Chapter 432
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"After some time reflecting and talking, the judges finally decided which scores to give to the champions, remembering that it will be a joint score where the maximum will be 50" Bagman announced under the spell {Sonorus}.
And now all the attention was on Bagman, who had a piece of parchment in his hands that he had received from Headmaster Dumbledore, containing the scores given by the judges.
And I could feel the rising tension of the other competitors and the people in the stands as everyone waited to hear which champion did best.
"Mr. Viktor Krum made use of a partial transfiguration to complete the task, which was very clever and practical" the Bagman began to say, looking at the Bulgarian champion who had no change in expression at the compliment, "But unfortunately he arrived last even though he rescued his hostage, and therefore he received a total of 36 points."
And with this result some people applauded him, and I could feel the sadness coming from some people, who were Krum's schoolmates or his loyal fans.
Most people who weren't part of the two groups mentioned above didn't care about the Bulgarian champion's score, but they still applauded politely.
And after hearing how many points he received, Krum grunted, clenching his hand.
And I, who was looking at Bagman disinterestedly, could feel the Quidditch star staring at me, which I just ignored.
"Mr. Harry Potter used the Gillyweed plant, which proved to be an excellent and very effective option. And even though he was the first to reach the hostages, he was still the third to finish the task."
And some people were still confused about this, not being able to understand how the champion who reached the hostages first was almost the last to complete the task.
Headmaster Dumbledore didn't want to take up too much time talking about everything we did while we were in the lake, and so he didn't tell the audience what exactly caused Harry to arrive so late.
And noticing the audience's confusion, Bagman began his explanation, "Mr. Potter was the first to reach the hostages, but instead of finishing the task he decided to wait for the other champions, valuing the safety of all the hostages"
And Harry knew it was a stupid choice, mainly because he knew the hostages weren't really in danger.
But he didn't care, and if necessary he would do it again because he couldn't rest easy until he knew everyone was safe.
That's why as Bagman talked about what Harry did in the task, the black-haired boy didn't feel embarrassed or discouraged. In fact, he faced everyone with a proud and defiant look.
And if he had been looking at the stands he would have seen that his fellow Gryffindors and even some students from other houses were looking at him in surprise and respect.
"And such an attitude showed how honorable and worthy Mr. Potter is, who has an incredible moral fiber, and that is why the judges decided to add additional points to his performance, thus giving him 42 points!" and Bagman said this with a very cheerful smile.
And hearing that Harry received such a high score was enough to make all the students at Hogwarts, including some Slytherins, celebrate and cheer.
"Hah! That's my cub!" Sirius cheered, hugging Remus as he smiled happily and proudly.
"Padfoot... Air..." Remus said as he tried to free himself from Sirius' grip.
But the dog-man didn't listen, too focused and excited to tell everyone how much of a Gryffindor his godson was.
And after a few seconds everyone's emotions calmed down a little, which allowed Bagman to continue saying the scores of the remaining champions, which were Fleur and me.
"Miss Fleur Delacour used the Bubble-Head spell, which is simple and practical, and even though she encountered difficulties along the way and needed help from another champion, she still proved to be a strong and determined competitor, reaching her hostage and rescuing her, then being the second champion to complete the task" Bagman said, and I didn't like him saying that she needed my help.
"And so the judges decided to award her the significant amount of 41 points!" and it may have been fewer points than Harry received, but that didn't stop the Beauxbatons students from cheering happily.
And letting the French students celebrate a little, Bagman waited, before continuing with the distribution of points.
"And now we come to our last but not least champion!" the Bagman said, making everyone focus their gazes on me.
"Mr. Ethan Night used some kind of advanced transfiguration to gain the characteristics and abilities of an aquatic being, which according to our judges was incredible, surprising and brilliant" and looking at the judges who were standing behind Bagman I could see them nodding in confirmation.
"He could have been the first to reach the hostages, but he stopped to help Miss Delacour, showing that like Mr. Potter, he is also someone noble and courageous"
"He also showed great power and magic when defeating all those Grindylows, and even after this feat he still had the strength to rescue his hostage and complete the task, being the first to reach the lakeshore" and then Bagman made a pause, for no other reason than to create an atmosphere of suspense.
And when he saw that everyone was looking at him with expectation and tension, he smiled with satisfaction, before continuing, "And that's why the judges gave him an incredible total of... 48 points!"
And just like in the first task, I got the highest score among the champions, and that made everyone who was rooting for me excited and happy.
And the applause and joyful cheers were almost deafening to me, with my friends and family being the most vocal and loud, but I tried to ignore the slight pain in my ears to wave and smile at them and the other people in the stands.
'Adding the score from the first task I have a total of 95 points, which puts me in absolute first place against the other champions' I thought, a little proud of this fact.
'Harry is right behind me with 85 points, followed by Fleur with 80 points and Krum with 74' and it was funny to think about the fact that the one who everyone considered the strongest champion and the one who had the most fans was actually in last place.
'Well, maybe that could be considered my fault, as my presence and interference made Harry and Fleur do better at their tasks, if only a little' I smiled wryly.
I was then taken out of my thoughts by Bagman's voice, who spoke again as soon as the audience calmed down and the noise died down.
"Yeah yeah. It's great to see that you all are excited and rooting for our champions" he said, but I could tell he wasn't as happy as he was when he said Harry's score.
"But well, now that all the scores have been given I would like to remind everyone that the third and final task will take place at dusk on the twenty-fourth of June" he looked at everyone in the stands to see if they were paying attention to his words.
Bagman then turned to me and the other champions who were still standing at the dock, "And 1 month before the task, the champions will be informed about the details of it, so they can prepare properly."
And we nodded at Bagman, before he looked back at the audience, "Also, I would also like to thank everyone for coming to watch this task and for showing support for the champions, and I'm sure the judges and the four champions are also very happy with your presence" the slightly chubby man said, smiling at all the students and visitors in the stands.
"And with that said, the second task of the 94/95 Tri-Wizard Tournament is officially complete!"
And what followed was a round of applause, as everyone stood up to congratulate the champions.
And after a while people started to leave the stands, ready to go back to their homes, to the castle, or in the case of the two foreign schools, to their carriage or ship.
And feeling the emotions of these people I could tell that most were satisfied and happy with the result of the task while others were sad and frustrated... Cough... Krum and Bitcharoff... Cough.
'Well, anyway I can say that everything went well with this task, maybe even better than I expected' I thought.
And no, I didn't consider my confrontation with the Grindylows to be a bad thing, since for me it was just another way of showing my strength to everyone while also testing my limits.
But shaking my head and leaving these thoughts for later I also prepared to return to the castle, feeling my family and friends waiting for me next to the stands.
But before going to meet them I needed to do two things first.
One of those things was to talk to Fleur, and the other was to go see Madam Pomfrey in her medical tent so she could do a medical inspection on me just like I promised.
And looking towards the medical tent I saw the other champions and hostages heading towards it too, and at the entrance of the tent stood the mother dragon from the hospital wing, who was staring at me with narrowed eyes as if to stop me from running away.
'Sigh... At least Fleur being there saves me the time of looking for her' I thought.
And then, together with Luna who was still by my side, I headed towards the medical tent.
End.
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