After hearing the professor's far-from-comforting reassurance, Harry felt an inexplicable sense of calm.
It wasn't that he lacked the courage to face a Dragon—it was just that…
He was worried the Dragon might actually kill him.
So when he realized Dumbledore was present, he relaxed considerably. Silently, he ran through the spell he was about to use and waited for Bagman to call his name.
"The Hungarian Horntail. I'm sure you can tell from its ferocious appearance that it's not to be trifled with, but I must stress this once more."
"If you ever encounter this Dragon in the wild, remember—do not provoke it. If it happens to be full, you might just stand a chance of surviving!"
"I wonder what method our youngest Champion, Mr. Harry Potter, plans to use against it?"
"Let us welcome another Champion representing Hogwarts—Harry Potter!"
At that very moment, Harry's body stiffened visibly, though he quickly forced himself to relax.
He exchanged a glance with Tver. As if heading into battle, he lifted his chin and strode out of the tent with determination...
"Wait, that's not the exit—it's over there!" Tver called out hurriedly.
"Oh—right."
Harry's cheeks flushed. Lowering his head, he quickly jogged off in the correct direction.
"This Champion looks rather excited! His face is glowing with anticipation! He's even waving happily toward the stands—as though family members have come to cheer him on. It seems that's given him extra courage to face the Dragon!"
"Hold on—what is Mr. Potter doing? He's pointing his wand at the sky and shouting something?"
"Pardon me, I'm getting on in years—I couldn't quite catch that—oh! A magnificent Broomstick is flying toward him!"
"That's a Summoning Charm! Mr. Potter has summoned his Broomstick all the way from the castle with an impressive Accio!"
"He's mounted it—naturally. Wait—he's using superb flying skills to tease the Dragon!"
"Teasing the fiercest Hungarian Horntail!"
"The Dragon is enraged, but it's still cautiously guarding its egg. Has our Champion reached a stalemate?"
"No—he hasn't!"
"Mr. Potter is dropping lower—he's circling at high speed near the Dragon's head!"
"Oh no!"
"The Hungarian Horntail is the only Dragon species with a spiked tail. Against any other Dragon, Potter might have been fine—but unfortunately, the Horntail showed no mercy, carving a deep gash into his arm."
"But our young Champion remains brave. He hasn't stopped provoking the Dragon."
"It's moving! The Dragon can't hold back anymore—it's lunging!"
"Beautiful! A flawless dive! Mr. Potter has successfully seized the golden egg! If I'm not mistaken, that's the fastest time among the first four Champions! Though he's injured, this will surely earn him quite a few points!"
Another surge of cheers followed, each wave louder than the last, until the roar nearly seemed capable of overturning the Forbidden Forest itself!
"That's right! Now let us welcome our final Champion—and a specially arranged participant in this tournament—Mr. Tver Foley!"
"But before that, look! The Hebridean Black Dragon, as massive as a small mountain, has been guided to the dragon's nest by its handlers!"
"However… there seems to be a slight mishap. That handsome dragon handler appears to be scratching his head helplessly at the fire dragon—wait, is that the golden egg in his hand?!"
Charlie Weasley truly had a headache on his hands.
Compared to the other Dragons, the Black Dragon before him possessed even stronger magical resistance than the Swedish Short-Snout Dragon, thanks to its enormous size.
Their Stunning Spell had not only failed to keep it properly subdued—it had actually caused the Dragon to awaken ahead of time.
Now, after being struck once, it had begun resisting the handlers' confinement altogether.
Fortunately, Harry had finished his match quickly. They seized the opportunity to hurry the Black Dragon into the arena, allowing its temper to calm somewhat.
But another problem arose. Everything had happened too quickly—he hadn't had time to put the golden egg back into the dragon's nest...
"Charlie, we can't risk making another move on that black dragon!" a burly dragon handler shouted helplessly.
The dozen or so handlers surrounding the black dragon looked just as frustrated. Even seasoned professionals were at a loss in the face of such a terrifying Dragon.
"I reckon we'd need the whole MacFusty Clan to come—and not just a couple of them. Otherwise, no one's going to get her to settle down."
(Dragon handlers tend to refer to fire dragons as "she," given the bond they feel toward them.)
"Or we let that Champion try to steal a real dragon egg instead… though I don't believe there's a wizard alive who could actually pull that off."
"Alright." Charlie lifted his head to look at the massive figure stubbornly guarding the nest, then glanced down at the golden egg in his hand and let out a long sigh.
"Perhaps… I could give you a hand?"
A courteous voice spoke up from behind him.
"At a time like this… huh? Tver?" Charlie turned around, surprise plain on his face.
"Mhm. I have a way to put the golden egg back in the nest. If you'd rather not, though, just pretend I didn't say anything."
Tver lightly tapped the golden egg in his hand.
Charlie didn't hesitate in the slightest. Instead, he decisively stuffed the golden egg into Tver's arms.
"Well now, should I ask the judges whether this counts as the Champion clearing the task?" Bagman joked.
Tver looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. A faint smile curved his lips as he mouthed silently, "Got you~."
Then he ignored Bagman's startled expression, grasped the tip of the golden egg, and gently pressed it into the ground.
The soil shifted softly, as if it had come alive, swallowing the golden egg bit by bit until it disappeared completely.
"This…"
One of the dragon handlers started to speak, but Charlie stopped him.
"Don't worry. Trust Tver."
"Look!"
An excited scream rang out from the stands. No one knew who had shouted or even what they were supposed to be looking at, but instinctively, everyone turned toward the Dragon.
And the nest.
There, the soil was stirring as well—but instead of devouring anything, it slowly pushed the golden egg back up from beneath the earth, setting it neatly among the cluster of real dragon eggs.
The entire process took only an instant. The black dragon didn't even realize that the nest it had been guarding so fiercely had just been infiltrated.
"Magnificent Transfiguration!"
Bagman finally snapped out of his shock, his voice booming across the arena.
"To be honest, based on that move alone, this Champion doesn't even need to continue competing. He could easily take the top spot—more efficient and more difficult than anything the previous four Champions managed!"
"But Mr. Fawley clearly has no intention of ending things so simply. Instead, he's chosen to face the Dragon head-on!"
"Facing the Hebridean Black!"
"He's drawn his wand! What extraordinary magic is he about to perform? Let's find out!"
"…Wait—why is Mr. Fawley pointing his wand at his own neck?"
"Hello? Hello? Can everyone hear me?"
Tver cast an Amplifying Charm on himself, his voice effortlessly drowning out Bagman's commentary.
"Since we have such a rare opportunity, I'll take a moment to give you all a lesson on Dragons. Students, please take out your notebooks."
"Of course, the adult wizards present are welcome to learn as well. The Hebridean Black is not something you see every day."
"And we should thank our Headmaster, Dumbledore, for providing us with such an excellent teaching aid~"
Tver called this out loudly, grinning at Dumbledore's helpless smile.
You just had to go and prepare such a powerful Dragon!
"Ready?"
"Then class is officially in session!"