Chapter 221
After a while, Fleur Delacour stood up from her seat. Following a short rest, the four Champions arrived at the edge of the arena. From there, they could clearly see the five judges seated opposite them on elevated golden chairs.
"The original procedure was to score each Champion immediately after their performance.
However, due to the special actions of the first Champion, some confusion arose in the arena.
This also led to differing opinions among the judges, which delayed matters. Therefore, we have decided to postpone scoring until all four Champions have completed their tasks.
I believe this will actually result in a fairer evaluation!" Ludo Bagman's voice echoed across the stadium.
"Before the scoring begins, I would like to summarize this round. Some explanations are necessary—otherwise, certain members of the audience may not fully understand the first Champion's actions.
Under such circumstances, the results might not be convincing."
"Hmm…" Bagman muttered to himself briefly before continuing. "First, Mr. Draco Malfoy. I believe no one disputes his performance in the first half. The key lies in the second half.
The Fire Dragon appeared to charge toward the stands without reason—but in fact, everything can be explained. Mr. Malfoy used the long-lost Draconic language to communicate with the dragon and successfully persuaded it to withdraw!"
"Next, Miss Fleur Delacour. Her method was also excellent. The only drawback was the longer preparation time. While we might wish to hear that beautiful voice longer, from the judges' perspective, it may slightly affect her score," Bagman added with some regret.
"Mr. Viktor Krum also performed brilliantly. He was the only contestant to seriously injure a Fire Dragon, accurately targeting its weakest point.
However, the enraged dragon destroyed several golden eggs in the process, which will significantly affect his score."
"Finally, Mr. Harry Potter. His use of the Summoning Charm was nothing short of genius.
His flying skills are exceptional—I imagine he must be an outstanding Seeker! The youngest of the four Champions retrieved his golden egg in the shortest time!"
The audience erupted in cheers. Harry's face flushed slightly.
He stole a glance at Krum—being praised like this in front of him made him uncomfortable.
"He's one of the best Seekers in the world!" Ron Weasley's excited voice echoed in his mind.
In the end, Harry had followed Alastor Moody's advice. With Hermione Granger's help, he practiced the Summoning Charm extensively.
At the very least, his Firebolt gave him more confidence than attempting an Eye Curse.
"Draco was born the same year as him… it's hard to say who's younger," Pansy Parkinson thought with slight dissatisfaction from the stands.
She was unhappy that Harry had taken the spotlight with the title of "youngest."
Because of her leg injury, she hadn't gone to the arena entrance and instead watched from afar. Seeing that Malfoy was unharmed, she felt relieved.
"Now, it's time for the scores! Each judge may award up to ten points. We will ensure fairness!" Bagman's voice rang out again. "First—the score for the first contestant!"
Olympe Maxime raised her wand. A silver ribbon shot into the air and formed a large "9."
Next, Barty Crouch Sr. produced a "10."
Then Albus Dumbledore—another "10," drawing even louder cheers.
Bagman followed with a "10."
Finally, Igor Karkaroff raised his wand. He hesitated—then produced a "4."
"That's why basic mathematics should be promoted in the wizarding world," Malfoy muttered, shaking his head. Even though he didn't care much about rankings, he couldn't help but feel dissatisfied with such a flawed scoring system.
With only five judges, the results were far too easy to manipulate. Removing the highest and lowest scores would have made things much fairer.
Boos erupted from the audience.
The spectators were not fools—they had witnessed the performances themselves.
As scoring continued for the remaining Champions, the dissatisfaction only grew.
When Karkaroff gave Krum a "10," the boos reached their peak.
"He's a scumbag!" Ron shouted angrily, even miming retching in disgust.
Fleur sneered faintly, flicking her silver hair as she stepped slightly away from Krum.
Krum himself looked uncomfortable.
He clearly disagreed with his headmaster's favoritism and would have preferred a lower, fairer score.
In the end, the final scores were 43, 41, 42, and 42.
All four Champions had performed exceptionally well.
Ironically, Karkaroff's blatant bias angered the other judges, who retaliated by lowering Krum's score—Olympe Maxime even gave him a 7 out of spite, and Bagman did the same.
Those who attempted manipulation ended up losing both reputation and advantage.
"All of you did brilliantly!" Bagman said, bounding into the tent with infectious enthusiasm.
"Now, just a few final notes—the second task will take place on February 24th next year at 9:30 AM."
"Until then, you have plenty of time to prepare. Look at your golden eggs—you'll notice they can be opened… see the seam? Inside are clues to the next task. You must decipher them."
"Any questions? No? Then you are dismissed!"