The Fifth Champion

Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

It was the day of the first task. Charissa had formed about half a plan, one that Cedric absolutely hated.

"You can't just bank on nothing going wrong!" He exclaimed.

"Well, that's exactly what I'm going to do." Charissa retorted. "Trust me, there's no creature which this hasn't worked on before."

"It's not you I don't trust, it's the dragon." Cedric said. "You've never met one, right? How do you know this'll work?"

"Because I grew up with a bunch of Slytherins!" Charissa exclaimed. "I know how to manipulate things!"

"You think you do." Cedric muttered under his breath before heading off to his next class.

Three boring classes later, Charissa found herself in a tent on the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

"I can't do this." Her breath was shallow and fast as she paced around the tent. "This isn't going to work, I'm going to die."

"Charissa, please just sit down." Cedric said. Charissa flopped into a chair and began to panic from there. Cedric pulled two vials out of his robes.

"Madam Pomfrey told me to give these to you if you started panicking." He said, handing one of the vials to Charissa. "Take one now and the other right before it's your turn." Charissa downed the Potions, immediately looking calmer.
Meanwhile, a flash had gone off in the tent. It was Rita Skeeter, taking pictures of Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, who had snuck in. She turned her camera to Cedric and Charissa. Luckily they were saved by Barty Crouch, who had walked into the tent carrying a bag.

"Gather around," He said. "In this bag contain miniature replicas of a very real creature, each of which have been giving a golden egg to guard. Your task will be to retrieve the egg, for you cannot hope to continue without it." He passed the bag to Fleur, pulled out a model of a Welsh Green dragon, with a number two around its neck.

The bag then passed to Charissa, who exchanged a look with Cedric before reaching into the bag. She fished around inside before grabbing one of the dragons around what she figured was its belly. It was a pearly gray dragon with eyes of multiple colors and the number four around its neck. "The Antipodean Opaleye," Mr. Crouch called it. The bag passed to Cedric, who pulled out a Swedish Short Snout with the number one. Potter was going last, having a Hungarian Horntail, and Krum would go third with a Chinese Fireball.

"At the sound of the cannon, you will enter the enclosure and proceed to complete the task." Mr. Crouch finished. Cedric immediately took Charissa aside.

"Your plan might just work." He admitted.

"Why the sudden change?" Charissa asked.

"Opaleyes are known for hardly being aggressive." Cedric explained. "They aren't killers." Charissa sighed in relief and proceeded to lay down on a bed in the tent while everyone else paced nervously.

It was quickly time for Cedric to go on. "Good luck." Charissa said, giving him a hug and handing him her second vial of Calming Draught. "Take it." Shakily, Cedric nodded and took the vial before heading out of the tent. Charissa listened to the crowd's cheer and gasps. It seemed Cedric was doing alright.

Fifteen minutes later, the crowd cheered its loudest, and it was Fleur's turn. Charissa tuned out, only refocusing when Krum left the tent. Her panic was returning, and she was beginning to regret giving Cedric the vial of Calming Draught.

"Miss Malfoy, you're up!" Ludo Bagman announced. Shaking, Charissa grabbed her wand off a nearby table and stuffed it into her robes before heading down to the enclosure.