A Worrying Challenge

"Hagrid, get back! These beasts are in a foul mood!" Charlie Weasley wiped his sweaty forehead with one hand.

"Oh, right." Hagrid led Madame Maxime farther back. He pushed aside the bushes to his right, but Charlie saw no one there and paid it no mind.

Harry and Eli were right there. Hidden beneath the Invisibility Cloak, they went unnoticed by everyone but Hagrid.

"Surely those aren't..." Madame Maxime stared in alarm at the restless beasts.

"I think they're quite easy to get along with... if you know how." Hagrid gazed at the dragons, magnificent even inside their cages, his eyes shining.

"This isn't working. We need to do it together!" one of the handlers shouted.

The handlers rallied around him, surrounding a dragon with two sharp horns.

"On my count, use the Stunning Spell! One, two, three!"

"Stupefy!" The handlers acted in near-perfect unison. Beams of light burst from the surrounding wands like fireworks.

The powerful spells struck the dragon together. Its eyes glazed over at once, and moments later it collapsed as though sedated.

"Careful, everyone. Mind its snoring." Though the dragon was down, they still dared not get too close.

They repeated the method, stunning the other dragons one by one.

"What kinds of dragons have you got here?" Hagrid asked, trying to sound casual. He wanted to move closer and study the sleeping beasts.

"It took a lot of work..." Charlie pulled off his thick gloves, looking rather battered. "A Welsh Green, an Australian Opaleye, a Chinese Fireball, a Swedish Short-Snout... and a Hungarian Horntail." He pointed each one out.

"Are these what the Champions are supposed to face?" Madame Maxime asked again.

Charlie did not say it outright. He glanced around, then gave Madame Maxime a slight nod.

Under the Invisibility Cloak, Eli clapped a