"You are remembered for the rules you break." -General Douglas MacArthur

Disclaimer: I do not own anything of Harry Potter

Chapter 9: The First Task

Harry's eyes opened and he noticed how hard it was to breathe with the body of his latest lover on top of him. He smiled wide when he took a deep breath of her hair and immediately identified that the woman laying on him was neither Alicia nor Angelina. He had become accustomed to their shampoos; and natural scents from the months he had spent in their bed. As a result, when he noticed that this scent was neither of their's, he knew exactly who this was, the thought brought a smile to his face as his mind conjured images of their date and the night following.

His hands began running up and down Katie's bare back as he laid underneath her and reminisced on how Katie had truly expressed herself last night, it turned out she really liked it when he was a little rough with her, not that Harry was very fond of it, but he did get a little into it last night because her screams and moans had drawn him further and further into her dream world. He smiled when he remembered how she had woken up an hour after they had finished and she then proceeded to shag him until she could go no more, not that Harry was far behind her in the category of stamina, she seemed insatiable after she had gotten her first taste of him and couldn't stop until she gave a final scream and nearly passed out on top of him. She had barely gotten out an "I'm okay," Before her eyes closed and she went limp. Harry had a little bit of experience for sleeping with a lover on top of him and he hadn't moved her a bit when he drifted off, enjoying the unique scent of Katie's body.

"Mmmm," Katie groaned as her hips ground against Harry's, drawing a gasp from Harry as he felt his, now stiff, cock brush against her pussy walls. Katie sleepily raised her head, looking Harry in the eyes with her hair splayed about her was easily one of the most endearing and erotic scenes Harry had seen, as evidenced by the twitching his member suddenly underwent. Katie's slightly widened eyes showed she knew exactly what was happening. "I'm a little tired Harry." She said quietly. Harry smiled at her, understanding was evident in the way his eyes gleamed at her but her own eyes gleamed as she slowly managed to flip them and opened her legs wide, allowing him easier access, "I don't have to do much." She said as she closed her eyes once again, moaning low as Harry thrust in and out of her tight passage once again.

Harry lay next to a sleeping Katie once again, a couple of hours later. Katie had lasted for two of his orgasms before she called it quits yet again, saying charms only did so much for her discomfort. Harry had made a face of regret but Katie's soft hand cupping his face had brought his eyes to hers and she kissed him sweetly before whispering, "I wanted it too much to stop you." She admitted with a blush before she rolled away from him, pulling him up against her back and yawning, "Now keep me warm while I sleep." She said with a slight smile playing on her lips. Harry had smiled as he nuzzled his head into her hair and wrapped his arms around her.

Harry nuzzled his nose against her neck once again before the sound of the door opening brought his attention. Harry's eyes snapped over to the door only to relax as he saw his other two lovers standing there with food for them. He smiled at them and they both shifted into the room before closing the door and approaching the beds with small smiles on their faces as they looked at the expression on Katie's face.

"Good morning." He said in greeting.

Alicia smirked, "Afternoon, you mean." She corrected to Harry's surprise.

"Although, looking at the abuse Katie underwent..." Angelina said from next to the bed, eyeing the puffy lips of her fellow teammate's womanhood, still leaking Harry's juices, caused him to blush, "I guess you would underestimate the time you spent forcing her to keep going." She teased.

Harry opened his mouth to refute her words but Alicia cut him off, "Since our boy toy doesn't seem to know when to stop," She said with a wicked smile, "I think he doesn't deserve this food we brought." She brought the platter of food towards him and his stomach grumbled its discontent, causing vicious smiles to appear on his lover's faces, and causing Harry to suddenly feel like he was going to be hungry until dinner.

"But, but…" Harry stumbled, trying to find some ground to stand on he blurted out what Katie had said to him, "She didn't want me to stop!" He said quickly as he pointed at Katie's body, which he had vacated when he smelled the food. "She wouldn't stop!" He accused.

A sniffle brought his attention and Harry's eyes widened as Katie turned tearful eyes on him, bringing a stab of hurt to him, "He just wouldn't stop Alicia, he was like a machine!" Katie lamented and Alicia smiled viciously.

"Angelina!" Alicia said and Angelina unceremoniously grasped Harry by his limp member and tugged him from the bed, towards the door, Harry followed obediently and suddenly found himself outside the locker room for the girls.

"Now, you can go back to the castle and think about what you just did!" Angelina said forcefully before thrusting his clothes at him and slamming the door in his face. Harry blinked and was struck by worry that he may have just done something wrong… until he heard the giggles coming from inside the room and he shook his head at the, sometimes, odd sense of teasing his lovers may put him through. He breathed a sigh of relief before heading towards the castle, and the secret entrance to the kitchens that he had found on the Marauder's Map.

XxXxX

Tuesday morning arrived much faster than Harry expected. When you're dreading something happening, time has an unfortunate habit of speeding up and seeming to disappear, which was exactly what happened to Harry. One moment, he was spending a loving night with his newest lover and the next he was walking with McGonagall towards the forest. Harry felt a pit of nervousness settle in his stomach as he approached the edge of the forest and rounded a grove of trees to see a tent having been erected to block the enclosure Harry knew was behind it.

It was as they were approaching the tent that McGonagall became a bit more tense than normal as her eyes darted around the area before she suddenly stopped, "Potter…" She paused before drawing herself up, "Harry, before we go in there, I wish to say that no matter what happens, I wish you did not have to go through this." She bent down to look him in the eyes as she let out just how nervous she really was, "Just do your best and you won't disappoint anyone, okay?" She asked. Harry was struck by just how much she must be worried if she was acting so differently from normal. Harry just nodded, which McGonagall mirrored before straightening, "Mr. Bagman is waiting inside, he will be explaining the… procedure." She said as she stepped up to the tent and held the flap open for him to precede her in. Harry stepped through the flaps and shivered as he felt his nervousness increase. He had no idea what he was going to face, and even though he had been practicing sixth year spells, he really doubted he was ready for what was coming.

Harry's eyes swept the tent, noticing a pale Fleur sitting in a corner on a stool, Krum was wearing an even surlier expression than normal, and Cedric was pacing in the middle of the tent. Apparently, Harry wasn't the only one who was nervous. When Harry entered, all four sets of eyes landed on him and Harry stepped further into the tent just to try to break the silence but it wasn't until he was near Cedric that Bagman spoke, "Harry! Good-o!" He yelled and Harry flinched slightly from the loudness of the man's voice, "Come in, come in, make yourself at home." Harry shot him a glare and Bagman faltered as he looked at the nervousness that dominated the room.

A few moments later, Bagman cleared his throat, "Well then, since we're all here, time to fill you in." he said, "When the audience has assembled, I'll be offering each of you this bag," He held up a small sack of purple silk and shook it at them, Harry didn't know if it was just him or was the bag moving, "From which you will select a model of the thing you are about to face! There are different-er... varieties, you see. And I have to tell you something else too…" He thought about it a moment before he held his finger up in a classic eureka moment, "Your task is to collect the golden egg!" He announced, which brought surprise to Harry.

Harry had focused on the bag when it was initially shown so he missed the way the tension in the tent had suddenly shot up when it was presented, with the declaration of their objectives, all four champions seemed confused. Cedric was the only one to actually acknowledge Bagman as the other three contestants seemed to simply step back from the man, eyeing the bag warily. Harry looked at the other champions and he noticed how sick they seemed, it was a bit odd. Harry himself was nervous, but he wasn't so nervous he was sick; they almost seemed as if they were preparing to be ripped apart by something as fierce as a Werewolf during the full moon, or having their soul sucked out by a Dementor.

Regardless, in no time at all, Harry felt, the Champions heard the marching of hundreds outside the tent, laughing and joking about the first task. Harry reflected on how he would love to be joining them, watching the true Champions battle whatever Tasks had been set. He had been looking forward to a silent year, shagging his new lovers after he had gotten them, and that had been dashed upon the rocks once Halloween came around. Harry had only just been enjoying his dream of a silent year at Hogwarts when he noticed that Bagman stepped up and offered the bag to Fleur, "Ladies first." He said.

Harry swallowed heavily as Fleur's shaking hand entered the bag and time seemed to slow to a crawl, Harry's eyes floated over to Cedric and Krum's faces. Time seemed to be sluggish as he watched their eyes narrow onto whatever Fleur had just pulled from the bag; Harry couldn't place why that was significant but his eyes then traveled to Fleur's hand and his heart nearly stopped when his eyes beheld the small model of a green dragon that was standing in Fleur's outstretched hand, with a number two hanging around it's neck.

Harry's eyes remained fixed upon the little green dragon up until Bagman shook the bag in front of him. Harry blinked and then noticed that Krum was holding a red one and Cedric a bluish-gray one. Harry swallowed before dipping his hand into the bag and coming up with a wince as he beheld the black dragon with spikes on its tail, unlike all the others, snarling in his hand, a number four hanging around its neck.

"There you are!" Bagman exclaimed, "You've pulled out the dragon you are to face, and the numbers refer to the order in which you are to take the dragons, do you see?" He asked, even though it was obvious that Harry wasn't paying attention. He nodded absentmindedly, "Now, I have to go soon, I'm commentating," He explained and turned to Cedric, who had the number one, "When you hear a whistle, walk out into the enclosure and your Task will start." He said and Cedric nodded before the man cast one glance at Harry before he darted from the tent.

It took a few moments for Harry to get over the dragon model still snarling at him in his hand before his mind cast itself out and tried to grasp onto something he should focus on before he ran himself into a blubbering mess over the fact he was about to face a bloody dragon!

Suddenly, his eyes widened as he thought back to when time seemed to stand still. The way that both Cedric's and Krum's eyes had narrowed, as if confirming what they already knew. But how was that possible? Harry's eyes drifted over to Fleur, the only one who's reaction he hadn't seen and saw a blazing determination instead of the overwhelming fear and anxiety he, himself, felt. Slowly, his eyes drifted to Cedric and Krum, both of whom looked just like Fleur, and suddenly his mind clicked and his quiet voice filled the tent with an accusing tone, "You knew."

All three sets of eyes whipped to him and the intensity of his stare was enough to make each of them show what he had already figured out, "You all knew." He repeated and the other champions nodded slowly. Harry knew they were in a tournament, he knew that they held no obligation to tell him what the First Task was, he knew that they were not to blame for his being in this tournament but, for the first time, Harry knew anger that engulfed him, that burned away everything inside him and left him with a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach. "I see." He said, and the coldness in his voice must have been biting because, while they all looked at him, trying to hide behind the fact they were competitors, they all knew he was the one most outmatched, especially since they had known and he didn't. "This is how we promote unity in the magical world? I'll remember this." Harry promised before turning from the room, walking to a corner to concentrate on not wanting to hex each of them for condemning him to fighting a dragon with an hour of preparation, at most.

"Harry…" Cedric's voice floated to him but Harry was saved from biting back at the man whom he had tried to push to the front for his proper glory by the sound of a whistle. Harry felt Cedric glance at him before he proceeded out the tent.

The wait was spent in uncomfortable silence. Harry knew he would be the last and he blocked everything else from his mind as he listened to the audience, his one link to his lovers.

Dimly, Harry heard the whistle blow twice and the crowd erupt into cheers twice more. From far away, he heard his name be called and he stood, letting the anger he felt at each of the other Champions fill him as he walked through the tent flap, an idea forming in his head as he stepped into the enclosure, faces swam in front of him as he noticed the stands and the audience. He saw the Horntail directly across from him, crouched low over her eggs, her yellow eyes focused on him in an obvious assessing of a threat to her clutch of eggs. Her spiked tail twitched behind her, leaving yard long gashes along the ground as she snarled menacingly at him, just like her model had.

Harry's eyes left the menacing dragon's and sought out three sets in the audience, scanning through the sea of faces he finally spotted them directly above the dragon, all three of them were looking at him worriedly and he smiled as he let the angry feelings swim with the love he felt for those three women before he waved his wand and spoke, "Accio Firebolt."

Harry didn't even have to look back to know his broom was speeding his way, magic responded to emotions far better than to desires. He had poured everything he felt into that spell and he could feel the magic inside him pulsing, bringing his broom speeding through the air to rest next to him.

Harry's eyes darted over to the dragon, which was watching him with a wary look in her eyes. Harry was struck by how intelligent the slitted orbs of the menacing dragon were. Harry paused a moment before he swung his leg over the broom and kicked off, ignoring the cheers of the crowd and the commentary, he closed his eyes as he felt the wind caress his face, a feeling of familiarity appeared inside him as he accelerated and made a quick circle of the stands, before laughing as he opened his eyes and concentrated on the dragon, which seemed much smaller from his new vantage point.

"Come on you stupid dragon!" He yelled, his new confidence was brought to the surface as Harry yelled out, "Come get me, you can't even notice a fake egg inside your clutch and you think you can take me?" He taunted, noticing how the yellow eyes narrowed as he spoke. Suddenly, the dragon's yellow eyes widened as she shifted, her tail raised as she stepped next to her clutch. Harry cocked his head to the side as she slowly lowered her head, keeping one eye on him. Harry lowered himself down a few feet and the Horntail raised her head once again, growling deep in her chest, flames licking her teeth in obvious warning. Harry slowly inched back up until she stopped growling and the Horntail seemed to debate on something before she began lowering her head once more, still keeping an eye on Harry.

The crowd seemed to watch in fascination as the dragon avoided attacking Harry and then it's eyes became level with her clutch, and still watching Harry, she seemed to inspect her clutch before she raised her head quickly, giving a ferocious roar, shaking the ground and causing Harry to grab his broom with a death grip as the female dragon quickly dipped her head, grasping the gleaming golden egg which was obviously not one of her own with her teeth and quickly whipped her head around, tossing the offending egg away from her clutch to land with a heavy 'Thunk' on the charred earth. Harry's eyes tracked it and he noted where it landed in the middle of the enclosure. He looked back to the dragon, expecting to find it still staring him down, but he didn't expect the sudden burst of heat that he had to protect himself from. Several seconds later, Harry lowered his arm, only for his jaw to join it in surprise as he beheld the burn mark on the stone where his egg had been resting; the she-dragon had burned the golden egg to ash.

Harry turned back to the black dragon, only to notice that he had floated lower and was now in range for her attack. His eyes widened as he noticed that the yellow eye was now mere feet away from him. Harry stiffened on his broom but, instead of attacking, the dragon growled and Harry shook as he twitched his head, trying to get rid of the tickling in his ear. The dragon growled again and Harry twitched, suddenly, Harry noticed how the dragon was slowly lowering its head, but still watched him cautiously. Harry twitched again and suddenly got the meaning of the tickling in his ear, "Down." The simple message said, and Harry followed, landing by the head of the protective mother.

Harry watched the dragon carefully before he spoke again, "You can understand me, can't you?" He asked, the only explanation of her actions was this.

The dragon snorted, shaking its massive head before slowly snaking it's head out and pushing its snout against his chest and Harry laughed as he reached a shaky hand out and stroked the diamond-hard scales of the dragon. The dragon growled once again and, this time, Harry made sense of the tickling, "Thank you, Protector." She said. Harry shook his head as he marveled at the magical world once more.

"Umm, your welcome?" He replied cautiously. The dragon snorted once before her eyes dilated once more, and Harry knew why. He spun around and his red jet of light struck the dragon handler about to cast spells upon the dragon he had been talking with… in a manner of speaking.

"What are you doing?" Harry said as his wand pointed at the three remaining handlers still standing after Harry's sudden attack.

A red headed man stepped forward and Harry felt the dragon behind him growl deep in her throat as she beheld the man Harry knew, "Charlie?" He asked.

Charlie Weasely cleared his throat as he waved back at the dragon handlers now eyeing the dragon carefully, "Harry, can you understand me?" He asked.

Harry cocked his head, "Of course I can, there's no reason to point your wands at me." He replied.

Charlie had an odd expression cross his face and there was silence before Dumbledore appeared at the edge of the clearing, walking across the arena with hurried steps, he approached Charlie quickly. Charlie turned and relief spread across his face. "Harry, I believe you might wish to step away from the dragon." Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eyes.

Harry rolled his eyes as he turned his head, noticing the she-dragon had placed her head next to his body, eyes yellow eyes had focused on Dumbledore the moment the strong wizard had appeared, Harry smiled, "Professor, what's wrong?" He asked, still wondering why it was that they were all so freaked out over something that could only be magical.

Dumbledore smiled gently, "Harry, you're speaking Parseltongue again." He said and Harry blinked as he looked over at the dragon, which looked at him with a questioning look in her slitted eyes.

Harry shrugged, focusing on speaking human tongue, "My mistake, I didn't know." He said and Charlie's eyes widened, "Though I'm surprised she can understand Parseltongue, I thought that was just snakes." Harry said before placing a hand on his chin, "Of course, it isn't very clear, I have to concentrate or she doesn't make sense."

"Really?" Asked one of the handlers sarcastically, making the dragon snarled once again, causing wands to be raised, which caused Harry to narrow his eyes as a red light shot from his own wand, smacking one of the handlers in the chest once again.

"Stop raising your wands at her, she's pretty pissed you moved her clutch and still threaten her." Harry said as he then turned to the dragon, "Stop growling, you're doing more harm than good. I won't let them harm you." He said and the dragon eyed him before placing its big head on the ground, though her tail still twitched behind her.

The handlers all looked at the dragon in shock as Harry snapped at them, "Now, I want to know what's going to be done about my score. I'll have this dragon leave when she's ready and no longer feels threatened." He said as he placed a hand upon the snout of the Hungarian Horntail. The handlers and Dumbledore seemed surprised before Dumbledore smiled.

"It would seem that young Mr. Potter has this under control, Charlie, please have your handlers go back to the ready area so Mr. Potter may see his scores." He said.

Charlie seemed to want to protest but he nodded his head as he turned to his remaining handler, telling him to take the other two stunned handlers to the first aid tent.

"Harry," Charlie began. Harry felt a spark of anger at the man for not at least warning him once he knew Harry was a champion, "My bosses are going to want to talk to you about this." He said.

The Horntail growled low, which summed up Harry's feelings readily enough, "Tell your bosses that I don't right care what they want." He said calmly to Charlie's face, "You just had one of your dragons try to kill me, all because you think they're stupid animals." Harry left out the part he thought the Horntail next to him was a baser animal until just a few minutes ago as well. "I wouldn't talk to them even if they were the last people on te planet." He declared which brought a frown to Charlie's face.

"You know that we are going to have to subdue her to move her back to where she's supposed to go, right?" he said.

Harry shrugged, "Not while I'm here, she calls me Protector for some reason, and I won't let you harm an animal simply because you want to use her for amusement." He declared.

"I am sorry Harry, but she must be moved, she is too great a risk to leave here." Dumbledore said.

Harry looked over at the dragon and chuckled lightly, "You're not a risk to the kids learning magic are you?" He asked with amusement in his tone. The dragon snorted once before her growl answered him, "She says she will not harm anyone who doesn't attack her, or her eggs." Harry said as the dragon fixed the handlers with a fierce gaze.

Even Dumbledore seemed surprised that Harry had asked the question of the dragon, neither had expected the answer she gave and Harry finally grew tired of their questions, hearing the crowd grow impatient. "Shouldn't we resolve this in front of a smaller group, not the entire Wizarding World?" Harry asked offhandedly, which caused both older wizards to nod as Charlie headed back to the ready area while Dumbledore disappeared back to the judges panel. To be honest, Harry wasn't even worried about the score since he wasn't interested in his standing in the tournament, he had participated and that was all he needed to do, that didn't mean he wouldn't return the favor he had been handed by the other Champions though.

Harry turned to the dragon sitting next to him and smiled at the yellow eye that was fixed upon him, "I like you, Speaker." The dragon grumbled out and Harry reached out, scratching the dragon on her tender snout, drawing a rumbling from her chest that had Harry smiling wider, "I like you too." Harry replied, making the dragon's rumbling increase.

Harry looked up later to find that they had hurried the audience away, obviously keeping even his worried lovers and friends away from him. Harry turned to the dragon and spoke Parseltongue once again, drawing her attention. She growled out her response and Harry raised his wand, a swish and a flick with the muttered incantation had the dragon looking at the rock Harry was now levitating. The dragon reached a paw out, pressing down upon the rock with a part of her weight resting upon it, causing Harry to strain against the weight he was suddenly under but the rock continued floating above the ground. The dragon growled once again before she shifted and let Harry drop the rock. Harry smiled at the handlers and their bosses as the headmaster/mistresses stood by, "Wingardium Leviosa!" Harry incanted before he mounted his broom and the boy, a dragon, and the dragon's clutch of eggs suddenly rose into the clouds and disappeared towards the mountains surrounding Hogwarts.

XxXxX

Harry groaned as he mounted his broom once again, hearing the dragon's farewell tickle his ears, he smiled as he looked at the cave the dragon had chosen as a nesting ground.

He knew that the dragon was a dangerous creature, and truly, he had no plans on leaving the dragon there for too long. As soon as the young could fly and hunt, which was all the dragon mother had wanted for her young in the first place, he had managed to get the mother to agree to travel with him, after the school year was over, to wherever the reserve was to let her young grow and multiply.

Harry was reluctant to argue against the dragon, especially since having a nest of dragons nearby would certainly be a useful tool against Voldemort's eventual return. Harry was more practical than that, there wasn't enough game to sustain the dragons for longer than he had promised the dragon mother. Listening to Hagrid go on and on about how he wanted a dragon here, Harry knew a lot about the surrounding land where it concerned dragons and exactly how well inserting one into the local wildlife would go over.

Harry kicked off and rose into the cloud bank quickly, letting a smile overtake his face as he enjoyed the light drizzle that he felt from the water laden clouds. Harry didn't stay up there long but, when he came back down, he felt the dew on his clothes. He shivered lightly from the cold but turned his broom and shot off towards Hogwarts' castle, lit up by its enormous lights and a beacon to where he had to go before it got too dark and predators big enough to pick him from the sky took to the air in an attempt to hunt him.

Harry landed on the ground near the entrance to the castle proper and the sounds coming from the Great Hall indicated he had spent the entire day with the dragon, since dinner was probably going on.

Harry was now faced with a choice, make a scene by entering into the Great Hall soaked and looking like he had just flown through a rainstorm, or go to the kitchens and hope he could figure out how to get through the entrance. Either way, he was rather sure if he didn't eat dinner, there would be a party with the Twins in Gryffindor Tower after dinner anyways. As such, he decided he had made enough impressions on Hogwarts and their guests already; he really didn't need to create a bigger fuss than he already did. As a result, he quickly marched past the Great Hall's doors and towards a side passage. Taking the steps down carefully, Harry soon found himself in front of a picture of fruit sitting in a silver bowl.

Harry stared at the picture, dripping on the floor, for close to five minutes before he said, "Food." Harry waited expectantly and shook his head slightly before saying, "Entrance."

Again, Harry was quiet for a moment before he began rambling off terms and names of places, and candy because of Dumbledore's love of sweets. However, no matter what he said, the entrance remained sealed and unassuming to Harry. Soon enough, Harry had gotten fed up with it and shouted, "Lemon Drops!" Before he turned and began to move away from the entrance, only to hear it creak open behind him.

Harry stopped and looked back only to blink in surprise as a familiar wrinkly face showed itself, "Mr. Harry Potter Sir!" Dobby squeaked out, before he ran out the kitchen and launched himself at his self-acclaimed defendant. Harry grunted as the small body of Dobby collided with his own, sending them both to the floor.

Harry chuckled as Dobby looked up at him with shining bright eyes the size of a doe, "Mr. Harry Potter sir, I is being so happy you's is coming to sees me." He blubbered and Harry shook his head gently as he reached out and patted the elf's head softly, much like he would a child's.

"It's nice to see you as well Dobby." Harry responded but Dobby's doe-like eyes only seemed to enlarge even further as he blubbered into Harry's sodden clothes. Harry smiled indulgently as he let Dobby compose himself before standing and asking, "So, you're working in the kitchens Dobby?"

Dobby nodded emphatically before dragging him into the room, which, despite Harry's amazing day, still managed to amaze him. The large room was designed as a replica of the Great Hall, which must be above them according to the way dishes were floating up and down from the four tables set up in this room. Harry looked around, his eyes sweeping the large room with an inquisitive eye as he noticed the hundreds of House Elves working to prepare, clean, and send off each of the dishes the entire population of Hogwarts, and their guests, enjoyed daily. Harry managed about three steps before the House Elves noticed his presence and then he got only one step more before he was beset upon by half of the House Elves, each bowing lowly and wishing him a good day while simultaneously asking exactly how they could help him.

Harry smiled at them all even as Dobby tried to free him from being swarmed, "Thank you for your offers but please don't worry about me." Harry said and the House Elves all gasped, bowed low at the words of praise, and retreated to their previous work, leaving Harry flustered and Dobby huffing.

"Thank yous so much Harry Potter sir!" Dobby said. It didn't take long for Harry to be told Dobby's story, how the Elf had traveled for almost two years before he found employment here at Hogwarts, all because he demanded payment for his service. Harry smiled as he heard this and knew Hermione would love to hear the story, but he did note the dark glances the rest of the elves sent Dobby when he loudly proclaimed he was being paid.

He met Winky, whom was not taking her departure from the Crouch household well, and then managed to get food from the more than willing Elves before beating a hasty retreat to the Gryffindor tower, but not before Dobby extracted a promise for Harry to revisit him and to allow Dobby to visit Harry.

As Harry walked towards the Gryffindor tower, he finally felt that sense of relief that the First Task had finally ended. Up until now, he had been keeping himself busy, talking with the dragon, getting side-tracked during his flight, and then talking with Dobby, which had left him unable to relax and he was suddenly extremely happy that he had survived his ordeal with his life and - surprisingly for him - no injuries to speak of.

Harry's eyes suddenly brightened as his steps grew hurried, the feeling of dread he had the past few days after getting over the glow of having shagged Katie, was finally gone and he wanted to see his lovers once again, to bask in their glow and their love without the First Task hanging over his head. He wanted to look them each in the eyes as he slowly kissed them, held them, and loved them. Harry barely realized the fact that he was now dashing towards his common room, the burning need to hold his loves in his arms and whisper softly in their ears the words they had been waiting far too long for him to tell them out loud.

Harry skidded to a halt in front of the Fat Lady, his chest heaving as he gasped out the current password, "Balderdash." The Fat Lady began to swing open, and Harry could swear she was taking extra long just because he was really excited to see his loves.

Slowly, inch by inch, the Fat Lady swung open and Harry dashed forward as soon as he felt he could fit through the opening behind her, squeezing himself through the slowly opening hole and gasping as he finally fit through and stumbled slightly as he entered his Common Room.

Harry's eyes beheld the Common Room for close to a half a second before he was suddenly attacked by a body. All Harry registered as the feminine yell, "Harry!" which rang in his ears as the rest of the Common Room burst into cheers. Harry, still reeling from his dash to the room, reacted instinctively as he felt the female body crushing it to him; he closed his eyes as his head moved, while he also tilted the head of his love and placing his lips against hers. Harry moaned as he pressed himself intensely against her. It took him a few moments before he realized that the body in his arms had frozen and the lips he was expecting to be attacking his own were inert.

Slowly, Harry opened his eyes to take in the surprised and hooded look from the brown-eyed woman in his arms. Harry blinked as he realized the silence now engulfing the Common Room behind him. Harry removed his lips from the brown-eyed girls' lips and opened his mouth to apologize when he was suddenly on the ground, the left side of his face throbbing from the punch he had just received.

Harry groaned as he looked up from his position on the floor, only to see Neville standing next to Hermione, his eyes blazing as he stared at Harry, his arm still outstretched from the punch he had sent at Harry. Harry's lips twitched, the situation seemed like a happy one to him, the very sight of Neville's audacity in protecting Hermione was certainly something Harry would never have expected before his relationship with Hermione. That happiness disappeared the moment Neville turned his burning gaze to Hermione, a questioning look in his face before he turned again and left the common room in silence.

Harry ran his tongue through his mouth before spitting out the blood glob he had from the vicious punch as he brought himself up from the ground. Harry looked at the blood, which was soaking into the gold of the carpets of the Common Room, and felt a rush of pride at how much his friend had changed.

Harry sighed lightly as his high was dashed from that catastrophe and he saw the panic in Hermione's eyes as the Common Room slowly began to unfreeze. "Don't worry Hermione; I'll take care of it." He said lowly as he moved past her and towards the portrait hole Neville had just left out of. Harry exited the portrait hole to, "Bloody Hell!" from a very familiar voice.

Harry's eyes turned to the left and then the right before the Fat Lady spoke quietly from behind him, "Left." Harry nodded his thanks before moving silently through the corridors. Harry had a tough time tracking his friend from the odd pattern the man took. Eventually, Harry followed his friend to a deserted corridor, and managed to stop him with a, "Neville."

Neville stopped walking but didn't turn around. Harry stepped closer to his friend, wary of his anger, as attested to by the forming bruise and bloody mouth he was sporting. The two stood in silence for a few minutes before Neville turned to Harry, his eyes blazing much like Harry's when he got angry. "How long?" He asked quietly and Harry's eyes widened.

"Neville, you're the barmiest bloke around you know that?" Harry asked just as quietly. Neville's eyes blazed but Harry faced him down with a cool gaze, "What exactly do you think I was doing in there?" Harry asked him.

"Snogging MY girlfriend!" Neville yelled back.

Harry shook his head, "Really?" he asked skeptically, "Cause it felt like pressing my lips against a board, Hermione froze the second I kissed her." Harry admitted to Neville's slowly disappearing blaze. Neville's mouth opened to retort but Harry wouldn't let him, "I don't even like Hermione like that." He told Neville honestly, "When we cleared the air between us, I asked her if she wanted to try for something more and she told me she didn't want to." Neville's eyes widened, "So, I told her to try you out and see if she might like you," Neville's anger had mostly disappeared at this point, his eyes were locked on Harry's cool stare, "Now why would I tell her to try to date you if I wanted her myself?" Harry asked quietly, "Do you think I would be so low as to cheat on my best mate with his girl behind his back Neville?" Harry accused lowly.

Neville did have the grace to look a bit sheepish at this but his anger was still simmering as he retorted, "I don't know Harry, I didn't think I needed to worry about you SNOGGING my girl in front of everyone else." He said.

Harry rolled his eyes, "I was a bit relieved to be alive Neville," He admitted, "I actually thought Alicia or Angelina would have been the ones to hug me like that, I totally forgot Hermione likes to show her approval through hugs." He said with a small smile.

For a moment, Neville seemed to regard Harry before the guy's eyes softened and he frowned, "I'm sorry." He said and Harry smiled.

"I'm not the one you need to say sorry to, I deserve to be punched for kissing your girl." Harry said cheekily and then coughed as he flinched, "I forgot how much Hermione's bear hugs hurt." Harry smiled as he moved a bit tenderly, poking at a rib where Hermione's arms had wrapped around him.

Neville laughed lightly as he stepped closer, "Really Harry, I'm sorry." He reiterated, and continued before Harry could say anything, "I shouldn't have reacted like that… it's just..." He trailed off and looked away.

"You saw red?" Harry supplied as his own eyes glazed over, thinking of how he would react if he saw any of his girls being kissed by anyone else, "There was this angry red haze that tinged everything and you couldn't think straight beyond hurting the one who was kissing your girl and wondering why your girl wasn't pushing him away. Every insecurity you never want to admit to having surging to the surface, all cloying for attention."

Neville stared into Harry's eyes and nodded, for another moment, the both of them stood in silence before, "I love her." Neville said quietly and Harry nodded. Another moment of silence before, "You love them." Neville said just as quietly and Harry didn't hesitate a moment as his own head nodded in agreement.

Harry and Neville clasped hands and they both stared into each others eyes as a bond was formed, one which was stronger than their best mates, the two were bonded by a form of camaraderie that was beyond anything they had ever felt before. For a moment, the two shared a deep connection before Harry clapped Neville on the back, "We're screwed aren't we?" Harry asked rhetorically and Neville chuckled as he replied.

"Totally." With those reassuring words, the two love-struck teenagers made their way back to their Common Room, and their loves.

A/N: Here it is, less time between updates and I hope you like my unique twist on the First task.

Before anyone says anything about the speaking, it's not Dragon's speaking Parseltongue. It's like someone speaking in Latin and someone else speaking in a latin-based language. I know that's a horrible analogy but it's the best I could think of. Parseltongue is the base which allows dragons to understand Harry. But Harry only has basic understanding of the Dragon, plus the Dragon isn't a Human-level intelligence. Harry understands the dragon only to an extent, just as you would only understand someone else to an extent. It's the intent that Harry gets and that allows him to work with the dragon, hence the reason the dragon grasped that there was a fake egg immediately.