A Racy Competition

Just as Chimera had said, the dragon-derived power within Harry was becoming more active than ever.

An unprovoked sense of insult surged up from his blood, marrow, and nerve endings.

A piercing dragon's roar, ringing with the clang of metal, suddenly seemed to sound beside his ears.

Harry forcibly suppressed the tremor in his heart. "You need to understand, this is only a competition.

My task isn't to defeat you, but to get out of the maze as quickly as possible.

Since you know Hagrid, you should understand that if he allowed you to appear here, he must have had his reasons." Outside the maze, Hagrid's face was streaked with tears.

"You definitely won't use your full strength. You'll only stop the Champions from leaving this place.

So magic alone will be enough for me to escape you."

Chimera smiled, revealing three rows of teeth. "You really are clever.

What a pity that you're a wizard.

I can't enjoy your clever brain.

That used to be our species' favorite food.

And I promised Hagrid that I wouldn't eat humans.

For a great Chimera like me—if I do say so myself—that's rather disappointing."

Chimera regretfully swept her gaze over Harry's head. After sighing, she continued, "But this time, you really guessed wrong.

Or rather, that was how it was supposed to be.

I was originally assigned to the southeast of the maze and told to stay there. I could use the spikes on my tail to subdue any Champions who came close.

I wasn't allowed to leave.

But some force swept me up and brought me here." Dumbledore's eyes widened. After saying goodbye to Ron, he vanished from the spot.

"Besides, you aren't one of those physically fragile wizards.

"You... are a dragon.

An Ancient Dragon—a top predator that has gone