Along with Asterion, Daphne, Rose - Luna and Cedric were present at his house.
Daphne served two cups of tea and a plate with some snacks to eat to both guests, who accepted after thanking her. The weather was getting colder and colder as Christmas approached.
The Hufflepuff representative clearly had a melancholy expression. The reason for the melancholy was in the young man's arms - a Dragon Egg.
It was the last day of the first phase of the Second Trial of the Tournament and Cedric's dragon egg hadn't hatched, and even if it did, a dragon cub couldn't be ridden.
"Although my house didn't say anything, even supported me, the other houses don't think the same way." Cedric commented with a helpless expression on his face. It was the first time in his life that he had suffered such looks and words from his own schoolmates.
Since Cedric hadn't managed to make the dragon egg hatch successfully even at the last moment, he had practically become something to be criticized in the eyes of the other three Hogwarts houses.
This made him see for the first time how different people were in the face of a different reality.
"You don't have to worry about talking to those people Cedric, just ignore them and hold your head up high with pride, you're in the Tournament and they're not. It's just jealousy and they're taking advantage of the moment to criticize you." Rose said, comforting her friend with an expression of understanding. She knew how horrible people could be when something they didn't like came up in front of them.
Asterion and Daphne also gave her looks of silent comfort.
"What are we going to do? We're one down, the other teams are probably thanking the gods for it." Luna asked with an expression of disinterest. Not that she was indifferent to her friend's torments. But she saw something like this as necessary to make Cedric mature in the future.
Although being a boy with a heart of gold was a very good thing, good people die early, something she didn't want for her new friend. It was better for Cedric to suffer a little at this point and become a more mature man, rather than lose his life for someone else in a time of need.
"How many teams managed to hatch dragon eggs?" Looking away from the despondent Cedric, Rose asked Asterion. She knew that her cunning cousin was secretly watching all the teams.
"Of the twelve magic schools that took part in the Tournament, only Greece and Italy failed to hatch any of the four eggs they received. They were the first to be disqualified from the Second Trial." Asterion answered without hesitation, his calm voice causing even Cedric, who was nervous, to relax unconsciously. Almost as if he believed that, as long as he was there, the sky might fall and he would be holding it up.
"As for the number of dragons, all ten of the remaining nations, such as France, Russia, the United States, Germany, Austria, Brazil, Japan, China, Sweden and Spain managed to hatch dragons." Asterion goes on to say what he discovered: "We're not in first place in terms of the number of dragons, that place went to Brazil with four dragons, then France, Russia and the United States with three dragons."
No one was surprised by his words; if Castelobruxo, the largest magical school focused on breeding and trading magical animals, hadn't been in first place in terms of numbers, they would have suspected something was wrong.
"Still, I'm surprised by France, Russia and the United States, all three of which aren't exactly known for being very good at breeding magical animals." Cedric commented with a surprised tone upon hearing the situation of the three enemy teams. Durmstrang in particular was the complete opposite of the Witch Castle.
Don't say three dragons, even one would surprise most people, Russia has never really been a powerhouse in terms of the domestication and trade of magical animals.
"Did they cheat?" Daphne frowned and asked with an uncertain expression, her voice tinged with suspicion for the three dragons on the Russian team. It wouldn't be the first time this had happened, it was quite normal for Russia to cheat in international events.
[Note: If you're Russian and you're reading this, bear in mind that I didn't mean to offend you with my words in this chapter. it's just the reality for most teams].
Of course, it wasn't just Russia that cheated, there were always other countries cheating. Everyone wanted to have an advantage against their enemies. It was quite normal for them to try to cheat in the face of benefits and perhaps pressure from their own country.
Daphne's words made everyone around her think, the news of three dragons on the Russian side was indeed suspicious, but it wasn't to the point where everyone began to suspect that Durmstrang was cheating.
After all, it was the first International Tournament of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and being caught cheating in something so historic wasn't exactly an image a country wanted for itself.
"Without proof we have nothing to do against Durmstrang, but if there is any cheating, an old fox like Dumbledore will be able to see if there is anything wrong with the Russian team. The man is known for his research into the twelve uses of dragon's blood." Asterion broke the silence, making everyone around him feel satisfied with his words.
As Asterion had said, Dumbledore really wouldn't let anyone cheat on a subject that he himself was an expert in.
"Let's not talk about that, let's talk about the battle formation we'll be using while we're in the air." Rose commented with an extremely bright gaze. Although she could fly on her own, flying on a dragon had a completely different symbolism.
Rose's words caught everyone's attention, apparently it wasn't just Rose who was excited, Luna was equally cheerful at the moment. A stark contrast to Cedric, who was visibly more melancholy. After all, the poor boy wouldn't be riding the dream of every English boy.
"As for training, I think we can use Luna as bait." Asterion's words surprised everyone, including Luna herself, who showed a false expression of discontent.
Seeing everyone's eyes focused on him, Asterion spoke calmly. "It doesn't matter whether we use Luna or not, we will be attacked at the weakest link in the chain, namely Luna herself. So instead of waiting to be attacked, it's better to use a trap to take out one or two competitors at the start."
Even though she knew Asterion's words were true, no one liked being called weak, especially not Luna, who had one of the most powerful Gifts in the Wizarding World.
Rose frowned, but not because of Asterion's proposal, but because of something else. "We don't know anything about the race, which means that even if we set up a battle formation now, everything could change when the race track appears."
"Instead of a combat formation, why don't you three stand together at the start of the match in a triangle position defending from all sides?" Cedric, who had been silent until now, proposed in a serious voice.
He continued. "When the three of you get together, you'll be able to take on all the teams head-on without too much difficulty, especially with Asterion's Ancalagon, which is a monster that no one alone has ever dared to attack."
His words won everyone's approval. With Ancalagon, even a fool would avoid attacking the biggest dragon in the competition. A relaxed atmosphere hung in the air as everyone seemed more comfortable with their decisions.
"So, how's married life?" Luna asked looking curiously at the trio, her expert eyes strangely brightened by the question asked.
Cedric's face flushed with embarrassment at Luna's sudden question, he looked at his companion with a shocked look for asking something so intimate.
If Cedric's face was ashamed, Rose's face was dark. Only those who know what she's been through know how irritating the nights in the room next to hers were.Daphne seemed to purposely moan loudly every night. It made the nights rather unpleasant for the white-haired girl.
Daphne didn't look shy and answered calmly and elegantly. "Better than expected, I can't wait to get married for real."
An uninterested look flashed across Luna's face, she expected to see the embarrassed expression of the legendary Slytherin ice queen, but Daphne was very calm.
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Author's thoughts: Tomorrow I'm going for an X-Ray at the hospital and I'll probably spend the whole day on it, there may be no updates, but I'll try to write even doped up after the surgery. Yes, I'm going to have surgery, but it's nothing serious, just my wisdom teeth had the pleasure of appearing after twenty-three years of my life. And I have to say, waking up with an agonizing pain in my tooth is one of the worst pains I've ever experienced in my life
Wish me luck.
Prince.
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Next Chapter Second Volume:Chapter 194 - How to Train Your Dragon (5), Chapter 195 - Dragon Race (1), Chapter 196 - Dragon Race (2), Chapter 197 - Dragon Race (3), Chapter 198 - Dragon Race (4), Chapter 199 - Dragon Race (5), Chapter 200 - Dragon Race (6), Chapter 201 - Dragon Race (7), Chapter 202 - Dragon Race (8), Chapter 203 - Golden Path (1), Chapter 204 - Golden Path (2), Chapter 205 - Golden Path (3), Chapter 206 - Battle in Desert City (1), Chapter 207 - Battle in Desert City (2), Chapter 208 - On the Night of the Storm (1), Chapter 209 - On the Night of the Storm (2), Chapter 210 - On the Night of the Storm (3), Chapter 211 - On the Night of the Storm (4).