Asterion finished bathing and stepped out of the barrier, which he could break with one punch, even if he was limited to using the strength of a Grade 2. On his way out, he noticed Fleur warming herself around a fire she had made.
Looking up, Asterion couldn't help but be stunned. Before his eyes, a sea of stars shone brightly against a dark background. Tiny twinkling sparkles that seemed to give magic to the lifeless world.
In London, or even at Hogwarts, which was located in Scotland, there wasn't such a clear view of the starry sky as he was seeing at this moment.
"Beautiful, isn't it." Fleur commented, biting into her beef jerky as she looked at Asterion with a smile. She could see his shock at looking at the stars, something she was also stunned to see.
"Yes, stunning." Asterion replied sincerely, taking a seat on the other side of the fire facing Fleur.
Before Fleur could agree to anything, she smelled something delicious in the air and looked over at Asterion, where she found the Special Grade Wizard with a plate of still steaming food and a glass of wine.
The sight of the sumptuous, hot meal in the middle of the cold desert at night made Fleur's beautiful face twitch for a moment. She looked at the dried, salted meat in her hand and completely lost her appetite. The once decent taste seemed to turn into candle wax, an insipid taste.
"Aren't you going to invite a lady to eat, Lord Black?" Fleur asked in a sweet, gentle tone as she tucked a lock of golden hair behind her ear, a shy smile playing on her red lipstick-stained lips.
Asterion raised an eyebrow and brought the goblet to his lips, where he tasted the purplish liquid. He seemed to ponder before replying with an amused smile on his lips "And if there's poison in the food and drink."
"Then I'll leave my body in your care, Lord Black~" Fleur replied flirtatiously as she approached Asterion, she sat down next to him with her shoulder gently rubbing his.
Asterion, feeling the touch on his shoulder, looked at Fleur with dissatisfaction and moved slightly away, creating a distance of ten centimeters between them.
Fleur's face contorted again, there was a stiff, tense smile on her lips; it was the first time she had been treated with such repulsion by a person, especially by a man six years younger than her.
Although she knew from Gabrielle that Asterion didn't like the touch of strangers, she didn't think she was included in that select list of people.
"I must say, this is the first time a man has ever walked away from me." Taking a deep breath, calming down her feelings bubbling in her chest, Fleur commented with a tone that was a little awkward with what was happening.
Asterion didn't answer and ate in silence, his red eyes fixed on Ancalagon. The dragon was perfectly camouflaged against the dark night. If it hadn't been for the red reflections of his scales when the flickering flame of the campfire bathed his figure, it would have been difficult to find the dragon normally in the dark night.
Next to him, the pearly dragon slept peacefully as if using his body to warm himself in the extremely cold desert night.
Suddenly, while looking at both dragons, Asterion noticed something strange. Between the leaves of the trees, the pale glow of the moon, which looked like tentacles reaching into the dark night, gradually created an image.
Although the image was a little distorted and frosted, Asterion, as a lover of the stars as she had always been, even in her past life, could still recognize the image.
It was the constellation Ursa Minor.
Asterion was absolutely certain that it was no coincidence that the Ursa Minor constellation had appeared at that moment.
That's because Ursa Minor was home to a very special star for humanity.
The North Star.
A star that guided humanity before the invention of compasses. For thousands of years, it was the star that enabled long-distance travel, allowing humanity to begin the age of exploration, discovering new continents and places all over the planet.
All because of a star, the North Star.
Fleur, who was paying attention to Asterion, followed his gaze and couldn't help but narrow her eyes thoughtfully. Although astronomy wasn't her favorite subject at Beauxbatons, she still understood the basics.
And recognizing constellations was one of the first lessons a new pupil had upon entering the school.
Asterion and Fleur came to the same conclusion in an instant.
- The North!
The Golden Path was in the North!
This was extremely valuable information, and they both looked at each other and saw the smile on each other's lips.
If Asterion had no reason to fight Fleur, now he did.
Knowing this, Fleur, while maintaining her gentle and gracious smile, looked at her dragon sleeping next to Ancalagon and couldn't help but curse how simplistic her dragon was, she couldn't stand to see a handsome man appear and run to him!
Even if by some miracle she could escape from Asterion, she couldn't waste time fighting Asterion's dragon. And that delay could lead to Asterion getting to her and it wouldn't just be the dragon she had to worry about, but also a Special Grade Wizard.
After the fight with Rose and almost dying in the process, Fleur didn't think she could beat Asterion, who had already killed two other Special Grade Wizards before. The Grade 2 limitation was merely a limitation on the amount of magical energy and how quickly it regenerates.
In the end, even with the strength of a Grade 2, Asterion and Rose were unquestionably Special Grade Wizards, and how they controlled and shaped their magical energies was not possible for any other wizard or witch below the Special Grade.
So fighting Asterion was completely out of the question at the moment, she didn't want to be defeated so soon, without even finishing the first terrestrial phase of the race.
The International Tournament of Witchcraft and Wizardry was too important for her future plans and her own career. She could lose to Hogwarts, but she had to be on the podium when the Tournament was over.
"I have a proposition." Maintaining a sweet, gracious smile, Fleur spoke, causing Asterion to lower the arm he was about to raise a second ago.
Seeing Asterion stop, Fleur regained confidence in getting out of this desperate situation.
As long as Patriarch Black could listen and hesitate to attack her, it meant there was room for negotiation.
Fleur didn't fear the price she would have to pay, she feared that she wouldn't be able to negotiate in the first place.
Asterion looked at Fleur with interest and waited for her words, he knew the young woman was intelligent, intelligent enough not to play games with him.
Taking a deep breath, Fleur spoke. "I can help you and your team with anything unforeseen-" Before she could finish, she saw Asterion raise his arm towards her again.
This made the young woman's heart flutter again, and she sped up what she was saying even more, without any ado and got straight to the point. "I will serve as your shield at the Second Trial!"
As she said this, Fleur saw Asterion lower his arm, but there was no smile in his eyes.
Gritting her teeth as a feeling of helplessness welled up in her chest, Fleur, despite what she was feeling, spoke calmly. "Before I start, others can't hear what I'm about to say."
Although what she was about to reveal would be considered treason, as her father had once told her as a child - never miss a good opportunity to profit.
Asterion understood what she wanted to say and snapped his fingers, a barrier covering them both in a mere instant.
Fleur, seeing the perfectly oval and instantaneous barrier, knew immediately the differences in abilities between the two.
Seeing Asterion still waiting for her words, Fleur began to speak without hiding anything about France's state secrets. "Germany..."
The more he listened to Fleur's words, the colder Asterion's eyes became. He really didn't think Germany had the courage to stand up for the fourth time. He had to admit, the nation had courage above all else.
"Why did you tell me that?" Asterion asked with a cold, indifferent tone, the goodwill he had for Fleur disappearing as if it had never existed in the first place.
"Although we hate the English, we hate even more the one who crushed our glory and prestige, tore high morals and washed the streets of Paris with blood. My father may think it's a good idea to ally with our former enemies, but I'm a true conservative." Fleur spoke with an equally cold tone, even if she lost Asterion's goodwill, what she could gain was much more. Besides, goodwill can be earned again.
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Author's Thoughts: Poor Luis (Fleur's father) for raising such a good daughter in politics. The man won't know what hit him until he's really unconscious. Good night and I'll write the chapters for tomorrow.
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Next Chapter Second Volume: 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), Chapter 212 - On the Night of the Storm (5), Chapter 213 -At the Highest Point of Heaven (END Dragon Race), Chapter 214 - The Spark of Chaos (1), Chapter 215 - The Spark of Chaos (2), Chapter 216 - The Spark of Chaos (3), Chapter 217 - The Spark of Chaos (4).