The crowd alternately gasped and cheered, but clearly Cedric had not yet been able to get the golden egg. Eventually the announcer declared that Cedric only had 15, then 10, and then 5 minutes left to successfully complete the task. When the one minute warning was given the crowd cheered louder than ever, Cedric was making a desperate last minute attempt to get the egg. The cheering continued until it was announced that his time had run out, and then a huge groan of disappointment was heard. Harry noticed a door on the tent fly open and Cedric walked in. He was covered in dirt and small scratches while part of his robes seemed to have been burned off, but other than that he looked fine. Cedric looked his way and shrugged. Harry guessed he was happy to get out of there in one piece.
"Ms. Delacour, your dragon is ready." the assistant said a few minutes later. At this the bored expression finally dropped from her face. She nodded nervously, took a deep breath, and walked out of the tent to face her dragon. The fans were not quite as loud for her as they had been for Cedric, but when she was able to put the dragon to sleep and take the egg fifteen minutes later a huge cheer rose from the crowd to congratulate her. Fleur slowly made it back to the tent, careful not to put much wait one of her ankles which she had sprained trying to avoid her dragon's tail.
Viktor Krum was the next to go, and as he left the tent Harry did not wonder if he would get the egg but how long it would take him. Krum, besides being an excellent Seeker, was supposedly very magically powerful. From the sounds of the crowd, Krum seemed to be fighting the dragon head on. There was a moment when the crowd screamed and went completely silent. Harry's head shot up, wondering what had happened to the other champion, when an enormous cheer signaled to him that Krum must have made it past whatever danger he was in. A similar roar of approval was heard minutes later when Krum was finally able to reach the golden egg. He had taken nearly three minutes less to get it than Delacour did. Harry now knew that if he wanted to place first in this part of the tournament he would have to get his egg in less than twelve minutes. Krum did not look good when he came back in the tent. He had a long gash down his left arm and much of his right side had apparently received burns that, though they were not life threatening, appeared to be quite painful.
'Should be doable, I hope.' Harry thought. His nervousness faded into anticipation as he waited for the dragon handlers to remove Krum's dragon and bring in the Hungarian Horntail. It was taking longer this time than it had after the other two competitors. The assistant finally came back in the tent and Harry leapt to his feet.
"Sorry, Mr. Potter. It will be just a few more minutes. Your dragon does not seem to want to cooperate." he explained. Harry groaned, cursing his luck. "OK, our apologies about the delay. You can go now, good luck." Harry thanked the man and walked out of the tent. The crowd cheered for him louder than he had expected, and a large smile spread across his face. His moment of happiness was interrupted by the Earth shaking roar of the Hungarian Horntail. The dragon was simply enormous. Its black hide was covered in ridges and spikes that made its lizard-like form appear even more deadly. As Harry continued to walk towards the dragon it raised its head and let loose a blast of fire that he thought must have been forty feet long. When he finally reached the starting area a cannon fired signaling that his time had started.
"OK, Harry, here we go." he said to himself. "Remember, don't show fear. Hagrid says many animals can sense it." At this point to dragon finally noticed his approach and turned to face him, roaring so loud that the crowd could not even be heard. Harry took out his wand, placed it to his throat, and called out "Sonorus!"
" Greetings, great and noble dragon ." Harry hissed in Parseltongue with his magically amplified voice. The dragons roar lowered to a vicious sounding growl which Harry hoped was a good sign. The crowd, meanwhile, had stopped cheering completely. A few screams and gasps could be heard, but for the most part the spectators were oddly quiet. " I mean you no harm. " Harry continued. The dragon glared at him, her growl had not lowered any and smoke was starting to come out of her nostrils. 'Perhaps this wasn't my best idea,' Harry thought 'but on the bright side she hasn't killed me yet. Although I am still not convinced she understands me. I know I don't understand her.'
" I have come to warn you. One of the eggs you guard is not your own. " Harry seemed to have finally caught the dragon's attention with this statement. The dragon turned back towards her egg and sniffed them, eventually finding the golden egg. Enraged, the horntail let out and roar so loud that most of the audience was forced to clap their hands around their ears. " That egg was placed there by the same men who even now keep you in chains. " This angered the dragon even more, and Harry started to worry that maybe he should not have said that. He and Daphne had discussed what he would say to the dragon the previous night, and had ended up with a small script designed to gain the dragon's favor. 'It was a lot easier reciting the script to Daphne than to a fully grown Hungarian Horntail.' Harry realized nervously. Meanwhile, fear was beginning to spread in the audience. They could not understand what was being said, but every time Harry spoke the dragon seemed to get angrier. And in the middle of it all was Harry Potter, still standing tall and proud in front of the dragon with no fear at all showing on his face. They couldn't know that on the inside all he wanted to do was turn and run. A few people had already decided that now was a good time to leave. Harry had come out of the tent less than five minutes ago, but in that short amount of time he had managed to spread panic throughout the crowd.