Chapter 6 - The first task
Disclaimer - I don't own Harry Potter.
They trained as hard as they could for the mysterious first task. Harry had talked to Hermione about how the bond had changed both of them. She could see the changes in him better than he could. He'd always been bright, his mother was the closest thing to the previous generation's Hermione there was and his father was a genius in transfiguration, but they had figured out that he'd always tried to hide it for two reasons. First, if he outshone Dudley in Muggle school, he'd be beaten. So he had learned not to. Second, when he arrived at Hogwarts, Ron wasn't very academically inclined and was a bit jealous to start with, so Harry had hidden his academic side due to their friendship. The bond to Hermione had strengthened his already natural academic side and he had realized that if he didn't start working towards his full potential, he was even more likely to die to Voldemort or one of his Deatheaters. Surprisingly, Ron took less time before he apologized than they expected. Maybe if Hermione had still been friendly he could have stayed mad at Harry, but he couldn't push away both friends completely and there was no splitting them. During the days they had been distant, Ron had been forced to do a lot of thinking. His family members were all high achievers in their own ways and since his two best friends were clearly starting to really come into their own, he felt maybe it was time he fulfilled his potential, too. Otherwise he sensed he would quickly be left alone and only have Dean or Seamus to hang out with. It didn't hurt that Dumbledore had summoned him, alone, and started him on a secret study plan to bring out his capabilities as a strategic genius. Feeling that he had an area that he could excel in that had nothing to do with his friends was giving him confidence to be less of a prat.
Sometimes, Harry and Ron would duel for hours in the empty defense classroom with Moody teaching them, while Hermione researched in the library. She had cataloged every task at every prior Tri-Wizard tournament. She classified them with frequency of occurrence and noticed a very obvious pattern. She was still stunned at how lacking in innovation wizards could be. They were sometimes downright lazy. The first task was almost always facing a magical beast or beasts, usually to retrieve an item. The second was often environmental, having to rescue hostages from a difficult environment. The third was always a maze to retrieve the Goblet of Fire. How could they not expect the best students at each school to figure out these tasks? Once she had an idea of the tasks, she researched useful spells. She was trying to craft a mapping spell for the maze. She sent off an owl to consult Sirius and Remus, since their map was the best she'd ever heard of.
The three met up in the common room after dinner.
"Ok, I've got a good idea of the first task." Hermione said.
"I do, too." Ron offered.
"What? How do you know?" Hermione said, shocked.
"Don't think I ever know anything, huh?" Ron said, seeming ready to jump into a fight, but he quickly grinned, "I have an inside source. Charlie's coming to Hogwarts and wanted me to pass on some hints. Nobody in my family would forgive themselves if you got hurt, Harry."
Hermione had the expression she often got when her mind went into overdrive.
"Dragons!" she exclaimed.
"Dragons?!" Harry said, "Charlie is a dragon handler. When he came all the way to the Burrow… I thought he just came for the Quidditch Cup! I remember he was on the team when he was here."
"The first task is often a magical creature. It makes sense." Hermione said.
"It not only makes sense, it's what is planned. Furthermore, I know they brought nesting females with eggs." Ron said.
"That's got to be significant." Hermione thought aloud, "It's much more trouble than to bring bachelor males. There's more risk of an angry dragon, because while females may be more docile than territorial males, that's reversed when they're nesting females. There's nothing more dangerous than a nesting female. Given the task is also often to retrieve an item…"
Harry watched the byplay. He'd never seen Ron and Hermione interact this way. Ron really was changing, maybe as much as he and Hermione were. He actually seemed to have something to contribute.
"Ok, if Harry has to get something from the nest, I'll come up with a plan." Ron said, "I've been working with Professor Dumbledore to build on my chess playing talent. I don't know why I never generalized it, before. I know how chess pieces move, which makes it simpler, but I think I know you as well as I know chess pieces, Harry. I don't know as much about Dragons, but I think Charlie and Hermione might be able to help me there."
"Great!" Harry said. "I have to tell Cedric tomorrow. It's not fair that I know and he not know. We'll have to be sure Fleur and Viktor know, too."
"Can I tell Fleur?" Ron asked, cheekily.
"Right. I'll tell Viktor. I see him quite often in the library."
The days quickly passed. Harry was annoyed at some of the hostility from other students who all thought he'd lied and cheated to get into the tournament. Cedric was very popular and many resented Harry from seeming to take away from his choice as champion. Draco, the essential Slytherin, harnessed this wave of feeling to attack Harry. Outside the potions classroom, he and his minions showed off their "Support Cedric Diggory" buttons. Harry almost asked for one, before they pushed them and showed the other message, "Potter Stinks". Harry with his new calm from Hermione's influence and from his burgeoning occulomency skills, could have easily dealt with that, but Draco quickly crossed a line that Harry wouldn't tolerate.
"Want one, Granger? Only, don't touch my hand. I've just washed and wouldn't want slime off a mudblood to contaminate me."
A cold rage washed over Harry. Insulting Hermione was one of the few things that would set him off, but it on that subject he had a hair trigger. He drew his wand as Draco drew his. They faced off, silence falling over the rest. Harry could sense Hermione quietly drawing her wand and he knew she had his back covered. Draco twitched, raising his wand to try to gain advantage by casting the first spell, but Harry, faster, cast simultaneously.
"Furnunculus!"
"Densauego!"
The spells struck in midair and glanced off each other. Draco's curse shot towards Hermione, where she easily blocked it. Goyle was hit by Harry's spell and his skin erupted in boils.
"Expelliarmus. Stupefy!" Harry continued, not pausing. Draco, having been content with one spell and figuratively stunned by the outcome, was quickly literally stunned.
Just then, Snape walked up to the group, cloak flowing behind him.
"What happened here?" he said coldly.
"Uh. Harry hit Draco." Crabbe said thickly.
"He cast at me first, Professor." Harry offered.
"Get a teacher next time, Potter. 10 points from Gryffindor. As for Draco, I want the rest of you to understand that dueling is prohibited. If you must duel, I expect you not to be so clueless about it. 10 points from Slytherin for losing to a Gryffindor. Crabbe, take these two to the infirmary. Since I doubt you can cast a levitation charm, I suggest you ask Filch for a wheelbarrow."
The rest continued into the classroom. Harry was bemused. While Snape seemed his usual self, it was easy to note that could have easily gone worse. He was only happy Hermione hadn't been hit.
Hermione, meanwhile, was also thoughtful. She was well versed in the latin basis of most spellcasting and the daughter of two dentists, she knew what that spell was likely to do. Why Draco had cast it was a mystery, but if teeth could be grown, she wondered - could they be shrunken? She discussed it with her parents before, but they'd wanted to use Muggle dentistry. She wasn't sure she was willing to wait anymore, though, and thought she might have an experiment tonight.
Harry was called out of class for the weighing of the wands. Hermione could have gone with him, but decided to stay and take notes, so he would have something to catch up with. Other than the annoyance of Rita Skeeter, the weighing was largely unremarkable. However, Ollivander gave him an odd look when he examined his wand.
"The core has seen more use than I would have expected, Mr. Potter. No harm, it will actually be stronger that way, but you must be working very hard, aren't you?"
Harry nodded, thinking of Dumbledore's aside about wandlore. His work was showing gains in many areas and he planned to continue.
The article that came out in the prophet the next day was irritating, but given that their relationship was well known at this point, it was only an annoyance in that it implied he was constantly mourning his dead parents.
Since they were getting along again, Harry, Hermione, and Ron all went to Hogsmeade together. It was the first time Harry got to go since being given permission by Sirius. They drank butterbeer and enjoyed themselves. Hermione went shopping for books and they all bought candy, Harry buying enough to share around since he knew Ron would never be able to buy as much as he'd want to eat.
While in the Three Broomsticks, Hagrid had invited them to come by the cabin. He'd looked a bit dodgy and inviting them at midnight, under the cloak made it even more suspicious, but he was Harry's first friend in the wizarding world and he knew he would go.
He, Hermione, and Ron went, under the cover of the invisibility cloak. It was almost impossible for them all to fit underneath, now. Harry was amused by Hermione's dark thoughts as she got jostled and groped accidentally. He was really lucky she was much less prim than he'd ever expected, but when he'd mentioned it once, she's winked at him and said, "Didn't anyone ever tell you? It's always the smart ones, Harry." He wasn't quite sure what that meant, but he got the sense through the bond it was a good thing. Hagrid had clearly arranged for them to see the Dragons. It wasn't as much of a surprise as it would have been otherwise, but academic knowledge was much different than seeing them in person.
That night, in the common room, Sirius floo called them. With Hermione and Ron by his side, they'd had a discussion about Karkaroff, Deatheaters, the reason he'd likely been entered into the tournament, and the first task. Sirius thought of casting spells at the dragon's eyes, as they were one of the only spots vulnerable to magic. Hermione had looked thoughtful at that and Harry knew she'd be researching tomorrow. Ron had also looked like he'd filed the information away and Harry was reminded of Ron's new depths. They'd ended the floo call with much to think about.
Harry and Hermione said goodnight with their nightly ritual and gone to bed.
The next few days consisted of frequent visits to the library. Hermione did intensive research with some help from Harry, although she was still the better researcher. Meanwhile, Ron was sketching the likely location for the tournament and listing options. He added options and spells to the list as Hermione found them. Given Sirius' thoughts, they'd added the conjunctivitis curse quicky. Later, Hermione had found an enucleus curse and they'd added that, but hoped not to have to use it. Ron had suggested flying was one of Harry's greatest strengths and stealing an item might be very similar to catching a snitch, although he hoped the item wasn't that mobile. Ron and Hermione had discussed the summoning charm for the firebolt and Ron had listed that among his top options.
They began to schedule practical sessions. Hermione walked Harry through all the new spells they'd considered. She'd had to transfigure some creatures so he could practice. Harry felt bad enucleating conjured creatures, but Hermione assured him they wouldn't feel it. He brushed up on his summoning charm. It was a spell from this year's syllabus, so he'd learned it with Hermione over the summer during their accelerated study schedule. He was again very glad he'd started working with her and that Dumbledore had given him a waiver to cast underage magic.
When Moody called him in to hint at strategies, he'd been able to tell him he had it well under control.
He had even taken to flying trial runs. They found he could quickly grab any item up to a trunk quickly. Anything larger than that, he would need to cast a lightening charm on or it might be too heavy. Ron had quickly come up with scenarios where the item was spelled to be resistant. If not, Harry was going to cast the summoning charm on the item first. Only if it didn't work would he summon his broom. If the item was large, he would make it lighter. If it was resistant to that, they came up with a rope and hook, so Harry could quickly attach it to his broom and fly away.
Hermione discovered some flame retardant spells. They recruited Dobby to create a set of robes similar to Harry's Quidditch robes, and then Hermione cast every protection spell and flame retardant spell she could find. They spelled his broom to be flame retardant, too, knowing that was one of the weaknesses of this plan.
"Ok," Ron said, the night before the task, "I think we're well prepared. We know what you're facing. We have plan A, summoning charm on item. Plan B, if item is resistant to summoning, you summon your broom. We've proven you can summon all the way from the boy's dorm, but Hermione will have it with her in the stands, initially shrunken, but then returned to normal size. The time difference for the summoning may make a difference. Plan C, if there's a barrier to summoning, Dobby will bring you the broom from Hermione in the stands. Plan D conjunctivitis curse. Plan E, enucleation curse. Plan F, reductor to the eyes, although if you get to plan F, you'll really be doing what you do best and winging it. Got it?"
Harry felt really confident at this point. Ron was really a natural at the planning. Hermione was a researcher without parallel and her help with training had left him knowing he could cast any of the spells they'd planned even with distractions. His equipment was as good as it could be. He was ready.
He went to sleep early after a really productive bond practice session with Hermione. She knew exactly how to make him sleepy and he didn't even need the potion of dreamless sleep she had brewed.
The next morning, he ate his normal breakfast. He suspected that under other circumstances he'd be too nervous to eat, but he was just excited to get it over with. He was dressed in his tournament robes, with the Potter crest on the breast and the Gryffindor crest on the shoulder. He knew these robes would shrug off anything other than a direct hit from a flame blast or claw. She had even worked in a parachute charm, in case he was knocked off his broom.
Professor McGonagall came and got him from the great hall. He suspected she wanted him alone, but Hermione didn't leave his side. Once she'd found the Potter crest in her research, they'd had Dobby embroider it on both of their robes. That was one of the privileges of a bonded couple and they'd noticed afterwards some of the Pureblooded bigots treated her differently. It seemed they could play the Wizarding game against them, after all.
On the way into the Champions' tent, Ludo Bagman had tried to offer him advice, but he'd just pushed past. Advice right before the tournament? He'd been ready a week ago, changing his plan now would just bollix things up.
After drawing the Horntail and last in the sequence to go, he and Hermione had sat, mostly just looking at each other, but sometimes sharing soft kisses. He knew she was keeping his mind off the task, but he knew it helped her, too, and he was happy to be distracted. She planned to feed him energy through the bond if he needed. She couldn't intervene with spells, so she would have full energy, which she could send him at need. They'd practiced and he could cast for hours with their combined energy, especially because their recharge rate would actually start giving him new energy before he'd worked through both of their stores.
When his name was called, his mind went blank. Not negatively blank, but more the void Snape had tried to teach him. Ron had another term for it, "no-mind", something that was apparently part of an Asian philosophy he was learning as part of his strategic studies. He heard the whistle and jogged down the path, through the gap in the enclosure, and saw the dragon. He quickly spotted the item, a golden egg Bagman had told them to find.
"Accio Egg!" he cast, with no result. The egg didn't even wobble. When it didn't move, he saw Hermione hurl the Firebolt in the air. She didn't throw it past the barrier, so it was no more breaking the rules than if she'd left it in the dorm.
"Accio Firebolt!"
With only hundreds of meters to travel, the broom was quickly in his hand and he kicked off from the ground. He shot towards the dragon. He'd decided to go for pure speed, feint once to get the dragon to breathe, then while the breath recharged, he'd zoom in for the egg. He shot past the dragon, avoiding the sudden burst of fire. Around the back of the head and avoided the spiked tail. A tight turning loop, pulling so many G's that his vision went grey, he was soon a foot off the ground, scooped up the egg, and was out of the arena. He'd won!
While he was flying, he'd thought there was complete silence, but now he realized his focus was just so all-encompassing that he hadn't heard anything from the crowd. Now he realized the crowd was cheering. He could hear Hermione's voice, as she cheered for him as she always did in Quidditch. He could feel the relief through their bond. Ron was next to her, cheering just as loudly. Bagman mentioned his was the fastest time. He swooped into the stands, grabbed Hermione, and rode off with her ahead of him on the broom, her laughter in his ears. They flew by the medic tent, checked on the other Champions quickly, then left, since he was unhurt. He got his score, realizing he was well in the lead. Then, he, Ron, and Hermione walked back to the castle, talking about how the others had dealt with the task.
"Krum used the conjunctivitis curse. It worked well, but the dragon destroyed many of the other eggs. I'm glad we chose to do it this way, Harry." Hermione said.
"Me, too. I'm glad I had both of your help." Harry said, sincerely.
"You'll always have our help!" Hermione said firmly.
"We're your best friends." Ron offered.
The party in the Gryffindor common room was an incredible celebration and other than the incredible shrieking when he opened the egg, nothing detracted from it. Hermione had grabbed a quill and parchment and been ready to write, before dropping them and covering her ears at the earsplitting noise. Her actions, even though fruitless in this instance, were just one more proof of what he knew: his friends would be there to help him figure out that clue, too.
H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr
A/N: Here's where I start to fear I need to do more proofreading. I have Dobby helping here, but I have another Dobby scene later. I think in canon, Dobby wasn't actually at Hogwart's yet, but I don't think that's a plot busting point.