105 6/6

Steering clear of large or small movements of the immense beasts that would have crushed him without either creature noticing, Gaara climbed into the nest for the second time and retrieved the egg. He climbed back out and retreated to a safe distance. When he was clear, Gaara climbed atop the same rock and watched the two animals locked together. He noticed that at least one pair of Fluffy's eyes were trained on him, as were the dragon's.

How intriguing. Even with three sets of powerful jaws clamped down on its limbs and neck, the dragon's primary concern was for its stolen egg. This seemed like a particularly cruel Task to plan, even aside from the child endangerment, Gaara thought.

Still, he couldn't let this continue too much longer. One of the animals was bound to get hurt.

Gaara raised his wand back to his lips and blew into the hole at the very tip. While it might not have all of the uses that Draco promised a functioning wand could offer, Gaara was fine with his new dog whistle. It was evidently quite useful in difficult situations.

Fluffy stilled when he heard the imperceptible whistle note, all six eyes locking on to Gaara. Gaara clicked his fingers twice and pointed out of the arena gate. Fluffy unlatched all three of his jaws and quickly withdrew, growling at the dragon that was shakily climbing back to its feet. It shouldn't be hurt but it must have been rather startled.

Fluffy ran back out through the gate only after Gaara had said, "Good boy." Fluffy seemed eager to leave, heads held high in pride, to escape the cheers of the stadium. Apparently this was exactly the type of spectacle that witches and wizards had paid through the nose to witness.

"Well, I'd wager in the history of the Triwizard Tournament, there's never been a strategy like that used before. The judges will now consult the official rules to determine whether this… unorthodox method was allowed."

Gaara did not wait to hear his score, or even if he had been disqualified for breaking the rules (which he was confident was not the case). He turned with his stolen egg and headed back towards the Champions' entrance.

The dragon wranglers entered through the broken gate and started to pacify the dragon while another official started to repair the gate.

The crowds watched this happening and Draco finally allowed his palm to make contact with his face. Of course the bloody dog was Gaara's plan all along.

"How funny." Luna said, smiling at the scene below, which was more than Sirius managed to say in the immediate aftermath. He looked rather bewildered.

"Bloody hell." Was all Ron managed.

"Oh my goodness." Hermione agreed. "I'd heard it was still in the Forbidden Forrest but I never imagined Gaara would train it."

"Of course he would blood train the three-headed dog that nearly killed us. He'll probably ride that basilisk into the next Task."

"I'm fairly certain Harry killed the basilisk." Hermione said, habitually, unnecessarily correcting the complaint.

After a moment, Sirius turned to Draco, looking paler than Draco thought was necessary now that Gaara had managed to complete his Task without more than a couple of scratches and perhaps a singed uniform.

"Draco, Gaara asked if I'd let him bring a dog home with him for the summer holidays," He started with a sense of dread. "Has he found another dog, by any chance?"

Luna smiled piteously when Draco face-palmed again. "I'm afraid not, Mr Black." She said.

Sirius had agreed without a second thought, encouraging Gaara without thinking to ask any follow-up questions. It would have been cool to have another dog around.

He hated to be a parent that said no, but he would have to put his foot down on this one.

"Well, that was certainly an interesting way to solve the challenge. I can now confirm that Gaara did not, in fact, break any rules with his unusual method. A Cerberus is considered a magical beast, not a magical being, so its help was not explicitly prohibited. Trust a Slytherin of Hogwarts to find a loophole like that!" Bagman said this with genuine admiration in his tone.

"Now, for the scoring, we will start with Minister Fudge's score." Bagman started. "Oh, and a rather strict six from the Minister for Magic. Clearly more of a cat person!" No one laughed at the joke and certainly not Fudge. Apparently the perpetually flustered man did not have much of a sense of humour.

An audible, nervous cough was heard across the stadium before Bagman moved on swiftly to the other British judge. "And an… eight from Headmaster Dumbledore."

"Rather generous, if you ask me." Draco muttered.

"I don't know about that. I don't want it living with me but it was quite impressive training the three-headed dog like that." Sirius said. He was a mess of nerves, feeling elated that Gaara had come through without more than a few scratches, but now there was still Harry to go; talking about silly things like the three-headed dog called Fluffy was helping to take Sirius's mind off of it.

Madame Maxine was next. Bagman had learned his lesson after Fudge and skipped some of the fanfare. She gave Gaara another six and the entirely unimpressed Karkaroff gave him a four. There were a few boos from the spectators at the extremely low score but Draco could see the man's smug mix of scowl and smirk even from the other side of the stadium.

"The consensus from the judges is that while the dragon was defeated 'creatively' and the use of magic to perform those acrobatics was impressive, the dragon was injured during the Task and the reliance on a magical creature to do most of the work was not something the judges were looking for.

"Well, clearly Gaara failed to impress the judges, leaving him with a score of twenty four. Hopefully Champion Krum will show them something more to their liking."

Draco wanted to scream that it was unfair, that Gaara had managed to subdue the creature without any real injury to himself, but he didn't really want to defend Gaara's stupidity just now. Plus, Draco's parents were still watching him. Sirius had no such reservations, loudly demanding a recount.

Luna was quietly writing notes, Draco noticed. Her fascination with magical creatures had made witnessing a fight between a Hebridian Black and a Cerberus, a spectacle that would never occur in nature, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Draco didn't want to lean over and look too closely, lest he be seen to take an actual interest, but he thought he saw Gaara's name a few times in the cramped margin notes.

Poor girl…

"How on Earth did Gaara manage to tame Fluffy?" Granger asked, leaning forward past the others seated in the way to address Draco and Luna.

Luna was too engrossed in her writing to notice someone speaking above the cheers and boos still reverberating around the stadium. Draco, on the other hand, did hear her, and while he would have been curious to find out why Granger (and presumably Scar-head and Weasel-by) knew Fluffy's name, he wouldn't bother to answer her inane questions on a normal day, let alone with his father and a great many other purebloods watching. In any case, it was probably the oaf who was supposedly the beast's real owner that told them. Those three were always strangely friendly with the groundskeeper.

OXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

The oaf in question had been asked by the Headmaster to help with organising the first Task. To some, this might have been an unwelcome addition to their otherwise already difficult duties, but Hagrid knew Professor Dumbledore had his reasons. Rubeus seldom understood what the Headmaster was planning but he guessed he just wanted someone he could trust involved.

And, as Dumbledore undoubtedly considered, Hagrid would greatly appreciate the opportunity to get up close and personal with the first Task's dragons.

He had been trying to calm the Chinese Fireball down following her clash with the French girl when he heard a familiar thumping approaching. He almost didn't believe his ears, but Hagrid was one of the foremost experts on magic creatures in the British Isles and he could recognise Fluffy's footfalls from a mile away. And Fluffy was much less than a mile away now.

Hagrid panicked, dreading the scolding he was going to get from the Headmaster, after Hagrid had fought so hard to keep Fluffy on the school grounds, promising he wouldn't cause any trouble. But why was Fluffy coming? He didn't normally come to bother Hagrid very often, and never from so far away. Especially not since Gaara started playing with him.

So, why had he come? He thought he heard a really high-pitched whistle a minute ago but…

Oh, it was Gaara's turn, wasn't it? He must have taught Fluffy to come when he blew a dog whistle. How clever!

Oh, but that meant Fluffy was coming here to help Gaara fight that pretty Hebridean Black that the Headmaster borrowed for the Tournament. That was not good. Hagrid left the still agitated Chinese Fireball and tried to stand in Fluffy's way.

The giant dog was upon them in seconds, having sprinted there. A few Ministry dragon handlers got it into their heads to try and curse Fluffy but Hagrid managed to call them off before they did anything silly. Fluffy was pretty resistant and would probably attack the wizards if they started something.

Fluffy's eyes (four of them, anyway) locked onto Hagrid's as the beast approached, but unlike on previous occasions when his dog would be suitably cowed by Hagrid's stern warning of 'Fluffy!', this time the dog ran right around him and into the stadium gates.

Hagrid half wanted to scold his disobedient hound and drag him back away from the arena and the other half felt bad for Fluffy since he must have hurt his heads with such an impact.

Hagrid didn't have a chance to approach Fluffy and try and calm him down as, after a couple more impacts, the gates gave way and Fluffy ran into the arena. Hagrid heard the roars of an angry dragon and then the telltale noises of a scuffle between giant beasts, but Hagrid's focus had to remain on preventing the dragon wranglers from interfering and hurting Fluffy or the dragon.

Hagrid had spoken to some of them over the last couple hours and while some seemed to be, like Hagrid, true animal lovers, most of them were just brutes.

So, while he had a chance to try and tend to both a three-headed dog and a Hebridean Black, Hagrid was instead forced to manage human beasts.

After a couple of minutes, Fluffy ran back out into sight, his tail wagging and looking rather pleased with himself. With three doggish smiles at Hagrid, Fluffy ran back out into the forest.

Hagrid was frustrated that, by the time he tracked down the dumb dog later, it would be too late to tell him off as he wouldn't understand what it was about. One had to discipline a pet immediately after they did something wrong so that they connected the misdeed with the scolding. As it was, Fluffy had gotten away with it.

Hagrid would be having a word with Gaara later about this, though, especially after he'd heard the announcer tell him what Gaara trained Fluffy to do. It was time to put an end to Gaara's claim on his dog.

OXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Harry had listened to Ludo Bagman announcing the Gaara's moves with growing disbelief, from his attempt to climb the dragon to his acrobatics and then summoning Fluffy to fight on his behalf. Gaara was known for doing unexpected things, but this was a new level. The strange redhead had somehow devised the strangest possible way to complete the Task.

Krum had actually started talking a little when it was just the two of them, though the majority were really more comments made to himself rather than any real attempt to converse with Harry. Nonetheless, Harry was glad of someone to talk to, in whatever capacity.

Krum had seemed to feel the same as the judges, finding the lack of magic in concluding the Task to be a sign of Gaara's weakness. Krum had even gone so far as to speculate that it was proof that the rumours of Gaara's role in the Battle at Hogwarts was an exaggeration, if not a complete falsehood.

When Harry defended Gaara, claiming to have witnessed his power against the dementors, Krum asked why Harry was defending his competition.

"We're not really friends, or anything like that, but I did see him face the dementors. That's all I'm saying."

"I will believe it when I see his 'special power' for myself, I think." Krum said with a mocking smile.

Harry certainly wasn't going to start a fight with Viktor Krum over Gaara's honour, especially knowing how little Gaara would care about such a thing, but it still bothered him.

"Though, I will say that it is somewhat impressive for someone so young to tame a Cerberus, even if it isn't fully grown yet. Maybe if he survives he can teach about magical creatures."

Harry wasn't sure if that was more mockery or if Krum was being genuine. Having seen that dog as closely as anyone (short of the dog's dinner), Harry could attest to how impressive it would be to train such a beast.

A little while later, after the harsh scores had been called out, Krum was asked to go out and start his Task. Harry refrained from wishing him luck. It didn't seem appropriate. And, anyway, Krum was met with rapturous applause, almost deafening even in the confines of the Champions' waiting area.

And Harry was now alone, barring Crouch who might as well have not been there for all the company he provided. Whether he resented missing the chance to watch the first Task or he resented being made to babysit teenagers, the man clearly didn't want to be there and any attempt to address him was met with a stern reprimand.

Harry sat back on the bench he'd claimed during Fleur Delacour's Task and listened to the (frankly rather amazing-sounding) commentary of Krum's feats. For all of his faults, one could not claim that Krum failed to put his money where his mouth was. Accompanying the commentary was the rising and falling of the crowd's cheers, probably completely familiar to the world-famous Quidditch champion.

Krum was apparently using a mixture of shields and fire-repelling charms to approach the dragon at a sedate speed, not needing to dodge anything like Delacour had. From the way Bagman was describing things, Krum struck quite the heroic figure, approaching the dragon while casually overcoming the dragon fire.

When Krum was upon the dragon, he transfigured nearby rocks in chains to tangle around the dragon's maw. While it was trying to pry the chains off to resume trying to burn the boy, Krum ran into the nest and stole the egg. He'd completed his Task in the shortest time so far, under five minutes, most of which had been spent walking across the arena.

Now Harry didn't just have his life to worry over, he had to worry that he was going to look like an idiot following such a performance. At least if he had followed Gaara, he wouldn't have looked so silly.

Krum received the loudest applause so far as well, which grew again when the scores were being read out. A nine from Dumbledore, a seven from Fudge, a seven from Maxine, and (of course) a ten from Karkaroff.

Bagman said that the judges' scores, thirty three in all, reflected the efficient and powerful display.

Then Harry's blood went cold as the cheers died down, with Krum leaving the stadium and the familiar sound of the dragon being pacified, caged and removed, and another being brought. Harry's very own dragon. For the boy who has everything…

He had scarce few minutes left. Any second now he would be sent out there to face a real, fire-breathing dragon. On his own. No friends, no tools, just Harry and his wand.

Oh, Merlin, he was going to die!

Even if Harry got it into his head to try and run away, he wouldn't make it more than a couple of metres, and then he would be both a coward and dead. At least this way he would face the dragon bravely.

Maybe they could put that on his tombstone.

Here lies

Harry J. Potter

Boy-Who-Lived

Champion who bravely died fighting a dragon

1980-1994

At least they wouldn't need to bother cremating him…

Harry's name was called at last and he shakily rose to his feet. He took a deep breath and tried to locate that same calm he achieved before he went out onto the Quidditch field. He managed to steady his breathing and make his steps look more even, but the calm was only skin deep this time.

Harry followed Crouch's direction and walked through the archway, which evidently didn't detect any magical items or interference (which, frankly, might have been a relief at this point). After that, his wand was returned to him by Crouch, whose bad mood suddenly felt more appropriate. Harry didn't know what he would do if Bagman had been smiling at him in that moment.

Instead, Harry heard his name being loudly proclaimed by Bagman from a safe distance. Based on the roars of the crowd, an added excitement accompanied the announcement because he was the last to compete. Harry tried to focus on the absurdity of that idea; that this event was exciting, thrilling for the crowds amassed in the stands. Harry tried to hone in on his anger, which had been more of a burden than a blessing to him over the past few years, but bewilderment and wrath were preferable to that yellow feeling that had been welling up.

He was not a coward and he was determined to overcome his fear.

The tunnel between the waiting tent and the arena entrance was dark, so the light filtering through the wooden gate cast beams into the falling dust dislodged by the clamour around the stadium that was causing a minor quake in the structure.

The overwhelming noise and light that assaulted Harry as he stepped out of the tunnel into the arena left him dazed. He was blinded for a few moments until his eyes adjusted to the muted, overcast light. Harry hoped it might rain, though it wasn't forecast. A bit of rain might dampen the flames.

Even from here, Harry could see the Swedish Short-Snout towering above the rocks and boulders, roaring at the crowds that were joyfully roaring back at it with their shouts and applause.

Now that he was out and the Task had begun, the crippling stage fight, threat of death and the contemptuous sneers of those who wanted him to fail reminded Harry strongly of his first ever Quidditch match. Though, today, the people sneering weren't limited to the current roster of Slytherins.

Harry took as deep a breath as his lungs would allow and then ducked behind the nearest rock before the dragon could spot him. From what Hermione had told him from her research, the dragon would be able to detect hit scent even after he had hidden but from this distance it wouldn't be able to pinpoint where he was.

Harry quickly cast two spells on himself that Sirius had pointed him towards. The first had no visible or apparent effect to the spectators but it would hide his scent from that point onwards. It was a surprisingly simple spell. The second spells was not so easy.

Harry had spent the better part of a full week outside of classes, and on a couple occasions instead of attending his lessons, learning this spell. It wasn't as difficult as the Patronus last year but Harry couldn't honestly say he felt he had mastered the invisibility charm.

Similar to the disillusionment charm, the invisibility charm would render Harry invisible. But unlike the former, the latter spell would hide him nearly as completely as his cloak. It would only last for about ten minutes and it was exhausting to keep up, but it would mean that the dragon could not spot him approaching nor see him carrying the golden egg away.

The only trick would be staying quiet. There was a third spell that Sirius had told him to learn that would conceal any noise he made, but he had been up really late last night trying to learn the olfactory misdirection charm, which Hermione had said was more important since dragon's have very strong senses of smell. Instead, Harry would have to try and tread lightly.

After a couple of quietly spoken words and a twirl of his wand over his head, Harry faded from view. The crowds all groaned with the realisation that they wouldn't be able to actually watch the Harry Potter facing off against the dragon.

Harry, on the other hand, was hoping that some of the groans and boos would hide the noise he made as he ran towards the dragon. He didn't have very long until his charms would wear off and he didn't want to magically appear when he was close to the dragon.

Every time the dragon's snarling head pointed in his direction, Harry had to stop and wait until the crowd made another noise to distract the beast. It was during one of these brief lulls that Harry took the chance to look up at the spectators.

It was easy enough to spot Dumbledore, Fudge and the other judges, and on the other side were Sirius, Ron, Hermione as well as Luna Lovegood and Malfoy. Everyone was looking around, trying to spot a bit of dust or a moved rock to indicate where he was.

Looking at the distance still remaining, Harry feared it would be impossible to walk it silently in under ten minutes and still give him enough time to get away. However, he tuned out the noises and timed his movements so that the Swedish Short-Snout wouldn't notice him. Eventually, when he let his mind focus entirely on not tripping or making a sound, he was near the nest.

If the dragon had been intimidating from a distance, Harry didn't know how to describe standing a scant few metres away. The reptile was alternating between snarling and roaring now, occasionally sending bursts of fire into the air or at the stands. Even when shot in a different direction, Harry could feel the immense heat coming from both the flames and from the dragon itself. He didn't know nearly as much as Hermione, but Harry hadn't ever known that dragon's bodies were nearly as hot as their fire.

How had Gaara climbed on his?!

The stadium had gone much quieter since it had been over five minutes without a sign of the Champion undertaking the task. Luckily the dragon couldn't seem to sit still, shifting about, swiping at nothing and clawing at itself. It seemed incredibly distressed.

Harry waited until it settled down a little more, just breathing heavily, drooling on the ground and scratching at the stone beneath its talons. Harry circled around until he could step over the tail that felt as hot as a fireplace.

The dragon twitched suddenly after an overzealous Gryffindor in the stands had yelled all of a sudden. Whether it had been a shout of support or impatience mattered little as Harry stumbled backwards and landed in a heap to avoid touching the dragon's scalding hot tail.

However, even in Harry's effort to avoid being detected, he made a noise, his fall causing some of the loose stones on the ground to clack loudly. The dragon roared, swivelling to look at where the sound had come from, even more furious than before.

The Swedish dragon couldn't see much at this point, and even if it could, its quarry was still invisible, but this didn't stop it from sending fire right at the spot where it had heard the noise.

OXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Gaara had been sitting, idly waiting for Potter to finish so that he could go back to the castle where it was warmer and quieter. He should probably also bring a treat to Fluffy in the next day or two. It seemed only fair.

Krum and Delacour were paying more attention to the useless announcer narrating the nothing that had been happening for the better part of ten minutes. Gaara was doing all that he could to tune out the meaningless noise.

And then Gaara's eyes shot open at the sound of an ear piercing scream issuing from inside the arena.

Gaara shot to his feet and ran past the Ministry flunky that had been posted to the entrance of the Champions waiting area. Gaara heard many things now, from the useless guard pursuing him, from the screams and worried complaints coming from the crowds in the stands, from the dragon still roaring, and from that fool Bagman, who was still trying to announce what was happening.

Gaara continued running until he came to one of the discreet gates into the arena. He peered through a gap in the wood and was able to see a lot from just a glance. Potter was leaning with his back against a rock as the dragon raged and sent flame after flame at him. In short, Potter was in trouble.

Worse yet, in a short respite while the dragon trembled and continued to foam at the mouth, Potter turned to peer around the rock carefully, and at that moment Gaara spotted the red and black burns running up his left arm, on his neck and his left cheek. That would explain the screaming. It was a wonder that Potter was still conscious. Many shinobi would have passed out, Gaara thought.

And now Gaara had to make a decision. Should he interfere and help Potter, forfeiting the Task if not the Tournament (with whatever other consequences that would result), and maybe lose his best chance of getting home? Or should he do nothing, leaving Potter to die?

Gaara didn't like Potter but he was supposed to value all life, even worthless, annoying life. And Dumbledore did want him to protect Potter as well as win the Tournament. But, these arguments paled in comparison to what clinched it for Gaara, when he heard Sirius faintly amongst the various screams coming from the stands, shouting for someone to help Harry and even uselessly casting spells against the inside of the barrier.

For Sirius, Gaara would help. If Dumbledore objected, Gaara could negotiate another deal later.

He called his sand from where he had stashed it just outside of the castle. With as rabid as this dragon appeared, Gaara didn't want to risk Fluffy against it. Still, it would take a few minutes for the gourd's worth of sand to reach the stadium. He'd just have to go and distract the dragon himself in the meantime.

"There he is!" Gaara turned and saw a few Ministry lackeys running towards him. Whether they had guessed his intentions or if they just refused to allow a Champion to break with the rules and leave the waiting area, they seemed determined to apprehend him regardless. All the more reason to go straight out and wait for his sand in the arena.

However, as he was about to push his way through the wooden door, magically protected against fire but not his surprisingly hardy shoulder, Gaara's attention was drawn back to Potter's actions in the arena.

A bright light flashed as Potter shouted "Expecto Patronum!"

Out of the boy's wand came some sort of deer made of light in a curious inversion of a Nara technique. The Patronus stag squared off against the unusually aggressive dragon, diverting the dragon's enraged attention sufficiently for Potter to move again.

The Ministry workers were nearly upon him so Gaara started running again, trying to gain some distance to see how things played out. Gaara was significantly faster than the wizards chasing after him so he was able to gain enough of a lead to peer through some of the other concealed gates along the perimeter of the arena.

Eventually, Gaara came to a dead end with one last gate into the arena but more officials had joined the hunt for the missing Champion and they were very close now.

Gaara looked through the gate again and while he had a good view of the dragon's nest and the dragon itself, still trying to burn the intangible deer, Gaara couldn't see Potter from where he was looking.

Gaara heard the first of the pursuers running up behind him, drawing closer. Without turning around, listening to the approach, the moment that the adult hand landed on his shoulder, Gaara grabbed their wrist and flipped the larger person over his hip. The man groaned from his position prone on the floor and Gaara could hear more of them fast approaching. He didn't have long to decide whether Potter still needed help.

Gaara looked into the arena again and to his immense surprise, earning a slight widening of his eyes, he saw Potter stumbling away from the nest, the golden egg held in his un-burned arm.

The Patronus had finally faded by this point and the Swedish Short-Snout was frantically searching for prey. However, by the time it scented Potter, his olfactory misdirection spell having ended some time ago, Bagman announced that the Task was over, Potter had secured the golden egg.

People cheered as the rear gates opened and the dragon wranglers entered. However, where before the dragons tended to ignore the familiar dragon handling professionals since they were at a reasonable distance, the Swedish Short-Snout seemed further enraged by the newcomers.

Gaara would have been interested to watch them contain the mad dragon but the Ministry officials, flanked by Crouch, had finally arrived. He was firmly told off, threatened with further consequences for assaulting a Ministry worker, and guided back the way he came while someone helped the one Gaara had downed back to his feet.

Gaara went willingly as he listened to the dragon screeching and spells being fired.

When he arrived in the waiting area, Krum and Delacour looked to him, possibly expecting an explanation for his abrupt and forbidden departure, or for the earlier scream. Perhaps they just wanted to know why the dragon was making such an ungodly racket and there were sounds of a battle raging in the arena to subdue it.

They received no such explanation. Gaara settled against a wall and waited quietly. There were now three men posted on the door, plus Crouch, and there were others waiting outside.

Gaara could feel his sand nearby, having finally arrived. He commanded it to stay where it was, out of sight. It didn't look like he would be needing it just now.

They all waited together and eventually the sound of the dragon died down and then all was quiet. And then more time elapsed.

Eventually someone showed up to whisper in Crouch's ear and they were all asked to follow them outside to officially conclude the first Task. Gaara wondered why the retrieval of the eggs could not have signalled the end of the Task. Then they could have all gone straight back to their homes and rest. Instead they had to endure more senseless pageantry.

The three Champions were told to stand in the centre of the arena, with Crouch standing behind them.

"Where is Monsieur Potter?" Fleur asked after a couple minutes of waiting, half turning to look at Crouch.

"He is… well, that is to say, ultimately…" Crouch trailed off with a cough and then stood up straighter and pretended to forget he had been answering a question.

The judges finally appeared, walking along a conspicuously flat route that Gaara seemed to remember and now began to wonder if it had been put there so that the judges could walk over for the awarding ceremony without doing anything strenuous like climbing a rock.

Bagman was there as well, and he said that they would now listen to the final Champion's scores and the winner of the Task could be announced. He also mentioned, as an afterthought, that Champion Potter had been excused from the ceremony.

"And, the scores for our final Champion are…" He walked over to Dumbledore, who had a sign already marked up. "A- a 10 from Headmaster Dumbledore!" There was a round of cheering that rose from the spectators. "Minister Fudge is awarding a… 6!" Bagman avoided any further comment on the low score from his boss. "Madame Maxine has given Potter a score of 6. And finally, Professor Karkaroff has given Harry Potter a… 5…" His announcement fell a little flat at that low score. Even the supposedly impartial announcer apparently found that score to be unduly harsh, but he said nothing, just took a moment to let it sink in and collect himself.

"And that gives Champion Harry Potter a combined score of twenty seven! The judges' final verdict was that while the spells used were certainly very impressive, especially given Champion Potter's age, they were not as effective as originally intended and he was the only Champion to be injured."

Gaara felt, with that final consideration, it was a little unfair that Potter had gotten a higher score than him.

"So, the scores for our three Champions are: Viktor Krum in first place with thirty-three points. In second place is Fleur Delacour with thirty-two points. In third place, with twenty-seven points, is Harry Potter. And finally, in last place, with twenty-four points, is Gaara."

There was another round of applause, during which Gaara took a step forward and asked Dumbledore quietly enough not to be overheard, where Potter was.

"He's otherwise occupied. You needn't worry yourself, Gaara." Dumbledore brushed him off. Gaara could not understand it. Burns, including those caused by dragon flame, were simple enough to heal magically so long as they were not nearly fatal, which Potter's hadn't been. So why wasn't he present?

Gaara looked up into the stands and Sirius, Granger and Weasley had disappeared. Seeing him looking, Luna waved but he didn't return it. She probably didn't expect him to.

When the cheering died down, Bagman then presented each of the Champions with the eggs they had been made to surrender as soon as they had left the arena.

First Krum, then Delacour, and finally Gaara. He considered his performance and decided he might need to put some more effort into planning his performance for the next Task if he wanted to win the Tournament. He had been too focussed on just succeeding in the Task and not impressing the judges.

He also considered the heavy golden egg in his hands and whether there was any more significance to it beyond a trophy. Based on the scratches and small dents, Gaara determined this was not actually the egg he had retrieved from the Hebridean Black. He wondered if he could locate the one he had originally had and switch. From the damage to this one, he guessed it was probably Potter's.

Bagman continued his commentary. Telling everyone that the next Task would be officially announced the week before, and it was to take place on the 24th of February. One thing he added, which caught Gaara's ear, was that the Champions had already been given everything they need to prepare ahead of time.

So, the egg (most likely whatever was inside of the egg) was a clue, but then one mystery still remained: what had really happened to Potter?

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A/N: Thank you for reading. I will honestly try to get the next chapter out in some semblance of expedience.

In the meantime, please leave a review.