Twenty minutes later, they returned to the deserted Common Room.
The Common Room was quiet and in semidarkness. The flames of the fireplace were the only source of light.
They sat down in a soft armchair, feeling exhausted and powerless.
Nearby, on a table, the Support Cedric Diggory! badges the Creeveys had been trying to improve were glinting in the firelight, and it seemed as though it had been a long time since they were here looking at them trying to improve the badges.
The scene they saw this evening was so shocking. They still had images of roaring dragons in their minds.
“Karkaroff knows about the dragons. We should tell Cedric about this. That’s only fair!” After a while, Harry said softly, “He certainly doesn’t know about this. We can’t let him alone…”
“You’re right, Harry!” said Hermione. “But let’s just think about how Ron can get through the first task and try to keep him alive until Tuesday evening.”
“I can’t do it!” Ron said in a hollow voice. “I can’t do it. I can’t beat those monsters.”
Evan, Harry, and Hermione looked at each other. Ron was not in good shape now.
They thought that after seeing the appearance of the dragon tonight, he would be mentally prepared and play better in the tournament.
But looking at Ron’s appearance, it was as though the terrible dragon had already knocked him down even before facing it!
Evan had helped him back to Hogwarts, and it was obvious that Ron’s legs were weakening and he was staggering all the way. Original content can be found at NoveI~Fire.net
Charlie was right. It would be too difficult for Ron to face the dragon now!
“Be brave, Ron!” Hermione said, turning her head to look at Ron, who was pale. “Sirius said that by relying on the Conjunctivitis Curse, you can make the dragon temporarily blind, and then you could go over and get what it’s guarding.”
“Easy to say, it’s a dragon, not a big lizard!” Ron exclaimed, clenching his fist. “You’ve just seen it. They can shoot fire at a range of twenty feet, and the Hungarian Horntail can even do forty feet, which is longer than the distance of the spell. How could I get close to them and use the Conjunctivitis Curse? What’s more, even if I use it, it won’t necessarily work. I’m too weak, and the dragon will certainly resist my spell.”
There was a long period of silence, and Harry and Hermione could not think of a way to easily get close to the dragon shooting fire. It was scary enough to look at it from a distance.
As Evan expected, Ron now needed courage, followed by the power to defeat the dragon.
“I can’t do it, I don’t want to die!” said Ron weakly. “I should give up the tournament, or run away from Hogwarts and go anywhere.”
“Don’t be silly, Ron!” said Harry quickly.
“That’s impossible!” said Hermione, “Professor Moody said that once your name is spit out of the Goblet of fire, you have a contract with the Triwizard Tournament and you have to take part in the competition.”
“Those people want to kill me. I can’t just die like that!” Ron shouted, looking like he’s losing it. Then he slumped back into the armchair, powerless.
There was another moment of silence, and Ron said softly, “There is only one way … only one way … if…”
Evan noticed that Ron was staring at him at this moment, and his eyes were shining.
“If Evan would lend me the Philosopher’s Stone, I can defeat the dragon with the help of its power!” Ron said quickly.
Evan froze for a moment and looked at Ron’s serious face to make sure he wasn’t kidding.
He did not expect Ron to make such a request and try to borrow the Philosopher’s Stone from him!
But in the end, would he lend it or not?!
Evan thought for a moment and then said simply and directly, “I know what you’re thinking, but even if I lend you the Philosopher’s Stone, you wouldn’t be able to use it. The magic in it can’t be directly absorbed by a wizard. The Philosopher’s Stone is made by ancient warlocks with alchemy to provide powerful magic to magical props. It does not directly enhance the power of wizards.”
He explained briefly the principle of the Philosopher’s Stone, hoping Ron would understand.
But seeing Ron’s eyes, Evan knew what he had just said was vain.
“Evan told me about this before. The last time he used the Philosopher’s Stone at the World Cup, he almost died,” said Hermione quickly, “Don’t think about it anymore, Ron, the Philosopher’s Stone can’t help you at all!”
“Really?!” Ron said, with a stiff smile on his face, and he looked at Evan and Hermione suspiciously. “But last term, Professor Lupin and Sirius clearly said that the magic inside the Philosopher’s Stone greatly improved the power of wizards. With its help, a wizard could do a lot of unimaginable things. Evan, you said that, too. That’s why we went to the Centaurs’ colony to look for the Philosopher’s Stone, isn’t it?!”
“That’s what I thought then, but it was obviously not the case.” Evan patiently explained, “I can’t use the magic inside the Philosopher’s Stone. It didn’t improve my strength as much as I thought.”
“So how do you explain that your magic has increased by leaps and bounds over the past two years?” Ron asked.
He did not care about Harry, pulling him aside, and said all the doubts he had in mind.
The atmosphere was very awkward. Looking at Ron’s face, Evan was a little annoyed. Ron’s doubts and distrust were too obvious.
“I told you about this. My magic increased because of the Potion Slytherin gave me a thousand years ago. It helped me improve my magic quickly!” Evan hesitated for a moment and continued, “The formula of this Potion has been lost for a long time, and it’s impossible to configure it.”
He did not say that his magic was quickly enhanced with the help of Slytherin’s Locket.
The Locket was a very powerful magic item that saved Evan many times, but it couldn’t help Ron either. On top of that, Dumbledore once told Evan not to tell anyone about it, not even those around him.
A magic item that could help wizards quickly increase their magic power was comparable to the power of the Deathly Hallows. If it got out, For sure Evan wouldn’t be able to live in peace in the future!
Then again, Evan had no obligation to explain anything to Ron, let alone lend him the Philosopher’s Stone.
He helped Ron for the sake of barely being friends, and for the sake of Harry, Hermione and the rest of the Weasleys. Since Ron last yelled at Hermione in the Common Room, Evan had always had a bad impression of him.
It was not that Ron had no merits, but sometimes it was really annoying, like now…
It wasn’t clear whether he was asking for help or jealous and skeptical.
If it hadn’t been for the knowledge that Hermione would never give up on Ron, Evan would not have bothered to take care of his life and death in the face of the dragon.
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