Harry, Ron, and Hermione stayed behind to watch the match, which was still the result of their begging because Professor McGonagall kept urging them to go to the makeshift tent to receive treatment.
“I’m fine, Professor McGonagall.” Harry said, at this point he took the Essence of Dittany from Hermione’s hand and applied it to his wound, the bleeding quickly stopped.
Professor McGonagall pursed her lips and stared at him for a few moments, and while she did so, Harry hurriedly lowered his head and chanted a healing spell on himself – one of the spells he had learned, as Professor Hap hinted that some basic spells would be used as promotion criteria in their new school year – and he felt an itch in his wound, and he couldn’t resist reaching out to touch it; that when Professor McGonagall’s stern gaze glanced over again, so he had to put his hand down, while Ron laughed out loud from the sidelines.
“Well, after watching the competition, you … have to go to Madam Pomfrey’s for an examination, OK?” Professor McGonagall said, glancing at Ron and Hermione, who didn’t look half hurt except for the dirty, dusty look on their bodies and faces.
Harry reassured her again and again before Professor McGonagall left, at that point, Harry noticed his wounds had tightened up.
“I’ve never noticed such a useful spell.” Harry said in amazement.
“Oh, this spell can only treat some small wounds, and if you are planning to become a healer, you would realize that there are so many things to learn.” Hermione said as she tucked the vial with the Essence of Dittany into her pocket.
“Who in their right mind would want to become a healer?” Ron muttered, then he noticed both Harry and Hermione looking at him: “I mean, you have to deal with a lot of weird cases every day … I should have told you guys that Bill had a pen pal from Brazil when he was in school, and because he couldn’t afford to pay for a visit, the pen pal sent him a hat with a curse on it … Anyway, his ears wrinkled more than a house-elf and Mom had to take him on a trip to the hospital … I was five or six at the time, St. Mungo’s made a big impression on me that time, which I still remember.”
He frowned, a look of disgust heaped on his face.
“I remember the wizard. … The man with an extra arm on his chest, the witch who thought she was a kangaroo and could only jump – how strange, there are no kangaroos in England! I also remember an unlucky man whose chest was pierced by some sort of creature, the wound kept bleeding, and when the healer cleaned him, the smell was awful uhh …”
Harry and Hermione who listened felt some psychological discomfort.
When the competition ended, Professor McGonagall’s imposing gaze immediately looked over, without waiting for the three to react, she appeared next to them as if she had used an Apparition, and immediately walked them to the temporary tent quietly.
“Potter,” Harry turned his head as he heard Professor McGonagall addressing them, “Granger and Weasley, … you guys did a great job!” She pursed her lips and said in a surprisingly gentle tone, “Go to the tent, Madam Pomfrey is waiting for you … maybe you can get back in time before the judge scoring.”
As they passed the grandstand, the crowd called out their names enthusiastically, and a huge arm dangled from the stand, and it was Hagrid, who said excitedly, “You did it! Excellent, you faced the most ferocious Hungarian Horntail–”
Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s faces blossomed with a smile, and they took turns to high-five Hagrid, then Ron said as he felt like he was floating, “Oh … it wasn’t really that hard …”
At the makeshift wooden gate, Sirius excitedly swooped them up and gave them a hug.
“You guys are the best team I’ve ever seen!”
…
Meanwhile, a heated discussion is going on in the judges’ gallery on the high platform, as the seven judges exchange opinions on the performance of the six teams.
“Isn’t the Swedish Short-Snout Dragon a little too weak?” Karkaroff questioned.
“Not at all-” Bagman countered, “You saw it! Its flames melted the special chains made by the dragon sanctuary, and it has to be the strongest of all dragons … Felix, you’re the safety officer and the one who has the best view from high up, so tell them!”
He asked Felix, as the last line of defense, although Felix does not have the power to score, but he got invited over, in the name of “providing details that others can not see.”
“Actually, except for the Hungarian Horntail, the other five dragons are pretty much equal,” Felix said, scratching his chin, “If you insist on comparing them, the Swedish Short-Snout Dragon is considered more superior, at least its flame is extremely hot… … From what I’ve seen, everyone on the team has done their respective tasks brilliantly.”
“Cedric Diggory’s weather magic made the dragon violent and irrational, as evident by the fact that it later broke free and chose to scatter the rain clouds first instead of attacking the champions… Roger Davies also launched his trap with great timing, and disillusionment charm isn’t his best forte, so in order to avoid being discovered, he didn’t move much in the early stages, but his role in the team was crucial-”
Felix smiled and said, “He belonged to the rescue and backup role.”
“If the Dragon went berserk and attacked Diggory, Davies had to step in decisively to restrain it, and he deserves credit for what he has done in that sticky situation, where he spawned the Blackthorn … with a brilliant Herbivicus Charm just as the Dragon flew off the ground … As for Collins Foley, she didn’t make many moves, but you should be able to see the patience, courage, and trust she showed in her teammates throughout the competition, as she crouched under the feet of that Swedish Short-Snout Dragon for at least two minutes, and a slight accident in the middle would probably have prevented her from escaping.”
None of the judges in the room lacked eyesight, and Felix was just putting the facts out there.
They quickly finished their discussion and prepared to score, when Felix suddenly spoke up, “The purpose of the competition is to select the best young wizards from different schools, by allowing them to compete on the same stage, participate in the trials, with the hope that they will show the courage that wizards respect in difficult tasks… Judges, I suggest that When giving specific scores, it would be best for the judges to comment on a few things, and let the champions be aware of their strengths and weaknesses …”
The judges looked at each other blankly.
“Wouldn’t it be too much of a drag?” Bagman said with some bewilderment, “We have had no plans for this process … However, it is not impossible …”
“As a Headmaster, I certainly want to see the champions to gain something during this year.” Dumbledore said with a smile.
Fudge looked at the other judges with a hesitant expression, “What do you think?”
” It’s a good idea.” Madame Maxime stated as she didn’t find anything wrong with it, instead, she found it very encouraging.
“I also acknowledge this proposal. Uagadou’s students should know their shortcomings to not make the same mistakes a second time.” The Headmistress of Uagadou, the slim, lean witch stated, sitting cross-legged on a flying carpet as if she had stepped out of a comic book.
In fact, the British Ministry of Magic had banned the creation and sale of flying carpets, but she merely used it herself and is a foreigner, so Fudge pretended not to see it.
“Your remarks are wise, Ms. Nagy.” Felix slightly bowed.
One by one, judges agreed, and they retook their seats at the judges’ table, ready to score. Felix left the high platform as he smiled at Karkaroff – who didn’t look that happy.
“Ahem! Silence-” Bagman said loudly as the crowd in the grandstand gradually quieted down, “Next up is the judges’ scoring, and in order for the champions to know more than just a score bestowed upon them, each judge will give some impartial comments.”
“Please allow me to recap the entire competition first. As a matter of fact, many of you may not have had a chance to get a glimpse of the whole tournament, after all, there were too many exciting images for your eyes to take in … Now I will mention the team in the order they obtained the dragon egg.”
“The first team that I would like to mention is the champions from Hogwarts, Cedric Diggory, Roger Davies, and Collins Foley, who picked up the Dragon Egg in the shortest possible time and defeated the Dragon without suffering any injuries.
The second team that got the dragon egg was the Uagadou’s champions, Nona Leibert brought out the dragon egg with a wonderful leopard transfiguration, but of course, their strategy was a bit aggressive, which leads a team member to get trapped by the dragon, resulting in the safety officer interfering in the competition, which might be a minus point. Nevertheless, they still showed us a great game.
The third team that got the dragon egg, also from Hogwarts, is the youngest, still in the fourth year, but they performed very well, they are the only two teams that got the dragon egg as well as successfully got away from the dragon.
The fourth team to get the dragon egg was Durmstrang, although they only managed to grab a few pieces.
the fifth team to get the dragon egg was Beauxbatons, Miss Delacour was so courageous that she threw the Dragon Egg to her teammates at the most critical moment, but got into trouble herself and had to use the safety officer’s protection.
The last team is Ilvermorny, uh, they didn’t get the dragon egg, but it’s a matter of tactics, and their compound magic is still very eye-catching …”
Bagman gave a general overview of the six teams’ performance, allowing the audience to replay it in their minds as they talked about it. At this time, the champions from the background came back one by one, and after waiting for a while, he said in a loud voice, “So, please let’s request the judges to score the first team!”
Harry squinted at the judges’ gallery, and the first judge, Madame Maxime, raised her wand, and a long ribbon-like strand emerged from the tip, twisting to form a number “10”.
Madame Maxime commented, “This Hogwarts team fully demonstrated the qualities that champions must have – courage, wisdom, loyalty, trust – and for this trial, their performance was impeccable, so I give them ten points.”
Her fair statement earned her a round of applause.
“Maybe they’ll get a perfect score.” Ron clapped his hands and said as the sixth judge also gave a ten, “I hope we’re not too far behind, by all accounts, we didn’t do that badly, did we?”
Harry nodded vigorously while looking at the last judge, as Karkaroff slowly raised his wand and a silver ribbon twisted to form the number “7”.
Everyone in the audience looked a little confused and couldn’t believe their eyes. They were all ready to welcome the first team with a perfect score, but now it all turned out to be a shame, the number seven is so blinding.
“Karkaroff …” on the high platform, Bagman looked at him hesitantly.
Karkaroff said in his characteristic mellow, greasy voice: ” What you see as courage, I see as recklessness, there was no need for them to knock out that dragon, it would have been a potential danger …”
But before he could finish his sentence, someone in the crowd shouted, “Bollocks!” Seamus was the one who shouted, Karkaroff’s icy gaze glanced over, but Seamus bravely met his eyes and shouted at the top of his lungs, “Everyone understood what was going on, that was the best option at the time!”
A chorus of approving voices echoed to his point.
“I stand by my opinion.” Karkaroff said.
“Well,” Bagman grunted twice, “each judge has the right to score independently … This gives Hogwarts a total of 67 points for this team, which temporarily ranks them as first, and I believe the latter will have a hard time catching up, but it’s not certain … let’s continue …”
…
Ultimately, Harry and his team got 61 points and ranked second – Ludo Bagman enthusiastically praised the youngest champions and gave full marks without mincing words. Uagadou’s Champions got 53 points and ranked third; Durmstrang got 50 points and ranked fourth; Beauxbatons got 48 points and ranked fifth, and finally, Ilvermorny got 23 points.
What has become more controversial is the ranking of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, as no one expected that while a group of judges gave six or seven points, Karkaroff shamelessly raised ten points, which drew an uproar.
You know, although Bagman gave Harry’s team a 10 points, but it was also under the circumstances where a group of nine points was given as a base, although it was abrupt, but it was not a big problem, it only showed that Bagman especially favoured the young and controversial champions, while what Karkaroff did was blatant cheating.
After the scoring was over, the champions and judges regrouped in the makeshift tent and waited to receive information about the second trial. Felix prepared to leave when Bagman enthusiastically stopped him, “Don’t rush off, Felix, there’s something I want to discuss with you …”
Outside, the sound of passing footsteps and discussions continued as Harry sat on the side, dazed with boredom – after escaping from the feet of the dragon, he now felt all lazy.
“… that eccentric old bat, he gave his school champions ten points, ten points! Ha, shouldn’t a broken dragon egg require a deduction?”
“If I were him, I would be too ashamed to see anyone!”
The sound of heated conversation boomed from outside, and Harry looked up, blinking twice as he recognized the two voices as Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas. He wondered if his two roommates were deliberately snarky since Karkaroff had only given their team a six.
In the tent, Karkaroff’s face turned blue, but he held back from saying a word as a bunch of strange stares were directed at him.
Felix smacked his lips: “Although it’s normal for the headmaster to favour his champions, it’s still rare for ‘favouritism’ to reach this level … Maybe the scoring rules should be made more transparent.”
“We will seriously consider it.” Bagman immediately said cooperatively.
Ten minutes later, the sound of footsteps outside became sparse, and the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, stood up and rubbed his stomach, the jewelled ring on his thick fingers shining brightly. As he said enthusiastically, “I would like to congratulate all the champions for passing the first trial, I noticed that some teams did not do well, but there are still some more opportunities to do so later … I will introduce the second trial, originally it was intended for Barty to be here, but he took a long leave, probably because he was too tired from working on two big successive projects, so I have to postpone the meeting with the Austrian Minister of Magic …”
No one showed much interest in his boring work log, but he still spoke for the full ten minutes, from the Austrian Minister of Magic’s bizarre oral fetish to the head of the Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers’s crucible teapot – he seemed to be trying to add a little humour in his speech, but apparently failed to do so.
“Kingsley!” He shouted.
A tall, dark-skinned man came in from outside the tent, holding two golden eggs, one in each hand.
“The second trial will be held on the morning of February 24 of the coming year, so you can rest for a while till then.” Fudge said, “The golden eggs you are holding are the clues to the second trial, see the crack? They can be opened, you need to decode the message that was left inside, and to be honest, I’m not sure whether I’ll be here when the second trial takes place, maybe by then Barty will be recuperated, but I might come over to get together, and feel younger with the best group of international wizards … ”
He waved his hand, and Kingsley controlled the two golden eggs as they flew toward the Durmstrang and Ilvermorny’s Champions.
When Krum and Byers received the golden egg, both of them had a somewhat ashamed expression. Among the six teams, they were the only ones who failed to get their intact dragon egg.
“Ludo, I’ll leave the rest to you.” Fudge said to Bagman, who nodded toward the crowd, “Sorry, there’s too much going on in the ministry, I’ll go first.”
When everyone else had left, Ludo Bagman finally had time to speak with Felix alone, then he pulled over a chair and sat down next to Felix’s single couch.
“There are two things that concern you.” He said impatiently, “The first matter involves unique magic of yours, and I would like to inquire about its effects, which may be used in a second trail … The second matter is about your ‘Future World’ company. ”
Felix froze and looked at him with probing eyes, “Have you approached Remus? He’s in charge of the company now.”
“Approached,” Bagman’s face looked a bit saddened: “But he said he couldn’t decide it, so I had to come and request you …”
“Do you want me to donate a sum of money?”
“Oh, no, of course not, I heard that Remus is organizing people to develop projection technology? As you know, Barty took a leave of absence, and now the burden is totally on me, so I have to do some brave innovations in order to make the tournament more enjoyable. That’s part of the valor, don’t you think?”
Felix thought quickly.
He knew about the projection technology, and he was the one who had scheduled it, drawing inspiration from the Omnioculars that had been used in the Quidditch World Cup, a gadget that utilized a very interesting kind of magic to temporarily store images.
Felix’s requirement for the Future World research team is to imitate the function of television and make something similar. He mentioned some concepts of signal towers and transmitters, moreover, there is a magic radio for reference, the progress is not slow, but exactly how far that has reached, he did not have time to ask those detailed questions.
“Don’t be in a hurry to refuse,” Bagman looked at Felix in deep thought, couldn’t help but say: “It will be an excellent advertisement, and the Ministry promised to pay a rent, of course …it’s not possible to buy it out, the Budget I control is limited.”
“If it’s a normal business deal, I can’t think of a reason why Remus would refuse.” Felix said slowly.
“Ahem, he thought I was a loudmouth, so he was trying to keep the progress of the research a secret …” Bagman looked away awkwardly.
“Well, I’ll ask for you.”
“So the first thing is …” Bagman explained in detail.
After a moment of consideration –
“I think this is the kind of competition that would be entertaining enough for me.” Felix said with his arms clasped as his eyes lit up.
————-
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