Hogwarts: Starting with full Unforgivable Curses

At this moment, the snow leopard was curled up behind the rock, motionless, not because of the cold.

Blizzard might slow it down a bit, but it will never affect its combat effectiveness.

What truly made it hesitate was the invisible crisis lurking within the blizzard.

It could instinctively sense that this snow was not formed naturally, and that each snowflake carried a faint magical fluctuation.

It was uncertain whether these fluctuations would erupt instantly and bring unpredictable consequences once it pounced on Dylan.

After weighing the options, it chose to stay in a safe area and quietly observe the situation.

Of course, the most crucial element is the human child, which gives it an eerie feeling that it is completely unable to resist.

It's as if once it goes up there, it's doomed!
Inside the rest tents on the other side of the arena.

The Warriors, having already passed the test, are now watching the footage closely from the sidelines, eager to see how Dylan will finish the job.

When Harry saw the heavy snow falling in the distance, he suddenly clapped his hands and exclaimed in realization, "So he had a plan all along! He used magic to block the dragon's breath first, and the evaporated water vapor provided just enough water. In this way, he not only blocked the attack but also laid the groundwork for subsequent magic. How ingenious!"

“It’s quite ingenious.” Draco crossed his arms and leaned against a tent pole, his tone carrying a hint of casual agreement. “Now that you mention it, it doesn’t seem that complicated at all.”

Harry's summary and Draco's words left the Beauxbatons warriors with complicated expressions.

They opened their mouths, wanting to refute that this was not simple at all, but they didn't know where to begin.

Theoretically, the logic of creating a water spell to block dragon breath and changing the weather with water vapor is indeed clear, but the difficulty in actual combat can only be understood by those who have experienced it firsthand.

The warriors of Beauxbatons exchanged glances, all seeing confusion in each other's eyes.

When they cast such magic, they must need to set up ritual magic in advance and use the power of the magic circle to condense a sufficiently strong water column.

But Dylan, without any support items, unleashed an even larger tsunami in mid-air.

This even allows it to withstand two dragon breaths simultaneously!

They still can't figure out how Dylan could precisely control the intensity and range of the water-making spell without any stable support.

Many people are also paying attention to how Dylan manipulates the weather.

In their school's magic system, this spell is actually a key course, and the members have all systematically studied the relevant knowledge.

They knew very well that the transition from torrential rain to blizzard required precise control of the concentration of water vapor in the air, the magnitude of the temperature drop, and the balance of magical energy output. Any slight deviation would cause the magic to fail or even trigger a backlash.

When Dylan completed this series of operations, it was as smooth as drinking water, which surprised and frustrated them.

Just then, a cheer came from outside the tent.

Everyone rushed to the doorway and saw Dylan walk to the golden egg, bend down, and steadily lift it up.

Harry and Draco cheered first, and Cedric clapped with a smile, instantly making the atmosphere in the tent lively.

Warriors from other schools were also drawn by the cheers and gathered in front of the curtain, eager to see what was happening outside.

Before they could even stand properly, Madam Pomfrey's stern voice came from behind them: "Get back to bed and lie down! Look at your injuries, how dare you move around here? If your wounds reopen, you'll be in big trouble!"

Everyone turned around and saw Lady Pomfrey supporting a warrior whose arm was slashed by dragon claws and wrapped in thick bandages. The warrior was struggling to get to the door.

Clearly, Madam Pomfrey's words were primarily addressed to the most seriously injured warrior.

The other person smiled sheepishly and could only obediently be helped back to the bed by Mrs. Pomfrey, but still couldn't help turning his head to look at Dylan holding the golden egg outside the tent through the gap in the tent, his eyes full of admiration.

The moment Dylan lifted the golden egg, the discussion on the judges' bench officially began.

Mrs. Maxim took over the conversation, her hands clasped in front of her, her eyes full of approval for Dylan: "I'd like to add something—about the choice of the fire dragon in the trial."

"The Hungarian Tree Bee Dragon and the Norwegian Spinosaurus are among the top five fire dragon species in terms of both size and ferocity, far superior to those docile fire dragons that rarely attack humans."

"Faced with such an opponent, Dylan was able to escape unscathed and even prevent the fire dragon from causing any additional damage. This ability far surpasses that of wizards of his age."

"Mr. Karkaroff, do you have any other thoughts?"

He opened his mouth, but the prepared argument that "magic relies too much on skill rather than strength" stuck in his throat.

Karkaroff's face flushed red, and he threw up his hands, his voice full of frustration: "I...I haven't said anything yet!"

"Since Mr. Karkaroff has no objection, can we assume that everyone has reached a consensus?"

Ludobagman interjected at the opportune moment, fearing a new argument might arise, and quickly pressed his advantage, "If there are no further questions, can we begin scoring Dylan?"

Karkaroff's face turned from flushed red to purplish-blue. He clenched his teeth, forcing out the words, "Of... of course, no problem! Let's start scoring now!"

Mrs. Maxim was the first to raise her wand.

She looked at Dylan holding the golden egg in the center of the arena, her tone full of admiration: "I really can't find anything to criticize about Dylan's performance - his tactical design was meticulous, his magic control was precise, and he was able to remain calm in the face of danger. This is already the most perfect performance."

As the words fell, two pale purple ribbons floated from the tip of the staff. One of them twisted nimbly in the air and finally solidified into a clear "10"—the first perfect score in this competition.

A cheer immediately erupted from the stands, and the students of Beauxbatons waved their school flags excitedly.

Following that, Ludo Bagman and Barty Crouch also gave their scores – Ludo's orange ribbon and Barty's dark blue ribbon both unsurprisingly turned into a "10".

The appearance of three perfect scores in a row instantly ignited the atmosphere in the circular stands. The audience stood up one after another, and the applause and cheers were more enthusiastic than ever before, even drowning out the roar of the fire dragon.

Just when everyone thought the scoring was about to end, Headmaster Dumbledore suddenly spoke with a smile, his tone tinged with a hint of teasing: "To be honest, I think he still has room for improvement—for example, in terms of the density of the spell placement, if he could optimize it a bit more, perhaps he could restrain the dragon more quickly and reduce unnecessary maneuvering time." His words made everyone on the judges' panel laugh—everyone knew that this was just Dumbledore joking.

After all, achieving a perfect score while fighting against two powerful dragons in a one-man battle is an unprecedented achievement.

Dylan, standing in the center of the arena, seemed to hear the cheers from the stands as well.

He raised the golden egg, nodded slightly towards the referee's table, and then, guided by the staff, walked towards the rest tent.

His first test concluded in the most perfect way.

As soon as Dumbledore finished his teasing remark, he slowly raised the wand in his hand.

He gently turned the staff with his fingertips, and a pale silver light overflowed from the tip, gradually condensing into the shape of a ribbon.

The ribbon slowly twisted and entwined in the air, not forming a "10" like the other judges, but finally settling on a clear "9".

"Although there is room for improvement, a score of 9 is enough to demonstrate his excellence."

Dumbledore explained with a smile, his admiration undiminished.

Everyone understands that this one-point difference is merely his "expectation-based strictness" towards his junior, rather than a genuine feeling that Dylan has obvious shortcomings.

Next up is Karkarov.

He gripped the wand tightly with both hands, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force, his brows furrowed, clearly going through a fierce internal struggle.

Giving it a perfect score would be tantamount to completely acknowledging that Dylan's ability far surpasses that of Durmstrang Warriors.

If I give a low score, I'm afraid other principals will accuse me of "settling personal scores."

After hesitating for a full half minute, he seemed to have made up his mind, reluctantly raising his wand slowly while muttering to himself, "Dumbledore has a point... there are indeed areas for improvement..."

As he moved, a dark gray ribbon floated from the tip of the staff, hesitated in the air for a few seconds, and finally twisted into the shape of an "8".

This score is neither too high nor too low; it neither completely negates Dylan's performance nor fails to reflect some "personal bias," making it the most "compromise" choice Karkaroff could make.

With this, all the judges have finished scoring, and the scoring phase of the first test in the three-way battle has officially come to an end.

While the dragon trainers and animal control personnel entered the arena, using magical ropes to lead the fire dragons and soothing charms to guide the cats and leopards back to the Forbidden Forest, Ludobagman stood up, gently pressed the tip of his wand against his neck, and cast an amplification charm.

His voice instantly became loud and clear, echoing throughout every corner of the arena.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I now announce the final scores of the first test of the Triwizard Tournament for each school's warriors!" Ludo's voice was filled with excitement. "First up are the warriors of Beauxbatons. Their ritual magic demonstrated an extremely high level of professionalism, ultimately earning them fifty-two points!"

Loud applause erupted in the Beauxbatons area, and silver-blue ribbons fluttered in the air.

"The warriors of Durmstrang have earned forty-five points thanks to their outstanding flying skills and ability to handle risks!" Upon hearing this score, Karkarov's expression softened slightly, and the students of Durmstrang applauded, though the cheers were far less enthusiastic than those from the previous schools.

"Finally, the heroes of Hogwarts!" Ludo deliberately raised his voice, his tone full of anticipation. "Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, and Cedric Diggory, the three heroes, completed the test in an innovative way, earning fifty-seven points! And Dylan Hawkwood, the hero, earned sixty-seven points with his amazing performance of fighting two dragons single-handedly!"

He paused, then added, "According to the pre-game rules, the final score at Hogwarts will be calculated as the average of the two teams' scores, which is (57 + 67) ÷ 2 = 62 points!"

The moment the scores were announced, the stands erupted in cheers—an average score of 62, far exceeding that of other schools!

Hogwarts unsurprisingly won first place in the first test!
Beauxbatton ranked second with 52 points, while Durmstrang ranked third with 45 points.

"Hogwarts! Hogwarts!" The Hogwarts students stood up excitedly, shouting the school's name.

Many people took out pre-prepared magic fireworks from their pockets, lit them, and threw them into the air.

Colorful fireworks burst in the sky above the arena, some transforming into eagles, others into lions, and still others into badgers and snakes. The four animal forms circled and danced in the air, creating a spectacular scene.

Cheers, applause, and the explosions of fireworks mingled together, turning the entire arena into a sea of ​​joy.

Harry, Cedric, and Draco, hearing the cheers from their rest tent, exchanged smiles.

The victory in the first test gave Hogwarts a perfect start, but the challenges to come were yet to come.

On the magic screen in the rest tent, the scoring from the judges' table is being broadcast live.

When Harry saw Karkaroff's dark gray ribbon finally twist into an "8", he couldn't help but shake his head with a hint of surprise: "He actually gave us an 8... that's a high score! I was just worried that he would only give us 4 like he did with us before."

Draco stood to the side, his brows furrowed, his gaze fixed on Karkaroff's tense profile on the screen. His tone was full of disdain: "Double a 4 to an 8, and you're surprised? Look at his expression—his mouth is practically turned down to his ears, and his hand holding the wand is trembling slightly. He was clearly forced into this score, and he must be feeling really bad about it."

Harry followed his gaze and saw that Karkaroff, though outwardly calm, couldn't hide the resentment in his eyes. He even deliberately avoided looking at the other headmasters.

He couldn't help but nod in agreement, saying, "That's really true... If it were any other time, he probably wouldn't even be willing to give a 6."

Cedric, who was standing nearby, nodded in agreement.

In fact, long before the scoring began, they had already figured out the scoring habits of the judges by communicating with other school warriors.

Seeing Karkarov's score now confirms the trio's earlier assessment—most judges are able to maintain relative fairness when scoring.

Mrs. Maxim was the same way; when grading the Warriors at her own school, she would subconsciously give them a high score of 9, as a form of encouragement for her students.

However, when grading other schools, the evaluation is still objective, and the scores are all within a reasonable range.

Harry, Draco, and Cedric could all understand this level of "selfishness."

After all, these are warriors trained by our own school. Watching them fight on the field, it's inevitable to feel a bit of favoritism. As long as it doesn't exceed reasonable limits, it doesn't violate the principle of fairness. (End of Chapter)