The First Task (Part Two)

Harry was sitting under a tree near the Black Lake reading one of the books Hermione had given him. He was trying to figure out if his parseltongue would be useful on any of the potential reptilian creatures they could use. The main problem was that there were very few parseltongues who had ever deigned to share the actual limits of their abilities so none of the experts seemed to agree.

He'd checked Salazar Slytherin's tome they had found in the Chamber but even that was lacking information. Salazar had had a single reference to parseltongue being a 50/50 shot with a dragon apparently largely depending on the species of dragon in addition to whether the dragon had been raised near wizards from birth or not. There was also something about the magic of the language imbuing higher sentience on the target in an effort to let it reply. That had Harry rather exceptionally worried. He'd consulted with Flitwick who'd agreed that trying to use parseltongue for a prolonged period on a magic resistant creature would likely tire him out very quickly. That was also completely ignoring the question of whether he wanted a hostile magical beast even smarter while it was trying to kill him.

He sighed as he set the book aside to watch the giant squid flip some merpeople up into the air and the intricate dives they pulled on the way back down. The Task was only a few days away and he was starting to feel the pressure. Maybe if it hadn't been on Halloween he wouldn't be so worried...

" 'arry! 'arry, we need to talk immediately!" Fleur called out from a few dozen meters away running in his direction. Harry started to get up when another voice called from the direction of the Durmstrang ship.

"Harry, Fleur, ve should speak," Krum said walked towards the three with a worried frown. At least Harry assumed it was a worried frown. Krum always seemed a bit taciturn.

"Hey, guys! I got news!" Fred called running up from the Entrance Hall doors looking out of breath.

Harry stared between the other three Champions and closed his eyes. He sat down against the trunk of a tree with a heavy sigh. "Let me guess, you all know exactly what we're facing?"

Krum nodded, Fred rubbed his neck and agreed while Fleur just looked between the others. She snarled and Harry saw a smattering of feathers break out on her neck. "You two were just told az well? And 'arry iz none ze wiser? Quelle connerie! Les enfoi-rés! Ils veulent qu'il meure ou quoi?!"

Fred grimaced. "While I can't claim to understand what you just said I get the gist. I agree it's not giving me a warm and fuzzy feeling inside that Harry was left out."

"It is disturbing," Krum nodded.

Harry just shrugged. "Welcome to my life. Plus it's almost Halloween and I haven't had a single good Halloween since before I can remember. If any day is cursed, it's that day. So what's the damage?"

Fleur took several deep breaths and her feathers disappeared before she sat down and put a hand on his knee. Fred and Viktor knelt near them as she started to speak, "Zey are pitting uz against a dragon, a manticore, a hydra and a Greek chimera."

"I believe from the number, ve vill likely have to face one each," Viktor said. "Hopefully not to the death. I...do not believe I could kill any of those."

Fred smirked. "Yeah, my brother wrangles dragons for his job. It takes at least between four to eight to kill one. I don't know about the others but I'd imagine they're almost a bad."

Harry took a deep breath. "I've read about most of those. They're...not easy. Do you reckon we'll just have to avoid them and run passed them or something?"

"Ve can only hope it is so simple," Krum shrugged.

Fleur shook her head. "We might have to steal somezing along ze way. It is ze traditional way to complete ze First Task in the past."

Harry grimaced. He slowly pushed to his feet. "Thanks for the heads up guys. I'm going to go find Tonks and the others and come up with a strategy. If any of you want to come you're welcome to."

Viktor considered but shook his head. "Thank you for the offer, Harry. I vould like to prepare on my own for this though I think."

"I think I'll bow out too, mate," Fred winced. "I want to talk with George about some things and maybe talk to Angelina, Alicia and Katie too. If you want my ideas on anything or need some supplies let me know."

Harry nodded and shook both men's hands as they walked away. Fleur pulled him into a short hug and kissed his cheek. "While I will likely use my own methods in zis Task, Harry, I will at least stay with you until you can speak with ze others." She narrowed her eyes at him. "And do not even zink about getting morose due to ze day. Just because ze day is bad luck does not mean zat you have the right to give up before even trying."

Harry gave a small smile to the Veela and nodded. He took her hand and started walking to the castle calling his friends on the way to ask for a meeting with those available.

Harry sat down at their conference table in the Meeting Room. Fleur, Tonks, Hermione, Daphne and Shiva had been free. The others had all promised to stop by as they were able and add their advice once they were filled in.

"Okay," Harry said, "according to the other Champions, we are going to be facing a dragon, a hydra, a manticore and a Greek chimera. I know the primary plan is still to summon my utility belt but what else do we have?"

Daphne gulped and Hermione's face drained of most of its color while Shiva grimaced and Tonks winced. Tonks slowly shook her head and said, "Well if you go against the hydra, the Ninja rune would probably be your best bet. That wouldn't be very useful against any of the others unfortunately. All of them would still be able to locate you by scent and the chimera would probably be able to pick you up with infrared from its snake head."

Daphne nodded. "Yes. Yes, stay away from the Ninja with them. It's just a waste of time. Um…perhaps you could try the parseltongue idea with the dragon and the chimera?"

"Do I really want to make the chimera smarter?" Harry asked. "Aren't they vicious enough as it is?"

"It's better to try honestly," Shiva sighed. "It's not as smart as a manticore thank god, so it's worth a shot, Harry. At least part of it is a snake you have a good chance of talking with it. Hell, turn it against the judges or handlers or something and maybe it'll be pissed enough you can slip by."

Hermione blinked a few times and seemed to rouse herself out of her shock. "Harry, the best option is to immobilize both the chimera and the manticore somehow. Don't try to fight them. You won't survive."

They all turned to her and raised their eyebrows. Hermione gulped and continued trying to fall back into her lecturing voice. "The manticore and the chimera are both largely speed based pouncing predators. They are both highly venomous, the manticore through its stinger tail and the chimera through its snake head tail. If stung/bitten, you will be dead within five minutes without antivenom or phoenix tear application. The lion nature of both also lends each to have extremely good jumping skills as well as a high amount of strength and agility. The manticore has the addition of near human level intellect and will attempt to either sing or mock the target in an effort to off-balance it. The chimera on the other hand has the capacity to breath fire from the lion head. This flame extends just short of a foot in front of it and cannot be kept up for longer than it can hold its breath. The manticore enjoys toying with its victims and will likely attempt to prolong any combat. The chimera simply goes for the kill as quickly as it can. Chimera's are also largely resistant to nearly every form of poison and have a regeneration ability close to that of the hydra. Even if you cut off a single head it will grow back within minutes."

Daphne gave a wry grin. "I'd like to see it survive a strike from the basilisk venom imbued Sword of Gryffindor."

Hermione quickly shook her head and narrowed her eyes. "No. Don't rely of the Sword. It's highly likely that even a basilisk strike wouldn't do much against a chimera."

"What? But…it's the deadliest poison in our world…" Daphne said blinking repeatedly. Harry just sighed and sank back into his chair. Of course it wouldn't be that easy.

Fleur grimaced and answered before Hermione could, "A bezoar iz a poor man's Chimera Stone. It iz powerful, yes, but ze Chimera Stone dwarfs it by several leagues. Any rock eaten by ze goat head becomes a Stone and if it uses one up it will simply eat anozer during ze battle. I would not rely on ze poison."

Tonks cursed. "Immobilize the legs then run. I think that's the best you can do against a chimera. Bloody Greek chimeras…I can't believe they got authorization for this…"

Harry nodded. "What about the hydra? Just cut off the heads and cauterize them if I have to fight right?"

"You have to be really, really fast though," Shiva said. "A hydra's regeneration is one of the quickest around and the beast itself rarely stops moving its heads. You have about five seconds to cauterize the stump before you have to worry about two new heads growing in."

Fleur nodded. "Oui. Zis is my strategy for ze creature." Harry nodded along as well. He could hit that time frame. Probably. Between Tonks and Flitwick's target practice sessions he figured he had a good chance at least and the stealth was primary there anyway.

"Should we go for cold spells with the dragon?" Harry asked. "I figure that's probably the easiest way to get around it if parseltongue doesn't work."

The others all nodded. "Oui. I will be doing a charm to induce sleep on ze dragon. A cold spell would have similar results," Fleur said squeezing his knee.

Hermione also signaled her agreement. "Dragons are primarily cold blooded. Sleep and cold would definitely be the best methods as both would avoid a fight. Perhaps summoning your broom would also work, Harry. As much as I hate how you fly, I admit that you would likely be able to outmaneuver most breeds."

Shiva scowled. "I really can't state enough how much I dislike that strategy."

Tonks shrugged. "The girl's got a point though. Harry and Krum would both have a good shot at avoiding it in the air. Dragons have bulk and speed but they corner for shite."

"Okay," Harry sighed again and ran a hand through his hair. "Okay. So, dragon: cold spells primary and flying secondary. Hydra: stealth with the Ninja primary and cauterize secondary. Manticore and Chimera: Immobilize, distract and run."

Shiva and Tonks both looked at each other then back to Harry. Shiva slowly nodded. "I think that's the best plan for you, Harry. If you have good aim you might be able to spike the last two to one of the walls or just go with the Freezer."

Hermione turned to Fleur. "Fleur, do you need any further help?"

The older girl shook her head. "No, 'ermione. I have a plan and I can afford to practice zis on my own. You should all focus on, 'arry."

"We will," Daphne said firmly. "Don't worry. We have no intention of the letting the mad scientist get himself killed."

"Mad scientist?" Harry asked raising his eyebrows and chuckling at his friend.

"Hey, you people have exposed me to enough Muggle media that I've picked up a few things. You are totally a mad scientist," she crossed her arms and huffed.

The others smiled though the good mood didn't last long. Harry turned to Fleur and gave her a quick hug. "Fleur, you should go and practice. I'll be fine and I have to start working on this stuff too."

She got up slowly and stared at him. "Make sure you do. 'arry, I expect you to come zrough zis wiz few if any injuries. Show us all why zey made a mistake forcing you into zis."

He gave her a salute and as she walked out turned back to the others. "Okay, let's get started shall we."