Chapter 394: The Golden Sky Thief

The sharp cry echoed from the golden flames as a beautiful firebird emerged, its head adorned with a cluster of golden flames, and its beak reflecting a dazzling light.

"Harry!"

Hermione shouted loudly, her wand and left hand guarding in front of her as she struggled to control her magic. The dragon in Classroom Seven might be an illusion, but their magic was real, requiring careful restraint.

They had learned that lesson before.

Harry quickly moved away from the battling dragon, while Ron, who had prepared a bright light ball, shot a straight beam at the dragon's wing. The beam struck the wing at an angle, scattering into finer rays on the smooth scales, illuminating the dim space around them.

The spell went off course!

Ron hastily adjusted his aim. This time, the beam exploded on the dragon's face, a bright light that wasn't blinding but still obscured much of its vision. This caused the dragon to momentarily pause its movements. Anxiously shaking its head, its powerful claws gripped the brown rocks, sparking like daggers against the stone.

In the blink of an eye, the phoenix traversed hundreds of feet. Its long, sharp beak aimed for the dragon's belly, where scales had been shattered by an earlier force—

"Chi!"

Dots of blood splattered.

The dragon let out a pained roar, swatting the phoenix with a claw, turning it into pure flames that brushed against its scales. Panting heavily, it flapped its wings, releasing a dazzling blue flame at low altitude, turning everything it touched into ashes—trees and grass disintegrating, rocks cracking and popping as they submerged Harry and the others.

After silence settled, Harry licked his dry lips. The scene from moments ago still lingered in his green eyes. Hermione and Ron, their faces pale, walked over, observing Cedric and his two companions, who stood nearby with their mouths agape.

It was now afternoon. Felix had brought them to Classroom Seven, intending to give them their 'first' experience with the dragon's might.

But Cedric's group of champions had been startled. Their previous performances hadn't been flawless, but they had showcased their individual strengths, including Cedric's weather magic, Roger Davies's magical plants, and Collins's illusion spells and masterful nonverbal casting.

As for Harry's group...

It was difficult to find the right words. Their understanding of the dragon's attacks was impressive, with many of their reactions happening instinctively. This level of understanding couldn't be acquired from books or stories; it had to be gained through hands-on practice, etched into their bodies.

This was the way of dragon tamers. In their first year or two of work, every dragon tamer would bear some scars, deliberate remnants of their courage.

"It's still not enough... Fire magic inherently falters against dragons. Even Hermione's ancient magic can't penetrate the thick dragonhide..." Harry panted slightly.

"Only the most potent spells will do. Sirius's suggestion of the Blink Curse is a good one, but it requires exceptional dynamic vision and precise control. Among the three of us, only you, Harry, might manage it, but you haven't mastered that spell yet." Hermione's chest heaved as she struggled to maintain her composure.

Ron sat down, exhausted. "Luckily, we encountered a Swedish Short-Snout. If it were the Ukrainian Ironbelly or the Hungarian Horntail..." He looked meaningfully at Cedric's group and unsurprisingly saw their unnatural expressions.

His mood improved considerably. Despite the lingering shock on his face, he began enthusiastically explaining, "The Ukrainian Ironbelly is massive, sixty or seventy feet long. We once encountered a seventy-foot one. It just needs to charge and stomp on you... smack! You're done for. Of course, you'd only see a gray shadow growing larger before your eyes..."

"And then there's the Hungarian Horntail, another behemoth. It's okay if it breathes fire at you. I managed to cast the Ironclad Charm successfully once, and then I saw a black, long tail covered in spikes. Your spells would shatter like eggshells..."

"The Peruvian Vipertooth's breath is poisonous, and it's incredibly fast; hitting it with spells is quite a challenge..."

"All right," Felix interjected, somewhat exasperated, interrupting what seemed like Ron's complaint but was actually his showing off. He looked at them a bit surprisingly, "You've managed to get ahead of the game to some extent, although there are still tactical issues. You've clearly adapted to the dragon's attack rhythm, and you're not too frightened to cast spells... However, I have to impose some restrictions on you to prevent you from forming a terrible habit."

"The more failures you experience, the more you'll reinforce a concept: that everything in Classroom Seven is fake. You might confuse this false courage. When the real match comes, the audience, judges, or the arena itself will remind you of what's real. Then you'll find that your courage is like a beautiful soap bubble—one prick, and it bursts..."

Harry opened his mouth, wanting to argue a few points, but he felt there was some truth to this. After experiencing dozens of ways to "die," they seemed not to care about getting hurt anymore. Approaching the competition with this mindset might lead to better performance, but more likely, they would impulsively make rash moves.

For instance, he had tried to buy time for Hermione with a completely ineffective spell, only to be swatted away.

"Next, we'll proceed with targeted training. Each group has a lot of room for improvement... My task is to help you find your strengths because you'll soon realize that time is simply not enough."

...

Exiting Classroom Seven, Harry and his friends donned thick cloaks and walked out of the castle, following the path to Hagrid's hut.

In the pumpkin patch behind Hagrid's hut, a large black dog was joyfully romping around. Harry, Ron, and Hermione grinned at each other.

As they approached, the black dog ran over and transformed into a man before them. Sirius's hair was neatly trimmed short, and his fair complexion made him look younger.

"Sirius—" Harry hugged him briefly. "You don't have to come over every day."

Sirius grinned, baring his teeth. "It's my duty, and I'm quite bored, to be honest!"

"Lupin suggested you find a job. You should be getting back to a normal life," Harry said, unable to suppress his smile.

Sirius absentmindedly scratched his chin, seemingly lost in thought. "I'm in no rush for that. I can't muster the enthusiasm... but forget about that. How about Felix? Did he give you a startle?"

For these few days, he had been coaching the trio, instructing them on cooperation. However, he wasn't an official Hogwarts staff member, so he couldn't enter the castle. Loitering around Hagrid's hut was Dumbledore's way of turning a blind eye.

Harry helplessly recounted the situation. Sirius scratched his chin and sat on a massive pumpkin while Hagrid's dog sniffed his shoes, wagging its tail at him.

"Go on, Fang!" He tossed a dog biscuit to Fang, then thought for a moment. "He's got a point. You might indeed confuse reality with illusion, but we've achieved our goal—you've experienced the dragon's various attack methods firsthand, which is crucial!"

He said somewhat gleefully, "I saw the Durmstrang champions running amok in the Forbidden Forest; they're probably wracking their brains."

As the host school, Hogwarts champions did indeed enjoy certain advantages. These were mainly manifested in the extensive school resources backing them. While Hogwarts had opened its library and some resources to other schools, the critical Room of Requirement wasn't available.

"But don't get too smug. I saw some new faces from those schools. Most likely their professors came for specialized training."

Sirius swiftly changed the subject.

"So, let's start today's practice—Impediment Jinx, Extinguishing Spell, Softening Charm. If we have time, we can also try the Disillusionment Charm and Transfiguration. But that might be too challenging for you, and I'm not great at Transfiguration..."

Harry hesitated. "I think the Impediment Jinx might not be as effective as we imagined. The dragon's head is mostly covered by thick scales, and there are protruding bones and spikes. It's hard for us to hit it accurately."

Ron thought deeply and said, "What about the Bat-Bogey Hex? I've heard Ginny mention it. This spell turns boogers into bats. Just imagine a swarm of bats flying out of the dragon's nose, making its nose blow up..."

Sirius coughed a couple of times. "Nice idea, but no one's tried it. After all, the Impediment Jinx is a proven spell."

He looked at the three. "As for the precision issue with spells, there's only one solution—practice extensively." Seeing the disappointed expressions, he continued, "Of course, efficient methods yield greater results. You need some handy tools."

"Did you bring it, Harry?" he asked.

Harry, puzzled, took out the Golden Sky Thief from his pocket. Sirius had made him bring it over with the two-way mirror last night. Harry had been baffled and asked about it through the mirror, but Sirius hadn't explained. Instead, he had changed the subject, leaving a cliffhanger.

Sirius's hand swept over the Golden Sky Thief's wings, and a row of alchemical symbols lit up on the golden wings. "A gift from me, with two hidden functions. One is that its interior has been expanded with the Traceless Extension Charm, allowing it to carry things. The other is that it possesses a 'follow' function."

"Follow function?" Harry asked in confusion.

"Exactly. It can fly around you within a certain range. This range can be adjusted. I originally wanted it to help you practice Quidditch, but you seem not to have noticed."

Harry felt a bit embarrassed. He explained in a low voice, "I was afraid it might get lost, so I didn't take it outdoors."

Sirius brushed off this minor concern. "Apart from practicing Quidditch, it can also help you practice the accuracy of your spells. Next, I'll have it fly around you at heights between twenty and fifty feet. You'll need to hit it with the Impediment Jinx. Of course, you don't know that spell yet. No worries! You can try other spells for now!"

Harry and his friends got excited. Hermione, however, voiced her concern, "Won't we damage it?"

"No, it won't," Sirius said nonchalantly. "It's been heavily protected with magic. I told Felix when I gave it to you, this gift is meant for Harry's children."

Harry blushed and rolled his eyes, quite annoyed.

>

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