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Chapter 22 - CH 22

"And... it also marks the end of the entertainment."

Memory-Harry then turned to 'look' to where Real-Harry was still lounging back on the banana-lounge. "Alright, Harry..."

When Real-Harry didn't seem to notice Memory-Harry was supposedly now addressing him, Memory-Harry tried to 'gain his attention'. "Harry."

No response.

"Harry!"

Still no response.

"HARRY!" Real-Harry almost jumped off the lounge in surprise before his head snapped to look at Memory-Harry. "Hunh?"

Memory-Harry smirked and said, "Your turn."

As if suddenly understanding, Real-Harry suddenly said, "Ah!"

The final memory winked out.

He quickly stood, tossing his novel into the ex-Army echelon bag. Then folded up the portable lounge, also stuffing that into the bag.

Once he was done, he then pulled the rack of empty vials out, deactivated the pensieve and began pulling the strands of memory out, dropping them into vials one at a time. That took a few minutes.

Meanwhile, the audience - who still hadn't broken up and left - quietly sat and talked among themselves while keeping one eye on Harry as he worked.

Once all the memories were removed from the pensieve he then packed both it and the plinth on which it stood into the bag. Finally, he dropped the rack of full-once-more vials on top before zipping the bag closed.

Then he stood up and looked around, as the audience returned to once more silently watching him.

With a cheeky grin, he then looked to blow on the tips of the fingers of his right hand before then rubbing his thumb over the balls of them. With a large overly done gesture to be sure everyone saw him do it he snapped his fingers. Instantly, the bag disappeared in a flash of white light.

He then drew his wand and pressed the tip of it to his jaw. "Sonorus."

Looking about with his cheeky grin he said, "I bet none of you have yet worked out how I'm doing that, have you?"

When he received no answer he gave a chuckle.

"Well, that was the entertainment for you while I sat and figured out how I was going to complete this task," he said, his voice again carrying across the arena. "I'd actually figured out a number of possible ideas by about halfway through it. But, I thought you might like to see the end of it before I shut it off.

With everything now cleared away Harry stood tall and proud while smirking at the audience, but mainly at the VIP box.

"As you now know," he began. "I think most witches and wizards are... not just daft... but daft morons.

"So, in order to complete this task, I considered the straightforward approach first. I mean, the approach that should not work because it's so obvious."

Removing the wand tip from his jaw line he dropped it into his pocket, for the moment. He then held his left hand, palm upwards and out to his side. Then he pointed his right index finger at it before, with the similar gesture as before, snapped his fingers.

With yet another flash of white light, the golden egg disappeared from the dragon's nest and appeared on his left palm, as if it apparated there.

Taking his wand out of his pocket again, he placed the tip back to his jaw and said, "Hunh! How about that? The organisers of this task were as big a bunch of daft morons as I thought.

"However, you all probably think I cheated or something to get the egg. So that you know I didn't, I'll put it back and try a different method." Tucking his wand under his left armpit this time, he again snapped his fingers and the egg disappeared from his hand before immediately reappearing on the nest. The dragon didn't notice either the time it disappeared or the time it reappeared. It was still somewhat dozing.

Plucking his wand from under his arm he returned it to his jaw. "Let's try a simple fourth year charm."

He then aimed the wand towards the dragon's nest. "Accio golden egg!" he firmly intoned.

Nothing happened. Again, he used the Sonorus.

"Hunh!" he exclaimed. "Since the first idea worked I'd thought that one would too. Maybe wizard-kind aren't as daft as I thought.

"Let's try a switching charm. That's a third year Transfiguration charm." He bent down and picked up a pebble, holding it on the palm of his left hand, which he held palm up as when Dobby used elf magic to translocate the egg there a little earlier.

"Permuto!" he called, first indicating the egg before then indicating the pebble.

Surprising the audience but not surprising him so much, the egg suddenly appeared on his palm. Though, he did almost drop it when it did, as he truly did not expect it to work. Returning the wand to his jaw he sighed, "Well, I had such high hopes I'd not be disappointed by the organisers of this event. Sadly, they've proven themselves to be daft, just like the rest."

Tucking the wand back under his left arm he again snapped his fingers. And, again, the egg appeared back in the nest; before returning the wand tip to his jaw.

"Well, that was a simple third year transfiguration charm," he sighed again. "Let's make it a little more difficult by seeing if using only first year charms will accomplish the task. Professor Flitwick taught us these in our first year."

With the pebble still on his palm he pointed to it with his wand and intoned, "Nomen Harry's Pebble. That's named it. Gluten! That's made it capable of sticking to the next object it touches.

And... Wingardium Leviosa!"

With his wand guiding it, Harry levitated it down the length of the arena until he guided it to touching the very top of the egg.

As soon as he cancelled the charm the pebble dropped only a fraction of an inch before contacting the top of the egg, and affixed there.

With a smirk he again pointed his wand at the egg. But, this time, had his mind's eye firmly on the pebble, Harry's Pebble, that now stuck to the top of the egg. "Wingardium Leviosa!" he again intoned. And the pebble, with the egg firmly glued to it, levitated.

Then it was only a matter of using his wand to guide it, before he flew it slowly back to his hand.

As soon as he dropped it onto his palm he returned his wand-tip to his jaw. "Three first year charms," he said. "I find myself soooo disappointed. I actually thought this was supposed to be, and was going to be, a challenging event for seventh years. That even a first year could accomplish it - with little danger to themselves - is, quite frankly, disappointing."

ˇ More focussed on what he was doing than anything else, Harry had no idea the other three champions had been standing at the Champions' entrance to the arena, along with the dragon handlers, since before the first hour of his 'presentation' had even passed.

As Harry demonstrated how to accomplish the task with no more than first year charms Cedric Diggory, the supposed Hogwarts Champion, almost sulkily said, "He's making us look like idiots."

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