Chapter 209
On Sunday, the fireplace in Gryffindor Tower burned brightly, keeping the chill of the outside world at bay.
Harry Potter pulled Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley over to a small table, lowering his voice as if sharing a dangerous secret.
A few minutes later—
"What? Dragons?" Ron blurted out, eyes wide enough to fit an egg.
"Ron! Keep your voice down!" Hermione kicked him sharply under the table. Then she leaned closer, whispering urgently, "Is this reliable? How do you know, Harry?"
"I saw them myself," Harry said, his voice heavy. "Rubeus Hagrid took me last night. I used my Invisibility Cloak."
For some reason, Hagrid—now acting as a magical creatures expert—had returned to Hogwarts the day before. The three of them had met him earlier in Hogsmeade, and that was when his vague "see you soon" had finally made sense.
When they parted, Hagrid had bent down and whispered to Harry, asking him to come alone at night.
Just to help him.
"That's cheating!" Hermione said immediately, frowning.
"You're talking about cheating when he might die?!" Ron snapped.
Hermione hesitated. She knew this wasn't the moment—but habit made her say it anyway.
"I'm not the only one who knows," Harry added quickly. "When I was there, I saw the headmasters too—Igor Karkaroff and Olympe Maxime. Especially Madam Maxime… I think Hagrid's taken a liking to her. He nearly told her everything."
"I knew it—they're all cheating. It's not fair," Ron muttered.
"Wait here," Hermione said suddenly, grabbing her wand and rushing out of the common room.
"Where's she going?" Ron asked, then turned back to Harry. "You should just withdraw. It's not worth risking your life."
He had completely forgotten about the binding magical contract of the Goblet of Fire.
In his mind, dragons were nothing short of terrifying.
It didn't take long for Hermione to return.
She burst back into the room like a storm—arms stacked high with books, the pile almost blocking her face.
"Dragons are extremely hard to kill," she said breathlessly, dropping the stack onto the table. "Their hides are infused with ancient magic. Only the most powerful spells can penetrate them."
She pulled out one book after another, flipping them open rapidly. The pages described dragons in terrifying detail—but offered little in the way of actual solutions.
Most were just stories.
Legends of heroes and monsters, written by wandering bards.
"Let's try another one." She snapped one book shut and opened another: The Man Who Loves Dragons.
"Oh, brilliant," Ron said dryly. "Planning to groom its claws while you're at it?"
Hermione ignored him.
For once, all her knowledge seemed useless. No book gave a clear method to defeat a dragon—only descriptions.
"The eyes," she said suddenly, pointing at an illustration. "That's the weakness. Their eyes aren't protected by magic."
The image showed a massive dragon—bulging eyes, thick limbs, jagged fangs. A red mark circled the eye.
"Sure," Ron said. "Harry can aim perfectly at its eyes. But do you think the dragon he'll face will be that size? Do you know how huge they are?"
"I know!" Hermione snapped. "This is just a direction—we can figure out how to make it work!"
"I could ask Sirius Black," Harry said carefully.
Watching his friends argue over his safety made him feel both guilty and… warm.
It was rare to have people care this much.
"That's a great idea!" Hermione said, eyes lighting up.
They continued discussing possible strategies. Even with ideas forming, they couldn't rely entirely on Sirius.
"Maybe I should ask Alastor Moody too…" Harry thought, though he kept that to himself.
"Oh, right—Ron, your brother Charlie was there too," Harry added suddenly.
"Yeah, he works in Romania," Ron said, perking up. "Didn't expect him back. Mum will be thrilled."
Unlike Fred and George, Charlie didn't tease him endlessly.
"What are you lot plotting?" The Fred Weasley and George Weasley twins had just walked in, rubbing their hands together against the cold.
The three immediately scattered.
The dragon secret would stay between them.
"Probably planning some brilliant prank," Fred said knowingly.
"Back to work—the Invisibility Cloak still isn't ready," George added, and the two sat down to continue their project.
"I'm going to the library," Hermione said, gathering her books. "You two keep thinking."
Soon, she was seated in the library, flipping through page after page.
"I'm so tired…" she muttered, rubbing her eyes. When she looked up, the sky outside had already darkened.
Afternoon had slipped by unnoticed.
She packed up to leave—perhaps reading in the dormitory would be easier.
"Hermione… Weng? Is that right?" A tall figure blocked her path.
It was Viktor Krum, looking unexpectedly nervous.
"It's Hermione," she corrected.
"Can we… be friends?" he asked awkwardly.
"Of course," she replied politely. "But I have something urgent right now. Maybe another time."
And just like that, she hurried past him, leaving him staring after her.
…
Back in the dormitory, Hermione buried herself in research again.
She scanned lines rapidly, jotting notes as she went.
Her eyelids grew heavier.
When exhaustion set in, her thoughts began to drift—
and suddenly, Harry's words echoed in her mind.
"…Karkaroff… Madam Maxime… Hagrid almost told her everything…"
A realization struck her.
That meant three of the four Champions likely already knew about the first task.
"He must know too… right?" she murmured.
Her expression grew complicated.
"His father works at the Ministry… he should know…"
She was trying to reassure herself.
Only then did she realize—
she was worrying about him.
Even hoping someone had helped him.
But doubt lingered.
What if he didn't know?
She glanced at the clock, then at the pages of notes she had written.
"…That's enough for today."
The tension in her mind snapped all at once.
A wave of exhaustion crashed over her.
Her eyes closed.
Her body slumped forward onto the desk.
And just like that—
Hermione fell asleep.