Death is but the Next Great Adventure

Ignited

In the last chapter: The night after Harry learns of what awaits them in the first task, Harry pulls Cedric aside and shares in what he found. Harry also gives Cedric some of the baby-dragon-scent-potion to help him. Then Moody/Barty comes along and half-heartedly tries to give Harry advice about the first task. The four champions prepare.

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November 24th, the morning of the first task, Harry awoke nearly an hour before dawn and could not find it within his restless body to try and return to sleep. Getting up before anyone else, Harry dragged himself into the bathroom to chase away the early morning chill and lethargy by standing under the hot spray of the shower. Staring up at the tiled ceiling, Harry released a loud sigh as his shoulders drooped a little lower than normal and nerves began to wreak havoc on his empty stomach at the prospect of what would come later in the day.

When he finally dredged up the will to begin cleaning himself, he made sure to wash with a scentless soap. He'd already made sure the night before to call up a Hogwarts house elf to wash both his simple black and dark blue uniform for the task, as well as his school uniform for the day, in scentless detergent separate from the rest of the clothes. Harry was unsure how strong his own scent might be against the fragrance of the potion, but he didn't want to take any risks when he got into the arena.

When Harry returned to his room and dressed for the half-day of classes, he couldn't help but silently bemoan the still-dark sky outside of his window. The sun should have already begun to rise, but the heavy darkness outside indicated a morose day of thick cloud cover and possible downpours. Of course.

However, as the morning progressed and true to his predictions, the deep rolling rumble of thunder echoed through the castle ominously, the buzzing excitement of the student body could not be subdued. Feeling spiteful in the face of his peer's glee, Harry quietly hoped that it would rain harder and that the stands wouldn't have any charms up for protection during the task. It would serve them right to have to suffer too. Harry thought a bit vindictively.

Though, in truth he wasn't feeling as anxious as he'd thought he'd be. In fact, he felt a little detached all morning. It was not necessarily a pleasant feeling, but it was a familiar one. It was second nature to him . . . before, when he didn't have anyone to try to drag him out of his own head.

That morning, however, he was grateful for it. Anything was better than fear at that point.

Though, it seemed that while he was ready to put his focus into his studies for the day, nobody else could get their mind off the first task. When lunch time finally came, Harry was the first one out of the class so that he could get changed and still have time to eat a decent lunch. Though to others it probably appeared as though he was just as excited as them, he really just wanted to get away from the constant whispers and pointed glances at him and the other champions that they passed in the halls.

Thankfully, when Harry entered the dorm it was empty and he was able to dress in peace. Once dressed, Harry locked the door with a quick spell and got out a few items from his trunk:

The first being a small leather pouch, no bigger than a galleon, that he had shrunken down and magically expanded within to fit all of the materials he needed for the ritual. It wasn't everything, as there were a few more things he needed to prepare—but it would be sufficient if he needed to perform the ritual last minute. That being said, Harry doubted he would be seeing Voldemort so soon. The pouch was heavily warded, undetectable, invisible once worn, and was tied with a long leather cord so that he could wear it around his neck and under his clothes during the tournament. The locket was also inside the pouch, which meant that for the first time in months, Harry could not feel the magical presence of the locket—which was uncomfortable, if he were being entirely honest.