Categories > Books > Harry Potter > Desert Warrior
This story is set back in the timeline of The Mummy Returns, so here's a basic rundown of the Harry Potter timeline in relation to this chapter.
1922: Harry Potter is born to Lily and James Potter.
1923: Harry is a year old and his parents are murdered by Voldemort.
1927: Harry is five and goes to Egypt with his distasteful relatives and becomes Kedar.
1933: Harry turns eleven and starts Hogwarts.
1936: Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts, current year.
Disclaimer: Not even in my dreams do I own Harry Potter...believe me, I've tried, but the thought of lawsuits deters all such dreams. I also don't own anything recognizable from either the Mummy or the Mummy Returns.
Chapter 19: First Task
By the time classes ended at midday for the first task, Kedar figured he was as ready as he would ever be. In fact, he just wanted it all to be over with so that he wasn't such a big focus of attention. Sure he had often found himself in the limelight as the Boy-who-lived, but he had never had Rita Skeeter try and trick him into an interview after having been forced to sit and pose for photos in which he constantly found himself dragged to the front. He'd take the dragon he was about to face any day. Glancing over at Viktor he noticed the Bulgarian Seeker was slouched nervously, but a resolute look was firmly plastered onto his face; Cedric on the other hand was as pale as fresh snow despite the fact that all three of them had known for a few weeks now what they would be facing. Fleur was also pale and nervously flicking at her hair, but Kedar didn't know the part-veela well enough to know how well she was actually handling the situation. He just hoped the others didn't see his own nervousness, it was taking all of his training to keep his calm as he thought of what he was about to do-or more specifically the spell he was about to use if his original plan failed, which he was sure it would since simply summoning the egg seemed too easy to work.
He had discovered the spell near the back of the book of Egyptian spells Evie had sent him earlier in the year, it was the only spell he had found that could be cast upon a dragon by a single person without causing it harm and wasn't considered dark by the English Ministry of Magic; the only problem was that it reminded him a bit too closely of the Spell of Subjugation that was written within the pages of the Book of the Dead. He had actually thought of using the spell in the Book of the Dead until he had found the other one, but then he would have had to bring the book with him since there was a curse upon the book to keep anyone but a High Priest from memorizing the spells within it.
Ludo Bagman re-entered the tent looking more cheerful than Kedar thought anyone had the right to be, the man was nearly bouncing like a child who had just been given the biggest treat in the world.
"Good, good," the man said jovially, "they're ready for you then. Now when the whistle blows, Mr. Diggory-"
As if conjured by Bagman's words the whistle blew long and shrill, summoning Cedric out to the arena where a Swedish Short-snout would be waiting for him. Hurrying out before the suddenly green-looking Cedric, Bagman ran off to start the commentary, welcoming everyone to the opening of the tournament and introducing Cedric as the first champion. Kedar gave Cedric what he hoped was an encouraging look before the Hufflepuff resolutely left the tent and left the others to wait and listen. And listen they did, hearing the cheering and gasps of the crowd amidst Bagman's commentary. It was a nerve wracking eternity later before a single great roar went up, and Kedar felt relief well up in him as he realized that Cedric had gotten his egg and his scores were being put up.
"One down, three to go!" Bagman's shout after a moment of silence confirmed Kedar's suspicions. "Miss Delacour, if you please!"
It was the same process all over again, Bagman chortling out loud over every failed try Fleur made. Kedar made a low noise in his throat without realizing it until Viktor looked up sharply.
"What?" the words managed to work it's way past Viktor's parched lips; the Bulgarian Seeker might not be nervous about performing in front of large crowds, but facing a dragon in an arena would upset anyone's calm.
"I just want to strangle that man," Kedar admitted, "he's taking too much delight in this, and with us just sitting here, hearing every word..."
"Yeah," Viktor grunted before resuming his staring contest with the ground and Kedar took a deep breath to center himself, telling himself that it was just like the tests he used to undergo in order to prove himself as a Medjai to the Council of the Commanders, to prove that he was worthy of being the son of their Chief.
Another great cheer went up from outside the tent followed by silence while Fleur's marks were being put up, then the whistle was blown to summon Viktor and Kedar found himself alone in the tent to wait for the final whistle to sound. Then all too soon it did sound and Kedar found himself pausing with his hand about to push the tent flap aside. Abruptly sinking to one knee Kedar pulled his sealed knife, sheath and all, from his belt and held it out before him as he mentally invoked the ritual prayer a Medjai recited before going into battle.
"Allah bless me in my trial," Kedar ended out loud before standing and walking into the arena, the summoning spell already falling softly from his lips as he entered the rocky enclosure.
As expected, the summoning spell didn't do anything and so Kedar raised his wand to begin performing the spell that would allow him to influence the dragon's predatory instincts before abruptly stopping. He couldn't perform the spell, not here in front of all these people, not when it reminded him so much of the Spell of Subjugation; it just didn't feel right.
"-and it looks like Mr. Potter is having doubts and has changed his mind on his course of action," Bagman shouted to the crowd. "I wonder what he's going to do now, does he have a backup plan?! Mr. Potter, despite being the Boy-who-lived is at a disadvantage given his under-aged status-"
Kedar ignored the commentary on how badly he could possibly fail in his task, he knew he wouldn't give up until he had succeeded, and focused on studying the terrain surrounding him. The ground was full of pitfalls and rock, the only clear area was a wide circle around where the dragon with her nest of eggs lay in wait. Kedar found himself nodding in satisfaction, this was so much better than the flat field he had expected. He might not have had a backup plan when he had first entered the arena, but he did now. When all else failed Kedar had his Medjai training to fall back upon and he had reminded himself of that when he had knelt in prayer. Of course, that wasn't to say that a little magic wouldn't be amiss...
"Protego!" Kedar firmly called out the spell, casting and holding the shielding spell about himself before he dared take his eyes off the dragon long enough to search for a stone that he could transfigure into a fighting stave.
"Oh," Bagman had started to comment on what Kedar was actually doing again, "that was a good move, casting a shield charm, but I don't see what use Mr. Potter will make of that stick he just transfigured. Why one blast of flame and the dragon will turn it to cinders-look at Mr. Potter go!"
Kedar hadn't given himself time to think any longer than it took to take a deep breath after he had transfigured his staff, but had ran forward along a curving path through the rocks until he heard a fearsome sound that could only signal that the dragon was about to rain fire down upon his head. Before that moment he had been carrying his staff in his right hand, holding it vertically to his side to keep it from catching on any rocks as he ran, but now he brought it up and into both hands so that he could dig one tip into the ground. For an instant Kedar thought he had vaulted himself into the air a moment too late as flame and heat filled the crevice he had been running through, but his feet soon found the top of the rocks with only a slight stumble and he kept moving lest the dragon realize too soon that the flames hadn't hit him. It was time to play hide-and-seek with the beast.
"Where did Mr. Potter go," Bagman shouted in excitement, "he seems to have disappeared, but I saw him dodge the flames. Just what does he think he's doing!?"
"Surviving this Allah-forsaken tournament," Kedar muttered to himself before darting quickly through the shadows to a crevice that brought him a bit closer to the Hungrian Horn-tail.
In a rage that its target had been lost the dragon began to spew fire around itself at random, sending heat blasting through the crevices Kedar was using for cover. The heat was bordering on uncomfortable even for him despite the protection of his shield, but Kedar viewed it as a vast improvement over the chilled English climate-though he quickly found himself revising that opinion as flames swept too close to where he bided his time. The brief lull that came next gave Kedar the chance to spring. Wasting no moves he ran pell-mell towards the dragons nest, using his staff like one would a pole-vault stick to throw himself from outcropping to outcropping when his path was no longer clear. He was nearly free, had almost made it-
"Damn!" Kedar tasted blood as the curse escaped his lips, his feet skittering out from under him as a hot stone broke free from beneath his feet and sent him plummeting to the ground. This terrain was just as treacherous as the shifting desert sands that hid the secret pitfalls of the long ago Egyptians, perhaps even more so because he had expected the stones to hold firm beneath him instead of crumbling.
"And he fell! Ladies and Gentlemen, we just watched Mr. Potter fall and possibly end his chance at getting the egg!"
Bagman's words fueled a fire within Kedar even as his shield started to buckle beneath the dragon fire now being aimed directly at him; there was no way he could hold it much longer. Crying out a frame-freezing charm Kedar let his shield drop and literally sprang through the now cool fire, bursting out through the other side of the flames to gasps of astonishment uttered en-masse by the watching crowd. At the height of his jump he tucked his body in on itself, coming up into a roll between two giant dragon eggs. Kedar's focus narrowed, he didn't spare any attention for the dragon raging above him as he snatched for the golden egg that awaited him. He had just barely gotten the egg in his hands before Dragon-keepers were swarming the arena to subdue the furious Horntail, saving Kedar from having to further dodge clawed feet and the lashing tail as he scrambled to get out of range.
"And Mr. Potter has done it!" Bagman shouted in glee as the noise seemed to swell the air around Kedar, "I don't know how he did it, but he did!"
Giving a sigh of thanks, Kedar began to walk towards the judges stand to receive his scores when he was abruptly assaulted by Madam Pomfrey.
"Dragons!" Her tone was full of disgust as she started to tug Kedar towards a first aid tent that had been set up outside the enclosure. "Last year dementors, this year dragons, what are they going to bring into this school next? Come along Mr. Potter, let's get you fixed up."
Kedar managed to dig his feet in just enough to get her to stop, "I'm fine Madam Pomfrey, at the worse I'll have a bruise or two."
The medi-witch looked over him shrewdly, her sharp eyes searching for any burn marks or cuts. Still disbelieving that he could have come out of the first task so unscathed, Madam Pomfrey took out her wand and muttered a couple of spells over him. At last she lowered her wand.
"Hmph," even after the tests Madam Pomfrey didn't seem to want to dismiss him as uninjured, "go on then. Go get your scores. I have patients to tend to."
Hiding a smile, Kedar inclined his head slightly to the medi-witch and turned to walk towards the reviewing stand only to be assaulted again. This time it was Alex and Hermione.
"Whoa, Kedar," Alex grinned, "that was bloody awesome. I never thought you'd use your M-"
Hermione couldn't wait to speak any longer and thankfully cut Alex off before he could utter the word 'Medjai', saving Kedar from having to shut the younger boy up, "Kedar, you were brilliant! Where did you learn to do that? Why didn't you use a spell? Oh, you were amazing, you really were."
By Hermione's bitten fingernails, Kedar could tell her rambling stemmed from the fear she must have felt watching him in the arena.
"Thanks Hermione." Kedar replied softly, "I'm sorry to have worried you in any way. Will both of you walk with me to get my scores?"
"Of course," Alex grinned, Hermione nodding in agreement, and together the three walked the rest of the way to the gold-draped seats where the judges waited.
Madam Maxine was the first to raise her wand, shooting a silver ribbon into the air to give Kedar an eight out of ten possible points. Mr. Crouch followed soon after, shooting the number eight into the air. Nodding politely to both judges, Kedar acknowledged his acceptance of their judgment of his performance. Turning slightly, Kedar nodded to Dumbledore as well when the Headmaster put up a nine to give him his highest score yet. Despite not believing the Headmaster to be biased, Kedar only hoped it was in reflection of his actions instead of the fact that he was competing for Hogwarts. Behind him, Kedar could hear the crowd cheering and he awaited the score Ludo Bagman would give him.
With an overly done flourish of his wand, Bagman shot a ten into the air. Kedar's eyes remained grave and he did not incline his head even slightly to the ex-Quidditch player; he could have no respect for the man who had continued to try and help him cheat on the first task while offering no help to the others. Next to Bagman, Karkaroff had paused at this lack of acknowledgment from Kedar and with a subtle alteration of his wrist turned the four he had been about to send into the air to a five.
Beside him Alex growled, "bloody git gave Krum a ten."
Kedar ignored Alex's grumbling and nodded to Karkaroff. He hadn't expected the man to be fair towards him after the very vocal complaints Durmstrang's Headmaster had been spouting about him. Glancing at the hovering scores one last time, Kedar bowed to the judges in general and turned to walk back towards the first aid tent with Alex and Hermione to see how the other Champions had fared.
1922: Harry Potter is born to Lily and James Potter.
1923: Harry is a year old and his parents are murdered by Voldemort.
1927: Harry is five and goes to Egypt with his distasteful relatives and becomes Kedar.
1933: Harry turns eleven and starts Hogwarts.
1936: Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts, current year.
Disclaimer: Not even in my dreams do I own Harry Potter...believe me, I've tried, but the thought of lawsuits deters all such dreams. I also don't own anything recognizable from either the Mummy or the Mummy Returns.
Chapter 19: First Task
By the time classes ended at midday for the first task, Kedar figured he was as ready as he would ever be. In fact, he just wanted it all to be over with so that he wasn't such a big focus of attention. Sure he had often found himself in the limelight as the Boy-who-lived, but he had never had Rita Skeeter try and trick him into an interview after having been forced to sit and pose for photos in which he constantly found himself dragged to the front. He'd take the dragon he was about to face any day. Glancing over at Viktor he noticed the Bulgarian Seeker was slouched nervously, but a resolute look was firmly plastered onto his face; Cedric on the other hand was as pale as fresh snow despite the fact that all three of them had known for a few weeks now what they would be facing. Fleur was also pale and nervously flicking at her hair, but Kedar didn't know the part-veela well enough to know how well she was actually handling the situation. He just hoped the others didn't see his own nervousness, it was taking all of his training to keep his calm as he thought of what he was about to do-or more specifically the spell he was about to use if his original plan failed, which he was sure it would since simply summoning the egg seemed too easy to work.
He had discovered the spell near the back of the book of Egyptian spells Evie had sent him earlier in the year, it was the only spell he had found that could be cast upon a dragon by a single person without causing it harm and wasn't considered dark by the English Ministry of Magic; the only problem was that it reminded him a bit too closely of the Spell of Subjugation that was written within the pages of the Book of the Dead. He had actually thought of using the spell in the Book of the Dead until he had found the other one, but then he would have had to bring the book with him since there was a curse upon the book to keep anyone but a High Priest from memorizing the spells within it.
Ludo Bagman re-entered the tent looking more cheerful than Kedar thought anyone had the right to be, the man was nearly bouncing like a child who had just been given the biggest treat in the world.
"Good, good," the man said jovially, "they're ready for you then. Now when the whistle blows, Mr. Diggory-"
As if conjured by Bagman's words the whistle blew long and shrill, summoning Cedric out to the arena where a Swedish Short-snout would be waiting for him. Hurrying out before the suddenly green-looking Cedric, Bagman ran off to start the commentary, welcoming everyone to the opening of the tournament and introducing Cedric as the first champion. Kedar gave Cedric what he hoped was an encouraging look before the Hufflepuff resolutely left the tent and left the others to wait and listen. And listen they did, hearing the cheering and gasps of the crowd amidst Bagman's commentary. It was a nerve wracking eternity later before a single great roar went up, and Kedar felt relief well up in him as he realized that Cedric had gotten his egg and his scores were being put up.
"One down, three to go!" Bagman's shout after a moment of silence confirmed Kedar's suspicions. "Miss Delacour, if you please!"
It was the same process all over again, Bagman chortling out loud over every failed try Fleur made. Kedar made a low noise in his throat without realizing it until Viktor looked up sharply.
"What?" the words managed to work it's way past Viktor's parched lips; the Bulgarian Seeker might not be nervous about performing in front of large crowds, but facing a dragon in an arena would upset anyone's calm.
"I just want to strangle that man," Kedar admitted, "he's taking too much delight in this, and with us just sitting here, hearing every word..."
"Yeah," Viktor grunted before resuming his staring contest with the ground and Kedar took a deep breath to center himself, telling himself that it was just like the tests he used to undergo in order to prove himself as a Medjai to the Council of the Commanders, to prove that he was worthy of being the son of their Chief.
Another great cheer went up from outside the tent followed by silence while Fleur's marks were being put up, then the whistle was blown to summon Viktor and Kedar found himself alone in the tent to wait for the final whistle to sound. Then all too soon it did sound and Kedar found himself pausing with his hand about to push the tent flap aside. Abruptly sinking to one knee Kedar pulled his sealed knife, sheath and all, from his belt and held it out before him as he mentally invoked the ritual prayer a Medjai recited before going into battle.
"Allah bless me in my trial," Kedar ended out loud before standing and walking into the arena, the summoning spell already falling softly from his lips as he entered the rocky enclosure.
As expected, the summoning spell didn't do anything and so Kedar raised his wand to begin performing the spell that would allow him to influence the dragon's predatory instincts before abruptly stopping. He couldn't perform the spell, not here in front of all these people, not when it reminded him so much of the Spell of Subjugation; it just didn't feel right.
"-and it looks like Mr. Potter is having doubts and has changed his mind on his course of action," Bagman shouted to the crowd. "I wonder what he's going to do now, does he have a backup plan?! Mr. Potter, despite being the Boy-who-lived is at a disadvantage given his under-aged status-"
Kedar ignored the commentary on how badly he could possibly fail in his task, he knew he wouldn't give up until he had succeeded, and focused on studying the terrain surrounding him. The ground was full of pitfalls and rock, the only clear area was a wide circle around where the dragon with her nest of eggs lay in wait. Kedar found himself nodding in satisfaction, this was so much better than the flat field he had expected. He might not have had a backup plan when he had first entered the arena, but he did now. When all else failed Kedar had his Medjai training to fall back upon and he had reminded himself of that when he had knelt in prayer. Of course, that wasn't to say that a little magic wouldn't be amiss...
"Protego!" Kedar firmly called out the spell, casting and holding the shielding spell about himself before he dared take his eyes off the dragon long enough to search for a stone that he could transfigure into a fighting stave.
"Oh," Bagman had started to comment on what Kedar was actually doing again, "that was a good move, casting a shield charm, but I don't see what use Mr. Potter will make of that stick he just transfigured. Why one blast of flame and the dragon will turn it to cinders-look at Mr. Potter go!"
Kedar hadn't given himself time to think any longer than it took to take a deep breath after he had transfigured his staff, but had ran forward along a curving path through the rocks until he heard a fearsome sound that could only signal that the dragon was about to rain fire down upon his head. Before that moment he had been carrying his staff in his right hand, holding it vertically to his side to keep it from catching on any rocks as he ran, but now he brought it up and into both hands so that he could dig one tip into the ground. For an instant Kedar thought he had vaulted himself into the air a moment too late as flame and heat filled the crevice he had been running through, but his feet soon found the top of the rocks with only a slight stumble and he kept moving lest the dragon realize too soon that the flames hadn't hit him. It was time to play hide-and-seek with the beast.
"Where did Mr. Potter go," Bagman shouted in excitement, "he seems to have disappeared, but I saw him dodge the flames. Just what does he think he's doing!?"
"Surviving this Allah-forsaken tournament," Kedar muttered to himself before darting quickly through the shadows to a crevice that brought him a bit closer to the Hungrian Horn-tail.
In a rage that its target had been lost the dragon began to spew fire around itself at random, sending heat blasting through the crevices Kedar was using for cover. The heat was bordering on uncomfortable even for him despite the protection of his shield, but Kedar viewed it as a vast improvement over the chilled English climate-though he quickly found himself revising that opinion as flames swept too close to where he bided his time. The brief lull that came next gave Kedar the chance to spring. Wasting no moves he ran pell-mell towards the dragons nest, using his staff like one would a pole-vault stick to throw himself from outcropping to outcropping when his path was no longer clear. He was nearly free, had almost made it-
"Damn!" Kedar tasted blood as the curse escaped his lips, his feet skittering out from under him as a hot stone broke free from beneath his feet and sent him plummeting to the ground. This terrain was just as treacherous as the shifting desert sands that hid the secret pitfalls of the long ago Egyptians, perhaps even more so because he had expected the stones to hold firm beneath him instead of crumbling.
"And he fell! Ladies and Gentlemen, we just watched Mr. Potter fall and possibly end his chance at getting the egg!"
Bagman's words fueled a fire within Kedar even as his shield started to buckle beneath the dragon fire now being aimed directly at him; there was no way he could hold it much longer. Crying out a frame-freezing charm Kedar let his shield drop and literally sprang through the now cool fire, bursting out through the other side of the flames to gasps of astonishment uttered en-masse by the watching crowd. At the height of his jump he tucked his body in on itself, coming up into a roll between two giant dragon eggs. Kedar's focus narrowed, he didn't spare any attention for the dragon raging above him as he snatched for the golden egg that awaited him. He had just barely gotten the egg in his hands before Dragon-keepers were swarming the arena to subdue the furious Horntail, saving Kedar from having to further dodge clawed feet and the lashing tail as he scrambled to get out of range.
"And Mr. Potter has done it!" Bagman shouted in glee as the noise seemed to swell the air around Kedar, "I don't know how he did it, but he did!"
Giving a sigh of thanks, Kedar began to walk towards the judges stand to receive his scores when he was abruptly assaulted by Madam Pomfrey.
"Dragons!" Her tone was full of disgust as she started to tug Kedar towards a first aid tent that had been set up outside the enclosure. "Last year dementors, this year dragons, what are they going to bring into this school next? Come along Mr. Potter, let's get you fixed up."
Kedar managed to dig his feet in just enough to get her to stop, "I'm fine Madam Pomfrey, at the worse I'll have a bruise or two."
The medi-witch looked over him shrewdly, her sharp eyes searching for any burn marks or cuts. Still disbelieving that he could have come out of the first task so unscathed, Madam Pomfrey took out her wand and muttered a couple of spells over him. At last she lowered her wand.
"Hmph," even after the tests Madam Pomfrey didn't seem to want to dismiss him as uninjured, "go on then. Go get your scores. I have patients to tend to."
Hiding a smile, Kedar inclined his head slightly to the medi-witch and turned to walk towards the reviewing stand only to be assaulted again. This time it was Alex and Hermione.
"Whoa, Kedar," Alex grinned, "that was bloody awesome. I never thought you'd use your M-"
Hermione couldn't wait to speak any longer and thankfully cut Alex off before he could utter the word 'Medjai', saving Kedar from having to shut the younger boy up, "Kedar, you were brilliant! Where did you learn to do that? Why didn't you use a spell? Oh, you were amazing, you really were."
By Hermione's bitten fingernails, Kedar could tell her rambling stemmed from the fear she must have felt watching him in the arena.
"Thanks Hermione." Kedar replied softly, "I'm sorry to have worried you in any way. Will both of you walk with me to get my scores?"
"Of course," Alex grinned, Hermione nodding in agreement, and together the three walked the rest of the way to the gold-draped seats where the judges waited.
Madam Maxine was the first to raise her wand, shooting a silver ribbon into the air to give Kedar an eight out of ten possible points. Mr. Crouch followed soon after, shooting the number eight into the air. Nodding politely to both judges, Kedar acknowledged his acceptance of their judgment of his performance. Turning slightly, Kedar nodded to Dumbledore as well when the Headmaster put up a nine to give him his highest score yet. Despite not believing the Headmaster to be biased, Kedar only hoped it was in reflection of his actions instead of the fact that he was competing for Hogwarts. Behind him, Kedar could hear the crowd cheering and he awaited the score Ludo Bagman would give him.
With an overly done flourish of his wand, Bagman shot a ten into the air. Kedar's eyes remained grave and he did not incline his head even slightly to the ex-Quidditch player; he could have no respect for the man who had continued to try and help him cheat on the first task while offering no help to the others. Next to Bagman, Karkaroff had paused at this lack of acknowledgment from Kedar and with a subtle alteration of his wrist turned the four he had been about to send into the air to a five.
Beside him Alex growled, "bloody git gave Krum a ten."
Kedar ignored Alex's grumbling and nodded to Karkaroff. He hadn't expected the man to be fair towards him after the very vocal complaints Durmstrang's Headmaster had been spouting about him. Glancing at the hovering scores one last time, Kedar bowed to the judges in general and turned to walk back towards the first aid tent with Alex and Hermione to see how the other Champions had fared.
Sign up to rate and review this story