"The Judgment of the Champions"
"BRAVO! BRAVO! What a magnificent first impression our champions gave. Each and every one of them truly shone and proved why they were chosen," Ludo shouted as he looked at the screens and spoke excitedly into the microphone, his voice echoing through every corner of the arena.
The stands erupted in excited cheers as well. Many were focused especially on the three screens showing Luciel, Harry, and Draco, and they could not help but feel that the three of them seated on those thrones truly looked like kings, each with a completely different style.
Draco, with that noble and elegant aura, almost measured down to the millimeter in every movement.
Luciel, more charismatic, yet turning dangerous like a sharpened blade when the situation demanded it.
And Harry, cold and meticulous, with a faint touch of darker undertones, surrounded by that unsettling red aura.
"They wanted action and they got it. They wanted explosions and they got them. They wanted magic beyond all scale and they got it. What more could anyone ask for in a first task like this?" Ludo said, so exhilarated that he looked as if he were about to faint from excitement.
Because of that, he quickly began taking deep breaths, trying to calm himself down.
Meanwhile, Harry and the other champions were guided by the tournament staff toward the stand closest to the judges.
The closer they got, the more they could grasp the sheer magnitude of the cheers. Many were chanting each of their names, and they could see hands waving in the air, greeting them with fervor.
Luciel, hearing his name being shouted, turned toward the source of the sound and waved with a friendly smile, provoking an even louder uproar, especially among the girls.
Fleur walked along genuinely happy for having completed the first task perfectly. Without realizing it, a small portion of her veela aura slipped free, causing mild chaos among the men in the stands, some of whom looked on the verge of jumping straight onto the field. Completely unaware, she kept moving forward with her hands behind her back, taking light steps, as if she might start hopping with joy at any moment.
Draco, on the other hand, walked with complete calm. He greeted a few acquaintances simply by raising a hand, while Harry could not help but look around, watching all the people who kept shouting his name. He let out a faint sigh and forced a small smile in their direction.
Viktor, as if fully accustomed to that kind of attention, walked on with a serious expression. Marton, although he tried to act just as serious, could not help puffing his chest out slightly with quiet pride every time he heard his name.
Finally, the six of them came to a stop right in front of the judges' stand.
Seated there were Karkaroff, Madame Maxime, Sirius, Ludo Bagman, Barty Crouch, and Dumbledore.
"Alright, now I need silence, please," Ludo said, much calmer now, as he tried to soothe the frenzied crowd around them.
People began to quiet down, though some still tried to wave at the champions.
After a few seconds of waiting, everyone finally settled and waited patiently, because now it was time for the judges' scores.
"As everyone knows, scoring six champions one by one will take quite some time, especially with so many judges," Ludo said calmly. "So we will do it in the following way. Each judge will give a score to each champion directly. You may say a few words to them or not, if you prefer, before we move on to the next judge. The points that can be given range from one to ten. This score determines the order of departure in the following tasks, but it does not absolutely declare the winner of the tournament. Keep that in mind, because sometimes being the first to go can be an obvious advantage… or a disadvantage in disguise," Ludo added with an enigmatic smile.
All the champions took note of that and nodded.
"Now let us begin with the headmaster of Durmstrang, Igor Karkaroff," Ludo concluded before taking his seat.
Karkaroff nodded and took the microphone placed in front of him.
"Viktor and Marton did a truly excellent job. I am proud of you," Karkaroff began, nodding with pride. "I will give both of you a ten," he said, causing Viktor to frown slightly, while Marton could not hide his happiness. "As for the other champions, I really do not have much to say. So I will simply give all of them a four," he added before setting the microphone down on the table with evident disdain.
For a second, silence took over the arena.
And in the very next instant, the crowd exploded into shouts of protest at Karkaroff's way of voting. The contempt in his decision was obvious, considering that the others had also performed outstandingly.
"Booo!" some shouted, especially students from Hogwarts and Beauxbatons.
But Karkaroff did not seem to care in the slightest.
Sirius shot him a clearly disdainful look for a moment, while Karkaroff maintained an arrogant smile.
Harry, truth be told, did not care all that much, but even so he could not help looking at Karkaroff with a cold, flat stare.
"Now it is Madame Maxime's turn," Ludo said as he calmed the crowd with his hands, though his expression was still somewhat tense.
"Well, I did not expect such a vote toward my students, who truly acted with bravery, power, and strategy," Madame Maxime said, casting a brief glance at Karkaroff. "My student Luciel unquestionably deserves a ten. Perfect coordination, exemplary both as a warrior and as a mage, and impressive control over a truly dangerous form of magic. And Fleur, dear, although you were right to hold your power until the end, that did not allow you to show your full potential. Even so, I will give you a nine," she said with a smile toward both of them.
Luciel and Fleur smiled, clearly pleased.
"As for the other champions, especially the two young ones from Hogwarts, as always surprising everyone… you surely created that magic yourselves, did you not?" she asked.
Draco nodded slightly, saying nothing more.
"I truly wish you had stayed much longer at my school. It is such a shame. I will give both of you a nine. You know, I have to show a bit of favoritism, just like others," she concluded with a shameless smile.
Draco and Harry could not help laughing as they glanced toward Karkaroff.
"Now, the two young men from Durmstrang. You showed quite a lot at the beginning, but that exhausted you by the end, and you could not do much more. You are fortunate this did not turn into a direct confrontation between champions, because I am quite certain you would not have been able to do much. So I will give you a six," she said, her tone far drier.
Karkaroff stood up from his seat, looking at Madame Maxime with restrained anger.
She, on the other hand, watched him with complete calm. Even with him standing and her seated, the difference between them was overwhelming.
Karkaroff swallowed his anger and sat back down, this time with his face clearly displeased.
The crowd applauded Madame Maxime, seeing her as a truly exemplary woman and, moreover, quite entertaining, while many took the chance to clap and mock Karkaroff at the same time.
"Mr. Black, please," Ludo said again, as the crowd fell silent once more.
Sirius took the microphone with a slight smile before looking in Karkaroff's direction.
"Harry and Draco, ten. The Beauxbatons champions, nine. And the rest… one," he said before setting the microphone down, adding nothing more and yet saying absolutely everything.
If Karkaroff had been shameless, no one could say Sirius could not be even more so.
"You…!" Karkaroff stood up again, furious, shouting toward Sirius, who did not even look at him. Even so, an arrogant smile remained on his face as he stayed comfortably seated.
Karkaroff looked as if he were about to explode with the hatred building inside him, but once again he sat down, clenching his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
Silence took over the arena at Sirius's blatant behavior, although the Hogwarts students laughed and shouted toward their headmaster with complete approval.
And even though there were many devoted fans of Viktor, they could not help blaming Karkaroff for dragging their idol into that situation.
Harry smiled faintly at his godfather as he shook his head.
The next to vote were Ludo, Crouch, and Dumbledore. Each of them commented on what they had liked about the champions and awarded their points, but, truthfully, Harry no longer even wanted to pay attention. All he wanted was to go back and rest.
Maybe grab a butterbeer and tease his siblings a bit, especially Tommy, who was always moving from one place to another, making it impossible for Harry to focus. Very different from Billy, calm and composed, always easy to find.
"Well, with all the points now given by the judges, the results are as follows," Ludo said, pulling Harry out of his distracted thoughts.
"In last place, with thirty eight points, Marton Kovac of Durmstrang. Next comes Viktor Krum with thirty nine points. With forty three points, Miss Fleur Delacour. And, not surprisingly at all, we have a three way tie with forty seven points for Harry Potter of Hogwarts, Draco Malfoy of Hogwarts, and Luciel Delacour of Beauxbatons," Ludo announced as the crowd began to applaud enthusiastically, accepting the scores without issue.
"Now then, the next task will be on November twenty fourth, so I hope to see you all here. And one last piece of information, with no small spoilers, especially for the champions," he added. "The eggs you collected were magically modified so that their hatching will occur almost a week before the task. And whatever hatches will represent what you must face. So you would do well to take very good care of them and not lose sight of them at any moment. You have been warned," he said, though his smile seemed to be encouraging something more.
Because, as always, in these tournaments sabotage and cheating could never be absent. Not only between champions, but also between schools.
"And now we say goodbye and we will see you next time," Ludo announced enthusiastically, as the crowd slowly began to leave the area, still buzzing with excitement over the tournament. It was clear that the news would spread quickly and that perhaps the next set of stands would have to be a bit larger than this one.
Harry did not care much about that. He felt genuinely tired, so he said goodbye to the other champions with a nod and quickly left alongside Draco.
But the moment they stepped outside the field, Hogwarts students, along with friends and family, appeared immediately.
The twins, Terry, and Neville jumped on them and lifted them up in excitement, while the others surrounded them, shouting with joy.
"We have to celebrate. Obviously, we have to celebrate," the twins said as Harry and Draco were carried off by everyone, with no chance of escape.
"Our Hogwarts champions are really amazing!" Terry shouted, joined by the others, just as excited.
The two of them could only let themselves be dragged toward where the celebration for completing the first task was supposed to take place, letting out little more than a sigh and a smile as they shook their heads.