The Gryffindor Gambit

Harry made his way down to the Champions Tent, which was adjacent to the arena. The arena was huge; easily several times bigger than a Quidditch field, and filled to the brim with spectators. Harry could even see the Recorder Glass and Orbs, which were already floating above the arena. The task was set to begin in a few minutes.

"Ah, Harry!" said Bagman cheerfully when he entered the tent. The other three champions were already in the tent. Cedric appeared as pale as a ghost, but the other two seemed fine. In fact, Harry recognized both of them were using basic forms of Occlumency to maintain the illusion of calmness. Neither seemed to have realised it, however - it seemed like the Occlumency they were employing was something they had done subconsciously.

Is it possible to use Occlumency without realising it?

Harry shook his head. It was something he would have to ask Salazar once they began his Occlumency training. For now, he had other things to worry about.

"Gather around, gather around!" said Bagman excitedly, holding out a large purple bag, "Simply stick your hand into the bag. What you draw out is a smaller model of what you are about to face."

"Your task is to retrieve the golden egg." said Crouch from the side of the tent.

"Ladies first!" said Bagman eagerly, slightly drooling in the direction of Fleur.

A pale Fleur slowly made her way up to the bag, before pulling out a small green dragon model. She seemingly recovered her wits upon seeing the dragon she would be facing. Harry certainly understood why; he was beginning to fear that he might face the giant dark-skinned dragon.

"Diggory, your turn." said Bagman, still looking in Fleur's direction.

Cedric gently pulled out the silvery blue dragon Harry had seen earlier.

"Krum."

Krum made his way over to Bagman, putting his hand into the bag. Now Harry was beginning to grow fearful. It would be much harder to go against a dragon that was about thirty feet larger than all the others.

There's still a chance Krum will get it.

When Krum withdrew his hand, he held a tiny red and gold dragon.

Bloody bastard.

Harry reached his hand into the bag, not waiting for anyone to tell him to do so. He felt something bite the tip of his finger. Swearing quietly under his breath, Harry pulled out his model. It was a miniature version of the demonic dragon he had seen in the forest - the Hungarian Horntail.

"Those are the dragons you will be facing! Miss Delacour against the Welsh Green, Mr. Diggory against the Swedish Short-Snout, Mr. Krum against the Chinese Fireball, and Mr. Potter against the Hungarian Horntail." announced Mr. Crouch, "If you inspect the tag around each dragon's neck, you will see the order in which you will be going."

Harry forcefully held the miniature dragon still. Around its neck was a piece of parchment with the number four on it.

"As you know, this will be broadcast, live." Mr. Crouch continued, "Simply do your best, and you will be fine. When you hear the sound of the cannon, the first person may leave to begin."

Bagman and Crouch made their way out of the tent and into the stands. A moment later, all four champions could hear Bagman beginning the tournament, and introducing himself. It appeared as though Bagman would be the commentator for the event, just as he had been for the Quidditch World Cup.

The four champions moved away, each inspecting their model dragons. Harry sat beside Fleur, who was currently checking the underbelly of the dragon. Harry didn't waste his time doing such a thing - he knew full well that the belly of the Hungarian Horntail was covered in armor.

Bam.

Cedric fearfully got up from his corner of the tent, waved at the others, and made his way into the arena.

It was a few minutes before the remaining champions noticed the smell of smoke wafting through the tent, seemingly originating from the arena.

"Are you prepared?" asked Fleur Delacour quietly, her voice slightly less cold than usual.

"As prepared as I can be, I suppose."

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm sorry you got entered into the tournament."

Harry chuckled quietly.

"I don't see how that relates to the Hungarian Horntail, but I suppose it does make me feel a bit better. Knowing that someone believes me."

"Do you know why nobody seems to believe you?"

Harry shrugged.

"They're sheep. They believe me when it's convenient, and don't when it's better for them. Besides, none of them really know me. They just think they do."

Fleur was relieved to see that he was not acting as distant as he often did.

"I understand, to some extent." said Fleur.

"I know." responded Harry, "I can't say I'm surprised. They look through you, right?"

Fleur twitched uncomfortably. She was not particularly interested in opening up to anyone, much less one of her competitors. But he seemed to be doing it for her, and so she decided to continue.

"Yes, they do."

"It's the same for me. People spread lots of stupid rumours."

Bam.

Fleur slowly stood up, cleaning herself off. She was second in order, and would now have to face her dragon.

"Good luck." said Harry. He had reverted to the distant tone he often used.

Fleur nodded towards him before leaving the tent.

Harry and Krum sat quietly in the tent for quite some time. Harry could even hear the roaring of the crowd, as well as Bagman's commentating, although he could not make out what Bagman was saying.

Eventually, Harry heard the sound of a cannon blast for the third time. Krum stood up from his corner, nodded at Harry, and departed. He was all alone now.

Harry turned to the model of the Hungarian Horntail. It was crawling around the floor, spitting small blasts of fire from its mouth. Harry considered the best way to complete his task. Salazar had made him practice the chaining spell nonverbally, stating that he did not want to risk someone learning the spell. As for his water shield, he was free to speak the incantation; it would be hard not to, considering how draining the chaining spell was.

The only problem with his water shielding idea was how difficult it would be to conjure, specifically after the chaining spell he would have to use. Harry doubted he would be capable of using it - the Hungarian Horntail was far to big, it would likely prove far too difficult.

I'm starting to realize how much of a Gryffindor idea this is.

Salazar had told him that earlier, but Harry had not cared much. Like Salazar had said, this was his debut. He would make sure he lived up to his name while attracting as little suspicion, concern, and fear as possible. Normally those things did not go hand in hand, but Harry would have to work around that.

Harry had recently been practicing his wandless magic in preparation for the task. After learning that the easiest form of wandless magic was elemental manipulation, Harry got to work on his water control. After a lot of hard work, he could now use and control water as well as he could electricity. Not that he truly believed himself capable of doing so after the chaining spell, but it was still something.

Bam.

Harry stood up from his seat on the floor, leaving the model dragon beside him. He walked through the opening of the tent, following the path to the arena. He eventually reached the end of the path, now standing at one side of the dragon's enclosure.

Harry could not hear a word of what the crowd was saying, likely due to a bit of rune work on the inclosure. He could, however, see a giant white orb floating a dozen feet to the side of him. It was blatantly obvious that it was recording his every move.

He ignored the obscene hand gestures he saw from many of the students in the audience, instead making his way past a few boulders. Harry would have to get quite close to the dragon if he wanted to restrain it. He would have to make this quick - anything longer would result in his death, something he was not too eager to experience.

.....

Can't wait to read more exciting chapters then what are you waiting for Join my p*atreon right now.

2+ FREE ADVANCED CHAPTERS FOR ALL FREE MEMBERS.

60+ Premium chapters.

Link: p*atreon.com/Dream_Guardian (Remove the *)