While he spoke, he wandered to the center of the tent and spread his arms in an embracing gesture: "Don't be so formal, everyone! Just make yourselves at home! I specially requested these comfy armchairs; I worried you wouldn't be comfortable just sitting around."
He reached out and patted the armrest of a nearby chair, nodding with satisfaction. "See? The springiness, the texture—it's exactly like the one in my own living room! You could sit here all day!"
Harry leaned in close to Cedric, lowering his voice to a whisper: "Cedric, is Mr. Bagman... trying to lighten the mood?"
"Ha! He's definitely adjusting the atmosphere, but he's adjusting it into something even more awkward," Draco sneered from nearby, his voice laced with mockery. "Though, I suppose we must 'congratulate' him; at least he managed to turn silence into embarrassment."
Hearing this, Cedric couldn't help but cough a few times, fighting hard to keep his face straight and stifle a laugh.
He, too, thought Bagman's actions were a bit comical, but he couldn't show it.
Harry also found it funny, but was worried that laughing out loud would make the atmosphere even worse, so he kept his lips tightly pressed together, his shoulders slightly shaking from holding back the giggles.
Most of the other Champions in the tent showed similar expressions. The tense atmosphere was instantly replaced by an utterly awkward, I-don't-know-whether-to-laugh-or-cry mood.
Ludo Bagman was still chattering away about the armchairs when Fleur Delacour of Beauxbatons suddenly frowned.
She had been leaning against the tent wall but now straightened up, her gaze fixed sharply on Bagman. Her tone was clearly accusatory: "Mr. Bagman, shouldn't you be telling us something important first? For instance, when exactly does the first task officially begin? We can't just sit here waiting all day, can we?"
The moment Fleur spoke, the somewhat relaxed atmosphere in the tent snapped back to tension.
The other Champions all looked up, their eyes fixed on Ludo Bagman. Clearly, everyone was concerned about this, but no one had wanted to be the first to speak.
Ludo Bagman's smile immediately froze. He opened his mouth, as if to defend himself, but couldn't find the right words.
Just then, a noisy commotion came from outside the tent.
Footsteps, conversations, and laughter mixed together, growing closer. It was clearly the students from all the schools lining up to head to the stands.
"Immediately! It will start immediately!" Ludo Bagman grasped at this like a lifeline, quickly pointing to the tent flap. "Listen, the students are almost at the stands! Once the crowd is settled, the contest can begin at once. No need to wait much longer."
No sooner had he finished speaking than the tent flap was pulled open from the outside, and old Barty Crouch strode in.
He was wearing a crisp dark suit, his hair immaculately combed, and his face was expressionless.
Seeing him, the Champions rose from their seats and walked toward him, their eyes instinctively drawn to his right hand.
He held a palm-sized purple silk bag there, its opening tied shut with a golden cord, giving it a mysterious look.
"Gentlemen and ladies, the spectators are all seated, and the members of the Judging Panel are all present. The contest can now begin."
Old Barty Crouch's voice was steady and powerful. He handed the purple silk bag to Ludo Bagman beside him, his gaze sweeping over every Champion present.
Ludo Bagman took the bag and instantly tapped it lightly with his wand. The golden cord around the opening automatically untied, revealing several folded pieces of parchment inside.
"The rules for the first task are simple," old Barty Crouch continued. "You must enter the arena, navigate the obstruction of the dragons, and successfully retrieve the Golden Egg placed at a designated location—the Golden Egg is the objective of this task."
He paused, delivering news that took all the Champions by surprise: "Next, you will draw lots to determine the two dragons you must face. Each Champion will face the attacks of two dragons simultaneously."
"Two dragons?" Almost all the Champions gasped out loud. Harry instinctively widened his eyes, Cedric frowned, and the usual composure on Draco's face vanished, replaced by a trace of shock.
Everyone had assumed they would face, at most, one dragon, but the difficulty had just doubled!
"Yes, two dragons."
Old Barty Crouch repeated it with an impassive expression, his voice completely level. "According to our original plan, it was one Champion against one dragon."
"But now, the number of competing Champions has increased to three. To maintain the difficulty and fairness of the task, the number of XXXXX-rated dangerous creatures you must face must naturally be increased accordingly."
"Well, if that's the case, why not just make it three dragons? That would be even fairer."
Someone mumbled quietly. The sound was low, but loud enough for those nearby to hear.
He probably figured that since they were already facing two, adding one more couldn't be that much worse.
"That willingness to face a challenge is commendable."
Old Barty Crouch had clearly heard the mumble. He turned his gaze toward the speaker, his voice still calm. "However, you are not wrong. There is, in fact, a third XXXXX-rated dangerous creature in this task; it is not only dragons."
These words exploded like a bombshell among the Champions.
Everyone abruptly turned their heads, staring at the poor fellow who was still slack-jawed, their eyes full of exasperation.
Why did you have to open your big mouth and suggest three dragons?
Now look what happened—they really had a third dangerous creature to face.
The person himself was stunned, clearly not having expected his offhand comment to lead to such a result. His cheeks instantly flushed crimson.
"Do you all recall the notice you received earlier?" Old Barty Crouch ignored their reactions and continued. "The letter only contained half of a riddle. The other half of that riddle corresponds to this third XXXXX-rated dangerous creature. Its threat is no less than that of the dragons."
He pointed to the purple silk bag in Ludo Bagman's hand and announced, "Enough talking. We will now proceed with the drawing of lots."
"The order for drawing will be by school, starting with Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. This order will also be your order of entry into the arena."
"The Beauxbatons Champions, step forward and draw your opponents."
Old Barty Crouch pulled a leather clipboard from his pocket, holding a quill, and stood solemnly to the side.
Ludo Bagman presented the purple silk bag to the Beauxbatons Champions. He tilted the opening downward and gently shook it, and several palm-sized model dragons tumbled out.
The models were incredibly lifelike; even the texture of the scales and the creases of the wings were clearly visible, making the species easily identifiable.
"Please step forward and draw."
Fleur Delacour and Adèle Lefevre took a deep breath and walked to the bag.
Fleur reached in first, her fingertips touching a model with silvery-blue scales. She picked it up to see that it was a Swedish Short-Snout.
Adèle picked up a model with green scales: a Common Welsh Green.
"Swedish Short-Snout, Common Welsh Green."
Old Barty Crouch quickly recorded the results, his voice unchanging.
Fleur and Adèle exchanged a look, clearly relieved.
These two dragons are generally less aggressive compared to the Norwegian Ridgeback and the Hebridean Black; at least, the pressure they would face would be slightly lower.
They returned the models to the bag, and the tension in their faces eased a little.
"Champions from Durmstrang Institute, please."
Old Barty's gaze turned to Viktor Krum and Franz Schmidt.
Krum's expression was as gloomy as ever. He walked forward without a word and picked up a model with spikes down its back: a Norwegian Ridgeback.
Franz hesitated for a few seconds, then reached out and picked up a model with blackish-green scales: a Hebridean Black.
"Norwegian Ridgeback, Hebridean Black."
Old Barty finished recording. Franz tightly pressed his lips together, looking utterly miserable.
He had read about these two dragons in books, and just imagining them attacking simultaneously was enough to make his skin crawl.
Krum patted his shoulder without speaking, using only his eyes to convey a signal of "stay calm."
"Next, may I introduce the Champions from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
Old Barty's voice finally turned toward Dylan's group.
Harry and Draco stepped forward. Harry reached out and picked up a model with blackish-green scales: a Hebridean Black.
Draco picked up a model with green scales: a Common Welsh Green.
"Hebridean Black, Common Welsh Green."
Old Barty quickly recorded the result, then looked at Dylan. "Mr. Hawkwood, you are next."
Dylan walked to the bag and, without hesitation, picked up two models.
One was a black-scaled, broad-winged Hungarian Horntail, and the other was the spiked-back Norwegian Ridgeback.
When old Barty Crouch saw this combination, his normally rigid brow instantly furrowed. His quill paused for a moment before he wrote on the clipboard: "Hungarian Horntail, Norwegian Ridgeback."
When the surrounding Champions heard that pairing, they instinctively looked at Dylan.
This was undoubtedly the most difficult combination of all. The two most dangerous dragons appearing together meant the margin for error was terrifyingly low.
"Now, I ask you to wait patiently. A Ministry of Magic official will call you out shortly, proceeding in the order of the drawing."
Old Barty Crouch put away his clipboard and sternly reiterated the rules. "Furthermore, I must remind you all that the Judging Panel will have different scoring standards for facing different dragon species. Scoring will consider your strategy, spell precision, evasion ability, and various other factors."
"And one more point must be emphasized—the only item you are allowed to bring into the arena is your wand. No Alchemical artifacts, potions, or other auxiliary tools are permitted. Please commit this to memory."
Once old Barty Crouch finished, Ludo Bagman cautiously leaned forward and tentatively asked, "Barty, shouldn't we head to the judges' table now? The crowd must be getting impatient."
Old Barty Crouch nodded, offering no extra words.
Ludo Bagman instantly brightened, waving at the Champions: "We'll be heading to the judges' table now! We're all looking forward to your spectacular performance! Good luck!"
He reached out and pulled back the tent flap, and a roar of excited human voices instantly flooded into the tent.
The students in the stands were clearly impatient; cheers and shouts mixed together, rising and falling like a tide. This immediately lessened the tense atmosphere in the tent, though it also made the Champions' hearts beat a little faster.
After Ludo Bagman left the tent, the flap slowly fell shut. The wave of loud human noise was instantly sealed outside, and the tent fell into an awkward silence.
The air itself seemed to grow heavy. Only the occasional sound of snow sliding off the top of the tent broke the quiet.
Fleur and her companions from Beauxbatons kept their heads down, murmuring among themselves. Krum and his Durmstrang mates also stood together, their fingers tracing shapes in the air, clearly mimicking the movements needed to face the dragons.
The content of their discussions was easy to guess: how to coordinate and break through the combined interception of two dragons, and how to conserve enough magic and energy to deal with the mysterious third creature mentioned in the riddle—when and how it would appear.
The four from Hogwarts also regrouped. Harry was the first to approach Dylan, whispering, "A Hungarian Horntail and a Norwegian Ridgeback... neither of those is easy to handle."
"Their adult size can reach fifty feet, and their wingspans are over sixty feet. Facing both their attacks at once means the margin for error is far too small."
Draco tsked with displeasure from the side, unconsciously tapping the armrest of his chair. "It's a shame our draw was so... ordinary."
"If we could have drawn those two dragons, at least we could have shared some of the pressure with you."
"Yeah," Cedric agreed, nodding with a hint of regret in his voice. "The Hebridean Black and the Common Welsh Green are still dangerous, but they're easier to deal with than the Horntail and the Ridgeback."
"If we could have faced those two hardest ones, maybe we could have worn down some of their stamina for you."
Harry nodded in agreement, his eyes full of shared concern.
The trio's idea was simple.
Since Dylan had drawn the hardest combination, if they could face those two dragons first, they could drain some of the dragons' energy during their own performance.
Even if it only made the dragons breathe fire a couple more times or flap their wings a few more times, their condition would deteriorate slightly by the time Dylan entered the arena, making his challenge a little easier.
What a waste.
Dylan saw the sincerity in their expressions and couldn't help but smile slightly. He naturally understood Harry, Draco, and Cedric's intentions.
He gently shook his head, his tone light. "It's alright, you don't need to worry about me. Don't forget, I'm the last one to go—I might have stumbled into a massive advantage."
He paused, then added in a teasing tone, "With so many of you going one after the other, every group will wear the dragons out a good bit. By the time I get in there, those two dragons might be so worn out they won't be nearly as aggressive. That's just a bit of luck, isn't it?"
Harry, Draco, and Cedric instinctively pressed their lips together when they heard this.
They knew perfectly well that Dylan was just trying to reassure them.
Dragons, as the top dangerous creatures in the wizarding world, have a recovery rate far surpassing ordinary beasts. Unless the previous contestants caused substantial damage, a brief bit of exhaustion wouldn't make much difference.
The three exchanged a look, seeing the same thought in each other's eyes.
We can't just leave it at that. We have to think of something else.
Even if it was just quickly compiling some key spells for dealing with those two dragon species, or sharing some of their own best dodging techniques, they had to help Dylan carry some of that pressure.
The discussion continued within the tent, but compared to the initial tension, there was now a palpable sense of teamwork and mutual understanding.
Everyone was making their final preparations for the coming challenge, and the unspoken support between the four from Hogwarts was a warm light in the oppressive atmosphere.
While the Champions in the tent were anxiously strategizing, the Judges' Table was beginning its final preparations.
Old Barty Crouch, holding a stack of neatly bound parchment, quickly walked to the center of the judges' table, distributing a sheet to each Headmaster and Judging Panel member.
"This contains the detailed information about the dragons each Champion will face, including their species, physical characteristics, and known attack habits, all clearly marked."
His voice was calm, and every word clearly reached everyone present.
The Headmasters accepted the parchment and began to read it.
Headmaster Dumbledore's fingers lightly brushed the paper. The gentle smile remained on his face, but his eyes held a touch of gravity.
Professor Karkaroff of Durmstrang instantly furrowed his brow when he saw a certain line of text, his finger unconsciously tapping the table.
Madame Maxime of Beauxbatons sighed softly, clearly worried about the match-ups for some of her Champions.
It was truly a moment of "mixed emotions"—every Headmaster was holding their breath for their school's Champion.
"Thank you."
Dumbledore took his parchment, quickly scanned it, and placed it at the corner of the table.
He held his wand in his right hand, gently raised it, and pointed toward the arena below.
As the wand moved, an invisible magical pulse instantly spread through the air, quickly covering the entire arena like a transparent film.
This was to prevent the dragon attacks from reaching the spectators in the stands during the contest, and it would also clearly transmit the sound and visuals from the arena.
The task of announcing the event naturally fell to Ludo Bagman.
He quickly walked to the edge of the judges' table, held his wand to his throat, and clearly recited the spell: "Sonorus!"
Then, he took a deep breath, and his voice, amplified by the spell, carried clearly over the entire circular stands.
Even with the huge crowd making noise, his voice was clear and powerful: "Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the first task of the Triwizard Tournament! I am your commentator for this contest, Ludo Bagman!"
A burst of passionate cheers erupted in the stands. Whistles and applause mixed together, instantly igniting the atmosphere.
When the cheering subsided slightly, Ludo continued: "Now, allow me to introduce the core of this challenge—the Champions must successfully retrieve the Golden Egg placed in the center of the arena, protected by XXXXX-rated dangerous creatures! Only by getting the Golden Egg will this trial be complete!"
"Them?"
"Did he just say 'them'?"
"Does that mean there's more than one dangerous creature?"
The students in the stands immediately picked up on the keyword, exchanging puzzled glances, a chorus of confused murmurs rising and falling.
Everyone had assumed there would only be dragons, but Ludo Bagman had used the plural, "them."
This undeniably meant the difficulty of the challenge was higher than anticipated!
Ludo had clearly expected their reaction. He chuckled and said, "I imagine you're all very curious about who 'they' are. Don't worry, the answer will be revealed shortly!"
No sooner had he spoken than a heavy thud of footsteps came from the arena entrance.
A dozen or so wizards in Ministry of Magic robes, wands held high, cautiously guided two dragons into the arena.
To the left was a Norwegian Ridgeback, its spinal spikes gleaming coldly in the sunlight.
To the right was a Hebridean Black, its dark scales shining with a dull sheen, letting out low growls from its throat now and then.
The ground slightly trembled with every step the dragons took, thrilling and unnerving the students in the stands.
And at the other entrance to the arena, another dozen wizards were escorting a gigantic iron cage, slowly moving toward the center of the arena.
The cage was made of steel bars as thick as a wrist, with complex protective runes carved into the surface. Something inside the cage seemed to be shifting gently.
Because the dragons were so massive, they drew almost everyone's attention. Only a few careful observers noticed the existence of this iron cage.
Luna and her roommates were sitting in the designated Ravenclaw section of the stands.
When the two dragons entered the arena, Amy Camiiler couldn't help but grab Luna's hand, shaking it gently, her voice full of surprise: "Oh my goodness! They actually brought two dragons out! Didn't they say one Champion against one dragon before? This is way too hard!"
As she shook Luna's arm, Amy Camiiler noticed that Luna's gaze wasn't fixed on the dragons, but on the iron cage at the other side of the arena.
She followed Luna's line of sight and spotted the overlooked cage, asking curiously, "Luna, what are you looking at? What's in that iron cage? It looks so mysterious."
Luna slightly narrowed her eyes, saying calmly, "I think that should be a magical creature unique to North America—a Catoblepas. I read an introduction to it in a supplemental text for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them."
"Catoblepas?" Amy Camiiler whispered the name, her face full of doubt. "It doesn't sound that dangerous. It should be easier to deal with than a dragon, right?"
"Quite the opposite. It is also an XXXXX-rated dangerous creature."
Luna shook her head, patiently explaining, "The Catoblepas excels at Hypnosis and Legilimency. It can subtly interfere with a person's consciousness, and it's extremely fast. Its attack trajectory is much harder to predict than a dragon's. I suspect dealing with it won't be any easier than dealing with a dragon."
"Then what are we going to do?" Amy Camiiler's face instantly filled with worry. She instinctively looked toward the arena entrance, as if she could see Dylan still in the tent. "Dylan has to face two dragons and a Catoblepas all by himself. That's so unfair, and the pressure is just too much..."
Hearing this, Luna simply smiled gently, her eyes full of conviction: "Don't worry. I believe in him. He never disappoints people, and this time will be no different."
As she spoke, she gently patted Amy Camiiler's hand, trying to calm her down.
The Gryffindors were also gasping, unable to believe what they were seeing.
At this moment, at the edge of the arena, the wizards controlling the dragons saw that the beasts were settled in the designated area. They slowly retreated, leaving the arena in an orderly fashion along the entrance tunnel.
They remained vigilant until they had fully exited the arena, only then putting away their wands.
Ludo Bagman caught this moment, immediately raising his wand and announcing loudly with the Sonorus Charm: "Attention, all spectators! The Champion from Beauxbatons is about to enter!"
As if in response to Ludo's introduction, the two dragons in the arena suddenly opened their mouths simultaneously, revealing their sharp fangs and letting out a deafening roar.
The sound wave echoed through the arena, and even students in the distant stands could feel the vibration in the air.
After the roar, they slowly turned their heads, their gaze sweeping the center of the arena. Only when they confirmed the Golden Egg was lying on the stone platform behind them did they settle their agitation slightly.
However, sparks continued to shoot from their nostrils, and their golden eyes remained fixed on the entrance, clearly on guard against the "egg thief" about to appear.
"Oh! Those two noisy giants certainly know their assignment!" Ludo Bagman chuckled lightheartedly, then looked down at the parchment in his hand, his tone turning serious.