So considering the odds it wouldn't be that strange that Moody might not be who he was presenting himself as.
He would have to get to the bottom of that at some point. Preferably without Moody noticing. "I was considering flying," Harry said.
"Dragons are quite a lot slower and less agile than me so I figured I might be able to outfly it.
We are looking at fireproofing spells as well just to have some extra protection," he said honestly.
Moody nodded. "That's a good lad playing to your strengths," he said.
Harry wanted to roll his eyes. His actual strengths in this area would have had him just talking to the dragon, but he didn't want people to know about that considering how they reacted when he had spoken to snakes. "Thanks for looking out for me Professor," Harry said.
"Don't mention it," Moody said. "Go ahead and get those spells under control." He motioned for Harry to leave, and Harry did just that.
Hermione was waiting for him in the library when he finally got there. "Runes went well?" he asked.
"Yes, we had so much fun I really wish you were taking it too. It is so interesting," Hermione answered.
"Yeah me too," Harry said.
Hermione did a double take. Had she heard that correctly? "What is it Harry?" she asked.
"Nah, I just figured that taking Divination would be like Ron said easy, but now I feel like it is just a waste of time.
I would much rather have been studying something useful than that drivel, and I have looked at some runes books. It looks kind of interesting," Harry said as he slumped into a chair.
"Oh, I'm sure we can do something about that," Hermione said. "You don't think you could ask McGonagall if you could drop out of Divination?"
"I could certainly ask," Harry said. It didn't seem like that bad a thing to do.
That would give him more free time to study the things he wanted to look into. Maybe a talk with McGonagall was in order.
In a few weeks or after the holidays even. If he did things too quickly people would start asking questions that he did not want to answer.
The two of them closed their books and headed down to dinner together with their homework well underway.
23rd of November, 1994.
Harry was watching Moody during the lesson. There was something about the man that was bugging him.
He wasn't sure what it was and he didn't want to risk using mind magic in case Moody could detect that. Unfortunately, he didn't come to any conclusions that day.
He did not ask McGonagall if he could drop out of Divination which set Hermione off on a small rant and had her storming off when he wouldn't tell her why he hadn't asked.
He figured he better do it by the next lesson just so she wouldn't get really angry with him.
That evening he sat with the dragons and told them what little he knew of what was to come the next day. They deserved to know just as much as anyone else.
"So you will fly," Ninriik said.
"I will fly," Harry said.
"Good. Flying is good for dov," Ninriik said.
Harry smiled. He bid them a good night not long after that. He was hoping everything would turn out alright. He didn't want any of them to get hurt. Neither dragons nor champions.
24th of November, 1994.
It was the day of the first task. The sun lay dormant beyond the horizon.
Harry was out on the grounds running like he had been ever since he got back from Skyrim.
He wished he could have someone to spar with, but considering how witches and wizards were, he doubted any of them knew how to fight hand-to-hand.
Though he guessed some might know how to fence, not that fencing would even compare to what he was capable of. But at least it would be something.
As he ended his run, he sat down by the Black Lake to meditate. There was no wind, and it wasn't that cold outside.
He had lessons until lunch and then it was time for the task. He wasn't worried about that. The dragons wouldn't hurt him.
The Black Lake, thankfully, was nothing like Lake Illinata. Had it been, things would have been harder for Harry.
There wasn't much around Hogwarts that could remind him of the people he had lost. He was grateful for that.
Eventually, Harry got up and headed inside. He went up to the Gryffindor Tower to shower and get dressed.
His new clothes from Madam Malkin's had arrived the day before with a very cheery note.
For now, he would have to dress in school robes, though. He would go back up and change before the task.
"Hello Neville," Harry said as he sat down next to him in the great hall for breakfast.
"Hi, Harry… How do you feel? The first task is today it must be scary," Neville said.
"I'm a little nervous, but I think it will be fine," Harry said.
Neville shook his head and muttered something about crazy Gryffindors before getting back to his porridge.
Hermione walked into the Hall and raised an eyebrow.
Harry was eating merrily next to Neville as they talked about something that made them both laugh.
That was strange. Usually, Harry was so nervous that she had to force him to eat whenever he was about to do something like the task.
She had noticed a shift in his behaviour lately, but she hadn't commented on it since all the changes she saw were positive.
He studied more. He paid attention in class. He finished his homework as soon as possible. He didn't mind going to the library.
He interacted more with people in their house and even some people outside of their house. She wondered what had happened to cause this change though.