Harry reached into the bag and pulled out a vaguely familiar-looking small jet black dragon with menacing orange eyes that hissed as it emerged. Needle sharp spines marched down it's back while bronze horns adorned the head.

Harry was confused. What happened to the Horntail? He glanced at the live model in his hand and realized that he was now less prepared than before. He had at least managed some research on the four he had seen in the woods with Hagrid. A random memory of Ron's bitten hand swelling and turning green surfaced. What was that breed that Hagrid hatched in first year?

His train of thought derailed as Cedric was called out of the tent to face the Swedish Short-Snout. Listening to the crowd's reactions and Bagman's commentary did nothing for his nerves. 15 minutes later, and Fleur was called to face her Welsh Green as the process repeated itself. The whistle blew for Victor and the Chinese Fireball, and Harry was alone. Time played with him as seconds stretched into hours, minutes condensed to moments. Panic began building in earnest when Krum's dragon let off an ear-splitting shriek. His name was called, and his legs moved of their own accord.

Reaching the end of the walkway, he froze in terror as the behemoth in the arena caught a scent and swung her head to zero in on him. Molten lava orbs studied him curiously as her nostrils pulled in the air. He thanked his lucky stars that she was chained and could only reach of the allotted space.

"Well this is odd, folks! The last dragons didn't notice the other champions until they were in the arena and beginning their approach! Wonder what's different with the Ridgeback?"

Ridgeback? As in Norwegian Ridgeback?

The newly identified Ridgie screeched, then lunged for Harry, who let out an (un)manly squeal and turned to run. Unfortunately, the gate had closed behind him while he was distracted, preventing him from going anywhere but forward. The sound of wrenching metal and panicked screams met his ears as he turned to face his doom. A snout filled his vision while he was trying to make himself meld with the wood behind him. A rumbling noise vibrated through him, distracting him long enough to see recognition in the vibrant orange eyes less than ten feet away. Pausing in his frantic motions to fuse himself to the gate, a name popped into his head.

"Norbert?!"

She chuffed and nuzzled the front of Harry's robes, prompting him to lean forward and stroke the soft leather between her eyes as she closed them in bliss.

The moment passed, and Norbert twisted her head around Harry just enough to snag the back of his collar. Gently lifting her head, Harry's robes (with him still in them) followed her nose into the air as she tromped back to her nest. They passed a set of dragon handlers staring in shock, Charlie Weasley among them.

Reaching her nest, Norbert daintily set Harry next to her black eggs and the odd gold one. Looking cautiously at the broody female, he slid an arm around it and brought the surprisingly heavy object to his chest, groaning in realization. There's no way I would have been able to grab this from my broom….

With that thought, he turned and started for the edge of the nest. A snout blocked his way, so he moved to walk around it and got picked up and resettled before he got 3 steps away. With a sigh of resignation, Harry transfigured a few rocks into blankets to alleviate the sharp edges poking him in the back. A puff of hot air on the back of his neck prompted him to look over his shoulder. Norbert crooned wistfully, so he enlarged the biggest blanket he had made and draped it over the scaly snout. Her eyes closed in contentment.

Sound filtered back in, just in time to hear Bagman say "Does this count as getting the egg?"