Seeing the woman fussing over him, Lucas was momentarily lost in nostalgia, her image overlapping with his mother. Her tense brows, her teary eyes, and her every gesture right now felt awfully familiar.
"Are your injuries serious? Is your body showing signs of dizziness or paralysis?"
"I'm fine, mo- maam." The familiar way she asked him that almost made him answer instinctively.
As the results of her diagnostics were revealed, she drew in a sharp breath.
"You have multiple stab wounds, cuts and abrasions," she said severely. Her glare momentarily turned to Fleur, before returning to him.
"The medical tent is over there. Do get a proper diagnosis and treatment," she said pointing towards the white tent where Madam Pomfrey stood with her wand drawn.
Like a good boy, Lucas did as he was told.
….
"Adeline! Hermione! Wait up!"
Just as the Gryffindor girls left the VIP area to visit Lucas, they were stopped by none other than Ron and Harry.
"We'll go with you," said Ron, as he and Harry caught up.
"Why?" Asked Hermione, her lips pressing into a thin line, quite similar to McGonagall. Adeline also frowned.
All this time, they've been making fun of Lucas while also being in a cold war with her and Hermione. And now all of sudden, they're back to being friends again?
But Harry and Ron didn't seem to notice anything amiss at all.
"Didn't you see Lucas's sword fight? Of course we need the book you guys gave him!" Ron answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"And isn't the sword of Gryffindor in the Headmistress office? We should be able to get our hands on it too," said Harry. "Then, we'd be unstoppable!"
Adeline blinked. 'Have they lost the plot or something?'
If anyone could achieve Lucas's level with just the books, the wizarding world would have been crawling with sword fighters.
And what makes them think they can even get to touch the Gryffindor sword?
"Unbelievable." Hermione shook her head, passing by them and Adeline followed her, feeling like they didn't even deserve a response.
"Alright, we're sorry, okay? You win, Dorine," said Harry, blocking Adeline.
Adeline narrowed her eyes. "You know, I'm started to understand why many people hate you. I'll get you the book. But don't bother us or Lucas from now on."
With that, they left the snobs behind. Adeline was pretty frustrated with Harry's immaturity.
But, as they neared Lucas's tent, she quickly forgot about the matter, new thoughts plaguing her mind.
What should she say to him?
How should she congratulate him?
He is still going to be distant because of the last attack, right?
If she shows how happy she is for him, will he think she was nice to him only because he showed his abilities?
She also had quite a bit of temper built for towards him for never actually showing his true abilities, which had caused her needless worry. Should she express it?
While she was lost in her thoughts, she heard high-pitched voices up ahead.
"He's in a medical tent, right?"
"Do you think they would allow us in?"
"Won't it be worth it if we are the first ones to congratulate him?"
"Then you go first."
"No, you go. Maybe he's shirtless."
"Romilda! You naughty cow!"
She saw that a group of girls had gathered in front of tents, giggling and pushing each other.
"Excuse me." she said, pushing past the girls. "Strangers aren't allowed in," she said, before entering the tent, the aurors nearby only straightening up when seeing her.
And then she saw him. And froze.
"Ahhhh!" Behind her, Hermione let out a shrill squeak.
Like the girls outside had fantasized, Lucas WAS shirtless. And for a moment, Adeline couldn't move her eyes away, soaking in the image projected on her retinas.
Sure she had seen him shirtless the last time as well, but he was sporting horrible injuries at the time, which had left her no time to focus on anything else.
'He's so ripped.' That was the first thought that popped into her mind. Lucas's physique was already highly muscular, quite unlike the other wizards of their age.
But his physique was not the bulky kind, like those quidditch players. Instead, he was all lean, corded muscle, the kind that looked like it had been hammered out of cold iron.
Adeline's eyes traced his broad shoulders that tapered down into a waist that was dangerously narrow, sporting abs that seemed to have been chiseled into his abdomen.
Further below were the V lines that disappeared into his -
"You're here."
Adeline snapped out of her thoughts when Lucas raised his bandaged hand in a casual greeting.
"Yeah… hi."
Adeline flushed. 'Seriously, all that preparation and that's all you could manage?!'
"L-Lucas! You were so amazing!" Even Hermione managed to do better.
A robe was thrown over Lucas, covering most of his body. "Eet is rude to enter wizout permission, non? Lucas eez a male," said Fleur Delacour, who, Adeline noted, appeared to be completely unharmed. Even her hairstyle was still perfect.
'Shouldn't that apply to you as well?' Adeline wanted to ask, but she held it in.
"Come off it, Fleur. They were the ones who treated me the last time I was injured."
Lucas turned to them and smiled. "You guys wouldn't happen to have anything to eat, would you?"
"Alcy," Adeline called, and a female house-elf popped into view in front of her.
"Bring Lucas his snacks, please." The house-elf vanished and within a few seconds, popping back with a tray full of food.
"Thanks!"
"Alcy be very happy to help Miss Adeline, ma'am." With that, the elf was gone again.
"Here, your usual slop," said Adeline, personally bringing him the tray.
Along with his training resources, Adeline has also been helping Lucas with his meals.
When she first saw his magical-ingredient diet plan and the recipes, she had wondered if he was mad.
After having a taste out of curiosity, she was sure he was mad, having felt like vomiting for at least an hour due to the taste.
But after watching his performance and his physique, she could only respect his perseverance.
Lucas immediately dug in, devouring the food voraciously.
"What you did out there… I have so many questions!" Hermione gushed while he ate. "How did you increase the blade's cutting power so much?"
"I just practiced a lot. The real problem was transfiguring a sword strong enough to withstand that," said Lucas between bites, his eyes travelling to the blade lying beside him.
"Oh, the sword! Can I… Can I touch it?" Hermione asked excitedly.
"Be careful. It still has some residual high frequency vibration."
"Oooh!"
Hermione's hand retreated so fast it could have caught a snitch.
Adeline only now realized that the dull ringing in her ears was coming from the sword.
She eyed the weapon that had slain numerous monsters just moments prior.
'Fleur's Transfiguration must be really good," she thought.
Obviously the blade was unusable now. She could see multiple cracks and chips in several places, and its tip seemed to have completely deformed. But, it had definitely managed to serve its purpose.
"And that spell you used to injure the Queen and its guards - what was that? It managed to penetrate the Queen's armor!"
"Oh, that was just something I came across in the Delacour library."
He put away the tray, dabbing his mouth with a napkin.
"Thanks for the food Adeline, you're a lifesaver."
Adeline giggled, noticing the platter was already empty. He must have been really hungry with all the effort he put in.
"Thank Alcy. She's the one who prepared this."
"Yeah, thank her for me."
"So, are you still against the house elf system?" She teased, but regretted it instantly.
"Adeline!" Hermione said, shoving her.
Lucas slowed his eating.
"Well… servants can indeed be life-saving sometimes," he mumbled. "Don't take my words seriously." He didn't seem as relaxed anymore.
'Are you an idiot? Why did you say that?' Adeline scolded herself. She didn't know why, but she just wanted to tease him.
Fleur stood up.
"Let's go. We 'ave to see our scores... and ze ozer champions' tasks."
…
As soon as Lucas exited the tent, the noise of the crowd hit again.
"Let me go! My sister is inside! I need to see her!"
Trying to push past the Aurors was Gabrielle, her large eyes filled with tears. She seemed almost ready to use her allure.
"Lucas!" As soon as she saw him, the water works started. She threw herself into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably.
Funnily enough, she didn't even glance at her 'sister who was inside.'
"You should have never participated! Fleur is crazy!" She said against his chest, her voice muffled.
The girl was only 12, and had only heard the glorified version of what participating in the tournament actually meant. Of course now that she actually saw it for herself, she came to understand exactly what Lucas had signed up for.
"It's alright, Gabby. I'm strong enough to handle it. You have to believe in me."
While consoling Gabrielle, Lucas glanced at the scoreboard. Immediately, his eyes narrowed.
LUCAS
Alaric: 5
Maxime: 10
Karkaroff: 7
Ragnar: 8
Crouch: 8
Ariana: 9
Total points = 47
FLEUR
Alaric: 5
Maxime: 10
Karkaroff: 6
Ragnar: 7
Crouch: 8
Ariana: 7
Total points = 43
Grand Total = 90
"Five points?! Has he even stopped pretending?!" Fleur exclaimed. Nothing could be said about Karkaroff, but Alaric was from their own country, which means he SHOULD have given a perfect score to both of them.
By giving them a 5 instead, he had set them back by a total of 10 points - a problem that the other champions definitely won't have to face.
"To give the lowest score to your own country! This is outrageous!" Hermione exclaimed. For the first time, she and Fleur were actually on the same page.
And their crashout was reasonable. To ensure fairness, a few new rules were created after the last tournament.
-The judges were required to allocate points fairly to the champions of other countries.
-If the task was complete, that automatically grants at a minimum of 5 points, and further deduction cannot be unreasonable.
-Judges cannot award full marks to their own champions if the task is incomplete/partially complete.
Lucas and Fleur's task completion was so good that even Karkaroff didn't dare to give lower than 6, which shows how blatantly unfair Alaric was.
"Can't we appeal for a reassessment?" Asked Adeline. "If he can't provide suitable reasons, wouldn't he have to change the score?"
Lucas shook his head. "That rule states judges of 'other' countries, not your own. No one thought any judge would unfairly deduct their own champion's points."
"He found a loophole. But the French wizarding folks will not stand for this!" Said Fleur, fuming.
"Well, Aiden's task is starting. Let's watch it first," said Lucas, listening to Bagman's commentary.
"It's useless. Aiden would do the task perfectly," said Fleur, looking completely dejected. "I should have performed better."
"Then I don't think you understand the situation very well yet," said Adeline. "The two of you still have a decent chance of winning."
"You mean... Aiden might mess up?"
"No, of course not. The task should be a walk in a park for him. But that's precisely his weakness."
They quickly made their way to the VIP box. There, Lucas saw two familiar gorgeous ladies seated at the corner.
"Lucas!"
"Miss Fontaine!"
Yep, it was Miss Fontaine and Lady Apolline.
Miss Fontaine stood up as soon as she saw him, coming over to envelop him in a hug. Lucas smiled, inhaling her homely scent.
Lucas saw several other familiar faces looking at him curiously,
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah, everything's been patched up."
Miss Fontaine sighed in relief. Then, a slap landed on his shoulder with considerable force.
"Why did you participate in the tournament?!"
"Oh, here we go again…"
While listening Miss Fontain's lecture, he arrived at the corner.
"Madame," he greeted.
"Lucas. That was... a fantastic performance," said Apolline, actually standing up. "And while others might not have spotted it, I know that you saved Fleur," she said in a lower voice, leaning into his ear.
Lucas's eyes focused on the deep ravine that was revealed.
"For that. you will be rewarded ~"
Lucas gulped, simply nodding.
He took his seat, still a bit puzzled. Was Apolline's attitude always so warm? No, but a lot of things had changed now. Lucas was simply not expecting her to adapt to the changes to well.
'Well, this makes things much easier.'
....
"Aiden and Diggory are at the scene! Wow, this looks so much better than the previous nest!"
The spiderwebs seemed like a luminous blanket draped over the trees, and the glowing dot showed the spiders riding in those webs.
"A little recap for our viewers. These are the Luminous Acromantulas of the Forbidden forest. Their webs and even their outer shells have magic-resistant properties."
"Most magical spells probably won't work against them. If you ask me, they sound almost as scary to me as the bone-gnawers, unless of course, you can wield a sword like Castillin."
Lucas was curious to see how Aiden was going to handle this task, having been allegedly in the dark about the Acromantulas.
Aiden drew his wand. And Lucas's gaze sharpened when he saw distortions in the surrounding air - tell-tale sign of large amounts of magic, something he has only seen in the Dumbledores.
"Silva Ad-Meum… Obsequium… Transmutato," he uttered in an absolutely calm, yet commanding tone.
("Forest… to my compliance… be transfigured!")
The ground shook, causing Cedric to stumble. And then, all the trees in the surroundings seemed to come alive.
The trunks of the trees bent in arcs, and the large branches came down - creating a pathway that led straight into the forest.
'What… the fuck?'
"BY MERLIN'S MAGIC! What Kind of Spell was THAT?!"
Aiden walked through the pathways, with Cedric following behind, slack jawed. The lush branches covered them from all sides, blocking any spiders from entering.
As they walked further Aiden waved his wand in a similar fashion as conducting an orchestra.
In response, the branches of the trees moved like whips lashing out any larger spiders that dared to approach.
The so-called Magic Resistance seems utterly worthless in front of Aiden's absolute power! It seems that only someone like Castillin can cut through those defenses."
Along the way, a few spiders 'accidentally' slipped through Aiden's defences, which Cedric had to fight. But even that was difficult for him to handle, since the Spiders were magic resistant and Cedric was unprepared.
Cedric, to his credit, figured out a few tricks after having been saved by Aiden as he used transfiguration to trap the spiders' feet into ground - after which he finished them off one by one using physical spells.
As they reached the Blight Weaver Vespera, the Queen herself came out of her nest, surrendering the egg to them.
Their scores?
CEDRIC
Alaric: 5
Maxime: 6
Karkaroff: 5
Ragnar: 6
Crouch: 9
Ariana: 6
Total points: 37
AIDEN
Alaric: 8
Maxime: 9
Karkaroff: 8
Ragnar: 9
Crouch: ?
Ariana: ?
….
A.N.: Can Lucas and Fleur beat the Hogwarts team? To find out, keep giving powerstones wherever you have them!