Less than a month remained before the first task began.
For some wizards, that stretch of time felt unbearably long.
Especially for the Chosen One who somehow bumbled his way into becoming a champion...
Just as Hermione had said, Harry Potter—unable to give any explanation—seemed to have fallen into a genuine predicament.
If one paid attention, it was obvious that while his housemates didn't outright dislike him, the young lions were treating Harry Potter with a strangely complicated attitude.
Around Harry's seat was a clear, empty ring. No Gryffindor wanted to sit beside him, and none seemed inclined to talk to him.
When Draco and his group walked into the classroom and saw this, they could immediately understand Harry Potter's situation. It also confirmed the intel Hermione had shared...
The moment Draco sat down, Goyle and Crabbe eagerly voiced their amusement.
"Did you see? Our fourth champion's not doing too well."
"Looks a bit pathetic, hah."
Draco only shrugged, offering no opinion.
Pansy and Hermione didn't seem bothered by it either.
They both knew perfectly well that, true to Gryffindor nature, it wouldn't be long before they forgot Harry Potter's so-called "selfish" entry and started treating him as their house champion again.
But for now, Ron Weasley and even Harry's own roommate were openly irritated with him. And the usually friendly Hufflepuffs had grown noticeably colder as well.
Clearly, the Hufflepuff badgers were united in believing Harry Potter had stolen their glory...
By contrast, Draco—who had also entered in secret and succeeded without anyone knowing—received none of that backlash.
Even if becoming a champion couldn't change how other houses viewed him, the attitude of the Slytherin snakes toward Draco was another matter entirely.
For Slytherins, who valued strength above all else, this incident only made them more eager to stand behind Draco...
...
History of Magic classroom.
Pansy finally pulled her gaze away from Harry Potter and turned toward Hermione, who was flipping through a book beside her.
"Courage... Granger, what kind of test do you think it'll be?"
"Hard to say. Based on past tournaments described in the book, the tasks are almost never the same. The only thing we can be sure of is that they all involve dangerous magical creatures."
"Magical creatures? How dangerous?"
"Hmm... I remember Nundu and Graphorn appearing in previous Triwizard Tournaments. There are even records of something as dangerous as a Dragon."
"What! A Dragon? That dangerous?!"
Pansy didn't question Hermione's claim. The thick tome on the desk was exactly where Hermione got all this information.
It was a compilation of Triwizard Tournament history from past years.
But while Pansy was busy panicking over Draco possibly facing a Dragon, she failed to notice Hermione's expression shifting—oddly tense, yet with a hint of smug satisfaction...
"Sounds dangerous. Draco, what do you think?"
"Hm?"
Draco's casual response earned him a frustrated punch from Pansy. "Honestly... are you not planning to prepare at all?"
"Prepare? Maybe."
Rather than worrying about the unknown format of the task, Draco was more concerned with someone else's strange behavior.
Ironically enough, it was Hermione—Gryffindor's own bookworm—who was more anxious about Draco's performance than he was.
"I think there's one wizard who might know what the first task is."
"Oh? Granger, what did you think of? Hurry and tell us—quietly."
At some point, Pansy had started listening to Hermione's ideas and analyses, even trusting her judgment.
Compared to their earlier head-butting, their current relationship felt very much like "fighting breeds familiarity."
So when Hermione spoke, Pansy eagerly leaned in close and even lowered her voice, completely forgetting that Hermione was a Gryffindor...
"When you think of magical creatures, who's the first person that comes to mind?"
"...You mean?"
"Exactly. The Ministry may be in charge of the tournament, but I doubt the school has no involvement at all. At the very least, the one handling the magical creatures before the event must be one of our Hogwarts professors."
"So that means—"
"Hagrid!"
"Hagrid!"
Pansy and Hermione whispered the name in perfect sync. And that name, of course, belonged to their Care of Magical Creatures professor.
Rubeus Hagrid...
...
After class ended, Draco watched the two silhouettes disappear around the corner, walking shoulder to shoulder.
Hermione and Pansy were heading off to ask Hagrid for information.
Draco didn't follow. He had something else he needed to take care of.
To be exact, as a champion, he had another responsibility to attend to before the tournament.
The first was wand inspection...
Following the corridor, Draco arrived at an unused classroom.
It was a small room, most of the desks moved aside to the back and the center left wide open.
The first person he saw inside was Ludo Bagman, one of the judges, chatting with a witch in a red robe.
Viktor Krum, who had arrived early, was standing in a corner quietly talking with Harry Potter. They seemed to get along surprisingly well.
Just then, a soft huff reached Draco's ears...
"So you've finally arrived?"
Turning his head, Draco noticed that besides Harry and Krum, Beauxbatons' champion was also here.
The huff had come from Fleur Delacour, who flicked her head slightly, sending her long silver hair shimmering in a dazzling wave.
The gesture was charming enough that one wizard—holding a black camera still puffing faint smoke—trembled with excitement and moved forward eagerly, clearly wanting to capture the moment.
But Ludo Bagman, noticing the scene, quickly stood up and hopped forward.
"Here we are! Our fourth champion. We'll begin the wand verification ceremony shortly, just a moment more."
"Wand verification?"
"Don't worry. We need to make sure your wands are fully functional and in perfect condition. They're your most important partners in the coming tasks."
Bagman seemed particularly patient as he answered Harry Potter's question.
"Wands, huh?"
Fleur glanced proudly at her wand and flicked it lightly a few times.
But in the next second, the half-Veela caught sight of Draco's wand out of the corner of her eye.
No—more accurately, she noticed a staff...
...
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