Fragment of Soul
While the two of them stared in shock at the giant dragon that had just appeared, even feeling like their legs might give out at any moment, they saw Einar approach it calmly.
"Luckily, it worked, Durnehviir. It's been a while since we last saw each other," Einar said with a friendly smile.
"You know, at my age... It was just a moment, Qahnaarin," the great dragon replied calmly.
"Is the dragon talking? This can't be. This is a dream," Harry said as he pinched his cheeks to wake himself up.
Meanwhile, Hermione was completely frozen, staring at the dragon.
"Can they understand you?" Einar asked with some confusion.
"Dragons do not know the human language. We communicate with our mana. But in my case, I communicate with souls," the dragon answered patiently.
"What do you need my help with, Qahnaarin? I can't stay in this plane for long," Durnehviir said quickly.
"Harry, come here," Einar said quickly, calling to Harry, who was still staring at the dragon in surprise.
He hesitated for a second but slowly walked toward Einar while Hermione continued to stare at the scene, completely stunned.
"Hurry up," Einar said, knowing the dragon wouldn't be able to stay for long.
Then, Harry stood next to Einar, feeling a little scared by the gaze of the massive dragon in front of him. As he got closer, he noticed the putrid smell emanating from it, while drops of a horrible liquid fell from its scales.
"I need your help to..." Before Einar could finish, the dragon spoke.
"A fragment of a soul? Hahaha, what human came up with such a terrible curse? Seeking immortality that way... Humans never cease to amaze me," the great dragon said while laughing, causing the surrounding air to begin filling with mist.
"Do you know why he did it?" Harry asked quickly.
"I can guess. Maybe that wizard believed that this way, he would live forever. Even if he died, he could move to another fragment of his soul. But judging by the size of what's in your forehead, I can say he split his soul many times before," the dragon said, staring intently at Harry.
"How many times?" Harry asked quickly.
"Mmm... I don't know exactly because I don't know what spell or ritual he used. But it seems that each time he used that magic, his soul was split in half. And judging by the small fragment you have on your forehead, at least six times," the dragon said.
"Can you fix it?" Einar asked quickly.
The dragon sniffed, bringing his nose close to Harry and lightly sniffing his head. Although that "lightly" made Harry's hair stand on end.
"I can do it, Qahnaarin, but it will hurt a little," the dragon replied quickly.
"There's your answer, Harry. Do you want to try it, or would you prefer to find another way?" Einar asked quickly.
"Wait," Hermione said with a bit of concern. "Will there be any problem? Can it fail?" she asked quickly.
"If it had been when he was first cursed, a simple purification spell would have been enough. But now the souls are deeply intertwined. The only way left is for him to be killed by the person who left that fragment. He might survive, but even I'm not completely sure," the dragon said patiently.
"Does that mean Harry has to be killed by Voldemort to get that out of him?" Hermione asked quickly.
"That's right, human. The one who cast the curse can destroy it. But I can do it as well. So, what will you do?" the dragon said quickly while Einar let them decide.
"I want to do it," Harry said quickly.
"Hahaha, you're brave, boy. Just as expected from Qahnaarin's friends," the dragon said, looking at Harry. "Stay still... and endure," he said while inhaling slightly.
Hermione was filled with concern, but her friend had already made his choice. She also didn't want him to have a piece of the dark wizard that could control him at any moment.
"RII VAAZ ZOL!" A violet fire shot toward Harry's head and quickly entered through the scar on his forehead.
"Aaah!" Harry screamed as he held his head and fell to his knees. Quickly, Hermione and Einar approached him and saw how a black stone emerged from his forehead and fell to the ground.
"It's done, Qahnaarin. If you need my help again, you can call me. By the way, the place where I am is unknown... but I like it," the dragon said as the violet fire began to consume him rapidly before disappearing.
Just as Hermione was about to pick up the stone, Einar spoke quickly.
"If you don't want that inside your body, it's better not to touch it," Einar said quickly, scaring Hermione, who promptly backed away from the stone.
"That dragon from before... what was that? Why could it talk?" Harry asked as he rubbed his aching forehead.
"Durnehviir is a legendary dragon who was tricked into guarding a rather dark place for hundreds of years," Einar said calmly.
"Legendary?" Hermione asked.
"Yes, a legendary dragon. You can't compare it to those winged lizards nowadays. Basically, they are the true magical dragons," Einar responded calmly.
"Then, what do we do with this?" Harry quickly asked, looking at the black stone on the ground.
"Bane of the Undead," Einar said as a golden flame shot from his hand toward the black stone, which began to burn while wails of agony and pain could be heard until it turned to ashes.
"If they had used a spell similar to this from the start, you wouldn't have any problems now," Einar said as he looked at Harry calmly. "Well, shall we go, or will we be late to meet the others?" he added as he started walking back home.
"Where were you? It's getting late," Ron said quickly upon seeing Hermione and Harry arrive.
But since they had promised not to say anything, they had to come up with an excuse.
"Harry had a stomachache, so we were waiting for him," Hermione quickly said, while Harry turned to look at her.
"Yeah... maybe something didn't sit well with me," Harry said awkwardly.
"Alright, it's best we get going," Arthur said as he grabbed a large backpack to put on his back. "We have to walk a bit to where the Portkey is. The Ministry placed several at strategic points in preparation for the Quidditch game," Arthur said with a smile.
Then, everyone walked toward the area where the Portkey was, to meet the handler, a man with a rather tired face, accompanied by another man with a young boy.
"Arthur, we've been waiting for you," said a chubby man with glasses. Next to him was a handsome young man waiting calmly, who seemed to be his son.
"Haha, good day, Amos. Looks like we'll be sharing the trip with you," Arthur said as he greeted everyone.
Amos suddenly looked at Harry with some surprise and quickly approached him with excitement.
"Cedric has spoken of you, of course!" said Amos Diggory. "He told us all about playing against you last year... I told him, I told him: Cedric, that's something you'll tell your grandchildren one day, that's for sure... You beat Harry Potter!"
Harry couldn't think of a response to this, so he remained silent. Fred and George frowned.
After all, the two of them were the ones tasked with protecting Harry during the Quidditch match when he fell from his broom. Not only that, but it was the Dementors' fault that knocked him off.
Meanwhile, Einar watched the conversation from the side. Cedric looked slightly embarrassed, so he quickly interrupted his father.
"Harry fell off his broom, Dad," he muttered. "I told you... it was an accident..."
"Yes, but you didn't fall, did you?" Amos roared jovially, giving his son a hearty pat on the back. "Always modest, our Cedric, always a gentleman..."
"It's good to be proud of your son, but that sounds more like mocking Harry. I think losing was enough; the rest is unnecessary," Einar said aloud, something Amos and Cedric heard.
Einar didn't know the context, but saying that right to the face of the person who lost wasn't kind. Unless it was your sworn enemy or something. Obviously, it just seemed like a school match.
"Sorry, my dad can be a bit over the top," Cedric said as he pushed his father away and murmured softly that he was embarrassing him.
"It's time," said the Portkey handler as he lifted an old boot.
"Everyone, touch the boot and don't let go," he said quickly.
Then, everyone present touched the boot as instructed and quickly felt as if they were inside a tornado and then expelled like toothpaste.
All the young ones were feeling slightly dizzy as they held back the urge to vomit, except for Einar, who was standing calmly looking at the boot with interest.
"See you later, Arthur," Amos said as he left with his son, who cast an apologetic glance at everyone.
"Let's head to our spot," Arthur said with a smile as he walked with everyone behind him.
Just as they were about to enter the camping area, a man approached to charge them. It seemed the owner of the place was a Muggle, who didn't understand what was happening, as he appeared to have seen some wizards using magic.
So, a wizard quickly wiped his memory, surprising the others. Then, everyone walked through the campsite looking for their spot.
"Here it is," Arthur said as he pointed to an area of the campsite and dropped the large backpack he had been carrying.
"You two lived in the Muggle world, right? So you must know how to set up a tent. It's better not to use magic so the Muggles don't discover us," Arthur said as he looked at Harry and Hermione.
"Alright, I know how to set them up. You two help me," Einar said, taking charge.
"According to this map, the water is in that direction. Ron and Ginny, go fetch some. The twins and I will go gather firewood," Arthur said quickly.
Thanks to Einar's instructions, they quickly assembled the tent. From the outside, it looked like a small tent, but inside it was immense, with enough space for the entire Weasley family.
Likewise, Einar, Hermione, and Harry set up two smaller tents; one was Einar's, and the other was Hermione and Ginny's.
These were even faster to set up, taking only a few minutes thanks to Einar's experience. Obviously, all of them had extension magic, almost as large as a room with all the comforts inside.
To Einar, this tent was a palace, remembering the times he had to sleep outdoors with only a sleeping bag while on missions.
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