Star-Crossed Triwizard Champions

chapter 2 : dragons and longbottom

It had been almost a month since Harry's name had be chosen by the goblet, placing him in the running to compete as the fourth triwizard champion competing in the games, the second from Hogwarts.

The announcement spread quickly through the school, sparking rumors, debates, and a series of "Potter Stinks" buttons, created by none other than Harry's nemesis, Draco Malfoy.

The champions only had a few days before the first task, and Harry breathing hard, running in lovesick haze. He was rushing back to the castle from Hagrid's hut under the invisibility cloak, after seeing what the champions would be facing for the first task. He knew that somebody needed to know what the challenge would be, and that he, Harry, would have to tell him.

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It started as an innocent dinner invite from Hagrid that turned into a possibly incriminating act. Hagrid had lured Harry to the edge of the forest, masking his crime by bringing an unsuspecting guest, the half-giant headmistress of Beauxbatons, who was oblivious to Harry's presence. When the party of three reached the edge of the forest, Harry could see a foggy orange glow coming from behind the tall pines that bordered the Forbidden Forest. From beneath the cloak, everything was much harder to make out, but as the breeze blew back the branches in front of his face and Hagrid's guest gasped, Harry pieced together the events taking place in front of him.

Despite the fire breathing creatures in his midst, the first thing Harry noticed was the second eldest of the Weasley brothers, Charlie. He had met Charlie before, and this was perhaps the first time he ever considered being attracted to boys. The way he loved to talk about working with dragons, how his whole face lit up with a smile; Ron had given Harry the strangest look as the scene played out.

Shortly after Harry caught sight of his first boy-crush, he looked a few feet further to see 4 full grown dragons, each appearing to be a different breed, but all equally frightening.

Between his nervous, heavy breaths, Harry made out Hagrid mumbling something along the lines of, "These beauts' here 'll surely s'uprise the champions next week!"

Harry heard Hagrid clear his throat very intentionally and wink in his direction. God, Harry thought. Dragons. How am I going to face a dragon?

He felt the anxiety of this new discovery sink deeper in his stomach, and before he could think, he was sprinting up the hill, back toward the castle, its windows now brightly lit in a battle to outshine the sun fading away in the darkening sky.

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Before Harry could think about what he was about to do, he was speed walking through the corridors toward the Hufflepuff common room. He flung off the invisibility cloak as soon as he got close to the castle, not wanting to further alarm any of its residents with an invisible and abrupt arrival.

He continued down the corridors, even faster than before, checking behind himself to make sure he hadn't sped past him.

That was the moment when Harry felt his fast moving form connect with a warm, sweet smelling, and incredibly tall figure that had obstructed his path.

Reluctant to look up and see who he had ran straight in to, Harry turned around and started to walk away, the embarrassment of what had just happened hitting him like a ton of bricks. He felt something warm slide around his wrist that forced him to stop short.

"Harry? What are you doing here?" asked Cedric's silky voice from behind him.

Harry felt his face go many shades darker in a matter of seconds, and finally worked up the courage to turn around. Above him stood the rosy-cheeked boy who consumed his every thought. The boy's big hazel eyes stared down at Harry's blush painted face in confusion. Harry realized that he had been asked a question.