Chapter 322. The Egg with a Problem
Although Adrian Wesson did not speak the language of dragons,
after a few minutes of communicating with Torch through body language, he gradually understood the Fireball's intentions.
However, the result left him rather at a loss for words.
The reason Torch had pursued them so relentlessly—was that it felt it had been affected by Fleur's beguiling magic during the Triwizard Tournament and had lost face before its fellow dragons. Now it wanted to prove its strength anew, which was why it had flown into a sudden rage the instant it saw Fleur.
And then it had lost her in the chase.
Poor Aragog, caught up in disaster for no reason at all.
When Fleur finished hearing Wesson's guess, she said in disbelief, "Just because of such a silly reason? It chased me this long for that?"
"A dragon's thinking may not be quite the same as a human's," Wesson mused. "But—doesn't your magic affect dragons? Why—"
"That is my privacy, Professor."
Before Wesson could finish, Fleur offered an apologetic look. "I can't tell anyone; it's a problem with myself. I can only say that right now I'm afraid I can hardly use that magic again."
A problem with herself?
Wesson paused, giving Fleur a quick once-over.
Apart from looking paler than usual, she appeared quite normal.
Wait!
"Eldra."
Wesson's gaze sharpened as he communed with the Tree of Wisdom.
Sure enough, the information relayed by the Tree of Wisdom confirmed his suspicion.
[Status: Magic unstable]
Unstable?
Wesson looked toward Fleur again.
To his surprise, he discovered that the ground beneath her feet had somehow sprouted a small red flower, blossoming brightly—strikingly conspicuous on the bare winter earth.
Since she was unwilling to say more, Wesson had no intention of pressing.
"We should head back, Miss Delacour." He gave Fleur a slight nod. "Gabrielle must be very worried about you."
When Wesson and Fleur reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest, they happened to run into Albus Dumbledore and Charlie Weasley hurrying over.
The other dragon handlers were nowhere in sight; they were likely still searching elsewhere for Torch.
Charlie let out a long breath when he saw Wesson leading Torch by a rope.
"You found the dragon?" Relief flooded his face. "Thank you so much, Professor Wesson."
Wesson stepped forward and handed the rope to Charlie. "This tether will probably fail in about an hour. Best be prepared ahead of time."
"Of course," Charlie said, wiping the sweat from his brow. "We've applied for sturdier magical equipment, to prevent this Chinese Fireball going missing again during transport."
With that, the matter of Torch came to a close.
"Since it's all settled, it looks like I'm not needed here," Dumbledore said with a smile, then turned his gaze to Fleur. "Well then… Miss Delacour, what are you doing out here?"
Fleur explained how the dragon had suddenly gone mad and attacked her.
"On behalf of the dragon-handling team, I offer you a formal apology, Miss Delacour," Charlie said, a little ashamed.
Fortunately, Fleur had reacted quickly and hadn't been caught by Torch, or the consequences would have been unthinkable.
In truth, Wesson did not consider it a great matter: Torch might be cheeky, but it knew, more or less, how hard it could go.
If it truly killed someone, its good days would be over.
At the very least, it would be confined to the dragon reserve for a long while.
Wesson escorted Fleur back to the carriage, said hello to Gabrielle, and then returned to the castle.
Dusk was falling.
He had just set foot on the stairs when he heard hurried footsteps behind him.
"Professor!"
It was Harry's voice.
Wesson turned to see Harry trotting up, carefully holding the golden egg he had won in the previous task.
"Oh, it's you, Harry," Wesson said with a smile. "First, congratulations on taking first place in yesterday's task. Second, what brings you here so late?"
"It's about the golden egg." Harry scratched his head.
"The golden egg?"
Wesson blinked, then said, "It's a while yet before the next task. You've plenty of time to study the secret of that egg—that's part of the fun, isn't it? If I just tell you the answer, that would be dreadfully dull."
At that, Harry gave an embarrassed but polite look.
He lifted the egg a little higher in his hands.
"No… Professor, that's not the issue. It's the egg… it looks like it's about to crack."
Wesson's eyes fell to the egg. Sure enough, as Harry had said, there was a not-so-small fissure running over about a third of its surface.
"How did it crack?" he asked, frowning.
Harry sighed helplessly. "It was my roommate… he was practising the Summoning Charm in the dormitory, and it went wrong—the bedside cabinet exploded. The egg was right next to it… Seamus always blows something up when he practises spells…"
Wesson had been about to ask how the Summoning Charm could blow up a cabinet.
But once he heard the caster was Seamus—
Everything made sense.
Seamus Finnigan, the undisputed genius of explosions, had an extraordinarily high chance of causing one when practising any kind of magic.
One might even suspect he did it on purpose.
He could even turn the Water-Making Spell into a high-pressure water cannon.
"All right, Harry," Wesson said after studying the egg for a few more seconds, then beckoned. "Come to my office. We still have time to discuss the matter of the egg."
Three minutes later, the two of them were in Wesson's office.
Harry set the golden egg in a prominent spot on the desk.
By now the crack had widened, spreading gradually across the whole surface.
"Have you tried opening it?" Wesson asked casually, leaning against the desk.
"Yes," Harry nodded, frowning. "It's empty inside, but when you open it, it lets out a terrifying scream."
"They've put a sound inside by magic," Wesson shrugged. "If it breaks right now… I'd rather not have that sound filling my office. It could last for days."
"What should I do?" Harry asked at once.
Without the golden egg, he would be short one clue for the next task.
"Have you tried the Mending Charm?" Wesson said. "If not, give it a try."
Harry nodded and drew his wand.
"Reparo!"
As he spoke the incantation—
"Crack!"
With a sharp sound, the fracture in the egg widened, as if it would burst apart in the next instant.
"Bad!"
Harry shot Wesson a look tinged with regret.
To be honest, he was not skilful with the Mending Charm.
He should not have gambled on it working!
Just as Harry was about to cover his ears, Wesson, unhurried, flicked his wand. A transparent bubble poured from its tip and, like a jellyfish, gently enveloped the almost-bursting egg.
Then clear liquid appeared out of thin air, filling the bubble and submerging the golden egg.
Like this story Leave a review ; it would really help me out a lot.
Want to Read Ahead in Advance?
Join my Patreon!
+75 Chapters
Support me in
Patreon.com/BestElysium