Draco Malfoy and the Goblet of Fire
By Lady Lestrange
CHAPTER 4
Draco means Dragon
On the Saturday, before the first task, November 21, Draco planned to go to Hogsmeade with some of his friends. He seemed to have collected quite a lot of them since he was the Hogwart's Champion. Yes in his mind, he was the ONLY Hogwart's Champion. Diggory and Potter were anything but champion material. Draco hoped he could enjoy a few hours of fun at the Three Broomsticks, but truthfully, he was getting nervous. It was only a week away from the first task and none of his Slythy spies had discovered what the task was yet.
What they had discovered though was that Harry Potter had a crush on the Ravenclaw seeker, Cho Chang. It was an interesting bit of information. Draco wasn't sure what to do with it yet, but it would soon prove more interesting if it was up to him. Now, if only he knew what the task was going to be . . .
Early on the morning of November 21, a tapping on his window awakened Draco. He let the school owl into his room and opened a cryptic note that said simply, "Dragons". Well, he thought with a little shiver of fear that wasn't going to contribute to a relaxing day at Hogsmeade. On the other hand, maybe it was a good omen—if he believed in that sort of thing—after all, his name meant dragon. He tried to keep his optimistic attitude.
Before lunchtime on the Twenty-first, Draco knew that there were five dragons: A Hungarian Horntail, a Common Welsh Green, A Chinese Fireball, a Swedish Short Snout and a Norwegian Ridgeback. It wasn't hard to guess that each of the Champions would be given a dragon to fight. Draco was a bit worried.
He was sitting in the Common room reading a book called: Dragonslayer: Tactics and Terrors while waiting for Pansy so that they could go to Hogsmeade. He had just finished reading that dragons were perpetually hungry and would eat anything within striking distance if they could swallow it. He was starting to feel a little sick, when Warrington entered. "Wanna go see the real thing?" he asked.
I don't really think so thought Draco, but it wouldn't do to let Slytherin House know how afraid he was. Aloud he said: "I've been trying to think of how to do that myself. The dragons have to be guarded."
"Well, the ones that are being used for the Tri-Wizard tournament are guarded, but not all the dragons in the world are guarded. We've figured out we could do it in one apparition and a couple of portkeys. That is if you trust my apparition skills."
Draco looked at MortenWarrington. He may not have taken his apparition test yet, but he had been a Death Eater for the past three years, at least. "Where are we apparating to?" asked Draco.
"London. We could have seen them all in Romania, but I've never apparated there and there's no portkey. London's the best bet. From London, we can take a portkey to the Magical Monsters Zoo in Norway. Dress warmly. The weather there is nasty right now. Snow and freezing rain according to Milllicent. That's where we see the Hungarian Horntail, Swedish Short Snout and Norwegian Ridgeback. We need to leave within the hour to get finished before dark. The zoo closes at dusk. From there, we take another portkey to Tibet where we have a few more hours of daylight. They have an exhibition of a Common Welsh Green and a Chinese Fireball. Then we apparate back to the Forbidden Forest, just off Hogwarts grounds. You'll miss supper. I told Pansy to be sure that she brings you something to eat.
Draco nodded. "Let me get a heavier cloak," he said, and taking the dragonslayer book up to his dorm room, he hurriedly prepared to go with Mort Warrington to see the dragons. As he was ready to leave, he noticed a small piece of parchment that had been slipped under the door. It said: "Nesting mothers. Get egg." Oh fine! Draco thought in exasperation. Just what I need: hungrier dragons.
The dragons at the zoo, were huge disappointments to Draco. Although they were big, they didn't seem terribly smart. Their magic of course and their thick hides guarded them from most simple spells, but if he didn't have to kill them, Draco could think of several spells that would work, including, according to Warrington, Avada kedavra, but he didn't think he'd get good marks with that one. He'd probably lose points if he killed it. He could use a charming spell, or perhaps blind it although he'd have to combine that one with a numbing spell to keep it from stomping about in pain.
The Chinese Fireball that he and Warrington tried the crucious curse on just about ripped through the enclosure in Tibet, so he knew he didn't want to cause the dragon any discomfort. They didn't react well to pain at all.
He thought of transfiguring himself into something small and fast, but that wouldn't work. A bird or a bug wouldn't be able to hold the egg—unless it was an owl. No, thought Draco, an owl may be too slow. A falcon may work better, and be better equipped to hold the egg. Of course, he never transformed himself into a falcon. Too bad McGonagall was the transfiguration teacher. She certainly wouldn't help him. Perhaps Snape would give him a potion that did the same thing and he could pretend to transfigure himself. Yes. That would work. Not only that, it would have to improve his transfiguration grade when McGonagall saw him. Maybe this year he could beat the Mudblood.
While Hagrid, Harry Potter, Madam Maxim, and Karkaroff were chasing around the grounds at midnight that night, Draco was sipping a glass of butterbeer with Camilla and trying to decide if she was worth taking for a ride on his new magic carpet. He decided that she was, and he spent a very enjoyable Sunday with her. After which, he performed a glamour charm on her, which gave her very beady eyes, whiskers and a white furry face. It only lasted for an hour, but her reaction was priceless.
==
PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW. I NEED YOUR FEEDBACK TO KEEP WRITING.
IF YOU LIKE THIS STORY, PLEASE EMAIL YOUR FRIENDS THIS LINK
;