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Wizard's Grimoire

Part 23.

Stands. Hogwarts School

My sombre mood stood in stark contrast to that of the crowd, who seemed eager for the day's entertainment to begin. This made sense, as no one besides Morgana, Remus, and I knew about the vision Morgan had just last night. One she found horrific enough to wake her up in the middle of the night.

It hadn't been difficult to convince Remus that Morgana also had visions. He was under the impression that my knowledge of things I shouldn't know about came from similar visions—a trait he believed to be part of the Black family, dormant for centuries due to inbreeding or corruption by dark magic.

The Black family had taken in daughters from many Pureblood bloodlines, over the centuries, and some of those bloodlines had certain magical talents tied to them like the ability to converse with snakes and to predict the future.

This might explain why Nymphadora Tonks was a Metamorphmagus—a gift known to be genetic—even though neither of her parents had the talent. She must have inherited it from an ancestor on her mother's side.

As for why her mother, Andromeda Tonks, didn't have the gift, the inbreeding within the Black family could have caused complications or perhaps exposed to dark magic was the cause. Either would certainly explain several peculiarities in recent generations of Blacks. Such as ending up insane and dying rather young for wizards and witches.

In this life, I was related to the Black family through Dorea Potter née Black. However, I wasn't a product of inbreeding, as Lily Potter was a Muggle-born. Morgana's mother was no Pureblood from little we knew about her. Assuming she ever existed at all as I didn't know how well filled out her her backstory was.

Anyway, what mattered was that Remus seemed to accept this explanation for how both Morgana and I could possess knowledge of the future, and he was willing to help us act upon this information.

If he had any doubts, they would surely be dispelled by the end of the day when Morgana's vision came true. According to her, the dragon from which Hardwin Potter was supposed to steal a golden egg would break free of its chains and successfully kill the Boy Who Lived.

Given the prophecy, it might not be possible for Hardwin to be killed by anyone other than Voldemort, but it was also possible that the prophecy had been carried out on that Halloween night in Godric's Hollow when the Dark Lord lost his body.

Divination was at best an inaccurate type of magic and even the best predictions often only make sense in hindsight. Plus there was always a small chance that the prophecy meant I was the Chosen One with the Celestial Grimoire being the power that Voldemort wouldn't know.

On the off chance that the title of Chosen One could be passed from one brother to the other then I couldn't let Hardwin die today. If Dumbledore got into his head that I was the one the prophecy was about then he would never stop trying to control me.

There was a chance he would think that anyway once I saved Hardwin, but as long as the young Potter was around the public would see him as the Boy Who Lived and that was a burden I did not want for myself.

While I had a plan to handle that situation—one that would expose me as a powerful wizard—I had accepted that I couldn't hide forever, not if I wanted to have an impact on this world. And if I let Hardwin die, it was possible that no one else could stop Voldemort—not even me.

So when the time came, I would transform into a dragon, take to the skies, and save Hardwin Potter. But not before confirming that the dragon Morgana had seen in her vision was the same dragon Hardwin would face in the task.

I didn't want to make the mistake of transforming too soon, frightening everyone, and somehow causing Hardwin's death myself in the confusion. I had no reason to strike at the Chosen One; he seemed like a pleasant enough lad. Yet sometimes, it felt as if the universe had a sense of drama, favouring the most unexpected of outcomes.

"Excuse me, I need to talk to someone," Remus informed me. "Don't worry, I won't name anybody. I just want to let the staff know there might be trouble".

I doubted it would make any difference, given how ineffectual the Hogwarts staff tended to be and how the Ministry often did more harm than good. But if made Remus feel as if was helping then I would allow it.

Besides, it hardly mattered if they learned about me through Remus when he tried to warn someone about the dragon. Soon enough, everyone would see me in action and then there would be no going back.

There was no way to hide my transformation into a thirty-foot-long dragon—not unless I moved far out of sight—and if I did that, I might not reach Hardwin in time to save him.

Morgana was a Seer, a real one, and they did not have visions of the future for no reason, if Morgana had foreseen Hardwin's death then it mattered in a way that went far beyond some contest involving schoolchildren.

In any case, it was time to stop hiding. I'd never be able to change the Wizarding World if I remained holed up in Grimmauld Place as tempting as it was to stay in that house and let people deal with their own problems.

As a powerful wizard known to the public, I could gain allies and influence—valuable tools for achieving my goals. I wanted to make an impact on this world. After all, what was the point of all the power I had gained if I didn't use it for something meaningful?

"Hello, Magnus," said a familiar voice.

I turned to see Luna, bundled up warmly for the event, as it was November in Scotland.

"You must be Luna," said Morgana before I could do more than hug the small witch, "Do you mind if I have a quick word?"

The younger witch didn't mind, and the two of them moved away to talk. It wasn't hard to guess what their conversation would be about.

I considered joining them or at least listening to what Morgana had to say, but there was no guarantee that Hardwin would be the last to face his dragon. I needed to keep my focus on the event.

As the roar of the crowd grew louder, the first task was announced. A group of witches and wizards from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical working with the dragon handlers brought the first creature into the arena.

Each of the massive beasts was chained and didn't seem inclined to move too far away from their eggs, but it wouldn't take much for one of those dragons to get loose. Wizards really lacked a proper sense of self-preservation.

I had considered getting close enough to try to use some sort of spell to strengthen the chains, holding Hardwin's dragon, however, I would never be able to get close enough without getting seen.

The announcer's magically amplified voice echoed across the grounds.

"Our champions will face their dragon as they attempt to retrieve the golden egg from the nest of one of these deadly creatures!"

The first champion stepped forward—Victor Krum, champion Seeker and Durmstrang student, he looked rather dramatic with his red robes billowing in the November wind. Even I could tell that he was a handsome young man and he might be about to prove he was a powerful wizard as well.

His dragon, a Chinese Fireball, let out a shriek that scared people here in the stands. Even with my ability to turn into a creature of similar size and power, I would not like to get into the area with that monster.

Morgana and Luna returned to their seats, both glancing at me for a moment. Morgana leaned in and whispered,

"The dragons here are a Chinese Fireball, a Common Welsh Green, and a Norwegian Ridgeback," Morgana told me "Then they brought in a Hebridean Black from a local dragon preserve later".

She must have gotten the information from Luna whose love of magical creatures would have led to her investigating them. I knew from my research that the Hebridean Black had brilliant purple eyes and bat-like wings.

I also knew that it could grow to be up to thirty feet long. Which meant it likely matched my size and power when I was in my dragon form. As such my only chance of winning a fight against the Hebridean was to take it by surprise or hope that Hardwin was able to soften it up.

The dragons of this universe were no cunning serpents or sages. They were animals and not very bright ones, but I wasn't sure if retaining my intelligence while in my other form would give me enough of an advantage in a fight.

"Not a Hungarian Horntail?" I questioned.

Of course, Hardwin would face the Hebridean Black and it would be the most vicious dragon of the lot. The universe did love its dramatic flair and if it had been a lesser dragon then Hardwin wouldn't soon be in a position where he needed me to save him.

"Are you ready for this?" Morgan asked, her voice low.

I found that I was no longer concerned about whatever it was Morgana had talked to Luna about. It seemed rather silly to care when you might be about to die. I was going to pick a fight with a dragon how insane was that?

"No," I replied honestly. "But I'll have to be".

As the task continued, I found myself wondering about the consequences of what I was about to do. Revealing my abilities would not only expose me but also draw the attention of every powerful faction in the Wizarding World.

I knew that some would be curious, some hostile, some were outright dangerous, and many would try to find ways to take advantage of me. I would have to tread very carefully in the future.

Maybe simply leaving the school and going back to hiding in the shadows wouldn't be such a bad thing. Sure some dragon-on-dragon action would be cool and saving the Boy Who Lived would make me a hero in the eyes of many, but was it worth the risk?

The second champion faced their dragon, Fleur Delacour, who was going up against a Common Welsh Green, and unlike Krum who had used curses to batter the Chinese Fireball into submission long enough to claim the golden egg, the French girl had used some sort of magical singing to put the Common Welsh Green to sleep.

This allowed her to simply collect the egg and things would have gone quite smoothly for her if not for the crowd cheering when she got her egg so loudly that it woke up the dragon. The poor witch had to run out of the area and nearly ended up getting set on fire.

When Cedric Diggory's turn came up my attention was diverted by the Celestial Grimoire which turned up on an empty seat next to me. Since it looked as if I was going to need some help I opened it up, glad to see that my points had reached one thousand again.

1000 CP

Roll?

I wrote for a roll and held my breath. I was going to need some help here.

The Fighter

Shield Wall

100 CP

Origin: Elder Scrolls Skyrim SB Jump

Since dodging in heavy armour can be difficult, it makes sense to rely on your trusty old shield to tank the blows. You're very good at using it to weather any blow you can't dodge, sometimes even using it to your advantage by directing the enemy's thrusts to make an opening.

You're good enough to use it even against ranged attacks, like arrows and even magic, though do keep in mind that if the shield itself is flimsy then it won't be able to take a direct hit; you're not going to be tanking Dragonfire with an ordinary shield of common iron, for example. But you will get as much use as is physically possible out of that ordinary iron shield.

Accept/Deny

I swore under my breath as a terrible perk was displayed. I'm a wizard, not a warrior, I don't use physical shields so this perk was useless to me, at least for now, unless it covered magically made sheilds, but it was cheap so I might as well take it. I wrote to accept. Then I closed the book before putting it away.

Now it was Hardwin's turn. The announcer called his name, and the stands erupted with applause. The Boy Who Lived stepped into the arena.

The dragon that he was about to face looked as if it could take a small army and win. What with its tough scales and spiked tail that looked as if it could easily crush a man.

As the beast roared, pulling against its chains, Morgana grabbed my arm, her nails digging into my sleeve.

"It's happening," she whispered, her voice trembling.

The handlers were already shouting, their wands sparking as they struggled to maintain control of the creature. And then, just as Morgana had seen in her vision, one of the chains snapped just as Hardwin summoned his broom and flew off.

"It's time," I muttered to myself.

Quickly I moved so that I was behind the stand and once I had enough room I transformed into my dragon form. I ran and then took the skies. Even with the spectacle of the Boy Who Lived getting chased by a dragon my sudden appearance did not go unnoticed by the crowd.

People pointed and screamed as I went after the dragon that was now chasing Hardwin Potter. If I didn't reach him in time then the Boy Who Lived was going to need a new title and Magical Britain would need a new saviour.