Dance with the dragons
// THIS IS AN OLD CHAPTER. THE NEW CHAPTERS ARE IN VOLUME 2. YOU CAN READ THESE CHAPTERS IF YOU WANT SOME INSIGHT ON WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN LATER BUT SOME EVENTS CAN BE DIFFERENT BETWEEN THE OLD AND NEW CHAPTERS.
After getting home with Luna and Daphne, I waited until it was 11 pm before going back downstairs to stand near Hagrid's cabin under the invisibility cloak, I took from Potter during his attack in the infirmary.
I see Hagrid come out of his hut and walk towards Beauxbatons' carriage. Potter follows closely behind him while hiding behind trees. When Hagrid arrives in front of the carriage door, Madame Maxime comes out and takes Hagrid's arm, who leads her into the forest.
It's quite amusing to see Potter trying to hide. It is immediately harder when you don't have a magic cloak to hide. It takes us several minutes of walking to reach the enclosure of the dragons, the breeders are on war footing trying to contain the furious dragons.
When Hagrid, Madame Maxime, and Harry finally leave, I still have to wait several hours in the cold of the night for the breeders to finally go to rest. Only one of them remains to watch the dragons near a campfire. I had thought of hypnotizing him, but the poor fellow is already knocking himself out on his own with the contents of a flask he has just taken out of his coat.
As for the dragons, they were attached with heavy metal chains that keep them pinned to the ground. The breeders really made my job easier. With the dragons unable to make the slightest movement, hypnotizing them into doing what I want is really a snap. It's a shame that I can't cut through their leathers or their scales to carve my seal. I could have made them come back to me later, but the trial would probably be postponed for the time it takes to change dragon or create a new trial if anyone noticed the wounds on them.
I start with the dragon who is most likely to meet Harry, the Hungarian Horntail. I approach his head and lift one of the eyelids revealing the monster's eye. It's always complicated to hypnotize a non-human, luckily the ability I took from the Wampus cat works on all living things. I implant in the dragon's mind that he must do as much harm as possible to Harry without killing him, at the same time I give him several of my memories of Harry to allow him to recognize him. I also give him the additional order not to attack me and give me the golden egg if I ever cast a Lumos with my wand, it will give the illusion that I am casting a spell on the dragon. Once I'm done with the Hungarian Horntail, I repeat the operation with the other three.
I almost had a heart attack when I heard a thud, it was just the last rancher who collapsed to the ground in drunkenness, knocking his flask on the ground at the same time.
Once my mission is accomplished, I return to the dormitory. But after passing the portrait that closes behind me, I spot Snape, sitting on the dormitory couch in front of the fireplace.
"Mr. Bones, may I know what you were doing outside your dorm at such a late hour."
"If you like, but it might be better if we discuss this in your office. Away from prying ears."
Snape gets up and leads me to his office a little further into the dungeons. Once in the room, he lights the magical fire in his fireplace with a wave of his wand before going to sit behind his desk.
"Now, explain to me why I should not send you to detention."
"First, because it would be a breach of the contract you signed to join us. Second, because I found out that what is the first task and I made sure Potter survived it so that he could be where we need him to be for you know what. " Snape raised an eyebrow, I can see the curiosity in his eyes.
"And what is this first task then?"
"Dragons. We're going to have to steal an egg or something from them." Snape seems thoughtful for a few seconds, his gaze lost in the flames of the fire burning in his fireplace.
"Now that we know the first task, we'll be able to prepare you as well as possible. Do you already have a plan?"
"Yes, everything is already settled for the task, the biggest difficulty of the test will be to climb the steps leading to the stadium."
"Well then…" Someone knocks on Snape's door, three strong knocks. Snape gets up to open the door and behind it was Alastor Moody or I should say, Barty Crouch Junior. He doesn't even wait for Snape to let him in before forcing his way to stand in front of me.
"So here is the kid who was commissioned by the Dark Lord to bring Harry Potter back to him. If I remember correctly you were also the one who gave me a wand during the Quidditch world cup finals. A very nice match isn't it? "I don't even know what to say to him, the question about the Quidditch Finals catches me a bit off guard." Not very talkative, okay. I like people who go to the essentials, it avoids wasting my time. "He moistens his lips before taking a large sip of Polyjuice Potion in his gourd." The Dark Lord, you've seen him? Where is he? Why hasn't he reappeared yet if he's back? "
"He is still too weak, which is why I am one of the few people who know where he is right now, and I do not intend to reveal it until he has recovered all of his power and is able to defend himself."
"I could force you to tell me!"
"You could try to force me to tell you. But there is also Snape in this room, and I am quite good at fighting. But if you want to oppose the will of the master, you are free to do it. I'm curious to know what punishment he will inflict on you for trying to find his hiding place. " Crouch grumbles under his breath before standing in front of the fireplace.
"There is something that escapes me though. Why would the Dark Lord lower himself to ask a simple student like you for help?"
"It's pretty simple. We're the same family." Crouch looks surprised to learn of my kinship with Voldemort and even Snape who I hadn't told yet looks incredulous. "Now if you will excuse me, I would like to go to bed. I still have things to prepare, and it is getting late."