WARNING: UNDER REWRITING AND HEAVY EDITING
Read at your own risk!
Life started off complicated for young Eleanor Ross after being born to a muggle mother while showing her magical capabilities at an early age. Growing up in a household where her mot...
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Eleanor had never seen a dragon in person, but it didn't take a genius to figure out what the creatures were capable of. Before Hagrid had become the instructor for Care of Magical Creatures, she remembered Professor Silvanus Kettleburn, who had over the course of time, had lost all of his limbs with the exception of one arm and half a leg. From the stories that Eleanor had heard, the majority of his accidents occurred involving at least one dragon and that was enough for her to reckon that she didn't really need to see them in person.
However, with Cedric as a champion, she didn't have much of a choice. She wasn't going to let her own personal fear get the best of her and keep her from cheering on one of her best friends. She was doing her best to play it off that it wasn't that big of a deal, keeping a calm voice and expression at all times when Cedric was around. But Marnie thought it would be better not to beat around the bush, telling Cedric that he would have to come up with a damn good plan on the spot if he wanted to live to see another day.
For the most part, the three gathered in the library, trying to come up with possible spells and incantations that Cedric could use while facing his fiery opponent. And thankfully, Fred and George were able to give a little insight with the knowledge they knew from their older brother, Charlie and his friend, Anora. There was a rumour that the two were on the castle grounds, caring for the dragons and remaining on-site during the First Task to ensure that no one was seriously injured or killed.
"Stunning charms won't do you any good," George said, "it takes loads of dragon handlers casting the stunning spell at the same time to subdue one."
"Your best bet will probably be to cause a distraction," Fred added, "you might be able to outrun a dragon on the ground, but you probably won't be able to outrun their flames. Charlie and Anora will tell you, they've been burned plenty of times."
Eleanor poked Fred's side as Cedric's eyes widened at the mention of being burned. Of course, they were all aware that dragons were capable of burning people alive, it just wasn't the most reassuring thing to hear the night before the competition. He quickly muttered an apology before trying to come up with other solutions to help.
And while they all sat around trying to figure out what Cedric's course of action would be, Eleanor couldn't help but think of Harry and how he was going to manage. There was a clear advantage for the other competitors, considering they were older and well-versed in incantations in comparison. She had heard from the twins that he was working diligently with Hermione, reassuring Eleanor that he would be fine.
However, how fine could one really be when facing a dragon head on?
On the day of the First Task, Eleanor found herself unable to concentrate in any of her classes. She had practically chewed her nails down to the skin, watching the clock no matter what classroom she was in. Cedric had put on a brave face for everyone, as students passing him in the corridors offered their support, patting him on the back or chanting his name. He smiled at all of them, but Eleanor and Marnie could see that every time they were alone, the smile faded and his face paled.
