Several days passed during which Harry and Cedric began to be pelted with stones by the twins while training. Although uncomfortable, this helped to sharpen their reflexes. However, what contributed most to Harry's progress was being challenged to duels constantly as he walked through the hallways. This was far more useful than being attacked from behind with some cowardly spell.
Although there were a few fools who still tried to attack him, everything changed the day someone cast a spell at Harry from behind. Something invisible stopped it, only to reveal Einar, who had been walking right in the path of the spell, using stealth. The spell had no effect. The only thing that could be felt was the power of the dragon in Einar's deadly gaze, who looked at the student with such intensity that he, terrified, ended up hanging from the highest tower, asking for help. From that moment on, many students realized that if they wanted to harm Harry, they could only do so in a duel... a duel in which, until that moment, Harry had remained undefeated.
Harry began convincing everyone that, although his name had been placed illegally, his skill and courage were worthy of being champion. On the other hand, Cedric received fewer challenges to duels, but he was not entirely free from them. At first, Harry didn't get along with Cedric, perhaps because of his popularity and a touch of arrogance. But after several days of training and being pummeled together, they grew quite close.
...
After several busy days, Einar arrived at Hagrid's house. Having been very busy, he needed some alcohol to relax.
"Oh, Einar, come in! You arrived just in time, we're about to have dinner together," Hagrid said, inviting him inside.
Inside the cabin, voices could be heard, and upon entering, Einar saw Harry, Hermione, and Sirius, who was telling a story that made everyone laugh.
"What's a convict doing on the school grounds?" Einar asked calmly as he sat where Hagrid indicated.
"Hey, Einar, thanks for that spell or whatever you gave me. I even crossed paths with Mad-Eye last time, and he couldn't even see me," Sirius commented with a confident smile, as if he were a close friend of Einar. "I even managed to play a prank on him in Snape's office. By the way, great beating you gave him," he added with a mischievous grin.
"Nocturnal will be happy to see you using her cloak that way," Einar said sarcastically while smiling, thinking of the goddess of darkness.
"Nocturnal?" Sirius asked, confused.
"Think of her as a lady interested in thieves," Einar replied calmly, without elaborating further on the goddess.
"Professor Einar, Sirius believes one of the culprits could be Karkaroff," Harry said quickly.
"Unlikely," Einar replied firmly.
"Why?" Sirius asked, curious.
"Because that day I gave Karkaroff a beating. I doubt he could get out of bed," Einar answered calmly.
"Well, seems like a good enough reason. By the way, are you going around the world beating people up? I still feel pain in my neck every time I see you," Sirius joked.
Einar paused for a moment, thinking, before responding with a light smile:
"Actually, yes. Looks like I haven't changed much even here," he said playfully.
"By the way, Hagrid, why so happy?" Hermione asked, observing the giant as he hummed a romantic song while cooking.
Hagrid got nervous and almost spilled the soup he was preparing.
"Ahem... nothing in particular. Just the joy of having friends for dinner," he replied hastily, clearly trying to hide something.
"Acting like that just makes you more suspicious," Harry commented with a mischievous smile. Everyone stared at him intently.
Finally, Hagrid couldn't resist the gazes and gave in.
"It's because I have a date with Madame Maxime later. But don't tell anyone, it's still not official!" Hagrid said with a joyful smile.
Everyone congratulated him, and Hagrid kept smiling happily.
"And where are you two going in the middle of the night for your date?" Sirius asked with a mischievous grin.
"I'm going to show the newcomers..." Hagrid started to say, but when he saw Harry's gaze, he quickly stopped. "I didn't say anything," he clarified quickly.
"The newcomers what?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It's better if you don't ask, Harry. You're the champion..." Hagrid said, realizing he had let something slip. He covered his mouth and quickly changed the subject. "Dinner is ready. Let's serve it," he said hurriedly.
Meanwhile, Einar, seemingly alerted by something, quickly turned toward the window. Hermione noticed this and saw that Einar's eyes, which were usually green, briefly glowed golden. But when she looked again, they were still green, and she thought maybe it had been her imagination.
"Professor Einar, is something wrong?" Hermione asked, concerned.
"Dragons," Einar replied, immediately catching everyone's attention.
"Dragons?" Harry asked, confused.
"How do you know, Einar? Professors aren't supposed to know. Only I am, since I'm the caretaker of the Forbidden Forest," Hagrid said, surprised by his revelation.
"Wait, the first task is dragons?" Hermione asked, quickly catching on to the idea.
Hagrid realized he had revealed too much and immediately covered his mouth.
"Let's see," Einar said with interest, standing up from his seat, eager to see the dragons of this world.
"They can't. If Dumbledore finds out I told you or showed you the dragons, he'll be mad at me," Hagrid said, worried.
"It's fine, stay. I discovered them myself," Einar replied determinedly, while Hermione and Harry followed him. Sirius hesitated for a moment but decided to stay, as he still had a few minutes to use Nocturnal's cloak.
...
Hermione and Harry followed Einar through the Forbidden Forest, the dense air vibrating with the distant roars of dragons. As they ventured deeper, the echoes of the monsters raised their voices in a challenging song that filled the atmosphere. The tension grew with each step.
Suddenly, Einar stopped, pointing toward the horizon with an intense gaze.
When Hermione and Harry peeked through the bushes, the sight they saw took their breath away: four dragons in cages, their powerful bodies writhing from side to side, roaring fiercely while the wizards attempted, with little success, to calm them. A chaotic whirlwind of fire and fury.
"I thought we were just going to observe..." murmured Hermione, but Einar's attitude showed not even a hint of doubt. His gaze was fixed on the dragons, as if he had seen something much larger.
At that moment, a man with red hair appeared from the shadows. With a confident smile, he quickly approached Einar. It was Charlie, the dragon tamer, and his expression showed both surprise and amusement.
"What are you doing here, Einar? Professors aren't supposed to know about the dragons. Is this your fault?" Charlie joked, with a conspiratorial grin as he greeted Einar.
Einar responded with a friendly gesture, maintaining his calm. "You look good, Charlie," he said, still watching the dragons intently. Hermione and Harry followed, still confused.
Charlie looked at them with amusement. "Well, well... Hermione cheating. How shameful," he said, teasing lightly.
"No! I'm just following the professor... and Harry," Hermione quickly defended herself, blushing a little.
Charlie laughed and, without missing a beat, gestured for them to come closer. "Come on, I'll show you the dragons. This will be interesting."
They approached the cages, where the dragons continued to breathe fire and do everything they could to escape. Charlie began his explanation passionately, as if each of these dragons had a unique story.
"This is the Chinese Fireball," he said, pointing to one of the dragons, which let out a deafening roar while its flames formed strange mushroom-like shapes. "It's territorial, but it can live with others of its kind. Fascinating, right?"
The next dragon was much calmer, though still nervous. "This is the Common Welsh Green," Charlie continued. "Less aggressive than others, it lives in the mountains. It prefers to hunt sheep rather than attack humans. Its roar is soft, almost melodic, and its flames are fine."
Hermione and Harry nodded with interest, but the next dragon they saw made their hearts stop for a moment: a Swedish Short-Snout, with bright silver-blue scales, exhaling intense blue fire. "This one is known for its extremely hot fire," Charlie explained, his voice now more serious. "Its skin is so resistant that it's used to make gloves and shields."
Finally, they reached the most dangerous dragon of all, the dreaded Hungarian Horntail. This beast was frantic, shooting flames in all directions while its sharp spines tried to pierce the cage.
"This one is the most violent of them all," Charlie said with palpable seriousness. "Its obsidian-black skin, its yellow eyes... and its fire can reach up to 15 meters. It's a monster that defies all control. And honestly, I don't know how anyone could calm it after such a long journey."
Suddenly, Charlie turned toward Einar and noticed he was no longer by his side. He looked toward the Horntail's cage and saw Einar there, in front of the beast. With a single motion of his hand, Einar bent the bars of the cage as if they were made of paper. The dragon, which had been roaring furiously, fell silent when it saw Einar approach.
"Einar, don't do something crazy!" shouted Charlie, but his voice was lost to the scene unfolding before his eyes. Einar showed no fear, only absolute calm. The other dragon tamers watched with their mouths open.
The Hungarian Horntail roared with all its might, shooting a fierce flame at Einar. However, Einar furrowed his brow and, with a guttural command, spoke a word in an unknown language: "DIIN" (Silence).
The dragon, as if struck by an invisible force, immediately shut its mouth and backed away, trembling, with a surprising submission. Einar, with an air of absolute dominance, began walking toward the dragon, inspecting its scales and jaw as if it were his equal.
"Bahlok, Dovah!" (Speak, dragon!), Einar said authoritatively. The dragon seemed to understand but could not respond. Einar continued, unhurried, inspecting the monster with an almost scientific look. "You can't, can you? Mmm... You look tougher than a blood dragon, but your magic is weak, almost like that of a common dragon."
"Lahvot!" (Down!) ordered Einar, and the enormous dragon, obeying, lay down in the cage, exposing its belly. Calmly, Einar opened the dragon's mouth and examined its teeth, sharp as blades.
Hermione and Harry, outside the cage, couldn't believe what they were seeing. Hermione, fascinated, whispered, "What is he saying to it?"
Harry, stunned, touched his ears uncomfortably. The strange echoes of Einar's words resonated in his mind like a distant whisper.
"Harry... are you okay?" Hermione asked, concerned.
"I just... understood 'down.' Not much else," Harry murmured, still unable to stop staring at Einar. His mind was clouded by a strange buzzing coming from Einar's words.
Einar, hearing Harry's question, looked at him. "Can you understand the language, Harry?" he asked, with renewed intensity.
The young Gryffindor nodded, though without fully understanding. "How do you know?"
Einar tossed a huge piece of meat to the dragon before leaving the cage, bending the bars again with his strength. "Hin vokun do, sahvot hin? Dovahzul koraan, maar vokun do ahraan?" (Can you really understand me? The dragon language is ancient, but... is it possible to comprehend it without learning it?)
Harry didn't understand all the words, but a strange sensation of recognition ran through his body. "What does... 'ancient' mean?" he asked, confused.
Einar, looking at Harry with a piercing gaze, nodded slowly. "It's what I suspected. A more powerful magical language alters something inside you. Well, Harry, now we have a way for you to face your dragon."
Harry, stunned, stared at him wordlessly as Einar added with a calm smile, "You'll learn something from Dovazul."
But though Einar said this with tranquility, inside he was wondering if it was some sort of Akatosh plan that Harry might be bound to. And he too was tied to a prophecy.