The Return to Hogwarts

boom!

The image on the screen cleared again. The surveillance cameras scattered throughout the arena flew around aimlessly, unable to find Krum anywhere. Most of the young wizards believed that Krum had merged with the earth. Some of Krum's most ardent female fans even covered their mouths and began to sob quietly. And just then—

Less than fifty feet from the treetop, a rock embedded in the ground exploded without warning, and Victor Krum, who was thought to be dead, jumped out of a large crater in the ground.

Krum was covered in dust, even his eyebrows and hair were covered in a layer of gray. He stood at the edge of the pit, panting slightly. People could see that his face on the big screen was covered with tiny wounds. Most importantly, Krum's left wrist was clearly bent at an unnatural angle. Even without a sharp mind, it was easy to figure out how that was done.

"He's actually still alive! That's unbelievable!"

Ludo spoke in a surprised tone, suddenly feeling a chill run down his spine. Even without turning around, Ludo knew who was staring at him with murderous intent. So, he immediately changed the subject.

"Great job, folks! Mr. Krum has gotten through the toughest time—oh, his left arm doesn't look good, which will definitely affect his mobility. I sincerely hope this won't have any negative impact on Mr. Krum's Quidditch career!"

call out!

Krum had no intention of giving up. After only a few seconds to catch his breath, Krum raised his hand and unleashed a dark red spell, aiming straight at Tree Peak's eyes!

It's an eye disease curse!

There were quite a few observant people present, and they immediately recognized what the silent spell was from the casting gesture. However, after the spell struck the tree bee's mandible and sparked a bright burst of sparks, a small number of sighs rang out.

"What a pity!"

Ludo also sighed and said,

"Mr. Krum seemed to be trying to block the dragon's vision, and he almost succeeded, but the commotion just now seemed to have disoriented him, and his opponent obviously couldn't believe he was still alive, so he moved his head."

Roar!

The Hungarian tree peak, regaining its senses, let out a terrifying, earth-shattering scream. It raised its head, and a blazing, dazzling crimson glow brewed in its ferocious maw!

too close!

It was obvious what Hungarian Tree Peak was planning to do, and Krum was less than forty feet away from the fire dragon. There was nothing else to hide in except for the rubble and shallow pits around him. Even if he jumped back into the deep pit where he had just been, the heat of the dragon's breath would kill him!

Completely enraged, the Hungarian tree peak raised its neck high. From its furious posture, it was clear that the dragon's breath to come would be as fierce as a storm. Perhaps in the next second, Krum would be blown into ashes by the raging fire wind right before everyone's eyes!

At this moment, even Dumbledore's expression turned solemn. He stood up abruptly, and the Elder Wand appeared in his aged hand. His face was calm, but he exuded a suffocating majesty in silence!

What should I do!

Time seemed to stand still. Krum's dark face finally turned pale. He knew he had no way to avoid it. At this distance, the dragon's breath would definitely kill him, and it wouldn't be long. Judging from the increasingly intense light emanating from the black dragon's ferocious mouth, it might only be a few seconds—and that wouldn't even be enough time for him to reach the golden egg that had been knocked aside by the earlier commotion, unless...

A fierce glint flashed in Krum's eyes. Amidst many astonished gazes, he not only did not turn and flee, but instead charged headlong into the Hungarian wood bee!

"Are you insane, Viktor!"

Karkarov finally couldn't stand it anymore and cried out in alarm.

Everyone thought Krum was courting death, but at that moment, Krum unleashed his second spell since entering the arena. Unlike Cedric, he didn't try to interfere with the fire dragon; instead, his spell struck the ground behind the golden egg!

boom!

Before the dragon's breath could fall, a violent explosion occurred first.

The moment the cursed light touched the ground, the jagged rocks exploded violently, and the surging shockwave blasted the golden egg into the air. Perhaps it was a coincidence, but those witnessing this scene were more inclined to believe it was pre-planned; after all, Krum was a world-renowned Quidditch player.

In short, the golden egg flew toward Krum, and at the same time, Krum, who was rapidly approaching, stepped on a flying rock and resolutely leaped into the air, his intact hand reaching toward the golden egg!

Time stretched out at that moment, and people stared in horror as the distance between Krum's fingertips and the spinning golden egg's fingertips slowly decreased, and the blazing sun held in the mouth of the ferocious dragon exploded, a crimson torrent carrying the aura of destruction rushing down!

The entire arena seemed to be surrounded by a mass of amber about to solidify. The only things that could move slowly were Krum's fingertips, the rolling golden egg, and the dragon's breath, which was clearly faster. One thing was certain: even if Krum touched the golden egg first, he would be destroyed by the dragon's breath of the tree bees!

hum!

A sharp buzzing sound shattered the frozen silence of the arena, and Amostella and Dumbledore, finally back in the arena, simultaneously raised their wands at the Hungarian Hornet.

Chapter 628 Dispute and the Chinese Fireball

2023-12-02

The timing was perfect. The blazing torrent was only half a meter away from Krum, whose cheek was already covered in scalding blisters, and his fingertips were only half a finger away from the golden egg. However, everyone present, except Amostella and Dumbledore, was blinded by the crimson flames and could not observe this detailed scene.

At that moment, Amosta and Dumbledore both made their moves.

The grey runes that Harry had seen trapped the Swedish short-nosed dragon in the cave reappeared, instantly covering the dragon and causing pillars of flame to surge in the air, completely imprisoning them on a spatial level. Dumbledore's magic, on the other hand, stirred up a gentle breeze, without any dazzling light or shadow, but its power was extraordinary.

The largest Hungarian wood bee in the fire dragon, blown dozens of feet away by the breeze, crashed heavily to the ground with a deafening roar.

boom--

Amidst the aftershocks of the earthquake, a clear impact rang out. It was Krum, who had slung the golden egg under his arm and also slammed back to the ground. This was a significant blow to him as well; he was so disoriented that he couldn't even stand up for a moment, curling up and panting in pain.

The image on the big screen froze on Dumbledore and Amosta as they slowly lowered their wands, and the room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

How exactly should this be calculated?

Not to mention the audience at the venue and those watching on the screen, even Ludo, Maxim, and Crouch didn't react for a moment.

"Victor has completed the challenge!"

Karkaroff clearly knew where the subtle atmosphere in the air came from, and he spoke up faster than anyone else.

"You see, he got the golden egg!"

“I didn’t mean to refute your point, Professor Karkaroff—”

Ludo, one of the hosts and referees, said with difficulty,

"But one undeniable fact is that Krum obtained the golden egg after Amostall and Dumbledore subdued the Hungarian Hornet, so, at least according to the rules, it doesn't count."

"That's complete nonsense, Bagman!"

Karkarov shouted angrily.

"It wasn't Viktor who asked them to help; he was entitled to the golden egg!"

“How could you say that, Professor Karkaroff!” Madam Maxime glared at him, displeased. “If it weren’t for Blaine and Dumbledore, your warrior would have been reduced to ashes—”

Amosta and Dumbledore remained silent. Karkaroff's clownish behavior wasn't enough to make them lose their temper. Karkaroff then realized that this wasn't the small room behind the Great Hall at Hogwarts; countless eyes were on them all around!

After a brief change in expression, Karkaroff faced Amostella and Dumbledore with a greasy smile.

"I am incredibly grateful to you for saving Viktor's life. Of course, it was your duty, wasn't it? But let me be fair, Krum completed the challenge, didn't he? He could have reached the dragon egg before the most ferocious fire dragon's flames touched him. So, oh, what I really meant was that you acted a little too early!"

Karkaroff's words drew scornful glances from those around him. Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout even snorted angrily, while Snape turned his gloomy face away, worried that if Karkaroff couldn't persuade the others, he might be brought out to bolster their confidence.

A clown, a dying man.

A cold smirk played on Amostella's lips. He turned his head, glancing expectantly at the passage leading to the dragon's entrance, disdainful of getting entangled with it. Dumbledore's half-moon glasses also reflected a hint of impatience, but ultimately, he calmly offered his assessment.

"Objectively speaking, that's the case; Mr. Krum will touch the golden egg first."

Dumbledore's words made Karkaroff grin, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.

Krum was carried off by the healers of St. Mungo's. To be honest, it was a wise decision to invite these medical professionals to help. If it were up to Madam Pomfrey alone, she would probably be after the match to fight Amosta and Dumbledore.

The scoring has begun.

Dumbledore and Maxim were both quite generous, giving Krum a score of nine and an 8 respectively, which was perfectly acceptable, while Barty Crouch also gave him an 8.

The problem lies with Karkaroff and Ludo Bagman.

When Karkaroff's wand shot out a silver ribbon of '10' into the air, angry shouts immediately rang out. No matter where you were sitting, you could hear people yelling the word 'shameless' at Karkaroff. But Karkaroff didn't care and still had a smug expression. However, his smile only lasted until Ludo gave him his score.

Six points!

Not to mention Karkaroff, even Amosta raised his eyebrows slightly, but then his eyebrows fell back down. This guy must have secretly pressured Krum to lose the game.

"This is unreasonable!" Karkaroff shouted angrily at Ludo. "Your rating is full of bias and targeting, Bagman!"

“Perhaps you’ve forgotten, Professor Karkaroff—” Madam Maxim bowed slightly to Dumbledore and said in a low voice, “You also gave that boy from Hogwarts a score of 6, but his performance was far more than that.”

Karkarov looked unconvinced and was about to retort, but Ludo spoke first, explaining his reasoning.

“I admit Mr. Krum performed quite well, Professor Karkaroff--”

Ludo had clearly anticipated that Karkarov might question his score, and he wasn't upset at all; instead, he wore a light smile.

"But there's a problem. At the very end of that fight, just as the tree bee was about to unleash its dragon breath, Mr. Krum not only didn't dodge, but instead accelerated towards the golden egg. He clearly wanted to outrun the tree bee, which reveals his true intention—"

"What?!" Karkarov demanded angrily.

"Mr. Krum clearly believes that he will be saved regardless of whether he gets the dragon egg or not. Ah, of course, according to Dumbledore, he got the dragon egg first, but his line of thinking is undoubtedly—"

Ludo finally gave his opinion.

"Mr. Krum designed the safety officer, who relied on others to save him from the challenge. Without Amosta and Dumbledore, he would have been finished while getting the golden egg. I think that should obviously be a point deduction."

Karkaroff's sallow face flushed red; he was momentarily speechless, unable to think of a good way to refute.

“Referees have the right to score as long as there is a valid reason,” Amosta said firmly. “The last warrior is eagerly awaiting his return, and we shouldn’t waste any more time on this issue.”

Karkaroff knew he wouldn't get anyone's support, so he sat down angrily and started calculating Viktor's score. But when he realized that Viktor's score had surpassed Fleur's and was tied with Cedric's, his expression improved, and he looked expectantly at the Warriors' entrance tunnel.

The first event of the Triwizard Tournament was finally drawing to a close, with only Hogwarts' second champion, and the unexpected fourth champion of the tournament, yet to compete. The Gryffindor section fell silent; Cedric had completed his challenge, and now it was Hermione Granger's turn!

Ron stared palely at the entrance to the arena. Having witnessed Cedric, Fleur, and Krum's battle with the dragon, he no longer harbored any of his immature thoughts. But what about Harry? Why wasn't he there?

Hey!

At that moment, a series of exclamations rang out from the crowd. Ron quickly turned his head to look and finally saw the opponent Hermione was about to face.

The Chinese Fireball – the only fire dragon in the East.

This fire dragon was strikingly beautiful, its smooth, scarlet scales covering its body. It had a lion's nose surrounded by a ring of golden, tassel-like spikes, and its eyes bulged out. The fireball was much larger than the Hungarian wood bee that had just been eliminated, weighing only about three or four tons, and seemed much easier to deal with, but—