Harry Potter: The Golden Viper

0571 A Dragon’s Rampage (LARGE-CHAPTER)

Bryan concluded his explanation and faced with this speculation; a heavy silence fell over the group. Aside from Dumbledore who remained calm, the others - Charlie, Sirius, and Hagrid - all showed obvious signs of shock.

They had not anticipated, even in their wildest imaginings, that the culprit behind this dragon fiasco would be a house-elf.

Harry let out a long, shuddering sigh of relief. His shoulders sagged as the weight of worry lifted. This meant the whole affair was simply a well-meant misunderstanding caused by Freodom acting on her own will, and not some dark, carefully orchestrated conspiracy with sinister motives.

After a heavy moment of silence, Sirius asked cautiously, his voice hesitant, "Bryan - I'm not familiar with that house-elf, but you know about Kreacher. Generally speaking, house-elves' actions-"

He trailed off meaningfully, allowing the unfinished implication to hang in the musty air.

'What exactly did Sirius want to say?' Harry thought with his eyes clouded in suspicion and concern.

He suddenly realized that Professor Watson, who had not responded to Sirius's question, had turned his gaze directly towards him. Even Dumbledore and Charlie were now looking at him intently, as if trying to gauge his reaction.

Harry blinked rapidly, then, in a flash of realization, the pieces clicked together in his mind and he exclaimed,

"Absolutely not! Hermione never gave Freodom any orders to do something like this, I'd stake my life on it!"

"No need to worry yourself, Harry," Dumbledore said gently. "Rest assured, we are all well aware of Miss Granger's character, just as you are."

"If I may offer my view," Professor Watson chimed in, "I believe it's quite likely that Freodom, in her eagerness to help Hermione through this difficult time, deliberately misinterpreted or stretched the meaning of some of Hermione's innocent words, and followed them as commands. Is that right, Harry?"

Bryan's analysis was very likely true, but Harry could only frown pensively as he wracked his brain, trying desperately to recall the recent exchanges and interactions between Hermione and her house-elf, to remember exactly what each of them had said.

But he did not have Hermione's like extraordinary memory; there was simply no way he could perfectly recollect every bit of their day-to-day conversations, especially small talks that hadn't seemed significant at the time.

Feeling frustrated and helpless, all he could do was repeat his faith in Hermione's innocence once more.

"I could summon Freodom right now and ask 'er directly, Professor Dumbledore, Professor Watson-"

Seeing that suspicion had been removed from him, Hagrid said looking much more at ease, letting out a sigh of relief as if he had just escaped a disaster.

"That's not the most important thing, Hagrid," Sirius said, offering his opinion first. "There's no point in pursuing the mistakes of a house-elf. Right now, the urgent matter is what to do with this dragon. It certainly can't be used in a short time. Do you have any backup plan for this, Charlie?"

"No," Charlie said in a bad tone, glancing at the sleeping Chinese Fireball with a distressed expression. "Transporting four stubbornly protective mother dragons and their eggs was already a nightmare!"

Harry naturally grasped the crux of the concerns. Tentatively, almost timidly, with a faint glimmer of hope, he gave a potential solution.

"Maybe... Hermione could just skip her turn and advance directly to the next task?" His voice was filled with hopeful uncertainly.

"If we really did that, I'm afraid the Triwizard Tournament might not be able to continue, Harry. Madame Maxime and Professor Karkaroff would likely withdraw on the spot," Dumbledore said to Harry with a chuckle. 

"Perhaps we could look," Sirius, who was actively participating in the discussion, turned his gaze to the Welsh Green and Swedish Short-Snout dragons that had already finished their rounds, "and have one of these big guys work overtime?"

"That would make people laugh their heads off, Sirius," Bryan directly rejected this plan. He pondered for a few seconds, then said slowly, "After discovering this situation, I had originally planned to transfigure a big boulder to resemble a dragon, then I would manipulate the fake dragon from off-stage to interact with Hermione-"

"But you can't make the dragon breathe fire, can you, Bryan?" Throughout, Bryan and Dumbledore both maintained considerable composure, as if they did not see the situation before them as an insurmountable obstacle. And Dumbledore calmly pointed out the flaw in Bryan's plan. 

"It's not entirely impossible, as long as we hypnotize everyone in the arena, you know, Headmaster Dumbledore. There are some illusion magics that could do it. But there are too many elite wizards here, it would be easy to leave loopholes. Now, I do have a new idea-"

"What is it?" Sirius asked. He was quite curious what clever idea Bryan would come up with. However, Bryan did not state his plan directly, but turned his gaze to Sirius with a smile, and his eyes glimmered with an odd light.

"Oh, the first Triwizard Tournament in several centuries, this opportunity comes once-in-a-lifetime! Don't you think, Sirius? How about it, do you have any intention of personally participating?"

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When the Hungarian Horntail was brought on stage by the dragon handlers, people looked at the massive dragon covered in sharp spikes and drew in a cold breath in unison. Without anyone spelling it out for them, the young wizards immediately realized that Viktor Krum's opponent would likely be very difficult.

"And now, witches and wizards, honored guests from far and wide - let us welcome with a loud round of applause the Durmstrang champion, Mr. Viktor Krum!" Ludo Bagman shouted, his magically amplified voice reverberating through the stadium.

The crowd obediently burst into excited cheers and ear-splitting whistles.

"I think no wizard who loves the sport of Quidditch will be unfamiliar with Bulgaria's genius Seeker, Viktor Krum. At this year's World Cup, although Bulgaria was outmatched by the Irish team, Krum still emerged victorious in his Seeker duel against Lynch. His stunning Wronski Feint was impeccable. We look forward to Mr. Krum delivering an equally brilliant performance in today's arena!"

It must be said, Ludo did have some skill in stirring up the atmosphere. More and more people joined the ranks of those screaming Hogwarts senior witches which created a lively scene even more wild than when Cedric and Fleur took the stage. However, Karkaroff could not laugh. He stared at the restless Hungarian Horntail, with gloomy eyes, and his champion Viktor Krum had nearly the same expression. 

Many had anticipated that Krum would follow in the footsteps of Cedric and Fleur, taking a few steadying moments to assess the situation, bolster his nerves, and mentally prepare various strategies before proceeding. However, his actions were shockingly decisive, bordering on suicidal...

After emerging from the tunnel into the rocky arena, Krum probably only hesitated for two or three seconds before breaking into a sprint! Like Fleur, he did not choose to conceal himself, but launched an assault along the ridge line. His fierce momentum would lead one to mistakenly think he was preparing to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the Hungarian Horntail!

"Is he planning to confront this dragon head-on?" Alicia asked, her questioning tone filled with admiration. "If he were at Hogwarts, he would definitely be in our house!"

"Not necessarily, Alicia," George said with mock seriousness. "To get into Gryffindor, you need at least a bit of a brain-"

Unlike the previous two dragons, when the Hungarian Horntail spotted Krum approaching, it did not let out a low hum of warning or threat. Its pair of murderous yellow vertical pupils stared fixedly at the tiny thing rapidly closing in, and its body slowly started unfurling to a full fifty feet tall! 

Two hundred feet remaining, the gap between wizard and dragon closing rapidly... one hundred and fifty... one hundred... eighty...

Krum raised his wand at this moment, and the glow of a spell was already flickering at its tip, ready to be unleashed!

"My word, Mr. Krum seems to be preparing for a direct confrontation with this Hungarian Horntail!" Ludo said in surprise. "He wants to force back this ferocious Hungarian Horntail, but can he do it?"

Boom!

Just then, an earth-shattering roar suddenly rang out across the arena, causing even the ground to tremble slightly.

It was the Hungarian Horntail. Tormented by that purple-eyed human wizard, followed by half a month of captivity, this Hungarian Horntail's temper had been built up to a certain limit. And today, a seemingly insignificant human child dared to issue a provocative signal at it. This was more than it could bear!

The Hungarian Horntail craned its neck and let out a sky-splitting howl that made even the air ripple. Then, the Horntail suddenly spun its body, and its thick tail covered in bronze spikes smashed into the artificial mountain with immense force! 

Countless head-sized rocks sprayed out like bullets, hitting the magical barriers around the arena and causing ripples. The arena was a haze, nearly half of it shrouded in thick dust, making it impossible to see the situation clearly. One could only hear the Horntail's continuous roars and the ongoing rumbling of the artificial mountain being destroyed!

"Oh my!" Ludo stood up uneasily like many others. He looked at the arena, then at the big screen that also showed nothing, and finally turned his gaze to Dumbledore. "Is he still alive?"

Karkaroff also turned his gaze towards Dumbledore, and his dark eyes were filled with a mixture of worry and frustration. He opened his mouth as if to ask something, but the words seemed to catch in his throat, unable to escape.

"Don't worry, Mr. Krum has hidden himself well, he is safe. At least for now," Dumbledore's calm, reassuring answer allowed everyone in the stands to breathe a collective sigh of relief.

This Hungarian Horntail was truly a terrifying beast. Its scales gleamed in the sunlight, each one as large as a dinner plate and harder than steel. Rather than saying it was simply attacking Krum who was courageously trying to approach the golden egg, it was more accurate to describe the dragon as throwing a full-blown, earth-shaking tantrum, venting its immense anger and frustration on anything in its path.

The horntail kept roaring with each roar loud enough to nearly rupture the eardrums of those in the stands. Its massive, spiked tail lashed back and forth with incredible force and speed, striking the rocky artificial mountain and hard ground, hurling boulders, soil, and debris in all directions. Rubble rained down, bombarding the magical barriers that protected the spectators.

The entire stadium was trembling slightly under the assault of the dragon's fury. Dust filled the air, obscuring visibility. Even the usually indifferent "big shots"- the various officials and dignitaries - paled a little at the raw display of power and rage. They gripped the arms of their seats tightly barely maintaining their composed facades.

Although the Triwizard Tournament always had an unspoken "casualty quota," where deaths and serious injuries were an understood risk, even if Viktor Krum actually died here today, Durmstrang would have no grounds to protest the results. After all, he was the one who selected this opponent himself, right? And even then, he knew the risks going in.

But the actual situation certainly wouldn't be that simple if the worst happened. Krum was far more than just another student participant - he was an international Quidditch superstar with countless adoring fans spanning the globe.

If something really went tragically wrong, resulting in his untimely demise, the British Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts would have a full-blown crisis on their hands. They would have to scramble to find a way to appease those suddenly angry, heartbroken fans, not to mention Krum's family and all of wizarding Bulgaria. The political consequences alone were unthinkable.

"Do we need to intervene, Dumbledore?" Madam Bones seeing that Bryan still hadn't returned, rose from her seat and came over to talk quietly with Dumbledore. Her face was grim and furrowed with worry.

Considering the many judges and Headmasters present, her wording was rather indirect and tactful, but her meaning was clear: "Countless spectators are gathered here in these stands. We can't allow this rampaging dragon to completely demolish the arena. If this artificial mountain collapses under the assault, I'm afraid the consequences--"

Madam Bones' words seemed to strike a chord with Karkaroff. No longer minding his long-standing enmity with Dumbledore, he eagerly and adamantly agreed with her assessment of the situation, chiming in, "Exactly, Dumbledore, we must consider the safety of the spectators above all else!!"

However, Madam Maxime gave Karkaroff a rather sharp sideways glance and spoke in a calm voice, "The champions were well aware of the considerable risks when they entered their names. They should rely on their own wisdom, courage and magical skills to overcome the various obstacles and difficulties that arise in the tournament arena. I must say, I quite agreed with your previous view on this matter, Professor Karkaroff."

"Well then, do we need to put it to another vote?" Ludo Bagman asked in an overly loud voice, clearly trying to block the budding debate between the judges before it could derail the proceedings further.

"No, I don't believe that will be necessary at this juncture—" Dumbledore withdrew his gaze from the chaotic arena, and spoke in a cheerful tone, "I have full faith the current... commotion will end quite soon—"

As Dumbledore spoke those cryptic words, three excruciating, heart-pounding minutes had passed since the spine-chilling ruckus first began.

The mighty Hungarian Horntail, perhaps finally beginning to tire after expending so much energy venting its rage, finally seemed a bit fatigued. It stopped ravaging the arena with its tail, panted slightly, spewing out small puffs of scorching white vapor as it slowly crouched down.

Under the effect of gravity, the lingering dust and debris stirred up by the rampage finally began to settle slowly. Bit by bit, little by little, the audience could start to see the transformed arena again through the haze.

The spectators stared in shock and horror at the rough cratered wasteland the arena had become. The broken landscape looked more similar to the surface of the moon than a proper wizarding tournament arena.

"What do you think— is left of him? Of Krum?" Neville asked, shaking with fear.

"It's hard to say for sure, Neville. Hard to say—" Dean swallowed loudly, and tried to take a nonchalant tone, but his voice sounded choked with barely suppressed fear, "But if I had to wager… Maybe a few fingernails, a scrap of bloody robe? I suppose there will likely be a bit of... something left to bury, at least?"

Dean couldn't quite meet Neville's eyes as he spoke and similar gruesome thought occupied both of their minds.

Bang! A deafening sound, like a giant gong being struck, rang out unexpectedly, causing many in the crowd to start violently, letting out small yelps of shock and fear.

The image on the giant arena screen, which had been obscured by dust, abruptly cleared up again. The many magical omnioculars all over the stadium buzzed and flew around aimlessly trying to catch glimpse of the missing Durmstrang champion in the haze.

But there was nothing. Just empty, smoking craters as far as any eye could see. Most of the gathered younger wizards and witches began to resignedly believe the worst - that Krum had already merged with the blasted earth, vaporized under the horntail's attack.

Some of Krum's fangirls even covered their mouths with trembling hands and began to sob quietly, But just then—

About fifty feet distant from the panting, crouching Horntail, one of the larger rocks half-buried in the broken soil exploded without warning. And from the resulting large pit in the ground, a human figure emerged...

Viktor Krum, whom most had already written off as certainly, gruesomely dead, jumped up out of the hole and landed steadily on its edge!

A wave of total shock raced through the crowd, quickly followed by a tsunami of unrestrained, overjoyed cheers that nearly shook the stadium.

Krum was absolutely covered in a thick layer of crushed rock dust from head to toe. Even his eyebrows and short black hair were completely gray. He stood there on the edge of the deep crater, his chest heaving as he panted from his recent actions.

As the omnioculars swarmed in, projecting a sudden close-up image on the arena screen, people could clearly see Krum's tanned face was littered with dozens of small marks and cuts, leaking blood through the pale dust.

But by far the worst apparent injury Krum had sustained was to his left wrist - it was badly twisted, bent at a horrific, unnatural angle that set many spectators' teeth on edge. It didn't take a medical expert or a bright mind to figure out how that happened.

"I can't believe my eyes! Krum is actually still alive and in one piece! This is absolutely incredible!"

Ludo Bagman exclaimed in a tone of pure shock, and his enhanced voice was actually breaking a bit. But suddenly, Bagman felt a terrible chill race down his spine, as if someone had slipped an ice cube down the back of his robes.

Even without looking over his shoulder, Ludo keenly knew exactly who was surely staring at him that very moment with cold, murderous eyes. So, he immediately changed his tune,

"Wonderful, everyone, simply wonderful! Let's have a rousing cheer - Mr. Krum has passed the most excruciating trial by fire and claw! Oh... but his left arm looks quite bad, I dare say - that will undoubtedly have an adverse impact on his speed and agility going forward. I sincerely hope this doesn't negatively effect the young man's promising professional Quidditch career!"

Whoosh! Krum had no intention of giving up. After only taking a few seconds to catch his breath, Krum raised his hand and shot a dark red spell light straight at the Horntail's eyes!

It was the Conjunctivitis Curse!

There were quite a few observant and knowledgeable wizards and witches among the spectators who immediately recognized this advanced nonverbal spell by the unique color and Krum's skillful wand movements alone.

However, when the curse hit the Horntail's thick, armored scales just below its left eye ridge instead, setting off a fantastic shower of bright crimson sparks, the crowd let out a collective groan of disappointment.

"What a pity, what dreadful luck for the lad!" Ludo sighed sadly, shaking his head. "Mr. Krum's clever strategy almost succeeded - he clearly wanted to block the dragon's vision but that commotion just now seemed to make him a bit disoriented, and his opponent obviously couldn't believe he was still alive, so it reflexively flinched its massive head away from the oncoming spell at the last second!" 

Roar! The Hungarian Horntail, coming back to its senses, let out a terrible, ear-splitting screech. It raised its head, and a scorching, dazzling crimson light began to brew in that hideous big mouth!

Too close! What the Hungarian Horntail was preparing to do was obvious. Krum was now less than forty feet from the dragon. Apart from the rubble and shallow pits all around, there was no other place to dodge. Even if he jumped back into the deep pit he just took shelter in, the heat of the dragon's breath would still claim his life!

The completely enraged Hungarian Horntail arched its neck. From its furious posture, one could tell the next dragon breath would be as fierce as a storm. Perhaps in the next second, Krum would be swept into ashes before everyone's eyes by the surging fiery winds!

At this moment, even Dumbledore's face turned solemn. He abruptly stood up with the Elder Wand appearing in his palm. His expression was calm, but an oppressive aura emanated from him!

'What to do?'

Time seemed to freeze. Krum's tanned complexion finally turned pale. He knew he had nowhere to hide. At this distance, the dragon's breath would definitely claim his life. And it wouldn't be long, judging from the increasing brightness in the black dragon's hideous mouth, perhaps only seconds— Not even enough time for him to run to the golden egg that had been shaken to the side by the previous commotion, unless...

A flash of sharpness passed through Krum's eyes. Under many dumbfounded stares, not only did he not turn and flee, he resolutely charged towards the Hungarian Horntail!

Screams of horror, confusion and denial erupted all across the stands at the seemingly suicidal action.

"What's this?! VIKTOR, HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?!" Karkaroff screeched, losing his composure as he frantically clutched at his fur hat.

The vast majority of spectators believed Krum must have simply cracked under the unimaginable strain and finally lost his wits entirely, driven temporarily insane by his impending death.

What else could possibly explain this?! People surged to their feet in the stands all across the stadium, screaming themselves hoarse for him to turn back, though their desperate pleas couldn't reach him.

But just then, Krum cast his second spell since entering the arena. He didn't try to interfere with the dragon like Cedric. His spell light shot directly at the ground behind the golden egg!

Boom! Before the dragon breath descended, an intense explosion occurred first.

The moment the spell light hit the ground, the jagged rocks exploded violently. The surging shockwave directly blasted the golden egg into the air. Perhaps it was a coincidence, but those watching believed it was calculated. After all, Krum was a world-renowned Quidditch player—

In any case, that golden egg flew in Krum's direction. At the same time, Krum, rapidly approaching, stepped on a flying rock, resolutely leaping into the air. His intact hand strove towards the golden egg!

Time seemed to stretch at this moment. People stared in horror as the distance between Krum's fingertips and the rotating golden egg slowly narrowed. And the sun, held between hideous dragon jaws, exploded. A crimson torrent, carrying the aura of destroying everything, surged down!

The entire arena seemed to be surrounded by amber about to solidify. The only things that could move slowly were Krum's fingertips, the tumbling golden egg, and the dragon breath, whose speed was clearly superior. One thing was certain—even if Krum touched the golden egg first, he would subsequently be annihilated by the Horntail's breath!

Buzz! A sharp buzzing pierced the silence of the frozen arena. Bryan and Dumbledore, who had finally returned to the field, simultaneously raised their wands at the Hungarian Horntail.

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