I'm Not the Same as Three Years Ago!

Harry nodded in agreement. He had seen a bunch of wizards take several minutes to stun a dragon last night, and thought he would never be able to do it himself…

Hermione was very anxious for the two of them. She kept going through the books she had read, but could not find a way to defeat the dragon.

"I've written to Sirius asking him if there's anything he can do, but the first match starts tomorrow afternoon and I don't know if we'll make it…" Harry said miserably.

Ivan looked at the distressed couple and ate the last of the pastry. "You don't have to worry so much," he said slowly. "It's not that hard…"

"Ivan, do you have a way to defeat the dragon?" Harry asked, looking pleasantly surprised.

Hermione also looked at Ivan curiously.

"You've got it wrong, Harry, the game doesn't require the champion to defeat or kill the dragon! What we really need to do is take the dragon's egg, which is under the dragon's protection," Ivan went on smoothly, adding, "So all you have to do is find a way to distract the dragon, engage it, and get to it!"

"Then you might be able to use the Transfiguration Charm to create a creature to lure the dragon away, and then go get the egg!" Hermione was quick-witted, and she was able to come up with a plausible solution.

This plan was quickly rejected by Ivan.

"This time, the Ministry sends in female dragons in their incubation stages. They are very alert and will not hesitate to return any creature that approaches with a dragon's breath! Also, they do not leave their nests easily and are very hard to lure!" Ivan explained.

Disappointed at Ivan's words, Harry sank back into thought, trying to think of a way to distract the dragon.

"Don't forget you have something you're good at, Harry!" Yvonne reminded him when he failed to come up with a solution.

"Best at?" Harry hesitated, uncertain. "You mean flying?"

"That's right! You're very good at flying, and you have the Firebolt, so you can avoid the dragon's attack with your speed. If you learn the Eye-Disease Charm and blind the dragon for a short period of time, you'll be able to get the dragon's egg!" Ivan no longer hid the fact that he had already thought of a solution.

As Harry was one of his best friends, Ivan had to ensure Harry's safety during the match. The Firebolt, combined with an Eye-Disease Charm, was sufficient to minimize the risk of stealing the dragon's egg and ensure that Harry would not be in as much danger as he had been in the book.

"That's a great idea!" After rehearsing it in his head, Harry was so excited that he threw himself at Ivan and hugged him. "Ivan, you're amazing!"

"All right, all right, let go!" Ivan disentangled himself from Harry's embrace and continued. "To be on the safe side, you'll have to master both the Fire-Protection Charm and the Armor Charm! Oh, and the Flight Charm, so you can summon the Firebolt in the arena."

"But I don't know any of these spells…" Harry said awkwardly, looking embarrassed.

"It's all right, I can spare some time to teach you! But you have less than a day and a half…" Ivan glanced at Harry in surprise. He had not expected Harry to have such a weak foundation.

"Why don't you teach me Flutter and Eye-Disease first? Forget the rest," Harry replied sheepishly, thinking that he would be lucky if he managed to learn two spells in a day and a half. At least he would not be at his wits' end against a dragon.

Knowing how to get through the dungeon, Harry's heart was finally at ease and he enjoyed his breakfast.

Hermione was equally delighted, as she was told that Ivan was also very talented at flying, and that they could both easily get their hands on a dragon's egg.

"No! It would be very strange. If both Hogwarts champions had used the same method to get past the dragon, Karkaroff would have taken the opportunity to attack us, claiming that we had cheated and learned the details of the project in advance!" Ivan shook his head, dismissing Hermione's idea.

Although cheating was a tradition of the Triwizard Tournament, everyone still had to put on an act to fool the audience!

This was why Harry had to learn the Flying Spell, as he could not pretend to be prepared to go into battle with a Firebolt.

"So what are you going to do?" Harry asked curiously, thinking that Ivan would be able to help him figure out a way to get through this.

"Simple…defeat the dragon guarding it and steal its eggs, of course!" Ivan replied casually.

"What? You're going to fight a dragon?" Harry looked at Ivan in bewilderment, almost believing he was joking.

"You could say that, and I think the crowd is looking forward to a good game!" Yvonne said, nodding. In order to get first place, one had to behave differently from the rest of the crowd, and impress the judges and spectators.

At the same time, it would effectively lower the scores of the other champions. After all, with him as a comparison, it would be unreasonable for the referees to give high marks to Krum and the others, who had performed mediocrely.

Karkaroff was also under a lot of pressure when it came to withholding points, and would be scolded by the audience for giving him too little!

"This is too dangerous!"

Hermione turned pale when she heard that Ivan was preparing to face the dragon head-on.

Even though she knew Ivan was more powerful than the average adult wizard, she was up against a fifty-foot-tall (fifteen-meter) flaming beast!

The pressure from its size alone was enough to make every wizard who faced it cautious. Unless necessary, no wizard would take the initiative to provoke a dragon!

"Don't forget, I tamed a dragon in my first year, and they're nothing to be afraid of!" Yvonne assured her, knowing that Hermione was worried about her.

"That's different! Norbert came out of his shell three years ago…" Hermione said worriedly, thinking Ivan was being too careless and unaware of the dangers of the game.

"I'm not the same person I was three years ago, am I?" Ivan asked with a resigned shrug. He couldn't very well go into the Forbidden Forest and subdue a dragon to prove himself, could he?

Moreover, after meeting Norbert last night, he had an idea that if he could implement it, he would just go through the motions during the game without any danger.

'I wonder if Norbert remembers me?'