Hogwarts' Golden Glory

His reputation has indeed improved—much better than the other two.

This is all thanks to Kane.

But now, Hermione's expression changes whenever she hears Kane's name.

Harry doesn't dare say a word about Kane now.

Meanwhile, Harry received the latest news.

Hermione tells Harry that Hagrid is waiting for him and tells Harry to put on the Invisibility Cloak.

Harry wore an invisibility cloak and walked very discreetly, afraid of being discovered.

Hagrid waited for Harry at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, his massive figure stretched long and crooked in the moonlight.

He carried a lantern in his hand, the wick of which burned dimly, barely enough to illuminate the muddy path a few steps ahead.

Ya Ya squatted at his feet, her ears pressed against her head, her tail tucked tightly between her legs, and she made a very faint whimper in her throat.

"Harry, put on the Invisibility Cloak. Come with me, and don't make a sound when you see anything."

Hagrid's voice was so low it was almost swallowed up by the night wind deep in the Forbidden Forest.

Harry pulled the silver-grey fabric from his robes and draped it over himself, disappearing into the moonlight, leaving only the sound of footsteps on fallen leaves following Hagrid.

They passed through the fence gate at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, walked deeper into the forest, crossed the hoofprint-strewn clearing at the edge of the centaur territory, bypassed the tree hollows where poisonous tentacles huddled, and finally stopped in an open area surrounded by dense forest.

This clearing wasn't there before—the surrounding trees had been neatly felled, and the stumps still bore the scorch marks from the magical cutting.

Several huge braziers were set up in the open space, their flames crackling in the night wind, illuminating the entire open space as if it were daytime.

There is a dragon in the open space.

Not one, but five.

Five different kinds of adult dragons were each kept in five huge iron cages, each reinforced with magic, and the cage posts were wrapped with densely packed rune chains that gleamed with a dark metallic luster in the firelight.

Each dragon was bound by at least three different spells—the outermost being a freezing spell to suppress dragon breath, and a thick layer of frost covered the cage pillars.

The middle layer is a binding spell that restricts movement, and the patterns of flowing magic can be faintly seen on the iron chains;

The innermost layer consists of individual restrictions tailored to the specific habits of each dragon, maintained separately by several wizards dressed in dark blue robes.

The wizards stood around the brazier, each holding a wand that emitted a steady and precise beam of magic, their foreheads glistening with sweat.

The first one is the Peruvian Venomous Fang Dragon. It is the smallest of the five dragons, but the fastest.

Its entire body is covered with smooth, brass-colored scales that gleam with a metallic sheen in the firelight.

Its tail has a scimitar-shaped venomous barb at the tip, which is its key weapon against creatures of similar size!

The cage posts were wrapped with a paralyzing spell specifically designed to target the stinger—a silver chain tightly locked around its tail. Whenever the stinger charged up, the chain would tighten, preventing it from throwing the stinger out of the cage.

Its nostrils continuously spewed out pale green poisonous smoke, which was blocked by a transparent barrier as soon as it reached the edge of the cage. It was a purification barrier specifically designed to counteract the poisonous smoke.

The second point is Ukraine's iron belly.

It was the largest of the five dragons, wider and thicker than any of the others.

Its claws clung to the cage posts, and each exertion caused the entire row of posts to creak under the strain.

But the cage pillars were bound with heavy gravity-enhancing chains—the chains gleamed with a dark brown light, gravity-amplifying charms specifically designed for large dragons, making it feel like it was swimming in mud every time it raised its claws.

The third one is the Chinese Fireball Dragon.

It was smaller than the Ukrainian Ironbelly Dragon, but larger than the Peruvian Venomous Fang Dragon, and its entire body was covered with smooth, fiery red scales.

It did not ram the cage pillars or breathe fire like other dragons.

It simply curled up quietly in the center of the cage, its tail coiled at its side, and slowly scanned every human face outside the cage with a calm, predatory air.

The cage pillars were wrapped with a Flame Locking Spell specifically designed to counter dragonfire—crimson rune chains that tightened each time it breathed fire, suppressing the temperature of the flames within a controllable range.

However, it consumes a lot of the wizard's magic. The wizard who was maintaining it was already covered in sweat.

The fourth one is Norwegian Spinosaurus.

Harry felt the other person looked somewhat familiar!

This is!

Norbert?

Norber has grown so much in just two years?

The innermost one is a Hungarian wood bee.

It is the largest of the five dragons, the most ferocious in appearance, and the one that exudes the strongest sense of oppression.

Its head peeked out from between the cage posts. Its vertical yellow pupils held no fear, no anger, only a condescending, almost contemptuous calm, as if it were scrutinizing a group of ungrateful ants.

The cage pillars were wrapped with the thickest and densest runic chains of the five dragons—each chain vibrating and rattling incessantly.

Harry was feeling conflicted. Could their first project be related to these dragons?

If he were to encounter this last dragon, he would probably be crushed to dust in a single encounter.

Even the school hospital's magic potion couldn't save his life!

Hagrid whispered excitedly toward Harry, almost on the verge of tears, "Look at them—Merlin's beard! They're absolutely gorgeous!"

"Beautifully defined muscles! A fierce aura!"

Hagrid's voice carried a hint of intoxication!

Harry crouched behind the bushes, his body stiff.

He clutched the invisibility cloak in his hand, but it didn't completely conceal him—Hagrid's massive body shielded him from most of the firelight. He wanted to say something, but found his mouth was already dry.

He had seen Norber hatch from his egg before; he was tiny, wrinkled, and could singe Hagrid’s eyebrows with a sneeze.

But these dragons are not the Norbert I was as a child.

These dragons are living war machines.

And they are crossing this land teeming with five dragons—dragons that are there to confront these warriors.

After Hagrid finished speaking, he suddenly stood up straight and shoved the lantern into Harry's hand.

He said to let Tooth take Harry back.

He had other matters to attend to; Madame Maxim had invited him to watch the moon tonight at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. It was a full moon, the light would be perfect, and he couldn't be late. He then straightened his obviously too-small mole-skin vest, wiped the dragon dung off his beard with saliva, and strode into the depths of the Forbidden Forest.

Harry stood alone at the edge of the cleared area, holding Hagrid's lantern in his hand.

The night wind blew in from the depths of the Forbidden Forest, carrying the lingering warmth of the dark gray smoke drifting from the nostrils of Hungarian wood bees.

He walked back along the same path, with Ya Ya leading the way, its tail tucked tightly between its legs.

Pass through the fence gate, through the vegetable garden, climb the stone steps, and push open the portrait hole in the Gryffindor common room.

The fire in the fireplace had burned down to just a few dark red embers.

Hermione was still sitting in the old armchair waiting for her, with an open copy of "Hogwarts: A History of the School" on her lap, a quill pen in her hand, and several pages of parchment covered with annotations in front of her.

She saw Harry climb in through the portrait hole, and immediately put down her pen and stood up.

"Harry, you're paler than Snape's robes. What did Hagrid take you to see?"

Harry threw himself into the armchair opposite Hermione and recounted the entire story of the five dragons he had seen in the Forbidden Forest clearing.

Hermione closed the book and placed the quill next to the inkwell. "I don't know how to deal with dragons. I can find all the books about dragons in the library—their habits, weaknesses, the temperature of each species' fire breath, and the range of their venomous stings. That's all I can do for you."

"But I think it's definitely not about having you directly confront the dragon; it's more likely that you'll be getting something from the dragon!"

Hermione's brain works very fast; she actually guessed the event of the competition right away.

Harry was still worried about himself after hearing this.

Taking something from a dragon? Wouldn't that mean directly confronting the dragon?