novelhk Page 295
Page 295
"Before the competition, everyone was looking forward to seeing who would ultimately win the championship." Ludo had prepared well, demonstrating his professionalism, and said, "However, we can first look at a set of historical data comparisons. According to historical records, the Triwizard Tournament began in 1294 AD and has now been held 125 times."
"So far, Hogwarts has achieved 63 victories, while Beauxbatons is close behind with 62. As for Durmstrang, their win count is... zero. Hopefully, they can finally break through that barrier this time!"
Upon hearing this, Karkaroff's face immediately darkened, his expression suggesting he wished the fire dragon would bite Ludo to death on the spot.
"Oh, look! The fire dragons are coming!" Under Katlana's command, three fire dragons were brought to the center of the arena. "These three fire dragons are the Welsh Green Dragon, the Swedish Short-nosed Dragon, and the most ferocious one—the Hungarian Tree Bee Dragon!"
As its name suggests, the Welsh Green Dragon is entirely green, has a relatively docile temperament, and a unique call that is, in some ways, even beautiful and melodious.
The scales of the Swedish short-nosed dragon are silver-blue, and the flames it breathes are also a dazzling blue.
The Hungarian Tree-Peak Dragon is covered in black scales, has yellow eyes and bronze horns, and sharp spikes on its tail make it extremely dangerous. It is also one of the fire-breathing dragons with the longest range, reaching up to 15 meters.
Guided by the dragon trainers, the three dragons entered their designated areas and each took charge of guarding their respective nest of eggs.
"Next, it's time for the warriors to enter!"
With a whistle, six warriors from the three schools entered the arena from three different directions, each direction corresponding to a fire dragon.
The warriors of Beauxbatons were the luckiest, as Fleur and Estella faced the relatively docile Welsh Green Dragons.
Krum and Polyakov will be facing the Swedish short-nosed dragon.
As for Hermione, her luck was a bit worse; the direction she was assigned to directly encountered the Hungarian Tree-Peak Dragon.
An unexpected incident occurred right at the start of the match.
Upon seeing the fire dragon, Polyakov was struck dumb, his face turned deathly pale, and his entire body began to tremble violently uncontrollably, clearly terrified.
"Are you kidding me?" he muttered. "Who could resist this?!"
For the rest of the time, he clung tightly to the gate of the arena, refusing to leave no matter how much Krum urged him to.
"What? It's only been a short time since the start... Durmstrang's Warriors want to give up the game!?" Ludo exclaimed in surprise.
The entire audience erupted in uproar, and Karkarov's face darkened even further.
He shouldn't have trusted that scoundrel Polyakov.
Hermione and Harry were slowly approaching the Hornet Dragon. It crouched low, its fierce yellow eyes fixed on her, violently twisting its spiky tail, leaving several meters of cratered marks on the hard ground.
Hermione and Harry exchanged a glance.
Harry suddenly brandished his wand and shouted, "Firebolt, come here!"
This is the way of playing the game that he learned through Professor Moody's guidance.
The next moment, a whooshing sound came from afar as Harry's firebolt flew into the arena and stopped abruptly in mid-air beside him, waiting for him to step onto it.
Harry didn't rush to mount his flying broomstick. Instead, he waved his wand and chanted a spell at the Hornet Dragon.
Several beams of red light struck the tree bee dragon's nose.
Because of the dragon's magic resistance, Harry's spell did not harm it in the slightest.
But the tree bee dragon was clearly enraged and pounced directly at Harry.
Hermione had already run to another corner and was unaffected.
Seeing that the Hornet Dragon had been successfully lured, Harry quickly jumped onto his broom, pushed off the ground, and soared into the air. He found that his fear had lessened considerably, and he returned to his familiar surroundings…
This is just another Quidditch game, and the Treebee Dragon is just a troublesome wandering ball...
Harry rode the Firebolt higher and higher, faster and faster, with the Treebee Dragon close behind.
"A brilliant feint!" Ludo exclaimed. "The Hogwarts warriors executed a brilliant teamwork, making full use of the Hungarian Horned Dragon's aggressive nature. Harry, riding on its back, realized he had made a huge mistake."
He was the most skilled flyer among the warriors, but it was actually a young wizard from Hogwarts who came up with the idea of using a flying broom.
He fell into a cognitive trap once again, blaming himself for his foolishness.
The competition does allow only the use of wands, but the use of the Summoning Charm is not prohibited.
Anyway, flying brooms aren't considered "powerful alchemical products" and don't violate any rules.
The feeling at that moment was like seeing Hermione cleverly put her name into the Goblet of Fire: How could I not have thought of such a simple method?
However, it was too late for him to summon his flying broomstick.
Firstly, his broom had long been locked in the box and could not be summoned.
Secondly, this kind of targeted long-range summoning requires prior training. Harry asked Hermione to help him practice for a long time before he was able to pull off this trick.
"The Hungarian Hornet Dragon couldn't keep up with Harry Potter riding his Firebolt at all. This top-tier competition's flying broomstick, after shining brightly in the World Cup, has once again demonstrated its superior performance in the Triwizard Tournament."
Ludo seized the opportunity to advertise the Firebolts, not wanting to waste the advertising fees paid by the company.
"While Harry was distracting the Hungarian Hornet Dragon, Hermione went to the dragon's nest, took two golden eggs, and did not harm the other dragon eggs in the nest."
According to the rules, in addition to the two golden eggs, the dragon's nest also contains several other item eggs.
These item eggs cannot be taken away; if they are destroyed, the warrior's points will be deducted.
"A beautiful Shrinking Charm! Although the use of spatial extension spells is prohibited in the competition, Hermione still managed to prevent the golden egg from affecting her mobility using the Shrinking Charm. It seems she understands that the key to the competition is not only getting the golden egg, but also 'lasting thirty minutes.' Even if she temporarily obtains the golden egg through trickery..."
If the warriors cannot protect the golden egg from the fire dragon's pursuit, it is still a defeat.
"Look, the Hungarian Hornet Dragon has discovered its eggs have been stolen. It has given up chasing Mr. Potter. No matter how much it's provoked, this fire dragon only has one target in its eyes: the culprit who stole its eggs. Miss Granger is in danger. How will she deal with this?"
Chapter 322 Hermione the Catwoman
The tree bee dragon spread its wings and swooped down, its speed increasing steadily due to gravity as it descended.
With a terrifying roar, this Hungarian hornet-saurus resembled a Stuka dive bomber, exuding a fearsome aura.
This fire dragon is 15 meters long and has a wingspan of 13 or 14 meters. Its black scales are sturdy and ferocious, and its bronze-colored spikes on its tail are thick, long and sharp. Just standing there, it is enough to make people tremble with fear.
Moreover, its full-speed flight is incredibly powerful.
Countless viewers screamed.
The dragon trainers are ready to enter the arena at any moment... to rescue the witch who seems to be terrified.
Hermione simply stood quietly in place, even putting away her wand, staring blankly at the swooping tree bee dragon.
But no one noticed that her eyes had turned into a pair of golden cat eyes.
Soon, the person and the dragon were less than ten meters apart, and the air currents generated by the fire dragon made Hermione's bangs flutter wildly.
She brushed her bangs back, finally making a move.
Suddenly, she transformed into a large brown and white cat, glared fiercely at the fire dragon, and then leaped aside, disappearing from the spot in a few swift movements.
The Hungarian hornet dinosaur, however, seemed stunned by that glare and forgot to slow down.
Of course, this wasn't because the Tree Bee Dragon was distracted, but rather because the Nekomata's magic was at work.
So the enormous fire dragon crashed into the ground without any cushioning, right where Hermione had just been standing.
The tree bee dragon, weighing several tons, reached its maximum speed. Due to its enormous inertia, it slid forward on the ground, crushing a trench several meters long.
“I never expected Miss Granger to be an Animagus,” Ludo exclaimed in admiration. “She was so calm and collected, managing to transform and dodge at the last second before the Hornet Dragon could grab her. But her plan was successful; she successfully used the Hornet Dragon’s weight to severely injure it.”
"Wait, what am I seeing? Miss Granger's transformed cat has two tails—that's not an ordinary cat, but a Nekomata, a powerful magical creature from the Far East. It's amazing! Miss Granger is actually a magical Animagus! No wonder she's so agile, far surpassing that of an ordinary cat."
Ludo's discovery elicited gasps of surprise from the audience.
Sure enough, through the clairvoyant eyes following the contestant, the audience could see that the large cat had two tails swaying behind it.
Becoming an Animagus at such a young age is already incredible, but who would have thought that Hermione is also a magical Animagus?
The only known Animagus is sitting in the judges' seat.
"This is unfair!" Karkarov shouted from the judges' table. "I protest! The judges are giving the athletes special treatment on their own!"
“That’s fair,” Levin said calmly. “Learning Animagus magic is not fundamentally different from learning the [Fluorescent Spell]. It’s just that this spell is more complex and more powerful. But once you learn it, that’s the contestant’s skill. You can’t blame the contestant for having too strong a learning ability, can you?”
Levin's words left Karkaroff speechless, and he could only glare fiercely at the boy.
On the field, Hermione, transformed into a cat demon, directly engaged in combat with the Hornet Dragon.
Her cat form is incredibly agile; a single leap can cover several meters. Her powerful reflexes and sharp reflexes allow her to perform a variety of complex maneuvers.
No matter how the tree bee dragon breathes fire or sweeps its tail, it can't hurt her at all.
Soon, the irritable tree bee dragon became exhausted from the struggle.
"Miss Granger used Animagus transformation to wear down the dragon's stamina. Her plan was very successful. This tree bee dragon looks tired. If it can just hold on a little longer... wait, what is she going to do?" Ludo couldn't help but exclaim when he saw Hermione's actions.
Seeing that the Hungarian Tree Bee Dragon's attack had slowed down, Hermione did not retreat. Instead, she rushed forward and jumped behind the dragon in a few moves.
Then she transformed from her original cat form into a half-cat, half-human cat-person form, and cast a spell on herself with her wand.
[Advanced Magic Fang: 4th Ring Alteration, all your natural weapons (fangs and claws) are considered high-level magical weapons.]
[Sharp Teeth: 4th Ring Alteration. Your claws emit a mysterious yellow light, your muscles become stronger, your teeth become sharper, and the damage dealt by your natural weapon is greatly increased.]
Instantly, magical light shone from Hermione's claws and teeth in her cat-human form.
Then, she leaped up and landed lightly on the back of the tree bee dragon, like the best acrobat.
Immediately afterwards, the cat-man swung its claws, the sharp claws cutting through the scales on the dragon's back like a hot knife through butter, causing blood to splatter everywhere.
That frenzied fighting style was as if Cirella had possessed him.
The audience erupted in uproar.
It's for the unique Animagus transformation, which is half cat and half human, and also for her unusual fighting style.
"Why has Miss Granger become like this? Judging from her appearance, she looks like a werewolf in battle... except that the element she transforms into is no longer a wolf, but a cat..."
"Mr. Levin Green, the wizard of Magus."
0???????
In fact, Hermione's decision at this moment may seem crazy, but it is undoubtedly correct.
The Hungarian Hornet Dragon is known for its dragon breath, and in the battle just now, the dragon breath posed the greatest threat to Hermione.
Engaging it in a long-range firefight is something only a fool would do, aside from true powerhouses like Dumbledore, Voldemort, and Levin.
On the contrary, once you get closer, the Tree Bee Dragon will reveal the clumsiness that comes with its huge body.
Furthermore, even if one were to take the initiative and try to defeat the Tree Bee Dragon using magic, it would be unrealistic.
Hermione's magic wasn't strong enough to break through the Hornet Dragon's magic resistance.
On the contrary, by strengthening their fangs and claws, they can inflict more damage on their opponents through melee combat.