21. DRAGONS!

On the morning of 23rd of November, while Elara was sat at the Slytherin table with Theodore and Bianca, Harry rushed up to her and sat down beside her, wide eyed and short breathed. "El."

"Oh, hey Harry." She cut off her conversation with Theodore, smiling at him apologetically. "What's up?"

The younger boy looked around cautiously, his eyes on Theodore and Bianca, who were watching the pair curiously. "It's alright, you can trust them." His god sister said.

"El, Hagrid showed me what the first task is going to be." He paused, and the trio all leaned in. "Dragons, El, they're dragons. There's four of them one for each of us, a green one, a blue one, a red one and a brownish one with spikes."

"Harry, calm down. I'll come find you after lunch and help you go over spells and ways to defend yourself. For now, go have some breakfast and go to your classes." When Harry left, Elara turned to her friends with a massive smile across her face. "Dragons."

"Oh, bloody hell." Bianca groaned.

"Lara, no."

"But, Theo, this is my chance. And there's four! Common Welsh Green, Swedish Short-Snout, Chinese Fireball and Hungarian Horntail. Theo, a Hungarian bloody Horntail, I've always wanted to ride one of those!" Elara's eyes were glimmering with excitement.

"Right, well maybe don't ride the one that's known to be the most vicious."

"No promises." She winked.

After Harry told her what Moody said about flying being his strength, she suggested using his wand to summon it into the fight, and so in preparation for the task, the next few days were spent teaching Harry the summouning spell, along with a few others that would help him defend himself.

When the day of the task came, Elara was the most nervous she had ever been. Never before had she been this tense, and on edge. Not when she had her first Quidditch match, nor before she got sorted. But now, that her little brother was going to be facing a dragon in front of so many people, she was nervous for him, and scared for his life.

Classes were stopped at midday, and students were to head down to the arena they had arranged to be the location of the first task. Elara saw Harry being approached by McGonagall, and she promised her friends she would be right back, before she went running towards them.

"Harry!"

The black haired boy turned around, and so did the Transfiguration professor. Elara attacked Harry with a massive hug, and brought him as close to her as she could. "Harry, please promise me you'll be careful out there. I know we've been practicing, but these are dragons. Please, Harry."

"I promise I'll do my best." Harry let go of her, and stepped back. He turned and began walking away, but as he did, he heard Elara call out one more thing.

"I love you!"

"I love you too!" And then the young boy disappeared, and Elara brought a hand up to her mouth as tears gathered in her eyes, threatening to drop at any second and leave a silvery trail down her cheeks.

She felt a hand land on her shoulder and turned around. It was Theodore, and he had a small smile on his face, a sad yet comforting one. Elara choked back a sob and let him hug her close. "Theo, I'm so scared."

"He'll be alright, Lara, he had your help, and he's Harry bloody Potter." That caused Elara to laugh a little, and Theodore's smile grew bigger. "Now, come on, Fred and George said to tell you they saved us seats. Bianca's sat with a few girls from our year."

Elara let her boyfriend drag her down, following the flow of the other students as they filed into the arena. Elara glimpsed two tall red-heads, and pointed them out to Theodore, and they headed in that direction.

A while later, Ludo Bagman appeared and took his seat beside the rest of the judges, and began commentating. A few wizards appeared and gasps erupted from everyone as a silver-blue dragon appeared behind them, being dragged into the center of the arena.

"Oh bloody hell, it's the Swedish Short-Snout. Wow, it's beautiful." Elara said, shaking Theodore's arm. He laughed at her awestruck look. The dragon was brought to a nest, with eggs in them, and as soon as Elara saw those, her eyes widened.

"FUCKING HELL!" People around looked at her. "Theo! They're nesting mothers! The champions are screwed! These dragons are females, so naturally they're more aggressive, but they're mothers too, and you're putting the eggs in the battle, the mothers will be out for blood. Oh shit." Elara sat down on the bench, and closed her eyes for a second.

"As you can see, the first task involves dragons!" Bagman began speaking, his voice loud, and easily heard over the gasps and conversations. "The champions will have to retrieve the golden egg from the nest, and then they will finish. Champions will be awarded marks out of 50, and will be marked on spell use, technique and how fast they get the egg, as well as marked down for injuries."

"WHAT THE FUCK!" Elara's eyes shot open and she protested loudly. "A FUCKING EGG FROM THE NEST OF A MOTHER DRAGON?! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND, YOU BLOODY WANKER!"

Everyone around looked at her, and Bagman cleared his throat, before continuing explaining a few things, including safety and the team of wizards there to insure things didn't get out of hand. Theodore wrapped his arms around Elara's waist and brought her back, her back hitting his chest. "Lara, calm down."

"I can't, Theodore, they're being idiots."

"I know, but focus so you can look at the others champions' techniques and then help Harry after the task is over." Theodore urged her, and she visibly relaxed and nodded her head. When he went to move away, she grabbed his arm that was still around her waist.

"I didn't say you could move."

"Yes ma'am." He grinned.

"Hey Fred, George, your brother still being an arse?" Elara called out to the twins that were looking at all the bets people had placed with them. They both looked up, and smirked.

"Is he ever not?"

"The task is about to start. Please welcome, Mr. Cedric Diggory, the first champion, from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, against the Swedish Short-Snout!"

The Hogwarts crowd burst into applause, as the brunet boy walked out, dressed in a yellow and black shirt. He grinned up at the crowd, but Elara could see his hand was shaking as he gripped his wand tightly.

The dragon turned on him right away, began walking after him. The Hufflepuff boy ran away, and tucked under its tail, headed to the other side, nearer to the eggs. The dragon faced him, and Cedric bellowed out a spell, pointing his wand at a rock behind the dragon, transfiguring into a Labrador.

The dog barked and the dragon turned to face it, and Cedric took that distraction and edged closer to the eggs, grabbed the golden one and began to move away, but as he was halfway to the exit, the dragon turned back around, ignoring the dog, and exhaled, letting out a brilliant blue flame.

Cedric managed to evade most of the flame, and he got burned on one side of his face, but he made it out, and the dragon wranglers got their wands out, and slammed the dragon with multitudinous stunning spells, causing the poor thing to stumble and then land on the ground with a heavy thump.

The next dragon being brought out was a striking green colour, and as it let out a roar, Elara recognised it immediately. Common Welsh Green, known to be green and having a quite melodious roar. Again, there were it eggs, and Bagman announced the next champion.

"Our second champion, Ms. Fleur Delacour of the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic." Clapping sounded, not as loud as the clapping for Cedric, but still loud. The other Beauxbatons students were stood on their feet, cheering and waving their arms.

Fleur walked out, dressed in blue, complete with a skirt. As soon as she was out, she whipped her wand out, and began saying a spell. It caused the dragon to stumble around as its eyelids drooped. "She's making the dragon sleep!" Elara squealed.

The dragon finally landed on its belly, eyes shut, and Fleur began walking closer, heading for the nest. The dragon snorted and a thin jet of fire came out and hit her skirt, it caught on fire, and the blonde girl thought quickly and sent a jet of water through her wand onto the skirt.

She finally got close enough to the nest to grab the egg, and then practically sprinted to the exit. Again, the dragon was pulled out, and quickly replaced by a beautiful red and gold dragon. It was beautiful but the sight of it caused Elara to wrinkle her nose. "How very Gryffindor."

This was the Chinese Fireball, named for the ball shaped flames that shot from its nostrils. "Join me in welcoming our third champion, Mr. Viktor Krum from the Durmstrang Institute."

"No, no, no, no." Elara shook her head. Theodore turned her around, a concerned look on his face as the crowd went wild when the Bulgarian boy came out.

"What is it?"

"Theodore, this means Harry got the Horntail. The most dangerous dragon in the world, and my little brother has to face it." Elara was close to tears once more.

"Elara Black, you listen to me. Have some faith in Harry, he's strong, and he's had help from you. He is going to be fine."

"I hope you're right." She sighed, and turned back around just in time to see Krum hit the dragon with a spell that caused its eyes to swell, and it stumbled back, crushing a few of its own eggs in the process. Elara cried out at that sight.

Krum took the chance and darted forward, grabbing the egg and dashing out. Elara hadn't been paying attention to the score, but she knew that he would be docked for that. Then, the last dragon was brought out, and as soon as people caught a glimpse of it, the whispers began again.

It looked very lizard like, and had black scales, and bronze spikes on its tail and back. It looked around, yellow eyes scanning its surroundings, and Elara got closer to the edge. She reached out with her hand, wanting to touch it. Theodore quickly pulled her back.

"El, if you really wanna touch one, go see Charlie after the task. He's here with the other wranglers." George pointed out.

"I'm sure he'd love to help you." Fred added.

"Oh, I certainly will. Thank you very much, boys." She replied, and they both removed fake hats from their heads and bowed them. She turned back to the task, and heard Bagman begin his announcements.

"Let's all welcome the youngest and final champion, Mr. Harry Potter from the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry came out, dressed in his red and black top, hair messy and wand gripped tightly in his hand.

From where Elara was stood, she could see how panicked he looked. She got as close to the railings as she could without falling over the edge. Harry raised his wand, and yelled out something, causing the black haired girl to grin proudly when his broom came zooming from the castle and landed in his hand.

He swung his leg over the broom and kicked off. A second later, he was up high, a little speck. He dove, and the dragon's head followed him. The Horntail blew a great jet of fire, but the boy managed to dive out of the way.

"Great Scott, he can fly!" Bagman screamed. "Are you watching this, Mr. Krum?"

"OF COURSE HE CAN BLOODY FLY! HE'S A FUCKING POTTER!" Elara yelled out, an incredulous look across her face, at the fact that someone would question the flying skills of a Potter, or even act shocked that they had them. Potter's were known to be good Quidditch players.

Harry soared up once more, leading the Horntail to follow his broom with her eyes. Elara grinned at his technique; he was trying to make the dragon dizzy. And just as the dragon opened her mouth, Harry dove, but while he may have missed the flames, he didn't miss one of her spikes grazing his shoulder and ripping his robes.

Elara clapped a hand to her mouth in horror, but when she saw the younger boy keep flying, she relaxed, realising that it might not have been as bad as it looked. The Horntail looked very agitated now, her wings furled and unfurled, and she moved around her eggs.

So, Harry flew in one direction, and then the other. Not close enough for her to blow fire, but close enough that he would be considered a threat and she wouldn't take her eyes off him. He flew up and her eyes followed him. The Horntail blew fire up and he dodged.

She had finally had enough and unfurled her great black wings, but before she could do anything, Harry dove to the ground as fast as he could, towards the unprotected eggs near her front legs and grabbed the golden egg.

And then he soared back up, the egg clutched in his uninjured arm. "Will you look at that! Our youngest champion is quickest to get his egg! Well, this is going to shorten the odds on Mr. Potter." Harry headed to the exit, and the dragon wranglers came in and took the agitated mother out.

Elara stood immediately and walked to the hospital tent that was set up near the arena. She could see Hermione and Ron stood outside. "Why the bloody hell are you out here and not in there?"

"Uhm-" Ron stuttered, and Elara rolled her eyes, pushed past them and walked into the tent. She could see Harry sat on the bed, looking exhausted.

"Harry!"

"Elara!" He stood, and rushed towards her, seeking comfort. Elara wrapped her arms around the young boy and hugged him tightly. "I was so scared."

"I know, love. I would be surprised if you weren't." Elara pulled away. "But you did brilliantly and I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you." Just as he said that, Hermione walked in, followed by Ron.

"Harry, you were brilliant!" Elara noticed fingernail marks on her face where she had evidently been clutching it in fear. "You were amazing! You really were!"

But Harry was looking at Ron, who was very white in the face. "Harry, whoever put your name in the goblet – I – I reckon they're trying to do you in!"

"Caught on, have you?" Came the cold reply. "Took you long enough."

Hermione looked back and forth between the pair, and Elara stood behind Harry, arms crossed over her chest and a curious look on her face. "It's okay." Harry said, just as the Weasley boy opened his mouth. "Forget it."

"No. I shouldn't've-"

"Forget it."

The two boys grinned at one another and then Hermione burst into tears, causing shocked looks to appear on the other three's faces. "There's nothing to cry about!" Harry cried out.

"You too are so stupid!" She shouted, stamping her foot on the ground. Then, she hugged them all, and left, sobbing.

"Barking mad." Ron shook his head. "Harry, c'mon, they'll be putting up your scores."

"Harry, I'm sure you did amazing. I'll be off now, but be careful, and come to me if you need any help with that egg." Elara said to Harry, and when he nodded, she smiled and wrapped him in a tight hug.

"Wait, El!" Harry fished something out of his pocket and handed it to her. "They gave me this to tell me which dragon I'd face, but I think you'd like it more."

It was a tiny version of the Hungarian Horntail and Elara gasped as she saw it was curled up, sleeping. She took it gently and placed it inside a pocket in her robes before charming that pocket to not catch on fire and not allow the dragon to leave it.

"Thank you."

"It's the least I can do."

"I'll be helping you with that egg, alright? But later, go relax. Take a break. You deserve it." She smiled at him, before heading off to find Theodore or Bianca, or both of them.

She couldn't find either of them, but she ran into Charlie. "Charlie!"

"El!" He grinned down at her, and hugged her. "Haven't seen you in a while. How've you been?"

"I've been brilliant. But, I'd be better if you could take me to see the dragons, and I could pet one and feed it and ride it."

Charlie laughed at her eager face. "I'd love to, you can pet and feed them, but I don't think you can ride one here. Maybe if you come to Romania one day, I'll show you the ones we have there, and you can ride one."

"Oh, that would be a dream come true. Now, let's go see the dragon!"

Charlie led her in the direction of the Forest, and to where they kept the cages for the dragons. Right now, the Horntail was knocked out, probably the result of multiple stunning spells. The Fireball was stumbling around, and the other two seemed alright. "Which one do you want to pet?"

"Oh the Swedish Short-Snout please!" Elara looked at the XXXXX rated beasts before her, her face a mask of complete awe and wonder. Charlie chuckled and led her over to a bucket of meat, he handed it to her and then they both approached the silver-blue dragon.

Elara grabbed a chunk of meat and dropped the bucket. She got close to the cage, and thrust the meat towards the dragon, dropping it. The dragon got closer and picked up the meat with her sharp teeth, throwing it up, charring it and then munching it down.

"Hi, beautiful girl." Elara cooed. The dragon looked at her curiously, and didn't detect any signs of malice, anger or fear, so she came closer and lowered her snout. Elara gasped in happiness and rested her hand on the smooth snout. "You're so brave, and strong, and so so beautiful."

Later on, Charlie had to pack up and get the dragons ready for transport back to Romania, so he hugged Elara goodbye, and she went the Slytherin common room. As soon as she walked in, she saw Theodore sat with Bianca, Draco, Blaise and Daphne. So, she walked up to them.

"Good evening everyone." She smiled. Bianca turned and raised her eyebrows.

"Good evening my arse, where the bloody hell have you been?"

"Calm yourself Bia, you'll get stress lines." Elara smirked. She made her way to the armchair Theodore was sat in, and sat on his lap, throwing her legs over the side. "Hi."

"Hey." He replied, the hint of a smile on his face. "Where were you?"

"I saw Charlie, and he took me to the dragons. Theo, they're so beautiful." Elara looked in awe once more as she remembered them. "I wish you were there with me. But they left to go back to Romania. Charlie invited me to come see them there, so you'll have to come with me."

"I'd love to." Elara smiled at that and looked around to see Bianca still frowning.

"Bia, I was just in the Forest, alright? Ticking stuff off my list- sort of." Bianca nodded, satisfied with that answer. And the evening was spent in laughter and good memories.