Seventy feet deep into the cave.
The faint light from the entrance didn't reach this far. Only a few glowing minerals on the rock walls gave off a weak phosphorescence. Cedric and Harry took the lead while Hermione watched their backs for anything that might go wrong.
A Norwegian Ridgeback—the most aggressive and dangerous of all the dragons—made its home here. There was a very good chance a golden egg, or even one of the black-and-white eggs that could decide the whole task, was hidden inside.
After talking it over, the three of them had chosen this cave on purpose. As Harry had pointed out, every dragon was beyond what three underage wizards could handle anyway. They might as well go all-in.
"Keep your eyes open for the really good eggs," Harry whispered. "If it's just ordinary rainbow eggs, we distract the dragon and sneak them out. If there's a golden egg, we follow the plan."
"I'll summon my Firebolt and pull the dragon away," Harry said. "You two grab the eggs."
"What if there are black-and-white eggs?" Cedric asked. "You're a Seeker—you know they're basically the Golden Snitch the committee planted. The second anyone touches one, the task ends for scoring. If you don't have an egg in your hands when that happens, you get zero points for the whole task."
He could feel Harry's attitude toward him was a little strained—there was a faint edge of hostility—but Harry had still shared the dragon information. That was the foundation for working together.
Harry didn't hesitate. "Then give me one of the regular eggs first."
Rita Skeeter's article had been full of nonsense, but she'd gotten one thing right: Harry wasn't afraid of danger. He trusted Professor Levent, and he believed his parents were watching over him.
Winning the Triwizard Tournament sounded great, but the first task wasn't the final result. The whole point of teaming up was to give Hogwarts the best overall ranking and the most points—even if some of those points didn't go on his own score.
He had thought about warning the other two champions too, but before he could, the other schools had already pulled Roger and Peregrine into their groups.
They reached the deepest part of the cave. The damp darkness gave way to clearer air. The Norwegian Ridgeback was fast asleep, snoring loudly. Bright flames puffed from its nostrils with every breath, drying the wet earth and lighting up the nest.
This Ridgeback looked nothing like baby Norbert. A black ridge ran down its back, its fangs gleamed with a bluish tint that screamed venom, and dozens of sharp spikes bristled across its body.
Cedric raised his wand and tapped the rock beneath the dragon. Transfiguration rippled outward like water. The stone kept its shape but turned smooth, clear, and glass-like.
The eggs hidden among the scales and rocks were now visible: one pure-black egg, one golden egg, and three blue ones.
Even better than they'd hoped.
The three of them exchanged a quick glance, hearts racing. Cedric recovered first. "The three blue eggs are on the outside. Get those first. The golden one is pressed against the dragon's body, and the black one is tucked under its claws. Leave those alone for now."
"You two stay here and take the eggs," Harry said, voice low. "I'll back up to a safe distance where I won't wake it, then summon my Firebolt."
Hermione nodded. "Be careful. Let's go."
The two top students cast Transfiguration at the same time. The rock under the dragon shifted silently—scales stayed in place while the middle section hollowed out. The flat surface holding the colored eggs tilted like an invisible hand was gently pushing them forward.
Harry backed up about fifteen feet, closed his eyes, focused, and pictured his Firebolt. He whispered the Summoning Charm he had practiced a thousand times.
"Accio Firebolt!"
A moment later something streaked in from far away, whistling through the cave air. It shot past and stopped dead in front of him, hovering in mid-air.
…
Pickett moved quietly through the pitch-black tunnel, wand lit with a soft Lumos. He studied the footprints on the ground.
This cave was deeper and quieter than the one they had chosen. The only sound was Krum's footsteps ahead—slightly awkward, pigeon-toed, but careful and steady. Whatever dragon lived here was clearly more dangerous than the Longhorn.
Pickett touched the glass orb in his pocket and felt a little safer.
He had seen the Beauxbatons team floating inside transparent bubbles, completely unharmed, as the keepers carried them out one by one. No missing limbs, no burns—just a few dazed expressions.
Every champion here was smart. They understood exactly what the glass orbs did.
Krum wanted to use them to grab maximum points. Pickett just wanted to warn Harry. Maybe it was the difference between Durmstrang and Ilvermorny's teaching styles.
Whoosh—
A sharp whistling sound cut through the dark, enclosed space and grew louder. Pickett nearly crushed the glass orb in surprise. Something was flying into the cave from outside?
Whatever it was streaked past in a blur, trailing through the silver light of his Lumos.
A broomstick?
Hadn't the committee banned anything except wands?
Pickett froze for a second, then hurried deeper into the cave, no longer caring if Krum heard him.
"Give me the chance to be the hero, Harry. I've always wanted to try a Firebolt," Cedric's voice echoed from the depths of the cave—the handsome, easygoing Hufflepuff champion.
"Firebolts are fast. They take real skill to handle."
"I'm a Seeker too, Harry."
"I mean you need time to get used to it—"
The two figures were arguing over the broom when they heard footsteps. They spun, wands raised.
A tall, thin shadow approached slowly. Viktor Krum—hooked nose, blank expression, slightly pigeon-toed walk. He passed right between them without a word.
Harry and Cedric stared, completely confused.
"Stop right there, Krum! This is our cave!" Hermione hissed, stepping in front of him.
"Blue eggs… a golden egg…" Krum's eyes flicked over and lit up with surprise. "And a pure-black one!"
Luck had finally smiled on him. After two empty caves, the third delivered everything he wanted. A golden egg and a black-and-white egg—the exact prizes he needed. Best of all, these three didn't seem to understand how the glass orbs worked and were too wary of the dragon to act.
This messy task was about to end. He planned to snatch both the golden and black eggs at once, enrage the dragon, trigger a blast of dragon fire, set off the glass orbs, and force an immediate score settlement.
Krum kept his face neutral even as joy surged inside him. A witch blocked his path and the two prize eggs were still a short distance away.
"Don't let him through!"
More footsteps approached from behind, warning the three to stay alert.