Hogwarts: Starting with full Unforgivable Curses

The Hogwarts students waved their house flags excitedly and chanted the three men's names.

With this, the heroes of Hogwarts officially completed the first test.

"Let us cheer for the heroes of Hogwarts once again!" Ludobagman's voice was full of passion. "They successfully met the double challenge of the dragon and the cat-leopard in an unexpected way! Today's competition also made me realize that you should never underestimate any seemingly ordinary magical plant—even a small cabbage can become the key to defeating a powerful opponent if used in the right way!"

He paused, then raised his hand to signal the audience to be quiet: "The exciting match has come to an end. Now, I would like to ask the members of the judging panel to give a comprehensive score based on the Hogwarts warriors' tactical design, teamwork, and risk management!"

However, before the scoring process even began, disagreements arose among the judges.

Professor Karkaroff of Durmstrang was the first to frown, his tone clearly questioning: "I object! Can their performance be considered as their own strength? From beginning to end, they relied on various magical plants, from vines to thorns to biting cabbages, and hardly displayed any real combat magic!"

Before he could finish speaking, Mrs. Maxim of Beauxbatons immediately retorted, "Professor Karkaroff, the rules of the competition have never prohibited the use of magical plants. If we follow your logic, then summoning spells should also be prohibited—after all, summoning spells also rely on external forces. Does strength only lie in direct confrontation? Utilizing existing resources flexibly is itself part of magical ability."

"Furthermore, how many times have you protested in this competition? Every time you try to deduct points on the grounds of 'not meeting the strength standards.' Since you have so many doubts about the scoring criteria, I think it would be better to summarize all the points of protest and re-evaluate the warriors of each school—this would ensure fairness and make everyone accept the outcome."

Karkarov looked at the others, his expression turning somewhat grim.

He originally only wanted to lower Hogwarts' scores by questioning them to give Durmstrang an advantage, but he didn't expect it to trigger a proposal to re-evaluate the scores!
If a re-evaluation is indeed conducted, Durmstrang's already low score due to the destruction of the golden egg will likely have little chance of improvement.

Just as the debate on the judges' bench reached a stalemate, Barty Crouch Sr. suddenly spoke up. His voice was steady and powerful, instantly drowning out the discussion: "Headmasters, please don't forget that the Triwizard Tournament is a competition jointly organized by the three schools. The Ministry of Magic is only responsible for venue coordination and security, and will not participate in the discussion of the scoring criteria."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over each of the principals present, his tone somewhat serious: "Regarding the matter of re-evaluation, I hope you will all consider it carefully—evaluation is not only about the honor of each school, but also about being responsible for all the participants. Without sufficient reason, arbitrarily changing the evaluation process could easily trigger new controversies."

Hearing this, Ludobagman quietly put down his wand and let out a long breath.

He had long been impatient with these arguments, and in his opinion, instead of wasting time arguing about the scoring criteria, he should focus on Dylan, who was about to take the stage.

As the last warrior to participate, Dylan will face the toughest Fire Dragon combination. Ludo is already looking forward to seeing what unexpected performance he will deliver.

As soon as Barty finished speaking, Headmaster Dumbledore smiled and said, his tone relaxed yet carrying an undeniable authority: "Since the Ministry of Magic doesn't interfere with the details of the grading, we'll proceed according to the consensus among the schools. The situation is clear: two headmasters support a re-grading, while only one opposes it. Following the principle of 'majority rule,' Mr. Karkaroff, why don't we re-grade it? This will ensure fairness and avoid further disputes later on."

Karkarov's face instantly turned even uglier, and the muscles in his cheeks twitched uncontrollably.

He knew very well that continuing to oppose it would only make him seem unreasonable.

He opened his mouth, the rebuttal he had prepared caught in his throat, and finally turned into a frustrated "Never mind," his voice so soft it was almost inaudible.

Clearly, he has been forced to accept the offer to re-evaluate.

"Excellent! Now that all the principals have reached a consensus, please begin scoring!" Ludobagman immediately seized the opportunity and announced loudly, fearing any further complications, "Please use your wands to release the scoring ribbons so that all the audience can witness the final scores!"

At this moment, Harry, Cedric, and Draco had already reached the vicinity of the referee's table.

Harry's back wound, after simple treatment, has stopped bleeding and shows no signs of reopening.

All three of them looked curiously at the referee's table, eager to know their scores as soon as possible.

Mrs. Maxim raised her wand first, and with a gentle tap of the tip, a pale pink ribbon appeared out of thin air. The ribbon twisted and entangled nimbly in the air, quickly forming a clear number "9".

A burst of enthusiastic applause immediately erupted from the stands, and the students of Beauxbatons cheered along with them.

Clearly, Mrs. Maxim was quite impressed with Hogwarts' tactical performance.

When it was Karkaroff's turn to give a score, he still wore a sour face and reluctantly raised his wand.

A dark gray ribbon slowly floated out, hesitated in the air for a few seconds, and then barely twisted into the number "4".

As soon as the score was announced, the cheers in the stands quieted down considerably, and many people showed expressions of surprise.

"Only four points..." Harry muttered under his breath, staring at the glaring "4," his voice full of confusion. "We completed all the tasks, and our tactics were approved by the other headmasters. Isn't he being too strict?"

Draco stood to the side, feeling the applause rising and falling in the stands, while discreetly observing the expressions of the other referees.

Mrs. Maxim was frowning.

He immediately understood the reason and couldn't help but let out two mocking laughs: "Heh, this score is really 'fair'."

He turned to Harry and Cedric, his tone laced with sarcasm: "Maybe he's this strict with all the champions from all the schools? But I bet, apart from Durmstrang's champions, the champions from the other two schools will probably be 'specially treated' by him."

Finally, Ludobagman and Dumbledore also gave their scores, and two ribbons, one orange and one silver, flew out, both forming the number "9".

At this point, the final score for the Hogwarts Champions is clear, and they are currently leading all schools in overall score.

Cedric couldn't help but smile, his tone full of satisfaction: "In any case, the other judges gave us very high scores, which shows that our performance was recognized by most people."

"This is what we deserve!" Draco said matter-of-factly, with a hint of pride in his eyes.

After all, he was involved in designing this tactical plan!

Harry glanced at the entrance next to the referee's table, where Dylan was about to take the stage, and quickly suggested, "Let's move to the side! Dylan is coming up next, let's not affect his performance here."

Cedric and Draco both nodded, and the three of them took a few steps back in unison, turning their gaze toward the entrance.

Everyone is eagerly awaiting the appearance of the final warrior!

After Harry, Cedric, and Draco left the arena, the staff quickly cleaned up the area.

When the two enormous fire dragons were guided back into the arena, the circular stands erupted in an uproar.

The audience rose from their seats, their eyes fixed on the two colossal beasts that could be described as "symbols of destruction," with many even instinctively shrinking back.

These two fire dragons, one of them is a Hungarian hornet dragon.

Its breath is extremely hot, and its wings can create strong winds when they flap, easily crushing even hard rocks with its claws.

On the other side was a Norwegian Spinosaurus of similar size, now even more ferocious. The Hungarian Horned Bee Dragon first slowly raised its head, scanned the arena, and then gently flicked its tail.

The sharp spikes at the end of its tail scraped against the ground, instantly creating dazzling sparks and even leaving a shallow scratch on the rocky surface.

This alone makes it clear to the audience that the spikes are sharp enough to pierce metal!
In contrast, the Norwegian Spinosaurus was more agitated.

It roared deafeningly, its sharp teeth gleaming coldly in the sunlight, and its powerful tail lashed the ground repeatedly like a whip, each strike leaving a deep, bone-revealing furrow, sending pebbles and dust flying everywhere.

Just looking at the destructive power displayed by the two fire dragons, and recalling the fact that even if the warriors from the two schools teamed up to fight the two fire dragons, they might not have been able to complete the test!
The audience couldn't help but feel a little worried for Dylan, who was about to take the stage alone.

Fighting two ferocious beasts alone is an almost impossible challenge!

"Ladies and gentlemen! Let's give a warm round of applause to the last warrior of this event!" Ludo Bagman's voice resounded throughout the arena through an amplification spell. He deliberately dragged out the last syllable to create a tense atmosphere, and then shouted out the name, "He is none other than Dylan Hawkwood from Hogwarts Gryffindor House!"

As the name was announced, all eyes turned to the other entrance of the arena.

Dylan, dressed in a black Hogwarts school uniform robe, slowly walked out. His steps were steady and firm, each step firm and powerful, as he slowly approached the direction where the two fire dragons were.

Surprisingly, there was no sign of tension or worry on his face, only his usual gentle and approachable demeanor, as if the two people in front of him were not two deadly fire dragons, but two docile little animals.

The Hogwarts students were the first to react, clapping their hands vigorously, their cheers deafening, and even the ground of the arena seemed to tremble slightly with the applause.

The Ravenclaw students, in particular, displayed an enthusiasm rarely seen on ordinary days, with many holding up signs that read "Go Dylan!" and shouting his name, trying to send him encouragement through their cheers.

However, to the Norwegian Spinosaurus, this enthusiastic cheering sounded like a jarring provocation.

Already enraged, it was instantly provoked and launched the first attack.

It clearly knew that the human in front of it was the enemy who wanted to "steal" the golden egg!

The moment it saw Dylan, it didn't hesitate for a moment. It opened its mouth wide and spewed a blazing orange-red dragon breath toward Dylan. The flames drew a long pillar of fire in the air, almost instantly covering the entire area in front of Dylan.

"Oh! Merlin's beard!" Ludobagman screamed in terror, his voice filled with panic. "The Norwegian Ridgeback is too cunning! It actually launched a sneak attack before Dylan was ready! This is too dangerous!"

Before he could finish speaking, a shocking scene unfolded.

A huge rock, as tall as two people, suddenly appeared out of nowhere, like a shield, and stood firmly in front of Dylan.

There was a loud "boom"!
The dragon's breath slammed into the boulder, and flames instantly engulfed the entire rock, billowing thick smoke.

But the boulder remained completely still, blocking the dragon's breath entirely.

Before the audience could recover from their shock, the boulder that had blocked the dragon's breath suddenly moved and hurtled toward the Norwegian Spinosaurus at an astonishing speed.

The Norwegian Ridgeback was clearly not expecting its opponent to retaliate so quickly, and hurriedly raised its thick claws to try to block the boulder.

With a crisp "crack," the boulder was shattered by the dragon's claw, sending fragments flying everywhere!

"Incredible! That's shapeshifting magic! Dylan Hawkwood actually switched from defense to counterattack in such a short time!" Ludo Bagman shouted, his voice filled with disbelief. "How did he do that? The reaction speed, the precision of the magic, it's beyond my imagination! This level of magic, my god! I feel like he's even stronger than me!"

Before he could finish speaking, an even more shocking scene unfolded.

The shattered stones suddenly stopped in mid-air, as if fixed by an invisible force, floating there motionless.

Ludobagman swallowed hard, and just as he was about to continue his explanation, the stagnant pebbles began to change again.

They moved rapidly through the air, colliding and merging with each other, and in the blink of an eye, they coalesced into more than a dozen sharp rock spears.

Each rock spear was as thick as an arm, with a tip so sharp it reflected light, and it thrust fiercely toward the Norwegian Spinosaurus.

Seeing this, the Norwegian Spinosaurus quickly twisted its massive body and swung its long tail, sweeping it horizontally towards the incoming rock spear.

Its long tail is extremely flexible, and with each swing it can accurately hit the rock spears—the sounds of "bang bang bang" are continuous, and most of the rock spears are shattered by the long tail, turning into smaller stones that fall to the ground.

However, a small number of rock spears still managed to break through its defenses and pierce its scales at extremely high speed.

Although the dragon's scales are thick and hard, these rock spears have extremely strong impact.

With a few "thuds," several rock spears successfully pierced the relatively thin scales on the belly of the Norwegian Spinosaurus, leaving several deep scratches. Blood instantly seeped from the wounds, staining the surrounding scales red.

"Awooo—!" The Norwegian Spinosaurus let out a painful roar, its voice filled with anger and resentment. It instinctively took a few steps back, staring warily at Dylan, clearly not expecting that this seemingly gentle human could inflict such serious damage on it!
Ludobagman opened his mouth, but found himself at a loss for words to continue his explanation.

From the Norwegian Ridgeback Dragon breathing its breath to Dylan using a boulder for defense, and then turning the rubble into rock spears to retaliate, the entire process happened in just a few seconds, so fast that it was dazzling.

He was just worried about Dylan, and the next second he saw the rock spear leave a wound on the fire dragon. The reversal came too fast and left him a little confused.

Perhaps... we should be worried about the Norwegian Spinosaurus now?
Not only Ludo, but several principals on the referee's bench were also extremely surprised.

Karkarov reached out, pinched his brow, shook his head slightly, and sighed repeatedly, clearly finding the scene before him incomprehensible.

Karkaroff sighed and muttered under his breath, "I was afraid this would happen... How could Hogwarts have such strong students? This is not the kind of strength that should be expected for their age group!"

Mrs. Maxim's brows were also furrowed tightly as she looked at Dylan, who remained calm in the center of the room, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

She had previously thought she had a certain understanding of Dylan's abilities, but now it seems that her understanding was obviously not comprehensive enough. This young Gryffindor student has many more surprises in store!
Of course, maybe it was just fright?

Unlike the referees' mixed feelings, the spectators in the circular stands didn't think so much about it.

All they knew was that they had witnessed a spectacular counterattack, and that seemingly weak humans had used magic to make a powerful fire dragon wail in agony!
that's enough!
They immediately fulfilled their duty as spectators, erupting in even louder cheers and applause than before, with many waving their arms excitedly in celebration of Dylan's brilliant performance.

The atmosphere in the arena reached a new climax at this moment. (End of Chapter)