The Return to Hogwarts

The atmosphere in the arena had eased a bit, Bagman said cheerfully.

"Our first warrior has finally taken action, and we can see his intentions quite clearly!"

As Bagman said, the Newfoundland hound that evolved from the rock suddenly rushed out the moment it gained the ability to move, but it did not rush towards the Swedish short-nosed dragon. Instead, it ran quickly along an arc, barking wildly, towards the other side of the gentle slope.

Even before the stone began to deform, the clever Swedish short-nosed dragon had its eye on it. When the hound started to run, the dragon changed its crouching posture and stood up completely.

The Newfoundland Hound is about the size of a young calf, but compared to the Swedish Brachynotaurus, which is nearly three stories tall, it is just a tiny creature. The fire dragon did not pounce on it to tear it apart or annihilate it with its breath for the time being, but simply wanted to determine what the dog was up to.

Woo!

To be honest, it was quite amusing to hear a dog whimpering during the three-way battle.

"Did you see that, everyone!" Bagman exclaimed excitedly. "Cedric is having his hounds provoke the dragon. He's trying to lure it away—a very wise move!"

Just as Bagman said, the hound stopped directly in front of Cedric, ignoring the huge size difference between itself and the dragon, and turned its head to bark loudly.

The short-nosed dragon spread its wings, which were the size of sails. Already restless and irritable, it was even more annoyed by the tiny creature in front of it. Instinctively, a surge of blue flames erupted from its nostrils, and the air instantly became scorching. The audience, feeling the heat wave, gasped in surprise!

But after the dazzling blue flames, filled with the aura of death, dissipated, the Newfoundland Hound was unharmed. It was in a safe position, untouched by the dragon's breath, and besides, it wasn't a real dog, so there was no need to worry about the high temperature.

The short-nosed dragon angrily pawed at the soil with its claws, its wings flapping to create a fierce gust of wind. Its huge and ferocious head shook, and its deep, thunderous roar sent chills down everyone's spines!

The problem was that the short-nosed dinosaur from the mountains of northern Sweden still hadn't left its egg. Although it was distracted by Cedric's hounds, it didn't leave its hay-lined nest. This obviously wouldn't do, so the Newfoundland hound tried something new. It suddenly lunged forward a few feet, then turned its head and began wagging its rump at the short-nosed dinosaur.

This move was immediately effective. The fire dragon was a highly intelligent and powerful magical creature, and it could not tolerate such an insult.

The laughter of the audience, amused by the hounds, was drowned out by the earth-shattering roar of the fire dragon. Blue flames surged forth again like a flood, so intense that even Cedric, who was in the opposite direction, felt as if he were in a scorching furnace!

Fortunately, he reacted quickly enough. Seeing that things were not going well, he immediately told the hound to run away. When the flames subsided, the hound did not break down. Instead, it stood on the edge of the crater melted by the flames and bared its teeth at the short-nosed dragon!

Roar!

A tangible wave of air surged up, raising billowing dust. In the hazy distance, the clanging of taut chains suddenly rang out. Immediately afterward, a huge shadow burst through the dust, lunging at the Newfoundland Hound with a sharp howl.

It's now!

Cedric's mind went blank. He surrendered his body to instinct and, forty feet after the short-nosed dragon left its lair, he leaped decisively from behind the rock.

"Good heavens, look at Mr. Diggory!"

Bagman exclaimed in surprise,

"His speed is truly amazing, simply incredible!"

Previously, Cedric was about sixty feet away from the dragon's lair, but in the one or two seconds that Ludo exclaimed, he seemed to fly across that sixty-foot distance, and by the time Ludo finished speaking, he had already appeared at the edge of the dragon's lair!

Roar!

Another earth-shaking roar erupted. The Swedish short-nosed dinosaur, which was pouncing on the hound, seemed to sense something was wrong. It turned its head abruptly and saw a tiny creature trying to approach its egg.

Before it could fully turn around, the dragon's breath had already been successfully prepared. People could see that the short-nosed dragon's snout was glowing with a blue light brighter than ever before. However, Digori, who had already appeared, seemed to have no room to dodge. He was too fast, charging forward without leaving himself any way out. At that distance and with his own forward speed, he had no chance to dodge!

The dragon trainers hidden in the passageway raised their wands, and even Dumbledore stood up from his seat.

"The slide is flat!"

Just when the spectators thought Cedric was about to miss out on the golden dragon egg that was within reach, he suddenly lunged forward, pointed his wand at the dragon's feet in mid-air, and shouted.

Boom!

The sound of the fire dragon crashing to the ground was like a thunderclap from nowhere, but the dragon's breath was still successfully released. However, due to the sudden loss of balance, it did not aim at Cedric, but instead attacked the rock wall two or three feet away from Cedric's left arm!

The arena trembled, not from the roar of the fire dragon, but from the cheers of the audience.

"Look! Did you all see that? Our first warrior has already gotten the golden egg!"

The dragon trainers swarmed forward, and at least dozens of red lights enveloped the entire body of the Ridden short-nosed dragon, but no one paid any attention to that. Everyone was cheering for Cedric, and Ludo Bagman jumped onto the table, roaring excitedly.

"He succeeded. He showed us his courage and wisdom. Gentlemen, I bet you ten thousand Galleons that the final little curse was planned. No one could have immediately thought of how to deal with it in that situation. Our brave warrior clearly took a big gamble, and we all saw him succeed!"

The young wizards of Hufflepuff were absolutely ecstatic; they all jumped onto the table, laughing and shouting Cedric's name.

Professor Sprout was so moved that he kept wiping away tears, while Cho Chang in the corridor also looked at Cedric with teary eyes.

"That's my son! That's my son!"

In the Diagon Alley audience, Amos stood up and shouted loudly. He saw Arthur grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh, congratulations, Amos, that was a fantastic performance!"

Arthur said happily, but there was a hint of regret in his eyes. He was thinking that if Bill, Charlie, or even Percy had been able to participate in the Triwizard Tournament when they were studying at Hogwarts, they might have become champions too.

Cedric lay on his back on the ground, one hand firmly pressed against the golden egg.

He knew that countless people should be cheering for him at this moment, but he couldn't feel any joy at all; all he felt was a sense of relief at surviving a disaster.

The hidden passage opened, and Cedric caught a glimpse of Madam Pomfrey running towards him out of the corner of his eye, followed by a group of healers from St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Injuries, their faces filled with terror, as if they had witnessed something horrible.

"I'm fine—"

Cedric tried to get up to tell them there was no need to rush, that he had just tripped and fallen. However, when he tried to get up, he found that the left side of his body was completely unresponsive and numb. So he looked over in astonishment!

"do not move!"

Mrs. Pomfrey rushed over and shouted at Cedric, whose face was contorted in pain. She gasped several times as she looked at Cedric's bloodied arm exposed to the air.

“You should thank Amosta for providing you with the special racing suits, Mr. Diggory—”

Mrs. Pomfrey said with a look of shock.

"Otherwise, you can forget about saving this arm!"

Chapter 622 Dumbfounded

2023-11-28

“Cedric Diggory displayed commendable courage. It was clear that Mr. Diggory had a clear plan for how to deal with the dragon, and everything went according to plan from beginning to end. I think everyone would agree that Mr. Diggory possesses extraordinary wisdom. You know, before entering the arena, the warriors, like everyone else, knew nothing about what they were about to face.”

A surveillance camera flew in front of Ludo Bagman, and when he saw his face magnified on the big screen, Ludo became even more excited.

"We all thought Mr. Diggory's initial performance upon entering the arena was due to being intimidated by the dragon, but it turns out that he devised a near-perfect tactic in just a few minutes. He deserves our applause!"

The thunderous applause that suddenly erupted in the arena lasted for a long time. Cedric's colleagues from Hogwarts congratulated Mrs. Sprout. There was no doubt that Cedric's brilliant performance, his excellent Transfiguration, and the little spell that played a key role at the end won almost everyone's approval. However, Professor Karkaroff on the referee's table looked indifferent and his eyes were quite contemptuous.

Unfortunately, Cedric ultimately failed to completely evade the short-nosed dragon's breath, and his left hand was seriously injured, which will obviously affect his score.

And that's exactly what happened. Dumbledore, Maxim, and Barty Crouch all gave it a score of 9, while Ludo Bagman surprisingly gave it an 8—people thought he would give it a perfect score after hearing his praise, but compared to Karkaroff's 6, it was already quite good.

When Karkaroff was giving his score, the young wizards at Hogwarts booed him dismissively. Ernie, in a fit of rage, even rolled up his sleeves and tried to climb up to confront Karkaroff. Even Professor Sprout angrily shouted at the judges' table.

"One has gone down, there are still three warriors left!"

The dragon trainers were probably the busiest people in the competition. Together, they used a stun spell on the fire dragon, then dragged the unconscious Swedish short-nosed dragon away. Exhausted, they then dragged the Welsh green dragon back up. This green dragon was much more alert than the short-nosed dragon when it entered the arena, so it was a greater test for the dragon trainers.

"strangeness--"

Ginny looked at the chaotic scene on the big screen, raised her eyebrows, and said...

"Where is Charlie? He's their leader, isn't he? Shouldn't he be here to help?"

“Oh, maybe it’s already inside some dragon’s belly—” Fred said 'sorrowfully'.

The crisp whistle rang out again, and Bagman shouted,

"Miss Delacour, it's your turn. Please come on stage!"

All eyes were on the big screen. Two minutes later, Furong, dressed in her competition uniform, walked out of the tunnel and appeared in the arena.

As the most dazzling of Beauxbatons' many lovely girls, Fleur Delacour always maintained an arrogant demeanor at Hogwarts, except when facing a certain professor, as if she didn't care about anything there. But perhaps it was precisely because of this attitude that Fleur's popularity remained high. In private, the number of boys who expressed their admiration for Fleur was no less than the huge female fan club of Krum.

But today, Furong didn't have her usual proud expression.

Fleur, with her high ponytail, entered the arena with the same demeanor as Cedric. She stood at the foot of the hill, gazing at the summit, her pale cheeks filled with helplessness. Yet, her soft posture exuded a unique allure, making many boys wish they could jump into the arena and take Fleur's place in a one-on-one duel with the Welsh green dragon.

Those who follow this event are probably already aware of it through related reports—

Ludo enthusiastically explained to everyone,

"Miss Fleur Delacour from Beauxbatons has Veela blood, which is the source of her stunning beauty. Oh, Miss Fleur Delacour and the Welsh Green Dragon, folks, this reminds me of the fairy tale popular among Muggles, Beauty and the Beast. Oh, let me see what she has to offer!"

Cough!

Madame Maxime coughed loudly, glaring angrily at Ludo Bagman, successfully interrupting his flippant remarks. Then, looking at the pale face on the large screen, Madame Maxime's expression was filled with worry.

"Won't something unexpected happen, Dumbledore? It's not that I don't trust Fleur, but... oh, where's Amosta? Shouldn't he be on the scene, ready to guard against any accidents? I haven't seen him."

"Don't worry, madam, I believe Miss Delacour will surprise us—"

"Dumbledore said politely, ignoring Karkaroff's sneer. After glancing around, his gaze settled on a certain direction outside the arena. His silver-white eyebrows and beard twitched, as if he had noticed something."

"Amosta is probably on patrol outside. I guess he's afraid of a repeat of the World Cup tragedy."

After dealing with Madam Maxim's questions, a thoughtful look flashed in Dumbledore's azure eyes. Without making a sound, he withdrew his hand back into his wide sleeves. A few seconds later, a faint ray of silver light swiftly shot out, disappearing without attracting anyone's attention, passing directly through the floor.

"Everyone, Miss Delacour has probably made up her mind. She's planning to... I thought!"

Everyone knew why Ludo was surprised—everyone assumed that Fleur would probably use the same strategy as Cedric: approach quietly without being detected by the dragon, and then wait for an opportunity.

However, Furong's choice surprised everyone. She took the most convenient path to climb the hill, her steps faltering, but it was easy to see that Furong had no intention of hiding herself at all.

And her posture naturally caught the attention of the Welsh green dragon on the hillside.

Compared to the Swedish short-nosed dragon that Cedric had just dealt with, the Welsh green dragon from Wales in the UK was clearly more docile. It looked at the wizard approaching it on the ridge, its emerald vertical pupils not so hostile, but full of vigilance.

Ugh--