Wade approached Harry and whispered, "Ready?"
Harry managed a weak smile, nodding. "I'll try."
His stomach was churning, and he felt like if he said another word, the anxiety would make him throw up.
They entered the tent to find most of the champions already there—
Fleur sat in a corner, pale; Viktor looked grim; Cedric paced back and forth; Seraphina tapped her Wand incessantly; Asada Chinatsu's lips moved as if silently chanting a Spell; Jabari, who had previously turned into a rat, was swaying on a chair; and Papua from Uagadou was doing squats.
Their expressions varied, but a common thread of subtle tension and apprehension was visible in their eyes. Just by looking at each other's faces, it was clear everyone knew what they were about to face.
In the silence, no one spoke.
After another ten minutes, the remaining participants trickled into the tent. Bagman cheerfully pushed aside the flap and squeezed in.
"Alright, now that you're all here, let's explain the situation!"
He spoke with a lively tone, "Because more than half of the contestants in this competition will be eliminated, and to avoid unfairness caused by scoring, after more than half a month of extremely difficult discussions, we've finally decided to cancel the traditional scoring system of the Triwizard Tournament—only those who achieve the objective will successfully advance to the second round!"
"The competition will proceed as follows: First, you'll each pick a small numbered model from this bag. This will determine your order of participation."
He shook a purple silk bag in his hand.
"Next, you'll need to pass through some kind of obstacle and touch a Compass in the middle of the arena... Oh, don't worry about not seeing it, it's very conspicuous."
"The Compass will transport you to a prepared area where sixteen Golden Eggs are hidden. Only students who retrieve a Golden Egg and return safely will avoid elimination and advance to the next round... Any questions?"
Bagman wore an excited smile, looking expectantly at everyone. But the tent remained silent, as if everyone had decided not to ask any superfluous questions.
—Of course, it might also be that many were still processing the competition's sequence in their minds and hadn't thought of anything to ask.
Bagman waited for about ten seconds. In the quiet, he untied the bag in his hand and extended it toward Harry, who was closest to him.
"Just pick one, everyone has an equal chance."
Harry glanced at Wade, reached in, and pulled out a black egg, the size of a normal chicken egg, with a white number "3" on it.
The next second, the egg cracked in his hand, and a small black dragon hatched, spreading its wings and exhaling a tiny puff of flame.
Harry's face instantly went pale—this was one of the most dangerous dragons, a Hungarian Horntail.
"Oh..."
Bagman instinctively let out a sigh, not expecting Harry to be so unlucky. But he didn't have time to say anything more before handing the bag to the second person.
Soon, Wade also drew a green egg from the bag, with the number "1" on it.
Just as he thought he had luckily drawn a Welsh Green, the eggshell cracked, and a dark creature emerged. A flick of its small tail shattered the remaining eggshell beside it.
It was a Scottish Black Dragon.
Wade narrowed his eyes slightly as information about this dragon quickly flashed through his mind:
An adult Scottish Black Dragon could reach thirty feet in size, with a row of sharp, saw-like spines running from the back of its head down its spine. The tip of its tail was a pointed arrowhead, capable of easily piercing a person.
Scottish Black Dragons were highly territorial and skilled at sweeping attacks with their tails. Their fire-breathing range was only moderate.
Their drawbacks were relatively slow movement and a volatile temperament.
Good luck.
Wade liked slow-moving creatures.
On the other side, Fleur, who had drawn a Welsh Green, had initially looked resigned. But after seeing the dragons the other two had drawn, her expression brightened slightly.
However, the girl's eyes seemed to say—"Poor little boys, you're dead."
After everyone had drawn the dragons they would face, Bagman happily said:
"You've all seen your opponents, haven't you? The number on the eggshell is your order of entry. Someone will take you to where you need to go in a moment. So... Harry... could you come with me for a moment? I have a few words I'd like to say to you."
Harry, clutching the dragon model, followed the referee out with a bewildered expression.
Then, a boy with brown curly hair poked his head in and asked, "Who drew the Scottish Black Dragon? Please follow me."
"Rolf?" Wade said, surprised. "What are you doing here?"
This boy was Newt Scamander's grandson. Wade sometimes corresponded with Mr. Scamander, and he had a good relationship with Rolf. However, because they weren't in the same year, they didn't see each other often.
"Wade!" Rolf said happily. "I knew I'd see you, so I rushed over first! Oh... you got a Scottish Black Dragon? What a coincidence."
At the same time, four other people emerged from the tent: Jabari from Uagadou, Natalia from Koldovstoretz, Hope from Salem, and Ganesh from Mando.
Rolf walked and talked, "Last night, the Headmaster said in the Common Room that the competition needed some volunteers and asked who could sign up, so I did. Luckily, there weren't many people then, otherwise, I wouldn't have been chosen!"
"What do volunteers do?" Ganesh asked in somewhat broken English. "Boy, where are we going now?"
Tall wooden barriers blocked their view of the other side, so they could only hear the excited chatter of the audience in the distance and the roars of dragons.
"To where the Scottish Black Dragon is, of course!" Rolf turned back, giving him a bright smile. "My job is simple—to guide the contestants and then remind everyone to enter in order."
He turned his head, excitedly asking, "Wade, what number are you?"
Wade picked up the remaining eggshell in his hand and showed the number on it.
"First? First is good too." Rolf comforted his friend. "The earlier you start, the easier it is to find the Golden Egg."
Wade smiled. "That's what I think too."
"Go for it!" Rolf said, clenching his fist. "I knew you could do it!"
"Being further back isn't necessarily a bad thing," Jabari said, feigning nonchalance. "I'm number 5. You guys work hard and take care of the dragons, and maybe I'll just stumble upon the Compass without lifting a finger."
"You might not find the Golden Egg then, and you won't be able to enter the second round," Rolf reminded him.
Hope, who had been walking behind them, suddenly whispered, "You can steal it."
Rolf: "Huh?"
"Exactly. Not finding the Golden Egg doesn't mean you can't steal it," Natalia said with a grin.
She looked at Wade and said, "Be careful, okay? Only those who return safely with a Golden Egg are winners."
Wade calmly replied, "Then you two should be careful too—when you're about to go look for the Golden Egg, I might just be ambushing you right there!"
The two exchanged smiles, and as their eyes met, it was as if sparks flew, a hidden sharpness in their gazes.
Ganesh stroked his chin, then slowly said, "You know... if everyone thought like you two, would there really be sixteen people left in the end?"
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