Chapter 476: The First Match

The competition won't begin until November 24, and until then Harry's days are miserable. He's envied by Ron Weasley, despised by Hufflepuff students, mocked by Slytherin students—especially Draco Malfoy, who even spares no expense to equip every Slytherin student with a changeable badge that can flip at will between "Support Saide Lǐkè—true Hogwarts warrior" and "Potter stinks like dung," depending on who they meet.

Bai Lang feels deep sympathy, but he would never bail out Harry Potter; he's interested in dragons and when he can face those De Mu Si Te Lang students—he thinks the changing‑room game must be super fun, and even though he's not a guy, that's fine, he doesn't mind temporarily posing as a big shot from Xin Ri Mu Li. "Fun first, hahahaha." Bai Lang's preferences are perfectly normal, so if he ends up with a Bu Si Ba Tong beauty, he doesn't mind at all—finally grown up.

For now he can only think about it—Hogwarts has never been a pure haven, and from the little secrets Bai Lang learned on his night‑runs, starting in seventh grade (or from sixth grade onward) there are quite a few "couples" who, under cover of night or when no one's watching, sneak into certain castle spots to conduct unspeakable acts, causing deaths and forced expulsions, which Bai Lang finds unsurprising—indeed many students seem to graduate and marry right away.

Fourth‑year seems too young?

In any case the clash peaked during Potions Class: Harry Potter and the now‑obviously envious Draco Malfoy got into a violent confrontation before class, and Hermione Granger had a bit of bad luck—Harry and Ron Weasley, thanks to Severus Snape's favoritism, were docked fifty points and forced to do night‑time detention labor. Fortunately Harry was taken away from the classroom—he had to go to the headmaster's office for a photo.

Bai Lang isn't clear on what happened, but the next day the Prophet's Daily Report described the three‑strong championship as essentially the same as roasting Harry over a fire—Bai Lang took the article as a rumor compendium, and after reading it Harry seemed ready to stuff his head into his own trousers. Harry also unofficially fell out with Ron Weasley, and Bai Lang saw them go nearly two weeks without a word, which only worsened Miss Hermione Granger's plight.

Hermione Granger came to Bai Lang, hoping he could devise a way to reconcile Harry and Ron Weasley. "I think outsiders probably can't… Hermione, you're much closer to them than I am; if you can't do it, I probably can't either. And they're two teenage boys— the more you force them to make up, the more they'll rebel. So let's drop it; maybe tomorrow, or some sudden event, will make them get along like one person."

Bai Lang nodded. "Believe me, Miss Hermione Granger, I'm a man too, I know their foolish natures." Hermione's nose twitched up. "Exactly! Foolish men." Then she left, and Bai Lang gave a few bitter smiles.

Until the Hogsmode trip, Harry still hadn't repaired relations with his classmates—Bai Lang never saw him appear at Hogsmode, of course Harry was probably using an invisibility cloak.

The competition is about to start, and Harry's situation looks grim—not nervous, but a fear that comes from knowing his opponent. "He knows it's a dragon, right?" Bai Lang muttered.

The warriors entered a tent on one side to draw lots, while Hogwarts and the visiting students from the other two schools took seats in a magically protected audience area. Soon they saw a Swedish Short‑nosed Dragon being led out with its egg. Then the pale‑faced Saide Lǐkè appeared, needing to snatch the golden egg from the dragon's nest. Almost everyone shouted, many of whom had never faced a dragon at such close range.

Bai Lang hummed, "What a weak creature, not even as good as Dio… no, not even my Hyena!" The Swedish Short‑nosed Dragon seemed only to guard its nest, not very combative. Saide Lǐkè only provoked a dragon's retaliation when approached, and the crowd screamed like chickens with broken necks, while Bai Lang scoffed— even Hermione was shrieking, and few seemed to notice Bai Lang's composure.

After a full fifteen minutes, Saide Lǐkè finally secured the golden egg. Next came the Bu Si Ba Tong beauty De La Ku Er, whose face was ashen, her silver hair turned gray‑white, but she was lucky—within ten minutes she stole the golden egg from beneath a Welsh Green Dragon's foot.

The third entrant was the Bulgarian King Wei Ke Tuo Bu Lu Mu, who also risked his life to snatch a golden egg from a Chinese Fireball Dragon—Bai Lang thought all three were weaklings, not even worthy of the term "bipedal flying dragon." Finally, of course, came Harry Potter, facing the biggest and strongest Hungarian Tree‑bee Dragon, low‑crouched and guarding its clutch of eggs, half‑folded wings, fierce yellow eyes locked on Harry. It was an enormous, scale‑covered lizard‑like beast, thrashing its spiked tail and leaving several‑meter‑long gouges in the hard ground.

Harry summoned his fire‑crossbow broom and began using aerial tricks to steal the egg. Harry Potter was wounded, but he kept goading the dragon, driving it into a blind‑fury. Meanwhile Bai Lang slipped silently through the magical shield onto the field. As the dragon took off to chase him, Harry accelerated into a dive and seized the golden egg—ear‑splitting cheers erupted from the stands. "Look!" Ba Ge Man shouted, "Everyone, look! Our youngest warrior grabbed the golden egg at lightning speed! This will narrow the gap between Mr. Potter and the other warriors!"

Suddenly the cheers stopped, as if cut by a knife, and the dragon's enraged roar became the only sound on the field.

Harry turned his head and saw Bai Lang standing in front of the dragon.

Bai Lang stood before the beast, squinting as he sized it up. "It's got a bit of presence, but that's about it." As he spoke, the Hungarian Tree‑bee Dragon's tail swung down heavily. Bai Lang sidestepped; the tail brushed his body and struck the ground, leaving a long crack. He lifted a leg and stomped on the tail.

The struck spot sank straight into the earth, and the Hungarian Tree‑bee Dragon let out a earth‑shaking, painful howl—its tail likely fractured. The dragon opened its mouth to breathe fire, but Bai Lang moved. Like a phantom he lunged forward with an explosive sound, and onlookers saw him thrust his foot, leap into the air, and punch the dragon's jaw. The blow cut off the dragon's breath and forced its head to snap back, nearly breaking its own neck.

"Killing her would cost a fortune… never mind." Bai Lang flipped onto the dragon's head, and as he landed he slapped the dragon's skull. With a low thud the Hungarian Tree‑bee collapsed, dead‑knocked. After landing, Bai Lang clapped his hands; his voice was soft but carried across the silent arena. "That dragon was really weak; next time let's see if we can take down the most dangerous Ukrainian Iron‑belly…"

A volcano erupted, and almost everyone shouted—defeating a Hungarian Tree‑bee with bare hands, no magic, as easy as killing a chicken? Is this even human? "Merlin's beard! Merlin's beard! What did I see!" Ba Ge Man's roar nearly shattered the heavens. Everyone's gaze at Bai Lang was now full of reverence—probably reverence. The Bu Si Ba Tong and De Mu Si Te Lang students seemed to stare at Bai Lang as if he were a monster.

"Hey, the dragon's not dead, so I guess I won't have to pay any compensation, right?" Bai Lang said, nodding. "Harry, the match continues."