The First Task
‘Do you reckon a fourth year could perfect a Conjunctivitis Curse in under 48 hours?’
‘Maybe… bit difficult to find a volunteer to practise on though -’
‘He could distract it with something? Lure it away maybe?’
‘A nesting mother though, it'd have to be really enticing to get her off her eggs…’
They had been up since the crack of dawn, apparating to both the flat and Grimmauld Place for any books that might prove useful in advising Harry, and were now back in their room at the Hog's Head, skimming through books, brainstorming. There were options, sure, but the task was so soon -
‘- could he not just hide behind a rock or something? Wait for it to be over?’
‘Do you think Harry would settle for that?’
‘It’s lunchtime, let’s see if we can get hold of him.’
It was several minutes before Harry’s face appeared in the mirror.
‘Hey,’ he said, sounding slightly out of breath, ‘Sorry we’re just - we’re a bit busy -’
‘That’s OK,’ Sirius replied, his tone concerned, ‘We just wanted to check in about the dragons. We’ve been doing some research and-’
‘Oh no, don't worry about that,’ Harry said, ‘It’s fine, I have a plan. I was talking to Professor Moody and he said that all I have to do is get what I need so, yeah, Hermione is helping me. Are you guys any good at summoning charms?’
Sirius glanced over at Remus momentarily.
‘Yeah we know summoning charms, Harry. What is it you’re going to be summoning?’
‘My Firebolt!’ Harry said with a grin, ‘Moody made me realise I just need to play to my strengths, and he’s right, I am much faster on a broom than on foot so I think this is good, I just need to get my broomstick and then it’ll be fine.’
‘Moody told you to do this?’ Sirius was looking at Remus again, his brow furrowed.
‘Yeah, he said the other champions would be getting help from their teachers so -’ Harry broke off looking troubled for a moment, but then his expression cleared, ‘Anyway, I have got to go. Any tips for summoning?’
Sirius said nothing, he was still staring into the mirror, a look of concern on his face.
‘Just focus,’ Remus replied, ‘Concentrate hard on what you want, and some broad wandwork if it’s coming a long way.’
‘You’ll be there tomorrow?’ Harry said, turning to nod to someone across the room, Hermione presumably.
‘Of course.’
Harry disappeared from view and Sirius’ own face was reflected in the mirror he still held out in front of him.
‘Moody’s told him to fly past the dragon,’ he repeated, in a monotone voice.
‘I mean, he is very good at flying,’ Remus said, nervously.
*
‘But where are you going?’
‘I don't - I can't -’
‘Ok, ok. Fine. When will you be back?’
‘I don't know. That's the truth, Sirius. Moody says-’
Sirius rolled his eyes and slapped his palms down heavily on the table.
‘Moody says,’ he parrotted back, getting up and turning away.
Remus scrubbed at his face. Did they have to do this every time?
‘I don't know what you want from me,’ he said quietly, ‘We have to follow his instructions -’
Sirius made a frustrated noise in his throat. His back was still turned but Remus could see the tension in his body, in his balled fists. Suddenly he felt sorry.
‘Look, it’ll be alright. It -’ Remus faltered as Sirius turned back to him, eyes full of reproach.
‘Don’t say things that might not be true. It doesn’t help.’
Remus shook his head. ‘It’s hard for me too. I want to tell you -’
‘Do you?’
‘Of course I do!’ he raised his voice, momentarily furious, ‘Honestly, how many times do we have to go over this? You can’t tell me about your missions and I can’t tell you! No one is telling anyone! It’s a necessary precaution. Moody has explained this -’
Sirius scoffed again at the name and turned back. Remus dropped his head into his hands.
‘I don’t even know what this argument is about,’ he continued, ‘You know all of this, it has been like this from the start. Everyone hates it-’
‘James is telling Lily,’ Sirius said quietly.
Remus raised his head in surprise. Sirius’ face was still concealed, but his hands, now clamped along the back of the sofa, were white-knuckled.
‘Well that is very stupid of him,’ Remus said, huffing his words out. Honestly he was shocked. Dumbledore had told them how important it was that they couldn’t be tapped for information in the event that - that -
‘He loves her,’ Sirius whispered, ‘And he trusts her.’
Ah, Remus thought, We’re here again.
‘I love you and I trust you,’ he said, ‘And if telling you could put you in danger, so I won’t risk it.’
‘Moody tell you to say that too, did he?’ Sirius snapped, turning back once more, his expression-
*
‘Moony! Wake up! Remus! Hey, wake up!’
Remus opened his eyes, blinking in the darkness. Slowly, Sirius’ outline became clear, leaning over him, one hand reaching for the lamp. He turned it on, illuminating their plain room at The Hog’s Head. Remus stared up at him.
‘You’re sweating,’ Sirius said, ‘Sit up, here -’ he passed over a glass of water from his side of the bed as Remus struggled into a sitting position, leaning his head back against the headboard. He took the proffered glass and gulped it down.
‘Thanks.’
‘You were dreaming,’ said Sirius, glancing up at him nervously.
‘Yeah, sorry. Did I wake you?’
‘Yeah. “No Sirius, no” you were saying. And something about Moody..’
Remus screwed his eyes shut. The dream was fading but it wasn’t difficult to recall really. It was an argument they’d had often. From the look on Sirius’ face, he’d heard enough to remember it too.
‘Sorry,’ he said again, ‘It’s an old dream about - I used to have it a lot, when you first went - away - It’s nothing, I’m fine -’
Sirius nodded in the lamplight, his gaze fixed on the opposite wall.
‘It’s too early,’ Remus tried, ‘We should try and go back to sleep -’
‘I’m so sorry,’ Sirius said, suddenly, turning to look at him.
‘There’s nothing to be sorry for.’ Remus insisted, ‘It was just a dream, I honestly don’t know what brought it on.’
He shuffled back down in the bed, tugging at Sirius’ arm until he followed and reached out to extinguish the lamp. They lay there side by side, staring up at the ceiling.
Sirius found Remus’ hand under the covers, weaving their fingers together. ‘I wish so much that we hadn’t listened to them back then. That we’d just told each other everything.’
Remus squeezed his hand.
‘Me too.’
*
The stands were packed. Remus had spotted Hermione and Ron as they climbed the tiers looking for a seat and they shuffled down the bench, squeezing in beside them. They had not managed to return to sleep after their pre-dawn wake-up and it had been a long, long anxious morning.
‘Hi Professor!’ Hermione said, raising her voice above the chatter of the crowd as they settled themselves. He nodded back and glanced at Sirius who was already staring resolutely forward, hands gripping the edge of his seat. A strange haze hung in the air in front of the stands, cloaking the first task from view, ready for the big reveal. A whistle blew somewhere.
‘Ladies and gentleman!’ Ludo Bagman’s voice boomed from beyond the haze, radiating around the stands and Remus shifted even further forward in his seat. ‘Welcome to the First Task of the Triwizard Tournament! We have a veritable spectacle ready for you today and the Champions are getting ready to show you why they were selected! And now, without further ado, let's hear it for the first Hogwart’s Champion…’
Bagman paused and Remus reached a hand out to grip Sirius’ thigh.
‘... Cedric Diggory!’
The haze lifted as the crowd cheered, revealing the other side of the enclosures they had seen the morning after the full moon, the huge fences now complete. There was a collective gasp as the audience took in Cedric, standing tall with his wand outstretched, moving carefully towards an enormous blue dragon which sat curled protectively on her nest in the centre of the pen.
Remus felt Sirius exhale slightly and reach for the hand on his leg, squeezing it.
Cedric was edging towards the dragon, the crowd watching each step with bated breath. He moved slowly round it, his eyes fixed on the beast and her eggs as if looking for something. He reached her flank and ducked behind a large pile of rocks - Remus realised he was craning his neck, trying to see where he'd gone, when a big black dog bounded into view.
For a single second he found himself checking for Sirius, even though he could still feel him beneath his hand, and when he looked back could see it was a Labrador, shiny and smiling, chasing up and down before the dragon, barking loudly. Cedric was peering over the rocks, his wand poised as the dog ran yapping towards the dragon and away again, over and over. The dragon raised her scaly head, training both eyes on the animal, following its movements. As it occupied her, Cedric shuffled round the rock, low to the ground and in that moment she raised herself slightly, trying to get a better look at the dog which had moved round her in the opposite direction.
‘There!’ said Sirius suddenly, and Remus could see it too, a glint of gold beneath her legs.
Cedric moved then, dashing from his hiding place, but the dragon had caught the sudden movement and she turned, leaving the dog and throwing a blast of fire towards him. Cedric threw himself back towards the rocks, narrowly avoiding the flames.
‘Oooh, narrow miss there, very narrow,’ Came Bagman's voice across the stands, ‘He’s taking risks, this one! Clever move — pity it didn’t work!’
Cedric was crouched again, just his wand visible behind the rocks, sending the transfigured dog back and forth. The dragon had turned back to it, Cedric seemingly forgotten as he directed the animal to and fro, barking as it wove forwards between the rocks, before turning and darting away. Again she began to rise and Cedric was up, hurtling towards her, seizing the egg. It was large and he hesitated for a moment as he secured it under one arm. He made to run and the dragon turned, spotting him again and letting out a great column of fire that licked at him as he disappeared behind her, heading for the gate through which he had entered. The stands erupted in a great cheer as he vanished beyond the fence.
‘Very good indeed!’ Bagman boomed. ‘And now the marks from the judges!’
Remus could see the judges, seated at the front of the stands, sending numbers into the sky. Bagman sent up a 9 which was followed by a series of 7s and 8s before Karkaroff shot a silver ‘6’ into the air.
‘Six is a bit harsh.’ he murmured, turning to Sirius only to find him looking away from the judges, eyes narrowed at the back of Moody’s grizzled grey head.
‘There he is,’ he muttered, ‘I’m going to say something -’ he started to stand up, ‘- who does he thinks he is telling Harry -’
‘What are you talking about?’ Remus hissed, ‘Harry might be out next.’
‘I’ll be quick -’
‘You can't ,’ Remus hissed, ‘If anyone hears-’
He was cut off by Bagman on the speaker again.
‘One down, three to go! Miss Delacour if you please!’
A tall girl with shimmering blonde hair appeared at the entrance to the enclosure, this time a green dragon sat perched in its centre. Remus glanced back at Sirius who continued to glare at Moody for a few seconds before turning his interest back to the Task, sitting back in his seat.
Fleur was shooting spells at the dragon. The first one hit it, but ricocheted off her tough hide, hitting the fence which smoked ominously.
‘Oh I’m not sure that was wise!’ Bagman shouted as she moved carefully across the enclosure before raising her wand again. This time she hit the dragon in her soft underbelly and the spell seemed to be working. The dragon's eyelids drooped and her head dipped towards the ground.
In an instant, Fleur was running, impressively quickly across the enclosure. She deftly scooped up the egg, setting off back towards the gate, when the dragon gave a snort and then a snore and a jet of flame flew out of her nostrils, licking the hem of Fleur’s skirt. Unruffled, she put it out with a stream of water from her wand, and exited the enclosure. To Remus’ left a group of teenagers in blue robes went wild as the rest of the crowd clapped good-naturedly. Beside him Sirius scoffed quietly.
‘Unimaginative,’ he murmured.
‘I don't know, a sleeping charm powerful enough to affect a dragon?’ Remus replied, ‘That's impressive… a bit frightening actually…’
The whistle blew and they craned their necks, wondering if it would be Harry's turn.
‘And here comes Mr. Krum!’ cried Bagman.
Remus groaned internally. Way to build the tension, he thought to himself.
Viktor Krum strode out into the arena, his broad shoulders steady. The red dragon watched him with curiosity as he picked his way boldly towards her. He came to a stop and she eyed him warily, wrapping her tail more tightly around her clutch.
‘Very daring!’ Bagman shouted.
Without warning, Krum raised his wand and shot a curse directly into the dragon's eye. She reared in pain and he leapt forward, grabbing the golden egg that had lain between her front legs and heading, with no hesitation towards the gate. The dragon screeched in agony, flapping her wings and rising clumsily before crashing down again, trampling the remaining eggs
‘Oh no!’ Remus cried, rising in dismay, ‘Can’t somebody -’
Dozens of people were dashing into the enclosure to subdue the dragon, carefully clearing the eggs as they sedated her and lowered her to the ground.
‘Thank goodness,’ Remus breathed, ‘At least we know they've bothered with proper dragon handlers -’
‘Yeah,’ Sirius barked a laugh, ‘At least the dragons seem to be well represented -’
‘And for our final, and youngest Champion… Harry Potter!’
There was a smattering of applause, markedly less enthusiastic than Cedric’s and Remus looked questioningly over at Hermione who shrugged and smiled apologetically. On his other side, Sirius had leant forward again, elbows on knees, staring intently down at the spot at which Harry had appeared. This time, the dragon was huge and black with great spikes along her thick tail which she thrashed violently as she crouched low over her nest. Harry stepped forward into the arena, pointed his wand skywards and then ducked swiftly behind a rock.
‘Oh look, is he hiding?’ cried a snide voice shouted somewhere high above them in the stands.
Remus squeezed Sirius’ leg to stop him turning around and then, they saw it, hurtling through the air, just a reddish streak moving far below them heading straight for Harry.
‘He’s done it!’ Hermione shrieked beside him, ‘He’s done it!’
Without hesitation Harry leapt astride the broom and kicked off from the ground. Now the crowd were taking an interest, gasping collectively as they watched Harry soar upwards, the Horntail following their gaze. Sirius was grinning, as if it really was a Quidditch match, he rose from his seat, along with several others in the stands, cheering Harry on. They watched, rapt as Harry dived, heading straight for the dragon, who reared and released a jet of fire that Harry dodged deftly.
‘Great Scott, he can fly!’ Bagman bellowed, ‘Are you watching this, Mr. Krum?’
Harry continued to zigzag, dancing above the dragon, who writhed beneath him, desperate to knock him out of the air but unwilling to leave her eggs. If Remus’ mind hadn’t been so filled with anxiety for Harry, he might have felt sorry for her. Harry dove again, missing the fire she sent after him, but not quick enough to get out of the path of her tail, which whipped upwards, grazing his shoulder. The crowd groaned and Sirius’ hand flailed in Remus’ direction, searching for reassurance.
‘He’s fine,’ Remus shouted, praying it was true.
Harry did, indeed, seem fine. He was still flying anyway, this way and that, just out of reach. The dragon followed him, her neck stretched, her head swaying as he moved. She shrieked in frustration, sending flames up towards him, but he was just out of reach. He moved a little higher, lying low on his broom, hanging off it towards her, taunting - and suddenly she rose onto her hind legs, great wings spread as she took off. The crowd gasped as Harry dove towards the nest, vanishing behind the vast scaly mass that now filled the place he had been only seconds before, and then reappeared, high above the stands, golden egg under one arm. The crowd was going wild.
‘YES!’ Sirius bellowed beside them, ‘That’s my boy!’ he punched the air and turned to Remus. ‘I told you, didn’t I tell you!’
‘Look at that!’ Bagman was shouting again. ‘Will you look at that! Our youngest champion is quickest to get his egg! Well, this is going to shorten the odds on Mr. Potter!’
They watched as Harry returned to the gate, landing just out of sight beyond the fence. Remus sank down in his seat and let out a long breath.
‘C’mon,’ Ron was saying, climbing past them in haste, ‘Let’s go and find him before they put the scores up!’
They hurried down the stands towards the ground. Remus spotted the top of Hagrid's shaggy head moving away from them in the same direction, and they followed him around the edge of the enclosure towards a great white tent. As they reached it, Remus could see Hagrid had stopped and was now in conversation with Minerva, Moody standing off to one side.
Hermione and Ron hurried past them, not stopping to see the indulgent look their Head of House was giving them. Remus made to follow them when -
‘Ah, Alastor,’ Sirius had paused and was now looming aggressively over the old man. ‘I just wanted to ask, who do you think you are, sticking your nose into Harry’s business?’
‘I don’t know what you mean, Sirius?’ he growled.
‘Telling him to-’
‘Alastor!’ Remus cut across him, ‘Good to see you. Sirius, let's go-’
‘Looked to me like it worked a treat,’ Moody said, his eyes fixed on Sirius, ‘Not like he was getting any winning advice from anywhere else was it?’
Sirius took a step forward, Remus hurriedly grasping his arm.
‘Pads -’ he whispered. He was aware of Minerva, watching them, her conversation with Hagrid had faltered.
‘What’s it to you?’ Sirius hissed, ‘How well he does in this stupid Tournament?’
‘I’m just looking out for him,’ Moody said, his tone calm, his expression reasonable, ‘What could be wrong with that?’a
‘And we thank you for it,’ Remus tugged at Sirius' arm, finally getting him to turn.
‘We all know no good comes from waiting around for Sirius Black to save you.’
It was barely a whisper. Afterwards, Remus wasn't even sure they'd heard him correctly. Sirius had turned immediately, only to see Moody retreating, hobbling unevenly on his mismatched legs back towards the stands.
‘What the fuck did that mean?’
‘Sirius!’
Harry had emerged from the tent, Rob and Hermione just behind him. Sirius opened his arms and enveloped him in a great hug.
‘You were brilliant Harry!’ he said, holding him out at arms length and looking him up and down, ‘How’s your shoulder?’
‘Yeah, totally fine,’ Harry was grinning, breathless from the adrenaline and the tightness of the hug. Sirius released him and Harry launched himself at Remus next, taking him by surprise, but he returned the hug and ruffled his hair.
*
‘Karkaroff is clearly still evil as ever,’ Sirius said, later that evening as they sat down for dinner. They'd returned to Grimmauld Place again, to drop off the books they had borrowed and check in with Kreacher, ‘A four? What a joke.’
‘I thought we weren't interested in scores,’ Remus said, slightly bemused as he poured them each a large glass of wine.
‘I want to look into him. I don't trust him up there at the school. Even with Moody supposedly on the job-’ Sirius' expression darkened, ‘What was he on about anyway?’
‘I don't know,’ Remus sighed, ‘I know you two haven't always seen eye to eye, but I don't think it helps to antagonise him.’
Sirius swirled his wine, staring into the glass.
‘I know. He just - there's something I really don't like about him - even more than before -’ he shrugged ‘- anyway, no tasks until February, Harry said, so I guess back to research.’
‘Mmm,’ said Remus, ‘Yeah. I really don't know to be honest, I haven't found any leads in any books -’ he eyed Sirius cautiously, ‘Regulus’ notes suggest he believed there only one Horcrux, so, were no closer yet -’
Sirius poked at his spaghetti, chewing his lip.
‘I’ve been thinking about what you said,’ he looked up, ‘About the higher ranking Death Eaters. About trying Narcissa.’
‘You don't have to, you know,’ Remus said, ‘If it's too much, it's a long shot anyway, we can find another way -’
‘No,’ Sirius said, ‘I’ve got an idea that might be worth a try.’
*
‘Oh my god, Sirius!’
A slim, dark-haired woman stepped from the fireplace, Kreacher hopping down in front of her. She looked at Sirius for a moment, taking him in, before opening her arms and pulling him into a hug. Remus stood, slightly awkwardly, at the kitchen bench, waiting for them to release each other.
‘Andy,’ Sirius grinned, ‘You remember Remus?’
‘Of course,’ she said, smiling warmly at him and reaching for his hand. ‘Oh Sirius it's so good to see you.’
She took the seat he motioned towards, reaching for the teapot Kreacher had placed on the table and helping herself to a teacup.
‘I have to say, I like what you've done with the place,’ she waved her free hand at the kitchen, ‘Much less dingy than I remember.’
‘Ha, yeah well it wasn't exactly habitable,’ Sirius said, ‘It’s a work in progress though - we're still turning up -’ he glanced at Remus, ‘- unexpected things.’
‘I don't doubt it,’ Andy murmured, looking at him intently, ‘Your mother was -’ she tailed off, ‘It was so lovely to see Kreacher again too!’ She smiled fondly at the elf who had busied himself at the stove. He didn't turn, but Remus could've sworn he saw the tips of his ears turn pink.
‘I was going to write,’ she went on, ‘But then I thought you might - I don't know - I thought you might want some time. I can't even imagine what it's been like -’
Sirius made an indistinct noise as he sipped his tea.
‘It’s certainly been an adjustment,’ he said.
‘I don't doubt -’
‘How is everything with you?’ Remus cut in, the question directed at Andromeda but his eyes on Sirius.
‘Oh yes, fine. Ted’s good, Dora is all qualified now - just this year actually - an Auror can you believe? She’s totally devoted to the job, in and out at all hours of the day and night. We’re still in the same place, lovely little village, and -’
‘Do you ever hear from Cissy?’
Andromeda stopped suddenly, clinking her teacup awkwardly against the milk jug. She looked down at it for a long moment before glancing at each of them, her expression now cautious.
‘No,’ she said eventually, ‘Not since - not for years. What do you want with Cissy?’
Remus swirled the tea round in his mug and bit his lip.
‘Dumbledore has some concerns,’ he began, ‘Following that ruckus at the World Cup - you must have seen the paper -’
She nodded, eyes round.
‘He’s asked us to look into some of Voldemort’s supporters - from before - the ones who didn’t go to prison,’ he paused, ‘And it’s been tricky, we need to -’
‘You want to look into Lucius,’ she finished his sentence for him, ‘But you can’t get anywhere near him because of who he is.’
‘Precisely,’ Remus nodded.
‘And here I was thinking you just wanted to see me!’
‘Oh Andy,’ Sirius said, ‘It's not like that -’
‘I don’t know what help I’d be,’ she continued, ‘She won’t want to hear from me. I’d have thought you were enough of a draw on your own - the famous Sirius Black.’
Sirius winced and Remus felt his chest ache for him. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea.
‘I don’t know about that,’ Sirius muttered, ‘But even if I was -’
‘It’d be less risky if I tested the water first.’
She gave them a long, hard look.
‘How important is this?’ she said eventually.
‘Very, we think,’ Remus replied.
Andromeda sighed, ‘She probably won't reply.’
‘Would you?’ Sirius asked, meeting her gaze, ‘If she wrote to you, would you reply.’
‘I suppose I might.’