As expected, Skeeter's article had hit like a bomb. All over the wizarding world people began to argue. especially because six young people were ready to risk their own lives for the equality of beings. It hadn't surprised anyone with Fleur, after all she was a half vela. but Harry Potter in particular was not expected to have such a conviction. Even if everyone knew that they did not participate in the tournament voluntarily.
When Severus and Sirius read the article, they were incredibly proud of their son. but also worried. Especially Severus. He didn't want Harry to attract the hatred of narrow-minded people now. And so he watched every owl that brought the boy mail very carefully.
So far, however, he has only received letters of thanks. mostly by those affected or by supporters. Harry had particularly proudly shown them a letter from Lucius Malfoy. The man also stood behind the topic and had praised Harry for this brave step.
of course the other participants had also received the same letters. In this respect, Severus was able to sit back and relax after a few days.
He thought.
Harry was having breakfast with his friends when the owls were bringing the mail as usual.
the green-eyed man was just releasing Hedwig from the Daily Prophet when something crashed into his scrambled eggs.
"Errol," Ron commented annoyed.
The old owl lay on its back and held out its leg invitingly to Harry. he only had to take a quick look at the red envelope and his mood was at a low point.
Nevertheless, he solved the howler.
"Well then, let's hear what I did so bad," he muttered annoyed.
of course the whole hall had already noticed what kind of mail it was. It was correspondingly quiet. Nobody wanted to miss anything exciting.
And already Molly Weasley's voice screamed.
HARRY POTTER! How dare you bring such a shabby nonsense into the world? COMMIT YOURSELF TO THIS FOAM OF THE MAGICAL WORLD. YOU WAS SO DEAR BOY. WHAT ONLY HAPPENED TO YOU? YOU ARE NOTHING FURTHER THAN A PAMPERED CHILD! ...
the howler got no further. Beast had freed himself from Harry's school bag and jumped up with the book cover open. In midair, it grabbed the letter and chewed it up. it had a very satisfied expression on its face.
Harry watched the whole thing and burst out laughing.
“Beast, you are great. But please don't swallow it. You'll just ruin your stomach. "
obediently the book spat out the remains of the letter. Now all the other spectators began to laugh too. Except for Karkaroff, Moody, and the director, nobody could be serious anymore.
Well, the corners of Severus' mouth only twitched, but who knew him knew, the man was having fun.
“Harry, your book is amazing. Can my monster book do that too? ”Hermione speculated.
"If you're nice to him," Harry said. in the meantime he had cleaned Errol and gave him his scrambled eggs. The Gryffindor himself had no appetite for feathers and eggs.
Then the students began to argue eagerly. Now everyone wanted such a great book.
harry grabbed Beast and stroked it.
"Thank you. You are really great Do you understand what Mrs. Weasley said? "
The book tried its hand at a nod.
"You are smarter than some people."
"I agree."
Harry turned around, startled.
"Severus, do you want me to die of heart failure before the first exam?" The student asked reproachfully.
"Certainly not, and to prevent that from happening, we will train again today."
the boy nodded.
Then he looked at the staff table.
"Since the article appeared, the director has been looking at me as if I had forced him to eat bugs."
Severus followed his boy's gaze.
“Forget him, he's just angry because he's in a bad light again. First, because you have to take part in the tournament. And then, because you don't believe in the hunt for magical beings either. oh, don't try to lose your nerve in defense. ”With that, the teacher pointed to Harry's white streak. After this cryptic advice, Severus withdrew again.
With a loud bang, Harry slammed the door behind him and his friends. his strand stuck out again in all directions.
“It must have a bang. What does he think of teaching the unforgivable? "
Draco walked next to him and swore as well.
“Because the stupid director asked him to. But at least you were able to block the Imperio. The rest of us have made ourselves perfect idiots. "
“We'll learn that too. Did not you hear? the bastard is going to torment us with it until each of us can. Asshole! ”Hermione's anger was understandable. After all, Moody, each of them refusing to call him professor, had asked her to do a belly dance.
“These spells are not forbidden for nothing. Why does the old man want us to go through this? ”Daphne wanted to know.
"Because he's absolutely convinced that Voldemort will be back." Ron growled. He had to do a handstand. and he couldn't do it at all. The boy had bumped his back badly.
Then Draco started laughing. His friends look at him in confusion.
“The look on his face when you told him that the Cruciatus is not black magic, but white magic. I thought his wrong eye was falling out. "
Now his sister giggled too.
“And then when you asked why you don't learn that in Auror training. Wonderful. ”The others giggled too.
Harry shrugged.
“That's a fair question. I mean, they should defend themselves against spells that they don't even have a clue about. And we should allow ourselves to be protected by someone like that. No wonder that all of the work always falls on us children. "
Hermione nodded too.
“But at least you got some people thinking again. That’s worth a lot. Merlin, we are also unlucky with our defense teachers. I want Remus back. "
For this statement, the girl earned a grunt of approval.
“Come on, McGonagall doesn't like to wait. Maybe we're lucky and she doesn't like Moody either. The woman can be so upset. ”Harry changed the subject.
His friends followed, giggling.
Today was the day, the first exam was due. Harry had studied hard the last few days. Severus and Sirius had helped him wherever they could. Even if Karkaroff had complained to the minister. the man firmly believed that it was against the rules to train a champion. That was total nonsense, of course, and Crouch had said that clearly to the man's face.
then the druid demanded that the monster books be banned. The reason he gave was that the Beast had bitten his staff and stole his cap. When Severus asked him why Beast had done that, Karkaroff just swore. but he was not prepared to provide any further information.
What Harry liked best, however, was that everyone was now trying to tame their monster books. Everywhere you saw students playing with their books. Some even threw balls. the guest students even ordered some extra. Harry never expected to set a new trend. And that when it was just normal school books. But it shouldn't bother him. at least that brought fun and a good mood.
In contrast to today's event. Well, it was great fun for a lot of wizards. But Harry just wished he was very far away.
"Don't worry, honey, you'll do it."
"Thanks Fleur, but I'm still nervous."
“We all are. Believe me, none of us are crazy enough to look forward to what follows, ”Cedric reassured him.
When Harry looked at his fellow combatants, he only looked at worried faces.
"Are you wondering if it's all worth it?"
“For the rights of magical beings? Definitely ”, Victor confirmed his decision.
The rest of them nodded.
Then the minister came and explained the rules to them.
“Each of you reaches into this sack and takes out a dragon figure. Depending on which one it is, you will compete against the original outside. The aim is to get a golden egg from the nest of the respective animal. don't worry, the dragons are tied up. So nothing can happen. "
"Nothing can happen to the audience, you mean." Specified, Michael.
“And then also a golden egg. this not only awakens the breeding instinct of the animals but also their preference for gold. Seems like they really wanted to kill us. ”Melina remembered.
The minister cleared his throat.
“Don't worry too much. we will take care that nothing happens. We also have an excellent nurse. "
"She's only been cursing since the tournament started." Harry interjected helpfully.
Named nurse was of course Poppy. and she was laughing in the background at Harry's remark.
The minister cleared his throat.
“Oh, one more thing. Those of you who are still waiting to be deployed can of course not hear what is happening outside. we don't want you to copy something. "
The participants rolled their eyes. But they didn't say anything.
So they all reached into the bag. And how could it be otherwise? Harry promptly pulled the most dangerous of them all.
"Does anyone want to trade their luck with mine?" He asked sarcastically. The rest of the champions looked at him sympathetically.
And off we went. First it was Victor's turn.
From the people outside one could only hear loud roaring. no more noise penetrated her tent.
Fleur came second, then Cedric came. When it was finished, the round started again.
Harry watched as the other participants went out healthy and came back in partially battered. but luckily no one was seriously injured.
“NOW THE LAST CHAMPION. HARRY POTTER! BOY-WHO-LIVES AND SAVIOR OF THE MAGIC WORLD! "
Harry groaned.
"My name alone would have been enough," he grumbled.
when he stepped outside he was standing in the middle of an arena. The whole thing reminded the boy very much of the gladiator fights in Rome. He wondered who made the Caesar. Probably the old man himself.
the young Gryffindor ignored the announcements and the enthusiastic calls, he looked around at the female dragon. There she was. A Hungarian horntail. Actually a beautiful animal if it didn't grill it right away.
When Harry took a step towards the nest, the dragon lady rose, spread her wings and shot a jet of fire at him.
Avoiding that was no problem. stupidly Mama Dragon didn't think of staying on her nest. She got up completely now and followed Harry.
,Wait a moment!'
"Hey, shouldn't the good lady be chained?" Questioning and slightly angry, he looked at the kite trainers.
Among them was Charly Weasley, who had brought Norbert years ago.
"Um, I don't know how that could happen. She must have broken free. I'm sorry."
"Yeah, sure," the boy grumbled. “Why is that still surprising to me? it is logical that this only happens to me. Or did the others experience such a surprise too? ”He wanted to know more.
The kite trainers all shook their heads. each of them looked like they were already preparing an eulogy for Harry.
Harry didn’t get any further with his thoughts. The dragon lady was after him and shot one fireball after the other at him.
Cursing wildly, Harry set out to evade and fend off.
His words could be heard all over the arena.
“I wanted to have a completely normal school year. Just school, study, hang out with my friends, do a little nonsense. and what happens instead? Some kind of brake on evolution throws my name into the bloody goblet and I have to take part in a suicide contest that is only there to increase the ego of a few adults. Eternal fame, of course. if my entrails are scattered all over the school grounds, I am sure you won't forget me anytime soon.
Damn it, I just want a normal life with no special features. I was looking forward to this year so much. but no, instead of learning I play catch the hat with a five-meter-tall dragon in mother-of-the-clutch mode. Who the hell thought that was a good idea? Who sponsors the madness? A funeral home? "
it was not entirely clear to the audience whether to laugh or feel sorry. A 14 year old ran for his life and cursed like a sailor on shore leave.
The next moment the hero headed for the grandstands. he had just thrown a large stone into the dragon's mouth. The good girl choked heavily. But that wouldn't stop her long either.
As nimble as a squirrel, Harry climbed the pillars of the stands. He silently thanked Dudley and his gang for all the hunts on him. Only when he was standing on the top of the pillar did he look around. The dragon lady was still coughing on the stone. the looks she gave Harry were far from nice. One thing was certain, he had just not made a girlfriend. Well, maybe that could be changed.
when he looked down to the left at the rows of spectators, his face lit up.
"Severus, Sirius, good to see you."
Sirius smiled up at him.
“You have an amazing vocabulary. What is a toasch* “That was what the boy had called the director earlier.
Harry blushed.
"You do not want to know that."
"I bet it will," Severus muttered.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Potter," he heard a soft voice. Instantly the boy's heart beat faster.
"Mr. Malfoy, good to see you. How are you? ”Why the hell did the man make him more nervous than the dragon?
The aristocrat laughed.
“I should probably ask you that question. I can't complain myself. but shouldn't you focus more on your opponent? She'll be here soon. ”Lucius could be heard of his concern.
Harry glanced at the kite.
"I want that. Damn it, how long does she want to cough. did I get her that bad. The good girl is certainly just as unsatisfied with the tournament as I am.
"Why? You're doing well. At least you still have time to talk and curse half the magical world. and now you stand very relaxed on this pillar and talk to us. "
Harry laughed out loud.
“You are wrong. I am anything but relaxed. I always start babbling when I'm nervous. "
"I can confirm that," grumbled Severus.
Now it was Sirius' turn to laugh.
"He was just so nervous because you punished him."
“The boy had absolutely no business in the forest! And certainly not with the spiders. the Potions Master justified himself. It was, of course, about the punishment during the summer vacation.
Lucius paid no attention to the two but looked at the boy closer. He had to admit he was confused.
"Hm, you don't look that nervous to me. Rather in a bad mood. "
Harry nodded absently. The dragon lady had recovered from her coughing fit and was now flying towards him.
“I'm nervous and angry, it's just ridiculous that I have to take part in all of this. And slowly I'm getting really bitchy. "
At the last word he had raised his right leg and hit the dragon on the jaw. the lady made a backward somersault due to the force of the impact.
Harry took advantage of this and now jumped from his pillar. He grabbed the chain that was still wrapped around one of the horntail's legs. the boy landed on the ground, took the chain tightly in both hands and whirled the poor kite around in the air like a merry-go-round.
Harry felt like a hammer thrower. But he didn't let go of the chain, he pulled on it. as a result, the kite thundered to the ground and then lay motionless.
Now Harry could get the golden egg without any further problems. When he had it and was about to leave, he heard a loud whimper behind him.
Sighing, he turned to the mother dragon.
"Hey my sweetie, don't cry. There is no young of yours in there. "
Since the boy was holding the egg in his hand, the dragon could not attack now, fire would destroy the egg. so the mother just kept moaning. Harry felt sorry for the animal. He took a closer look at the thing in his hand, and noticed an opening mechanism. He operated it. In the next moment all that was heard was a bloodcurdling scream. both the dragon and the cubs fell backwards in alarm and landed on their backside. Harry quickly closed the egg again.
"And do you believe me now?" He wanted to know from the dragon mother.
She rubbed her ears and nodded. then she trotted back to her nest and perched on it.
Harry smiled, stroked the lady's muzzle and went back into the tent with his prey.
He paid no attention to the amazed spectators.
When Harry was back in the tent, the first thing he wanted to know about the others was how they had fought the dragon.
Victor started his story.
“I put an illusion on her eyes. she thought everything was fine the whole time. I was able to get the egg without her noticing. Unfortunately, the good girl moved her tail the whole time. Like a cat. The part hit me. "
Next came Fleur.
“I just cast a sleep spell. Everything went well, but the dragoness snored. I was lightly roasted. "
“I just gave her big chocolate cookies. Dragons are crazy about it. She didn't even notice that I took the egg with me. ”Cedric grinned up and down at his story.
"I played with her on Easter."
"You're welcome? Are you saying you hid her balls? ”Harry was speechless. Melina just nodded.
“Yes, whenever she found an egg, the next one was already gone. She's been walking around the arena the whole time. Almost ran me over. "
“I turned a big pile of stones into a treasure. has changed back almost too soon. "Michael grumbled.
Now everyone was looking at Harry expectantly. He shrugged his shoulders.
"During the vacation, Severus showed me how to convert magic into physical strength. A kick was enough. but doesn't work for long and is incredibly exhausting. I am done for today."
The mouths were open to the champions. They had never heard anything like it before. Could they learn that too?
it only took a few minutes and the jury called the participants back to themselves.
Dumbledore stood up.
“That was really a spectacular performance. Each of you has really come up with something extraordinary. we now come to the award of points. "
Actually, the points were pretty even. Only Harry got just two points from Karkaroff. The man was still pissed off about Beast.
Most of the audience immediately got excited. after all, Harry had shown great skill. But none of that mattered to Harry.
Annoyed, the boy listened to the instructions for the next round before he fled.
He went to his family as soon as possible. and even if it was poison for Severus' reputation, he threw himself into his arms.
"Thanks, I wouldn't have made it without you."
Severus smiled and also put his arms and the little one.
“You did a great job. I'm proud of you." sirius joined them and cuddled the boy too.
Harry didn't need more, just the approval of Severus and Sirius then he was happy .