The Return to Hogwarts

“Tomm?” Sirius pressed. “Who’s that!”

"It was a house-elf that Hermione Granger accidentally rescued, and she had been raising it with Hagrid—"

Dumbledore glanced at Amostella and said calmly.

The vast underground cavern fell silent, and everyone was quiet. Harry stared at Hagrid in disbelief, gradually realizing that things might not be as he had guessed.

"So, this house-elf wants to..."

Sirius's expression suddenly became amusing as he looked at Amosta.

"But I don't understand how it ensures that Hermione's opponent is this red fire dragon?"

"Oh--"

Amosta smiled.

"It did tamper with the draw, which I ignored. However, I didn't expect Dom to go this far. I guess it probably wanted to make the Chinese Fireball less energetic when it played, so that Hermione would face an easier challenge. But unfortunately, it doesn't seem to have a good grasp of potion dosages—"

Chapter 626 The Raging Dragon

2023-11-30

Amosta finished his narration, and faced with this speculation, apart from Dumbledore who remained calm, Charlie, Sirius, and Hagrid all showed obvious astonishment. They had not expected that the culprit was a house-elf.

Harry secretly breathed a sigh of relief. So the whole thing was just a misunderstanding caused by Dom's own actions, and not some carefully planned conspiracy.

"Amosta--"

After a moment of silence, Sirius suddenly asked cautiously, "I don't know the story of that house-elf, but you know Kreacher. Generally speaking, house-elves behave..."

What does Sirius want to say?

Harry frowned in confusion. He suddenly realized that Professor Blaine, who hadn't answered Sirius's question, was looking at him, and even Dumbledore and Charlie were watching him. Harry blinked, and then, a sudden realization dawned on him, and he exclaimed...

"Absolutely not! Hermione didn't give Dom any orders, I swear on my life!"

“Don’t worry, Harry—” Dumbledore said gently, “we know Miss Granger just as well as you do.”

“My opinion is—” Professor Blaine continued, “Domme probably really wanted to help Hermione through this difficult time, so he deliberately misinterpreted some of Hermione’s words, didn’t he, Harry?”

Harry frowned, trying to recall the few times Hermione and Doom had spoken recently, and what they had said. However, unlike Hermione, he didn't have a commendable memory and couldn't possibly remember their daily conversations. So, he had no choice but to repeat what he had just said.

“I can call him in and ask him, Professor Dumbledore, Professor Blaine—”

Seeing that he had been cleared of suspicion, Hagrid appeared much more composed, and he breathed a sigh of relief as if he had escaped a disaster.

“That’s not the most important thing, Hagrid—”

Sirius Black was the first to offer his opinion.

"There's no point in blaming a house-elf. Right now, the most important thing is what to do with this fire dragon. It's definitely not going to be of any use for a while. Do you have any alternative plans, Charlie?"

“No—” Charlie looked at the unconscious Chinese fireball with concern, his tone not very good, “Transporting four brooding dragons to incubate their eggs was already quite a hassle!”

Harry knew what the people in the burrow were struggling with, and with a hopeful look in his eyes, he cautiously asked, "Maybe Hermione can advance directly?"

"If we really did that, I'm afraid the Triwizard Tournament wouldn't be able to continue. Harry, Madam Maxime, and Professor Karkaroff might just forfeit—"

Dumbledore said to Harry with a smile.

"Perhaps," Sirius, who was actively participating in the discussion, turned his gaze to the Welsh Green Dragon and the Swedish Short-nosed Dragon, which had already finished their matches, "were you suggesting we let one of these two big guys work overtime?"

"That'll be a laughing stock, Sirius—"

Amostella rejected the plan. After a few seconds of contemplation, he slowly said, "Upon discovering this situation, I originally intended to use Transfiguration to shape a stone, while I controlled the dragon and Hermione from the sidelines to maneuver around it—"

“But you can’t make a fire dragon breathe, can you, Amosta—”

Throughout, Amosta and Dumbledore remained remarkably calm, seemingly not regarding the situation as an insurmountable obstacle. Dumbledore calmly pointed out the flaws in Amosta's plan.

"Actually, it's not impossible. You know, Headmaster Dumbledore, some illusion magic can do it by hypnotizing everyone in the arena. But there are too many elites here, and it would be easy to create flaws. Now, I have a new idea—"

"What is it?"

Sirius pressed for details, quite curious about what ingenious idea Amosta had up her sleeve. However, Amosta didn't immediately reveal her plan. Instead, she turned her gaze to him, a smile playing on her lips, a strange light flickering in her eyes.

"Oh, the first Triwizard Tournament in centuries! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, isn't it, Sirius? So, do you have any plans to participate?"

When the Hungarian Horned Beetle was brought onto the field by the dragon trainers, everyone gasped as they looked at the enormous fire dragon covered in sharp spikes. Without anyone explaining, the young wizards immediately realized that Viktor Krum's opponent was likely to be very difficult to deal with.

"Now, let's give a warm round of applause to welcome Durmstrang's warrior, Mr. Viktor Krum!"

Ludo said in a high-pitched voice,

"I think no wizard who loves Quidditch is unfamiliar with the Bulgarian Seeker genius, Viktor Krum. Although Bulgaria was inferior to Ireland in this year's World Cup, Krum still won the Seeker battle against Lynch. His beautiful Lonski feint was impeccable. We expect Mr. Krum to have the same brilliant performance on the field today!"

It must be said that Ludo has a certain level of skill in creating a lively atmosphere.

More and more people joined the screaming upperclassman witches at Hogwarts, creating a scene that was clearly more lively than when Cedric and Fleur had entered. However, Karkaroff couldn't laugh. He stared at the restless Hungarian tree peak with a sinister look in his eyes, and his champion, Viktor Krum, had almost the same expression.

People expected Krum to take some time, like Cedric and Fleur, to overcome his fears and work on his tactics. However, his choice was surprising.

After entering through the passage, Krum paused for only two or three seconds before sprinting off. Like Fleur, he didn't try to hide himself but charged along the ridgeline. His aggressive posture made it seem as if he was preparing for a close-quarters fight with the Hungarian Tree Peak!

"Is he planning to confront this fire dragon head-on?" Arya's voice was filled with admiration despite her doubt. "If he were at Hogwarts, he would definitely be from our house!"

“That’s not necessarily true, Arya—” George said seriously, “To get into Gryffindor, you need at least a bit of brains—”

Unlike the two fire dragons before, the Hungarian Tree Peak did not let out a warning or threatening growl after it discovered Krum approaching it. Instead, its dark yellow, murderous vertical pupils stared intently at the small creature that was rapidly approaching it. Its body gradually stretched out, reaching a height of fifty feet!

Two hundred feet, one hundred and fifty feet, one hundred feet, eighty feet!

With a dark complexion and gloomy eyes, Krum raised his wand at that moment, the glow of the spell already faintly ready to emanate from the tip of his wand!

"Good heavens, Mr. Krum seems to be planning to confront this Hungarian tree peak head-on!" Ludo exclaimed in surprise. "He wants to force this vicious Hungarian tree peak back, but can he do it?"

Boom!

Just then, a deafening roar suddenly came from inside the arena, and even the earth trembled slightly at the sound.

It was that Hungarian Treebeak that had been tortured by the purple-eyed human wizard, followed by half a month of imprisonment. The Hungarian Treebeak's temper had reached a breaking point, and today, a seemingly insignificant human cub dared to send a provocative signal to it, which made it impossible to tolerate any longer!

The Hungarian tree peak let out a deafening howl, which even caused slight ripples in the air. Then, the tree peak suddenly spun around, and its thick, bronze-spike-covered body slammed heavily into the artificial mountain!

Countless head-sized stones flew in all directions like bullets, crashing against the magical barriers surrounding the arena and creating ripples. The arena was shrouded in a thick haze, nearly half of it obscured by dense smoke and dust, making it impossible to see clearly. All that could be heard was the incessant roar of the Hungarian tree and the rumbling sound of the artificial mountain being relentlessly destroyed!

"Oh my god!"

Like many others, Ludo stood up uneasily. He glanced back and forth between the arena and the large screen, which also displayed nothing. Finally, he fixed his gaze on Dumbledore.

"Is he still alive?"

Chapter 627 The Valiant Krum

2023-12-02

Karkaroff also turned his gaze to Dumbledore, his mouth opening and closing as if to ask a question but he couldn't bring himself to do so.

"Don't worry, Mr. Krum has hidden himself very well, he's safe. That's all for now."

Dumbledore's answer put everyone's minds at ease.

This tree bee was terrifying. Rather than attacking Krum who was trying to get close, it was more like it was venting its anger. It kept letting out ear-piercing roars, slapping its tail against the mountain and the ground, and throwing the rocks in all directions. The entire stadium was trembling slightly, and even the usually composed 'big shots' changed color slightly.

Although the Triwizard Tournament has always had a 'casualty limit', even if Viktor Krum died here, Durmstrang would have no complaints. After all, he chose this formidable opponent himself.

But the reality is certainly not that simple. Krum is a Quidditch superstar with countless Quidditch fans who love him. If something goes wrong, the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts will have to find a way to appease those angry fans.

"Shouldn't we intervene, Dumbledore?"

Seeing that Amosta still hadn't returned, Ms. Burns stepped down from her seat, approached Dumbledore, and whispered something to him. Considering the presence of several referees, she phrased it rather tactfully.

"There are many people gathered here; we can't let this fire dragon demolish the houses. If this artificial hill collapses, I'm afraid—"

Ms. Burns' words struck a chord with Karkaroff. He could no longer hold a grudge against Dumbledore and eagerly echoed her sentiments.

"That's right, Dumbledore. We have to consider the safety of the audience!"

However, Madame Maxim glanced sideways at Karkarov, her voice completely flat.

"Warriors should use their wisdom, courage, and magical skills to overcome various difficulties on the field—I agree with your previous view, Karkarov."

Should we hold another vote?

Ludo asked at the opportune moment.

“I don’t think it’s necessary—” Dumbledore withdrew his gaze from the field and said cheerfully, “I think the commotion is almost over—”

Three minutes had passed since the terrifying commotion began. Tree Peak, which had been venting its fury, finally felt a little tired. It stopped ravaging the arena with its tail, breathed slightly, exhaled a small puff of hot white air, and slowly crouched down.

Under the influence of gravity, the smoke and dust slowly settled, and one area after another was revealed to the audience. People stared at the cratered ground, which resembled a stadium on the surface of the moon, and were speechless with astonishment.

"What do you think—"

Neville said, trembling with fear,

What does he have left?

"That's hard to say, Neville—"

Dean swallowed hard, his voice choked with spit, and said...

"I think something from a fingernail or something will always stay, right?"