Hogwarts' Golden Glory

Harry walked over and sat down on the stone slab next to him. There were about two feet between them. Iger tilted his head to look at Harry, then continued preening his feathers.

"I—" Harry began.

"Ask about dragons," Kane said.

"...How did you know?"

"You're the one who told me about Cedric, aren't you?"

Harry scratched his head. After Hagrid told him that day, he met Mrs. Kaxim and Karkaroff.

They all knew that the first project was related to dragons.

Only Cedric didn't know.

As for Kane, Harry felt there was nothing that could be hidden from Kane.

"Yes. I just think it would be fairer that way."

"I don't know what to do," Harry said. "They said the first project is dragons. I don't know how to deal with dragons. I only have three pages about dragons in my textbooks. Snape borrowed the rest of the books."

"He lent it to me," Kane said, "not because of you."

"...Hermione said he was targeting me."

"Hermione sometimes makes mistakes in judgment," Kane said calmly.

Harry didn't know how to respond. He changed his approach.

"Can you help me?"

Kane didn't answer immediately. He looked at the night sky, as if counting stars, or perhaps thinking about something else.

"The dragon is alive. It's not a training dummy, not a target for a curse. You can't defeat it, and you can't stop it."

"What should we do then?"

"You don't need to defeat it."

Kane said.

"For this project, all you need to do is take one thing right under its nose."

"What?"

"A golden egg. A golden egg hidden in the dragon's nest."

Kane turned to look at him. "The first project isn't slaying a dragon, it's stealing an egg. Dragons don't leave their nests, and as long as you don't attack them, they won't chase you all over the place."

Harry took a few seconds to process it.

Stealing eggs.

"Hermione guessed right, she said it might be getting something in front of a dragon."

Kane nodded.

"Hermione is very smart."

"But I can't run as fast as a dragon."

Kane rolled his eyes at Harry.

"If you're planning to charge straight at them and then run away as fast as you can, that's fine too."

A hint of anticipation flickered in Harry's eyes.

Have a turnaround?

Kane said, "That way, you can become a delicious skewer of grilled meat, and it will taste even better."

"...You're really rude."

"Being polite won't save a life."

Harry's expression froze.

Grilled skewers.

It smells even better now.

He imagined himself being roasted to a crisp by a dragon, and then decided to stop thinking about it.

"So there's no turning back?" Harry asked.

Kane glanced at him. "Yes. But you'll have to figure it out yourself."

"If I could have figured it out myself, I wouldn't have come looking for you," Harry said.

Kane turned from the railing and looked at Harry.

The night wind ruffled his hair, and his grey eyes, illuminated by the moonlight, resembled a frosty lake. "You possess a very strong ability."

Harry was stunned. "What?"

Quidditch.

Harry blinked. "Quidditch players can fight dragons?"

"You can't fight dragons in Quidditch."

Kane said, "But Quidditch teaches you how to move high in the air. How to judge speed and distance. How to maintain your balance in the most dangerous situations. How to grab what you want before your opponent grabs you."

Harry opened his mouth.

He hadn't thought of that.

He had always thought the first project would be a brute-force battle using magic, like his duel with Derian, where they would fight each other on the ground.

But Quidditch... he can indeed maintain his balance high in the air.

He certainly knows how to avoid fast-moving objects.

The roaming ball is much faster than the dragon, and it's even more unreasonable.

"You mean, I can ride a broomstick—" Harry said, only halfway through.

"Do you remember what I just said? You don't need to defeat it. You just need to steal the egg."

Kane said, "If you can fly high enough that the dragon thinks you're out of its attack range, it will lower its guard. Then you swoop down, speed past the golden egg, and reach out to grab it. Before the dragon can react, you're already far away."

Harry imagined that scene.

high altitude.

dive.

My fingertips brushed against the edge of the golden egg.

The wind whistled in my ears.

That was a feeling he knew all too well. He never panicked when he was on the broom. Not because he wasn't afraid, but because he knew he could do it.

"But I don't have a broom," Harry said. "Will they let me bring a broom into the match?"

"No," Kane said, "but you can call it over."

"What's your name?"

"Summon Broom," Kane said. "Before entering the arena, find a secluded spot and summon your broom. Then wait for the signal. When the dragon appears, simply shout the incantation, and the broom will fly into your hand."

Harry's heart began to race.

The Flying Spell. He had learned it.

"What if the dragon attacks first? What if it charges at me before I even get my broom?"

Kane glanced at him.

"Then use the Ironclad Spell."

"Ironclad Spell? That can stop dragon fire?"

"It can't stop them," Kane said calmly, "but it can stop their claws and tail. And—"

He paused for a moment, then said, "The advantage of the Ironclad Charm is that it's quick to cast, giving you two to three seconds. Two to three seconds is enough time for you to grab the broom."

Harry was silent for a moment. "You're so clever! Tell me your plan, how are you going to get through this?"

Harry suddenly remembered that Kane was also a champion at Hogwarts.

"I have my own methods, you'll see when the time comes."

Kane pulled his wand from his pocket. "Come here."

"What are you doing?"

"Practice the Summoning Charm," Kane said. "You've never used this spell to summon an object more than ten feet away, have you?"

Harry hesitated for a moment. "...No."

"Then let's practice." Kane put his wand away, picked up a stone from the ground, and said, "I'll throw this stone. You'll recall it. How far you throw it depends on when you can recall it."

Harry glanced at the stone. "What's the point? I need a broom, not a stone."

"The point is focus," Kane said. "The Summoning Charm doesn't require your eyes to see what you want; it requires your mind to see what you want. If you want to summon a broom, you must clearly imagine what it will feel like in your hand. The feel of the wood, the weight of the broom handle, the position of your fingers when you hold it."

He paused. "Stones are simpler than brooms. Practice with stones first."

Harry opened his mouth, but found himself unable to refute. He raised his wand. "Fine."

Kane threw the stone. It flew twenty feet, landed on the opposite flagstone, bounced, and rolled to the corner of the wall.

"The stone is coming," Harry said.

The stone bounced, rolled a few feet toward him, and then came to a stop.

"Imagine it in your hand," Kane said. "Don't just think about 'it coming back.' Imagine what it would feel like to hold it."

Harry took a deep breath. He focused. "The stone is coming."

The stone bounced off the ground, flew fifteen feet, and landed at Harry's feet.

"Better than before," Kane said, "but not enough."

He threw it again. This time it went even further. The stone landed thirty feet away at the corner of the wall, almost invisible in the shadows.

"The stone is coming," Harry said. The stone flew back and landed steadily in his palm.

Kane looked at him. "Again."

Time and time again. Harry felt he had mastered the spell.

"Alright." Kane walked to the iron gate. "Go back to sleep. You need to be energetic tomorrow."

Harry stood up. He shook his aching right hand. "Thank you."

Kane did not answer.

He pushed open the door, and Igor flew in front of him, his dark golden feathers like a moving lamp in the dim stairwell.

Harry stood atop the Astronomy Tower, the night breeze ruffling the hem of his robes. He glanced down at the red amulet in his right palm.

Small and warm.

He suddenly felt that tomorrow wasn't so scary after all.