The Hero They Needed: Chapter 24

Chapter 24

“Listen up!” Moody shouted. “We’re done going over basic shield charms. If you still haven’t got it, practice on your own time. And yes, Granger, it will be on the test.”

Harry smirked as Hermione sheepishly lowered her hand.

“Next week, we’ll be studying ways to block more powerful spells, including the Unforgivables,” he growled. “Read Chapter Seventeen in your textbooks this weekend. Class dismissed. Potter, stay behind.”

Harry sighed and waited for the classroom to clear out before approaching Moody’s desk. The grizzled Auror dropped into his chair heavily and sighed.

“You figured out the first task yet?” he asked.

“I know it involves dragons, but I don’t know exactly what they want us to do,” Harry said.

“Good,” Moody nodded. “What’s your plan?”

“It’s hard to come up with a solid plan if I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” Harry shrugged. “Dora and I have been looking for ways to hide from it, distract it, and restrain it.”

“Not a bad idea,” Moody grunted, removing his wooden leg and resting it up against the desk. “You need help with anything?”

“Not yet,” Harry said, shaking his head. “I only started looking into it yesterday.”

“Well, if you need help, my door is always open.”

Moody pointed his wand at the door, and it slowly swung open. Taking that as his dismissal, Harry nodded, shouldered his bag, and stepped out into the hall. Hermione was waiting for him, leaning her back against the wall.

“You’re not in trouble again, are you?” she asked.

“Not this time,” Harry grinned.

They made their way down to the hall, and when they reached the corridor, Dora broke away from her friends and joined them.

“Do you want to go to the library again after dinner?” she asked, looping her arm around his.

“I think it would be better to practice spells for a couple of hours first,” he suggested. “No point in looking up all these spells if I don’t learn any.”

Dora nodded while Hermione titled her head curiously.

“What spells are you learning this time?” she asked.

“Just some stuff to prepare for the First Task,” Harry said.

“Do you mind if I watch?” she asked.

Harry caught Dora’s eyes and smirked.

“That seems fair.”

She pinched the inside of his arm, but Harry gritted his teeth against the pain and grinned unrepentantly. As they passed by one of the courtyards, he spotted Fleur and a few of her friends standing in a corner, talking in hushed tones. His feet slowed unconsciously, and he wondered if they were talking about the First Task. Not far away, he spotted Cedric sitting on a bench. He smiled and laughed, carefree.

“I’ll be right back,” Harry said.

Kissing Dora on the cheek, he slipped from her loose grasp and walked purposefully into the courtyard. Several heads turned to look at him curiously, but he ignored them.

“Hey, Fleur, you got a second?” he asked.

She nodded, and as she turned to her friends while Harry turned around, stuck two fingers in his mouth, and whistled loudly.

“Hey, Cedric!” he shouted and waved him over.

Cedric looked at him curiously as he got to his feet. Harry led them both over to an empty corner under the shade of a large tree.

“So, either of you been out to Forbidden Forest lately?” he asked.

Fleur quirked her lips and nodded while Cedric looked confusedly between them.

“Can’t say that I have,” he said. “Why? Did I miss something?”

“Dragons,” Harry said. “Three of them. One for each of us.”

Cedric’s eyes widened, and his face paled drastically. He quickly turned to Fleur for confirmation.

“Oui, eet’s true,” she said. “Madame Maxime showed zem to me last night.”

“Dragons!?” Cedric whispered hoarsely. “They want us to fight dragons!?”

“I don’t think we have to kill them,” Harry said. “We probably just have to get past them or something.”

“Oh, great,” Cedric muttered sarcastically. “That makes me feel so much better.”

“Sorry,” Harry shrugged.

Cedric waved off his apology.

“Bloody hell,” he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Thanks for the warning, Potter. I can’t believe they weren’t going to tell us.”

“Don’t mention it,” Harry smiled. “I kind of found out by accident, so I figured if I go down for cheating, I might as well take the two of you down with me.”

Fleur giggled, and Cedric snorted and shook his head.

“Now zat we all know, may ze best man win,” Fleur said.

With a wave, she turned and rejoined her friends. As a group, they turned and left the courtyard. Smiling, Harry patted Cedric on the shoulder and made his way back over to Dora and Hermione.

“From the look on Cedric’s face, you told him about the dragons?” Dora asked.

Harry nodded as Hermione turned to them with a startled look.

“Dragons!?”

~

Harry spent the next week training relentlessly for the First Task – so much so that he stopped working on his class assignments, much to Hermione’s horror.

The biggest issue he faced, by far, was finding a way to protect himself from the dragon’s fire. In their search of the library, they couldn’t find a single spell capable of stopping it. So, instead, Harry focused on Transfigurations. He found a spell that made the earth flow like water and then solidify into any shape he desired. It was mainly used for landscaping, but among their books, they found an account of a wizard using it to protect himself from a rogue dragon.

Even with Professor Turner’s help, it was an intensely difficult spell to learn, and there just wasn’t enough time for him to master it. In practice, Harry could only create piles of rock and dirt in the shape of waves pulled straight from the ocean, but it would be enough to shield him temporarily.

On the day of the task, the Great Hall buzzed with excitement while Harry tried to hide his nerves. Dora clung to him tightly, her hand barely leaving his long enough to let him eat. She insisted on accompanying him to the tent, and for once, Professor McGonagall relented without a fight. They walked down to the arena silently, hand-in-hand, and paused outside the door. Wordlessly, Dora hugged him firmly, her head resting on his shoulder.

As they embraced, the others arrived and slipped inside one by one. Fleur was the last to enter. She paused as if she wanted to say something but gave up and settled for giving them a forced, nervous smile before disappearing through the flap.

Knowing their time was at an end, Dora stepped back, grabbed the front of his robes, and pulled him down for a steamy, demanding kiss.

“If you make it out of this in one piece, I’ll turn into Fleur and let you fuck her as hard as you want,” she whispered.

Harry stared into her worried gaze as he smiled softly and gave her one last lingering kiss.

“I’ll be fine,” he promised. “I’ll see you soon.”

As he turned to enter the tent, she held onto his hand as long as she could, until his fingers slipped from her grasp. Everyone turned to face him, and Harry fixed a grin on his face, even as anxiety well in his chest.

“Ah, Harry!” Bagman said cheerily. “Fantastic! We can begin. Now, what was I supposed to say?”

Crouch huffed in annoyance and tugged at his suit jacket.

“The egg,” he prompted.

“Ah, right!” Bagman exclaimed, snapping his fingers. “Of course, how could I forget? Your task is to steal a Golden Egg from the nest of a mother dragon.”

He paused for dramatic effect but failed to get a reaction. The silence pressed on until Crouch cleared his throat loudly.

“The bag,” he said, glaring at the back of Bagman’s balding head.

“Right,” Bagman said.

He perked back up as he pulled a leather pouch from the pocket of his robes. Something inside it moved as he loosened the drawstring at the top.

“No, then, time to choose your dragon,” he smiled excitedly. “Ladies first, if you would, Ms. Delacour.”

Nervously, Fleur reached into the bag and pulled out a closed fist. When she opened it, a tiny green looked up at her and hissed.

“The Common Welsh Green,” Bagman said ominously.

Harry raised his hand to reach into the bag next, but Bagman swung past him and offered it to Cedric.

“Mr. Diggory.”

Cedric looked startled momentarily, then steeled himself and reached into the bag. When he opened his fist, a blue dragon glared at him and let out a little roar.

“The Swedish Short-Snout,” Bagman said before quickly turning to Harry and offering him the bag.

Harry reached inside and immediately grimaced when sharp teeth dug into his finger. Grabbing the tiny object tightly in revenge, he pulled it out and opened his hand. A scarlet and gold dragon unfurled its wings, and a jet of bright red and orange flames extended several inches from its mouth before the end bloomed outward.

“The Chinese Fireball,” Bagman announced with a grin. “Now, your order has been determined by which dragon you chose. Mr. Diggory will be first, Ms. Delacour second, and finally, Mr. Potter. Any questions?”

“Where do we go once we ‘ave ze egg?” Fleur asked.

“Oh, right! I nearly forgot!” Bagman exclaimed with a chuckle. “There’s an exit on the other side of the arena; you can’t miss it. We also have a team of trained dragon handlers on standby in case you get into trouble. If at any point you feel unable to continue, simply send up red sparks, and they’ll come to your aid.”

“We will, however, be forfeiting the task,” Crouch added.

“Right, thank you, Barty,” Bagman smiled. “Anything else? No? Then, we can begin. Mr. Diggory, you may begin at the sound of the canon.”

Bagman and Crouch left while Madame Maime, Professor Sprout, and Professor Turner stayed back for a moment to wish their students good luck. Once they, too, had gone, Harry, Cedric, and Fleur stared at each other in tense silence before they all turned away. Harry lounged on a couch, trying to conserve his nervous energy for the task ahead. Cedric, meanwhile, paced back and forth, muttering under his breath, while Fleur set her model dragon down on an end table and glared at it thoughtfully.

The sound of an explosion caused them all to jump, and Cedric paled drastically. Taking a deep breath, he turned to face the entrance to the arena.

“Good luck,” Harry called. “Try not to get, you know, eaten or anything.”

Cedric looked over his shoulder and cracked a small smile.

“You, too, Potter.”

Squaring his shoulders, he marched determinedly through the flap. Harry briefly heard the roar of the crowd before the flap fell back into place, and the tent was plunged into silence once more.

“I guess they don’t want us to know what’s happening,” he sighed.

“Oui,” Fleur said, still staring at her dragon.

A couple of minutes later, she turned away suddenly, marched over to the couch, and plopped down next to Harry with her arms folded over her chest.

“Zis wait is ‘orrible,” she said.

“I know,” Harry said. “I’d rather just get it over with.”

Fleur nodded, and they waited in companionable silence for several more minutes until the sound of the canon caused them both to jump. Nervously, Fleur climbed to her feet and straightened her robe.

“Good luck,” Harry said sincerely.

She managed a small smile before turning suddenly and pulling him into a tight hug.

“You too,” she whispered.

Harry returned the hug briefly, and he could feel her body shaking as she stepped back. He watched her close her eyes and gather herself before marching out of the tent with her head held high.

The wait was horrible. Harry’s stomach tied itself in knots as he tried to get his nerves under control. He stood up, paced, sat back down, stood back up, poured a glass of water, took a single sip, and then paced again as he waited for the canon to sound again. When it did, he was once again startled.

“I hate that fucking thing,” he grumbled.

Standing in front of the flap, he took a deep breath, tightened his grip on his wand, and strode forward. The bright light of the sun blinded him, and the moment he set foot outside, AC/DC’s Shoot to Thrill blasted through the arena. Harry blinked his eyes and looked around. Surprisingly, it didn’t take him long to spot Dora’s bright pink hair in the crowd. She cheered loudly among his classmates, holding a record player above her head.

“Our youngest Champion appears to have his own theme song,” Bagman chortled on the microphone, his voice carrying through the arena.

Harry grinned and shot her a wave before he turned back to the arena. It was about the size of a Quidditch pitch and made of hard-packed dirt. Numerous large boulders were scattered around, and at the very end, he saw the scarlet and gold Chinese Fireball.

Pictures didn’t do dragons justice, he decided. The thing was massive. It had to be fifty feet long, at least, with an even greater wing span. The bright red, armored scales along its back looked to be the size of frying pans, and they glittered in the sun. It eyed the cheering crowd nervously, and between its legs, Harry caught a glint. The Golden Egg sat in a nest with several other very large, very real dragon eggs. Finally, behind and to the right of the dragon, he spotted the exit, where two dragon handlers waited, wands ready.

Casting his eyes about, Harry nodded to himself. Yeah, he could work with this. With his head bobbing to the music, he charged forward.

The dragon turned its attention away from the crowd and glared menacingly as he ran forward. Moving protectively in front of her nest, she roared loudly.

“Potter isn’t wasting any time!” Bagman announced loudly. “He’s charging straight at the dragon. This could be dangerous. I hope he has a plan.”

Harry continued running closer until he saw the dragon open its mouth. At the first sight of flames, he turned sharply and ducked behind a large boulder. The flames rushed past and exploded outwards. A wave of unbearable heat washed over him, forcing him to cover his face with his robes. It vanished a moment later, but the dragon’s fire was much hotter than he’d anticipated.

Fortunately, he did have a plan. He would lure the dragon close while using the rocks for protection. When it was away from the nest, he would use a Binding Charm to hold it in place long enough to grab the egg and run for the exit.

Peaking around the edge of the boulder, he raised his wand and froze.

The thick iron chain holding the dragon in place with a giant collar jangled mockingly as it turned and spewed fire in his direction. Harry ducked back behind the boulder and covered his face with his robes.

“Fuck!” he yelled in frustration.

Hunkering down behind the boulder, he thought quickly. His landscaping spell was practically useless. Against that kind of heat for any prolonged amount of time, he’d roast in an oven of his own making. Fighting it was out of the question, and he was too close and too visible to try and distract it. His only option was to get it away from the eggs long enough to grab the one he needed, but for that, he needed to get rid of that chain.

Harry took a deep breath, popped back around the edge of the boulder, and unleashed a powerful Breaking Charm. He had just enough time to watch one of the links shatter into a dozen pieces before he was forced to duck back from another gout of flames.

“Oh dear!” Bagman cried. “It looks like Potter accidentally hit the chain with that spell!”

The ground rumbled under Harry’s feet as the dragon walked closer. He moved to the other side of the boulder, peeked out, and sent a Blasting Hex at the dragon. It exploded harmlessly against its thick scales, but it roared furiously and spewed searing flames in his direction. Moving back to the other side, Harry hit it again. Then back to the other side and hit it again.

He felt like he was playing a deadly game of Whack-A-Mole, but the dragon came no closer.

“Oh, come on!” Harry yelled after his fifth attempt.

The dragon screeched angrily, remaining firmly planted between him and her eggs.

He knew he needed a new plan and cast his eyes around the arena as he wracked his brain for ideas. And then he spotted the massive, slanted boulder right next to the dragon. The far end was just a couple of feet tall, while the other end stood over twenty feet high right over the dragon’s back.

Immediately, his mind turned to Dragon Riders of the Middle Ages. He hadn’t planned to try and ride the thing. Not really. But with his plan in shambles, it felt like fate was tempting him. And how many people could say they rode a dragon?

“Dora’s going to kill me,” he muttered to himself.

But even that thought did nothing to dissuade him from the idea.

With a wave of his wand, Harry created a wall of rock and dirt between the boulder he was hiding behind and the slanted boulder closer to the dragon. The dragon eyed it suspiciously and began to move in that direction, but before it could get far, Harry popped around the other side of the boulder and fired off another Explosive Hex. It whirled around and fired off another jet of flames. Hiding behind his raised robe, Harry waited until they died, fired off another Hex, and then immediately sprinted along the wall he’d created to the other boulder.

The roar of the crowd and the rush of flames covered his footsteps as he safely reached his destination. Cautiously, he climbed onto the boulder, crept to the top, and peered over the edge. The dragon was still looking at the other boulder and had no idea he was now above it. Taking a deep breath, and before he could talk himself out of it, Harry planted his foot on the edge and jumped.

As the wind whipped past his ears, he quickly used a spell he’d practiced only a few times in secret, conjuring a rudimentary harness and reins. They formed just as he landed painfully on the dragon’s back. He barely had time to register the pain in his testicles before the dragon roared and bucked. Harry held on for dear life as it tried to shake him off.

“Great Scott, I think he’s trying to tame it!” Bagman shouted.

The dragon stumbled around the arena, moving the massive boulders it bumped into and destroying his conjured wall with a single stomp. Slowly but surely, it moved further from the nest. Once it was far enough away, Harry could jump off, restrain it, and-

With a single flap of its wings, it took to the air. Harry gripped the reins tightly as he watched the arena shrink below him. Despite his fear, he could stop the elation that swelled within him.

He was the first person in living memory to ride a dragon.

“WOOO!” he shouted.

And then the dragon turned and dove down toward the Forbidden forest.

“Shit!”

Harry flattened himself against the dragon’s back and closed his eyes. They crashed through the top of the trees. Branches snapped all around him. The longer, thinner ones that didn’t whip painfully against his body.

The dragon cut a wide swath through the treetops before it let out a roar and pulled up sharply. Harry tightened his grip on the reins and grunted with the effort it took to hold on. His feet kicked at the dragon’s back as he tried to find purchase on the harness. Just as the dragon’s upward climb stalled, he managed to wedge his feet between the straps of the harness and its body.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief, his position more secure, and then his stomach plummeted as they fell towards the ground. Wrapping the reigns around his hands, he heaved backward with the full weight of his body.

“Pull up!” he shouted.

The dragon’s wings caught the air just feet from the ground. They soared around the edge of the cliff upon which Hogwarts was built. All the while, the dragon lurched and twisted, trying to throw him off. Harry held on tightly, the reins cutting into his hands and his feet digging under its scales. On one particularly forceful lurch, he looked past the dragon’s head and saw the covered bridge getting dangerously close.

His eyes widened, and he yanked on the reins. The dragon just roared furiously and pumped its mighty wings. Harry was preparing himself for a painful collision when he heard a familiar cry. Levina appeared from the other side of the bridge and perched on the top with a threatening screech. The dragon pulled up at the last second, but its tail still took out a section of the room, sending Levina back into the air. She appeared beside Harry a moment later, eyeing him worriedly.

“Lead it back to the arena!” he yelled.

The Thunderbird flapped her wings and overtook the dragon with ease. It roared, spewing a jet of flames from its mouth. Harry screamed a warning, but it was lost in the rush of wind and the roar of the fire. Levina twisted out of the way, looked back over her shoulder, and screeched angrily.

The dragon chased after her furiously as they soared back toward the arena. As they got closer to the ground, it flew even faster. Harry quickly realized that the dragon was so fixated on Levina that it wasn’t concerned with how close the ground was getting. He yanked at the reins as they passed over the crowd, but it was useless.

Levina flared her brilliant white wings and leveled out feet from the ground. The dragon flapped furiously to stop itself, but it was too late. They crashed into the ground with such force that Harry was thrown from its back. He hit the ground hard and rolled for several yards before coming to a stop.

A surge of adrenaline numbed the pain and pushed him to his feet. The dragon was dazed but recovering quickly as he whipped his wand forward. Harry grunted with effort as thick, iron chains burst from the tip and wound around its body like a snake. The dragon roared and rolled, trying to free itself, but the chains only squeezed tighter.

Knowing they wouldn’t hold for long, he turned and sprinted for the nest. The sound of snapping metal and a terrible roar filled the arena as he scooped up the egg and made for the exit as fast as his legs could carry him. The dragon handlers passed him on his way through the gate, wands raised.

“And he’s done it!” Bagman shouted. “What a performance from our youngest Champion.”

Harry skidded to a stop just past the gate and found himself in an infirmary built under the stands. There were only three cots, and two of them were occupied. Fleur and Cedric sat up to look at him. Fleur had a white bandage wrapped around her left thigh, starting at her knee and disappearing under her skirt, while Cedric had thick, orange paste covering half of his face.

“Hey,” Harry said, panting heavily.

Madam Pomfrey clucked her tongue and pointed to the empty cot to Fleur’s left.

“Bed,” she barked.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Harry walked over and collapsed tired onto the cot.

“Dragons.”

Pomfrey shook her head disapprovingly and waved her wand over him. Grabbing a goblet of water from the stand next to the bed, he drained half of it in three gulps.

“Well, you seem to be fine besides a few minor bumps and bruises,” Pomfrey said. “You three rest while I go speak with the judges.”

She left through a door on the other side of the room, and Harry turned to Fleur and Cedric with a grin.

“So, how’d it go for you two?” he asked.

“Not as spectacular as yours,” Cedric smiled. “I transfigured some rocks into sheep to distract the dragon and then Disillusioned myself to sneak over to the nest. It worked pretty well until the dragon tried to eat one. It burned my face before I got out of there, but Pomfrey says I’ll be right as rain in a few days.”

“What about you?” Harry asked Fleur.

“I used a charm to put the dragon to sleep and took ze egg,” she said, her lips quirking up smugly.

“How’d you get burned?” Harry asked, nodding toward her bandaged leg.

She frowned and looked away from him to stare at her injured leg.

“I did not know dragons snore,” she said.

Harry snorted and then tried to stifle his laugh when she glared at him. He was saved from her ire when Madam Pomfrey returned.

“The judges would like you to return to the arena for your scores,” she said.

Harry shared a look with Cedric and Fleur before they all got to their feet and walked back through the entrance they’d come in. The stands burst into applause as they turned around and looked up at the judges.

“Thank you. Thank you,” Dumbledore said, causing the crowd to quiet down. “An excellent performance from all of our Champions. Now, it is time for your scores. We have all conferred, and out of a possible fifty points, in third place is… Mr. Cedric Diggory of Hogwarts!”

The cheer was subdued, and while Cedric looked disappointed, he didn’t look upset as he waved.

“While we were impressed with his use of transfigurations and the Disillusionment Charm, we agreed that his plan was lacking, and he sustained the worst injuries,” Dumbledore said. “However, it accomplished the task, so we award you forty-two points.”

The applause was a bit louder this time but quieted quickly.

“In second place… Mr. Harry Potter of Ilvermorny!”

Harry smiled and waved as the crowd cheered. Fleur caught his eye and gave him a tiny smirk.

“We were impressed by his use of spells and the sheer audacity of riding a dragon,” Dumbledore smiled. “While his plan was certainly the most entertaining, we believe it was also needlessly risky, and while he was the least injured, he also took the longest to complete the task and caused the most damage.”

He paused momentarily, his eyes twinkling as the crowd laughed.

“We award you forty-five points.”

The crowd cheered again, and for the first time, he realized the Ilvermorny section was larger than he expected.

“And, finally, in first place, we have Ms. Fleur Delacour of Beauxbatons!”

The Beauxbatons section exploded with cheers, and Fleur smiled, her shoulders straight and head held high.

“Yes, well done,” Dumbledore smiled. “Her plan was elegant in its simplicity, and her mastery of the Sleeping Charm was impressive. She was injured in the attempt. However, we believe that to be a simple case of bad luck. She was also the fastest to complete the task. As a result, we award you forty-six points!”

Harry and Cedric clapped along with the crowd as Fleur smiled proudly.

“Well done to all of you,” Dumbledore said after a long moment. “The Second Task will take place on January the twenty-fourth. Your clue to what it will be is contained within your eggs. I wish the best of luck to all of you.”

The crowd applauded lightly, and the Champions turned to leave when Dumbledore stopped them.

“Just as a final note, to celebrate the completion of the First Task, a party will be held in the Great Hall. All guests and visitors are invited.”

The crowd cheered again, and Harry, Cedric, and Fleur left the arena. As soon as they stepped outside, Dora leapt into Harry’s arms, wrapping herself around him.

“You did it!” she screamed.

He hugged her back, and his smile turned into a grin when he spotted Michelle and Jenna a short distance away.

“Hey, you made it!” he said, setting Tonks on her feet.

“Dora’s parents sent me a Portkey,” Michelle smiled.

Turning to Dora, Harry kissed her briefly and then wrapped an arm around her and Michelle’s shoulders.

“Come on, we have a party to get to, and there’s someone I want you to meet.”