Chapter 573: The first task

"We can't go, Ron!" objected Hermione bluntly, and pulled a thick book out of her bag. "It's only a few days until the tournament. You still haven't mastered all the spells I've outlined for you."

"There are several spells, including the Conjunctivitis Curse, that you must learn as soon as possible," Ivan said.

"Ivan... Hermione, give me a break. That's the seventh year course!" said Ron, "In the last two months, I've learned over a dozen spells and should be able to cope with emergencies. The tournament will start soon, what I need now is to adjust my state of mind..."

Before he finished speaking, a sudden rustling sound was heard above them.

Over a hundred owls flew in through the open windows carrying the morning mail. Hedwig's white figure, mixed with a large number of brown and black owls, slowly landed on the table. She gently pecked at Harry and stretched out her right leg with a crumpled parchment tied to it.

Harry quickly untied it and looked at the contents of the letter.

Hedwig chirped softly, flapping her wings and looking for something to eat on her plate.

"It's a letter from Sirius!" said Harry excitedly. "He wants to meet us, this afternoon in Hogsmeade."

"Great!" rejoiced Ron, saying proudly, "We have to go to Hogsmeade. Sirius..."

Just then, a screech owl landed next to him and dropped a package onto Ron's lap.

"What's that?" everyone looked at Ron curiously.

"I don't know!" Ron looked at the package and said puzzled, "That's odd, Charlie sent it."

Charlie Weasley was Ron's second oldest brother, whom Ivan had met during the summer vacations.

When he was at Hogwarts, he was a legendary figure on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He led the Gryffindor team to win the Quidditch Cup many times. After graduating with excellent results, he went to Romania to study dragons.

Charlie doesn't usually contact Ron, let alone send him a package.

Ron opened the package and pulled out two books, Breeding Dragons for Pleasure and Profit and Common Methods for Taming Dragons.

"What the hell is going on? why did Charlie suddenly send me two books?" Ron picked up the note at the bottom of the package and read, "Dear Ron, you may need these two books, please forgive me for not saying more..."

He put the note down and glanced at the two books, his brow tensed and tightened.

"Charlie must be crazy, why would I need two books related to dragons? And he won't even tell me why!"

Seeing Ron's questioning eyes, Harry shook his head, the same puzzled expression on his face.

"We might find some clue in it." Hermione picked up the book Common Methods for Taming Dragons and looked at it. "I haven't seen this book in the library. Maybe Charlie abridged it himself."

"Even if he wrote the book himself, it's not necessary..."

"Ron, don't you get it yet?" Ivan interrupted Ron and said impatiently, "Charlie sent you these two books to tell you that the challenge of the first task is a Fire Dragon!"

His voice wasn't very loud, but it seemed to have some magic in it.

Hearing his words, no one spoke, and everyone turned to look at him in amazement.

"God, Ivan!" Hermione exclaimed, covering her mouth with her small hand.

"You... what did you say... dr... fire dragon?" stammered Ron, turning pale.

"Yes!" Ivan nodded solemnly. "Charlie's sure of it, but he can't say it. It's against the rules."

"It's impossible, how can they use dragons as a task?" Ron glared at Ivan, "With the skill of a young wizard, how is it possible to defeat a fire dragon? That's impossible."

Seeing his expression, it looked like he was expecting someone to suddenly tell him it was April Fool's Day.

There was still silence, and that gradually turned into despair.

Thinking carefully, everyone thought Ivan's reasoning was very likely, accepting this shocking fact.

Only Ron was unwilling to accept it. He responded to Charlie's letter as quickly as he could to inquire about the matter.

In his words, it was just a coincidence.

Seeing Ron's stubbornness, Hermione wanted to say something and Ivan pulled her gently.

Ron now needed time to digest the news, and he didn't need to be pushed into it, as he was probably already overwhelmed

Even though no one was talking about the fire dragon, this incident was still overshadowing the next visit to Hogsmeade.

Ron seemed concerned, not as enthusiastic as he had been at first.

They returned to the dormitory, donned their respective cloaks and set off for Hogsmeade.

Harry, Ron, Colin and Ginny went first, while Ivan and Hermione went to Gabrielle to accompany her to Hogsmeade.

The two left the castle and walked across the lake to the Beauxbatons carriage.

"Ivan, the first task is actually a fire dragon!" said Hermione incredulously, looking very anxious.

"No doubt about it!"

"Ron will collapse, how is he going to defeat a dragon? It's an impossible task."

"It won't be that difficult. The champions just have to be asked to get something from the dragon," Ivan said.

"I hope so, the two books Charlie sent should help," said Hermione, "I have to go to the library to take a look. We went in the wrong direction earlier. I remember one book said that dragons are extremely difficult to kill, because of the ancient magic that permeates their thick skins, that none but the most powerful spells can penetrate..."

Yes, the dragon was the most horrible and dangerous creature. When he first saw it, Ivan was shocked and wondered how such a monster could exist.

But he wasn't very afraid since he killed a horrible fire dragon in the illusion with Okegiga, the centaur.

Dragons were not invincible, they had many weaknesses.

Besides the need to improve his strength, Ron now had to overcome his inner fear. This was the hardest thing for him.

They talked about the dragon until they reached the Beauxbatons carriage.

Gabrielle was already waiting there, wearing a sky blue school cloak and a bright smile on her face.

Apparently, for today's trip to Hogsmeade she had prepared carefully.

Several girls who were ready to get out of the Beauxbatons carriage walked past her and let out a silvery laugh.

"Ivan, we should tell Fleur!" whispered Hermione suddenly, "She certainly doesn't know."

Ivan looked at Hermione quizzically. He thought she would propose the secret.

"Don't look at me like that. I know what you're thinking. We really should keep it a secret, but in front of a dragon..." Hermione said quickly. "In short, aren't Fleur and Gabrielle our friends? Go tell them!"