At 11 PM at night I pretended to go to the bed early and then inside the room pulled on my invisibility clock and after applying the silencing charm went to the common room downstairs.
Quite a few peoples were still here just talking and studying. Some people had somehow gotten the support Cedric and Malfoy's a failure badges and were experimenting on them attempting to change the text to something more creative or cheeky.
Dodging past everyone I went to the front of the portrait hole and after a few seconds Hermione opened the door from the other side as they had planned.
Slipping past her I whispered a "Thanks" to her and went into the castle.
The grounds were very dark. I walked down the lawn toward the lights shining in Hagrid's cabin.
The inside of the enormous Beauxbatons carriage was also lit up; I could hear Madame Maxime talking inside it as I knocked on Hagrid's front door.
"You there, Harry?" Hagrid whispered, opening the door and looking around.
"Yeah," I said to him, slipping inside the cabin and pulling the cloak down off my head. "What's up?"
"Got summat ter show yeh," said Hagrid.
There was an air of enormous excitement about Hagrid. He was wearing a flower that resembled an oversized artichoke in his buttonhole.
It looked as though he had abandoned the use of axle grease, but he had certainly attempted to comb his hair — as I could see the comb's broken teeth tangled in it.
I stifled a chuckle and waved my wand, fixing his appearance with a quick charm. Hagrid blinked in surprise, then beamed. "Thanks, Harry.
Though I was sure she was only interested in getting to know about the first task and not about what Hagrid looked like. But I didn't tell him that as it wouldn't really matter to him.
"Come with me, keep quiet, an' keep yerself covered with that cloak," said Hagrid. "We won' take Fang, he won' like it. . . ."
With that Hagrid opened the door and strode off into the night outside the cabin. I followed him while again putting on my clock towards the Beauxbatons carriage where he knocked on the giant doors.
Madame Maxime opened it. She was wearing a silk shawl wrapped around her massive shoulders. She smiled when she saw Hagrid. "Ah, 'Agrid . . . it is time?"
"Bong-sewer," said Hagrid, beaming at her, and holding out a hand to help her down the golden steps.
Madame Maxime closed the door behind her, Hagrid offered her his arm, and they set off around the edge of the paddock containing Madame Maxime's giant winged horses, I followed them closely from behind.
After a while she said playfully, "Wair is it you are taking me, 'Agrid?"
"Yeh'll enjoy this," said Hagrid gruffly, "worth seein', trust me.
On'y — don' go tellin' anyone I showed yeh, right? Yeh're not s'posed ter know."
"Of course not," said Madame Maxime, fluttering her long black eyelashes.
I tuned them out as we neared a clearing.
After walking some more we went past a clearing after which they showed up in front of me.
Four fully grown, enormous, vicious-looking dragons were rearing onto their hind legs inside an enclosure fenced with thick planks of wood, roaring and snorting — torrents of fire were shooting into the dark sky from their open, fanged mouths, fifty feet above the ground on their outstretched necks.
There was a silvery-blue one with long, pointed horns, snapping and snarling at the wizards on
the ground.
A smooth-scaled green one, which was writhing and stamping with all its might.
A red one with an odd fringe of fine gold spikes around its face, which was shooting mushroom-shaped fire clouds into the air; and a gigantic black one, more lizard-like than the others, which was nearest to them.
At least thirty wizards, seven or eight to each dragon, were attempting to control them, pulling on the chains connected to heavy leather straps around their necks and legs.
They looked majestic to me. Seeing them I thought of having a dragon pet of my own. Maybe I should take one of the dragons egg in the competition. A thought for later.
"Keep back there, Hagrid!" yelled a wizard near the fence, straining on the chain he was holding.
"They can shoot fire at a range of twenty feet, you know! I've seen this Horntail do forty!"
"Is'n' it beautiful?" said Hagrid softly.
"It's no good!" yelled another wizard. "Stunning Spells, on the count of three!"
I saw each of the dragon keepers pull out their wands.
"Stupefy!" they shouted in unison, and the Stunning Spells shot into the darkness like fiery rockets, bursting in showers of stars on the dragons' scaly hides.
Slowly the dragon fainted as even though their hide was magic resistant it was still no match for the combined power of more than 30 adult wizards.
I watched as Hagrid went to talk with Charlie though I didn't follow him. Now that I had a legitimate reason to know about the dragons my work here was done. Shooting a last glance at the Horntail I went back into the castle following the same path by which I had entered.
On my way back, I spotted Karkaroff sneaking toward the enclosure. With a quick Trip Jinx, I sent him sprawling into the mud and grinned under the cloak as he cursed loudly.
Satisfied, I slipped back into the castle, retracing my steps to Gryffindor Tower.
With that I was sure every champion expect Cedric would know about what to expect in the first task.
Even in canon, Cedric was the only champion unaware of the dragons. Since he was somewhat of a friend of mine here, I decided I'd tell him the next time I got the chance.
I slipped into the castle and carefully checking the Maradaurs map made my way into the common room after telling the sleepy fat lady the password I entered it reaching a few minutes before my meeting with Sirius.
******************************
Chek out my patreon for more advanced chapters of
Harry Potter The Archmage Awakens
Reality Bending in One Piece
patreon.com/Eternal97
******************************
Chek out my patreon for more advanced chapters of
Harry Potter The Archmage Awakens
Reality Bending in One Piece
patreon.com/Eternal97
I cast a wide-range Compulsion Charm in the common room, ensuring that anyone tempted to wander in would instead feel compelled to return to their rooms.
After a few minutes, Sirius's head appeared in the fireplace. I rose from my chair, walked over to the hearth, and crouched down to talk to him.
"Sirius, how have you been?" I asked.
Sirius looked different from how I remembered him. The last time we'd said goodbye, his face had been gaunt and sunken, framed by long, black, matted hair. Now, his hair was short and clean, his face fuller, and he looked years younger.
"Never mind me, how are you?" Sirius asked seriously.
"I'm fine," I replied. "The last few weeks have been hectic with all the tournament stuff and preparing for the first task."
Almost casually, I added, "I also went with Hagrid to check out the first task. It's dragons."
"Dragons we can deal with, Harry, but we'll get to that in a minute, I haven't got long here. I've broken into a wizarding house to use the fire, but they could be back at any time. There are things I need to warn you about."
"What is it?" I asked, feigning surprise. While I could handle a dragon easily, Sirius didn't know that.
"Karkaroff," said Sirius. "Harry, he was a Death Eater. You know what Death Eaters are, don't you?"
"Yes, I do," I said, cutting him off before he launched into a lecture. "I've already researched all the potential suspects who could be involved in putting my name into the Goblet of Fire."
"But I don't think it's him. Karkaroff was a snitch who put a lot of other Death Eaters in Azkaban. I doubt he'd risk getting dragged back into this mess by targeting me."
"I've been hearing some very strange things," Sirius said slowly. "The Death Eaters seem more active than usual lately.
"They showed up at the Quidditch World Cup, didn't they? Someone set off the Dark Mark . . . and then did you hear about that Ministry of Magic witch who's gone missing?"
"Bertha Jorkins?" I asked.
"Exactly. She disappeared in Albania, and that's definitely where Voldemort was last rumored to be. She would've known the Triwizard Tournament was coming up, wouldn't she?"
"Then it's likely Voldemort caught her, and this whole plan has his hand in it," I said, nodding thoughtfully. "But if that's the case, it makes Karkaroff even less likely. If Voldemort met him, he'd have killed him for betraying the Death Eaters.
"No, it's someone else. Someone we wouldn't suspect, someone helping Voldemort while staying here at Hogwarts."
Convincing Sirius that it was Moody—or, more accurately, Barty Crouch Jr.—would be difficult. It was better to plant the seeds now, dropping hints so that when the truth came out, it would seem logical how I'd figured it out.
Sirius mulled over my words before speaking again. "Well, it's good you've been thinking about the bigger picture, Harry. Honestly, I thought with everything going on, you'd be overwhelmed and not have the clarity to consider all this. I underestimated you."
His grim smile softened. "You're sharper than I give you credit for sometimes. Just promise me you'll be careful. Keep your head down and don't take unnecessary risks."
"Don't worry about me," I said, a faint smile tugging at my lips. "I've got it under control."
Sirius chuckled dryly. "You sound just like your father when you say that.
"Now, about the dragons—don't even think about Stunning Spell. Their hides are thick and highly resistant to magic. It takes a group of skilled wizards to subdue one."
He paused, then added, "But there is a spell you might find useful: the Conjunctivitus Curse. It irritates their eyes and makes them lose sight of you. Just be careful not to get too close."
"Don't worry, Sirius," I said confidently. "I've already learned some spells that could restrict a dragon's movements. Combined with the Conjunctivitus Curse, evading a dragon will be simple. This task will be easy for me."
Sirius raised an eyebrow but smiled. "You really are starting to sound more and more like James. He had that same confidence—facing challenges head-on and conquering them. If you're sure, Harry, then I'll wish you the best. But promise me you'll stay safe."
"Now I have to go Harry someone might come here soon so see you soon Harry and give them Hell." Sirius replied after being comforted with my confidence.
"Yeah see you soon Sirius and stay safe as well."
With that, Sirius's face flickered and vanished from the flames, leaving the fireplace empty once more. With ash and coals swiftly taking back their original place.
Talking with Sirius was reassuring—not just because he genuinely cared about me, but because he trusted me to take care of myself. It felt good to have someone believe I had everything under control.
Removing the charm I had set up around the room, I stretched my arms, feeling a slight pang of exhaustion settle in. I started walking up the stairs toward my dormitory.
As I approached the door, I paused, spotting Ron standing in the dimly lit hallway.
He looked confused. His brows were furrowed, and he scratched the back of his head, glancing between the staircase and the dormitory door.
Ignoring him, I headed straight for my bed. Sliding into my bed, I drew the curtains shut, casting myself in complete darkness. Within a few minutes I was fast asleep.
***************************
Chek out my patreon for more advanced chapters of
Harry Potter The Archmage Awakens
Reality Bending in One Piece
patreon.com/Eternal97
***************************
Chek out my patreon for more advanced chapters of
Harry Potter The Archmage Awakens
Reality Bending in One Piece
patreon.com/Eternal97
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