Chapter 890: Scoring and Chaos
Chapter 890: Scoring and Chaos
After Albert successfully tamed the Swedish Short-Snout and retrieved the golden egg, the first person to rush into the arena was not a dragon tamer, but a wizard with an extravagant appearance. He looked like a reporter, with a photographer by his side.
Albert spotted a familiar figure behind the wizard; Mr. Moeg was standing at the entrance of the arena, waving at him.
"Please stand in front of the dragon so I can get a close-up shot of you," the wizard said, grabbing Albert's hand and signaling to the photographer beside him. "Let's take a picture together first."
Albert withdrew his hand reluctantly, maintaining a forced smile on his face as he asked, "And who might you be?"
"Almost forgot my manners," the wizard introduced himself. "I'm Mike Dabuo, the general manager of the Fengya Wizarding Clothing Store. Pleased to meet you, Mr. Albert Anderson."
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Dabuo," Albert replied. When he had seen Mr. Moeg, he had a hunch about the identity of the flamboyant wizard in front of him.
"If you want me to cooperate with your photo session, ask the dragon tamers to knock the dragon out first. I don't want to stand here with a dangerous dragon behind me," Albert said.
"You're absolutely right, better safe than sorry," Dabuo said, casually slinging his arm around Albert's shoulders. "I've already discussed it with the dragon tamers."
Albert felt uncomfortable and shrugged off Dabuo's arm, his strength clearly greater than the other man's. "It was nice chatting with you, but I need to go greet Mr. Moeg," he said.
"Don't worry, I told you we wouldn't lose out on this deal," Mr. Moeg said with a laugh after greeting Albert. He turned to Mike Dabuo and continued, "Make sure our advertising fees are well spent."
"Of course," Mike Dabuo replied cheerfully.
"Time is precious, so let's wrap up the photo session quickly and not cause any more trouble for others," Mr. Moeg added.
"You're absolutely right," Mike Dabuo agreed, greeting the dragon tamers before leading Albert away for the photo session.
Up close, the Swedish Short-Snout seemed even more dangerous than Albert had anticipated. It was about 20 feet long, resembling a small mountain. If he had a choice, Albert would never willingly stand so close to a dragon, let alone turn his back to one.
However, a group of dragon tamers stood by, ready to ensure the dragon didn't suddenly wake up and harm him.
Albert stood in front of the dragon, with the defeated beast as his backdrop. A lion lay at his feet, the shrunken eagle perched on his shoulder, and the golden egg in his hand. He smiled confidently at the camera, and the scene was immortalized in the photograph.
"Perfect! I think the ladies will go crazy for you," Mike Dabuo exclaimed flamboyantly. "I'm sure this will be more effective than advertising during the Quidditch World Cup."
In Mike Dabuo's eyes, Albert was a living legend and strikingly handsome. He had already decided to hang the photos they had just taken in the Fengya Wizarding Clothing Store.
After taking several consecutive photos, Albert held onto the golden egg and left the arena with them, no longer causing any trouble for the dragon tamers.
Of course, Mike Dabuo also offered the dragon tamers some benefits, allowing them to purchase customized fire-resistant clothing from the Fengya Wizarding Clothing Store at a discounted price.
The dragon tamers naturally had no objections. After all, it had only been a few minutes, and Albert had already subdued the Swedish Short-Snout.
The judges in the stands were even less concerned. They huddled together, whispering and discussing Albert's stunning performance.
"You did wonderfully," Professor McGonagall said as she approached Albert, a smile breaking through her usually stern expression. "I'm sure Poppy will be relieved that you didn't need to visit the medical tent. Off you go now, your friends must be waiting anxiously."
Albert's eyes moved past Professor McGonagall, and he spotted Isabelle and Katrina making their way towards him.
"You were amazing," Isabelle said, hurrying over to Albert and wrapping her arms around him.
The dragon egg slipped from Albert's fingers and fell to the ground. He returned Isabelle's embrace and kissed her on the lips.
Suddenly, the surroundings fell silent. Fred, George, and Lee Jordan, who were rushing over, started whistling, while the other girls giggled awkwardly.
The photographer beside Mike Dabuo wanted to capture this moment, but he was stopped by Mr. Moeg, who shook his head at Dabuo, indicating that he shouldn't take such a photo. Given Albert's personality, if Dabuo dared to take private photos of him without his consent, their fragile cooperative relationship would surely collapse.
Who would dare to treat Albert like a mere child? Look at what happened to the unfortunate Rita Skeeter. Even she hadn't dared to stir up trouble with Albert's news stories, and she was a woman who gave the British Ministry of Magic a constant headache.
After an unknown amount of time had passed, the two finally separated. A flush appeared on Isabelle's face, and she said softly, "Don't do such dangerous things in the future. You really scared me just now."
"Don't worry, I never do anything I'm not confident about," Albert reassured her gently.
"I trust in your abilities, but I still worry," Isabelle said. She understood Albert's personality and his emphasis on self-protection, but having confidence and not worrying were two different matters.
"As expected, you're the best."
"You single-handedly subdued a dragon with ease. You probably don't realize it, but all the girls in the stands are going crazy over you."
"I bet this will be a topic of discussion for many years to come."
After Albert and Isabelle parted, Fred, George, and Lee Jordan eagerly greeted him, their faces filled with excitement and admiration. They also returned the golden egg that had fallen to the ground.
"Okay, you guys are making me blush with all your compliments," Albert joked.
"I think they should be giving you your score soon. I bet they'll give you full marks," George said.
Sana, Angelina, and Alicia also approached, and if it hadn't been for Isabelle's presence, they might have each given Albert a congratulatory kiss.
"Let's head back to the stands!"
Albert took the golden egg from George, clasped Isabelle's hand, and made his way back to the stands, leaving behind a group of envious girls.
Katrina, expressionless as always, watched their departing backs and followed them toward the stands.
Albert had tamed the dragon, and it didn't take long for the dragon tamers to remove it from the arena.
The judges had already deliberated and reached a decision. As Albert made his way back to the stands, the scoring had begun.
The first judge to give a score was Madame Maxime from Beauxbatons. She raised her wand, and a silver ribbon shot out from the tip, twisting in the air to form a large "10."
Madame Maxime had been aware of Albert's abilities, but she had initially hoped to give him a slightly lower score. However, after witnessing him effortlessly tame a dragon in just a few minutes, she chose to surrender and gave him a perfect score without hesitation.
Unable to accept the outcome, Crouch, Dumbledore, and Bagman all gave Albert perfect scores of 10.
That left only Karkaroff to assign his score. Under the watchful eyes of the other judges, he awarded Albert a mere 1 point.
His reasoning was already prepared. Albert's fire-resistant dragon-taming outfit clearly violated the rules of fairness and placed the other champions at a significant disadvantage.
The moment the large "1" appeared, an uncomfortable silence befell the arena, and even the other judges turned to Karkaroff with bewildered gazes.
Bagman's face twisted in dismay as he began to speak, but before he could utter a word, a chorus of boos and hisses erupted from the stands, accompanied by a torrent of insults: "Eat sht!" "You shameless jerk!" The spectators unleashed their fury.
Karkaroff, about to explain his reasoning, was interrupted by a barrage of flying shoes hurled in his direction.
It was unclear who started it, but more and more students began pelting Karkaroff with garbage, dung bombs, and whatever else they could lay their hands on. The scene descended into utter chaos.
Even the Durmstrang students in the audience averted their faces, unsure how to react to their peers' behavior. Karkaroff's actions had brought them shame.
Students from other schools admired Albert's solo taming of a fire dragon, accomplished with remarkable speed and without sustaining any injuries.
Even if they had Karkaroff thrown into the arena, they doubted he could achieve such a feat.
"Oh my," Bagman muttered, his eyes narrowing in displeasure as he glared at Karkaroff. "It seems the unfair scoring has upset the audience."
Madame Maxime, too, wore an intricate expression as she regarded Karkaroff. She had anticipated that he would assign a lower score to Albert.
In fact, there was an unspoken agreement among them to keep the scores of the other champions relatively low, but the situation had to be handled delicately. When all the other judges gave perfect scores, assigning a 1 seemed rather out of place.
If it had been an ordinary champion, Karkaroff's actions might not have caused much of a stir. After all, a slightly lower score wouldn't have made much difference, and at most, it would have displeased the champion's supporters, who could then be appeased with some excuse. But Anderson was an exception, and Karkaroff seemed oblivious to the extent of his popularity.
Madame Maxime wondered if Karkaroff had lost his marbles. How could he be so oblivious to the situation and insist on tarnishing his own reputation further?
It wasn't that Karkaroff was incapable of listening to reason, but he never expected to hit a nerve, nor did he anticipate the extent of Albert's fan base.
Fans are rarely a rational group, especially a group of young ladies. They refused to listen to Karkaroff's justifications, especially when all the other judges had awarded full marks. The girls would not tolerate their champion being treated unfairly. Thus, under the instigation of a few, they began throwing objects in protest.
With the ladies taking the lead, others soon joined in. They paid no heed to the other judges' sentiments and directed their anger solely at Karkaroff. In their eyes, Albert deserved a perfect score for his remarkable dragon taming, and Karkaroff's actions had infuriated a large portion of Hogwarts' students.
Indeed, Albert's swift and unscathed completion of the first task warranted a perfect score.
"Oh dear, oh dear!" Bagman shouted, his voice carrying above the din. "Let's maintain our composure, shall we? Let's hear Mr. Karkaroff's reasoning for his scoring decision!"
Bagman's suggestion was clearly disingenuous.
Karkaroff's expression darkened as he explained, "Mr. Anderson's fire-resistant dragon-taming outfit clearly goes against the principles of fairness and puts the other champions at a significant disadvantage."
"What a load of bullsht!" someone shouted. "You're the last person who should be talking about fairness!"
Before anyone could react, a stream of dark curses flew toward the judges' box.
Everyone froze, and in an instant, they raised their wands, sending a barrage of curses at Karkaroff.
He had truly pushed them beyond their limits.
Bagman was taken aback by the students' fervent reaction. If those curses had landed, Karkaroff would likely have been rushed straight to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.
Fortunately, Dumbledore swiftly waved his wand, conjuring a protective barrier around the judges' box, just in time to shield them from the onslaught of spells.
The sight of countless curses detonating against the barrier was awe-inspiring, and even Dumbledore's protective enchantment showed signs of strain, riddled with cracks from the impact.
Another wave of curses would likely breach the defense.
"Well, I must say, not even the Quidditch World Cup has witnessed such a riot," Bagman remarked, shooting a displeased glance at Karkaroff before turning to Dumbledore with a helpless shrug. "Now, how are we going to clean up this mess?"
"Silence! Silence, all of you!"
Dumbledore's voice boomed with anger, his expression reflecting his dismay at the situation spiraling out of control. Not only were the Hogwarts students throwing objects, but they had also resorted to casting dark curses at the judges' box, and at least a hundred students had participated in this outrageous behavior.
The primary reason for this unrest was Albert's extensive fan base. Fred, George, and Lee Jordan had covertly instigated the chaos by casting spells at Karkaroff, and the ladies had eagerly joined in, expressing their dissatisfaction. In their fervor, they had swept up others who shared their displeasure with Karkaroff's actions.
It was already irksome enough when the Slytherin Quidditch team resorted to underhanded tactics during matches, but now, in an inter-school competition, someone had the audacity to blatantly cheat and provide such a flimsy excuse. Were they being taken for fools?
However, Dumbledore's rebuke did little to quell the unrest, as a second wave of curses was unleashed, obliterating the judges' box.
As for the other judges, Dumbledore swiftly transported them away using Disillusionment Charms.
"Did you get all that on camera?" Rita Skeeter asked excitedly, her entire body trembling with enthusiasm. "I'm sure this is unprecedented—a Triwizard Tournament judge being questioned and opposed by all the students! This will undoubtedly be the hottest topic around!"
(End of Chapter)
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