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Karkaroff glanced at Ludo and said unhurriedly, "The Hogwarts champions formed an illegal team. One of the golden eggs was only kept because someone else—that Lynn—helped them block the Norwegian Dragon."
Final score: 45 points.
Next was Castelobruxo.
The playback clip showed the trio relying on their thick skin to get a golden egg from the Centaurs, followed by a long journey and sporadic exploration.
The judges began scoring.
Karkaroff—0 points.
"Reason?" Principal Lema's voice carried suppressed fury.
Karkaroff remained expressionless. "Lack of initiative. After obtaining one golden egg, they did nothing else, wandering through the Forbidden Forest the entire time. Does such a performance deserve points?"
Lema's face instantly flushed red, his hands pressing on the armrests of his chair, nearly standing up.
Madame Maxime, beside him, gently pressed his arm and whispered something.
Lema took a deep breath and sat back down.
Final score: 38 points.
Next was Uagadou.
Unsurprisingly, Karkaroff again gave a high score of 0 points.
"Reason?" Okoye's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a clear challenge.
Karkaroff adjusted his glasses. "The other two students from Uagadou played no role. Throughout the entire process, only Amina was commanding, making decisions, and fighting. This is a team event, not a solo show."
Okoye stared at him for two seconds.
Then he smiled.
The smile was gentle and polite, but the words he spoke were anything but gentle:
"Principal Karkaroff, are those two things in your eye sockets tumors? If they are, I suggest you visit St. Mungo's soon. If not, then you might need to change your glasses—after all, anyone who can tell such lies with their eyes wide open must have a vision problem."
A burst of laughter erupted from the stands.
Karkaroff's face instantly flushed red. He wanted to retort, but Okoye had already turned away, no longer looking at him.
Final score: 54 points.
Then it was Ilvermorny.
Without a doubt, Karkaroff again gave 0 points.
This time, he didn't even give a reason.
He just raised the sign, put it down, and leaned back in his chair with an expression that said, "I'm just not giving points. What are you going to do about it?"
Piquery glanced at him and said nothing.
But that look clearly said: Just you wait.
Final score: 58 points.
...
Finally, it was Durmstrang's turn.
The big screen began to replay their match clips—
Krum led the team, finding a golden egg on the first day, and then... well, the entire process of being targeted by Lynn.
Krum found a golden egg; it was taken by Lynn.
Katya found a golden egg; it was taken by Lynn.
Krum found another golden egg; it was taken by Lynn again.
For two full days and nights, they hadn't managed to keep a single golden egg.
On the last day, Krum tried to find another golden egg, but there were only so many golden eggs in the Forbidden Forest, and they were all in dangerous places.
In their condition, it was impossible to get one even if they risked their lives.
So, Durmstrang's final harvest was—zero eggs.
The replay ended, and a large "0" was displayed on the big screen.
A wave of laughter broke out in the stands.
The judges began scoring.
Madame Maxime was the first to raise her sign—0 points.
Her face wore a brilliant smile, one more dazzling than the sun.
"Fair and just," she said.
Piquery was the second to raise her sign.
0 points.
She didn't even look at Karkaroff, simply putting the sign down calmly.
Okoye was third.
0 points.
"Lack of initiative," she said, mimicking Karkaroff's tone. "Does such a performance deserve points?"
Lema was fourth.
0 points.
"Teamwork? I didn't see any."
Arthur was fifth.
He hesitated for a moment, looking at Karkaroff.
By now, Karkaroff's face was as dark as it could possibly be.
Arthur sighed and raised his sign—0 points.
Bagman was sixth.
He shrugged and also raised his sign—0 points.
"Rules are rules," he said. "While I sympathize with Durmstrang's plight, zero harvest is zero harvest."
Then it was Dumbledore, still 0 points.
Finally, it was Karkaroff's own turn.
On the big screen, his face was magnified, and the expression was quite spectacular—ashen mixed with the color of pig liver, and pig liver mixed with despair.
"Principal Karkaroff," Bagman reminded him, "it's your turn."
Karkaroff took a deep breath.
He slowly raised his sign—1 point.
Thunderous boos erupted from the stands.
"1 point?!"
"How does he have the nerve?!"
"He gave everyone else 0 points, but gave himself 1 point?!"
Madame Maxime's laughter was particularly loud. "Principal Karkaroff, are you sure this score is appropriate?"
Karkaroff gritted his teeth and said, word by word, "I... believe... Durmstrang... should receive... 1 point... as encouragement."
"Encouragement for what?" Piquery asked. "Encouragement for being targeted by one person for two days and nights?"
Another burst of laughter broke out in the stands.
Karkaroff's face turned completely black.
In the end, Durmstrang's score was—1 point.
A record-breaking low score that would go down in history.
On the big screen, the numbers froze, and the entire stadium went silent for a second.
And then—
"Hahahahahahaha!!!"
The entire stadium was flooded with laughter.
...
As the laughter gradually subsided, Ludo Bagman cleared his throat and raised his hand to signal the audience to quiet down.
"Now then—"
Ludo's voice resounded through the Quidditch Pitch once more.
"There is still one last champion from one school who has yet to receive a score from the judges. Let us invite the judges to score the champion of Azkaban!"
Lynn's face darkened.
The stands fell silent, everyone holding their breath and waiting for the judges' scores.
On the big screen, the image of the first judge was magnified.
The old Principal sat in his chair, a smile on his face that he didn't bother to hide.
He slowly raised the sign in his hand.
10 points!
Cheers erupted from the stands.
"Dumbledore gives ten points!!!"
"No controversy whatsoever!!!"
Dumbledore put down his sign and nodded slightly in Lynn's direction. His gaze was full of relief and pride.
The second judge, Madame Maxime.
She elegantly raised her sign.
10 points!
"The Beauxbatons Principal gives ten points!"
The Principals of the other schools also had no controversy over Lynn's performance, giving him high scores of ten points one by one.
Ludo and Arthur were no exception, straightforwardly giving ten points.
The cheers rose wave after wave.
On the big screen, seven 10s were neatly arranged, shining with golden light.
Then, the screen switched to the last judge—Karkaroff.
The entire stadium instantly fell silent.
Everyone's gaze was focused on Karkaroff.
On the big screen, his face was magnified.
His expression was extremely complex—brows furrowed, lips pressed tight, eyes darting, the two signs in his hand being raised and lowered, lowered and raised.
One was 0 points.
One was 10 points.
His fingers lightly brushed the edges of the signs, clearly undergoing an intense internal struggle.
Give points?
He thought of the miserable state of the Durmstrang champions over the past two days and nights. Krum had broken ribs, Katya had been under a jinx and dry-heaving for two days, and Louis had been completely devoid of hope the entire time. If he gave Lynn points, the upcoming matches... he didn't dare think about it.
Give 0 points?
He thought of the string of zeros he had just given to the other schools. Beauxbatons: 0. Hogwarts: 0. Castelobruxo: 0. Uagadou: 0. Ilvermorny: 0. Now it was Lynn's turn, and he was going to give 0 points as well? Wouldn't that be consistent with his previous scoring?
But if he gave Lynn 0 points, he would immediately become the target of the entire stadium.
Karkaroff's face twisted into a knot.
He looked at the 0-point sign in his hand, then at the 10-point sign.
By now, whispers had begun to rise in the stands.
"What is he doing?"
"What's there to hesitate about?"
"Doesn't Lynn's performance deserve 10 points?"
"Surely Karkaroff doesn't still want to give 0 points?"
"Does he dare?!"
In the Durmstrang camp, students stared nervously at the big screen, not daring to breathe.
Krum stood in the center of the pitch, his gaze fixed on Karkaroff. His lips moved slightly, silently saying a few words—if Louis could read lips, he could probably translate them as: Principal, please, let it go.
Seconds passed one by one, and Karkaroff's hand was still shaking.
Finally—
He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and slowly raised the sign in his hand.
10 points.
Thunderous cheers erupted from the stands.
"Karkaroff gave ten points!"
"He actually gave it!"
"Lynn wanted it, and you gave it?!"
Karkaroff put down the sign, leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and silently comforted himself: This is a strategic compromise.
On the big screen, eight 10s were neatly arranged together.
Total score: 80 points.
Ludo Bagman's voice rang out again, so excited it almost cracked:
"Congratulations to Mr. Lynn! With an absolute advantage of 80 points, he takes first place in the first event!"
In the stands, cheers and applause intertwined.
The Hufflepuff section had gone completely crazy. Edgar stood at the very front, hands raised above his head, frantically waving a flag, his voice already hoarse from shouting.
William and Ollie stood behind him. Though not as wild as he was, their faces were filled with pride.
Students from other houses were also infected by the atmosphere and joined the cheering crowd.
In the center of the pitch, Lynn stood there with a faint smile on his face.
He waved to the stands, drawing another round of screams.
Then, he turned his head.
His gaze fell on the three Durmstrang champions.
Krum, Katya, and Louis were standing together, bodies tense, staring at him with expressions of alertness.
The corners of Lynn's mouth curled up slightly, revealing a smile. It was just like the smile he had worn when he stood before them last night and said, "I'll be watching you."
The three of them instantly felt a chill.
"Wait, it's still not over?!" was the common thought among the three at that moment.