6
Discussing dragons…
00000
Harry looked at the Slytherin table. Daphne was having lunch with Astoria and Tracey when Neville came and sat beside him. Harry looked away. He hadn't told anyone that Daphne was helping him with the tournament, simply because of the risk that she had taken for it. The least he could do was honor his promise to her of keeping this entire thing moot.
"I asked grandma like you wanted and got a letter from her last night," Neville said taking out a slightly crumpled letter from his pocket before he handed it to Harry. "She managed to ask around a few ministry officials."
Reading the lines Harry's eyes widened in surprise. "Four different species?" he said almost out loud, grabbing the attention of the nearby Gryffindors. Luckily he hadn't said the word 'dragon' or 'tournament' otherwise others might get the idea. He also saw Daphne glance at him for a moment and their eyes met before she looked away. There was no way she didn't understand what he had said because the look on her face said otherwise. He knew Daphne wouldn't be happy about it but Madame Augusta, Neville's grandmother had been a huge help finding out the four species of dragons that the tournament was going to use for the first task.
He looked at the names of the dragons and recognized one of them – the Welsh Green. That was the one that Harry had seen in the forest that night. He didn't know about the other three but hopefully Daphne did and if not than they could find about them together. It seemed they would be spending some time in the room of requirement finding out whatever they could on the remaining three species because there was still no clue as to which one of them Harry would be facing.
"I can't thank you and your grandmother enough, Nev," Harry said. "This was a huge help. At least now I know their species and that will hopefully narrow down my research on how to deal with them."
"I did what any friend would do," Neville said. "If you want, I can help you look on these dragons after classes."
Harry wondered how he could respond to that as he didn't want anyone to know about the meetings that he was having with Daphne. He knew Neville wouldn't tell anyone but if he told him then he would be breaking his promise to her and seeing how lucky he was to get her help in the first place…that she had decided to trust him, Harry didn't want to break that trust. So he looked at the nervous Gryffindor.
"There is something I need to tell you, Neville," he said slowly before glancing at the Slytherin table. Daphne was busy talking to Tracey. "There is this person that has decided to help me with the tasks but they don't want their identity to be revealed because of how everyone first reacted to my name coming out of the goblet. I know you won't reveal this person's identity to anyone if I asked you to but by telling you about them I will be breaking the trust that has been shown to me by this person."
"It's not a big deal, Harry. Really," Neville said. "I'm just glad that you found someone who can help you with these tasks. Just know that I will also help you because now we both are friends."
"You helped a lot by asking your grandmother to find about those dragons," Harry said. "I don't think my helper would've been able to do something like that. If it wasn't for the promise that I made to her I would've told you her identity."
"Her?" Neville said smiling. Harry realized he'd slipped a little as he looked nervously towards Neville. "Don't worry. I won't pressure you into telling me who she is. Just know that you have me too and I'll be there whenever you need me."
"Thanks for understanding," Harry said. "And thanks for all of your help."
00000
"Hungarian horntail, Chinese fireball, Swedish short-snout and Welsh green," Daphne read the names on the paper before looking at Harry. They were in the room of requirement, after the classes were over for the day. "What did you find?" she asked.
"About the short-snout…" Harry said reading the line in the book he had opened up in front of him, "…it says here that it is of silvery-blue color and breathes out a brilliant blue flame. It is also reportedly one of the least aggressive species of dragons in the kingdom. Its hide is used for making spell-resistant armor, and its fire-breath – when frozen and encased – serves as a glowing crystal that sells for high prices on the black market. Everything else supposedly speaks about its food, lifespan and other unimportant things. What dragon are you looking for?" he asked looking at Daphne.
"The Chinese fireball," she said sounding uninterested.
"Why do you sound bored?" he asked.
"Because there is nothing special about it," she said closing the book. "It is a typical dragon that breathes fire. However, unlike most other dragons this one looks more like a snake with little limbs that don't even support its body weight. Also it doesn't have wings so instead of flying it creates clouds which it then climbs or rather rides to give the illusion that it is flying. It breathes short, exploding bouts of fire instead of a long continuous flame and its slow movements on the ground make it less dangerous. However, once airborne, it is one of the quickest dragons in all of dragon kingdom. Due to its snake-like body it is capable of taking quick, sharp turns. It seems that if you happen to face it, it will be better for you to not let it start flying or even your broom skills won't prove helpful."
"Noted," Harry said as he opened the page where it talked about the Hungarian horntail. Daphne noticed he had stopped moving as he had his eyes fixed on the book.
"What is it?" she asked. Harry slowly pushed the book towards her. She looked from him to the book confused before realizing why Harry had become still all of a sudden. "Oh," she sort of whispered as she read about the horntail. "This one…is terrifying," she said.
"I have a feeling that I will probably be facing that," Harry said, sounding somewhat confidant and worried at the same time as Daphne looked at him in confusion as if silently asking him why he would say such a thing. "It's just that I've realized how crappy my luck is when it comes to dangerous situations."
"With its black spiky scales the horntail is capable of deflecting all kinds of spells except for the unforgivables. It is also resistant to physical attacks," she read slowly. "Its eyes are feline-like, which makes it capable of seeing things even in pitch-black darkness and its lizard-like build and huge wings allow it to be dangerously mobile on both land and air. It mostly likes to attack with its spiked tail and an enormously long fire-breath which can reach up to a distance of about eighty yards. Apart from that the horntail possesses abilities of immobilizing its prey by its shrieking roar which can sometimes cause permanent hearing damage. The strong gusts of wind that it can produce from its enormous wings also help the horntail to corner its prey from the rest of the herd. It is also the only dragon species that intentionally attacks humans as its prey. I'm looking at the picture and it is only more convincing," she said, trying to joke a little when she saw the look on Harry's face.
"How can they use something like that…in a tournament where there will be hundreds of audiences sitting around the arena?" Harry said. "Wouldn't that be putting them in danger?"
"They probably have some sort of security measures," Daphne said.
"I can't think of anything that will be useful against that thing," he said. "It's like that this dragon was specifically made to cause terror amongst all living beings. The ability to deafen and corner its prey using nothing but gusts of wind, that it can produce from its wings…what even is that? How can someone even think of facing a monster like that, far less doing so for the sake of entertainment?"
"Not even magic works on it and I bet the coordinators wouldn't allow the use of unforgivables either," Daphne said. "I suppose some protection charm on your ears would be helpful. Also, you can enter the arena by riding on your broom. Seeing its aggressive nature the dragon will immediately go after you the moment it sees you. That is, if you get to face this dragon."
"Whoever faces it will surely die," Harry said dejectedly. "I'm sure that will be enough to convince everyone how bad of an idea it was to revive this tournament."
Daphne looked at him. Harry was genuinely worried and somewhat scared. Who wouldn't be? Dragons were ferocious beings that brought terror in the hearts of people. The fact that horntails were considered one of the most dangerous dragons only made that feeling worse. Anyone would be scared to face it. But there had to be a way. She kept telling herself that because she kept thinking that the coordinators wouldn't be stupid enough to put an impossible task for the champions. However, nothing came to her mind. This thing was clearly impervious to magic. Even being able to move around in its presence would be considered suicidal.
"The basilisk I killed in the secret chamber was probably less dangerous than that thing."
Daphne's head shot up when she heard Harry say that. He hadn't said it out loud but in a low volume, probably trying to convince himself but she had definitely heard it. "What did you say?" she asked.
"What?" Harry asked looking at her.
"About the basilisk…what did you say just now?"
Harry realized he must've said it out loud instead of just thinking about it in his mind. "Uh, nothing?" he said nervously. She raised a brow so he sighed. "It will sound unbelievable anyways so it's not worth me telling you about it," he said.
"Why don't you try?" Daphne said.
"Really?" Harry asked. "Just promise me that you won't laugh because it is going to sound ridiculous."
"I promise," she said after a small pause.
"Okay," he said. "In our second year, do you remember how everyone accused me of being Slytherin's heir when I spoke in parseltongue during my duel with Draco?"
"It's not something one would forget easily," Daphne said.
"Yeah, well we also found the secret chamber that was believed to be a myth." Daphne looked at him in surprise. Harry smiled slightly. "I told you it might sound unbelievable but that is the truth. Hermione figured out the identity of Salazar's monster. It was a basilisk. Ron and I found an entrance to the secret chamber."
"A basilisk?" Daphne asked as she thought about it. "Is that what attacked Filch's cat and others?" Harry nodded. "But as far as I know a basilisk's vision kills and not petrifies."
"They were petrified because none of them looked directly into its eyes. They were all very lucky," Harry said. "On the night Filch's cat was attacked, the corridor was flooded. The cat saw the basilisk's reflection in that water. Penelope saw it through Nearly-Headless Nick and Colin saw it through his camera. As for Hermione, she had figured it out and so she kept a mirror with her when she went to look for it. She knew not looking into its eyes directly will only get her petrified instead of killing her."
Daphne's mouth was slightly opened as she heard what Harry had just said. It made sense but it wasn't something she had thought of. "And what about you killing it?" she asked after she had taken a moment to let it all settle in her mind. "Don't tell me that you actually killed that basilisk."
Harry simply smiled. "Even if it has decayed in the last year I suppose its skeleton is still there in the secret chamber," he said. "If you want I can show it to you."
"You are bluffing," Daphne said.
"If I am then why would I sound so confidant and offer to show you the secret chamber?" Harry said. "We can go there now if you want."
Her mind was already jumping to conclusions. She looked at him and found no evidence in his tone or expression that could tell her that he was lying. However, if Harry was telling the truth then she could probably be witnessing something impossible. The secret chamber had never been found and was considered nothing but a myth. If that place really exists and if Harry had really gone there then she needed to see it too, if the opportunity had presented itself. She looked at him. "I won't regret it, will I?" she asked in a serious tone.
"As long as you are not scared of a monstrous dead basilisk," Harry said. "We have a lot of time till dinner and the curfew. Most of the students would probably be out strolling in the ground or huddled up in library or their common rooms working on their assignments so the corridors would mostly be empty. Meet me in the girls' lavatory on the second floor."
Daphne raised her brows. "The broken washroom?" she asked. Harry nodded. "The one which is haunted?"
"Myrtle just likes to entertain herself by flooding the place once a while," Harry said casually. "Although, I do find it quite annoying whenever she screams or shouts. Her voice is kind of high pitched. She is also the one who was killed by the basilisk when it was first released by Voldemort about fifty years ago."
Daphne flinched at him mentioning the name. She had often found it weird when people refrained from saying Voldemort's name but she had never been brave enough to say it herself. It had become a sort of norm for everyone to refer to the dark wizard as 'you-know-who' or 'he-who-must-not-be-named'. Only a handful of witches and wizards like Dumbledore referred to him by his name, as it were said that he wasn't really gone. It made her see Harry in a different light. Despite the boy's skinnier than average build he could casually say Voldemort's name as if it was nothing. That made her wonder, whether the rumors surrounding Voldemort's name was even true. It was said that back in the first war against him if one said his name then their location was revealed to the death eaters. This was why people stopped calling his name and they still don't because they or rather Dumbledore believes that Voldemort hasn't truly been defeated.
She pushed that thought to the side for now as she nodded looking at Harry, accepting his offer to show her the secret chamber.
00000
Thanks for reading…