"One hundred? Seriously?"
It was not only the contestants who were stunned. Even the headmasters were thoroughly shocked.
Among a group of contestants whose scores peaked in the low nineties and generally hovered around seventy or eighty, a score of one hundred was simply too eye-catching.
But even more astonishing things were yet to come. Hogwarts produced several more contestants with scores close to full marks, causing the expressions of the headmasters and students from the other schools to become grave.
Hogwarts had clearly come prepared!
(Hogwarts: You're the ones who came here!)
With so many high-scoring contestants, if there hadn't already been a rule stating that high scorers would face disadvantages, they would have suspected Hogwarts of tampering with the scoring.
Rhys: They really did tamper with it. I can testify as a witness.
"Miss Yekaterina, it's your turn to be tested." After all the contestants from the eight great schools had completed their examinations, Dumbledore looked toward Yekaterina, the deputy headmistress of Koldovstoretz, standing behind him, indicating that if she wished to compete as a contestant, she too had to undergo the test.
Without a word, Yekaterina stepped forward and placed the Sorting Hat on her head.
She was rather curious about this legendary hat that had been passed down for a thousand years. She had originally intended to take the opportunity to have a proper conversation with it, but the Sorting Hat had no interest whatsoever in speaking with an outsider. It simply shouted loudly:
"One hundred!"
Everyone turned their heads.
This was the same score achieved only by those monster-like Hogwarts students. Truly worthy of the deputy headmistress of Koldovstoretz.
Among all those tested so far, aside from those few monsters from Hogwarts, she had the highest score. The other contestants had only managed scores slightly above ninety.
Seated on the staff platform, Helga raised an eyebrow and leaned over to whisper to Rowena.
"Don't you think these scores are a bit inflated..."
"I told the Sorting Hat to be tactful," Rowena smiled. "It should hand out a few generous scores to students from other schools. Otherwise, things would look rather ugly. But for it to give a hundred points means this deputy headmistress really does have something special."
"Could she perhaps..." Helga began wondering whether the other woman had mastered the power of a Domain.
"Perhaps after the tournament she will," Rowena did not believe anyone could awaken a Domain in the modern era.
If Koldovstoretz truly possessed such foundations, how could the average score of its elite students fail to exceed eighty?
After Yekaterina, it was the independent contestants' turn.
As soon as they stepped forward, everyone immediately understood that the eight great schools still stood at the pinnacle of the age. Even bottom-ranked Koldovstoretz outperformed the independent contestants by a considerable margin.
Some organizations had terrifying names. For example, the "Iraklion-Patras United School of Magic" sounded extremely impressive and steeped in history, yet the moment their contestants donned the Sorting Hat, they were exposed.
Still, not all independent contestants were mediocre. An Indian man with a turban and a black-haired young man dressed in a long robe stood out among them.
When their hands touched the crystal ball, its colours were unlike anything seen before. The Indian man's glow resembled the colour of curry, while the black-haired young man caused the crystal ball to erupt with flashes of lightning, attracting no small amount of attention.
Their scores were both extremely high: ninety-three and ninety-four. Even among the eight great schools excluding Hogwarts, they would rank among the very best.
The monks of the Mystic Order remained the last to take the stage.
By this point, most people's attention had already drifted elsewhere. The entire process had dragged on for more than two hours, and everyone was reaching the end of their endurance.
But when the Sorting Hat announced the score, everyone froze.
"Eighty-eight points!"
"Ninety-one points!"
"Ninety-five points!"
"…"
Not one of the seven young monks of the Mystic Order scored below eighty-five. The highest score among them even reached ninety-eight.
"Was this your doing as well?" Helga asked in a low voice.
Rowena shook her head, her expression turning serious. The Mystic Order had come with ill intentions. Fortunately, she had made preparations on two fronts.
Helga and Rowena could remain calm, but the headmasters of the other schools found it much harder to maintain their composure.
What exactly was this Mystic Order? How could every one of their students be so powerful?
Their gazes unconsciously drifted toward Godric Gryffindor, who sat calmly in his seat. They arrived at the same conclusion: this was most likely the handiwork of the legendary wizard.
But understanding that did not help matters in the slightest. If these seven members of the Mystic Order were all so powerful, they would probably all end up with respectable rankings, and that would be disastrous.
Just imagine it. If, in the final rankings, the Mystic Order somehow wedged itself among the eight great schools, where would that leave their pride?
Finishing above the Mystic Order was one thing. Finishing below it would be utterly devastating.
But what could they do? The Order had already entered the competition...
'We can only hope Hogwarts clashes with them!' the headmasters thought. At the same time, they resolved to have a word with their students later that evening.
If Hogwarts and the Mystic Order could both cripple each other, that would be ideal.
Watching the young monks of the Mystic Order receive one high score after another, Dumbledore lowered his eyes.
Even after learning that the Mystic Order was under the leadership of Godric Gryffindor himself, his impression of the organisation remained poor. The reason was simple: the Order had attempted to infiltrate Hogwarts more than once.
Although during the welcoming feast, Godric had explained that it had all been a misunderstanding, that his subordinates had acted independently and that he had immediately stopped them once he learned of it, even returning in person during the tournament to explain everything, Dumbledore's dissatisfaction had not been dispelled.
The actions of the Order's members showed that Godric was Godric, and the Mystic Order was the Mystic Order. There was not even a trace of fellow feeling left between them and Hogwarts.
More importantly, Dumbledore's doubts regarding the identity of this Godric had not disappeared. His statements at the welcoming feast had merely been a temporary measure made out of respect for Professor White.
There were simply too many suspicious points surrounding this man. His explanations for how he had lived for a thousand years, why he had left Hogwarts to establish the Mystic Order, and why he had had no contact with Hogwarts all this time were reasonable enough, but they still failed to earn Dumbledore's genuine trust.
He felt he needed to have a serious discussion with Professor White and Professor Aries.
By the time the members of the Mystic Order had completed their tests, the entire Great Hall had been filled with buzzing whispers.
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12 Chaps ahead at Patreon.com/HornyFBI