Chapter 261: The Assigned Alchemy Challenge
With the two written rounds behind them, the exchange match had now reached its first practical stage: the designated alchemy challenge.
Beauxbatons had set aside one of its side halls as the venue for today's competition.
Though it was only a side hall, in a school made up of interconnected palaces, the space was still impressively vast. It easily accommodated six large, fully equipped alchemy workbenches, each with ample room around it.
Unlike the earlier written examinations, the practical round required considerably more space and also allowed a limited number of students to attend as spectators.
Most of those in the audience were upper-year Beauxbatons students.
Alchemy had long been part of the curriculum here, yet wizards with both the talent and the perseverance to pursue it in depth remained few.
Madame Maxime sat upright on the judges' panel. With her present, the students hardly dared exchange more than a whisper, though curious eyes continued to drift towards the six competitors.
Of all those glances, most settled on Leonardo, and lingered there the longest.
It was hardly surprising. Even though Leonardo was taller than most boys his age, standing beside the other sixth- and seventh-year competitors made the difference in age immediately apparent.
More importantly, over the past few days, quite a few Beauxbatons students had noticed that the Hogwarts representative was often seen in Fleur's company.
Given Fleur's well-known pride and high standards, someone who could spend time with her so naturally, let alone enjoy her company, was a genuine rarity. It was only natural that it sparked plenty of curiosity and speculation.
Quite a few of the Beauxbatons girls in the audience found their gaze lingering on Leonardo's face as well.
His dark green eyes, in particular, seemed especially deep beneath the hall's lights, as though they could draw a person's gaze in and refuse to let it go.
The six alchemy workbenches stood ready.
Once the competitors from the three schools had each taken their places, Madame Maxime raised one enormous hand.
In an instant, identical sets of materials appeared neatly arranged on every workbench.
"Today's designated project," Madame Maxime announced, her resonant voice carrying through the hall, "is the microclimate bottle. Each of you has been provided with enough base materials for three attempts. Should you use them all, you may request additional supplies. The time limit is five hours. Failure to complete the project within that time will be counted as a failure."
She paused, her gaze sweeping across the six competitors to make sure they understood the rules.
Then, in a clear, ringing voice, she declared,
"The competition begins now!"
The instant the words left her mouth, the atmosphere tightened.
The competitors moved at once, and the hall filled with the soft clink of instruments and the rustle of materials being sorted into place.
Leonardo's hands worked swiftly as he arranged his workspace with practised precision.
At the same time, everything he knew about the microclimate bottle ran rapidly through his mind.
It was a highly advanced alchemical device within the NEWTs curriculum, designed to regulate conditions such as temperature and humidity within a confined space, allowing it to recreate a specific natural climate.
The reason it had been chosen as the test project was simple: the quality of the finished piece was immediately apparent. By observing whether the bottle could stably and convincingly recreate several different climates, the judges could quickly gauge the maker's level of skill.
At its core, this stage tested a competitor's ability to complete a complex alchemical project within a fixed time, while also assessing the quality, completeness, and refinement of the finished work.
Five hours sounded generous on the surface, and the promise of "unlimited" materials seemed equally accommodating.
Those familiar with alchemy, however, knew that the unlimited supply was little more than psychological reassurance.
The process itself was intricate and time-consuming. A single major mistake halfway through wouldn't merely waste valuable materials; it would also consume precious time that could never be regained.
If a competitor suffered two or three failed attempts in succession, whatever time remained would most likely be insufficient to produce another high-quality piece from scratch.
Leonardo's gaze settled on a piece of milky-white crystal, within which wisps of mist seemed to drift.
This would become the core of the microclimate bottle.
His fingertips brushed lightly across its surface, and the elemental runes engraved upon them lit up one after another.