“Pardon me, could we speak?” he asked in parseltongue, wondering if the dragon might understand him.
The beast did react to his hissed words as concerned murmurs began to echo through the stands, rising up and cocking her head like a curious dog, but she didn’t reply.
“Eh, fuck it, worth a shot,” Harry muttered, only belatedly realizing that he’d left his sonorus charm on.
Flushing as people in the stands began to laugh, he decided that it was time to end this and ended the charm.
After stealthily placing the ring back on his wand, he pointed it at the nest and cast, “Accio golden egg!”
The fake dragon egg was pulled from the nest with great speed, attracting the attention of the dragon, who roared in rage.
Harry caught the egg and had only a moment to relish his success when the dragon breathed a torrent of fire his way.
He dove inside the tent, having not moved very far away from it, and felt the warmth of the flame from just how close it had come to hitting him.
“He’s done it!” Bagman cried.
“By simply summoning the egg from its nest, Harry Potter has finished the first task in less time than any of his competitors and seemingly without injury!”
“One down,” Harry sighed to himself, looking down at the golden egg in his hands.
It had some weight to it, but not as much as he’d have expected if it were solid, and he got the sense that it was likely more important than it seemed.
“Mr.
Potter,” Madam Pomfrey said.
“That was quick.”
“Plan A worked for once,” Harry said.
“I didn’t even get singed.”
“Will miracles never cease?” the matron asked as she cast a few diagnostic charms on him.
“You’re good to go.”
He headed to the designated area where the other champions were standing, just in time to see the judges giving him his scores.
Both Dumbledore and Bagman gave him tens, while Crouch gave him a nine, Maxime gave him an eight, and Karkaroff gave him a four.
When Dumbledore made all four of their scores float in the air with their names, he was surprised to see that he was in first place.
At forty-one, he was a point ahead of Krum at forty, while Fleur and Cedric followed with thirty-nine and thirty-eight, respectively.
The fact that he had come in first place while Cedric came in fourth was not going to go over well with much of the castle, but there was nothing he could do about that.
He did seem to be the most grievously injured of them, though from what Harry could see, the burn salve was already helping his skin heal.
“Well done, all of you,” Bagman said.
“Let’s get a round of applause for all of our successful champions!”
The crowd erupted in cheers as the clearly entertained crowd made their excitement known.
“Now, the second task will take place three months from today,” Bagman said.
“Just as this task was a test of bravery, the next one will be a test of cunning and resourcefulness.
Hold onto those eggs, you four, because within them lies the only hint you’ll get as to what it will entail.”
Harry had figured as much and decided to examine the egg with Hermione as soon as possible, stuffing it into the mokeskin pouch he’d bought before returning for that year.
After the scores were given, Bagman announced that the first task was completed and that everyone should return to the castle.
Harry made a beeline to the gates, beating nearly everyone there, and took a moment to just breathe and internalize the fact that he had survived one of the tasks.
He figured that he could wait there for Hermione, but it was Seamus who approached him first.
“You couldn’t even put in a good show?” the Irish boy scoffed.
“I beg your pardon?” Harry asked, scowling.
“It’s bad enough you cheated your way into the damn tournament; do you really think you’ll be able to cheat your way through it too?” Seamus asked.
“If you’d like to test yourself against a dragon, ask Ron.
I’m sure his brother Charlie could arrange something.”
Seamus just sneered and turned when he heard Ron and Dean talking as they entered.
Ron didn’t even look at him, and Harry swallowed thickly as he realized that nothing had changed between them.
A pair of different Weasleys approached him soon afterward.
“Congrats, Harry,” one of the twins said.
“First place and everything,” the other added.
“Thanks guys,” Harry said, smiling.
A few other Gryffindors showed up to congratulate him, including Angelina, who seemed to be over her disappointment at not being selected, but most of them didn’t seem to know how to react to his win.
It seemed that half of them still thought that he’d tricked his way into the damn tournament, and even seeing that he’d been put up against a dragon hadn’t changed their minds.
He briefly wondered if their tune might have been changed if he had gone with Moody’s idea and survived.
It would have been a lot flashier than just summoning the egg, and he would have ended up in far more danger.
It was a moot point, though, and after having spent the last weekend the way that he did, he found that the opinions of his schoolmates mattered a lot less than they had before.
It truly was amazing what sex with supernaturally beautiful women could do.
Just as he was about to give up on the common room and go search the library, he spotted Hermione coming in and rushed over to her.
“Hermione,” Harry said warmly.
✨ Want to read the next chapters early?
🚫 Enjoy a 100% ad-free reading experience