Hogwarts: Chill, I'm Not That Riddle

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Looking at Daphne’s smug little expression, Kamio had to fight with all her strength to keep from laughing out loud.

Finally, she had finally reached this point.

She’d spent all this time humoring the young lady and had even gone out of her way to form an alliance with her. Wasn’t the whole point to slowly guide Daphne into the trap and get her to personally invite her into the Riddle household?

In Kamio’s eyes, teasing Daphne was far more entertaining than winning any championship.

When she and Tom eventually had little fox cubs of their own, would Daphne end up standing behind her, helping her through it?

The moment that image entered her mind, suppressing her smile became even harder.

She hurriedly asked, "Daph, are you serious about this?"

"Of course I am." Daphne nodded vigorously. "I’m a woman of my word. If you help me hold off these constructs and let me get into the Magic Tower, then after the competition ends, I’ll help you."

"You’re too kind." Kamio looked so moved she was practically in tears.

At that exact moment, one of the constructs fired a stream of flames toward them.

"Watch out!" Daphne cried out and hurriedly swung her wand, redirecting the fire elsewhere. "Kamio, I know you’re happy, but don’t get carried away. If you fail to stop these constructs, my promise is canceled."

Kamio blinked, "And what if you don’t win the championship?"

Daphne answered without hesitation. "Then that just means I wasn’t good enough. That has nothing to do with you. My promise still stands."

"Deal."

A determined look appeared on Kamio’s face.

She rolled up her sleeves, revealing slender white wrists glowing with streams of fluorescent light.

"Daphne, once I lock these constructs down, run. No matter what happens, don’t look back. Got it?"

"Kamio..." Daphne’s eyes immediately grew misty. "Okay. I’ll do exactly as you say."

"Lock!"

Holding her wand aloft, Kamio began to dance gracefully like a shrine maiden performing a ritual.

The earth trembled softly. Then several enormous fluffy tails burst from the ground and swept toward the dozens of alchemical constructs surrounding them.

In the blink of an eye, every construct blocking their path was restrained. A clear route opened ahead.

"Go. Now!"

Seeing the strain on Kamio’s face, Daphne nodded firmly and sprinted toward the Magic Tower.

She obediently resisted the urge to look back. She was afraid that if she saw Kamio struggling to hold on, her heart would soften and she’d stay behind to fight alongside her.

Because of that, she never noticed the sly smile curling at the corner of Kamio’s lips.

Winning the championship? How could that possibly be more fun than watching the final showdown?

She intended to stall here long enough, then head to the Magic Tower herself and see who ultimately claimed victory.

...

..

With all the constructs focused on Kamio, Daphne reached the Magic Tower without encountering any resistance.

Although the tower only had nine floors, the interior had been expanded by magic. Each level was extraordinarily tall, and the stairways between floors were correspondingly enormous.

This was where the benefits of years spent taking dragon-blood potions became obvious.

Daphne sprinted upward floor after floor. Five levels in a row. Not only was she not out of breath, but she seemed to be getting faster.

At last, she caught up to Ariana on the sixth floor.

"You’re faster than I expected." Ariana looked at the suddenly appearing Daphne with surprise.

Daphne let out a proud little huff. "Hmph. Kamio sacrificed herself to hold off those annoying constructs. Otherwise, you would’ve had an easy path to the championship."

A strange expression immediately crossed Ariana’s face, "What exactly did you promise her?"

"I told her I’d help her and Tom get together. Um... I’ll just set up a private date between them." Daphne said naturally.

"..."

Ariana fell silent.

This young lady really was... adorable. Kind. And big idiot.

For a brief moment, Ariana almost wanted to ask whether she could line up behind Kamio if she forfeited right now.

But if she actually said that, the tournament would be ridiculed as completely rigged.

She knew how important this competition was to Tom. Not because of the winner itself, but because of the influence the Inter-School Championship and Wizard Ranking System would have on the wizarding world.

Looking at the wary stance Daphne had already taken, Ariana thought for a moment.

"We’ve still got some distance to the ninth floor. If we start fighting here and someone else sneaks past us, that would be a disaster." She pointed upward. "How about we go together? When we reach the Goblet of Fire, we settle everything with a duel."

"Whoever wins gets to claim the trophy. What do you think?"

The proposal sounded reasonable.

After a moment’s consideration, Daphne agreed.

The two girls began climbing side by side.

As they ascended, they quickly discovered that the higher the floor, the longer the stairways became.

The staircase from the sixth floor to the seventh alone was nearly equal to all the previous staircases combined.

The climb from the seventh to the eighth was twice as long again.

By the time they were ascending toward the ninth floor, the journey felt endless.

"Huff... is this still supposed to be a wizarding competition?" Ariana was already out of breath.

Unable to stop herself, she complained, "They might as well replace us with Muggle athletes and see who can climb stairs faster."

Daphne rolled her eyes. "Ariana, if I’d known your stamina was this poor, I never would’ve agreed to your proposal. Wouldn’t it be easier if I just ran ahead and took the championship myself?"

"Oh? The great Miss Greengrass is thinking about backing out?"

"I am not." Daphne immediately denied it. "I’m just saying."

"Good." Ariana smiled slyly. "Then when we get upstairs, can I have ten minutes to rest first?"

"Not a chance." Daphne shook her head. "That wasn’t part of the deal. Keep dreaming."

The two continued bickering as they climbed.

Eventually, they reached a magnificent golden hall.

The vast chamber was completely empty.

At its center stood a raised stone pedestal. Resting atop it was the Goblet of Fire, blazing with brilliant flames.

The two girls moved apart, creating distance between them.

Then, at the same moment, they raised their wands.

The final battle was about to begin.

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