Cautiously peers around corner... Oh good looks like no one wants to rip my head off this week, hopefully we can keep it that way... Moving on then, please enjoy the next chapter! ~F

Chapter Forty Five

Dragon's Fire

Severus was most unhappy with the prospects of Potter being back at the castle. Not only did he now have to deal with the awful sensation of Dark magic being performed just outside the castle, but the near rebellion of his own Slytherins in openly throwing their support to the mad child was truly disgusting. Many of their parents, if not also members of the boy's circle, would be appalled to learn the deprave magic that their children were now learning.

Potions classes with them and the Gryffindors of fourth year or lower were now starting to look like the preparations of a war zone, with the contemptuous glares intensified between those who had thrown their alliance with Granger and those who served Draco. Severus had multiple times needed to throw in his own power over the Arcane to dispel elementals or demons, as well as shield other students from projectiles that were hurled with reckless anger across the already volatile room. Many detentions were given, but it seemed that the concept of punishment and discipline in his classes was all but gone.

The other teachers were complaining about similar issues throughout the school and even in the corridors, but the worst of it was during meals in the Great Hall. The students were not blind to their teacher's plight, and were slowly being filtered into three camps, siding with either Granger and taking steps toward learning the Arcane, Draco and the Fel, or sliding down their tables as close to the Professors and hoping that they could remain neutral in this as long as possible.

It grew worse every day that the First Task grew closer, and Severus knew that it was even infecting some of the foreign visitors. Madam Maxime had already strongly reprimanded one of her students for getting involved, the boy having learned a few of the basic steps for Arcane Magic, and had been caught showing them to his fellow Beauxbatons students. The boy had not been able to sit for a full day without a look of intense pain, not that it stopped his or the other foreign student's curiosity.

"How long do you intend for this to go on Albus?" Severus demanded one day in the Headmaster's office, when the other professors had come to Severus of all people, to once again complain of near full blow magical duels breaking out in their classrooms. "The students are getting ready to tear each other apart; all on account of that horror of a child that you insist that we allow to wander the grounds, and not even deny his access to any of the students if they approach him!"

This was true. Nobu'tan had often been seen sitting outside his large tent on the grounds, chatting with Mages or Warlocks alike, teaching this or that trick of each art, as though he was perfectly neutral in their strife. Granted, Severus knew there was little they could to do hinder the boy, as his guards were never far from his side, and if he was requested within the castle, he summoned demons to follow him where the trolls had been forbidden.

It was a nightmarish situation, and the Headmaster had to take charge, but for some reason, Albus continued to delay. "What would you have me do, Severus?" Albus questioned in return, turning back to look at the Potions Master from where the Headmaster had been gazing out of one of his tower windows, "duel Nobu'tan here and now? Allow him the opportunity for the revenge he clearly harbors? Or perhaps I should start expelling students for practicing magic that has no official Ministry ban on its use? I am sorry, but more or less I am powerless beyond what the Board of Governors will allow us to do as faculty."

"So you intend to do nothing?" Severus accused, and immediately regretted his words when the old man before him turned dangerously cold. The room seemed to darken as the magic around Albus seemed to draw into the man, "I will not stand idly by while this madness is occurring, but what you ask, and desire in your heart is beyond the question."

A note flared to life out of the fireplace, and Albus hurried to it, dropping the conversation and allowing the temperature of the room to return to normal as he read. "This might just be the answer to our problem," he said carefully, setting the letter on his desk. "The Ministry is sending some Unspeakables to investigate the powers of the Arcane and the Fel, and determine what they should do regarding them. Apparently it finally leaked out that new magic was discovered here. Realistically I'm surprised it stayed a secret this long."

"So you intend to let the Ministry make their move first, before taking action…" Severus said, realization dawning upon him. He had been foolish to presume that Albus was allowing anything to go without acting regarding it, forgetting that even the man before him had proper channels that he had to act through. Albus waved off the guilt that Severus was feeling, as it must have shown on his face, and answered as though he already knew what Severus was thinking.

"I understand, truly I do. Many people think that because I am who I am, that I can simply do whatever it is I please without regard for the Ministry or the rules of the governments that I both support and sit on. While in some cases that can be true, where the law has no jurisdiction, or where I know it better than any other, there are times, rare though they may be, where even I must abide by those things I've sworn to uphold, else I would be as evil and dark as those Lords who I have fought, and will continue to fight until I pass beyond this world."

It was sobering to hear Albus speak so candidly about death, but Severus held his tongue, choosing instead to change the subject to something less uncomfortable, "So when will the Ministry send these new representatives?" he asked.

"The day of the First Task," Albus answered, "I recommended that as the best day, as it is still highly likely that Nobu'tan will use one or both energies during the task. Honestly, I wonder at the last time the boy chose to use his wand over those powers…"

Severus had no reply; mentally calculating that Albus meant the delegation would arrive at the end of the week, which wasn't soon enough, but better than what could have been hoped for given the circumstances of it being an official Ministry investigation. "Will they bring more Aurors?" he asked.

"Undoubtedly," Albus replied, "but I advised them against confronting Nobu'tan, or anyone that used these new types of magic directly, unless they wanted another problem to arise like the last time, and the Head Unspeakable agreed. They will observe only, and return to make their report before taking any action."

"I hope that they stick to that, for their sakes," Severus replied, "but that still does little for our current problems with the rest of the student body, and their attempts to start a school-wide conflict between Mages and Warlocks…"

"I cannot see anything working, Severus, short of raising wards that block spell casting altogether throughout the castle…" Albus said, but Severus was already leaping at the idea, regardless if the Headmaster wanting such a thing.

"Then do it, make it so that the Professors can suppress magic in their rooms and the corridors, so that things can be safe for our students once again." he pleaded, knowing that the old man would be more than hesitant to commit to such action.

"We won't even know if it affects the powers that they are using to fight; it might just prevent those caught in between from defending themselves." Albus tried, but Severus already had a counter.

"We test it, if it can block us from using the Arcane, then it will certainly work on the children…" he insisted. Albus looked thoughtful, and Severus thought he spotted the specific twinkle return to the man's eyes that would indicate that he had had a brilliant idea.

"Yes," he said at last, the amusement in his face returning marginally for the first time in months, "yes I think there just might be a way to make it work, and we can use it to completely handicap Nobu'tan during the Tournament as well, so long as we can isolate the field to blocking non wand-based magic."

Severus almost sighed in relief. The Dumbledore he had known for almost twelve years had returned, and they had a chance once again. The old man rose quickly, drawing his wand as he did so. "Conjure your water elemental, I need to catch a trace of Arcane magic to begin creating a ward against it." Albus instructed, and Severus quickly obeyed. The Headmaster smirked as he flourished his wand, before directing it at a small spot of his office, drawing what looked like a circle on the floor.

"Now stand in the circle and try to cast any spell of the Arcane," Albus urged, and Severus gladly went, stepping in and moving through the steps that normally conjured icicles upon his fingers, but nothing happened. It felt as though he had been cut off from the Ley lines completely when he tried.

"Nothing, I cannot cast it," Severus said, looking hopeful.

"Another, not a frost spell, try fire next," Albus insisted, having Severus run through a battery of tests. Slight tweaks to the circle had to be made, as apparently each connection was somewhat different, but after around a half hour after midnight they had a ward circle that blocked the Arcane and all its aspects completely, up to a level of power that Severus possessed.

Albus had then tested the circle, and was more than able to cast, overpowering the strength of the ward easily. Neither of them were deterred however, as they would be able to modify the circle for various strength levels easily enough, and as it stood that would block most of the students from casting Arcane spells at each other once the wards were placed in strategic locations.

"Now we just need some samples of Fel Magic to prime the circle against as well." Albus said, thinking hard, "I doubt we'd stop Nobu'tan or his guards from casting, but that isn't the primary concern at the moment, more of a long-term goal."

On they went for hours, theorizing how best to get sample of the dark warlock magic without being found out too soon, well into the night, and Albus was still going when Severus finally took his leave to get some rest for the next day, a spring in his step again at the chance to regain control of their school from the forced that threatened to pull it apart at the seams.

Casually, he stopped by the other three Heads of House's offices as we went down to the dungeons, relaying the news of their plan to them in secret, to pass along to the other teachers over the next few days.

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Nobu'tan could sense that something was different in the air. From just outside his tent, but well within the ward stones that protected it from outside influence, he could just feel that the aura of fear around the castle had lessened of late. The First Task was drawing ever nearer, set for the end of that particular week for that matter, and there was little that he had done to prepare for whatever it entailed.

Not that he was going to play by their rules regardless of the challenge. Nobu'tan was here not by choice, and therefore his wrath would be met out on the rightful parties, Dumbledore and the Tournament itself. That was why he had so eagerly allowed the Mages and Warlocks to turn on each other, offering each of them insight to their powers that they had not as of yet achieved, only marginally hinting that their magic may have been hindered by the other in some way to increase the animosity between both groups.

But now that the unknown task was less than a week away, Nobu'tan felt that he ought to at least do something to act like he was preparing for it, annoying and foolish though it was. Perhaps a journey into the forest to collect more soul shards would be in order…

Naturally, as he was no longer an official student of Hogwarts, he could not be reprimanded for going into the forest, although he knew that it was still standard practice for his warlocks to venture in at night from time to time, a rite of passage as it were.

Standing beside the small fire that was keeping the immediate area warm, Nobu'tan summoned Teg'Ramm and one of the other ogre mages, and started toward the trees, wondering what they might encounter this time in the forest, and how likely it was for them to be stopped by someone, thinking that they had some measure of control over him.

But they entered past the tree line without incident, and Nobu'tan started to smirk to himself at how easy it would be to just up and leave. Or at least it would be if not for the blasted magic holding him here, he thought angrily as the goblet's magic caused a small burning sensation to rush through the warlock's chest, which wiped the smile from his face in a flash.

The three warlocks quickly set about scouting the area for something to hunt, in order to sharpen their skills and take the stress of the situation from them for a time, Eyes of Kil'rogg flying in every direction to allow them vision.

For a time there was nothing, which greatly concerned Nobu'tan, as he had recalled there being a great number of creatures within these trees the last time he had appeared, which was only the summer prior, so there couldn't have been a mass exodus without some reason behind it.

"I have found something," Teg'Ramm spoke, eyes closed as he stared through one of the eyes of his own creation.

"What do you see?" Nobu'tan questioned.

"There are humans in the forest," the Ogre Magi replied, "guarding large crates that contain creatures within them, which fight against their restraints with great violence and breathe fire from their mouths in angry protest."

That piqued Nobu'tan's interest. "Let us go and investigate further," he said, taking off in the direction that Teg'Ramm indicated that the creatures were. It didn't take long to find them, especially as the bursts of flame started to become visible through the dense foliage.

Nobu'tan peered around the wide trunk of a tree, the Ogre's hidden further back to avoid any unwanted attention, but both were watching the scene through their magical eyes as well. Four massive cages, each housing a massive dragon were set in a scorched clearing, with many wizards running about trying to calm or stun each of the mighty beasts.

Watching intently, the warlock spotted some of the workers quickly placing clutches of eggs into or near the various dragons, which led him to believe that these were nesting mothers. Dragons were a rarity in Azeroth, but existed and were extremely powerful, so when he had been returned here, Nobu'tan had hoped to further his research on the mighty beasts. He had learned much about the creatures before him, albeit he was still vastly disappointed from what he had expected to find so early in his ability to first read the English language.

Still, the information he had would be greatly useful in defeating one of the powerful behemoths, and doing whatever it was that they wanted him to do regarding it for their precious Tournament.

Subtly a branch snapped off to the side, in the trees, and Nobu'tan stooped lower, glancing about in the gloom and shadows cast from the bursts of flame in the dragon cages. There were figures hiding in the trees, much as he was, although far more ineptly. Nobu'tan recognized the figure of Igor Karkaroff, even as the man turned to sneak away, presumably to tell his own champion of what he had seen.

Meanwhile there were two hulking figures, which were clearly not his Ogres, hiding in the very back behind a line of bushes. One was the ground keeper, Hagrid, while the other was the Headmistress of Beauxbatons.

Nobu'tan had only seen this woman a mere handful of times, but seeing her now, towering over even Hagrid's impressive height, there was no doubt that they shared a common ancestry. Personally, Nobu'tan couldn't bring himself to care, but there was a small part of him that was impressed that the frightfully gentle man had found someone that he was smitten with, even if it was apparent that she was merely using him.

Slowly, Nobu'tan backed away from the clearing, making for his own departure. The night was still young, and at the least there was still the massive colony of spiders that he could assist in purging for practice, while his mind riddled out what he was supposed to do against a fully grown dragon.

Dragons… Nobu'tan smirked at the prospect of facing a true challenge for the First Task as he rejoined his guard and made for the heart of the forest. Perhaps this little Tournament wouldn't be so bad after all.

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Lucius sensed the portal rip through space and time to his office, but only a small imp emerged, bearing a letter carefully in its claws, smelling of brimstone and some other Fel energy. The aristocrat took the missive from the demon, and dismissed it with a grateful nod, before returning to his desk.

It was clear that the letter was from Lord Nobu'tan, an update that he had promised to keep sending to the rest of the Order while he was summoned to the stronghold of their enemy, and regarding the proceedings at Hogwarts.

It would be good to hear from a more reasonable perspective than his own son, Lucius thought as he opened the seal on the back, wax that had been pressed with a metal symbol of the Order of the Black Harvest, and enchanted that only a member of the Council could open it.

Eagerly, Lucius read the missive.

'Lucius,

The Tournament is days from its first task, and I have already stumbled upon their poorly crafted secret challenge for it. Dragons are being hidden out in the forest, one per champion; myself included, and are being given eggs to guard.

Clearly some benign test of courage to see who we can come up with via out magic to surpass even the Dragonfire, but the outcome of that is irrelevant. No dragon of this world can stand up to my power.

What is more important at this time for you to be aware of is the unrest that I have instigated within the school. Warlocks under the directive of your son are starting to openly oppose both Dumbledore and the Mages that are taught by Muggleborn Hermione Granger.

Granted, I have taught both of them in their respected arts well, and I don't deny that it is a possibility for full scale combat to break out, and soon, but it is all a massive distraction so that I may plan when to strike at Dumbledore for the Elder Wand. For the time being I will continue to bide and wait for the perfect opportunity. I will play their games, and it is likely you would wish to witness the First Task yourself, just to see what we are truly capable of as servants of the Legion.

Also, the Ministry is starting to look in places they have no business, if you can do anything to delay or misdirect them from my trail it would be most useful to our cause.

Nobu'tan'

Sighing as he quickly ignited the evidence of his contact with Nobu'tan, Lucius quickly pondered the problem. He was already well aware of the Ministry investigation of Nobu'tan, as the boy wasn't exactly subtle when he didn't feel like it, and Fudge was already quite outraged at the number of Auror losses and the fact that 'trolls' were taking up residence on Hogwart's grounds, forget anything to do with how the school's operation was not a Ministry matter.

And once that pig headed little man got his mind to something, he would obsess until forced to turn out of his path and leave things well enough alone. Lucius could at least however, go and investigate what exactly the Unspeakables were up to, as he knew that they were the next link in the chain of authority that Fudge would turn to, if Amelia's people failed him.

Traveling to Hogwarts with Narcissa to watch this first event would also be most amusing, if not only for the fact that he had more than enough right to do so, being related not only to a student but more distantly to one of the champions, unless Dumbledore felt that the boy's muggle relatives would turn up to claim the kinship right of visitation before they could, which was laughable from what he had learned about them from the boy.

The matter with this Muggleborn, Granger, and his son was troubling however, and Lucius wasn't exactly certain what subtle undercurrent of a scheme that Nobu'tan was plotting with it could be. The boy clearly had more up his sleeve then just added pressure to blind the old Headmaster and probing for potential opportunities to snatch the man's wand from under his hooked nose.

Summoning a House Elf, Lucius instructed the little servant to inform his wife that they were in for a treat that weekend, and would be going to Hogwarts to watch the First Task of the Triwizard Tournament in person. The elf bowed low, and was gone in an instant.

Turning back to a few forms and unfinished letters to the other members of the Order, Lucius returned to work, knowing that there was a sense of urgency now. Things had been ever in motion, to be true, but now they were preparing to accelerate at an unprecedented rate, if Lucius' hunch was anything close to correct.

Nobu'tan would be putting intense amounts of unwanted attention on Dumbledore, through both his ability to affect the Hogwart's students without actually living inside the castle, as well as through the Tournament.

True, the old man wasn't taking this without a fight, as proof by the article written by Rita Skeeter in the Daily Prophet. Not only was there a piece regarding the Tournament, much smaller than it ought to have been, but it had apparently been needed out of the way of the much larger article that was a private interview with the Headmaster, regarding the situation of Harry Potter, his past and the recent events that occurred up to his 'kidnapping,' and subsequent return.

Lucius saw right through what the façade was: a veil to hide the old man's true motives for keeping the boy on the grounds. And it seemed that Skeeter was also putting the pieces together, as there were more than enough times that she had asked pointed questions, things regarding to the Headmaster's already close knowledge regarding the boy and his activities since his reappearance three years prior, that the old man had simply deflected or gave flashy but altogether flimsy explanations about.

Perhaps it would be pertinent, if the reporter was present to write regarding the First Task, to see about giving another side of the story, one that involved when Lucius first became aware of the ingenious Potter Heir and his captivating tale regarding Dumbledore's actions since the boy returned.

It would only make sense, Lucius would reason, when he was questions about such an article, as the boy was kidnapped right from his own house, even if he was not personally there to anyone's knowledge, and therefore somewhat familiar with the boy, as far as the parent of a second cousin could be…

All of a sudden, Lucius was now looking forward to the First Task with great interest.

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Hermione could sense the excitement running through the castle the day of the First Task. Even the Arcane was flourishing with energy, although that could also be because of the near daily active use that it was getting from dozens more Mages in training from all parts of the school, and even a few of the more reasonable foreign students that had shown aptitude and interest.

Having Harry on the grounds of the school had made Hermione significantly more bold regarding the teaching and use of the Arcane, especially with the advent of learning that Draco and his group of Slytherins, which had also expanded to include some of the darker Ravenclaws and much of the Durmstrang ground of children, had started using their powers in the open, as a sort of intimidation tactic on the staff.

It was a tactic that would not work on Hermione however, but in the end, that was neither here nor there as the First Task approached. Lunch went by with a powerful sense of both foreboding and excitement, and there was an unusual stillness in the air as every seemed to wait with bated breath for Professor Dumbledore to dismiss the Champions to prepare for the event.

She could see the muttering along the Slytherin table, where the students from Durmstrang were also seated, although for a moment one of the boys looked across at her, with an odd look of curiosity, but she ignored it at the moment finally arrived and the Headmaster rose. "We will now ask the Champions to head to the pavilion on the grounds for their preparation for the First Task, the rest of the students will please wait to head down until roughly ten minutes after the hour for seating to open, thank you."

Three seats were pushed back, and Cedric Diggory of Hufflepuff, the odd, slightly rude girl, Fleur Delacour from Beauxbatons, as well as the Durmstrang boy who had looked over at her, Victor Krum, all arose and started for the doors, even as the entire Hall grew dead silent. Even the hideous little imps that many of the Slytherin's had with them were watching the events unfold with muted expressions.

Moments after that Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore had some private words, and the Transfiguration Mistress arose and departed the hall as well, leaving them all to their meal. Hermione chose to pass the time with jotting down a few more ideas on how to improve their classes regarding the usage of Arcane magic, and how to adapt it to people still learning the great secret that it existed at all.

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Nobu'tan watched the three other 'champions,' make their way across the grounds toward the large pavilion at the edge of the forest, which clearly was the encasement for where the task would be with the dragons, but he made no move to follow them. Just because he too was a selected individual, and looking forward to facing against the great beast, didn't mean he had to make it easy for them to coerce him to play their game.

Minutes later one of the Professors started toward his tent, and Nobu'tan held up a hand to prevent the ogre magi from stopping her.

"Professor McGonagall, what a pleasant surprise," he said casually, prodding the still smoldering fire upon which his bodyguards had been cooking their own food. Nobu'tan had been supplied from the school kitchens, the elves treating him as a resident of the school and therefore one of the students regardless of what the wizards desired, but his servants were left to find their own meals.

"Mr. Potter," she said by way of greeting, "I am here to inform you that the Champions are requested to meet in the pavilion just there across the grounds for the start of the First Task, if you'll accompany me, I will guide you to the correct entrance."

Nobu'tan hadn't the heart to be offensive to one of the teachers he had actually liked during his two year stay at the school, so he nodded and rose, two of his ogre magi rising in unison to flank the pair of humans, the other pair having been sent back to Malfoy Manor for a time, mainly to gather more supplies for the other warlocks. Whether this made the Transfiguration Mistress uncomfortable she never indicated whatsoever, which only made her more impressive to the young warlock.

"I just want you to know," he said as they walked, "that I do not hold you, or anyone in the castle apart from Dumbledore responsible for this or whatever happens afterward, and I will do whatever I can within my power to lessen the blow if it comes to violence on my part. I do not seek to fight you people, but there are aspects of the Headmaster's wishes that I cannot abide by, and he quite feels the same."

Nobu'tan wasn't sure why he felt the need to give Professor McGonagall this sort of warning, but it felt like the right thing to do. It certainly wasn't an apology, not by a long shot, but perhaps more of an explanation. And for the most part it was true, he wished no ill will toward any of the students or staff of Hogwarts, aside from those who directly opposed him in finding a way back to Azeroth, even though the Legion likely would kill them all without a second thought.

"Understood," McGonagall replied, although it was clear that she wasn't completely sure what Nobu'tan had meant. They arrived at the pavilion, and she held the canvas flap open for him, "For what it's worth," she said softly before he entered, "You were and still are one of the brightest and eager to learn students I have ever taught, and I was truly saddened when you left us. Whatever this unfortunate business is, I hope that it can be resolved and you can return to learning all there is to know about magic. You have incredible talent, and the drive to back up any goal you set yourself. I was rather disappointed when you went into Filius' house rather than my own, but you were still a joy to teach."

It was odd, but Nobu'tan could tell that the Professor meant her words, and had used the exact same tone by which he had explained himself. "Your… guards, will have to wait outside the tent, but they may move to a more suitable location to watch the event and… intervene if they feel the need to…" Professor McGonagall added, gesturing at a spot just around from the tent entrance that overlooked the inside of whatever stadium was on the other side.

"Many thanks," Nobu'tan responded, gesturing for Teg'Ramm and his fellow to take up position there and keep watch, while he entered alone.

The other Champions were waiting there, along with one of the Ministry representatives for the Tournament. "And there's Champions number four," he said jovially, beckoning for them all together around him, even as the sounds of many feet started to come from the direction of the castle.

"The crowd will be here soon, so let's get the show on the road shall we?" he said, gingerly shaking a deep velvet bag in his hand, which was smoking ominously from the top. "Ladies first I suppose," the official said, offering the bag to Miss Delacour, "Just reach inside and take out one small model of what you'll be facing. There are different… err… varieties, you see. You task is to collect the golden egg."

The girl reached in tentatively and pulled out a small model of a dragon, a common Welsh Green, from what Nobu'tan's research told him, with a number two around its neck. One by one the others were offered the bag, and Diggory received the Swedish Short Snout and the number one, Krum the Chinese Fireball with number three, and Nobu'tan the Hungarian Horntail, naturally the most vicious of the lot, and the last number.

"Well, there you are," the official stated when the last dragon was pulled from the bag, "you have each pulled out a model of the dragon you are going to face, and the number is the order you will attempt the Task in. I will be leaving you in a moment, as I am commentating for the Task, just enter the enclosure, Mr. Diggory, when you hear the whistle, all right?"

The other boy nodded, and Nobu'tan turned to wander to a far side of the tent, if anything to avoid the stares from the other three champions once the official left the tent. Being effectively banned from the castle, Nobu'tan was something of a mystery to most of the student body, and therefore in combination with his appearance and distinct aura of darkness, properly emphasized by his original entrance, the others were rightfully nervous in his presence.

Soon enough they were distracted from their whispered conversations by the blast of the whistle, and Diggory departed, allow the other three champions to listen in on the commentary as he battled his dragon. Nobu'tan blocked it out, slowly pacing his corner of the room as he gathered as much Fel and Arcane magic to him as he could in preparation for his dragon. He had the most time, and was going to put it to good use.

Fifteen minutes later, the whistle blasted again, and Delacour was summoned forth. Diggory did not return, so Krum was left on one side of the room as Nobu'tan continued his preparations. It was an odd thing, the young warlock recalled, that Krum was among the faction of the Durmstrang children that had not cared for learning the Fel in the slightest while he was at their school, but in the end he did not care.

Another ten minutes passed before the whistle sounded again, and Krum departed, leaving Nobu'tan alone at last. Quickly, he snapped out several spells, calling imps and other lesser demons to him, before draining them of their souls, placing the variously colored gem-like crystals into an easily accessible pouch at his waist. No need to let anyone not initiated see his magic up close and personal, not that many would not be seeing a great display of the power of the Legion soon enough.

A significantly shorter time later, the whistle blew a final time, interrupting the thoughts that the leader of the Order of the Black Harvest was invested in, pondering easy strategies and other methods he could use in defeating such a beast, the true objective irrelevant to him.

Leaving the tent, Nobu'tan spotted the small entrance in the enclosure, where his ogre magi were waiting for him to pass. Teg'Ramm sent a pair of encouraging nods his direction, unneeded though they were, but the warlock appreciated that his minions actually cared for his wellbeing all the same.

Hundreds of faces stared down from the outlying stands surrounding the enclosure, and the dragon waited for him at the other end of the arena, crouching low over a nest of eggs, its eyes a hideous shade of yellow and glaring threatening at him, daring the warlock to advance further and face a fiery death.

But the warlock did not fear the great lizard, neither the spiked tail that it thrashed upon the ground as a warning. Stepping fully into the arena, the Warlock set to work. The dragon would be less than willing to depart the nest unless forced away, and so diversions would be needed before he could slay the beast and claim his prize.

Raising his staff into the air, Nobu'tan chanting in orcish, calling forth more demonic forces, Felguards and Imps primarily, to harass nearer to the dragon, and pepper its hide with flames. The crowd gasped in horror and shock at the display, but Nobu'tan was deaf to them, focused solely on what was for him a mighty challenge.

He would not show more of his abilities than he needed however, better to have a few tricks unknown for when the inevitable duel with Dumbledore occurred, but he would have some fun here at the least. Sending some Fel flames at the dragon, he heard the satisfying roar of pain as the cursed fire struck its hide, surprising the dragon that normally had no fear of anything that burned.

It reared its head back and shot gouts of flames in retaliation, but a quick spell summoned a Void Walker to intercept the attack, flames burning its shadowy body and leaving the rocks around the demon charred black. Nobu'tan started to slowly circle the enclosure, drawing slightly nearer to the nest and the Dragon, which became greatly agitated from all the smaller creatures suddenly so close to it.

It raked and slashed at anything that got too close, but for every demon it managed to slay, Nobu'tan simply summoned two more. He needed the dragon to move, and soon. Fishing out a shard of demonic soul, he shattered it in hand and channeled a great ball of supernatural flames, drawing the extra magic that the demonic essence provided and hurling it at the dragon's head.

It struck just under the eye, making the dragon rear up again, and stomp its feet around the nest in rage, before at last it waded into battle at the challenge, claws and tail slapping at demons as they encircled it. Nobu'tan smirked, even as the dragon made it to the center of the enclosure, for he had it right where he wanted.

Tapping his staff on the stones sharply, he raised it up and beckoned a Fel meteorite down from the Twisting Nether, and the massive stone plummeted like a green boulder hurled by a far off catapult, striking the back of the dragon and sending it crashing to the ground in pain. The Infernal rose up then, its molten rock body searing even the dragon's tough scales. Felguards rushed all sides, hacking with their axes while Imps sent jets of flames at the exposed soft tissues of the creature, which thrashed and rolled several times, trying to crush its opposition.

Nobu'tan watched for a moment or two in amusement, standing by the nest but refusing to so much as touch the golden egg, which was nestled in the center of the other far more real eggs. He wanted to make sure such a creature was thoroughly beaten, if not dead before he ended this little game.

Gathering the raw chaotic energy of the Nether to himself, Nobu'tan delivered the final strike while the dragon was thoroughly engaged with his minions. True, there were half a dozen other ways that he could kill the great beast, but the destructive missile was one that was the least conspicuous, and only Dumbledore and his immediate circle had seen other abilities. Nobu'tan knew that secrecy, in whatever limited form he had left by holding his rarer powers close to his chest until he absolutely needed them, was paramount now.

His eyes of Kil'rogg had seen the Ministry people returned to the castle grounds sometime earlier, with strange instruments hidden within their dark grey cloak, while other Aurors came to speak with the Headmaster. Some of those men were even now in the crowd, and he had a feeling that they were trying to determine what exactly the Fel could mean toward their society, possibly whether to declare it 'dark magic,' and try in more earnestness to have Nobu'tan arrested.

The bolt of pure chaos struck the dragon in the head, sending it to the grounds once more as a horrible cracking sound rang through the arena. The toughened scales had worked well to prevent the dangerous magic from ripping through the tissue of the creature, but the physical force of impact was enough in its current position to whip the massive neck around and break the spinal column from the sheer momentum.

The demons stood guard over the corpse of the dragon, even as Nobu'tan sighed, disappointed at the lack of fight that the creature had been able to put up, and scooped the little golden egg from the ground, much to the stunned silence of most of the crowd, although the stands of his supporters were already cheering and clapping for him.

Eventually, the announcer returned to his senses, "…Ah, yes of course, and there you have it… the fourth champion has, um well, defeated his dragon and claimed the golden egg… Although I cannot truly say how he accomplished it, but we'll let the judges handle the scoring!"

Nobu'tan wasn't listening, already moving back toward his ogre magi guards, and away from the angry dragon keepers that came to mourn over their lost beast. The demons had been dismissed, and all was done for this pointless task. Whatever he was supposed to do with this egg, Nobu'tan was sure he would find out when it was important, or just improvise along the way.

Personally, he wanted to get back to his protected clearing and see just what the Ministry people were up to with their snooping around, and whether Dumbledore had anything to do with it as well. Hopefully, they were here studying both the Arcane and the Fel, and therefore causing just as much a headache to the old wizards as to Nobu'tan, rather than working him.

An alliance between the aged Headmaster and the Ministry would be an annoying complication.