The Competition That Turns Into War… Again – Part 1
"Aaah… that was pretty fun. Though fighting ourselves would've been even better," said Daphne as she stretched, walking alongside the other three through the shops by the lakeside.
Astoria and Luna had met up with Wanda and the other mothers, so they had gone off with them.
At some point, the event had turned into a full-blown festival. During the breaks, people would come down from the stands to browse the stalls, buy souvenirs, or simply wander around.
There were booths selling small armors and weapons designed for golems, as well as artisans showing off their creations. Of course, they could only sell armor and weapons, since golem cores couldn't be copied. Even if someone tried to make one on their own, it would never match the quality of the originals.
That's why most of them focused on customization—creating different types of armor, ornaments, and styles for golems. Basically, it was like dressing up dolls, but the results were so creative that the idea became extremely popular.
The kids' company didn't forbid it; in fact, they encouraged it. After all, it was like a fabric manufacturer: they wouldn't stop others from designing their own clothes. Every creator added their own touch, and that made the trend grow.
There were armors covered in spikes, others so large they looked like walking trash cans… and even a bikini armor. For golems. Without male or female forms. No one quite understood why it existed, but there it was.
"Who do you think will win? I'm betting on the archer—his skill is amazing," said Daphne enthusiastically.
"Mmm, yes, but his attacks rely too much on speed," replied Hermione thoughtfully. "His arrows couldn't pierce a real tank, like the one using those two tower shields."
"Well, I think the paladin has better odds," said Draco with conviction. "Shield and sword—defense and attack. Sure, he's slower, but he can block the arrows and counter once the archer gets close enough."
So far, half of the elimination rounds had been completed. The fighters they were talking about had advanced to the next stage, and everything suggested that the competition would last at least two or three more days. Even so, the crowd remained thrilled.
There was accommodation for everyone—from the grand hotel reserved for special guests to protected camping areas for those who preferred (or could only afford) a simpler stay. Everything was perfectly organized.
"Mmm…" Harry thought for a moment, a hint of superiority on his face, as if he already knew who the winner would be.
That, of course, caught the others' attention.
"So, who do you think will win, Harry?" asked Hermione.
Harry didn't answer right away. Instead, he smiled and said calmly, "Wanna bet?"
The three of them narrowed their eyes at him.
"Sure, why not?" said Draco with a proud grin.
"I'm in," added Daphne instantly.
"Ah… this is going to end badly," muttered Hermione, though she didn't refuse either. "Wait, half the contestants haven't even fought yet," she added quickly. "We should see all of them before betting."
"That's true," agreed Draco with a nod, grimacing slightly. He knew perfectly well that this Harry could twist things in his favor when he wanted to.
"Cowards," Harry teased lightly. The tone alone was enough to irritate all three of them, but they held back. They weren't falling for his tricks again.
"Then why don't you pick from the start?" Daphne challenged with a smirk.
"Then I will," replied Harry before pointing ahead with a mysterious grin. "I choose him."
The others followed the direction of his finger… and among the crowd, they recognized a familiar figure.
Walking casually between the stalls, smiling with two girls at his side—his fiancée and his cousin—was Luciel. In his hand, he carried a chest-like case used to store golems, bearing the tournament's emblem engraved on the front. Without a doubt, he was one of the competitors who hadn't fought yet.
"Oh, hello, everyone. I didn't expect to find you here. I thought you'd be over at that fabulous castle," greeted Luciel, waving warmly.
Harry smiled. "I'm glad you got my invitation."
His three friends froze, then slowly turned their heads toward him, realizing the trickster had done it again.
"The bet was about the winner, but no one said we couldn't help them," said Daphne slyly before running off to find someone to back.
Draco and Hermione, hearing that, didn't waste any time either—they dashed off in opposite directions.
Luciel blinked, confused. "What's going on with them?" he asked, watching everyone scatter, leaving only Harry behind with that devilish grin.
"Nothing important. Just a little competition," Harry replied calmly, then turned toward Katerina and greeted her with the poise of a gentleman.
"It's a pleasure to see you, Superior Katerina," he said, placing a hand over his chest.
Katerina, graceful as ever, gave a polite curtsy. "Hello, Harry. It's good to see you too."
Then Harry turned to Fleur. "Hello, Miss Villain," he said simply.
A small twitch appeared in Fleur's smile. "I thought you'd stopped calling me that," she said with forced composure.
"I stopped teasing you," Harry replied with an amused grin, "but the title's way too good to drop."
"Come on, I'll show you around. I also prepared three rooms for you," he added, leading them toward the main path.
"Oh, that's excellent. When we asked earlier, every place was fully booked," said Luciel, relieved. Camping wouldn't have bothered him, but for the two ladies, that would've been pure madness… and a headache for him.
Fleur and Katerina smiled with visible gratitude.
"I invited you—it's the least I could do," said Harry calmly, guiding them toward the hotel with the calm smile of someone clearly plotting something much bigger.
That's right — Harry had a plan all along.
When he saw how Luciel fought on his own, it gave him plenty of ideas to improve his golems — especially those strange artifacts Luciel carried with him, which, by the way, not even he knew where they came from. And when Harry asked Kree about it, he didn't have the slightest idea either.
By the way, something you might not know about Kree: yes, he's still alive.
No, he's no longer a high elf.
These days, he's basically taking care of a house belonging to some old folks who are enjoying their "new youth" traveling around the world… again.
"Hahaha, this will be an exciting battle," said Harry with a mischievous grin.
Luciel looked at him for a moment and shook his head. He really didn't want that boy as an enemy.
…
"Well, everyone's eaten and rested, so I hope your full bellies come with happy hearts!" said the announcer with enthusiasm, earning laughter from the audience in the stands. The guy was really good at entertaining the crowd.
In the VIP box, Wanda sat with the other women. Around her was a table filled with fruit, sweets, and snacks.
Astoria and Luna, beside her, looked like two little squirrels with their cheeks puffed full of food — and Pandora… wasn't doing any better.
Tonks, on the other hand, watched the three of them with scientific curiosity, as if studying an endangered species.
"Looks like Wendel is having fun as the announcer," commented Susan with a smile, glancing toward her husband.
Yes, that's right — the announcer had been Wendel all along. Normally he was calm and serious, but when it came to sporting events… he tended to lose control a bit.
Just like during the Quidditch World Cup.
This time, Susan had encouraged him to take part, and the result was a commentator full of energy, enthusiasm, and humor.
Incidentally, each man in the family had his own assigned task for the event.
Edward was in charge of keeping everything in order, patrolling with a security team.
Frank had a similar role, supervising the stalls and shops outside.
Sirius, meanwhile, had been "sent" to work as a gatekeeper and ticket collector — though it seemed more like a punishment from his cousin Narcissa than an actual job.
Xenophilius assisted Wendel as a co-commentator. He didn't speak much, but he was there to help with what Wendel didn't know… or rather, to show off to his wife that he was "helping."
Meanwhile, only the women seemed to be truly enjoying the competition without stress.
Sure, the men were probably having fun too, but at the moment their job was different: to pamper their wives.
And in Sirius's case… well, to be an idiot trying to corrupt his godson and nephew.
Alice sat between Wanda and Narcissa, looking so nervous she resembled a chick caught between two hawks.
She still felt somewhat intimidated in their company.
Wanda had saved and helped her immensely, but her power was so overwhelming that, even though Alice was deeply grateful, she also viewed her with a sort of awed respect. In a way, Wanda felt like her savior — someone she quietly admired.
Narcissa, on the other hand, made her nervous in a completely different way. Her cold poise and elegant aura made Alice feel small, and even though Narcissa had never harmed her personally, the mere fact that she was the sister of the one who had was enough to keep her tense.
Narcissa turned her head when she noticed Alice's nervousness.
Alice was gripping her seat with both hands, hunched over and breathing as if trying to disappear.
"What are you doing?" asked Narcissa, raising a brow.
Alice flinched immediately, now feeling both Narcissa's and Wanda's gazes on her.
"Na-nothing," she stammered, straightening up instantly.
Even Selene, seated on the other side of Narcissa, leaned over with a faintly amused smile.
"And to think she's the same girl who sent her brother-in-law to the hospital right after waking up," she said with a quiet laugh.
Everyone in the box turned to look at Alice.
The poor girl, who had tried so hard to keep her composure, shrank back into her seat again.
"He had thrown Neville off the roof, putting him in danger," Alice muttered in such a low voice it was barely audible.
"Oh, then you were quite merciful," said Wanda calmly.
Narcissa nodded in agreement and sat back upright, eyes returning to the ring.
"So that's why you picked that seating arrangement," Susan whispered to Selene with a grin. "Something like a ranking of dangerous mothers," she added, giving her a thumbs-up.
It actually made sense: Pandora, who was supposed to sit next to Susan, was instead in the back with the girls, stuffing her mouth full of grapes and laughing with them.
So yes… Pandora was clearly the least dangerous of the group.
"By the way, why didn't they let the four demons participate?" asked Tonks curiously, leaning on the back of Narcissa's seat.
"Your words," Narcissa replied reproachfully.
"Yes, yes, but why didn't they let my dear cousin and his angelic friends compete?" Tonks added, rolling her eyes dramatically.
"Let those four compete? Hahaha! Are you insane?" laughed Susan. "You can't imagine how chaotic things would get if they fought each other. They're just as crazy as their mothers," she said, glancing sideways at Selene, Narcissa, and Wanda — who, of course, pretended not to hear.
"Ah, that water battle was fun. We should do it again," Pandora said cheerfully, joining the conversation.
"It already happened, and I am never competing with them again," Susan said quickly, as if recalling something traumatic.
Astoria, Luna, and Tonks exchanged confused looks.
"So they didn't let them compete just to stop them from going crazy?" asked Tonks, still trying to understand.
"Well, they tend to take everything to the extreme," Selene explained calmly, watching as the new fighters began to step onto the ring. "We had to come up with a good excuse to stop them."
"I would've liked to see what kind of extremes they meant," said Tonks with curiosity, leaning over the balcony railing to look at the competitors. Suddenly, she frowned. "Eh? Isn't that Neville?"
"Yes," replied Alice with a proud smile. "He asked to participate. His friends encouraged him to help him overcome his stage fright."
Her tone carried genuine happiness as she watched her son walk toward the center of the arena with his chest held high, though he still looked quite nervous.
"But… isn't the one behind him Draco?" asked Tonks again, both surprised and amused.
Upon hearing that, Narcissa turned her gaze toward the ring. Indeed, her son was walking behind Neville, talking with him as if they were planning something together.
"Hey," said Susan, glancing at the group with irony. "They were forbidden from competing, right? Well, it seems they also forgot to forbid helping the competitors."
All eyes turned to the ring just as Neville placed his golem in position.
The metallic creature wore armor that gleamed from every angle, covered in hastily drawn runes. It carried a shield and sword that shone with every movement—clearly enchanted.
When Neville cast the connection spell, a golden field appeared around the golem, like a small protective barrier.
"Ah… there's Daphne," commented Tonks, noticing a blonde figure on the opposite side of the arena.
Daphne was walking alongside a confident red-haired boy… or rather, two identical red-haired boys.
The Weasley twins, as arrogant as ever, advanced laughing while preparing their own golem.
Theirs had a different kind of armor: it carried no weapons, only two enormous pairs of metallic gauntlets that emitted a faint smoke. When one of the twins cast the connection spell, the runes on the gauntlets lit up—and the golem's hands burst into flames.
"Ah…" Selene and Narcissa sighed in unison, bringing their hands to their foreheads. They could already imagine what was coming.
"We'll have to create new rules for the competitions," murmured Selene.
"And for the punishments," added Narcissa with resignation.
"Hahaha! Did they actually create alchemical tools for golems?" exclaimed Pandora, laughing with a mix of excitement and fascination.
It was impressive. Each alchemical tool required materials capable of withstanding the runes without interfering with the golem's structure. Under normal conditions, crafting a simple golem cost only a few galleons.
But adding even one alchemical tool increased its value to hundreds… and these maniacs had equipped several.
Not only that—the tools they were using were entirely new, created from scratch. There were no previous designs. They had essentially developed a completely original branch of alchemy just for their golems.
Of course, the inspiration hadn't come out of nowhere.
Most of these ideas came from copying—or reinterpreting—the repairs Harry had done on Luciel's artifacts. In the process, they had rediscovered an entirely new field of alchemy… which, of course, they were now using for a simple school tournament.
Wanda and Susan exchanged a look.
Both knew exactly what that meant:
if those two had created such tools…
their children had almost certainly done the same.