The Sound in the Darkness

Charlie didn't believe a word Maxim said, but there was nothing he could do. The news was out, and he couldn't cast the Memory Charm on Maxim.

"If Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch find out I let the subject slip, we'll be in trouble!" Charlie exclaimed, not wanting to be scolded.

More importantly, it would be extremely unfair to the other champions!

"Relax, Charlie, as long as we don't tell no one will know!" Hagrid comforted Charlie, then rubbed his hands together in excitement, his eyes shining as he stared at the dragon.

"What are you going to do with the champions then—fight the dragons? There are exactly four of them, one for each of you!"

Hagrid spoke briskly, with a mixture of excitement and excitement, as if the champions were playing a pet instead of a dangerous dragon.

"Not a chance, unless they want to get the champions killed!" Charlie shrugged. "I suppose the Ministry is counting on the champions to get past the dragons…"

"Even so, it's dangerous enough. If things go wrong, we'll rush to the dragon's rescue, cast the Extinguishing Charm on it, and stun it to make sure the champions are safe!" Charlie looked very serious. The game was a test for them, the dragon trainers.

"Then how will the champions choose their dragons? Will they choose their own?" Maxim did not have the instincts of a seat-peeper, and she was worried by what Charlie had said.

"I don't think you should ask," Charlie said, shaking his head. "We don't know the details, but I don't think they'll be given a choice. They'll have to draw lots."

"A draw? By luck?" Maxim's brow furrowed, and she went on. "It still seems unreasonable to me, since there is a less dangerous dragon, and if a champion were to draw it, wouldn't they be able to pass easily?"

Maxim had hoped to meet Norbert during Fleur's match and pass the game with ease, but a one-in-four chance was too low!

"You are mistaken, Madame Maxime. Safety does not mean easy!" Charlie retorted with a shrug. "Norbert is smarter than the average dragon, and will not be easily fooled, which means the champions will not be able to fool him with small tricks!"

Maxim nodded, understanding Charlie's meaning, and looking at Norbert without any of his earlier eagerness.

It was unrealistic to expect the champions to face the dragon head-on. During a match, one would have to use certain methods to distract the dragon and thus clear the stage. However, this was not possible with Norbert, who was far too clever.

"All right, enough of this. Can we go see Norbert now? Charlie?" Hagrid urged, unable to wait any longer.

Charlie hesitated, troubled, but reluctantly agreed, despite Hagrid's persistent pestering.

According to Hagrid, he could not stop a mother from seeing his dragon baby…

Along the way, Charlie told Hagrid about Norbert's years in Romania.

"When Norbert first arrived, he surprised us. He was the most brilliant dragon we have ever seen! He was just a little afraid of wizards. I think he was frightened by someone…"

"Fortunately, this was not a bad thing. At least it taught it to follow orders. The Romanian Trick Squad were very fond of it and booked Norbert early on. In a few years, he'll be there performing stunts!"

"You have to know that there are very few Tricksters who own a dragon. Furthermore, if Norbert can do something that other dragons can't, they will definitely become famous all over the world!"

As Charlie spoke, Hagrid rejoiced in Norbert's bright future.

Ivan, who was with them, was speechless.

A perfectly fine dragon was going to perform acrobatics in the future?

However, it was better than being flayed and turned into a magical ingredient…

When Yvonne thought about it that way, she agreed with Charlie. It was a bright future for Norbert.

Meanwhile, Hagrid, accompanied by Charlie, wakes Norbert from his nap.

Seeing this, Ivan grew worried, suspecting that, after all this time, Nott would know Hagrid, and it would be funny if the dragon went mad at such close range.

However, Ivan's worst fears were not realised, and Norbert woke up to find his "dragon mother", a fifty-foot-tall behemoth, licking Hagrid's face with her two-palm-sized tongue and nearly throwing him to the ground.

Hagrid didn't seem to mind at all as he gave Norbert a big hug.

"Oh, I'm so glad you haven't forgotten me!" Hagrid was moved to tears, but failed to notice the strange way Maxim was looking at him.

These happy hours did not last long. After ten minutes or so, Charlie began to chase the dragon tamers away. They had been working all night and were exhausted.

Ivan and Harry followed Hagrid out of the grounds and back to the castle.

When they reached the Gryffindor Lounge, Ivan stopped, rubbed his empty stomach, and looked at Harry. "You go on home, Harry. I haven't eaten tonight, and I'm hungry. I'm going to go to the kitchen and find something to eat…"

Harry nodded absently, apparently still worried about the dragon.

Yvonne ignored him and, with a quick explanation, left Harry alone and headed for the kitchen.

It was nearly two o'clock in the morning, and the castle was empty, so Ivan did not bother to maintain the Disillusionment Charm.

When they reached the entrance hall, however, Ivan stopped again and jerked his head towards the dark corridor on the right.

Knock knock…

There was a faint noise, as if someone was tapping something on the floor.

If not for the fact that the surroundings were too quiet and they were too close, they would not have been able to hear clearly.

Perhaps aware of Ivan's presence, the tapping on the floor stopped and peace returned, but it was too late. Ivan had his wand pointed in that direction.

A brilliant white light shot from the tip of the wand and into the darkness of the aisle.

The spell missed, but with the help of the light from the spell, Ivan saw a hideous, scarred face flash across the aisle.