The Goblet Of Fire - Hermione Granger x OC

The First Task

Oliver sat in the tent, shaking with anxiety. For a moment, he thought about simply running away, but he knew there would be severe consequences for that. He could hear the roaring of the dragon and the cheers from the crowd, indicating that Henry must have successfully completed his task.

"Three of our champions have successfully faced their dragons, securing their passage to the next task," Dumbledore announced over the intercom. "And now, it is time for our final champion, Oliver Montclair!"

Reluctantly, Oliver walked out onto the battlefield. To his surprise, instead of hostile jeers, an unexpected wave of cheers and chants echoed through the air.

"Oliver! Oliver! Oliver!"

His heart swelled with astonishment as he scanned the crowd, recognizing the exhilarating voices of Hermione and Isabella, who were cheering for him with unwavering enthusiasm. Oliver couldn't help but smile, starkly contrasting his initial expectation of being faced with boos and projectiles.

Yet, as abruptly as the cheers had erupted, they ceased just as quickly, foreshadowing the imminent battle that awaited. Panning his gaze across the arena, Oliver searched anxiously for the looming dragon, but it was nowhere to be seen. Instead, his eyes fixated on the distant end of the arena, where a solitary egg lay in wait.

A perplexing thought intruded his mind, as if challenging the simplicity of the situation.

"It can't be that easy, can it?" Oliver pondered to himself.

With a burst of determination, Oliver sprinted towards the egg, his heart pounding in his chest. But in a twist of fate, the dragon materialized out of thin air, its massive hands slamming down with an earth-shattering force mere inches away from Oliver. The sheer impact sent him hurtling into the depths of a dark pit, his descent marked by terror and chaos.

As Oliver peered upwards, fear gripped his soul when he locked eyes with the dragon's malevolent gaze. Its eyes glinted with a merciless intent to end his life. The beast wasted no time, unleashing a torrent of scorching flames directly at Oliver. Through sheer instinct and elusive agility, he narrowly evaded the fiery assault, singed by the searing heat that trailed in its wake.

Desperate to escape the clutches of imminent death, Oliver mustered every ounce of strength to climb a nearby rock, yearning for a sliver of respite. But, alas, his trembling grip failed to find purchase, and in an instant of cruel destiny, the dragon's enormous talon crashed upon his vulnerable back. Agonized screams tore through the air, mingling with the tumbling debris, as Oliver suffered excruciating pain and found himself violently thrust, sliding once more to the treacherous depths at the pit's unforgiving bottom.

The arena erupted with collective gasps of sheer horror, the sound reverberating through the air, as all eyes fixated on the unfolding nightmare that stood before them.

With a desperate determination, Oliver fought against the searing pain coursing through his battered body, struggling to regain his footing. But fate's cruel hand intervened once more, as the dragon's colossal tail swung with unfathomable force, its impact jettisoning Oliver through the air like a mere ragdoll, hurtling towards yet another unforgiving rock.

As Oliver's vision blurred, a disorienting symphony of ringing invaded his ears, drowning out all other sounds, and leaving him teetering on the precipice of consciousness. Downward, he cast his gaze, his trembling eyes witnessing the sight of his own blood forming a crimson pool beneath him, a chilling testament to the gravity of his dire situation.

In a seemingly endless cycle of torment, the dragon unleashed another torrent of scorching flames upon Oliver, who, driven by instinct alone, flung himself away in a desperate attempt to escape the infernal wrath. But this time, fortune had forsaken him, the searing flames sinking their merciless fangs into his once unblemished arm. Bent over in agony, Oliver took solace behind the sanctuary of a towering rock, clutching his maimed limb and, through tears and anguished cries, surrendering to the unyielding agony that engulfed him.

Oliver's gaze caught the sight of Hermione's, Isabella's, and his mother's anguished visages, etched with unrestrained horror, peering down at him from the soaring stands above.

A chilling realization pulsed through Oliver's veins as he stood on the precipice of impending doom. "This is it. I'm going to die right here," he whispered inwardly, his mind throbbing with the acceptance that his life might meet its untimely demise in this very moment.

Through the discordant chaos, Hermione's desperate cry cut through the air, a beacon of hope amid the encroaching darkness. "Your wand, Oliver! Use your wand!" she bellowed, her voice raw with urgency, her finger pointing towards Oliver's wand, carelessly abandoned on the ground a few agonizing feet from where he stood.

As the realization dawned upon him like a lightning bolt, Oliver's heart sank further, his own negligence causing him to lose his grip on the most powerful tool at his disposal. It had slipped from his grasp during the relentless onslaught, like a fragile lifeline severed by unseen hands.

Summoning every last drop of courage within him, Oliver bolted forth from behind the towering rock, his heart racing in his chest, barely evading yet another ferocious burst of flames unleashed by the monstrous dragon. His legs pumped with adrenaline-fueled urgency, propelling him towards the only ray of hope that lay within his reach—the salvation of his wand.

With a voice strained by desperation, Oliver bellowed, "Accio Broom!" His words pierced the suffocating air, laden with a plea that defied the weight of the impending doom closing in on him.

Seconds seemed like eternities as Oliver's gaze fixated on the vast expanse above, his breath held in anticipation. And then, as if his desperate prayer had been answered, a beacon of salvation materialized before his eyes. A broom hurtled towards him with breakneck speed, a manifestation of hope amidst the chaos. Without a moment's hesitation, Oliver mustered all his resolve and leaped onto the broom, feeling its cool wooden handle beneath his trembling grip.

As he soared above the malevolent dragon, a prayer escaped Oliver's quivering lips, an unwavering plea for guidance and remembrance. Doubt clouded his thoughts as he recollected his position as a mere backup on the quidditch team. Would he know how to maneuver this precarious ride?

Oliver's heart pounded in his chest as he skillfully swerved through the chaotic battlefield of the sky, his mind racing to devise the optimal plan of attack. With wizard-like finesse, he executed a daring maneuver, feigning a decisive leftward trajectory only to execute a hair-raising 360-degree turn, leaving the dragon confounded in its savage pursuit. In a desperate attempt to capture Oliver mid-air, the colossal beast leapt towards the left, its gigantic jaws agape with a bloodthirsty hunger. Time seemed to slow as Oliver, consumed by sheer instinct, evaded the monster's ferocious bite with a graceful evasion, soaring towards the elusive prize with unwavering determination.

A deafening eruption of cheers reverberated through the air like thunder, a cacophony of unbridled jubilation, as Oliver soared triumphantly amidst the awestruck spectators.

Oliver's trembling hand clasped the shimmering egg, his mind grappling with the enormity of his unprecedented achievement. Utter disbelief washed over him like a tidal wave, rendering him speechless as he beheld the tangible evidence of his extraordinary triumph.

A voice resonated across the arena through the intercom, Dumbledore's words carrying the weight of accomplishment and the promise of further trials. "Oliver Montclair has successfully faced his dragon and will advance to the next task!"

A thunderous symphony of voices swelled in unison, the crowd united in their fervent adulation for Oliver. Their reverberating chants of his name echoed passionately in the air, an anthem of heroism that pierced through the depths of his being. And as he held the gleaming egg aloft, Oliver basked in the adoration and triumph that enveloped him, a symbol of resilience and unwavering spirit amidst the tempest of applause.