Fire's About Right

A deep blue sky covered the earth, but the Forbidden Forest was not quiet at night. Occasionally, a faint tremor came from the depths of the forest, and small animals perched on the branches huddled in tree holes, trembling with unease.

The sky was dim, and only the Wooden House on the Edge of the Forbidden Forest revealed a faint, pale yellow candlelight through their windows.

Knock knock knock.

A knock suddenly sounded, followed by a creaking sound as the door opened. More voices came from the Edge of the Forbidden Forest, and the atmosphere finally became lively.

Hagrid poked his head out, his neatly combed beard and hair showing signs of being scratched and ruffled, and he looked very distressed. He nervously looked around and then flung the door wide open. "Come in quickly, children, don't let the patrolmen see us."

Loren, Hermione, Harry, and Ron filed in and sat down by the fire.

Fang was curled up beside the sofa, its eyes half-closed. Sensing the familiar scent approaching, it weakly wagged its tail, looking extremely sleepy. Loren gently stroked its back fur, gradually relaxing Fang.

Harry couldn't help but feel a little anxious. "Hagrid, what's in the Forbidden Forest? It's so heavily guarded, it must be some big guys, right? What are they?"

"Shh, keep your voice down, Harry." Hagrid gently closed the door, turned and sat down opposite the group, his eyebrows drooping, his expression troubled and conflicted. "Oh, you've really given me a hard time. I promised them it would be a secret, in the name of Care of Magical Creatures at Hogwarts."

Madam Maxime begged him for a long time, but he refused... Hagrid sighed deeply.

"Don't be silly, Hagrid." Loren looked at him intently. "You were there the night of the Champion Selection. You know Harry's name shouldn't be in the Goblet of Fire. You know what those people are plotting!"

Hagrid's large face slowly tightened, and his fists clenched involuntarily. "It must be Karkaroff, that damned Death Eater! We should never have let him escape trial back then!"

Harry and Ron stared wide-eyed, Hermione was also somewhat surprised. Karkaroff really was Death Eater. They had thought Moody was saying bad things about Karkaroff.

"I shouldn't have told you this, but Loren is right. Someone wants to get you and kill you. We can't just sit here and wait to die."

Harry held his breath. "Tell me quickly, what is it?"

"You'll all follow behind me and see for yourselves whether the Invisibility Cloak is with you." Hagrid relaxed slightly when he saw Harry pull out the silver veil. "Put it on quickly, let's go!"

Harry and Ron skillfully slipped into the Invisibility Cloak, disappearing from sight. Loren and Hermione exchanged a glance, then tapped each other with their wands. Ripples of the Disillusionment Charm spread out like water, and the two vanished without a trace.

Hagrid's eye twitched; he felt their movements were too practiced.

Fang twice, struggled to open his eyes, and stood up, wanting to catch up with them.

"Fang, don't go. You take good care of the house."

"Woof..."

"Don't worry, we'll be back soon."

"Woof..."

Stepping out of the cabin, Hagrid glanced hesitantly toward the paddock, where Beauxbatons ' luxurious carriage and several Thestral were parked. He then turned his gaze away and strode into the darkness.

If anyone saw this scene, they would be terrified. Although there was only one tall person walking in the woods, the rustling footsteps sounded like a group of people.

The group walked a long way along the Forbidden Forest path, until the Castle and lake were no longer in sight, but the strange noises grew clearer and closer. It sounded as if a group of men were shouting, followed by a deafening, piercing roar.

Beneath the Invisibility Cloak, Harry's face gradually turned pale.

Hagrid stopped after walking around a grove of trees. The leaves beside him were stirred by an invisible figure, and he could vaguely hear a few slightly rapid breaths.

Not far ahead, a vast open space had been cleared, with thick, enchanted wooden planks forming high enclosures. Six enormous Fire Dragon lay prostrate on the ground, their breaths releasing orange-yellow, crimson, and ghostly blue flames from their ferocious maws, like blooming flowers. Their massive muscles writhed like pythons, and their shield-like scales undulated and leaped.

Loren gazed at the six brilliant bursts of Magic Power light, his right hand aching slightly, probably because Hermione had unconsciously gripped his hand tightly.

A group of wizards dressed in fireproof rags were fastening iron chains made of black iron to the legs and neck of Fire Dragon. It took two wizards to hug the chains and barely hold them up, but judging from the way the Fire Dragon turned its head and moved its legs, it seemed to have almost no effect on them.

"Hagrid, you've come?"

A broad-faced, dark-skinned wizard with freckles approached them. "We might need your help. These chains are too heavy for us to lift."

It was Charlie. No wonder he said they would see each other again soon.

Loren and the others slowed their breathing.

"Do we really have to lock them up?" Hagrid frowned as he looked at the Fire Dragon on the field. "These big guys look very unhappy. It would be troublesome if we angered them."

"No one cares about the Fire Dragon more than we zookeepers," Charlie sighed. "But you know, the school Castle is right next door, so we have to be careful, for the safety of the students and for the safety of these guys."

"What a beautiful big guy..."

Hagrid stared intently at the Fire Dragon in the arena, then his eyes involuntarily darted to the empty space beside him. After a moment's hesitation, he said in a stiff tone, "Could you tell me about these Fire Dragon?"

Charlie gave him a strange look.

Hagrid wouldn't recognize these Fire Dragon?

Back when he was in school, he knew that the Gamekeeper's wish was to raise Fire Dragon, not to mention that he had actually raised a Norwegian Ridgeback a few years ago.

"Alright, Hagrid." Charlie didn't think much of it, assuming he wanted more details. "Look, the one closest to us, that's Swedish Short-Snout. Don't let its cute appearance fool you, its flames are among the strongest of all dragons..."

The young wizards hidden in the shadows looked at the short-nosed dragon. Its size was only medium among the six Fire Dragon, and its scales were a beautiful silver-blue. It did not look fierce.

Several keepers were standing on a ladder, dragging chains toward its neck, when suddenly, the Swedish Short-Snout spewed out dazzling blue flames from its nostrils. Upon seeing this, the keepers immediately let go and jumped down.

Blue flames fell on the chains and ladder, instantly turning the wood to ashes and melting the chains into molten iron.

Under the Invisibility Cloak, Harry's face was pale.

"..."

Charlie glanced suspiciously to his left, and he thought he heard a gasp. He shook his head and continued, "The one next to it is Hungarian Horntail; whoever gets it won't have a good time..."

The Hungarian Horntail Dragon is covered in black scales, resembles a lizard, and has yellow eyes and bronze horns.

Loren and the others quickly understood why it was called Horntail. Its tail, which was almost longer than its entire body, lashed out like a whip, and rows of gleaming bronze spikes smashed the iron lock and the nearby mounds to pieces. The keepers cast all sorts of spells on it as if they had no Magic Power, but not a single scratch was left on its black scales.

Next is the Chinese Fireball Dragon, also known as the Liondragon, with smooth, scarlet scales, a lion's nose on its face, a ring of golden, tassel-like spikes around its nose, and bulging eyes.

The Peruvian Vipertooth is only about fifteen feet long, with smooth scales, a bronze-colored body, and a row of raised black bony spikes along its back. It has short horns on its head and highly venomous teeth.

The Hebridean Black Dragon, a native England Fire Dragon, has coarse black scales, purple eyes, and a row of shallow but razor-sharp ridges along its back. Its tail ends in a sharp arrowhead, and its wings resemble those of a bat.

Of the six Fire Dragon, only the Welsh Green Dragon obediently allowed its keeper to put it on a chain; if you ignored the fact that it was tearing apart a cow at the time, it seemed really gentle.

"Six in total..." Hagrid stared at the Fire Dragon with fascination. "Each Champion needs to deal with one, so there's one extra?"

"It was a special request from the Ministry of Magic, saying that they wanted to reserve one as a backup."

"What do the Champion need to do? Let them fight the Fire Dragon?"

"I'm not sure either, they probably just passed right by the Fire Dragon." Charlie shook his head. "They're all female Fire Dragon that need to incubate their eggs, and they're at their most aggressive right now. I really don't understand... I can only Champion good luck, and hope we can get there in time to help them during the competition... By the way, how's Harry?"

"Oh, Harry, he's alright," Hagrid replied somewhat flusteredly.

"I really hope he comes out safe and sound after facing this danger. I don't even dare to tell my mom what Harry will face in his First Task..."

Harry felt his legs go weak, and he really wanted to go back to the Castle immediately and tell Dumbledore that he wanted to withdraw from the competition.

"They really are big guys. Did you see that? That black dragon is lying there like a small mountain."

"The Hebridean Black Dragon, I've seen it in a book, but that's not even its largest size."

"The flames of the Swedish Short-Snout look so beautiful. I wish I could replicate them with magic."

"..."

On the path leading to the Castle at the Edge of the Forbidden Forest, Harry's ears were filled with the chatter of his friends. Human joys and sorrows are not shared, and he only found it noisy.

His future is as dark as this path, with no light in sight.

"Harry, how are you feeling?" Loren asked.

"Me?" Harry forced a smile. "I feel great. It's a good thing we came tonight. If I had only seen the dragon for the first time on the day of the competition, I might have fainted in front of the whole school..."

Harry looked down at his wand, his expression full of melancholy. It was a thin little wooden stick, and it was meant to deal with a giant dragon that was dozens of feet tall, covered in scales and spikes, and breathing fire from its nostrils!

"Don't say that, Harry. You know, you were already able to handle the Basilisk when you were in your second year," Ron advised.

"You're right, but how am I supposed to convince Dumbledore to lend me the Sword of Gryffindor this time?" Harry sighed. "And the Basilisk won't be breathing fire at me from twenty feet away."

"Use the Sword of Gryffindor to cut down Fire Dragon?" Loren chuckled softly. "Don't even think about it. A single Fire Dragon is worth more than all of you Champion combined, especially since they are mother Fire Dragon incubating their eggs. The Ministry of Magic wouldn't want to see that happen."

"Thank you, Loren, I feel comforted."

Harry's distressed expression made Hermione laugh.

"Relax, Harry. The Triwizard Tournament is about choosing a winner, not about you feeding the Fire Dragon. You won't be facing the Fire Dragon head-on. Besides, Charlie and Dumbledore will be watching from outside during the competition."

Loren looked up and saw Hogwarts Castle at the end of the path, with candlelight still shining from a few scattered windows. "Hermione is right, but before that, you must overcome your fear of Fire Dragon, Harry."

"What do you mean?" Harry looked at him.

Do you remember I had a small mirror?

"..."

Fifteen minutes later.

Gryffindor Common Room.

The entire room was pitch black, with only a candle burning dimly on a small round table by the window.

The four people sat facing each other in pairs, just like always.

Loren leaned back slightly against the soft cushions, while Hermione beside him glanced at the candles and looked around the room with a leisurely expression.

Harry toyed with the flower-shaped mirror in one hand, then glanced at Ron, who was shrinking back and avoiding his gaze. He glared at Ron, annoyed, and turned to ask, "So, according to you, this mirror can make me dream of Fire Dragon and face them in my dreams, is that right, Loren?"

"It's not Fire Dragon, it's just a monster with the appearance of Fire Dragon created in your dream."

Is there any difference?

"It's because I haven't fully grasped the physiological structure of Fire Dragon, nor have I seen through their Magic Power. So what you see are just monsters with hard scales and huge bodies. As for their flames, I've replaced them with another kind of flame."

"Oh, I see..."

Although he didn't understand anything, Harry nodded knowingly. "So what should I do now, go back to my room and sleep?"

"No need for that."

Under Harry and Ron's questioning gazes, Loren slowly sat up straight, opened the window, and chuckled softly, "Has no one noticed? The furnishings in the common room are all upside down. Harry, you've been playing with the mirror with your left hand the whole time."

As soon as he finished speaking, it was as if a hole had suddenly been torn open in the cabin of a high-speed aircraft, and a strong gust of air poured out of the room.

Under the influence of air pressure, Harry felt a strong suction coming from the window, and his clothes and limbs dragged him straight out of the window.

"Ah!"

With a dizzying sense of weightlessness, Harry realized that the scenery around him was gradually blurring. The Castle was moving away from him, shrinking into a small black dot at the edge of his vision, while the Forbidden Forest was getting closer and closer.

Fluttering, falling...

Standing firmly on the soft soil, Harry looked up and met the Swedish Short-Snout's yellowish eyes, swallowing hard.

The Swedish Short-Snout looked at Harry, took a deep breath, and the muscles in its neck clearly expanded. "Roar!!"

Harry's pupils dilated violently. Unlike the dazzling blue flames he had seen an hour earlier, this dragonfire was orange-yellow, with only the outer flames showing a reddish tinge, almost black.

The next day, breakfast time.

To cater to the tastes of students from other schools, Hogwarts has become increasingly diverse in its breakfast offerings. However, in Loren's eyes, it's just a variety of strange sauces with bread, which is hardly anything new.

However, the combination of various sauces is quite interesting. Several kinds of mayonnaise, peanut butter and cheese are mixed together and taste like sesame paste.

Hey, that's really interesting.

With a cheerful mood, Loren began to work on the dozen or so sauces in front of him.

In stark contrast to him was Harry sitting opposite him, looking dazed, chewing his nut bread listlessly, his eyes devoid of their usual light.

"Harry, what's wrong?" Ron asked in a low voice.

While Harry was lost in thought, a wave of grievance washed over him when he heard his friend's concern. He couldn't help but complain, "Last night I was facing Swedish Short-Snout in my dream!"

"We know that..." Ron glanced at his expression discreetly. "We're watching the Hebridean Black Dragon, even though it doesn't move."

Harry looked indignant. "I used Transfiguration to create a steel shield to block the flames. I thought that even if the steel melted, it would hold for a while. But do you know what, Ron? The steel shield is on fire! The steel is on fire!"

Not only did the steel catch fire, but everything in his field of vision caught fire after he hesitated for only a second or two.

The most outrageous thing is that the burning flames turned into Fire Dragon and kept chasing him!

Harry's mental state collapsed immediately, and the world in the mirror shattered as well, leaving him unable to sleep well all night.

"Ahem..." Loren's apology was sincere and genuine. "Because it's Swedish Short-Snout, I wanted to make the flames a bit stronger... Don't worry, other Fire Dragon won't do that."

"Instead of that, I think you should keep an eye on Hagrid."

At some point, Hermione dipped a piece of bread in the sauce he had made, took a bite, and her little face was full of awkwardness.

"What's wrong with Hagrid?" Harry asked.

Before Hermione could answer, the group had already spotted Hagrid in the High Table. He was wearing a suit that was way too big for his size, with a flower pinned to his chest, making him look like an exceptionally large artichoke. When he spoke to Madam Maxime next to him, an excited blush would appear on his face.

Seeing his incongruous attire, the expressions of the group were somewhat complicated.

Loren hesitated for a few seconds before saying, "At least in terms of physique, they look like a good match."

Harry and Ron nodded.

"That's not what I was talking about." Hermione pushed his strange sauce away with a look of disgust. "Do you think Hagrid would agree if Madam Maxime were willing to have dinner with Hagrid and then asked to see the enclosure in the Forbidden Forest?"

"This..."

Harry slowly realized. "In that case, Delacour of Beauxbatons will soon find out about the Fire Dragon."

Hermione whispered, "In fact, I think that with the Forbidden Forest's level of protection, if Karkaroff and Headmaster Fontana have any ideas, they'll find out about the Fire Dragon very quickly."

Harry swallowed the nut bread with difficulty, his gaze falling on the long table in Hufflepuff, where Cedric was preparing to leave the table, smiling and saying goodbye to those around him.

Harry's eyes flickered as he silently made his next plan.