HP: Spirit Talker

POV Harry Potter

Harry eyed the new tree warily and decided that he would be wary of trying those bananas. The girls were tense as well. When another pot of soil appeared from somewhere in the back of the room, Harry decided that he had to keep his wits about him and leave, or else he would never know what that strange Japanese man was growing. He was especially confirmed in this decision when Sora began to think aloud....

— I have a strawberry tree, — the boy nodded gravely at his words, and the girls fell silent, listening attentively. — I don't care about carrots, — the boy nodded again, thought for a while and continued. — So we have to grow a cheese tree... — the boy paused again. — Yes, you definitely should.

Potter was already leaving the hospitable Japanese, grabbing the handle of the door, when he heard the Frenchwoman's angry speech.

— Don't you dare! Did you hear that? Don't you dare! — the girl jumped up.

— I was only joking... — Sora's tone was hurt, which made Harry feel a little better... but not for long, as it turned out. — I guess...

Harry closed the door behind him, weighing a small parchment roll of strawberries in his hand — a guest for Hermione. The boy had followed the Japanese man's advice and didn't want to show it to Ron, because "if you want a good relationship with girls, feed them goodies," and the redheaded friend was definitely not a girl. As for the cheese tree, the teenager and the cute French girl were in complete agreement: if something like that happened, the world might not survive... well, that's what the teenager thought.

The remaining days before the first test passed easily and quickly — the thoughts of the Cheese Tree did not let go of the teenager's mind. A few times he even dreamed of a cheerful but rather strange man who confused his thoughts with incomprehensible expressions and a mad love of cheese.

After these conversations, and Harry himself, he began to think that a cheese tree was not the worst idea, and in some ways even brilliant. And yes, for some unknown reason, the teenager had developed a strong love of cheese. Harry wondered who the Eater was and why he was being compared to the dragons of the First Trial, but the jolly man always answered such questions with a speech about another cheese.

Harry faced the day of the first trial thoughtfully, but strangely, there was no nervousness, even with the tiny "Swedish Dumbass" dragon in his hand. Hermione was the only one who had come to cheer him on before the first stage, and it had turned out to be very nice. The teenager was brought out of his reverie by the voice of a Japanese man.

— So you're saying, Mr. Crouch, that the test can be taken by any method? — Sora arched an eyebrow, as Professor Snape, whose fate Harry knew but was in no hurry to discuss, liked to do.

— Only a wand may be used to pass the test. It is forbidden to bring any other magical artifact to the test. — A prim, dry tone, so similar to Professor McGonagall's lessons.

— But if I conjure them while I'm already on the set, isn't that forbidden?

— Hmmm... — Crouch thought for a moment, wiggling his moustache in amusement. — There's no rule against it.

— So, — the Japanese spoke slowly and carefully, as if he were an animal stalking its prey. — I can do whatever I want in the arena, as long as I pass the test, right? — The guy narrowed his eyes slightly, and the others listened silently with interest.

— It turns out that way. — Barty Crouch nodded after a short pause for thought.

— Very well. — The boy said with a strange gleam in his eye, playing with a miniature Hungarian Horntail.

Harry looked around at the silent people. Sora continued to smile in a completely animalistic way, keeping her eyes on the dragonkin. Victor Krum was still standing a little apart, frowning. But the reaction of Gabrielle's older sister stunned Harry: the girl who had taken out the green dragon was not very confident at first, but when Sora began to ask her strange questions, she changed dramatically.

The Frenchwoman even reminded him of Aunt Petunia, when she had suspected that her uncle's "business" trip to a friend's house was a dastardly pub crawl. The girl narrowed her eyes, her suspicious gaze literally penetrating the Japanese, apparently trying to discern his dastardly intentions. But why should she, they're not married and they're not dating...?

Harry was somewhat lucky to be first on today's list, as he didn't have time to get upset again. The broomstick idea had paid off: the teenager, maneuvering skillfully, picked up the golden egg and flew away. The dragon roared and sent a long jet of flame after him, but calmed down quickly after inspecting the nest. Harry Potter got his forty-four points and was not at all offended — he was glad to be in one piece and that his trusty broom was not burned in the dragon's flames.

The performances of the Bulgarian and the Frenchwoman were interesting, and the teenager once again confirmed that he could not do what they did. And now the last one to enter the arena is Sora Hoshino, and his Hungarian Horntail — a vicious, spiky beast — is already looking at him suspiciously. The announcement of the start, the cannon fired, and the stands froze — the guy stayed in his seat.

Sora looked around for a minute, studying the arena, looking at the dragon, even glancing at the stands and waving to someone, but Harry couldn't see who. And then a lump suddenly formed in the teenager's throat. The Japanese man raised both hands to his forehead, stretched them forward, wand in his right hand, left hand outstretched, palm open.

A few elusive strokes of his wand and smooth movements of his open palm — the air above the arena shivered and flashed with yellow light for a moment. The Hungarian Horntail, not leaving its nest, lowered its head and hissed menacingly, releasing puffs of smoke.

The commentator started to say something, but Sora turned and made a few movements with his wand, and the Bagman fell silent, the stands humming. The Japanese smiled contentedly and turned to the dragon. The boy returned to his original position, and his wand began to make patterns in the air again.

The boulders scattered around the arena flashed yellow for a moment and then began to literally sink into the ground — gently and eerily. But Harry had to admit that the spectacle was mesmerizing — the crowd fell silent in amazement.

Meanwhile, the last boulder disappeared from sight, obeying the slow gesture of the palms. Sora stood still for a few seconds, then leaned forward and stuck the tip of his wand into the ground. The teenager didn't understand the plan yet, but he expected something completely unexpected. Just like in the story of Jack and the Beanstalk, thick wands shot out of the ground and rushed towards the dragon. The flying lizard tried to fight back: tearing with his teeth and claws, burning the whips, but it didn't help.

Literally in a minute, the beast was pinned to the ground, braided so tightly that even fire could not escape. Sora rose to his feet and walked forward in complete, deafening silence, his eyes burning as he studied the lizard. Sora examined the dragon as if he had just bought it and was now reevaluating his purchase.

He examined the paws, claws, horns, and scales with the knife that appeared in his hand... and began the formal and completely unhurried gathering of ingredients. The guy took blood, scales, saliva, even took something else from the mouth, cut off five horns and claws from the front paws, four fangs.

For a good half hour, the Japanese man did his business in front of a large audience. Many people had fun, shouted advice on what to do and how to do it, and the clever Japanese even got into a polemic on various topics, but without stopping. The audience clearly enjoyed this performance, unlike the Draconologists — it was hard not to notice their frowns and disgruntled faces.

It was hard to miss. Finally, Sora finished and packed everything he had collected into a small trunk, obviously enchanted by the expanded space. It came as a shock to everyone when the boy took more than just the golden egg from the nest, having previously packed three normal eggs. As soon as the shiny object was in the Japanese's hand, a cannon shot rang out. The test was over.