#216 - Section 216

Fleur also successfully obtained a golden egg from it, but the specific method she used remains unclear.

Now, with nine fire dragons, can Fleur still manage to draw such a lucky top prize?

If she takes the Felix Felicis, passing should be no problem.

Ethan still has a lot of Felix Felicis left unused, but major competitions usually prohibit it. Although there's no testing process in the original story, no one knows if there will be testing now.

Alchemy tools are also prohibited, as stated in the Triwizard Tournament rules. They can only bring a wand to the arena.

Otherwise, Ethan could have equipped Fleur with a full set of gear.

After all, this is a champion's competition; what's the point of using external forces?

Otherwise, Harry wouldn't have needed to use the Accio charm to summon his Firebolt broom from outside.

He still needs to think of a way.

After this school year ends, and Fleur graduates from Beauxbatons, she will come to Britain to work. Ethan needs to give Fleur some special training.

In the wizarding world, strength is fundamental.

If Penelope were in her place, Ethan wouldn't need to consider any of this.

Chapter 258: The Tournament Begins

Tuesday, the long-awaited Triwizard Tournament, is finally about to begin.

The entire Hogwarts is filled with a fervent atmosphere, with everyone excitedly anticipating the first task of the day, hoping it will be exciting enough.

However, the competition time is in the afternoon, and this morning is still normal classes.

After the last History of Magic class in the morning, Ethan and the others went to the Great Hall for lunch.

Amidst the Ravenclaw students' congratulations, Professor McGonagall hurried over, followed by Ron and Harry.

"Ethan, the champions must now go to the arena below. You must be there to prepare and complete the first task."

"Alright."

Ethan said, standing up. He had eaten almost enough, and as for preparation, there wasn't much to prepare.

"Good luck, I believe in you!"

Luna, sitting next to Ethan, clenched her fist and gave Ethan a gesture of encouragement.

"Don't worry!"

Ethan gave the surrounding Ravenclaw students a confident smile.

Then he followed Professor McGonagall, along with Harry and Ron, and walked outside.

Unlike Ethan's calmness and composure, Harry and Ron's faces were a bit stiff, and they also had heavy dark circles, looking quite憔悴.

Apparently, they hadn't rested well due to worry and fear these past few days, and it's unknown if they've prepared well.

As for Ron, his expression is off. Did Harry tell him that the first task is about fire dragons?

Arriving outdoors, the Scottish Highlands in November were still quite cold.

Harry and Ron couldn't help but shiver.

Professor McGonagall placed her hands on Ron and Harry's shoulders, comforting them:

"Alright, don't be nervous. Keep a cool head. We've arranged some wizards to be nearby. If things go wrong, they will step in to control the situation. The most important thing is to fully utilize your own abilities. No one thinks you are inferior to others."

In fact, Professor McGonagall was also very nervous. Her two students were participating in the Triwizard Tournament in violation of the rules, and they were both underage and unqualified.

She was also quite worried that some accident would occur. Although it was said that wizards were watching the situation on the sidelines and would step in to stop it in an emergency, they couldn't always rescue in time when a real situation arose.

Just like Lockhart's Wizarding Duelling Competition held at Hogwarts, Dumbledore was watching from the sidelines, but Harry was almost killed.

These professors and headmasters can only be said to have increased the probability of safety, but not to be truly foolproof.

Otherwise, there wouldn't have been so many accidents in previous Triwizard Tournaments. Deaths and injuries occurred from time to time, and ultimately, the Triwizard Tournament had to be shut down.

Saying these things now is just to reassure Harry and Ron.

Otherwise, going on stage so nervous will only make their performance worse.

As for Ethan, there was no need for her to worry about him.

Although the three of them entered school at the same time, based on Professor McGonagall's own observations,

Ron and Harry's current strength in spells was not even as good as Ethan's in the first half of his first year.

Now, the three of them are not even in the same league anymore.

When they get to the arena, it's not Ethan who needs to be worried about, but his opponents.

"Is this true?"

"I mean, is there actually no real danger in this competition?"

Ron really believed Professor McGonagall's words. Such a dangerous competition naturally needs wizards to watch from the sidelines to ensure safety!

Seeing Ron looking at her with a hopeful expression, Professor McGonagall was a little embarrassed.

"With Dumbledore watching from the sidelines, he will minimize the level of danger."

That's all she could say. Professor McGonagall couldn't give any more guarantees.

Those words were originally just to reassure them both.

Hearing Professor McGonagall say this, and with Dumbledore watching over them, Ron and Harry felt much relieved.

Although they were still quite worried about facing the fire dragons, they were not as afraid anymore.

Dumbledore's name was still quite effective. He was the strongest in the wizarding world. With him there, he could easily suppress the fire dragons if they were in real danger.

It's just that they both forgot that Dumbledore was also present when Ron almost killed Harry.

Seeing Ron and Harry no longer trembling, and their faces relaxed a bit, Professor McGonagall also breathed a sigh of relief.

Then she quickened her pace, bypassed the edge of the Forbidden Forest, and walked towards an open space.

Arriving in front of a tent, Professor McGonagall turned to the three of them with a slightly trembling voice:

"The champions participating in the Triwizard Tournament will wait in here. Mr. Bagman will also come here later, and he will tell you the steps one by one. Good luck!"

After the three of them said goodbye to Professor McGonagall, she turned and left.

"Let's go in!"

Ethan said to Harry, then took the lead in pulling open the outer curtain and walking in.

Only then did they discover that the champions from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons had already arrived.

Fleur sat on a low wooden stool in the corner, her head held high and her face radiant, looking confident.

The two Beauxbatons champions with her sat closely together, their faces pale and sickly.

Viktor Krum looked even more gloomy than usual, obviously quite nervous as well.

As for the other two from Durmstrang, they were pacing back and forth anxiously.

According to Fleur, on Sunday evening, they were taken to see the dragons. Although Madam Maxime didn't say anything, they knew that this was the target they would face in the first task of the Triwizard Tournament.

Sure enough, even with a binding magical contract, loopholes could still be found if one wanted to.

Madam Maxime couldn't reveal the tasks of the tournament due to the contract, but she could still make some arrangements that weren't exactly against the rules.

It was probably the same on the Durmstrang side.

When Ethan and the others came in, they glanced at them before lowering their heads again, each thinking about how to deal with the dragons they would face later, with no time to pay attention to others.

Ethan went directly to Fleur's side and sat down. The little girl looked confident at the moment, which was naturally because she had the confidence.

Just as Ethan sat down and hadn't even said two words to Fleur, the curtain was pulled open again.

This time it was Ludo Bagman who came in, but he was wearing his old Wasp team uniform.

Ethan didn't know what he meant by this.

After entering, Ludo stood directly in the middle of the champions, who looked a little pale, and said cheerfully:

"Alright, now that everyone is here—it's time to explain the situation to you!"

"When the audience gathers later, I will take these three bags and present them to each of you in turn."

As he spoke, Ludo raised three purple silk bags and shook them at Ethan and the others.

From Ethan's angle, he could clearly see something moving inside the bags, obviously some kind of living creature.

This seemed no different from the original task.

"You will each pick a small model of the thing you will face! They are of different types. I also have something to tell you: your task is to retrieve a golden egg!"

"The final score will be based on the number of golden eggs retrieved."

"The entire competition is divided into three rounds, with a champion from a different school participating in each round. You can be cooperative or competitive, as you wish."

"The specific groupings will be determined after you have chosen the small models of what you will face."

After speaking, Ludo looked at the young wizards present, in case they had any questions he needed to answer.

"Mr. Bagman, I would like to ask, according to what you just said, do we have to face three dragons at the same time?"

Krum's face became even gloomier. As for cooperating with the champions from the other two schools, he hadn't even considered it.

He was a genius from Durmstrang, a world-class star in the Quidditch arena. Cooperating with others? How embarrassing would that be?

But facing three dragons at once? Could that really be done?

"There will indeed be three dragons in the arena, but you will not be forced to face all three at the same time. You can cooperate and take them on one by one."

Ludo replied with a smile.

Facing the dragons, it was natural to reduce some risks. If three dragons were released without restrictions, everyone except Ethan would probably be wiped out.

This was the Triwizard Tournament, a competition, not a life-or-death challenge. Naturally, they wouldn't be given impossible tasks.

"I understand!"

Krum also breathed a sigh of relief. Although it wasn't explicitly stated, there were still restrictions on the dragons in the arena.

In that case, it wasn't impossible.

Anyway, cooperation was out of the question.

He glanced at Ethan, who was still indifferent. He probably didn't want to cooperate either!

Although his own strength couldn't compare to Ethan's, he couldn't lose his prestige in the arena!

He was a Quidditch superstar, and what was Ethan? Just someone with a little more gold galleons?

Seeing that the other champions had no more questions, Ludo left the tent.

He was quite busy on this day of the competition.

Before long, the people inside the tent heard the sound of hundreds and thousands of feet walking past the tent, the owners of the feet talking and laughing excitedly…

Obviously, the audience was starting to arrive.

In contrast to the cheers and laughter outside, the atmosphere inside the tent was particularly oppressive.

After the sound of footsteps outside stopped, Ludo walked into the tent again.

After greeting the champions, he untied one of the bags and came to the Beauxbatons side.

"Ladies first!"

Ludo looked at the three Beauxbatons champions, signaling them to reach in and choose their target.

Fleur glanced at her two pale-faced classmates and strode forward directly to Ludo.

She reached directly into the purple silk bag.

Soon, Fleur pulled out a small, lifelike model of a dragon—a Welsh Green, with a number tied around its neck: number 2.

Although Ethan didn't know the specific tasks of the competition, he had told Fleur all the characteristics of the dragons.

The Welsh Green, with two front legs, was the first choice if she touched it.

The long one was also good, that was the Chinese Fireball.