Chapter 398: Fire Dragon (Part 2)
Chapter 398: Fire Dragon (Part 2)
The Headmaster of Wagadu sat beside Madame Maxime, forming a stark contrast, as if Madame Maxime had placed her doll next to her. The witch, with a raspy voice, said, "My students are never short of courage. They haven't moved because there is something more important to do."
"Is she adding protective magic to her comrades? The African gesture casting is truly unique, like a dance..." Dumbledore stroked his beard and smiled.
They both looked toward one corner of the field.
The agile warrior, moving like a leopard, swiftly waved his arms, stirring the air while muttering incantations. Colored lines, like ropes, coiled around the largest of the Wagadu champions, who gritted his teeth, his face contorted in pain, but his body remained rigid and motionless.
The most imposing display came from Ilvermorny. The three champions' wands, like long whistles, whistled out powerful spells. Red and black flames, along with swirling whirlwinds, combined to form a spectacular composite spell.
The powerful wind even affected the Durmstrang champions nearby. Krum, who was hiding and inching closer to the fireball dragon, was forced to reveal himself. His face darkened as he quickly retreated. The fireball dragon, noticing him, tightened its guard over the dragon egg in its nest.
"What are you doing?" a Durmstrang champion shouted at the side.
"This is allowed by the rules. One of the challenges for the champions comes from the other champions. You should know that!" Victor Graves said coldly. He and his comrades were struggling to control the black whirlwind, from which broken-silk-like flames drifted far to the regions of the other fire dragons.
The Durmstrang champion gritted his teeth, wishing he could cast a spell at them, but the rules strictly prohibited direct attacks on opponents.
Harry, who was battling the Hungarian Tree Hornet, abruptly raised his broom to dodge a beautiful yet dangerous black flame flower. A corner of his robe turned to ash, and he broke out in a cold sweat.
He realized the danger. The field was fraught with peril, and he had narrowly avoided being hit by the fire from the slightly deranged Australian Opaleye. Even the sky, which he shared with the Wagadu azure eagle, had become more perilous.
He had to make room for the eagle, letting it tangle with the Australian Opaleye. He moved closer to Beauxbatons, where Fleur stood about forty feet from the fire dragon, apparently casting a complex hypnotic spell. The fire dragon seemed drowsy, but whenever it was about to fall asleep, a few black flame flowers from the Ilvermorny side flew over and landed on the Welsh Green, enough to rouse it.
Fleur glared at the flames. The other two Beauxbatons champions were distracted, helping her deal with the trouble.
Harry, standing high, surveyed the scene and had an epiphany. If he wanted to end the match without interference, he needed to act quickly. He descended and shared his thoughts with Ron and Hermione.
The two had not been idle. One had raised a tall earth wall, and the other was digging a deep pit, creating a makeshift defensive perimeter. Even Bagman kept glancing in their direction. But there was probably nothing to say, as he soon turned his head away.
"The scene is intense, despite it being only two minutes into the match... but if there are no results within half an hour, it will be difficult... Oh, look, the Hogwarts and Wagadu champions have new moves! Are they planning to cooperate? Good heavens!"
He exclaimed in shock, drawing everyone's attention.
At that moment, the blue Swedish Short-Snout, unable to endure the rain clouds above, found itself further encumbered by a thick fog that obscured its vision, making everything blurry, including the ground.
It lowered its head, spewing blue fire at the chains on its feet. The fireproofing charm on the iron chains made them scorching hot. After half a minute, the chains finally gave way under the intense heat, and with a powerful tug, the dragon broke free.
The Swedish Short-Snout was free!
It flapped its wings excitedly, soaring straight into the sky, shattering the annoying rain clouds. It caught a glimpse of a wizard on a broom and a large azure eagle but, wary of the massive Hungarian Tree Hornet, stayed away, only sending a long stream of fire.
Then, it turned and dived through the thick fog. The annoying wizard was no longer in sight, but a goat stood in its place. It was a bit hungry. The Swedish Short-Snout glanced at its nest, sensing some danger. It flew to the nest, grabbed the dragon egg with its hind legs, and intended to place it somewhere safe before hunting the goat. But as it took off from the ground, it heard someone chanting a spell. A line of black thorns appeared abruptly from a dozen feet away, rapidly extending toward it.
It widened its dragon eyes, and in the blink of an eye, the black thorns had climbed up its blue scales, wings, and neck along its claws. It struggled fiercely, flapping its wings, causing the black thorns to crack like cookies, but more black plants surged up.
The annoying wizard who had disappeared earlier reappeared and cast spells at it.
"Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy!" Cedric shouted loudly.
With the black thorns grown by Roger Davies, the Swedish Short-Snout was temporarily immobilized in mid-air, allowing him to cast spells without restraint. Red beams struck its unprotected belly, which was not covered by scales.
The Swedish Short-Snout was dazed, flapping its wings aimlessly, struggling by instinct. Unbeknownst to it, it had already approached the area near Wagadu. Suddenly, a silver tail with a rainbow glow flew out from somewhere and smacked it on the head.
This time, it finally couldn't hold on and fell from the sky, crashing to the ground with a loud thud, raising a cloud of dust.
But it was still conscious. It still clutched the dragon egg in its left foot, turning its neck and spraying blue, scorching flames in the direction of Cedric and Roger Davies based on memory. They had to keep their distance to avoid the flames.
At that moment, the Swedish Short-Snout felt a mosquito bite on its left foot. It didn't pay attention, continuing to spray flames. Soon, a numbness set in, and it stopped, bewildered to see its claw had loosened, and the dragon egg had rolled away.
Was it losing strength? It wondered, but then it opened its mouth, not to spray flames, but in utter shock.
Its dragon egg... had grown legs and was running away, getting further and further?
Collins Fleury, under the Disillusionment Charm, finally saw her chance. She was already skilled in Silent Spells, and during this time, she had spent her time repeatedly practicing the Disillusionment Charm and the Extraction Spell, waiting for this opportunity.
When the Swedish Short-Snout picked up the dragon egg, she was already close by, but she trusted her comrades and stayed hidden according to the plan. When the fire dragon was locked by Roger Davies's black thorns and knocked to the ground, she used the Silent Spell "Ease and Release" over ten times to make the fire dragon release its claw.
She held the dragon egg, each step feeling like she was stepping on her heart, the "thump thump" sound resonating with her entire being. She finally escaped the most dangerous area. Turning around, she saw Cedric and Roger Davies casting Stunning Spells at the Swedish Short-Snout.
She threw the dragon egg far away and jogged back, only to realize her wand was missing. It must have fallen in the arena. The scene was too chaotic, with dust flying everywhere. She looked around and spotted a dusty stick. Bending down, she picked it up and smashed it hard on the back of the fire dragon's head.
"Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!"
After a while, Roger Davies stopped her, "Stop, you'll wake it up if you keep hitting it." Collins Fleury was dazed, realizing the Swedish Short-Snout was already unconscious.
She plopped down on the ground.
Bagman's voice shouted excitedly, "Look, the first successful team has appeared. They not only got the dragon egg but also stunned the fire dragon. Points, they must get points!"
The stands erupted in applause, cheers, and screams.
"Where did you get that stick? Did you transfigure your wand? It looks so familiar", Roger Davies said.
Collins Fleury looked at him blankly and pointed in a direction, toward the Wagadu team.
Roger and Cedric turned their heads, their expressions turning blank. At the position of the Australian Opaleye, a massive African elephant had appeared, only ten feet tall, less than half the length of the fire dragon. With the help of its teammates, it had managed to step on the fire dragon and was now trampling it wildly.
"God!" Roger Davies said, in a daze.
"Yeah, the fire dragon is going crazy..." Cedric said.
(End of Chapter)
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