EDITED
January 5, 2014
If you find any grammatical/spelling errors, please politely let me know. I am not a professional, nor do I claim to be an experienced author. I do make mistakes that I am trying to clean up.
...
[Chapter 9: Dragons]
Early Sunday morning, after freshening up, Hermione and I hurried off to the Great Hall. We sat with Ginerva Weasley, Ron's younger sister, and gulped down the food hungrily. It was a sunny day, but with the perfect amount of clouds dipping in and over the Sun. Hermione finally finished her porridge, and I was done scarfing down my scrambled eggs. We looked up to see Harry, waving us over to where he stood. He dragged us out onto the grounds, and it was there, that he told us that dragons were the first task, and about everything this 'Sirius' person had said, while we took a long walk around the lake.
Alarmed as Hermione was by Sirius's warnings about Karkaroff, we still thought that the dragons were the more pressing problem.
"Let's just try and keep you alive until Tuesday evening," she said desperately, "And then we can worry about Karkaroff."
We walked three times around the lake, trying all the way to think of a simple spell that would subdue a dragon. There was not a single spell that occured to me, so we retired to the library instead. Here, Harry pulled down every book he could find on dragons, and all of us set to work searching through the large pile.
"Talon-clipping by charms... treating scale-rot... This is no good, this is for nutters like Hagrid who want to keep them healthy..." muttered Harry.
"Hey!" I said indignantly. He gave me a sorry glance and returned to the books.
"'Dragons are extremely difficult to slay, owing to the ancient magic that imbues their thick hides, which none but the most powerful spells can penetrate...' But Sirius said a simple one would do it..." Hermione sighed.
"Let's try some simple spellbooks, then," said Harry, throwing aside 'Men Who Love Dragons Too Much.'
He returned to the table with a pile of spellbooks, set them down, and began to flick through each in turn, Hermione whispering nonstop at his elbow, while I continued shuffling through pages and pages of spell books on magical creatures.
"Well, there are Switching Spells...but what's the point of Switching it? Unless you swapped its fangs for wine-gums or something that would make it less dangerous... The trouble is, like that book said, not much is going to get through a dragon's hide... I'd say Transfigure it, but something that big, you really haven't got a hope, I doubt even Professor McGonagall... unless you're supposed to put the spell on yourself? Maybe to give yourself extra powers? But they're not simple spells, I mean, we haven't done any of those in class, I only know about them because I've been doing O.W.L. practice papers...."
"Hermione, I really don't think they'll be actually slaying the dragon... That would be harming a magical animal, and you know Dumbledore would want no part in killing a living breathing thing." I told her, leaning back laxly in my chair, "It's not exactly orthodox."
"That is true... But what then? What could they possibly need a DRAGON for, if not to slay it?"
"Guys," Harry said, through gritted teeth, "Will you two shut up for a bit, please? I'm trying to concentrate."
But all that happened when Hermione and I fell silent, was that this blank buzzing, which didn't seem to allow room for concentration.
"Oh no, he's back again, why can't he read on his stupid ship?" said Hermione irritably as Viktor slouched in, cast a surly look over at us, and settled himself in a distant corner with a pile of books. "Come on, Harry, we'll go back to the common room... his fan club'll be here in a moment, twittering away..."
As we got up to leave, passing Viktor on the way, he caught my arm, and Hermione and Harry continued to walk away.
"Quidditch this afternoon?" He offered.
I smiled slightly, but shook my head, "I have to help Harry. And I'm sure Karakoff would be blooming mad if you wasted time on me, when the tournament is day after tomorrow."
"It vouldn't be a 'vaste of time,' It vould be helping me to relax."
"Sorry, Vik." I bit my lip, "I really have to go. I'll be cheering you on."
My statement made him laugh half-heartedly, before standing up and giving me a hug. I accepted this embrace gladly, barely able to wrap my arms around his neck as his was so tall and broad. When I pulled away he was smiling.
"Soon, though?"
"Soon," I agreed.
I caught up with Harry and Hermione a few minutes later, and a gang of girls tiptoed past the three of us, one of them wearing a Bulgarian scarf tied around her waist.
"Told you," Hermione muttered.
...
That night I slept constantly chased by nightmares of things going wrong in the tournament. If something happened to Viktor or Harry, I wouldn't forgive myself.
Breakfast was rather quiet and difficult. I kept stealing glances at Harry, worried for his well being. He seemed to want to upchuck anything that he swallowed. As Harry, Hermione, and I finished to get up, I caught sight of Cedric Diggory leaving the Hufflepuff table.
Cedric still didn't know about the dragons... the only champion who didn't, if Maxime and Karkaroff would have told Fleur and Krum.
"Hermione, Ash, I'll see you two in the greenhouses," Harry said, "Go on, I'll catch up."
"Harry, you'll be late, the bell's about to ring--"
He cut me off, "I'll catch up, okay?" giving a reassuring smile.
"This had better be good," I warned in a motherly tone.
...
Hermione and I talked and laughed all the way through our walk in the vegetable patch until we arrived in greenhouse number two.
"Alright students, today we will be pruning a Flutterby Bush!" said Proffessor Spout, clasping her hands together. I prided myself on my studies, but this was one plant I'd never heard of.
"A what...?" I whispered to Hermione.
She did the oddest thing... Hermione Granger, shrugged.
After ten minutes of pruning our bushes, I started to get worried.
"A little late isn't he?" I asked, gripping the top of the bush with my dragon hide gloves.
She snorted, "Well, we warned him... I just wonder what was so important he was late for Herbology."
I nodded absently, not being able to fully concentrate on the assignment.
The first task was only hours away, and there would be a real dragon, full ready to burn Harry to a bloody pulp. Why must this happen? He never asked to be put in mortal danger, and he could die from this.
"Ash," Harry whispered, sneaking up behind me, making me jump "Ash-- I need you to help me."
A lump formed in my throat-- don't ask why-- it just did. Seeing him standing there, looking so innocent. Needing help from me.
"What is it?" I whispered back, my eyes round with anxiety over the top of the quivering Flutterby Bush I was pruning.
"I need to learn how to do a Summoning Charm properly by tomorrow afternoon."
Now I see why he needed me. I was somewhat of a natural, but I'd never tried teaching before.
And so we practiced, bringing along Hermione of course. We didn't have lunch, but headed straight for a free classroom, where Harry tried with all his might to make various objects fly across the room toward him. He was still having problems though. The books and quills kept losing heart halfway across the room and dropping like stones to the floor.
"Concentrate, Harry, concentrate..." Hermione scolded.
"What d'you think I'm trying to do?" said Harry angrily. "A great big dragon keeps popping up in my head for some reason... Okay, try again..."
"Harry, calm down. Hermione, lighten up!" I said, getting up from a desk I had been sitting on, to walk over toward Harry. Readjusting the way Harry was holding his wand, I made him raise his hand a bit. "Take a deep breath. Think about the object and not why you need it... just the object. Kind of like a patronus charm, focus on good energy. Not really a specific memory, just good energy. It helps with most charms."
Harry did as I said, and even though the book flung toward him with a greater distance, it still wasn't perfected.
He wanted to skip Divination to keep practicing, but Hermione refused point-blank to skive off Arithmancy, and there was no point in staying without her, otherwise, I might've been too lenient. Therefore, Harry and I both had to endure over an hour of Professor Trelawney, who spent half the lesson telling everyone that the position of Mars with relation to Saturn at that moment meant that people born in July were in great danger of sudden, violent deaths.
"Well, that's good," said Harry loudly, his temper getting the better of him, "Just as long as it's not drawn-out. I don't want to suffer."
I smacked him in the shoulder, and shot him a warning look. Ron looked for a moment as though he was going to laugh, and it made me miss him terribly. He was my Ginger. The sight of Ron made me ache emotionally. We used to be so close, but apparently Ronald felt that I had chosen Harry over him, which is not true.
Harry spent the rest of the lesson trying to attract small objects toward him under the table with his wand. He managed to make a fly zoom straight into his hand, though he wasn't entirely sure that was his prowess at Summoning Charms-- perhaps the fly was just stupid. When he leaned over to whisper this in my ear, I bursted into girlish giggles, earning us both very suspicious looks. As if the article weren't bad enough...
...
After Divination, Harry and I decided to eat a bit and then bring along a few finger foods with us. Eventually, we returned to the empty classroom with Hermione, using the Invisibility Cloak to avoid the teachers. We kept practicing until well past midnight. The three of us would have stayed longer, but Peeves turned up and, pretending to think that we wanted things thrown at us, started chucking chairs across the room. Harry, Hermione, and I left in a hurry before the noise attracted Filch, and went back to the Gryffindor common room, which was now mercifully empty.
At two o'clock in the morning, Harry stood near the fireplace, surrounded by heaps of objects: books, quills, several upturned chairs, an old set of Gobstones, and Neville's toad, Trevor. Only in the last hour had Harry really got the hang of the Summoning Charm.
"That's better, Harry, that's loads better," Hermione said, looking exhausted but very pleased.
"She's right, Harry." I smiled, "You're getting the hang of it."
"Well, now we know what to do next time I can't manage a spell," Harry said, throwing a rune dictionary back to Hermione, so he could try again, "Threaten me with a dragon." He raised his wand once more. "Accio Dictionary!"
The heavy book soared out of Hermione's hand, flew across the room, and Harry caught it.
"Harry, I really think you've got it!" I squealed delightedly.
"Just as long as it works tomorrow," Harry said. "The Firebolt's going to be much farther away than the stuff in here, it's going to be in the castle, and I'm going to be out there on the grounds..."
"That doesn't matter," said Hermione firmly. "Just as long as you're concentrating really, really hard on it, it'll come. Harry, we'd better get some sleep... you're going to need it."
With that, Hermione left up to the girls dormitory, leaving me with Harry. Harry let out a yawn and streatched his arms over his head.
"Harry?" I asked, standing up.
"Yes?"
"I've been wondering ever since I brought up the patronus charm... what's your happy place?"
He smiled warmly, "My parents. I'm actually not sure if it's a real memory..." he shook his head slightly, "What's yours then?"
I blushed faintly, "Um... Hogwarts in general. I love my Quidditch practices with Vik. Studying and hanging out with Hermione... teaching you new things."
The last part was a bit teasing, but he laughed anyway.
"Glad I could help."
"Well yeah, me too." I yawned, "I guess we should get to sleep. G'nite Harry."
With a small, gingerly hug, we both went our seperate ways and went to sleep.
...
I had been focusing so hard on teaching Harry the Summoning Charm that evening that some of my worries for his safety left. It returned in full measure, however, on the following morning. The atmosphere in the school was one of great tension and excitement. Lessons were to stop at midday, giving all the students time to get down to the dragons' enclosure-- though of course, they didn't yet know what they would find there.
Harry had seemed very distant; not that I can particularly blame him. He was, after all, about to face a fire breathing beast. Time was behaving in a more peculiar fashion than ever, rushing past in great dollops, so that one moment we seemed to be sitting down in first lesson, History of Magic, and the next, walking into lunch... and then (where had the morning gone? the last of the dragon-free hours?), Professor McGonagall was hurrying over to Harry in the Great Hall. Lots of people were watching.
"Potter, the champions have to come down onto the grounds now... you have to get ready for your first task."
"Okay," said Harry, standing up, his fork falling onto his plate with a clatter.
"Good luck, Harry," Hermione whispered.
"You'll do great." I added.
"Yeah," said Harry in a voice that was most unlike his own.
He left the Great Hall with Professor McGonagall. She didn't seem herself either; in fact, she looked nearly as anxious as Hermione. I was glad I couldn't see my own face. I was so anxious, in fact, that I wanted to just go crazy and curse everyone I saw.
As soon as everyone was out of sight, I buried my face into Hermione's shoulder and felt like crying, "Hermione... We need a backup plan..." I said softly.
"I know..." She whispered back.
Grabbing her arm, I led her out of the hall, not to be heard by any other students.
"Listen, if anything goes wrong, I will summon the broom myself." I stated, staring her.
Hermione's eyes widened incredulously, "But Ash! That's cheating! You could get expelled."
I nodded my head, not knowing what I would do if I had to leave Hogwarts, "Listen Mione, all of my morals pretty much fly out the window when someone I care about could die. I'd do the same for Viktor if something went wrong."
Hermione sighed, before nodding, "I understand. Be careful..."
Students began to file down to the arena where everything was taking place.
"Hermione! Ash! Over here!"
Hermione and I looked up to see Ron, Fred, and George, waving us over. Hermione sat down next to Ron, and I sat on his other side next to George. (Ron apologized for being an 'arse' to me, and I accepted the apology.)
Suddenly, a Light blue dragon was allowed into the arena, it's face somewhat pushed back-- the Sweedish Short Snout.
Soon after the dragon, followed Cedric Diggory. Nervous butterflies escaped and fluttered all around my stomach, making me feel a bit light headed. Cedric was basically microscopic compared to the dragon.
"I'm gonna be sick." I muttered, burying my face into George's chest, as he held me close.
I would peek occasionally, to see Cedric running after a golden egg. His attempts failed several times, and he had to take refuge from the flames behind boulders. He did this cool thing, where he Transfigured a rock on the ground and turned it into a dog,he was trying to make the dragon go for it instead of him. Well, it was a pretty cool bit of Transfiguration, and it sort of worked, because he did get the egg, but he got burned as well-- the dragon changed its mind halfway through and decided it would rather have him than the Labrador; he only just got away.
Finally mustering up enough courage to look, I took my head from George's chest completely, to see Cedric running away with the egg in his hands. After the dragon spewed out his beam of flames, skimming Cedric's face, it rendered me unable to breath. When he continued running, the dragon furiously swung out his tail, and all the girls, and possibly a few boys (Cough, cough, Neville) screamed. However, it missed, as Cedric continued to high-tail it away. I joined in with the booming roar coming from the stands as Cedric held up the egg proudly.
Next came Fleur Delacore with her dragon-- the Common Welsh Green. She hadn't done as well as Cedric had, but still, after roughly around ten minutes or so, she too had retrieved her egg by charming the dragon with some sort of trance making it snore and catch fire to her skirt. But it was alright, because she used a spell from the tip of her wand to put out the flames.
"And here comes Mr. Krum!" cried Bagman.
Krum was up against the Chinese Fireball. My eyes couldn't tear from him as he evaded the monster's constant attempts.
Obviously Frustrated with Viktor finally stealing the egg, the dragon emitted a horrible, roaring shriek, while the crowd drew its collective breath.
Applause shattered the wintery air like breaking glass; Krum had finished-- it would be Harry's turn any moment.
I hadn't noticed, but I was squeezing George's hand deathly hard, leaning in a bit toward Ron I whispered, "I know you two aren't friends, but please just for this once, support him."
Ron sighed and nodded, not meeting my eyes.
The whistle sounded, and the nervous butterflies started again.
"He'll be fine." George muttered reassuringly, obviously noticing the fact I looked like I could cry.
Harry walked out through the entrance of the tent, the panic rising into a crescendo inside me. And now he was walking past the trees, through a gap in the enclosure fence.
It seemed like nothing but a highly colored dream. Across from one of my dearest friends, was the Horntail, it was at the other end of the enclosure, 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, heaving yard-long gouge marks in the hard ground. The crowd was making a great deal of noise, but it blurred my brain.
He raised his wand.
"Accio Firebolt!" he shouted.
Hopefully, my lessons were enough, and I knew Hermione was thinking the same thing.
Then it could be heard, speeding through the air behind us, passing though the stands; Firebolt was hurtling toward him around the edge of the woods, soaring into the enclosure, and stopping dead in midair beside him, waiting for him to mount. The crowd was making even more noise... Bagman was shouting something... but it could not be heard properly. Listening was no longer important. Watching was the main event.
He swung his leg over the broom and kicked off from the ground.
Looking down at the clutch of eggs, and spotting the golden one gleaming against its cement-colored fellows, residing safely between the dragon's front legs, myself and the rest of the crowd knew, the Horntail wasn't going anywhere without a fight.
He dived. The Horntail's head followed him; he seemed to know what it was going to do and pulled out of the dive just in the nick time; a jet of fire had been released exactly where he would have been had he not swerved away.
"Great Scott, he can fly!" yelled Bagman as the crowd shrieked and gasped. "Are you watching this, Mr. Krum?"
Harry soared higher in a circle; the Horntail was still following his progress; its head revolving on its long neck-- if he kept this up, it would be nicely dizzy-- but better not push it too long, or it would be breathing fire again.
Harry plummeted just as the Horntail opened its mouth, but this time he was less lucky-- he missed the flames, but the tail came whipping up to meet him instead, and as he swerved to the left, one of the long spikes grazed his shoulder, ripping his robes.
"HARRY!" I screamed, jumping up to the edge of the side.
Ron grabbed my shirt and pulled me back down beside him, whispering, "He's alright..."
The Horntail didn't seem to want to take off, she was too protective of her eggs. Though she writhed and twisted, furling and unfurling her wings and keeping those fearsome yellow eyes on Harry, she was afraid to move too far from them, he had to persuade her to do it, or he'd never get near them. The trick was to do it carefully, gradually.
He began to fly, first this way, then the other, not near enough to make her breathe fire to stave him off, but still posing a sufficient threat to ensure she kept her eyes on him. Her head swayed this way and that, watching him out of those vertical pupils, her fangs bared.
He flew higher. The Horntail's head rose with him, her neck now stretched to its fullest extent, still swaying, like a snake before its charmer.
Harry rose a few more feet, and she let out a roar of exasperation. He was like a fly to her, a fly she was longing to swat; her tail thrashed again, but he was too high to reach now. She shot fire into the air, which he dodged. Her jaws opened wide.
And then she reared, spreading her great, black, leathery wings at last, as wide as those of a small airplane-- and Harry dived. Before the dragon knew what he had done, or where he had disappeared to, he was speeding toward the ground as fast as he could go, toward the eggs now unprotected by her clawed front legs-- he had taken his hands off his Firebolt-- he had seized the golden egg--
And with a huge spurt of speed, he was off, he was soaring out over the stands, the egg safely under his uninjured arm, and the crowd boomed into a super sonic roar of support.
"Look at that!" Bagman was yelling. "Will you look at that! Our youngest champion is quickest to get his egg! Well, this is going to shorten the odds on Mr. Potter!"
The dragon keepers rushed forward to subdue the Horntail. He flew back over the stands, the noise of the crowd excelerating, along with my heartbeat, which was now wildly drumming in my ears.
I felt a little more at relief now that Harry had done such a task and survived. I had loads more faith in his ability, that's for sure.
Excitedly, Ron, Hermione, and I rushed down to the tent after saying goodbye to the twins, to find Harry leaving from Madam Pomfrey, with a thickish purple liquid where his cut had been.
My smile had to be ten miles wide.
I shrieked, before running up to him and hugging him as tight as i could, "It worked, that was great! I didn't have to cheat for you! You are an excellent flyer! Don't you ever give me another heart attack again, Harry James Potter! I almost cried! You are my new idol, can I have an autograph? Gah." My incoherent babbling continued, him just smiling fondly and laughing at me.
"Harry, you were brilliant!" Hermione said squeakily. There were fingernail marks on her face where she had been clutching it in fear. "You were amazing! You really were!"
But Harry was now looking at Ron, who was very white and staring at Harry as though he were a ghost.
"Harry," he said, very seriously, "Whoever put your name in that goblet-- I - I reckon they're trying to do you in!"
It was as though the last few weeks had never happened-- as though Harry were meeting Ron for the first time, right after he'd been made champion.
"Caught on, have you?" said Harry coldly. "Took you long enough."
Hermione and I stood nervously between them, looking from one to the other. Ron opened his mouth uncertainly. Harry knew Ron was about to apologize and suddenly he found he didn't need to hear it.
"It's okay," he said, before Ron could get the words out. "Forget it."
"No," said Ron, "I shouldn't've--"
"Forget it," Harry said.
Ron grinned nervously at him, and Harry grinned back.
Hermione burst into tears, and I had a few streaming down my cheeks.
"There's nothing to cry about!" Harry told us, bewildered.
"You two are so stupid!" Hermione shouted, stamping her foot on the ground, tears splashing down her front. Then, before either of them could stop her, she had given both of them a hug and dashed away, now positively howling.
"Barking mad you two are," said Ron, shaking his head at me.
"Hurtful!" I scowled, mocking anger.
"C'mon guys, Harry, they'll be putting up your scores...."
Picking up the golden egg and his Firebolt, Harry, Ron, and I ducked out of the tent.
"You were the best, you know, no competition. Cedric did this weird thing where he Transfigured a rock on the ground... turned it into a dog...he was trying to make the dragon go for the dog instead of him. Well, it sort of worked, because he did get the egg, but he got burned as well-- and that Fleur girl tried this sort of charm, I think she was trying to put it into a trance-- well, that kind of worked too, it went all sleepy, but then it snored, and this great jet of flame shot out, and her skirt caught fire-- she put it out with a bit of water out of her wand. And Krum-- you won't believe this, but he didn't even think of flying! He was probably the best after you, though. Hit it with some sort of spell right in the eye. Only thing is, it went trampling around in agony and squashed half the real eggs-- they took marks off for that, he wasn't supposed to do any damage to them."
Ron drew breath as we reached the edge of the enclosure. Now that the Horntail had been taken away, You could see where the five judges were sitting-- right at the other end, in raised seats draped in gold.
"It's marks out of ten from each one," I said, and Harry squinting up the field, saw the first judge-- Madame Maxime-- raise her wand in the air. What looked like a long silver ribbon shot out of it, which twisted itself into a large figure eight.
"Not bad!" said Ron as the crowd applauded. "I suppose she took marks off for your shoulder..."
Mr. Crouch came next. He shot a number nine into the air.
"Amazing!" I yelled, giving Harry a sideways hug.
Next, Dumbledore. He too put up a nine. The crowd was cheering harder than ever.
Ludo Bagman-- ten.
"Ten?" said Harry in disbelief. "But... I got hurt... What's he playing at?"
"Harry, don't complain!" Ron yelled excitedly.
And now Karkaroff raised his wand. He paused for a moment, and then a number shot out of his wand too-- four.
"What?" Ron bellowed furiously. "Four? You lousy, biased scum-bag, you gave Krum ten!"
I was raging it fury. I felt almost as mad as Ron. I wanted to rip off Karakoff's stupid mustache.
"You're tied in first place, Harry! You and Krum!" said Charlie Weasley, hurrying to meet us as we set off back toward the school. "Listen, I've got to run, I've got to go and send Mum an owl, I swore I'd tell her what happened-- but that was unbelievable! Oh yeah-- and they told me to tell you you've got to hang around for a few more minutes... Bagman wants a word, back in the champions' tent."
Ron and I told Harry we would wait, so Harry reentered the tent, leaving me with Ronald.
"I'm so proud of you." I muttered playfully to Ron once Harry was out of earshot.
"About...?"
"You swallowed your pride and said sorry to Harry. I'm so glad too," I bit my lip. It was always nice to have friends re-united.
He scratched the back of his neck nervously, "That was nothing."
I shook my head at him, unable to dismiss the cheery smile I had been wearing since Harry got out of the arena safetly.
A rustling sound startled us, looking up, we both saw Harry leaving the tent, carrying his egg. He rejoined Ron and I, and we started to walk back around the edge of the forest, talking hard; Harry wanted to hear what the other champions had done in more detail. Then, as we rounded the clump of trees a witch leapt out from behind us.
It was Rita Skeeter. She was wearing acid-green robes today; the Quick-Quotes Quill in her hand blended perfectly against them.
"Congratulations, Harry!" she said, beaming at him. "I wonder if you could give me a quick word? How you felt facing that dragon? How you feel now, about the fairness of the scoring?"
I scowled heavily at her. I wanted to choke her badly. Harry and I caught hell for the stuff she had recently published. She probably only wanted him to say something nasty about Karakoff's biased voting.
"Yeah, you can have a word," said Harry savagely. "Good-bye."
"You know, I'd give you a word, Rita," I twirled my hair innocently, and Rita beamed, getting ready to write down what I would say, "The problem is, I don't know if bullshit is one word or two."
Smirking, Harry set off back to the castle with Ron and I, all of us in great moods, and sporting smiles.