Chapter 443: Scores Revealed
Chapter 443: Scores Revealed
"Krum's shark transformation, and he suggested cooperation with the other schools—" Karkaroff said eagerly.
"I must remind you, Karkaroff", Bagman said in a shrill voice, "the suggestion for cooperation came from two people: Krum from Durmstrang found Ilvermorny, and Diggory from Hogwarts contacted Beauxbatons and Wagadu."
"But Krum was the first to think of it, wasn't he?" Karkaroff said smoothly.
"That's true, but his two teammates were captured by the merpeople, leaving him alone and at a disadvantage. What else could he do but cooperate?"
Dumbledore nodded slightly and said calmly, "At least we can confirm one thing: both champions proposed cooperation, which is the behavior we advocate. They should receive bonus points."
"Potter's approach to taming the Spectrafish was quite clever..."
"It was certainly impressive, but it shouldn't count as a bonus."
"Why not?"
"Gentlemen, our competition is not about who performs the most visually appealing actions, but about the valuable qualities they demonstrate during the process."
"Isn't breaking conventions also something to be encouraged?"
Seeing another argument about to break out, the judges put the issue aside, and Felix asked, "Who was the first to collect all the golden gems? I was underwater and couldn't see clearly."
Bagman immediately said, "Potter. He had a significant early lead. When others had only gathered two or three, he had already found five. Both Potter and Krum are excellent Seekers with remarkable dynamic vision. Krum's only drawback was his slow movement speed; he had to swim with his legs..."
"Granger came in second, almost simultaneously with Potter. Hermione Granger discovered the secret of the checkpoint layout, which made her collection very efficient."
"This is suspicious; perhaps someone cheated", Karkaroff said.
"Give it a rest", Bagman said irritably, "she solved the blue checkpoint faster than anyone else. She excels at this, and you can't deny it!"
"Let's continue", Dumbledore said cheerfully, "by the way, Hermione Granger is indeed very intelligent, and her expertise in certain subjects rivals that of graduates."
The judges continued their discussion—
"Ilvermorny collected the most Alchemy Items and used the Water Spout Magic together, securing enough time—"
"Potter's Patronus was also crucial."
"Wagadu's gesture casting was unique, and the final Partial Animagus Transformation helped everyone break out of the merpeople camp."
"Yes, and they even broke two pillars, which infuriated the merpeople."
"But we can't deny the effectiveness..."
"Ladies and gentlemen, you've overlooked one point", Madame Maxime said, pursing her lips, "only two teams had no members captured by the merpeople throughout the challenge. One of them was Beauxbatons, and Fleur, as the team leader, bravely accepted the invitation to rescue others. Her spirit is commendable."
"Madame Maxime", Karkaroff said sternly, "Miss Delacour's spirit is indeed praiseworthy, but the other two champions weren't captured because they moved too slowly... just a bit faster than the last place, which allowed them to avoid the merpeople's pursuit."
"What do you mean by that?" Madame Maxime said coldly, "at least Jaclyn and François collected seven gems. Durmstrang had someone who couldn't even leave the protecting dome."
"Bulwick is not fit to be a champion. I wish we could replace him", Karkaroff said with a look of disgust. The Headmasters looked at him in shock, and he added, "I was just joking. Can we really replace someone?"
"That's debatable."
Felix looked up at the sky and muttered, "Anything is possible." The sky was particularly blue today, as if it had been washed clean. Karkaroff glared at him fiercely, and the atmosphere became awkward for a moment.
Karkaroff himself might have considered replacing someone if the rules allowed it.
Felix began to ponder his Runic Codex. With continuous filling and expansion, it had become increasingly complete and was undergoing a mysterious transformation, as if it had developed its own will.
It stored a vast amount of Runic Script and Magic, like a real Runic Script world where changes occurred every second, making the Runic Codex more stable and self-improving.
He had to slow down, as he now dared not place the book directly in the Thought Hut without understanding every change. If it exploded, the Magic stored inside would be no laughing matter.
Moreover, he had gained a lot of inspiration from it, with new Runic Scripts appearing spontaneously from time to time.
"Felix?" Dumbledore asked softly, standing beside him and looking at the clear sky with Felix.
"Shouldn't you join the discussion?"
Dumbledore smiled, "Bagman seems more enthusiastic than me, and besides, I have to say that both groups of Hogwarts champions performed exceptionally well, and it's impossible to ignore that."
It took a considerable amount of time, but the judges finally reached a limited consensus. Fudge looked at the time and said, "Further debate is pointless. Let's start scoring."
No one objected. Bagman added, "Based on the previous scoring process, we have added a new rule: if a judge's score differs significantly and cannot be justified, we will consider invalidating the disputed score."
Karkaroff gave him a cold glance but did not voice any objections. Some advantages could only be taken once.
After a while, Ludo Bagman's amplified voice rang out again, and the crowd gradually quieted down.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have considered multiple factors and decided to base the evaluation on three main criteria: the number of people who walked out of the protecting dome, the number of golden gems collected, and whether any of them were taken hostage. We will award points on a scale of 70, adjusting for exceptional performances."
"First group, the brave members: Cedric Diggory, Collins Fury, and Roger Davis. Three people walked out of the protecting dome, two of whom collected all seven golden gems, and one was taken hostage after gathering five gems. Notable performances include: effectively using ice bombs and casting spells to increase their range; accurately locating the merpeople camp and actively seeking cooperation with other schools. After comprehensive evaluation, we award them 59 points."
A round of applause erupted from the stands. Collins looked up silently, and Cedric and Roger whispered words of comfort to her.
"I should have been more careful", she said dejectedly.
"Second group, the brave members: Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley. All three walked out of the protecting dome, each having collected all seven golden gems, and none were taken hostage. They were the first to complete the task. Notable performances include: taming the Spectrafish; discovering the distribution and construction patterns of the checkpoints; and aiding other teams without any of their members being taken hostage. We award them 67 points."
"Awesome!" Harry, Ron, and Hermione exclaimed. Hermione was still wrapped in her blanket, surrounded by deafening applause and cheers. She nudged Harry and Ron, gesturing for them to look at Collins.
"It's not a big deal, she's just being stubborn", Ron muttered, "I mean, if you're unlucky and run into a large group of merpeople right away, there's nothing you can do..."
"Third group, the Wagadu brave members: Nona Lebert, Rashawn Alyfendi, and Panagiotis Blanzyg. All three walked out of the protecting dome, two of whom collected all the golden gems, and one was taken hostage after gathering five gems. Notable performances include: demonstrating impressive wandless magic, defeating a large number of Grindylows, and using partial Animagus transformation to infiltrate the merpeople camp, successfully escaping with the help of others. We award them 60 points."
"Just one point away, they performed almost as well as Cedric's group", Ron said, "But that African elephant was quite a spectacle. Collins should have used more Transfiguration, just in case..." He suddenly stopped talking when he saw Collins glaring at him, looking puzzled.
"Don't say another word", Hermione said, stomping on his foot.
"But I'm just sticking up for her..." Ron said, looking quite hurt.
"Fourth group, Durmstrang members: Viktor Krum, Orls Polyakov, and Adim Bulwick. Two walked out of the protecting dome, one failed and was taken hostage. Of the remaining two, one successfully collected all seven gems, and the other gathered four gems before being captured by the merpeople. Notable performances include: Captain Krum securing the third spot with all seven gems, proposing cooperation with the Ilvermorny team after the first rescue attempt failed, and using a wide-range sound wave spell to disrupt the merpeople's control over the Grindylows. We award them 50 points."
Krum and his two teammates accepted the applause with stoic expressions.
"Fifth group, Beauxbatons members: Fleur Delacour, Jaclyn Bourgeois, and François Lafont. All three walked out of the protecting dome, each having collected all seven golden gems, and none were taken hostage. Notable performances include: skillfully using checkpoint props to escape Grindylow ambushes, using confusion spells to mislead ten merpeople when they were on the move, and actively joining the rescue efforts, causing chaos in the merpeople tribe. We award them 62 points."
Fleur and her teammates embraced, their current score placing them in an impressive second place.
"Sixth group, Ilvermorny members: Byers Bach, Victor Percival Graves, and Ann Lenn. Two walked out of the protecting dome, one failed and was taken hostage; two collected all seven gems. Notable performances include: passing through the most purple checkpoints and obtaining a large number of temporary Alchemy Items; causing chaos in the merpeople tribe; and after escaping, the three brave members used Water Spout Magic to block the merpeople guards from pursuing. We award them 50 points."
"The third and final task will take place on the evening of June 24th", Bagman continued, "The brave members will be informed of the specific details one month in advance. Thank you for your support of the brave members and for the support of the 'Future World' company for the second task."
The audience was momentarily stunned, then erupted into enthusiastic applause. Ron shouted over the warm breeze, "I bet Bagman took a bribe from Professor Hup for the ad!"
Harry couldn't agree more. He clapped hard, cheering with the crowd. The three months of preparation were over, and the third task was four months away. He had plenty of time... Then he was enveloped by a wave of joy. He, Ron, and Hermione had come in first, which was almost unbelievable, but there was no doubt they had the highest score among the six teams...
Maybe they still needed to convert the scores, Harry thought about the previous rules. His mind was fuzzy, and he didn't want to think about it. Hermione would tell him eventually... For now, he just needed to...
"Party! Party!"
The students shouted, waving their arms and letting out their pent-up excitement.
(End of Chapter)
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