bioinnovel The rankings for Chapter 342 are out.
The rankings for Chapter 342 are out.
The rankings for Chapter 342 are out.
Belvina quickly emerged from the woods and returned to the lakeshore. The once-packed stands were now empty, with only the tents used for the warriors' treatment standing forlornly on the shore.
Belvina walked to the tent entrance, lifted the curtain, and went inside.
Inside the temporary camp, the areas were clearly divided, with the warriors from the three schools each occupying a corner.
Fleur sat at the innermost part of the room, holding Gabrielle in her arms, while the tall and imposing Madame Maxim stood in front of the Delacour sisters.
Harry, Cedric, and Ron sat side by side near the door, with Hermione and Cho Chang behind them.
Viktor Krum sat quietly in the corner, staring at the ground without saying a word, until he saw someone enter the tent, at which point he raised his head.
After confirming that the person who walked in was Belvina, Krum lowered his head again, asking and saying nothing, as if he didn't care about Karkarov's situation at all.
Dumbledore and Barty Crouch stood in the middle of the tent, using their bodies to separate Krum, Harry, and the others.
At the same time, Dumbledore's position subtly blocked Crouch's path, preventing Barty Crouch from getting close to Harry.
"I have just announced the warriors' scores to the audience," Dumbledore said. "However, the three of us judges have discussed it and changed your score."
Dumbledore didn't ask anything, he simply explained what had happened while Belvina was away.
"Harry got forty-six points, making him first in the second event. Cedric got forty-four points, making him second," Dumbledore continued. "Fleur didn't finish the event, so she only got twenty-five points."
Hibiscus, who was sitting in the corner, shook her head upon hearing this.
It wasn't that Furong disliked the low score, but rather that she felt it was too high; she believed she should have gotten zero.
"Third place goes to Viktor's forty points." Dumbledore glanced at the silent Krum. "That's it."
Belvina's vengeful zero was canceled, and the revised six was not much better, but at least it was not as glaring as the zero.
This score wasn't changed arbitrarily. It was a way of keeping Belvina's wishes for a low score while also matching Karkaroff's score for Harry. Dumbledore was essentially trying to be fair to everyone.
With this, the first two events of the three-way competition have concluded, and the provisional rankings have been released.
Harry Potter, who was not initially favored, is currently in first place with a total of 86 points across the two categories.
Cedric Diggory came in second with a total of 85 points across the two events, just one point behind the leader.
Third place went to Viktor Krum, who scored a total of 77 points across both events. Had it not been for Karkarov's negative impact, his score would have been even higher.
Fleur Delacour, who failed to complete the second event, remained in last place. She scored 40 points in the first event but only managed a paltry 25 points in the second.
"Is there anything else I need to do?" Belvina rubbed her hands together. "If not, I might just—"
"We haven't talked about the third project yet," Barty Crouch interjected. "Hurry up and announce it; I'm in a hurry to get back to the Ministry of Magic."
"Alright," Belvina stepped forward, "then I'll explain."
Belvina looked around the tent and then said, "The third and final event is scheduled for the evening of June 24th. You will be informed of the details of the competition a month in advance."
She thought for a moment and continued, "Now, the only thing I can tell you is that the warrior in first place should not be arrogant, and the warrior in last place should not be angry. Everyone has a chance to win the crown."
Belvina clapped her hands, then pointed to the tent entrance, indicating that everyone could leave.
No one moved, except for Barty Crouch, who was in a hurry to leave.
"Mr. Crouch, won't you stay for a drink?" Belvina said. "Even if the department is incredibly busy, surely there's time for a drink?"
"Thank you for your kindness, but I'd better get back as soon as possible," Barty Crouch said as he walked. "Weasley is too young; I'm not entirely at ease with him."
Before the words had even finished, Barty Crouch had already lifted the curtain and stepped out of the tent.
At this moment, Viktor Krum, who had been silent, suddenly stood up.
Immediately afterwards, Harry and Cedric also stood up, their eyes fixed on Krum.
Belatedly realizing what was happening, Ron hurriedly stood up, clumsily knocking over his chair in the process.
"Miss Black, how is Professor Karkaroff?" Krum's voice was hoarse and deep. "He shouldn't be dead, right?"
Upon hearing this, everyone else in the tent held their breath, quietly waiting for Belvina to reveal the answer.
Mrs. Maxime's eyes kept darting between Dumbledore and Belvina.
Mrs. Maxim couldn't understand why Dumbledore could remain completely indifferent, as if Belvina had simply gone to the bathroom.
Before Belvina could speak, Krum sighed heavily and said, "Although it doesn't matter whether he's here or not, he is still our principal, and we need to know whether he's alive or dead."
Whether it was his actions, demeanor, tone of voice, or facial expressions, Viktor Krum appeared quite helpless.
It's clear that Krum really doesn't care whether Karkaroff lives or dies.
Come to think of it, anyone would be helpless if they had to have such an unlucky guy as principal like Igor Karkarov.
"Mr. Krum, I have some very bad news for you—" Belvina said slowly.
Mrs. Maxim's eyes widened instantly. Had Belvina really killed Karkarov? If so, things would be in serious trouble!
"Unfortunately, Professor Karkaroff is still alive," Belvina said. "He's lying in the Forbidden Forest right now, so if you're looking for him, you'd better hurry."
If they don't act quickly enough, Belvina can't guarantee what will happen to Karkaroff.
Although there are no giant spiders in the Forbidden Forest, there are still wild animals, and a tribe of centaurs also lives in the forest, and their attitude towards wizards is not exactly friendly.
May Merlin be with Igor Karkaroff and protect him from the centaurs of the Forbidden Forest.
"Alright, I'll go find him and bring him back to the cabin," Krum said somberly. "Where is he roughly located?"
Instead of asking for the exact location, he asked for the general direction, which shows that Krum really dislikes Karkaroff.
Young man, I misunderstood you before. You're a decent person, someone I can get along with.
Belvina first gave a general idea of where Karkaroff was, and then said, "You'd better get him a clean pair of trousers, Mr. Krum."
Instantly, everyone in the tent gasped.
Even Dumbledore became curious and wanted to know what Belvina had done to Karkaroff.
Krum hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded somberly. "I'll be going now, everyone. I'm sorry to have troubled you."
After saying this, Viktor Krum walked out of the tent with his bowed legs. The Quidditch international superstar's back looked particularly lonely, making people feel sorry for him.
Thinking about it carefully, the big stars have indeed been quite pitiful lately.
At Hogwarts, although Belvina always tells Harry and Cedric to get lost, it's always Belvina who stands up for them.
In Beauxbatons, Mrs. Maxim also took great care of Fleur. For Fleur's safety, Mrs. Maxim even voluntarily gave up the second project.
When Belvina and Karkarov clashed, Madame Maxim stayed close to the Delacour sisters, always protecting them.
On the other hand, on Durmstrang's side, Karkaroff seems to be favoring Krum, but in reality, he is using Krum as a tool and a source of pride for himself.
When Karkaroff brought his bias to the Triwizard Tournament, Krum immediately became the target of everyone's criticism. Not only did referees Belvina and Buddy Crouch target him, but the other three warriors also had a negative impression of him.
Not to mention the students at Hogwarts, who idolized Krum as much as they did before Halloween, and were just as fed up with him after the Triwizard Tournament.
It could be said that the selfish Karkaroff never genuinely considered Viktor Krum's feelings.
Inside the tent, Mrs. Maxim shook her head helplessly, seemingly feeling sorry for Krum.
Without Karkaroff's nauseating tactics, Krum would have performed much better, and might even have become more motivated.
Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs" in this world. A perfectly good warrior was ruined by that scoundrel Karkaroff.
Harry and Cedric, standing side by side, exchanged a glance, reading the same message in each other's eyes: We just seemed pretty stupid.
After the referees clashed, the two immediately labeled Viktor Krum as enemies. Whenever Krum made any rash move, the two would rush forward and beat him up.
Forget about the idea that real men fight one-on-one or that two against one is unfair. Just beat them up first, and we'll talk about it later.
Why not beat up Krum when you can both support Belvina, express your stance and vent your anger?
The Hogwarts warriors were eager to fight, but the Durmstrang warriors were surprisingly calm, sitting there without saying a word.
There were no outrageous actions.
This made Harry and Cedric, who were on high alert, look like two village idiots.
At first, Harry and Cedric thought that Krum was being pragmatic and knew that fighting against overwhelming odds was not a good idea, but who would have thought that he didn't care at all and didn't take it seriously at all.
Now it's all over. Harry and Cedric, who were sharpening their knives, look even more like fools now.
From now on, let's not call them Hogwarts heroes anymore; let's just rename them the Hogwarts Twin Fools.