RNP Chapter 112 We Will Win
Chapter 112 We Will Win
On Sunday morning, the first thing Harry thought of after waking up was to find his friends and talk about what he had seen and heard the night before.
"Ron! Get up!"
"Hmm... let me sleep a little longer..."
"I have important business to attend to!"
"Go talk to Hermione first... ah."
Ron yawned and then said:
"I'll find you later..."
Having failed to wake Ron, Harry didn't linger any longer. He quickly dressed and left his dormitory, heading straight for the Great Hall.
It was the last half hour of breakfast, and Hermione, who had known in advance that Harry and Hagrid would secretly meet at midnight, was making him a sandwich in the Great Hall. When she saw that he had made it to breakfast, she immediately guessed that Harry had something to say to her.
"Shall we chat while taking a walk?"
"Walk."
......
Harry didn't regret telling Hermione all the details about the dragons. Even if he didn't find every single book about dragons in the library, he was confident he could defeat those big guys.
He just enjoyed seeing Hermione worrying about him and running around taking care of him.
"Magic claw trimming... a treatment for festering scales... Good heavens, what is all this? Is this book made specifically for Hagrid?"
Hermione slammed the book "The Man Who Dotes on Dragons" shut and continued reading to another book:
"Fire dragons are extremely difficult to kill because ancient magic permeates the thick skin beneath their scales. Only the most powerful spells can penetrate it, unless the combined power of a large number of wizards is used...the most powerful? Why isn't this section explaining which spells are the most powerful?"
“I can try the spell Professor Moody taught us before!”
"This is not the time for jokes, Harry!"
As soon as Hermione finished speaking, Harry felt a "smack" on his head.
"Ouch! You hurt me!"
Harry's exaggerated performance earned him a smile from Hermione.
"Hmm~ Pretty impressive, huh? When the competition starts, you can use your homework to fight dragons just like me!"
As she spoke, she continued turning the pages of the book.
"What if it were some non-offensive spells? Like a Transfiguration or Conversion Charm? Turning the dragon's teeth into gummy candies or something? That way they wouldn't be so dangerous... But the problem is, dragon skin has such strong magic resistance, would transforming them really be successful? I doubt even Professor McGonagall could... Ah! I know! You can try casting the spell on yourself! Enhance your strength and speed! That way you won't be able to defeat the dragon directly, but at least you won't be so easily injured!"
The morning sun was shining through the window onto Hermione, making the ends of her brown hair shimmer with a faint golden light.
Harry's favorite thing about Hermione was the way her brow would furrow and relax as she read. While pretending to flip through "Basic Charms for Dealing with Hyperactive and Restless Animals," he devoted 99% of his attention to stealing glances at Hermione's profile.
"Oh no!"
"what happened?"
"He's here again!"
At Hermione's prompting, Harry noticed Viktor Krum, who had just entered the library. He had initially quite liked this Quidditch prodigy, but ever since they had become champions of Hogwarts and Durmstrang respectively, a subtle hostility had unconsciously replaced the former feeling of "heroes respecting heroes."
"You think he didn't stay on that stupid big ship to read books, but instead came here? Could it be that he's trying to spy on my ideas on how to deal with the fire dragon?"
Harry's words amused Hermione and Moran. The little witch quickly gathered up the books piled on the table and, mimicking the expressions of Krum's devoted fans, said:
"Oh, my valiant Hogwarts hero, if you continue to be so narcissistic, I'll leave you here alone to deal with his fangirls."
"Don't!"
Harry quickly shook his head and softened his stance, saying:
"Then I'd rather face four fire dragons by myself."
......
As the two left the library, a group of girls carrying Bulgarian national team merchandise barged in, chattering excitedly. They jostled each other like a migrating army of lemmings.
Mo Ran didn't quite understand this kind of fan group.
Logically speaking, no matter how well Krum flies, now that he is a Durmstranger, he is still a rival of Hogwarts. Why would he do something that boosts the morale of others and diminishes his own during the Triwizard Tournament?
On the other hand, considering what he saw and heard in his previous life, compared to those who stole their parents' life-saving money to wear wedding dresses and rush to concerts for their idols, the idol-chasing behavior among wizards doesn't seem like anything special.
......
The research into how to deal with the dragon was temporarily put on hold after Harry and Hermione returned to the Gryffindor common room.
Hermione wanted to help Harry more, but it would be a huge loss if others found out that Harry had cheated and learned about the first task in advance. Even though cheating was a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament, she didn't want Hogwarts' honor to be ruined by her and Harry.
And so, day by day, time passed until the first day of the Triwizard Tournament.
Hogwarts suspended classes at noon, and all the students were very nervous and excited. Many of them skipped lunch and formed small groups to head towards the enclosure where the dragons were trained.
Harry didn't follow the main group's pace; in fact, as a warrior, he suddenly felt like an outsider.
Whenever he walked past students from other colleges or schools, whether he received good luck and blessings or heard a few whispers saying, "This charlatan is about to be exposed," he felt that none of it concerned him.
Is the Fire Dragon strong?
Strong.
But compared to the 800-year-old basilisk he faced in his second year, it didn't seem like there was anything to worry about.
Around 1 p.m., Harry, who had eaten about 40% of his fill beforehand, finally set off for the competition venue accompanied by his friends.
Ron and Hermione fell silent, feeling they hadn't been able to help Harry at all, until they met Professor McGonagall. They kept asking themselves:
Where did you go in the weeks leading up to the match?
Where did my time go this morning?
Where did Harry go during the last few hours before he was attacked by the dragon?
......
"Potter, you've finally arrived."
Professor McGonagall, who had been waiting outdoors for a long time, stopped the Iron Triangle at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
"All warriors must first gather in the tents. You must say goodbye to your friends here first."
"No problem, Professor."
Harry nodded naturally, then turned around and gave his friends a thumbs up.
Good luck, Harry!
"You'll definitely succeed, buddy!"
Hermione and Ron spoke in hoarse voices; their voices had become unrecognizable after so long of not speaking.
The November afternoon was rather chilly, and Professor McGonagall, just as anxious as Hermione and Ron, even needed to rub her hands together frequently to keep warm. She silently accompanied Harry for the last stretch of the way, then stopped outside the tent and gave him some instructions:
"Don't be nervous, Harry. Just stay calm and do your best. The Ministry of Magic and the school have many wizards around. If anything goes wrong, everyone will rush to your aid immediately."
“I know, Professor.”
"Of course, of course..."
Perhaps because Harry appeared so calm, Professor McGonagall was momentarily at a loss for words, but soon the courage and boldness of a fellow Gryphon student dispelled her worries.
"Go, Harry, and good luck!"
"Thank you, Professor, I will win."
Swish!
With a soft sound as the curtain was lifted, Harry stepped into the players' tent.
Fleur-Delacour was curled up silently on a low wooden stool in the corner. Unlike her dazzling entrance in the Great Hall, she looked incredibly pale and sickly.
On the other hand, Viktor Krum looked slightly more normal. However, this guy usually had a gloomy expression, so it was hard to tell how nervous he was at the moment.
Between the two gloomy-faced Warriors, Ludo Bagman was the most relaxed, and wearing a Hornets jersey, he looked like a cartoon mascot from the Muggle world.
He was the first to notice Harry's entrance, and his face lit up with joy as he waved and shouted:
"Oh Harry! Great! Come in and make yourself at home! One, two, three, very good, all the warriors are here, we can start introducing the competition."
Bagman's cheerful voice did little to make Fleur and Krum feel better; if it weren't for the need to hear the rules of the game, they certainly wouldn't want to pay any attention to this guy.
"Once the audience has all gathered at the arena, the first event of the Triwizard Tournament will officially begin. I will pass this bag around to you one by one, and you must choose your opponent from it."
He picked up a purple cloth bag and shook it, saying:
"Don't worry, there are only some small models here, not the real thing. Your task is also very simple - identify what the opponent is, recognize its type, and then think about how to safely get past them and take the golden egg."
"Simple?"
Furong muttered something under her breath, her face seeming to paler even more. Instead of going back to the wooden bench to sit and rest, she began pacing back and forth in the tent.
In the blink of an eye, the sound of hundreds of footsteps could be heard outside the tent, and it was at this moment that Bagman opened the purple cloth bag in his hand.
"Ladies first."
Furong rolled her eyes at Bagman, who was forcibly trying to be a gentleman, and slowly raised her trembling hand to reach into the bag.
A strange hissing sound came from the bag, and a lifelike model of a Welsh green dragon appeared before everyone's eyes.
"Number 2, you are the second to appear, Miss Delacour."
Mr. Bagman saw the number on the dragon model's neck and then immediately took the bag and walked over to Krum.
"Ow."
"The Chinese Fireball Dragon is number 1, Mr. Krum."
Krum didn't blink once. After learning that he had to be the first to go out, he resigned himself to his fate and walked back to his bed, staring at an empty space without moving.
Harry couldn't tell whether there was one dragon or two dragons left in the bag.
In his view, since the Ministry of Magic had already invested so much effort in the Triwizard Tournament, it shouldn't have allowed the three champions to be drawn out of the order of appearance. But if everything was really as he thought, then why did Charlie and his companions send an extra dragon in the first place?
"Come on, Harry, you're definitely going to be the last one to go on stage."
Bagman's voice interrupted Harry's thoughts. Looking at the man's slightly pitying eyes, Harry seemed to know what he was left with.