Chapter 283: Lightning Strikes the Earth! As expected of an independent organizer, the stakes are high!
Oh my~ I can't help but wonder how these brave souls will manage to take down the dragon
Ethan's grin stretched wide, a glint of wicked amusement in his eyes.
Just then.
"You—have you lost your mind?!"
One of the Durmstrang champions bellowed, his voice cracking with fury.
He glared at Ethan, his weathered face draining of color.
"If you pull something like this, aren't you afraid of ending up in front of the Wizengamot?!"
Ethan tilted his head, his smile unfaltering. "First time's a thrill, second time's a skill. I've already had my debut, and I'm confident I'll be even sharper next round."
The burly champion choked on his words, his body rigid with shock.
A flicker of genuine fear crept into his eyes as he stared at Ethan.
"Hmm~ no need to fret too much," Ethan said softly, his tone almost tender.
"If you lot get completely wiped out, I'll just bring you back."
After all, isn't Dragon Quest a timeless classic?
"...Madman!!" The champion's eyes blazed with veins of crimson.
In a flash, he raised his wand, aiming straight at Ethan, and roared, "Stupefy—"
"Petrificus Totalus."
A spell, quicker than a heartbeat, struck him first.
With a sharp crack, he was locked in place, crashing to the ground like a felled tree.
"Oh dear," Ethan sighed, shaking his head. "You haven't even cleared the standard difficulty, and you're already itching for nightmare mode."
"Are you daft?"
A mocking voice rang out.
Viktor Krum and the others snapped their heads up, startled.
Their eyes met the gleeful smirks of the Weasley twins.
And the wands raised high in their hands.
Standing beside them was Harry Potter, the famed "Boy Who Lived."
Gone was his usual awkward, boyish charm; his face was etched with a grim, icy resolve.
It sent an involuntary shiver down their spines.
Such lightning-fast reflexes!
Only now did they piece together what had just happened.
What kind of training had they endured? Krum swallowed hard, his lips tightening as he gripped his wand tighter.
Ethan raised an eyebrow.
He glanced at the members of his Enlightenment Society.
Harry shot him a reassuring smile.
The Weasley twins flashed confident thumbs-ups.
Heh, well played, Barty.
The moment I step onto the field, chaos is guaranteed.
But to take me down with something this sloppy? You're not even close.
Ethan's lips curled into a sly smirk.
His gaze fell on the Durmstrang champion sprawled on the ground, eyes bloodshot with rage.
Before he could speak, Krum bowed his head, his voice low and heavy. "Sorry, Ethan. I swear there won't be a next time."
With that, he turned, his eyes flashing with a fierce glint.
He strode forward and, with a single brutal kick, sent his teammate tumbling off the platform.
The stands erupted into chaos!
Headmaster Karkaroff sneered. "Hmph. Useless. Just dead weight for Krum."
"So," Ethan said, steering the conversation back with a grin, "I'm eager to see everyone strut their stuff!"
With that, he leaned back.
His figure vanished into the shadowed archway.
Revealing a pair of glowing crimson eyes behind him.
"It's here!"
Fred Weasley let out a low, excited shout, flames dancing in his eyes.
"Let's show them Hogwarts' finest!"
"Firebolt! Nimbus 2000! Accio!"
Three voices rang out in near-perfect unison.
In the stands, students exchanged bewildered glances.
Until Cedric Diggory, eyes wide with excitement, pointed skyward and yelled, "Look! Flying broomsticks!"
Gasps rippled through the crowd as three black specks grew larger, streaking toward them from the horizon.
"Super long-distance Summoning Charm! Masterful control!"
Professor Filius Flitwick, the Charms master, practically bounced in his seat.
"Gryffindor, thirty points!"
Even the other champions couldn't hide their awe.
"Aerial combat…" Krum muttered, impressed. "Bold. Creative."
"But summoning brooms alone won't cut it!"
As if on cue—
[Roar—!]
A deafening bellow shook the arena.
The Hungarian Horntail flicked its massive head, swatting the three broomsticks aside like flies.
"My Firebolt!" Harry wailed, clutching his chest.
Sirius' birthday gift—gone!
He lunged forward, but the twins yanked him back.
His eyes locked on the crimson lightning spear hovering menacingly above.
"Bro—" Harry started.
"RUN! Protego!"
The spear plummeted.
Buzz.
Time seemed to freeze.
The champions were hurled skyward, spinning like pebbles in a storm.
Crimson light swallowed everything.
Silence—absolute, suffocating.
Then—
BOOM!
A cataclysmic roar tore through the arena.
Smoke and debris exploded outward like a tidal wave.
"Harry!"
Hermione Granger leaned desperately over the railing, scanning the wall of smoke for her best friend.
But it was hopeless.
A thundercloud had detonated on the ground.
Nothing was visible.
Gulp.
The wizards maintaining the protective barrier felt their throats tighten, blood surging in their veins.
Such devastating power!
"Oh no! The barrier's failing—!"
Before the cry finished, a torrent of magic surged into the shield.
Like invisible hands, it steadied their faltering bodies.
"It's Ethan! He's here!"
Hope flared in the wizards' eyes, color returning to their ashen faces.
Ethan's palm pressed against the barrier.
Golden magic coursed over him, swirling like phoenixes in flight.
The sheer force made his cobalt eyes gleam with molten gold.
"So strong…" the wizards whispered, awestruck.
A spark of resolve ignited within them. Gritting their teeth, they poured more power into the shield.
They were grown wizards—they wouldn't be outdone by a student!
"Hold fast!"
Ethan paid no mind to the reinvigorated defenders.
His gaze pierced the smoke-choked arena.
He murmured, almost to himself, "Let's see what you're truly capable of when your backs are against the wall."
Inside the arena, the haze began to thin.
The Beauxbatons team lay scattered, groaning.
Two Durmstrang champions knelt in a crumpled stone wall—hastily Transfigured for cover—coughing violently.
"So… numb…"
The Weasley twins curled into balls, crimson sparks crackling across their skin.
It didn't hurt, exactly.
More like the pins-and-needles of a limb asleep for hours.
Every nerve screamed with unbearable tingling.
"Cough, cough!"
Harry propped himself up, casting a quick Scourgify on his soot-streaked glasses.
He stared at his trembling hand, stunned. "I'm… actually still alive?"
"Yeah," the twins groaned, their faces twisted comically.
They barely dared to twitch.
"Ethan went easy on us. Barely."
They craned their necks toward the dragon, looming like a mountain.
A grim thought crept in:
If they could survive one lightning strike… what about two? Three?
George frowned. "This lightning's laced with a stacking curse… No surprise from an independent organizer. The stakes are brutal."
They couldn't help but wonder:
What would happen when the curses fully stacked and detonated?
"Oh! There's our brooms!"
Fred's shout broke the tension.
"They're right by the dragon's claw! Perfect—let's grab 'em!"
George snorted. "Yeah, and get squashed into jam."
"Ugh—this is just the warm-up!"
Even the Weasley twins, masters of improvisation, were stumped.
"I… might have an idea," Harry said, hesitant.
He glanced at the equally battered champions from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, then steeled himself.
"We team up. All three schools."
No way could Hogwarts clear this alone.
They'd need every wand, every mind.
…Maybe that was Ethan's game all along.
Why else pit all the champions together?
Harry instinctively turned, hoping to catch Ethan's expression through the smoke.
But the haze was too thick.
Nothing.