Hogwarts: This professor is too Muggle.

Chapter 398 Cheating Together

“Australian white-eyed mutated animals are not aggressive and rarely kill unless they are hungry. They prefer to eat sheep and occasionally attack larger animals. If you are using shapeshifting as bait, sheep are the best choice.”

"Chinese Fireball Dragons are naturally aggressive, but they are more tolerant of their own kind and are willing to share the same territory with other Fireball Dragons. If you encounter such a Fireball Dragon in a match, stay away immediately, because you never know how many Dragons are in that territory."

"The Norwegian Spinosaurus is highly aggressive, and its long teeth and spikes are venomous, so try to avoid getting close to them."

"..."

Hermione explained to Harry the information she had gathered from the book: "Although we don't know the specifics of the match, the professor certainly won't let us fight dragons head-on. Remembering their habits will help us find room to maneuver during the actual match."

"I don't think it's very useful. Stay away from them, don't get close. These suggestions apply to all dragons," Harry said listlessly.

The bell for the end of Muggle Studies class had already rung. There were no other classes today, and the warriors didn't have to worry about homework or exams. They had plenty of time to sit in their seats and look through the materials they had borrowed from the library.

The classroom quieted down, and Professor Levent and the other students left in an orderly fashion. Harry sat by the window, his gaze sweeping over the stacked tomes and looking out at the distant mountains and forests.

The distance was far enough that Harry was certain the dragon's roar couldn't reach them, but he could still faintly hear it.

"You two...would you like to go back to the common room together?" Ron slowly walked up from behind.

Harry was secretly delighted, but remained outwardly calm: "Not now. We need to figure out how to survive the dragon's attacks on Thursday."

He guessed that Ron's unease had dissipated, and the best response would be to act as if nothing had happened, just like when he stayed at the Dursleys' house, where they had argued and made a scene, even exaggerating Aunt Maggie's behavior, but then didn't mention anything the next time they met.

Some gunpowder barrels, if left unopened, will naturally become damp and misfire, and will no longer explode.

"Fire Dragon! Your competition event is Fire Dragon!"

“Yes, twelve different species of dragons… Hagrid showed us last night, and we almost experienced the breath of a Norwegian Ridgeback.” Harry sighed wistfully.

"No wonder Charlie said we'd see each other again soon before school started!"

Ron stared wide-eyed in astonishment: "The principal and professors must be crazy. Their first project is a fire dragon? Are they trying to break the Goblet of Fire's casualty record?"

He paced back and forth between the desks, more uneasy than if he were competing himself, completely forgetting the awkwardness of the previous two days: "No... I have to go find Charlie, his animal husbandry notes will definitely come in handy, you wait here, I'm going to find him right now!"

Rushing out of the classroom, before he could even take a step and run, he bumped into Moody, who was using crutches.

"Hey, stay alert, kid!" The Defense Against the Dark Arts professor grinned menacingly.

……

Right now, the person they're complaining about, the rule-maker Melvin, is checking the school clinic's stock of medications to deal with the seasonal flu.

The school clinic's pharmacy was decorated with reference to St. Mungo's Hospital. The furniture was made of hardwood and carved with crossed bones and wands. The lighting was bright, and the cabinets were filled with all sorts of bottles and jars.

A small portion of them were created by Ms. Pomfrey and Professor Snape, while the majority were works by students in the Potions Advanced Class.

Principal Fontana stood in front of the glass cabinet, unscrewed a bottle of medicine brewed by the students, brought it close to his nose to smell, and judged the quality by the smell.

"Still deciding to buy it from the school clinic?" Melvin asked, standing in the doorway.

Headmaster Fontana put the cork back in its place, somewhat surprised: "Isn't this Professor Levent from Hogwarts? I thought you had abandoned Ivermony."

"Your tone sounds like that of a wronged woman in a Shakespearean play."

Melvin ignored his sarcastic remarks and found a chair to sit down. "Have you heard? The tournament hasn't even started yet, and Mr. Bagman has already set up betting odds on the outcome of this Goblet of Fire." "Of course, I also placed a few bets. Durmstrang's Krum is the favorite to win, with the lowest odds, followed by Cedric, Fleur, and Harry. Pickley is at the very bottom. It seems the Scottish wizards don't have much faith in Ilfamony."

Principal Fontana was indeed puzzled. Even disregarding everything else, just considering age, Pickley's ability was definitely stronger than that of the fourth-year students, yet he had the highest odds.

"You don't actually think the odds are set according to strength, do you?"

Principal Fontana scratched his head: "Isn't that right?"

“Last night, Ms. Maxim and Principal Karkaroff sneaked into the Forbidden Forest, watched the competition, and found out that the warriors would be facing a fire dragon in the first event. They are already practicing their special magic in their cabins and carriages. You are still wandering around.”

"???"

Fontana stood there, stunned, as if struck by lightning.

……

Furong stood in the center of the room, her cheeks slightly flushed, feeling both embarrassed and a little proud.

Ms. Maxim gathered her students to discuss ways to deal with the fire dragon. The students who had not yet graduated could not come up with any good ideas. Only she took out the Veela dance that her grandmother had taught her, tapped into the unique magic in her blood, and with her unique wand, could briefly hypnotize the fire dragon.

Ms. Maxim had dark circles under her eyes, but they couldn't hide the joy on her face: "The Flame Cup Tournament is not a suicide tournament. The tournament committee will definitely not let you fight the fire dragon head-on. It should be to complete some task. With Hibiscus's dance, you will have an advantage."

She paused briefly: "During the competition, with Fu Rong as the core and the team working together, our Busbarton team can take the lead in the first event."

“Ms. Maxim, I will try my best.”

Furong nodded emphatically, glanced at her classmates, and put away all her past hostility, replacing it with friendliness. She could feel that she had become a true warrior, and she couldn't suppress the joy in her heart.

……

Inside the cabin of the giant ship on Black Lake.

After practicing repeatedly, Krum put away his wand and looked at the information the headmaster had pulled out: "Eye Disease Curse, the only black magic that meets the requirements, can be mastered quickly, and can break through the scales of a fire dragon to cause effective damage."

"How's the practice going?"

Karkaroff pushed open the door and came in: "No need to rush. At your age, the Eye-Bleeding Curse is a useful spell, and only we Durmstrang have enough black magic foundation. Warriors from other schools can't learn this."

The other warriors also stopped at this point, gathered around to ask about the difficulties in practicing the spells, and occasionally praised the principal's extraordinary wisdom.

……

Inside the carriages parked in the open space.

Pickley, Nancy, Dawn, and the others rushed back from the castle. Upon receiving Principal Fontana's message, they didn't waste a moment and ran around sweating profusely.

“Headmaster, what urgent matter do you want us to come back for? I was auditing a Defense Against the Dark Arts class at Hogwarts.” Pickley scratched his head.

"Forget about auditing classes, the first project in the Goblet of Fire is the fire dragon, let's hurry up and figure out a way!"

"what!?"

(End of this chapter)