Volume 5: The Burning Golden Flame Chapter 332 The First Project
Five days passed quickly.
During this period, Jon stayed in the carriage the whole time. Even when he got off the carriage, he only wandered around the Black Lake area, which made the Aurors who were always guarding the entrance of the castle and were eyeing him as soon as they spotted him relax their guard a little.
During this period, there was no news from Lyon that Jon was expecting, which made him feel disappointed.
However, in his original plan, Animagus was not considered an important means to proceed with the game, so although he was disappointed, he did not feel much psychological pressure.
And with less than two days left before the start of the first competition, that afternoon, the entire sky above Hogwarts Castle was covered by the dark shadows of a dozen huge monsters.
The Thestrals relaxing on the lawn were wagging their tails restlessly. In the forbidden forest, countless flocks of birds soared into the sky and flew off into the distance with a "clatter".
Many students in the carriage were startled by the noise outside. They got off the carriage, looked up and saw more than a dozen dragons flying in the sky!
The fire dragon is a xxxxx-level magical beast and is considered to be the most powerful force among many magical beasts.
This creature is not common and is even on the verge of extinction. In addition to the fact that humans' occupation of nature has squeezed their living space, it is mainly because each dragon is a huge treasure trove in itself.
Dumbledore and Nick Flamel once worked together to develop twelve uses for dragon's blood. Dragon skin is an excellent protective gear used to isolate magic and protect the human body. Dragon's eyes are essential magical materials for certain alchemical items. Even the dragon's nerves and heartstrings can be used to make the core of a wand.
It is precisely because of this that wizards cannot live without the various precious materials that come with the fire dragon, and facing the reality that dragons are about to become extinct, fire dragon sanctuaries and the profession of dragon tamers came into being.
The International Confederation of Wizards has set up an organization specifically for this purpose to ensure the continuation of fire dragons so that they can continue to contribute to the development of wizards. The European Fire Dragon Sanctuary is located in Romania.
When traveling in France some time ago, Jon heard Ron 's brothers talking about how many fire dragons in the Romanian reserve seemed to have been bought.
Looking at the fire dragons in the sky that covered the entire Hogwarts campus, and the dragon trainers riding on the backs of the dragons and controlling them to circle over the Forbidden Forest and finally land with a bang, Jon finally realized what those purchased fire dragons were going to be used for.
George stared at the sky in amazement. This was the first time in his life that he had seen real living fire dragons, and he saw so many at once.
The performance of the Hogwarts carriage and Durmstrang students around him was almost the same as his. After all, the scene of so many huge creatures appearing together was truly shocking.
Diane swallowed subconsciously, and it was obvious that she was trying her best to keep her voice calm.
"Shouldn't our first project be a life-and-death battle with these fire dragons?"
Although for the entire wizard community, dragons are easy to target and hunt because they have a large target range and are solitary creatures, but that is only under the premise of more than two dozen wizards working together.
Dragon skin has extremely strong resistance to spells, which is even far beyond that of basilisks. In addition, they are extremely powerful and can spit out dragon breath with magical power. When a single wizard faces them, he has basically no other means of counterattack except to flee in panic.
Even if ordinary dark wizards cast the Killing Curse, their extremely high magic resistance cannot kill them directly. At least the evil will that releases the Killing Curse must be strong to a certain extent.
If the four students participating in the competition were really asked to duel with these fire dragons separately, then given the restricted space, even John would most likely be roasted into charcoal.
It is also because of this that Jon does not think that the judges would set up such a competition event that no one can complete.
He looked towards the forbidden forest where the fire dragon fell and spoke softly.
"Compared to fighting a dragon, I think they want us to survive in the Forbidden Forest."
Jon's idea was confirmed two days later.
The news that more than a dozen fire dragons flew into the forbidden forest spread to the ears of every student in the four schools within two days.
This makes them feel more excited and a little disappointed.
Because if the competition venue was set in the Forbidden Forest, they would definitely not be able to watch the entire process as spectators.
On Monday of the second week of September , the four champions of the Triwizard Tournament were gathered at the entrance to the Forbidden Forest.
Apart from Jon and the other four, there were no other students watching here. Instead, the place was filled with adult wizards.
There were seven judges in total, including Dumbledore, Voldemort, Rosier, the deputy headmaster of Beauxbatons and three wizards from the Federation, three dragon trainers with sturdy build and bronze skin from years of wind and sun, reporters from various European countries and a dozen Auror security guards led by Lucius.
The atmosphere on the scene was somewhat solemn. Compared to the Triwizard Tournament hundreds of years ago, it lacked the friendly atmosphere of communication between schools and was instead filled with solemnity.
The warriors were gathered together and photographers from different countries took their group photos. Matthew, the chief referee, was whispering to the leading dragon trainer to confirm some final instructions about the fire dragon.
No one else said anything, and the air seemed to freeze for a moment.
Finally, with less than half an hour left before the start of the game, Matthew had the reporters dispersed and gathered Jon and the others to the center.
His expression was serious and his voice was raised, so that everyone present could hear it clearly even in the empty grassland.
"The Triwizard Tournament was originally a competition between three European magic schools. However, it has been discontinued since 1792 because it posed an extremely serious threat to the lives of participating students. Almost every time, students would be injured or even killed."
"Two hundred years ago, European wizards cancelled this competition in order to eliminate unnecessary casualties. Two hundred years later, we are restarting it for the safety of more people!"
"This competition is to avoid a war that cannot be resolved peacefully! But war has always been cruel, and this competition to eliminate war must also be cruel. We will not design competition items that are child's play. In order to make the final result and victory and defeat convincing to everyone, you must face challenges and threats that are countless times more difficult than those faced by the warriors two hundred years ago."
When he was speaking, his eyes were as sharp as an eagle, and his voice was neither comforting nor gentle, but only cold and hard like steel.
"I think these are probably just my unnecessary nonsense, because after you decided to throw your names into the Goblet of Fire, you have already made up your mind. This Triwizard Tournament, which will be held again after two hundred years, will no longer care about your life or death in the competition. In the end, the only thing that can be accepted by wizards is victory or defeat!"
The moment he finished speaking, the birds in the forbidden forest soared into the sky, and a burst of restless roars shook the forest.
Draco, whose body was already tense, subconsciously took a step back. Emil's face was pale. Diane pursed her lips and stared at the deep forbidden forest without blinking.
Even Jon was a little nervous. It wasn't that he was afraid of such a scene, but he quietly held the thing around his neck, thinking about how Matthew should check them before entering the Forbidden Forest.
"Now, let me explain what you need to do for the first competition."
Matthew finally started talking about the detailed rules of the game.
"I believe you all know that a group of big guys have come to the Forbidden Forest these past two days. They are all wild and unruly fire dragons from Romania. They have been deployed to various locations in the Forbidden Forest. At the same time, the dragon trainers have helped us drop a total of fifty golden snitches around the territories that these fire dragons have already circled."
"These golden snitches have been cast with a specific spell, and they will not fly away from the fire dragon's territory. What you have to do is to capture as many snitches as possible under the protection of the big guys here. In the end, we will rank you according to the number of snitches you have obtained. The one who gets the most snitches will get 70 points, the second place 50 points, the third place 30 points, and the fourth place 10 points. The time you come out of the forbidden forest will also be used as your scoring standard. You must stay in this forest for at least three days. The first person to come back will get 40 points, the second person to come back will get 30 points, the third person will get 20 points, and the fourth person will get 10 points. The latest deadline is seven days. If after seven days, there is still someone who has not returned from the forbidden forest, no matter how many golden snitches he gets in the end, his score can only be 0."
The rules were formulated in great detail, and the specific content did not surprise Jon. They had to stay in the Forbidden Forest for at least three days, which basically meant they were left to survive in the wilderness.
It is not difficult to see from the rules that the designers of this event are mainly aimed at allowing the participating warriors to catch as many Golden Snitches as possible, but the score control in terms of time also makes speed an important indicator for extra points. As for how to balance time and quantity, it depends on the choices made by the warriors after entering the Forbidden Forest.
After all the rules were explained clearly, Jon and his friends officially began to prepare for entering the Forbidden Forest.
There was a table in front of each of them. Matthew waved his wand lightly, and their robes fluttered as if blown by a strong wind. Then the small items placed in the clothes all fell onto the table.
Matthew took the other two referees from the federation and began to check one by one starting with Emil.
"Is this a memory ball?"
The African witch picked up a small ball on the table and asked in somewhat broken English.
Emil replied expressionlessly.
"It's just a simple souvenir, given to me by my grandmother."
"We have no intention of asking about its function. What we want to know is whether it contains any magical power."
“I don’t know, but I don’t think so.”
The Arab diplomat obviously doubted Emir's words. He picked up the ball , tapped it lightly with his magic wand, and then the whole ball lit up with a light blue light.
He looked at Emile meaningfully.
"You don't seem to know much about it, Mr. Lestrange. Do you want us to keep it for you, or do you want to appoint a custodian?"
Emil did not show much embarrassment on his face. He looked at Lucius who was standing beside him.
Lucius coughed lightly, then stepped forward and took the ball from the Arab diplomat.
"Just leave this thing with me temporarily. I'll give it to him after the game is over."
The three referees looked at each other and none of them had any negative opinions.
Then they walked to Diane and picked up a bracelet from the table. The bracelet seemed to be made of metal, with a silver emblem on the top. From the surface, it did not have any special features.
"This is the family crest of the Rosier family. Apart from being a symbol of identity and honor, it does not have any magic attached to it."
It was not Diane who spoke, but Vida Rosier who was standing next to Dumbledore.
Matthew nodded in agreement and picked up the bracelet to test it. After making sure that she was not lying, he returned it to Diane.
Next came Draco, who had nothing to carry except a wand, which saved the judges some trouble.
Finally it was Jon's turn.
On his table was a strange pendant, with a badly worn wooden plaque and a ring inlaid with three blue diamond-shaped gems hanging from a red rope.
"What are these?"
Matthew picked up the pendant in front of Jon.
"The wooden plaque was a gift from a friend of mine, and the ring was left to me by my family."
Jon said calmly.
“They’re just common stuff.”
Matthew first glanced at the wooden sign, then lost interest. This thing was difficult to fake, and there was indeed no magical feature on it. He directly focused his attention on the ring.
There are many alchemical items of this kind in the magic world. Just by observing with the naked eye, he could not see anything strange. Instead, he simply raised his wand and tapped the ring lightly.
Nothing happened, as if the ring was just a Muggle product.
In the end, Matthew returned the pendant to Jon, and after Jon took it back without making a fuss, he breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.
This ring is no different from a stone on the roadside to those who lack the willpower. Just as Slughorn said when he first gave it to Jon, perhaps except for Jon, there is no one in the entire wizarding world who can use it.
