Chapter 387: Advantage
Chapter 387: Advantage
Nighttime, Ancient Runes Office.
Golden mist condensed into realistic humanoid images, floating one by one in front of Felix. Niffler Warren stood on a small square table, reaching out to catch the golden shadows.
"Igor Karkaroff, former Death Eater, Voldemort's traitor. Suspicious points: sneaked into the hall and had contact with the Goblet of Fire—less likely;"
"Ludo Bagman, once accused of helping Death Eaters pass information. Suspicious points: showed strong enthusiasm when Harry became a champion—suspected, but no opportunity;"
For a long time, the Goblet of Fire was in Dumbledore's possession. If something was wrong, it would have been noticed.
"Barty Crouch, former head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, known for his strict methods, was reassigned after his Death Eater son's involvement. Suspicious points: his wife and son died due to this incident, his career was ruined, and he might have resorted to extreme measures; added to his weak health and conflict with Fudge during the World Cup—suspected, but no opportunity, same as Bagman;"
"Madame Maxime, suspected half-blood giant, during the war, giants were staunch supporters of Voldemort. Suspicious points: none found yet."
"Information on Wagadu, Ilvermorny, and students from various schools is incomplete, unable to judge..."
Felix thought silently until finally, a figure with a false eye and a face full of scars appeared. He waved his hand, dispersing the golden mist.
"Whoever tampered with it, whether one person or a group, their target is Harry, wanting to make Harry die. But, is it too much trouble? Maybe there's a deeper purpose..."
"Moreover, is Voldemort really back? Does he want Harry as his first offering after resurrection? If he's back but not showing up, he might be secretly recruiting his old followers. With Dumbledore's intelligence network, there should be some clues... Fortunately, I'm not far behind. It's time to write to a few old friends."
He glanced at the improved Marauder's Map, pausing on Moody's name, then put it away. "I need to find time to include the locations of the four magical schools."
He came back to his senses and saw Niffler Warren staring at him. He smiled and gently patted the Niffler's long beak.
Before going to bed, he thought carefully, feeling like he had forgotten something... "Oh, right", he waved his hand, making the fireplace glow with green flames. Felix muttered softly, "Don't blame me for blocking your fireplace. You've been disturbing me six or seven times a day, and anyone would get fed up."
The next morning.
Harry groggily opened his eyes and was startled by Ron's appearance—he looked like he hadn't slept all night, with shadows under his eyes deeper than Mr. Crouch's.
"That cat was looking for you", Ron said hoarsely. "It kept scratching the door, so I let it in."
Harry pulled back the curtains of his four-poster bed and saw Crookshanks perched on the bedside cabinet, the flattened cat face staring intently at him, its tail sweeping aimlessly and scattering a stack of Runic Script cards.
"Is something wrong, Crookshanks?" he asked.
On the cabinet, the ginger cat extended a paw, pointing outside and let out a chilling howl, causing the sleeping Seamus to roll over.
Harry and Ron exchanged glances. Harry tentatively asked, "Do you want me to go outside? Is... Hermione looking for me?"
Crookshanks' yellow eyes showed approval.
So, Harry changed out of his pajamas. While dressing, he glanced out the window. It was pitch black, probably only four or five in the morning, and he couldn't help yawning.
He had gone to bed very late last night and was woken up early, getting hardly any sleep.
In the common room, Harry and Ron saw Hermione waiting outside, looking furtive. She was wrapped up tightly, her head covered with a scarf like the one Beauxbatons students wore.
The last time Harry saw a similar outfit was when Hermione accidentally ingested Polyjuice Potion with cat hair. During her recovery, she used partial Transfiguration to hide the fur on her face, a magical technique reportedly used by vampires to conceal their fangs.
"Hermione, what's going on... and Ron, I've been meaning to ask, did you both stay up all night?"
"I couldn't sleep—oh, never mind, Sirius Black is here", Hermione said in a hurry, her voice sounding strange, as if she had a candy in her mouth.
"Who?" Harry suddenly became alert.
Outside the Gryffindor Common Room, Sirius Black was chatting aimlessly with the Fat Lady's portrait. The Fat Lady was in high spirits, reciting lines in a deliberately lowered, dramatic tone—
"A bruised and battered little boy—returning under the cover of night—secretly training hard—ah~ finally becoming a fearless hero—"
Sirius Black frowned, feeling increasingly irritated. What was she singing about!
"Can't you let me in?" he asked for the fifth time, still hopeful.
"Oh, no", the Fat Lady stopped, speaking solemnly. "I have professional integrity. You are neither a student nor a professor, and even with the password, I can't let you in..."
The door opened from the inside, her portrait swiveled to the side, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked out.
"Sirius, why are you here? Hermione told me, but I didn’t quite believe it!" Harry asked, surprised and delighted.
"Of course, with something this big, how could I just sit around? You should have told me right away; that’s what the Two-Way Mirror is for", Sirius said irritably, glancing at the two people behind Harry. "So, the trio has officially been recognized? Have you decided on a name for your team yet?"
Ron gave him a sidelong glance but didn’t say anything.
Harry glared at his talkative godfather, and Sirius immediately raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, I didn’t mean it—you should know how I feel right now."
"It was Professor Hagrid who told you, Mr. Black?" Hermione asked sharply, still speaking in that peculiar way. Harry gave her a strange look.
"Call me Sirius—yes, the old house books came in handy", Sirius said, trying to make light of the situation. He put an arm around Harry. "Let’s find an empty classroom and talk. You two should come too; we’re all in this together now..."
"I hate that saying", Harry muttered.
Sirius grinned and ruffled Harry’s messy hair.
They found an empty classroom and each recounted what they knew. Harry and his friends learned more useful information, such as how Igor Karkaroff, when he was still a Death Eater, was captured by Mad-Eye Moody. However, he managed to escape punishment from the Ministry of Magic by providing a list of other Death Eaters. Years later, he transformed into the Headmaster of Durmstrang.
"Finally, we understand why Karkaroff is so wary and hateful of Professor Moody", Harry said, looking at Ron. They had discussed this before, and Ron responded absentmindedly.
When Harry mentioned that the first task involved a fire dragon, Sirius shot to his feet and began pacing the empty classroom.
"How can they expect you to face something like that!" he shouted.
Harry had to admit that, aside from their conversation about the fire dragon magic lamp at the Quidditch World Cup, he hadn’t seriously considered how to deal with a real dragon. Last night, he had been more worried about Hogwarts not winning the Goblet of Fire and the potential cold shoulder they might receive, but he hadn’t thought about how to survive in front of a crowd, with a fire dragon’s claws and flames.
"Perhaps more than one", Sirius added. "Don’t forget, you’re competing as a team, so the difficulty will definitely be higher than in previous years—of course, I’m talking about the difficulty level of the champions, not your own."
Harry noticed that Ron had started to shake rhythmically again. He mustered the courage to say, "We’re not that far behind. Hermione defeated an Ilvermorny student—Victor, the first champion chosen. Logically, the more suitable candidates are chosen first, right?"
Sirius looked at Hermione, who had wrapped her head in a scarf, hiding her expression.
"I, uh, I..." she stammered through the fabric.
"It seems none of you are mentally prepared", Sirius pointed out bluntly.
Harry opened his mouth but found himself at a loss. His godfather was right; none of them were ready. He couldn’t help but wonder if the other champions, like Cedric, were also losing sleep over this or were excited by the news about the fire dragon.
To sound more positive, he asked, "How do we beat a dragon?"
"Beat a dragon?" Sirius repeated.
"Right... we talked about it before, didn’t we? At the Quidditch World Cup light show", Harry said in a light tone. "You mentioned the Blinding Curse. It’s a good idea, maybe we can use that spell, but we need to aim accurately..."
Sirius stared at him. "Your tone doesn’t match the reality of facing a 5X danger level creature that can turn you to ashes in one breath. In your mind, is the worst outcome just losing some coins from your pocket?"
"Turn to ashes?" Ron trembled.
"Exactly. A fire dragon’s flames are no ordinary fire. A Shield Charm might not protect you, and one swipe of its tail could crush you and your shield into a pulp... If you don’t have a good plan, your wand might as well be a toothpick."
...
In the Great Hall, Sirius joined Harry and the others for breakfast. None of them had much appetite, not only because of the fire dragon but also because of the strange looks and whispers from others.
"Ignore them; they’re just jealous", Sirius said. "If it gets too much, I suggest you pick a fight with the one you like least."
Hermione glared at him. During the meal, she finally removed her hood, revealing a row of blisters on her lips.
"I thought you were the calmest of the three, but it seems..." Sirius said, looking at her.
“It’s not about being calm or not, I’m just worried… Ow!” Hermione clamped her hand over her mouth and didn’t dare to speak loudly again after that.
“You’d better go to the Hospital Wing,” Harry said.
Hermione made a couple of grunting noises.
…
“There’s nothing to worry about,” Felix said, standing before the six brave students of Hogwarts.
That evening, he gathered the six of them in Classroom Seven for targeted training.
“Since you’re tied together, it’s definitely not to lose. Think about it, you have quite a few advantages.”
“Advantages?”
Felix waved his wand, and a silvery mist gathered around them, quickly enveloping them in total darkness. They had spent many days in Classroom Seven, so the change wasn’t entirely unfamiliar.
The six of them waited quietly. After a moment, the mist began to clear, and they found themselves standing on a hillside, the soft brown earth beneath their feet. In the distance, the thick fog hadn’t fully dissipated, but they could vaguely see emerald green mountains and black rock faces.
They realized they were in a mountainous region, and a dark shadow swept low over their heads, disappearing into the fog.
“Where are we?”
Collins Flue pursed her lips and asked. The students participating in the selection generally agreed that, apart from Professor Hagrid’s bizarre and ugly creatures, most of the other scenes were realistic and traceable.
She crouched down, plunging her hand into the soft earth and grabbing a handful of grass leaves—this feeling was very real.
“The Romanian Dragon Sanctuary,” Felix said softly. “Thank Mr. Bagman for his accidental leak, which also freed me from any reservations. I hope he won’t be questioned by his superiors when he returns.”
Hermione was the first to ask, “So the challenges we will face, the fire dragons, are from the dragon sanctuary?”
“Exactly,” Felix said. “I spent several days at the sanctuary, gaining a good understanding of the various types of fire dragons… This is your first advantage.”
The six of them were momentarily taken aback. Harry looked up, surveying the area, and saw several enormous fire dragons soaring through the sky.
“I think I heard voices?” Cedric said hesitantly.
“Let’s go take a look,” Felix said with a smile. They descended the hill and saw a group of people battling an injured Romanian Longhorn. One of the dragon’s wings had a large, bloody tear, but it remained cautious, its deep green scales expanding like small green shields, and its golden horns always pointed at the person it deemed the greatest threat.
“Be careful, it’s about to breathe fire—Charlie, use the Stunning Spell!” a wizard shouted.
Ron suddenly widened his eyes and pointed at someone. “That’s Charlie, my brother! He’s in Romania! Oh, my God!” He watched as Charlie took charge, and seven or eight people together cast the Stunning Spell. After a series of dense, blinding red lights, the fire dragon’s massive body crashed to the ground.
They felt the ground beneath their feet tremble, and they all swallowed hard.
Felix said from the side, “You can take a closer look.” As he spoke, time seemed to freeze in the area, and the fire dragon and the dragon handlers remained motionless. They approached and closely examined the fire dragon that had been knocked to the ground, unable to hold back their amazement at its size. It was at least six or seven times longer than the tallest among them, Cedric and Roger Davies.
The only consolation was that the dragon’s tail made up about a third of its body length.
“Longhorns like to kill their prey with their horns before roasting it, then drag it back to their nest with their claws. Occasionally, they impale their prey on their horns or coil them up with their tails,” Felix explained.
Harry looked at the two golden horns on the fire dragon’s head and had no doubt that they could impale anything in their path. He imagined himself hanging from one of them and couldn’t help but grimace.
The six of them followed Professor Hagrid with heavy hearts, and before they knew it, they arrived at a campsite. There were more people here, but they paid no attention to the students. Felix explained, “This is the scene I saw when I first came here. Behind the camp is an enclosure made of fireproof materials, where several sick fire dragons are kept. I’ve dealt with them, and one of them is particularly interesting…”
“Professor Hagrid, are we just going to watch?” Cedric asked. “I mean, you want us to fight the fire dragons to gain experience?”
“That’s the final step,” Felix said. “First, you need to overcome your fear of dragons. The best way to eliminate fear is to understand it, and you should have some idea of how to do that…
“You need to understand them. Headmaster Dumbledore has found a teacher for you, and his knowledge of fire dragons is far greater than mine.”
As he spoke, the flap of a tent in front of them opened, and two identical old men stepped out.
“Mr. Scamander, what do you think?” Felix asked politely.
“Fascinating, very fascinating… It’s quite an eye-opener,” the two old men said in unison, looking at each other and smiling.
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(End of Chapter)
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