10 Chapter 10: The First Task P1

Harry kept reading the short notes he took in the last Transfiguration class. Fuéritis Metallica was the spell he was looking into. Turning a stone into a wooden teacup was the first spell he learned this year. From there on, he learned a progression of variant spells that performed along the same lines.

There was one that turned a wooden cup into a stone cup. Another spell turned the stone cup into a clay cup. Another variant spell helped in turning a stone into a ceramic cup and finally, there was Fuéritis Metallica and its variants. This spell focused on turning an object into metal. The spell was an extension of a select family of spells that would come useful in the First Task.

"I hope each of you has read about the spell." said McGonagall as she looked over her glasses at the class.

There were murmurs of assent as Harry's classmates shuffled around their textbooks and parchments.

"Very well then. Textbooks away and wands upfront."

Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs rushed to obey as Professor McGonagall moved into the middle of the class keeping an eye on the activity of students.

"Now, you know the spell you are about to use."

"Yes ma'am." the class chorused.

"Good." McGonagall nodded as she walked towards her table and faced the class taking out her own wand. "A counter-clockwise spin and a quarter clockwise spin followed by a tap on the stone before your table will do. Follow my wand movements."

Harry followed McGonagall's example and made the necessary wand movements.

"Good." said McGonagall. "Now, look closely."

McGonagall moved behind her desk and performed the spell on a small stone sitting on her table.

"Fuéritis Metallica"

The stone on Professor McGonagall's table let out a small shiver before it turned into a steel teacup.

"Remember students. Uttering the spell and wand movements alone will not do the trick. Imagine yourself with a teacup." said McGonagall as she picked up her cup and showed it to everybody. "Picture this cup in your mind when you perform the spell. Keep the image steady and then go through the wand movements."

With that said, Professor McGonagall went around the class observing students and helping when necessary.

Harry went through the wand movements and used the spell. Voila! The stone turned onto a metallic teacup.

He was not the only one succeeding in the spell. He could see Hermione successfully transfigured her stone into a teacup. He was certainly not the only one who noticed Hermione's success as well.

"Good work Miss Granger. 10 points for Gryffindor." said McGonagall with a brief nod after which the Head of House Gryffindor turned her attention on Harry.

Neville who was sitting beside Harry gulped at the scrutiny in McGonagall's eyes.

Harry noticed Neville had partially succeeded in transferring the stone. It looked like a mix of stone and metal to his eyes.

"Take 10 points for Gryffindor Mr Potter." said McGonagall before eyeing Neville's work. "A good first attempt Mr Longbottom. Try again."

And on the Professor went and Harry could hear an audible sigh of relief from his friend.

"Try once again Neville. This time just think about the cup in more detail. Like how large the cup is or the colour or the shape of the handle. Giving it a good detail in the mind helps in concentrating the effects of the spell." Harry whispered

With his small word of advice and some encouragement, Neville managed to complete the transfiguration almost perfectly. The handle of the cup remained a mix between wood and metal, nonetheless, it was progress.

By the time Neville accomplished the task the class was over. It was the last hour of class they had Monday evening and Harry had a prior commitment coming up.

So, he parted ways from Neville and instead of going to the Gryffindor dorms, he went straight for the Owlery. The Owlery was in the West Tower of Hogwarts Castle. Climbing up the stairs to the tower he had to apply air freshening charms and cleaning spells to ward off the smell and the owl droppings. The bones of mice and voles increased as he gained height to the upper echelons of the tower.

The Tower was bereft of glasses or windows for that matter. This helped in Owls coming and going as they pleased. A snowy white owl caught his eyes sitting on the top perch.

"Hedwig." Harry called, and immediately the snowy owl swooped in and pressed her talons in his shoulder.

"Ouch." he winced as the talons sort of dig in on his skin a bit. Despite that, he nudged Hedwig softly and petted her.

"I brought you treats." said Harry as he fished out a handful of treats from the box in his hand. He had a few new sets bought in his latest Hogsmeade visit.

After feeding Hedwig he gave her two letters. One was an inquiry for some select Potions from J. Pippin's Potion shop of Hogsmeade while the other was for Gilbert, Poole and Tonks, a licensed law firm with appearances in ICW Court as well as in the court of British Ministry. If Sirius was to walk a free man he couldn't depend on the Daily Prophet alone.

"Go girl."

Harry watched on as Hedwig took to the sky with the two letters. Distracted by the gliding snowy owl he nearly missed another occupant in the Tower.

"Hey, Harry."

The timid voice from his back startled him making him whirl around in surprise. It was none other than Susan Bones.

"Hi, Susan." he greeted awkwardly with a nod.

Susan Bones was someone that just left him in blanks. To be fair, that's how he felt when he was faced with most of the student population of Hogwarts. The original Harry was not exactly a social creature. Outside of the Quidditch Team and a small number of students, the original Harry interacted very little. This little fact had made it awkward for him to rekindle with the rest of his peers.

Thankfully, he was not the only one who was feeling awkward.

"Uh…were you sending a letter?" asked Susan tucking her red hair behind her ear in a jittery fashion.

"Yes. No doubt you have a letter to send yourself." said Harry, nodding towards the letter held in Susan's left hand. "I'll leave you to it then."

Harry walked around Susan and was about to descend down the stairs but was stopped by Susan's next words.

"Good luck."

Harry looked at the red-headed Hufflepuff with a raised eyebrow.

"For tomorrow…" Susan added unsurely

"Not rooting for Cedric Diggory?" he asked amusedly.

"Of course, but that doesn't mean I can't wish you luck." said Susan with a self-assured grin.

"That's big of you and thank you." he nodded and was about to leave when Susan once more gave him cause for pause.

"I believe you."

"What?" Harry asked

Susan blushed as her cheeks flushed with red.

"I believe you when you said you didn't enter the Tournament willingly." Susan explained

"A sentiment not shared by your friends but I appreciate your faith in my word. It's been good talking to you, Susan."

Harry left the Owlery with mild amusement gracing his mind. That was the longest conversation he ever had with someone outside Gryffindor House in his memory except for Draco Malfoy. Truly, the original Harry Potter was leading a sad life and he felt for the kid.

He put those thoughts to the back of his mind as he made his way towards the library. This day was going to be his resting day so there was no training. This means he has more than enough free time to spend with Hermione who has been hounding him about more details about Sirius. In so far, he has kept the fact that Sirius was safely tucked away inside the Chamber.

Not that he has any distrust of Hermione. With the way, he has exposed several truths in the Prophet he didn't want any scrutiny to fall on Hermione in a racist society like wizarding-Britain. If it was known that a Muggleborn witch was somehow involved with a 'mass-murdering criminal' like Sirius Black he feared what would happen to her. Anything could happen with a government where blood-purists and full-blown terrorists and psychos are in power. Not to mention the presence of pacifist incompetent morons like Dumbledore is supposed to represent the 'liberal' side.

So, being on the side of healthy caution was the way to move forward.

'Keeping Sirius's present state of affairs to myself is the right thing to do.' Harry thought

It was then that he remembered that he forgot to look for old wands in the Room of Requirement. So, he made to seek out the Seventh Floor to collect the wands.

"Potter!"

The name resounded through the hallway like a crack of thunder. Harry turned around and saw Moody standing by the hall. He could have sworn there was nobody in the hallway a moment ago.

His confusion must have shown on his face.

"Disillusion Charm. A neat little charm to know Potter." said Moody as his magical eye swivelled around in the eye socket before the man gruffly added, "Come with me."

While Harry knew another racist moron was impersonating Moody he went with the man into an abandoned classroom.

"Sit down." said Moody, and Harry obeyed, remaining silent but ever vigilant of each move the man made within his vicinity.

"You have a good friend in Hagrid. So…found out about the dragons, have you?"

"I stumbled upon the dragons in passing yes." Harry carefully framed the answer watching Moody warily.

"A regular visitor of the Forbidden Forest, are you?" asked Moody with an amused smirk.

Harry remained silent and let Moody direct the flow of conversation.

"It's alright." said Moody, sitting down on a bench. "You wouldn't be the first nor the last to cheat in the Tri-wizard Tournament. It's a tradition and it will continue to be so, far in the future."

"I didn't cheat. There is nothing in the rules of the Tournament that stipulated I shall not find out about the task beforehand."

Moody grinned and it was a terrible visage to look at. "I wasn't accusing you, laddie. I've been telling Dumbledore from the start, the other two Headmasters won't be as honourable as he is. They want to beat Hogwarts and thereby beat Dumbledore at any cost."

Moody laughed harshly which made Harry a little queasy. Harry could feel a sort of psychotic pleasure in the man's laugh. Perhaps, Crouch Jr was enjoying the fact that he was hiding right under Dumbledore's nose.

"So… got any ideas how you're going to get past that dragon tomorrow?" asked Moody

"Umm…" Harry intentionally dragged out his response and then just shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, I'm not going to tell you." said Moody gruffly

'Of course, you are you piece of inbred racist.' Harry thought scornfully.

"But I'll give you this advice. Play to your strength." said Moody

"My strength? Like Defense Against the Dark Arts and flying?" Harry asked with his eyes blinking confusedly. He hoped he conveyed that emotion properly.

"Yes. Play to your strengths." Moody said with a satisfied grin.

'Don't you worry, you prick. I'll be doing exactly that.'

******

The next morning in the school was one of great tension and excitement. Classes were to stop at midday, giving all the students time to get down to the dragon's enclosure. Though, no one knew just what awaited them in the area.

His fellow Gryffindors were whispering wishes of good luck and some like Colin Creevey were so confident in his absolute victory. It was kind of creepy but at the same time a confidence booster. While many of the student population has sort of come to terms with the consistent presence of the 'Boy Who Lived' there were a few that held Harry to a higher standard.

Harry was not just a regular wizard. He was the one that survived the unblockable Killing Curse. He was the one who vanquished Britain's most dangerous Dark Lord something that even Dumbledore was unable to do. Then there are the generations of witches and wizards growing up hearing ridiculous stories made up about Harry. So, expectations were running high.

Then there is the other side of the spectrum. There are those who would love to see him fail, humiliated or at worse dead.

"Hope you get crushed out there Potter." a random Slytherin Seventh year had commented in the hallways. Only to stumble head over heels into the floor.

"It seems you better worry about your crushed nose." Harry gave a parting shot before he continued towards his History of Magic class. He silently mouthed a thank you to Dobby who was of course responsible for that takedown.

"Avoid them, Harry." Hermione said as they made their way to the last class of the day.

"I'm trying."

The History of Magic class was as usual boring. He couldn't focus on the class and neither could he focus on anything for that matter. In the end, he began to draw pictures of Professor Binns to pass time.

Later in the Great Hall, he was pretending to have his lunch when Professor McGonagall approached him.

"It's time, Mr Potter. The Champions have to come down into the grounds now. You have to get ready for your Task."

"Oh, okay." said Harry as he stood up. Before he decided to go he drained a glass of pumpkin juice.

"Good luck, Harry. You'll be fine." Hermione whispered.

Harry nodded to his friend and appreciated Neville smile of support. Although, he could trace more tension on Neville's face than his own. Taking a swift look at the faces of his housemates he gave a nod silently thanking them for standing by him.

"Don't worry. I'll square it with Diggory for that game."

He was rewarded with a slew of slogans of support.

"You show 'em, Potter."

"Good luck, Harry."

He left behind all of his housemates and walked beside Professor McGonagall. As they crossed into the open grounds Harry felt the November chill set in. He waved his wand around himself and put a warming charm warding away the cold.

"Are you alright Potter?" McGonagall inquired softly.

Harry looked at his Head of House to see genuine concern and a tidbit of fear shining in her eyes.

"Don't worry Professor. I'm well prepared." said Harry, with a reassuring grin.

"Good…That's good." said McGonagall as she placed her hand on his shoulder. "Just keep a cool head. We've got professional handlers to control the situation if it gets out of hand. Just do your best, and nobody will think any worse of you. You have nothing to prove to these people."

"On the contrary Professor. I've some things to prove to others and myself." said Harry as he thought of all the abuse, insults and snide remarks the original Harry faced before he came along and took over the show. "Thank you for your concern on my behalf. You are the best teacher I've had in Hogwarts."

McGonagall straightened up at what Harry said and squeezed his shoulder in a gesture of support.

They walked in silence as thick dark trees passed by until they finally reached the edge of the forest. Harry couldn't see the enclosure but only a large tent could be visible. He assumed the rest were under powerful wards as he could not even hear a sound from the area.

"You're to go inside the tent with the other champions. Mr Bagman is in there… he'll be telling you about the… procedure. Good luck."

Harry took a deep breath before he entered the tent. The first person he saw was Fleur Delecour standing opposite the entrance looking rather pale, far paler than yesterday. Viktor Krum was at the left of Harry and the Bulgarian Seeker was frowning quite heavily into the distance uncertainly. Cedric was pacing to his right and awarded him a nod of greeting which Harry returned.

Seeing Cedric had once again reared up his internal battle in the last few days. The struggle was about whether he should've told Cedric about the Dragons. Ultimately, he decided against that course of action. Knowing this whole Tournament was a sham and any advantage he gives Cedric will only put the Hufflepuff Seeker on the path of Voldemort, Harry decided it was better this way.

The dragon handlers can step in if Cedric or any of the Champions are in danger. That won't be the case if Cedric or the other two Champions end up taking the Tri-wizard Cup. The solution in this situation is very simple. Beat the three Champions in the first two Tasks by a considerable margin and Harry could increase the probability of easily taking the Cup in the Third Task.

"Harry! Jolly-oh!" said Bagman happily, looking around at him as the man barged into the tent from the other end. "Well, it looks like all four Champions have assembled and I'm sure you're eager for your Tasks."

Bagman rubbed his hands in excitement and Harry noticed the man's legs had a spring in each step.

"Now, it's time to fill you in on some details!" said Bagman excitedly. "When the audience has assembled, I'm going to be offering each of you this bag."

Bagman held up a small sack of black silk and shook it close to Fleur's face who reeled back, startled. Despite the reaction Bagman garnered from the French Champion, Bagman continued in his jovial tone.

"In this bag, there are four models of the 'thing' you are about to face in the Task before you. They are unique and different so you will be selecting them at random. Keep everything fair and square, aye? Your task however is to collect the Golden egg."

Harry nodded at Bagman to show that he understood and then the waiting began. He sat cross-legged on the floor and closed his eyes keeping his eyes blank. Growing up he had a bit of a problem with his attention span. A lot of medication and tricks were used to 'cure' this shortcoming until finally meditation sort of clicked. Half an hour meditation each day was a norm and there was a considerable improvement in his attention span in one and a half months.

Keeping his mind blank he concentrated solely on exhaling and inhaling. He stayed that way until Bagman shook him awake. Apparently, the time was up!

"Ladies first." said Bagman, offering the silk bag to Fleur.

Fleur put her hand into the bag pulled out a scaled model of Welsh Dragon with a tag that said 'two' tied around its neck. Fleur gulped as she stared at the snarling visage of the small dragon before it dissolved into sparks of light.

Harry watched Cedric become pale white reminiscent of a ghost. He was curious whether the Hogwarts Champion had it in him to win the Task without being forewarned.

Harry pulled his attention back to Bagman who offered the bag next to Krum who pulled out the Chinese Fireball. It had the number 'three' tied around its neck. Krum just looked down morosely and stepped back. Batgman approached Cedric who gulped in fear and put his hand into the bag. Cedric came out with the Sweedish Short-Snout having the number of 'one' on its neck.

This left Harry at number four and in his hand sat the jet-black Hungarian Horntail. The model dissolved away into sparks of light while he listened to Bagman speak.

"Each of you will face the dragon you picked from the bag in the numerical order as seen on the tags. Now, I'm going to have to leave you in a moment as I'm commentating for the Task. Mr Diggory, you're first. Just go out into the enclosure when you hear a whistle, all right? Now, Harry…could I have a quick word, outside?"

"Of course, Mr Bagman." said Harry, and followed the excitable man who walked him out of the tent near a tree outside, and then turned on him with concern shining in his eyes.

"Feeling alright, Harry? Anything I can do to help?"

"No, thank you." said Harry

"Got a plan?" asked Bagman, and then lowered his voice and leaned forward conspiratorially. "I don't mind helping you a bit. You are the underdog here. Anything I can do to help?"

"I've got this under control Mr Bagman and thank you for your concern."

"Oh, no need to thank me, Harry. Only happy to help." smiled Bagman. "You sure you are okay? Nobody would know."

"No, thank you. I've got a plan."

"Good. Good, Harry…."

Then the whistle blew.

"Oh, look at that. I've got to run. Good luck, Harry."

Bagman went on his way and Harry returned to the tent. He watched Cedric preparing to go into the enclosure.

"Good luck." he whispered and patted the Hogwarts Champion on the back which seems to have restored a bit of life to Cedric's face.

Harry sat cross-legged on the floor as Cedric made his way into the enclosure. Seconds later he could make out the roar of the crowd and the Task began in earnest.

Now, the long wait begins.