Hogwarts: Starting with full Unforgivable Curses

"Everyone, now that you have a basic understanding of the Warriors' performance, shall we begin scoring them?" Old Batty Crouch put down his pen and looked at everyone, asking, "Since everyone's opinions are largely in agreement, let's proceed with the agreed-upon process and start scoring each Warriors team."

He paused, then added, "As for the order of scoring, let's follow the order in which everyone spoke—Mr. Karkarov will score first, and then the others will follow in turn. This will be fair."

“Also, I’d like to remind you of something.” Just as Karkaroff took a deep breath, preparing to announce the scores, Old Barty Crouch suddenly interrupted, his tone becoming serious. “According to the rules we drafted at our last meeting, if a judge’s score differs significantly from the scores of other judges, clearly indicating bias or unfairness, we will consider canceling that judge’s score, then adding up the scores of the remaining judges, and taking the average as the final score. Mr. Karkaroff, you haven’t forgotten this, have you? Now, you can begin scoring.”

"Can we finally start scoring? That's great!" Ludobagman, who had been sitting on the side waiting, immediately became excited. He waved several folded paper airplanes in his hand and said with a smile, "I just got the scoring sheets from the staff. After you all say your scores, I will record them immediately to make sure there are no mistakes!"

Ludobagman unfolded the score sheet in his hand; the white paper stood out conspicuously in the sunlight.

The principals' gazes were drawn away from the evaluation sheets as if by a magnet, and all turned to the gloomy-faced Karkarov.

A subtle tension seemed to fill the air as everyone awaited his move.

Feeling the focused gazes, Karkaroff subconsciously frowned, pointed to himself, and asked with obvious doubt, "Are you really going to let me fill in the score first?" He clearly hadn't expected to become the center of attention, especially after the argument just now, and at this moment he just wanted to minimize his presence.

"Of course!"

“We all hope that Mr. Karkaroff can set an example and give your score first. This way, when we score later, we will have a reference to avoid large score differences and make the scoring fairer.”

Mrs. Maxim nodded, her eyes filled with anticipation as she looked at Karkarov.

Seeing everyone's unanimous attitude, Karkarov felt a surge of intense regret.

He secretly regretted that he should have been more restrained during the first project evaluation and not done so many outrageous things to boost Viktor Krum's score. He would not have aroused the suspicion of the other principals and would not have ended up in this situation where he was being "watched" by everyone.

Besides regret, Karkarov also felt a bit angry.

He couldn't help but complain inwardly that if Durmstrang's other two warriors—Maria Wilman and Franz Schmidt—had performed better, even if they had only barely completed the test and scored the basic points, he wouldn't be in such a passive position now.

However, the two of them slacked off throughout the entire process, barely participating in even basic combat, and ultimately had to rely on Viktor Krum's help to survive until the end of the test.

Thinking of this, Karkaroff could no longer hold back and muttered resentfully in a low voice, "I really want to replace these two dragging us down! If they were other outstanding students in the school, we wouldn't be in this situation!"

Although the words were not spoken loudly, they were clearly heard by everyone present.

The principals exchanged bewildered glances, clearly not expecting Karkarov to utter such an inappropriate remark.

Even the usually serious Barty Crouch and Ludobagman, who was in charge of taking notes, showed subtle changes in their expressions—they hadn't expected that Karkaroff, as the head of the school, would so bluntly complain about his students.

Ludobagman shrugged quietly, his lips barely moving as he muttered in a voice only he could hear, "If we have children who want to go to school in the future, it's better to choose Hogwarts. At least the headmaster isn't so... emotional."

Hearing Ludobagman's mutterings, many people couldn't help but frown and rub their temples in pain.

……

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Ludobagman put away the rating sheet, took out his wand from his pocket, and gently tapped it against his throat—the amplification charm worked.

His loud voice echoed across the shores of Black Lake, instantly drawing the attention of all the spectators: "After intense discussion and rigorous scoring by the judging panel, the final results for the second event are now available!"

"Finally it's out!" Fred stretched lazily from the stands, a relaxed expression on his face. "I was worried that Principal Durmstrang would cause trouble, but now that the results are in, hopefully nothing else will go wrong."

“I don’t think so.” George gazed at the judges’ platform, his tone certain. “The judges’ panel discussed for so long, they must have reached a consensus. And after what happened in the first project, the other principals will definitely be keeping a close eye on him. If he dares to show favoritism again, it would be too much, and I doubt the other judges would agree.”

Neville chimed in, "Last time, in the first project, Karkaroff dared to favor Krum so much. This time, the principals will definitely find a way to get revenge and will absolutely not let him act recklessly again."

“It’s really hard to imagine that the headmaster of a famous magic school would be like this!” Ron shook his head, his tone tinged with emotion. “I always thought that headmasters were all like Dumbledore, fair and gentle. I never expected that there would be such an emotional headmaster who only cares about his own preferences.”

“Not every headmaster can be like Headmaster Dumbledore!” George shrugged helplessly, then changed the subject with a hint of regret, “Speaking of which, Viktor Krum is also a bit of a pity. He is indeed very capable, and if he were in another school, with a fair headmaster, he might have been able to perform even better. Unfortunately, he was Durmstrang’s student and was ‘dragged down’ by Karkaroff’s favoritism—now when people mention him, the first thing they think of is not his ability, but the headmaster’s excessive protection.”

"First and foremost, the warriors of Beauxbatons!" Ludobagman continued, his tone becoming even more impassioned. "From the preparations before the trial to every response during the trial, the three warriors of Beauxbatons have considered everything meticulously—they studied the habits of mermaids in advance, prepared magic for the underwater environment, and even developed a detailed plan for teamwork. They are extremely well-prepared!"

"During the test, they fully utilized their strengths. Fleur Delacour used a dance spell infused with mental magic to control the mermaids, while Adele Fever and Claudia Laroche cooperated seamlessly, repelling Grindylow's attacks time and again. Even when someone was injured along the way, they did not back down and ultimately successfully completed the test! After deliberation by the referees, the Beauxbatons Warriors were awarded seventy points!"

A deafening cheer erupted instantly—the Beauxbatons crowd embraced each other excitedly, many girls even shedding tears of joy. Fleur Delacour's name was chanted repeatedly, becoming the most dazzling presence at that moment. ...

Ignoring the discussion in the stands, Ludobagman continued announcing the results: "Next up are the warriors of Durmstrang. They encountered the worst situation in this trial—shortly after the trial began, Maria Wilman and Franz Schmidt were captured by the mermaids and taken hostage, leaving only Viktor Krum to hold on."

"Faced with this predicament, Viktor Krum did not panic; on the contrary, he remained remarkably calm. He quickly assessed the situation, devised a detailed rescue plan, and ultimately succeeded in rescuing all the hostages! Even as he was pursued by a large number of mermaids, he did not give up, using his exceptional magical abilities to repeatedly repel the onslaught of enemies! After deliberation by the judging panel, the Durmstrang Warrior is awarded forty-four points!"

Unlike other schools, the cheers in Durmstrang's stands were unusually faint.

Most of the students frowned, clearly dissatisfied with the score—in their view, Viktor Krum's performance deserved a higher score, but unfortunately, he was dragged down by the other two warriors.

"Finally, and most importantly—the three champions of Hogwarts!" Ludo Bagman's voice rose sharply, filled with intense pride. "In this trial, Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, and Cedric Diggory demonstrated exceptional teamwork! Their roles were clearly defined, and their coordination was impeccable. Whether facing Grindelwald's ambush or the mermaids' encirclement, they were able to effortlessly repel wave after wave of enemies!"

"Even in the most critical moment—surrounded by two groups of merfolk and a large number of Grindylows—they did not give up. Instead, they were able to think quickly and use the bright light of the Illumination spell to create an opportunity and find an unexpected way to break the deadlock! Such a performance fully deserves a high score! After deliberation by the judges, the Hogwarts Champions are awarded seventy points! This is an honor they deserve!"

As the home crowd, the Hogwarts students could no longer contain their excitement and erupted in deafening cheers.

"Harry!"

"Harry!"

"Harry!"

"Draco!"

"Cedric!"

"Cedric!"

Several names were repeatedly called out, and many students even excitedly jumped onto the stands, waving the Hogwarts school flag, turning the entire lakeside into a sea of ​​joy.

“Wait! There’s still one special warrior whose results haven’t been announced yet!” Ludobagman smiled and raised his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet. “That’s Dylan Hawkwood! I think everyone has witnessed his performance—from splitting the Black Lake in two with magic, to easily dealing with Greendylow’s attack, and being the first to complete the test, every move he made amazed us!”

He paused deliberately, then said with a hint of sarcasm, "I think that no matter how flowery the words used to describe his performance, some people might find them inadequate, or even dissatisfied. But what if I added this prefix? Perhaps everyone would agree? That is—Merlin's beard! Now, please express your praise for this amazing warrior in your own way!"

The audience in the stands were instantly amused, and Ludobagman, no longer keeping them in suspense, laughed heartily: "After unanimous deliberation by the referee panel—Merlin's mustache! Dylan Hawkwood gets seventy points!"

"Merlin's beard!"

"Dylan! Dylan!"

"Merlin's beard!"

The cheers erupted again, even more enthusiastically than before.

A thunderous roar echoed over Black Lake, and even the lake water seemed to be infected by this passion, rippling in layers.

"The performance of all the warriors was absolutely outstanding! It was truly exhilarating!" As soon as Ludobagman pushed open the door of the school hospital, he clapped his hands and shouted loudly, breaking the silence in the ward. He had an excited smile on his face and his eyes swept over the beds as if he were admiring some precious treasure.

“It was really ‘good’—I almost lost my life at the bottom of the lake.” Draco leaned back on the pillow, a cold smile playing on his lips, his tone laced with mockery. Not only him, but the other warriors lying in their hospital beds also showed similar playful smiles upon hearing Ludo Bagman’s words, their eyes filled with a sense of “watching a good show”—they all knew that Ludo Bagman’s excitement meant he had important news to announce.

"I'm here today because I have something important to tell you!" Ludobagman said enthusiastically, completely ignoring everyone's teasing. "It's about the third and final event of the Triwizard Tournament..."

“Bagman!” A stern female voice suddenly came from the doorway, interrupting him.

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw Mrs. Pomfrey carrying a tray, walking in quickly with obvious displeasure on her face. "This is the school hospital; patients need quiet to rest! Your shouting will affect their recovery!"

Mrs. Pomfrey did nothing but look calmly at Ludobagman.

But Ludobagman seemed to be frozen in place, shuddering instantly, his originally straight back tensing up involuntarily.

He quickly composed himself, his tone becoming respectful: "Mrs. Pomfrey, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to disturb your rest; I just had some important match news to deliver and got a little excited." (End of Chapter)