The Unexpected Task [H.P.]

Chapter 14 - Dragons and Summoning

I had barely settled onto the bench at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall early the next morning and pulled a pitcher of coffee towards me when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned at the sudden touch, and found Harry looking back at me, his eyebrows furrowed and looking worried. His hair was sticking up in the back, like he had tossed and turned all night.

"Um.... Good morning," I say, tentatively. He just stares, looking a little green. I turn on the bench, looking around at the almost deserted Great Hall. It was still very early, and I'd gone down as soon as I'd dressed, not wanting to wake Hermione up.

"Where were you all evening?" I whisper, "And what happened with Sirius?"

He shakes his head, and finally strains out, "Eat and I'll tell you." He motions towards the platter of toast before me, and I narrow my eyes, confused. I obliged, turning to face my plates again. He settles on the bench next to me, not saying a word.

We sit in silence until I finish my usual toast, and the second my plate is clear, Harry stands up and motions for me to follow. I stayed back a few steps behind him, worried, thinking he'd gone completely mad.

I followed him out onto the grounds, where morning dew still settled upon the grass and the ground was still a little mushy with yesterday's rainstorm. The morning was grey, but bright, bathing the grounds in a cold wash of light. Finally, I speak, as we settle into a slow pace together near the water of the Black Lake, where the Durmstrang ship teeters in calm waters, seemingly vacant.

"Harry, what's going on?" I ask, tentatively.

He turns to me, and everything explodes out like fireworks. He details leaving us in Hogsmeade, running into Professor Moody and Hagrid on the way back, Moody's clue, Hagrid asking him to meet him in the Forbidden Forest, the dragons, and finally, what Sirius said. He shook with nerves as he explained the news to me, and I felt, over and over, rushes of panic, dread, and fear wash over me as he spoke. Finally, he finished, nearly unraveling his sweater at its seam with his nervous hands.

"Dragons?" I ask, wanting to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

He grimly nodded, adding, "Nesting mothers, too. One for each of us."

My stomach twisted, pulled and knotted. Visions of Harry being trampled or set on fire by those creatures filled my mind.

"What are you thinking, Em?" Harry asks, suddenly, looking into my face, where I'd failed at concealing my emotions.

"I don't think you want to know." I answer, honestly. "Let's just keep you alive until after the first task... and then we can worry about Karkaroff." The news of him being a Death Eater wasn't completely surprising, but it did raise my suspicions about Harry's involvement in the tournament even higher.

He groans, "What am I going to do?", ruffling his hair and sending it sticking out into 100 different directions.

I try to smile soothingly, but I have no idea. "We could try defensive spells? Or..." I trail off as he shakes his head viciously.

"Defensive spells just shot right off them... unless there were five of me..." He explains, and I nod.

"I can't think of anything... I'm sorry." I look into the deep water next to us as we cross a path on a thin beach of the river. Suddenly, he sits on a rock near the grass, and I follow, sitting beside him.

For a minute, we're just looking into the lake quietly, before he responds, "I can't think of anything either."

"Maybe Hermione will know something... And what did Moody say, again? He asked you to think about your strengths?" I ask.