The three of them looked at each other, none knowing how to respond. They were afraid that if they spoke, they would only voice their worries and undermine Dylan's composure. They stood silently to the side, their eyes filled with concern.
Just then, Ludo Bagman's voice boomed into the tent through the Sonorus Charm, instantly grabbing everyone's attention: "Ladies and gentlemen, fans and spectators! Up next are the Champions from Durmstrang Institute! Based on the drawing, the dragon combination they must face is the Norwegian Ridgeback and the Hebridean Black!"
Harry and the other two immediately rushed to the tent flap, peering out through the slit into the arena.
Ludo's voice continued: "You should all be familiar with these two magnificent beasts! Will the Durmstrang Champions be able to show off their excellent tactics and skill against these two behemoths?"
His tone shifted, tinged with excitement: "One thing we absolutely must mention—Viktor Krum of Durmstrang is a famous star Seeker in the International Quidditch League! Given his flying talent, I imagine he'll be summoning his broomstick and launching an aerial assault, giving us a spectacular sky-high duel! Oh!"
Ludo's commentary abruptly halted, clearly witnessing something unexpected: "It seems I guessed wrong! Krum appears to have other plans! He hasn't called for his broomstick. Instead, he and his two teammates are remaining on the ground, preparing to take the dragons on directly! That is truly an unexpected choice!"
Inside the tent, Harry focused intensely on the Durmstrang trio's movements. When he saw Krum raise his wand and a pale blue light flash from the tip, he suddenly realized, "I see it! They're going to use the Conjunctivitis Curse! That kind of spell can temporarily mess with the target's vision, keeping the dragons from seeing what's around them, and that will let them dodge the dragon fire!"
"The Conjunctivitis Curse?" Draco frowned, turning to Harry, his voice strained with worry. "Doesn't that mean the plan we discussed uses a similar visual disruption spell? Now Durmstrang is using that same basic idea first. If we use it later, they'll accuse us of copying them, and who knows what kind of trouble that will cause."
Cedric nodded, clearly agreeing with Draco's concern. "Plus, the panel of judges might think we lack innovation, which could hurt our final score."
"It looks like we might need to adjust our strategy on the fly and avoid repeating Durmstrang's approach."
Dylan didn't speak immediately, continuing to watch the Durmstrang team in the arena. Krum's two teammates were moving toward the two separate dragons, their wands constantly moving, seemingly preparing other supporting spells. Krum himself remained in the center, intently focused on the Norwegian Ridgeback's eyes, clearly looking for the optimal moment to cast.
It seemed Durmstrang's strategy was far more layered than it appeared on the surface.
Harry had actually learned the Conjunctivitis Curse during the preparation phase. This visual disruption spell wasn't too difficult to perform, but its effect was very practical. Once he mastered it, he immediately shared the spell's casting technique and control essentials with Draco and Cedric. The three had even practiced several times in an empty classroom until they could cast it proficiently.
It was because they had mastered the Conjunctivitis Curse that they developed their secondary strategy. The "first plan" Draco had referred to was their original idea: summoning fast-growing magical plants, such as thorny vines or tough Snargaluff pods, and using the plants' binding force to restrict the dragons' limbs and wings, thereby creating an opportunity to snatch the Golden Egg.
However, that plan was costly. The seeds for the magical plants had to be specially ordered from a Diagon Alley florist, and the special potion needed to accelerate their growth required a lot of rare ingredients. So, once they learned the Conjunctivitis Curse, they immediately adjusted the priority of their two plans, deciding to prioritize the simpler and cheaper Curse strategy.
"No need to rush the adjustment yet. Let's wait and see the specific effect of Durmstrang's Conjunctivitis Curse," Cedric said, watching the arena and calmly analyzing the situation. "I heard Stebbins mention that among the Durmstrang students, only Viktor Krum is skilled at flying; most of the others are better at ground combat. It seems that might be true—they haven't considered an aerial raid at all."
He turned to Harry and Draco and continued, "The three of us are all Seekers for our respective House Quidditch teams. Our flying skills are far superior to theirs."
"If we can complete the task faster than them once we get out there, even if we use a similar visual disruption idea, they won't have much to complain about—the effectiveness and speed will speak for themselves."
"Fine, we'll keep watching then," Draco shrugged, tapping his pocket. "I have the backup magical plant seeds with me, and the growth potion is in my bag. I can summon it anytime. At worst, we can combine both plans when it's our turn."
---
Just as the three were discussing, Ludo Bagman's excited voice cut in through the Sonorus Charm: "Ladies and gentlemen! The Durmstrang Champions are providing us with a considerable surprise! Look at the coordination between the three of them—it's absolutely flawless! Whether they are dodging attacks or counter-attacking, their movements are nearly synchronized! Perhaps it's this advantage in ground teamwork that made Krum abandon his broomstick—it would be difficult to maintain such precise team coordination in the air!"
The four in the tent all looked out into the arena.
The three Durmstrang Champions were moving quickly across the ground. When faced with the dragons' fire, they always seemed to dodge in the same direction simultaneously.
And when they attacked, they raised their wands at the exact same moment, landing three pale blue Conjunctivitis Curses squarely on the dragons' eyes.
This high degree of synchronized movement was gradually confusing the once-ferocious dragons, and their jets of fire began to miss their mark.
"I have to admit, their teamwork on the ground is definitely better than what we achieved in practice," Cedric said with a hint of resignation, watching the scene. When they practiced, they could coordinate, but it always required eye contact or simple verbal commands, nowhere near Durmstrang's wordless synergy.
"And doesn't it feel like their strategy is becoming more and more similar to our initial plan?" Harry scratched his head, sounding confused. "The only difference is that we planned to use broomsticks for aerial support, and they're sticking entirely to ground combat."
"That probably has to do with the difference in how the two schools teach magic," Dylan explained, his eyes fixed on the Durmstrang trio's spell-casting movements. "Do you remember Battle Magic? That's Durmstrang's specialty, their strongest area of magic—the core of that magic is team coordination, emphasizing synchronized spell-casting to amplify the magical effect in combat."
"Oh, right! I almost forgot about that!" Harry slapped his hand, suddenly realizing. "Ron once told me that Durmstrang's Battle Magic is powerful, but many countries discourage it because it involves too much offensive content."
He paused, then asked another question: "But... I remember hearing that Durmstrang had to hide much of their Battle Magic curriculum due to external pressure and rarely teach it openly anymore."
"Hiding it doesn't mean they can't use it," Draco interjected with a hint of sarcasm. "It's like the Unforgivable Curses; you'll be sent to Azkaban for using them, but those Dark wizards still use them, don't they? This sort of thing is always 'secretive'—they won't officially disclose the curriculum details, but they'll still teach it to their students, as it's their core advantage."
Harry looked at Draco in surprise. "You actually know about Battle Magic too? I thought you only paid attention to Pureblood family matters."
"Hmph," Draco raised an eyebrow, his voice laced with annoyance at Harry's surprise. "If you can find out about it just by hearing someone talk, is it so strange that I know about it?"
He paused, changing his tone, his eyes showing a spark of understanding: "Speaking of which, this actually answers a question I had before—no wonder Durmstrang rarely won the previous Triwizard Tournaments. Now I get it. The earlier competitions were individual events, and the core of Battle Magic is team coordination. A single person couldn't unleash the true effect of that magic."
He watched the Durmstrang trio casting spells in sync in the arena and continued, "The situation is different this time; three champions showed up at once. That number perfectly satisfies the basic cooperation requirements for Battle Magic, allowing them to fully exploit the advantage of that kind of magic."
It wasn't surprising. The Malfoy family, as an ancient Pureblood house, naturally had family libraries that contained records of unique magic from various countries. Draco knowing about Battle Magic wasn't unexpected.
Dylan also generally understood these matters. In fact, most of the original texts on Battle Magic had been confiscated and destroyed due to Ministry of Magic policies. The few that remained, like most of the scattered information circulating, merely stated the name "Battle Magic" and its core characteristic of "emphasizing team coordination," lacking any specific casting techniques, spell combinations, or other key information, making them useless for practical reference.
"Spectators! Look at Durmstrang's magic!" Ludo Bagman's excited shout suddenly broke the discussion in the tent. "All three of them cast spells simultaneously, and three beams of light precisely struck the Hebridean Black's eyes! That accuracy is simply astonishing!"
His voice was full of excitement, and his speaking rate increased: "Even more incredible, they immediately shifted their attack to the Norwegian Ridgeback, and successfully hit that target's eyes as well! This must be magic specifically designed to target the eyes! Unbelievable! You have to remember, a dragon's scales are thick enough to resist most spells. To make a spell effective, the eye is indeed the best point of attack—it has no scale protection and can directly disrupt the dragon's actions!"
As Ludo commentated, the situation in the arena changed dramatically. Under the effect of the Conjunctivitis Curse, both dragons let out painful roars, their voices filled with agitation and fury. They began to twist their bodies wildly in place, lashing their massive tails. They also sporadically attacked empty air, clearly unable to see their surroundings.
More dangerously, they began to breathe fire randomly. Orange-red and deep-blue flames erupted from their mouths in alternation, scorching the ground instantly. The once-hard earth turned soft and black, constantly releasing plumes of white smoke. The high temperature from the fire distorted the air around them, and the vegetation at the edge of the arena was directly incinerated. The greenery that had been visible moments before turned into black ash, leaving the entire arena a desolate mess.
The students in the stands held their breath, their eyes glued to the arena. Although the dragons had lost their targets, this indiscriminate attack was even more dangerous. No one knew how the Durmstrang Champions would seize the Golden Egg amidst this chaos.
The four in the tent were watching with intense focus, especially Harry and Draco, who were quietly discussing Durmstrang's next likely move, adjusting their own tactical thinking as they went.
The two blinded dragons vented their rage in the arena, and their attack range went far beyond the ground. Every so often, they would open their massive jaws toward the circular stands, and orange-red and deep-blue fire would shoot toward the audience without warning.
Students in the stands could clearly see the sparks dancing in the flame and feel the scorching heat wash over them. Many instinctively hunched down, gripping the railings in front of them, their hearts jumping into their throats.
Fortunately, Old Dumbledore's preemptive measures worked. Every time the dragon fire approached the stands, a transparent barrier automatically appeared, firmly blocking the flames. The fire hit the barrier with a "sizzling" sound before dissipating into wisps of white smoke.
Although the spectators were not harmed, the feeling of "death being so close" was enough to make everyone hold their breath, their palms slick with cold sweat.
In the center of the arena, Viktor Krum was focused on dodging the dragons' attacks. When a jet of fire from the Norwegian Ridgeback shot in his direction, he reacted lightning-fast, diving to the side, rolling twice on the ground, barely managing to avoid the flames.
The hem of his robes was still singed by sparks, leaving a black mark.
Krum quickly stood up, brushed the dust off himself, and then raised his wand toward the sky.
Ludo Bagman, who had been watching his every move, immediately looked up. When he saw a black shadow flying in from a distance, gradually revealing the silhouette of a broomstick, he couldn't help but laugh, slamming his hand down on the commentary box.