The Source of the Tremors

The Black Family's prized pure-brewed Scotch Whiskey was indeed good stuff. It was fiery on the tongue, yet left behind an elegant sweetness, with faint notes of toffee and honey.

But for children drinking alcohol for the first time, its aftereffects were indeed a little too strong.

Harry remembered being numbed by a lamb chop that had been salted at least three times, then picking up his glass and downing it in one gulp. After that, he remembered nothing.

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

"Uh—" Harry slowly opened his eyes not long after drinking it.

"Thank Merlin, you're all right."

After waking up and remembering what had happened, Harry lowered his head like a child who had done something wrong. "Sorry, Godfather. I made you worry."

Sirius Black gently patted his back. "No need to apologize. As long as you're all right."

"Rumble—" The irritating tremors came again.

Cedric had been careless and failed to keep hold of his mushroom soup.

Luckily, only a little spilled, but the soup happened to drip onto Cho's long dress beside him.

"Sorry, Cho."

"It's all right."

Cedric hurriedly drew his wand and cleaned the stain from her dress.

Vincent set down his half-finished glass. "You all carry on. I'll go see what's happening."

They might have been preparing for winter, but this was happening far too frequently.

This time, only a little soup had spilled. Next time, someone might drop the whole bowl and get scalded.

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

Between them, they had spent a full two and a half years in the Forbidden Forest. No matter how dangerous a place was, they could move through it without obstruction.

The twins grinned as they turned toward Ron, who had a chicken leg stuffed in his mouth.

"Little Ronnie, your most feared little spiders are about to have a terrible time. Aren't you especially happy now?"

At the word "spiders," Ron shuddered instinctively.

He forced himself to stay calm and pulled the huge chicken leg from his mouth. "I'm not afraid of those fuzzy things."

"Oho~"

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

"Rumble—"

"Gulp—" The slight tremor beneath his feet startled him into swallowing the barely chewed chicken straight down.

The twins looked at his miserable expression and burst into thoroughly unkind laughter.

"Don't be afraid, little Ronnie. The little spiders' nest is far away from here~ Hahahaha~"

Amid his "good brothers'" mockery, Ron continued eating as if nothing had happened.

Elsewhere, Vincent and Hermione had not gone far when they heard the twins' laughter and exchanged knowing smiles.

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

"Ron, probably." Vincent held out his hand to Hermione. "With Cho here, they'll have to show at least a little restraint."

Hermione took his hand and followed behind him as they slowly descended the slope.

A few more minutes ahead lay the Acromantulas' nest. The closer they got, the more fallen leaves covered the ground, and the stronger the occasional tremors became.

When the two walked hand in hand into a fairly spacious nest, they found that several adult Acromantulas had not gone out to hunt. They had even huddled together to protect the palm-sized young.

The second nest was the same. After seeing more than a dozen in a row, both of them felt that something was wrong.

If the tremors in the Forbidden Forest were not caused by the Acromantulas, then what was causing them?

Hogwarts and its surroundings were protected by anti-earthquake magic. Even a magnitude ten earthquake outside would not affect the grounds.

Could Hagrid have secretly raised another batch of some big adorable creatures?

"Could it be the Abraxan horses?"

"When we came over earlier, they seemed to be drinking whiskey. If they got drunk..."

Vincent paused, then headed toward the source of the tremors. "Madame Maxime has raised them to be too strong. It's not impossible for them to cause this kind of commotion."

Hermione relaxed slightly. "As long as it isn't some invasive species. The Forbidden Forest already has enough species as it is. If another huge creature capable of causing earthquakes appears, it'll completely destroy the ecological balance here."

To keep the Acromantula population in check, Jormungandr had grown three times fatter over the past two years. If it was a species without natural predators, the Forbidden Forest's environment would absolutely become a complete mess.

Vincent looked uncertainly at the fallen leaves shaken down before them. "Hagrid should still be busy taking care of his Blast-Ended Skrewts. How would he have the time to raise anything else?"

Hermione tightened her grip on his hand. "Let's hope so."

The two hurried through a small path blanketed in fallen leaves, feeling several even stronger tremors along the way.

"It should be nearby." Vincent held the Alder Wand in his hand and shielded her behind him.

"Roar!" The sudden bellow made them both tense instantly.

"Dragons?"

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

They had no time to think and immediately ran toward the source of the sound.

Suddenly, an even more violent tremor surged up from the ground, and Hermione stumbled by accident.

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

Flowing Mithril rapidly emerged from within the ring and wrapped around his shoes, taking the shape of a pair of metal boots in the blink of an eye.

The nozzles beneath the soles made no sound at all. The activated Flying Boots carried them slowly into the air.

"Looks like there's more than one dragon."

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

She wrapped her arms tightly around Vincent's neck. "Let's hurry over. Their breath could start a forest fire!"

The nozzles beneath the Flying Boots instantly widened, and the blast of air kicked up countless fallen leaves.

The terrifying acceleration made Hermione close her eyes instinctively, but she soon stopped feeling anything at all.

When she opened her eyes, she discovered a magical barrier before them. The scenery in the distance was switching rapidly like slides.

In only a few breaths, the two could clearly see four dragons of different breeds.

They seemed to be restrained by something and were constantly struggling.

Around them stood a group of wizards in crimson robes, doing their utmost to suppress them.

"This is..." Vincent slowed down and hovered behind a large tree.

Hermione noticed that the wizards' robes all bore the same emblem. Its design looked familiar, as though she had seen it in the Encyclopedia of All Professions in the Wizarding World.

She suddenly realized something and pressed her little face close to Vincent's ear. "They're Dragon Tamers."

"Dragon Tamers? Why are they—" Vincent understood at once. "A test of courage. There really is nothing better than dragons for testing courage."

Hermione drew in a sharp breath. "Could these four dragons be..."

"Yes. They're the Champions' first task."