As the orders were dictated by the dragons, Krum will pa.s.s first, followed by Fleur, Alex, James, and finally Cedric. Since Rita wasn"t alive anymore and Barty hadn"t listened to him, it falls on the Quibbler to cover the Task as the Ministry hadn"t let other countries press organ enter the isle.Krum was sent to face his dragon, and everything happens like he know it had, only with another dragon and fewer eggs. What was different, though, rather to wailed at the loss of her eggs, the nesting mother vents her anger on the Bulgarian seeker. Even with the intervention of the handlers, the damage was already done the time they arrive.
Victor was evacuated to St.Mungos wards for a torn leg, the dragon was still snacking on it when he was taken out, and third-degree magical burn on is upper body. Needless to say that the boy career as seeker was finished. Even when they would be healed, scars would remain and he would have lost a great part of his two arms mobility from the half molten muscules. He would also have difficulty breathing with the slightest strenuous effort, so duels were also out.
It was only now that the previously cheering crowd understand why the blasted tournament has been stopped all those years ago, but it was too late now. Obviously, the British Ministry would have yet again to face its angry counterpart since they were the ones that came up with the Tasks.
When it was her turn, Fleur kissed Alex before taking out her wand and exit the tent to enter the arena. If before her attempts to put the dragon to sleep was efficient, it was nothing to her actual performance. Being now also a full-blooded magical creature, and a fellow female, her allure put the dragon at ease and made it more receptive to the spell. Not taking any chance, she circles around the slumbering beast in a wide arc, always keeping it in sight before retrieving her egg, being the first to complete the Task.
The third cannon blast was heard and Alex exit the tent, immediately hearing the crowd cheers at the girl performance, the tent being isolated for not giving them hint on how the other pa.s.s it.
"It now time for our third champion to make his way against his designated dragon, the Chinese fireball! How will he deal with it? Will we have our second champion complete his task, or will he fall to the jaws of the beast, mauled to death and roasted before being ingested?" He sweatdrops at the rather rapturous voice of the man at the last part.
"Did he hold a grudge?"
-I think he did.-
Before he could enter, a sudden cry silence the arena.
"The white hunt!" He didn"t know who it was but the then sudden cries of agony of the boy where bloodcurdling.
"Wait, no, please! Arg, not my eyes, please, not my eyes... Haaaaaa, my face! It hurt, please mommy! Haaaaaaaaa!"
Ten seconds later, he was pa.s.sed by a running Poppy Pomfrey with a levitating stretcher behind her with a Gryffindor boy moaning in pain. From the sight of it mangled face, his eyes seem to have been clawed out, seeing the wound around them, he was missing a part of his nose and half of his right ear, the left one, gone entirely.
When he enters the arena and looks around, he could see the scared crowd nervously looking all around them. In the upper part of the arena, groups of six white owls were standing proud, snapping at few students looking at them, who cower immediately. He could swear to have caught the glee in their eyes. Just on his right land Chione and her group, still bloodied from the raid on the moronic boy who has given away their arrival. He stroked her for a few seconds before looking in the center of the arena.
There, the Chinese fireball seems to look also around, curious at the vicious little thing that made shut up the biped. Like the rest of Britain, Bagman was frightened to be the target of a raid from the White hunt so he didn"t dare to comments the encounter as long as they stay. He couldn"t help but shiver at the sight of those fourteen groups of six owls. While the rest of Britain still don"t know they had taken down a squad of ten Aurors that had gone to take the raving beast down, only to return completely defeated and ashamed to have been so by avian.
One couldn"t fault it on them, as they have greater coordination between members of the flock, and the Children of Chione were as smart as their mother. It was unprepared Aurors that face the complete raid of eighty-four. When they had appeared in front of them, two complete flocks have to sneak on them and chopped off their wands with their claws the moment they take them out.
After then, it was like an adult picking on a child. Without wands, they could do nothing and due to their distressed state, they left behind body parts when the apparated away. It wouldn"t have been too much trouble had they came back for them to be fixed, but when they do so, the owls have already clean the scene, feeding them to Acromentulas in the forest.
So when the group of ten pop in the Atrium as if they just face war, it was the entire building that pours inside it to hear what happen. Regretfully for them, it was Moody guard turn to hold the office. When he learned that they lost several arms, legs, ears, and some most important male parts to birds, they were mauled down by the man, before sent to St.Mungo. That day the Ministry lost ten Aurors and the White Hunt was cla.s.sed at an x.x.xX threat to be ignored and vacate the premise on sight.
This has prompt a good laugh for the goblins and a feast throw in the honor of the warriors of Clan Evans to their ruthlessness.
As he had been in the Atrium at that time, Bagman had learned of it before the information was banned to exit the walls from the Minister itself, after all, Britain didn"t need another shameful defeat to spread to the international communities.
So, unlike the two others, Alex faced his dragon in complete silence. Not wanting to lose any more time on this joke, he transforms for the first time in public. The sudden apparition of a monstrously large, two meters high, six-meter long creature, with a tail doubling its length, was the last straws for more than once, and a good number of the younger years pa.s.sed out in fright.
The moment he opens slightly his maw, a bluish mist escape, and the temperature rapidly fall. With the period of the year nearing the coldest season, it rapidly falls in the negative and continues, frost starts to form on the wall of the arena and before the dragon could act due to it muddled mind in the cold, it was blasted with a concentrated fog-like thing from Alex.
The effect was immediate, frost spread on the scale of the cold-blooded beast, sending it in a hypothermiinducted sleep. Taking his human form again, he goes for the eggs, takes his own before casting a few strong incendiary charms on the beast. The moment he exits the arena and the handlers came rushing in, wand in hand to save it, the layer of ice has been melt and then still ongoing fire under it was rapidly raising its internal temperature, making it slowly awoke. Seeing that it wasn"t in danger, they take advantage of the situation and move it before it was fully awoken.
Since he was unharmed and Pomfrey hadn"t any sway on him, he stays to look at the performance of James. The boy came strutting in the Arena, but since the flock was still there, no one cheers on him, even then, with his actual social and political situation, not much would be cheering on him.
Put out by the lack of response, he looked around to see what was happening, a rather unwise choice when facing one of the meanest dragons. The second his look was on the bleachers, a large shadow cover him before a bright bluish red tongue of flame blast the ground where he was standing. The searing heat immediately melts his shoes, before igniting is pants, climbing higher until being somewhat stopped by his dragon hide jacket. Screaming in fright and pain, he wave widely his arms, throwing inadvertently the vial he was keeping in his sleeve. While he was rolling on the ground on pure pain, the Hungarian, that was descending on him, was readying another blast. But before he could do so, the vial hit one of his fangs, breaking and spill it content in its throat when he rears its head ready for the second blast.
When the potion made effect, the chest of the dragon suddenly contract, expelling the air inside its lungs, and cutting the flames before they erupt. Before anyone could cheer on this, physic rears its ugly head, and the compressed lungs immediately expend to enormous proportion, before being contracted one again by its thoracic muscles. The extra air brought had a devastating effect, and under the enhanced amount of oxygen, the flame turns to pure blue, incinerating completely his two legs.
Everything under mid-tight turns into ashes, the wound immediately closed under the searing heat and flames. Seeing that James had pa.s.sed out in the middle of the arena and was just a few feet far from the dragon, the handlers immediately invade the field. Regrettably, the potion effect hadn"t stopped, and worst had given the dragon hiccup. Under the affliction, several gout of enhanced fire were blasted all around, making five victims among the handlers before Alex intervene. A large wet roll of fabric fly and came to wrap around the snout of the dragon, keeping closed.
Deprived of oxygen, the beast soon lost consciousness. He takes off the charred fabric in order to not kill it. He acts no to save the handlers but because he knows they were going to go for the kill. When he sees the head handlers coming his way, Alex turns furious and lash.
"Mind explaining to us, how the boy was able to obtain a cla.s.sified potion to deal with fireball type creatures, supposed to be entirely in the hand of handlers? Who was responsible for them!"
The man was taken aback from the biting tone and subconsciously point to one of the corpses on the group. While the majority of the upper body has been either turned in ashes or completely burned, a tuft of orange-red was still visible.
"I should have known it was Weasley, it wouldn"t surprise me that he either give it to the boy, or the old goat before snuffle out. I know now why he was impatient to take his dragon and became white as a sheet when I take out the Chinese model." He says while exiting the arena, followed by the man.
"Excuse me, Heir Evans, but what was the cloth, to resist..."
"It wasn"t the cloth, but the goo it was imbibed in. It was a handmade one that I made just in case, but it was too weak to take the full blast of the Hungarian flames for more than a few bursts."
"Would you accept to sell the recipes to our reserve? Having it under hands could have and could save the life of my man when manning those beasts."
He daren"t keep his hope high as those sort of thing where heavily guarded secrets for their makers, any leaks of the formula would crush any hope of profit on it, but Alex wasn"t concerned by this, he wouldn"t stay for long, it didn"t matter for him.
"Have a chat with your boss, if the price is acceptable I don"t mind selling the formula.
"Thank you!" He immediately rushes to write the letter, leaving his men to take the bodies of their fallen comrades out of the arena.
It was in a subducted atmosphere that the unaware Puff made its way in the Arena. With mostly incinerated parts, not a single trace of blood was left on the ground, only a few charred parts left where any indication that something tragic just happens a few minutes ago. Warry of the vicious hunter he would be facing, he immediately transfigures few smalls animals from the surrounding rocks, letting them roam freely in the enclosure. While the dragon was distracted to chase after them, he goes for the egg, making it without being caught and rapidly depart once in hand. The Hebridean only caught him while he was on is way back. Furious, the dragon blast a jet of fire who strike the boy in the back, propelling him faster toward the exit at the cost of a badly damaged back. While not as important than of Krum, the damages where still heavy and he would need months of rest for the burn to heals. Like the seeker, he would lose a great deal of motricity as few muscules have melt and fuse together along with nerves, bones, and skin.
The result of the First task was a disaster, three crippled champions who would keep sequelae the rest of their life, five dead dragon handlers, while the only two completing their task where unharmed.