As if Harry's mood wasn't bad enough already, Sirius Black managed to pile on a fresh wave of anxiety.
After learning that Harry had somehow become a Triwizard Tournament champion, Sirius immediately wrote to him, asking for a detailed explanation.
Harry told him everything that had happened, exactly as it was.
In his reply, Sirius mentioned that Harry's inexplicable selection as Hogwarts' champion might be related to Barty Crouch.
As for Karkaroff, Harry learned from Sirius that the man had once been a Death Eater.
Death Eaters were a mixed bunch—some were innately cruel and sadistic, some were cowards seeking protection, and others were pure opportunists driven by ambition.
But no matter which type they were, none of them were good people.
In Sirius's view, anyone who had once been a Death Eater could never truly change their nature.
He warned Harry to be extremely careful around Karkaroff.
Learning that a former Death Eater was living in the same school as him only made Harry even more anxious.
Fortunately, not everything was bad news.
That day, Harry was sitting by the Black Lake, staring off into the distance.
This was his habit—whenever he felt overwhelmed, he would come here, clear his mind, and let the scenery calm his nerves.
Just then, Neville came running over and told him that Hagrid wanted to see him that night—and that Harry should bring his Invisibility Cloak.
It was a very Hagrid-like way of passing on a message.
It was practically announcing to the world that Harry was going out on a midnight adventure.
As a side note, Hagrid had originally asked Ron to pass along the message.
But since Ron was still fighting with Harry and refused to even speak to him, he'd pushed the task onto Neville instead.
Honestly, the fact that the message made it to Harry at all was a small miracle—everyone knew Neville wasn't exactly known for his memory.
That night, Harry knocked on the door of Hagrid's hut, hidden beneath the Invisibility Cloak.
Hagrid opened the door but saw no one.
"Harry? Is that you?" Hagrid asked.
Harry lifted the cloak.
"It's me, Hagrid. You wanted to see me?"
"Come with me. You'll see in a bit."
Hagrid gestured for Harry to follow as they headed toward the Forbidden Forest.
Harry quickly noticed something odd—Hagrid had combed his hair and even pinned a flower to his coat.
That only made Harry more curious about where they were going.
They walked deeper into the forest until Hagrid suddenly seemed to hear something.
He signaled Harry to put the Invisibility Cloak back on and follow him quietly while he went ahead alone.
Harry had only taken a few steps when he saw the Beauxbatons headmistress appear ahead.
He heard Hagrid greet her affectionately.
"Good evening, Olympe."
Madame Maxime took Hagrid's hand.
"Hagrid, I thought you wouldn't come. I thought you'd forgotten about me."
"How could I ever forget you, Olympe?" Hagrid replied warmly.
The sheer oiliness in Hagrid's tone made Harry open his mouth and mime retching.
"This must be what people in love are like."
A familiar voice suddenly spoke beside him, nearly making Harry jump out of his skin.
Harry turned his head and saw Arthur, along with Hermione, Ranni, and the so-called brother of Ranni—
the ghost Radhan, who was apparently very close to Hagrid.
Harry whispered urgently, "Arthur?! What are you all doing here?"
"Watching the show, obviously," Arthur replied casually.
"My brother-in-law said there'd be something interesting tonight, so we came."
He pointed at Radhan.
Harry immediately hissed, "Shh! Keep your voice down!"
Arthur waved it off.
"Relax. I've already put up a soundproofing charm. They can't hear us. You can come out from under the cloak too."
Harry quickly removed the cloak and took a deep breath of fresh air.
Honestly, the Invisibility Cloak was great—but having it completely cover him was suffocating.
"So… do you know why Hagrid asked me to come?" Harry asked.
"Please don't tell me it's just to watch him flirt."
"Just keep watching," Arthur said, not answering directly.
As if on cue, Madame Maxime asked Hagrid why he'd brought her out here so late.
"You said you had something exciting to show me," she said softly.
"You won't be disappointed," Hagrid promised with absolute confidence.
He led her deeper into the forest.
After pushing aside a cluster of branches, Madame Maxime froze in shock.
Before her were four dragons, locked inside massive iron cages, with a group of frantic dragon keepers struggling to control them.
To be fair, it was quite the spectacle.
Just not the kind she'd been expecting.
She'd thought this would be a romantic midnight rendezvous—
not a dragon exhibit.
Still, learning the content of the first Triwizard task was valuable.
With this knowledge, she could help Fleur prepare in advance.
Unfortunately for her, that "advantage" was effectively nonexistent.
Both Harry and Hermione—two of the champions—were watching from nearby.
And given Karkaroff's former Death Eater tendencies, there was no doubt he'd already found a way to inform Krum about the dragons.
In other words, all four champions now knew the first task involved dragons.
Realizing this, Harry finally relaxed a little.
He'd fought Malfoy's dragon during his end-of-year exam last term—he had experience.
Facing a dragon again wouldn't be nearly as daunting.
For him, this was the first genuinely good piece of news in days.
Hermione, on the other hand, barely paid the dragons any attention.
In her eyes, dragons weren't particularly impressive—her family literally raised one, and at a much higher tier than these.
With her current strength, subduing a single dragon would be trivial.
Instead, her focus drifted elsewhere.
"Hagrid really thought this was a good place for a date?" Hermione asked Arthur quietly.
Arthur shrugged.
"No idea."
He then looked toward Radhan.
After all, it was this "brother-in-law" who had dragged them out tonight, claiming they'd get to witness a masterclass in romance—and even told Arthur to learn from it.
"So this is what you wanted us to learn?" Arthur teased.
Radhan coughed awkwardly.
"Well… I just told Hagrid to pick a special location and make the date memorable. I didn't expect this."
He gestured at the dragons.
"Besides, look—she's clearly enjoying herself. That means my advice worked, right?"
And, to be fair, he wasn't wrong.
Madame Maxime was practically glowing as she leaned closer to observe the dragons.
Apparently, this was the aesthetic of giants—or half-giants.
They all seemed to share an appreciation for massive, dangerous creatures as if they were adorable pets.
Arthur couldn't help but think that taking Ranni and Hermione for a flight on Ivalith would've been infinitely more romantic.
Unlike Hagrid and Madame Maxime, who were now exchanging sweet nothings while watching dragons breathe fire.
Arthur quickly lost interest.
He gestured for Hermione and Ranni to leave.
Harry followed them as well.
Judging by Hagrid's lovestruck expression, he'd completely forgotten Harry was even there.
Harry already knew the first task—there was no reason to stay.
The next day, Harry's brief good mood evaporated completely.
Because he discovered that a large number of students were wearing badges that read:
"POTTER STINKS"
Below the words was his face.
Most of Slytherin was wearing them.
The few who weren't simply thought the badges were ugly.
Even students from the other three houses had them—
especially Cedric's friends, nearly every one of them.
They all believed Harry must have cheated.
In their eyes, if there had to be a fourth champion, it should've been Cedric—
not Harry, whom no one had even seen submit his name.
Harry ignored the jeers and mockery.
He needed to focus on the tournament.
Unfortunately, some people refused to let him.
Draco Malfoy popped out from somewhere with a smug grin.
"Potter, like the gift I gave you?"
"Malfoy? Those badges are yours?" Harry snapped.
"You're unbelievably childish."
"I was just planning to collect opinions and make you a support badge," Draco replied innocently.
"As for why it says 'Potter Stinks'—that's everyone else's opinion. Has nothing to do with me."
Harry clenched his jaw.
He had a feeling this tournament was going to be exhausting in more ways than one.
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