The three Beauxbatons Champions entered the arena, wands in hand.
Their strategic approach was remarkably well-planned and steady.
The Champion named Claudia Laroche was the first to act.
She flicked her wand toward the storage area at the entrance of the arena.
A pale gold Summoning Charm arced through the air.
A silver-gray broomstick immediately responded, whistling as it flew into her hand.
She swung her leg over the broom and pushed off the ground, flying toward the Common Welsh Green dragon.
Her intention was clearly to use her flight to draw the dragon's attention.
"Ooh! Using a broomstick to contain the dragon! That's an inventive approach!" Ludo Bagman's voice, amplified by the Sonorus Charm, carried across the stands. "Looking at the model of that broom, is that a Comet Two-Sixty? Lightweight and agile—perfect for close-quarters maneuvering!"
"I wonder if this idea was inspired by their earlier Quidditch match? After all, the broomstick is the tool wizards are most familiar with when dealing with large creatures high in the air!"
Meanwhile, the Champion named Adèle Lefèvre stood at the edge of the arena, holding her wand in both hands and slowly drawing a circular path in front of her.
As she chanted the incantation, various materials began to appear on the ground.
Transparent Water Element Crystals were arranged neatly in a semicircle. Dried evening primrose petals were laid out between the crystals, and fine lines were traced with silvery tin powder.
A small vial of blue-glowing spring water was then carefully poured into the center of the material arrangement.
With every addition, she would look down to check the placement, her expression as focused as if she were performing intricate handiwork.
Fleur Delacour, however, walked alone toward the Swedish Short-Snout.
A pale purple glow constantly shimmered at the tip of her wand. As she moved slowly, she occasionally flicked her wand at the air above the dragon's head.
Each time she did, the Swedish Short-Snout's attention would be drawn, and it would slowly follow her movement toward the opposite side of the arena, gradually moving away from the Common Welsh Green's activity zone. Clearly, the goal was to completely separate the two dragons and prevent them from launching a combined attack.
Inside the tent, Harry watched Adèle continuously summoning materials, a slight frown on his face. He sounded confused: "What is Adèle trying to do with all these things? Water crystals, tin powder, evening primrose... these don't look like materials used for typical defensive or offensive magic! They can't be used for a Shield Charm, and they certainly won't hurt a dragon directly."
"Can't you tell? These are basic materials commonly used in Alchemy." Draco's gaze was fixed on the neatly arranged materials, his fingers lightly tapping the tent wall beside him. "The Water Element Crystals gather water-affinity magic, tin powder is a medium for stabilizing energy, and evening primrose can enhance the duration of a spell—they might be setting up some kind of array related to alchemy."
"Or maybe Ritual Magic," Cedric added, his tone more certain than Draco's. "I once had a pen pal from Beauxbatons, and he said that 'Basic Alchemy' and 'Introduction to Ritual Magic' are both compulsory courses starting in their third year, and they often teach them together."
"The way Adèle is arranging these materials looks exactly like she's building the framework for a Ritual Magic circle—after all, for Beauxbatons, which specializes in Alchemy, Ritual Magic is one of their most familiar auxiliary methods."
"In that case, The Daily Prophet's report wasn't wrong after all!" Harry suddenly realized. Rita's article had mentioned that Beauxbatons might use alchemical tools, and it seemed to be true. "I just wonder what this Ritual Magic array will actually do once it's set up... surely it can't be used to attack the dragon directly?"
"Based on the materials, it seems to be an array related to the Aguamenti Charm (Water-Making Spell)," Dylan explained calmly, his eyes focused on the Water Element Crystals. "The crystals maximize the collection of water-affinity magic from the air, and the evening primrose and tin powder will enhance the effect of the Aguamenti Charm several times over—not just increasing the volume of water, but also boosting the spray range and duration."
"Dragons breathe fire, so they're using water to block the dragon fire?" Harry followed the logic and quickly understood. "So, they want to use an enhanced Water-Making Charm to directly suppress the dragon's fire-breathing ability? That's a straightforward and very reliable idea."
Dylan nodded and added, "That's likely it. A standard Aguamenti Charm doesn't produce enough water to counter a dragon's fire, but with a Ritual Magic array supporting it, the charm can create a 'water curtain' effect. That would not only block the flame but also form a slick layer of water on the dragon, slowing its movements—it's an offensive and defensive strategy combined."
The Beauxbatons' approach to dealing with the dragons seemed somewhat anticlimactic.
The Common Welsh Green is inherently one of the milder dragon breeds. Claudia circled about ten meters above its head on her broom, and as long as she didn't approach the nest area in front of it, the dragon only occasionally lifted its head and spat out a few tiny sparks, barely even bothering to swing its tail much.
Although the Swedish Short-Snout was more volatile than the Green Dragon, with hotter fire, Fleur handled it patiently.
The tip of her wand always held a faint purple glow. Every flick of her wand seemed to slow the Swedish Short-Snout's movements by half a second, as if an invisible Slowing Charm had been placed on it.
Before long, everyone could see that the Swedish Short-Snout was becoming increasingly sluggish. Its once swift head-shaking motion now took an extra second or two to complete, and even the interval between breaths of fire grew longer.
To keep the atmosphere in the stands from falling flat, Ludo Bagman decided to temporarily switch his commentary to anecdotes: "Ladies and gentlemen, since the pace has slowed down a bit, let me share a little story! Last year, I visited an alchemist's workshop and saw an apprentice trying to boil dragon blood in a cauldron. He couldn't control the temperature, and the whole pot exploded, blackening the workshop ceiling! Seeing Adèle's precise movements now, you realize how meticulous a true master alchemist is, even when just arranging materials!"
Someone watching the two docile dragons in the arena sighed with a complicated tone: "Beauxbatons really got lucky... the Common Welsh Green and the Swedish Short-Snout are the least aggressive of all the dragons in the competition."
"If we had to face the Hungarian Horntail, even with a ritual array set up, we probably wouldn't have that much time to cast it."
Maria Weilman of Durmstrang frowned and nodded.
Franz Schmidt agreed, his face clearly showing envy.
The Norwegian Ridgeback and the Hebridean Black they had drawn had far nastier tempers than these two dragons.
Viktor Krum, sitting nearby, clearly noticed the frustration in their voices. He looked up, his gaze sweeping across the group, and stated calmly: "In a competition, luck itself is part of skill. Encountering an opponent that suits your tactics is no accident—the key is whether you can seize the opportunity and translate that advantage into a result."
"Isn't the Beauxbatons setup right now a perfect example of making good use of that 'luck'?"
His words instantly silenced the discussion in the tent, and everyone looked back at the arena.
By now, Adèle's ritual array was basically complete; the water crystals shimmered blue in the sunlight. Claudia was still distracting the Green Dragon on her broom.
Fleur was slowly leading the Swedish Short-Snout toward the other side of the array. The calculated challenge was moving forward in an orderly manner.
"The Swedish Short-Snout... is actually asleep?" Harry's eyes widened as he stared at the dragon slowly closing its eyes, a bit of drool even trickling from its mouth, and soft snores filling the air. He sounded utterly bewildered: "That was way too easy! Did Beauxbatons actually manage to put a dragon to sleep?"
"I don't think that's right," Cedric frowned, his eyes fixed on the sleeping dragon. "Dragons have strong magical resistance, especially adult ones. To put a dragon of that size into a deep sleep, magic alone isn't enough; it usually requires specialized sleeping draughts to work. But I didn't see Fleur use any potions."
"Did you forget her heritage?" Draco suddenly interjected, reminding them. "She admitted it herself during the Wand Weighing Ceremony—her grandmother was a Veela, which means she's one-quarter Veela. You all saw the Veela at the Quidditch World Cup, right? Their song and appearance can affect people's mental state."
He paused, elaborating further: "Wizards with Veela ancestry naturally have an advantage when casting mind-affecting magic. Their spells can interfere with the target's consciousness more precisely. Perhaps Fleur used this advantage, combined with hypnotic spells, to put the Swedish Short-Snout to sleep in a short amount of time—that's why no one saw her use a potion."
Harry and Cedric exchanged glances, finally understanding.
Thinking back, when Fleur was waving her wand, the air seemed to have carried a faint, almost wind-chime-like sound.
They hadn't paid attention at the time, but now it seemed that was likely the effect of mind-magic bolstered by her Veela heritage.
The Beauxbatons tactics, though conservative from the start, were surprisingly effective.
As Adèle Lefèvre's ritual magic array was fully completed, she immediately took over from Claudia Laroche.
She flicked her wand, and thick columns of water, the size of dinner plates, surged from the array. The columns converged in the air, forming a constant water curtain that sprayed toward the Common Welsh Green.
While the water columns weren't enough to hurt the dragon, they successfully interfered with its vision and movement, preventing it from focusing on finding a target.
Claudia Laroche then took the opportunity to hop onto her broomstick. She flew a wide circle around the arena's edge, skillfully avoiding the Common Welsh Green's line of sight, and quickly zipped past the now-slumbering Swedish Short-Snout.
Her goal was clear: the golden egg in the center of the arena.
However, retrieving the egg was not entirely without incident.
Just as Claudia approached the golden egg, the Cat-Niffler, which had been hidden in a cage, suddenly broke free of its restraints and lunged at her.
Fortunately, Fleur Delacour was prepared. She immediately rushed in front of Claudia, casting a protective charm with her wand.
A transparent barrier instantly formed, blocking the Cat-Niffler's first attack.
She then cast a series of distracting spells, constantly restraining the creature's movements to buy Claudia time.
The Cat-Niffler quickly realized that Fleur was the biggest obstacle. It suddenly changed direction and launched a fierce attack at Fleur.
Its sharp claws ripped through Fleur's protective barrier, leaving a deeply bleeding gash on her arm that looked particularly gruesome.
But Fleur didn't back down. She grit her teeth and held on until she saw Claudia successfully grab the golden egg, then slowly retreated, nursing her injury.
After the task was completed, the three were in different states.
Claudia Laroche had virtually no injuries, though the tail of her broomstick was charred in a few spots from fire-breath as she'd skirted the arena.
Adèle Lefèvre, who wasn't skilled at flying, had a large, red, swollen burn on her lower leg from being grazed by the Green Dragon's fire-breath while dodging. She walked with a noticeable limp.
Fleur Delacour paid the highest price. The hem of her robes was tattered and burned, and several patches of exposed skin showed burn wounds. The claw mark on her arm was bleeding, a truly shocking sight.
After watching the three Beauxbatons Champions leave the arena, accompanied by medical staff, Ludo Bagman cleared his throat with his wand and tried to speak with enthusiasm: "The Beauxbatons Champions completed this trial in a remarkably... remarkably organized fashion! While the process lacked high-stakes excitement, there's no denying that their tactical planning and execution were outstanding!"
He paused, then raised his voice to announce: "Regardless! Let us give a warm round of applause to the Beauxbatons Champions for successfully completing the first task! Next, we invite the members of the Panel of Judges to submit their scores!"
A round of applause echoed in the stands.
At this point, the Durmstrang Champions were leaving the tent.
This left no one else behind.
Harry broke the silence first, looking toward the arena outside the tent, his voice thick with hesitation: "The Hungarian Horntail... that thing is going to be incredibly tough to deal with, right? It's huge, and its fire-breath has such a long range."
Cedric and Draco both nodded.
That dragon was fifty feet long, and its fire-breath could shoot a column of flame fifty feet into the air, covering nearly half the arena.
What worried them even more was that Dylan had to face not just one, but also the equally massive Norwegian Ridgeback.
While the Ridgeback's fire-breath range was slightly shorter, its temper was much worse. Just imagining the suffocating pressure of being surrounded by fire if both dragons attacked at once was enough to make them feel breathless.
"It will be challenging, but I'm fine," Dylan said calmly, sensing their worry.
But Cedric, Draco, and Harry pursed their lips, knowing in their hearts that Dylan was just trying to reassure them.
A dragon's stamina recovery is far beyond human capability. How could Dylan possibly be fine?