The Cupboard Series 4: The Fourth School

Chapter 23

Both students and staff of Diricawl Academy of Magic stayed up much later than what was considered normal in the manor the night of the First Task of the TriWizard Tournament. Every single one of them were eager to hear what had happened at Hogwarts that day, be it the results of the three Champions or if the fourth person had turned up in the hope of competing and keeping their magic.

Their hopes, though, were in vain: Amelia Bones, who'd promised to come over that night to give them all the details, failed to show up.

It was unsurprising, then, that the breakfast table was full earlier than usual. It was also unsurprising that a crowd quickly gathered around the copy of The Daily Prophet the instant that it turned up.

What was surprising, though, was the contents of that paper.

-oOoOo-

Potter Imposter Incites Dragon Rampage

by Markus Waynesbury

Yesterday marked the day that the First Task of the TriWizard Tournament was held at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This day should have been a day filled with challenges, extraordinary magical deeds and daring bravery. And indeed, that is exactly what the spectators received. The only difference being that they expected to be watching it, not participating in it themselves, with devastating results.

The First Task consisted of each Champion facing off against a dragon in an effort to collect a magical golden egg from the nest of a nesting mother. It was the fourth 'Champion', though, that caused an exciting event to change into a horrifying nightmare for everyone when he set loose an enraged Hungarian Horntail on the spectators.

This 'Champion', who The Daily Prophet can exclusively confirm was Death Eater Bartemius Crouch Junior, polyjuiced to look like Harry Potter, failed abysmally at the set Task.

After arriving late and convincing the judges that he was in fact The-Boy-Who-Lived-Again come to compete, Crouch took on a Hungarian Horntail. His tactics of broomstick flying while disillusioned failed from the start when the dragon set his broom on fire, causing him to fall to the ground, where his disillusionment charm failed.

Crouch's tactic then appeared to be to subdue the dragon with superior fire power. This approach failed spectacularly when his confingo curse impacted the dragon's eggs, obliterating them and enraging the most dangerous type of dragon known to wizards.

The enraged dragon captured Crouch and tore him in two, leaving him for dead. Unfortunately, though, Crouch was able to manage one final piece of magic: unlocking the dragon's shackles.

For the next forty minutes, the spectators were terrorised by an unrestrained, incensed dragon who took her revenge on the wizarding population in attendance. With relative ease, she tore down stands full of people. Dragon fire spread through those few remaining stands, engulfing adult and student alike.

This reporter witnessed countless acts of true heroism and sacrifice in that short span of time: friends pushing friends out of the way of dragon fire; children pulling adults from the rubble of the stands; former Hogwarts' groundskeeper and current dragon keeper, Rubeus Hagrid deliberately drawing the enraged dragon's attention to himself and away from a group of terrified students.

By the time the Horntail was subdued and consequently killed by a team of forty-five dragon handlers, teachers and other like-minded citizens, the death toll had reached thirty-seven. Another two hundred and six were reported injured by the dragon's rampage; eight of whom are considered to be in critical condition.

This reporter can only thank those brave witches and wizards who put their very lives on the line to save the rest of us from certain death. To the numerous Healers who responded, we salute you. And to all those who are touched by this tragedy, know that we grieve with you.