250 Chapter 250: Draco Dormiens
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31 October 1994, Hogwarts Scotland
Today was the day. Samhain was upon them. In a normal year, the student body would have looked forward to the Halloween Feast. However, while the normal Halloween decorations were still floating around in the castle, no one really paid attention to them.
The only thing any student in the castle cared about was the delegation for the European Tournament. A terrifying number of people had signed up to be part of the delegation. Harry couldn't really blame them. The opportunities to network and make connections were endless. That wasn't to mention that one of the ICW's rules was the fact that any institution would have to let any incoming delegation have full access to their libraries, something that was only offered to graduates of these academies.
To be perfectly frank, a normal student, who would likely be unaware of how political this event was, or the hidden dangers in the forms of Grindelwald and Dumbledore, would have gladly put their name in and perhaps even wish to participate in any of the tasks, in an effort to be noticed in the international scene.
Unfortunately, Harry knew a little too much about that.
An event on this scale would attract both attention and trouble. It wouldn't even have to be anything major. Every country they would visit had its hidden dangers and its secrets. And while Harry was looking forward to unearthing them, he did dread the potential risks involved.
Grindelwald was back, and doing God know what. Dumbledore was in hiding, scheming as he always did, and Voldemort wanted to return to his former power. It was somewhat worrying to remember that the Voldemort who fought alongside Harry in the Quidditch World Cup was diminished, relying on scraps of magic from a person who was rejecting him. Imagining him at the height of his power, with countless rituals to enhance every single aspect of magical casting, no matter how heinous they could be, was terrifying.
He might look like the weaker threat compared to monsters like Dumbledore and Voldemort, but Harry had no way to measure just how powerful he became after his rituals. It did look like Dumbledore had trouble dealing with him, even if Harry had no idea if the Light Champion wanted it to look like he was losing to spread his ideals and attract more followers by giving them the illusion that they could save the world.
All in all, while people looked excitedly at the event, Harry couldn't help but feel some dread. While he wanted nothing to do with any potential excitement during the tournament, Arcturus has asked him to network and make connections, in preparation for Grindelwald's inevitable return. Since that would be a conflict on a continental, maybe even global scale.
Yeah, that wasn't a nice dinner conversation.
This time, the feast was a little earlier than usual, probably as a way to include the delegations and make a few announcements. There were a lot of details missing about the tournament… Which was unusual since McGonagall was a stickler for being organized.
Harry watched as Daphne watched Astoria sadly as her sister kept babbling about some inane topic. She would miss Astoria, that was for sure. It had been slightly surprising that the blonde signed up as part of the delegation. Don't get him wrong, he was glad that he wouldn't be away from all his friends for a year, but he didn't think that Daphne could spend so much time away from her sister, especially considering how much the idea of saving her was on her mind.
It was probably her father. Harry had gotten the measure of the man during his time in Greengrass Manor. His wife knew how to handle him well enough, but it wasn't hard to see his ambitious nature and ruthlessness. He would have easily asked his daughter to join the delegation hoping that she could make connections that he would use to grow his family business.
His wife, though, was the more dangerous one. He recognized the type and the magic. She played the act of the loving wife, but Harry could detect the spikes of magic, ready to drown the world in her coldness and ice. Considering the fact that she was of Scandinavian origin, she had probably experienced in her youth, the Great War in all its horrors. That would probably make just about anyone jumpy for attacks.
As for Harry and Daphne, they had gotten a lot closer over the years. It was something that he hadn't noticed before the invitation to her home, but he was a lot more comfortable with her than with Blaise and Tracy. They were still his friends and everything, but it was nowhere near as close as his relationship with the blonde.
The chatters were interrupted by McGonagall standing up, and everyone looked at her expectantly, "Good evening all of you and I wish you all a Happy Halloween. And as most of you have noticed, this is more than our annual feast, but also to wish our future champions of the European tournament farewell. Now that we are all fed and watered, I believe that I have a few words to say regarding the tournament."
"The tournament will consist of seven tasks; each task will take place at a different institution in Europe. Notably, the first task will be in Beauxbatons, the third one in Durmstrung, and after quite of bit of negotiation, the seventh and last task to conclude the tournament will take place here, in our beloved Hogwarts."
The students cheered at the announcement and Harry couldn't really blame them. He had no idea how the hell the woman pulled it off. It had to be a joint effort from Fudge, the Wizengamot, and McGonagall, at the very least, to convince the ICW to let Britain host a task of the tournament. Was this some kind of olive branch from the ICW to stop people from contesting their interference in magical Britain's affair?
There had to be some kind of political angle, not that Harry knew enough about the situation to guess what it really was. The consequences of this decision, at least for the students, were mostly positive. It gave them the opportunities to meet new people and make connections and friends from all over Europe, especially since seven schools will be competing in the tournament. It would also be one of the biggest events of the year, which could help restore the country's dire economic situation slightly, especially if the ministry somehow manages to get funding from the ICW.
The transfiguration mistress waited a good minute for the cheers to go out and continued, "The delegates will have the opportunity to learn from every institution they visit and I certainly hope that they would do Hogwarts proud," there was an undertone of threat at the idea of them embarrassing the school and more than a few people gulped, "They will also be accompanied by a single staff member to supervise them, which will switch after each task. In the meantime, their classes will be taught by a temporary replacement to make sure that your education is not affected in any way. I will be the first supervisor in the tournament as Headmasters are required to attend the opening ceremony and I will return after the first task which will take place in a couple of weeks. Until then, our dear Professor Flitwick will become the acting headmaster, and my transfiguration classes will be covered by Professor Matilda Sharp."
A middle-aged brown-haired woman that Harry hadn't noticed sitting in the corner of the staff table, stood up and people applauded her. Harry couldn't really blame them for the lack of enthusiasm; this was a professor who would only stay for a couple of weeks at most. Perhaps McGonagall was using this time to assess the woman to become her permanent replacement for transfiguration...
The headmistress cleared her throat, and the Great Hall was silenced once more, "And now, it is time for us to support our delegation one last time before they go against Europe's finest young wizards and witches. As for the delegates themselves, please make your way to the Hogwarts Express. Your luggage has already been packed."
The Hogwarts Express? How underwhelming…
Harry stood up alongside a few others and walked out as the rest of the student body cheered and roared in approval while looking around to see who was selected. There had been no official announcements about who was part of the delegation, just a quick meeting with their head of house, and that was it. Of course, a few people bragged about being selected, and a few people lied. There were so many rumours that no one really knew what was true…
Harry noticed that Hermione and Neville were also chosen, and so was Susan Bones in their year. He recognized Cho Chang, in the year above, Cedric Diggory in seventh year, and surprisingly the Weasley Twins. Harry had not expected McGonagall to choose those two for fear of embarrassing the school. They were brilliant, that was without saying, but they were also almost uncontrollable in their mischief. The headmistress must have threatened them or given them some kind of incentive to behave.
The delegates walked in line until they arrived at the Hogwarts Express. No one had really spoken during this time, probably out of nervousness. After all, they were representing their schools in front of the entirety of Europe. Messing up there would not be easily forgotten.
When they arrived at the train station, Harry and Daphne entered but saw most of the other delegates spend their last minutes on the soil of Scotland celebrating and receiving acclaim at Hogsmeade Station rather than a mere goodbye. It seemed like the entirety of the village was there to cheer them on and say farewell. The Weasley Twins took the opportunity to fire fireworks.
The result was an extremely spectacular parade of cheers and noise. It was a very loud parade, to say the least, and Harry savoured the silence as he entered the Hogwarts Express and cast a few silencing charms around. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the red locomotive started moving southwards.
The interior of the Hogwarts Express was definitely different, more luxurious to say the least. All the compartment dividers and many elements of decorations had been removed and each compartment was almost as large as the Slytherin common room. Armchairs and couches were all around them and Daphne whistled in appreciation, "I wonder why they didn't just keep all compartments that big during our normal trips to school."
Suddenly Susan, Neville and Hermione entered the common room as Harry answered, "The expansion charms will have a risk of fading away because of how complex the rest of the Express is and a curious student could try to mess with them and kill everyone."
Neville snorted but did not answer. Harry turned to Susan with a questioning look which she answered, "McGonagall said that we're supposed to stay with our year mates."
Harry nodded and watched in silence as the train started to move. He couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed at the method of travel. Compared to the Durmstrung boat and Beauxbatons chariot in the stories, a train was a little too mundane for Harry's tastes.
As if it had heard his thoughts, Harry heard the magic of Samhain, probably some kind of ritual, be used up in massive amounts. The train started to morph slowly and float into the air.
Each carriage contorted, the metal twisting as if alive, joints forming where none had been. The wheels melded together, becoming mighty claws, scraping against the rails with sparks of magic. The whistle, once a comforting call across the countryside, morphed into a throaty roar, reverberating through the bones of every onlooker.
The once linear form of the train bulged and stretched into muscular haunches, powerful limbs, and a curved tail. The windows fractured, splintering into thousands of reflective scales, shimmering like the surface of the Great Lake under moonlight.
With a final shudder, wings unfurled from the flanks of the locomotive, vast and membranous, catching the wind with a snap. The Hogwarts Express was now a giant dragon made of iron. Harry understood now, what it meant to be a transfiguration master because there was no way in hell, he would have been able to do something like this. McGonagall had really outdone herself. This was a show, not just for the other schools, but for everyone in Britain that doubted her capabilities after Dumbledore was gone.
The last Potter couldn't help but smile and murmur to himself, "Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus. Never tickle a sleeping dragon indeed."
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AN: I was surprised to find out that the whole dragon transformation thing was done before. I was so proud of myself for coming up with it. Anyway, we're finally leaving Hogwarts... As usual, please let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions.
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I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 20 chapters ahead as a bonus.
Thank you guys for your support in these hard times.
