Double Trials and Accumulated Madness!

The Champion all gathered around: Krum from Durmstrang, Phoebe from Beauxbatons, Daniels from Newmontgard, Cedric from Hogwarts, and of course, Sean.

These five people are closest to each other and are the default leaders of the five teams.

Everyone's attention was focused on Mr. Bagman's hands, while Sean discreetly observed the facial expressions of the other contestants.

They all seemed to have a lot of doubts, and there wasn't any obvious tension...

Was this First Task not leaked...?

At this moment, Mr. Bagman spoke up, "I imagine you all had long conversations with the Champion who participated in the Four-School Tournament, didn't you? Five years ago, those were truly memorable—"

"Sir—" Cedric politely reminded him, otherwise Mr. Bagman would start reminiscing about the past.

"Oh, oh, oh, of course, let's get down to business—you know, the first challenge in the last Four-School Tournament was facing ten fully grown Mountain Troll at the same time—sounds incredible, right?" He laughed heartily.

Sean was certainly aware of the previous competition's event: ten Mountain Troll. It might not sound like much, but in fact, Troll are Magical Creatures that even adult wizards find difficult to deal with because they possess extremely high Magic Resistance — Mountain Troll are even more formidable than ordinary Troll. In the original story, Harry and his friends were incredibly lucky to defeat a Troll during their first year.

This also shows how difficult the Four-School Tournament are.

"This year, the first project is also about fighting Magical Creatures, but—" Mr. Bagman chuckled, "It will be done in two phases."

The Champion exchanged glances with their companions, and everyone began to tense up.

Mr. Bagman first raised the Magical Ropes in his hand. "Magical Ropes, specially made by the referee team before the competition. This rope is very strong—but it only has the function of being strong. All you have to do is take one and tie it to the first [BOSS] blocking your way."

"A Cockatrice."

Even Sean frowned upon hearing the name of this Magical Creatures.

The Cockatrice is a Magical Creatures with a Ministry of Magic danger rating of XXXX, which is deadly to ordinary wizards, but manageable to deal with elite wizards—let alone three wizards.

However, this Magical Creatures has one characteristic: it is very prone to irritability and very easily falls into a state that Sean himself describes as "neurotic".

The challenge is to tie up the Cockatrice with a rope, which is much more difficult than defeating it, because the Cockatrice, in a nervous state, will run around wildly. Don't forget, this is only the first stage. The organizers won't let a Cockatrice that isn't too difficult to deal with enter. This Magical Creatures must be able to affect the second stage, such as by delaying the time.

Seeing the Champion ' expressions, Mr. Bagman smiled with satisfaction and continued, "When the Cockatrice is bound, you can begin the second phase—ha, you will retrieve the Golden Egg from the lair of the two Fire Dragon."

"Hiss--"

Upon hearing this, everyone present gasped, including Sean.

Fire Dragon are frequent visitors to the Triwizard Tournament, and the Champion present were prepared to face Fire Dragon. However, two Fire Dragon were a bit frightening...

This is far more powerful than a single Fire Dragon, especially if those two Fire Dragon are a married couple...

More importantly, the Cockatrice from the previous level...

Someone voiced Sean's question, Phoebe stepped forward. "Sir, those two Fire Dragon aren't in the same area as the Cockatrice, are they?"

"Indeed, very perceptive, Miss Phoebe," Mr. Bagman replied happily.

The Champion fell silent immediately.

If the Cockatrice cannot be dealt with quickly, this [nervous] Magical Creatures will run rampant throughout the entire area, at which point they may have to face the attack of the Fire Dragon ahead of time!

Furthermore, the erratic Cockatrice might just crush the Golden Egg they're trying to bring back— the Golden Egg are clearly not the children of the Fire Dragon, and the Fire Dragon won't be paying attention to protecting the treasures beneath their feet when they're roaring.

Although the number of participants has increased, the difficulty has increased dramatically... Sean thought to himself.

"Alright, alright, let's draw it now?" Mr. Bagman raised the rope in his hand.

Krum, Phoebe, Daniels, Cedric, and Sean exchanged glances and then extended their hands together.

"I am number one—" Cedric raised the Magical Ropes in his hand.

"Oh no—" the Weasley brothers wailed dramatically, their dejection evident despite the element of acting.

The pressure of being the first player on the court in such a match is immense.

The others also raised their ropes. Beauxbatons was number two, Durmstrang was number three, Newmontgard was number four, and Sean held number five.

"Are we the last ones...?" Little White Flower asked nervously, gripping Sean's hand.

"You're right, Miss Potter," said Mr. Bagman. "The numbers on the ropes indicate your order of appearance. Now, come on, draw your... Fire Dragon."

The word "Fire Dragon," so intensely hot, had caused a freeze for the first time. After taking several deep breaths, the Champion finally surrounded it.

"Swedish Short-Snout Dragon, Mr. Diggory —a fine choice."

"Australian Opaleye Dragon, Miss Delacour —this Fire Dragon is as beautiful as you."

"Oh my, Fireball Dragon, Mr. Krum —I must say, it suits Durmstrang's fiery appearance very well."

"Oh ho ho, my goodness, these are formidable opponents, Champion of Newmontgard — Hungarian Horntail Dragon!"

Sean looked down at the Fire Dragon model in his hand, which was only the size of his palm and was staring at him blankly.

It has black, rough scales, and a row of shallow but razor-sharp ridges along its back. Its tail is tipped with a sharp arrowhead, and its wings are like those of a bat.

"Look at our young Champion, wow, the Hebridean Black Dragon— " Mr. Bagman exclaimed in surprise, "Belligerent fellows—I have a little news to remind you, Mr. Wallop, Potter, and Miss Ollivander."

Sean looked up and saw Mr. Bagman with an excited smile on his face, "Because of the dragon species, the two Fire Dragon in the other four groups are all adult Fire Dragon. They each have their own territory and cannot coexist, so the judges cast a spell on them to prevent the two big guys from fighting each other—only the Hebridean Black Dragon, Mr. Wallop, I heard that you did very well in your Care of Magical Creatures?"

Sean pursed his lips. He thought he was lucky not to have chosen the Hungarian Horntail, but with two Fire Dragon, their Hebridean Black Dragon was the worst choice.

This was both an answer to Bagman's question and an explanation to Daisy and the others, "The Hebridean Black Dragon are naturally warlike, so each one needs more than a hundred square miles of territory. However, these black dragons have been cared for by the MacFasty Clan for generations. They believe that you can use magic to defeat Fire Dragon, but you cannot affect Fire Dragon mind. This is a desecration of the warlike nature of such a powerful Magical Creatures."

"So, what's that?" Fred asked, puzzled.

"Therefore, the two black dragons that the MacFasty Clan sent must be a male and a female Fire Dragon Fire Dragon that can get along harmoniously—and even though these Fire Dragon are of opposite sexes, they can only get along harmoniously during two periods—" Sean held up two fingers, "The mating season and the breeding season."

He shrugged. "The weather isn't suitable for hatching right now. In short, these two Hebridean Black Dragon are probably trying to conceive—well, the most irritable and protective period for their mates."

"Hiss—" The others gasped.

Not only Cedric and his group, but even Phoebe looked at them with sympathy and concern— Reinhardt Nott of Durmstrang chuckled gloatingly, and after being glared at by Krum, he even defiantly gestured with his neck towards Sean.

"Idiot..." Sean shook his head silently.

He glanced at Daisy, who was already showing signs of hiccups, and Stephanie, whose expression had also turned serious, and smiled easily.

"It's a pity we were the last ones, otherwise we could have gone home and rested earlier."

What an arrogant tone... The others stared at Sean in surprise. In the mouth of this fifth-grader, the Cockatrice and the raging Fire Dragon seemed to be nothing more than pets kept at home.

Hugo and Patricia, however, were not surprised at all. In their minds, Sean was a wizard who could talk to Fire Dragon —it should work on the irritable Fire Dragon couple too, right?

Cedric and the others naturally knew that Sean could talk to Fire Dragon, but they were still worried. After all, Magical Creatures are just animals, and their reproductive instincts might suppress their limited intelligence.

"Alright, the first team from Hogwarts, it's time for you to set off—"

As if in response to Mr. Bagman's words, two deafening roars immediately came from outside the tent.

Sean gently patted Fred on the shoulder and whispered, "The Swedish Short-Snout Dragon's flight speed and fire temperature are the most dangerous aspects, but its eye protection is stronger than other Fire Dragon. Don't use the Eye-Blinding Charm; try hypnosis first. When you're ready to fight, aim for the barbs on the Swedish Short-Snout Dragon's nostrils; that's its weak point."

"Hey, Mr. Weasley, it's time for you to get going," Mr. Bagman called out, lifting a corner of the tent.

Sean winked at the surprised Fred and smiled slightly.

The competition was real, but in Sean's heart, his friend's safety was more important.

and...

Is the Fire Dragon a threat to me?

Cedric and the twins went outside, and soon, strange hissing sounds came from outside. It was the sound of Cockatrice, accompanied by waves of gasps from the audience.

Inside the tent, Sean repeated the same method, explaining the weaknesses of the Hungarian Horntail to Hugo and Patricia. However, he wasn't too worried about Newmontgard's team.

Based on experience from so many competitions, Newmontgard students are often significantly stronger than students from other schools.

Daisy and Stephanie exchanged a glance as they watched Sean casually recount the points to be aware of to his acquaintances.

"Sean, you're really not nervous at all... Stephanie, how about you?"

The Silver-haired Girl shook her head. "I'll be nervous. Sean... he really seems confident, doesn't he?"

"He may be growing faster than we can imagine, even in places we can't see." The Silver-haired Girl smiled gently. "We just have to believe in him."

Daisy nodded vigorously. "I've always believed in him!"

Inside the tent, the Champion (except for Sean) were all waiting anxiously, even the seemingly invincible Reinhardt Nott was discussing countermeasures with his teammates.

Mr. Bagman's commentary could be heard continuously from outside.

"Oh, oh, how dangerous! What a risky decision! They want to save as much time as possible!"

"This curse is too dangerous—even the Fire Dragon has been alerted!"

"Oh, that's a brilliant touch!"

After a while, the roar of the Cockatrice subsided, replaced by an even more ferocious dragon roar.

"Look, what a beautiful spell!"

"But two Fire Dragon are closing in together, what a dangerous situation!"

The gasps of the audience, Bagman's commentary, and the deafening roar of the dragon were all mixed together.

"My God, what a beautiful spell!" After this shout, a huge cheer erupted outside.

It looks like Cedric and his team successfully finished the race.

Sure enough, a little while later, someone came to inform the Beauxbatons Champion to start preparing to go on the field.

After a similarly noisy and even longer period Hogwarts, cheers erupted once again.

"Champion of Durmstrang, prepare to enter the fray!"

Only the three Newmontgard and the three Sean remained in the tent— Sean was enjoying some food that Hugo had brought.

"Wow, amazing—is there some juice from the Weeping Fruit mixed in? But it's been neutralized perfectly," Sean exclaimed as he chewed.

Hugo looked at Sean with admiration. "President, even someone as fond of food as me only managed to finish one serving, but you ate two!"

Sean licked his fingers and said with a smile, "I really enjoy tasting good food."

"They're really bold..." This thought arose simultaneously among everyone present.

Not long after, the Newmontgard team also entered the arena.

Amidst the various sounds, a corner of the tent was suddenly lifted, Hermione returned.

She whispered anxiously, "Listen, guys, Fred sent me to tell you—there's only one Cockatrice, and it hasn't been replaced!"

"Huh?" Daisy asked, puzzled. "Then aren't we getting the better deal?"

"No," Sean said calmly, "The neuroticism of a creature like the Cockatrice will continue to accumulate, and its aggressive desire will only increase with each failure—well, judging from the sound, the combined time it took the previous teams to deal with the Cockatrice, tch, we will be facing a completely irrational Magical Creatures."

Hermione nodded anxiously. "Yes, your affability..."

Sean's affinity works on creatures that have lost their minds, but Sean will bear the brunt of the negative emotions, while that Cockatrice has already accumulated a great deal of madness...

Amid the worried gazes of the others, Sean stood up and stretched.

"I wasn't planning on having a heart-to-heart talk with that cutie anyway—hmm, is it almost our turn? Let's finish early and get off work early—"