The News Leaks, New Special Training / Brutal Sparring, Help from Serpent's Blood ...

"In short, you really can't go!" Ginny's voice was almost cracking with anxiety. "My brother Charles said... if you go and referee the first game, there will definitely be big trouble!"

"Charles? Could it be...?"

Suddenly, Harry seemed to understand something.

Chapter 637 News Leaked, New Special Training

"What was she trying to say at the end? She was so hesitant..."

Seeing Ginny arrive out of nowhere, leave a warning, and then hurriedly run away, Hermione was immediately puzzled.

"My dragon-keeping business might have been exposed, but since Charles Weasley was willing to remind me, it shouldn't be a big problem."

After a brief moment of thought, Harry quickly grasped the basic outline of the events.

It now seems that during the Quidditch World Cup, the other party must have sensed the dragon aura on him, which led them to deduce that he was secretly raising dragons.

The fact that he asked Ginny to remind him not to be the referee for the first match suggests that the first match is likely related to the Dragon!

Hmm... it seems like we should probably have Norberta give Hermione some special training.

"It would be better if you took the initiative to deal with it. I think you should be the referee," Luna Lovegood suggested. "As long as you bring that sachet, there won't be any problems."

"That's right!" Harry exclaimed, a look of realization dawning on his face. "That way, we might be able to dispel his suspicions."

As the saying goes, "One should always be wary of others." Whether Charles speculates or confirms, he currently has no concrete evidence that Harry is secretly keeping dragons.

Therefore, as long as Harry wears the sachet given to him by Elder Kong to shield himself from dragon energy when he is a judge, he can naturally conceal the fact that he is raising dragons in private.

When Charles sees Harry's response, whether he was previously speculating or confirming, he won't be able to pay any more attention to the matter.

It can only be said that Harry and Luna Lovegood had good ideas, but they are now clearly focused on the Triwizard Tournament.

Furthermore, what had just happened had misled Harry, making him mistakenly believe that Charles had reminded him because he had indirectly saved Arthur Weasley while reminding Scrimgeour.

In fact, Charles had forgotten about the little incident at the Quidditch World Cup in just a few days, and it was only after Ginny reminded him that he remembered it again.

Moreover, in the Weasley family, Charles wasn't the first to learn that Harry was secretly keeping dragons; he was just asked by Ginny to do something.

Something... that Ginny believed could definitely help Harry.

By the way, Hermione mentioned this when she was chosen as Champion, but the studious girl handled it very cleverly and didn't reveal Harry at all.

But now... all I can say is that the girl was being presumptuous.

After the three of them arrived at the alchemy lab, Luna Lovegood did not work with Harry to make equipment as usual. Instead, she pushed him and Hermione into the suitcase where Norberta was.

"It's her first time sparring with Dragon, you should stay with her. Anyway, there aren't many items left to make, I can manage by myself."

"Alright then..." Harry shrugged, finally agreeing to Luna Lovegood's suggestion.

If Hermione's first match really involves facing Dragon, the difficulty is unimaginable, making it essential to practice with Norberta beforehand.

However, according to Elder Kong, the female Dragon that Harry kept was even stronger than most Dragon of the same age, and she didn't know her own strength. If she wasn't careful, Hermione could easily get hurt.

"Then you should also take care to rest, and don't overwork yourself."

Just as he was about to step into the suitcase, Harry turned back to give Luna Lovegood a few words of advice.

He had witnessed Luna Lovegood's frenzied dedication when she was alchemizing. Once she entered a state of deep concentration, it was common for her to not eat, drink, or sleep, and sometimes she wouldn't even blink for a long time.

"Loony..."

Looking back at Luna Lovegood, who was already fully immersed in her work, Hermione felt a sudden, inexplicable sense of loss, followed by a deep sense of self-reproach.

When she successfully used Patronus, she had already made up her mind that she would protect Luna Lovegood and Harry —the two most important people to her besides her parents.

But now, in this situation, he has been inexplicably chosen as Champion by the Goblet of Fire, which has caused the two people around him to start worrying about him.

Harry stayed by her side almost every moment. Although he never said it, Hermione knew that Harry had been on high alert lately, afraid that he wouldn't be able to react immediately in case of any unexpected situation.

Luna Lovegood had been working tirelessly at the alchemy table for who knows how long, creating various things to protect herself day and night, her eyes bloodshot almost every day.

But looking at myself, not only can I not help them at all, but I've also become a burden to them...

"You don't need to overthink it. Harry and I did these things voluntarily."

Luna Lovegood's voice suddenly reached Hermione's ears. Although she didn't turn around, she seemed to have seen through Hermione's expression and her thoughts.

"You're the one at the center of this storm right now, so Harry and I will naturally support you with all our might. And if this happened to me, wouldn't you and Harry do the same thing?"

"Yeah, right," Harry chuckled and nodded. "Actually, we feel the same way. If my name were to come out of the Goblet of Fire, you and Luna Lovegood would definitely be worried sick about me. You wouldn't be jealous of me, would you?"

"Right now, the most important thing for you is to focus on preparing for the competition. Now that you've decided to participate, you absolutely must bring the Triwizard Cup back!"

"Harry ..."

The people around me and the people behind me, one calm and the other resolute, yet their concern for me was equally genuine.

So... I have to pull myself together so they won't worry!

"Alright, let's do it!" A confident smile finally appeared on the studious girl's face, and she gripped her Holly Wand tightly. "It's just dealing with Dragon, I've been wanting to try it for a while now~"

"Uh... trying it is fine, but Hermione, could you please tone down that gritted teeth look?" Seeing Hermione's overly fierce expression, Harry couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

At this moment, in his eyes, Hermione wasn't going for special training at all; rather, she seemed to be going to confront a mistress.

So, it seems like Norberta might also...

"Roar!!"

As Harry had predicted, when Norberta learned that Hermione needed him as her sparring partner, he let out a deafening roar.

The little voice was so excited, it was as if the mistress had finally seized the opportunity to tear the wife apart...

"So how exactly did it start burning out of nowhere?"

Watching the female Dragon swaggering across the wilderness, and the studious girl whose back seemed to float like a griffin, Harry was speechless for a moment.

Seriously, what kind of grudge do Hermione and Norberta have? It seems even more sinister than when Luna Lovegood first appeared!

Chapter 638 Brutal Sparring, Assisted by Snake Blood

Speaking of Hermione and Norberta's special training, if Harry had to describe it in one word, it would be... heart-pounding.

An adult, alcoholic female Dragon, and a juvenile, genius female Griffin... no, a top student girl, their sparring match was brutal from the very beginning.

The Champion's opponent is Dragon, but it will definitely not be a one-on-one battle against a single Dragon, because any adult Dragon requires at least eight wizards to work together to cast Stunning Spell in order to finally bring it down... and that's assuming the Dragon doesn't retaliate.

So the special training Harry arranged for Hermione was actually to limit Norberta to only standing still and attacking, while Hermione had to successfully pass by Norberta while resisting his attacks.

To Harry's amusement and exasperation, Hermione's consistent approach since the start of this special training was... brute force!

Conjunctivitis Curse, Aguamenti, spells of sleep, Full Body-Bind Curse —all sorts of spells were cast on Norberta.

As for transforming the surrounding large rocks into moving stone men and griffins, and then fiercely battling the Dragon, that's just basic stuff.

Even someone as tough as Norberta was completely stunned by Hermione's attack at the beginning. After being hit by the Conjunctivitis Curse, he was hit several times by the two stone golems, resulting in a large bump on his head.

However, while speechless, Harry did realize that Hermione's strength had already surpassed that of an average adult wizard, and by a considerable margin!

In order to stay close to her, Hermione has been working hard from the very beginning and has never stopped.

Perfect timing! Let's take advantage of this Triwizard Tournament to let everyone see her shining brightly.

Let's stop here for now; that's about enough for today.

Harry sensed that Hermione was nearing her limit, and more importantly, Norberta had involuntarily started baring his teeth. Harry quickly stopped the two girls who were staring at each other.

"Woo..." The female Dragon let out a dissatisfied whimper. This kind of target practice was not pleasant for her at all, and she had just been hit several times by Hermione's stone golem. She was now eager to get revenge.

But Harry stopped the fight, so it had no choice but to give up, sulking and lying on its own rock with its eyes closed.

"It still doesn't work..." Hermione gulped down several mouthfuls of water, then gasped for breath, a hint of reluctance flashing in her eyes.

Norberta's power was still beyond her reach. In the battle just now, she had used almost all the powerful spells she knew, but she still couldn't budge her opponent in the slightest.

However, the female Dragon didn't even need to use its powerful teeth, claws, or tail; its terrifying breath, which could extend for over ten meters, was already overwhelming.

"Don't be too anxious. This is only the first training session, and you've already done very well," Harry said with a smile, while simultaneously releasing Hermione's Scourgify and summoning a gentle breeze for her.

Honestly, he felt that Hermione was absolutely flawless right now; compared to the other three participants, Hermione was definitely the strongest.

If even Hermione can't get past the Dragon, then the other three are even more of a pushover.

"Harry, how does Norberta's breath compare to that of a regular Dragon?" Hermione asked suddenly, her voice serious, after resting for a while.

"Its breath is definitely stronger than that of an ordinary Dragon," Harry said with certainty. "The Norwegian Ridgeback is one of the most skilled dragons at breathing fire; their fire-breathing ability begins to develop around three months of age. In addition, Norberta's own magic is slightly different from that of ordinary Dragon, so its breath power is absolutely formidable among adult Dragon of the same age."

"In that case, I'll focus on practicing how to deal with its breath attack." Hermione seemed to have a plan, and a confident smile returned to her face. "Harry, you don't need to supervise the rest of the training. I already know what kind of training to do with it."

"Are you sure?" Harry asked hesitantly.

Harry was quite worried about Hermione's solo practice session with Norberta, feeling that if he wasn't watching, their practice might escalate into a fight...

"Don't worry, everything will be fine," Hermione reassured Harry, giving him a gentle push on the chest. "You don't mean... you're worried I'll hurt your precious female Dragon, do you?"

Haha... See? She's all about tearing the mistress apart!

However, since Hermione had already said that, Harry couldn't ignore her wishes and keep watching her. In the end, he could only let her face Norberta one-on-one.

Anyway, with the Zouwu watching over things, nothing should go wrong... right?

Fortunately, he also had his own things to do during this period.

"Huh, where's my snake?"

After settling Hermione and Norberta in, Harry looked around but found that the viper he was looking for was nowhere to be found.

"Nagini? Na... what are you doing here?"

After looking around for a while, Harry finally found Nagini, the giant snake, in the woods far from the open fields. Right now, it was huddled in a tree hole, trembling with fear.

"Uh... don't be scared." Harry patted Nagini's head, both amused and exasperated, and it took a lot of effort to calm her down.

Hermione had just fought so fiercely with Norberta that Nagini was clearly terrified, running several hundred meters away.

"It's alright now." Harry gently stroked the snake's neck, and it took him a while to put her mind at ease again.

"Nagini, I need to get some more blood."

When Nagini is quiet, she is very obedient. Ever since they met in the Albanian Forest, she has regarded Harry as her closest person. Nagini Harry to her in Parseltongue.

Even when Harry wanted to draw blood from it, it simply rested its head on Harry's lap, allowing him to insert the syringe into its body.

"Nagini... I never expected you to do me such a big favor."

Harry was momentarily lost in thought as he looked at the slightly murky snake blood in the syringe.

Nagini is a Maledictus. She was once a human, but a blood curse turned her into a viper forever.

Harry was convinced they had known each other, and so after bringing her back from Albania, he had been trying to study the terrifying Blood Malediction of the Maledictus.

But he never expected that Nagini's blood would bring him another kind of help, one that would give him a greater chance of defeating Voldemort.

Once again... just like Newt Scamander and Nicolas Flamel, this is the legacy that my past self left for the present.

They make themselves stronger, but at the same time, they also make themselves increasingly curious.

How exactly was he able to reincarnate? How did he meet those people, and what experiences did they have together?

As well as...

What happened between Nagini, the serpent, and herself when she was once in human form...?

Chapter 639 The Wolf Girl Departs, Extinction Policy

The Saturday before the First Task was to be announced was the day when Hogwarts students were allowed to go to Hogsmeade Village, and students from the other two schools were also given permission to go out.

Taking this opportunity, Harry arranged an extra interview for the Triwizard Tournament Champion.

With Harry's current connections, making this happen would be easy, since Hermione and Cedric Diggory certainly wouldn't refuse.

As for Viktor Krum, Harry had little interaction with him, but Igor Karkaroff would definitely grant his request.