After the two rounds of written examinations, the exchange competition moved on to the first segment of practical refinement: designated Alchemy.
Beauxbatons had designated a side hall as the venue for today's competition.
Though it was called a side hall, for a school connected to this palace complex, the space was still extremely spacious, enough to accommodate six wide, fully equipped Alchemy workbenches without any interference.
Unlike the first two written examinations, the practical segment not only required more space but also allowed some students to watch on-site.
Most of those sitting in the audience were upper-year students from Beauxbatons.
Although Alchemy classes began early here, the number of witches and wizards with the talent and perseverance to study it in depth was small after all.
Madame Maxime sat upright among the judges. With her present, the students remained quiet and did not dare to discuss freely, but their curious gazes couldn't help sweeping back and forth across the six contestants.
Among those gazes, most fell on Lucien and lingered the longest.
But this was no surprise. Even though Lucien was taller than his peers, the age gap was still obvious at a glance when he stood beside the other sixth and seventh-year contestants.
Furthermore, over the past few days, many Beauxbatons students had noticed that this Hogwarts representative occasionally walked with Fleur.
Given Fleur's well-known pride and pickiness at Beauxbatons, someone who could get along peacefully with her, or even walk beside her, was truly rare. Naturally, this drew considerable attention and curiosity.
In addition, there were many Beauxbatons girls in the audience whose gazes lingered even more on Lucien's face.
Especially his dark green eyes, which appeared exceptionally deep beneath the hall's lighting, as if they could draw one's vision inside.
The six Alchemy tables were ready.
Once the contestants from the three schools stood at their respective tables, Madame Maxime waved her giant hand.
Instantly, identical types and quantities of materials appeared neatly on everyone's workbench.
"Today's designated refinement project is the micro-climate bottle," Madame Maxime's booming voice rang out through the hall. "Each contestant will be provided with three sets of basic materials. If all are used up, you may request more. The time limit is five hours. Failure to complete the item within the time limit will be considered a loss."
She paused briefly, her gaze sweeping over every contestant to confirm that they understood the rules, then announced loudly,
"The competition begins now!"
As the words fell, the atmosphere suddenly tightened.
The contestants acted immediately, and the rustling sounds of clinking vessels and shifting materials echoed through the hall.
Lucien's hands moved nimbly as he began methodically arranging his workspace.
At the same time, information about the micro-climate bottle flashed quickly through his mind.
This was a high-difficulty Alchemical item within the scope of the N.E.W.T. examinations, used to regulate and control parameters such as temperature and humidity within a small area to simulate specific natural climate environments.
It had been chosen as the test topic mainly because the quality of the finished product could be seen at a glance. One only needed to see how many different climates the bottle could stably and realistically simulate to judge the refiner's level.
This segment primarily tested the contestants' speed in completing complex Alchemy within a set time, as well as the completion and refinement of the final product.
Five hours seemed generous, and unlimited materials also sounded very liberal.
But those in the know understood that this "unlimited" supply was more of a psychological comfort.
The Alchemical process was tedious and time-consuming. Once a major error occurred midway, it would not only waste precious materials but also consume unrecoverable time.
If one failed two or three times in a row, the remaining time would likely be insufficient to complete another high-quality piece.
Lucien's gaze fell on a milky-white crystal with what looked like mist swirling inside it. This would serve as the core of the micro-climate bottle.
As he lightly brushed the crystal's surface, the Elemental Magic Patterns on his fingertips lit up one by one.
...
Inside the side hall dedicated to the Alchemy competition, time slipped away in a state of tense focus after Madame Maxime announced the start.
After the initial silence passed, the Beauxbatons students in the audience were no longer as restrained as before and began whispering to one another in hushed tones.
Watching an Alchemy competition itself was not particularly interesting. The repetitive grinding during material preprocessing, the long waits during purification, and the seemingly monotonous channelling of Magic during the refining process...
Their true enjoyment lay more in observing the contestants themselves: their bearing, the small expressions occasionally revealed when they made mistakes or grew nervous, and the subtle differences brought about by the styles of the different schools.
It was a different kind of relaxation under the pressure of heavy academic work.
At the judges' table, several Professors were observing the contestants' operational details.
To Madame Maxime's right sat Beauxbatons' Alchemy Professor, Laurent Rosier.
He appeared to be in his fifties, with silver-grey hair meticulously combed back, revealing a broad, serious forehead.
His features were sharp, especially his pale blue eyes, which calmly scanned every move of the six contestants below.
Laurent's family shared the same origin as the Rosier family of the British Magical World, but his branch had settled in France long ago.
Vinda Rosier, one of Grindelwald's most loyal followers back then, came from the same family as he did.
However, Laurent Rosier's life path was clearly different from that of his famous relative. He had avoided the storms of those years and devoted all his energy to the mysteries and teaching of Alchemy.
In the early stages of the competition, the contestants' methods for handling basic materials were largely the same, and Laurent simply watched calmly.
But as the materials were prepared and the true core refining stage began, his gaze became increasingly sharp.
This stage was the moment when each contestant truly demonstrated their foundation and strength.
Although Laurent firmly believed that Beauxbatons' Alchemy education was second to none in Europe, or even among magical schools worldwide, he also maintained a purely scholarly mindset. He regarded this Triwizard Tournament as a rare window, an opportunity to closely observe the level and style of Alchemy teaching at the two ancient and prestigious schools, Hogwarts and Durmstrang.
His gaze swept over the contestants in turn.
The Durmstrang students' techniques were solid, even slightly rugged, with a clear practical flavour. The two students from his own school had clear and fluid steps, reflecting Beauxbatons' consistent elegance and standards...
Suddenly, his gaze froze on the boy behind the Alchemy table on the left.
"Eh?"
Professor Laurent let out a barely audible sound of surprise, a hint of astonishment flashing in his pale blue eyes.
He had a deep impression of this student, Lucien, the Hogwarts contestant and also the youngest among all the participants.
In the first two written examinations, this boy had passed with an astonishing perfect score.
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