From the audience's perspective, compared to that massive, ferocious fire dragon, the person walking into the arena seemed unimaginably small—like the contrast between an adult and an ant, a staggering difference in size.
A wave of gasps immediately rose from the stands, not just from the Muggles, but even many wizards doubting whether such a young child—a student who hadn't yet graduated from Hogwarts, a fifth-year—could really defeat this dragon.
Even if it was just stealing an egg from the dragon's nest without letting the egg get damaged—wasn't that even harder?
"Do you think this child can succeed, Principal Potter?" Madame Maxime asked with keen interest. "I hear he's your apprentice."
"Cedric is an excellent apprentice; he's very diligent, especially when it comes to knowledge," Harry thought for a moment and said. "So, rather than stealing an egg from the dragon's side, I think he's more likely to try defeating the dragon outright."
"Defeat it?!" Fudge sat up straight in disbelief. "I just heard that commentator say a dragon like this would require a dozen trained adult wizards to subdue."
"Yes, Prime Minister Fudge," Dumbledore said cheerfully. "That's the wonder of magic—age isn't always a limitation? Look, Cedric's making his move."
He did indeed make his move. Cedric stood at a distance from the dragon, drew his wand, and swung it sharply.
"Oh? Transfiguration?" Bagman's voice carried surprise. "Is Hogwarts' first champion planning to use Transfiguration to distract the dragon? Turning inanimate objects into living ones is indeed advanced Transfiguration, especially if you want the transformed creature to seem real."
"No, no, no, Bagman, I don't know any living thing that's round and straight like a barrel—that looks more like a wooden post," Ludo's co-commentator retorted. "I know what that is. It's a totem!"
"Yes, you're not mistaken, David—that is indeed a totem, a shaman's totem," Bagman said enthusiastically. "So what we're about to see is brand-new shamanistic magic—let me add a quick note: even in the entire wizarding world, very few people have mastered shamanistic magic right now. I can guarantee this boy will play a crucial role in the Shaman Priest Department in the future."
Compliments were free, and Ludo blew them out relentlessly.
As a shaman apprentice, Cedric had already passed the initial stages, which meant he didn't need to carve a totem on the spot. Instead, he directly used Transfiguration to create one and then slammed it into the ground.
The next second, an earth elemental twice Cedric's height burst out of the ground, its body composed entirely of hard stone blocks.
"Aha! I know this one!" Perrier, the French Prime Minister, said excitedly, slapping his thigh. "I've seen them in my garden, though not this big."
He was thrilled that something in the competition had finally appeared that he could understand and recognize—at least this way, he wouldn't seem like a fool who knew nothing.
The French Minister of Magic sat beside him, ready to explain at any moment.
In the arena, the earth elemental Cedric had summoned drew the dragon's attention with its impressive size alone. The mother dragon roared restlessly, hot sparks shooting from its nostrils—then, amid a chorus of gasps, it suddenly left its nest and lunged at the earth elemental!!
A brooding mother dragon was like this: it would actively attack any moving creature that approached its nest, ensuring it stopped moving.
It wouldn't let go even if the target was a moving lump of earth!
The dragon moved fast—faster than Cedric had anticipated. In the blink of an eye, the massive beast charged over, its entire body crashing down onto the earth elemental. Its huge jaws opened wide, blasting scorching dragon breath straight at the elemental's small head!
Boom!!
The blazing dragon breath melted the earth elemental's small head in just a few seconds. If the true essence of an elemental life wasn't its elemental core, Cedric's summoned earth elemental might have perished on the spot.
"This is truly surprising," Dumbledore said in astonishment, pushing up his glasses on the bridge of his nose. "I'm quite certain a Hebridean Black's breath shouldn't have such intense power."
As an alchemist, Dumbledore had extensive knowledge of dragons and had even contributed to discovering twelve uses for dragon blood. In his memory, dragon fire shouldn't be capable of melting stone in just a few seconds.
"Clearly, Dumbledore," Scrimgeour said gruffly. "Your information is outdated. The elemental resurgence has had unknown effects on these rugged magical creatures. Many of the Ministry's best have been burned into St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries because of this tournament."
"Indeed... marvelous," Dumbledore sighed after a moment of silence.
"Wait, I think I get what you mean," Fudge said, raising his hand like a student. "So these dragons are more dangerous than before? What happens if that student down there, uh, has an accident?"
"He'll die," Karkaroff snorted coldly. "You can say it outright—he'll die horribly. But that's allowed by the rules. If they die in the tasks, it just means that's all they're capable of."
"Though Headmaster Karkaroff puts it harshly, that's the truth," Madame Maxime explained gently to Perrier. "Even though this Triwizard Tournament has extraordinary significance, that point remains unchanged."
"Isn't that a bit...?" Fudge opened his mouth. "Don't the parents complain—PTA or something—you have organizations like that?"
"What's that?" Scrimgeour asked, looking puzzled. "Why would there be complaints? Becoming a champion is an extreme honor in itself; facing death is normal. They should have been prepared when they signed up."
"Well," Fudge said dryly. "That's certainly different from us... very different."
At the very least, Fudge couldn't imagine the uproar if someone died in a Muggle school competition. From that angle, wizarding society might be unexpectedly barbaric.
Or... rustic?
While the people in the stands were shocked by the dragon's powerful flame breath, Cedric in the arena was already scrambling and rolling away as fast as he could—without a doubt, the Hebridean Black's intense flames had shocked him too, even singeing him.
With a few leaping sparks.
The scorching heat made it impossible for Cedric to linger near the earth elemental, let alone fight alongside it to defeat the dragon. Everything was completely different from what he'd planned before the match.
He wasn't unfamiliar with dragons; he'd even visited the dragon sanctuary in Romania under his father's guidance and gotten up close to them—but Cedric didn't remember dragon fire having this kind of power! Melting rock in the blink of an eye.
The only silver lining was that the earth elemental's truly vital elemental core remained unharmed. Even if the stone block that seemed like its head melted, it didn't affect its ability to perceive the outside world. On the contrary, it faithfully carried out the contract it had with Cedric: its two rock-composed arms wrapped around the dragon's body from below, then it rolled!!
The audience's gasps grew even louder—they loved this!
Monster versus monster!!
This was way more exciting than King Kong or Godzilla because it was real! Monster battles in the real world!!
It got the adrenaline pumping!
Even many wizards were thrilled by the spectacle; after all, they didn't get to see dragons in their daily lives.
The earth elemental hugged the dragon and rolled right in the center of the arena. Rivers were diverted, forests crushed—and Cedric—he put out the flames on his robes and bolted straight to the dragon's nest, then scooped up a golden egg from inside.
He'd passed.
As for his initial idea of defeating the dragon... well, that could wait for later.
"Perfect! Hogwarts' first champion has successfully retrieved the golden egg!" Bagman was already roaring in excitement. "You could tell the Hebridean Black's scorching flames were beyond his expectations—that's one of the variables that makes this tournament so unpredictable."
"I'm very seriously telling everyone: after confirmation from multiple magical creature experts, including Newt Scamander, and numerous dragon handlers, we've been astonished to discover that many magical creatures in this world, including dragons, are growing stronger with the elemental resurgence. Take this Hebridean Black's flame breath, for example."
"Now, let's have our professional dragon handlers calm this irritable beast, and most importantly—our judges will score Champion Cedric Diggory!"
"I must remind everyone to strictly control your scores because we have a full eighteen champions competing today—you can't give full marks just because a young champion successfully faced a dragon, haha."
Bagman burst into hearty laughter.
More than a dozen dragon handlers on flying broomsticks swooped into the arena as Bagman spoke. One of them shouted at Cedric as he passed to recall the earth elemental. Soon, the Hebridean Black realized it had no opponent left, replaced instead by those annoying little bugs that always buzzed around it.
The handlers tossed out large numbers of blood-soaked, uh, live cows from their pockets. These fresh, moving delicacies effectively drew the panting, irritable dragon's attention. The scent of delicious blood fixed its gaze on the running cows, and it pounced to hunt.
This coordinated effort gave the handlers some relief. Without a doubt, the live cows had been drugged. Before long, the dragon fell asleep and was carried off the field by the handlers.
"Wow, that was thrilling," Fudge said enthusiastically, watching the scene. Honestly, in his eyes, the dragon's hunting segment was no less exciting than the young champion's attempt to breach the dragon. "So it takes at least that many people to control one dragon? That kid was pretty impressive."
"It's different, Prime Minister Fudge," Harry said, shaking his head slightly. "The student champions only need to take the golden egg from the dragon's side, not kill or defeat it—that already greatly reduces the difficulty."
"So, do the professor champions' tasks involve defeating or killing a dragon head-on?" Humphrey asked with interest. "Wasn't it said that one dragon requires a dozen adult wizards to control?"
"Clearly, sir, some people's magical prowess exceeds the ordinary," Scrimgeour said with a grin. "Like our Principal Potter, for example."
"Yes, I can understand that," Humphrey nodded. "Elites decide everything—that makes sense."
"Forgive my bluntness, everyone, but have you decided on the scores?" Bagman hurried over and said. "The next champion is about to enter; I need your scoring results."
"Right away, Bagman," Dumbledore said cheerfully. He raised his wand, and a long, ribbon-like strand of silver shot from the tip, twisting in the air high above the judges' seats to form a large number—8.
On a scale of ten, Dumbledore gave an eight.
"I'm sorry, Harry—Cedric was burned by the dragon's flames, so I couldn't give him a higher score," Dumbledore said with a shrug.
"Fair enough," Harry nodded slightly. "Even if the dragon grew stronger due to the elemental resurgence, his reaction was too slow."
Madame Maxime also gave an eight, and Karkaroff—
"Given certain acknowledged facts, I must remind you, Headmaster Karkaroff," Harry said suddenly, narrowing his eyes as it was Karkaroff's turn to score. "If a judge's scoring shows obvious unfairness or injustice, leading to strong opposition from the audience, we will discretionarily revoke that judge's scoring rights, retroactively adjust their previous scores, and replace them with a sufficiently impartial judge."
"What do you mean?! Principal Potter!" Karkaroff's nose looked like it was about to twist in anger. "What are you implying!"
"I think that's quite reasonable," Scrimgeour suddenly spoke up. "After all, this Triwizard Tournament is of extraordinary significance. We can't allow certain judges to leave a bad impression on the outside world—that would negate months of effort by the magical ministry employees of both nations... right, Headmaster Karkaroff?"
Scrimgeour's attitude was extremely firm; he stared down Karkaroff. After all, no one knew better than a former Head of the Auror Office what kind of person Karkaroff was.