Asterion finished bathing and stepped out of the barrier, which he could break with one punch, even if he was limited to using the strength of a Grade 2. On his way out, he noticed Fleur warming herself around a fire she had made.
Looking up, Asterion couldn't help but be stunned. Before his eyes, a sea of stars shone brightly against a dark background. Tiny twinkling sparkles that seemed to give magic to the lifeless world.
In London, or even at Hogwarts, which was located in Scotland, there wasn't such a clear view of the starry sky as he was seeing at this moment.
"Beautiful, isn't it." Fleur commented, biting into her beef jerky as she looked at Asterion with a smile. She could see his shock at looking at the stars, something she was also stunned to see.
"Yes, stunning." Asterion replied sincerely, taking a seat on the other side of the fire facing Fleur.
Before Fleur could agree to anything, she smelled something delicious in the air and looked over at Asterion, where she found the Special Grade Wizard with a plate of still steaming food and a glass of wine.
The sight of the sumptuous, hot meal in the middle of the cold desert at night made Fleur's beautiful face twitch for a moment. She looked at the dried, salted meat in her hand and completely lost her appetite. The once decent taste seemed to turn into candle wax, an insipid taste.
"Aren't you going to invite a lady to eat, Lord Black?" Fleur asked in a sweet, gentle tone as she tucked a lock of golden hair behind her ear, a shy smile playing on her red lipstick-stained lips.
Asterion raised an eyebrow and brought the goblet to his lips, where he tasted the purplish liquid. He seemed to ponder before replying with an amused smile on his lips "And if there's poison in the food and drink."
"Then I'll leave my body in your care, Lord Black~" Fleur replied flirtatiously as she approached Asterion, she sat down next to him with her shoulder gently rubbing his.
Asterion, feeling the touch on his shoulder, looked at Fleur with dissatisfaction and moved slightly away, creating a distance of ten centimeters between them.
Fleur's face contorted again, there was a stiff, tense smile on her lips; it was the first time she had been treated with such repulsion by a person, especially by a man six years younger than her.
Although she knew from Gabrielle that Asterion didn't like the touch of strangers, she didn't think she was included in that select list of people.
"I must say, this is the first time a man has ever walked away from me." Taking a deep breath, calming down her feelings bubbling in her chest, Fleur commented with a tone that was a little awkward with what was happening.
Asterion didn't answer and ate in silence, his red eyes fixed on Ancalagon. The dragon was perfectly camouflaged against the dark night. If it hadn't been for the red reflections of his scales when the flickering flame of the campfire bathed his figure, it would have been difficult to find the dragon normally in the dark night.
Next to him, the pearly dragon slept peacefully as if using his body to warm himself in the extremely cold desert night.
Suddenly, while looking at both dragons, Asterion noticed something strange. Between the leaves of the trees, the pale glow of the moon, which looked like tentacles reaching into the dark night, gradually created an image.
Although the image was a little distorted and frosted, Asterion, as a lover of the stars as she had always been, even in her past life, could still recognize the image.
It was the constellation Ursa Minor.
Asterion was absolutely certain that it was no coincidence that the Ursa Minor constellation had appeared at that moment.
That's because Ursa Minor was home to a very special star for humanity.
The North Star.
A star that guided humanity before the invention of compasses. For thousands of years, it was the star that enabled long-distance travel, allowing humanity to begin the age of exploration, discovering new continents and places all over the planet.
All because of a star, the North Star.
Fleur, who was paying attention to Asterion, followed his gaze and couldn't help but narrow her eyes thoughtfully. Although astronomy wasn't her favorite subject at Beauxbatons, she still understood the basics.
And recognizing constellations was one of the first lessons a new pupil had upon entering the school.
Asterion and Fleur came to the same conclusion in an instant.
- The North!
The Golden Path was in the North!
This was extremely valuable information, and they both looked at each other and saw the smile on each other's lips.
If Asterion had no reason to fight Fleur, now he did.
Knowing this, Fleur, while maintaining her gentle and gracious smile, looked at her dragon sleeping next to Ancalagon and couldn't help but curse how simplistic her dragon was, she couldn't stand to see a handsome man appear and run to him!
Even if by some miracle she could escape from Asterion, she couldn't waste time fighting Asterion's dragon. And that delay could lead to Asterion getting to her and it wouldn't just be the dragon she had to worry about, but also a Special Grade Wizard.
After the fight with Rose and almost dying in the process, Fleur didn't think she could beat Asterion, who had already killed two other Special Grade Wizards before. The Grade 2 limitation was merely a limitation on the amount of magical energy and how quickly it regenerates.
In the end, even with the strength of a Grade 2, Asterion and Rose were unquestionably Special Grade Wizards, and how they controlled and shaped their magical energies was not possible for any other wizard or witch below the Special Grade.
So fighting Asterion was completely out of the question at the moment, she didn't want to be defeated so soon, without even finishing the first terrestrial phase of the race.
The International Tournament of Witchcraft and Wizardry was too important for her future plans and her own career. She could lose to Hogwarts, but she had to be on the podium when the Tournament was over.
"I have a proposition." Maintaining a sweet, gracious smile, Fleur spoke, causing Asterion to lower the arm he was about to raise a second ago.
Seeing Asterion stop, Fleur regained confidence in getting out of this desperate situation.
As long as Patriarch Black could listen and hesitate to attack her, it meant there was room for negotiation.
Fleur didn't fear the price she would have to pay, she feared that she wouldn't be able to negotiate in the first place.
Asterion looked at Fleur with interest and waited for her words, he knew the young woman was intelligent, intelligent enough not to play games with him.
Taking a deep breath, Fleur spoke. "I can help you and your team with anything unforeseen-" Before she could finish, she saw Asterion raise his arm towards her again.
This made the young woman's heart flutter again, and she sped up what she was saying even more, without any ado and got straight to the point. "I will serve as your shield at the Second Trial!"
As she said this, Fleur saw Asterion lower his arm, but there was no smile in his eyes.
Gritting her teeth as a feeling of helplessness welled up in her chest, Fleur, despite what she was feeling, spoke calmly. "Before I start, others can't hear what I'm about to say."
Although what she was about to reveal would be considered treason, as her father had once told her as a child - never miss a good opportunity to profit.
Asterion understood what she wanted to say and snapped his fingers, a barrier covering them both in a mere instant.
Fleur, seeing the perfectly oval and instantaneous barrier, knew immediately the differences in abilities between the two.
Seeing Asterion still waiting for her words, Fleur began to speak without hiding anything about France's state secrets. "Germany..."
The more he listened to Fleur's words, the colder Asterion's eyes became. He really didn't think Germany had the courage to stand up for the fourth time. He had to admit, the nation had courage above all else.
"Why did you tell me that?" Asterion asked with a cold, indifferent tone, the goodwill he had for Fleur disappearing as if it had never existed in the first place.
"Although we hate the English, we hate even more the one who crushed our glory and prestige, tore high morals and washed the streets of Paris with blood. My father may think it's a good idea to ally with our former enemies, but I'm a true conservative." Fleur spoke with an equally cold tone, even if she lost Asterion's goodwill, what she could gain was much more. Besides, goodwill can be earned again.
-----------------------
Author's Thoughts: Poor Luis (Fleur's father) for raising such a good daughter in politics. The man won't know what hit him until he's really unconscious. Good night and I'll write the chapters for tomorrow.
Support me to write more and read chapters ahead of all regular readers!
P-atreon.com/HPSCB
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)
Next Chapter Second Volume: Chapter 201 - Dragon Race (7), Chapter 202 - Dragon Race (8), Chapter 203 - Golden Path (1), Chapter 204 - Golden Path (2), Chapter 205 - Golden Path (3), Chapter 206 - Battle in Desert City (1), Chapter 207 - Battle in Desert City (2), Chapter 208 - On the Night of the Storm (1), Chapter 209 - On the Night of the Storm (2), Chapter 210 - On the Night of the Storm (3), Chapter 211 - On the Night of the Storm (4), Chapter 212 - On the Night of the Storm (5), Chapter 213 -At the Highest Point of Heaven (END Dragon Race), Chapter 214 - The Spark of Chaos (1), Chapter 215 - The Spark of Chaos (2), Chapter 216 - The Spark of Chaos (3), Chapter 217 - The Spark of Chaos (4).
Asterion climbed onto Ancalagon and didn't wait for the sun to rise before heading north. As for Fleur, the half-breed Veela was much more restrained around him, almost as if she was afraid of annoying him, something he could understand.
At the same time, Asterion couldn't help remembering Fleur's words about France and Germany. In Fleur's words, both of his parents' ministers of magic were quite united during the Tournament.
So much so that it wasn't unusual for the German Minister of Magic, Joseph Weiss, to spend the night in the French tent. As for what they were doing inside, Asterion had two options: sex and conspiracies.
And knowing what little he knew of Joseph Weiss, he knew that the man was using the reputation of the open marriage between Louis and Apolline Delacour to cover up his schemes and conspiracies.
Honestly, Germany wanting to start a war after the attacks it suffered from Grindelwald was normal, but the nation didn't just want a war, it wanted to force the whole world against Grindelwald. And the plan was audacious, to say the least.
Grindelwald is a Seer and because of Luna, Asterion knew how broken this ability was. Locating and attacking the Dark Lord was an extremely difficult task. How do you locate someone who can see the future?
Still, Joseph Weiss having the courage to plot against the Dark Lord was commendable, albeit extremely stupid, but commendable nonetheless. Asterion really wanted to know Joseph's reaction to the fact that he and his family weren't dead because Grindelwald was focused on finishing his insane, decades-long plan.
Had Grindelwald not been occupied with more important matters at the moment, Asterion had no doubt that Joseph and his entire family would have been killed by the Dark Lord and his fanatical acolytes.
Don't underestimate the paranoia and determination of a man who sees the future.
Putting on the belt that connected the cell by metal chains, Asterion settled into the cell as comfortably as possible and waited.
Ancalagon rose from the ground with a loud trill and shook the dust off his body, his huge fifteen-meter body trembling gently. He took one last look at the Fleur Pearl Dragon and began to pick up speed.
It unfolded its wings and rose into the sky in an instant, its roar echoing in the dark night.
Seeing her dragon looking longingly at Ancalagon, Fleur pursed her lips again, the scene looking like a husband going to work far away and not seeing his wife for a long time.
"Stop being so simple, you can't run after men, men should run after you." Fleur commented with displeasure to her dragon, who seemed to completely ignore her words as if they were nothing and continued to stare at the dragon's figure already obscured by the night.
Letting out a tired sigh, Fleur looked at the plate of food and the glass of wine left for her by Asterion.
"He at least had the decency to leave a meal for a lonely lady like me." Fleur muttered to herself, she didn't seem at all rushed to reach the golden path before Asterion.
It wasn't that she wasn't in a hurry, but she knew that at this moment, the North would be extremely agitated. A real dragon war was going on, she could imagine how chaotic the situation was.
It was extremely dangerous, especially because of her dragon, although the Antipodean Opaleye was the most docile of all dragons, they were ultimately quite weak compared to other dragon breeds.
Getting involved in a head-on war with a not-so-strong dragon was totally stupid in her opinion, she could wait an hour and head north.
Sipping the wine Asterion had left for her, Fleur commented, feeling the slightly bitter taste on her tongue. "Worthy of being an English wine... classless barbarians."
-
Asterion, riding Ancalagon, was flying at top speed towards the north, the strong winds of the cold night carrying a great deal of sand. The sound of the dragon's wings flapping loudly was the only thing other than the wind he could hear.
Suddenly, Asterion's eyes fixed on a specific direction, a bolt of blue energy tore through the air and disappeared before another bolt of red energy was thrown back in the direction of the bolt of blue energy.
Spells.
Asterion knew that a fight was currently taking place in the area, and he didn't hesitate to head towards the battlefield.
Ancalagon, as if predicting that he would finally be fighting, let out a great roar and turned his body towards the fight that was taking place at that moment.
Asterion smiled when he saw his winged partner's excitement; perhaps this warlike characteristic was the only thing that set Ancalagon apart from Morgan. As a dragon, he was as warlike as any of his kind, and even more so because of the Cursed Spirit genes in his DNA.
The closer he got, the more Asterion could see of the battlefield, dragons tearing the air with their bodies while spells made the fight look like a space battlefield out of Star Wars.
There were four dragons, a Chinese Fireball, Romanian Longhorn, Catalonian Fireball and Hungarian Horntail.
The dragons were around seven to nine meters long, their wings larger than their bodies, reaching a wingspan of tens of meters.
Even in the dark night, Asterion could see the battlefield perfectly, he recognized the four dragon riders from different teams. Three women and one man.
From the Russian team, Anastasia Romanova - her dragon was the Ukrainian Ironbelly.
From the American team, David Williams - his dragon was a Romanian Longhorn.
From the Japanese team, Aiko Nakamura - Her dragon was a Catalonian Fireball.
From the Chinese team, Ling Zhang - His dragon was a Chinese Fireball.
The four dragon riders fought each other tooth and nail, casting spells every second they could. Expelliarmus was the most common, and although it was a harmless spell, it was especially deadly given the height all the competitors were currently at.
As it was night, all four knights were at a much higher altitude than allowed, which made the situation extremely risky, as even a fall from a height of kilometers was enough to kill any Witch or Witch below Special Grade.
However, none of the parties seemed to care and were casting spells as if it were nothing. It was truly attacks with intent to kill.
This confused Asterion a little, he really couldn't imagine what drove four people to kill each other like this despite the tournament's strict rules against such acts of murder. After all, countries couldn't allow their best talents to die in a competition, it was extremely stupid to let such a thing happen.
But what left Asterion even more speechless was that when the knightly cadres saw him coming, they turned the 1v1 war into 4v1 in a mere instant.
Asterion found himself surrounded by four dragons and their respective riders, including the young Chinese woman he had spoken of at the beginning, on the starting line, who had the Innate Technique related to voice.
Drawing his wand, Asterion didn't show much reaction to being surrounded, he had already done too many important things to be nervous in front of mere wizards and witches below Grade 2.
---------------------------------
Author's Thoughts: Chapter 200... Wow, I really have no idea how I managed to write a fanfic to this point. 300,000 words written and an incredible feeling of accomplishment. I'll write another chapter later today.
I can only thank you for your support, your kind comments, your criticism (particularly harsh, but it's made me grow and improve, although some words still hurt a lot...). You really don't know how much you've helped me and I ask that you continue to help me, as I still plan to write and finish this fanfic.
Sincerely Prince.
Support me to write more and read chapters ahead of all regular readers!
P-atreon.com/HPSCB
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)
Next Chapter Second Volume: Chapter 202 - Dragon Race (8), Chapter 203 - Golden Path (1), Chapter 204 - Golden Path (2), Chapter 205 - Golden Path (3), Chapter 206 - Battle in Desert City (1), Chapter 207 - Battle in Desert City (2), Chapter 208 - On the Night of the Storm (1), Chapter 209 - On the Night of the Storm (2), Chapter 210 - On the Night of the Storm (3), Chapter 211 - On the Night of the Storm (4), Chapter 212 - On the Night of the Storm (5), Chapter 213 -At the Highest Point of Heaven (END Dragon Race), Chapter 214 - The Spark of Chaos (1), Chapter 215 - The Spark of Chaos (2), Chapter 216 - The Spark of Chaos (3), Chapter 217 - The Spark of Chaos (4).
Paragraph comment
Paragraph comment feature is now on the Web! Move mouse over any paragraph and click the icon to add your comment.
Also, you can always turn it off/on in Settings.
GOT IT