Brighter Than the Sun

Chapter Fifty-Nine

The next morning, Hermione and I ate breakfast with the Girl Squad. Lavender and Parvati were discussing how to dress both warmly and stylishly during winter, which I found more helpful than I'd originally thought.

"So the key is layering?" I asked.

"Yes," Lavender replied. "You want to wear thick tights under a dress or skirt, and to layer a top properly, it's best to start with a monotone, long-sleeved shirt. Then you start layering the sweaters on top, taking care to alternate the colors so it's not too matchy-matchy."

"That is actually very helpful and I really wish I'd known before I went shopping with Grandma'am."

"We can help you next time we go to Hogsmeade," Parvati offered.

"That would be great."

"So, how's Harry doing? Is he excited for the first task? I don't imagine he would be, I mean, I know Rita Skeeter said he was proud and so on, but I thought he looked rather terrified when Dumbledore called his name."

"Thank you," I emphasized.

"You don't believe Rita Skeeter's articles?"

"Rita Skeeter writes for a gossip magazine," Lavender said. "Journalists like her don't really change their writing style, even if it is supposed to be for a newspaper."

"He's nervous, probably," Parvati reasoned. "I don't think he should be, though — Dumbledore and the other teachers wouldn't let him die."

"I guess you're right," I said, catching sight of Harry stumbling into the Great Hall. "Ah. Speak of the devil."

Harry came and sat in between me and Hermione, looked around at the food, and promptly slammed his head down on the table. Parvati and Lavender looked alarmed for a few seconds, looking at Hermione and I questioningly. I shrugged and shook my head, like, This is totally normal, and the girls dissolved into silent giggles.

"Sleep at all last night?" I asked Harry.

"Not... really..."

"You want coffee? Or maybe just something really sugary? You need the energy."

"I'll have whatever you're having, thanks."

I smiled dryly. "Believe me, Harry, you don't want ADHD. Look, just have some water for now, it'll clear your head."

"We need to talk," Harry said, pointing at Hermione and I.

"Oh, right," I said. Sirius. The dragons. "Do you mind, girls?" I asked Lavender and Parvati.

"No, go ahead," Parvati said.

We stood and left. I decided to take a small stack of toast in case Harry got hungry after all.

Harry dragged us out onto the grounds. There, he told Hermione all about the dragons, and about everything Sirius had said, while they took another long walk around the lake.

Alarmed as she was by Sirius's warnings about Karkaroff, Hermione still thought that the dragons were the more pressing problem.

"Let's just try and keep you alive until Tuesday evening," She said desperately, "and then we can worry about Karkaroff."

We walked three times around the lake, trying all the way to think of a simple spell that would subdue a dragon. Nothing whatsoever occurred to us, so we retired to the library instead. Here, Harry pulled down every book he could find on dragons, and both of them set to work searching through the large pile.

" 'Talon-clipping by charms... treating scale-rot...' This is no good, this is for weirdos like Hagrid who want to keep them healthy..."

" 'Dragons are extremely difficult to slay, owing to the ancient magic that imbues their thick hides, which none but the most powerful spells can penetrate...' But Sirius said a simple one would do it..."
"Let's try some simple spellbooks, then," said Harry, throwing aside Men Who Love Dragons Too Much.