Source of the Tremor

The Black Family's treasured pure Scotch Whiskey is indeed a fine thing. It's spicy upon entry, yet the aftertaste is elegantly sweet, with a subtle hint of toffee and honey.

But for children drinking alcohol for the first time, its potency is indeed a bit much.

Harry remembers being so overwhelmed by a lamb chop that had been salted at least three times that his tongue went numb. Then he grabbed his glass and gulped it down in one go, and after that, he didn't remember anything.

"Harry! Harry! Are you alright?" Sirius Black anxiously supported him, taking the purplish-red hangover potion Vincent handed over with one hand.

"Ugh—" Harry slowly opened his eyes shortly after drinking it.

"Thank Merlin, you're alright."

After Harry woke up, he remembered what had just happened and lowered his head like a child who had done something wrong. "I'm sorry, Godfather, I worried you."

Sirius Black gently patted his back. "No need to apologize, as long as you're alright."

"Rumble—" That annoying vibration came again.

Cedric was careless and didn't hold onto his mushroom soup properly.

Luckily, only a little spilled, but the soup dripped right onto Cho's long dress.

"Sorry, Cho."

"It's alright."

Cedric quickly drew his wand and cleaned the stains off her dress.

Vincent put down his glass, which was a little more than half full. "You guys carry on, I'll go see what's going on."

Even though they were preparing for winter, this frequency was too high.

This time, it was fortunate that only a little soup spilled, but next time, maybe the entire bowl wouldn't be held properly and someone would get burned.

Hermione also put down her grilled salmon. "I'll go with you."

All told, the two of them had spent two and a half years in the Forbidden Forest. They could go anywhere without hindrance, no matter how dangerous.

The twins turned their heads with grins, looking at Ron, who had a chicken leg stuffed in his mouth.

"Ronnie, little darling, your most feared little spiders are about to be in big trouble. Aren't you especially happy right now?"

Hearing the word "spiders," Ron shivered subconsciously.

He pretended to be calm and took the large chicken leg out of his mouth. "I'm not afraid of those fluffy things at all."

"Ooh~"

Ron raised his little head and calmly bit off a large piece of chicken leg, chewing it slowly.

"Rumble—"

"Gulp—" The slight vibration of the ground scared him so much that he swallowed the chicken leg meat that he hadn't chewed much.

The twins laughed unkindly when they saw his uncomfortable expression.

"Don't be afraid, Ronnie, little darling, the little spiders' nest is far from here~ Hahahaha~"

Amidst the mockery of his "good brothers," Ron continued to eat as if nothing had happened.

On the other side, Vincent and Hermione, who hadn't gone far, smiled knowingly when they heard the twins' laughter.

"Who do you think it is, Cedric or Ron?"

"Ron, probably." Vincent reached out his hand to Hermione. "With Cho around, they'll give him some face."

Hermione took his hand and followed him slowly down the slope.

A few more minutes of walking straight ahead would lead to the Acromantula's nest. The closer they got, the more fallen leaves there were on the ground, and the greater the occasional vibrations.

When the two of them walked hand in hand into a relatively wide nest, they discovered that several adult Acromantulas inside were not out hunting for food. They were even huddled together, protecting the palm-sized young.

The second nest was the same situation. After a dozen consecutive nests, both of them felt that something was not quite right.

If the vibrations in the Forbidden Forest weren't caused by the Acromantulas, what else could it be?

Hogwarts and its surroundings were equipped with anti-seismic magic. Even a magnitude ten earthquake outside wouldn't affect the inside.

Could it be that Hagrid had secretly raised another nest of some big cuties?

"Could it be the Abraxan horses?"

"They seemed to be drinking whiskey when we came over just now. If they got drunk..."

Vincent paused and walked towards the source of the vibrations. "Madame Maxime has raised them too strong. It's not impossible for them to cause such a commotion."

Hermione relaxed her vigilance slightly. "As long as it's not some foreign species. The Forbidden Forest already has a rich variety of species. If some big guys that can cause earthquakes are added, it will completely disrupt the ecological balance here."

In order to balance the number of Acromantulas, Jormungandr had gained a full three sizes in two years. If it were a species without natural enemies, the environment of the Forbidden Forest would definitely be in chaos.

Vincent looked somewhat uncertainly at the fallen leaves that had been shaken down in front of him. "Hagrid should still be busy taking care of his Blast-Ended Skrewts, right? He wouldn't have the mind to raise anything else."

Hermione squeezed the little hand holding his. "Let's hope so."

The two of them quickly passed through a small path covered with fallen leaves, feeling several more intense vibrations along the way.

"It shouldn't be far." Vincent took the Alder Wand in his hand and protected her behind him.

"Roar!" The sudden roar made the two of them tense up instantly.

"Fire Dragons?"

"How could there be something like that in the Forbidden Forest?"

They didn't have time to think and started running towards the source of the sound.

Suddenly, a more violent tremor came from the ground, and Hermione stumbled.

Vincent picked her up and pointed the Flamel Ring on his hand at his legs.

Flowing Mithril rapidly enveloped his shoes from inside the ring, solidifying into a pair of metal boots in the blink of an eye.

The vents on the soles of the boots didn't make any noise, and the activated flying boots slowly lifted them into the air.

"Looks like there's more than one Fire Dragon."

Hermione followed his gaze and could vaguely see wisps of black smoke rising from the distant woods.

She held Vincent's neck tightly, "Let's hurry over there, their breath will start a fire!"

The vents on the soles of the flying boots instantly enlarged, and the ejected airflow stirred up a large number of fallen leaves.

The terrifying acceleration made Hermione close her eyes subconsciously, but soon she couldn't feel anything.

She opened her eyes and found a layer of magical barrier in front of her, and the distant scenery was changing rapidly like a slideshow.

In just a few breaths, they could clearly see four Fire Dragons of different breeds.

They seemed to be bound by something, constantly struggling.

And around them, there was a group of Wizards in crimson robes, struggling to suppress them.

"This is..." Vincent slowed down, hovering behind a large tree.

Hermione noticed that the robes of those Wizards all had the same pattern, which looked familiar, as if she had seen it in the Encyclopedia of All Magical Professions.

She suddenly thought of something, her small face close to Vincent's ear, "They are Dragon Tamers."

"Dragon Tamers? Why would they—" Vincent instantly understood, "A test of courage, there's really nothing that tests courage more than Fire Dragons."

Hermione gasped, "Could these four Fire Dragons be..."

"Yes, they are the first task for the champions."