The wooden door of the Owlery creaked shut behind Harry, filling the air with the smell of hay and bird droppings. Tiny bones littered the ground.
A cold wind whistled through the glassless windows, and various owls perched on their roosts. Some were sound asleep, while others stared intently at Harry, the uninvited guest, as if monitoring his every move.
Cedric was feeding strips of meat to an owl much taller than the others when he heard the sound and turned his head.
"Harry?"
Cedric tossed the remaining meat strips to his owl, straightened up, and asked, "You said it was urgent?"
Harry suddenly noticed that Cedric's robes were open, revealing a grey sweater underneath that made him look particularly tall and straight, making Harry, who was significantly shorter, seem even more like an underage child.
"Yes..."
Harry instinctively stepped back, putting some distance between them, and glanced at the wolfing-down owl. He said, "I wanted to tell you, the first task is Dragons. There are seven of them, all fully grown."
The smile on Cedric's face froze. He stared blankly at Harry, his grey eyes first showing confusion, then fear slowly creeping in, his pupils constricting, and his Adam's apple bobbing.
"Dragons?" Cedric asked softly, "Are you sure?"
At that moment, his breathing became suppressed and shaky.
Harry nodded, and the tightness in his chest miraculously eased a bit.
So he's not the only one who's scared!
Harry took a deep breath and said, "Absolutely sure."
He counted on his fingers, "A Hungarian Horntail, a Chinese Fireball, a Swedish Short-Snout, a Welsh Green, a Scottish Black Dragon, a Romanian Longhorn, and a Ukrainian Ironbelly. I saw them all with my own eyes."
A cold gust of wind blew in through the window, messing up Cedric's hair, making his head look dishevelled.
Cedric pulled his robes tight and fastened them, took a few deep breaths, and then sneezed, choked by the smell of the Owlery.
He rubbed his nose and said with a wry smile, "Alright, Dragons... I won't ask how you found out, because we're not supposed to know... But Harry, why did you tell me?"
"Everyone else already knows, you're the only one who doesn't," Harry said honestly. "I couldn't just watch you go up against those big creatures completely unprepared."
Cedric: "...Everyone knows?"
"Yes," Harry added, "This morning, all the books about Dragons in the Library were already checked out."
Silence fell over the Owlery, broken only by the occasional flutter of an owl's wings. Cedric stared blankly at an owl in front of him.
"Wade still has books. He said he's willing to share the information with us. If you want to borrow any materials, go to the Umbrella Room and find Wade—do you know the address of the Umbrella Room?" Harry asked.
Cedric slowly nodded and said, "Theo told me before."
"Good then... I'm heading back."
Harry walked towards the door, his hand on the rusty doorknob, when he suddenly heard Cedric say from behind him, "Thank you, Harry."
He turned around and saw Cedric smiling. "If you hadn't told me this news, I might have been eliminated in the first round... Thank you so much, really."
His voice had recovered about seventy to eighty percent of its steadiness; he seemed to have calmed down.
Harry smiled, waved, and said, "Good luck to us... Let's make it through tomorrow!"
...
The blue curtains of the dormitory were drawn over the window. Wade sat in an armchair, his quill scratching, a Communication Pea in his ear, through which his mother's voice could be heard:
"The competition is tomorrow, isn't it?... Has the school told you what the first task is yet?"
"No," Wade said calmly. "No matter what it is, I'll be able to handle it. Don't worry."
"Then I'll look forward to seeing your heroic performance on the Streaming Mirror," Fiona said with a laugh. "I'll be praying for you."
"Get some rest early," Ferdinand advised. "Make sure you're in good shape when you compete tomorrow. Don't eat too much breakfast, don't drink too much water, and bring a few chocolates with you for energy."
"I know," Wade chuckled. "You used to say the same thing when I had exams."
He chatted casually with his parents for a few more minutes, ending the call only when they urged him to go to bed.
Wade hadn't told his parents or anyone else about the Dragons, to spare them worry and himself the trouble of having to comfort them.
In truth, Wade wasn't worried at all, but he found it difficult to convey his own certainty and confidence to others.
...
By Tuesday morning, the entire school was filled with a tense and excited atmosphere. Because of the large number of competitors, school was cancelled early that day, and students could head to the competition grounds after breakfast.
Wade still entered the Great Hall for breakfast at his usual time. Many people greeted him as they passed by:
"Good luck, Gray!"
"Wishing you a successful competition!"
"Good luck!"
Just as Wade finished breakfast, Professor Flitwick hurried over to him.
"Had enough to eat? Good, then come with me after you're done—the Champions go to a different place than the spectators."
Wade stood up and left the Great Hall with Professor Flitwick. They skirted the edge of the Forbidden Forest, heading towards where the Dragons were located.
The students, meanwhile, followed the signposts along another path towards an exceptionally tall structure.
It was a temporarily erected grandstand. It hadn't existed when Wade scouted the area as a Peregrine Falcon last night, but in just a few hours, it had risen from the ground thanks to Magic.
The loud noise forced the creatures of the Forbidden Forest to retreat from the vicinity. The quiet shadows of the trees swayed in the wind, making Professor Flitwick's voice seem unusually subdued.
"Wade, I assume you already know what the first task involves?"
"Yes," Wade said.
"Are you scared?"
"Not really."
Professor Flitwick looked up at Wade's expression, seemingly worried he was putting on a brave front.
Then, he said gently and sincerely, "Wade, while I hope you can bring honor to the house, I care more about you protecting yourself. You must come back safely."
"I will, Professor," Wade said with a smile. "I'm fully prepared and won't disappoint any of you."
"Remember, no matter what you encounter, keeping a clear head is the most important thing," Professor Flitwick added. "If you feel nervous or scared, take a deep breath and relax..."
Ahead was a tall tent, and Harry was standing at the entrance, looking out.
"Go on, my boy..." Professor Flitwick patted Wade's arm and said, "I've always been proud of you."
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