He knew that he wanted to learn as much as he could. Over the years he had shifted between being very studious and very adventurous and he knew he would want to do both still, but he could probably adapt it to his current predicament.
He went back upstairs after his run to shower and get dressed before heading down to the Great Hall for breakfast. It felt strange to sit in the Great Hall and eat again.
It felt strange to look and physically feel fourteen again too. He wasn't sure how to handle any of it really.
He could remember things just fine so he wouldn't have a problem that way.
Maybe some things weren't crystal clear, but with the way they had made the glamour, he would remember his past before Skyrim, especially the things that had happened recently.
Harry smiled at Neville as he sat down not that far away from him. "Good morning Neville," he said.
"Good morning Harry," Neville responded.
"Any plans for today?" Harry asked.
"I'm going to help Madam Sprout with greenhouse seven after breakfast.
"Oh, okay that sounds like fun," Harry said. He had no idea what was in greenhouse seven so he wasn't sure what else to say about it, but it was obvious to him that Neville had appreciated the interest in his favourite subject.
Harry knew that if he moved too fast now it would look weird so he would have to slowly shift from the person he used to be to the one he was now.
Being friendly with Neville was a good first step because he had already sort of been doing it.
Only that back then he had done it to replace Ron and now he had no interest in that. Ron would come around or he wouldn't. It didn't actually matter to Harry.
The only one who mattered as such was walking along the Gryffindor table until she stopped right in front of him and sat down.
"How did it go last night?" Hermione asked.
"They have four dragons hidden in a glade in the forest," Harry said in a low voice.
"One for each Champion. Hagrid thought we would have to fight them, but I don't know."
"Dragons?" Hermione sounded worried. "That is insane."
"I was thinking fireproofing spells," Harry said. "I'd rather not burn to a crisp."
"Oh, certainly," Hermione said. "But how do you handle dragons?"
"There are a bunch of books in the library about that," Harry said. "Remember that Hagrid was researching them during our first year for Norbert."
Hermione nodded slowly. "So, we figure out what dragons are down there and what their characteristics are. Then we prepare you to face one with just your wand," she said. She gave Harry a strange look. "You don't usually volunteer to go to the library," she said.
"They have dragons, Hermione," Harry said. "Big fire-breathing angry dragons. If I don't take this seriously I will die."
"He has a point," Neville said softly.
"Of course he does," Hermione said. She was smiling. Maybe something good could come off this stupid tournament after all.
They finished breakfast and said goodbye to Neville who headed outside in the grey weather.
Harry and Hermione headed up to the library. They gathered books and started going through them.
"Thank you for doing this for me," Harry said softly as he returned to their table with a new pile of books.
"I know I might not have been the nicest with everything going on lately and only you believing me, but that is no excuse to be so angry all the time. I'm sorry and I really appreciate your help."
Hermione sat there speechless. She wasn't quite sure what had happened to Harry down by those dragons, but she very much enjoyed the change.
He seemed more mature somehow like he was finally going to take a life-threatening situation seriously for once.
"You are welcome, Harry," she said before turning to the tomes on the table before her. They started rummaging through the books and tried their hardest to find things that could help Harry face his dragon.
"Hermione, how do I take notes?" Harry asked after they had been sitting there for a while. "Yours always look so neat and ordered and mine looks like a jumbled mess."
He knew how to take notes, but that was one of those things that he couldn't simply show.
Hermione knew he was a mess at it so if he was suddenly fantastic at taking notes and ordering his thoughts she would notice.
Thankfully, Hermione loved teaching people how to order things. She helped him with the layout and started flicking at him whenever he messed up his writing, which he did mostly on purpose.
Viktor Krum and his fan club eventually showed up and Hermione gave up. What was the point in trying to learn something when you couldn't concentrate past the giggling?
"I'll go for a bit of a fly and clear my head I think," Harry said. "Then we can meet back up for lunch and maybe continue from there."
Hermione nodded slowly. She was too into the book she was reading to really pay attention to him.
Harry fetched his Firebolt and headed outside. This was something he had missed. Dragons in all their glory, but they would never be as agile as him. He paused. Agile. Dragon. He only had his wand.
He could probably outfly a dragon if he put his mind to it. At least that was a plan. He'd tell Hermione later.
Harry flew around for a good long while getting used to the movement of his broom again. He dived deep and flew high.
He did some really sharp turns and pulled the broom to a complete halt in seconds.
He loved flying and he had not realised how much he had missed it until he was back on a broom.
"Oy, Harry!"
Harry saw Neville on the ground and flew down next to him while jumping off and landing before the broom stopped.