Cedric: ...
After hearing the riddles, he had a completely confused expression. What did all these things have to do with each other?
The Sphinx seemed to have anticipated this situation, sat back on her hind legs, and watched Cedric with interest.
She knew well the difficulty of her riddles, and this young wizard would probably be able to answer one of them correctly, and if he was lucky, maybe even guess another one. If he answered one correctly and another one incorrectly, should she eat him?
The Sphinx fell into thought.
Cedric pondered for a long time, feeling that this wasn't exactly his area of expertise.
"Could you please repeat that?" he decided to jot down the riddles first.
"Of course." The Sphinx winked at Cedric, smiled slightly, and repeated the three riddles. Cedric hurriedly wrote them on the ground.
"Let me think for a bit." Cedric furrowed his brow as he looked at the riddles.
"Of course, you can take all the time you need." The Sphinx showed an enigmatic smile and remained still on the ground, like a statue next to the pyramids of Egypt.
Cedric's face tensed; he vaguely caught a thread of thought, but it was slippery like an eel and vanished from his mind.
He looked at the riddles on the ground, and his brain began to work quickly. He decided to start solving the first riddle.
"Something that devours everything? Is it some kind of creature?" The image of the troll he had just defeated appeared in Cedric's mind. If that creature were several times larger, would it become a creature that devours everything? But unfortunately, it wasn't even six meters tall.
Cedric's train of thought began to veer off. He started recalling the names of powerful and magical creatures in the magical world: the Hungarian Horntail, the Thunderbird, the Fire Dragon...
When he thought of the Fire Dragon, Cedric had a reaction. Fire dragons are picky eaters, but the flames they spew aren't! What if the answer was fire? Fire can devour birds, beasts, flowers, trees, and turn stones into ashes, steel into molten iron.
But fire can't topple mountains.
"Killing kings, knocking down walls, toppling mountains..." Cedric repeated those words and frowned.
Why emphasize kings? In the face of fire, a king and a wild boar don't seem so different.
Cedric felt like he was on the verge of discovering the correct answer.
He looked at the elegant Sphinx sitting in front of him, and a phrase passed through his mind:
"You can take all the time you need."
Yes, it was time! In the face of time, even an ocean becomes a puddle. That was the answer! Cedric double-checked it and found that the answer of time fit perfectly with the description of the riddle.
"The answer to the first riddle is time." Cedric responded confidently, while his hand under his cloak instinctively gripped the Portkey casing. If his answer was wrong, he'd have to run.
The Sphinx showed a friendly smile and nodded at Cedric.
Cedric's riddle-solving drew the attention of many people. However, instead of the riddles, most of the students focused on Fleur's screen. After all, she was evading a Norwegian Ridgeback. Those who paid attention to Cedric were mainly Hogwarts students and those who enjoyed riddles, putting their energy into solving the riddle alongside Cedric.
"Was the answer really time? I thought it was the Swooping Evil, after all, it can devour everything..."
"How can a bat topple a mountain?"
"It would be enough if it were big enough..."
"I thought fire could destroy a mountain!"
Young wizards discussed and speculated about the answer to the second riddle.
"Reviving, making laugh, making cry... it's definitely the Philosopher's Stone!" confidently asserted Seamus from Gryffindor. "The Philosopher's Stone can make people live forever!"
Ron, who had been watching Fleur's screen all the time, perked up when he heard the words "Philosopher's Stone." He leaned toward his classmates and spoke with conviction, "The Philosopher's Stone indeed has rejuvenating effects, but it doesn't match the description of the riddle. First, we must make it clear that the Philosopher's Stone can't revive the dead; its function is to prolong life. Second, the effects of the Philosopher's Stone don't last a lifetime; wizards need to continuously take it to maintain their prolonged life."
Seamus looked at Ron as if he had seen a ghost. Such a professional analysis didn't seem like something Ron could do.
Ron turned red when Seamus stared at him. He lowered his head and said softly, "I researched the Philosopher's Stone seriously because it can turn stones into gold."
Ron, coming from a poor family, hoped to get rich quickly. That's why he researched the functions and characteristics of the Philosopher's Stone seriously, and even tried to find methods to create it, although all those attempts ended in failure.
"It's memory," Cedric replied calmly. "Memory contains joys, sorrows, and can make people laugh or cry. The dead can revive in memories and can also regain their youthful appearance. If memories are not forgotten, they can accompany us for a lifetime."
The Sphinx nodded once again. She produced a fragment of a magical bracelet and a small scroll from somewhere.
"You can choose your reward, wise champion," the Sphinx said as she pushed the two treasures toward Cedric, explaining the functions of these two treasures once again.
Cedric seemed to be in a dilemma.
He didn't understand the third riddle at all and even felt it had a grammatical error. With his intelligence, he probably couldn't solve it.
This meant he had to choose between the map and the fragment.
Both options were reasonable. The map could help Cedric strengthen quickly, while the fragment was the main goal for strengthening. Each choice had its advantages and disadvantages.
"It's hard to make a decision..." Cedric looked at the two treasures with anxious eyes.
"Take your time; there's no rush. Both you and I have plenty of time," the Sphinx was a very patient magical creature. She sat to the side, observing Cedric with interest as he agonized.
"You can try to solve the third riddle, because with the two previous riddles as a foundation, even if you answer incorrectly, I won't penalize you," the Sphinx gave a small piece of advice.
Cedric: Oh.
He had no clue!
However, as he looked at the two treasures in front of him, he came up with a very Gryffindor-like idea.
Pretending to compare the two treasures, he slipped a hand into the inner pocket of his robe.
"Could you please repeat the third riddle?"
"Of course..." The Sphinx was about to repeat the riddle when Cedric quickly crushed the Portkey cover and touched the body of the Portkey with his fingers.
Cedric disappeared instantly, along with the fragment of the bracelet and the fragment of the map.
"Bastard!" the Sphinx jumped up, roaring in anger. This was the first time someone had dared to mock her in this way since she was born! Her claws left deep marks on the ground one after another.
Although the Sphinx was furious, she couldn't change a fact: Cedric had taken the two treasures using the Portkey.
"An interesting kid," after venting her internal anger, the Sphinx said through clenched teeth. "Don't let us meet again, cunning kid who knows how to seize opportunities."
The young wizards who were witnessing the competition were in an uproar, literally excited.
Cedric's action, at best, was imaginative madness, but at worst, it was unsportsmanlike, taking advantage of the loopholes in the rules.
The young wizards from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons stood up and began shouting, "Cheater! Shameless cheater!"
Meanwhile, the young wizards from Hogwarts snapped out of their shock and, hearing what the students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons were yelling, counterattacked without reserve:
"It's a fair use of the rules!"
"The tournament doesn't prohibit it."
"Getting five treasure boxes from Fleur Delacour is more like cheating!"
...
"Maybe only the judges can give a fair conclusion," Lee Jordan shouted, raising his voice since the place was too noisy and he needed to make his voice heard above the others.
He looked toward the judges' platform, eagerly awaiting the judges' conclusion.
The judges on the platform were engaged in a heated debate.
"Director Dumbledore, isn't Cedric's action a violation of the rules? The Portkeys have been given to ensure the safety of the champions, how is it possible to use them to exploit such loopholes?" Madame Maxime was the first to attack, looking at Dumbledore with superiority, using an aggressive tone.
From her point of view, Cedric was taking full advantage and should be disqualified immediately.
Karkaroff, by her side, appeared much calmer, pretending not to care. This behavior was noticed by the sharp Durmstrang graduate, Issa May.
A flash of puzzlement shone in her eyes – this didn't seem like Professor Karkaroff's typical reaction!
As a former Triwizard Tournament winner and Prefect, Issa May knew Director Karkaroff very well. He was a narrow-minded and short-sighted person. Forgiveness and mercy were not in his vocabulary.
Could someone like him afford to be treated this way? Obviously not.
Professor Karkaroff's reaction was too unusual. Issa May came to a conclusion. A suspicion that had been lingering in her mind surfaced: Professor Karkaroff must be under someone's control!
As for how the control was being carried out, the most likely method was the use of one of the three Unforgivable Curses, the Imperius Curse.
Issa May's suspicion was not unfounded. She knew some secrets that were unknown to others. For example, Professor Karkaroff had disappeared for several days during the summer holidays. When he reappeared, he gave the explanation that the pressure of running the school was too high, and he needed a break.
Many didn't believe this explanation. Most people thought he had been replaced by someone else or was under the Imperius Curse. Furthermore, after that, Professor Karkaroff's character changed slightly, leading to some rumors among the Durmstrang students.
Issa May felt the need to uncover the truth. Initially, she thought someone had impersonated Professor Karkaroff using Polyjuice Potion, but then this assumption was discarded – she had been closely watching Karkaroff and noticed that there was no opportunity for him to take the potion. This magical potion needed to be taken at regular intervals, so if observed closely, clues could be found.
However, after several weeks of observation, Issa May was sure that there had been no consumption of the potion by Professor Karkaroff. Of course, there were more flaws in his behavior and actions, which made Issa May even more certain that the director was under the Imperius Curse.
But she didn't know who was doing it. Her eyes scrutinized the people around her, each of them seeming suspicious. Ludo Bagman, who was acting mischievously, had secrets he was hiding from everyone; Madame Maxime, Beauxbatons' headmistress, a giantess of mixed blood, wasn't it abnormal for her to do something like this? And Dumbledore, the legendary Dumbledore, what kind of person was he really? Could he be a true opposing force to Grindelwald?
Karkaroff and the others had no idea that at that moment, a young judge was having such intense mental activity.
All eyes were on Dumbledore.
As the host and Cedric's headmaster, Dumbledore had to provide an explanation.
He stroked his beard and began talking about something completely irrelevant.
"If I'm not mistaken, the Apparition examination is scheduled for fifth-year students, isn't it?" Dumbledore glanced at Percy.
"That's right, sir, fifth-year students take the exam..."
"Thank you, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore interrupted without giving Percy more room to speak. "I assume Mr. Diggory can perform Apparition, correct?"
Percy realized immediately. "Yes, that's right, Mr. Diggory passed the Apparition test successfully."
"So even without the Portkey, Mr. Diggory could have escaped the encounter with the Sphinx outside using Apparition, isn't that so?" Dumbledore's words were convincing.
Madame Maxime also accepted his explanation.
"We should modify the rules as soon as possible to prevent anyone from continuing to exploit the loopholes." Although she accepted the explanation, Madame Maxime still had some ideas of her own.
"Next time we will," Dumbledore said with a smile.
Once the biggest source of trouble had surrendered, the judges also quickly reached an agreement.
"After the discussion of the judges' committee, Mr. Diggory's actions comply with the regulations." Ludo Bagman, the presenter, announced enthusiastically, and the place erupted in loud applause: the young wizards from Hogwarts celebrated. They were excited and happy for Cedric's great breakthrough.
As for the young wizards from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, they fell silent. If the judges had ruled this way, what more could they do?