Chapter 34: A Bulgarian
AN: Hey guys and welcome to the next chapter! It's time for some action between Harry and Krum.
Enjoy!
The recognizable sections belong to JKR
Chapter 34
Together, Harry and Fleur walked down the giant staircase until they reached the Great Hall. Exciting murmurs could be heard all around them. Apparently, news of his duel with Krum had spread throughout the Castle. Harry saw Krum surrounded by his mates from Durmstrang and the majority of upper-year Slytherins, sitting at the Slytherin table.
Fleur led them to their usual spot at the Ravenclaw table, when Harry remembered that he was not officially a member of that house anymore. Fleur didn't seem to care. She huffed in annoyance and pulled Harry by his hand to finally take a seat beside her.
The two had not been seen together for almost two weeks and exciting whispers spread around them, as they had obviously settled their difference. Sirius grinned at him from the head table. As one of the judges for the tournament, he has been granted his personal quarters at Hogwarts. Even Dumbledore's eyes twinkled madly as he saw Harry and Fleur sitting together.
Harry finished his meal in silence and waited for dinner to end. Surely Dumbledore would make some sort of announcement. Indeed, as soon as the plates and dishes vanished, the Headmaster stood up:
"As most of you have probably heard, earlier today a confrontation was witnessed between two of our champions. Unfortunately, in the heat of the moment, no diplomatic solution has been agreed upon. Therefore, a duel will be held between the Challenger, Victor Krum, and the Challengee, Harry Potter.
The duel will be held on the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch in 30 minutes. Students from years four and upwards will be allowed to watch the duel from the stands. The professors and members of staff will ensure that all other students remain in their dorms. Thank you, that is all."
A loud groan had swept through the Great Hall. Many of the younger years were excited to witness their first duel and let out their disappointment.
"I will be watching from the stands." Fleur squeezed his hand under the table. Then she bent forwards and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek: "Good luck, Harry."
Harry watched her leave, as she walked out of the Great Hall.
"I still don't know how you did it, Pup. You should keep that one close." Sirius approached him with a grin. "Are you ready?"
Harry nodded and followed his godfather out of the Castle and down to the Quidditch pitch.
"You have done this often enough, you know what to do, Harry." Sirius patted his shoulder. "Do you want to remain in your fancy new outfit or change into your dueling robes?"
"These robes are good enough to duel in," Harry replied. "Besides, Krum took offense at the Crest on it. It will be even sweeter to watch his face as I beat him wearing them."
Sirius chuckled. "What was that all about anyway? The sign of Grindelwald?"
"Whatever Krum thinks about it, he is wrong. This sign is much older than Grindelwald and the entire Durmstrang building. However, I made an interesting observation. Did you see Dumbledore's face when Krum mentioned the connection between the Hallows and Grindelwald? Dumbledore knew about it and he showed a great deal of concern that I know about it too.
If Grindelwald permanently carved the crest into a wall while still being a student at Durmstrang, then he must have been looking for the Hallows as well in his youth. The question is, which one did he find?"
"Something you can wrap your mind around after winning this duel, come on Pup, let's get ready."
The two had been standing at the side of the Quidditch pitch, while the stadium had slowly filled with people. Dumbledore walked into the middle of the field, waved his wand in a complex pattern, and erected a protective dome over the center of the field. Harry and Sirius walked towards Krum and Karkaroff who were waiting for them in the middle.
Soon, Dumbledore applied a Sorounus charm on himself: "The rules are as follows: All spells are allowed, even the Unforgivables. The duel ends as soon as one of the opponents yields or finds himself unable to continue. On my sign, you may begin…"
Sirius and Karkaroff left the dome, while Harry studied a still enraged Krum. The older boy could not quite hide his nervousness. Dumbledore raised his wand and fired red sparks into the air:
"Begin!"
Harry instantly opened the duel with a couple of bone breakers and Krum went on the defense. He dodged the majority of incoming curses. His career as a Quidditch player and being very athletic, certainly helped him.
Harry kept up the pressure, mercilessly, but Victor proved he was no slouch. Undoubtedly, the boy could make it far in the dueling world. It just seems he had decided that he preferred Quidditch. His shields were strong and his reflexes excellent. He was one of the better opponents Harry had faced so far, but certainly not the best.
Krum fired a few well-aimed blood-boiling curses and a withering curse that he thought Harry would not be able to doge. He watched in horror as Harry simply batted them away as though they were nothing, he had seen very few people capable of that feat. He had to quickly conjure a shield again as Harry returned fire with some very questionable curses, some he had never seen and had no idea what they would do.
Harry connected with the first couple of spells, drawing blood from his opponent. Krum was already suffering from a few broken ribs and deep gashes along his torso from Harry's cutting curses.
The Bulgarian felt his magic draining quite rapidly from the amount needed to maintain the shield. He thought that the boy would tire from using so many powerful spells but he could see that he showed no signs of slowing, he didn't even look slightly fatigued.
He knew he was in a desperate situation and had one last spell that he knew would cause Potter problems. Karkaroff had taught it to him. He dropped his shield and braced himself.
"FIENDFYRE!" He roared, dropping to his knees right after, from the sheer exhaustion of casting the spell.
Harry looked on in awe as a giant fiery chimera erupted from the tip of Victor's wand and charged towards him. The cursed fire would destroy anything in its path, perhaps even the dome Dumbledore had erected to shield the students.
He had read the notes of Herpo the Foul multiple times. Subduing the demonic flames required a battle of wills and immense magical power. He could probably do it already, but why risk it, if he only needed to redirect the ravishing flames?
He stretched out his arms to both sides, standing like a cross in front of the approaching flames. Now, the head of the chimera was only a couple of meters away from him. Harry focused, took a step forwards, and slammed both his hands together. An invisible barrier appeared in front of him, which the demon's fire mashed against it.
The barrier would hold for maybe another ten seconds, long enough for Harry to take over control and redirect the spell back at Krum; he was curious to see how the Bulgarian would deal with it.
Waving his wand in complicated patterns and finishing with a sharp stab forwards he pushed the flames back against their original creator. Krum stared in shock as his creation turned and shot towards him. He barely had anything left. Harry could make out Karkaroff screaming something, probably for Krum to get up and defend himself, but the Bulgarian Seeker had nothing left.
The flames would have reached him any second, when Dumbledore flamed in front of him, using his familiar, Fawkes, and held out both hands to stop the cursed chimera. Harry watched as the greatest sorcerer alive battled the flames and slowly but steadily decreased their size. Magic was radiating from the ancient Headmaster and his eyes glowed a bright blue, similar to Harry's when he was using enormous amounts of magic.
With a ground shattering GONG that probably could be heard all over the Castle's grounds, the flames completely vanished, creating the epicenter of a shockwave. Dumbledore walked over to Krum, who was still panting on the ground, bleeding from his wounds and coughing blood. He ensured that the Bulgarian was not lethally harmed, before amplifying his voice once more and addressing the crowd:
"The winner, after Mr. Krum found himself unable to continue, is Harry Potter! Please make your way back to the Castle."
Besides the professors, Fleur, Terry, and Sirius no one was clapping. The majority of students were still trying to figure out what magic they had just witnessed. If it took Dumbledore almost a full minute to battle and vanish the spell, how did Potter redirect it that easily at only fourteen years old?
Harry received a heavy slap on his shoulder as Sirius approach him from behind:
"Merlin, Harry, where did you learn how to redirect Fiendfyre? And what spell was that barricade?"
"I can't give away all my secrets now can I?" Harry laughed and made his way over to Fleur, who was waiting at the side of the field.
"How did you do that, Harry? I have never seen anything like that before." The Veela asked, perplexed.
"Stick around and you might find out." Harry grinned at her. Soon they all made their way back to the Castle. Harry did not let anyone notice, but he was exhausted. Battling the cursed flames is a feat of magic comparable to conjuring and holding his Inimicus for a couple of minutes.
Right now he needed to speak to Salazar. If an above-average wizard like Krum could conjure the cursed flames that easily and it took Harry all his power to subdue them, what chance did he have, in case someone exceptional attacked Harry with them?
Under the pretense to get some sleep, Harry turned in for the night and made his way to the Chamber. Just as he opened the door to Salazar personal Quarters, Dobby, appeared with a loud POP in front of him:
"Harry Potter, sir! Dobby believes he knows what the first task might entail, Sir!"
"Tell me everything you think you know, Dobby," Harry replied eagerly.
"Dobby heard a red-haired man speak to the Headmaster, sir. The man said that something had enraged the dragons and that they were more difficult to control than usual. That's all Dobby could hear, he did not want to get caught."
"Very good, Dobby. What did the red-haired man look like?"
"Dobby remembers, he had lots of scars, Harry Potter, sir. He looked similar to the Weasel Harry Potter dislikes."
Could have been one of the older Weasley brothers then. Harry remembered Ron Weasley bragging that his brother was a dragon handler at some point in the first year: "You did very well, Dobby. Keep your eyes and ears open for more."
The elf nodded, happy at the praise, and disapparated again.
Harry turned to Salazar, who had witnessed the entire conversation.
"Well, first things first, I just won a sanctioned duel with the Bulgarian champion and fought off Fiendfyre." Harry laughed at the Portraits dumbstruck expression. Time to brief Salazar on his eventful day.
"Now that I go over the events again, I think that gong and shockwave, Dumbledore produced when vanishing the flames, must have angered the dragons. Whatever actually happened, it traveled faster than the speed of sound. This means that the Dragon must be somewhere close to the Grounds. The only place I could think of is the Forbidden Forest."
"Find them. And find out exactly what it is that you must do." Salazar advised.
"Harry nodded. I will do so, but for tonight I will rest." Harry replied, barely suppressing a yawn. He went over to the large bed of the Founder, extinguished the lights and candles with a flick of his wand, and fell into a deep sleep.
November 14th, 1994
The next morning, Harry had just started his workout in the ROR, when the door to the room opened. Harry silently summoned his wand from the table, by holding up his hand and directed it towards the front.
"No reason to be worried, Harry. I just wanted to join you for a workout." spoke the familiar voice of Fleur Delacour. The French witch stood at the entrance to the room in a light blue tracksuit. Was it part of her required school uniform?
"Uh, sure... " Harry gulped: "I just started, so feel free to do whatever you like." He quickly averted his eyes back to the bench he was currently occupying and loaded some weights for another set of twelve.
Fleur dropped her gym back close to the table, pulled out a water bottle and a towel, and walked towards the treadmill. Harry tried to ignore the Veela as best as he could and continued his own training. After finishing his set on the bench press, he walked over to the dumbbell rack for some shoulder exercises.
Standing in front of the mirror, he finally noticed why Fleur might be shooting him curious looks from time to time. As usual, when working out, he was not wearing a shirt, only his short athletic pants, and trainers. Well, it would be weird to conjure a t-shirt now, so Harry just continued as usual.
He cursed when it became almost impossible for him to concentrate. Fleur had just stepped off the treadmill and walked over to the squat rack. There she removed her track pants and jacket. She was now loading the bar, wearing only tight black yoga pants and a blue sports bra. She pulled her hair up high into a ponytail and started her own exercises.
Harry pulled himself together and continued his routine. He needed to find a way to deal with the bombshell blonde witch, especially if she would join him for his workouts more often in the future.
Around 7:30 both were finally done. Luckily, Fleur decided to take a shower in her carriage and the two agreed to meet again for breakfast in half an hour. For Harry, it was time for a very cold shower.
In the Great Hall, almost every single student had a copy of the Daily Prophet in his hands. Harry sighed and pulled out his own edition. Let's see what Rita Skeeter thought about his confrontation with Krum:
Harry Potter, Europe's third Dark Lord of the century?
By Rita Skeeter
My dear readers will remember that only two weeks ago, Harry Potter was named the fourth competitor in the Triwizard Tournament. It is yet unknown how the fourteen-year-old boy managed to submit his name to the Goblet of Fire, but speculations are running high:
"Potter got used to cheating during his time here at Hogwarts. We don't know how exactly he entered himself, but he has crossed legal and moral boundaries on numerous occasions," Says Draco Malfoy, fourth-year Slytherin and a former friend of Mr. Potter.
"I think he used dark magic. Potter has proven that he is not uncomfortable dwelling into really obscure magical fields. One only has to look at the Parselmagic and the spells he used in the dueling tournaments so far." Roger Davies, a housemate from Ravenclaw, added.
But what exactly is known about Potter's affiliation with the dark arts? Yesterday, this reporter witnessed an interaction between Durmstrang Champion, Victor Krum, and Harry Potter. The latter had appeared at the official Wand-Weighing-Ceremony, wearing a strange and unknown crest on his robes.
Victor Krum accused Potter of supporting a murderer, claiming the crest belongs to no other than the notorious Dark Lord, Gellert Grindelwald. Upon further research, no clear connection could be drawn between Grindelwald and a crest, like the one Potter wore. However, Krum stood by his claim that Grindelwald himself carved such a crest into the walls of his former school, Durmstrang.
Igor Karkaroff, Headmaster of Durmstrang Institute, neither confirmed nor denied such a claim. However, the heated argument turned into a duel on the Hogwarts quidditch pitch, in which Potter defeated the Bulgarian seeker, using the darkest of magic. This reporter submitted her memory of the events to an expert from the Department of Mysteries.
"Potter managed to block Fiendfyre, an extremely rare dark curse, used by Grindelwald and You-Know-Who at the heights of their power. Such knowledge and skill when dealing with a curse such as that, leads us to believe that Potter is well versed in the dark arts."
A similarity to Fiendfyre was already found in the curse Potter used to kill the Dementors, roughly one year ago. Is this further proof that the young boy has walked down a dark path?
His affinity for anything dark is only supported by the choice of wand the self-claimed Champion currently wields. According to the professional wandmaker, Garrick Ollivander, Potter's wand contains a combination of Redwood and Elderwood. The latter has not been used in wands for centuries and often stood in reference to death and Dark Lords during the middle ages.
The core of his wand is made of Thestral hairs. To clarify for my readers: Thestrals are animals that can only be seen by someone that witnessed death. They are largely regarded as a bad omen in the wizarding world.
The wand seems so dangerous, that even professionals like Ollivander can only touch it using extreme precaution and covering his skin in dragonhide gloves. A wand like that cannot be healthy for such a young wizard. Maybe the Department of Mysteries should obtain permission to study the wand and destroy it if necessary?
I am certain that magical Britain will do anything possible to pull Harry Potter back to the path of the light.
For more information about Potter's use of spells turn to Page 3
For further information on a possible connection between Potter and Grindelwald turn to page 5
Harry couldn't hold it in. He started laughing. What a load of dragon dung. Since when was he friends with Malfoy? Why was it not even mentioned, that Krum was the one that originally cast Fiendfyre? Also, why the hell would he allow the Ministry to snap his wand, just because they might see it as dangerous?
Fleur Delacour walked up to him and shot him a curious look. Harry just continued chuckling and passed the paper over to her. It took her a minute to read the article and her eyes narrowed in anger the further she read.
When she finished, she burned the paper in her hands and Harry could swear that her facial feature became slightly avian for a second:
"This nasty woman, how could she spread such blatant lies about you?" Fleur looked about ready to hit the reporter with a fireball the next time she saw her.
Harry put a hand on hers to calm her down and was shocked at the heat of her skin. It was barely tolerable: "It's okay, Fleur, it's nothing new to me. One second I am a hero, the next I am a villain. There is little we can do about it. Let's focus on this tournament, instead."
Fleur visibly calmed down. The temperature of her hand dropped until it was at its usual warmth. She nodded and started her breakfast. Afterward, Fleur decided to prepare for the task by herself. Harry and the Veela had reached a silent agreement, that they would not help each other with the tasks and prepare individually. Besides, the Veela was way too proud to accept any help from Harry, anyways.
Therefore, a couple of days later Harry found himself in the Chamber again, arguing with Salazar about how to deal with the dragons.
"First you should find out what kind of dragon they are using for the task. Different species have different strengths and weaknesses. It's a lot more difficult to prepare for the unknown. Find the dragons and gather as much information on them as possible."
"I am planning on taking a flight over the Forbidden Forest tonight. I might now be able to see through the crowns and leaves that cover the forest, but I can't imagine the dragons staying silent for long."
"Good. I also had an idea, Harry. What do you think about buying a Pensieve, like the one your Headmaster owns? It would be very useful to start storing your memories. Depending on the model, it might also have a projection feature, so you can share a certain moment with me. I know they are expensive, but you have not sold any Basilisk venom in some time and the market will welcome it with open arms." Salazar suggested.
"The only person that I know who might have an idea where to buy one is Borgin… let me draft a letter, and then I will scout the forest for the dragons," Harry replied.
He pulled out some ink and parchment and began writing.
Dear Mr. Borgin,
I hope you are well and your business is flourishing.
While I am still quite young, I currently find myself with an abundance of memories. It would be ingenious to simply store them and replay them at will. I was hoping that you might be able to make the necessary connections to a manufacturer or reseller for a Pensieve.
Of course, the value of such a device will be high. However, as you well know, it has been some time since the market has seen a fresh supply of Basilisk Venom and I am willing to meet that demand once more.
Naturally, your services as a broker will be rewarded with appropriate compensation. My elf, Dobby, will deliver your reply at your earliest convenience. Simply call for him.
Your former employee wishes you a successful week,
Harry James Potter
That should do well enough. It was almost midnight, so Harry started to get ready to scout the Forbidden Forest. He took out the shrunken broom Sirius had gifted him for his birth last year and called for Dobby.
"Dobby, I would like you to take me down to the Whopping Willow. Afterward, please take this later to Borgin and Burke's in Diagon Alley."
The elf nodded his understanding and grabbed Harry's hand. A second later, he stood 50 meters away from the infamous tree and had a good view of the Forbidden Forest. It was time for some reconnaissance. He was about to place a disillusionment charm on himself and the broom when he spotted the door to Hagrid's Hut opening.
Harry shrunk the broom and placed it within his robes. He pulled out his Cloak and made his way down to the hut. What was Hagrid doing out so late, and why the hell was he dressed like that? Harry decided to follow the man from a safe distance.
Hagrid was leading him to the Beauxbatons carriage and knocked three times on the door bearing the crossed golden wands. Madame Maxime opened it. She was wearing a silk shawl wrapped around her massive shoulders. She smiled when she saw Hagrid. "Ah, 'Agrid, it is time?"
"Bong-sewer," said Hagrid, beaming at her, and holding out a hand to help her down the golden steps. Harry visibly cringed at his French, Fleur would not speak to him for a week if he dared to abuse her language like that.
Madame Maxime closed the door behind her, Hagrid offered her his arm, and they set off around the edge of the paddock containing Madame Maxime's giant winged horses.
Apparently, Madame Maxime had no idea where she was taken to, because after a while she said playfully, "Wair is it you are taking me, 'Agrid?"
"Yeh'll enjoy this," said Hagrid gruffly, "worth seein', trust me. On'y, don' go tellin' anyone I showed yeh, right? Yeh're not s'posed ter know."
"Of course not," said Madame Maxime, fluttering her long black eyelashes.
And still, they walked. At first, Harry thought that he would just be witnessing a date between the two, but then, when they had walked so far around the perimeter of the forest that the Castle and the lake were out of sight, Harry heard something. Men were shouting up ahead… then came a deafening, earsplitting roar.
Perfect, Hagrid was leading them right to the Dragons. A minute later, Harry saw them. Four fully grown dragons, each a different species. He tried to remember the most memorable features, to research them later, but Hagrid made his life much easier by asking one of the tamers about them.
"What breeds you got here, Charlie?" said Hagrid, gazing at the closest dragon, the black one, with something close to reverence. Its eyes were still just open. Harry could see a strip of gleaming yellow beneath its wrinkled black eyelid.
"This is a Hungarian Horntail," said Charlie. "There's a Common Welsh Green over there, the smaller one- a Swedish Short-Snout, that blue-gray- and a Chinese Fireball, that's the red."
Harry put all the names to memory, he was about to walk back when Hagrid asked another question.
"Four… " said Hagrid, "so it's one fer each o' the champions, is it? What've they gotta do? Fight 'em?"
"Just get past them, I think," said Charlie. "We'll be on hand if it gets nasty, Extinguishing Spells at the ready. They wanted nesting mothers, I don't know why, but I tell you this, I don't envy the one who gets the Horntail."
Harry had seen enough, now that he knew where the dragons were, he could always come back later to study them. He was just at the edge of the forest when he saw someone walking through the dark. Igor Karkaroff was sneaking from tree to tree, making his way towards the dragons.
He must have seen Maxime and Hagrid meet and walk up to the forest together. It only took Harry a second to decide what to do. He and Fleur would definitely know about the Dragons now. There was pretty much nothing he could do about it, but why should Krum and Diggory have the same advantage?
Krum had been nothing but an arrogant overgrown baby since he arrived here and openly challenged Harry. As for Diggory, Harry had not once seen him ask his fellow housemates to remove their 'Potter Stinks' badges. So much for Hufflepuff's and kindness and fairness. No, neither of them deserved this knowledge…
Harry sneaked up to Karkaroff, pulled out his wand, and murmured:
"Confundo!"
"You will forget that you have seen Hagrid and Madame Maxime walk into the forest, you will forget anything you might have already heard on your way here. You will not remember anything concerning the first task that you might have discovered tonight. Return to your ship and tell Krum that you have not figured anything out, yet. You will also forget us having this conversation."
Just to be on the safe side, Harry also obliviated Karkaroff off any of the memories of tonight. Tomorrow morning, the man would wake up just like on any other day. Time to get back to Salazar.
"I found the dragons, I also know which species I might face," Harry told the Founder as soon as he entered the Chamber. After retelling any tiny detail, including his encounter with Karkaroff, Salazar nodded appreciatively:
"Well done, Harry. You are starting to think like a true Slytherin. Taking away any potential advantage from the other competitors is crucial. Now, you have mentioned that they have brought nesting dragons and an overabundance of eggs…
This is indeed curious. If I had to guess, I'd say that you will need to steal something from the dragon. Nesting mothers are very protective of their eggs, making it a perfect task, by slipping some random item next to them for the mother to protect and you to steal.
Depending on the dragon, you will have to be rather confrontational. The Horntail and Fireball, for example, are too smart to play any games of hide and seek. You would have to overpower them…" Salazar suggested.
"How do you overpower a dragon?" Harry asked curiously.
"Attack its weak points. The eyes are any dragon's most vulnerable spot. A Conjunctivitis Curse could blind the dragon and allow you to slip past it but it will still breathe fire, though."
Fire, that's it. "Or I just fight fire with fire…," Harry mumbled.
"What did you say?" Salazar frowned.
"I said, I might fight fire with fire. I think I have an idea that could work, but I need to practice, as much as I can." Harry smiled.
"Please don't do something reckless, my heir. I only just started enjoying your company."
Harry laughed at that. "Don't worry Sal, you won't get rid of me that easily. I'll use the time turner to get some sleep, while also heading off to the ROR to test my theory. I'll talk to you tomorrow."
The next day, Fleur did not join him for his workout in the ROR. She also was not present at breakfast in the Great Hall. Harry figured that Madam Maxime must have told her about the dragons and Fleur was using all her time to figure out a strategy.
Today was Sunday, meaning he had two more days to practice for his task. His first couple of tries last night had been successful, but Harry wanted to make sure that it would work 100% of the time. On Monday he was asked by the fake Moody to stay behind.
"Do you know about the dragons yet, Potter?" Moody growled.
"What dragons, sir?" Harry replied calmly.
"The dragons boy, the dragons for the task, of course."
"Oh, those dragons… No, I have no idea what you're talking about, professor. The school would never endanger their Champions and let them face actual dragons." Harry laughed.
Moody groaned: "Listen Potter, they have four dragons. One for each of you and you must take something from it, okay? Play to your strengths and think about something."
"Why would you tell me about them, Professor? What interest do you have in me winning this tournament?" Harry asked curiously. Maybe the imposter would let something slip.
Moody seemed very careful with his answer "I don't care about you winning, but I don't want Karkaroff's student to win and I don't want that French girl to win either… Diggory does not have the balls to do this, so I'm hoping you have. Anyways, that's it, Potter. You can leave now, just make sure you are prepared."
Harry did as he was told and left the office. This was very interesting. Whatever these people were planning. They wanted Harry to survive the first task. Harry hoped he still had time to figure out what their end goal was…
Chapter 35: A Hungarian
AN: Time for some Action!
I present: The first task...
Let me know how you liked Harry's approach to fight the dragon.
Enjoy!
The recognizable sections belong to JKR
Chapter 35
Today was the first task and Harry was about to face his dragon. Sitting at the table and eating lunch in the Great Hall, Harry went over his strategy one more time. He was confident that it would work and it would be a brilliant display of raw magical power at the same time.
He felt prepared to face his dragon and watched himself in the reflection of his silver plate. He had decided to wear the dark gray athletic robes with the Peverell Crest on display. Screw what Rita Skeeter or anyone else thought about it.
Besides Luna Lovegood and Terry, no one wished him good luck. Earlier today, Cedric was surrounded by his housemates and supporters from all other houses. However, Harry was radiating pure confidence and calmness, Cedric looked extremely nervous and even a bit scared.
Krum and Fleur had each remained at the ship and the carriage, respectively. Harry was eager to find out how Fleur would be dealing with her dragon. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Flitwick making his way down towards him.
"It's time, Harry. Please follow me down to the grounds."
Harry nodded, finished his last scoop, and stood up to follow the charms master.
"You seem like you have a plan, Harry, so I won't even bother asking if you are prepared," Filius spoke once they were out of the Entrance Hall.
"Get ready for a treat, professor. This one will be fun." Harry chuckled.
They walked towards a tent at the edge of the forest.
"The other champions are inside, good luck, Harry." Filius gave him a small smile and made his way around the tent. Harry took a last calming breath and entered. Fleur was sitting in a corner on a low wooden stool. She didn't look nearly as composed as usual, but rather pale and clammy. She was wearing something similar to the dueling robes Harry had seen her in, at the tournaments. As she saw Harry enter, she gave him a smile and raised her chin a couple of inches.
Krum looked a lot surlier than usual, which Harry supposed was his way of showing nerves. It seemed as if he and his Headmaster were unsuccessful in figuring out what the task entailed. He, too, was dressed in special athletic robes in a bright red.
Cedric was pacing up and down the tent. He looked the worst of all of them. Fear stood in his expression and his face took an unhealthy color. He looked like he was about to throw up. Harry shook his head at the older boy's outfit. He was wearing his normal school uniform with the Hufflepuff colors. The material might easily catch fire.
"Harry! Good-o!" said Bagman happily, looking around at him.
"Come in, come in, make yourself at home!" Bagman looked somehow like a slightly overblown cartoon figure, standing amid all the pale-faced champions. He was wearing his old Wasp robes again.
"Well, now we're all here, it's time to fill you in!" said Bagman brightly. "When the audience has assembled, I'm going to be offering each of you this bag," he held up a small sack of purple silk and shook it at them: "from which you will each select a small model of the thing you are about to face! There are different, er, varieties, you see. And I have to tell you something else too... Ah, yes! Your task is to collect the golden egg!"
Harry glanced around. Cedric had stopped pacing around and simply looked at Bagman stone-faced. He seemed utterly confused. Fleur Delacour did not react at all. She had probably reached the same conclusion as Harry.
Krum narrowed his eyes but nodded his understanding soon after. Outside the tent, hundreds upon hundreds of pairs of feet could be heard passing the tent, their owners talking excitedly.
Soon, Bagman was opening the neck of the purple silk sack.
"Ladies first," he said, offering it to Fleur. She put a shaking hand inside the bag and drew out a perfect, miniature model of a dragon, a Welsh Green. It had the number two around its neck. Harry knew, by the fact that Fleur showed no sign of surprise, but rather a determined resignation, that he had been right: Madame Maxime had told her what was coming.
It was different for Krum and Cedric. Both the older boys' faces were distorted in confusion at the miniature model Fleur had just pulled out. Krum was next. He pulled out the scarlet Chinese Fireball. It had a number three around its neck. The Bulgarian blinked a couple of times and gulped. Then he sat back down and stared at the ground.
Cedric put his hand into the bag, and out came the blueish-gray Swedish Short-Snout, the number one tied around its neck. The poor Hufflepuff looked about ready to faint. It seems he finally realized what exactly he had entered his name into.
Harry sighed, he knew exactly which one was left, but luckily his approach and strategy would hardly make a difference. Knowing what was left, Harry put his hand into the silk bag and pulled out the Hungarian Horntail, with the number four around its neck. It stretched its wings as he looked down at it, and bared its minuscule fangs. Harry gave it a scratch under its tiny chin.
"Well, there you are!" said Bagman. "You have each pulled out the dragon you will face, and the numbers refer to the order in which you are to take on the dragons, do you see? Now, I'm going to have to leave you in a moment, because I'm commentating. Mr. Diggory, you're first, just go out into the enclosure when you hear a whistle, all right? Now, Harry, could I have a quick word? Outside if you please?"
"No, I don't think so, Bagman. I'll prepare for my task now." Harry replied neutrally.
Bagman seemed conflicted but decided it's best to rest his case and instead approached Cedric to guide the Hufflepuff out of the tent and into the arena ahead. Cedric's task started and Harry tried to listen to Bagman's commentary.
It seems he wasn't doing so well, according to what he could hear, Cedric was mostly just hiding and had no clear strategy yet. The crowd screamed, yelled and gasped like a single many-headed entity, as Cedric did whatever he was doing to get past the Swedish Short-Snout.
Suddenly, the screams were unnaturally loud. Something must have happened to Cedric. Even Bagman stopped his commentary. Harry chuckled: "I guess someone overestimated his abilities."
Krum shot him a glare, but said nothing. Fleur was still pacing around, so Harry walked over to her.
"Hey, are you okay? Do you have a plan?" Harry whispered, squeezing her hand lightly.
"I have a plan. It will work." Fleur replied confidently.
"Good, I still want to get to know you better, Mademoiselle." Fleur couldn't help stop the laughter that escaped her lips. The two sat down together, still comforting each other by holding a hand.
A couple of minutes later Bagman reapplied the Sonorus charm.
"One down, three to go!" Bagman yelled as the whistle blew again. "Miss Delacour, if you please!"
Fleur stood up to her full height and gave Harry one last look.
"Good luck," Harry whispered and tucked a stray hair behind her ear affectionately.
Fleur gave him a soft smile and exited the tent. The process started again.
"Oh I'm not sure that was wise!" they could hear Bagman shouting gleefully. "Oh, nearly! Careful now, good lord, I thought she'd had it then!"
Suddenly everything got very quiet outside. Harry frowned, all he could hear now was a very faint chanting. What was Fleur doing?
Ten minutes later, Harry heard the crowd erupt into applause for the first time. Fleur must have been successful too. Harry was happy for her and even somewhat relieved that nothing serious had happened to the French witch.
A pause, while Fleur's marks were being shown. More clapping followed, and then, for the third time, the whistle pierced the air. "And here comes Mr. Krum!" cried Bagman, and Krum slouched out, without the usual arrogant look on his face.
Krum definitely took the longest. He was most likely thinking about a strategy and hiding for the time being. Finally, he decided to do something.
"Very daring!" Bagman was yelling, and Harry heard the Chinese Fireball emit a horrible, roaring shriek, while the crowd drew its collective breath. "That's some nerve he's showing, and wait- yes, he's got the egg!"
Applause shattered the wintery air like breaking glass; Krum had finished, Harry couldn't help but respect that. The boy had no way to actually prepare and still finished his task, all though taking way longer than Fleur.
Now it was his time. Harry took a couple of deep breaths and let his magic swirl around him. This would be his most impressive display so far, probably leaving him exhausted for a couple of days.
He stepped out of the tent. Loud boos were shouted at him from the stances and the audience. However, everything faded out beside the gigantic Horntail, at the other end of the enclosure. It was crouched low over her clutch of eggs, her wings half-furled, her evil, yellow eyes upon him, a monstrous, scaly, black lizard, thrashing her spiked tail, leaving yard-long gouge marks in the hard ground. There between the normal eggs, Harry could spot a bright golden one. Time to get to work:
The first step would be to distract the beast. Harry approached the dragon head one. The spell was on his lips, he was simply waiting for the dragon to breathe its fire. A couple more steps and Harry would be in range. The dragon knew so, threw its head back, and opened its wide mouth to release the second hottest flames on earth.
Second… indeed... Just as the dragon had opened his mouth, Harry shot his wand forwards and tore deep into his core. Then he let out a roar in Parseltongue:
"FIENDFYRE!"
A fiery Basilisk, almost the size of the dragon, rose from his wand, took a protective stance in front of Harry, and swallowed the entire flame the dragon had shot at him.
"Absolutely incredible!" Harry could hear Bagman yell over the Soronus charm, while the many members of the audience started panicking.
His Basilisk, conjured by cursed fire, was more than a momentary distraction for the dragon. The Horntail decided that the giant serpent in front of him was the more serious threat compared to a small human and focused her attention entirely on battling the beast. Its fire, however, dealt no actual damage to Harry's spellwork. Harry waited for half a minute, watching the spectacular fight between the two monstrosities, and letting his core replenish.
The horntail had been slowly pulled away from her eggs. They were now unprotected. However, Harry did not favor risking his life and body just yet. Time for part two, killing a dragon.
"What is he doing now? He could easily just steal the egg, already," Bagman shouted as Harry took a knee and placed both his hands on the ground below him. Then he started chanting in Parseltongue.
"Coniuro radices inferni… Coniuro radices inferni… Coniuro radices inferni… "
He could barely finish the last part of it, but the work was done. He felt them rising below him. This had been an almost two millennia-old Parseltongue spell, usually used by at least a dozen Parselmouths to bring down an entire village or city.
Harry remained on his knees to catch his breath, as the literal Roots of Hell broke through the solid ground and started tugging on the dragon's limbs. The first couple of roots were small and fragile and the dragon easily broke free. However, they quickly grew as thick as small trees and the dragon realized its precarious situation. Slowly the roots started wrapping themself all over the Horntails body, pulling it flat to the ground.
Meanwhile, Harry's fiery Basilisk repeatedly drew its fangs deeper and deeper through the thick skin at the dragon's necks. The dragon roared in pain, while Harry walked over to the eggs and picked up the golden one with one hand.
His Fiendfyre Basilisk had now shrunk to barely 10 feet, but its fiery body was long enough for it to wrap itself around the whimpering dragon's throat. After less than a minute the battle was over. The horntail was dead. Harry aimed his wand at the Basilisk, which had let go of its victim in search of a new target. After a battle of wills, made significantly easier by the small size of the cursed flames that was left, Harry vanished the creature, just as Dumbledore had done a couple of days ago.
The entire stadium was silent. Harry searched for the judges' panel and watched the horrified expressions on the faces of Maxime, Karkaroff, Bagman, and Crouch. Dumbledore seemed very disappointed and shook his head ever so slightly. Sirius just seemed very impressed with Harry and gave the boy a thumbs up.
Finally, Bagman pulled himself together: "Well, our youngest champion defeated the dragon the quickest with a combination of- I honestly have no idea what kind of spells those were. Congratulations, Mr. Potter! Please remain with us for a minute to receive your score."
Each jury member started shuffling through his scoreboards while conversing in low whispers. Sirius seemed enraged at whatever was going on. Then, they finally presented their scores:
Bagman seemed to be very impressed with Harry's performance and held up a ten for him. Crouch seemed angrier than anyone else. He gave Harry a zero. This was followed by two more zeros from Karkaroff and Maxime. Dumbledore seemed still disappointed but couldn't hide his pride at the magic Harry wielded. He gave the boy a nine. Finally, Sirius finished the scoring with a ten and some very harsh words for the other judges:
"You cowering little shits. Nowhere in the rules was it mentioned that the Dragon had to remain unharmed or even alive. Krum permanently blinded his dragon and none of you bat an eye at him. I hereby appeal the decision of the other judges!"
"Champion Potter finished his task in the fastest time. Half the speed it took the closest competitor. He showed exceptional control over his spell work and no members of the audience were endangered at any point in time. My godson was already pulled into this competition against his will! The least you can do is stop being fucking biased."
The entire arena was silent. Sirius made quite an impressive figure and some of the judges were visibly nervous.
"I give you a minute to reconsider and adjust your scores." Sirius finished his short speech and winked at Harry.
Harry himself did not really care much about the score. He had just beat a freaking dragon by himself. Of course, he was completely exhausted magically and couldn't wait to lay down but watching Sirius belittle the other judges was a treat in itself.
After another minute of whispers, Crouch stood up: "It seems our previous decision was rushed and ill-considered."
Harry snorted.
"Mr. Potter showed an incredible skill for his age. It was simply the unknown element in the magic he used that left a bad impression on us. Three of the judges have therefore reconsidered their scores."
He himself then held up a nine. Madam Maxime followed with an eight and after another glare from Sirius, so did Karkaroff.
"Mr. Potter's total score is therefore 54 points, placing him first in the competition so far."
Crouch turned to leave, but Harry was not done yet. He quickly amplified his voice:
"I, Harry James Potter, hereby claim the remainder of this dragon as my tribute, as is my right as the slayer of the beast!"
The jury gulped. It has been centuries since someone had made use of the ancient tradition that was still part of wizarding culture and law.
"We acknowledge your conquest." Crouch simply stated before turning and leaving.
Harry smiled. The sale of the dragon would probably be enough already, to finance a potential new Pensieve. He walked over to the dead beast, just as Sirius made his way down into the Arena.
"Dobby, Kreacher!" Harry called.
"Harry Potter, sir has defeated his nasty dragon, Sir!" The former greeted him. Kreacher looked at the dead dragon curiously.
"Master killed the beast. Master is now a dragon slayer. He honors House Black with his achievements. How may Kreacher serve him?"
"Kreacher, I would like you to help Dobby take apart the dragon. Dobby will then take the parts to a location of my choice one by one." Harry ordered.
Both elves gave a deep bow and started their work. Harry walked over to Sirius to meet the man halfway and was caught in a bone-breaking hug.
"Harry, I am at a loss of words! James, Lily, and I were the brightest students in our year, but this was something else. You make me so proud, Pup."
"Thank you, Sirius, why don't you take me out to dinner tonight at the Three Broomsticks. Just some quality Godfather-Godson time?"
"Sure, Harry." Sirius grinned, who noticed Harry's eyes flickering to a bright patch of platinum-blonde hair that was standing at the edge of the arena.
"Make sure to be careful when celebrating your victory later on. I am far too young to be a god-grandfather." The man barked his laughter.
Harry rolled his eyes and turned to walk towards Fleur, who was beaming at him. He noticed her parents standing behind her, but still walked straight at her and embraced her in a tight hug. The Veela was momentarily surprised by the public display of affection but quickly returned the hug, throwing her arms around Harry's neck and pressing her body against his.
Harry lost any concept of time, as he simply stood there, exhausted from his task but with the beautiful witch in his arms. Her parents seem to have waited long enough, as Sebastian Delacoiur cleared his throat.
Harry let go of a blushing Fleur. He contained his own blush as best as possible and approached the stern-looking man:
"Monsieur Delacour, it is a pleasure to welcome you at Hogwarts."Harry held out his hand politely.
The man shook it: "Thank you, Mr. Potter. I congratulate you on your impressive victory over the Horntail."
Harry gave the man a kind smile: "You honor me, Monsieur." he turned towards Fleur's mother.
"Madam Delacour, you look as beautiful as ever, even the gray and cold Scottish weather does not diminish your radiant aura." Harry grinned cheekily.
Appoline Delacour laughed as musically as her daughter: "You were right, my little Flower, this one is a charmer."
"Harry, stop flirting with my Mamam, please." Fleur interrupted their little banter. "Maman, Papa, I will see you later, I would like to talk about the task with Harry, quickly."
"Meet us at the carriage at six for dinner, Fleur." Her mother replied, before pulling away her husband, who seemed about ready to audibly disagree with his daughter's decision to spend even more time with the young man. Fleur and Harry made the way back to the Castle, ignoring the whispering students around them.
"Do you want to go to the room and tell me about your task?" Harry asked her, as they reached the main gate.
Fleur flashed him a small smile and nodded eagerly. Together, they walked up to the seventh floor, where Harry stopped in front of the blank wall:
"What kind of room would you like?" He turned to the Veela.
"Let me show you." The girl replied and walked up and down in front of the wall three times. "Go ahead." She gestured for Harry to open the door. Behind the door was not a room, but a beautiful, sun-lit garden with a variety of flowers and magical plants.
A pebble pathway led through the different sections with bright marble statues at regular intervals. As soon as Harry took his first step into the garden, his nose was filled with the scent of different flowers and freshly cut grass.
"Do you like it?" Fleur asked him, as she led Harry to a wooden bench at the edge of a hedge.
"It's beautiful," Harry simply replied: "Is the garden below your balcony in France?"
"It is…" Fleur nodded: "I love spending time here over the holidays, reading my school books, or practicing magic with Papa."
"I did not know your parents would join you for your task," Harry admitted.
"I sent a letter to Maman. I needed her help with something and they arrived a couple of days before the task." Fleur explained.
"What did you need help with?" Harry asked curiously. At Fleur's frown and silence he continued:
"I know Madam Maxime told you about the dragon a couple of days before the task." Harry laughed.
Fleur was perplexed: "How did you know? Who told you?"
"Nobody told me, I accidentally crashed the date between your Headmistress and our groundskeeper. Hagrid decided that there is nothing better to do on a first date than watching fire spotting beasts in a dark forest." Harry grinned.
Fleur couldn't hide her grin: "So you knew as well? That makes me feel better already, about you beating me in the task. I could not live with myself, knowing that I had an advantage and you still outperformed me."
"I knew I would face a dragon and I knew I had to find a way around it. However, I decided to just go all in." Harry explained
"You were incredible, Harry. I recognized the cursed flames after Krum had used them in your duel, but what were those dark vines and roots coming from the ground? Even my Papa says he had never seen anything like that before." Fleur's eyes were gleaming in amazement.
Harry decided that he could tell her about another secret of his: "I own a very old book about Parselmagic. The spells in there are all incredibly ancient and powerful, long forgotten by the magical world. What I used today was 'The Roots of Hell'. During the middle ages, it was used by groups of Parselmouths to subdue entire cities and villages."
"You must be exhausted then, non?" At Harry's nod, Fleur closed her eyes, and the bench they sat on grew a couple of feet in its length. "Lay down and put your head on my lap. You should rest, Harry." The Veela ordered with a stern look.
Harry knew better than to argue with her whenever she became like this and did as he was told. He turned sideways, put his legs up on the bench, and carefully let his head rest in Fleur's lap. It was actually quite comfortable and the view was amazing. Harry stared up into Fleur's hypnotizing deep blue eyes and simply didn't say a word for a minute.
"Comfortable?" Fleur asked him while letting down her high ponytail. Harry just nodded, closed his eyes, and sighed contently.
"Tell me about your task. How did you get your golden egg?"
"Well, I already told you that I asked my Maman for help. At the wand weighing ceremony, you heard me say that my Grandmother is a Veela. What I did not mention is that any female child of a Veela is automatically a full Veela, too. There are no quarter or half Veela's. We simply use those terms to avoid a lot of discrimination in the wizarding world."
At Harry's nod, Fleur continues.
"Anyways, the allure of a Veela can be used for different purposes. My passive allure simply makes most males lust after me in a sexual manner. However, I can manipulate my own allure to also create strong tiredness in the people around me. I amplified this part of my allure with a very ancient song to beat my dragon."
Harry started chuckling: "A song? You beat your dragon by singing a song?"
"Yes, it was magnificent. The dragon got more and more tired and fell asleep after close to 10 minutes. Almost every member of the audience was asleep too at that point. I think only Headmaster Dumbledore, Madam Maxime, and your Professor Flitwick could still keep their eyes open."
"What happened to your robes, then?" Harry asked and turned his head sideways to gesture at the part of her uniform that had been burned.
Fleur pouted: "Well, when I approached the dragon after it fell asleep, it let out a single fiery breath from its left nostril. It caught my uniform, but I quickly used some water."
"Luckily it didn't catch your hair…" Harry whispered, as a single stray of platinum blond hair fell from Fleur's head and dangled above his face. He played with it and twirled it between his fingers.
Fleur did not seem to mind it and continued her story: "I received 52 points in total, putting me right behind you in second place." She mentions proudly.
"I'm very proud of you, Fleur. Do you know how Diggory and Krum did?" Harry asked curiously.
"I only know that Diggory got burned very badly and failed to retrieve his egg. He received 10 points in total for his 'Bravery'."Fleur shook her head amusingly.
"Krum played hide and seek with the dragon for almost ten minutes before finally coming up with a plan. Then he tried to hit the dragon's eye with a Conjunctivitis Curse. He was successful, but the dragon was so enraged that it destroyed almost all the other eggs. It also took him 20 minutes in total. He got 40 points, ten of those from Karkaroff." Fleur mentioned with narrowed eyes.
Harry started laughing, he decided not to mention that he was the reason why Krum didn't know about the dragons in the first place. "Well, we have a lot of time until November now to prepare for the second task. I hope Sirius is taking good care of my egg for me."
"What do the students usually do over those months, besides studying for classes?" Fleur asked.
"Well," Harry frowned. "There is not really that much to do here during the winter. Usually, there are a couple of Hogsmeade weekends. The next one should be this weekend."
"Hogsmeade?"
"It's the village close to the Castle. We saw the outline of it from the Shrieking Shack, remember? I could show you around if you'd like…" Harry added and wanted to hit himself right after. Why the hell would he suggest that? They just started getting along as friends.
"Are you asking me on a date, Harry?" Fleur laughed.
"No- I mean- I am sure you could also just go there with some other students from Beauxbaton if you'd rather…" Harry tried to save himself.
"Non, it's okay, Harry. I would like to explore the village with you. You already gave me a tour of the Castle, why not the village as well?" Fleur smirked.
"Well, apparently you did not like my tour very much." His remark had slipped out before Harry could stop it.
Fleur became unnaturally still below him. "Yes, about that, I probably owe you an apology. That was very immature of me…"Fleur seemed very uncomfortable. "I did not actually go on a tour with him, Harry, I was just frustrated with you. I instantly regretted it, as soon as you disappeared. I am not interested in any of the other boys here, Harry..."
Harry gulped. Did that mean she was interested in him?
"I wish you would have gone on a tour with Davies… It would have been the worst tour of your life and served you well as a punishment." Harry tried to lighten the situation with a joke.
"I will make it up to you tomorrow, I promise." Fleur looked down at him and moved a single raven-haired lock from his forehead. Harry forced himself to remain relaxed when her fingers touched his skin. The two teenagers remained in their position for another hour, talking about the different shops they would visit in Hogsmeade and what the other tasks might bring.
Around 6 pm it was time for both of them to leave. Harry had a date with his godfather at the Three Broomsticks, while Fleur would join her parents and Madam Maxime for dinner at the carriage. Harry reluctantly removed his head from the Veela's lap. It had been the most intimate time they had yet spent together, not only on a physical level.
They had enjoyed some great banter after finally finishing the first task. Both could simply relax and enjoy each other's company. Harry could not wait to spend the day with her in Hogsmeade next weekend.
Harry accompanied Fleur down to the carriage. He was still within the Hogwarts wards, so he asked Dobby to apparate him to the Three Broomsticks. Sirius wanted to know everything that happened with Fleur during their 'Private Time' and Harry admitted that he had somehow asked her on a date to Hogsmeade.
"Well, at least you are moving faster than your dad. It took James over six years until Lily finally went out with him. Not for a lack of trying."
They finished their respective meals and Harry enjoyed his very first shot of Fire-Whiskey. When Sirius started flirting with Rosmerta, the curvy owner of the pub, Harry decided that it was time to leave. He did not trust Sirius to successfully apparate by himself and called for Kreacher to get him back to Grimmauld place, before letting Dobby take him back to Hogwarts.
At 11 pm, he finally got back to the Chamber. Dobby and Kreacher had started taking the Dragon apart and stored it close to the remains of the Basilisk. To his surprise, Dobby had placed a reply from Borgin at his table. Harry curiously opened the envelope and started reading.
Dear Mr. Potter,
congratulations on being chosen as a contender for the Triwizard tournament. I am positive you will make it very far in this extraordinary competition.
Memories are indeed very interesting and understand your desire to store them. My reply might seem late, however, I started asking within my network if anyone had information on the device you desire.
Unfortunately, there are no known suppliers in magical Britain. However, I was successful on the continent. There is a well-known manufacturer and reseller in Egypt, who offers three different models.
A simple Pensieve in which one person at a time might rewatch memories. (10.000 Galleons)
A modified version of the first Model, which allows multiple people to enter the Pensieve at the same time. (12.000 Galleons)
A Pensieve with the same characteristics as Nr. 2, in addition to certain runes, which allow the holographic projection of memories. (15.000 Galleons)
The resale and transport of a Pensieve is heavily regulated by the ICW and the British Ministry of Magic. For my services and my discretion, I would therefore charge you a sum of 500 Galleons to organize everything for you, so that you can pick up the device at my store in Knockturn Alley.
I eagerly await your reply,
Borgin