Hogwarts: Chill, I'm Not That Riddle

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Bagman’s voice rang out across the arena.

"Oh my, oh my! Ladies and gentlemen, could this be the moment we’ve all been waiting for?!"

"Right now, we can see that Quinta of Castelobruxo has completely taken control of the skies! She’s held back throughout the entire tournament, but now her druidic shapeshifting is finally revealing its true brilliance!"

"Champion Quinta is unbelievably fast! Every setback she’s suffered until now has become completely irrelevant! Look at that! She’s already approaching Karazhan Magic Tower, and she’s not slowing down in the slightest!"

"What a daring strategy... and somehow, an incredibly viable one!"

At this moment, Bagman’s voice rose another octave, "Quinta has passed Ariana’s record! My goodness, she’s still accelerating!"

He suddenly leaned forward, his eyes widening. "Wait... what’s that? A spark? No..."

For a split second, the entire arena seemed to hold its breath.

"THAT’S LIGHTNING!"

...

When Quinta’s eagle form came within ten meters of Karazhan, the tower’s spire suddenly erupted with blinding blue light.

A split second later, a bolt of lightning struck her at a speed that left no room for reaction.

The entire eagle lit up.

Not voluntarily, of course. She was being electrocuted.

The lightning continued for a full ten seconds before finally dissipating.

The eagle’s body went limp and plummeted toward the ground.

Halfway through the fall, Quinta reverted to human form.

In the Dream Arena, many spectators covered their eyes, unable to bear what they expected to see next.

The Magic Tower stood nearly a hundred meters tall, and Quinta had been flying almost level with its peak.

A fall from that height wouldn’t leave behind an intact body. At best, there would be pieces. At worst, only a stain. Even being reduced to a puddle of flesh wouldn’t have been surprising.

Castelobruxo’s headmaster, Sanchez, shot to his feet in horror.

"Noooo!"

Losing the competition was one thing. Losing a student was another.

"Please don’t worry. Tom has assured us that all safety measures are in place." Dumbledore spoke rapidly, trying to calm him down.

And thankfully, Dumbledore was right. Tom wasn’t reckless enough to experiment with safety protocols using actual lives.

Halfway through her descent, Quinta’s speed stopped increasing. Instead, it began to slow.

Like a feather floating on the wind, she drifted gently toward the ground.

The old Quinta had been a healthy, athletic girl with sun-kissed skin. The current Quinta looked like she’d just crawled out of a coal mine.

Black smoke drifted from her body, and every strand of her hair stood straight up.

At this moment, she landed directly in front of Ariana.

Ariana crouched beside her, amusement clearly visible on her face, and cast an Awakening Charm followed by a Healing Charm.

Quinta slowly opened her eyes.

Several seconds passed before her pupils finally focused, "I... I’m still alive?"

"You really dodged death there." Ariana smiled at her. "You should be grateful this is a test. If you were an actual intruder, there probably wouldn’t be enough left of you to bury."

Truthfully, when Ariana had watched Quinta charge straight at Karazhan, she hadn’t been worried in the slightest.

Maybe other people didn’t understand Tom Riddle. But she certainly did.

To him, Dalaran was his city, and Karazhan was his home, his laboratory, and his domain.

Anyone wishing to enter had to complete a pilgrimage of sorts, advancing step by step through the proper path.

Because of that, Ariana had never been concerned that Quinta might steal the championship. Trying to force her way in from above had been doomed from the start.

"..."

Quinta wanted to smile bitterly, but her entire body was still numb and tingling. She couldn’t control her facial muscles.

All she could do was force out a response, "I got carried away."

"You’ve already done amazingly well." Ariana’s tone was sincere. "You started in last place and made it all the way here. Doesn’t that prove you’re better than most of us?"

"If we get the chance, let’s have afternoon tea together someday. But right now, I need you to stay quiet for a while, Quinta."

"..."

Quinta understood what was coming.

She closed her eyes and accepted her fate.

And Ariana showed no hesitation. With a wave of magic, she levitated Quinta into the air and sent her drifting away.

Several alchemical constructs soon arrived, bound her securely, and escorted her off to a holding cell.

The constructs didn’t interfere with Ariana herself. She had already entered the hundred-meter safe zone surrounding Karazhan Mage Tower. Within that area, combat was prohibited.

After sending Quinta away, Ariana stepped into the Tower.

Victory seemed only a single step away.

At that moment, an emotionless synthetic voice echoed across the sky.

{"Champion Ariana Dumbledore has entered the final sprint... All remaining champions are encouraged to continue their efforts."}

On the opposite side of the tower, Daphne and Kamio were still tangled up in a battle with a swarm of constructs.

The two of them belonged to the charge-first-think-later category. By blundering their way through the city, they had somehow attracted nearly fifty constructs.

The moment Daphne heard the announcement, panic hit her.

They’d already come this far. If she still failed to win the championship, not only would she regret it forever, but there was no way she’d be able to enjoy her summer vacation traveling with Tom and Astoria.

Unfortunately, the annoying constructs refused to stop swarming around her.

Just as Daphne was starting to grow desperate, she glanced at Kamio.

Unlike her, the fox girl was still moving effortlessly through the battlefield, casually evading attacks from every direction.

Suddenly, an idea appeared in Daphne’s mind.

"Kamio, can you help hold these big guys off so I can break through?"

"If I really push myself, I might be able to," Kamio said, raising a barrier that deflected several magical blasts before turning to Daphne. "But my dear young lady... we may be allies, but that doesn’t mean I’ve given up on winning. Why would I help you with something like that?"

Daphne looked at her with quiet confidence. "I know you like Tom."

Kamio’s eyes widened in surprise.

Seeing that reaction made Daphne even more certain she was right.

"It’s a shame, though. Tom barely pays attention to you. Sure, he lets you hang out with us, but he didn’t take you to Grandad Newt or Grandad Nicolas."

Daphne suddenly grinned, "How about this? If you help me today, then if I win the championship, I’ll help you."

Kamio’s eyes immediately began sparkling, "Are you serious?"

Daphne puffed out her chest proudly. "The Greengrass family never lies."

The more debts you owe, the less you worry about owing another.

The more fleas you’ve got, the less you care about getting bitten again.

She already had plenty of sisters. One more fox girl wasn’t exactly impossible to accept.

Besides, she could feel that Tom and Kamio were already very close, which meant she was essentially trading for something that was probably going to happen anyway.

A deal with no downside.

So... again, who said she was airheaded? She was obviously a freaking genius.

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