The Bard of Hogwarts

Chapter 330 The Clash of Ice and Fire

Led by Professor McGonagall, they bypassed the main entrance to the Quidditch stadium and arrived at a secluded side door.

"You have to go in yourselves; Bagman is inside."

Outside the door, Professor McGonagall gave the two of them a deep look: "Finally... good luck to you both."

"Thank you!" Unlike Harry's nervousness, Ino nodded seriously and went in first.

After passing through a narrow passage that could only accommodate one person at a time, the space ahead suddenly opened up, and he arrived at a spacious tent.

"Haha! Our Hogwarts heroes have arrived! Come in quickly, you have less than fifteen minutes to prepare."

As if he had been waiting for a long time, Bagman, the Director of the Department of Magical Sports, stood up with a smile on his face. Although he looked middle-aged, he appeared radiant and energetic, as if he had become ten years younger.

"Thank you!" Ino replied politely, then sat down on a bench nearby.

Although he knew that Marcus had already put in a good deal of effort to get in touch with the director in front of him, he did not intend to engage in excessive small talk with Bagman in the current situation. After all, the other party was a referee, and showing too much familiarity would easily arouse suspicion.

Bagman didn't seem to be a fool. After seeing Ino's reaction, he immediately understood and turned to look at the passage he had been in.

"Ha, our fourth hero has arrived! Harry Pott."

They greeted him with the same enthusiasm as before, even more so than before.

Krum and Fleur exchanged a quick glance, and at the same time, their brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

On the other side...

Faced with Bagman's enthusiasm, Harry felt inexplicably irritated. He didn't like the title. What did it mean to be the fourth champion? It made him seem like an unnecessary person in the Triwizard Tournament.

Suppressing his displeasure, Harry nodded slightly and sat down on another bench.

"Alright! Now that everyone's here, it's time to give you a brief overview of the basics. I think it's unnecessary, but that's the procedure..."

Even though he was rebuffed by Harry, Bagman was still overjoyed, his expression even happier than when he found Galleon.

"...That's the situation. For your safety, the maximum duration of the hourglass is half an hour. Of course, you can give up at any time during this period. As soon as you see the signal, ten experienced dragon trainers will immediately take over. Please rest assured about that."

While explaining the rules and how to handle unexpected situations, Bagman also took out a small canvas bag from the cabinet behind him.

"Let's draw lots now. This will determine your order of appearance and the corresponding dragon species."

Inside the tent, when Ino saw Bagman take out a cloth bag, the other three warriors present turned somewhat pale.

This is actually normal; the oldest of the three is only 17 years old. No matter how outstanding they are in school, they will inevitably feel apprehensive and nervous when facing a 5X-level fire dragon.

"I'll go first, if you don't mind." Ino slowly stood up and looked at the other three warriors.

This was a spur-of-the-moment decision, and the first one to go on stage would inevitably face more pressure.

After all, unlike the original story's golden egg snatching, the current fight is much more dangerous. If something goes wrong, it would be a real shame.

Bagman didn't care at all about Ino's volunteering; he earned his share of the profits from the sale of film and television mirrors, so the order of appearance didn't matter to him.

As for the other three warriors, they instinctively nodded in agreement after hearing that someone was willing to take the lead.

Ino took in everyone's reactions, smiled, and walked towards Bagman, reaching out to touch the bag containing the lottery numbers.

soon.

A miniature fire dragon doll, no bigger than the palm of your hand, appeared in everyone's sight.

"Oh ho! Norwegian Spinosaurus!" Bagman's voice rang out, and then he looked at Krumli and the others again.

"Warriors, to be fair, I'll ask you one last time: do you agree with this choice? Otherwise, we can draw again."

The Norwegian Spinosaurus, one of the most ferocious dragon species, is very similar to the Hungarian Tree-Peak Dragon, except that it lacks the final spike on its tail.

That's why Bagman always felt it was a pointless question, since it wasn't like he'd drawn the Welsh Green Dragon. But regardless, he still fulfilled his duty as a referee.

But it was clear that the other three warriors had also done their homework, and after seeing the Norwegian Spinosaurus, none of them chose to object.

"Alright! Good luck, Mr. Swinburne."

Seeing that no one objected, Bagman stopped stopping them and then picked up the other bags, signaling the other three to continue drawing.

Ino was also watching from the sidelines. As if by fate, Harry still drew the Hungarian Tree Peak Dragon, and was the second to go.

Faced with this outcome, even the shrewd Bagman couldn't help but show a hint of sympathy in his eyes.

"Now I have to go and fulfill my duties as a referee. Listen carefully to my instructions and take the field in order."

After Bagman finished speaking, he lifted the tent flap and went outside.

……

A few minutes later.

Bagman's voice came from the tent:

"Now, let us welcome our first hero, Mr. Enoch Swinburne, a hero of Hogwarts!"

Amid cheers and applause, Ino slowly walked out of the tent.

At the same time, everyone's eyes in the stands turned to look.

In response to the applause and cheers, Ino smiled and waved back. At the same time, he saw the Norwegian Spinosaurus that was temporarily controlled by the dragon tamer in the arena, as well as a huge hourglass that was magically drawn and suspended in mid-air.

"Warriors, prepare yourselves!" Bagman's voice rang out again: "Begin!"

……

The dragon was freed from its restraints, and the hourglass in the sky began to flow slowly.

Winter is coming!

Ino gently lifted the wand.

As his voice faded, countless snowflakes began to fall from the sky, and a cold mist began to spread forward along the ground.

The ice and snow magic inherited from the White Witch is once again displayed before everyone.

In the blink of an eye, the entire venue was transformed into a world of ice and snow. The snow and ice even enveloped the entire Hogwarts and the distant Forbidden Forest, with everything in sight a vast expanse of white.

At the same time.

Sensing a threat, the Norwegian Spinosaurus suddenly launched an attack.

Although its flight altitude was limited by a long iron chain, being restricted did not mean it could not fly.

Thirty feet in the air, scorching dragon flames erupted.

Faced with the dragon's signature attack, Ino once again gently raised her wand, without uttering a spell or making any unnecessary movements.

However, the snowflakes in the sky, like a symphony orchestra under the conductor's command, instantly transformed from their previous elegance into a frenzy.

If what happened before was just ordinary snowfall, then this is a real blizzard.

Countless snowflakes, mixed with the biting cold wind, gathered together and surged towards Long Yan.

This is a battle between ice and fire.

……

The snow was falling heavier and heavier from the sky.

Although the intense heat of the flames could easily melt ice and snow, they ultimately succumbed to the relentless flow of snowflakes.

This scene elicited cheers from the stands.

In response, Ino didn't even glance at the fire dragon beside her, but instead smiled and waved to the stands.

This action may seem somewhat deliberate, but he had no other choice but to do it.

After all, only a few minutes have passed, so we need to give the opposing fire dragon some time to rest. Otherwise, if we scare the fire dragon too much, we won't be able to see the visual effects later on.

There's not enough time... Xiao Di still has a lot to write, and the anaconda hasn't come on stage yet, but we have to leave it at 9 o'clock as agreed, so this is the only time for now.

To be continued tomorrow, hohoho!

(End of this chapter)