Chapter 81: First task
Lily was beside herself. Today was the first task of the Triwizard tournament and her daughter - her fourteen year old daughter - was supposed to fight a dragon. She had received a letter from Charlie almost two weeks prior telling her he would be at Hogwarts for a job and that he was looking forward to meeting with her and Rick. Since he was a dragonologist, that was as subtle as he could be to tell them that the first task was about dragons and that Rose should prepare accordingly.
Thankfully Rick had covered almost all dragon species in class and thanked his guardian angel or Lady Luck that Rose had the presence of mind to attend his seventh-year class and that he was the DADA teacher this year. While he was optimistic about Rose’s survival odds, he was still worried. Just not nearly as much as Lily who was gripping his hand almost as hard than when she was giving birth to the twins.
“She’s going to be fine, Lily.”
“YOU DON’T KNOW THAT!” she snapped loudly at him and everyone in the spectators stand looked at her. “You don’t know that!” she repeated at normal volume.
“Our girl? She’s the best of the both of us. She will make it. Have faith. We trained her her whole life. I taught her everything she needed to know in class. She will be fine.”
“Here.”
Dorea who was sitting behind them leaned forward and presented a calming draught pill to Lily who gobbled it up straight away.“Thank you.”
“I have a few more. I took one myself.”
“Can I have one, please?” Remus asked two seats away.
“Of course.” pulling another pill from a pouch, Dorea handed it to him.
“Really, Remus?” Andromeda inquired while fidgeting herself on her seat.
“It’s the wolf. The dragons’ scent is in the air and he’s growling in worry for Rose. It’s his pack cub, you know?”
Inside the tent, Rose, Fleur and Viktor were being told by Crouch what they needed to do for the task.
“- a golden egg among its clutch. I repeat: you do not really have to fight the dragon, just bypass it to get to the golden egg.”
“Female dragons which are probably furious and protective of their clutch. Yeah, easy.” the sarcasm dripped from Rose’s voice.
She wasn’t surprised however. She was told by her parents and also by Ronald about the dragons. Fleur learned it from her headmistress who was shown by Hagrid trying to flirt with her and Viktor learned it from Karkaroff who had followed the two half giants. The day after they found out they all shared the information with each other in the spirit of fair play. They had a good laugh when they all said ‘dragons’ at the same time.
“Each one of you will face a different dragon. Which one? It’s up to your luck.”
He pulled a small leather pouch from within his robe and opened it.
“Since Hogwarts is the hosting school they will go last. As for first… well, Ladies first. Miss Delacour, if you please?”
Fleur took a few steps forward and put her hand inside the pouch. She felt something bit a finger and batted her hand away. Doing so she felt another thing and grabbed it. When she pulled out her hand and opened it, a miniature version of Hebridean Black unfolded his bat-like wings. She would have found it cute were it not for the fact that she would soon face it and that it was the longest species of dragon, the average being thirty feet long.
“Number 1. The Hebridean Black. Mister Krum, please.”
Fleur walked backward to her spot next to Rose while Viktor went to pick up his own mini-dragon.
“Number 2. Hungarian Horntail. Miss Potter, your turn.”
Rose replaced Krum and picked up her dragon. She was a bit apprehensive. The Horntail was even worse than the Hebridean. It was small but way faster, more vicious, cunning and his breath could reach up to thirty five feet on average. And there was the razor sharp spike on its head and tail. Now she wouldn’t call getting a worse dragon after another a pattern. Not when it only happened once but her guts were screaming at her that it would be the case. They were right.
“Number 3. Ukrainian Ironbelly. You now know which dragon you’re facing and in which order. You have fifteen minutes to think of a strategy, Miss Delacour. When you hear a cannon sound, it means you have to leave the tent for the task.”
“Hm, sir?”
“Yes, Miss Potter?”
“I thought the tournament was supposed to be safer this time around? I mean facing a dragon? Okay, but of all the species we get the three worst? Wouldn’t a common Welsh Green or a Chinese Fireball be… safer?”
“That was the case actually. Months ago we got in contact with reserves dealing with these breeds. There was supposed to be a Swedish Short-snout too. Unfortunately Minister Fudge decreed that he wanted more aggressive dragons. Something spectacular and more entertaining.”
“That man has his name between his ears.” Rose spoke absentmindedly.
“Vhat do you mean?”
“Fudge is the name of our Minister For Magic. It’s also a crumbly, chewy sweet. Our Minister is known to be… an idiot.”
“Ah. I understand. Sweet instead of brain.”
“Yes.”
The judges left the tent leaving the champions alone. While looking at her mini-dragon, Fleur made a comment.
“I’m boff terrified and… not.”
“I feel the same before a quidditch game.”
“Da, me too.”
“After your fazer's lessons on ze dragons.... I know ‘ow to deal with mine. Whezer I pull it off or non... Non, I will pull it off. I know I’m ready.”
Viktor and Rose stayed silent but agreed. Rick had taught them ways to deal with dragons that had never been done before. They knew their strong points, they knew their weaknesses, they knew spells that could help them. The most difficult part was to actually do it and succeed. Theory was one thing but practice was another. Now more than ever, they understood why the practical DADA class focused on being on the move at all times.
The sound of a cannon was heard. Fleur took a deep breath and exited the tent. Viktor leaned against a wooden post while Rose sat cross-legged on the ground. She reviewed the multiple possibilities and multiple plans she had in mind over and over again. She didn’t know for how long she did but a second cannon was heard. Opening her eyes she saw Viktor’s back exiting the tent. She stood up and began to pace around as her nervousness grew. It felt like hours had passed when the canon fired again. Just like Fleur and probably Viktor, she took a deep breath to calm her nerves. Confidently, she stepped out of the tent.
She arrived at the vast arena where the Ironbelly was waiting for her. There were huge boulders delimiting the perimeter and scattered here and there. Probably to use for cover. That wasn’t what caught her eyes however. What did was the dragon. Immediately she started to review for the last time what she knew about it.
‘The Ukrainian IronBelly is the biggest species of all dragons. Its hide is said to be even harder than steel and the temperature of its fire can reach higher than 1900°C. Its wingspan is one and a half times longer than its length from tail to snout. The average weight of one is six tons. As such its movements are the slowest of all dragons and so is its flying speed. Despite its great size its eyes are not bigger than the average size for a dragon. Attacking the eyes is unwise. Blocking its sight however is possible. Restraining its wings and movement at the same time is the best way. Only go for its open maw as a last resort.’
Wand at the ready, she aimed for the head of the dragon. Thick black gas began to form at eye level and Rose quickly used a huge bubble-head charm to lock the gas around the Ironebelly’s head. The beast shook his head to get its vision back and do away with the gas but to no avail. Rose quickly ran towards it by going from boulder to boulder. When she was close enough to see the clutch properly she raised the earth into a thick wall around the boulder behind which she was hiding and waited. Half a minute later she heard an explosion and knew it was time for her to act.
“Oh, dad! I could kiss you for teaching me chemistry.’
The gas that Rose has created was a mix of oxygen and methane to which she added a coloring agent. She had hoped the Ironbelly would breathe fire to get rid of the bubble head charm or the cloud and detonate an explosion. It had paid off. With its thick hide the dragon shouldn’t take much damage. It would shake his brain however and distract him. Which was the case. Rose began to create chains of dirt and soil, locking its head, his wings on the rest of his body to the ground. Of course they wouldn’t last that’s why she transfigured them into hard steel. There were so many chains that it almost looked like a net.
Hoping it would hold long enough, she moved towards the clutch and picked the golden egg, being careful from the Ironbelly’s trying to break free. It already broke the chains tying down his right claw and cut off the way she came, unless she wanted to be cut in half. With no other choice she darted the other way, towards its tail.
When she was almost out of range, the dragon in a surge of strength, broke more chains which unfortunately for Rose included the ones holding the tail down. Seeing the huge appendage swiping her way and with no way to dodge she let her instincts take over. She jumped back; with one hand she put the egg in front of her and with the other used her wand to give herself more momentum backward with a spell. When the tail hit her, she was sent flying thirty feet and rolled on the ground a dozen more. Groggy and her chest hurting like hell, she got up and reached the arena’s exit.
“Yep, definitely a broken sternum and a few ribs. Thank god dad taught me to roll with the hits to diminish the impact. I would have died otherwise.”
Quickly people ran past her toward the arena. Among them she recognized Charlie Weasley who winked at her. Professor McGonagall was waiting for her a few feet away with a worried expression. Without a word from her head of house she was led towards a medical tent where Madam Pompfrey was over Fleur, using her wand to close a nasty wound at the side of her stomach. Viktor was lying down on the bed next to her French friend. The top of his body was naked and covered in bandages. The smell of something having burned permeated the air. Rose was forced to sit on the next bed.
“You did well, Miss Potter. Impressive display of transfiguration.”
“Thank you, Professor. Who knew that the very first transfiguration spell taught at school could deal with a dragon, eh?”
“Who knew indeed.” Despite her worry, Minerva displayed pride and approval in her eyes.
“ROSE!”
Lily almost tackled her daughter to the ground in relief. She was only stopped by Rick grabbing her arm back.
“Lily, she may be injured.”
With a sheepish look, the redhead cast a few diagnostic spells to get an idea of Rose’s state. After a minute she sighed in relief.
“Cracked sternum and ribs. Nothing life threatening. Thank god.” This time Lily took her little girl in her arms but gently. Rick simply ruffled her hair. She knew he would give her an even bigger hug once she was completely recovered.
“I don’t know what was the more amazing, the explosion, the chains or how you-”
“Rolled with it? It's practically our untold words, Dad: ‘Roll with it, no matter what’.”
“Roll vith it?”
Viktor inserted himself in the conversation without a thought.
“It means going with the flow. In the direction where things go.” Rick replied.
“Remember that exercise where you diminish the impact by going the way it goes?”
“Da. You did that?”
“Yup. In the spur of the moment my body reacted and I jumped back. Got hit by the tail and sent flying.”
“That was insane. Your mother was hysterical. So sure you were complete mush.” Rick chuckled but Lily grabbed his ear and pulled.
“This is no laughing matter!”
Ignoring her bickering parents she continued her conversation with Viktor.
“Burned?”
“Its range vas longer vith its breath. Thought I vas good at forty feet. I removed my top but a bit late. It vill heal and von’t scar much. Glad I vas in shape to dodge. All the training paid off.”
“Oui. Were it not for eet, I would 'ave died. Eet pierced my side weez ze point of eet's tail. ‘Eet would ‘ave been my stomach ‘ad I not moved on instinct.”
Fleur was free of Madam Pomfrey who was cleaning the blood from the former’s wound. The french girl was a bit pale, but she was given a blood replenishing potion and her wound had been closed. The medi-witch came to Rose and made her lie down. After careful examination she simply handed her a skele-gro pill.
“Nothing more physically strenuous than walking for the next two days, young lady.”
“Yes, Madam Pomfrey.”
All five judges came in and had a talk with the Hogwarts’ medi-witch to learn what Rose's injuries were, so they could grade her properly. The graver the wound the less points. They took only fifteen minutes to deliberate and went back to their seat in the stand to announce the results. Of course the three champions were back in the area in front of them.
“The results will be given in order of passage. So let’s begin with Fleur Delacour.” Crouch said and invited Madame Maxime to start.
“9. You ‘ave bewitched to sleep one of ze biggest species of dragons, which is quite ze feat.” a blue ribbon appeared out of her wand and drew a big nine in the air.
Karkaroff was next. “7. You let your guard down once the dragon was asleep and even more when you were walking away with the egg. You’re still alive because of luck.”
Up in the stands Severus was surprised that Karkaroff would give a champion that wasn't his more than a simple two.
“I threatened him to be fair or else.” evilly smirked Bella and the potion master chuckled.
“8. Just like my good friend Madame Maxime said, it was quite a beautiful display of charm mastery and quite the unconventional but clever way to deal with a dragon.” Dumbledore graded. Ludo Bagman was next.
“8. I’m not much of a charm expert, however the reflexes you displayed when you were attacked were quite good. You acted in a split second and got off lighter than you would have had you not.”
“8. I don’t have much more to add except to always be on your guard. That mistake was costly. I also removed a point because of the time. While your bewitching charm was wonderful work, in the end you took the most time out of the three of you. Your score for the first task is 40, Miss Delacour, well done.” Crouch finished.A loud ovation reverberated across the arena to congratulate the veela. She was quite proud of herself. Once people calmed down Crouch called for Viktor’s score in the same order of judges.
“8. Eet was quite... clever and bold of you to aim for ze horntail maw. You never forgot about its spiky tail eezher.”
“9. Perfect. Almost perfect.”
“8. Usually people who aim for a dragon’s eyes use the conjunctivitis curse which could bring forth disastrous results with how painful it is if their aim proved true which is quite difficult.
You chose instead to blind it with balls of intense light and stunned it by hitting its maw when it was open. I applaud the creativity, and finesse. It took a bit too much time however and you relied too much on the knowledge about the average abilities of the Horntail which got you injured.” Dumbledore praised.
“7. I expected a bit more display of magic than a simple stunner and two balls of lights. I do commend you for reacting quickly when you were set on fire and pushing forward despite the burns. That was very brave.”“8. Everything positive and negative has already been said. Loss of points for the injury and the time. Your total score Mister Krum is… 40, like Miss Delacour. Congratulations.”
Another ovation even louder than for Fleur happened. It took more time for the public to calm down. Finally it was Rose’s turn.
“8. You exploited ze dragon's strengz into weakness, très bien! I was très surprised by ze alchemic display, mais eet was a bit too messy. Ze chains, zey were a good idea, but a little too brittle, I zink.”
“8. You were quite aggressive and it paid off as you were able to nullify the Ironbelly’s advantages and didn’t waste any time resulting in you being the fastest.”
“8. Quite the easy but perfect display of a simple transfiguration spell to make the chains. Changing the composition of the air around the dragon’s head by applying alchemical principles was very clever. Alas, the dragon was quite hurt as a result.”
“Will it recover, sir?” Rose asked.
“It needs a whole new set of fangs and won’t be able to breath fire for a month from what I’ve been told but yes, it will recover fully.”
“That’s a relief. Thank you.”
Bagman didn’t wait more for his turn. He was very enthusiastic. “8. It was simply spectacular! The way you got up as if it was nothing after being hit by the Ironbelly’s tail head on was fantastic!”
“9. Despite being hit by the Ironbelly’s tail you made sure to receive as little injuries as possible and were ready and able to go on. You were quite fast and decisive in your action. The lost point is for that business with the explosion. While a clever plan, the dragon was injured. With my final grade, your total score is… 41! You’re in the lead, Miss Potter.”
Back in the spectators’ stands Lily jumped in joy out of her seat and kissed her husband fully on the lips. He was quite proud of his daughter and amused at his wife's sudden 180° in her emotions. The whole arena gave quite the ovation to Rose who was a bit dumbfounded to be in the lead even if it was by a point.
“I vant to see the memory of your fight.”
“Oui, me too. I am curious about ze alchemical principles Dumbledore was talking about.”
“Sure, if you show me yours.”
The spectators began to leave the arena. Rose thought it was over and that she could go and rest. Unfortunately for her, reporters were there for a group interview of the three champions. When she heard about it, she wished she could face the Ironbelly again.