Harry Potter: The Golden Viper

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Ludo Bagman's voice rang out across the arena, filled with genuine admiration.

"Cedric Diggory displayed truly commendable courage and quick-thinking in the face of such a fearsome adversary. It's clear to all who witnessed his performance that Mr. Diggory had formulated a brilliant plan for dealing with the dragon before ever setting foot in the arena.

From the very start of the task to its thrilling finish, every action he took was carefully calculated and flawlessly executed according to his impressive strategy.

I firmly believe that everyone here today will wholeheartedly agree that Mr. Diggory possesses an extraordinary level of wisdom and composure, especially for one so young. After all, before entering the arena, the champions were kept completely in the dark about the nature of the challenge that awaited them, just like the rest of us spectators--"

Suddenly, an Omni-ocular zoomed through the air and came to hover directly in front of Bagman's broadly grinning face. As soon as he realized that his face was being projected in extreme close-up on the enormous magical screen, Bagman's excitement seemed to notch up to entirely new heights.

"As you all saw," Ludo continued, his words spilling out in a giddy rush, "we initially assumed that Mr. Diggory's somewhat less than graceful entrance into the arena was due to understandable shock upon unexpectedly coming face to fang with a fully grown dragon.

However, the indisputable facts that rapidly unfolded before our very eyes serve as convincing proof that in the span of mere minutes, this talented young wizard created a nearly flawless strategy to overcome the obstacle in his path. Cedric Diggory's show here today is richly deserving of the most enthusiastic round of applause we can muster!"

As if on cue, a hurricane of cheers and applause erupted from the spectators with the noise filling every inch of the spacious stone arena and lingering for an impressively long time before finally dying back down to a dull roar.

All across the stands, Hogwarts Professors were congratulating a beaming Professor Sprout. And indeed, it would have been nigh impossible to deny that Cedric's spectacular performance - from his outstanding display of advanced Transfiguration skills to that final, crucially timed charm - had earned him the near-universal admiration and respect...with one notable exception.

Up at the judges' table, Karkaroff's demeanor could not have been colder. His posture was stiff and his thin lips were compressed into a tight, disapproving line as he scowled down at the arena, radiating an almost palpable disdain.

Unfortunately, despite Cedric's brave and unquestionably impressive efforts, he had not quite managed to emerge from his trial by fire completely unscathed. The scorching heat of the Swedish Short-Snout's final, desperate blast of flames had left his left hand and forearm badly burned - a serious injury that would undoubtedly have a negative impact on his overall score.

And indeed, when the judges began to post their marks, this proved to be the case. Dumbledore, Madame Maxime, and Barty Crouch all awarded Cedric a solid 9 out of 10 possible points. More surprisingly, Ludo Bagman - despite his gushing earlier praise - chose to give him an 8. Still, compared to the measly 6 that a scowling Karkaroff unwillingly held up, Bagman's score seemed quite generous.

The Hogwarts students responded to Karkaroff's blatant bias with a storm of furious boos and catcalls. An enraged Ernie Macmillan even went so far as to roll up his sleeves and start resolutely pushing his way towards the judges' table, clearly intending to give Karkaroff a piece of his mind.

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Justin was forced to leap up and physically restrain the hotheaded Ernie, though he was simultaneously shaking his own fist and hurling some words in Karkaroff's direction.

"One champion down, three yet to face their dragons!" Bagman shouted, his magically amplified voice resounding through the noise.

As Cedric was carried off the field to a chorus of cheers, the dragon handlers - who likely had the most strenuous job of all during the course of the tournament - swarmed into the rocky arena. Working together, they took aim at the panting Swedish Short-Snout and fired off a volley of Stunning Spells from every direction. The handlers immediately leaped forward to restrain the unconscious Short-Snout with heavy iron chains, and hauled it out to the enclosure.

After the Swedish Short-Snout vanished into the tunnel the handlers struggled to maneuver a second dragon into the arena. This time, it was a Welsh Green - a species known for its relative calmness in comparison to most dragons.

However, as the emerald-scaled beast came into view, it became swiftly apparent that this particular dragon was far more alert and energetic than its sleeping predecessor had been...which would likely make the handlers' job more challenging.

"Strange..." Ginny muttered, her brow furrowing as she scanned the chaos unfolding on the enormous screen. "Where's Charlie? He's supposed to be in charge of the handlers, isn't he? You'd think he'd be down there, sorting that mess out."

Fred leaned lazily against the railing, his grin widening into something mischievous. "Oh, Charlie?" he said, drawing the name out as if he were conjuring a tragic headline. "Poor bloke probably went and got himself eaten by one of his scaly darlings. You know how he is—always giving his heart to the wrong kind of girl. Can't say we didn't see it coming, really."

Ginny glared at him, though the corners of her mouth twitched. "Fred."

"What?" Fred shrugged, his eyes twinkling. "At least he died doing what he loved. That's every dragon-lover's dream, isn't it?"

Just then, a piercing whistle shrilled across the stadium, attracting the crowd's attention as Bagman roared with renewed delight, "And now, the time has come for our second champion to make her entrance! Miss Delacour, if you would be so kind as to join us in the arena!"

Everyone's eyes fell upon the big screen. Two minutes later, Fleur, dressed in her tournament uniform, walked out of the tunnel and appeared in the arena.

As the most dazzling among the many lovely girls of Beauxbatons, on normal days at Hogwarts, except when facing a certain professor, Fleur Delacour always had a proud temperament, as if nothing here was put in her heart. But perhaps precisely because of this demeanor, Fleur's popularity has always been high. Privately, the number of boys expressing admiration for Fleur is no less than Krum's huge group of female fans.

But today's Fleur did not have her usual proud expression.

When Fleur first entered the arena with her hair in a high ponytail, her performance was the same as Cedric's. She stood at the foot of the hill, gazing at the summit. Her pale cheeks were full of helplessness. But this soft demeanor exuded a unique allure. Many boys wished they could jump directly into the arena and duel the Welsh Green on Fleur's behalf. 

Ludo Bagman, however, seemed far more interested in stirring the pot than talking about playing the chivalrous knight in shining armor.

"As anyone who's been following the media coverage leading up to the tournament is doubtlessly already aware," He announced with theatrical pleasure, "Miss Fleur Delacour of Beauxbatons has blood of the Veela running through her veins. And I think we'd all agree that it's her unique heritage that's bestowed upon her such truly incomparable beauty - beauty that seems to literally radiate from her!

Oh, Miss Fleur Delacour versus the Welsh Green, I cannot help but be put in mind of that classic fairy tale so popular among Muggles...the story of Beauty and the Beast!" He paused to let out a hearty laughter at his own witticism, then merrily continued, "Well, I think I speak for all of us here today when I say that I'm waiting with bated breath to see what sort of brilliant feat the breathtaking Miss Delacour has in store for us!"

Up in the Judges section, Madame Maxime let out an audible huff of indignation at Bagman's frivolous words. "Ahem!" she coughed pointedly, rotating to face the grinning man with a murderous glare.

After a few seconds of this heavy eye contact, Bagman seemed to abruptly recall that antagonizing a giantess was a foolish life choice, and swiftly adopted a more sober tone.

Seeing that her reproachful intervention had served its purpose, Madame Maxime turned her attention to Fleur, and her face creased with worry as she stared at Fleur's pale face displayed on the screen.

"Zut alors, I pray zere will not be any unexpected incidents!" she murmured just loudly enough for those seated alongside her to overhear, her accented voice was filled with anxiety. "I have every faith in Fleur's abilities, but still... O! Where is Bryan? Should he not be down below, guarding against just such accidents? Dumbledore, I swear I don't see him zere!"

Dumbledore turned to Madame Maxime with a placating smile, deliberately ignoring Karkaroff's derisive snort at the judges' table. "There is no need to trouble yourself, Madame Maxime," He pacified her in his most calming tones. "I have every confidence that Miss Delacour will deliver a performance that will be a pleasant surprise for each and every one of us. As for Bryan..."

Dumbledore paused briefly to scan the crowded stands, his blue eyes eventually coming to rest on a point outside the arena, upon which they seemed to briefly sharpen with recognition.

"Bryan is probably patrolling outside. I guess he's afraid of repeating the World Cup tragedy."

After dealing with Madame Maxime's question, a trace of contemplation flashed in Dumbledore's blue eyes. Without changing his expression, he withdrew his hand into his wide sleeve. A few seconds later, a faint silver light swiftly shot out, attracting no one's attention, and directly penetrated the floor and disappeared.

"Look at that, ladies and gentlemen - our second champion has clearly decided on her course of action!" Bagman exclaimed. "She appears to be...but surely not...Merlin's beard, I thought for certain that she would have opted for a more subtle approach to bypass the--"

People all knew the reason for Ludo's surprise - everyone would assume Fleur would probably adopt the same strategy as Cedric: quietly approach, not let the dragon discover her, then seize an opportunity when the time was right.

However, Fleur's choice was beyond everyone's expectations. She took staggering steps and directly chose the most convenient path to climb the hill. Her steps were unsteady, but it was not hard to see that Fleur had no intention of concealing herself at all.

And with this posture, she was naturally discovered by the Welsh Green on the hill.

Compared to the Swedish Short-Snout that Cedric just dealt with, the Welsh Green native to Wales in Britain obviously had a much gentler temperament. It watched the wizard approaching it on the ridge. There was not as much hostility in its beautiful green vertical pupils, but they were full of vigilance. 

Woo--

The Welsh Green let out an ethereal, long howl. Wizards unfamiliar with this dragon species were all surprised. They simply could not believe that such a fierce dragon could make such a melodious call.

In fact, the Welsh Green is probably the gentlest of the dragon breeds. They like to eat sheep. Unless angered, they always actively avoid humans. Wizards established a protected area for this dragon species in the Welsh mountains. They like to roost on high cliffs, which also makes them especially good at rock climbing.

However, a gentle temperament does not mean no temper, especially since this Welsh Green was at a critical moment.

After the green dragon uttered a deterring howl, Fleur's steps indeed paused for a few seconds. But then, she started walking again. Since there was no need to hide her tracks, Fleur reached the hilltop even faster than Cedric. After learning they had to face dragons, every champion investigated the range the dragon's breath could cover. Fleur also stopped fifty or sixty feet away from the dragon's nest.

"What does she plan to do?" Ludo asked the question in everyone's mind. "Directly confront the dragon? Oh, forgive my bluntness, but that's not a wise choice!"

Everyone was looking forward to Fleur's performance. But just then, something unexpected happened. That Welsh Green saw Fleur ignoring its threatening roar and raising her wand at it. A hint of fear actually flashed through its beautiful green vertical pupils. This dragon remembered not long ago, a wizard fiercely abused it and several of its kin. Then--

Whoosh!

The Welsh Green suddenly spread its left wing and swept the ground. After a cloud of dust, the few eggs originally lying in the hay all vanished. The green dragon's wings curled up. Then, the green dragon glanced at Fleur with unease, immediately turned to face the cliff, and with a crunch, nimbly inserted its claws into the cliff face!

Crunch, crunch, crunch--

Dust filled the air, rocks flew everywhere. The sound of shattering stone finally ended with a heavy clang. Including Fleur, everyone stared dumbfounded at the Welsh Green hiding halfway up the rocky mountain.

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