On Sunday, Conna spent almost the whole day in the library, trying to help Kael find a way to deal with the Fire Dragon.
No matter how many times Kael told her it wasn't necessary, she just wouldn't listen.
"I'm way too nervous. I have to find something to do or I'll go crazy." Conna slapped a thick book down on the table.
The cover had a Hungarian Horntail, with a line of gold-embossed cursive letters on it.
Conna kept flipping through the book, trying to find the Fire Dragon's weaknesses.
"I don't think the school would actually make you duel a Fire Dragon. Maybe you just need to sneak past them."
Cedric chimed in with his own ideas, too.
"I think a Transfiguration Spell would work—like turning something into a dog or other animal to distract the Fire Dragon, then you sneak by while it's not looking."
"Or even simpler…"
Fred glanced around, then lowered his voice, "You could just let that big guy in the box out, and you'd get through no problem!"
"Yeah, and then I wouldn't have to do the second task at all," Kael said grumpily. "Don't tell me you guys took money from Karkaroff and want me to lose on purpose."
"If he'd offer us enough Galleons, I might consider it," George said with a grin.
"Too bad we're too expensive," Fred said, "He couldn't afford us even if he sold Durmstrang."
"I wouldn't mind a bit of a discount," Kael laughed, "If losing meant getting a Durmstrang in exchange, I'd be all for it."
"Oh… check him out…" Suddenly, some commotion erupted not far away.
"Again!" Fred muttered irritably, "Can't Krum and his groupies go somewhere else? How's anyone supposed to study with him hanging around?"
"Hmm?" Conna glanced up at him, "You guys aren't exactly better, so don't even talk."
If Fred actually had a book open in front of him, maybe she would've believed him.
"At least we're not bothering anyone," George said.
Conna pursed her lips, "Oh, so it's fine as long as you're just bothering me, huh?"
"Of course not… but sort of," Fred grinned. "It's just a tiny little Fire Dragon anyway, don't forget, Kael actually has experience."
"Don't drag me into your bragging," Kael shot him a look. "I was there when Norbert hatched, but that was totally different."
"But you do have experience, don't you?" George said. "Fleur and Krum never raised a fire—uh, Norbert."
Another round of noisy chattering erupted nearby.
"Here we go again," Conna said irritably, "Let's just go—oh, right, this is for you…"
She shoved the book "Riding the Dragon" into Kael's hands, then picked up another one—"Basic Spell for Dealing with Restless and Irritable Animals"—and got up to leave.
Just as they stepped out of the library doors, Hermione hurried out from the side as well.
Clearly, she couldn't stand the noise in there either. She grumbled, "Why can't he just stay on that dumb big ship of his to read?"
"Dumb?"
"Why would she say that?"
Fred and George exchanged a glance. They'd always thought the ship was pretty cool.
Back in the common room, with nothing else to do, Kael ended up reading with Conna for the whole afternoon just to pass the time.
The first task was tomorrow. That night, even usually calm Kael felt a weird kind of tension and tossed and turned in bed, not falling asleep until late.
The next day.
From the moment Kael woke up until lunchtime in the auditorium, people kept popping up to wish him luck and cheer him on.
Then Professor McGonagall arrived.
"Are you ready?" she said. "The Champions have to head to the grounds now… it's time for the first task."
"All right." Kael stood up.
"Good luck," Conna whispered.
Cedric patted his arm. "You've got this."
"You'll kill 'em all!" …That was Mikel.
Kael followed Professor McGonagall out of the auditorium.
Professor McGonagall looked kind of anxious; she kept telling Kael not to be nervous the whole way, though it sounded more like she was talking to herself.
"We've set up some wizards on the side in case anything goes wrong—they'll step in if needed.
And most importantly… Professor Dumbledore will be there watching the whole time, so it'll be fine."
"Professor, you should be worried about the other two Champions," Kael said with a smile. "Let's hope their headmasters are as reassuring as Professor Dumbledore."
Professor McGonagall was amused. She put a hand on Kael's shoulder, "Just be careful, and remember—it's not shameful to give up if you have to. Don't forget, you're only fifteen."
"Don't worry, Professor," Kael said.
After leaving the castle, Professor McGonagall didn't head for the Forbidden Forest, but led him to the Quidditch Pitch.
From the outside nothing looked different, but inside, everything was shrouded in thick fog. You couldn't see a thing except the stands, which looked a lot bigger than usual.
Professor McGonagall took Kael to the door of a locker room.
"Go on in," she said, voice trembling slightly. "Bagman's in there, too—he'll explain what to do next."
"Thanks," Kael said, and pushed open the door.
Fleur was already there, sitting on a low wooden stool, looking awfully pale.
"You okay?" Kael asked.
Fleur shook her head, looking at Kael. Her mouth opened like she wanted to say something, but Ludo Bagman cut in.
"Kael, fantastic!" Bagman turned toward him, looking delighted. "Come on in, relax, the Triwizard Tournament isn't all that scary."
"All right, everyone's here. Time to go over the details." He stood up and pulled out three identical quills, looking gleeful. "These are special Portkeys. When the spectators are all gathered, they'll transport you to the arena outside.
Your job is to get through all the obstacles ahead and make it to the end. There's one more thing… the red stones are important—they're tied to your second task, so collect as many as you can."
No one said a word. Fleur and Kroo just nodded lightly to show they understood.
"So… that's it," Bagman said. "Now, you've got a few minutes to settle your nerves."
He started handing out the quills.
"Make sure you hold on tight. If you miss the timing and don't get to the arena, you'll lose by default…"
"Wait a sec."
Suddenly, Fleur spoke up: "Aren't we supposed to draw lots?"
"Draw lots?" Bagman looked puzzled. "There's no need for that—every task is the same, you just start from different spots… Of course, if you'd like, we can do it."
He quickly found a cloth bag, put the three quills in, and held it out to the contestants one by one.
Fleur drew first.
She looked at the three matching quills in the others' hands, looking a bit lost.
What's going on? No Fire Dragon, and no blank draw either… This isn't what Ms.Maxime told her at all.
…