Harry Potter vs. the Black Dragon of the Hesidiri Isles
This was the final showdown against a fire dragon. The spectators cheered excitedly, but their enthusiasm did nothing to quell Harry Potter's fear.
For an entire week, Harry had no plan at all. Without Hermione—the brain of the Golden Trio—Harry had only his courage, recklessness, and a crowd of shameless flatterers surrounding him.
Harry didn't need to accomplish anything to earn their praise, simply because he had defeated Voldemort as a child. That singular feat alone was enough for people to brag about on his behalf for a lifetime.
But for Harry, things weren't so simple. His parents had died for that victory, and the so-called defeat of Voldemort was actually the result of a protective curse and the love left on him by his parents. That was the true key to Voldemort's downfall.
In other words, Harry had contributed nothing to Voldemort's defeat.
Harry knew this very clearly, but he had no way to explain it to those around him.
That was why he envied Cedric. Cedric had won his dragon egg fair and square from the Welsh Green Dragon, and had done so more effortlessly than any of the other champions. Harry admired him deeply for that.
Right now, Harry still didn't know what he was supposed to do to obtain the dragon egg—especially since the opponent he was facing was the Black Dragon of the Hesidiri Isles.
According to commentary from Regulus Black's assistant, the Black Dragon of the Hesidiri Isles was the only dragon whose flame control exceeded that of the Chinese Fireball.
The Chinese Fireball could shape its flames into a sphere, while the Black Dragon could manipulate its flame into the form of flowers.
It was an extraordinary display of flame control, akin to spellcasting. Basic flame attacks like fire tornadoes, fire waves, fire rain, and fireballs were nothing for this dragon. In other words, Harry was facing a fire magic specialist.
His chances of winning? Practically zero. If only the Invisibility Cloak were fireproof!
"Harry Potter! Harry Potter! Harry Potter!"
The crowd's chants suddenly swelled, snapping Harry out of his thoughts.
The audience was already in place, and so was Harry. He stood just outside the entrance—just a few steps more and he would be walking into a sea of flames.
The Black Dragon of the Hesidiri Isles yawned lazily, while simultaneously puzzled—when exactly did it lay an egg?
It remembered just roasting a deer before it was snatched away by some nasty thieves. Furious, it had incinerated a huge area trying to catch them, but never managed to find those wretched thieves. Then, it had been captured.
Those wizards were definitely accomplices of the thieves. They had coveted its barbecue skills. Stealing its roasted meat wasn't enough—they had now gone so far as to kidnap the chef itself. Outrageous!
Wait—why did it have a dragon egg again? When did it even lay one? It couldn't remember. When did that happen? And who's the father? Dammit, it still couldn't remember! If it ever did figure it out, someone was going to pay!
Fuming at the thought, the Black Dragon of the Hesidiri Isles suddenly spewed a stream of dragonfire forward.
Poor Harry Potter hadn't even stepped into the dragon's line of sight yet when the fire came rushing toward him.
What does it feel like to take dragonfire to the face? At that moment, Harry's mind went completely blank. No—his entire vision was filled with flame. A wall of red fire surged toward him, giving him the illusion that he was about to become one with it.
People who talk about running must have never faced a situation like this. If you even manage to react before being burned alive, that's already considered quick reflexes. Those movie characters who dodge flames in a sprint—those people must be mentally and physically superhuman.
Harry wasn't there yet. He froze.
Suddenly, a black blur shot out from the side and tackled Harry to the ground. It was a black dog—Sirius Black in Animagus form—who had leapt in at the last second and saved his godson's life.
Many knew that this black dog was Sirius Black, but that was information limited to a small circle. Even though Regulus Black had helped get Sirius acquitted, he never reported that Sirius was an Animagus.
Still, no one expected this troublesome older brother to show up like this.
"Sirius Black! I hope you didn't forget to bring your collar."
Regulus Black closed his eyes and focused, sensing the special collar he had made for Sirius. It was both a restrictive device and a protective tool.
The black dog that had just tackled Harry began scratching at the collar with its hind leg, making it jingle loudly.
"Godfather! Want me to take it off for you?"
Harry spoke as he reached forward, trying to unbuckle the collar for Sirius.
"If you don't want to be disqualified from the competition, then stop doing something so foolish—and stop calling that stupid dog 'Godfather.'"
It was unmistakably the voice of Assistant Professor Regulus Black, coming from the collar of the black dog. This caused Harry Potter, who had just reached out his hand, to quickly pretend he was simply trying to soothe the dog.
"Since this stupid dog has gotten involved, then it can only be a dog and must remain a dog. It's the companion you summoned."
Regulus Black stood up in the stands and squeezed through the crowd toward Headmaster Dumbledore.
"What's going on with that black dog? Isn't this considered cheating?"
Headmaster Igor Karkaroff waved his steel staff excitedly. If it was possible to revoke a Hogwarts champion's eligibility, then surely a black dog could be used as an excuse! Even if Harry Potter pulled out a rabbit to feed the dragon, that could be used as an excuse too!
"Calm down, Headmaster Igor Karkaroff, mind your image. This matter should be addressed by Director Barty Crouch. Whether participants are allowed to summon animal companions—shouldn't there be a standard for what counts?"
Regulus Black, from the moment he arrived, framed the issue in terms of "animal companions," clearly not intending to reveal the truth—that this was actually Sirius Black.
"Regulus! There's no precedent for a champion summoning an animal companion to fight, but personally I think as long as it's not summoning a fire dragon to fight another fire dragon, it shouldn't be considered a violation. Ahaha!"
Barty Crouch was someone who knew how to read the room. Seeing Regulus Black's expression, he gave an extremely broad interpretation.
Heh! If someone could summon a fire dragon, would they really have trouble defeating another one?
"I object!"
Headmaster Igor Karkaroff waved his steel staff again, something he'd already done quite a few times.
"Would you not be objecting if Harry Potter had just been burned alive?"
Snape suddenly appeared behind Igor Karkaroff, asking in a cold tone.
Did his back just go cold? Karkaroff felt as if he'd been stabbed from behind by an assassin.
"So can we take this to mean that as long as no other person is called in for help, animal companions—even magical creatures—are within the range of what's allowed to be summoned? And that some magical items could be permitted too?"
Regulus Black continued to seriously discuss the issue. After all, this concerned the future rules of the competition. Reaching a consensus early would be beneficial moving forward.
"I don't see any problem with that. If something happens in the future that the Ministry of Magic feels needs restricting, we can simply address that specific issue. A broader standard allows champions to think more creatively."
Dumbledore finally spoke. With that, the matter was settled.
Madame Maxime had no objections—after all, her students had already won. Imposing restrictions now would only make things more difficult in the future. Since it was Hogwarts making the suggestion, any resulting issues could be attributed to them.
"Since everyone's in agreement, let the competition continue! Looks like it's about to rain out there."
Regulus Black looked up at the sky as fine droplets began to fall. This kind of weather would definitely interfere with the fire dragons.
"The competition will proceed. Champions are allowed to summon animal companions for assistance."
Barty Crouch then formally announced the decision.
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