Chapter 52: It's time!
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Suddenly, a burning pain was coursing through him, and his eyes snapped open, immediately taking in the scene around him. It only took the sight of the dragon for him to remember where he was.
'Your armour absorbed the majority of the impact,' Loki informed rapidly. 'You have a concussion, but it isn't too serious. I'm healing the wound on your face, so I can't concentrate on numbing everywhere else.'
Harry staggered to his feet, ignoring whatever noises the crowd were making as he dived behind a boulder and out of the dragon's line of sight.
He had neither his wand nor sword, and a glance from behind cover revealed the former to be directly under the dragon, and the latter to be about halfway between him and the dragon.
So, the sword it was then. With a moment's planning, Harry dashed out of cover and at his foe, not allowing himself a moment to focus on his sore, sore body.
Harry thought he saw something like surprise upon on the beast's face face, but his study of facial expressions, unfortunately, didn't extend to draconic ones, so he might've have been wrong.
Nonetheless, he continued, even as the dragon drew in a tremendous breath, no doubt preparing to erase him.
That could not be allowed, however, and he feinted dodging behind a rock, before pouring his magic into a shoddy illusion of invisibility. It would only hide him for a moment - and that was thanks to the dragon's normally poor vision as well as the fact it was missing an eye - but a moment was all he needed.
Skidding to the floor, he grabbed his sword, and then was instantly on his feet again. A second later, he leaped skyward. At his magic's call, an icy wind swept up and caught him.
It propelled him a few further meters forward as his illusion dispelled, and the dragon turned its fire upon him.
As the scorching flames billowed towards him, a strong shield of golden Asgardian magic burst into existence.
Heat still seared at his skin, yet no flames reached through. And then Harry swiped the sword forward, slicing through his shield and flames alike before throwing it with inhuman strength.
It span end over end in a style akin to a dagger, before embedding itself in the dragon's shoulder. The beast writhed in agony as the blade penetrated its skin, and Harry continued to fall downwards.
He hit the ground and rolled, picking up his wand and turning it skywards just as the dragon began to fall towards him, letting out another screech of pain.
It took a moment for Harry to create a plan. It was difficult to exert direct control over magical creatures, so any levitation charm to halt it would be rather difficult, taking its mass into account. Once your magic was inside a creature, however, it was much easier to control it.
It was because of this, Harry let the dragon continue to fall, and a moment later, it impaled itself upon his wand. Instantly, he forced his magic into the creature, letting it flood its veins and keep it levitated. He gathered his concentration, and a moment later, murmured, "Gelventus Maxima."
With his wand embedded six inches into the dragon's stomach, the freezing cold wind had nowhere to go but inwards. Ice rapidly spread through the dragon's insides, held in by the magic-resistant scales. A final, pathetic sound escaped the dragon, and then it was still.
Harry didn't let his concentration sway, however, not wanting to be crushed under a ten ton reptile. He was also not quite done.
Even as exhaustion threatened to claim him, Harry continued his intricate spellwork, dragging the magic from the dragon's skin.
And then, as he had at the beginning, he focused, and called up an illusion of thunder and lightning, this time combining it with a blasting curse.
The dragon simply shattered, leaving Harry standing within the frozen fragments of its corpse. The crowd was silent, and Harry wandered over to where his sword had fallen, embedded in the ground up to its hilt.
With casualness that told nothing of the tremendous fatigue weighing down upon him, Harry grabbed it and lifted it up high.
He roared in triumph, and the crowd followed suit.
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As it turned out, walking out of the stadium before remembering to return and retrieve the egg didn't leave too good an impression upon the judges.
Harry blamed that on brain damage, and also insisted that it was the only reason he had gotten the least amount of points - well, as well as the judges being part of an elaborate conspiracy to do...something.
His loss certainly wasn't anything to do with the fact he had almost been killed, or the fact that he had killed the dragon in an "inhumane" way. That was a compliment to him, in a way, for he was better than these petty humans.
He was more powerful, faster, stronger! He was a god among men! He...was starting to sound like a drunken Loki…. Once again, Harry blamed it on the concussion.
Serious head injuries or not, he wasn't going to let himself be seen to by a medic. It would be rather embarrassing when he passed out, after all.
So instead he slipped through the crowds without notice, made his way through the castle's hallways, and collapsed into bed. It was mere seconds before sleep embraced him.
'Harry,' Loki prompted, prodding at his mind. 'It's time to get up.'
Groaning, Harry rolled over. 'No it's not.'
'It's been eight hours since the task, and it is now ten o'clock. I had assumed you would want to revel in your victory and boast, but if not….'
Harry sighed, and asked, 'You're going to make me go anyway, aren't you?'
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