A certain Hogwarts professor of runes.

When she grabbed Harry's shoulder with her claw-like hands, painted with red nail polish, intending to take him to the broom room for an interview, he broke free without thinking. She immediately gave Harry a dangerous look, but when she caught sight of Professor Hyp appearing out of the corner of her eye, her face was plastered with a fake smile.

Finally, the newspaper featured three names, along with relatively normal 'concerns'—questions about their ages. The champions from other schools weren't so lucky. For example, Victor Grevis, one of Ilfamoni's champions, was heavily publicized for being defeated by an 'ordinary' fourth-year girl from Hogwarts. There were also some minor gossip items: Beauxbatons' champions were skilled in Confusion magic, Durmstrang's champions would deliver a 'spectacular' display of Dark Magic, and the talented player Krum, who had just made a splash at the Quidditch World Cup, was also present… The introduction to Vagado attracted even more attention; a dynamic photo of a student named 'Elfendy' transforming into an African elephant appeared in the Daily Prophet for several days, eliciting countless gasps and discussions.

One of the effects of this newspaper was that the news of Ron becoming a champion could no longer be kept secret. In fact, among the Weasley family, only Mrs. Weasley was unaware of this news; the others—Ginny, Fred, and George—were all in school; Mr. Weasley and Percy were well-informed at the Ministry of Magic; Charlie worked at the dragon farm and was closely involved in the first project; and Bill, who worked at Gringotts, was also in frequent contact with his family.

They formed an alliance without prior arrangement in order to keep it a secret from Mrs. Weasley.

But all efforts were in vain thanks to Rita Skeeter's reporting; just the next day, her screaming letter arrived, but not for Ron, but for the Weasley twins—

“If we hadn’t seen it in the newspaper, who knows how long we’d kept it a secret—poor little Ronnie! He’s only in fourth grade—” Ron stared down at the bowl of oatmeal in front of him, as if he were drowning in it, because everyone eating was turning to him, chuckling incessantly. Mrs. Weasley’s deafening voice still echoed in the Great Hall, “Stop always busy with those pranks—show more concern for your little brother—”

Fred and George had long since slipped away with their two pieces of bread, and Ron had also run out of the auditorium, leaving only the dumbfounded students and the incessantly shouting letter.

……

Everyone has a different understanding of time. While ordinary students are still making plans for their first trip to Hogsmeade in the new school year, warriors are improving themselves in every corner.

Ron hadn't turned in his Potions homework for two weeks in a row. Snape gave him a 'T' without any attempt to hide it, and Ron just yawned in response. This made Snape stare at Ron the entire time during the lesson on brewing the antidote.

“Anyway, we’re sure we’ll make it this year,” Ron said to Harry and Hermione as class ended.

“But next year is the .ls year!” Hermione retorted fiercely. She had secretly told the two of them that she regretted handing over the Time-Turner.

“Who cares, Hermione? You don’t think I’m planning to go to his advanced classes, do you?” Ron looked at her strangely. “Fred and George selectively skipped some classes last year, including the required astronomy and history of magic. They were discussing product concepts in class…”

"That's different! Do you have any plans for your future? Potions are essential in many fields!" They left the classroom noisily and headed straight for the library, still having many spells they weren't familiar with.

Felix's demands became increasingly stringent; in recent days, he had each group of warriors simultaneously fight two fire dragons. A judging panel composed of several professors' memories evaluated their performance.

"The idea of ​​using the Summoning Charm to summon Firebolts is good, but you have to consider your other two teammates—Harry!"

"Collins, you're facing a dangerous beast. You need to learn to conceal your scent. Also... the Stop Charm is good."

“Ron, that’s not how you use the Digging Charm. You can’t just jump in yourself.”

Finally, October 24st arrived.

Chapter 394 Safety Officer

At noon, the Hogwarts students gathered in Clock Square and, led by Professor Flitwick, headed toward the playing field.

“Millera led the warriors to the temporary tents first,” Flitwick said excitedly.

Felix walked alongside him at a leisurely pace, while the students behind them chattered excitedly. One wizard exclaimed, "I heard a dragon's roar last night—"

He turned around, and behind him surged a sea of ​​heads, like a black, winding river. They left the castle, crossed the long covered bridge, and followed the ramp downhill.

As they passed the Black Lake, Durmstrang students, cloaked, disembarked from the boat and joined the procession. Near Hagrid's Hut, the huge carriage doors opened, and seven or eight Beauxbatons students in blue satin uniforms emerged from the golden steps, along with Ilvermorny students from the Quidditch pitch's temporary quarters, and the wizards and sorceresses of Vagado standing by the Forbidden Forest waiting for them.

The school uniforms of these four schools added vibrancy to the monotonous black tide, like colorful fish swimming in the water.

The group walked along the edge of the Forbidden Forest for about twenty minutes. The castle and lake were no longer in sight, and they had gone beyond the school grounds. The bushes and shrubs on the right grew sparsely, and further in was the lush, dense Forbidden Forest.

He heard the sound of hooves. "A centaur?" Felix squinted into the dense Forbidden Forest, where a strange-looking horse's head peeked out—it was a Thestral. As he looked over, it vanished.

After rounding another protruding patch of woodland, the view suddenly opened up to a makeshift circular grandstand. A simple walkway, built atop tall wooden stakes, undulated with the terrain. This must be the grandstand; it encircled a large area.

On the west side was a huge silver tent, and Felix caught a glimpse of Ludo Bagman hurrying inside.

“Everyone, please go up to the stands in order, and don’t crowd,” Flitwick said to the approaching crowd from a wooden step. Felix whispered an apology and turned to walk toward the tent.

As soon as he reached the door, he sensed the solemn and oppressive atmosphere, and Ludo Bagman's cheerful voice seemed so out of place.

"Alright, it's actually very simple. You need to pick out the models inside. That's right, you should know that there are different types of fire dragons. You need to choose on behalf of your team—ladies first."

When Felix went in, he saw Bagman standing in the middle of the Warriors with a beaming smile. Bagman had specially changed into his old Hornets jersey, which he had worn when he was young, and was carrying a purple silk bag.

He was surrounded by the captains of six teams—Victor Grevis, Fleur, Krum, Cedric, Nona Ripper, and Harry. Of the six, Harry was the shortest, especially when standing next to the tall witch of Vargado, he looked like a lost child. But today he and his companions would face the threat of a dragon.

The other team members were scattered in the tents, staring at their captain; their breathing seemed to have disappeared in the tent.

With trembling hands, Furong took out a small, lifelike model of a Welsh green dragon from the bag, her face turning pale for a moment.

Felix's face darkened. That was the Fire Dragon Magic Lamp from the 'future world'! Was the Ministry of Magic really that lazy?

“Ah, madam, you’re in luck,” Bagman said. Just then, he heard a deep voice in his ear, “Couldn’t you guys make your own model…?”

He turned around and saw Felix with an unfriendly expression. He stammered, "Felix... well, it was a young man in the department who suggested using cute magic lamps to counteract the pressure from the real fire dragon and calm the warriors down..."

He patted the green dragon model in Fleur's hand. It immediately came to life, baring its teeth and claws, which startled her so much that she threw it at Bagman's face. He awkwardly picked it up from the ground and handed it to Fleur, saying, "Oh, looks like it won't work."

Judging from the expressions on everyone's faces inside the tent, the performance was absolutely terrible.

Fleur returned to her teammates with a cold expression and began to give them the final tactical instructions in French. Felix glanced at them hastily; the two warriors were trembling uncontrollably and didn't hear a word they said.

Vagado came in second, while Nona deftly drew a Fire Dragon with pearl-like, curved scales. It was the Australian White-Eyed Dragon, widely recognized as the 'most beautiful Fire Dragon,' but she had no interest in taking a second look and eagerly discussed the details of this Fire Dragon with her teammates.

"It's not very aggressive, and it likes to eat sheep... Its flames are like lava, and very sticky..."

Grevis acquired the Hebdiri Black Dragon, a type of fire-breathing dragon that typically reaches thirty feet in length when fully grown, with females being even larger.

Then, Krum pulled out a bright red Chinese fireball. He lowered his hand, leaned against a pillar inside the tent, and stared at a hole in the tent above his head. His teammate walked over and whispered, "Viktor..."

He said with a serious face, "Proceed as planned." The two teammates nodded silently.

Cedric received the blue Swedish Short-nosed Dragon, and his face lit up with joy. He quickly went to Roger Davis and Collins to show it to them. The three previously serious faces relaxed to varying degrees. This was one of the options they considered suitable for their tactics.

Finally, it was Harry's turn. His expression was grim; he knew what the last one was—a black Hungarian wood wasp, the largest and fiercest-looking.

The night before last, he, Ron, and Hermione had secretly gone to see it while wearing invisibility cloaks, and he believed the others had done the same. It was no secret that Charlie's dragon trainers were coming that day, at least during Hagrid's rendezvous—which he preferred to call an ill-timed meeting—Mrs. Maxime openly brought Beauxbatons' warriors with her.

As Bagman looked on expectantly, Harry blankly pulled out the last dragon model, looked down at the adorable Hungarian hornet model in his hand. The little dragon spread its wings, revealing small fangs, as if it were smiling, and it even looked somewhat similar to Bagman in front of him.

But Harry wasn't fooled. He'd seen what a real Hungarian hornet looked like. Its tail, which should have been covered in thorns, was now smooth—the thorns had turned into bronze spots. He glanced at Professor Hyp and thought the 'Futureworld' company's design was a bit outrageous.

Why didn't I notice this before? He wondered.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione gathered together, and he quickly said, "We need to change our strategy."

……

"Alright, you've all gotten yours!" Bagman said. "You've all drawn the fire dragons you'll be facing. I need to leave you for a bit now because I need to provide commentary for the audience. Someone else will bring you into the arena when the match starts. Just come out when you hear the whistle. Understand?"

The others remained silent for a moment, then Cedric asked a question: "What is our mission? And what is the order of the matches?"

“Mission?” Bagman paused, “Oh, uh…didn’t I say?” He glanced at the others, somewhat confused. Everyone in the tent was staring at him with murderous intent. He took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Okay, it was my oversight. I should have made it clear from the beginning…It’s like this: get through the fire dragon, retrieve the dragon egg, and escape successfully. As for the order of the competition…there is no order. All of you will compete together.”

Harry, Harry, and his two teammates exchanged glances and looked up to see Cedric looking at his two teammates with a similarly meaningful gaze. They felt a little more confident, since this was the strategy they had practiced in Room 7.

He glanced at Professor Hyp beside him, who was staring at the carvings inside the tent without any other reaction.

"Why are we playing together? What if we get affected by other teams?" a girl from Beauxbatons shrieked.

“This is also one of the tests,” Bagman said cautiously. “You will need to learn to be observant and attentive. There will be a distance between each dragon, so theoretically… you will have enough space. You’ll understand when the time comes. So… Harry… may I speak with you alone for a few minutes? Let’s go outside?”

Harry looked at him, puzzled. They left for a while, and then Harry returned with a gloomy expression.

“What happened?” Ron asked.

“I don’t know, he seemed to want to help me,” Harry said, puzzled. “But I refused, we’ve prepared so much…”

At this point, only Felix, an adult, remained in the tent. The others looked at him curiously, assuming that he would leave with Bagman.

"Let me introduce myself first. I am Felix Heap, the Professor of Runes and Spells at Hogwarts." He said calmly, "You don't need to remember my name, just remember my duty—I am one of the security officers, and of course, the last line of defense."

"While you are competing, dragon trainers from dragon farms and Ministry of Magic staff will be scattered around, ready to provide protection at any time... As for me, I will be hovering above you throughout the entire competition, only intervening when it is most dangerous—when you have no time to call for help."

"Well then, good luck to you."

Felix stepped out of the tent; the outside was bustling with noise.

Chapter 395 Fire Dragon (Part 1)

Felix walked through the pillars of the stands, Bagman's booming voice clearly audible amidst the clamor of the crowd: "Welcome... The first event is the Fire Dragon. Warriors must retrieve the golden egg while thwarting the fire dragon's obstacles and escape successfully... Staff, please place the dragon eggs. Look, the fire dragons are still asleep; this is the best time to observe them..."

Six colorful fire dragons lay on the ground, seemingly still unconscious, but their massive size was still awe-inspiring, even though the nearest referee's stand was about 500 feet away.

"...Next, let me introduce the judging panel: the five principals, myself, and Minister Fudge, who is replacing my old friend Barty Crouch. Unfortunately, he is on long leave..."

Felix found the busy Professor McGonagall, who kept pacing back and forth along the edge of the field, circling around, looking distracted. When he passed by, McGonagall almost bumped into him.

"Watch out, Minerva—"

“Oh, it’s you, Felix,” McGonagall called out, her voice much higher than usual. “Charlie’s looking for you. Charlie!” She called to a small group of people, and a short, stocky wizard turned and trotted over.

“Hey Felix,” Charlie said, looking nervous and rubbing his hands together. “We’ll be watching from the sidelines, with whistles on our backs, and we’ll be there if anything goes wrong—we’ll need your help, of course.”

“No problem,” Felix said.

A roar came from afar, and a black fire dragon slowly raised its head. The staff member next to it put down the dragon egg and ran away.

The Hungarian wood wasp found itself in an unfamiliar environment, surrounded by a noisy swarm of tiny insects. It also caught the scent of its own kind; its two yellow eyes darted around, and it quickly spotted five other fire dragons lying on a platform not far away.

Its mood suddenly soured. It struggled to its feet, finding itself in a nest of golden hay with an egg inside. It felt a strange sense of warmth; this was its child—it quickly accepted this notion. Its movements became cautious. "Clang!" The sound of chains rang out. It stared blankly at the thick chain on its left foot, then roared to the sky.

The scorching flames shot into the sky, creating a shockwave that rapidly increased the temperature of the surrounding air.

As it stirred, the other five fire dragons also awoke, each raising its head, flapping its wings and stomping its feet in agitation. The black stone ground emitted a dull thud.

The Hungarian wood bee looked around; it didn't like this place. It would be best to leave with its dragon egg. It tentatively tugged at the chain, finding it rather flimsy, and just as it was about to pull harder, it saw a familiar face.

"Ow~"

It barked loudly—it was that horrible barbecue chef!

Felix glanced at it and asked Charlie, "Does a fire dragon have a good memory?"

“Of course,” Charlie replied. “Nober still remembers Hagrid. Whenever he misbehaves, I show him Hagrid’s picture, but I don’t know how long I can fool him… He’s getting smarter and smarter, and he won’t let us examine him…”

Bagman's voice consistently guides the audience's emotions; he's a master at it.

"Look, the dragons have awakened. They need some time to adjust... At least find their eggs. While they're at it, I'll explain the competition rules..."

Felix took a broom from his ring, flipped himself onto it, pushed off with his feet, and shot straight into the sky, circling the field twice to take in the view below.

"This is actually a pretty good spot for a view," he chuckled to himself.

Looking down from above, the layout of the venue immediately becomes clear—silver tents provide temporary rest for the warriors, and a few hundred feet away is the viewing platform. In the center of the crooked, barely oval-shaped platform, six sections are divided, which together resemble a daffodil.

Near the center of each petal, a fire dragon, of varying sizes, coiled and gradually raised its head, anxiously surveying its surroundings.

On one side of the stands, near the silver tent, a large gate had been opened, which should be the entrance for the Warriors. Opposite the gate, the stands suddenly rose a bit higher, which was the referee's bench.

Bagman, who was explaining the rules of the game, said excitedly, "Great! Our safety officer is in place; he will be the last line of defense. As for Felix, you've probably seen him in the newspapers—"