head Keeper, wiping his brow, watching
Harry walk away. That was a wizard to watch out for.
"Do you think the other champions know about the dragons?" asked
Dylan quietly.
"Maxime and Karkaroff would have told their students," said Harry as
he finished his breakfast. It was the twenty-first of November; the
day of the First Task.
"What about Diggory?"
"What about Diggory? He's a champion of the Triwizard Tournament,
Dylan. This tournament involves cheating and if he were smart, he
should have realised that by now. Someone entered me into this
tournament with the intention of killing me and I'll be damned if they
succeed. I'm in this to win. If Diggory didn't figure it out, it is not my
problem. His father is the Head of the Department of the Regulation
and Control of Magical Creatures, so trust me, he knows about the
dragons being brought here. If he cares about his son, he would
have told him about it. I'm not doing his work for him and to be fair,
I've already saved Diggory from Lockhart once. Sirius told me that
they have taken plenty of measures to ensure that there are no
fatalities. If competition is eliminated, I'm not going to complain. It
gives me a better chance to win."
"How were you not sorted into Slytherin?" asked Dylan curiously.
Harry snorted. "Just because I'm not in Slytherin doesn't mean I
don't have to be cunning; just because I'm not in Gryffindor doesn't
mean I should not be brave; just because I'm not a Hufflepuff doesn't
mean I'm not loyal to my friends and family. They're all personality
traits and the Hat chooses Houses based on the dominant traits. I'm
hoping that people would realise that once Godric's journal is
released to the public."
Once they finished breakfast, they went outside. Daphne was sitting
by the lake – she had been unable to eat because of her
nervousness. Harry went behind her and pulled her into a tight hug.
"I'll be fine, Daph," said Harry in her ear. "Don't worry."
"You can't stop me from worrying," said Daphne, clutching her
stomach as it did somersaults. "I just want to get this task over with.
Please be careful, Harry."
"I will," he whispered as he kissed her passionately. Sirius and
Amelia were there too, looking very nervous.
"Harry, expect the unexpected," said Amelia quietly. "The I.C.W.
knows that cheating is part of the tournament. They'll throw in a few
surprises as well. Be careful."
"I will," said Harry as he gave her a hug.
Sirius hugged him too. "Be careful, son," he gruffly. "I know you can
do this. Good luck."
Dylan just rammed into him, hugging him tight and not wanting to let
go. Harry smiled and kissed the top of his head.
"Good luck," muttered Dylan.
Nodding to them all, Harry entered the tent while the rest moved
over to the stadium. The stadium where the First Task was to take
place had been erected, with many witches and wizards paying
entrance fees to watch it. It was not as large as the stadium of the
Quidditch World Cup, but it was huge nevertheless. Large mirrors
were placed everywhere so that they could see the champions'
progress up close. Millions of witches and wizards around the world
were now watching on their E-Mirrors too, wanting to see how the
task would proceed.
Harry entered the tent and saw that Cedric, Fleur and Victor were
already present. Nodding to them in greeting, he sat in the corner
and closed his eyes, slipping into his mind. When he heard people
entering the tent, he opened his eyes and walked forward. He was
wearing a blue shirt and over it, black leather duelling clothes. Ludo
Bagman offered them a silk bag from which they had to retrieve a
model of what they would be facing. Cedric got the Swedish Short-
Snout; Fleur got the Welsh Green; Krum got the Chinese Fireball,
while Harry got the Hungarian Horntail. Going by their expressions,
Harry could see that none of them was surprised at seeing the
dragons.
"These are what you will be facing after going through, ahem, a
couple of steps," said Bagman, beaming at them. "Good luck to you
all!"
Harry was the fourth selected. The tent blocked out all sound which
came from the outside so he had no idea what was happening. Two
hours later, he was called. He breathed deeply, flicked his wand to
his hand as he exited the tent. He entered the arena for the First
Task.
Harry entered the arena and saw a hundred thousand faces looking
back at him. He could see his face in the enormous mirrors placed
all over the stadium. His face was a perfect emotionless mask as he
walked forward. Tilting his head slightly, he wondered where the
dragon was. He rotated the shaft of his wand, casting a detection
spell. Encountering an enchantment, he began scanning for the ward
trigger.
"Look at that, everyone," shouted Ludo Bagman. "Our fourth and
youngest champion is doing something different as compared to the
other three. He seems to be searching for something."
After two minutes of searching, Harry found it. Smirking slightly in
triumph, Harry began breaking the trigger, just as he heard hissing
sounds near him. Turning around, he found several Ashwinders
slithering towards his position.
" Stop," hissed Harry in Parseltongue. "I mean you no harm. Go back
to where you came from."
The Ashwinders hissed back, " Yes, speaker."
"Oh," said Bagman, though somewhat nervously. "That was certainly
a unique way of dealing with the Ashwinders. Harry Potter was able
to speak to them in Parseltongue and drove them away."
Harry searched for something in the air as if trying to grip something
and after several seconds, he found the ward grip. He had studied
this type of ward in Voldemort's memories, so he knew how to break
them. Holding the grip in his right hand, he tapped it using the wand
that was gripped in his left. Suddenly, the air around him seemed to
shimmer.
" Bombarda Maxima! "
The ripple of magic instead of the flash of white light was a
testament to the control Harry had over his magic. The ward was
blasted apart while the crowd cheered. Harry went forward and
frowned. Now how was he supposed to get past these?
"Harry Potter has broken past the concealment ward and is now
about to face the Griffins," said Bagman. "What is he doing? Did he
just bow to the Griffins?"
Harry knew that Griffins were powerful creatures and should not be
underestimated. The Potters have always had high regard for the
majestic creatures, which was why the family crest had two of them.
He also knew the theory of getting past them. The Griffins were
stationed around a pile of gold which contained a key which would
be used to get past the next layer of wards. Instead of moving
forward, Harry bowed to the creatures, maintaining eye contact.
Griffins were very proud creatures, so he had to gain their trust first.
"Looks like Harry Potter is trying to befriend the Griffins instead of
attacking them," said Bagman. "This is most unusual, but will his
tactic work?"
Harry waited for a minute, not breaking eye contact at all. One of the
Griffins, the alpha, bowed back slightly but looked suspicious. Harry
straightened and slowly extended his hand, putting his wand back in
its holster. He then took small, careful steps forward towards the
alpha Griffin. When they saw him coming forward, the alpha shrieked
angrily and raised its powerful wings threateningly, but Harry did not
back down. He still maintained eye contact and slowly approached.
People in the stadium were holding their breath. Some were shaking
their heads at his foolishness but Dumbledore was smiling
knowingly.
When he was just a few feet from the alpha, Harry stopped, his hand
still extended outward. The Griffin made a soft noise but edged
forward. Slowly, inch by inch, it crept forward and Harry smiled as his
hand touched the soft feathers. The stadium exploded in cheers, but
Harry did not hear them because of the silencing charms.
"Hello, o majestic one," whispered Harry. "It's an honour to meet
you."
The Griffin made a sound as Harry scratched its feathers. Seeing the
alpha accept him, the other two Griffins also approached him. Harry
subtly flicked his wand as he summoned the ferrets which Hagrid
kept near his hut to feed the Thestrals and Hippogriffs. When the
dead food appeared, he fed it to the Griffins.
"Amazing!" shouted Bagman in awe. "I've never seen anything like
it!"
As the crowd went berserk, Harry went and took the large key from
the pile of Leprechaun gold. He opened the ward with the key and
went forward, only to be met with weird looking creatures.
" What the hell are you?" asked Harry, frowning.
He was facing three giant scorpion-looking creatures. They were
probably ten feet long and had stingers over their backs and also
had what looked like shiny armour. Harry also realised that there was
no reasoning with these creatures, whatever they were. They did not
possess the superior intelligence of the Griffins.
" Stupefy! "
Ripples in the air with a pale red right marked the stunning spells
which left Harry's wand as they impacted the Blast-Ended Skrewts,
but the spells just reflected off the armour. Harry dived out of the way
when he saw two more Skrewts approached him from behind. The
end of the Skrewt exploded, but Harry had created a full body shield
in place to help him; learning from the Dark Lord was certainly
beneficial in giving Harry lots of new tricks and spells in his arsenal.
Harry realised now that conventional spells weren't going to work.
He knew of spells that would kill the Skrewts, but he doubted that the
judges would like that and Dumbledore would call him to his office
again to ensure he was not going 'dark'. To avoid all that, Harry
jumped out of the path of the Skrewts again and ran in the opposite
direction. He turned around but was not able to avoid the blast. Harry
was thrown back against a boulder, his shirt smoking as he winced in
pain. Rising to his feet angrily, Harry slashed his wand at the ground.
A rumble could be heard as the ground in front of him cracked open.
Harry levitated one of the Skrewts and used it to push the others
bodily into the crack in the earth. Once done, he put the fifth one
inside as well and fired a massive jet of water at them and fired a
freezing charm to keep them in place. Once done, he moved on to
disabling the next concealment ward.
"Brilliant!" shouted Bagman over the deafening roars of the crowd.
"Such cool application of logic in the face of danger; Harry Potter is
the only champion who managed to overcome the Blast-Ended
Skrewts relatively unharmed!"
After disabling the ward, Harry's swallowed in fear as he saw the
massive Hungarian Horntail in front of him. The dragon was huge !
Harry may have faced a Basilisk, but a dragon was no less
dangerous. He was just glad they hadn't thought of a Nundu.
Taking a deep breath, Harry tapped his wand on his head,
disillusioning himself. The crowd watched curiously as being invisible
would not work against the dragon because of the creature's sense
of smell. Harry didn't attempt that, however. He raised his wand and
mentally said, " Expecto Patronum!"
Three enormous silvery thunderbirds burst from the tip of Harry's
wand, going towards the dragon. The Hungarian Horntail might be
the most ferocious dragon in the world, but it could sense that the
silvery creatures were not a threat to her or her eggs. The eggs, in
fact, were chicken eggs enlarged and made to look like dragon eggs
which Sirius had provided for the task. The real dragon eggs were
safely stored in the forest for the mother dragons to come and claim
them again once the tasks were done.
"Oh ho," asked Bagman excitedly. "It looks like Harry Potter has
conjured a Patronus; a very unusual way to get past a nesting
mother dragon."
As the Patroni danced around the dragon, making it happy as the
positive emotions influenced it, Harry pointed his wand at the sky
and said, " Accio Hagrid's roosters!"
Pretty soon, a dozen roosters flew into the arena due to the
summoning charm. Harry cast an Enlargement Charm on them to
make them bigger and then made sure they wouldn't escape. He
purposely kept them a bit away from the nest so that he could
approach it with safety. He then cast charms on the roosters that
made them give out an aroma that would definitely excite the
dragon.
He was right. With the Patroni dancing around it, the dragon was
already very happy, and now it had a meal as well. It looked around,
and after making sure there was nothing that could be a threat to its
eggs, it went forward to roast the chickens and eat them. While it
was happily feasting on them, Harry quickly went to the nest and
removed the golden egg and carried it away from the dragon, and
into a safe enclosure. He cancelled the disillusionment charm and
the Patroni disappeared as well. The crowd roared loudly.
"Look at that!" yelled Bagman. "Just look at that! Our youngest
champion is the quickest to get his egg, and he did it with the least
amount of injuries! Is that amazing or what? Merlin, this is surely
going to shorten the odds on Mr Potter! Congratulations to Harry
James Potter on getting through the First Task of the Triwizard
Tournament! Now, our judges have a few minutes to decide their
scores."
Harry was pumping with adrenalin as he walked out of the arena.
Just when he turned around a corner, he was assaulted by a blur
hugging him tightly, her lips firmly attached to his. Harry smiled as he
reciprocated, wrapping his free arm around her.
"You were brilliant," breathed Daphne. "Absolutely brilliant."
Harry grinned at her and was attacked by a blur from behind as well.
Harry laughed as he put an arm around Dylan.
"That was the most amazing thing I have ever seen!" said Dylan
excitedly. "You were awesome! Well, of course, you were. I knew you
would be!"
"You did, huh?" asked Daphne, looking very amused. Dylan poked
his tongue out at her as Harry laughed. Soon, they were joined by
everyone else who congratulated Harry on his victory. The judges
began giving their scores. Because of the nature of the tournament,
Supreme Mugwump Albus Dumbledore had come up with a brilliant
idea that made the judges sign a contract that ensured they would
judge the champions as fairly as possible and going by the look on
Karkaroff's face, Harry could see that the man hated having to sign
the contract. Finally, Harry's score was 48 points; Victor was in
second place with 41 points, Fleur was third with 38 points while
Cedric was fourth with 37 points.
With an arm around Daphne's waist and Dylan holding the golden
egg, Harry and his friends made their way to the castle. The First
Task was complete and Harry had performed admirably.
"Attention everyone," said Dumbledore as he got up from his throne.
It was dinner time and people were chattering excitedly over the First
Task which had taken place just several hours ago. "I would first like
to congratulate all of our champions in getting past the various
obstacles in the First Task and retrieving the Golden Egg. The
champions already know this, but the Second Task would be held on
the twenty-first of February and the clue to what the task is about is
for the champions to figure out."
"We still have three months for that so let us put it out of our minds,"
said Dumbledore smiling. "For now, let us concentrate on something
more joyful. The Yule Ball is a tradition of the Triwizard Tournament
which gives us an opportunity to mingle and socialise with each
other. Traditionally –"
He was interrupted when students, girls especially began squealing
and giggling in earnest and Harry found it very difficult to ignore so
many people staring at him. He tried to, though, as he fixed his gaze
at the Headmaster as though ordering him to continue.
Dumbledore's beard twitched in amusement, smiling at Harry's
predicament as he said, "Traditionally, the ball would be open only to
fourth years and above –"
There were loud groans and even Dylan looked upset. Dumbledore
held up his hand. "As I was saying, traditionally, the ball would be
open only to fourth years and above, but this time, we will be
allowing students of all years to take part, but let me remind you that
it is not mandatory. If the first to third-year students or even an older
student feels that he or she does not want to attend, they may
choose not to do so. Dress robes will be worn and the ball will begin
at seven o'clock on the twenty-first of December, finishing at – well,
that is up to you. I hope you all can enjoy yourselves. The Hogwarts
Express will leave on the twenty-third of December this year in
addition to the eighteenth, so those who want to go home for the
Yule holidays may do so. That's all for tonight, so chop-chop!"
People began muttering excitedly but Dylan was suddenly looking
nervous. He turned around and saw that Harry had an amused
expression on his face.
"Aren't you happy that you can attend the ball?" asked Harry, a
teasing smiling forming on his lips.
"I guess," said Dylan quietly. "But there is a problem. I – I don't know
how to dance."
"Well," said Harry, putting an arm around Dylan's shoulders as the
two of them made their way to Ravenclaw Tower. "Let me let you in
on a little secret. I didn't know how to dance either until three years
ago."
"You didn't know how to dance before that?" asked Dylan in
confusion. "I thought you said the ghost of Alfred Potter and the rest
of the portraits insisted you go for classes."
Harry chuckled. "I attended classes on martial arts, not dancing,"
said Harry softly. "It was a waste of time back then, but when I
received an invitation to a ball at Greengrass Manor, I decided that I
had to learn, so I asked Daphne to teach me. Not ask, actually. It
was more like a business deal. We even shook hands when we
made the deal."
Dylan laughed. "So what am I going to do?" he asked quietly.
"Not to worry, I'm here for you," said Harry. "By the time the ball
arrives, I will have you dancing like a pro because there are some
useful spells that can help you. You'll sweep Tori off her feet."
Dylan blushed, but a thought struck him. "What if Draco asks her
before I do?" he asked, looking alarmed.
"If he asks her before you, then you have to respect her decision,"
said Harry. "Otherwise, you can ask her tomorrow. Daphne is not a
girl who will accept a simple 'will you go to the ball with me' question.
She demands to be treated like a queen and I have to ensure that I
keep up with that. It's actually an annoying trait of hers, but no one is
perfect; I know that I'm not. I honestly have no idea how she puts up
with me. Anyway, we'll plan something for Tori too. Do you have
something in mind for her?"
Dylan thought for a minute as they walked up the stairs. "Actually, I
do. But I'm not sure if I can pull it off."
"Why fear when you have me?" asked Harry, with a confident smirk
on his face.
The next morning, Astoria slowly opened her eyes, listening to soft
sounds coming from somewhere. Blinking, she got up and turned to
her right only to gasp in shock. There was a beautiful bouquet of
assorted flowers. Next to the flowers was a small puppy, looking at
her expectantly as it let of soft sounds.
"A puppy?" whispered Astoria as she picked it up.
It was a baby Crup, a female she noticed. The forked tail had been
cut off, leaving only a single tail so she knew that it must be about six
weeks old. It resembled a Jack Russell Terrier and looked adorable.
It also had a pink bowtie with a note attached.
Dear Astoria,
I wanted to give her to you as a present for Yule, but I decided now
was a better time. Would you do me the honour of going to the Yule
Ball with me?
Love,
Dylan
"Aww," Astoria cooed as she petted the puppy. She had told him a
few months back that she would like a Crup as well after seeing the
one that Dylan owned and she couldn't believe like he had bought
her one! That was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for her!
A large smile broke out on her face. To think he would go through all
this just to ask her to the ball! Of course, she knew that Harry must
have had a hand in it, but she didn't care about that. All that mattered
was that she would have to accept the invitation and give Dylan the
biggest hug of his life!
She summoned one of the Greengrass house-elves and asked it to
create a bed for the puppy and give it some food. Once she was
finished with her bath, she came down to the common room to wait
for her sister. She couldn't wait to share this with her! As she was
talking to one of her friends, she heard someone clear their throat
behind her. Turning around, she saw Draco Malfoy flanked by
Crabbe and Goyle as always.
"Astoria, would you do me the honour of going to the Yule Ball with
me?" asked Draco formally. He was smug with the knowledge that
nobody else would have asked her this soon. After all, Dumbledore
had announced the ball just last night. He didn't see how she would
deny him.
"Draco, I'm flattered that you would ask me," said Astoria, smiling
weakly, feeling guilty for declining him, "but I already have a date. I'm
sorry."
"What?" Draco exclaimed in shock, finding it hard to keep the hurt
from showing on his face. "But the ball was announced just last
night! You didn't meet anyone after dinner. Who is it?" he demanded.
"Dylan. Dylan Lestrange."
"You're going with Lestrange ?" asked Draco, looking disgusted.
"Astoria, why would you want to go with him? He's a bastard child!"
Astoria's expression cooled slightly. "Maybe so, but he is also my
best friend. He asked me to accompany him to the ball and I said
yes. Please do not insult him in front of me, Draco. I don't like it."
Draco gritted his teeth. "If that's your decision, then I'll respect it," he
said curtly as he left, looking furious and hurt at the same time.
"I think you handled that rather well," said Daphne quietly, emerging
from the corner, frowning slightly at Draco Malfoy's retreating form.
Astoria nodded slowly, feeling bad for hurting Draco's feelings. Her
eyes lit up when she remembered what had happened before this
incident. "I have something important to tell you!" she gushed.
Daphne smiled as they walked to the Great Hall. That was really
sweet of Dylan and rather sweet of Harry to help him too. Oh, who
was she kidding? She knew that Harry would probably scale the top
of a mountain if Dylan asked him to do it. It was so adorable to see
those two together. Anyone watching them would think they were
actual siblings instead of people who had met just a year and a half
ago. Of course, time didn't matter if people were able to gel well
together; she and Harry were proof of that.
As they walked up to the entrance hall, they stopped, blinking their
eyes in surprise. The place was filled with bouquets of red roses and
white lilies. Daphne realised who was behind this immediately.
Roses were her favourite flower while Harry's were lilies. When she
heard someone clear their throat, she turned around, only to find
Harry holding one of those bouquets.
"Daphne Greengrass, would you do me the honour of being my date
to the Yule Ball?"
Daphne smiled brightly. "I would love to," she answered, pulling him
closer for a kiss as several people clapped. Since it was still quite
early in the morning, there weren't many present, but the news
would spread like Fiendfyre soon enough.
"I can't believe you did this; is this all for me?" she whispered in awe,
looking at the various bouquets in the entrance hall. She smelled the
flowers in her hand; they were so beautiful.
Harry opened his mouth but closed it again. "Yes, of course," he
said, signalling something behind him with his hand. From the corner
of her eye, she could see Dylan pulling out his wand and casting
spells on something
"Really?" asked Daphne, eyes narrowing.
She turned around before Harry could stop her and caught Dylan in
the act. He was in the process of getting rid of price tags on the
different bouquets.
"You were going to sell them to other students?" asked Daphne,
aghast.
"What are you going to do with fifty bouquets?" Harry retorted,
looking quite confused. "Sure, they look pretty, but once I asked you,
what's the point in keeping them? At least this way it would be of
some use to others, right?"
Daphne didn't know how to reply to that. She groaned. Leave it to
Harry to ruin a special moment. She honestly hadn't expected
anything like this; in fact, there wasn't a need for him to ask her at
all! Of course, her mother, the relationship guru , would say the
problem was due to lack of communication. Daphne honestly didn't
understand what her mother meant by that and she knew that Harry
didn't either.
Dylan was silently snickering in the background. He had warned
Harry against doing this, but he hadn't listened. Harry might be a
genius, but he was incredibly dense when it came to human
emotions, but from what Aunt Amelia had told him, Harry had gotten
a lot better with time.
Suddenly, someone crashed into him, giving him a big hug. "Thank
you so much for the puppy," whispered Astoria in his ear. "She's
adorable."
"You're welcome," said Dylan, blushing madly.
"I would love to go to the ball with you," said Astoria, pecking him on
the cheek.
Dylan touched his cheek where Astoria had kissed him. A dopey grin
formed on his face and he looked ready to faint.
It was worth all the effort