Enchanted

Playing with fire

It was early morning when a young girl working in Tomes and Scrolls Bookshop came across a bizarre sight: a long line of tortoises marching through Hogsmeade, all carrying a small letter on its shell. One of the tortoises stopped in front of the bookshop, looking up at the girl as if to ask if she had anything to offer - a little spellbook would be nice for a tortoise lunch.

"Are you all going to Hogwarts?" The girl asked, puzzled. "The school is pretty busy today because of the second Triwizard tournament. The gates might be locked, even." 

Still, the tortoises slowly marched on, blinking their beady eyes. 

***

"Did you hear the noise of the beasts from the basement last night? I heard the second tournament is about fighting with a real dragon!" 

Eddy smirked as he walked across the corridor, listening to the excited chatters of the students. He had it all figured out from the start. The fire-protective potions were ready in his office, waiting to be poured into a vial. Eddy had just turned the corner to his office when suddenly his vision turned black. His whole body felt cold as he fell to the floor, unable to move. 

What was happening? Eddy tried to resist the darkness descending upon his eyelids but it was futile. Swimming in the floorless chasm, he was drowning in desperation.

That honeybadger. Needs me. Brett needs me. 

Brett.

***

Brett was eating away his nails as he heard an eruption of clapping from the arena. If Eddy had seen him like this, he would have stopped him right away - nails are not for breakfast, badger head - but Eddy wasn't here. Actually, Brett hadn't seen Eddy the whole morning. 

"Where in bloody hell are you?" Brett whispered nervously, checking the time. He had no potions, nothing to help him in front of the dragon's wrath, no one to guide him in this blood-thirsty tournament. He felt like one helpless, stupid badger, waiting for the guillotine to chop off his head anytime soon. 

"Your turn, Hogwarts champion," a tournament manager announced, peeking his head into a small camp Brett was waiting in. 

"I...I think I will resign," Brett mumbled.

"We don't allow competitors to resign before going up the podium. You can resign once the horn signals the start of the tournament." 

"But..." Brett pulsed his lips and sighed. Sure, he could at least check what the tournament is about. If the dragon looked half-decent with the size of a Golden retriever, Brett was down to give it a shot. 

His wishful thinking was crushed as soon as he stepped up to the arena. A massive red dragon twice the size of a Kraken huffed and puffed as it menacingly looked down on a young Hufflepuff. Ready to kill.

"Yep, definitely resigning right now. Sorry, y'all-" 

Then Brett saw it from the corner of his eyes - Eddy. 

Eddy was lying right on the dragon's nest, his eyes open but unmoving. His face was white as a sheet of paper. 

"What...how-" Brett stuttered. 

"Your mission is to rescue your fellow poisoned classmates from the dragon. You have 30 minutes in the arena." 

A loud horn blew, signaling the start of the competition. 

"Eddy!" Brett shouted, taking one step forward without thinking. The dragon immediately hissed, blowing a tunnel of flame towards him. Brett scrambled to the nearest rock, feeling the gigantic wave of heat emanating from the back. 

What will happen if he resigns? What did they mean by poison? Would Eddy never wake up if he doesn't save him within 30 minutes?

Brett peeked from behind the rock, noticing that the dragon was slowly towering over him to get a better shot. There was no way he could walk to the nest alive. 

Think, Brett, think. 

"Accio, 60 dollar broomstick!" Brett shouted to the air, pointing his wand. 

Brett swallowed back his fear as he waited, hearing a whistling of his plastic broom soaring through the sky. He jumped instinctively to the side, landing on his broomstick, narrowly missing another tornado of flames. He was a Quidditch player of Hufflepuff after all - flying was one of the few things he really excelled at. Brett dodged past the flames as he circled the arena, gripping his wand tight. 

Get your shit together. Eddy needs you. Use your brain. You can do it. 

Brett quickly scanned the dragon, noticing a long chain binding the beast's neck. Circling around the dragon's head while carefully evading the flame, Brett went around the dragon's body, entangling the chain. The beast, confused, tried to tear through the chains, making him more entangled in the process. Brett could hear the crowd cheering in the background. 

That's it! 

Brett swooped closer to Eddy, making an attempt to grab him by the torso. 

It was too late, though. The dragon, already free, shot a straight jet of flame towards him. The 60 dollar broomstick finally gave away, melting from the heat. Brett crashed to the ground, landing on the rock next to Eddy. The young Hufflepuff turned around in fear, meeting the vicious eyes of the dragon ready for the last blow of smoke. 

"Eddy-" 

Brett whispered in fear, closing his eyes. 

A memory surged inside him- Eddy was sitting by the window shield, flipping through the charms book. Warm sunlight was touching Eddy's cheek, and Brett was half entranced as he heard Eddy's voice echoing. 

The spell is too advanced, so I don't expect you to learn this. But in an emergency, remember the spell, Brett. Remember this. Eddy's voice rang louder in his head as he gripped his wand with a trembling hand.

What was the charm, idiot? 

"Prohibiere Ignis!" Brett shouted, aiming his wand at the dragon's mouth just opening for another hurricane of flame. A gasp came from the crowd as fire and ice collided, an explosion of hot steam erupting from the center of the arena. 

When the fog cleared away eventually, the crowd could see the dragon passed out at the side with its mouth enclosed with ice. And between the snowy land, Brett was clutching Eddy tightly, crying his eyeballs out. 

***

It was late night when Eddy finally woke up.

"...what happened?" Eddy muttered, confused. He immediately noticed Brett sleeping next to him, covered in bandages. The badger's hair was scorched and his skin was burnt with blisters. Eddy's mouth clenched tight when he saw Brett's eyes were red from crying. 

"That was a nice game, although he was lucky this time," a smooth voice replied from the corridor. Eddy didn't need to turn his head to know that it was Adele. 

Eddy slowly took in the situation as the memory flooded into him, of what happened in the arena while he was drenched in poison, immobilized. His fingers carefully traced the badger's burnt scars, his mind turning white at the memory of Brett risking his life for him in front of the dragon, dodging the flames. 

"The dark followers will make sure that the Hufflepuff will be in much greater danger than this tournament if you keep on fooling around. Your family, and the dark followers, are anticipating your cooperation."

Eddy turned silent as he realized there was not much he could do in front of fate like this. What would Brett do if Eddy were immobilized again, unable to help, with death eaters eager to lure him into a trap? The stupid badger would walk in right away, just as he did this time. 

That one, stupid, innocent badger. 

And Eddy couldn't bear the thought of Brett being in danger again. 

"What do I need to do?" Eddy asked quietly.