Chapter 397: Fire Dragon (Part 1)
Chapter 397: Fire Dragon (Part 1)
Felix walked through the pillars of the stands, and Bagman's high-pitched voice cut through the noisy crowd: "Welcome... The first task is the fire dragon. The champions must retrieve the golden egg from the fire dragon and escape safely... Please have the staff place the dragon eggs. Look, the fire dragons are still asleep, making this the best time to observe them..."
Six fire dragons of various colors lay on the ground, still seemingly unconscious. Despite their comatose state, their massive bodies were still intimidating, even from the judges' platform, which was about five hundred feet away.
"... Next, let me introduce the judges: the five Headmasters, myself, and Minister Fudge, who is filling in for my old friend Barty Crouch, who is on extended leave..."
Felix found the busy Professor Mcgonagall, who was pacing around the edge of the arena in circles. Her expression was clearly distracted, and when he approached, Mcgonagall nearly walked right into him.
"Watch out, Minerva—"
"Oh, it's you, Felix", Mcgonagall called out in a shrill voice, much higher than usual. "Charlie is looking for you. Charlie!" She shouted to a small group of people, and a stocky wizard turned around and jogged over.
"Hey, Felix", Charlie said, looking tense and constantly rubbing his hands. "We'll be watching from the sidelines, with whistles in hand. If anything dangerous happens, we'll step in—of course, we'll need your support too."
"No problem", Felix replied.
In the distance, a roar echoed, and a black fire dragon slowly raised its head. The nearby staff had just placed the dragon egg and were now running away.
The Hungarian Tree Hornet found itself in a strange environment, surrounded by a noisy swarm of insects, which was incredibly irritating. It also detected the scent of its kin. Its two yellow eyes scanned the area and quickly spotted the other five fire dragons lying on a platform not far away.
Its mood suddenly soured, and it struggled to stand up. Beneath it was a nest made of golden hay, and inside the nest was an egg that it found particularly endearing—this was its child. It quickly accepted this notion and moved cautiously. The sound of chains clinking caught its attention as it stared at the thick chain around its left foot, and it let out a roar to the sky.
Searing flames shot into the air, creating a powerful gust of wind, and the temperature around it rapidly increased.
As it stirred, the other five fire dragons also woke up. They raised their heads, flapping their wings angrily and stomping their feet. The black stone ground rumbled beneath them.
The Hungarian Tree Hornet looked around, disliking this place. It wanted to take its dragon egg and leave. It tugged at the chain, finding it not too secure. Just as it was about to pull harder, it saw a familiar face.
"Roar~"
It let out a loud cry. It was the terrifying barbecue chef!
Felix glanced at it and asked Charlie, "Do fire dragons have good memories?"
"Absolutely", Charlie replied. "Norbert still remembers Hagrid. Whenever it misbehaves, I show it a picture of Hagrid, but I don't know how long this will work... It's getting smarter and refuses to let us examine it..."
Bagman's voice continued to guide the audience's emotions, a skill he excelled at.
"Look, the fire dragons are waking up. They need a moment to adjust... at least to find their eggs. In the meantime, let me explain the rules of the competition..."
Felix pulled out a broom from the ring, hopped on, and kicked off, soaring straight into the sky. He circled the arena twice, taking in the view below.
"This is quite a nice spot for a scenic view", he mused to himself.
From his vantage point high above, the layout of the arena became clear—the silver tent provided temporary rest for the champions, and a few hundred feet away was the viewing stand. In the center of the uneven, roughly oval-shaped stand, six areas were marked out, resembling the petals of a daffodil.
On each petal, near the center, a fire dragon coiled, varying in size. They gradually lifted their heads, uneasily surveying their surroundings.
On one side of the stands, near the silver tent, a large gate had been opened, presumably for the champions to enter. Opposite the gate, the stands rose higher, forming the judges' platform.
Bagman, who was introducing the rules, said enthusiastically, “Very well, our safety officer is in position, serving as the final line of defense. As for Felix, I don’t need to elaborate; you must have read about him in the newspapers—”
His voice trailed off as Fudge’s stern gaze fell upon him.
Bagman stammered for a moment, then realized what he needed to do. He stood up and shouted, “So, let’s welcome our champions!”
The crowd erupted in deafening applause, and a piercing whistle cut through the air. The fire dragons lifted their heads, cautiously and uneasily scanning the area. Soon, a wooden gate opened, and the champions walked in.
“Hiss~”
Harry saw someone in front of him stumble backward. He quickly reached out to steady the person, who was the Beauxbatons champion. Harry couldn’t remember this boy’s name, but it was clear that he was in a terrible state, his nose and eyes streaming with tears.
“François…” Fleur whispered, “For the sake of Nicolas Flamel, be brave!” She turned her head and instructed, “Jacqueline!”
Another girl, trembling, helped François to his feet, though from Harry’s perspective, she was also visibly terrified.
Harry’s dislike for Fleur grew, but he was taken aback when he saw a layer of mist in her eyes. Perhaps his expression was too obvious, as Fleur glared at him fiercely.
A lead official guided them to an open area where the air was much hotter than outside. Harry saw the stones in front of the blue Swedish Short-Snout melt like liquid, drooping limply.
He couldn’t hear any sounds, but he could see the scorching, lava-like liquid continuously dripping, as if it were falling on his heart. But that wasn’t his problem. He heard Ron gulping loudly and followed his gaze to see their target: a massive, black mountain that moved and was covered in spikes.
Harry regretted not taking a closer look during the night. This Hungarian Tree Hornet was taller than ten Harrys stacked on top of each other, covered in black scales with a lizard-like appearance. It had yellow eyes and bronze horns, and its tail was tipped with bronze-colored spikes.
He heard Hermione recite the dragon’s information in a hoarse voice, “The Hungarian Tree Hornet is considered one of the most vicious and aggressive species of fire dragons… capable of spitting fire up to fifty feet. It becomes even more aggressive when protecting its eggs… female dragons are generally larger than males…”
“I’m just glad mum isn’t here…” Ron said with a bitter smile when he saw Sirius waving from the stands.
Charlie approached, and his calm voice helped to steady Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They were then led to their respective positions by the officials. As they passed Charlie, he patted their shoulders, trying to say something, but only managed to mumble a faint “Good luck.”
In front of Harry, Ron, and Hermione was the Hungarian Tree Hornet. It was nothing like the model Bagman had pulled from his bag; only up close could they feel its terrifying presence. Compared to this fire dragon, they were like three rats.
They had to tilt their heads back to see its massive, spiky head.
“This is in Classroom Seven, Classroom Seven…” Ron kept repeating to himself.
Hermione’s face was as pale as paper, and she struggled to keep her voice steady. “There are dragon tamers and Ministry of Magic officials around. Even if you don’t trust them, you should trust Professor Hep… he’s right above us!”
The three looked up into the sky, squinting against the light, and saw a blurry figure standing there, giving them immense courage.
Bagman’s passionate voice rang out again, “The champions are in position, just seventy feet from their opponents. This is a relatively safe distance because the fire dragons’ legs are chained.”
"At the sound of the whistle, you can begin. Time, strategy, effectiveness, and the courage you display will all be part of the scoring criteria. Good luck! On your marks—three—two—one! Begin the competition!"
The cacophony around them seemed to pause, and Harry didn't have time to look at the others. He had to focus on his own task—cautiously, he needed to start with reconnaissance. He shouted from the depths of his heart, "Firebolt, come to me!"
After a moment of quiet, he accurately picked out the familiar sound from the sea of noise. A blurry shadow flew toward him from the direction of the castle. He flipped up into the sky, and the familiar sensation of speed calmed his heart.
"The sky is my domain!"
Harry told himself, ascending higher and higher, pushing the broom to its maximum speed. In just a few seconds, he had overtaken a figure, Professor Hep. He caught a glimpse of the professor rolling his eyes at him.
He adjusted the broom handle and scanned the area below. From a height of seven or eight hundred feet, the fire dragon resembled the fire lizards Hagrid had described in class. He noticed that the entire arena looked like a daffodil, with each petal holding a fire dragon near its center, and the champions standing on the other side of the petals.
From the air, he could see that only the group from Wagadu and Cedric had started moving. The unremarkable wizard, whose name Harry couldn't recall, had an eagle-shaped hairstyle. Suddenly, he rolled on the ground and transformed into a sleek, bronze eagle. With a few powerful flaps, he soared into the sky, bravely heading toward the beautiful Australian Opal Eye.
A wave of gasps rippled through the stands as the audience was stunned by the Wagadu student's transformation. "An Animagus!" someone shouted.
"Not an Animagus!" Bagman's voice rang out to everyone, "That's a unique human transformation technique from Wagadu. As far as I know, all three champions can do this!"
"Screech~"
The bronze feathers of the eagle shone in the sunlight. The Australian Opal Eye sensed the threat and stared at the eagle with its iridescent, pupil-less eyes. It opened its mouth and spewed a fan-shaped burst of vivid red fire.
The bronze eagle nimbly dodged the flames, continuously taunting the dragon with its calls.
On the other side, Cedric raised his wand, and a mist began to gather, growing wider and darker until it formed a deep, dark rain cloud rising hundreds of feet into the air.
Rain began to drizzle down, extinguishing the sparks from the blue Swedish Short-Snout's nose. The dragon was furious and lifted its head to spew blue flames. The heat from its fire was intense enough to melt rock, but at only twenty-three or twenty-four feet tall, it couldn't reach the rain cloud above.
The rain wasn't much at first, but it grew heavier, making the dragon uncomfortable. The Swedish Short-Snout became agitated, trying to move its egg with its feet, causing the chains to creak and groan.
Collins Foley had disappeared at some point, and Harry grinned, knowing that Cedric and his team had chosen the most suitable strategy.
Harry dove sharply, catching a glimpse of Fleur's team, where the other two champions seemed hesitant to move.
Bagman's commentary cut in at the right moment: "The Beauxbatons champions seem to be at odds; this is not a good sign... Look at Durmstrang; they are casting dark magic from a distance, but this only makes the fire dragon more agitated, with no other effect... Oh no, look at Krum. He has cast a spell on himself to lower his presence and is quietly approaching. Does he plan to snatch the dragon egg with his bowed legs? He should be on a broom; Durmstrang's strategy isn't maximizing his strengths!"
In the judges' stand, Karkaroff's expression was one of dissatisfaction. "What is he doing? He is disturbing Krum."
The headmistress of Wagadu, a lean and wiry witch, smiled. Karkaroff glared at her angrily. "What's so funny? Your other two students are just standing there watching!"
(End of Chapter)
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