Ivan looked around, listening to the cheers and shouts of the crowd, and his lips curled into a smile. He raised his golden cup high and gestured to the crowd, then patted the dust off his robe and strode towards the exit…
Bagman watched Ivan's retreating back from the podium. For a moment, he forgot to comment and stood frozen in place, remembering Ivan's words in the tent.
[The joy of life is in the challenge, and I'm very glad to have chosen the most difficult dragon to deal with!]
The blonde wizard's confident words seemed to echo in Bagman's ears.
At that time, he thought that it was just someone shamelessly boasting. Now, it seemed that the other party was looking for him to cheat. Perhaps they really just wanted to challenge the strongest dragon!
No… I'm afraid that's not all!
Bagman turned his attention to the seemingly feeble Norwegian Ridgeback lying in the middle of the paddock, but did not dare to take it lightly, for the ferocity of the battle had clearly shown how cunning and powerful the creature was.
Bagman even suspected that he might not have been able to get his hands on the dragon egg under Norbert's protection, given how clever the dragon was!
By the same token, it would be worse if any of the other champions were to face this monster. If something unexpected were to happen, the Dragon Tamers might not be able to salvage the situation in time.
As such, Bagman believed that Ivan must have been worried that his best friend, Harry, would pick the Norwegian Ridgeback, in addition to his passion for pushing his limits.
Bagman's imagination ran wild for a while, but when he realised that the situation had suddenly become clear, he cursed himself for having thought so darkly of such an upright young wizard, whose past achievements would never lie!
As he thought about it, Bagman picked up his quill and began to write down the scores on the wooden board.
Ivan was already out of the paddock, and he did not forget to remove the giant chain that bound Norbert so that no one would notice.
After turning down a path, Ivan arrived at the resting area for the champions.
"That was a hell of a fight, Ivan!" Harry exclaimed as he came up to him, his right fist hammering Ivan's shoulder.
The intensity of the battle was far beyond his imagination. Just looking at it from afar made Harry's blood boil!
"Ha… don't praise me like that. I saw your game too. You flew very well!" Ivan said, patting him on the shoulder with a smile.
Fleur looked at Ivan with interest, her bright eyes shining.
The only one who had a dark expression on his face was Krum. When Ivan got the golden egg, he knew that he was definitely going to be last!
After exchanging a few words with Harry, Ivan was exhausted. Fighting a dragon for almost half an hour was tiring, even if it was just acting!
However, before he could sit down and rest, there was a flurry of footsteps outside the tent, and a few seconds later, the tent flap was pulled open, and Ivan turned to see Hermione.
"Ivan!" The young witch looked around and spotted Ivan. She hurried over and bumped into him.
Ivan was knocked back a few steps, and his hands instinctively wrapped around Hermione, who had fallen into his arms.
Wrapping her arms around his thin waist, they held each other so tightly that Ivan could feel Hermione's heart race and her body tremble.
However, this intimacy did not last long, as Hermione soon realised that she and Ivan were not alone in the lounge.
Although she was reluctant to part with him, she was not thick-skinned enough to ignore his gaze, so after hugging him for half a minute, she gently broke away and looked around.
Sure enough, Harry and Fleur were both looking at her with amused, knowing smiles on their faces. Krum, on the other hand, had a sour expression on his face, which she presumed was due to his injuries.
Their stares made Hermione feel ill at ease, and for a moment she did not know where to look with her brown eyes. In the end, she could only stare at Ivan and take it out on him, so as not to be too embarrassed.
"What a risk you took! Yvonne! You should have dodged the Norwegian Ridgeback when it breathed fire. What if your magic hadn't held and you'd been burned? And you shouldn't have risked riding the dragon when it charged…"
At first, Hermione tried to ease the awkward atmosphere, but the more she spoke, the more angry she became, and the more frightened she became.
Ivan noticed this, of course, and felt sorry for him. He did not mention his fight with Norbert to anyone, just to be on the safe side.
Thinking about it now, it was indeed a lack of consideration that would make those who cared about them worry for nothing.
However, since the game was over, Ivan could not explain, so he pretended to be relaxed and spoke.
"All right! Hermione … didn't I tell you? It's no trouble for me to tame a dragon … look, I'm not even hurt!"
The little witch looked Ivan up and down suspiciously for a while. As Ivan had said, there was not a scratch on his robe, let alone a trace of blood.
It was clear that Yvonne had fought with ease and had not been in any real danger, or she would not have been able to keep her clothes tidy.
Seeing this, Hermione stopped complaining and recalled Ivan's calm demeanor when he faced the dragon in the paddock. She blushed and stared at Ivan with her brown eyes. After a while, she whispered, "Yes, I saw it. It was amazing!"
Even though Ivan had heard too many cheers on the pitch, Hermione's praise was always different, and he enjoyed it, a smile on his lips.
Hermione was not the only one who came to see the champions; some Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students came running into the small tent.
Yvonne also found Ron among them, but he seemed too scared to come forward, his expression unreadable…