Hogwarts: This professor is too Muggle.

Chapter 400 Facing the Fire Dragon
Krum walked with a slight stoop in the dark cave passage, not daring to light his wand, relying only on the dim light from the cave entrance for illumination.

The cave where the fire dragon lived was larger than expected, resembling a corridor, with the whooshing sound of air flowing through it, breathing in and out at a steady frequency.

Led by Krum, the Durmstrang warriors moved forward stealthily.

The only outsider, Slytherin's Perigin, was beginning to regret being in the same group as them.

He is a Slytherin prefect, a seventh-year student about to graduate, and a former starter on the Quidditch team with decent grades. He can beat most of his peers in dueling practice.

They were also very lucky in the selection process for the tournament, successfully passing Professor Flitwick's curse test and being chosen by the Goblet of Fire to represent Slytherin. Everything was going in a good direction.

Leaving Hogwarts to join Durmstrang was the result of Headmaster Karkaroff's guidance. The headmaster and his elders were old acquaintances and had both been opportunists in the Death Eaters' ranks.

Headmaster Karkaroff learned about the match in advance, parents wrote letters to persuade him, and he was even recruited by famous Quidditch stars. In addition, there were two Gryffindor students in the Hogwarts' team who were dragging the team down.

Perikin accepted Karkarov's invitation without much hesitation and joined Durmstrang's team.

As he was about to enter the cave, he looked back at the Hogwarts Warriors, who were now all alone, with no hope of victory.

"call……"

The heavy nasal sound echoed in the dark, enclosed cave, as if the air itself was vibrating. The students of Durmstrang Warriors felt their hearts tremble. That was the most dangerous magical creature in the magical world.
With each snore-like breath, bright flames spilled from the dragon's mouth and nostrils, illuminating the dim cave.

The fire dragon is still asleep!

Even Krum couldn't help but take a few deep breaths to suppress his inner joy.

The team communicated only with gestures and eye contact, without making any sounds.

"Let's stick to the original plan. First, we'll figure out how to get the dragon eggs out, and then distribute them in a centralized location outside." There were no objections in the cave. This wasn't a Bulgarian team; Krum was the absolute core player.

“Let’s see what kind of dragon eggs there are,” Perrykin muttered.

Five dragon eggs were piled up beneath the fire dragon, surrounded by sharp dragon claws, the claw blades gleaming with a cold, metallic luster.

[Scratching his ears and cheeks] Krum chants a spell in a low voice.

He had learned several spells that were effective against dragons. The Eye Strike Spell was his trump card, which could severely injure a dragon, but it would also enrage it. He would not use it unless it was in the most dangerous situation.

It's not a life-or-death situation yet; there's no need to provoke this sleeping dragon.

The fire dragon raised its claws and scratched its chin, its sharp claws scraping across its scales, producing a chilling squeak and faint sparks flying.

Ignoring the goosebumps rising on their bodies, the warriors swiftly scooped up the dragon egg the moment the fire dragon raised its claws and quickly retreated from the cave tunnel.

Even after they had completely left the cave, the fire dragon only rolled over, its eyelids twitching a few times, but it did not wake up.

They went outside, and despite being prepared, their hearts sank when they saw the spoils of their haul.

As expected, it was just an ordinary colored dragon egg.

There are five in total: two orange, one green, and one blue.

The craftsmanship is exquisite. The chocolate is shaped and drizzled with fruit juice and icing. If it weren't for the wax coating on the outside, the dragon would probably have cracked it off like a nut.

"The one inside should be a Chinese Fireball Dragon. It has a gentle nature and isn't interested in human flesh, which is why we were able to get out so easily." The warriors' expressions were somewhat complicated.

"Orange 20 points, green 40 points, blue 50 points..."

Durmstrang's Volkov looked at the dragon eggs with a grim expression. There were only five in total, and their values ​​were different, so they couldn't be divided equally.

As an outsider in the group, Slytherin's Perigin wisely said, "Viktor, you take the blue one."

"You guys divide it up. Once you've divided it, take the dragon eggs and leave. I have to stay in the dragon farm to find at least one golden egg," Krum said expressionlessly.

There are no black and white dragon eggs, no gold eggs, and not even the purple one, which has the highest score among the colored dragon eggs. If you use such a dragon egg to exit the game, the score you get will probably be in the middle to lower range, or even at the bottom.

He does not accept failing grades.

The other Durmstrang students looked at each other, struggling with the fact that the adventure was almost effortless, with loot matching the difficulty.

But now that we've achieved results and met the basic requirements of the competition, we can finally relax and go back to our tents.

If we were to do it again, no one could guarantee that we would encounter such a docile fire dragon.

After much hesitation, Volkov finally stepped forward and said, "Viktor, we'll stay and help you."

“You’re just a burden if you stay. The best thing you can do is leave as soon as possible.” Krum said this in Bulgarian, his tone extremely cold and hard.

After saying that, he looked at Perikin and switched to broken English: "You take that blue one and use Galleons to compensate the others, do you agree?"

Perikin paused for a moment, then his face lit up with joy: "Agreed, of course I agree!"

……

"Viktor Krumm is still that autocratic Quidditch Seeker, insisting that the Warriors obey his orders..." The shorthand quill scratched on the paper.

Next to the referee's table in the stands, Rita Skeeter and a photographer stood side by side, recording every move in the arena and adding a few journalistic observations.

Melvin neither confirmed nor denied the suggestion to report to the special advisor in a timely manner.

"Krum is right, this is the best option that is in the best interest at present."

Karkaroff explained righteously: "Disband the team because they can't take advantage of numbers against the fire dragon; staying would only be a hindrance. Let Perigin distribute the dragon eggs with Galon, because the Fire Cup is an individual competition, and the others have little chance of winning. It's better to exchange points for Galon. Someone gets a ranking, and the others benefit."

Principal Fontana and Ms. Maxim remained silent, continuing to observe the situation on the field.

……

Fleur Delacour, Roger Davis, and the other warriors of Beauxbatons hid behind a rock, trying their best to avoid being discovered by the Welsh green dragon.

This cave is different from other caves. It has a narrow, round opening in the ceiling, like a skylight, through which dim white light shines and falls on the green dragon.

The formidable creature lay deep within the cave, its size smaller than the other fire dragons, indicating its agility and speed. Its smooth scales were a vibrant green, almost blending into the moss of the cave.

The good news is that green dragons are relatively gentle and will even actively avoid humans in the wild.

The bad news was that there were six dragon eggs under it, five of which were a dull, inconspicuous dark red, while the middle one shone with a glittering golden light.

A golden egg containing clues!
“Listen…” Hibiscus lowered her voice: “I’ll go out first to distract the green dragon and try to hypnotize it. You two sneak over and bring the dragon egg back.”

"..."

Roger and the others nodded emphatically.

Furong gripped the hem of her clothes and took a deep breath. Unlike her usual calm and composed self, she looked extremely pale and even somewhat sickly.

Hibiscus stepped out of the area sheltered by the rocks and came to the front of the green dragon, only a dozen feet away from its terrifying sharp teeth.

The green dragon was indeed gentle. When it saw the witch appear in its lair, it simply stepped back without making any other move.

Hibiscus stood on tiptoe, her hands outstretched, and began to dance a peculiar dance. Her movements contained an indescribable rhythm, and her silver hair swayed and spread out like ripples on a lake, exuding a strange magic.

The green dragon was mesmerized, its vertical pupils gradually dilating, its nictitating membrane closing as it became drowsy.

"Hurry! Hurry up!"

Roger led the others over and swiftly retrieved six dragon eggs.

As they passed by Furong, they casually handed her the golden egg. Furong glanced at the dozing green dragon, quickly took it, and the six of them hurriedly ran out of the cave.

A crisp "snap" sounded.

The group looked in surprise at the withered branch at Rosalind Tibbers' feet, then turned to look at the green dragon, only to see that the sleepy green dragon had woken up and its orange-yellow eyes were staring straight at the golden egg in Fleur's hand.

"run!"

Before they could finish speaking, a scorching wind swept over them, and the bright firelight stung their eyes, forcing them to close them tightly. Their noses were filled with the burning smell of sulfur and flames.

The six people felt weightlessness, as if their bodies were being lifted up and swaying in mid-air. Broken glass beads rolled out of their pockets and landed with a crisp sound.

The dragon flames arrived in the blink of an eye, but they didn't feel any burning pain; it was more like they were being lifted up by a levitation spell.

"What... is going on?"

"do not know."

All six opened their eyes. They had not been charred by the green dragon's flames, but were floating in the air, as if the flames filling the cave were blocked by some kind of barrier.

The surrounding area was filled with molten lava and thick smoke, indicating that dragon fire had indeed raged in this passageway just now.

"Bobbotton Warriors, Roger Davis of Hogwarts, the glass bead has shattered, your game is over."

Several zookeepers dressed in Romanian uniforms walked in from the cave entrance, carrying several glass lanterns filled with blue flames.

Upon seeing the soft blue firelight, the green dragon's ferocious eyes immediately softened, and it allowed the keeper to stroke its head and move the few thieves who had stolen the dragon eggs away.

……

"The entire Beauxbatons team has withdrawn from the race... their results are void!"

A smug smile spread across Karkaroff's face, his curly goatee twitching as he spoke in a cheerful voice: "The golden egg brought out by Miss Delacour must be returned to the competition committee; their first event scored zero!"

“There’s no such rule,” Ms. Maxim said calmly, looking at him with her delicate, olive-colored round face and long eyelashes, leaving no room for argument.

“That’s right, Ms. Maxim has the charter memorized perfectly.”

Bagman joined in the commotion: "They just can't stay in the Dragon Arena to continue the competition, but the dragon egg results count. Oh, four red dragon eggs and one gold egg, not a very good result except for Hibiscus."

He turned to the committee's advisor: "Melvin, what do you think?"

The people at the long table then remembered that those useful gadgets were made by Melvin, who had engraved the Ironclad Charm, which could protect the whole body, onto small glass balls. The Charm was strong enough to withstand dragon fire and was automatically triggered.

“Melvin, do you have any extra glass marbles? I’m willing to pay to buy them,” Principal Fontana said, taking the initiative to steer the conversation away from the topic.

Melvin shook his head: "It's not ready for mass production yet."

Karkaroff's curly goatee continued to tremble, but this time it was from anger: "Are we talking about glass marbles? We're discussing the Beauxbatons' achievements!"

"Calm down, Igor..."

Bagman put his arm around his shoulder; they were both traitors among the Death Eaters, and in a sense, former colleagues.

"Beauxbatons only have 10 points except for Fleur, while Durmstrang has 20 points. As long as Viktor finds the golden egg, you will definitely be ranked ahead of Beauxbatons."

……

A faint breeze blew in from the cave entrance, chilling the students of Iphamoni. As they ventured deeper into the cave, they heard faint, heavy breathing ahead, which was particularly eerie.

Nancy Boots touched her eye with her wand and looked ahead.

The founder of Evamony, the witch Iso Thur, had two adopted sons, Chawick Butt and Webber Butt. Nancy is a blood descendant of Chawick and, as a native American witch, inherited some local magic.

In her pale eyes, the round pupils gradually widened, mimicking the eyes of a cat or leopard to achieve the effect of seeing in dim environments.

A dark green fire dragon, of medium size, with blackish-green scales and two golden horns, dwells in the dim cave.

“Romanian longhorn dragon.” Nancy stopped casting her spell and reported the information to Captain Grevis.

They had also visited nature reserves in Romania, and Principal Fontana, after telling them the topic, had also looked up information about this type of fire dragon:

When not hunting, they are relatively gentle, but they are extremely cruel to their prey. They like to gore their prey to death with their horns, then roast and swallow them. There have been cases of them eating people.

“A moderately dangerous fire dragon, should we retreat? Or…” Nancy didn’t ask any further questions; she got the answer from Pickley’s eyes.

"Principal Fontana analyzed for us that the more dangerous the fire dragon, the greater the reward. The moderately dangerous longhorn dragon is the most suitable choice for us."

Pickley led the team forward slowly, followed by four warriors from Iphamoni. They hadn't gone far when they saw two shimmering horns.

An adult longhorned dragon, perhaps sensing the unfamiliar scent in the cave, slowly opened its blood-red maw, revealing its sharp, jagged teeth.

A cow bone was stuck between the teeth, and the blood had not yet been licked clean.

Despite the chilling scene, a glint of joy flashed in Pickley's eyes: "The horned dragon seems to have just finished eating... We have a chance!"

(End of this chapter)