Harry stepped into the rocky arena behind Evelyn and felt a wave of magic wash over him. A heavy silence filled the air, and he realized there must have been a silencing ward set up over the area, a smart precaution, as dragons were notoriously sensitive to loud sounds. He could sense a few other wards as well, but he put them out of his mind for the moment.

"Whoa," Evelyn whispered, staring across the rocks. There, perched on the far side of the stadium, was the Horntail. It glared straight back at them with narrowed yellow eyes, taking in every minute detail of the two insignificant creatures that dared enter her domain. Powerful claws kneaded the stones beneath them, shredding the earth as if it were made of snow. Massive leathery wings were half extended, bathing a significant portion of the arena in shadow.

A heavy iron collar was wrapped around the beast's neck, attached to a massive chain that would prevent the dragon from moving more than a few dozen yards in any direction. Harry noted the glistening runes that were carved in the collar and each individual link in the chain. The runes on the links were exclusively strengthening enchantments, since normal iron would be about as effective as tying the creature up with tissue paper, though the ones on the collar were notably more complex. He couldn't make out the exact enchantments used, though he could tell that they were mainly a combination of magic and intelligence damping.

"Evelyn," he spoke softly, "those runes on the collar will weaken both the dragon's fire and intelligence. That means you'll be able to trick it like you would any animal." The girl next to him nodded firmly, though her face was still pale. "Watch the countdown," he noted as Dumbledore's wand raised, a silvery ribbon twisting into the number ten and counting downwards.

When the ribbon twisted into a zero, Evelyn immediately cast engorgement charms on several stones near her feet and banished them as far to the left side of the arena as she could. The dragon's eyes latched onto the flying boulders in an instant, and it roared as they crashed into the ground. It shifted its stance towards where they landed, opening its massive jaws to release a gout of flames. Evelyn darted towards the left as a jet of red flames bathed the stones, melting the edges into slag in seconds.

She flicked her want at the ground in front of her, raising a short wall of rock that she slid behind to take a moment to catch her breath. The flames had stopped pouring from the dragon's maw, and it shifted as it realized there had been nothing there. Its nostrils twitched as it sniffed the air, and it growled as it turned towards Evelyn's hiding place.

The girl cursed as she realized she'd forgotten to cast a scent-masking charm, and she quickly remedied that with a wave of her wand and a muttered incantation. However, the dragon wouldn't be dissuaded that easily not that it had caught a scent. A low rumble emanated from its throat, and it began slowly moving towards the small wall that was protecting her from its sight.

A small explosion sounded from the other side of the arena, and the dragon whirled with a speed that should have been impossible for something of its size. It lashed out with another burst of flames, followed by both of its forelegs crashing down on the offending source of the sound. Harry grinned as he watched Evelyn take advantage of the distraction caused by her blasting hex and move towards the nest again, now less than half the distance that she'd started from.

"Great Scott!" Bagman exclaimed, his voice reverberating through the crowd, "Evelyn Potter has managed to trick the Hungarian Horntail again, and now she's nearly within reach of the nest! None of the other champions managed to get this close so quickly, but will she manage to keep up this pace?"

Lily squeezed James' hand as if her life depended on it, eyes following each motion of her daughter as she faced off against an honest-to-Merlin dragon. What on earth were the organizers of the tournament thinking, sending up underage students to tackle one of the deadliest magical creatures known to wizardkind?

"She's doing well so far, Lils," James said quietly. "She just needs to keep it distracted, she'll be totally fine."

"Go Eve!" shouted Adrian from James' other side, "Kick that dragon's scaly butt!" James chuckled and turned to his son.

"You do realize she's not supposed to fight it, right?" he asked with a grin on his face.

"She could if she wanted to, I bet," he answered back with a fierce look on his face. "She's—"

"She's moving again," Lily commented quietly. Eve had thrown another boulder across the arena, drawing the dragon's ire away once more. While it was distracted, she scrambled over the uneven ground, skirting the edge of a crevasse. She transfigured yet another small rock wall but lost her footing on the edge of the ravine just as she was ducking behind it. A shower of loose gravel slid down the incline with a clatter. Lily gasped as the dragon's head snapped towards her daughter, though she managed to pull herself behind the barrier before the dragon could spot her.

"She's okay, Lils, she's okay," James said quietly. "She just needs to distract it one more time, then she's home free."

The crowd quieted now as the Horntail scanned the area near Evelyn carefully, muscles visibly tensing beneath the black scales as the yellow eyes flicked back and forth. "It looks like our fourth and final champion of the day has found herself in a bit of a bind!" Bagman called out to the crowds. "She is now within sight of her objective, but how will she manage to get to it?" Lily shot a venomous look at Bagman for making a spectacle of her daughter facing off against such a dangerous creature.

"She'll be okay, Lily. She's smart, she'll get out of this," James assured her. Lily hoped he was right.

Evelyn tried desperately to control her breathing, knowing the dragon was just waiting for a target. With a flick of her wand, she conjured a tiny mirror near the edge of her barricade and glanced into it. For a moment, she thought it was broken for some reason, but she soon realized she was just looking at the inky black hide of the Horntail.

A flick of her wand levitated a boulder to her side, and she tossed it away from her makeshift shelter. She heard a roar and a crash before she was showered in a rain of dust. Another glance in the mirror showed nothing but blue sky, so she chanced a peek around the other side of the rock wall. The dragon was distracted now, looking towards where she'd thrown the boulder. Apparently, the beast had smashed the rock straight out of the air with a flick of its tail.

The dragon was now completely clear of its nest and Evelyn could see a glint of gold among the white eggs. She threw another blasting hex to the opposite end of the arena to keep the Horntail distracted, then transfigured a stone next to the nest, turning it into a large arm. It wasn't particularly defined, but it would do the job. Another flick of her wand had the hand grasping the egg, then it threw it towards her. The golden egg arced smoothly through the air, throwing off gold light in every direction as it spun. She reached out her off-hand and caught it easily.

An ear-splitting roar split the air, and Evelyn felt her blood freezing in her veins. As quickly as she could, she transfigured the largest rock wall she could manage. The next moment, red flames were licking around the edges as the dragon bathed the wall in its scorching breath. She started sweating immediately and threw as much additional material on the barrier as she could. When the dragon stopped its assault for a moment, she launched another boulder towards it as she dashed towards the exit. She threw up another wall a few seconds later, having made it more than halfway to the line that marked the end of her task.

A massive tail crashed through it as if it weren't even there, and Evelyn felt a burning pain as she fell to the ground and a spike sliced her right calf open. The dragon had reached the end of its restraints and was unable to bring its head any closer, but the long tail just managed to close the distance. Evelyn managed to throw another blasting hex at the monster's wing, drawing out a cry as several tears opened in the membrane. Taking full advantage of its distraction, she scrambled to her feet and limped towards the exit, throwing a few smaller boulders behind her as she moved.

Professor Blackwood was only a few yards away from her now, standing just behind the line that marked the official end of the first task. With renewed vigor, she turned and transfigured one last wall, pouring every ounce into the spell to make it as thick as possible. Without pausing to see if it would hold against the Horntail's onslaught, she took a running leap towards her advisor, her leg crumpling beneath her as she landed.

Professor Blackwood immediately raised his wand and summoned an impossibly solid-looking shield between the dragon and them. A blast of flames struck the shield moments later as the Horntail strained against its restraints, but they just slid past with no effect. A few seconds later, a veritable hail of spells launched at the dragon from the opposite as the dragon handlers swarmed the arena, allowing her to finally take a deep breath as its focus was dragged away once more.

"Well done," Blackwood said, letting down the shield once he was certain the dragon was fully distracted. "A little dicey at the end there, but well done nonetheless."

"Thanks," she said with some effort, groaning as she tried to stand. He caught her arm as she was about to fall again.

"Let's get you to Madam Pomfrey, shall we?" he suggested as she sagged against him. The adrenaline was starting to fade from her body, letting the burning pain come back into focus. "We can get your scores—"

Evelyn looked up at him as he seemed to freeze, his eyes staring into the distance.

Something was wrong. He could feel magic in the air, magic that shouldn't be there. It was somehow familiar, but it set him immediately on edge.

"Professor?" Evelyn's voice cut through his thoughts, "are you okay?"

There was a quiet sound, almost unnoticeable at first, but getting louder each second. Harry recognized it only seconds later, and his eyes widened dramatically. He let go of Evelyn's arm and spun on his heel, his hand lifting and conjuring another powerful shield with mere seconds to spare.

With the sound of shattering glass, the wards surrounding the arena flared visibly for an instant before breaking, bright strands of magic lingering in the air. With the sound of rushing wind, a wave of magic washed over the shield he'd conjured. At the same time, the runes in the Horntail's collar sparked dramatically. With the distraction of the breaking wards slowing the onslaught of spells from the handlers, the dragon wrenched its head to one side and ripped the collar off.

The Horntail let out a rage-filled roar. In stark contrast to the animalistic cries it had let out during the task, this was the call of an intelligent creature that felt personally offended by what was happening. The dragon turned to the group of handlers that were trying to bring it down and unleashed a continuous pillar of white-hot flames that was barely held back by the combined effort of all six wizards. Another ear-splitting roar ripped through the air, followed closely by the dragon's tail whipping towards the handlers. Two of them went flying as they failed to shield in time, crashing into the walls of the arena with a sickening crunch.

"Evelyn," Harry said quietly, "get into the tent, get the other champions, and run."

"What are you going to do?" she asked, struggling to stand on her bleeding leg.

"Don't worry about it," he answered, attempting to formulate a plan. "Go. Now." Evelyn paused for another second, then turned and limped quickly towards the tent.

Now that she was out of the way, Harry turned back to the dragon. Only four handlers were still standing, but they looked significantly worse for wear after the last attack. He saw a golden dome wrapping around the stands, connected by thin strands of magic to the wand that Dumbledore was lifting above his head. Karkaroff and Maxime had their wands raised as well, no doubt bolstering Dumbledore's shield.

Harry flicked his wand into his hand and cast several masking spells over the champions tent that would hopefully prevent the dragon from focusing on it. In the rock in front of him, he carved the same rune he'd used in his fight with Barty Crouch, Jr. before flooding it with a significant amount of magic. With any luck, it would prevent any stray flames from the dragon from reaching the tent. With that finished, Harry began slowly making his way back into the arena.

"Saphira," he hissed softly, "I may need your help here." The small snake poked her head out of the collar of his robes, tongue flicking out of her mouth.

"That," she said softly, "is a large beast."

"It's a dragon," Harry said softly. "Do you reckon it's about the size of your basilisk form?"

"It does look that way," Saphira responded. "We have to fight that thing? You do realize I can't breathe fire, right?"

"Your fangs are pretty big, I think you'll be fine," Harry responded, doing his best to keep his voice light. "Hopefully we won't need to do anything. Just be ready." Cautiously, Harry made his way to the side, so the tent was no longer directly behind him. If he did end up drawing the dragon's ire, he didn't want the tent to get caught in the crossfire. He continued his movement until he was roughly between the tent and the stands, with only the Forbidden Forest behind him.

The handlers continued to put up a fight, but there were now only three wizards left. From what he could tell, another of them had passed out from magical exhaustion while defending against another blast of flames. The dragon, now free from its chains, was slowly moving towards the small group, and Harry could tell it was preparing for the death blow.

Charlie Weasley prided himself on his skill as a dragon handler, but even he knew that he was in over his head. It normally took at least fifteen handlers to take down a dragon, or more if it were a particularly dangerous species or in a rage, both of which were true here. He knew the handlers for the other dragons were no doubt working as fast as they could, but it would take time to drag them back into an enchanted sleep, time that he wasn't certain they had. Only two of his coworkers were still standing next to him, and it was taking all they had just to prevent the dragon from squashing them like insects.

The Horntail's wings unfurled, throwing a massive shadow over them. With a massive flap, the dragon pulled itself onto its rear legs, buffeting them with a concussive blast as it did so. Two massive forelimbs the size of tree trunks lifted dozens of feet in the air as it prepared to crush its opposition.

"Everyone, shield, now!" Charlie yelled. They all cast their most powerful shields as the dragon came crashing down. Charlie gasped as he felt his magic draining as the massive claws scraped down his shield, and he fell to one knee. The dragon stepped back slightly to survey the damage it had caused, and Charlie cursed when he only saw one other shield.

"Damn it, where are the rest?" Charlie shouted out to his one remaining companion.

"We need to move back, or we're done for," he answered, backpedaling as quickly as he could, dragging an unconscious body along with him.

"We can't let the dra—look out!" Charlie shouted as a shadow fell over them once again. They both threw up shields in an instant, bracing themselves against what he fully expected to be the killing blow.

It took three seconds for him to realize he was still standing, and he opened his eyes. He blinked several times, unable to comprehend what was happening in front of him.

A massive snake had dragged the Horntail back away from the stands and the handlers, causing the Horntail to fall on one of its own outspread wings with its full weight. A shriek of pain ripped through the air as the bones snapped under the two beasts' titanic weight. With a hiss that sounded like it came from everywhere at once, the snake lunged forwards and sank its teeth into the base of the Horntail's throat.

"That wasn't part of the task, was it?" Charlie asked in bewilderment. His companion could only shake his head wordlessly.

Harry was sprinting around the edge of the arena, carving runes in the stones every dozen yards or so and flooding them with magic as Saphira wrestled with the Horntail. After he made it nearly halfway around the ring, he conjured a Patronus and instructed Dumbledore to start evacuating the students to the castle in small groups. He was confident that his wards would hold the Horntail long enough for small groups to get to the castle.

That done, he turned to the fight raging in the center of the arena and winced as he took in the damage. Saphira was still coiled around the Horntail's chest, constricting it enough that it was unable to breathe any fire, but the dragon's claws were still deadly weapons that it was using to great effect on Saphira's green and black scales. Tears had been opened all along the length of her body, blood slowly flowing out of them.

As bad off as Saphira looked, the Horntail looked worse. One wing was completely crushed, dragging across the ground as the two wrestled for superiority. Saphira had clearly bitten the beast multiple times on the neck where black ichor was dripping from several puncture marks. The venom now running through its veins was slowing its movements down, though its natural magic was burning it off too quickly for the venom to actually kill it.

Harry began throwing cutting curses towards the dragon, carving shallow furrows in its hide. They weren't deep enough to even cut through the scales, but Harry continued casting with carefully aimed spells. A grin spread across his lips as he saw his opening.

"Saphira," he hissed as loudly as he could, "you've got about fifteen seconds to get the hell out of there." A wordless hiss was his only response, but it was clearly an affirmative. With a nod to himself, Harry pointed his wand towards the dragon and intoned clearly, "Fulgus." A bolt of lightning leaped from his wand and crossed the distance between them in a split second.

Unknown to the majority of magic-users, lightning was an extremely effective method of channeling magic over any significant distance. Without physical contact, magic lost most of its energy after traveling only a few feet. Lightning, however, could carry that same energy for much larger distances before dissipating. Harry was taking advantage of this fact to charge up the rune he'd carved into the dragon's scales.

Unfortunately, he could feel the magic overwhelming the wards on his makeshift wand. With a curse, he dropped the wand before it could burst into flames and continued channeling the spell through his hands. He could see a faint glow building up in the makeshift rune and knew he was getting close.

"Five seconds, Saphira," he called out.

Albus Dumbledore could feel beads of sweat gathering on his brow and upper lip as he continued to hold an Aegis Maxima over the entirety of the stands. After Nicolaus' Patronus arrived, they'd begun intermittently sending small groups of students back to the castle, starting with the first- and second-years, though he was unwilling to keep the shield down for more than a few seconds at a time on the off chance Nicolaus' defenses couldn't hold the dragon back.

He'd been just as baffled as the rest of the school when a massive basilisk had appeared out of thin air and attacked the dragon, and he'd thought it was an illusion for a few seconds, at least until the two creatures began biting and scratching each other. Once he realized it was real, he'd slightly modified his shield so that it shimmered like water, which should prevent any accidental deaths from the beast's gaze. It had taken some time for him to puzzle it out, but eventually he came to the conclusion that his newest staff member had gotten into the Chamber of Secrets with his unique familiar.

Cursing his oversight, Albus reached through his bond with Fawkes and asked him to begin evacuating the youngest students from the stands. Only seconds later, a burst of flames appeared nearby, taking a student along with it as it faded. A tense smile danced across his lips for an instant before he refocused on the task at hand.

Albus was amazed for the second time that day when the basilisk suddenly vanished, replaced by what looked like a ghost. In seconds, a massive, silvery serpent had flown clear of the Horntail, which was roaring as it struggled to its feet. Apparently, Nicolaus' familiar had had enough. He frowned, knowing that the dragon would likely turn either to the man throwing lightning at it or to the stands holding the students.

The next few seconds demonstrated to Albus that he should get used to surprise when it came to Nicolaus Blackwood. A final pulse of lightning leaped from Nicolaus' hands, and Albus could now see a faint glow on the dragon's scales. The glow intensified over the next few seconds, and the dragon swayed on its feet almost as if it were drunk. A weak sound slipped from the beast's maw, almost pitiful in a way, before it slumped onto its chest, eyelids sagging.

Harry gasped for breath as he struggled to keep himself upright. The dragon had collapsed, hopefully long enough for the rest of the dragon handlers to arrive, but Harry was exhausted, more so than he'd been in quite a while. If he hadn't put enough power into the rune, there would be precious little he could do to slow it down. He felt a slight weight settle over his shoulders as Saphira landed on him, and he immediately reached up to her.

"You did an amazing job," he complimented her as she wound around his wrist. "Hold still a moment, I'll see if I can heal some of these scratches." Her wounds looked significantly less severe in her smaller form, but several of them could be fatal if they weren't treated quickly. Harry wrapped his free hand around her gently and forced his depleted core to start healing her. Faint golden light emanated from his hands, and he sighed in relief as he saw the worst of the wounds sealing over with slightly shinier scales.

"That itches," Saphira hissed softly. "I'm gonna have to shed at least a week early now."

"I'm just glad you're alright," Harry answered as the magic faded from his hands. "There's still some scratches, but I don't think I can do anything about them right now." Everything in front of him was swimming now, as if he were looking through a wall of water. Distantly, he registered that there were now quite a few people gathered around the Horntail and concluded that the rest of the dragon handlers must have arrived. As his vision faded to black, he could have sworn he felt hands softening his fall.

"We need a healer!" Evelyn shouted as she caught Professor Blackwood just before his head struck the rocky ground. Whatever he'd done to the dragon had been enough for the handlers to completely subdue it without much effort, and the professors from each school were now evacuating the remainder of the students to the school as quickly as they could, though a large number had already been taken back. She, the other champions, and the other advisors had been watching the events unfold from the relative safety of their tent, unwilling to do anything that could draw the ire of the Horntail.

As soon as the other handlers had shown up, Evelyn had dashed from the tent towards her advisor, heedless of the shouts from Madame Pomfrey and the other adults. As she approached, she could have sworn she saw him speaking, but there was nobody nearby that he could've been speaking to. She could see him swaying on his feet as he glanced dazedly around the arena, barely making it in time to catch him.

Madame Pomfrey arrived only a few seconds later and began levitating him out of the arena. "Come with me, Ms. Potter, we need to get out of here," she instructed, bustling towards the castle already. Showing remarkable skill, she conjured a Patronus while keeping Blackwood in the air. "Tell Albus that we need to contact St. Mungo's for a few extra healers," she told a silvery bird that Evelyn didn't recognize.

As they moved towards the castle, they were joined by several of the dragon handlers who were levitating their injured coworkers. Fortunately, the professors were keeping the entrance hall clear of students, allowing them to quickly make their way to the hospital wing. Pomfrey quickly settled Professor Blackwood on the bed closest to her office, then waved her wand several times at the fireplace. Seconds later, green flames flared to life, followed closely by the appearance of a witch and a wizard dressed in the long white robes of healers.

"What's the situation?" the wizard asked, sharp eyes taking in the hospital wing in seconds.

"Three cases of likely magical exhaustion," Pomfrey responded, pointing to Blackwood and two dragon handlers that had collapsed while shielding against the Horntail's attacks, "and two with severe blunt-force injuries." Here, she pointed at the two handlers that had been batted aside by the dragon's tail.

"I presume you'll be able to handle the magical exhaustion?" he asked again, already moving towards the injured handlers with his colleague in tow.

"Of course," she responded, flicking her wand and summoning several potions from a nearby cabinet. Evelyn watched quietly as Pomfrey quickly poured the potions into each of the wizard's mouths, following them up with a spell that forced them to swallow. "Ms. Potter, I need to grab several more volatile potions from my office, just watch these three and yell my name if anything happens." Evelyn started to nod, but Pomfrey whirled back to Blackwood's bed as he began to go into convulsions.

"Damn it, he's having a reaction to the potion," she muttered under her breath. "Ms. Potter, go to my office and grab one of the clear vials on the top shelf of the potions cabinet," she instructed as her wand danced over Blackwood's now thrashing body. Evelyn immediately ran into her office and frantically scanned the top shelf of the cabinet, eventually finding the clear ones on the right side. She rushed back out where Madame Pomfrey was rapidly casting spells, trying to prevent him from hurting himself. She snatched the vial from Evelyn's hand before she could even speak, unstopping it and taking a quick sniff. Satisfied that it was the correct potion, she poured it into Blackwood's mouth and made him swallow it. Moments later he stilled, breathing calmly again.

"What just happened?" Evelyn asked. Madame Pomfrey shook her head.

"I can't tell you, Ms. Potter, I'm a healer. I can't discuss this with anyone but him," she nodded toward the bed. "I need to check on the others for a moment, please just watch him for a few minutes and just call me over if anything changes." With that, she bustled off to check on the unconscious dragon handlers.

Evelyn nearly called her back as she saw Professor Blackwood's arm moving but realized a moment later that Saphira had just slid out of his sleeve. The snake moved onto his chest before transforming into a much larger snake that Blackwood once mentioned had been her companion for a time.

"Well, well, look who it is," the snake hissed softly as it surveyed the hospital wing. Evelyn glanced around to make sure nobody was nearby before leaning down to the snake.

"Hello, Saphira," she hissed back. The snake's head turned to face her quickly, and she could tell that Saphira was surprised.

"You are a speaker?" she asked hesitantly, a curious tone in her voice.

"I am," Evelyn replied, "I've known for a few years now. Was that… was that you fighting the dragon today?"

"It was," the snake answered after a brief pause. "Though I would ask that you don't tell anyone else, I'm sure the Ministry wouldn't appreciate a mere professor having a personal basilisk."

"I won't, I swear," Evelyn responded quietly. "Thank you for what you did today. Are you alright?"

"Ha—He healed me just before he passed out," Saphira said. "I'm fine now, though."

"Do you think—" Evelyn cut herself off as she saw Madame Pomfrey making her way back towards them.

"How is—is that a snake?" she asked in surprise.

"It's his familiar," Evelyn said quickly, "she was in his pocket and just came out."

"Very well," Pomfrey replied. "Ms. Potter, you should get back to your dorms, I'm sure your friends are worried about you and we have everything well in hand up here."

Evelyn considered arguing for a moment, but then realized she hadn't yet spoken to either her family or Hermione since the end of the task. Without another word, she stood and practically dashed from the room, leaving an amused Poppy Pomfrey and Saphira behind her.

Author's Note: Finally, the first task! Hope you all enjoy the chapter.