Summary:Harry recieves a gift from the Horntail during the first task. The gift's effects on him opens his mind and eyes to things you was ignorant before. AU with SuperHarry (but not immediate) and some very very little Dumbledore bashing(making him look bad, but not villifiying him). HHr will probably start during 5th year but there will be sprinkles of it in 4th. T rating for safety

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Harry Potter

'thoughts'

"speech"

§parseltongue§

Harry was sitting in a chair in the Champion's tent trying not to throw up. He knew for a while what the first task entailed but the severity of it didn't seem to register in his mind until now. 'Dragons, bloody dragons' he kept repeating that phrase in his head, trying desperately to convince himself this whole situation wasn't real. That it was all some sort of ellaborate dream/nightmare. However the small miniature dragon that was struggling to get away from his grip, as well as the dragon roars, sounds of wings flapping and heat coming from the arena where his fellow champions were facing their own respective dragons, wouldn't let him.

As he was lamenting his fate and inwardly cursed both the one who put his name in the damn goblet and the organizers of this whole tournament for letting him participate despite being nowhere near old enough, suddenly he felt a sting in his right index finger. It seems the miniature hungarian horntail he picked had bitten him in an attempt to free itself from his grasp. He loosened his grip on it and let it stand on the top of his palm. As he did so the small dragon stood proudly on it's four legs, stretched it's long neck upward and positioned it's head in a way that it's right eye was staring at Harry's face. While it did that Harry was observing the entirety of the small dragon, finally having a good look at the infamous Hungarian Horntail instead of the small glance he got when he followed Hagrid and madame Maxime to the Forbidden Forest. Looking at it in this small scale Harry could almost understand Hagrid's fascination with the dangerous creatures. Even at this size every single part of the dragon seemed to radiate power. From it's fangs to it's wings to it's scales and especially to it's spike filled tail.

'Hell even it's serpent's tongue seems dangerous, especially for a tongue' joked Harry inwardly. That is when it hit him.

'Wait a second, serpent's tongue?' His mind started racing.'Don't i have a power that specifically affects serpents? I mean sure dragons are creatures imbued with a tremendous amount of magic unlike regural snakes and lizards but they're still serpents. And a parselmouth is supposed to have the ability to speak to all serpents, just like Riddle did with the basilisk. The basilisk like the dragon is also a magically gifted serpent but me and riddle could still speak to it. Sure he could control it since he was Salazar Slytherin's heir and i couldn't, but in this case i wouldn't even need to control the dragon, just inform it that one of it's eggs is fake and that i would need to retrieve it.' He really thought he struck gold there. Sure Mad-eye's plan of using his firebolt to approach the eggs and grab the gold one was very sound but it had great risks. Primary of which were the dragons' genders. All four were nesting females and leaving their eggs unprotected would be the last thing they would do. That meant that he would either have to fly so close to the dragon that a single well placed blast of fire-breath would reach him almost instantly(thus killing him), or he would have to make the dragon so angry and pissed of that it would leave its eggs defenceless in order to pursue him upon which time he would swoop in at max speed and grab it before it could react. On the other hand if he tried to talk to the dragon in parseltongue and convince it then he could either walk to the eggs if it allowed him or simply use an accio on the golden egg. Sure it wasn't a well thought out plan but for a last minute one it seemed oddly promising. And if worst came to worst he could still use his original plan.

That is when he heard the roar of the crowd from outside. It seems Krum had finally got the egg from the Chinese Fireball. That was his queue to stand up. He straightened himself up, got to the tent's exit and prepared himself for Bagman's sonorus enhanced voice to call his name. The moment he did he closed his eyes and took a step forward.

When he opened them he was faced with the most terrifying sight he ever witnessed in his 14 short years of life. In front of him was the full size version of the great beast that he held in his palm moments before. His mind blanked and his legs froze. It took several seconds and the great dragons roar at his expense for him to snap out of it. When he did, he noticed that the dragon,'Or more accuratelly dragoness' he thought, had a chain around her neck that seemed to anchor her to some particural spot behind her he couldn't really see. She was also standing over her eggs protectivelly and stared at him with what appeared to be defiance and hatred,'Or is it fear'. The moment that thought crossed his mind Harry immediately seemed to calm down. The great dragoness was afraid of him. 'No that's not right she is afraid of what might happen to her eggs, she's not afraid of me in particular.' That thought made him sick to his stomach. He realised that though a dragon, and in essence a beast, the being in front of him was still a mother trying to protect her young, much like his own mother did for him when he was a baby. The obvious simile between the dragoness and his mother disturbed him to the core. After all in this situation he seemed to be playing the role of the villain, the role of Voldemort. The same man that took any hope of a happy normal life away from him as a child. That is when he made his decision. He would rather die than try to take away the golden egg by force, and if that meant he failed on the first task and got disqualified well tough. He didn't want to participate in the damn thing in the first place. No, wether it worked or not, the only way he would use to get the egg was communication by parseltongue. His decision was made.

Meanwhile, as all of these thoughts passed through his mind, several seconds had passed and the entire crowd had gone silent. They were all looking forward to see how the youngest champion would tackle the first task. No one knew what was going on in his head and most of them simply interpreted his stilness as fear and nerves. He was rather young after all. So what happened next seemed to stun all of them with fear and/or suprise. Harry started walking forward towards the dragon very calmly while putting his wand back into his pocket. The ones who were most alarmed by this were the dragon-handlers that were stationed around the arena ready to reign in the dragons if they got out of control, chief among them Charlie Weasly. 'What the hell is the kid doing' Charlie thought gripping his wand harder with every step that Harry took, 'he's going to get himself killed'. That was when Harry stopped mere 20 ft away from the dragoness's head that was close to the ground with the rest of her body ready to pounce at him.

§Greetings, oh powerfull one§ said Harry in the loudest and most respectfull tone he could muster at that point. At that moment something incredible happened. The Dragoness that seemed ready to rip him to shreds suddenly raised her head and looked at him with wonder and eybrows raised (or at least the dragon equivalent of it, since she didn't have eyebrows).

§You are a Speaker?§ she asked suprise evident in her powerfull and clearly feminine voice (a voice that sounded a lot like professor McGonagal as Harry would insist in the future).

§Yes i am a speaker§ replied Harry, his confidence rising with each passing second. §I am sorry to have to meet you like this powerfull one but unfortunatelly fate and the machinations of those who think they know better have put us in positions opposite one another§. Harry really didn't know why he was speaking in such a manner, however it seemed to keep the dragoness staring at him clearly intrigued instead of killing and then possibly eating him, so he kept at it.

§I know you have no reason to believe what i am about to reveal to you Great one, but i would request your permission to explain the reason i stand before you. After i have you are welcome to deal with me in any way you wish§, Harry at this point was inclining his head as he spoke in what he considered the equivalent of a beast's sign of obedience and acknowledges superiority.

While he did the dragoness had lowered her scaled head in a relatively normal height and kept both her eyes fixed on Harry. She was listening to every word he said and was left pondering the abnormality this twoleg, this hairless ape, had presented her. Normally twolegs were either running away from her and her kind, afraid of becoming lunch, or run towards her in an attempt to reverse the natural order and become the hunters instead of the hunted -a trait that most dragons actually had the greatest respect for in potential prey. Not this one though. This one actually tried to converse and reason with her the same way he would with another of his kind. That intrigued she made her choice.

§You may speak freely speaker, after all that is why you were granted your ability by magic§, she said with a mildly arrogannt tone.

Harry smiled. He actually had not much hoppe in making the dragoness allow him to talk. He thought he would have to somehow force her to listen in some way, hopefully not a violent one (after all he had no chance at that).

§Thank you powerfull one. First i would like to introduce myself§ he said straightening himself up and trying to make himself look as fearless as possible,'something really hard to do in front of a 50 ft long fire breathing, spiketailed, beast of destruction' Harry mused.§My name is Harry Potter. I stand here before you because i was forced to participate in an event of my kind, that includes us performing a series of tasks in competition with others of my kind. The reason for this is the recognition of our schools, our nests if you will, as superior to the others. That is where you come in.§ he said pointing at her. §For you see the first task is to pass through one of you four Mothers to reach your eggs.§ When he finished those words the Horntail's eyes slitted and she immediatelly lowered her head once again ready to pounce. However she didn't.'Looks like she is actually willing to listen' thought Harry, while balls of sweat now started roaming down his forehead. He pressed on however.

§The task doen't end there though. You see when your handlers brought you in this arena with your eggs, the planted one fake egg among your own. That egg is the one i am supposed to pry from your pretective embrace. Apparently it is supposed to contain a clue of the next task. What i suggest is that you let me through and while under your constant vigilant gaze '(Moody would be so proud of me)' i pick up the fake egg and then we both go our seperate ways and avoid any harm coming to you, your eggs, or me.§ Harry felt his throat close when he finished talking and observed the dragoness twist her neck and bringing her head on top of her eggs. She then procceded to sniff them, obviously trying to ascertain wether he was tellinf the truth. Sure enough when her snout(?)* reached the golden egg she flinched. It didn't smell like her brood, it smelled metallic. She turned around and her eyes where back on Harry.

§It seems you speak the truth Speaker. Tell me though, if retrieving this false egg is supposed to be a task that would prove your nest's superiority, why would you then put yourself at my mercy instead of just fighting for it. I know that's what i would have done.§ Harry was stunned. He didn't expect that question. He thought he had more than seventy percent chance chance of being eaten the second he sort of-maybe-kind off insinuated that if she didn't let him have the golden egg, her own eggs would be in danger. He struggled to regained his composure.

§My reasons are my own§ he said. §However i will tell you this much, i would never willingly put a mother and her hatchling in harm's way for any reason. I hope you will leave the matter at that§ He really didn't want to tell a dragon he just met his life's story. The female Horntail peered at him for several minutes after that. He didn't back down, no matter how much he wanted to just dive behind arock and she leaned her head backwards and made a low growling sound that to Harry sounded like laughter.

§Very well Speaker§ she said with obvious mirth in her voice.§i will allow you to just walk to the nest and obtain the false egg, but i have a condition first. You must allow me to judge you.§ As she saw the frown that formed on Harry's face she was quick to reassure him. §do not worry hatchling it is nothing dangerous. It is simply a ritual blessing of sorts performed by my knid to yours when we meet someone who we believe to be worthy. The first part of it is the judgement of magic. If you are found worthy then magic will allow me to continue to the second part which is the actuall blessing. Then you are free to take the false egg and bring honour to your nest without the pains of conflict like you desire.§ Harry needed a great deal of willpower to stop himself from jumping to the air with celebration but quickly sobered when he passed the draagoness's words through his mind one more time. The frown was back on his face.

§Then what happens if i am not worthy§ he asked his voice low with fear and anger.

The dragoness gave a growling chuckle at this and procceded to answer. §Absolutely nothing. It just means you wont get the blessing, though i highly doubt that, and then you are free to again take the false egg and be on your way§Harry stared in wonder at this.

§Just like that?§ he asked, hope and fear filling his voice.

§just like that hatchling§ assured the dragoness in the most soothing tone she had used throughout this whole conversation. Harry couldn't believe it. He had just ensured that not only would he complete the first task but that he would also do so with no harm coming to either hhim, the dragon, or the eggs. §Thank you§ he said, emotion filling all of his being.'Hagrid was right. They really are wonderfull beings, dragons.'

§Let's get started then hatchling. First remove the fake skin you and your kind wear from your torso and then make sure to stand verry still.§ He did as she asked and removed his champon's robe and shirt. That was when he saw the horntail's head reach him. Her nose spike was under his chin and her snout was touching his chest. Her breath warmed his naked torso. After a while of just standing there he started feeling something. It was a warmth that seemed to radiate from the point of contact between him and the dragoness. He saw that the dragoness had her eyes closed and as the warmth reached his head so did he.

-"-

While all of this was happening the entire crowd was utterly silent. From the moment Harry started walking towards the dragon, nothing could be heard in the entire arena. Nobody had been able to hear Harry speaking but they could all see the differences in the dragon's demeanor since he approached it.

What made everyone break the silence with a collective gasp was Harry taking of his clothes in front of the entire audience (many witches started paying very close attention in that moment, wink,wink) and the dragon, then putting its head on his chest. The ones most confused and awed by this were the dragon-handlers. They had never seen a dragon act like this before. To them the female Horntail seemed way too docile in front of Harry even when she hadn't cradled her head on his chest let alone now. Now they simply stared with their mouths open as if confounded.

The suprises didn't end there however. A few moments later, a light shone from the point of contact between Harry and the dragoness. That light seemed to produce a sound like lightning and scorcing flesh, however neither Harry nor the dragoness seemed to show any signs of pain or distress, far from it actually. Harry seemed to have a small smile on his lips. As time passed the light became brighter and the sounds louder until they eventually reached their peak. When that happened, the dragoness whipped her head up straight towards the sky, while at the same time Harry pulled his wand and pointed upwards, also towards the sky, both of them carrying the light along with them. Almost immediately after white flames started spewing not only from the dragoness's mouth but also from Harry's wand. At first the flames seemed to coalesce into a cloud right above them but when they stopped producing it it slowly started swirling downward, producing a dome of fire surounding both of them.

That seemed to snap the entire stadium out of their silence, as the people closest to the arena started screaming and jumping backwards towards the back seats afraid of being burnt. The security wizards and dragon-handlers seemed to be in panic as they started attacking the dome with every spell they could think of, in the attempt to break it and rescue Harry (after all if they let the Boy-who-Lived die in their watch Fudge was going to have their heads.) None of them worked however, and some seemed to bounce back even, targeting their own caster.

The only one who seemed perfectly calm however was an old man sitting in the judges' table. That old man was Albus Dumbledore. He seemed to look at the dome with the greatest height of concentration and wonder in his eyes. After all being as old and knowledgeable as he was, it wasn't every day he saw magic he hadn's so much as heard of let alone seen. In haste, he cast an advanced diagnostic spell on the dome. The result astounded him. The fire that made up the dome seemed to have the exact same outward properties of Fiendfyre, but within it was exactly the opposite. Where Fiendfyre's core was made up of Destruction magic, this White inferno's core was made up of Creation magic with the purest concentration he had ever seen. Even some of the most advanced healing spells and unicorn blood he saw in Flamel's workshop and library paled in comparison. His curiosity mildly sated, he then turne his attention towards the panicking crowd. 'That wont do' he thought as he saw several of his students being on the verge of being trampled. He quickly cast a Sonorus spell on his throat.

"SILENCE" he yelled with his enhanced voice. At that sound of it, the entire crowd stilled and turned to look at him.

"AS YOU ARE AWARE" he continued "WE ARE HERE TO OBSERVE THE FIRST TASK AS PERFORMED BY THE CHAMPIONS. IF YOU ARE CONCERNED FOR YOUR SAFETY, BECAUSE OF THIS INCIDENT" he said poining at the white dome of fire "YOU ARE WELCOME TO LEAVE IN AN ORDERLY FASHION. HOWEVER I WOULD LIKE TO ASSURE YOU THAT THIS DOME, ENIGMATIC THOUGH IT MAY BE, DOES NOT HAVE THE POTENTIAL OF HARMING ANY OF YOU." At that, the entire crowd seemed to calm down and walk back to their seats, though some still looked at the dome with apprehension and took their leave.

As that happened, the radiance and illumination of the white fire started to inrease, and slowly but surely it started to converge into a single ball of flame at the top of the dome, letting people see what was happening on the inside. They saw Harry, his hands spread out and his body in the supine position floating right under the concentrated ball of flame. The flame then seemed to quiver for a while as it lowered itself towards him. When it reached his chest at the same point the dragoness had her head on, right at his heart, instead of burning him like normal fire, it first burned a mark on his skin ( a single great crooked line diagonally across his heart with two thinner and smaller lines protruding from somewhere in the middle that then bent downward at a roughly 130 degree angle.) and then proceeded to infuse itself within that same mark. Slowly then Harry started floating down and as he did he opened his eyes and shifted his body upwards landing on his feet. He lowered his head to look at the mark on his chest to see it still glowing white, and then to everyone's suprise grinned. He then turned his attention to the great Hungarian Horntail that seemed to be ready to pass out from exhaustion next to her nest. He started walking and then reached the nest, bent down, got the golden egg. As he was leaving he went to the dragoness pressed hi forehead and right hand on her snout and muttered thanks both in english and parseltongue. The dragoness seemingly pleased both with him and herrself let out a satisfied growl and then closed her eyes and succumbed to much needed sleep.

Then Harry started jogging towards the champion's tent. Once inside he was instantly led to a chair and was"assaulted" by madam Pomfrey with dozens of physical and magical diagnostic spell one after another, al the while hearing her mutter, "last year dementors, this year dragons, what are they going to bring into this school next?".

a/n:Well that's it for the first chapter. Hope you like it. Reviews are welcome

If you want, you can vote in the poll wether you would want cedrik to not die or die at the third task, or some other way later. I will take the result into advisement, but if it seems to not fit the story in my head i reserve the right not to follow it