On the Quidditch pitch, now empty of spectators, only the representatives of the wizarding schools stood side by side in rows of four.
Beneath a platform were dozens of dragon eggs of various colors, sizes and shapes. There were four eggs of each race. They were especially eye-catching in the afternoon sunlight, drawing the attention of all the participants.
Everyone looked at the eggs like children who are about to receive their favorite toy. Sometime in their childhood, because of stories about princes, princesses, and dragons, a child had wished to have a dragon and ride on it.
At that moment, these seventeen or eighteen-year-olds seemed no different from children. Since Dumbledore's early morning warning, each of them couldn't wait to get their dragon egg.
Observing the anxiety in the eyes of each contestant, Dumbledore laughed and with a wave of his wand, a purple-looking box flew out of the small pouch at his waist and stopped in front of the platform, hovering calmly in the air.
"Inside this box are numerous tickets, each ticket bearing the name of a dragon race. All you have to do is take a ticket and the egg that's written on the glitter." Dumbledore spoke, his voice very warm, like the late afternoon sun.
"From the first row to the last, please step forward." Dumbledore looked at the first row, the champions of the first round, and nodded to his student, Rose.
The girl seemed more than excited, something he couldn't understand. She was a special class witch, how could she get excited about a slightly larger lizard?
Rose was the first, she appeared on the platform almost instantly. No one noticed, but her eyes seemed to glow with a faint, almost imperceptible light.
With a sly smile on her lips, her hand dipped into the box, rummaged around for a moment, and when she pulled it out, there was a blank note between her fingers.
The note read - Ukrainian Ironbelly.
Looking at the paper, Dumbledore waved his wand and a silver egg with a spine on top flew straight into Rose's hand, a broad smile on her lips.
Back in line, Rose whispered a few words to Cedric and Luna, who looked at their teammate strangely, Cedric in particular giving her an accusing look.
The second of the Hogwarts team was Asterion, who quickly took a piece of paper with the dragon's name on it and showed it to Dumbledore - Hedridean Black.
It was an egg with pale green and purple stripes. It was smaller than Rose's Ironbelly and looked more like a fruit than a dragon egg.
Looking at the egg in his hand, Asterion felt strange, it felt different from Nidhogg, which was normal considering his dragon was an infinitely more powerful cursed spirit.
However, unlike Nidhogg, the dragon egg in his hand seemed alive and had a warmth that was transferred by the touch of his hand.
After Asterion, Cedric climbed onto the platform and pulled out a piece of paper with the dragon's name on it - Hungarian Horntail.
Cedric's face contorted at the sight of the name, and he couldn't help but look at Rose with a look of frustration and helplessness. He knew that cheating would never make up for luck!
Now he had the most aggressive of all dragons on his hands. Cedric looked at Dumbledore with a pleading expression. "Can I trade?"
"What do you mean?" Dumbledore didn't answer and returned the question to the young Hufflepuff representative. There was an amused smile on the man's lips.
Cedric had a dejected look on his face, while all the other representatives seemed happy. So far, Hogwarts had captured almost all of the most aggressive dragons in the world. This was more than good news for them.
Back in line, Cedric looked at Rose with a dejected look full of sadness.
"It wasn't my fault, who told you to stick your hand in deeper than necessary? It was as easy as sticking your hand in and grabbing the first piece of paper it touched." Rose whispered back as she shrugged her shoulders.
Luna looked at Cedric and then at Rose and then at Asterion. There was a look of helplessness on her delicate face. She knew she was going to get one of the lazy ones. It was inevitable, almost as if this damned dragon was meant for her. With a weary sigh, Luna made her way to the platform where the dragon eggs were kept. Once there, she reached into the box and pulled out a piece of paper with the name - Swedish Short-Snout.
Seeing the name, another sigh escaped the girl's lips, she looked at the silver-white egg in her hands and returned to the line with a sad expression on her face.
Meanwhile, the Hogwarts team had received all of their dragon eggs. Apart from Rose and Asterion, Cedric looked extremely sad, while Luna exuded a decadent aura.
The other team captains couldn't help but smile. Being the first team to choose was not an advantage, but a disadvantage. The number of dragon eggs was too high at the moment. The chance of catching an aggressive dragon was much higher.
Like Hogwarts at the moment, all four members had more aggressive dragons, even if Luna's wasn't as much, but a dragon was a dragon.
Cedric's face showed a look of shame as he felt a cold, murderous stare coming from the French team. It was the girl he had knocked out with a Confundus. It wasn't the attitude of a dignified man, but the circumstances at that time could speak for him.
However, he wasn't proud of what he had done, attacking a woman behind her back. After the Game of Kings, he received letters from his father for a few nights.
All the dragon egg selections had begun to work normally, the French team was next, and apart from Fleur and Sophie, who got the most docile dragons in the magical world, the other two got rather temperamental dragons like Hungarian Horntail and Hedridean Black.
Looking at the Antipodean Opaleye egg in her arms, a smile appeared on Fleur's lips, she looked at the Hogwarts team and smiled amiably.
She and Sophie had taken Opaleye eggs, the most docile dragons, something she would use in an exemplary way.
Asterion nodded back at the beautiful young woman with a calm expression. For him, it didn't matter which dragon he took, it would be controlled by the parasite he had created.
Suddenly, he heard Cedric's whisper. "Every time Fleur looks at us, I feel a shiver run through my body. She's scary."
Asterion rolled his eyes, although the Veela Charm was scary, as long as you blocked Fleur's charm, you'd practically lose a layer of protection.
Of course, Fleur Delacour wasn't weak, far from it, with her expanding domain, she could almost sweep the whole tournament by herself. But subconsciously, everyone ignored this fact and only cared about Veela's Charm.
All the other teams also picked up their respective dragon eggs, some looked happy, others the complete opposite.
Seeing that all the dragon eggs had been distributed, Dumbledore spoke again. "Bear in mind that how you hatch the dragons is entirely up to you, any outside help other than your own knowledge is forbidden. If you are caught, you will be disqualified from the Second Trial."
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Next Chapter Second Volume: Chapter 187 - Second Test of the International Tournament of Witchcraft and Wizardry (5), Chapter 188 - Asterion & Daphne (R-18), Chapter 189 - Asterion & Daphne, Chapter 190 - How to Train Your Dragon (1), Chapter 191 - How to Train Your Dragon (2), Chapter 192 - How to Train Your Dragon (3), Chapter 193 - How to Train Your Dragon (4), Chapter 194 - How to Train Your Dragon (5), Chapter 195 - Dragon Race (1), Chapter 196 - Dragon Race (2), Chapter 197 - Dragon Race (3), Chapter 198 - Dragon Race (4), Chapter 199 - Dragon Race (5), Chapter 200 - Dragon Race (6), Chapter 201 - Dragon Race (7), Chapter 202 - Dragon Race (8).