This witch still loved teasing people as much as ever.
He took a deep breath and walked into the arena.
Facing the Swedish Short-Snout, Cedric remained calm and composed. He transfigured a rock into the shape of the Golden Egg to draw the dragon's attention, then seized the opportunity to take the real Golden Egg.
Thunderous cheers erupted from the Hogwarts stands.
Now, only Harry remained.
Harry swallowed nervously and glanced at Hermione.
Hermione gave him an "all good" gesture. "Don't worry. You won't get swatted to death."
Harry: "..."
Great reassurance. Please don't reassure me again.
He took a deep breath and entered the arena.
Hermione followed close behind, turning into a black-and-red gale that circled above the arena, radiating an aura that made hearts tremble.
The stands fell silent in an instant. Everyone stared up at Hermione in utter disbelief.
Every professor's expression grew deeply grave.
"That... that's..." Professor McGonagall gasped.
"The Dark Lord's flight magic!" Karkaroff shot to his feet, his face deathly pale and his voice trembling. "How does she know it?! That's impossible!"
A flicker of startled doubt crossed Snape's face.
He stared fixedly at the black-and-red gale in the sky, but after a moment, he shook his head slightly. "This isn't the Dark Lord's magic. When he flies, he emits black smoke, but his physical body remains. Granger has turned her entire body into a gale. They're fundamentally different."
Dumbledore nodded, his voice gentle but certain. "Severus is correct. Unless I'm mistaken, this is an extremely advanced form of ancient magic-Element Transformation. It converts one's very form of existence into a pure element."
The professors fell silent, gazing at the gale circling freely overhead with shock and bewilderment in their eyes.
Most of them had only heard of ancient magic through scattered references in