Chapter 591: Hermione: Am I That Strong? (Edited)

Fleur raised her eyebrows, not expecting to have options in this situation.

"If I help you find Miss Granger, would you offer me any reward?" Fleur asked tentatively.

"Of course, there will be a reward. If Hermione agrees, I can join your team and help you win the first event. If you only find Hermione, then I'll return the original items in the chest, including the one that was under the dragon's protection."

Tom didn't deceive Fleur; he genuinely intended to give her the items inside Norberta's Chest, including the magical bracelet fragments.

Upon hearing this, Fleur's breath suddenly quickened.

Had she already been defeated and still had a chance to turn the situation around? It was like she was about to lose her base in a game, and the opponent proposed a draw.

According to Tom's words, he had no objections to joining her side? This was incredible!

"I have..."

"About to lose?" Tom completed the sentence that Fleur hadn't said aloud. "But that's another story. There are two ways to obtain the treasures here. One is by defeating me, and the other is by completing my test and allowing me to join your team; that way, everything I've collected will be yours."

Fleur: ...

Turns out there was such an option!

Anger had clouded Fleur's judgment, and she had tried to resolve the issue through violence without even considering a smarter solution.

"Alright, I accept," Fleur nodded. "I hope you keep your promise. But can you reveal how many treasures you currently have?"

"Two magical bracelet fragments, a map, and some minor items," Tom added as an afterthought, fearing his terms weren't attractive enough. "I'll continue searching for treasures while you're away, so the final quantity might be slightly higher."

To demonstrate his good faith, Tom took out the two magical bracelet fragments he had obtained and showed them to Fleur.

My goodness! The only word that came to Fleur's mind when she saw the fragments.

That said, it was regrettable that this was the first time Fleur had seen the magical bracelet fragments since the beginning of the tournament.

Looking at the two differently sized pieces, her eyes lit up. Yodel's fragment was so big! The reward for getting one of these pieces must be very high.

Fleur took a deep breath to stay calm.

"I'm sure I'll find Miss Granger; I hope your fragments are still here then," Fleur noticed that Tom had used the word "you" in his statement, meaning he had likely assigned this task to other champions as well.

The worst-case scenario would be if the other two champions had also accepted this mission.

"One last question, why are you so insistent on finding Miss Granger?" Before leaving, Fleur threw a provocative question.

"Obvious question," Tom shot her a contemptuous look.

Love is something only those who have experienced it understand.

I really want to see my girlfriend! Tom screamed in his mind.

Fleur displayed a radiant smile and turned to enter the forest.

Once Fleur was gone, Tom could proceed with his divination without being interrupted.

So, what would Hermione, whom many were searching for, be doing? The girl was lying under a tree, flipping through a book in her hands. Not far behind her was a well-arranged tent. The first event was likely to last a long time, and during that period, volunteers would sleep in the tents provided by the teachers.

Hermione was glad she had picked up a book called "The Quest for Quintessence" before heading to Dumbledore's office. It was a supplementary book for the sixth-grade Charms class; otherwise, she would have been bored here.

Since Professor McGonagall left, Hermione hadn't seen anyone else. It seemed she was completely alone in the Forbidden Forest. Being in this dark forest reminded Hermione of various legendary tales, making her feel more anxious and disturbed. Therefore, she decided to read to pass the time and distract herself.

Time seemed to pass more slowly. Hermione felt like she had been reading for a long time, but when she checked the clock, only a few minutes had passed. She sighed; usually, she didn't feel like time dragged on so slowly.

The cause of this phenomenon was loneliness. In the dense forest, Hermione was isolated from the outside world, and all she saw was the endless forest. In a way, she had lost her hearing and vision, which was a very painful experience.

In the non-magical world, there was a television program that posed a challenge: they invited participants to live alone for a month in a completely sealed house with enough food and water. After a month, they could claim a prize of five hundred thousand dollars. That was the challenge. Participants could bring one personal item into the room, but it couldn't be a mobile phone or a computer, no object that allowed communication with the outside world.

At first glance, it seemed like an interesting challenge, but no one had ever completed it.

The reason was simple: humans are social animals. If isolated from society for an extended period, they go mad. Even if there's internet access and roommates, if you lock a regular person in a room for three months, they'll almost certainly collapse, and they can still go downstairs for some fresh air from time to time! People often joke that they should lock writers in a small dark room to get them to write, but in reality, that's not an efficient way to do it. If you keep them locked in a dark room all the time, writers will get depressed. Depressed pigeons, even if you whip them, can't write. The right way is to provide them with good food, drink, and entertainment, so the pigeons are happy. This way, inspiration flows freely, and there are more updates.

Hermione was also human and felt it was normal to find it difficult. The young woman set the book aside, curled up, and looked up at the sky.

She wanted to know where Tom was and how he was doing. In moments of solitude, she missed Tom even more. Hermione had considered leaving this place and taking a walk in other areas, but she quickly dismissed the idea because it was too dangerous.

This is the Forbidden Forest!

Hermione took a deep breath, calmed her restless heart, and prepared to read a few more pages of her book. However, when her hand touched the book's cover, she hesitated. She didn't feel much like reading now.

So, she fell back into a dreamy state, her fingers gently toying with the black stockings she wore on her legs.

He particularly liked... after the end of the tournament, should she change to a new pair of stockings or keep wearing these old ones to see him? Confused thoughts arose in Hermione's mind, making her blush quickly.

She was a serious girl; she just wanted her boyfriend to try the new drink she had prepared! Yes, that's it!

"Men smile, women blush, they think of their husbands. I think this girl must be thinking of something she shouldn't," a somewhat hoarse voice suddenly sounded, startling Hermione like a little rabbit. She tightly gripped the handle of her wand cautiously.

Two boys dressed in Durmstrang robes emerged from the forest a short distance away.

Hermione frowned; judging by their appearance, they were also volunteers for the first challenge.

"Why are you here? I remember Professor Dumbledore said that volunteers shouldn't leave their camping areas."

One of the boys, who had shoulder-length curly hair, made a mocking gesture towards Hermione and spoke to her in English with a strong accent, "I want to correct a mistake. Mr. Dumbledore suggested that we shouldn't leave our camping areas, he didn't give any orders. We'll follow orders, but suggestions..."

He grinned smugly, "I don't feel like listening to them."

The boy who spoke first took out a parchment from his pocket and waved it in front of Hermione, "Among the things I found, there's a map fragment. Following the fragment's instructions, I found Anthony and got a lot of good stuff."

"After seeing Krum, we'll be able to deliver all these supplies. With this achievement, the headmaster will surely reward us." The boy proudly boasted of his plan to Hermione.

It turned out that after being sent to the Forbidden Forest, some volunteers began to have ill intentions while waiting in boredom. Dumbledore didn't prohibit volunteers from moving freely, so some volunteers used their own resources and information to plunder more supplies. This way, they could also have better self-defense capabilities when facing champions from other schools and could even kill them in self-defense. If they encountered champions from their own school, they could also provide them with assistance to the best of their abilities.

Hermione frowned slightly, admitting that these two Durmstrang students were crafty. She looked at the arrogant boy and said coldly, "Do you want some wine or a bib so you don't stain your robe with sauce?"

She remembered this boy; he was rude and discourteous. He always ended up spilling sauce on the front of his robe while eating. On the day he arrived at Hogwarts, he even asked Karkaroff for alcohol and, as expected, was rejected and scolded.

Hermione's words hit the boy's weak spot, and his face turned pale as his anger flared, but he was stopped by Anthony.

"Calm down, Poliak," the student named Anthony silenced his companion. He looked at Hermione with a lazy attitude and said, "I remember you have a fragment of the magical bracelet. Hand it over, don't think about denying it; I saw you tucking it into your robe in the castle."

Hermione pursed her lips and remained silent.

Poliak narrowed his eyes and stared at Hermione. "Anthony, it seems Miss Granger is not willing to cooperate. Let me search her. Don't worry; I'm very good at controlling force; I won't hurt you. By the way, little one, do you have a boyfriend?"

"I think so, she was very close to that Yodel guy," Anthony remarked thoughtfully.

Poliak stiffened; he couldn't afford to mess with Yodel.

"Don't worry either; there's no one else here, just the two of us... After using the Memory Charm, who knows what might happen?" Anthony reassured his companion.

Hearing the conversation between the two, Hermione's expression became serious. These two had not come with good intentions today.

"Expelliarmus!"

"Stupefy!"

"Protego!"

In the next moment, both sides began to battle. Hermione reacted quickly and cast a Shield Charm, causing Anthony and Poliak's Disarming and Stunning spells to rebound.

"Not bad," Anthony commented, dodging Hermione's counterattack. But Poliak had some bad luck; the spell Anthony dodged hit him in the arm, causing his wand to fall and get lost in the underbrush behind him.

Anthony paid no attention to his companion's status. He waved his wand, and the trees around him became "bald," with thousands of leaves flying off.

The surface of these leaves was covered with a thin layer of frost, making them extremely hard, with edges as sharp as blades.

"Go!" Anthony pointed his wand at Hermione, and a storm of blades formed from the tree leaves rushed towards her.

Hermione didn't hesitate: "Incendio!"

A burst of flames erupted from her wand, creating a wall of fire in front of her to block the flying leaves. When they encountered the fire, the frost on the leaves quickly melted, and the leaves returned to a soft appearance.

While the two were locked in a confrontation, Poliak finally found his wand and cast a cutting spell at Hermione.

Hermione quickly ducked to avoid it, narrowly evading the spell, but her dress was torn, leaving several tears caused by the sharp ice blades.

Hermione sighed; she had let her guard down a bit and was a bit rusty from not having fought in a long time... She had to be more serious from now on!

"This girl is not easy to deal with," Poliak said while standing next to Anthony, with a serious expression. Poliak was a seventh-year student, while Anthony was the current Durmstrang Prefect. Poliak thought it would be a piece of cake to face a fourth-year witch. The only challenge would be how to prevent her from escaping with the Portkey. However, Hermione turned out to be more formidable than they had expected; she fought back against the two without giving in and even gained the upper hand at times.

"Now it's my turn, Avis!" Hermione transformed the fallen leaves on the ground into a group of small birds that flew towards the two, keeping them occupied and confused.

Regaining their battle-ready state, Hermione was extremely strong and completely dominated Anthony and Poliak.

"Use it quickly!" Anthony shouted, and Poliakoff quickly pulled out a chess piece and threw it on the ground.

"Engorgio!"

Under the spell's effect, the chess piece quickly grew to the size of a real person and stood in the path of Hermione's attacks.

With this makeshift human shield, the two finally regained the upper hand.

Hermione's spells, even the Blasting Curse, couldn't harm this chess piece.

Finally, Hermione had to take out the wings Tom had given her and put them on. The wings unfolded slowly and generated a thin armor around her chest, lifting Hermione into the air.

Anthony, Poliak: ???

What's that thing?

Just as the two were surprised, Hermione moved quickly and appeared behind them. With a quick flick of her hand, she cast a Stunning Spell and a Tongue-Tying Curse.

Anthony and Poliak saw flashes before their eyes, and in the next moment, Anthony was hit by the Stunning Spell, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted. Poliak emitted a cry of pain; his tongue was tied in knots, and he could no longer speak.

In a matter of seconds, Hermione had defeated the two unwelcome guests.