Marauders - Always - Part One

CCII: Tout le Monde combattait des Dragons (Fleur's Version)

Fleur Delacour sat on her stool in the Champion's tent, listening as Cedric Diggory had his go at the Swedish Short-Snout. She felt hot and cold all at once, her palms and spine dripping a cold sweat.

She had wanted to spend this time helping Harry. She'd planned to ask him if he knew how to do a good shield charm, she'd planned to teach him a protego maxima if he didn't, and a dousing charm, as well as a fire repelling charm, and anything else she could think of.

Find a good place to hide and cast those spells and just don't come out until somebody comes to save you. You only have to participate, you don't have to win, and they'll rescue you out once you've fulfilled the Goblet's requirements. Just hold on, Harry, and you can make it through this.

But if she opened her mouth, she knew she would vomit. So she found herself staring at him, her heart pounding so hard she could feel her heart beat in her ears.

"Alright?" Harry asked numbly.

Tears sprang to Fleur's eyes - the boy was asking her if she was alright?

She nodded, and he gave her a weak sort of smile that was more than she ever could have mustered and she appreciated immensely.

An especially horrific shriek sounded from outside and all three of them looked at the door of the tent, certain Bagman was about to declare Cedric a goner, but he only said "that was a close one!" The three of them let out the breaths they'd held and turned back to what they'd been doing.

Krum's eyed moved from one to the other of them, his shoulders hunched in as he held both his elbows, almost hugging himself as he paced in a surly manner, a silver medallion hung around his neck bounced against his chest with each step. "This is torture, listening like this," he grumbled.

Harry glanced at Krum, then back to Fleur and nodded.

Fleur murmured, "Writing ze goodbye notes to my family was torture too." She looked at the other two, "Eet eez like writing a suicide note." Her voice trembled. "Did eizzer of you write such notes to your families?" She worried she'd been melodramatic about it.

Viktor muttered, "My father would think such a note was weak." He didn't make eye contact with either of them as he said it. Didn't stop pacing. But his fingers went to that medallion and he rubbed the face of it with his thumb.

Fleur looked at Harry.

"My parents are dead," Harry shrugged.

Fleur looked away, her heart aching.

Then the crowd was screaming out a deafening roar and all three of them looked to the door again. "HE'S GOT IT, HE'S GOT THE EGG! VERY GOOD INDEED!" Ludo Bagman was shouting. "CEDRIC DIGGORY HAS COMPLETED THE FIRST TASK! VERY GOOD INDEED!"

Fleur paled.

Krum nodded and glanced at the clock on the wall. "Twenty minutes," he murmured, then returned to pacing.

"ONE DOWN AND THREE TO GO!" Bagman shouted.

It took a few more moments, though, and they could hear Bagman calling for the scores, which were given silently, and a long pause while they prepared for the next champion. Fleur closed her eyes, willing the moment never come...

But then a loud roar filled the tent, different from the last dragon's sound - this one was higher, more melodic.

Fleur began to tremble.

"AND NOW, WE WILL WITNESS THE SKILL AND TALENTS OF OUR NEXT CHAMPION... SHE IS ONLY THE SECOND WITCH TO COMPETE IN THE HISTORY OF THE TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT! IT'S THE LOVELY MISS FLEUR DELACOUR!"