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"Mr. Bagman, I believe that has nothing to do with me. Also, to be more accurate, they were not leased by the Ministry itself, but by the Department of Magical Games and Sports."
Dudley looked faintly disdainful.
"The Triwizard Tournament is being led by the Department of Magical Games and Sports. The ticket money also went into the Department's pocket. I do have a few friends in the Ministry, and my information is reasonably good. I am quite clear on certain things."
After saying that, he waved his wand casually, and a spell fell over the Romanian dragon handlers lying on the ground.
"Muffliato."
The intention was obvious. He did not want anyone else to hear what came next.
"There is another point, Mr. Bagman. You used my name to run betting pools and earned quite a few Galleons from the first task alone, did you not? I have not yet held you responsible for that."
Bagman had privately opened betting pools under the names of the four champions. In today's first task, anyone who had bet on Harry, Fleur, Viktor, or even a draw had lost.
The only profitable bet had been Dudley's victory, but the odds had been very low, and almost no one had bought it.
Bagman had made an enormous profit from this round. That was why he had been so excited when announcing the results.
No wizard would refuse shining Galleons.
"Mr. Bagman, if I wished, I could take you to the Wizengamot at any time. Believe me, I am rather familiar with the place."
Bagman immediately broke into a cold sweat. He had not expected all his actions to have been seen through. If the affair came out and reached the Wizengamot, he would certainly be sent to Azkaban. He quickly changed to a pleading tone.
"No, you cannot..."
"That depends on how cooperative you are, Mr. Bagman. Now, do you still believe those four dragons belong to anyone else?"
"No. They were yours from the beginning, Mr. Dursley."
Bagman's change in attitude was astonishingly fast.
"As for the Romanian wizards..."
"Leave them to me."
Dudley was not surprised. Compared with a few dragons, avoiding Azkaban was clearly more important.
No one knew what price Bagman ultimately paid, but he handled the matter well. After that, the Romanian dragon handlers truly did not come to trouble Dudley again.
The four dragons were taken into Dudley's possession.
Of course, in the end, they were placed in the Forbidden Forest, together with Charizard and the little unicorn.
Five adult dragons, one adult unicorn, and one thoroughly seasoned thousand-year-old basilisk. That combination was enough to form a magical-creature army.
Once Dudley's Magical Creature Taming rose by another level, he would be able to tame top-tier beings such as dragons and basilisks. At that point, magical creatures alone would be enough to give the Death Eaters a terrible headache.
The legendary Mother of Dragons only had three dragons.
Dudley had five.
The Triwizard Tournament was only a small interlude in life at Hogwarts. The first task did not bring any substantial change, except that everyone looked at Dudley with even more admiration.
The other champions, however, were very troubled during this period. Each of them held a golden egg and tried to uncover the riddle inside.
Although Dudley had been the only champion to obtain the eggs, he had eventually given one to each of the other champions. After all, the golden egg was the key hint for the second task.
When opened, the golden egg produced a scream that made one's hair stand on end. It was impossible to distinguish what sort of sound it was, let alone find the answer.
Of course, that applied only to ordinary wizards.
With magical-creature speech, Dudley heard something completely different when he opened the golden egg. What he heard was a beautiful merpeople song.
"Weasley! Can you focus for once?"
In Transfiguration, Ron was ruthlessly scolded by Professor McGonagall because he had drifted off.
"Professor, could you not keep staring at me?"
Ron said this gloomily. He swore to Merlin that today was the first time he had lost focus, and only for a moment, yet he had been caught immediately.
"If you know I am watching you, why can you not listen properly?" Professor McGonagall glared at Ron. "When you can reach the standard of Transfiguration Mr. Dursley displayed in the first task, I will stop watching you."
Dudley's performance in the first task had made Professor McGonagall both happy and depressed.
She was happy because Dudley was a student she had taught. She was depressed because Transfiguration was Gryffindor's signature strength, yet Slytherin had outshone them.
Gryffindor only had a few students who were especially strong in Transfiguration, so she naturally had to watch them closely. Apart from Ron, Harry and Hermione were watched by Professor McGonagall often enough. They simply paid attention in class.
As for Neville, his talent was clearly not in Transfiguration.
After Transfiguration ended, Ron went to the Great Hall in a gloomy mood. Looking at the chicken legs on the table, covered in jam and honey, he had no appetite at all.
Absolutely dreadful.
Ron lay on the table and thought gloomily.
Yet something even more depressing soon arrived. His mother, Mrs. Weasley, had sent him a package.
Inside was a "dress."
Without thinking, Ron picked up the "dress" and walked to where his sister Ginny sat.
"I think Mum must have sent this to the wrong person. This is for you."
"I do not want it. It is too ugly."
Ginny glanced at it with obvious disgust, rejection written all over her face.
"Mrs. Weasley may not have sent it to the wrong person," Neville said at that moment. His gaze had been fixed on the "dress" in Ron's hand. "That really is for you. I have seen one in my family's old wardrobe..."
Unfortunately, before Neville could finish speaking, Ron interrupted him.
"Then why would my mother send me a dress? And such an old one?"
Ron was full of questions. As he spoke, he shook the "dress" in his hand. Its dark red and brownish-yellow colors were woven together in a way that looked extremely odd.
Did Mum want him to wear girls' clothes?
Was it supposed to be that exciting?
"That is not a dress. It is a set of dress robes. Although the style is from the early medieval period. People of that time liked this sort of fashion."
Hermione began educating Ron, who clearly lacked the relevant knowledge.
"In other words, the 'dress robes' in your hand may be older than all of us at this table put together."
Ron looked at the antique in his hand and went quiet.
He very much wanted to ask whether anyone was willing to buy it. He could sell it cheaply.
"So... why give me this thing?"
Very soon, someone gave him the answer.
That afternoon, in Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall stood at the front.
"Quiet, everyone. Quiet."
"Before class begins, I have an announcement to make."
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