Hagrid's hut was actually a very good place to sneak off and rest. Back when Link was following Professor Kettleburn to study, he always liked to secretly slip into Hagrid's hut to slack off. This time, with him skipping class openly, of course it would be no exception.
No matter how good a Warming and Drying Charm was, it could never compare to the comfort of a roaring fire in the hearth.
So after entering the hut, Link immediately lit the fireplace. Once the whole place was warmed up, he lifted the charm from his body.
During that time, Link also glanced over Hagrid's bed.
The result was quite pleasing.
Ever since Madam Maxime appeared at Hogwarts, Hagrid had become shockingly fond of cleanliness.
That was reflected in his hut too.
Not only did his bed not carry that weird smell unique to a single man's place, nor the usual messy look, it was neat beyond belief, and even carried a faint fragrance like sunshine.
That was really rare, considering it hadn't been sunny for over ten days outside.
So the already-exhausted Link burrowed into the warm bedclothes and comfortably fell asleep.
Unfortunately, that peaceful, cozy time didn't last long.
It felt to Link that he had only just closed his eyes for a little while when Arkam started slithering restlessly around his neck, every so often flicking its tongue across his cheek.
This was Arkam's way of warning him.
Someone was approaching the hut.
Link opened his eyes, annoyed, just in time to see Hagrid, covered in snow, quietly sneaking into the hut.
At his feet followed a large hound. Normally this dog was the most lively thing around, but right now it had its tail clamped tightly between its legs, its face full of fear, whining and whimpering nonstop.
It was terrified of Arkam.
"Ha, ha, sorry, Link, I woke you up."
Seeing Link watching him with an unfriendly look, Hagrid scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
Link frowned, pulled Arkam from his neck, and said unhappily, "Class is over?"
"Not yet. But it's fine, Cedric is helping me watch them. Those little ones will be fine." Hagrid brushed the snow off himself at the door, then went over to the fire.
From a nearby cupboard he pulled out a plate of large, brown biscuits that looked like flatcakes, and eagerly held them out to Link. "This time, really, thank you, Link. If it weren't for you, I'd absolutely have been kicked out of Hogwarts!"
"I didn't do anything. The only reason you're still here is because Dumbledore likes you. Don't sell yourself short."
Link pushed the plate of biscuits back as he spoke.
He really didn't like them at all. Hagrid probably hadn't used butter or eggs when making them, and the flour wasn't even sifted. The result was rock-hard biscuits that even dogs refused to eat.
But Hagrid wasn't offended. Grinning mysteriously, he said, "I get it, I'm not dumb, of course I get it. Don't worry, after this I won't tell anyone it was you who helped me. Otherwise, they'd all come asking you for favors and you'd be run off your feet, wouldn't you?"
Having said that, perhaps feeling that his cleverness deserved a reward, Hagrid picked up a biscuit from the plate and crunched it loudly between his teeth, the sound making one's own teeth ache just listening.
Link drew a deep breath and closed his eyes in pain.
He could guess easily enough what Hagrid was thinking.
Ever since Link had helped him resolve the whole incident where Draco was injured and tried to sue, Hagrid had decided Link was an almost all-powerful friend.
So this time, when he faced another crisis, he naturally assumed it was Link who had helped him again.
Hagrid was famously stubborn at Hogwarts. Link had no patience to try and change his mind. He simply waved his arms dismissively, ready to shoo Hagrid away so he could go back to sleep.
But before Link could even get the words out, Hagrid leaned closer again, lowering his voice mysteriously, "Link, your second task is going to be in the Black Lake!"
"Ah, I already knew that." Link answered blankly.
Hagrid wasn't surprised, and rubbed his hands together excitedly, "Link, you know I'm a rough sort. Not much I can do to help you. But the Black Lake, that's different."
Here, Hagrid stopped, looked around nervously to make sure no one else was nearby, then continued, "I've got a good relationship with a kelpie in the Black Lake!"
At that, Link immediately perked up.
A kelpie wasn't always horse-shaped.
They were large water monsters, masters of disguise, as big as a tiger shark or even a small whale.
They often appeared before people in horse form, with wide reeds draped over them like a mane, luring humans to mount them before plunging into the depths to drown and devour them, hence the name "kelpie."
In truth, their favorite form was a water serpent, and they were highly aggressive.
Link had read about them in detail in Newt's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. It was said that Newt himself had raised a kelpie when he was young.
Ever since reading that, Link had always been fascinated by kelpies.
Because they were really cool.
"You mean it'll let me ride it to the finish line?" Link's eyes lit up.
"How could that be? Kelpies are prouder even than hippogriffs. Unless you completely tame one, it'll never let you ride. Even I've never ridden it." Hagrid shook his head again and again.
"What I mean is, during the task it can help you drive off some merpeople or grindylows, make things a bit easier for you."
As he said this, Hagrid handed Link a strange-looking wooden whistle. "When you're underwater, just blow this and it'll come. Then you've got to feed it some fish."
"Don't ever just call it without giving food. Took me five years to train it to this habit. If you don't feed it, next time it hears the whistle it won't come."
"Also, I gave Harry one of these whistles too. You two better stay together when the time comes. Otherwise, if you blow both whistles at once, I'm afraid it won't know which one to answer."
"He'll definitely come to me," Link said firmly, gripping the whistle.
He was very confident in his talent for bonding with magical creatures.
Hagrid clearly thought the same. He froze for a moment, then grinned, "I thought so too."
Since he'd accepted Hagrid's favor, it wouldn't be right to drive him away immediately.
So Link kept him company, chatting for quite a while about Maxime's hot-and-cold attitude, offering Hagrid a few ideas before finally sending him off, excited and happy.
"Whew!"
As soon as Hagrid left, Link's smile disappeared. He let out a long breath and pulled the blanket over his head.
After so much talking, he was even more exhausted than before.
Arkam slithered into the bed too.
Earlier, it had deliberately crawled onto Hagrid's dog to scare it so badly it wet itself, and in the process had used up all the warmth it had stored. Now it urgently needed to replenish.
But it seemed as if fate couldn't stand Link's lazy ways either.
He had barely been lying down when Emily's pretty figure slipped quietly into the hut.
Emily peered cautiously at him, waiting a long while before creeping closer, hand reaching out to poke him, to see if he was really asleep.
But just as she moved, a big hand shot out from under the blanket like lightning, dragging half her body inside.
"Ah!"
Emily let out a cry, a dark wand appearing instantly in her hand.
But when she realized it was Link who had "attacked" her, she silently put it away again, pushing at him with all her strength to stop those hands from wandering where they shouldn't.
The two of them tussled like that under the covers until Emily's cold body grew warm again and her face turned red. Only then did Link let go.
Emily leapt up like a startled rabbit, bolting to the door, looking back at Link with fear and grievance.
Seeing her like that, Link chuckled, "Relax, I'm not going to eat you. That was just payback for tattling to my mother. You nearly ruined me, she sent me a Howler that very day!"
"What? How could she do that!?" Emily cried out. "I just asked her to scold you a little, that's all!"
Link didn't reply. With his face already pale from the heavy toll of dark magic training, he simply coughed weakly a few times, playing up his frailty.
And, just as Link expected, Emily instantly rushed back, touching his forehead and speaking in panic, "You're burning up! Are you sick? Oh no, this is all my fault! The second task is the day after tomorrow, what if you're still sick then?!"
Link almost laughed. His body temperature was indeed a bit high, but that wasn't from illness, just from earlier exertion.
Still, he put on a casual expression and said, "It's fine, just a small problem. Don't blame yourself too much. I bear responsibility for how things turned out too."
Link thought that after hearing this, Emily would feel even more guilty.
But instead, she instantly scowled, pinched him lightly, and said, "Of course it's your fault! If you weren't so… so… I wouldn't have gone tattling in the first place!"
She deliberately skipped over the word that embarrassed her, then, perhaps feeling she was being too harsh, twisted her hair around her finger and mumbled, "You… you don't have to be so impatient, anyway. In the future, we'll have to… you know… that kind of thing. Then you can do whatever you want."
A wicked smile spread unconsciously across Link's face.
He said nothing, just looked at her.
After all, Emily, who normally put on such a forbidding face in front of the Slytherins, acting like a shy little girl was really something to see.
But Link's gaze was far too intense.
Before long, the blush on Emily's cheeks spread all the way down her neck.
She pouted, gave him a final playful smack, then jumped up and dashed out the door.
"Hey! Where are you going? Come back!" Link shouted, not nearly satisfied yet.
But Emily didn't look back. After a while, he heard her fading voice.
"No time for you! I've got things to do! I'll send someone with medicine for you later!"
As her voice disappeared, a considerate gust of cold wind blew shut the hut door, cutting her off completely.
Link had no thought of chasing her. Stretching lazily, he lay back down.
But thanks to Hagrid and Emily's interruptions, he no longer felt sleepy. His mind was full of thoughts about the second task.
As for what Emily was busy with, he could guess.
Surely the tournament organizers had approached her, wanting to make her the most precious "treasure" to be hidden at the bottom of the Black Lake for him to rescue.
Normally, the organizers would simply kidnap her to make the challenge feel real and put pressure on the champions.
But Emily was no ordinary person. Her strength and intelligence were leagues beyond the other kids.
She probably had already guessed their plan.
Link figured Emily would inevitably have some kind of fierce "battle" with the organizers in the next couple of days.
After that, they'd probably sign some unequal agreement, but in the end, Emily would still obediently go down to the bottom of the Black Lake and wait for him to save her.
Because, in the end, the organizers always had one last trump card, switching targets.
If they put Hermione down there for Link to rescue instead, Emily would be left completely stunned.
Shaking his head, Link forced himself not to think about Emily anymore.
What really worried him was whether the committee, truly led by the Ministry of Magic and Dumbledore, might alter the second task further, to make it harder.
After all, the original task was still reasonable for someone like Harry, a normal student. But for Link, a "monster," it was far too easy.
With Arkam at his side, Link could, if he wished, make sure the other three champions scored nothing at all, keeping all the points for himself.
If that happened, the Triwizard Tournament would lose all meaning.
Besides, the Black Lake's environment was just too complex.
The mysterious wizard, or force, that had secretly pushed Harry into the tournament still hadn't made a move.
If they chose to act in the Black Lake, then none of the champions, including Link, would walk away unscathed.
Sitting on the bed in deep thought for a long time, Link finally pulled out the wooden whistle Hagrid had given him.
He held it carefully in his hand, studying it, before murmuring, "Looks like this time, I really will have to rely on you."
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