Chapter 477: The first event (Edited)

Two days passed in an instant, and this afternoon the first event of the Triwizard Tournament will take place.

Fish was excited since this morning, as he will finally be able to fight the Fire Dragon. The only thing the cat doesn't like is....

Why do I have to go to class in the morning?

(???)

And the first class was the most boring History of Magic ever, so Fish fell asleep as soon as he walked into class and spent the whole morning sleeping.

Unlike Fish, Harry was so nervous that his whole stomach turned and he didn't even eat lunch.

Although both Sirius and Professor Moody had helped him in their own way, and he had managed to master both spells in the last two days, Harry couldn't help but feel a little panicky when the time came.

Fish and Harry, both distracted for different reasons, had finished their lunch in the Great Hall when they saw Professor McGonagall approaching them.

"Minerva, is it time to start nya?!"

?()?

Two days passed in a flash, and this afternoon the first event of the Triwizard Tournament will take place.

"Yes," replied Professor McGonagall, patting the cat's head helplessly, "Now the Champions will all go down to the field... they must be prepared to complete the first test."

"Yes!" cheered Fish.

?(?≧?≦?)?

"Okay." Harry stood up in a daze, and the fork in his hand dropped onto the plate with a clang.

"Fish, don't be impulsive." Hermione reminded the cat in a whisper, she had been repeating it to him over and over again for the past two days, but she wasn't sure he would listen to her....

Then she nodded to Harry again and said, "Good luck to you too, Harry."

"Thank you." replied Harry vaguely, his voice as dry and hoarse as if he hadn't had a drink of water for days.

The two followed Professor McGonagall out of the Great Hall. Professor McGonagall also looked a little nervous.

She wasn't worried about Fish, after all, the kitten had beaten a basilisk, so she wouldn't be in much danger against a fire dragon, if any. Professor McGonagall was worried mostly about Harry.

"Well, don't be nervous," she said reassuringly, with a hand on Harry's shoulder, "Keep a cool head...we have some wizards around here, if things go wrong, they'll come up and take control of the situation...the most important thing...is to make the most of your own abilities, no one will think you're less than anyone else.... are you all right?"

"Yes," Harry continued to reply in that dry, husky voice, "Yes, I'm fine."

(??)

Fish, once again ignored by Professor McGonagall, is not happy.

"Minerva, don't you have anything to say to Fish?"

?(???)

Fish tugged at Professor McGonagall's robe and asked pitifully.

Professor McGonagall laughed and rubbed Fish's head, "Well, you have to be careful too, I would be very upset if Fish got hurt."

"Nyajajajaja! Don't worry, Minerva, Fish is amazing! He won't get hurt."

(●`?′●)

The cat that caught the attention immediately became happy again and raised its head triumphantly.

Harry, who was also under Fish's influence, became less nervous.

The two followed Professor McGonagall along the edge of the Forbidden Forest, toward the spot where Harry had first seen the fire dragon. As they approached the thicket from where they could see the field, Harry noticed that a tent had been erected to block the fire dragons, its entrance facing them.

Fish's cat ears twitched twice and turned in the direction of the tent, while his nose twitched a couple of times and his mouth opened slightly.

"Just like Norbert, he's a fire dragon!"

()

The cat's tail wagged behind him choppily, and Harry could hear the whirring sound it made as it cut through the air.

"You must go in with the other Champions," said Professor McGonagall, giving Harry a deep look, "And wait your turn. Mr. Bagman is also inside...he will tell you the steps. Good luck..."

"Thank you." said Harry in a monotone, brittle voice.

"Fish will definitely win meow!", Fish replied with great vigor.

?()?

Professor McGonagall led them to the entrance of the store and guided them inside.

As they entered the store, Harry saw the other two Champions, Fleur Delacour and Victor Krum, both sitting on low wooden benches without a word, and turning their faces towards each other when they heard Fish and Harry's movement as they entered.

Neither seemed to be at their best, Fleur pale and sickly and Krum even more morose than before. Of course, Harry knew his own situation probably wasn't much better.

"Hello nya!"

(?ΦΦ?)?

Only Fish was as full of energy as ever.

Fleur and Krum returned the cat's stiff smile, saying nothing.

"Fish! Harry! Great!" Bagman turned his head to look at them and said cheerfully, "Come on in, come on in, relax, just like you were at home!"

Bagman was back to being hilarious in his old Comets uniform, but no one but Fish was in the mood for that right now.

"Okay, now that everyone's here, it's time to introduce them to the situation!" Bagman happily explained the rules of the first event to the four of them.

"Collecting golden eggs? Don't you fight a fire dragon?"

∑(?ΦДΦ?)

After hearing the introduction, Fish immediately resigned.

"What's so funny about collecting golden eggs, Fish wants to fight the fire dragon nya!"

?(?`Д′?)?

"...How do you know the event has anything to do with fire dragons?!"

Bagman asked anxiously after a moment of stupefied silence, as he looked at the other three champions, only to find that they weren't reacting with much surprise.

"Nya?" Fish blinked, then cupped his cat ears and chortled, "Of course Fish heard nya, I have good ears!"

?()?

"Uh..."

Bagman looked at Fish's quivering cat ears and at the other three champions, who remained indifferent, and seemed to guess something.

He laughed bitterly and merely explained the rules beforehand, "Well, the first event does have to do with the fire dragon, only we can't make you fight it, you just have to find a way to get the golden egg while it's on guard."

"So, Fish can get the golden egg after defeating the dragon, right?"

??

"Fire dragons aren't that easy to deal with!"

Bagman seemed very worried that Fish was going to fight the fire dragon, so he tried to persuade him.

But the cat paid him no heed, merely nodded indifferently.

Seeing this, Bagman persuaded again.

"... That unfortunate wizard was interned in St. Mungo's for half a year before he recovered and he's still afraid to go near fire, even if it's a candle, so don't be a fool and try to steal the golden egg from the fire dragon and take it for granted."

And after Bagman's spiel about the horrors of the fire dragon, Fish was still nonchalant, much to the horror of the other three champions.

"By the way," Fish suddenly remembered something, "Can Fish choose which fire dragon he wants to fight?".

????

"Of course not!" Bagman said with a groan, "According to the rules, you can only choose your opponent by luck."

"And the rules say we can't change opponents?"

Fish still wouldn't give up, still wanting to fight the Hungarian tree bee who they said was the most powerful.

"Well...the rules don't say that...but...it's probably against the rules." Bagman poked his head, a little confused.

"Why don't you go ask Albus nya?"

Bagman couldn't do anything about it, so he ended up running off in a daze to ask Dumbledore and the other five judges.

"Fish, do you have any ideas on how to deal with some sort of fire dragon?"

Fleur hesitated, but couldn't resist asking, and Krum looked up curiously.

Harry, who knew the cat's nature, smiled, for he had already guessed which fire dragon Fish was dealing with.

"No, Fish just wanted to pick the most powerful dragon, that way it's more fun nya."

(`′≡`′)

Sure enough, Fish shook his head and said the answer Harry had guessed.

Fleur and Krum: "..."