I just ate a toothpaste flavoured jelly bean. e.o

I actually think I may have stumbled across Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. I've been eating these for an hour and I still have no clue as to what any of these flavours are, and not all of them are overly pleasent. (See above.)

BAH! CINNAMON! HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT!

I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN A LONG TIME I AM SO SORRY I'VE BEEN EXTREMELY BUSY FEBRUARY IS A BAD MONTH FOR ME.

I got up. I ate food. Harry showed up. We walekd around the lake while he to.d us about his convo with Sirius and how the first task was dragons.

Siriusly brah.

Alarmed as she was by Sirius's warnings about Karkaroff, (he was a Death Eater) Hermione still thought that the dragons were the more pressing problem. 

"Let's just try and keep you alive until Tuesday evening," she said desperately, "and then we can worry about Karkaroff." 

We walked three times around the lake, trying all the way to think of a simple spell that would subdue a dragon. Nothing whatsoever occurred to us, so we retired to the library instead. Here, we pulled down every book we could find on dragons, and we set to work searching through the large pile. 

"Talon-clipping by charms.. .treating scale-rot...' This is no good, this is for nutters like Hagrid who want to keep them healthy..." 

"Dragons are extremely difficult to slay, owing to the ancient magic that imbues their thick hides, which none but the most powerful spells can penetrate...' But Sirius said a simple one would do it..." 

"Let's try some simple spellbooks, then," said Harry, throwing aside Men Who Love Dragons Too Much. 

He returned to the table with a pile of spellbooks, set them down, and began to flick through each in turn, Hermione whispering nonstop at his elbow.

"Well, there are Switching Spells... but what's the point of Switching it? Unless you swapped its fangs for wine-gums or something that would make it less dangerous.... The trouble is, like that book said, not much is going to get through a dragon's hide.... I'd say Transfigure it, but something that big, you really haven't got a hope, I doubt even Professor McGonagall... unless you're supposed to put the spell on yourself? Maybe to give yourself extra powers? But they're not simple spells, I mean, we haven't done any of those in class, I only know about them because I've been doing O.W.L. practice papers...." 

"Hermione," Harry said, through gritted teeth, "will you shut up for a bit, please? I'm trying to concentrate." 

Hermione lasped Into silence and we continued to flip through spellbooks. 

I was bored so I transfigured a book into a llama. Then the bitch who calls herself a librarian shot me a nasty look so I transfigured it back. 

I'll change it back later.

"Oh no, he's back again, why can't he read on his stupid ship?" said Hermione irritably as Viktor Krum slouched in, cast a surly look over at three or us, and settled himself in a distant corner with a pile of books. "Come on, Harry, Jinx, we'll go back to the common room...his fan club'll be here in a moment, twittering away...." 

And sure enough, as we left the library, a gang of girls tiptoed past us, one of them wearing a Bulgaria scarf tied around her waist. 

I silently transfigured the book back into a llama. The fangirls screamed. I smirked with delight.

The next day we were eating in the hall, as per usual. Harry looked distracted, as per usual. And I was delighted because the llama I created was running loose around the school. The teachers seemed to think this was a "threat" because the book I transfigured was about dragons and llama breathes fire. 

"I'll see you guys in the greenhouses," Harry said suddenly. "Go on, I'll catch you up." 

"Harry, you'll be late, the bell's about to ring -" 

"I'll catch you up, okay?" 

He raced away. 

"Weirdo," I said as we followed him out of the Hall and walked down to the Greenhouse.

"Hermione," Harry whispered, when he had sped into greenhouse a while later, uttering a hurried apology to Professor Sprout as he passed her. "Hermione - I need you to help me." 

"What d'you think I've been trying to do, Harry?" she whispered back, her eyes round with anxiety over the top of the quivering Flutterby Bush she was pruning. 

"Hermione, I need to learn how to do a Summoning Charm properly by tomorrow afternoon." 

And so we practiced. We didn't have lunch, (which annoyed the hell out of me) but headed for a free classroom, where Harry tried with all his might to make various objects fly across the room toward him. He was still having problems. The books and quills kept losing heart halfway across the room and dropping hike stones to the floor. 

"Concentrate, Harry, concentrate...." 

"What d'you think I'm trying to do?" said Harry angrily. "A great big dragon keeps popping up in my head for some reason... Okay, try again..." 

"Imagine the stuff flying across the room!" I said dramatically.

Harry wanted to skip Divination to keep practicing, but Hermione refused point-blank to skive off Arithmancy, and there was no point in staying without her. We therefore had to endure over an hour of Professor Trelawney, who spent half the lesson telling everyone that the position of Mars with relation to Saturn at that moment meant that people born in July were in great danger of sudden, violent deaths. 

"Well, that's good," said Harry loudly, his temper getting the better of him, "just as long as it's not drawn-out. I don't want to suffer." 

I snorted loudly.

I'm such a lady.

Ron looked for a moment as though he was going to laugh; he certainly caught Harry's eye for the first time in days. Harry spent the rest of the lesson trying to attract small objects toward him under the table with his wand. He managed to make a fly zoom straight into his hand, though he wasn't entirely sure that was his prowess at Summoning Charms - perhaps the fly was just stupid. 

He forced down some dinner after Divination, then returned to the empty classroom with Hermione and I, using the Invisibility Cloak to avoid the teachers. We kept practicing until past midnight. We would have stayed longer, but Peeves turned up and, pretending to think that Harry wanted things thrown at him, started chucking chairs across the room. Harry, Hermione and I left in a hurry before the noise attracted Filch, and went back to the Gryffindor common room, which was now mercifully empty. 

At two o'clock in the morning, Harry stood near the fireplace, surrounded by heaps of objects: books, quills, several upturned chairs, an old set of Gobstones, and Neville's toad, Trevor. Only in the last hour had Harry really got the hang of the Summoning Charm. 

"That's better, Harry, that's loads better," Hermione said, looking exhausted but very pleased. 

"Well, now we know what to do next time I can't manage a spell," Harry said, throwing a rune dictionary back to Hermione, so he could try again, "threaten me with a dragon. Right..." He raised his wand once more. "Accio Dictionary!" 

The heavy book soared out of Hermione's hand, flew across the room, and Harry caught it. 

"Harry, I really think you've got it!" said Hermione delightedly. 

"Just as long as it works tomorrow," Harry said. "The Firebolt's going to be much farther away than the stuff in here, it's going to be in the castle, and I'm going to be out there on the grounds..." 

"That doesn't matter," said Hermione firmly." Just as long as you're concentrating really, really hard on it, it'll come. Harry, we'd better get some sleep... you're going to need it." 

The following morning the atmosphere in the school was one of great tension and excitement. Lessons were to stop at midday, giving all the students time to get down to the dragons' enclosure - though of course, they didn't yet know what they would find there. 

At lunch Professor McGonagall came to fetch Harry.

"Potter, the champions have to come down onto the grounds now.... You have to get ready for your first task." 

"Okay," said Harry, standing up, his fork falling onto his plate with a clatter. 

"Good luck, Harry," Hermione whispered. "You'll be fine!" 

"Don't die," I said through a mouth full of food.

"Yeah," said Harry in a voice that was most unlike his own. "Thanks."

He left the Great Hall with Professor McGonagall.

"We better get to the place-thing-area where shit's happening," I said. 

"You forgot what it's called," Hermione accused.

"Yes, I did," I said, grabbing hers and Ron's arms. "You're both coming with me. Now come!"

We went down to the place and sat in the crowd. 

"Jinx, were you the one to set that fire breathing llama on the school?" Ron asked me.

"Yup," I said.

"Why?"

"I dunno. I was bored. I like llamas. Problem?"

"It burnt my History of Magic essay."

"That's the llama's fault, not mine. Oh look, it's starting!"

The champions were to get past their dragons and seize their golden eggs, which would help them with the next task.

Cedric, Fleur, and Viktor went and battled their dragons and got their golden eggs. They all did fairly well.

Then Harry came out.

And there was the Horntail, at the other end of the enclosure, crouched low over her clutch of eggs, her wings half-furled, her evil, yellow eyes upon him, a monstrous, scaly, black lizard, thrashing her spiked tail, heaving yard-long gouge marks in the hard ground. The crowd was making a great deal of noise. It was time to do what he had to do... to focus his mind, entirely and absolutely, upon the thing that was his only chance. 

He raised his wand. 

"Accio Firebolt!" he shouted. 

Harry waited. And then we heard it, speeding through the air behind Harry; he turned and saw his Firebolt hurtling toward him around the edge of the woods, soaring into the enclosure, and stopping dead in midair beside him, waiting for him to mount. The crowd was making even more noise.... Bagman was shouting something... but the crowd was too loud. I was on my feet, shouting as well. 

He swung his leg over the broom and kicked off from the ground. And a second later, something miraculous happened.... 

As he soared upward, as the wind rushed through his hair. He looked down at the clutch of eggs and spotted the gold one, gleaming against its cement-colored fellows, residing safely between the dragon's front legs. He dived. The Horntail's head followed him; he knew what it was going to do and pulled out of the dive just in time; a jet of fire had been released exactly where he would have been had he not swerved away... 

"Great Scott, he can fly!" yelled Bagman as the crowd shrieked and gasped. "Are you watching this, Mr. Krum?" 

Harry soared higher in a circle; the Horntail was still following his progress; its head revolving on its long neck - if he kept this up, it would be nicely dizzy - but better not push it too long, or it would be breathing fire again - 

Harry plummeted just as the Horntail opened its mouth, but this time he was less lucky - he missed the flames, but the tail came whipping up to meet him instead, and as he swerved to the left, one of the long spikes grazed his shoulder, ripping his robes - 

Now he zoomed around the back of the Horntail, and a possibility occurred to me.... 

The Horntail didn't seem to want to take off, she was too protective of her eggs. Though she writhed and twisted, furling and unfurling her wings and keeping those fearsome yellow eyes on Harry, she was afraid to move too far from them... but he had to persuade her to do it, or he'd never get near them.... The trick was to do it carefully, gradually.... 

He began to fly, first this way, then the other, not near enough to make her breathe fire to stave him off, but still posing a sufficient threat to ensure she kept her eyes on him. Her head swayed this way and that, watching him out of those vertical pupils, her fangs bared.... 

He flew higher. The Horntail's head rose with him, her neck now stretched to its fullest extent, still swaying, hike a snake before its charmer.... 

Harry rose a few more feet, and she let out a roar of exasperation. He was like a fly to her, a fly she was longing to swat; her tail thrashed again, but he was too high to reach now.... She shot fire into the air, which he dodged.... Her jaws opened wide....

And then she reared, spreading her great, black, leathery wings at last, as wide as those of a small airplane - and Harry dived. Before the dragon knew what he had done, or where he had disappeared to, he was speeding toward the ground as fast as he could go, toward the eggs now unprotected by her clawed front legs - he had taken his hands off his Firebolt - he had seized the golden egg - 

And with a huge spurt of speed, he was off, he was soaring out over the stands, the heavy egg safely under his uninjured arm.

"Look at that!" Bagman was yelling. "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!" 

I saw the dragon keepers rushing forward to subdue the Horntail, and, over at the entrance to the enclosure, Professor McGonagall, Professor Moody, and Hagrid hurrying to meet him, all of them waving him toward them, their smiles evident even from this distance. He flew back over the stands.

"Come on!" I said, pushing through to crowd. "Let's go see Harry!"

We made it down to the tent where Harry was.

"Harry that was the best flying I've ever seen!" I said as we ran up.

"Harry, you were brilliant!" Hermione said squeakily. There were fingernail marks on her face where she had been clutching it in fear. "You were amazing! You really were!" 

But Harry was looking at Ron, who was very white and staring at Harry as though he were a ghost. 

"Harry," he said, very seriously, "whoever put your name in that goblet - I - I reckon they're trying to do you in!" 

It was as though the last few weeks had never happened - as though Harry were meeting Ron for the first time, right after he'd been made champion. 

"Caught on, have you?" said Harry coldly. "Took you long enough." 

"Oh just hug already!" I said. "Harry misses you, Ron, and I know you miss him!"

Hermione stood nervously between them, looking from one to the other. Ron opened his mouth uncertainly. Harry knew Ron was about to apologize and suddenly he found he didn't need to hear it. 

"It's okay," he said, before Ron could get the words out. "Forget it." 

"No," said Ron, "I shouldn't've -" 

"Forget it, "Harry said. 

Ron grinned nervously at him, and Harry grinned back. 

"Yay everything is happy again!" I said hugging both of them at the same time.

Hermione burst into tears. 

"There's nothing to cry about!" Harry told her, bewildered. 

"You two are so stupid!" she shouted, stamping her foot on the ground, tears splashing down her front. Then, before either of them could stop her, she had given both of them a hug and dashed away, now positively howling. 

"Barking mad," said Ron, shaking his head. "Harry, c'mon, they'll be putting up your scores...." 

Picking up the golden egg and his Firebolt, Harry ducked out of the tent, Ron and I by his side, Ron talking fast. 

"You were the best, you know, no competition. Cedric did this weird thing where he Transfigured a rock on the ground... turned it into a dog... he was trying to make the dragon go for the dog instead of him. Well, it was a pretty cool bit of Transfiguration, and it sort of worked, because he did get the egg, but he got burned as well - the dragon changed its mind halfway through and decided it would rather have him than the Labrador; he only just got away. And that Fleur girl tried this sort of charm, I think she was trying to put it into a trance - well, that kind of worked too, it went all sleepy, but then it snored, and this great jet of flame shot out, and her skirt caught fire - she put it out with a bit of water out of her wand. And Krum - you won't believe this, but he didn't even think of flying! He was probably the best after you, though. Hit it with some sort of spell right in the eye. Only thing is, it went trampling around in agony and squashed half the real eggs - they took marks off for that, he wasn't supposed to do any damage to them." 

Ron drew breath as he, Harry and I reached the edge of the enclosure. 

"It's marks out of ten from each one," Ron said, and Harry squinting up the field, saw the first judge - Madame Maxime - raise her wand in the air. What hooked like a long silver ribbon shot out of it, which twisted itself into a large figure eight. 

"Not bad!" said Ron as the crowd applauded. "I suppose she took marks off for your shoulder..." 

Mr. Crouch came next. He shot a number nine into the air. 

"Looking good!" Ron yelled, thumping Harry on the back. 

Next, Dumbledore. He too put up a nine. The crowd was cheering harder than ever. 

Ludo Bagman - ten. 

"Ten?" said Harry in disbelief. "But... I got hurt.... What's he playing at?" 

"Harry, don't complain!" Ron yelled excitedly. 

And now Karkaroff raised his wand. He paused for a moment, and then a number shot out of his wand too - four. 

"What?" Ron bellowed furiously. "Four? You lousy, biased scum-bag, you gave Krum ten!" 

"You're tied in first place, Harry! You and Krum!" said Charlie Weasley, hurrying to meet them as we set off back toward the school. "Listen, I've got to run, I've got to go and send Mum an owl, I swore I'd tell her what happened - but that was unbelievable! Oh yeah - and they told me to tell you you've got to hang around for a few more minutes.... Bagman wants a word, back in the champions' tent." 

Ron and I said we would wait, so Harry re-entered the tent.

A bit later, Harry left the tent, rejoined Ron and I, and we started to walk back around the edge of the forest, talking hard; Harry wanted to hear what the other champions had done in more detail. Then, as we rounded the clump of trees behind which Harry had first heard the dragons roar, a witch leapt out from behind we. 

It was Rita Skeeter. She was wearing acid-green robes today; the Quick-Quotes Quill in her hand blended perfectly against them. 

"Congratulations, Harry!" she said, beaming at him. "I wonder if you could give me a quick word? How you felt facing that dragon? How you feel now, about the fairness of the scoring?" 

"Yeah, you can have a word," said Harry savagely. "Good-bye." 

And he set off back to the castle with Ron and I.