Who Wouldn't Want to See a Fire Dragon?

Almost two weeks have passed since the selection banquet for the Champion, and Harry, who has always been cautious and discreet, thought that the matter would gradually calm down. However, he underestimated the gossip of the young wizards.

In the closed-off magic school, anything worth talking about will be brought up repeatedly, and it won't stop even after weeks. Information is exchanged during lunch, dormitory conversations are held before going to sleep at night, and all sorts of novel topics emerge one after another.

From which Champion is stronger and has better results, to which Champion has the best appearance and is taller?

The news that the Champion would be shooting promotional photos this weekend has sparked a discussion about their appearance, putting the four male Champion in the spotlight. Whenever they appear in any public place, the little wizard will look at them with strange eyes.

Harry found their blatant stares hurtful, because in terms of height alone, he was much shorter than Cedric, Gravis, and Krum.

Those who were close to Harry didn't want to be treated like animals on display, so most of their free time they would sneak out of the Castle and read and talk by the still-unfrozen Black Lake.

With a splash, the carp stirred up water with its tail.

Neville was splashed with lake water, was not angry. He watched the carp swim away with a smile, tightened his trousers and sleeves that were rolled up high, and squatted down to continue searching in the water.

Harry, sitting on the shore, asked curiously, "Neville, what are you looking for?"

"A type of aquatic algae that is said to allow people to breathe underwater, I'm not sure if it exists in Black Lake."

"Did you see that in that book Moody gave you again?" Ron asked, moving the knight on the chessboard.

"Right!"

"..."

Not far to the right of the group, under a large, canopy-like tree by the lake, a girl intently held her Herbology textbook, softly reading aloud in a gentle voice:

"Bouncing Bulb are different from Bebop Tuber; they grow in drier environments..."

"Humidity and temperature need to be carefully monitored during the transplantation process..."

"In addition, we need to pay attention to the characteristics of the Bouncing Bulb themselves to prevent them from using their bouncing motion to attack."

"Why aren't you reading the attack cases?" a dissatisfied voice rang out. Loren, lying next to her, nudged the little Witch. Bright spots of light streamed through the leaves, blocked by her arm that was across her eyes. "Those attack cases are the real fun. Every year, some unlucky guy gets beaten black and blue by the Bouncing Bulb, heh!"

Hermione was somewhat speechless, skipping to the next paragraph and continuing, "For stem herbs, the Compost and soil need to have their moisture and fermentation time carefully controlled..."

Loren mumbled a few words indistinctly and gradually quieted down. Hermione read carefully and attentively, and he did not interrupt her again. The Herbology knowledge he had acquired over the past two months slowly flowed into his mind.

Harry was passing the time playing Wizard's Chess with Ron. The outcome was practically a foregone conclusion, but Ron preferred to slowly chip away at the opponent's pieces, insisting on capturing all the pieces on the board before declaring checkmate. This gave Harry opportunities to break the deadlock, for example—

With a thud.

Neville, standing in the lake, stepped on the moss and stumbled, sitting down in the lake.

"How are you?"

While Ron was drilling to check, Harry got up with great concern, his thigh hitting the chessboard and scattering the pieces everywhere, making it impossible to discern the original situation.

Ron watched as Harry hurriedly helped Neville ashore, then looked at the chaotic chess pieces on the board, all shouting at each other. He took a breath, his expression one of frustration.

The two helped Neville sit down, Whizbangs, quickly gathered a pile of dry branches and leaves, and started a campfire.

Not far away, Loren had already sat up and was leaning against a tree, watching with great interest, until Hermione tugged at his sleeve, which made him stop laughing.

"Someone's coming."

"Um?"

Loren turned his head and saw three little girls walking hand in hand toward him, their light footsteps rustling softly on the fallen leaves.

"Good afternoon, Harry, Loren, Hermione..."

"Good afternoon, Luna, Ginny... Gabrielle?"

"What do you need us for?"

Gabrielle looked down at the campfire on the ground, her eyes Winky. Ginny's eyes were glued to Harry, while Luna said in an ethereal voice, "Fred and I are back together."

"?"

Seeing the confusion in Harry's eyes, Loren explained, "Fred is a Unicorn. He had a conflict with Luna last time because of the Basilisk controversy."

"Oh..."

Luna continued, "Fred said a bunch of big guys came into the Forbidden Forest and kept them up all night. He told me not to tell anyone, but I think you should know about it, Harry."

"Big guy? What big guy?" Harry's eyes widened. "Is it a competition item in the Battle of the Triwizard Tournament?"

"Fred told me to keep it a secret."

"..."

Harry looked at her with a pained expression.

Now he remembered that Hagrid had mentioned last month that someone from the Ministry of Magic was scouting locations in the Forbidden Forest for the Triwizard Tournament.

Ginny glanced at Harry, then at Luna, a thoughtful look on her face. This unique way of speaking seemed to make her want to talk to Harry a little longer.

Watching the three little girls walk away hand in hand, Loren, Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Neville sat around the fire, discussing information about the Forbidden Forest and the Triwizard Tournament.

"I can't get anything out of her. Since her Unicorn friend told her to keep it a secret, why did she reveal anything?" Harry was getting frustrated.

Hermione sorted out the known information and gave him a deep look. "Didn't you notice? She's reminding you, Harry... that the things in the Forbidden Forest must be very dangerous, otherwise Luna wouldn't have done this."

Ron exclaimed excitedly, "We should go to the Forbidden Forest and find out more!"

Harry's heart began to race. He quickly glanced left and right and whispered, "But, but isn't this cheating? This... doesn't seem fair."

Loren watched the slowly burning campfire silently.

The Fire Dragon in the Forbidden Forest is already in place. With Charlie and the other zookeepers present, there shouldn't be any danger in the Forbidden Forest... Hagrid should be getting restless soon, and it wouldn't be a bad thing to figure out the situation as soon as possible.

He also wanted to see a mature Fire Dragon.

What's the point of constantly turning into Basilisk?

Loren raised his head, his eyes deep and unsettling. "Think about how your name ended up in the Goblet of Fire, Harry. Is your life more important, or is fairness more important?"

Harry's expression turned serious, and he said in a deep voice, "You're right, I'm not doing this to cheat, but to protect myself."

"Then it's decided. We'll go for a nighttime stroll in the Forbidden Forest. Remember to bring your Invisibility Cloak, Harry."

"I see."

"The time was set for half an hour after lights out, just when Filch would be patrolling outside the Slytherin Common Room,"

Should we notify Hagrid?

"Have Hedwig deliver a message to him; he'll understand."

"..."

Listening to them expertly devise a nighttime outing plan, Neville hugged his arms tightly, trembling.