With Leonard's interference, the plot had already been thrown completely off course.
No one was trying to set Harry Potter up anymore, and without Voldemort's help, Barty Crouch Jr. was forced to stay quietly at home.
On Halloween, the Goblet of Fire obediently spat out three slips of paper, confirming the champions for the Triwizard Tournament.
Hogwarts. Cedric Diggory.
Beauxbatons. Fleur Delacour.
Durmstrang. Viktor Krum.
Time passed quickly, and soon it was November 23rd. The next day would be the start of the tournament, and by then all the facilities needed for the first task had already been delivered near the Forbidden Forest.
More than a dozen dragon tamers had gathered in the forest, watching over the three fire dragons to keep them from breaking out of their cages.
Dragons were bad-tempered to begin with. Being locked in cages only made them more irritable.
Blazing dragonfire raged through the forest. If the dragon tamers had not cleared out an area in advance, a forest fire would have been inevitable.
Busy as they were, none of them noticed that a faint gray mist had appeared around them at some point.
The mist drifted quietly. Though some of it was burned away by dragonfire, plenty still slipped through the dragons' nostrils and into their bodies.
One after another, the three dragons let out annoyed sneezes. The originally irritable beasts then yawned, and before long all three had fallen asleep.
The dragon tamers on the perimeter did not think much of it. They assumed the dragons had simply exhausted themselves, breathed a sigh of relief, left a few guards on watch, and went off to rest.
What they did not know was that those three seemingly sleeping dragons were gradually losing all bodily function, while a powerful, icy magic slowly replaced their original strength.
The three dragons opened their eyes, and a dim green light glowed in their clouded pupils.
At the same time, near the new World Tree outside Hogsmeade.
Durmstrang's headmaster, Karkaroff, stood in the distance gazing at the tree, which seemed full of spiritual presence. Light flickered over his body as he communicated with a distant existence.
"Yes, I understand. I will follow Father God's will," Karkaroff murmured softly.
He slit his wrist, and blood dripped down into the soil.
As more and more blood flowed out, his face grew paler, yet he showed no sign of stopping. He only watched as the blood wound its way into the earth.
Beneath the surface, the blood gradually surrounded the World Tree, but remained hidden and inactive, waiting for the best possible moment.
Once the arrangement was complete, Karkaroff swayed slightly, healed his wound with magic, glanced at the ravens rising and falling among the branches of the World Tree, then turned and left.
The next day, the tournament began.
The arena had been set up in the Forbidden Forest hunting grounds. The stands were packed with spectators waiting for the match to begin, and the audience had only just learned what the first task would be.
"The task is actually a dragon!"
"Well, as long as they don't have to subdue it, it should be all right."
"Easy for you to say. That's a dragon. Would you dare stand in front of it?"
A buzzing wave of discussion spread through the stands.
Leonard rubbed his temples, feeling indescribably exhausted.
"Leonard? Are you all right?" His roommates, Ernie and Justin, who were seated in the same row, noticed something off about him while they were talking.
"I'm fine. Just a little tired." As Leonard spoke, he looked toward Karkaroff, who was seated among the judges.
The burly man looked remarkably weak at the moment.
"So he's made his move already? Good thing I prepared in advance." Leonard gave a faint smile and forced himself to stay alert as he waited for the task to begin.
The first to enter the arena was Fleur. She wore a fitted dueling suit. The outer layer was made of dragon hide, which could effectively absorb magic, while the inner lining over her vital areas was inlaid with magical metal to absorb impact.
The outfit suited her beautifully, making her look valiant and sharp, like a duelist about to step onto the battlefield.
Unfortunately, her opponent was a vicious Hungarian Horntail.
In the original story, that should have been Harry Potter's dragon. Now, unexpectedly, it had become Fleur's.
The Horntail, cage and all, was dropped into the arena, and a golden dragon egg was placed at the center of the grounds.
Under normal circumstances, the dragon tamers deliberately chose pregnant females for this task so that they would fiercely guard the golden egg and make things more difficult for the champions.
But events did not unfold the way the dragon tamers had expected.
Crack.
The instant it entered the arena, the Horntail crushed the golden egg beneath one foot.
It did not let out the usual threatening roar of a beast. Instead, it stood there silently, staring at the surrounding spectators with a cold gaze, like a hunter sizing up prey.
That abnormal behavior immediately caught the dragon tamers' attention. The Horntail's actions were a serious violation of everything known about the species' behavior.
"Unexpected situation. Contestant, leave the arena immediately!" The dragon tamers rushed into the arena and halted the task.
Fleur froze for a moment. Then a powerful sense of danger surged through her, so strong that it even affected her real body elsewhere.
Acting on instinct, she leapt upward, and the sheer strength of that jump sent her straight out of the arena.
That startling scene was not noticed by many people. Only Maxime and Leonard, who had been watching Fleur the entire time, caught it.
Since when did Fleur have that kind of ability?
But however confused they were, this was not the time to chase answers. That obviously abnormal dragon seemed to have set its sights on the judges' stand.
At the same time, the Horntail's gaze had already locked onto the judges' stand.
More precisely, onto the weakened Karkaroff.
Fake. It's fake.
A flash of anger passed through the Horntail's eyes. It wasted no more time and immediately raised its head and unleashed a blast of fire.
"Watch out for the dragonfire!"
Several dragon tamers rushed forward. They were highly experienced when it came to handling dragons, and their combat ability far surpassed that of ordinary Aurors, so dealing with dragons was second nature to them.
As for dragonfire, they were long used to its power.
Two dragon tamers moved first, throwing up defensive spells to create an opening for the others.
"Protego Totalum!"
"Protego!"
Two different defensive spells sprang up. Their teamwork was practiced and seamless. They would never make a mistake at a time like this.
When a dragon breathed fire, that was the moment it was most vulnerable. It exposed all its weaknesses.
As long as they blocked the dragonfire, their teammates could strike through the dragon's open mouth with magic and hit its brain, knocking it unconscious.
The thought came to them by pure instinct, and the two dragon tamers subconsciously glanced toward their teammates.
But their defenses did not work.
The seemingly solid Shield Charm and protection spell shattered instantly.
That dragonfire was nothing like the dragonfire they knew.
Though it looked violent and blazing hot, it carried only eerie cold and dense, deathly stillness.