Capítulo 654: The First Match
Editor: Atlas Studios
The next morning, the castle was filled with excitement and tension.
As a result, everyone seemed to be absent-minded during class. They kept looking out of the window or chatting in private. No matter how much the professors scolded them, it was to no avail.
At noon, Dumbledore officially announced the cancellation of all afternoon classes in the Great Hall, and invited all interested students to the Forest's paddock to watch the champions' first match.
"This is wonderful!"
As soon as Dumbledore finished speaking, the Great Hall erupted in cheers.
After lunch, many students did not even have the time to pack their things before they ran towards the paddock. There were only so many good seats to watch the match from a close distance. If they were late, they would be robbed by others…
Ivan and Harry, the champions, arrived at the venue early, led by Professor McGonagall.
"All right, this is it, get inside! All the other champions are here, and Mr. Bagman is in there with them. He'll tell you how it went…"
McGonagall was standing in front of a tent, pointing to the entrance. She spoke to the two men, then hesitated before reminding them.
"Remember, don't panic no matter what you see during the competition. Only by facing it calmly will you have a chance of winning!"
Yvonne nodded and went through the entrance with Harry.
The inside of the tent was so large that it resembled a small living room.
Fleur Delacour, the Warrior of Beauxbatons, was sitting on a low wooden bench, her face pale and her forehead beaded with cold sweat. She was clutching her wand in her right hand and clutching the corners of her wizarding robes in her other hand.
Viktor Krum wasn't faring any better. His brows were drawn together and he looked even grimmer than usual.
"Ivan, Potter, you're just in time!" Bagman greeted them as soon as they entered. He was very friendly and even winked at Ivan.
Ivan understood immediately. Bagman had done what he had asked him to do yesterday!
As expected, after a few words of caution, Bagman took a large purple silk bag from the table and spoke to them.
"What you need to do in the first match is to capture a golden egg under the protection of a dragon. There are now four types of dragons on the training ground, and I've placed their models in this bag. You need to personally choose your opponents…"
Krum's and Fleur's faces did not change. It was clear that they had known about the dragon for some time, but it was clear from their pursed lips and bloodless faces that they were far from calm.
Harry was no exception, and his hand trembled as he gripped his wand. He had come prepared, but he was still terrified of facing a dragon.
"Ladies first! It's your choice, Madam Delacour!" Bagman's smile was a sharp contrast to the nervous expressions on Harry and the others' faces as he reached out to open the sack and held it out to Fleur.
Fleur took a deep breath and looked into the opening of the sack. It was dark inside, as if some sort of light had been applied to it.
This discovery put an end to Fleur's desire to choose, and she reached into the sack with her trembling left hand. After a few seconds of searching, she pulled out a palm-sized, lifelike dragon model. It was a silver-blue Swedish Short-Snout with a sign around its neck that read "Number One".
Fleur's face fell, indicating that she would have to be the first on the field, unable to gauge the strength of the dragons from the performance of the other contestants.
Bagman then handed the bag to Krum with a smile, and Krum produced a scarlet Chinese Fireball with the number three on it.
Harry was unlucky enough to be chosen by the Hungarian Horntail, the most violent of the four dragons, as he was the second.
Finally, Ivan pulled out the only sculpture in the bag, the Norwegian Ridgeback — Norbert!
"You're out of luck, Mr. Harls! This dragon is the smartest and toughest of the lot, and it's not easy to get a dragon egg from under it!" Bagman exclaimed.
Fleur and Krum looked at Ivan with sympathy, but secretly gloated over his misfortune. The more difficult the competition, the better!
Harry gave Ivan a worried look.
Ivan's expression was calm, unlike the other champions, and he was quick to reply, "The joy of life is the challenge, Mr. Bagman, isn't it? To tell you the truth, I'm very grateful to have chosen the most difficult dragon!"
"Good! That's what a champion should be! I look forward to seeing you…" Bagman applauded, boasting loudly.
Upon hearing this, Harry, Fleur, and Krum felt ashamed of themselves, for their cowardice and occasional petty thoughts were not worthy of being called champions compared to Ivan's open-mindedness.
After Bagman's customary round of boasting to boost Ivan's popularity, he checked the time and got down to business. "Now you have a little time to compose yourselves, and when the game officially starts, you'll play in the ordered order, understood?"
The four men in the tent nodded in unison, and Bagman left, feeling relieved. In addition to being the referee, he was also the commentator for the match, so he had to get ready in advance.
After Bagman's departure, there were only four people left in the tent. Ivan sat patiently waiting while Harry anxiously circled a table, mumbling incantations such as the Eye-Disease Charm and the Flight Charm.
Slowly, the noise from the outside world grew louder, and Ivan guessed that the entire audience had arrived.
Suddenly, a piercing whistle cut through the frozen atmosphere of the tent, and Fleur rose from her seat with a shudder, gave them a tight smile, and headed for the exit.
The first match had begun!
Yvonne had no intention of staying in the tent and waiting, as per protocol, and instead carefully lifted the curtain of the exit to watch Fleur from a distance.
As everyone watched, Fleur stepped into the dragon's enclosure. The Swedish Short-Snout in the centre of the enclosure breathed nervously, sparks flying everywhere…
Further away, a dozen professional dragon tamers were stationed at every nook and cranny, ready to deal with any emergency.
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