The Competition That Turns Into War… Again – Part Final
"Eh… well, then continue," shouted the commentator, a bit confused, while Daphne and Hermione smiled in a way that made Harry narrow his eyes.
"These two little devils are planning something dangerous," muttered Harry, instantly recognizing that mischievous smile on his childhood friends.
"Then let's finish this quickly," said Luciel calmly before taking control of his golem.
The automaton moved with impressive speed; the runes on its boots glowed with a white radiance as it charged toward the golems of his opponents.
Fred made his own golem leap gracefully, landing on one leg before propelling itself toward Fleur's. Daphne whispered something to him, and Fred nodded with a conspiratorial grin. Hermione leaned toward Fleur as well, whispering a few words.
A moment later, both female golems assumed a defensive stance.
Fred activated his golem's fire gauntlets, but instead of aiming at Luciel—who was right in front of him—he directed the flames toward the ground at full power.
In seconds, fire spread across the entire field, surrounding everything in a blazing inferno.
Luciel stopped his golem immediately, losing sight of his opponents' silhouettes amid the flames.
Harry stared intently at the fire. Through the orange glow, he could see two shadows moving. A sharp cracking sound echoed between the sparks.
Harry's eyes widened as he realized what they were about to do.
"Get back!" he shouted toward Luciel.
The boy reacted instantly, pulling his golem backward, but it seemed he was one second too late.
The flames began to clear, and from within them emerged Daphne's and Hermione's golems, scorched but holding something in their hands—the bolts from Fleur's crossbow.
The crossbow itself lay broken to the side, its ammunition compartment shattered. Even a second hidden container had been ejected from its place on her back.
Both golems hurled the bolts with all their strength toward Luciel.
Luciel understood their strategy at once, but it was already too late. There were too many projectiles. Hermione had used expansion magic inside the containers—now more than fifty bolts floated in the air, falling like a metallic rain toward him.
"Now!" shouted Daphne with a fierce smile.
Fred moved his golem, striking one of the bolts with his flaming gauntlet.
Then, a chain of explosions erupted in the air, surging forward like a destructive wave aimed at Luciel's golem.
Luciel had to think fast. His golem leaped backward at the last second.
"Neville's shield!" shouted Harry, pointing toward a spot on the ring.
The explosions advanced like a storm of fire, sending a massive shockwave that hurled Luciel's golem through the air.
In midair, the automaton twisted its body and used a calculated motion to propel itself toward the location of the shield. It landed hard, grabbed it, and rolled on the ground, lifting it just in time.
The impact was brutal. The shield flared with defensive runes as the continuous chain of explosions hit it, filling the arena with smoke and fire. The runes along the edges of the field lit up instantly, creating a radiant barrier that protected the audience.
Even Neville's shield wouldn't hold for long against that.
"Haha… they overdid it again," said Susan with a forced smile, rubbing her temple.
Even Wendel, the commentator, was completely silent, frozen in awe at the spectacle before him.
Wanda merely shook her head gently, though amusement glimmered in her eyes. The flames reached toward the sky, but the barrier held everything tightly contained within the ring.
The fire slowly began to fade.
When the smoke finally cleared, the arena appeared blackened and cracked, with melted metal scattered across the surface. The first golems to become visible were Fleur's and Fred's—both nearly destroyed.
Fleur's had only one arm left, half its torso melted; Fred's, already damaged, had lost both arms, and part of its chest had been pierced by flying debris. Yet its head still moved, meaning it technically remained in battle.
"I think we did it," said Daphne with a victorious grin.
But then something bright shot through the air—the shield of Neville, slamming right into Fred's golem at the waist.
The force wasn't enough to slice it in half, but it destroyed the circuits connecting to its legs. Now it could only move its head.
From within the smoke, Luciel's golem emerged, scorched and blackened. Both legs were gone, but its upper body remained intact.
The magic barrier had been shattered, so now it only relied on the physical shield—the same one he had thrown at Fred.
Luciel made the golem crawl forward with one arm while raising its sword with the other.
"Seriously?!" shouted Daphne, watching him advance like some unstoppable monster.
Fred's golem could barely move; the only thing left for it was to headbutt.
Luciel pressed forward, but another rain of bolts fell from the sky.
Without legs, dodging was impossible.
"Seriously…?" muttered Luciel, watching the projectiles fall, resigned.
One after another struck near the golem just before Fred's flaming gauntlet, still active, flew through the air and landed among the sparks, reigniting the fire.
The final explosion consumed Luciel's golem completely, reducing it to scrap.
Hermione smiled broadly, triumphant.
Harry smiled too, recognizing his friend's plan. She had predicted everything—she'd hidden part of the bolts, knowing Luciel might survive the first wave.
It was a clean, well-deserved victory.
"There's still one more thing," said Hermione, glancing at Fleur.
Blushing slightly, Fleur moved her golem to pick up the broken crossbow. There was still one loaded bolt.
She aimed at Fred's golem and fired.
"Boom!"
She had even remembered to save a single bolt to finish off her ally—as if it had been planned from the very beginning.
Fred's golem exploded into pieces.
"Traitor!" shouted Daphne, pretending to be angry, though everyone knew there was nothing left to do.
"I won!" said Hermione with a radiant smile, proudly raising her arm.
Her friends, laughing and resigned, conceded defeat. Fleur and Hermione hugged each other in excitement.
"Wow, really wow!" yelled Wendel, and the audience erupted in cheers.
The ovation was deafening; everyone was shouting in excitement after such an incredible display of strategy and magic.
"Hahaha! That's my daughter, everyone!" exclaimed Wendel proudly — even though, technically, Hermione hadn't fought physically. He didn't care; his chest swelled with pride.
"Bravo! You're amazing, girls!" shouted several people from the stands.
"That was incredible!" others yelled enthusiastically.
While the audience applauded, Hermione approached her friends with a smile of pure satisfaction.
"Well, looks like I won this competition," she said proudly.
"Tsk, it's just a competition. I won last time and didn't make such a big deal about it," replied Daphne, crossing her arms.
"Yes, you did," Hermione shot back without hesitation.
Luciel walked up to Harry and murmured quietly, "Are you sure this is okay? If they realize your strategies didn't actually target them, they'll figure it out."
"If they didn't notice before, they won't notice now," Harry replied calmly. "After all, I don't want to see my little sisters sad."
He smiled. They had been his childhood friends since the days they ran together through the bookshop, dreaming of adventures.
Both were extremely competitive; if one lost, she could be unbearable.
That's why, without them realizing, their contests almost always ended in ties.
Not that every match was rigged… but at least the ones Harry planned were. Like this one.
Luciel was too strong; even the three of them together couldn't have beaten him fairly.
"So, should I feel sad, then?" Draco cut in, annoyed.
"You're a man, you can handle it," joked Harry with a grin, while Draco rolled his eyes.
"And you too," he added, looking at Luciel. "You could've scared her a bit, made her work for it. But no—you had to throw that shield, huh?"
Luciel glanced toward his cousin Fleur, who was laughing happily while hugging Hermione.
"Well, my little sister was on the opposing team," he said with a calm smile.
He had always protected Fleur since they were children.
And that would never change.
Throwing the shield at Fred had been a deliberate choice. He could've redirected the strike toward Fleur, then finished off Fred for a closer fight. But he chose not to—maybe because he feared Fleur would falter under pressure.
In the end, Fleur and Hermione were the champions, just as Harry had planned.
After all, he'd seen how hard Hermione had worked creating those bolts and enchantments just to challenge them. There was no way he'd let all that effort go to waste.
Just like during the detective competition years later—when he was an adult, he could've used magic to instantly discover the culprit. Though hearing Daphne bring it up after that great war had certainly caught him off guard.
In the end, nothing was more entertaining than watching his "little sisters" celebrate happily.
"Come on, I'm treating everyone!" said Daphne with a bright smile, patting Fred and George on the back as they looked sadly at their destroyed golems.
Their spirits, however, recovered almost immediately.
"Hermione's paying," Daphne added quickly, teasing her friend.
"Why should I? You're the one who should treat everyone," Hermione replied, still smiling as the group walked off the stage, laughing and chatting.
But Harry suddenly stopped.
His gaze shifted toward the ring, and his expression changed. The others noticed and froze as well.
"Harry?" asked Hermione, a hint of concern in her voice.
"Mmm… I think we might've gone a little overboard," he said, watching the broken pieces of the golems.
Each fragment was beginning to glow with an intense light, while thin wisps of smoke rose from the cracks.
"Oh no," muttered Daphne, realizing immediately what they had forgotten.
"Harry, throw it in the air!" shouted Draco urgently.
But it was too late. Before Harry could even lift his hands, the entire ring exploded.
A brutal blast shook the stadium, shattering even the protective runes surrounding it.
The flames rose like a living wave—but before they could reach the crowd, a crimson aura flared from the VIP balcony, halting the fire midair.
The inferno was held in place by an invisible force, twisting upward like a trapped dragon.
Everyone turned toward the source.
There stood Wanda, one hand extended, her expression serious. The other mothers stood beside her, watching with a mix of calm and mild exasperation.
"Let's go! My treat!" Daphne shouted, bolting away at full speed.
The rest followed instantly, running offstage while the stunned audience remained frozen, shocked by the explosion—one even greater than the volley of bolts before.
Wanda shook her head, barely suppressing a smile, and gave a small clap. The flames vanished instantly, as if they had never existed.
With a snap of her fingers, the entire ring began to repair itself.
Stones and metal reformed, cracks sealed, and the runes reignited, restoring the arena to perfect condition within seconds.
"I'm starting to feel like our children might become weapons of mass destruction," said Susan, her tone completely serious.
Tonks still had her mouth open, staring at the scene. She turned toward Narcissa, who was rubbing her forehead in clear exasperation.
"Auntie… maybe don't ask Draco to build me anything," Tonks said with a nervous laugh.
Narcissa gave her a single sharp look, which was enough to make Tonks retreat immediately, hiding behind Astoria and Luna with a guilty expression.
…
The group wandered for a while through the shops along the path before returning to the castle.
There, in the enormous shared common room, everyone staying over the holidays had gathered. The place was warm and lively, filled with snacks, laughter, and cheerful conversation.
Katerina had also joined them, chatting calmly with Luciel.
Meanwhile, Fred and George were trying to convince Neville of something, but he shook his head at once, pale with fear.
So they turned to Draco instead—who looked at them as if they'd lost their minds.
Hermione was radiant, chatting animatedly with Daphne, who was still complaining about being "betrayed."
"All's fair in war," Hermione replied playfully, which only made Daphne grumble even more.
Fleur, sitting not far away, was peacefully enjoying snacks and chocolates, perfectly content with her victory.
Harry watched her discreetly, and when she noticed, she froze mid-bite, the small piece of chocolate still in her hand.
"What?" she asked, eyeing him with mild suspicion.
Harry smirked mischievously. "Truly a villain," he said, amused, clearly referring to her last move in the battle.
Fleur blushed instantly. "Hermione told me to do it!" she exclaimed defensively.
"An accomplice to a villain, then?" Harry teased.
"Shut up! Don't call me a villain again," Fleur protested, slightly annoyed though a faint smile betrayed her amusement.
"Remember, you owe me one," she added quickly, changing her tone with a triumphant grin.
"And you'll use it for that? How basic," Harry said, rolling his eyes.
"No, I won't use it for that. I'll save it for later," Fleur replied swiftly, lowering her voice, though her smile betrayed her real intent.
"Well, it's not like we'll be seeing each other much. So go ahead and keep it," Harry said calmly, remembering that after the holidays he'd be returning to Hogwarts, and she to Beauxbatons.
"Yes… we won't see each other that often," Fleur murmured with a serene smile.
But something in that smile struck Harry as suspicious.
He frowned slightly but said nothing.
Meanwhile, Neville, who had accidentally spilled some juice on himself, stood up and headed for the bathroom.
The castle corridors were full of visitors who greeted him warmly, still excited from the earlier battle. Neville smiled politely as he walked, guided only by floating lamps and the golden reflections that stretched across the stone walls, making him feel free and at peace.
"Eh? Professor Dominic?" murmured Neville as he spotted a familiar figure walking ahead.
He recognized the man's silhouette turning around a corner.
Without thinking, Neville quickened his pace to follow, but when he turned the corner… there was no one there.
Only the echo of his own footsteps.
"How strange… is he staying at the castle with us?" Neville said to himself, shrugging before continuing his way toward the bathroom.