Ways to Deal with Fire Dragons

Sunday, November 20th.

November is already halfway over, and the weather is getting colder. Yesterday afternoon, a light snow fell from the sky. Standing in the Gryffindor Common Room, you could see that the slightly higher hills were already covered in snow.

Hermione flipped through the latest issue of the Daily Prophet.

Loren was working on his Divination at his desk, Crookshanks lay on the table, craning his neck and staring at the ink marks his pen left on the paper.

"As if you can understand it..." Loren muttered, taking advantage of the time while dipping the quill pen in ink, he placed his hand on the ginger-yellow Hand Warmer and kneaded it vigorously.

Professor Trelawney's Divination were tedious and long, and if you actually did the calculations based on what you learned in class, it would be time-consuming and result in a low score. Only by making up stupid and unlucky things could you get an excellent grade.

He originally had a medical record to refer to, but it was reported by a wicked little Witch, and from then on, Madam Pomfrey put him on the Hospital Wing's blacklist.

Professor Granger is utterly wicked!

Oh well, what can I do when her reason is valid?

Loren sighed softly and wrote down the final Divination result on the paper: After Christmas, due to the novel and unusual flavors of food, my tongue and oral mucosa will develop sores...

Hermione's laughter rang out beside her. "Even without a medical record, you can still come up with novel illnesses, can't you?"

Loren glanced at her, his pupils flashing with a dangerous light.

Hermione immediately dropped her teasing expression and laid the newspaper out in front of him with a serious face. "Look at this, the Champion ' promotional photos and reports have been published."

The newspaper's main page featured a group photo of the five Champion printed in the center.

Phoebe Delacour, dressed impeccably, sat in a chair with a slight flush on her right cheek. Behind her stood Viktor Krum, wearing a thick coat; Pickley Gravis, holding a bow tie with a resolute expression; and Cedric Diggory, with a gentle smile. Harry stood between the three male Champion, a head shorter than them.

However, on the side page, Harry's solo photo was published separately, with his hands on his hips and grinning, looking rather dim-witted.

Loren looked at it carefully for a few seconds, then looked at Hermione with a serious expression and asked, "Can't Harry get his hair trimmed? It really doesn't look good."

"He has pimples on his forehead, he needs to cover them up..." Hermione answered instinctively, then rolled her eyes. "Stop talking about that, read the news!"

Loren turned to browse the text, ignoring the introduction to the Triwizard Tournament and the four schools; the headlines on the right were more eye-catching.

[A Tragedy of Youth: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire — Harry Potter, 12 years old, a dubious contestant in the Triwizard Tournament, his eyes haunted by ghostly memories, and he always struggled to hold back tears when interviewed about his past experiences...]

The Daily Prophet devoted a significant portion of its coverage to Harry's origins, his feud with the Dark Lord, and the connection between the turmoil during the Quidditch World Cup and the current Triwizard Tournament, blatantly implying that the Death Eater were lurking in the shadows and that Harry Potter was in grave danger.

After returning from New York, Miss Rita Skeeter's writing skills improved. Not a single word of Voldemort was mentioned in the entire article, but every sentence hinted at Voldemort. The news report was written with the same twists and turns as a serialized novel, making it thrilling and captivating.

Loren laughed as he read it, "Headmaster Dumbledore will be very pleased to see this newspaper."

"Mrs. Weasley must be terribly worried when she sees this." Hermione sighed and put the newspaper away. "Let's go to the Library to find Harry and the others."

Loren stood up, pushed his chair under the table, and punched the little Witch in the triceps. "It's all your fault! If you hadn't made it so I couldn't borrow the medical record book, would I have finished my Divination homework later Harry and Ron?"

Hermione knew she was in the wrong and remained silent.

The Library wasn't very crowded on the weekend. Besides Hogwarts students, there were some unfamiliar faces.

Because of the origins of their own school, the young wizards of Ilvermorny were very interested in the history of Hogwarts. Five or six young wizards gathered together, enthusiastically copying down records about Slytherin, and also pestering several Ravenclaw students to ask about the Chamber of Secrets and the Basilisk.

Madam Pince stood guard with a stern face, ready to give them a severe scolding if they raised their voices even slightly.

Durmstrang's students seemed very interested in the Restricted Section, circling the cordon repeatedly, but under Madam Pince's gloomy gaze, no one dared to do anything out of line.

There were only one or two young wizards in Beauxbatons, and they didn't pay any particular attention to anything, just casually flipping through the books in the Library.

Loren and Hermione went straight to their usual spot by the window.

Ron was alone on the desk. He seemed to have pulled out every book he could find related to Fire Dragon and was searching through a huge stack of books like looking for a needle in a haystack.

"Using magic to trim claws... a treatment for festering scales... it's useless. It's probably only for weirdos like Hagrid who want a strong and powerful Fire Dragon..."

"Fire Dragon are extremely difficult to kill because their thick hides are permeated with primal and powerful Magic Power, which can only be penetrated by a few powerful spells..."

Ron muttered to himself as he folded up the useful pages of his book, tossed aside the copy of "The Dragon-Loving Person," and looked up to see the two people walking side by side. His eyes lit up with surprise.

"You're finally here. Quickly, take a look and see which parts are helpful in dealing with the Fire Dragon ..." Ron pushed a thick stack of books with folded corners towards him. "I really don't know what Harry was thinking. He actually followed Cedric away sneaking off like that... Did he think someone was going to deal with the Fire Dragon? Was it me? Honestly..."

Loren and Hermione sat down opposite him. Hermione began flipping through the books one by one, while Loren moved much more slowly. "Honestly, Ron, I thought you'd be jealous of Harry becoming Champion, or unhappy about it or something..."

"That's what I thought at first..." Ron scratched the freckles on his cheek, "But later... well, I can't really explain it, but I figured it out."

"Tsk, I thought you and Harry would have a falling out over this, sulk, and not talk to each other or something."

"How could that be? I'm not stupid!"

"Wasn't that so before?"

"You! Hermione, aren't you going to do anything about this?"

"..."

Time slowly passed with the sound of pages turning. When Loren finished reading "Basic Spells for Dealing with Hyperactive and Restless Animals," the Champion Harry finally returned.

"Phew... Ha... You guys have no idea who I just ran into?"

Harry sat down next to Ron, breathing heavily, and began to recount what had just happened, meeting the gazes of the three.

He followed Cedric from a distance, up two floors, before finding an opportunity. With a precise "Sectumsempra" attack, he smashed Cedric's new schoolbag. While Cedric was tidying up the books, quills, and parchment scattered on the floor, Harry seized the chance to step forward and tell Cedric about the Fire Dragon...

Loren and Hermione looked at Harry with strange expressions. Was this some kind of revenge? It sounded like revenge no matter how you looked at it.

"You wouldn't believe it, Cedric was terrified. He just stared at me blankly, and even put the broken ink bottle back into his bag..."

Even Ron's expression turned strange.

"Then I met Professor Moody!" Harry said mysteriously, lowering his voice to whisper, "He also knew that the First Task was Fire Dragon. He told me that to deal with the Fire Dragon, I had to use my strengths, and that I could send Firebolt into the arena with just one Summoning Charm."

After saying that, Harry looked at his friends expectantly. "What do you guys think of this idea?"

"Harry, none of us have your flying skills. Our opinions don't matter. What matters is, do you think you can handle Fire Dragon while riding Firebolt?"

Loren handed over the thick tome beside him, saying, "If you don't even have confidence in yourself, then you can only look at these books."

Harry looked down at the table of contents of "Basic Charms for Dealing with Hyperactive and Restless Animals" in front of him.

Quickly remove hair... Fire Dragon don't have hair.

The sneezing spell... that would probably only increase the Fire Dragon's firepower.

Hardening the tongue... that's really useful, giving the Fire Dragon another weapon.

Harry silently closed the book, thought for a moment, and then asked, "Loren, if it were you, how would you deal with the Fire Dragon?"

"I will talk to it."

"Huh?" Harry looked bewildered. "You speak Fire Dragon Language?"

"No, but the animals are always willing to listen to me."

"..."

Even snakes are willing to listen to him. Harry thought to himself.

"Listen, Harry ..." Hermione handed him a stack of books she had arranged. "You've overcome your fear and can face the Fire Dragon now. There are many ways to deal with Fire Dragon, from cleverly designed Transfiguration to ingenious charms... If you're unsure, choose the method you're most confident in."

Harry rubbed his cheeks, trying to cheer himself up. "I'll try it in the mirror tonight, Loren. Can you let me ride Firebolt in my dreams?"

"It should be fine," Loren said with a smile.

Suddenly, Madam Pince's angry roar rang out in the Library. It turned out that a group of girls had run into the Library on tiptoe, one of whom was wearing a Bulgaria scarf around her waist.

The girls occasionally let out excited screams and cheers, making a lot of noise.

Hermione was on good terms with Madam Pince, quickly found the culprit and frowned in annoyance. "Oh, this is terrible, it's him again. Why can't he read a book on his stupid ship?"

Behind a bookshelf not far away, Viktor Krum walked out listlessly, picked up a stack of books, and sat down in a corner.

"It's so noisy, I can't stand it here anymore." Hermione sighed, took Loren's hand, and started to walk out. "Come on, Loren, take me to Professor Bubage's office..."

Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, then shrugged, puzzled.

"Doesn't he know how many people are in his fan club? Why does he still have to come to the Library?" Hermione said, leading the boy by the hand down the corridor and up the stairs.

Loren quickly caught up, standing next to the little Witch. He opened his hand, took her fingers, and squeezed them. "It's rare to see Miss Granger dislike someone so much. Is there something I don't know?"

"I keep running into him these past few days. On Tuesday in the Ancient Rune class, on Wednesday on my way back from Professor Bubage's office... He's always with a bunch of fangirls. I'm so annoyed by him now!" Hermione complained.

Loren's mood was somewhat complicated. He turned his head slightly and his gaze fell on the girl's profile. Her hair was still a little messy, and occasionally her delicate features would be revealed.

Before we knew it, the little girl who always cried had grown up.

"Let's not talk about him anymore. What have you been talking about with Professor Bubage lately?"

"We were talking about House-elf. I told Professor Bubage about your approach, and she agreed with it. She told me that House-elf can only awaken their free will spontaneously, and that my previous attempt to directly help them was wrong..."

The girl's eyes shone slightly as she spoke, her clear words echoing on every step of the stairs.

After delivering the girl to the Muggle Studies Professor's office, Loren also gave a brief greeting to Professor Bubage, a learned and gentle Witch.

Loren went down the stairs to the first floor, walked down the Marble Staircase, and headed straight for the Entrance Hall.

He planned to go to the Forbidden Forest to take another look at the Fire Dragon.

Thinking of the flames of the Swedish Short-Snout, Loren turned a corner in front of the Entrance Hall and saw a familiar face gradually approaching—

Professor Snape, with his graying hair, wore a dark green robe, and his cape had been changed to a winter style, made of satin with velvet.

Loren grinned. "Good morning, Professor Snape. Your new cloak is beautiful."

Professor Snape expressionlessly dusted off his cloak and robes, shaking off the chill. The melting snowflakes that had landed on him almost splashed Loren with water droplets.

"Your Potions Master assignments have become increasingly perfunctory these past few months," Professor Snape said coldly, his tone indifferent. "Is it because you've been missing weekend lessons?"

"..."

Then you should give me all the "excellent" grades.

Loren obediently replied, "I'm sorry, Professor. I will be more diligent in the future."

"Don't be a fool who wastes his time, Morgan." Snape's gaze was deep. "Many people in this world spend their entire lives mechanically stirring the potion in a cauldron, meticulously adding ingredients. They are servants of Potions; very few have the talent..."

Loren listened to the instruction silently.

"You've already read ' Potions,' so you can try brewing some of the advanced Potions in the book," Snape said. "Write down your experiences and insights during the brewing process in a paper, and I'll be checking them."

Loren glanced at the professor furtively. "The ingredients for that brewing..."

"Prepare for yourself." Snape paused. "Keep your distance, Morgan. Don't let too many people know about our contact."

Loren frowned.

He sensed something was amiss. Although there was Karkaroff and a fake Professor Moody at the school, it shouldn't have made Snape so cautious.

Snape said softly, "I think you've already noticed that Dumbledore is getting senile, letting too many outsiders into the Castle, and some of them are becoming unruly..."