The arena for the first task of the Triwizard Tournament was a large venue pieced together with planks and rocks, looking extremely crude.
Of course, this "crude" was only by comparison with the Quidditch World Cup stadium.
With the help of magic, in fact, this arena actually looked pretty decent.
At the very least, whether it was the semicircular tiered stands or the commentator's booth, both were quite good.
At the far end of the arena below, the fire dragon that had just had its golden egg stolen by Krum was still in a state of extreme rage, currently engaged in a final battle with the dragon handlers rushing in.
Subduing an enraged fire dragon was by no means a difficult task for these well-trained dragon handlers.
But perhaps because of the presence of the audience, driven by a strong desire to show off, the dragon handlers started playing tricks, using chains made of special metals and spells to toy with the poor fire dragon.
Bagman, being someone who feared the world might not be chaotic enough, saw how hard the handlers were performing and simply began commentating on their battle.
The audience was also very cooperative, every time the handlers skillfully dodged dragon fire, it drew out a huge wave of cheers.
This only made the handlers more excited.
If no one stopped them, they might've kept playing there the whole day.
Luckily, Bagman still remembered that the stars of this match were the champions. In the end, he urged the handlers to drive away that fire dragon and instead brought up a Hungarian Horntail.
"Let's give a final round of thanks to our dragon handlers for their wonderful performance! And let's also praise Durmstrang's champion, he really was fantastic! Now, next, let's welcome Hogwarts' champion, Link Flamel!"
Bagman roared excitedly, and judging from his flushed cheeks and the veins bulging on his throat, he was clearly shouting with all his strength.
Unfortunately, even with the help of magic, his volume wasn't quite enough.
Because in the next moment, the cheers and whistles erupting from the stands completely drowned out his voice.
The previous three matches had already made all the spectators present realize that while the tournament committee had brought in something as dangerous as fire dragons, they had in fact put a lot of effort into controlling the difficulty.
After all, the first three champions, although looking a bit bedraggled, had all completed the task!
Even Harry, the youngest and weakest by common opinion, had somehow used an unbelievable method to snatch away the golden egg guarded by the fire dragon.
And this made everyone even more eager to see Link's performance.
After all, in many people's hearts, Link was the strongest of all the champions.
Of course, there were exceptions to everything.
Emily, at this moment, was very worried. Though as the person closest to Link she clearly knew the terrifying power Link possessed, but that was still a fire dragon.
And what Link had to face was a Hungarian Horntail, far larger than the other three dragons, with even stronger fire-breathing abilities.
Against such a monster, could Link really succeed?
Emily suddenly felt her breathing grow difficult.
She didn't cheer like those around her. Instead, she closed her eyes and quietly began praying for Link.
Yet she had only just shut her eyes for a short while when, as if realizing something, she suddenly opened them and looked down.
At that moment, Link was walking into the arena from the tunnel.
Winter sunlight spilled across him, making his golden hair shine brilliantly, and even casting a golden hue across his handsome face.
With looks like that, anyone who saw him would have to secretly sigh, 'so handsome.'
But such a beautiful young man now stepped before the fire dragon with a stride that was extremely leisurely, as though on a lazy stroll after dinner.
There was even a smile on his face.
That smile, paired with his stride, gave off an air of complete ease and confidence.
So relaxed it even bordered on arrogance.
Thanks to magical binoculars, most of the spectators could clearly sense the stark contrast between Link and the three before him.
Those three had also completed their tasks.
But their nervousness was obvious even without magical binoculars.
And Link was completely different.
Another wave of cheering erupted so loud it nearly shattered glass.
Among them, the voices of the Slytherins were the loudest.
At this moment they were so excited they nearly wanted to leap down from the stands and take his place.
To be honest, normally, Slytherins would look down on the kind of lazy, casual demeanor Link was displaying, utterly lacking in formality.
But in this moment, it embodied immense confidence and pride.
This perfectly struck Slytherin's sweet spot.
Because at the end of the day, most Slytherins were just a bunch of chunibyo patients.
"…Champion Link Flamel really is popular! Then next, let's enjoy the performance of Link Flamel! Remember, your goal is to take the golden egg protected by the fire dragon, and you must not let the egg be damaged! Now, the task begins!"
Bagman's voice, made thin by the roar of the crowd, drifted into Link's ears.
Link then continued walking toward the Hungarian Horntail, still loose and casual in stride, but with a flash of blue light in his eyes.
With the aid of the Hyper-Sense Charm, every detail of the Hungarian Horntail before him was revealed.
It truly was a beautiful dragon.
Nearly five stories tall, its whole body was covered in black scales that shimmered with a ghostly light under the sun.
From neck to brow its head bristled with bronze spikes, and its tail bore two massive, terrifying hammer-like stingers.
It crouched, half-folded wings shielding the clutch of dragon eggs behind it, while its pair of orange-yellow vertical pupils, brimming with murderous intent, glared fixedly at Link.
Mothers guarding their young were always especially fierce, and to provoke this maternal instinct, the handlers had nastily piled real dragon eggs in the nest built in the arena.
As for the golden egg Link had to retrieve, it was placed right atop those real eggs.
This meant that if Link wanted the egg, he would first have to deal with this fiercely protective mother dragon.
Of course, the handlers weren't complete devils.
To lower the difficulty and ensure safety, they had thoughtfully left the dragon chained to the ground by specially made metal restraints.
At present, the Horntail's movement was limited to just a small area near the eggs.
Calculating the range of its movements and fire-breath, Link stopped at the edge of its reach, raised his wand, and without hesitation incanted, "Sectumsempra."
The invisible blade howled forth, striking precisely at the Horntail's eye socket. But its eyelid snapped shut in time, the thin lid blocking the strike, leaving only a scratch.
But that blow seemed to enrage the Horntail completely.
It roared hysterically and lunged, only to be yanked back by its chains.
It tried to breathe fire, but Link stood beyond its range.
"This really is terrifying." Link nodded calmly as he spoke.
The defense of dragonhide was truly astonishing. Just a thin eyelid had blocked Sectumsempra, a curse with corrosive properties and the greatest armor-piercing ability among dark spells.
And elsewhere on its body, the dragonhide and scales were even thicker, up to nearly two meters in places.
Such defense, combined with its immense strength and fire breath, really did make it the kind of monster that only swarms of people with specialized tools could subdue.
But so what?
A brighter smile spread on Link's lips.
This time, he didn't speak an incantation. He simply raised his wand, and brought it down hard.
BOOM!
From above descended a massive, invisible warhammer, condensed from countless curses.
It smashed down directly on the Horntail's skull, driving its whole head into the ground.
"It's just a turtle with a harder shell! Smash it with something blunt and it's done!"
Link sneered, swinging his wand again and again.
The cursed warhammer slammed down over and over, gradually pounding the struggling Horntail deeper into the earth.
The cheers and commentary across the arena abruptly fell silent, leaving only the dull, thunderous impacts echoing in the quaking ground.
Every spectator, even Dumbledore and the judges, were struck speechless with shock.
No matter how much they had overestimated Link's power, none had imagined the battle would become so dramatic.
The largest and most dangerous of all four dragons, the Hungarian Horntail, was being treated like a mere dog.
"Link…"
Emily murmured unconsciously, her tightly wound nerves at last relaxing.
Meanwhile, half-buried in the ground, the Horntail was barely struggling now.
But Link kept hammering, as though intent on smashing it to death.
This brutal posture silenced the crowd, even after their initial shock faded.
But Link had already noticed something.
The Horntail hadn't given up resistance.
It had simply shifted its efforts underground.
Its head, buried in the earth, was spouting fire, burning the bedrock.
Curious, Link didn't stop it. He simply maintained the pressure.
And soon he understood its goal.
The dragonfire's heat melted much of the arena floor into ash and magma, including the area where the other end of the restraining chains was anchored.
The chains themselves, forged of alchemic alloy, were impervious to dragonfire.
But the rock anchoring the bolts was not.
Under the scorching heat, the rock quickly melted, and the rivets were torn free.
"ROAR!"
With an exultant bellow, freed from its bonds, the Horntail burst from the magma, wings flapping!
It hovered above Link, glaring down, its orange eyes now not only cruel but gleaming with cunning and joy.
This dragon was far more intelligent than the rest.
That was Link's judgment.
But gradually, joy faded into hatred.
Its gaze swept the stands, then locked onto Link.
Flames built in its maw.
As a celebration of regained freedom, it would teach these humans who had imprisoned it a painful lesson!
And all of this would start with Link.
The crowd could no longer remain silent.
They cried out, trying to flee, but were blocked by the prefects.
Yet the prefects were too few, too weak, quickly drowned in the panicked throng.
Emily was one of the very few who did not run.
But what she did was in some ways even more reckless than fleeing.
For she had already drawn her wand, preparing to rush down to help Link.
Fortunately, Snape had been keeping an eye on her, and he grabbed her back.
Unlike everyone else, Link still wore a smile.
He gazed up at the Horntail, maw gaping, flames forming, and casually waved his wand.
Augmenting Charm, Steam Explosion.
A torrent of water filled the dragon's mouth, and under Link's control and compression, it made direct contact with the forming flame.
The Horntail's fire was among the strongest of any dragon, long range, over two thousand degrees Celsius.
Temperatures at which most metals known to the Muggle world would instantly melt.
That was how it had just burned through the ground to escape.
But when a super-compressed water sphere wrapped such a flame, the result was simple.
Hissssss, BOOM!
Superheated steam exploded inside the Horntail's mouth.
In the rolling fog, Link glimpsed that the poor dragon had lost its lower jaw entirely.
Its horrific scream made everyone clutch their ears in pain, forgetting to flee.
The Horntail, in the mist, seemed to have lost all reason.
Ignoring its gaping wound spewing blood with each roar, it swung its barbed tail stubbornly at Link.
Link still didn't move.
At that moment, he almost regretted his earlier judgment of the dragon's intelligence.
In the end, a beast was still a beast.
Didn't it realize that the fact Link still stood there meant he was confident in total control?
The wand swept again.
The Horntail was blasted away faster than before.
Meanwhile, all the surrounding mist gathered above the dragon, forming a great dark cloud.
Finally, when a bead of glowing red magic was cast by Link into the cloud, a bolt of lightning shot straight down onto the Horntail.
Blinding light exploded across the sky like a flashbang.
The savage, cunning dragon at last went still, trailing smoke as it crashed into the cooling magma below.
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