Keeping the truth hidden from the outside world was the unanimous decision of all the judges.
Everyone understood very clearly that once this incident leaked out, it would inevitably trigger panic among the students, and might even cause riots.
Besides, the Triwizard Tournament had been publicly announced as being jointly organized by the three great wizarding schools and the Ministry of Magic of Ying Country.
If things got out, this would inevitably cause the Ministry and all the schools to suffer a massive drop in credibility.
Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic didn't really care too much, since they were strong and sturdy; even if they suffered damage, it wouldn't shake their foundations.
But Beauxbatons and Durmstrang were different.
Both of them were already nothing more than flashy on the outside but rotten within, half-dead as it was. If they got dragged down by this incident too, they'd be finished for good.
However, when it came to the scores for the champions, the only benefit left to fight for, the three schools suddenly became abnormally aggressive.
At last, after arguing for a long time, everyone finally put their expressions in order and walked out of the tent together.
They had been inside for quite a while. The students in the stands had long grown impatient from waiting.
Some of the sharper ones, who liked to overthink, had even pieced together the general truth of what had happened by combining it with the great commotion they'd seen earlier on the Black Lake.
Now, seeing Dumbledore and the others emerge again, the whispers in the stands finally died down.
Under the burning, curious stares of everyone present, Bagman cleared his throat, stepped forward, and announced,
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have finally reached a decision. The merpeople chief, Mr. Morente, told us everything that happened beneath the Black Lake in exact detail. We have decided, on the basis of a maximum of fifty points, to score the champions as follows…"
Bagman deliberately paused, letting everyone's suspense build, before continuing with a smile,
"Fleur Delacour demonstrated excellent use of the Bubble-Head Charm. But when faced with the attacks of the Grindylows and the merpeople, she failed to break through their defenses and did not rescue her hostage within the time limit. Taking everything into account, her score is… 25 points!"
Scattered applause broke out from the stands, only from the Hogwarts boys who admired Fleur.
As for the Beauxbatons students, they just felt utterly humiliated. One by one, they nearly buried their heads into their chests.
Fleur herself remained quite calm. Holding Gabrielle, who had already been checked by Madam Pomfrey and confirmed safe and sound, she shook her head and said, "I should have gotten zero."
Unfortunately, no one paid her any mind. Bagman pressed on, "Mr. Krum showed us his Transfiguration. Although incomplete, it was still effective."
"His encounter under the lake was almost identical to Fleur's, likewise, he failed to rescue his hostage. Therefore, his score is 30 points."
"And, as a personal note from me as one of Krum's fans, I'd like to give him some advice."
"In my view, Krum's strength shouldn't be limited like this. What truly shackled his fighting power was exactly that Transfiguration."
"I must remind you, Krum, you are a wizard. Magic is your strongest weapon. But by turning yourself into a shark, you actually deprived yourself of spellcasting abilities. That's a terrible trade-off!"
"Bagman's right. That move of Krum's was downright stupid," John said from the stands, shaking his head.
Cedric nearly burst out laughing at that. Grinning, he added, "I've been saying all along, Krum's nothing special. If I were down there, I could've done it too!"
The two of them didn't even bother lowering their voices to hide it from the nearby Slytherins.
Yet, surprisingly, those Slytherins, who usually loved hovering around Krum, didn't defend him this time. A few even nodded along with John and Cedric.
In their eyes, Krum was already a failure.
All the glory he once had had now completely vanished.
Now, Link was the star who lit their path.
"Next, we have Harry Potter! He very cleverly used Gillyweed, producing an incredible effect!" Bagman said with some difficulty.
"However, he also failed to break through the defenses of the Grindylows and the merpeople on his own."
"Strictly speaking, he was no different from the hostages themselves, he was discovered and rescued by Link, then brought to the surface."
"But the problem is, our rules never stated that the champions cannot cooperate. And Harry himself did indeed reach the shore within the time limit, together with Ron. So, this caused a major disagreement among the judges."
"In the end, by majority vote, we decided Harry did technically complete the task. Therefore, his score is… 40 points!"
Even though Bagman announced the score in his most rousing tone at the end, the cheers and applause from the stands were still pitifully weak.
No one could help it, everyone felt Harry's performance, being rescued like a hostage, was even more embarrassing than Fleur's.
Seeing this, Bagman silently shook his head.
He felt rather relieved that Harry wasn't awake yet. Otherwise, if Harry saw this scene himself, he might be ashamed enough to want to end his own life.
After quickly steadying his emotions, Bagman then switched back to a joyful, proud tone, "Lastly, we have our very own Link Flamel…"
Bagman had barely started speaking when his voice, magically amplified, was immediately drowned out by an explosion of cheers from the stands.
The sudden roar startled Bagman, making him sigh at how popular Link was.
He had no choice but to raise his volume and shout, "Link likewise used the Bubble-Head Charm. But he was the only one to tame the kelpie, defeat the merpeople and Grindylows, and successfully rescue his hostage within the time limit!"
"Most admirable of all, he also revealed his noble character! He didn't just care about his own score. Even while completing his task, he saved the other hostages and even helped his rival, Harry Potter!"
"All of us judges unanimously agree, Link was the best performer in this task, flawless in every respect! Therefore, his final score is, 50 points!"
"That means, up to this point, Link has already earned full marks in both tasks! He now holds first place on the scoreboard! The other champions, you'd better work harder!"
The cheers and applause grew even louder.
Flags painted with Link's face, the Hogwarts crest, the Hufflepuff emblem, and slogans supporting Link all waved through the stands, creating a spectacular sight.
"Too, too amazing!"
Emily clutched Link's arm tightly, her body trembling unconsciously. Her small face was flushed red, clearly swept up by the atmosphere around her, even more excited than Link himself.
All around them, including the judges, Ron and the others, and even Fleur, applauded Link.
Link nodded back to each of them.
"The third and final task will take place at dusk on June 24th! The champions will learn the specific details of the task one month in advance!"
Bagman continued. "Lastly, thank you all for supporting the champions and the tournament committee!"
With that, the second task of the Triwizard Tournament officially came to an end.
But the audience was reluctant to leave, still lingering in the stands, cheering and shouting.
Dumbledore and the others didn't pay them any mind, and simply ducked back into the tent again.
They still had plenty to discuss about yesterday's Death Eater attack.
"Let's go too! Everyone must be waiting for us to come back and celebrate!" Emily said, tugging Link's arm.
By now, she had fully recovered from the panic she'd felt upon hearing Link had been attacked by Death Eaters.
In her mind, as long as Dumbledore knew and handled it, there would be no problem.
Hearing this, Link slowly pulled his gaze away from old Barty's retreating back.
If Emily had been skilled in Legilimency, she would have seen that at this moment, Link's eyes were ice cold.
After the earlier attack by young Barty Crouch, Link had completely lost his patience with the elder Crouch.
In this situation, a swift, decisive strike was what mattered most.
'Perhaps it's time to deal a heavy blow to old Barty Crouch. After all, most of the hunters are already stationed outside the castle. Catching one old man should be easy.'
With this thought fixed in his mind, Link's eyes gleamed with a sudden vicious light, though outwardly he appeared calm as he said, "I still have something to..."
But he cut himself off halfway.
Because the kelpie had suddenly appeared again, entering his vision.
Unlike its graceful form in the water, its body was now covered in water plants that had dried up from staying too long on land, leaving its once-massive frame thin and gaunt.
Link frowned.
He clearly remembered that before he went into the tent, he had completely released the kelpie, set it free.
So why was it here again?
Just then, the kelpie came closer to Link.
It whined softly, nudging its head against his chest. Link pushed it away in disgust, but it kept coming back. Push it away, back it came again…
After going back and forth many times, Link finally grew impatient.
His Legilimency wasn't advanced enough yet to read the thoughts of animals, so he had no idea what this kelpie wanted.
"Maybe it's hungry?" Emily said curiously.
As she spoke, she pulled out a piece of jerky and stuffed it into the kelpie's mouth.
It ate the meat, but then went right back to pestering Link.
"Don't bother. My guess is it's submitted to you, sees you as its king," came a familiar voice from the side.
Link and Emily turned their heads to see Hagrid, dressed in an awkward-looking suit, walking toward them.
"Link, what on earth did you do? I looked after it for half a year and only barely got it to accept me as a friend. And you, with just one move, tamed it completely! This is… incredible!"
Hagrid roared with excitement, his big face turning red.
But Link's expression turned a bit odd.
After all, the way he had dealt with the kelpie couldn't even be called "unfriendly", it was downright cruel.
And yet, this creature he had just abused ended up submitting to him?
'Could it be… this kelpie was a mas*chist?'
Casting a strange look over the creature, Link finally said to Hagrid in exasperation, "If I told you I honestly don't know what's going on here, would you believe me?"
"Of course I would," Hagrid nodded furiously. "That's talent, plain and simple!"
"Enough about that, Hagrid, take it away already," Emily said, annoyed. "We're in a hurry to get back to the castle and celebrate!"
"Right, right! That's the most important thing! Leave the kelpie to me, you two head back!"
Hagrid slapped his forehead, then turned to Link with a pleading look. "Link! You've got to teach me how you did it! The way you rode it up onto shore just now was amazing. I want to ride a kelpie to visit Olympe!"
Before Link could refuse, Hagrid hoisted the kelpie onto his back and bolted off toward his hut, leaving Link and Emily stunned at the sheer strength of it all.
Only after a long pause did Emily snap out of it, once again urging Link to return to the castle.
But Link shook his head firmly.
"You go back with them first. I still need to stop by the Owlery. You know how Cedric's lot get when they celebrate, if I head straight back, I'll never get out of the common room tonight."
He was about to explain further when Emily excitedly nodded.
"You're right, you should send a letter to Aunt Leonie! She'll be thrilled to hear about your performance today!"
So Link's words were cut off before he could even continue.
Without another moment's hesitation, he said goodbye to Emily and sprinted off toward the Owlery.
Time was of the essence.
The talks on old Barty's side could end at any moment, and Link needed to get his orders sent out as soon as possible.
———
But Link's worries turned out to be unnecessary.
The discussion among Dumbledore and the other judges lasted far longer than he expected.
Only when the crescent moon hung high in the sky did they finally emerge from the tent.
"Well then, everyone, it's decided," Dumbledore said, summarizing.
"The third task of the Triwizard Tournament must proceed, but the venue, format, and even the rules will need safety improvements, to prevent anything like today from happening again."
"In addition, I will personally inform Minister Fudge of what happened today, and the Ministry of Magic will be brought in to investigate."
"Most importantly, however, everyone present must keep this matter secret."
"Though we've signed no contract, I trust none of us here would dare defy this agreement, would we?"
Dumbledore's eyes, glinting faintly green in the darkness, swept across every single person present.
The sternness in his gaze made everyone quickly nod.
Seeing this, Dumbledore's expression softened once more.
Smiling kindly, he invited, "Well then, that settles it. Anyone care to join me for a nightcap? The finest bottle of mead!"
"Especially you, Barty. We missed our chance last time, surely you won't refuse me again?"
"Sorry, not this time either." Old Barty looked utterly impatient, pressing down the brim of his bowler hat.
"I still have official duties to handle. I must leave at once!"
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