— — — — — —
Ariana spun lightly on her heel, her robes tracing a graceful arc through the air.
The eerie blue flames poured down like liquid, pooling at her feet before surging upward into a translucent barrier that sealed her safely at its center.
When the Hungarian Horntail lunged in with a rush of foul wind, the flames suddenly roared higher, flaring like a stove turned to full blast.
A wave of scorching heat exploded outward, forcing the dragon back several steps. The edges of its claws, licked by the fire, blackened instantly, drawing a low, pained growl from its throat.
The stabbing pain from the Stunning Spell had mostly faded, but the Horntail's expression shifted. Some of its earlier savagery drained away, replaced by clear wariness. It circled the flaming barrier, pacing restlessly.
"…It's that dark curse?!"
Bagman's face went pale. His hand trembled as he gripped the microphone, his voice faltering. "Dumbledore—Miss Ariana is using that blue Fiendfire during the match. This… this shouldn't…"
(Even though Protego Diabolica is different from Fiendfyre, Grindelwald's version perfectly replicated Fiendfyre's dangerous power. The original creator designed Protego Diabolica as a protective dark charm, but Grindelwald took it to an entirely new level. Today, many see Protego Diabolica not just as a blue version of Fiendfyre—but as something even more dangerous.)
"That shouldn't be allowed, should it? Powerful Dark Magic isn't permitted in the competition." Headmaster Okeye cut in, frowning as he voiced what Bagman didn't dare say aloud.
On the field, the ghostly blue flames clashed violently with the Horntail's crimson fire. The air hissed and crackled under the heat.
Within the blue fire, something seemed to roar.
A massive, icy-blue phoenix silhouette slowly took shape, its wings unfurling with an oppressive, chilling presence. Each beat of those wings stirred up waves of fire, and with every collision, the Protego Diabolica grew stronger.
Up in the stands, many young wizards had gone pale.
Protego Diabolica or Fiendfyre. That was dark magic, infamous and vicious, second only to the Unforgivable Curses…
Well, figures. A Durmstrang student tossing around dark magic like it was nothing.
But still… wasn't this a bit much?
The task was to retrieve a golden egg, not roast the dragon alive and host a feast.
"Dark magic? I don't see any dark magic."
Faced with questioning looks from the other headmasters, Grindelwald remained perfectly at ease. He idly twirled his wand between his fingers, expression calm, even carrying a faint, amused smile.
"This isn't Fiendfire or Protego Diabolica. It's a spell I created myself while I was in Japan. Fire Jutsu."
His tone was casual, but his gaze held a quiet threat. "It may look similar, but it's not the same spell. If you keep making baseless claims, don't blame me if I accuse your students of using dark magic too."
After a brief pause, he added coolly, "After all… I am a Dark Lord. No one understands dark magic better than I do. If I say it isn't, then it isn't."
"Dumbledore, what do you think?" Fontaine turned to him instead of arguing further.
Dumbledore fell silent for a moment, then slowly shook his head. "We should follow Ministry law. I'm only a headmaster, not a legal expert. Crouch, you decide."
Crouch cast Grindelwald a long look, a trace of helplessness in his voice. "If it's truly a newly created spell, then it wouldn't be recorded anywhere. Let the champion proceed freely for now. After the match, I'll revise the restricted spell list."
Okeye and Fontaine's faces darkened, as if they'd swallowed something foul. The three men had played their parts perfectly, brushing the matter aside in a few neat lines, and no one present dared to challenge them.
Okeye let out a quiet sigh.
It wasn't worth falling out over this. Besides… a half-mastered spell alone wouldn't be enough to contend with a dragon.
The other headmasters seemed to think the same and held their tongues.
With their trained eyes, it wasn't hard to see that Ariana hadn't fully mastered this "Fire Jutsu." There was a stiffness to how she controlled it.
Especially for Maxime. As someone from Paris, she hadn't reacted at first, but the moment she saw those stove-like surges of flame, a certain fire etched into every Parisian wizard's memory resurfaced in her mind.
Paris had truly suffered back then. A German and a Brit having their falling-out had nearly burned the entire city down.
From what her elders had described, that curse had been on a completely different scale—giant flaming birds over thirty meters long.
Compared to that, Ariana's version was… still in its infancy.
...
Meanwhile, the Horntail, locked in a head-on clash with the flames, finally found an opening.
With a powerful beat of its wings, it shot upward, using its speed to break free from the blue fire's entanglement. It lured most of the flames into the sky, leaving only a thin layer burning on the ground.
Then it stopped breathing fire altogether. Its wings snapped tight, and it dove like an arrow straight toward Ariana, claws aimed at her vital points.
"…Should've learned this a bit earlier."
Ariana clicked her tongue. Grindelwald had only taught her Protego Diabolica half a month ago. Not having full control yet was only natural.
She lifted her head, locking eyes with the dragon's single glaring eye. A deep, inky darkness flashed across her gaze.
Then—
Threads of black, smoky substance began pouring out from her body, accompanied by faint, whispering shrieks. In an instant, they enveloped her completely, forming a swirling black tornado.
And before anyone could react, Ariana shot upward.
Straight toward the Horntail.
"ROAAAR—!"
The dragon let out a shrill, pained scream as blood sprayed through the air. Instead of retreating, the injury only drove it further into a frenzy. It lashed out wildly, claws tearing into the black vortex as the two collided violently in midair.
The sky filled with the sounds of cracking scales and raw magical force colliding.
"An Obscurial!"
This time, the headmasters reacted even more violently than when they'd seen the fearful dark magic. One after another, they shot to their feet, shock written all over their faces. Bagman, meanwhile, looked completely lost. He clearly had no idea what an Obscurial even was.
Since the seventeenth century, Obscurials and their Obscurus had all but vanished from the wizarding world. Even Newt had been astonished when he'd once encountered one in Sudan. Seeing one now was almost unthinkable.
Wind howled through the Dream Arena, whipping up clouds of dust. Everyone stared upward, stunned, as the black tornado nearly swallowed the Horntail whole.
"…this... I..."
In the private box, Newt let out a quiet sigh. Tina's expression dimmed as well.
Both of them were thinking of Ariana's nephew—Credence Dumbledore.
"Newt, Tina, don't dwell on it," Nicolas said gently, shaking his head. "What happened back then wasn't your fault. It wasn't anyone's fault. Sometimes fate just plays cruel tricks."
"I know." Newt steadied himself and kept his eyes fixed on the sky. A moment later, surprise flickered across his face. "She… she's controlling it?"
No one understood the dangers of an Obscurus better than he did. It would normally spiral out of control, devouring the host's magic to grow stronger while indiscriminately destroying everything around it.
But Ariana's Obscurus wasn't expanding.
It stayed contained within a fixed range, and its attacks were focused solely on the dragon.
That could only mean one thing.
She was in control.
And she was doing it even better than Credence ever had.
Back then, Credence had been able to direct the Obscurus at a target, but he couldn't stop it from draining his magic… and eventually his life.
Nicolas glanced at the young boy in the room, who was calmly scooping melon with a silver spoon, and immediately understood whose doing this was. Still, since Tom hadn't said anything to Newt, Nicolas kept quiet.
"It's falling!"
Before everyone's eyes, the dragon's massive body came crashing down, slamming into the ground and kicking up a storm of dust.
The black tornado slowly descended, then gathered itself back into Ariana's form. The hem of her robes was a little dirty, her hair slightly mussed, but otherwise she looked perfectly fine. Her expression was calm, as if she'd just finished something trivial.
When the dust settled, the crowd finally saw the Horntail's condition—and collectively sucked in a breath.
The jagged spikes that once covered its body were mostly broken, some still lodged crookedly in its flesh. Blood poured freely from its wounds, pooling into winding streams across the ground.
Its chest heaved violently as it struggled to lift its head. The look it gave Ariana was still fierce, full of killing intent… but it no longer had the strength to move.
Ariana raised a brow and let out a soft snort.
In the next instant, several bursts of dark magic erupted inside the dragon's body, tearing open fresh wounds and sending more blood spilling out.
"Wuuu—!"
With a final, pitiful cry, the Horntail collapsed into unconsciousness.
"Get in there! Save it!"
The lead Dragonologist snapped out of his daze and immediately mounted his broom, leading his team toward the fallen dragon. At this point, no one cared whether the match had officially ended.
Because, frankly, it might as well have.
The dragon was on the verge of dying. Who could possibly stop Ariana from taking the golden egg now?
Still, when she went to retrieve it, Ariana hesitated for a couple of steps.
For a brief moment, she considered taking two eggs. She was curious what roasted dragon egg might taste like.
But then she remembered this was Tom's tournament. If she wanted to eat dragon eggs, she could always ask him later. No need to cause trouble here.
With that, she picked up her pace and headed toward the waiting room.
As she passed the exit, she spotted Daphne standing there. Ariana blinked in surprise and walked over.
"You came out early?"
The young lady instinctively took a step back, clearly still shaken by what she'd just witnessed.
Ariana quickly lifted the golden egg and gave it a little shake. "Don't be scared. I can control the Obscurus. It won't hurt you."
Seeing the sincerity on her face, Daphne finally relaxed a little. "After you left, I was alone in the room. It got boring, so I snuck out to watch."
That only made Ariana more confused. She tilted her head. "Wasn't there a staff member guarding the door? He didn't stop you?"
"I knocked him out."
Ariana: "…"
Well. As expected of Tom's favorite Miss Greengrass.
That style… she still had a lot to learn.
"Good luck, then." Ariana held the golden egg in one hand and pumped her other fist in encouragement.
"Thank you! From now on, you're my best friend!"
Daphne's eyes welled up with emotion. Even as a competitor, Ariana was cheering her on. She really was a good person!
"Sure… we can have afternoon tea sometime."
Ariana turned away a little awkwardly.
Coveting your friend's man… that wasn't a problem, right?
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