The Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award
Sirius was still rambling on about his school days, but Kyle wasn't interested at all, and he didn't think that Madam Rosmerta of the Three Broomsticks would be interested in Sirius, who was still in first grade.
Fortunately, at that moment, Ludo Bagman's voice, amplified by magic, suddenly rang in their ears, interrupting Sirius's words and silencing the audience in the stands.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have finally made a decision. Merpeople Queen Murcus has told us everything that happened at the bottom of the lake. Now, we will begin to score the Champion."
Everyone listened intently.
First was Phoebe. Because she didn't complete the final task and dropped out halfway through, her score could only be counted two hours later, and she only received the minimum of 25 points.
Although Krum was the last to emerge from the Forbidden Forest, he completed all the tasks without making any mistakes, thus earning a score of forty.
Then there's Kyle, with 49 points. He was deducted one point because he brought Gabrielle along, which, strictly speaking, violated the rules.
However, this time the scoring directly stated the total score, so no one knew who deducted that point.
But this has no impact on Kyle; he remains in first place with a commanding lead.
The crowd applauded again.
"The third and final event will take place on the evening of June 30th," Bagman continued. "The Champion will know the details of the event a month in advance, and I can guarantee it will be very exciting."
After the Second Task was completed, everyone returned to the castle to prepare for lunch.
They had been out in the wind by Black Lake all morning and were quite hungry.
The House-elf were well-prepared, and as soon as the students arrived at the Great Hall and sat down, a sumptuous lunch appeared on their empty plates.
Perhaps startled, Phoebe stopped complaining about the greasiness and picked up a pork chop to eat... However, she still wouldn't talk to Kyle, and whether intentionally or not, she pulled Kanna to sit far away from Kyle.
However, this left two seats empty next to Kyle, and two quick-thinking students immediately sat down.
Everyone wants to know what exactly happened at the bottom of the lake.
So while we were eating, Kyle gave a general account of everything that happened at the bottom of the lake, including Grindylow emerging from the shadows and the discovery of the Kelpie.
Although Kyle deliberately omitted a part, the crowd still gasped in surprise.
Everyone was particularly interested in the part about the Merpeople attacking the Kelpie, listening intently. Mikel didn't even notice that he was trying to stuff potatoes up his nostrils.
But speaking of the Kelpie...
To protect it from further attacks by Merpeople, Kyle made an excuse to return to Black Lake after the Second Task ended, while everyone was busy heading towards the castle, and found it a very safe place.
Yes, it's quite safe, the kind where you don't even have neighbors.
After March, the weather became slightly clearer, but the cold wind outside still made their hands and faces ache.
The owls flew laboriously through the sky, delivering letters and packages to the castle on time.
As soon as Kyle entered the Charms classroom that day, he saw several Ravenclaw girls gathered together, excitedly discussing something.
They burst into laughter when they noticed Kyle enter.
"What's wrong?" Kyle, somewhat confused.
"Hmm... you should see for yourself." Qiu suppressed a laugh and handed over a magazine. "Look carefully, there's a surprise inside."
"A surprise?" Kyle walked to an empty seat and sat down, flipping through the magazine in his hand before Professor Flitwick arrived.
<Witch Weekly>.
Unlike the obscure the Quibbler, this was the most popular wizarding magazine, second only to the Daily Prophet numbers.
Finally, when Kyle was halfway through the magazine, he found what he was looking for in the middle.
It is an article.
[The Champion of Hogwarts, a Fifteen-Year-Old Prodigy]
"He may not be as extraordinary as Harry Potter, but his achievements far surpass those of the Chosen One."
"According to Rita Skeeter, he displayed unprecedented magical talent upon entering the school, single-handedly holding off the infamous dark wizard Oren and rescuing another first-year student from his clutches."
For this incident, he received Hogwarts ' Special Award for Services to the School for the first time (although I personally think it would have been enough to earn him the Order of Merlin, if the Ministry of Magic's Hit Wizard hadn't let the dark wizard escape).
"Of course, he didn't lack that, because the following year, he had already received the Order of Merlin..."
This article, spanning two full pages, embellished almost every single one of Kyle's previous accolades.
Even Kyle himself didn't know that he had simply asked Gilderoy Lockhart a question in class because he didn't want to perform on stage, and that became crucial evidence to expose Lockhart's fraudulent nature.
This also extended to a strange level... upholding fairness and justice in the Wizarding World and guaranteeing the rights that wizards should have.
Last year, he visited Lupin's carriage on a train, which, in the article, became an important step towards harmonious coexistence between wizards and Werewolf.
Good heavens, if it's really as the magazine says, Kyle feels he'd at least get a Order of Merlin, First Class, and could replace Fudge as the new Minister for Magic tomorrow.
"Oh, I didn't know you were so amazing..."
Kanna's voice came from behind, "This photo is also good. It captures the moment you rode the Kelpie out of the lake. I've never seen that before."
With a snap, Kyle slammed the magazine shut.
"It's nothing," he said, rubbing his arms.
Being praised is certainly nice, but to be exaggerated to this extent is a bit of a stretch.
"You know, Rita Skeeter is the kind of person who likes to write nonsense."
"No, not at all," Kanna said with a smile. "After all, you've done all of this before, and she wasn't wrong."
"But I don't think I've made such a big contribution to the Wizarding World ..." Kyle shrugged, "And I don't think Dumbledore and Fudge should give up their positions to me."
"Honestly, I can hardly imagine how busy someone who is both Minister for Magic and Hogwarts Headmaster must be."
"Isn't being a student good? At least you can keep your hair."
Kanna couldn't help but laugh, her eyes curving into crescent moons.
"So, you just don't want to keep yourself busy, and you don't object to her submitting this photo for the Most Charming Smile Award in Witch Weekly?"
"What award?" Kyle frowned and quickly flipped the magazine open again.
Sure enough, Rita Skeeter wrote that at the end of the article, and he was indeed smiling in the photo... As the first Champion to complete the project, this was perfectly normal.
If he had known things would turn out this way, he would have kept a straight face no matter what.
"The Most Charming Smile Award ..." Kanna continued, "Will it be printed on the cover? If so, I'll definitely collect that issue of the magazine..."
"Me too," Qiu said with a smile. "I'll buy two, one to read and one to keep."
"If that's the case... Rita Skeeter is doomed. I will definitely send that photo of her to the Ministry of Magic," Kyle said in a deep voice.
"Whose photo, Rita Skeeter?" Qiu asked, somewhat confused.
"Yes, that's evidence of her violating the Wizarding Law; we captured it on camera," Kanna whispered.
"I see." Qiu nodded in understanding after listening. "No wonder she praised Kyle so lavishly. I've never seen her write such an article full of praise before."
"I'd rather not receive that kind of praise." Kyle rubbed his forehead.
After Lockhart's incident, the Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award became a joke at Hogwarts... at least for students who had gone through that school year, that is, those in their third year and above.
Kyle was sure that if Rita Skeeter succeeded, Fred and George would be so excited they'd set off fireworks to celebrate finding a new joke they could laugh about until graduation.
No... this absolutely cannot happen.
Kyle was a little worried, so he took out parchment and a quill, preparing to write a letter to Rita Skeeter, urging her to change her mind as soon as possible.