The Rise of Rouge

The Dragon (Harry)

Sorry we've been on hiatus for a week(ish), because I (don't know about Layla) have been SWAMPED with homework, but I worked through it, and we're back to business!

A few days ago I told Cedric about the dragons. It felt like the right thing to do. I was stressing out, because although I had come up with a plan to get past the dragon, I still couldn't do Accio. Natsu seemed to be absolutely fine, knowing what he would do, but he refused to tell me. According to him, if I couldn't even do the summoning spell, I wouldn't be able to do what he was going to do. What stupidity. He can't do it either. It was the morning of the first task and I had finally managed to get a dictionary to fly towards me, but that was nothing compared to what I would have to pull off in the pit. I went down to breakfast, where everyone but my friends were talking happily.

Hermione and Lucy were. fussing over Natsu, who looked nervous for the first time since he had arrived at Hogwarts. Ron was talking to them, but glanced up at me and immediately left. Erza didn't seem to be responsive to anything, just mumbling things, and Gray was trying to look concerned about the prospects of the day but I think everyone knew he didn't really care - what happened today didn't affect him, and Juvia was lost in some sort of fantasy world.

For the whole day leading up to the challenge, my stomach was in knots. Of course Snape had to make our detentions the day of the first task! Apparently Snape didn't have any hard work for us to do because he just told us to do homework. I didn't do homework, even though I had lots. Instead, I silently practised the summoning charm. After about half an hour Mira arrived, and a few words were exchanged (I didn't listen) before she turned into the demon with wings and a tail and everything. Then everything went dark, before Dumbledore arrived, and explained the task started in half an hour. Half and hour! All of a sudden all the anxiety I had been repressing jumped back up again and I almost vomited -thankfully I didn't.

We all walked to the grounds, where the first task was to take place, and Lucy and tackled Natsu in a hug, and there was a huge flash coming from the direction of a certain blonde woman in lime green robes, and Natsu fell over.

"Really, you had to push the flash in his face. Now he'll be lucky if he has his sight back in time for him to start the task!" Gray joked. Natsu jumped up, pulling Lucy back up with him, and ran to Gray to start beating him up (they really did do that a lot). Erza split them apart, and there was another blinding flash.

"Ah, young love love!" Rita Skeeter sighed. "In two forms. Which are you going to pick?"

Natsu seemed confused by the very nature of the question. "The blonde! If I ever said the red the guy with the blue hair would kill me." Natsu said matter-of-factly, pointing to Jellal.

"That's right and don't you ever forget it." Jellal and Erza said in unison.

Natsu pried Erza's hand away from his shoulder and hugged Lucy again. Just then, Hermione burst into the tent and tackled me with a hug, and we were immediately blinded. We turned to see Rita Skeeter with her poisonous smile. Before she could say anything, Dumbledore us all together (thank goodness).

I saw Bagman enter. "Harry! Good-oh!" said Bagman happily, looking around at me. "Come in, come in, make yourself at home."

Bagman looked somehow like a slightly overblown cartoon figure, standing amid all the pale-faced champions. He was wearing his old wasp robes again.

"Well, now we're all here-time to fill you all in!" said Bagman 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 them- "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!"