Harry and Maurise turned their heads toward the source of the voice simultaneously.
"Sirius!" Harry called out in pleasant surprise.
Sirius Black was striding toward them, a faint smile on his face, looking to be in an excellent mood.
"I haven't seen you for the past two days," Harry said as he rushed forward to greet him.
"Well, I am not your professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts, after all. Moody absolutely refuses to let me interfere with his classes. He did mention you have been performing exceptionally well, though."
Sirius shrugged before lowering his voice significantly. "Harry, do you know what the First Task entails?"
"Dragons," Harry answered immediately.
Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps I arrived a little late. You don't need me after all." He shot a meaningful glance at Maurise as he spoke.
"You knew about the task as well?" Harry asked.
"I heard it from Moody," Sirius said dismissively. "I am absolutely certain Karkaroff and Maxime have also received the news. The Ministry's operational security is notoriously abysmal."
Harry suddenly felt a surge of profound gratitude. He wasn't fighting this battle alone; so many people were actively trying to help him.
"So, what is your plan?" Sirius continued. "Simply knowing it is a dragon isn't enough."
"Maurise and I were just discussing that," Harry replied.
Sirius immediately turned to face Maurise.
Maurise spread his hands. "No need to worry about me. My magic should be more than enough to handle a single dragon, unless they plan to throw an entire pack of them at us."
'Alright, fine, you're brilliant,' Sirius thought, his mouth twitching as he took in Maurise's sheer confidence. He didn't press the issue further. There was no need to worry about this kid. Right now, he needed to focus entirely on helping his beloved godson survive this terrifying ordeal.
When facing a dragon, survival was the absolute top priority. Winning the tournament was entirely secondary.
Sirius and Harry immediately launched into a frantic discussion of strategies.
Maurise gave them a brief wave and turned to leave. Harry no longer needed his assistance. Regardless, he was still grateful that Harry had been willing to share the information with him.
---
After breakfast, Maurise returned to the Ship in a Bottle and collapsed onto the sofa.
Come to think of it, he had never actually encountered a living, breathing dragon before. He wondered how a real dragon's strength compared to his bone dragon. Based on his current magical proficiency, it shouldn't be too difficult to handle.
After resting for a short while, Maurise dove back into his magical research.
Over the past two days, by rigorously studying the contents of the Book of the Magi, he had successfully invented an experimental spell: Shadow Veil.
The spell's effect was quite straightforward: it generated a massive cloud of dense black smoke designed to obscure the enemy's vision.
However, unlike standard smoke-screen spells, the black mist produced by Shadow Veil also actively interfered with a person's sensory perception. In other words, anyone caught within the mist would not only be rendered blind, but their other senses would be severely dampened as well. Hearing, touch, smell... everything would be suppressed.
Maurise stood up and slashed his right hand through the air. "Umbr... Cloak... Keth."
A thick, viscous black mist surged from his body, rapidly expanding outward and devouring all light in its path. Within mere seconds, the entire living room was plunged into an absolute, suffocating darkness where one could not even see their own hand in front of their face.
Of course, as the master of the black mist, Maurise not only retained his vision, but he could actually see even more clearly than usual.
As he walked through the living room, he could palpably feel his mana being continuously drained. The rate of consumption was astonishingly fast. However, this was to be expected. This was, after all, his very first original spell. There was still a massive amount of room for optimization and refinement.
A spell model was much like a computer program. Not only did you need it to fulfill your desired function, but you also had to constantly optimize it to run more efficiently, ensuring there were no underlying bugs.
Five minutes later, Maurise retracted the black mist.
The darkness rapidly dissipated. Sunlight streamed back through the windows, illuminating the blue carpet. Everything was exactly as it had been.
Maurise rubbed his forehead. Despite the short duration, he had exhausted nearly half of his total mana reserves.
He intended to test this new spell against the dragon during the First Task.
---
The next day at noon, as Maurise was eating in the Great Hall, every single Ravenclaw student around him stared at him with nervous tension. Everyone knew the Triwizard Tournament would officially commence that afternoon.
Even for someone like Maurise, completely ignoring that many intense gazes was difficult. One or two stares were fine, but having an entire House fixated on him... it was a bit unsettling.
He set down his fork and swept his gaze across the table.
After a brief silence, Cho Chang spoke up from across from him. "I hope everything goes perfectly, Maurise."
Maurise nodded. "Thank you."
Kyle walked over and clapped him firmly on the shoulder. "Good luck."
Following their lead, the other Ravenclaws chimed in, offering their own well wishes. Maurise acknowledged them one by one.
This feeling... wasn't too bad.
Shortly after, Professor Flitwick scurried over to him. "Maurise, come with me. We must head down to the tournament grounds now."
"Of course."
Maurise stood up and looked at his Head of House. He realized that Flitwick seemed even more nervous than he was. The diminutive professor's left hand was clutching his robes in a white-knuckled grip, and his walking gait was noticeably stiff.
They left the castle and headed toward the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
Professor Flitwick tried his utmost to keep his voice steady. "Do not be nervous, Maurise. You are the most outstanding student I have ever had the pleasure of teaching. Believe me, this task will not defeat you."
Maurise was entirely relaxed. "I am not nervous, Professor. And I fully intend to win."
Professor Flitwick shot him a quick glance, finally seeming to relax a fraction.
"That is good to hear," he babbled on. "But you must prioritize your safety above all else. Your well-being is infinitely more important than the competition. I do not want to see..."
They eventually arrived in front of a large tent.
"Go on in, my boy. Bagman will explain the situation." Having said this, Flitwick reached up and rubbed his eyes. The professor was always so overly emotional.
Maurise nodded, ducked under the flap, and entered the tent.
The interior had naturally been expanded with an Undetectable Extension Charm. The other three champions had already arrived and were sitting in a row on wooden benches.
Ludo Bagman was pacing excitedly in front of them, clapping his hands and chattering away, his face sporting a blindingly brilliant smile.
In stark contrast, the champions all looked quite pale, clearly fraught with nerves for the impending task.
Fleur was staring blankly at the ceiling, her eyes unfocused, lost in her own thoughts. Krum's expression was even darker than usual, and he was repeatedly cracking his knuckles. Harry's face was grim; he sat with his head bowed, not speaking a word.
"Ah, Maurise!" The moment Ludo spotted him, he hurried over, ushered Maurise to the empty seat next to Fleur, and said gleefully, "Sit down and rest for a bit. Once the spectators have mostly arrived, I will explain the details of the task. Let us maintain the suspense for just a little while longer!"
Maurise obediently took his seat, pulled a book from his pocket, and began to read, entirely unbothered by the tense atmosphere.
Ludo immediately leaned in, curiosity piqued. "What are you reading there, Maurise?"
Maurise casually closed the book and displayed the cover.
'One Hundred Tips for Witches to Become Beautiful and Elegant.'
Yes, it was this book again.