Chapter 39

"You know what you're going to do?" Tom asked nervously as they stopped by the tent.

Harry smiled at his boyfriend with great amusement. "Am, love, if all else fails, I can just turn into a dragon."

Tom blushed. "Just... don't die, please."

Harry scoffed. "Of course not." He pecked Tom on the cheek. "Now shoo, my queen," he added in Parseltongue.

His boyfriend froze, blinked, and quickly moved his robes so they were covering his front. Mission accomplished, Harry thought. "Erm. Good luck, Harry."

They shared a short kiss and Tom fled. Harry entered the tent.

Cedric and Delacour were talking in low voices in one corner of the tent while Krum listened in.

"Harry!" Bagman exclaimed. "Good-o! Come in, come in, make yourself at home!"

Harry sighed. "Mr. Bagman, how many times have I told you ⎯ you do not have permission to call me by my first name. We are not friends. I barely know you."

Bagman paled, and the other three champions stared at him, a mixture of impressed and wary. "Erm... yes, Mr. Potter. I apologize."

Harry ignored him and sat down in one of the chairs in the tent, leaning back and crossing his legs. He spotted Cedric's amused look and Krum's look of interest but didn't acknowledge them.

Bagman attempted to rally himself and mostly succeeded ⎯ he was still slightly pale. "Well, now that we're all here ⎯ time to fill you in. When the audience has assembled, I'm going to be offering you this bag-" here he held up a sack of purple silk "-from which you will each select a small model of the thing you are about to face! There are different ⎯ er ⎯ varieties, you see. And I have to tell you something else too... ah yes... your task is to collect the golden egg!"

We're taking an egg... from a nesting mother? Are they mad? Harry thought, appalled, but keeping his expression blank.

A few minutes later ⎯ or hours, Harry couldn't tell ⎯ the sound of thousands of excited people came rushing past the tent. A few seconds after that, Bagman held the bag out to Delacour.

"Ladies first."

Delacour reached inside and pulled out a sleek, green dragon ⎯ a Welsh Green ⎯ with the number two around its neck. Delacour didn't react to seeing the dragon, and neither did Krum or Cedric, which told Harry that the other three champions already knew what they were facing.

Krum and Cedric went next; the Bulgarian pulled a Chinese Fireball (number three) and the Hufflepuff Seeker now bore a blue-green Swedish Short-Snout (number one). Harry stood up and walked over to Bagman, carefully reaching into the sack.

He almost laughed when he saw the dragon he'd pulled. Honestly, fate must have a sense of humor.

A Hungarian Horntail was curled up in his hand, sleeping. The number four hung from its neck.

"Well, there you are!" Bagman said. "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? Now... Mr. Potter... could I have a quick word? Outside?"

"No," Harry responded. "If you must ask, Mr. Bagman, I have several back-up plans, but I'm quite sure my original plan will work."

Bagman blanched. "How-"

"I have my ways and means. Now... don't you have a job to do, Mr. Bagman?" Harry asked smoothly.

The man couldn't leave fast enough.

As soon as he was gone, the other three champions turned to Harry.

"Ve vere contacted by a man called Shadow, a pawn," Krum said cautiously.

"'E said zat you were going to remove Dumblee-dorr's influence from ze world," Delacour explained.

"And that you were... royalty, of a sort?" Cedric sounded awed and confused at the same time.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Do you want to join me?"

"Yes," Krum and Delacour chorused.

"Definitely," Cedric agreed. "He told us your beliefs. I agree with them."

"What are your Animagus forms, Viktor, Cedric? If you have one."

"I'm a black wolfdog," Cedric frowned.

"A kingsnake," Viktor said.

"Then, Cedric, your Black Knight name will be Howl, and your Junior Marauder name will be Loyal," Harry decided. "You will be a Sleeper. I'll explain what that is after the task," he added when the three wizards in front of him looked confused. "You may say pledge your service after the task, if you want to."

"I can do it now," Cedric disagreed. He knelt and pulled out his wand. "I, Cedric Harold Diggory, pledge my souls and magic to my chosen lord, Harry James Potter, to follow his commands, whatever they may be, even until death. So mote it be."

"So mote it be," Harry intoned.

His wand glowed, and Cedric hissed, clasping a hand to his shoulder. He pulled his sleeve down and revealed a black lightning-bolt on his skin.

A whistle sounded, and Harry said, "You may go."

Cedric stood, bowed, and left the tent.

"Viktor, your Black Knight name will be Kaa, and your Junior Marauder name will be Regal," Harry told him. "You will also be a Sleeper."

Krum bowed deeply and knelt, pulling out his wand. "I, Viktor Krum, pledge my soul and magic to my chosen lord, Harry James Potter, to follow his commands, vatever they may be, even until death. So mote it be."

"So mote it be," Harry repeated.

Viktor's wand glowed, and he snarled quietly, clutching his chest. His Mark appeared to be directly above his heart.

Delacour knelt without being told, pulling out her wand as well. Harry chuckled.

"I, Fleur Apolline Delacour, pledge my soul and my magic to my chosen lord, 'Arry James Potter, to follow 'is commands, whatever zey may be, even until dess. So mote it be."

"So mote it be," Harry said. Fleur's wand glowed, and she immediately gasped and grabbed her left wrist.

"Your Black Knight name will be Siren, and your Junior Marauder name will be Blaze," Harry told her, gesturing for both of them to stand. They did so. "You will also be a Sleeper."

"Zank you, my lord," Fleur said breathlessly. Viktor bowed slightly in agreement.

"Good luck on your task," he added.

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Harry looked up at the Horntail. It snarled at him and wrapped her tail over her clutch of eggs.

The truth was, Harry couldn't decide between one of two plans: tell the dragon in Parseltongue that one of her eggs was a fake, or use runes and the Growth Charm. He also had several back-up plans, one of them attacking the dragon in his dragon form, but he didn't want anyone to know that yet....

With a sigh, Harry pulled out his wand and the miniature dragon. He carefully and quickly wrote runes on his robes with his wand that would protect him from fire and stop the dragon's tail from hitting him.

"Engorgio," Harry hissed in Parseltongue. This allowed him to choose how big he wanted the dragon.

A full-grown Horntail was suddenly standing beside him.

"Distract the female," Harry ordered in Parseltongue. "Charm her. Make sure she does not watch her eggs."

"Yes, Master," the male Horntail responded, strutting over to the female.

Harry quickly cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself and snuck over to the eggs.

Twelve seconds later, he had the golden egg. He walked quickly away from the nest and removed the Disillusionment charm. He glanced over to the two Horntails and laughed when he saw that the female was blushing.

The crowd shouted and cheered. Harry dipped his head in acknowledgement and turned to the judges.

"Would you look at that!" Bagman exclaimed. "Mr. Potter is the quickest to get his egg! And without harming himself, the dragon, or her eggs! Now for the marks."

Maxime raised her wand, hesitated, and a long silver ribbon floated out of it, forming an elegant nine. The crowd applauded.

McGonagall gave Harry a look of pride and shot a ten into the air. The crowd roared.

Mr. Crouch also shot a nine into the air. The crowd cheered.

Ludo Bagman shot a ten into the air, looking both pleased and frightened.

Karkaroff, looking pale ⎯ obviously, since the judges had all heard him speak Parseltongue, but not the crowd ⎯ shot an eight from his wand. The crowd howled in glee.

"And Mr. Potter has the highest score of forty-six!" Bagman shouted. "Well done, Mr. Potter!"

The Black Knights:

King: Anguis (Harry)

Queen: Amber (Tom)

Rooks: Alpha (Remus) & Shere Khan (Regulus)

Knights: General Shen (Draco) & Prince (Severus)

Bishops: Samwise (Neville) & Redbeard (Seamus)

Higher Pawns: Morgan (Luna; seer); Grim (Sirius; Guard); Oberon (Fred; Creator); Puck (George; Creator); Shadow (Kingsley, Recruiter); Blackbeard (Dean, Creator); Venom (Blaise, Stealth); Khepri (Skeeter, Spy); Hathi (Winston, Wandmaker); Howl (Cedric, Sleeper Agent, Ministry); Kaa (Viktor, Sleeper Agent, Bulgarian Ministry of Magic); Siren (Fleur, Sleeper, Veela)

Junior Marauders:

Leader: Harry (Scales)

Members: Tom (Red); Remus (Moony); Sirius (Padfoot); Regulus (Stripes); Severus (Snarl); Draco (Albino); Neville (Fuzzy); Seamus (Bandit); Luna (Radish); Fred (Flame); George (Sparky); Kingsley (Don); Dean (Tarzan); Blaise (Strike); Winston (Gray); Cedric (Loyal); Viktor (Regal); Blaze (Fleur)