Annabeth Chase the Triwizard Champion

Chapter Sixteen

The champion's tent was situated strategically. It blocked the entire arena Annabeth could hear behind it.

    Annabeth fiddled with her wand in its holster. If Harry had been telling the truth, she was going to be facing dragons in a few minutes, and she longed desperately for her dagger. Annabeth knew summoning charms were a thing, but she had never tried it and she hadn't had time to study up on it, plus she wasn't even sure the Celestial Bronze blade would be affected by magic.

    The inside of the tent was empty, save for a few benches and the three people inside.

    Victor Krum was standing in the corner. He looked grumpy, but Annbeth could tell by his tense shoulders and wandering eyes that he was nervous. Fleur Delacour was sitting on a bench in the corner. Her hair was frizzy and she looked very pale. Ludo Bagman stood in the center, holding a pouch and looking excited.

    "Ah, Miss Chase!" he said when Annabeth walked in. "Now we just need Harry!"

    Annabeth wasn't stupid. She noticed the change in Bagman's tone when he mentioned Harry, and how his face perked up at the prospect of saying his name. She could tell by the man's eyes that he didn't like her. She also knew from certain eavesdropping sessions that he had lost a lot of money betting on the Quidditch world cup.

    Annabeth's best guess was that since Bagman's betting loss, he had decided to compensate for it by betting more on the tournament. And based on the cold looks he gave Annabeth and the rest of the champions, he had bet on Harry. That was another reason that Bagman might have entered Harry's name, but Annabeth didn't think he was smart enough to fool the goblet of fire.

    With too much energy to stand still, Annabeth set off pacing the inside perimeter of the tent. The tangle of nerves in her gut was growing, but not as big as she knew the other champions must be feeling.

    They had never done this before. Never had to face the unknown. Never had to fight for their lives. Never had to fight anything bigger than their peers.

    They had never done this before, and it showed.

    Annabeth knew they were expecting her to be nervous, too. And she was. The ones who weren't nervous were the ones who didn't survive. But she wasn't as nervous as them.

    Plans raced through Annabeth's mind, half baked and useless. She couldn't make anything ironclad until she knew the terrain, the size, the kind of dragon she'd be facing.

    She continued pacing, thinking hard. Something was forming in her mind... but she needed to know a few things before it could be useful.

    Finally, Harry entered the tent, looking pale and shaky. He caught Annabeth's eye, and she could see the fear written in them. Annabeth nodded at him in acknowledgement.

    "Harry!" Bagman exclaimed. "Good-o! Come in, come in, make yourself at home!"

    Harry walked farther in, but he didn't sit. He stood in his place, fidgeting with his wand and shaking very slightly. Annabeth wondered how anyone could think that Harry had put his own name in the goblet of fire. Clearly he didn't want to do this.

    "Well, now that we're all here, time to fill you in!" Bagman said. He was almost bouncing in place now. "When the audience has assembled, I'm going to be offering each of you this bag—" he held up the pouch, shaking it in his excitement. "From which you will each select a model of the thing you are about to face! There are different, er, varieties, you see. And I have to tell you something else, too... ah, yes... your task is to collect the golden egg!"

    Annabeth nodded, then continued pacing, her thoughts racing. A golden egg. That would suggest that there would be other eggs. It wouldn't be a challenge if the egg was just lying around. Animals were fiercely protective of their young, so it would stand to reason that the dragons they would be facing were nesting mothers. The egg was probably sitting with a clutch of the dragon's real eggs.