The Era of Aria Snape

71

Chapter Seventy-One

THE DAY OF the first task had arrived. Aria awoke from a restless night and had headed immediately down to the Great Hall to eat something before she went back to panicking.

She had no idea what she was going to do!

Well, she did have one idea, but she wasn't sure how well it would work. And being unsure of her ploy to win on the day of the task was a terrible situation. She had tossed and turned all night in her sleep and woken up sweating several times.

"Good luck today, Aria. We know you'll do fantastic!" A group of girls from her year wished her well and she smiled and thanked them.

"Tell me you have something prepared." Draco slid in next to her.

"I do. George told me about the first task. I've been planning for the last few days."

"What is it?"

"I was sworn to secrecy." Aria chuckled and shoved a handful of raisins into her mouth.

Draco rolled his eyes. "I'll be cheering for you. Unless you lose, I won't speak to you then."

Aria fought to hide the smile that appeared on her face. "I won't lose, this task isn't easy, but I'll live."

"I'll never speak to you again if you don't. Even if you come back as a ghost, I'll ignore you."

"Sure you will."

What Draco had said got Aria thinking. If she did die, would she come back to Hogwarts as a ghost? She could roam the floors carelessly then. It wouldn't be so terrible. However, she did like her life as it was and the ghost thing was only a last resort.

So, nervously, she made her way to the tent where the rest of the champions were waiting.

ϟ

Aria waited patiently, staring at the floor and jumping at even the slightest movement. Just outside the tent, a dragon was awaiting her. How would a sane person deal with these things, she wondered.

She saw Rita at the other end of the tent. Fury blazed inside of her, but she wouldn't do anything. Not now, anyway. She needed to stay focused.

"Good day champions. Gather 'round, please. Now you've waited, you've wondered and at last, the moment has arrived. The moment only five of you can fully appreciate." Dumbeldore said as they formed a circle around him.

Barty Crouch revealed a small bag in his hand. "Champions, in a circle around me. Miss Delacour over here, Mr. Krum, and Potter over here. Right. Miss Delacour, if you will..." The blonde girl sent a nervous look to the other champions before placing her hand inside the small bag.

"The Welsh Green," Barty muttered as a small green dragon climbed around her fingers.

Aria gulped. One by one the other champions pulled out their dragons until it was her turn. There was only one left.

Aria stuck her hand in and grabbed the small creature.

"The Romanian Longhorn." Barty smiled.

It was green with two large golden horns on his head that Aria assumed could do some real damage, even in its current small size.

"These represent five very real dragons, each of which has been given a golden egg to protect. Your objective is simple: collect the egg. This you must do, for each egg contains a clue without which you cannot hope to proceed to the next task. Any questions?"

Aria was speechless as she stared at the small creature in her hand. He was bloody ugly. She could only imagine what the real-life version was like.

"Very well. Goodluck champions. Mr. Diggory at the sound of the cannon..." Dumbledore began, but the cannon went off before he could finish.

Aria and the rest of the champions waited in silence. There wasn't much to be heard from outside the tent beside the crowds cheering and an occasional roar from the dragon.

"Miss Snape." Dumbledore led her to the entrance of the tent. "Be careful."

She nodded and stepped out, her heart pounding fast as the crowd went silent after chanting her name several times. She looked to the stands where her father sat and noticed that he was walking away. She felt her heart sink and then she saw Rita. She hoped that she would have a chance to blow her up or something before the task was over.

On the ground not far off lay a large golden egg and so with no dragon in sight, Aria made to run to it, only to be stopped when a scaly leg five times her size stepped out in front of her.

She gulped, trying not to scream as her eyes slowly trailed upwards, past the scaly legs and the two golden horns, right to its eyes that were focused solely on her and stared at her as if she would be its lunch.

She had heard about this dragon. Its horns were used particularly for potion ingredients and they were very valuable, not only that but when intact, the dragon would use its horns to maul its prey before devouring it.

She feared that fate would befall her.

Aria raced to hide behind a large rock, although she doubted that it would do any good.

The egg was still in her line of sight.

She thought that it was better to be done with this whole ordeal now and so she whipped out her wand, ignoring every instinct that screamed against revealing herself to the beast.

She knew that many spells did not work on dragons, however, a dragon did have weak spots. It's eyes, for one. Her research at the library had paid off in that regard.

"Confundo!" She shot the spell from her wand. Of course, this spell would be effective in confusing a person, on a dragon however, its results would only last for a few seconds. And in those few seconds, she had to make her move. The Conjunctivitis Curse was what she had been preparing since George had told her about the dragons. It would cause irritation in the eyes that would last long enough for her to retrieve the egg and get the bloody hell out of the arena.

The dragon growled and moved its head from side to side in an attempt to get rid of the spell. Aria shot the Conjunctivitis Curse at it again, the dragon released a scream and began flapping its wings maniacally.

With a gulp, she ran towards the golden egg, picked it up, and with one last glance towards the dragon, making sure that it was still busy, she subtly aimed her wand at Rita Skeeter, "Colovaria." She whispered and ran towards the exit in glee as Rita's skin began to turn blue.

She was greeted with cheers and applause from all sides of the arena and a massive hug from her father. He squeezed her tightly.

"I told you I could do it, father." She said once he had pulled away to look at her as if having to assure himself that she was real.

"I know. I know." He ran his hands over her head.

"Glad to see you're still in one piece, Snape," Malfoy smirked.

"That was amazing!" Aria was on a high. She had just completed her first task against a dragon for crying out loud. She felt as if there were nothing she couldn't do.

"Yes, I also saw you turn that reporter blue." He chuckled and pulled her into a hug.

She was a bit taken aback, but smiled into his chest. "She was getting on my nerves."

"I'm glad you're alive, Aria." He mumbled. "Do me a favor and win this bloody tournament."

"I plan to."

After completing her first task, Aria felt as if she was unstoppable. What could they throw at her that was more powerful than a dragon? Nothing. She planned to win this tournament and receive eternal glory and nothing was going to get in her way.