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In the great hall of Beauxbatons, crystal chandeliers cast a brilliant glow, illuminating every relief and tapestry with a dazzling radiance.
The award ceremony proceeded in an orderly fashion. Madame Maxime sat in the center seat, flanked by the special guest judges and professor representatives from the three schools.
Below the stage, the competitors and observing students sat quietly, awaiting the moment that had long lost its suspense.
The ownership of the championship trophy for this Tri-Wizard Tournament had been visible since the first written exam. And after Lucien secured perfect scores in the first three rounds, his victory was already set in stone.
Once the alchemical work named "SwiftSpeak" was unveiled, it completely killed the competition—everyone knew this was no longer something that could be categorized simply as an "excellent student project."
"Now, please welcome the champion of this exchange competition—Lucien Grafton from Hogwarts, to the stage to receive his award."
Madame Maxime's voice echoed through the hall.
Applause surged like a tide. Under the gaze of the crowd, Lucien walked toward the stage.
Accepting the elegantly shaped gold trophy and a heavy small chest containing the one thousand Galleon prize, Lucien bowed slightly in acknowledgment.
Flashes went off one after another as cameras faithfully recorded this moment.
Offstage, Professor Shafiq's smile was exceptionally brilliant. She was already calculating in her mind how to ask Dumbledore for leave upon returning to Hogwarts, and how to arrange her vacation to make up for the "hardship" of this period.
Mm, the hardship of leading the team was objectively real, even if she hadn't actually done anything.
After the award ceremony concluded, a banquet was held according to custom.
The scale wasn't actually large; the attendees were mainly the judges, Beauxbatons professors, the competitors, and a small number of outstanding Beauxbatons students.
Involving these young people was partly to avoid the event feeling too cold with so few people, and partly to give them a chance to "see the world."
After all, in wizarding society, groups like Alchemists and Potioneers still retained a portion of the apprenticeship tradition.
After graduating from magic school, if a young wizard wanted to truly enter the field, they often needed to first gain the preliminary approval of a master and then study under them—which, to put it bluntly, meant "working like a dog" for the mentor.
Enduring for a few years, or even a decade, performing well enough to become a full member, and then continuing to endure... until one day they could finally stand on their own.
So a banquet like today's was undoubtedly a rare opportunity for those young people eager to enter this circle to show their faces.
Getting familiar with the masters might just trade for a life-changing opportunity.
However, because of a certain someone's existence, the focus of this banquet was concentrated entirely on this protagonist.
"Grafton, if you were French, the Golden Iris Medal would already be in your pocket," a white-haired old alchemist said with deep emotion, raising his glass.
The Golden Iris Medal held a status in the French magical community comparable to the Order of Merlin in Britain.
And Gold was the highest rank of the Iris Medal, equivalent to an Order of Merlin, First Class. It also required a massive contribution to the magical world to be awarded.
"Grafton, would you consider joining our Sage's Alchemy Association?" another judge introduced enthusiastically. "Our association has always opened its doors to truly talented young people."
"Oh? Did you stop restricting nationality for membership?" a voice next to him cut in immediately, carrying a bit of teasing. "Lucien, it's more convenient to join our local Alchemy Association. After all, you'll be active in Britain most of the time in the future."
Seeing Lucien surrounded by several Alchemy Masters vying to invite him, the other students standing not far away could only cast envious glances.
Those Alchemy Associations they wouldn't dare dream of usually, those masters whose names they only read in journals, were now circling around a boy a few years younger than them.
Some sighed secretly, some envied silently, and some tried to imagine how it would feel to stand in that position—but after thinking about their own abilities, they silently dismissed the thought.
Just then, Lance, wearing his monocle, suddenly spoke up. "Grafton, I just remembered... do you also run some shops selling your own alchemical tools?"
As a native French alchemist, Lance had been immersed in his own research these past few years and hadn't paid much attention to the outside world.
But he felt like he had heard the name "Lucien Grafton" somewhere before.
Only now did he recall that this name seemed to be associated with alchemical goods circulating in the market.
Lucien admitted frankly, "Yes, I have a few small shops."
Hearing this, Lance couldn't help but advise, "Grafton, I suggest you don't waste too much thought on commercial profit." He adjusted his monocle, his expression sincere. " The path of Alchemy requires a massive investment of time and energy to delve into. Leave commercial matters to others to manage—are you short of money? Does your master not give you money to spend?"
He looked ready to generously open his purse to fund Lucien if the boy just nodded.
Lucien smiled helplessly.
He couldn't exactly say this was to pay the price for his Alchemy talent.
After thinking about it, he could only give an answer that wasn't exactly wrong:
"It's not that I'm short of money. I just... enjoy the feeling of money coming in."
Lance pursed his lips, his expression a bit regretful. He had intended to mention that he was quite wealthy himself.
However, the others present accepted this explanation very quickly.
He was a genius, after all. Who didn't have a few little quirks?
It wasn't like he killed a few people with Avada Kedavra just for fun because he was in a bad mood on the way to school.
He just liked making money. That was actually a rather commendable hobby.
"Young people liking to make money shows they have ambition." Professor Laurent raised his glass with a chuckle. "Come, a toast to Lucien's ambition!"