The Wind and the Wings of Hogwarts

"I'll go first."

Krum stood up, took the dice from his hand, and tossed them onto the table.

The dice spun around a few times before finally coming to a stop.

Mr. Jolly peeked out and said, "Oh, 3 o'clock."

A smile immediately appeared on Furong's face.

She got up, walked over, picked up the dice, and threw them back on the table.

The dice spun a few times and stopped, and Furong's face immediately fell.

“Oh… 1 o’clock,” Mr. Jolly announced regretfully.

Furong walked back downstairs without saying a word, her face sullen, her head down, seemingly lost in thought.

Mr. Jolly turned to Scott and said, “Your turn next, Mr. Trollope.”

"Ok."

Scott got up, picked up the dice, tossed them, and threw them away.

A few seconds later, the die stopped at 5.

"5 points!"

Mr. Jolly exclaimed in surprise.

Fleur and Krum both turned to look at Scott.

"Looks like I'm on a good run."

Scott smiled and sat back down on the sofa.

“Then the order of the game is decided.” Mr. Jolly put the dice back in his pocket. “First up is Miss Delacour, then Mr. Krum, and finally Mr. Trollope.”

Scott and the other two nodded.

"So please note that you will be notified by voice when the match begins."

Mr. Jolly gave a brief explanation and then left the preparation room.

After he left, Furong immediately stood up and paced back and forth nervously.

“Hibiscus,” Scott began, “what are alchemical beasts? Can you tell us about them?”

Fleur stopped in her tracks, looked at Scott, and then turned to look at Krum.

She was a little impatient, but still explained very quickly, "Alchemy beasts are monsters created using alchemy. They are known as the strongest defensive force in Beauxbatons. Although they are not real creatures, they are very strong and dangerous, and few wizards can defeat them alone."

"Thank you." Scott understood.

Krum also thanked him.

Furong shook her head, her face showing unease, and continued pacing back and forth in a small area.

After a while, Scott heard Mr. Jolly's voice again.

It seemed as if some kind of magic was being used in the preparation room, as a high-pitched voice came from the ceiling above them, sounding very clear.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Triwizard Tournament! Welcome to witness this grand event jointly hosted by the French Ministry of Magic, Beauxbatons, Hogwarts, and Durmstrang!"

Even through the thick walls, the deafening cheers and applause seemed to ring right in Scott's ears.

Hibiscus, who was pacing, reached out and covered her chest, and began to breathe heavily.

"The match is about to begin!"

Mr. Jolly's voice grew increasingly excited.

"First, let us invite the renowned alchemist Professor Roselle, who will be responsible for providing security for our warriors in this competition!"

Applause erupted again.

“Professor Russell?” Fleur exclaimed.

Almost instantly, her complexion improved, and her previous anxiety vanished.

She exclaimed with delight, "Now we don't need to worry about safety anymore!"

Scott asked, somewhat surprised, "You didn't know beforehand?"

“Of course I don’t know!” Fleur said, dissatisfied. “Professor Rosell never participates in any activities outside of teaching. Haven’t you noticed? He didn’t attend either the welcome dinner for the tournament or the Halloween dinner.”

“I see.” Scott nodded.

"Very good, the venue is ready!" Mr. Joley's booming voice rang out again. "Now, let's give a warm round of applause to our first contestant today—the warrior from Beauxbatons, Fleur Delacour!"

"Oh, I have to go!"

Furong tossed her ponytail and walked outside.

"Keep it up," Scott said.

After a while, applause and cheers rang out again, indicating that Furong had taken the stage.

"Let's look forward to Miss Delacour's wonderful performance!"

Mr. Joley began his commentary on the match.

Perhaps not wanting Scott and Krum to guess anything, his explanation was quite vague.

"Oh! Danger! Too dangerous!"

"Amazing! That was close!"

"Oh! I'm not sure if this is a wise move!"

"Oh... so close! Watch out! My God! I thought she had already passed!"

Scott and Krum listened with blank expressions.

About half an hour later, Mr. Joley started screaming.

"Oh! Oh! What did I see! What did I see!"

Did you see that?

"She did it! She did it!"

"Congratulations, congratulations to our brave warrior of Beauxbatons, the witty, courageous, and beautiful Miss Delacour! Judges, please show your scores. Oh, I'm a judge too..."

Inside the stone chamber, Krum suddenly stood up.

“Good luck,” Scott said.

Krum nodded and stood at the door.

Scott nestled comfortably on the sofa, watching his retreating figure.

At this moment, Krum's fists were clenched tightly, and he was taking deep breaths.

Soon, the scoring process for Furong came to an end.

But Mr. Jolly did not release her score.

"Let's welcome our second contestant – Viktor Krum, a warrior from Durmstrang!"

Krum strode out the door.

Scott, who was curled up on the sofa, changed his position.

"Begin, I look forward to your performance, Mr. Krum!"

Soon after, Mr. Jolly resumed his utterly incompetent commentary.

"Oh! You mean..."

Are you sure you want to do this? Are you sure?

"My goodness, he's so brave!"

"Go, Krum!"

Krum took less time than Furong, completing the race in about twenty minutes.

Scott got up from the sofa, straightened his robes, and drew his wand, holding it in his hand.

He didn't have to wait long.

"...Please welcome the third contestant—Scott Troop, a hero from Hogwarts!"

Upon hearing his name called, Scott strode out of the preparation room, through a short, dimly lit corridor, and up the steps leading to the sunlight.

As he walked into the venue, bathed in sunlight, he was almost overwhelmed by applause and cheers coming from all directions.

Scott squinted, adjusted his eyes to the light, and finally saw the scene before him clearly.

There was an open space in front of him, with rocks of various sizes scattered around.

In the distance directly opposite him stood a stone platform about the height of a person, and on top of the platform seemed to be a huge iron cage.

The cage door was open, with a wooden sign hanging above it that read "Control Room" in French and English.

That was the control room.

Scott determined his destination.

"Are you ready?" Mr. Jolly's voice came from behind.

Scott turned around and looked up. Behind him, on the high platform, the members of the judging panel were all sitting.

Scott nodded in that direction.

"Very good, contestant is ready!" Mr. Jolly shouted. "Professor Rosell, release your well-prepared alchemical beast!"

Click, click.

Suddenly, the stone wall on one side of the site cracked open, revealing a huge doorway.

Heavy footsteps sounded, accompanied by the unique clanging of metal.

Two enormous creatures crawled out of the doorway.

They are two enormous griffins.

Or rather, they are two steel monsters shaped like griffins.