"Said Cedric Diggory showed remarkable bravery. It was clear that Mr Diggory knew exactly what to do to deal with the dragon, from beginning to end, it all came as part of his plan. I think everyone will agree that Mr Diggory is very wise indeed. You see, before they went in, the brave people knew no more about what they would face than anyone else—"
A monitoring mirror flew in front of Ludo Bagman. When he noticed his face magnified on the large screen, Ludo became even more excited.
"We all thought that Mr. Diggory's performance upon entering the stadium was due to the shock of the fire dragon. However, it has been proven that in just a few minutes, he came up with an absolutely perfect strategy. We should all give him a round of applause!"
There was a sudden uproarious applause that continued long in the stadium. Colleagues of Hogwarts all congratulated Mrs. Sprout. Undoubtedly, Cedric's brilliant performance, his excellent Transfiguration, and finally, the little charm that played a key role won almost everyone's approval. However, Professor Karkaroff on the bench was indifferent and looked down on it.
Regrettably, Cedric was still unable to completely avoid the dragon's breath from the Snively dragon, and his left hand was seriously injured, which would undoubtedly affect his score.
The result was indeed as such, Dumbledore, Maximus, and Barty Crouch all gave 9 points. Ludo Bagman surprisingly gave 8 points--people listened to his praise and thought he would give a full score. But, compared with Karkaroff's score of 6 points, it was already good enough.
When Karkaroff scored, the Hogwarts wizards gave him disdainful hisses. Enthusiastic Ernie even wanted to climb up to Karkarov's score, and even Mrs. Sprout angrily shouted at the judges' bench.
"One is down, three more brave warriors left!"
The dragon tamers were possibly the busiest people in the competition. Together, they cast a Stupefy spell on the fire dragon, then, exhausted from dragging the now unconscious Swedish Short-nosed dragon down, they pulled up the Welsh Green Dragon. This green dragon was more awake than when the Short-nosed dragon had been brought in, making the test for the tamers even greater.
"Weird..."
Ginny watched the chicken flying and the dog jumping on the big screen. She raised her eyebrows and said.
"Where's Charlie? He's their leader, isn't he? Shouldn't he be up here helping?"
"Oh, perhaps he's already inside the stomach of one of the fire dragons -" Fred said sorrowfully.
The sharp whistle rang again, and Bagman shouted loudly, "
"Miss Dracul, it's your turn now, please step up!"
People's eyes fell on the big screen. After two minutes, Fleur in competition outfit walked out of the channel and appeared on the stage.
As the most dazzling of the many lovely girls at Beauxbatons, Fleur Delacour had always been a haughty figure at Hogwarts, as if everything around her held no importance. But perhaps it was because of her air that Fleur remained immensely popular; in private, there were no fewer young men admiring her than there were girls in the massive fan club that followed Crabbe.
However, today's Fleur did not have the haughty expression she had usual.
Fleur, with a high ponytail, behaved in the same way as Cedric when she first entered the arena. She stood at the foot of the hill, gazing at the top. Her pale cheeks were full of helplessness, but her soft posture exuded a kind of different temptation. Many boys couldn't wait to jump into the arena and challenge that Welsh Green Dragon on behalf of Fleur.
"People who are watching this competition may already know from the relevant reports—"
Ludo was excitedly explaining to everyone,
"Miss Fleur Delacour of Beauxbatons has a Niffler lineage, which is where her stunning beauty comes from. Oh, Miss Fleur Delacour and the Welsh Green Dragon, folks! This reminds me of a fairy tale popular among Muggles, Beauty and the Beast. Oh, let's wait and see how she performs brilliantly!"
( clears throat )
Mrs. Maximus coughed heavily and stared at Ludo Bagman with eyes full of anger, successfully interrupting his flippant words. She then looked at the face on the big screen, which was as pale as snow, with a worried expression on her face.
"Won't something go wrong? I'm not doubting Fleur, but. Oh, where's Amortead? He should be here alerting for any unexpected events, I don't see him?"
"Don't worry, Mrs., I believe Miss Delacour will bring us a surprise—"
Dumbledore said courteously, ignoring Karkarov's sniggering, looking around the room and focusing his gaze on an outside direction. His silver-white eyebrows twitched, as if he had discovered something.
"Amortead is probably patrolling outside. I guess he is afraid that the tragedy of the last World Cup will be repeated."
After dealing with Mrs. Maximus's question, Dumbledore's deep blue eyes flickered with a moment of contemplation. Without drawing attention, he subtly pulled his hand back into the wide sleeves of his robe, and a few seconds later, a faint silver thread shot out quickly, went unnoticed, and directly through the floor to vanish.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Miss Delacour may have already made her decision. I thought she would..."
Everyone knew why Ludo was surprised -- everyone would think that Fleur would probably take the same strategy as Cedric: quietly approach and let the dragon not find, and then find an opportunity to act.
However, Fleur's choice surprised everyone. She took a step and directly chose the most convenient route up the slope, her steps were uneven, but it was clear that Fleur had no intention of hiding herself.
And her such attitude was naturally discovered by the Welsh Green Dragon on the slope.
Unlike the Swedish Short-nosed dragon that Cedric just faced, the Welsh Green Dragon from the Welsh region in Britain was apparently more temperate. It watched the witch approaching it on the ridge, its green vertical pupils showing no strong hostility but full of alertness.
Woowh—
The Welsh Green Dragon let out a melodious, long-lasting scream. The surprised non-magical wizards couldn't believe it. They simply couldn't believe that a terrifying fire dragon could make such an appealing sound.
In fact, the Welsh Green Dragon is probably the most gentle among all dragons. They like to eat sheep and always avoid humans unless provoked. Wizards have established a sanctuary for these dragons on the mountains in Wales. They like to live on high cliffs and are particularly good at climbing.
However, gentleness does not mean they have no temper, especially as this Welsh Green Dragon was at a critical moment.
After the Welsh Green Dragon let out a deliberate yell, Fleur's steps did indeed stop for a few seconds, but then she started walking again. It was unnecessary to hide her tracks. Fleur reached the top of the slope faster than Cedric did. Since all warriors were investigating the range that the dragon's breath could cover, Fleur stopped at a distance of about fifty to sixty feet from the dragon's lair.
"What is she going to do?"
Ludo spoke for everyone, asking the question in everyone's hearts.
"To have a head-on fight with the dragon? Oh, I'm sorry to say that's not a wise choice!"
People were all waiting for Fleur's performance, and just then, something happened that caught everyone off guard. The Welsh Green Dragon, seeing that Fleur paid no heed to its threatening roar and raised her wand at it, its beautiful green vertical eyes even flickered with a hint of fear. This fire dragon remembered the incident not long ago when a wizard had thoroughly beaten it and several others of its kind, then...
Wow!
The Welsh Green Dragon suddenly spread its left wing and swept towards the ground. A cloud of dust later, the eggs that were lying in the hay were gone. The dragon's wings curled up and then looked at Fleur with trepidation. It then turned its body towards the rock wall and chiselled its claw into it sharply!
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The dust filled the air, chaos ensued, and the sound of shattered rocks finally ended with a heavy clanging noise. Everyone, including Fleur, looked at the Welsh Green Dragon hiding in the half-way position of the hedgehog. They were all stunned.
(End of this chapter)
