Chapter 40: 40. Hermione wins (obviously)
The next day, it was the 2nd and final round of the Triwizard tournament. There was no big arena set that day as most of the race was to be seen on Uni T.Vs. So, most of the people decided to rather stay at home and watch it in a good warm room with a jug of Butterbeer.
The people who were present at the starting line were just the students of the school, staff and some reporters. Currently, Alexander was giving instructions to the champions.
"Alright champions. For each of you, pick 1 pouch from the table. If you look inside. You will find ... a guide map, a broom that can only fly for 7.8 kilometers. A rope, an iron ingot, and 200 GBP muggle currency. You will be allowed to carry your wand. Now look at this map, I'll tell you your route." He directed them to a full map of the magical United Kingdom.
"This is where we are. Your first checkpoint is at the center of the forbidden forest. You have to cross it on foot and expect the worst. The forest is filled with unimaginable dangers. At the center of the forest, you will find a table. It's a portkey. Touch it and you'll be transported to the king's cross.
From there, you'll have to travel to Trent Park. In there you'll find another table which will lead you to a bank of a river. You'll have to cross it from there by any means. Once crossed, you will find another portkey. Then you'll be back at the center of the forbidden forest. From there you'll return to Hogwarts and have a 3-way duel in the arena. May the best win, good luck" He finished speaking and left them to prepare.
The magical drones were set to follow the 3 in their race from various angles. If they faced something life-threatening then they'd be helped.
...
"START"
As soon as those words came, the 1st champion dashed into the forest. According to the previous score, the champions were given a head start or delay of 5 minutes. Hermione went first, then Fleur Delacour and then Viktor Krum.
It was probably going to be a very bad day for Viktor Krum due to what Alexander had planned. He wanted to disqualify him in the previous round but didn't as it would spoil the relationship with Durmstrang.
Hermione dashed into the jungle and headed straight to the center of the forest. She was fast but also attentive to every detail around her. Her first obstacle came as forest trolls. She just levitated big boulders and dropped them on their heads. Fleur decided to take a detour. Viktor Krum was not so lucky as he didn't find trolls but 2 dragons.
They were Mira and Balena. The 2 mother Dragons chased him around in the forest for half an hour before finally giving up. But they did successfully burn his ass a little.
The 3 champions made their way through the forest, some easily and some (read Viktor) not so easily.
When Hermione reached the center she found a table as told. But on the table, there was a sphinx sitting. The sphinx had noticed Hermione.
"Solve the Riddle and pass, or fail the riddle and wait for 30 minutes," the sphinx said.
Hermione nodded.
"I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have nobody, but I come alive with wind. What am I? " Sphinx asked.
Hermione thought for a while and answered, "Easy, an echo"
Sphinx nodded. "You are as smart as he said. You may pass now"
Hermione touched the table and got transported to King's Cross. Fleur followed behind after answering a riddle of normal difficulty.
Then came Viktor Krum. The sphinx gave him a random mathematical problem to solve. An integration problem, to be precise. Viktor Krum had to stand there like a fool for the next 30 minutes.
...
Hermione easily took the tube, straight to the Cockfosters station, which was right beside the park. Fleur took a cab and also reached the location, she probably had some experience in traversing the muggle world from France.
Viktor Krum had no idea about muggle transportation and decided to use his broom with disillusionment and some other charms on himself. He could only go halfway before the broom stopped working and vanished. From there he asked people for directions a lot and finally reached the location by a cab. The cab driver saw that Viktor didn't know where he was going so he just increased the bill by riding around the blocks and wasted his time. The magical world was having a great laugh at him.
From there, they reached the riverbank. Hermione and Fleur used the same trick to cross the river. It was a very wide river which Alexander had chosen. It was 7.9 kilometers wide and their brooms were only supposed to go 7.8 kilometers. On the other side of the river, there was a cliff. Which they were supposed to climb with the help of a rope and a metal hook, which could be made by transfiguring the iron ingot.
Hermione was smart and quick. She didn't even have to touch the water as she threw her hook from the broom. Fleur wasn't as fast and she fell into the water. But she also eventually climbed it.
There was only Viktor Krum left now. The scene changed and he was seen swimming. It took quite a while for him to complete his 7.9 kilometers swim. By the end of which he was extremely tired.
Then they returned to the forbidden forest where they once again made their way to the Hogwarts. Viktor Krum was again chased by the dragon but this time they took a pitty and lead him towards Hogwarts.
Hermione came first and got some time to rest before her duel. She wasn't allowed to take her magic reserve rings in the duel so she was to fight with her original strength. Which was also pretty OP when compared to other Hogwarts seniors.
Fleur came 30 minutes after Hermione. She also had plenty of time to rest as Viktor Krum came 4 hours after Fleur. He was given just 15 minutes of rest before the duel started. Unlike the morning, the arena was fully packed with people. After all, after 202 years, a new Triwizard winner would be declared that day. People were excited. Butterbeers and food were being sold like hotcakes.
Then came the final showdown. The three champions took their places. As soon as the bell rang they started firing charms and curses at each other.
Fleur was a very talented witch but she was no fighter. Viktor Krum threw his item pouch to distract her while deflecting attacks from Hermione. Fleur instinctively sent a curse at the pouch but in that time, Viktor sent a freezing charm at her. She fell down not being able to move. She lost.
~I need to give Hermione some more practical experience in fighting~ Alexander made a mental note.
Now it was just Hermione and Bread Krum. Hermione could've ended the fight the moment it started but watching Alexander, she had learned that sometimes it's best not to go full power at the beginning.
She slowly started overpowering Viktor and finally sent the last charm. It was a transfiguration charm which transfigured Viktor into a pig. The fight ended with a loud cheer and laughter.
Fleur was unfrozen and Viktor was turned back into a human. They were sent to the infirmary to get checked as they received some injuries. But the champion Hermione was fine.
Edward gave her a nice hug and lifted her in the air. Alexander pointed his finger at the sky and fireworks started. It marked the end of the Triwizard tournament.
Then it was the time of the award ceremony. She was given the huge Triwizard Cup. Her name will be etched on it for forever. The cup would stay in Hogwarts for the next 5 years. Then she was given the big fat money check. It was Hermione's first self-made income so she felt very proud of herself.
She was going to give most of it to her parents. Though she was in for a surprise as Alexander had gifted the couple a multi-story Dental clinic for their wedding anniversary. He had also felt that another Granger was on his way to be born soon. He didn't tell Hermione about that as it was her parents' decision to tell her.
After that, there was a celebration party at Hogwarts main hall. People danced and ate. Alexander was probably the most favorite person to all students of Hogwarts. He also announced that he's opening up a movie theatre in Hogsmeade. Students could go there on weekends.
By the end of the party, the champion and the most eligible bachelor went missing. Alexander smiled and went back to Galaxy tower. He was going to attend the ICW meeting the next day and also discuss the release of Grindelwald.