210: Who Is Abyss?

The first task successfully concluded, and the second task was scheduled to begin on the morning of February 24th of the following year. 

Inside the Constellation Society's secret chamber. 

On the table, two golden eggs lay there. 

Eight people surrounded the eggs, as if trying to decipher some mystery from them. 

"Mr. Bagman said the clue for the second task is hidden inside the golden egg," Cedric said gently. 

Fleur added, "I opened it before, and the sound inside was suffocating." 

As she spoke, Malfoy, unable to resist his curiosity, reached out and touched the egg. A piercing shriek erupted, making him quickly shut it again. 

The others all shot him murderous glares. Malfoy gave an awkward smile and said, "I was just curious." 

"You're not a cat. Why are you so curious?" John glanced at him. 

He picked up the golden egg. In fact, he had already figured out part of the mystery. 

His lips curled slightly, and he looked at the two expectant competitors, chuckling, "Unfortunately, for the sake of fairness in this competition, you'll have to figure it out yourselves." 

"Oh, come on, John!" Malfoy wailed, having had his curiosity piqued, only for John to shut it down like this. 

If only one person in the group were competing, John would have shared the answer. But with both of them in the tournament, that wasn't an option. 

The dragon task had been a collective act of cheating, but this time, that wasn't the case.

Then let them compete fairly. 

Fleur smirked proudly. She understood John's meaning perfectly and taunted Cedric, "Looks like we'll have to see who comes out on top." 

"Looking forward to it," Cedric replied with a harmless smile. 

Both of them were now determined to win. After setting that matter aside, the group moved on to other topics. 

Percy mentioned that the Triwizard Tournament had already drawn significant attention within the wizarding world. A few minor incidents had occurred, including someone impersonating Mr. Malfoy to scam a bottle of rare wine. 

Malfoy immediately spoke up, explaining that the bottle had been something his father had eagerly anticipated. Having it intercepted halfway had sent Lucius into a furious rage. 

It was suspected that someone had used Polyjuice Potion to deceive the staff at Silverhand's wine cellar. While it wasn't a major event, it had caused a minor stir in the wizarding community before fading from attention. 

Meanwhile, the missing Ministry official had yet to be found. A search of his home revealed a marked map of Albania, suggesting that he had traveled there. 

Hearing this, old Barty let out a sigh of relief and took another sip of his mead. 

The gathering in the secret chamber was an enjoyable one, but Neville had to leave early for something. 

After Neville left, John tapped his glass to get everyone's attention and made an announcement. 

"We need to do something big for Neville. This matter concerns his parents, so I want every one of you to be involved." 

His serious tone made everyone sit up straight, focusing intently. 

With a face full of solemnity, he then dropped a bombshell: "I'm going to ostracize him, bully him, isolate him, and make him hate me."

"What!? John, have you lost your mind?" Malfoy froze for a moment, then grinned. "Ahh~ You must be drunk." 

"Draco, I'm not drunk." John sighed, but his expression was serious, not at all like a joke. 

Gradually, the secret chamber fell into silence. 

Everyone stared at John. After a brief pause, Cedric asked, "Can I ask why?" 

The idea of bullying someone—especially a friend—was difficult for Cedric to accept. 

Not just him, everyone else was also afraid of missing any details, listening with utmost focus and seriousness. 

"Do you remember Neville's parents?" John looked at their faces and said calmly, "I've found a way to heal them. But for it to work, Neville must be personally involved. And for that, I need his hatred." 

At the mention of "hatred," Malfoy was the first to react. "A method? You mean, like the emotional training you did with me?" 

He had been trained by John before, using insults to provoke his anger. 

"Something like that, but Neville has a better temper than you," John nodded. "That's why I need you all—not just yourselves, but also to influence others—to isolate him completely. If he doesn't explode in silence, he'll be destroyed by it." 

John's cold and sharp tone sent chills down their spines. 

This method of pushing someone off a cliff—if Neville ever found out, he would surely hate him to death. 

Daphne immediately jumped up in protest, her voice sharp. "Why does it have to be you? Neville will want to kill you!"

She didn't want anything to happen to John. A person pushed into the abyss could be extremely dangerous, and she didn't want John to take that risk. 

It wasn't just her—Cedric also frowned and said, "John, you're doing this for Neville's sake, but it will hurt your friendship." 

"It doesn't matter." John chuckled. "Isn't that what friends are for? To step in when help is needed?" 

He looked at Cedric and said sincerely, "If I were in danger, you'd come to save me—even at the cost of your own life, wouldn't you?" 

Cedric fell silent. 

Percy stared at John for a moment before saying, "The price is too high." 

"He will understand. I believe that." John's tone left no room for doubt. 

The others could only accept it. Heinrich had never doubted John, and this time was no different. He said, "I will stay by your side to protect you." 

"There's no need." John waved off the offer and instructed Heinrich, "For now, stay close to Fleur. I suspect something unusual might happen because of the Triwizard Tournament." 

"Something unusual? What do you mean?" Percy asked urgently. 

John's voice deepened. "Harry's participation wasn't an accident. Someone is plotting something through the tournament. We need to be prepared." 

Although they hadn't seen the mastermind yet, the ability to manipulate the Goblet of Fire meant their opponent was undoubtedly powerful. 

The tournament wasn't just about the Ministry of Magic's elections—it was also Percy's chance to establish a foundation for himself. 

If Barty Crouch Sr. became the next Minister of Magic, his vacant position would need to be filled by someone else.

Percy might not become the department head, but he could still secure a key position of power within it. 

A single move could affect everything—John needed to plan ahead. 

Hearing this, the others also promised to stay vigilant. 

Only Daphne remained furious. 

After leaving the Constellation Society's secret chamber, John looked up outside and saw a team escorting four massive iron cages as they departed from Hogwarts. 

His eyes turned into vertical pupils. With a blink, his vision zoomed in. 

He could clearly see the dragon handlers' wary expressions. 

"Hmm.. I'll wait until they're further away before making a move." 

Silently, John stepped into the darkness and vanished. 

… 

Charlie Weasley yawned. The freckled dragon handler complained, "They're not even letting us rest for a night? This is way too rushed." 

"It's better to be cautious. These are fire-breathing dragons. If something happens near Hogwarts, that would be terrifying." 

An older dragon handler scolded him, "At your age, how can you even sleep soundly?!" 

"When I was your age, I was already subduing rampaging dragons all by myself!"

The freckled wizard immediately shut his mouth but rolled his eyes internally, thinking, If you're that amazing, you should be the Minister of Magic.

Charlie laughed heartily—he loved taking care of dragons, so he didn't find it tiring.

He once had a chance to join a professional Quidditch team, but his passion for dragons outweighed his love for the sport.

The group moved through the Forbidden Forest.

After walking some distance, the forest became eerily silent.

Charlie's instincts told him something was wrong. He stopped, raised his ears, and said, "Listen."

The other dragon handlers didn't understand at first, but Charlie's face was deadly serious.

The older handler also sensed something was off and exclaimed, "It's too quiet."

The Forbidden Forest was home to many magical creatures—how could it be so silent? Not even the chirping of insects or birds.

Charlie's expression darkened. A faint whooshing sound seemed to brush past his ears.

The clouds in the sky parted, allowing moonlight to pour down.

Charlie's eyes widened in horror as he looked at the ground, his pupils shrinking.

A massive shadow loomed over them, its grotesque silhouette stretching across the forest floor.

"ON GUARD!!!"

He shouted loudly, turning his head just in time to see a pair of terrifying, large brown eyes in the pitch-black darkness. 

"What—Hah!"

The freckled dragon handler had no time to react before a tail, swift as a lunging Basilisk, struck him and sent him flying. 

The older handler had just drawn his wand when a fierce gust of wind tore through the area, blowing his wig away. A crimson glow burned within the shadows. 

"R-RUN!" 

Without hesitation, Charlie rolled to the side and fired a Stunning Spell from his wand. 

The faint glow of his spell was insignificant, but it reminded the others that they were wizards. 

They all sprang into action, casting Stunning Spells toward the looming shadow. 

A dragon's breath burst free from its jaws, an inferno of crimson flames surging overhead before landing on the cages meant to contain the dragons. 

These cages, designed to hold dragons, melted like snow under the blazing heat. 

The next second, a deafening roar echoed through the forest. 

ROOOAAARRR—!

Amohan charged out of the shattered cage, its massive wings beating the air as it unleashed another fiery breath onto the ground. 

The shadow did not stop. It opened its jaws once more, and searing flames melted the remaining three cages. 

Three more thunderous dragon roars shook the Forbidden Forest.

Their fury from being imprisoned was now unleashed upon the humans below. 

The dragon handlers were no match for four raging fire dragons, especially with an unknown giant dragon standing among them. 

Charlie had never imagined death could be this close. 

Even though he wasn't directly struck by the dragon's breath, the lingering heat drained the very life from the earth around him. 

The massive black-shadowed dragon easily tore open the top of a carriage, revealing the dragon eggs inside. 

||As expected, here they are.||

Having found the eggs, the black dragon didn't hesitate. It grabbed the carriage, flapped its wings, and let out a resounding roar: 

ROOOAAARRR—!

The other fire dragons immediately halted their rampage. They took to the skies, responding to the call and following the black dragon into the distance. 

The older dragon handler coughed up blood, his arm burned but not critically injured. 

Still in shock, he gasped, "W-What… what was that?" 

Charlie rasped, "A dragon. A dragon we've never seen before." 

Right now, they had no way of retrieving the fire dragons. Some of their team members were severely injured, but thankfully, no one had died. 

By morning, the entire magical world was in an uproar. 

A never-before-seen dragon, terrifyingly powerful, had taken multiple Stunning Spells without even flinching—and had led the other dragons away. 

Some curious souls gave this dragon a name: Abyss. 

Other than its massive brown eyes, the dragon was as black as the abyss itself.

_________

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