The Wolf's Lion ~ Harry Potter (Editing)

Chapter Twenty-Three | Dragons and Swords

Eventually, all of the Champions ebbed away, leaving only Ariana in the tent. She paced back and forth, constantly checking that she had her wand inside her robes.

Anxiety swelled inside as she paced, feeling as if she was about to wear a hole in the floor of the tent. This is the moment she had been dreading for weeks, it was now that she had to fight a fully grown dragon.

She could make out some of the commentary from the arena, and was over the moon to hear that Harry had retrieved his egg safely.

"Four of our champions have now faced their dragons and so each one of them will proceed to the next task. And now our fifth and final contestant," Dumbledore announced, signalling Ariana to leave the tent.

With three deep breaths, Ariana stepped out if the tent on shaking legs. She walked into the massive arena, emerging out of a rough, rocky cave.

Ariana's eyes surveyed her surroundings. The entire arena was covered in boulders, making the terrain very rough and difficult to climb over. The crowd chanted her name above, a sea of crimson and gold dancing.

She didn't have much time to take in the view as a humongous dragon appeared, crouched low over a shining golden egg. Her wings unfurled, large crimson eyes watching Ariana. Its jaws opened, revealing razor sharp teeth which were much bigger than Ariana, a huge get of boiling fire heading straight for Ariana.

The witch shrieked and jumped behind a rock, using her hands to protect her head as the heat from the fire made beads of sweat bead in her forehead.

Once it ceased, Ariana peeked out from behind the rock, planning her next move. She decided to make a sprint for another rock, knowing it would give her cover.

She sprang up and dashed over the rocky terrain, trying not to damage her ankles as she stumbled over the loose rocks.

A wave of heat hit her as another her of orange fire headed for her body. She quickly withdrew her wand and incanted, making a wall of water as big as the dragon appear. Ariana screwed her eyes shut as she concentrated on keeping the wall up, deflecting all of the fire.

Ariana never even waited for the dragon to move before she dove behind a rock, hearing the dragon roar in frustration.

It began to move, its gigantic talons leaving gouged in the rocks. It lasted out with a wing, making Ariana shout and duck underneath it. She lost her footing, falling painfully down a rocky hill.

The witch managed to spring to her feet, ignoring the searing pain of small cuts on her face and bruising pain over her body. Ariana ran towards the egg, using rocks as cover.

"Bombarda Maxima," Ariana yelled, aiming her wand at the ground underneath the dragon. An massive explosion kicked dirt and rock up into the dragon's eyes, making it screw them shut.

"Oh, yes! Fantastic," the commentator cheered.

Due to the size of the dragon, it was not easy to dodge. When it shot more fire around the arena blindly, as it was still recovering from the explosion, Ariana conjured a storm of water. It was advanced magic, making the crowd scream and 'oooh'.

"A water storm?! This girl is only fourteen!"

With great effort, a hurricane of water surrounded her. It was the height if the dragon, holding it off as she inched closer to the egg.

It took tremendous amounts of energy to keep the storm going, but Ariana felt her wand tug to get out of her hand. She gripped onto it, but it flew from her hand, soaring away over the arena, out of sight.

"Her wand! Where did Miss. O'Connor's wand go?"

The water collapsed into the arena, completely soaking Ariana and pissing the dragon off even more. Ariana stared in the direction her wand disappeared to, then her eyes shifted to the dragon.

The reptile towered over her, snapping its powerful jaws maliciously. More fire spouted from its mouth, making Ariana run for cover.

Crouching behind a rock, Ariana's heart pounded heavier than it ever had. She had no idea how her loyal wand had taken off, but what mattered right now was avoiding a painful death.

When she made a run for another rock, the Sword of Gryffindor appeared in her hand, shining as the glow from the fire caught its silver blade.

"Yes! The Sword of Godric Gryffindor has come to his hair's aid! Such a noble one, Gryffindor."

'At least something is looking out for me,' Ariana thought.

Her eyes locked onto a rather large mountain of rock, which she immediately began to climb as fast as possible. With the sword securely in her hand, she dragged her body up the precipice.

Jets of fire pelted the rock, spurring Ariana of to use her fast reactions to leap out of the way. She mentally thanked all of her intense Quidditch training for her ability to react quickly.

"Close call! It seems Ariana has a plan!"

By the time she reached the top, the dragon was beginning to left its head to level with her. With true Gryffindor bravery, Ariana lifted the magic-imbued blade and jumped off of the top.

"Oh! There she goes! What is she doing?!"

Time seemed to slow down as she fell, everything blocked out but the sight of the dragon. With an almighty crunch the blade pierced the dragon's head, becoming embedded in its grey head.

"She's done it! Ariana O'Connor has beaten her dragon!"

Ariana was thankful that the sword was powerful enough to pierce the dragon's almost impenetrable scales.

Then she fell.

The witch's hands clamped around the sword's hilt as the lifeless dragon plummeted to the ground, clinging on for dear life. She screwed her eyes shut, waiting for the impact that would kill her.

She screamed when her grip failed her, slipping down, waiting to be impaled by many share rocks. Her hands scrambled for a handhold, which she found. Her shaking hands caught onto the large spines on the dragon's long neck, her muscles locking into place as she held her breath.

The final impact came. The dragon landed on the ground with a thump, making Ariana roll onto a surprisingly flat rock. She panted for a moment, regaining the ability to stand up.

When she did, she walked on weak legs to the dragon. "I'm sorry," she apologised, pulling the bloodied sword from its head. She closed its eyes with her hand, then walked towards the Golden egg.

With the sword in one hand, she picked the egg up and held it up. The crowd went wild, a loud cheer of 'go, go, Gryffindor' erupting as the many faces danced.

She let out an exhausted, pained, but thankful smile as she grasped the egg. She had beaten the biggest breed of dragon in existence with a sword... That was definitely something to be proud of.

"Look at that! Will you look at that! Our youngest champions are quickest to get their eggs! Well, this is going to shorten the odds on Mr. Potter and Miss. O'Connor!"

The witch felt lighter than she had in weeks, the cheer of the crowd thrumming in her ears along with her heartbeat.

She survived the first task.