After showing Hermione my plan and practicing with the fake dragon for some time, we both decided to head back to our dormitories to get some sleep.
Tomorrow was going to be a big day, and I needed to be well-rested.
The next morning, excitement, and tension gripped Hogwarts. Lessons were to stop at midday, giving everyone time to gather at the arena—though only the champions and a select few knew what awaited.
When I entered the Gryffindor common room, I saw Hermione pacing near the fireplace. She froze mid-step when she noticed me, her brows furrowed and her hands tightly clasping her robes.
"Are you ready?" she asked, her voice calm, though her fingers fidgeted at her sides.
I gave her a reassuring smile. "As ready as I'll ever be."
We headed to our morning lectures together. Everywhere I went, students whispered and stared. Some offered genuine good wishes, while others, particularly from Slytherin, tried to rile me up.
I thanked the well wishers while roasting the Slytherins, while living the day as I normally would.
As we were having lunch in the afternoon , I spotted Professor McGonagall coming quickly towards me.
"Potter, the champions have to come down onto the grounds now… You need to get ready for your first task."
"Sure," I said, quickly finishing my cake.
"Good luck, Harry," Hermione whispered, her voice soft but steady. "You'll be fine."
"Yeah," I replied, giving her a confident smile.
As I followed Professor McGonagall out of the Great Hall, the buzz of student chatter faded behind us. The crisp November air greeted us as we walked toward the champions' tent, situated just beyond the arena.
"Now, don't panic," Professor McGonagall said. "Keep a cool head. We've got wizards standing by to control the situation if it gets out of hand. The main thing is to do your best, and nobody will think any the worse of you. Are you all right?"
"Yes," I said simply, my tone calm and assured.
She seemed not to notice my response as she pressed on, her pace quickening slightly.
"You're to go in here with the other champions," she instructed, her voice a bit shaky. "Mr. Bagman is inside—he'll explain the procedure. Good luck."
"Thanks, Professor. I'll be fine," I assured her, watching as she left with a worried glance over her shoulder.
Taking a deep breath, I approached the tent that housed the other champions. Pushing aside the entrance flap, I stepped inside.
Fleur Delacour was sitting in a corner on a low wooden stool. She didn't look nearly as composed as usual, but rather pale and clammy.
Viktor Krum looked even surlier than usual, which I supposed was his way of showing nerves.
Cedric was pacing up and down. When I entered, Cedric gave me a small smile, which I returned.
"Harry! Good! Good!" said Bagman happily, looking around at him. "Come in, come in, make yourself at home!"
With a node to him I went inside and stood with the other champions.
"Well, now we're all here, time to fill you in!" Bagman said brightly. "When the audience has assembled, I'm going to be offering each of you this bag." He held up a small sack of purple silk and shook it at us.
"From this bag, you will each select a small model of the thing you are about to face! There are different... er... varieties, you see. And your task is to collect the golden egg!"
We nodded to show we understood, before turning our attention away from Bagman. Cedric started pacing again, looking slightly green, while Fleur and Krum remained motionless, like statues.
We waited as the spectators filled the stadium. I could hear all sorts of shouting and laughing from the other side, with the added sound of hundreds of feet passing by.
After some time Bagman had us all gather together around him as he showed us the small green pouch he was holding. "Ladies First." he said offering it to Fleur.
She put a shaking hand inside the bag and drew out a tiny, perfect model of a dragon — a Welsh Green. It had the number two around its neck.
She showed a resigned expression, then steeled herself and sat down, her gaze fixed on the miniature dragon with determination.
The same held true for Krum. He pulled out the scarlet Chinese Fireball. It had a number three around its neck. He didn't even blink, just sat back down and stared at the ground.
Cedric put his hand into the bag, and out came the blueish-gray Swedish Short-Snout, the number one tied around its neck.
That left only me. I reached into the bag, already knowing which dragon I would get — the Hungarian Horntail, the very one Harry had faced in the original task.
"Well, there you are!" said Bagman. "You have each pulled out the dragon you will face, and the numbers refer to the order in which you are to take on the dragons, do you see? "
"Now, I'm going to have to leave you in a moment, because I'm commentating. Mr. Diggory, you're first, just go out into the enclosure when you hear a whistle, all right?"
"Yes, I understand" said Cedric, although his voice was unusually low.
Bagman hurried after finishing his task to go do the commentary that he was supposed to do.
A whistle sounded outside the tent. Cedric flinched slightly at the sharp noise before stepping out towards the arena.
The noise from the stadium grew louder as the audience reacted to the events unfolding. Bursts of OHHHHs and AHHHHs echoed randomly, signaling moments of tension and excitement.
After about 15 minutes, a thunderous cheer erupted, marking Cedric's successful completion of his task.
Next, Fleur was called. She walked out of the tent. The same cycle of gasps and cheers followed, though her turn seemed to pass by quicker.
Finally, Krum left the tent as Fleur's task concluded. The crowd's reactions continued unabated, growing louder as his attempt played out.
Now, I was the only one left. Sitting alone in the tent, as I waited for my turn.
Was I nervous?
Not really.
Was I exited?
Definitely.
So with time passing slowly the next whistle finally sounded signalling my turn to face the dragon.
*****************************
Check out my patreon for more advanced chapters of
Harry Potter The Archmage Awakens
Reality Bending in One Piece
patreon.com/Eternal97
*****************************
Check out my patreon for more advanced chapters of
Harry Potter The Archmage Awakens
Reality Bending in One Piece
patreon.com/Eternal97
I walked out of the tent, past the trees, and through a gap in the enclosure fence.
As I stepped into the arena, the crowd's roar hit me like a wave. The arena was massive, with towering stands circling a pit where the Hungarian Horntail waited.
She was huge and black, her spiked tail thrashing and leaving deep gashes in the ground. Her yellow eyes locked onto me the moment I entered.
Boulders were scattered across the pit, giving me a bit of distance from the dragon. I took a deep breath, staying calm and focused. It was time.
The Horntail roared, the sound reverberating through the arena, making the ground tremble. Flames flickered at the edges of her mouth as she shifted, her tail smashing into a nearby rock.
The crowd gasped collectively, some backing away from the edges of their seats before they started to scream once more.
"Good gracious! Did you see that tail swing? I don't think any of us could survive that!" exclaimed Ludo Bagman's voice through the enchanted speakers, excitement in his tone. "Absolutely terrifying! You've got to wonder how Potter's going to deal with that one—he's in for a wild ride today, folks!"
I raised my wand and pointed it at the surrounding boulders. They began to tremble, their shapes twisting and shifting until they turned into thick, heavy chains. They clanked loudly as they settled into place, ready to move.
"And look at this! Potter's making his move. What a brilliant display of transfiguration! This is something even the most accomplished experts would envy—and here we have a 14-year-old pulling it off! Simply incredible!" Bagman exclaimed, his voice filled with awe.
With a flick of my wand, the chains came alive, slithering toward the dragon. The Horntail roared again, thrashing and snapping at them as they wrapped around her wings.
She fought hard, but the chains were relentless, binding her wings tightly before moving to her legs and claws.
The dragon fell to the ground with a heavy thud, restrained and furious, but unable to move. The crowd erupted in cheers, the noise almost drowning out the Horntail's defiant growls.
Bagman's voice was full of disbelief. "Incredible! The Horntail's down, folks! I don't think anyone saw that coming—Potter's got her in chains! This is unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable!"
I kept walking toward her as she glared, trying to intimidate me. When she saw I wasn't stopping, she opened her mouth, gathering flames. With a sudden burst, she shot the fire straight at me.
The crowd's gasps mixed with a few shouts of alarm. I could hear them yelling for me to dodge, panic in their voices as the flames rushed toward me.
I raised my wand again, feeling the heat from her flames as they sped toward me. I thought of the spell I'd created just for this moment.
'INFERNO GLACIOUS.'
A blue flame erupted around me, swirling into a vortex before shooting forward. The instant it collided with the dragon's fiery breath, it froze her flames, turning them into solid ice. The frost spread quickly, creeping toward the dragon and freezing her in place as well.
A shocked silence fell over the crowd, before an eruption of applause filled the arena. The ice crystal particles glinted in the sunlight.
"Unbelievable! The flames—they're frozen! He's done it, ladies and gentlemen! The Horntail's breath is sealed in ice!" Bagman shouted, his voice nearly drowned out by the crowd's roaring approval. "A spell like that—never seen anything like it before!"
I stood in front of the dragon, her movements now restricted by ice, the crowd's cheers ringing in my ears. I looked at her for a moment before moving towards the eggs she was guarding.
There, among the others, lay an extra golden egg. I carefully took it in my arms, stepping away from the dragon as the handlers flooded the arena, their voices rising in alarm as they surrounded the frozen creature.
"Potter's done it! The quickest to get the egg—nobody expected this, and certainly not in such a way. What a spectacle!" Bagman's voice was hoarse from all the shouting.
I made my way toward the handlers, scanning the crowd for Charlie. As I spotted him near the edge of the arena, I approached, the golden egg still cradled in my arms. His eyes widened as he saw me walking towards him, clearly impressed.
"That was amazing, Harry. I knew you'd complete the task, but I didn't expect you to make it look this easy. Forget about me, I don't think anyone was expecting something like this." He grinned, clearly impressed.
I gave him a small, appreciative nod. "Well, I had a plan, and I'm happy it worked as well as I had hoped."
Charlie chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. You've basically done the impossible. Binding a Hungarian Horntail like that? Most wizards wouldn't even dream of attempting it, let alone pulling it off. You made it look easy."
I chuckled a little at his praise before turning toward the dragon. "I'm going to remove the binding and the spell to unfreeze the dragon. Are you guys ready to subdue her?"
Charlie nodded at me before shouting some instructions towards the rest of the dragon handlers.
Within moments, they took their positions with their wands ready.
I waved my wand, and the ice quickly began to evaporate, the dragon slowly stirring as the spell lifted. Just as she began to move, stunning spells from all directions hit her with precise force, bringing her to the ground in a faint.
After that, I removed the chains that were binding her while lifting the transfiguration on them and scattering them on the surrounding ground.
The dragon handlers started to move as the chains were lifter before binding her with the chains that they had and bringing her towards the cage.
Seeing that the dragon was fine and properly secured, Charlie let out a relieved breath.
"Well, you should go towards the professors, as they are waiting for you." Charlie said to me before going with the rest of the dragon handlers.
With a final glance at the dragon, I turned and started walking back toward the exit where professor McGonagall and Hagrid were waiting for me, their shock and happiness evident from the distance.
*****************************
Check out my patreon for more advanced chapters of
Harry Potter The Archmage Awakens
Reality Bending in One Piece
patreon.com/Eternal97
*****************************
Check out my patreon for more advanced chapters of
Harry Potter The Archmage Awakens
Reality Bending in One Piece
patreon.com/Eternal97
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