Chapter 260: Krum and Harry

Although her score was slightly lower than Hermione's, Fleur received applause comparable to Miss Granger's.

After all, the charm of a part-veela is undeniable.

Not long after, the whistle blew for the third time.

"And now, entering the arena is Mr. Krum!" Bagman shouted.

As Krum walked out of the tent, his shoulders were slumped, looking rather out of sorts.

However, when he faced the audience, he showed no signs of stage fright, having experienced major events like the Quidditch World Cup before.

Krum's opponent was a Liondragon, with scales of bright red and a lion-like face surrounded by a fringe of golden spikes, eyes bulging. 

This breed of dragon could shoot mushroom-shaped fireballs from its nostrils when enraged, hence its name.

Krum chose a different approach from the other contestants to deal with the Fireball. He opted for a direct confrontation.

He stood before the Liondragon and aimed directly at its eyes, casting a Conjunctivitis Curse.

"Very daring!" Bagman exclaimed loudly. "Ah, yes. Krum has directly attacked the dragon. Quite a risky move."

The curse hit the Liondragon's eye, causing the dragon to scream in agony, then lunge towards Krum.

The audience collectively gasped; this was incredibly dangerous.

With calm composure, Krum shifted his position and cast the Conjunctivitis Curse again at the dragon's remaining eye.

Due to the dragon's constant movement, it took him three or four attempts to finally hit, temporarily blinding both of the dragon's eyes. It completely lost track of Krum's whereabouts.

Krum's plan was undeniably successful. The enraged Liondragon thrashed wildly, attacking aimlessly and even smashing some of its own eggs in its frenzy.

However, this blind fury proved ineffective, as the blinded dragon never managed to harm Krum. Seizing the opportunity, he agilely stole the golden egg from the dragon's nest.

"He's shown remarkable courage—ah—yes, he's got the egg!" Bagman announced loudly.

Applause thundered like shattering glass, shattering the winter air. Krum had accomplished his mission.

Next came the scoring.

Madame Maxime gave Krum six points, similar to what Karkaroff gave Fleur.

Mr. Crouch awarded him eight points.

Dumbledore gave him nine points.

Bagman gave him seven points, explaining that Krum's curse had caused significant damage to the dragon's own eggs, a reason everyone agreed upon.

Alaric also gave him seven points.

Finally, it was Karkaroff's turn, who astonishingly gave Krum ten points.

The headmaster's bias was now evident, prompting immediate booing from the audience.

Now it was Harry Potter's turn, the last contestant of the day.

As he entered the arena, Harry appeared quite nervous. 

Unlike the previous three contestants, Harry hadn't experienced such major events before; he was thrust into this role purely by chance.

Nevertheless, the audience was highly interested in him, given that he had famously defeated Voldemort as an infant.

Harry's opponent was a Hungarian Horntail, towering menacingly at the far end of the field.

Crouched low, it guarded its nest of eggs, its wings partially folded. Its fierce yellow eyes stared fixedly at Harry.

This was a colossal creature covered in armored scales, resembling a lizard. It thrashed its spiked tail violently, leaving deep marks in the hard ground.

The Hungarian Horntail was known for spitting fire up to fifty feet away, regarded as one of the most vicious and aggressive dragons, especially when protecting its eggs. Many believed Harry was at a disadvantage in this draw.

Unlike other champions, Harry didn't opt for a direct confrontation with the dragon. He raised his wand from the outset.

"Firebolt!" he shouted.

At first, nothing seemed to happen, leading many spectators to believe he had misspoken, eliciting laughter from the Slytherin stands.

Suddenly, though, something whizzed through the air behind him. 

A Firebolt flew past the edge of the Forbidden Forest, swiftly heading towards the arena. It halted abruptly in mid-air next to Harry.

"Harry used the Summoning Charm to summon his Firebolt," Bagman announced loudly.

"As the youngest contestant, Harry didn't choose to face the dragon head-on like Miss Granger; instead, he's playing to his strengths. 

From what I know at Hogwarts, Harry is quite the flyer, a Seeker for Gryffindor. Oh, of course, he's not on par with Miss Chang."

With a kick off the ground, Harry soared into the air. Once airborne, he found himself in his element, fear dissipating.

He dove down. The Horntail's head followed. Sensing it preparing to breathe fire, Harry leaped up, evading the attack.

"Oh my goodness, how thrilling! He's flying beautifully," Bagman exclaimed, amidst gasps and sighs from the audience. "Did you see that, Mr. Krum?"

Harry circled higher, the Horntail's gaze still fixed on him, its head swiveling on its long neck. 

Harry noticed its intent to attack with flames and promptly dodged, but the Horntail's tail came at him head-on. As he veered left, a long spike on the tail pierced his shoulder, tearing his robe.

Audience members screamed and sighed at the sight of Harry's injury, though fortunately, it wasn't deep.

Yet for Harry, the worst part wasn't the injury—it was that all his previous actions had been in vain.

The Horntail seemed disinclined to leave its nest, its primary focus on guarding its eggs. 

Despite its constant circling and thrashing, winging open and shut, those fearsome eyes remained fixed on Harry, though it refrained from venturing too far from its eggs. 

And that was precisely Harry's goal—to lure it away.

He continued to fly back and forth, careful not to get too close lest it unleash flames at him, yet close enough to pose a constant threat, ensuring its eyes remained on him. 

The Horntail's head swayed from side to side, its gaze fixed on him through slitted vertical pupils, its fangs bared.

Finally, the Horntail grew impatient. It reared up, its huge, rough wingspan fully extended, resembling a small plane in width.

Upon seeing this, Harry immediately swooped down. 

Before the dragon could comprehend what he'd done or disappear into wherever, Harry dashed towards the ground at lightning speed, towards that nest of eggs where no pair of clawed forelegs would be protecting them now.

He released the Firebolt, freeing up his hands to snatch the golden egg.

"Look!" Bagman shouted loudly. "Look at that! Our youngest champion has retrieved the golden egg with the second fastest time! 

The fastest being Miss Granger's. I can hardly believe it. The younger contestants seem to be closing the gap with their older counterparts!"

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