Harry, Fleur and Krum were treated quickly before they were hurriedly expelled from the tent by Madam Pomfrey since she said the judges wanted them to announce the results.
Harry had a smug look on his face as they met because he felt like he'd foiled the great betrayal of his competitors. But Loki was smiling calmly as he walked by Fleur and whispered to her, "Lost again, have you? I wonder if there is anything in the world you can actually beat me in?"
Fleur scowled but didn't let the comment get to her, she only held her little sister's hand tighter as it alleviated all her troubles.
The little girl looked at Loki and frowned but Loki only knelt by her side before giving her cheeks a good little squish while mentally thinking, 'Hmpf. Elane is cuter than her, I win again.'
After a few minutes of waiting, the Judges were ready to reveal the results and as such the champions left the tent together with their now free hostages.
The judges sat on a special elevated stand among the crowd in the Quidditch stands and each carried a different expression.
Kakarof was frowning heavily, Madam Maxime was smiling but just barely, Crouch had a frown, while Bagman looked like he'd just won a lot of money and Dumbledore had the same perspective gaze, as if he'd just looked at you and seen your entire family nine generations before you.
Since the scores this time weren't given by the judges and were calculated based on hard rules decided before the competition began, Bagman stood up and announced them.
"Coming in at the fourth place! For doing the most damage is, Viktor Krum! He did precisely eight hundred points of damage, with four hundred points of damage coming from fighting the Lava Golem, the Wampus Cat and the Druid, while the other four hundred come from being the fourth person to rescue their hostage."
Everyone clapped softly. Krum accepted the applause even though Kakaroff seemed grumpy about it.
"In third place is Fleur Delacour! For killing the most enemies! With Twelve hundred points! She killed the Wampus Cat three times, the Lava Golem two times, and the Druid three times for a total of eight hundred points. And she gained another eight hundred points for being the third to rescue her hostage!"
Everyone clapped a little louder than the last time, there were still a few boys who were a little too enthusiastic about it.
Fleur accepted all the praises with an elegant bow. Madam Maxime seemed satisfied with Fleur's acceptance.
"Coming in at the second place is, Harry Potter!!! For playing his role of guarding the entire team force and keeping the enemy off the point, he receives Sixteen hundred points! Two hundred points for keeping the Lethifold off the point, and Two hundred points for keeping the Wampus Cat and the Lava Golem off the point when the other champions could no longer kill it. And finally, Twelve hundred points for being the second to save his hostage!"
There was a loud cheer from all the Hogwarts students, especially Gryffindors who sent large fireworks into the sky to represent the Lion who had filled them with pride.
Dumbledore nodded politely towards Harry and he nodded back.
"Finally, last but not the least, the Healer in our midst who has commanded the team when it was at its worst!"
The crowd cheered even before Bagman announced the name, so under the urgency of the crowd he quickly iterated Loki's loot.
"Sixteen hundred points for being the first to rescue his hostage and sixteen hundred more for healing his teammates all throughout the competition, especially in the end with the transfigured rock golem, Loki has achieved an astounding, thirty-two hundred points!!!"
The entire crowd broke out into cheers, especially when Bagman mentioned the rock golem.
It sounded like a gunshot or more likely a cannon had gone off in the Quidditch Stadium and Loki accepted it all with an elegant bow.
The Champions were then huddled back into their 'healing' tent so that the students could go back to the castle to discuss the absolutely exciting match they had just seen while the champions were informed of the Third Task.
Ludo Bagman and Barty Crouch Sr. along with the headmasters of the three schools entered the tent.
They made their way to the champions who were now alone since the Hostages had been asked to leave for the private talk they would be having.
"Congratulations Mr. Loki for ranking first in this task." Bagman congratulated Loki before turning to Barty Crouch Sr. for him to talk.
"This meeting is held to inform the champions of the Third Task which will happen on the date, 24th June, 1995. The contents of the task will be revealed on the day, but the riddle which hints at it will be revealed right now."
Everyone became alert at the mention of a riddle and looked at Barty Crouch Sr. with focus.
"I will only say this once so listen very carefully."
Everyone nodded.
You will blow winds to the top on this day,
Since clouds are waiting to drench you today.
The end of the day comes with a workers pay,
Since you're only worth as much you don't say.
Will One Conquer the Other You Shall Weigh.
Everyone felt a little sharp as Barty Crouch Sr. finished the riddle.
No one was able to crack it immediately, but they all made sure to remember each word of what was said. And even if they'd missed something the champions were sure their headmasters would remind them of it.
The Champions were hence dismissed to their dormitories and as soon as Loki entered the Slytherin common room, for the first time, he found a party hosted just for him.
It looked like the entire Slytherin common room had gathered just to throw a celebration irrespective of their status in the house.
Several people came to congratulate Loki and a few even asked for his autograph which Loki graciously gave only a few off since he wanted to make them a rare commodity which he could use to earn money later.
It was only a few hours later that Loki was allowed the company of peace as he entered his room and locked the door.
He thought about the riddle for a while, but given the slightly ominous wording he left it for later. Instead, Loki opened the book he was using to design his ritual and looked at everything that was written in it.
'I need to get my ritual completed…I've already finished digesting my potion…eighty per cent from the theft of the Door blasphemy card and giving its potion to a simple human, a theft from the gods for the humans, and another twenty per cent from the theft from the Chained God given to an angel…'
'If I'm not wrong you-know-who is trying to do something to return at the end of this year in some fashion like the other times once again.'
'Which means that I need to finish the ritual before he returns…'
'I have a strong feeling that I'll be completely outmatched if I'm not stronger.'
'Can I ask for Daphne's help?'
'...with her Mom telling her that being with me is beneficial for her I don't think I want to get entangled with them just yet.'
'I don't know what they might do if I do something to anger them.'
'Having terrible luck would literally be the worst outcome.'
'*sigh* how troublesome.'
'But how interesting…'
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