Y/n got up early on Sunday morning and climbed out of bed to shake Harry awake.
"Sirius?" Harry groaned half asleep.
"I am afraid not Harry." Y/n said. "Sorry, but we both have got too much work to do for you to rest anymore."
Harry quickly sat up now. "The Dragons! Sirius!" He blurted out then looked around to see if anyone else was in the common room that could have overheard him. But the others were all still fast asleep.
"We should find Hermione." Y/n said now as he went back over to his bed and opened his trunk to take some clothes out. "I told her we would let her know what happened last night, She might also be able to give us some ideas on how to deal with our upcoming problem." He suggested beginning to change into clothes now.
"Alright..." Harry said as he climbed out of bed now and dressed so inattentively that it was only when Y/n pointed it out to him that he realized he was trying to pull a hat onto his foot instead of his sock.
When Harry finally got all his clothes on the right parts of his body, Y/n and he hurried off to find Hermione, locating her at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, where she was eating breakfast with Ginny.
"Good morning." Y/n said to the pair. Despite recent falling outs, Y/n remained on good terms with all the other Weasleys.
"Morning Y/n." Ginny said back.
"Toast?" Hermione asked Y/n and Harry now but Harry looked too queasy to eat.
"Actually...we were rather hoping to talk to you, in private. It is a rather important matter." Y/n told her.
Hermione lowered her spoon and swallowed her last mouthful of porridge. "Uh...sure." Hermione said. "Sorry Ginny we'll catch up later." She then said getting up.
Ginny just looked annoyed that she was being left out again.
The three walked out onto the grounds. There, they told her all about the dragons, and about everything Sirius had said, while they took another long walk around the lake.
Alarmed as she was by Sirius's warnings about Karkaroff, Hermione still thought that the dragons were the more pressing problem.
"Let's just try and keep you both alive until Tuesday evening." she said desperately. "And then we can worry about Karkaroff."
"Sirius said that there was a simple spell we could use, but we were interrupted before he had time to tell us what it was." Y/n said.
They walked three times around the lake, trying all the way to think of a simple spell that would subdue a dragon. Nothing whatsoever occurred to them, so they retired to the library instead. Here, they pulled down every book one could find on dragons, and the three of them 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..." Harry said closing a book.
"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..." Y/n read out loud and it made him think.
"But you told me Sirius said a simple one would do it..." Hermione said.
"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.
"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...
"What are 'wine gums'?" Y/n asked confused.
"Some muggle sweets Y/n." Hermione told him.
"Oh. Well if we survive I would like to try them." Y/n said.
"Don't say that!" Hermione whispered harshly. "You're both going to survive...we just have to find a way. The trouble is, like that book said, not many spells are 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..."
The more Hermione talked the more ideas began to form in Y/n's head.
Harry did not share their enthusiasm however. "Hermione." He said, through gritted teeth. "Will you shut up for a bit, please? I'm trying to concentrate. "
Y/n had taken a piece of parchment and a quill out as he began to note down all sorts of words. He wrote down all of the dragon's strengths as he tried to think of a plan that could possibly work.
Hermione noticed he had noted down words like Charms and Transfiguration...surely he wouldn't attempt to transfigure a dragon...would he?
She looked around now and her mood changed. "Oh no, he's back again, why can't he read on his stupid ship?" she said irritably.
Y/n looked up to see Viktor Krum slouched, casting a surly look over at the three of them, and settled himself in a distant corner with a pile of books. "Come on, we'll go back to the common room...his fan club'll be here in a moment, twittering away..."
And sure enough, as they left the library, a gang of girls tiptoed past them, one of them wearing a Bulgaria scarf tied around her waist.
It was Monday morning now, the day before the task. Y/n sat with Harry and Hermione in the Great Hall as they ate breakfast. Dark circles sat under his eyes, he had stayed up for most of the night coming up with a plan to help him when dealing with the dragon. Harry and Hermione had asked him what it was, but he simply told them that it would take too long to explain. The truth however was that he wasn't too sure if it would work. If he told Harry he was taking a risk it could make him lose confidence in himself, and if he told Hermione she'd be sure to panic and try to make him to do something else.
There was no more time for him to form another plan, this was the best he could think of on his own, When they finished breakfast he, Harry and Hermione got up and he saw Cedric Diggory leaving the Hufflepuff table.
Cedric still didn't know about the dragons... the only champion who probably didn't.
"Harry...We have got to warn him. It is only right." Y/ said.
Harry thought for a moment. "We'll see you in the greenhouses." He then said to Hermione as he watched Cedric leaving the Hall. "Go on, We'll catch you up."
"Y/n, Harry, you'll be late, the bell's about to ring..."
"Hermione, we cannot leave him in the dark his life could depend on this..." Y/n said now as Harry nodded his head in agreement. "We will catch up to you, okay?" Y/n said.
By the time Y/n and Harry reached the bottom of the marble staircase, Cedric was at the top. He was with a load of sixth-year friends. Harry didn't want to talk to Cedric in front of them, they were among those who had been quoting Rita Skeeter's article at him and Y/n every time either went near them.
"How do you wish to do this?" Y/n asked Harry as they followed Cedric at a distance and saw that he was heading toward the Charms corridor.
Pausing at a distance from them, Harry pulled out his wand, and took careful aim. "Diffindo!"
Cedric's bag split. Parchment, quills, and books spilled out of it onto the floor. Several bottles of ink smashed.
"Oh, nice thinking." Y/n said to Harry surprised. "I was going to tell the others to bugger off..."
"Don't bother." said Cedric in an exasperated voice as his friends bent down to help him. "Tell Flitwick I'm coming, go on..."
Harry slipped his wand back into his robes and the two waited until Cedric's friends had disappeared into their classroom,
"Now is our chance, let us go." Y/n said and they hurried up the corridor, which was now empty of everyone but themselves and Cedric.
"Hi." said Cedric, picking up a copy of A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration that was now splattered with ink. "My bag just split...brand-new and all..."
Y/n took out his wand now and aimed it at the bag. "Reparo."
Cedric looked at his fixed bag now. "Wow, Thanks!"
"Mr Diggory, We have found out what the first task is..." Y/n said now.
"What?" said Cedric, looking up.
"Dragons." said Harry, speaking quickly, in case Professor Flitwick came out to see where Cedric had got to. "They've got five, one for each of us, and we've got to get past them."
Cedric stared at them. Hary saw some of the panic he'd been feeling since Saturday night flickering in Cedric's gray eyes.
"Are you sure?" Cedric said in a hushed voice.
"Dead sure." said Harry.
"We have seen them with our own eyes..." Y/n added.
"But how did you find out? We're not supposed to know..."
"Never mind that." said Harry quickly he knew Hagrid would be in trouble if they told the truth. "But We're not the only one who knows. Fleur and Krum will know by now too. Maxime and Karkaroff both saw the dragons too."
Cedric straightened up, his arms full of inky quills, parchment, and books, his bag dangling off one shoulder. He stared at Y/n and Harry, and there was a puzzled, almost suspicious look in his eyes.
"Why are you telling me?" he asked.
"Because this is not a game Mr Diggory...our lives are on the line here. Including yours." Y/n told him.
"It's just... fair, isn't it?" Harry said to Cedric now. "We all know now... we're on an even footing, aren't we?"
Cedric was still looking at them in a slightly suspicious way when they heard a familiar clunking noise behind him. All three turned around and saw Mad-Eye Moody emerging from a nearby classroom.
"Come with me, Potter." he growled. "Diggory, Grindelwald off you go..."
Y/n looked at Harry then at at Moody. Had he overheard them?
Y/n walked into the greenhouse now.
"And where have you been Grindelwald?" Professor Sprout asked.
"I overslept preparing for the first task tomorrow Professor." Y/n lied.
Professor Sprout hummed but seemed to accept his excuse. Y/n just joined his usual table where Hermione was already working. "Where's Harry?" she asked him.
"Moody called him into his office." Y/n said.
"Moody?" Hermione asked and Y/n only nodded.
"It is possible he overheard us warning Mr Diggory..." Y/n said.
"But why did he call just Harry then?" Hermione asked confused.
"I think he only arrived in time to hear Harry." Y/n suggested. "What is it we are doing today?" Y/n asked Hermione now.
"Pruning Fluterby Bush." Hermione told him.
"What fun..." Y/n sighed.
Harry followed Moody into his office and Moody closed the door behind them, turning to look at Harry, his magical eye fixed upon him as well as the normal one.
"That was a very decent thing you both just did, Potter." Moody said quietly.
Harry didn't know what to say, this wasn't the reaction he had expected at all.
"Sit down." said Moody, and Harry sat, looking around.
He had visited this office under two of its previous occupants. First in Professor Lockhart's day, the walls had been plastered with beaming, winking pictures of Professor Lockhart himself. And second when Lupin had lived here, you were more likely to come across a specimen of some fascinating new Dark creature he had procured for them to study in class. Now, however, the office was full of a number of exceptionally odd objects that Harry supposed Moody had used in the days when he had been an Auror.
On his desk stood what looked like a large, cracked, glass spinning top. Harry recognized it at once as a Sneakoscope, because he owned one himself, though it was much smaller than Moody's. In the corner on a small table stood an object that looked something like an extra-squiggly, golden television aerial. It was humming slightly. What appeared to be a mirror hung opposite Harry on the wall, but it was not reflecting the room. Shadowy figures were moving around inside it, none of them clearly in focus.
"Like my Dark Detectors, do you?" said Moody, who was watching Harry closely.
"What's that?" Harry asked, pointing at the squiggly golden aerial.
"Secrecy Sensor. Vibrates when it detects concealment and lies...no use here, of course, too much interference... students in every direction lying about why they haven't done their homework. Been humming ever since I got here. I had to disable my Sneakoscope because it wouldn't stop whistling. It's extra-sensitive, picks up stuff about a mile around. Of course, it could be picking up more than kid stuff." he added in a growl.
"And what's the mirror for?"
"Oh that's my Foe-Glass. See them out there, skulking around? I'm not really in trouble until I see the whites of their eyes. That's when I open my trunk." He let out a short, harsh laugh, and pointed to the large trunk under the window. It had seven keyholes in a row. Harry wondered what was in there, until Moody's next question brought him sharply back to earth.
"So...you and Grindelwald found out about the dragons, have you?"
Harry hesitated. He'd been afraid of this, but he hadn't told Cedric, and he certainly wasn't going to tell Moody, that Hagrid had broken the rules.
"It's all right." said Moody, sitting down and stretching out his wooden leg with a groan. "Cheating's a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament and always has been. "
"I didn't cheat." said Harry sharply. "It was... a sort of accident that we found out."
Moody grinned. "I wasn't accusing you, laddie. I've been telling Dumbledore from the start, he can be as high-minded as he likes, but you can bet old Karkaroff and Maxime won't be. They'll have told their champions everything they can. They want to win. They want to beat Dumbledore. They'd like to prove he's only human."
Moody gave another harsh laugh, and his magical eye swiveled around so fast it made Harry feel queasy to watch it.
"So.. have any of you got any ideas how you're going to get past your dragon yet?" said Moody.
"Y/n says he does...but not me." said Harry.
"Well, I'm not going to tell you." said Moody gruffly. "I don't show favoritism, me. I'm just going to give you some good, general advice. And the first bit is... play to your strengths."
"I haven't got any." said Harry, before he could stop himself.
"Excuse me." growled Moody. "You've got strengths if I say you've got them. Think now. What are you best at?"
Harry tried to concentrate. What was he best at? Well, that was easy, really...
"Quidditch." he said dully. "and a fat lot of help..."
"That's right." said Moody, staring at him very hard, his magical eye barely moving at all. "You're a damn good flier from what I've heard."
"Yeah, but..." Harry stared at him. "I'm not allowed a broom, I've only got my wand..."
"My second piece of general advice." said Moody loudly, interrupting him. "Is to use a nice, simple spell that will enable you to get what you need."
Harry looked at him blankly. What did he need?
"Come on, boy..." whispered Moody. "Put them together... it's not that difficult..."
And it clicked. He was best at flying. He needed to pass the dragon in the air. For that, he needed his Firebolt. And for his Fire-bolt, he needed...
Y/n had just trimmed too much off his Flutterby Bush when he heard a voice whispering to him. "Y/n, Hermione, I need you to help me."
"What d'you think I've been trying to do, Harry?" Hermione whispered back, her eyes round with anxiety over the top of the quivering Flutterby Bush she was pruning.
"What do you need us to do?" Y/n asked Harry.
"I need to learn how to do a Summoning Charm properly by tomorrow afternoon." Harry said.
"That is no small task given the difficulties you have been having with them." Y/n said in thought. "We will need somewhere to practice freely." Y/n said.
"We could use one of the free classrooms during lunch?" Hermione suggested.
"That could certainly work." Y/n nodded his head. "I assume you are okay to skip lunch for this Harry?"
"As long as I can learn the spell I don't care." Harry said.
And so at lunch they found a free classroom, where Harry tried with all his might to make various objects fly across the room toward him. Y/n could see he was still having problems. The books and quills kept losing heart halfway across the room and dropping hike stones to the floor.
"You need to concentrate Harry. You are losing focus the moment the object begins to move." Y/n said.
"What d'you think I'm trying to do?" Harry replied angrily. "A great big dragon keeps popping up in my head for some reason..."
"I understand you are stressed...but that is not an excuse to take it out on me or Hermione."
"Accio Book." Y/n said as he kept calm and Harry watched as it flew into his hand.
"The key is not looking at the object, for most times you will not even be able to see what you are trying to summon. It is instead to visualize it in your mind and to focus on it." Y/n instructed. "Now, try again..."
Harry practiced all the way through lunch as Y/n and Hermione helped, he wanted to skip Divination. "I need to keep practicing...will you still help me?" Harry asked.
Hermione however refused point-blank to skive off Arithmancy stating they could continue after dinner.
"Go. I will stay with Harry." Y/n said to her now.
"But Y/n...Professor Vector..." She began.
"Is very understanding." Y/n cut her off. "I am sure if you tell her that I am preparing for the first task she will look past it this once." Y/n said.
Hermione did not look pleased when she left.
"We will have you practice for a few hours then have dinner." Y/n said to Harry. "Remember visualize what it is you want to summon." He tried to teach Harry.
Hours past with a small amount of progress made before both boys went down to dinner.
Y/n and Harry were quicker than usual with dinner that night almost forcing it down. Hermione just sat watching them shaking her head.
"I am aware it is undignified, but we are on a time limit." Y/n said. "How did Professor Vector take my absence?" He then asked her but her huff without an answer was all he needed to hear. He had been right.
When they had finished Y/n and Harry returned to the empty classroom with Hermione, using the Invisibility Cloak to avoid the teachers. Y/n did his best to keep guiding Harry as the three kept practicing until past midnight. They would have stayed longer, but Peeves turned up and, pretending to think that Harry wanted things thrown at him, started chucking chairs across the room. Harry, Y/n and Hermione 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.
"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. Right..." 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.
"You have gotten the hang of it now Harry, Well done." Y/n congratulated him.
"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... "
"We have done all we can Harry, I personally think you are ready. The idea to use the Firebolt was a good one indeed." Y/n told him.
"Y/n, Harry, we'd better get some sleep...you're both going to need it." Hermione said now pointing out the time.
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.
Time was behaving in a more peculiar fashion than ever, rushing past faster than Y/n would want it too, One moment he seemed to be sitting down in his first lesson, History of Magic, and the next, walking into lunch...and then, Professor McGonagall was hurrying over to him and Harry in the Great Hall. Lots of people were watching the pair.
"Potter, Grindelwald, the champions have to come down onto the grounds now...You have to get ready for your first task."
"Yes professor... Y/n said getting up now. His empty plate sat in front his seat. Despite attempts from Hermione to get him too, he had not eaten a thing since dinner yesterday.
"Okay." said Harry, standing up, his fork falling onto his plate with a clatter.
"Good luck, Harry, Y/n..." Hermione whispered. "You'll be fine!"
"Yeah." was all Y/n heard Harry say.
"Thank you Hermione..." Y/n said bowing his head to her slightly. "For everything."
And with that, he left the Great Hall with Harry and Professor McGonagall. Y/n noticed that she didn't seem herself either, in fact, she looked nearly as anxious as Hermione. As she walked them down the stone steps and out into the cold November afternoon, she put her hands on each of their shoulders.
"Now, don't panic." she said. "Just keep a cool head...We've got wizards standing by to control the situation if it gets out of hand...The main thing is just to do your best, and nobody will think any the worse of you...Are you both all right?"
"Yes, I'm fine." Y/n heard Harry say but he knew it was a lie.
"Professor..." Y/n started as he looked at her now. "No matter what happens today, I want you to know that it has been a great privilege to be taught by you." He told her and bowed his head with a great amount of respect.
McGonagall said nothing but Harry was certain he saw a tear forming in her eye as she began leading them toward the place where the dragons were, around the edge of the forest. But when they approached the clump of trees behind which the enclosure would be clearly visible, Y/n and Harry saw that a tent had been erected, its entrance facing them, screening the dragons from view.
"You're to go in here with the other champions." said Professor McGonagall, in a rather shaky sort of voice. "and wait for your turn, Potter, Grindelwald. Mr. Bagman is in there...he'll be telling you the... the procedure...Good luck."
"Thanks." said Harry, in a flat, distant voice.
"Thank you Professor..." Y/n said.
She left them at the entrance of the tent and both went inside.
Fleur Delacour was sitting in a corner on a low wooden stool. She didn't look nearly as composed as usual, but rather pale and clammy. Viktor Krum looked even surlier than usual, which Harry supposed was his way of showing nerves. Cedric was pacing up and down. When Harry and Y/n entered, Cedric gave them a small smile, which both returned.
"Harry! Y/n! Good!" said Bagman happily, looking around at them. "Come in, come in, make yourselves 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... 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!"
Y/n closed his eyes for a moment now in deep anguish and frustration. He had remembered something Charlie had said the night they saw the Dragons. Each of them was a Brooding Mother, which meant they would protect their eggs viciously. They were supposed to steal an egg from a mothering dragon...
When he opened his eyes again he could see Cedric had started pacing around the tent again looking slightly green. Fleur Delacour and Krum hadn't reacted at all. Perhaps they thought they might be sick if they opened their mouths.
And in no time at all, hundreds upon hundreds of pairs of feet could be heard passing the tent, their owners talking excitedly, laughing, joking... Bagman was opening the neck of the purple silk sack now.
"Ladies first." he said, offering it to Fleur Delacour.
She put a shaking hand inside the bag and drew out a tiny, perfect model of a dragon, a Welsh Green. It had the number two around its neck And Y/n knew, by the fact that Fleur showed no sign of surprise, but rather a determined resignation, that he and Harry had been right. Madame Maxime had told her what was coming.
The same held true for Krum. He pulled out the scarlet Chinese Fireball. It had a number three around its neck. He didn't even blink, just 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 bag was placed in front of Y/n now and he found himself hoping to get the Horntail if it meant Harry would have an easier time of it.
But no, he had drawn the Hebridean Black, the number five was around it's neck. It's arrow pointed tail swished back in forth as its eyes looked up at Y/n. He would have thought it cute if he was not just about to face a real one.
Knowing what was left, Harry put his hand into the silk bag and pulled out the Hungarian Horntail, and the number four. It stretched its wings as he looked down at it, and bared its minuscule fangs.
"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?"
"Er... yes." said Harry blankly, and he got up and went out of the tent with Bagman.
Y/n watched Cedric as he continued to pace and soon they heard the whistle. Cedric stopped on the spot for a moment before he finally turned and exited the tent looking greener than ever.
Harry came back inside now and seconds later, they heard the roar of the crowd, which meant Cedric had entered the enclosure and was now face-to-face with the living counterpart of his model...
"What did Bagman want?" Y/n asked Harry quietly as he sat down beside him.
"Offered to give me pointers." Harry said back.
Both remained quiet after that, neither wanted to talk much but it was worse than they could ever have imagined, sitting there and listening. The crowd screamed... yelled...gasped like a single many-headed entity, as Cedric did whatever he was doing to get past the Swedish Short-Snout.
Krum was still staring at the ground. While Fleur had now taken to retracing Cedric's steps, around and around the tent. Bagman's commentary made everything much, much worse... Horrible pictures formed in Y/n and Harry's mind as they heard. "Oooh, narrow miss there, very narrow"... "He's taking risks, this one!"... "Clever move...pity it didn't work!"
Y/n was starting to wonder if his own plan would work at this point. He'd spent so much time trying to help Harry that he had run out of time to practice on his own spell work.
And then, after about fifteen minutes, They heard the deafening roar that could mean only one thing. Cedric had gotten past his dragon and captured the golden egg.
"Very good indeed!" Bagman was shouting. "And now the marks from the judges!"
But he didn't shout out the marks, Harry supposed the judges were holding them up and showing them to the crowd.
"One down, four to go!" Bagman yelled as the whistle blew again. "Miss Delacour, if you please!"
Fleur was trembling from head to foot. Y/n had not paid much attention to her before but in this moment he understood how she was feeling better.
"Good luck." Y/n found himself saying before he had registered it.
Fleur did not say a word instead giving a sharp nod before she left the tent with her head held high and her hand clutching her wand.
Now Y/n and Harry were left alone with Krum, on the opposite side of the tent, avoiding each other's gaze.
The same 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!"
Ten minutes later, They heard the crowd erupt into applause once more...Fleur must have been successful too. A pause, while Fleur's marks were being shown... more clapping...then, for the third time, the whistle.
"And here comes Mr. Krum!" cried Bagman, and Krum slouched out, leaving Y/n and Harry.
Y/n just looked at the ground now not focusing on anything.
"Very daring!" Bagman was yelling, and Y/n heard the Chinese Fireball emit a horrible, roaring shriek, while the crowd drew its collective breath. "That's some nerve he's showing... and...yes, he's got the egg!"
Applause shattered the wintery air like breaking glass, Krum had finished, it would be Harry's turn any moment.
Harry stood up now and Y/n quickly got to his feet as well but they felt stiff from sitting too long.
"Remember Harry, Visualize and Concentrate." Y/n told him.
"Right..." Harry said and then they heard the whistle blow.
"And Harry...Good luck." Y/n said as he quickly hugged him now before Harry left the tent.
Y/n didn't sit back down.
He couldn't.
His ears stayed alert as he paced the tent
"Great Scott, he can fly!" Y/n heard Bagman yell as the crowd shrieked and gasped. "Are you watching this, Mr. Krum?"
"Come on Harry..." Y/n said.
"Look at that!" Bagman was yelling again. "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!"
Y/n felt a wave of relief wash over him now, Harry had made it through safely...But the feeling did not last long for it would be his turn now.
Harry saw the dragon keepers rushing forward to subdue the Horntail, and, over at the entrance to the enclosure, Professor McGonagall, Professor Moody, and Hagrid hurrying to meet him, all of them waving him toward them, their smiles evident even from this distance. He flew back over the stands, the noise of the crowd pounding his eardrums, and came in smoothly to land, his heart lighter than it had been in weeks...He had got through the first task, he had survived...
"That was excellent, Potter!" cried Professor McGonagall as he got off the Firebolt, which from her was extravagant praise. He noticed that her hand shook as she pointed at his shoulder which had been burnt. "You'll need to see Madam Pomfrey before the judges give out your score...Over there, she's had to mop up Diggory already..."
"No. I want to stay and watch to make sure Y/n makes it through first." Harry told her desperate to see his friend make it through alright.
The corners of McGonagall's mouth went up a little in understanding. "...Very well Potter." She nodded.
"Yeh did it, Harry!" said Hagrid hoarsely. "Yeh did it! An' agains' the Horntail an' all, an' yeh know Charlie said that was the wors'..."
"Thanks, Hagrid." said Harry loudly, so that Hagrid wouldn't blunder on and reveal that he had shown him and Y/n the dragons beforehand.
Professor Moody looked very pleased too, his magical eye was dancing in its socket. "Nice and easy does the trick, Potter." he growled.
They heard the whistle now and everyone turned to look at the tent.
Y/n was still walking inside the tent when he heard the whistle go.
"It is now or never I suppose." He said to himself but felt dreadfully nervous and had to take a deep breath as he stepped out of the tent now. The daylight was far brighter compared to the insides of the tent and it blinded him for a few moments. When his eyes adjusted he could see there were hundreds and hundreds of faces staring down at him from stands that had been magicked there. Y/n looked to see the Hebridean, at the other end of the enclosure, crouched low over her clutch of eggs, her wings already unfurled, her beautiful purple eyes upon him, thrashing her arrow-shaped spike of a tail in the air as a warning. The crowd was making a great deal of noise, but whether friendly or not, Y/n didn't know or care. It was time for him to put his plan into action.
To focus his mind...
To keep calm...
To dive!!!
The crowd both shrieked and cheered as Y/n had to quickly dive behind a pile of boulders to avoid being incinerated on the spot.
"An aggressive start from the Hebridean there folks..." Ludo Bagman called out to the spectators.
Y/n was just panting heavily with his back to one of the boulders as he tried to calm down. He knew the Hebridean was an aggressive dragon but this was giving him even less room to work with than he could have anticipated. He had planned to enchant his clothes to repel at least some of the Dragon fire but now he didn't have time to do so. He needed to move to the next phase of this plan.
Taking out his wand Y/n pointed it to a pair of nearby boulders. "Bombarda Maxima!" He cried and the boulders to his side shattered into pieces on the ground.
Hermione was sat in the stands looking pale and white as her hands balled up into fists of anxiety. She felt helpless as she watched the dragon begin to sniff the air to try and find him again when two boulders suddenly were blown to rocky pieces near Y/n.
"Why is he ruining his shelter of rocks?" Hermione heard a member of the crowd say and she had to agree it wasn't something she could understand either.
"He knows it's over. Just trying to speed it up I suppose."
"Why bother to hide in the first place then?" The other asked back.
Down on the ground, Y/n had picked up a piece of the broken boulder in his hand and he looked down at it.
"It appears young Grindelwald has a piece of rock in his hand...can't say that will do much against an angry dragon though." Bagman said and as if to prove his point the Hebridean opened her mouth again and began to hurl a torrent of fire at the boulders. While they shielded him from the worst Y/n could feel the heat of the flames slowly beginning to burn on his back. He could only pant and cry out in pain as he waited for the dragon to stop. When she did he knew he needed to act, he simply didn't have time to sit and dwell on the pain. The Hebridean was slowly backing up towards her eggs but her eyes never left the boulders.
Y/n raised his wand to the piece of rock in his hand. "Please work..." He begged before beginning to cast a spell.
Hermione's leg was bouncing up and down now as she continued to watch from the stands she and the other students had heard Y/n's cries of pain as the dragon's flames burned him.
The Slytherin students seemed to have found it amusing as even Atticus was seen wearing a rare smile.
"Look! He's doing something with the pieces!" Called out a student.
Hermione tried to see what it was but from where she was sat the boulder was blocking most of Y/n out.
"Is that...a sword?" Ludo Bagman's voice suddenly called in surprise.
"Grindelwald appears to have used transfiguration to turn a piece of the boulder into a sword... An impressive feat of magic I'll admit but a sword is hardly...Wait a moment, he's making another one...and another! I must say this is utterly bizarre yet interesting at the same time! Surely Grindelwald can't be hoping to fight the beast one-on-one till he runs out of swords?" Bagam continued perplexed.
Y/n was working as hard and as fast as he could to change pieces of large rock into swords. He didn't stop until he had run out of rock and looked to the large pile of swords at his side. "I just hope this is enough..." He said then pointed his wand at the newly transfigured swords. "Wingardium Leviosa!" Y/n chanted and at once they began to lift from the ground and levitate above him, the dragon, and the crowd.
Everyone watched speechless in the crowd as they looked up at the swords in disbelief and confusion.
"I..." Ludo Bagman said unsure of how to even commentate anymore.
"Fascinating..." Dumbledore quietly said to himself.
The Hebridean looked up at the swords herself now with narrowing eyes. Not liking them she began to let fire build up within her.
"Oppugno!" The silent crowd heard Y/n shout now and the swords angled themselves towards the snarling dragon before firing themselves forward at her. She let out loud roars of pain as sword after sword began to pierce her thick skin and though they were not going very deep the sheer amount that was flying towards her was enough to cause the dragon to collapse forward, blood trickling out of her wounds. She tried to get back up but several of the swords sat in her legs making the task nearly impossible for her to do so. She could only lie there in pain and anger.
"Look!" A voice in the stands cried out and heads started to turn away from the injured Dragon. So many of them had been captivated by the battle between Sword and Dragon that they hadn't seen Y/n running from his hiding place during it to retrieve the Golden egg that was now under his arms and to safety.
"I...I don't believe it!" Bagman cried out in shock himself before bursting into excitement. "Grindelwald, one of the youngest contestants has done it! To have beaten a Dragon with only swords! What a fantastic display of both Transfiguration and Charms magic!"
"I am sorry..." Y/n said to the dragon now as he looked at her with pity trying to get up but failing. He turned around now as the adrenaline began to wear off and he could feel the burning sensation all over his back beginning to flare up causing him to groan and grit his teeth in pain.
"Y/n come on let's get you out of here." a voice said and he recognized it as Charlie's.
"You will heal her... won't you?" Y/n asked Charlie as he fought through the pain. "I did not want to hurt her...Just to stop her..." He continued.
"It's alright Y/n, She's going to be just fine." Charlie assured him as helped the boy. "The Hebridean's fight quite often so them getting injured is common. While she's a little banged up now we'll have her back to her healthy angry self in no time. I don't think she'll forgive you though." He chuckled.
"Thank...Goodness..." Y/n said letting out a deep breath of relief but still clearly being in pain.
"You need to get some treatment yourself. Go to Madam Pomfrey while we take care of the Dragon." Charlie told him now and Y/n just tiredly nodded. "Oh and Y/n...great show!" Charlie grinned.
Y/n just slowly exited the enclosure as he saw Harry and Professor McGonagall rushing down to him.
"Well done Mr Grindelwald a fine performance indeed!" Professor McGonagall said and he looked up to see her face had both a mixture of concern and proudness in it.
"Thank...you...Professor." Y/n said.
"Right then, Grindelwald, Potter, the first aid tent, now please..." said Professor McGonagall said looking at their injuries.
Panting Y/n made it to the medical tent with Harry and saw Madam Pomfrey standing at the mouth of a second tent, looking worried. "Dragons!" she said, in a disgusted tone, pulling both inside.
The tent was divided into cubicles, he could make out Cedric's shadow through the canvas, but Cedric didn't seem to be badly injured as he was sitting up, at least.
Madam Pomfrey examined Harry's shoulder first, talking furiously all the while. "Last year dementors, this year dragons, what are they going to bring into this school next? You're very lucky Potter... this is quite shallow. It'll need cleaning before I heal it up, though..."
She quickly cleaned the cut with a dab of some purple liquid that smoked and stung, but then poked his shoulder with her wand, and Harry felt it heal instantly. "Now, just sit quietly for a minute while I heal Mr Grindelwald. And then you can go and get your scores."
She bustled out of the cubicle and he heard her go next door and say, "Stay still Grindelwald. We'll have to cut that shirt from you I'm afraid it's completely burnt away at the back."
"It is?" Y/n asked her. It must have been because his back felt so hot that he hadn't noticed the fabric had completely burned away leaving a breeze.
Madam Pomfrey used her wand now to cut what was left of the shirt away from Y/n. "Now we can begin to treat your back."
Harry couldn't sit still as he heard Y/n wincing in pain as Madam Pomfrey began. He got to his feet, wanting to see what was going on outside, but before he'd reached the mouth of the tent, two people had come darting inside...Hermione, followed closely by Ron.
"Harry!" Hermione said squeakily happy to see he was alright but she noticed someone was missing. "Wher.."
"Ow!" Y/n's voice cried out clearly in pain. "Will this sting the entire time you do this?"
"Well what do you expect after facing a dragon Ice cream?" Madam Pomfrey said back to him.
Hermione rushed through the curtain now to see Y/n laid down on his front. He looked exhausted and his back was red raw and badly burnt.
"Miss Granger! I am trying to treat Mr Grindelwald. Kindly leave before I have to have someone come and remove you." Madam Pomfrey said appalled by the interruption.
"It is okay...she can stay." Y/n said as he looked up at Hermione now. There were fingernail marks on her face where she had been clutching it in fear.
"That was so stupid of you Y/n!" Hermione said now shocking him so much that his mouth slightly opened. "What were you thinking taking on a Dragon like that. Even if you did pull it off there were so many things that could have gone terribly wrong!"
Y/n just gave a small smile now. He knew Hermione's anger was not because of what he had done, but because of the situation he and Harry had been in in the first place. "I am sorry Harry and I made you so worried." He said.
"I should think so too!" Hermione said still practically fuming but very glad to see he had made it through.
Harry meanwhile was stood looking at Ron, who was very white and staring at him as though he were a ghost.
"Harry." he said, very seriously. "Whoever put yours and Y/n's names in that goblet... I... I reckon they're trying to do you in!"
"Caught on, have you?" said Harry coldly. "Took you long enough."
"Well...had a little help from Y/n..." Ron said nervously.
Ron then 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.
"Come on let's check on Y/n." Harry said and the two opened the curtain to Y/n's cubicle.
Madam Pomfrey went to send them away but when she saw Y/n was about to object again she just shook her head and muttered.
Hermione stood nervously between them all, looking from one to the other.
"I see you two have made up..." Y/n deducted.
"Yeah..." Ron said still feeling nervous.
"Ron said you helped him see sense." Harry said repeating what Ron had told him.
"When did you speak to Ron?" Hermione asked Y/n surprised.
"We happened to speak the other night, and I only said what I felt." Y/n told him before he winced as Madam Pomfrey continued to work on his back applying what felt like a thick paste.
"You have yet to apologize to me Ronald. I am waiting." Y/n said now
It was now Ron realized that he hadn't. "Er...right, Yeah." He started nervously. "So...I want to say sorry, you know...for not believing you and Harry about not putting your names in the goblet."
Y/n just looked up at him for a moment. "Apology accepted...Ronald Weasley. Just do not let anything like this ever happen again, Next time I will not be so forgiving."
Hermione just burst into tears now.
"There's nothing to cry about!" Harry told her, bewildered.
"You three are so stupid!" she shouted, tears splashing down her front.
Y/n's back was looking much better when Madam Pomfrey was finished healing him, though he had to keep an orange paste on his back to help with the burns. But it meant he couldn't wear a shirt without ruining it, but given how hot he still felt this didn't bother him one bit right now.
"Harry, Y/n, c'mon, they'll be putting up your scores." Ron said.
"Harry's scores were not given already?" Y/n asked as he slowly sat up now.
"I wanted to watch you do the task first instead." Harry told him.
Y/n just smiled and nodded. He picked up his golden egg and wand now and together the four ducked out of the tent.
"You two were the best, you know, no competition... Ron drew breath as he and Harry reached the edge of the enclosure. Now that the Dragons had all been taken away, Y/n 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." Ron explained.
"Look there about to do Harry's first!" Hermione said.
Harry squinting up the field, saw the first judge, Madame Maxime, She raised her wand in the air and what hooked like a long silver ribbon shot out of it twisting itself into a large figure eight.
"Not bad!" said Ron as the crowd applauded. "I suppose she took marks off for your shoulder..."
Y/n wondered what he would get considering the injury to his back.
Mr. Crouch came next. He shot a number nine into the air.
"Looking good!" Ron yelled, thumping Harry on the back.
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!"
"Ron that score tie's him in first with Krum." Hermione told him happy for Harry.
"Well done Harry." Y/n said.
"Thanks." Harry said but he didn't really care about the points at the moment.
"Yes a wonderful display from Potter to match Krum in the points!" Bagman called out to the crowd who cheered excitedly and Bagman waited for them to die down a bit. "And finally we shall reveal the scores of Y/n Grindelwald, Madam Maxime if you please..."
They watched as Madam Maxime raised her wand and once again the ribbon that soon shot from it twisted into an eight.
"She gave you eight same as Harry!" Ron said to Y/n.
"Most likely because of my back..." Y/n said.
Mr Crouch was next to raise his wand, though he looked reluctant as a number nine shot out of it.
"Nine!" Ron cried.
"I was expecting a low score from him." Y/n said surprised.
"Probably think he has to judge unbiasedly." Harry said to Y/n.
"Shh! Dumbledore's next." Hermione told them.
The four watched as Dumbledore smiled and waved his wand producing a large ten above his head.
"It's a ten!" Ron cheered with Hermione as Harry grinned.
A ten from Dumbledore meant more to Y/n than any other number a judge could have given him. The loud cheers of the crowd seemed to echo how he felt inside at this moment.
Ludo Bagman went next as he cheerily cast a ten above his head gaining more cheers from the crowd.
"Y/n you only need a four to be first!" Hermione said excitedly.
They turned to watch Karkaroff now who when he raised his wand looking unimpressed. A spark flew out of his wand before it changed into a...
"A three!? Oh come on that's absolute Bull..."
"Ron!" Hermione stopped him.
Y/n just laughed now. "It is really alright Ron. I am not interested in being in the spotlight anyway. With this score I tie with Harry and Krum... I will happily share this moment of victory with Harry, for we both earned it. Shall we head back? It has been a rather long day after all..."
The four had only just started to make their way back to the school when a voice called out to them. "Both tied for First with Krum eh?" It was Charlie Weasley, hurrying to meet them.
"Charlie...How is the dragon I fought?" Y/n quickly asked him.
"Don't worry Y/n. We managed to stun her and remove all the swords. She's on the mend already but boy is she going to be pissed when she wakes up...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 from you both! 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 Hermione said they would wait, so Harry and Y/n reentered the tent, which somehow looked quite different now, friendly and welcoming. Y/n thought back to how he'd felt while fighting the Hebridean, and compared it to the long wait before he'd walked out to face it... There was no comparison, the wait had been immeasurably worse.
Fleur, Cedric, and Krum all came in together. One side of Cedric's face was covered in a thick orange paste the same kind that covered Y/n's back. He grinned at Y/n when he saw him.
"We match." He said to him.
"I suppose we do." Y/n couldn't help but chuckle.
"That was a good performance from you too, Harry." Cedric said.
"And you." said Harry, grinning back.
"Well done, all of you!" said Ludo Bagman, bouncing into the tent and looking as pleased as though he personally had just got past a dragon. "Now, just a quick few words. You've got a nice long break before the second task, which will take place at half past nine on the morning of February the twenty fourth... but we're giving you something to think about in the meantime! If you look down at those golden eggs you're all holding, you will see that they open... see the hinges there? You need to solve the clue inside the egg, because it will tell you what the second task is, and enable you to prepare for it! All clear? Sure? Well, off you go, then!"
Y/n and Harry left the tent and rejoined Ron and Hermione, and they started to walk back around the edge of the forest, talking hard. Y/n and Harry wanted to hear what the other champions had done in more detail. Then, as they rounded the clump of trees behind which Y/n and Harry had first heard the dragons roar, a witch leapt out from behind them.
It was Rita Skeeter. She was wearing acid-green robes today, the Quick-Quotes Quill in her hand blended perfectly against them.
"Congratulations, Y/n! Harry!" she said, beaming at them. "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?"
"Yeah, you can have a word," said Harry savagely. "Good-bye."
And the four set off back to the castle.