In fact, the event could continue since Cedric had not yet collected all the fragments of the magical bracelet.
However, the jury members believed it was impossible for Cedric to collect all the fragments. Fleur had one fragment in her possession, and Krum had already obtained three. Even if Cedric managed to get the remaining three fragments, it wouldn't be so easy to snatch the fragments from the other champions.
They could simply dig a hole and bury the fragments or have their team volunteers carry the fragments with them, so even if they were caught, it wouldn't affect the ownership of the fragments.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the first event of the Triwizard Tournament comes to an end," announced Dumbledore as he stood up with a loud voice.
A pair of owls fluttered into the Forbidden Forest, carrying the news of the competition's end to the champions. Along with the owls, the dragon researchers sent by the Ministry of Magic and Hagrid, the gamekeeper, also entered the forest. Their goal was to retrieve the dragons from the Forbidden Forest.
While the staff searched for dragons throughout the forest, Cedric received a letter from one of the owls.
"The event has ended," said Cedric with a smile on his lips. "It's time to return."
Of course, they weren't going to walk back. They intended to take a shortcut.
Cedric placed his Portkey on the ground, signaling for Tom and Hermione to come closer.
"Three, two, one, let's go!" The three extended a finger and placed it on the Portkey. In the next second, the three of them appeared in the center of Hogwarts' Quidditch field. Fleur and Krum also appeared one after another at their side. The stadium echoed with a thunderous applause.
"Let's welcome our champions back to the stage!" Lee Jordan shouted loudly. "Congratulations to Cedric of Hogwarts for obtaining the majority of the magical bracelet pieces!"
The response was even more enthusiastic applause, along with cheers from the Hogwarts students and some fireworks.
Although Jordan's tone sounded as if Cedric had already secured first place, no one dared to question it. His lead was too significant.
Cedric, Tom, and Hermione slowly approached the stands, where countless people were waiting for them.
"You did very well!" Professor Sprout patted Cedric on the shoulder, led him to her, and gave him a warm hug.
"Exceptional bravery, outstanding spells, and impressive armor." Professor Flitwick also rushed towards them, though not to congratulate Cedric but to see his good student.
Tom and Hermione had shone in the competition. If Cedric hadn't had their support, the competition could have been much more challenging.
"That armor still needs optimization..." Tom wanted to chat with Professor Flitwick a bit, but the professor disappeared into the crowd in the blink of an eye.
"Tom, we're going to make a fortune!" Fred squeezed his way through the crowd and shouted at Tom. "I think we can sell some of your merchandise..."
Tom: ...
The three arrived at Madame Pomfrey's medical tent amidst the congratulations of the crowd.
At this moment, many of the volunteers who had participated in the competition had already been brought into the tent. The interior of the tent was divided into several small compartments to provide patients with some privacy.
"They'll have to compensate me for my wand!" Just as Tom arrived, he saw a Durmstrang student loudly arguing as he was escorted out by Ministry of Magic personnel.
"It's just a broken wand, those unlucky ones could even have their arms broken," Tom wanted to mock that boy.
Hermione beside him slightly changed her expression and nodded vaguely.
Seeing the real champion had arrived, Madame Pomfrey immediately approached Cedric to check his physical condition. At that moment, Madame Pomfrey seemed anxious, probably due to the number of students injured during the event.
After circling around the three of them, she handed each of them a cup of blue potion.
"Ready, take the potion and rest for a minute before checking the competition scores," after arranging the three of them, Madame Pomfrey hurriedly left the cubicle to attend to other patients.
"I don't know what use the scores have," Cedric was a bit nervous, "It's a pity not to have collected all the pieces; it would have been a great help for the next event..."
"Getting a high score can give you an advantage, but gathering all the fragments... who said it would be so easy?" Tom consoled Cedric and then drank the magic potion.
It had an acceptable taste, like a peculiar cup of hot tea. After drinking it, he felt revitalized, as if he had shaken off his fatigue.
After a minute, Cedric approached the edge of the field, where he could see the judges in the stadium.
He knew that each judge could give a maximum of ten points, while the three student representatives had to reach a consensus to assign a score.
Krum and Fleur were also there, waiting for the judges' ratings.
After the judges discussed the matter for a while, Cedric could clearly see how Percy and the other two representatives were heatedly arguing, seemingly as if they wanted to skin each other alive. The atmosphere among the three headmasters was much more harmonious, or at least they appeared to be more tolerant.
After the discussion, they began to give scores to Fleur. Because her competition had been too easy, leaving a mediocre impression on the others, the judges gave her an average of six points each. The five scores added up to a total of thirty points, and adding an additional fragment of the magical bracelet, she gained two extra points, so Fleur's final score was thirty-two points.
Because Krum had more standout moments during the event, he received thirty-four points from the judges, adding the additional fragments from the magical bracelet, reaching a total of forty points.
When Cedric saw that each magical bracelet fragment was worth two points, his heart raced with excitement.
Twenty-three magical bracelet fragments! What a concept? Even if the judges gave him zero points, his score would still be in first place.
So he simply stood there calmly, waiting for the results.
"Cedric Diggory, he has obtained twenty-three magical bracelet fragments, with a total of forty-six points."
The young wizards present, despite being mentally prepared, were still surprised. Fleur and Krum beside him also gaped in amazement.
"How many?" Krum began to doubt his ears.
"Yodel is truly strong." Fleur had a complicated look. She knew Cedric would be the winner with Yodel's support, but she never expected him to have such an overwhelming advantage.
"It's a matter of luck," Cedric humbly said.
After counting the fragments, the judges began to give their scores. First was Madame Maxime, whose wand emitted a golden "7"; she was quite dissatisfied with the tricks Cedric used against the sphinx. Furthermore, she had observed the entire event from the beginning and felt that Cedric had won unfairly.
If Fleur had been able to get Tom's help, why would she have needed to do so? How many of the twenty-three fragments had Tom earned?
Bagman was very generous in giving ten points, Dumbledore held back a bit and gave nine points, and the three student representatives, after a small dispute, gave him eight points, the same as Karkaroff.
The fact that Karkaroff gave him eight points was quite surprising. Many thought he would make a scene due to this easy win, but in the end, he remained silent, which surprised many who knew Karkaroff.
88 points!
After Cedric's total score was announced, the young wizards of Hogwarts erupted in joy once again, all applauding Cedric. Not only the Hufflepuff students but also those from Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin were all applauding the handsome older student.
In their view, Cedric, who led by a wide margin in the scores, already had the advantage.
While everyone celebrated wildly, in a luxurious mansion in Wiltshire, England, a conversation was taking place.
"The Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts, it's said to have been very exciting. Don't you have any insight into it?" Inside the luxurious mansion, two wizards were sitting across from a magical chessboard. One of them had soft blond hair, while the other had light blond hair.
These two were Lucius Malfoy and Barty Crouch Jr.
In front of them was a magical chessboard. On the board, the white pieces had surrounded the black pieces, and the black pieces were clearly at a disadvantage. It was evident that unless some clever moves occurred, the black pieces would eventually fall to defeat.
"Lucius, I'm no longer a child, I'm not interested in these fantasy games," Barty Crouch Jr. didn't show much enthusiasm for the Triwizard Tournament, at least not on the surface.
"I mean if you've considered doing something while the tournament is underway," Lucius felt that perhaps he hadn't made his point clear, so he clarified it a bit more.
"Dumbledore thinks he's invincible, but only we understand the meaning behind our lord's actions. Lucius, you don't need to worry too much; if I were you, I'd focus on overseeing your precious son. How is his progress on the mission?" Barty Crouch Jr. gently stroked the black piece in his hand, with a penetrating look, searching for a weakness in the white pieces.
Seeing that Barty always brought up that topic, Lucius Malfoy lost interest in continuing the conversation. He responded nonchalantly, saying everything was going well, that Draco was already working on his mission.
"Our lord won't abandon any of his servants as long as they remain useful," Barty instantly understood that Draco Malfoy hadn't made any progress, and a malicious smile formed on his lips.
"Our lord's grand plan will reach a critical point, and at that moment... Hogwarts, the Ministry of Magic, Dumbledore, and Minister Bones will be completely eliminated, and that won't be the end..."
"Oh yes, our lord's goal is the entire wizarding world," Lucius no longer wanted to listen to Voldemort's fanatic ramblings. Did Voldemort have the ability to conquer the entire wizarding world? Lucius didn't know. Even in the time when Voldemort was at the height of his power, his influence was mainly limited to the British Isles.
Unless he could completely eliminate Dumbledore's influence, conquering the wizarding world was just a distant dream. Furthermore, Lucius wasn't really concerned about Voldemort's grand plan; he was more interested in his own family's interests.
He turned his attention to the chessboard. At that moment, he was no longer interested in playing chess and just wanted to finish the game quickly so he could write a letter to his son.
But the more impatient he was, the more likely he was to make a mistake.
After some mediocre moves, the situation on the chessboard suddenly reversed, and Lucius lost all interest in continuing to play. He tossed the chess pieces onto the board and surrendered.
After surrendering, Lucius raised his head and looked at the wall clock, showing a slight expression of displeasure.
He had no objections to having his valuable rest time occupied by these meetings, but couldn't they do it somewhere other than his own home? Lucius really didn't want this gang of suspicious individuals to come to his house. However, Voldemort didn't give him the power to choose.
"Barty, it's time for the meeting," although he internally scoffed at this lack of respect, Lucius showed not a hint of disgust: outwardly, he was more loyal than most Death Eaters.
"I know," Barty had already put away the chessboard, got up, and walked alongside Lucius into the mansion.
After Voldemort's resurrection, he turned Malfoy Manor into his base and the meeting place for the Death Eaters.
Every week, he set a day in the manor to convene his followers. Except for individuals with special identities like Severus Snape, everyone had to attend.
Today was the usual meeting day for the Death Eaters.
Lucius Malfoy led Barty Crouch Jr. to a dimly lit room. The windows of the room were closed, and only the hanging lamp on the ceiling provided dim light. Below the lamp, there was a long table with more than a dozen chairs on each side.
Lucius led Barty to the head seat at the table and sat across from him. The two of them selected their seats, right next to the head seat, being the right and left arms of the guest of honor.
The order in which the Death Eaters sat at the meeting was very specific and directly related to their status.
Shortly after they sat down, other Death Eaters began to enter the room, finding their proper places and sitting obediently. Even Wormtail was present, but he could only sit at the very end and had a fawning smile on his face.
Finally, a figure appeared at the door, and the room instantly fell silent. These Death Eaters who could wreak havoc outside didn't dare to breathe at that moment.
Voldemort had arrived.
He walked silently to the long table and took the seat that had been left for him. Behind him, there were whispering sounds as a massive snake slithered across the table and reached Voldemort's hand, under the gaze of the Death Eaters.
Voldemort raised his chin toward Barty, indicating that the meeting could begin.
After receiving the signal, Barty immediately turned to a Death Eater beside him and asked, "Avery, how is the situation with Karkaroff? Are there signs that he's becoming uncontrollable? I must remind you that the Imperius Curse can be easily released."