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Harry's feet hit the ground hard and he once again found himself sprawled face down on the ground. Well, he reflected, at least it was dry tall grass this time. Fighting against the quaking that still plagued his muscles from Voldemort's cruciatus, he struggled to his feet.

Back at Hogwarts, he noted as a sense of relief washed over him. Had anyone noticed his arrival?

"Harry!" Susan shrieked.

Well, that answered that. Harry looked up to see that Susan was running toward him from the stands as fast as she could.

In Susan's wake were Hermione and his fellow champions. From a slightly different angle, he saw Dumbledore, the Minister of Magic, Susan's aunt Amelia and the rest of the judges also heading in his direction.

It occurred to Harry that he ought to figure out what he was going to tell everyone. He could not just tell them all the truth after all. Doing so would open him up to possible punishment for colluding with Kiska to win the first task, and letting the Ministry know that a specific group of dragons killed so many wizards would likely have some officious idiot ordering the death of Kiska and her brood.

Well, he told himself, he had most specifically not wanted to be in this stupid tournament, and he had pretty much lied, cheated and traded on his celebrity through the whole thing. Perhaps his best course of action was to keep right on with the skill set that had worked for him so far.

If Harry had learned nothing else from Vernon Dursley he had learned that the best way to avoid having to explain yourself was to accuse the person who might have taken exception to whatever it was you needed to explain.

So, the plan was to lie. Lie hard, lie fast, and lie constantly. That and blame Dumbledore.

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"Harry!" Susan cried again as she wrapped herself around her boyfriend.

Harry hissed in pain as she did so.

"Oh…" Susan backed away from him, actually looking at him for the first time. "Did I hurt you?"

"Only a whole lot," Harry admitted while reaching to wrap his good right arm around her shoulders. "I don't mind a hug, just not across the ribs. Sue, I'm about to be really stupid, just go along with what I say, ok? I'll explain later."

Susan's eyes were wide at his words, but she nodded as the others neared.

"Bloody hell Harry," Cedric said as he arrived with Hermione's hand in his. "What happened to you?"

"Harry?" Hermione asked her eyes wide as she had seen what Harry had brought with him. "Is that?"

"Harry," Dumbledore interrupted as he approached. "Where were you taken?"

"You!" Harry spat. "You lied to me."

"What?" Harry's reaction startled the old man.

"All of you. There are only three tasks you said," Harry glared at the assembled judges. "Take the cup and it's over, you said. Why didn't you tell me about the fourth task? You came up with another task because there were four of us didn't you? I told you all I didn't put my name into the cup, I didn't want to do this, but you just had to spring a surprise on the one of us stupid enough to actually take the cup, didn't you?"

"What do you mean 'fourth task'?" Madam Maxime asked.

"The bloody fourth task, everything that happened to me after I took the stupid cup!" Harry exclaimed. "Minister, I think you should hold a public inquiry about this."

"What are you talking about Harry?" Fudge asked fumbling with his bowler hat at the very mention of a public inquiry.

"They had the fourth tasks set up to force whoever took the cup to have to fight a reincarnated Dark Lord Voldemort," Harry said, really getting into the fiction he was spinning for the audience. "They used my blood to reform his body," Harry showed everyone the still oozing wound on his left arm, "and then he hit me with at least two cruciatus curses."

"The Dark Lord was reborn?" Headmaster Karkaroff demanded, clutching at his left forearm.

"For about half an hour," Harry shrugged. "Don't worry though, it's taken care of."

"NO!" Fudge exclaimed. "Lord Thingy is dead."

"I know," Harry said with a puzzled look on his face. "I just told you it was taken care of."

"No," the Minister protested, "He died thirteen years ago."

"More or less," Harry agreed. "And he did it again tonight. Ask the Headmaster and the rest of the judges. They're the ones that set it all up. I mean how else could the Triwizard cup have turned out to be a portkey?"

"We did no such thing Harry," Dumbledore protested. "It was…"

"Oh, right, it never happened." Harry said working himself up to a rant while scooping his proof from the high grass. "And this isn't Voldemort's arm, and it isn't holding his bloody wand! Honestly Minister, are you going to let them get away with this?"

"Lord Thingy's arm?" Fudge said, backing away in horror. "And his wand?"

"Yeah," Harry agreed nodding vigorously. "I don't know how they did it, but they set it up so that Voldemort was reincarnated for their stupid fourth task."

"Lord Thingy is back?"

"For about half an hour, yeah. Long enough to call his Death Eaters to him and to start throwing curses around. What kind of task is fighting a Dark Lord? I mean he came out of the cauldron looking all snakey and stuff." Harry waved the severed arm in the Minister's face. "Seriously Minister, just look at this thing. Does that even look remotely human?"

"Keep that away from me!"

"If you think this is bad, you should have seen it when it was still attached to his body and casting curses at me." Harry said his eyes wide. "Now, that was scary, let me tell you."

"Harry…" Dumbledore attempted to interrupt.

"Oh, no," Harry said, swinging the wand holding hand of the severed arm into the Headmaster's face before waving it at all of the judges. "You lot set this whole thing up. You all made me compete when you knew quite clearly that there was no way I could get past Headmaster Dumbledore's age line around the Goblet of Fire. You made me face a dragon, you tried to kill Susan in the lake, never asking if I could swim, you made me go into that maze full of some really horrible creatures, and then your Triwizard cup took me to Voldemort. Minister, you've got to do something about this!"

"Dumbledore!" Fudge shouted, "what is all this?"

"Mr. Potter, where did the portkey take you?" Amelia Bones interrupted her Minister, "the longer we wait, the colder the trail becomes, we may never find those who were waiting for you when you were taken."

"I have no idea where I was taken Madam Bones," Harry admitted. "But they aren't going anywhere. I'm pretty sure they're dead."

"Dead?" Amelia blinked. "How did they die?"

Harry hesitated. What to say? "Voldemort wanted to prove to his people that he was more powerful than I was, and wanted to duel me. So Peter cut me loose from the tombstone he had tied me to and gave me back my wand."

"Peter?" Olympe asked. "Who is Peter?"

"Oh," Harry slapped his forehead, and turning to search in the high grass. "I almost forgot. Peter Pettigrew."

"Harry," Amelia said gently, "Peter Pettigrew was killed by Sirius Black the day after your parents were killed."

"No he wasn't," Harry said. "And I don't appreciate you saying bad things like that about my Godfather."

"Your Godfather?" Amelia asked. "Sirius Black is your Godfather?"

"Yeah," Harry acknowledged stooping over to lift his second piece of evidence from the ground with a grunt of pain. "And here is what's left of Peter Pettigrew."

Fudge shrieked at the sight of Pettigrew's upper torso. In short order, his shriek was joined by similar sounds from Fleur and Susan. Hermione looked like she was going to be sick, but she was not surprised by the half traitor as she had been staring at him since she arrived on the scene.

"You'll note the Dark Mark on his left arm?" Harry said allowing the half corpse to fall to the ground. "Minister, you've got to do something about the horrible injustice that was perpetrated against my Godfather by your predecessor. Surely a hero of law and order like you can fix all this."

"Peter Pettigrew? Peter Pettigrew was a Death Eater?" Fudge gasped, backing away from the bisected torso, a look of revulsion on his face.

"You were telling us what happened Mr. Potter," Amelia reminded them all.

"Oh, yeah. Peter cut me down and gave me back my wand, and then Voldemort wanted to duel. I distracted him, and ran for it. That made all the Death Eaters start casting all kinds of spells at me, and well; I ended up trapped under some kind of statue, and then the dragons came.

"Dragons?" Fudge squeaked.

"Yeah, a family of Welsh Greens I think. At least that is what they looked like… I was mostly trying to hide. They must have been nesting in the area and were attracted by all the magic being thrown around or something," Harry said, hoping that he was telling enough of the truth that the manufactured parts of the story would not be noticeable. "The dragons sort of killed all the Death Eaters before the big one barbequed Voldemort where he stood."

"Barbequed?" Fudge asked.

"That's a sort of Muggle cooking technique," Amelia said authoritatively. "It involves roasting whole animals in forest fires."

"Uh," Harry hesitated, wondering where Susan's aunt had gotten that idea. "Ok, sure. Then one of the smaller ones found me, and I guess that I wasn't a threat or it wasn't hungry or something, so the dragons left me alone and flew away."

"But…" Olympe Maxim seemed to search for the proper words. "Why did you bring… that?" she asked pointing at the severed arm.

"All the other tasks had use trying to retrieve something," Harry answered having anticipated this question. "The egg, a hostage, the cup. I figured that you wanted something from your 'secret task'. So, I brought the biggest piece of Voldemort I could find."

Amelia's eyes narrowed. "I'm afraid, Mr. Potter that parts of your story don't seem to make much sense."

"Now Amelia," Dumbledore began.

"What do you mean Madam Bones?" Harry asked as innocently as he could manage, recalling another bit of wisdom from the mind of Vernon Dursley.  Authority demands sincerity. Once you can fake that, you're golden.

"You specifically said that 'it was taken care of', now you're telling us that it was a family of dragons?"

"Oh," crap Potter, Harry thought, THINK. "Well, ok, maybe I didn't take care of them myself, but the dragons probably wouldn't have reacted if they weren't throwing all that magic at me. Maybe I can't really claim responsibility for rekilling Voldemort, but I think I can claim the credit."

"Hmm," the head of the DMLE said. "And then there was your claim of escaping the Dark Lord by 'distracting him'. Do you really expect us to believe that you managed to 'distract' the most focused evil wizard in the last half century sufficiently that you might escape?"

Harry focused his eyes on the ground, and then looked up guiltily. "Well Madam Bones…"

"We're waiting Mr. Potter."

Harry sighed and nodded. "I guess you caught me," he said, before his eyes went wide and his face paled. He pointed beyond the small crowd and screamed, "What the hell is that?"

Instantly the witches and wizards pivoted to face the oncoming danger, their wands out and defensive spells on their lips, while the Minister took pains to position himself behind the Chief Mugwump. They immediately realized that they did not know what the boy had seen.

"What was it Harry?" Dumbledore asked.

"Speak up Mr. Potter, what did you see?" Amelia demanded.

"Harry?" Cedric asked as the 7th year turned to look for his friend, only to see the younger boy moving away from the crowd as quickly as he could with Susan's hand in his. It took only an instant for the Hufflepuff to understand what had just happened, and begin to laugh.

"What do you find so funny Mr. Diggory?" Dumbledore asked, still on guard.

"I'm not sure, but I think," Cedric said with a wide grin, "that Harry just demonstrated his technique for distracting 'focused' wizards."

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As soon as they rounded the corner of the castle, Harry slowed to a stop, and leaned against the stone wall with a small whimper of pain.

"Are you alright, Harry?" Susan asked worriedly.

"Yeah," Harry nodded as he leaned over panting with his hands upon his knees. "I just need to see Madam Pomfrey as soon as I can."

"Well, let's go then!" the redhead insisted.

"Just a second," Harry pleaded. "Let me catch my breath. Do you think they bought it?"

"Bought what?"

"The story I told," Harry replied. After shoving himself away from the wall and taking her hand, he started limping toward the nearest castle entrance. "It was mostly true… Not the fourth task stuff of course, but the rest of it."

"Was it bad?" She asked, dreading the answer.

"Would telling you I thought of you when I thought I was going to die sound like a cheesy pick-up line?" Harry grinned.

"Oh, yes Harry, I so believe that. Pull the other one. It's got bells on it."

Harry grinned, not sure if he was happy she didn't believe him or not. "It was Kiska and her brood that saved me."

"Kiska? But why did you…"

"Voldemort called for his Death Eaters as soon as he was reborn. They were all there when Kiska and her little ones showed up. Of course the 'little ones' are bigger than most horses now, but still. The Death Eaters didn't stand a chance… including Malfoy's dad. I didn't want some idiot in the Ministry deciding that the dragons that killed the poor unfortunate Imperius victims needed to be put down."

"I see," Susan said. "I think you made the right choice."

Harry stumbled and Susan moved to support him, preventing her boyfriend from falling on his face. "No more stalling Potter, you're going to the Hospital wing if I have to stun you and levitate you myself."

"Wow," Harry said through clenched teeth. "And I thought Hermione was bossy."

"Watch it mister."

"Help me!"

Harry and Susan exchanged a look at the sound of the unknown voice.

"Help me! Please?" The plaintive voice came again, "my father will reward you! Please help me!"

Harry and Susan started moving again, following the pleading voice to one of the entrances to the castle. Protruding from the doorframe at approximately head level was a rainbow colored mass of… well, not hair, but something that sort of resembled hair much the same way a leather bag sort of resembled a human lung.

Again, Harry and Susan exchanged a look. Harry noticed a look of recognition wash across Susan's features.

"Draco?" she asked.

"Bones?" The voice asked. "Oh thank Merlin. Bones, you just have to help me! I'm stuck."

"What's wrong Malfoy?" Harry asked, wondering just how one went about being stuck in a doorway. "How are you stuck?"

"Potter? Oh hell."

"How are you stuck Draco?" Susan insisted.

"My… My… It's my hair. My hair is too big for the doorway. I tried to go through without my hood up and now I'm stuck!"

"Well, take the wig off Malfoy," Harry snorted.

"Wig?" Malfoy sputtered. "Are you mad Potter? I'm not wearing a wig."

"Not wearing a wig?" Harry asked reaching out to handle the rainbow hued mass. "You've got Day-Glo rainbow nylon growing out of your head now Malfoy?"

The only response from the Slytherin was silence.

Susan placed a hand on the Slytherin's shoulder. "Come on Draco, talk to us so we can help."

"Fine. I can't take the wig off. Goyle kept pulling on it, so I used a family sticking charm. But that damned dwarf Flitwick confiscated my wand after I thrashed your pal Weasley, Potter."

Harry quit trying to figure out why a family would have a proprietary sticking charm and looked to Susan. "Draco hurt Ron?"

"No, not really, they sort of slapped at each other a few times is all. It was kind of sad really." Susan drew her wand. "What sticking charm did you use Draco, I'll cancel it."

"I'm not revealing any Malfoy family spells to you Bones."

Susan paused for a moment. "Alright Draco, We'll let someone know you're here then."

"Hurry it up!" Draco commanded. "My father will hear of it if you delay in any way!"

Harry started limping towards the next door into the castle with Susan at his side. "Who should we tell?"

"I don't know," Susan shrugged. "If I remember, I'll find someone after I get you to the Hospital wing. Maybe Lavender Brown or Parvati Patil… I don't know, they might be interested." Harry laughed and Susan offered him an evil grin. "I don't know who that git thinks he is, trying to order me around."

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Harry woke up staring at the ceiling of the Hospital Wing, and feeling far better than he had in a while. Madam Pomfrey could be a bit vindictive with her foul tasting potions if you were silly enough to come in to her hospital ward actually needing medical attention, but damn, she did good work.

He took a deep breath testing his ribs. Perfect. No pain at all. Harry idly wondered how long he could hide out in the Hospital wing and avoid the repercussions of what he had done upon his return.

"Feeling better Harry?" Dumbledore asked.

Crap. Evidently, there was no hiding from the repercussions. Harry sat up in the bed to find his Headmaster sitting in a chintz chair at the foot of his bed. "Much Professor. Madam Pomfrey is very good."

"You caused quite a stir yesterday Harry," Dumbledore said. "Not five minutes after you left us so dramatically Madam Bone's Aurors managed to trace the portkey that took you to Voldemort. I accompanied Madam Bones to the crime scene. There was quite a bit of carnage. And there was far too much evidence that you were cursed far more than you indicated when you spoke of the event, and Madam Pomfrey's diagnosis of your injuries confirmed that beyond any doubt."

"I was trying not to dwell on it," Harry admitted.

"So tell me Harry, do you truly believe I set up the rebirth of Voldemort as part of a Triwizard task?"

"No sir, I was pretty sure you didn't. However, I figured that I needed to get the Ministry's attention to get Sirius exonerated. Without the distraction, I figured the Minister would probably sweep it all under a rug."

Dumbledore sighed. "I wish you had trusted me to deal with Sirius' situation Harry.

"I have trusted you for most of a year Professor," Harry pointed out. "Sirius still had a 'Kill on Sight' order out on him yesterday."

"He did," the Headmaster admitted.

"So now, the boy who lived who is also the winner of the Triwizard Tournament, and has killed Voldemort, again, has appealed to the Minister with evidence that Sirius is innocent. How can that go wrong?"

"I can think of many ways, but in truth, you got very lucky Harry. Cornelius has rescinded the death order, and is going to be announcing Sirius' being cleared tonight when he awards you your prize money and eternal glory for winning the tournament."

The good news about Sirius brightened Harry's outlook for a few seconds, but more than a little guilt replaced that feeling. "Do we really have to have a ceremony Professor? I mean everyone put so much effort into each of the tasks…"

"Are you feeling guilty about what you had to do to win Harry?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes twinkling.

"A bit," Harry admitted.

"I've been paying close attention to your actions since the first task Harry," Dumbledore said quietly. "I am still not clear on what transpired between you and the dragon, but it is clear that you forged some kind of relationship with the creature, and if Hagrid is to be believed with her hatchlings. Should I assume that the current Ministry order to put down the rogue Welsh Green dragons will be sadly unfulfilled?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"I suspected as much. Then the long conversation I had with Clahcktahnk concerning his acquisition of a large quantity of a certain delicacy confirmed the suspicion I had formed after the first task. Rest assured Harry, you did not violate a single rule. Each of the competitors sought and used advantages throughout the tournament. Indeed the only person who should be disappointed in his actions from this tournament is me."

Several seconds of silence passed between the two wizards, until Harry once again broke it. "Do I have to go back to the Dursleys?"

"With Sirius' pending exoneration," the Headmaster temporized, "I would say, no. I would not think that you will need to darken the door of #4 Privet drive ever again."

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Three hours after the ceremony that had Harry awarded the 1000 galleon prize and the title of Supreme Champion of the Triwizard Tournament; the four champions were gathered in the unused classroom they had claimed for a final meeting.

"I have to know," Viktor slurred. He had brought along a generous amount of what he claimed as his favorite beverage, something called 'slivovitz' that he claimed to be 'rakia made with the plums', whatever that was.

Whatever it was, Harry found it to be a bit strong for his taste.

"I have to know," Viktor continued, having collected his thoughts again. "What was final question from the Sphinx?"

"She asked me what the Dewey Decimal class for languages was," Cedric laughed. "I was lucky that Hermione made me learn the system."

Viktor shook his head. "Twang!" He said.

"Twang?" Harry asked

"That is sound I hear in my nightmares," Viktor said sadly. "Three times I was asked a question, three times I was wrong, and three times, Twang! I fly without a broom. Even about my favorite color. Pathetic. Had I been asked your question… Twang."

"She asked me a riddle, 'What is black and white and read all over?' A newspaper."

"I do not understand." Fleur said. She had brought along a bottle of wine, French of course, and had taken pains to ensure that Harry had learned how to appreciate it.

"Nor do I," Viktor admitted.

"It's a child's riddle. A newspaper is black ink on white paper, and the past tense of read is 'read'."

"Twang!" Viktor said sadly.

The champions shared a laugh.

"I never got that far," Fleur said sadly. "Damned skrewt."

Stupid things got me too," Harry admitted. "At least twice."

"I heard," Cedric interjected, "that they want to make a fourth task a permanent part of the tournament."

"Wonderful," Harry said, leaning back in his chair. "At least it won't be us ever again." He raised his left hand until it was well over his head. "I've had it to here with eternal glory."

"Well," Viktor smiled. "It won't be us… You're still in school…"

Harry blinked when he realized Viktor was right. "Bloody hell."

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"I'm not sure this is a good idea,"

"Lighten up Amy," Sirius said. "Harry says it's perfectly safe."

"Don't you dare call me Amy, Sirius Black, and don't you forget that Harry Potter went into a stadium to face a nesting Horntail. I'm not sure he even understands what the word 'safe' even means."

"I have to say that it's an honor to have you here Madam Bones, it's not often we get such high ranking visitors here." Constance Beaumont said, all the while working out how this visit might be parlayed into an increase in her funding.

"We're escorting our wards to visit the dragon Harry faced for the tournament." Amelia explained. "I hope that finding that particular dragon is possible."

"It is," Beaumont agreed. "And here comes your guide."

Charlie Weasley approached at a trot. "You wanted to see me Boss?"

"Yes Weasley, a few visitors from Britain. You're to take them out to Kiska's cave and provide security."

Charlie blinked. "Kiska's cave? Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"It will be fine Charlie."

"Harry?"

"Just conduct the tour Weasley," Beaumont said dismissively. "Our guests have been made aware of the dangers."

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"Harry," Charlie said as the party made its way into the small valley that housed Kiska's cavern. "Look I know you fought Kiska once, and even survived somehow, but mate, I'm telling you, you don't want a rematch."

"Relax Charlie," Harry laughed. "The very last thing I would ever want to do is fight a dragon. This is just a visit. You need to learn to trust more."

"I can hardly manage to get my folks to visit me, and here you are, wanting to visit a dragon," Charlie noted. "You can see how odd this looks."

"Honestly Mr. Weasley," Susan said. "You don't need to worry; Harry isn't looking for a fight."

"Call me Charlie, please, I hear 'Mr. Weasley' and I start looking for my father," a smile crossed his lips. "Or maybe my older brother. Bill has always thought he was so cool, but I always thought he was a bit stiff."

"I'll have to let Bill know that the next time I see him," Harry laughed. "This is just a visit."

"Harry, no one 'just visits' a dragon," Charlie said. "I don't know what you think you know, but trust me, Kiska isn't going to be happy to see you."

"Charlie," Harry grinned at the older man. "Ron always told me how laid back you were. Today I've learned that Bill Weasley, the coolest man on the planet is in all actuality a 'bit stiff' and that Charlie Weasley, the easiest going man on the planet actually worries too much."

Charlie stopped dead in his tracks. Worries too much?

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"This is the valley," Charlie said. "It appears that the Horntail family is either in their cavern or out hunting. There are several other dragons out today. There is a bonded pair of Welsh Greens over there… you can just see the female spreading her wings so that the male can groom her. The Welsh Green is the only specie of dragon that mates for life, Esmeralda and Emerson have been together for almost two centuries. Up on that hill there, is one of the oldest dragons on this reserve, Tusks, a male Romanian Longhorn."

A piercing bellow filled the air. "And that is the call of a male Horntail in flight. The researchers say that the call is the dragon's way of locating his home from the air."

"What do you think it means?" Susan asked innocently.

"Well, I think he's just having fun."

"We can always ask Harry."

"Ask Harry?" Charlie repeated noticing for the first time that his youngest brother's best friend was no longer with the group, and wondered where the boy might have gotten off to. "Why would you think Harry would know?"

"Two reasons," Susan grinned. "First is Harry can speak to dragons."

"Miss Bones," Charlie said kindly, "no one can speak to dragons. Oh, there's the male horntail." The Dragon Handler pointed out the huge red flying creature.

"Sure they can't," Susan grinned at the older man. "The second reason is that Harry is riding on Ron now."

"Ron? Who told you that the dragon's name is Ron?"

"Harry told me," Susan explained. "I got a little sick watching him eat, Ron I mean… Ron the dragon, not Ron your brother, so I missed it when Harry named them."

"Harry named them?" Charlie asked incredulously before looking up. "Harry is riding Ron?"

"See that Amy?" Sirius asked. "That's my godson up there."

"And that's my niece who's bamboozling the Dragon handler." Amelia pointed out. "And don't call me Amy."

Ron the Dragon swooped low over the sightseers, with Harry Potter on his back, holding on with both arms and whooping with joy in harmony with the dragon's call.

"I think you're right about the doing it for fun," Susan noted to Charlie who was staring after the dragon in shock.

"No one rides a dragon," Charlie muttered. "It's impossible."

"Charlie old boy, I think you'll find that my Godson does the impossible with annoying regularity," Sirius snarked. "He even got Amy here to loosen up a bit."

"I've still got my wand Sirius Black," Amelia said in a dangerous tone. "You remember my wand don't you, the one I used on you so often when you were a trainee? All me Amy again and I'll see to it you meet my wand again."

"She loves me you know," Sirius confided in Charlie. "That's just her way of showing it."

"Are you people insane?" Charlie demanded. "Harry is riding a bloody Horntail, one of the most dangerous dragons in the world!"

"There's no reason to be jealous," Susan laughed. "If you want a ride, all you have to do is ask."

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After an hour of playing with the dragons in the air, at one point leaping from Ron to Thumper in mid-flight, Harry landed, only to have Susan rush up to him and smack him on the arm.

"What were you thinking?"

"What?" Harry asked, surprised by his girlfriend's actions.

"You were at least a thousand feet in the air and you jumped from one dragon to another? Are you trying to kill me?" Susan smacked Harry again. "Don't you ever do that again!"

"Alright, alright," Harry grumbled, while trying to ignore the draconic laughter. ~ Hush you lot! ~ He called up to the circling dragons.

"Harry?"

"Yeah Charlie?"

The second oldest of Arthur Weasley's sons searched for the proper words. "You can speak to dragons?"

"Yeah."

"And they aren't mindless beasts?"

"Good lord no," Harry laughed. "They're people. Big, scaly, and extremely dangerous, but people. Kiska considers herself the Queen of the world, and I, for one, am not going to argue with her, Sweetie and Cuddles are about as little girlish as a pair of dragons can be… Juno is bossy as hell, and Thumper is a scrapper who doesn't take crap off anyone."

"What about Ron," Charlie asked. "And why did you name him 'Ron'?"

"Ron is bound and determined to take over as the ruler of the world as soon as Kiska steps down. He wanted to be named Reddeth or Smaug."

"So why did you name him for my little brother?"

"Well," Harry grinned, "have you seen the way either of the Rons eat? I mean, seriously, if there were ever twins separated at birth…"

"Yeah, ok, I can see that," Charlie laughed. "But…"

Charlie's words stopped when Ron and Thumper landed next to the pair of wizards with a rush of wing driven wind.

~ What does the red furred servant want Uncle Harry? ~ Thumper asked.

~ They're talking about me, I heard them, ~ Ron said proudly. ~ That's because I'm the best, and everyone knows it. Even the servants. ~

~ This is Charlie, ~ Harry explained. ~ I think he'd like to fly with you like you did with me. ~

Charlie stepped back at the sound of Harry hissing at the dragons, his first visceral reaction to the sound of a parselmouth speaking. However, he calmed himself when Harry laughed, and the dragons showed signs amusement. That was when he noticed the evil grin crossing the younger man's face.

"What's going on Harry?" He asked before he squawked when the female's head shot forward on her long neck and grasped him at his torso, lifting him into the air and dropping him onto her back. "What have you done Harry? What is she doing?"

"Just taking you for a little flight Charlie!" Harry shouted as Thumper lifted from the ground. "If she gets too rough, just smack her!"

Ron stood next to Harry for several moments as the pair watched Thumper and Charlie's flight. ~ You know Uncle Harry, ~ Ron said. ~ I could probably steal Charlie away from her… I could give him a real ride. ~

~ Have fun, ~ Harry laughed. ~ Just don't hurt Charlie. ~

Susan approached and her arms encircled Harry's waist from behind as the pair watched the red dragon's approach to intercept his sister and Charlie.

"Charlie's going to hurt you, you know that right?"

"Hurt me?" Harry laughed. "Don't be silly, I've got dragons."

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AN: And so ends my crack filled Triwizard tournament. There might be a sequel, but not soon. A lot of people seemed to like this one. Thanks for all the reviews.

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