The day had been sunny, and had generally been a good day for everyone except for the respective champions of each school. The wand-weighing ceremony had been done relatively quick the week before, and now they were all gathered once more just by the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest. The Ministry seemed to have built, quite quickly, a stadium to hold the first of the three tasks of the tournament. It was oval shaped, and about the size of a Quidditch pitch.
Before Harry had walked into the champion's tent, he could see how flimsy the stadium looked, and was surprised that it was able to be built in such a short time. Magic can do mind boggling and wondrous things, and this was definitely one of them.
Harry fought a shudder running through his body. He made sure to stay seated by one of the benches, opting not to stand like Cedric, who seemed to be pacing back and forth and muttering to himself. Fleur was also seated adjacent from him, seemingly staring really hard at the cold grassy ground.
The pressure in the room was intense, with Harry sweating and his palms clammy and white as a sheet. He was tapping his foot softly on a solitary pebble, making a random rhythm that even he would not remember by the time the event started. A soft breeze swept through the tent flaps, making Harry's stomach churn even more.
He had been practicing for this for the past few weeks. The bruises on his shoulders were a testament to that. While Professor Gregorovitch seemed to have taken their training to a whole new level, Harry was sure that he had been sapped out of all his magical reserved every after training. His lack of energy, and grogginess usually marked the end of every session. Overall, Harry was still not sure if he could do this, after all, dragons were not meant to be faced one on one.
As he watched Cedric pace back and forth, unconsciously scratching his head as he tapped his wand on his thigh. He was certain that Fleur had been preparing to face a dragon, since Madame Maxime had informed her subtly about the task. Highmaster Karkaroff has sent him books about the subject, which clued him quite blatantly. However, he wasn't sure how inclined the Hogwarts staff are at cheating. He had thought about telling the sandy-haired teen, but with all the training and some of the classes he had decided to still attend, he had forgotten about it all together.
"Gather around, champions," a man wearing a bowler-type hat entered the tent, along with the Heads of each school. Dumbledore went towards Cedric and patted the boy on the shoulder, while Madame Maxime favoured Fleur a rare smile. His own Highmaster merely stood beside him, as gaunt as ever.
"The first task is all about testing your courage in the face of tantamount adversity. In this bag," Crouch untied the small satchel hanging in his hip and gave it a shake, "are three miniature dragons. Each champion will take turns randomly choosing one. Whichever you choose will determine your turn placement."
Crouch paused, watching each of the competitors eyeing the small bag he had in his hand. However, he failed to see any surprise from any of them besides the Hogwarts champion. He shook his head, having some idea as to why, "You will face the dragon you have chosen, but your task is simply to take the golden egg in its nest. All magic save Dark or the Unforgivables are allowed. Now, if you'd please Mister Diggory?"
Cedric shuffled forward, and slowly reached into the bag. He winced, before seemingly grabbing onto one of the miniatures and pulling it out.
"Ah, the Swedish Short-snout. You'll go first, Mister Diggory," then turning to Fleur, Crouch continued, "Miss Delacour?"
Fleur eyed the small bag, and was hesitant to put her hands in. With a long breath, she finally reached in and quickly caught one.
"Oh ho! The Common Welsh Green, that'll be a challenge. You'll be in second," Crouch announced, before finally turning to Harry, "Last but not the least, Mister Potter."
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The Serpent of Durmstrang // A Harry Potter FanFiction
FanfictionHarry Potter left England with Sirius Black after the attack on Godric's Hollow. Raised by both Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, and educated at Durmstrang, his life had been peaceful until his final year. Now he must face, not only the Tri-Wizard Tou...