The day for the first task of the Triwizard Tournament arrived quickly. The faces of the Hogwarts students were all alight with excitement. The long-awaited tournament was finally beginning. Who would take second place among the champions?
Oh? Why second, you ask?
Because it was a foregone conclusion that Mr. Dursley would take first. As for second place, that depended entirely on whether Mr. Potter would put on a good show...
As for why Harry was in the Triwizard Tournament at all, the students had many different theories. Some said Harry was finally showing his true colors, others thought he had a sudden urge to try it out, and still others believed he had been framed. There were all sorts of rumors floating around. Harry himself vehemently denied putting his name in, and he really hadn't—someone else had. However, aside from the small group of conspiracy-theory-minded students, no one believed him.
Around noon, led by Ministry of Magic officials, the four champions from the three schools arrived at a huge tent. This was where they would draw lots to determine who would go first in the task.
Fleur looked a little pale and sickly, while Viktor paced back and forth, his face grim. Anyone who knew they were about to face a dragon would be this nervous. Even with magic, dragon-slayers are rare.
Bagman stood between the two champions, wearing an old Wimbourne Wasps jersey, looking like a cartoon character.
"Come on in, you're the last ones!"
Seeing Dudley and Harry, Bagman's face lit up. He was thrilled as he excitedly explained the drawing process to them. He didn't have to face a dragon, and there was a great show to watch.
Bagman held up a small, linen bag. "You'll each pick a miniature of the thing you'll face from in here! I imagine you all know what you're up against, so I won't go on about it... Oh, right! Your mission is to retrieve the golden egg!"
Hearing Bagman's words, Fleur's face went even paler. All her previous arrogance and condescending looks were gone. Viktor was a bit stronger; his expression didn't change much, but his pacing quickened.
Soon, a noisy clamor started outside the tent as the spectators for the tournament began to arrive. Although the Triwizard Tournament was being held at Hogwarts, the audience wasn't just Hogwarts students. Wizards from all over Europe could come and watch, as long as they paid the entrance fee. The fee, which was apparently quite expensive, was collected by the Ministry of Magic.
This was one of the reasons why the Triwizard Tournament was reinstated and why the prize was as high as 1,000 Galleons. It was a money-maker.
"Champions!" Bagman said, seeing that it was time. He held up the bag again. "Who wants to draw first?"
He glanced at Fleur, the only female champion. At that moment, her face was completely devoid of color.
"I think, perhaps..."
Before he could finish, a strong, powerful arm grabbed his wrist and gently pulled the bag from his hand.
"Mr. Bagman," Dudley said, his voice leaving no room for argument. "I'll go first, if that's all right with you?"
Bagman hadn't felt anything when facing Dudley before, but now, looking up into Dudley's eyes at such close range, he felt a primal sense of fear. His heart pounded for no reason.
"Y-yes, of course," he stammered.
"Thank you."
The moment Dudley's gaze shifted away, the terrible feeling that had gripped Bagman vanished. He breathed a silent sigh of relief.
He didn't dare look directly at Dudley again, only stealing glances out of the corner of his eye. Aside from his ridiculously strong build, there was nothing particularly special about him. Bagman couldn't understand why he, a former Quidditch star and an adult wizard, was so afraid of an underage student. He didn't want to feel that way again, so he silently put a mental note on Dudley: "Do not provoke." As for the drawing order, it wasn't fixed anyway. It didn't matter who went first.
Dudley's hand reached into the bag. When he pulled it out, the sharp-eyed Bagman spotted a flash of green between his fingers. Good luck, a Welsh Green. The most docile of the four dragons, the kind that avoids trouble and even actively stays away from humans.
"Lucky... wait, what?"
Before Bagman could finish his thought, he saw a scarlet flash between Dudley's fingers.
A Chinese Fireball?
He grabbed two?
Bagman's mind was racing. Then he saw a third color—silver-blue.
A Swedish Short-Snout? Not two, but three?
When Dudley opened his hand right in front of him, Bagman couldn't sit still anymore. It wasn't three, but four. Lying in Dudley's palm was also a little black dragon model, the most vicious and bad-tempered of them all, the Hungarian Horntail.
Bagman was stunned. What was happening?
"You... I... agh!"
Bagman was speechless for a long time, and even bit his tongue. His face twitched in pain. The commotion attracted Fleur and Viktor's attention. When they saw the four dragons in Dudley's palm, they too were visibly dumbfounded.
Four dragons? What did that mean?
Only Harry's expression was calm. Yep, this was exactly the sort of thing Dudley would do.
"Mr. Bagman, I think you should go and get ready. I can wait ten minutes before my turn."
"But... but there are four of them."
"Is that not allowed? Can I not face four dragons at once?"
Bagman didn't dare look Dudley in the eye. The latter simply gave him a calm glance.
"Mr. Bagman, I don't think the rules of the tournament say that you can't draw multiple miniatures, nor do they say you can't face four dragons."
It didn't say it was forbidden, but if you face four dragons at once, what are the others supposed to do? Hmm... it wouldn't be a problem to have them draw again... No, that's not the point!
Bagman's head was spinning. He had never encountered a situation like this before. Everyone else was trying to avoid the dragons, but this boy wanted to face all four at once. Was he insane? Didn't he care about his life?
"Mr. Dursley, this is..." Bagman took several deep breaths, trying to calm himself down. "I think... I should report this to the other judges."
"Of course."
Dudley nodded, gesturing for him to go. As he watched Bagman lift the tent flap and leave, Dudley smiled to himself.
Let's give the other schools a little Hogwarts-style shock.