Barnaby knew the Tournament would keep him busy, but he didn't expect that after it was revealed he would be in charge of the tasks for "guaranteed neutrality," he would have a bunch of spies, followers, and curious gossips trying to uncover details about the first task at all hours of the day.
Even when he publicly showed the neutrality contract, there were still skeptical students from the other two schools, demonstrating their (low) level of knowledge if they couldn't even see the validity of the magic in the contract.
Didn't they notice that even Maxime and Karkaroff were satisfied after reviewing it?
He had to ask Kirara and Ninetales to accompany him continuously to create a "safe zone" around him, allowing him to work in peace. If anyone got too close for his liking, a few sparks of fire would make them back off.
It was exasperating to the point that if he returned a book to the library, at least eight students would fight over it, suspecting it might contain a clue for the tasks.
So Barnaby decided to give them what they wanted.
He would "secretly" take out books related to advanced Herbology from the library frequently, visit Sprout's dangerous plant greenhouses, and carry sacks of dragon dung from the storeroom—things like that.
It didn't take long for the castle to "connect the dots" and start preparing the champions to deal with all sorts of magical plants.
While everyone succumbed to their paranoia and conspiracy theories, Barnaby, along with the Ministry of Magic employees who had to help him with the preparations in strict secrecy, finished the stadium for the competition on November 20th.
The first task would be carried out two days later, and during the wait, Barnaby personally cast a secret isolating barrier, in addition to the protections the Ministry of Magic employees put in place.
And for good reason—he managed to repel seven people who tried to sneak in at night to get insider information, successfully evading the "solid" protections set by the Ministry wizards.
He wouldn't even be surprised if some of them had been bribed.
On the day of the task, Barnaby brought Tonks and her parents to witness the Triwizard Tournament from the front row. After seating them in their reserved spots, he headed to the tent where the champions were nervously waiting with their headmasters.
"Champions, I'm going to explain the content of the first task," Barnaby greeted everyone, asking them to gather around as he pulled a bag from his trouser pocket. "The objective of this task is simple: Recover a golden egg that will be guarded by one of my creatures within the span of an hour."
Everyone's expression changed when they heard Barnaby.
Was the first task not related to plants at all, and had he just pulled a fast one on everyone?
That seemed to be the case.
"I'm going to clarify the important points, so pay attention because I won't repeat myself," Barnaby warned as he raised the bag in his hand. "The order in which you will go out is determined by the number you draw from the bag, so it will depend on your luck. The creatures will take their role of guarding the eggs seriously, but remember that your goal is not to fight and defeat them; you only need to retrieve the egg and get out."
He emphasized this point because he was sure someone would get scared and forget the real objective, thinking they had to defeat the creature to reach the egg.
"What happens if we can't get the egg?" Karkaroff asked, wanting to know the consequences of failure.
"If you don't recover the egg within an hour or if you break it, your score will drop directly to zero, putting you at a disadvantage for the next task, as the egg holds a clue that could give you an edge," Barnaby replied seriously. "So remember your priorities."
Everyone nodded and lined up to draw their numbers from the bag.
The order of appearance was confirmed as Cedric – Viktor – Fleur – Harry.
"Alright, I wish you all the best of luck," Barnaby noted down the numbers and gave Cedric a pat on the back to encourage him. "Wait a minute, and you'll be able to leave the tent."
Cedric nodded, swallowing hard.
A minute later…
Cedric entered the tunnel and emerged from the other end into the stadium where the first task would take place. He could see the nest in the center with a gleaming golden egg and the spectators above the walls, behind a magical safety barrier.
Originally, only wooden railings were going to be placed, but Barnaby had kicked out the person responsible and set up proper protections so the task could be carried out without fear of collateral damage.
"By Morgana's brassiere!" Cedric shouted, almost tripping.
Sitting next to the nest was a young woman of short stature with pink eyes and half-open pupils and matching pink hair styled in low, curly pigtails, with two horns clearly growing from her head. Her outfit seemed to be some kind of black cape with fur.
But what caught Cedric's attention was…
Boing! Boing!
"Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce the opponent of champion Cedric Diggory," came a voice from the loudspeaker. "Her name is Ilulu, a fire dragon. Don't be fooled by her youthful appearance, as she is much older than everyone present combined. As a dragon, she naturally has abilities such as flight and great physical strength, but she also has shape-shifting and pyrokinesis through a combustible acid that she generates in her… Sorry, I got distracted. In her GREAT fire sacs."
Older male students like Fred and George gulped, while female students like Hermione and Cho suddenly felt a deep sense of inferiority and insecurity.
Barnaby saw everyone's reaction and sighed, shaking his head.
That was exactly one of the reasons why Sanshi couldn't roam the school freely!
"Yes, now I understand better," Sanshi confirmed, happy that only one more person at the school knew about her full appearance. "But is it alright to explain all that?"
"Don't worry, Cedric can't hear what's coming through the loudspeaker due to the barrier, nor can the tent where the other champions are. Although he can still hear the cheers from the crowd."
Ilulu saw that her "thief" had arrived and stood up excitedly, causing her arms to dragonify again as she gave a wide smile, her sharp teeth reminding everyone she wasn't truly human.
The tail wagging behind her helped too.
"It's okay, it can't be that hard," Cedric encouraged himself, speaking to himself. "Just take the egg and leave, what could go wrong?"
He became alert and raised his wand when he noticed the "girl" opening her mouth and starting to condense light between her sharp teeth, as if preparing to…
"Wait, why was that part of her body lighting up?" Cedric thought, getting distracted for a moment, his eyes irresistibly drawn to the light.
The next thing his brain registered was a barrage of thirty flaming acid projectiles hurtling toward him, already halfway across the distance separating them.
The worst part was that in the middle of all those projectiles, he could see a tiny figure rushing toward him with an excited expression, extending her claws in his direction!
Boing! Boing!
Would it be better to dodge or put up a shield? He wasn't sure if he could…
Boing! Boing!
…
"Damn you, Barnaby!" Cedric cursed in his mind, desperate at the difficulty of focusing. "Why did you have to set such a tough opponent?!"