— — — — — —
Back at the Dream Arena, Bagman finished introducing the matchups and loudly announced the start of the event.
The stands erupted instantly.
Thunderous applause and cheers shook the entire stadium, the noise so intense it made the ceiling tremble. A few thousand people somehow created the energy of tens of thousands.
Professors scattered among the crowd quickly stepped in, dark-faced, ordering students not to use amplification charms to interfere with the champions.
At one corner of the arena, a heavy stone gate rumbled open.
Inside the cavern lay an Antipodean Opaleye, its entire body gleaming silver-white as it rested. Beneath it were several patterned dragon eggs, with the golden egg placed beside them, shining brilliantly.
Kamio stepped out from the competitors' entrance. Her skirt swayed lightly, her pace calm and unhurried. There wasn't a trace of tension on her face. She even gave a polite bow toward the stands before stopping about forty or fifty meters from the dragon.
In Tom's arms, Gabrielle asked innocently, "That pretty big sister won't get eaten by the dragon, right?"
"Of course not," Tom said with a smile, shaking his head. "She's very strong. Maybe even stronger than your sister."
Gabrielle wrinkled her little nose and pouted. "I don't believe you. My sister is the strongest!"
She might tease her sister all the time, but she was fiercely loyal to Fleur. Hearing Tom say that immediately rubbed her the wrong way.
Still, no amount of sulking could change the truth.
Tamamo fox's tails symbolized power, and Kamio already had three. She had long surpassed the level of an ordinary student. Once her fourth tail fully formed, even most professors wouldn't stand a chance.
And when it came to raw magical reserves, she had a natural advantage far beyond human wizards.
The Opaleye guarding the nest lazily cracked open one eye, glancing at her like she was nothing more than an insignificant insect. Then it closed its eyes again, utterly dismissive.
Then— Under countless watchful eyes, Kamio finally moved.
As magic flowed through her body, fine golden threads appeared across her white robes, weaving and glimmering, lending her an almost sacred, elegant aura.
Tom nodded approvingly. Whatever else, Mahoutokoro's uniforms were definitely impressive.
What shocked everyone was that Kamio didn't draw her wand.
Instead, she took out a feather fan.
And then she began to dance.
No one could quite tell what kind of dance it was, but its beauty transcended understanding. Many in the audience found themselves entranced.
A faint pink mist drifted from the fan, slowly floating toward the Opaleye.
Gradually, the dragon's breathing grew heavier. Soft snores followed.
In less than a minute, it had fallen completely asleep, its body relaxing as it slipped into deep slumber.
Kamio maintained her leisurely pace, strolling straight into the cavern under the stunned gazes of the crowd. She picked up the golden dragon egg with ease, then calmly returned to her starting position.
"Incredible!" Bagman's voice rang out across the stadium. "The Mahoutokoro champion, Hozumi Kamio, has hypnotized a fully grown Antipodean Opaleye using nothing but dance and… some kind of magic I don't even understand! And she's retrieved the golden egg without a scratch!"
"Let's give her the loudest applause for that flawless performance!"
The next instant, the stadium exploded into cheers once more.
The sound carried far beyond the arena, even reaching a distant labor camp where prisoners were working on the construction of a magical city. They paused, eyes full of envy.
But before they could linger on it, the Dementors overseeing them drifted closer, cold dread spreading instantly through the air.
The prisoners shuddered and hurried back to work.
...
..
Inside the arena, many people were still clapping out of sheer reflex, their bodies moving mechanically while their faces remained frozen in disbelief.
…That was it?
In their minds, a proper match should have been a tense battle of wits and courage, the champion struggling against the dragon, barely snatching the egg after a life-or-death effort, earning roaring applause.
But none of that had anything to do with Kamio.
She used a feather fan, a short dance, and a single spell to lull the dragon into a sleep so deep it might as well have been dead. The whole thing felt as casual as taking a stroll.
Flawless by the rules. Perfect, even.
But somehow… it lacked that thrilling, heart-pounding excitement.
Only the Dragonologist who had escorted the creatures to the arena truly understood how terrifying that "casual" method really was.
Charlie Weasley, Ron's older brother, was among them. He and his colleagues stood there with mouths agape, their wands hanging loosely at their sides, eyes full of shock.
"That's insane…" Charlie muttered. "Normally it takes several of us casting Stunning Spells nonstop for minutes to knock an Opaleye out. She did it instantly… Is she some kind of natural-born dragon tamer?"
A middle-aged wizard nearby, his face marked with a burn shaped like a shoe print and his arms covered in claw scars, nodded in agreement, eyes locked on Kamio's retreating figure. "After the competition, we should try to recruit her."
...
Up on the judges' panel, the headmasters all wore rather complicated expressions. Fontaine, in particular, had a bad feeling creeping in.
He had always assumed Kamio had taken first place in the previous round through clever tricks.
Now it was clear… she had the real thing.
"Interesting."
Grindelwald narrowed his eyes. From Tom, he already knew the truth about Kamio: she was like Morgan, a relic from a previous era.
And what she showed just now wasn't even her full strength. She hadn't revealed her fox tails at all.
These powerful races really did play by different rules, relying on talent to an almost unfair degree.
---
A few minutes later, Jauncey stepped into the arena, still looking slightly dazed. He had been mentally rehearsing his strategy, figuring out how to deal with the Green Dragon, when the staff suddenly told him it was his turn.
The waiting room was completely soundproof. He hadn't heard the cheers outside and had no idea whether Kamio had succeeded or failed, or why things had ended so quickly.
A sudden dragon's roar snapped him out of his thoughts.
Before he realized it, he had already walked to within thirty meters of the Welsh Green. Startled, he quickly retreated, only stopping once he'd put fifty meters between them.
Taking a deep breath, Jauncey quickly focused.
Anyone who could secure a spot at Ilvermorny and beat out all competitors to become a champion was undoubtedly among the best of their generation.
His wand flicked rapidly.
The scattered stones on the ground glowed faint blue, then transformed into small animals—rabbits, field mice, and the like—rushing toward the Welsh Green in a swarm.
At the same time, he slipped behind a large boulder for cover, concentrating fully on controlling the transfigured creatures.
There were over a dozen of them in total. Jauncey knew he couldn't manage everything at once, so he focused on controlling the two most agile rabbits.
The rest he left to move freely, hopping around the dragon and wearing down its patience.
All the dragons brought here were mother dragons guarding their eggs. As long as the eggs were present, they would never stray far from the nest. The Welsh Green could only roar in fury, spewing bursts of scorching flames in an attempt to incinerate the annoying "pests."
But Jauncey handled the distances cleverly, giving the animals enough room to dodge. For a while, the dragon's furious roars echoed through the arena, its anger steadily rising.
Professor McGonagall watched with clear approval in her eyes. Among Hogwarts students, aside from Tom, no one matched Jauncey's level of skill in Transfiguration.
...
"ROAR!"
At last, the dragon's patience snapped.
Its massive wings spread wide, whipping up a violent gust as it revealed the savage nature of a top predator. With a ferocious lunge, it charged straight at the two leading rabbits.
Jauncey's eyes lit up. He immediately raised his wand and unleashed his trump card.
A hawk with a wingspan of half a meter shot down from above, diving straight toward the golden egg inside the nest.
But something went wrong.
Whether it was the hawk's aim or Jauncey's control, the bird slashed straight through one of the dragon's eggs, cracking it open.
The Welsh Green whipped its head around instantly, its pupils turning blood-red.
"ROOOAR—!"
'This is bad…!'
Jauncey's face went pale. Everything had gone smoothly up until now, but the most crucial step had gone disastrously wrong. As the dragon rushed back toward its nest, the hawk quickly grabbed the golden egg and took off. At the same time, Jauncey bolted in the opposite direction.
The moment he caught the golden egg dropped by the hawk, the dragon shifted its target to him.
"Help! Help me! I've already finished the task!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.
He didn't need to ask.
A group of Dragonologists were already racing in on broomsticks, moving to calm the enraged dragon. Two of them grabbed Jauncey and hauled him back toward the entrance.
"I… I made it…"
Once he was safely out, his legs gave out and he nearly collapsed on the spot.
The crowd rewarded him with applause. Even though things had gone wrong at the end, his earlier use of Transfiguration had been impressive.
Compared to Kamio's effortless victory, this was more like what people expected from the competition.
Still, Fontaine's expression remained grim. Smashing a dragon egg was bound to cost Jauncey points.
There was nothing to be done now. All he could do was hope the remaining champions performed worse.
---
Soon, it was Nassim's turn.
From the moment he stepped out, his hands moved in rapid, almost rhythmic motions. A faint breeze stirred through the arena, and his figure gradually began to fade from sight.
"A very clever approach," Dumbledore said with a slight nod, turning to Okeye. "Using the wind to disperse his scent. That greatly reduces the chance of being detected by the dragon."
Okeye smiled. "He is one of our best students, after all."
Through the Lume-Lens, the audience soon saw something strange.
The golden egg… started to float.
Nassim seemed to be trying to make it invisible, but the egg had been enchanted against interference. No spell worked on it.
Left with no choice, he took a risk and ran with the floating egg in tow.
The dragon noticed the drifting egg once he had made it about twenty meters out. It immediately spat a fireball, igniting Nassim's robes and breaking his Disillusionment Charm.
He didn't even stop to put out the flames.
Instead, he relied on his physical prowess, sprinting at top speed toward the safe zone and successfully completing the task.
The Uagadou students erupted in excitement, breaking into a spontaneous chorus and dance, their energy electrifying.
---
Next up was Quinta from Castelobruxo.
It was Tom's first time seeing a druid transform into a magical creature.
Amid gasps from the crowd, Quinta transformed into a sleek lynx and charged straight at the Fireball Dragon. With her small size and incredible agility, she dodged multiple blasts of scorching fire.
The heat was so intense the air itself seemed to warp.
As she closed in, she deliberately took a hit from the dragon.
In an instant, one lynx became two. Two became four.
Two of the copies darted around, luring the dragon away from its nest, giving the real Quinta the opening she needed to grab the golden egg.
But it wasn't without cost.
Once she reverted to human form, the professors immediately noticed blood pouring from her shoulder. Her face was pale with pain. Madam Pomfrey rushed her off to the infirmary without delay.
"Tch…" Tom clicked his tongue. "She's ruthless."
She wasn't a true magical beast, yet she was willing to take a hit just to create an opening. That level of resolve was something many students could never reach.
Honestly, every champion so far had outperformed the original lineup. Each one had their own unique strengths and signature techniques.
A faint, amused smile curled at Tom's lips.
If he hadn't trained Daphne personally, and things had followed their original course with Cedric competing instead…
Hogwarts would've been utterly humiliated on the world stage this year.
.
.
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