On the Durmstrang stands, the student who had confidently claimed that Lucian would run away crying within thirty seconds…
now stood frozen with his mouth wide open.
His eyes were empty, as if his soul had temporarily left his body.
Across the stadium, the Beauxbatons girls clutched their mouths tightly to stop themselves from screaming.
Fleur Delacour's beautiful blue eyes were wide with absolute shock.
The scene before her felt unreal.
Everything she had believed about magic for the past decade was being crushed and rebuilt in that moment.
Hogwarts' Reaction
The Hogwarts stands were equally silent.
Tears shimmered in Hermione's eyes—not from fear, but from overwhelming emotion.
She had just witnessed something beyond explanation.
Harry and Ron stood motionless like statues.
Neither of them even blinked.
At the judges' table, Dumbledore stared at the arena with a look of astonished delight.
Watching the massive dragon gently nudge Lucian's leg, he whispered to himself:
"This… this is what true magic looks like…"
But the miracle wasn't over yet.
The Dragon's Gift
After Lucian spoke another phrase in a strange dragon-like language…
The Hungarian Horntail lifted its head.
Then it did something that nearly made the judges fall out of their seats.
With great care, it used its enormous nose to push the golden egg out of the nest.
Slowly.
Gently.
Like it was presenting a priceless treasure.
It nudged the egg across the ground—
until it stopped right at Lucian's feet.
Then the dragon looked up at him again.
Its eyes were no longer savage.
They were soft.
Trusting.
It rumbled softly, almost like a cat purring.
As if saying:
Take it.
Lucian glanced down at the perfect golden egg.
Then he gently patted the dragon's huge nose.
Like praising a well-behaved pet.
The Horntail closed its eyes in satisfaction and purred louder.
A Calm Exit
Lucian bent down and picked up the egg.
The metal felt cool and heavy in his hand.
Behind him, the dragon's warm breath rolled across the ground.
Then he simply turned…
and walked toward the exit.
From the moment he entered the arena to the moment he left—
less than five minutes had passed.
No panic.
No struggle.
No danger.
No unnecessary movement.
Total Silence
Inside and outside the arena…
There was absolute silence.
Ten thousand spectators sat frozen.
Like they had all been turned to stone by Medusa.
Even Ludo Bagman had stopped speaking.
He leaned forward in the commentary booth, mouth wide open in a perfect "O".
His brain had stopped working.
At the main table:
Minister Cornelius Fudge clutched his chair with white knucklesKarkaroff stared blankly at the fieldMadame Maxime felt dizzy, wondering if she was dreaming
Even the Hogwarts professors were speechless.
McGonagall sat stiff as a statue.
Snape looked dark and unreadable—but his eyes burned with something complex.
Jealousy.
Disbelief.
And a trace of unwilling respect.
Time Starts Again
When Lucian finally disappeared into the tunnel…
Time resumed.
Someone swallowed loudly.
That tiny sound shattered the silence.
Then—
The stadium exploded.
Cheers erupted like a volcanic eruption.
Screams.
Applause.
Foot-stomping.
The entire Quidditch pitch shook with noise.
The Judges' Dilemma
Eventually Bagman recovered enough to speak.
"Please… judges… score the performance of the fourth champion—Lucian Thornwick!"
The crowd quieted again.
But the judges faced a problem.
The scoring system evaluated:
Spell accuracyTactical strategyCourageControl of danger
But Lucian had…
Used no conventional spellsUsed no visible strategyShown no fearNot controlled the danger
He had simply removed it entirely.
Barty Crouch stared at his score card in confusion.
Karkaroff struggled internally.
As Durmstrang's headmaster, he didn't want to reward a Hogwarts student who had overshadowed Krum.
But refusing would make him look ridiculous.
Madame Maxime had her own internal struggle.
The memory of the giant dragon submitting to Lucian still made her shiver.
The Scores
Dumbledore raised his sign first.
10
Hogwarts erupted in cheers.
Next:
Barty Crouch — 10
Then Bagman, practically jumping with excitement:
10
Now the pressure fell on Karkaroff and Maxime.
The entire stadium watched.
Karkaroff's face twisted.
Finally he lifted his sign.
10
The crowd gasped.
Madame Maxime closed her eyes briefly.
Then she raised her sign as well.
10
Five golden numbers shone in the air.
10
10
10
10
10
Total:
50 points.
A perfect score.
The first in the history of the Triwizard Tournament.
The stadium exploded again.
Fleur's Realization
Back in the champions' tent, Cedric and Krum were still processing what they had seen.
Fleur stood silently in front of a magical replay screen.
The scene played again and again:
Lucian walked calmly into the arena.
The dragon lowered its head.
The golden egg rolled to his feet.
Finally the five glowing 10s.
Fleur felt as though her heart was being squeezed.
Her pride in:
her beautyher Veela bloodlineher magical talenther Beauxbatons elegance
—all felt meaningless now.
She remembered teasing him at the welcoming feast.
"An interesting little guy."
Now that memory felt unbearably embarrassing.
The real fool…
had been her.
Her pride shattered completely.
Looking at Lucian on the screen, her blue eyes filled with pure admiration.
That Night at Hogwarts
The castle atmosphere changed completely.
At the celebration feast, Lucian became the center of attention.
But the looks directed at him were no longer curiosity or skepticism.
They were pure respect.
Students who had mocked him earlier avoided eye contact.
Whenever Lucian glanced their way, they looked down awkwardly.
Like they had been slapped.
The most embarrassed group was Slytherin.
Just yesterday many of them wore Draco Malfoy's magical badges.
The badges switched between two messages:
"Support Cedric""Lucian Thornwick is a Fraud"
But after the dragon bowed to him…
Those badges felt like burning iron.
By the next morning—
every single badge had mysteriously disappeared.
No one ever mentioned them again.
As if the entire embarrassing incident…
had never happened.
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