HP:BSG - Chapter 680: A Narrow Encounter

“What’s unfair about it?”

Michael, taking advantage of the fact that those in front couldn’t see him in the crowd, shouted loudly, “There’s nothing in the rules that forbids contestants from using alchemy!”

“But this is supposed to be a champion’s challenge! Those dolls are like having extra helpers out of thin  air—how’s that fair?”

A furious Durmstrang student roared in protest.

“Ha!” Fred let out a sharp whistle, slinging his arm over George’s shoulder. “By that logic, your champion shouldn’t use Dark magic, and the Uagadou champion shouldn’t shapeshift either—otherwise that’s unfair too, right?”

“What?”

Several Uagadou students, having caught the meaning, immediately jumped to their feet and shouted:

“Transfiguration is our main form of magic—how could that be banned?”

“Then maybe we should ban your wands too! Real skill is casting spells barehanded!”

The headmaster of Uagadou sat stiffly in the judges’ seats and his dark face tightened with irritation at his students’ loss of composure. 

You couldn’t really blame the Uagadou students for reacting so fiercely—because on the screen, Jabari, who had transformed into a mouse, was now stealthily following Wade Grey from afar.

Small and nimble, he moved effortlessly even through the tangled forest terrain, easily hiding himself from sight.

No matter how powerful Wade Grey’s magic dolls were, as long as Jabari rushed out and touched the Goblet of Fire first at the final moment, he could still become the ultimate victor.

In fact, in some ways, his chances of winning were even higher than Wade’s. So when the Uagadou students heard any suggestion that Jabari’s shapeshifting might be forbidden, they immediately burst out in loud protest.

“Ahem.”

The Ilvermorny headmaster coughed twice, trying to ease the tension. 

“Alright, alright—what items are banned was made clear before the tournament began… While Wade Grey’s alchemy is indeed powerful, surely the other champions also have a few spells up their sleeves that no one else can perform?”

“Exactly!” George chimed in at once. “What next, you want a checklist of which spells we’re allowed to use?”

Their friend Lee Jordan called out in sync, “Maybe they’ll make us declare which hand we’re supposed to hold our wands with, too!”

Laughter erupted across the stands—purposeful, exaggerated laughter. For that brief moment, even the Slytherin students joined in the uproar.

At the judges’ table, Madame Maxime lifted her chin, ignoring the noise and the crowd’s mood. She turned to Dumbledore and said coolly, “Do you truly believe this aligns with the spirit of the competition?”

But Dumbledore, for once, did not yield an inch. He smiled faintly with fingers tapping lightly on the table. 

“If I remember correctly, the rules only forbid external assistance, don’t they? Alchemy is a manifestation of a wizard’s own skill—unless, of course, you’re suggesting that alchemy isn’t magic?”

Madame Maxime’s face darkened, but in front of the cameras, she couldn’t utter a word in rebuttal.

After all—Nicolas Flamel himself was still a sponsor of Beauxbatons!

Even now, her school received a generous donation from Flamel every year. Thanks to that, Madame Maxime could afford to feed her picky Abraxan horses, adorn the school’s grand carriage with luxury, and maintain its beautifully manicured gardens and elegant castle…

How could she possibly stand before the cameras and publicly denounce an alchemist?

Amid the silence of the judges, Ludo Bagman exclaimed excitedly, “Magnificent! Absolutely magnificent! Contestant Wade Grey’s mastery of alchemy is truly astonishing! And of course—this is entirely within the rules!”

The Hogwarts students instantly erupted into thunderous applause and cheers, as if victory were already theirs.

But the smile on Fudge’s face looked a little strained. Beside him, Umbridge gave an exaggerated cough, while Percy Weasley—sitting just behind them—watched his superior’s expression closely, sitting stiffly upright as he wrote something furiously in his notebook.

Suddenly, his quill was yanked right out of his hand. Percy turned around angrily, only to see Fred standing behind him with a triumphant grin.

“Give that back—”

Before he could finish, his hand was suddenly empty again—George had snatched his notebook.

The twins glanced over the lines Percy had written, then both snorted in unison. George tossed the notebook back into Percy’s arms, folded his own across his chest and gave his brother a slow, up-and-down look, as if seeing him for the first time.

Percy’s face went scarlet, his freckles seeming to leap off his skin.

Fred gave a mock-serious cough and leaned in to whisper, “Dear Assistant Mister, I think your notes are incomplete. You should write it like this—‘All spells smarter than the Minister for Magic are hereby forbidden!’”

“That’s it then,” George said flatly, still keeping a straight face. “The champions might as well cry now… Because even if you printed it in size-three letters, the list of allowed spells wouldn’t fill half a page.”

“You two—!”

Percy’s voice caught in his throat. His mouth twitched uncontrollably, and his reddened eyes looked as if he were about to cry.

Fred was about to add another jab when, suddenly, a collective gasp swept through the stands. He spun his head around toward the giant Streaming Mirror.

On the screen, Viktor Krum—who had taken a different route—was, without realizing it, moving closer and closer to where Wade was.

Less than twenty meters away, Wade’s doll was taking shape. But hidden by the thick forest, Krum hadn’t noticed a thing.

In the dark, dense woods, the tip of Krum’s wand glimmered faintly. His thick neck was bent forward, his stance eerily similar to that of a Seeker scanning the pitch for the Golden Snitch.

Suddenly, there was a rustle in the bushes to his left. A spiny porcupine with venomous quills leapt toward him. Krum dodged swiftly and whipped his wand through the air.

“Stupefy!”

The spell hit the porcupine square on its rump. It crashed back into the shrubs and went limp.

Krum exhaled slowly. Instead of approaching the creature, he prudently cast a Detection Charm first to make sure no other predators were nearby. Satisfied, he checked his compass and continued forward.

“Don’t go!”

Cries of alarm echoed across the stands. Many spectators clenched their fists, shouting, “You can still turn back now! Don’t go forward, Viktor!”

More than half of those voices came from Hogwarts students.

They couldn’t help it—though they supported their own school, Krum, the brilliant Quidditch star, had long earned their admiration. None of them wanted to see him defeated so soon.

But no matter how loudly they shouted, their voices could never reach Krum. His stride remained steady as he followed the narrow trail, pushing aside the hanging vines, weaving through the gnarled roots of ancient oaks.

Then, as he lifted his head—his breath caught in his throat.

Wade Grey turned toward him, a flicker of surprise crossing his face—then a faint smile.

“The half hour of ‘no mutual attacks’…” he said softly, raising his palm, “…should be over by now, shouldn’t it?”

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