Hogwarts: Starting with full Unforgivable Curses

Chapter 331 is simple, I can just work alone in a group.

"After the adjustment, you will likely be alone, facing a challenge that originally required the combined efforts of three warriors."

"The original intention of restarting the competition was to promote exchanges between schools."

Dylan remained calm. "So I think what's important is the process of participating, not the final result. Having the opportunity to stand here and compete, whether or not I can complete all the challenges, is a valuable experience for me."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the Gryffindor table, a faint smile playing on his lips: "Besides, even if I'm in a group by myself, I'm not alone. My friends will support me, and Hogwarts is my strongest backing."

"Mr. Hawkwood has finished his suggestion. Now I ask you—who agrees? Who disagrees?"

Dumbledore's voice suddenly turned cold, the previous gentle smile gone, his gaze sweeping over everyone in the room with an undeniable air of authority.

With his hands behind his back, he stood tall and straight like a pine tree, and the aura he exuded made the room temperature seem to drop a few degrees.

This is a testament to Dylan's statement, "Hogwarts is behind me," demonstrating through his actions that the school will stand firmly by his side.

At this moment, the principal and the warriors present all understood perfectly.

The anomaly of the Goblet of Fire has absolutely no place in Hogwarts's fault; Karkaroff was the real culprit.

His intention to disrupt the Goblet of Fire was already obvious.

Dylan's suggestion to compete alone and have the four players' scores calculated as an average afterwards completely turned the tide.

The "Hogwarts numerical advantage" that everyone was worried about has now turned into a real "numerical disadvantage".

More importantly.

If Dylan loses points due to a failure in a project, even if Cedric, Harry, and Draco perform exceptionally well, the final average score will be affected.

To put it bluntly, Hogwarts not only didn't gain any advantage, but actually put itself in a more disadvantageous position.

The other schools are the real beneficiaries.

However, this completely absolved Hogwarts, as the organizer, of any suspicion of cheating by taking advantage of its home field, and perfectly resolved any potential public relations crisis.

Everyone understands the principle, but no principal is willing to be the first to express their opinion.

The silence in the room grew heavier and heavier; even the wizard in the portrait on the wall stopped muttering.

Mrs. Maxim leaned against the wall, tapping her fingers on it.

Kakarov paused.

If you agree, it will make your previous protest seem like you were being unreasonable.

If you object, you can't find a single valid reason to do so.

The warriors held their breath. Cedric looked at Dylan with concern, Harry clenched his fists, and Draco rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed by the headmasters' dawdling.

“Regarding Mr. Hawkwood’s proposal,” Barty Crouch Sr. broke the awkward silence first. He adjusted his glasses, his gaze landing precisely on Karkaroff, his tone still serious, “Mr. Karkaroff, do you have any other thoughts?”

Karkaroff cursed Old Barty a thousand times in his heart, but he had to force a fawning smile on his face and spread his hands in front of him: "Mr. Hawkwood's suggestion is very thoughtful, and I certainly agree with it. It is absolutely the fairest solution."

"Hmph, I bet you can't think of a better solution!" Moody laughed gruffly, his wooden leg clattering on the ground. His blue-glowing demonic eyes stared intently at Karkaroff, full of mockery.

Karkaroff's face instantly turned a deep purplish-red. He pouted, glared at Moody, then turned his head to the side, deliberately refusing to look at him, pretending not to have heard the sarcastic remark.

Old Barty seemed oblivious to the tension between the two, nodding expressionlessly with a calm yet confirming tone: "Very good, that eliminates one objection."

With the other party's statement, Mrs. Maxim followed suit, straightening up and scanning the crowd: "Since no one has any objections, I agree to this plan as well."

A gentle smile returned to Dumbledore's face, and he raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet: "Since everyone has reached a consensus, then this matter is settled."

"Next, the referee team will finalize the details of the first event as soon as possible. All warriors can go back and rest and wait for further notice."

“I’ve been looking forward to this part for a long time!” Ludobagman’s eyes lit up as he finally found a chance to chime in.

He took two steps forward, rubbing his hands together rapidly, his face full of barely suppressed excitement. "Now that everyone has reached a consensus... Old Barty, shouldn't we move on to the next item?"

He gestured with his chin toward Barty Crouch Sr., his tone urgent, "It's time to tell the Warriors about the first project!"

"Mr. Bagman, thank you for reminding me."

Barty Crouch nodded slightly, adjusted his glasses, and slowly scanned the warriors standing in rows in the room. His tone became serious again, "Since you have volunteered to represent your respective schools, you should all be familiar with the previous Three Kingdoms Championship, right?"

The Warriors nodded in agreement.

Some nodded slightly with determined eyes, while others nodded vigorously twice and subconsciously straightened their backs.

"Since you understand, you should know that in previous competitions, there have always been only three warriors."

Old Barty continued, tapping lightly on the notebook cover with his fingers, "Based on this, all our previous project preparations were carried out according to the specifications of the three warriors. But now, some man-made issues have arisen..."

The moment the words "man-made" left his mouth, Karkarov immediately curled his lip, rolled his eyes, and turned his mouth down into a V-shape.

“Sorry, let me put it another way—the impact of force majeure.” Old Barty seemed to realize he had misspoke and quickly corrected himself, pushing up his glasses faster than usual, and his tone was slightly unnatural. “Therefore, we must adjust the original project content.”

He paused, his gaze becoming serious: "The only guidance I can give you right now is this: the core of the first project is to test the warriors' courage. Daring to face unknown challenges is an essential quality for a powerful wizard."

The words fell.

The room fell silent for a few seconds; the warriors were clearly still reeling from the vague instructions.

Some people frowned in thought, some subconsciously exchanged glances with their companions, and others scratched their heads, looking puzzled.

Fleur Delacour of Beauxbatons broke the silence first. She raised her hand and gently smoothed a strand of silver hair that fell over her shoulder, and asked with an elegant posture, "Mr. Crouch, when exactly will the first project take place? We only have this one piece of guidance, and we need time to prepare."

“We can’t confirm a specific date yet.” Old Barty shook his head and flipped through his notebook. “As I mentioned before, setting up tests that meet the standards is a magical contract between the referee team and the event. Now that the number of warriors has increased, the difficulty of the tests must be increased accordingly to match the requirements of the contract. But with our current preparation progress, we can’t meet that standard yet.”

"Therefore, we need to restart the preparations to ensure that the final test fully complies with the provisions of the magic contract."

He closed his notebook and added calmly, though his gaze seemed to sweep over Karkarov almost imperceptibly, "This delay is due to unforeseen circumstances, and I hope you can understand."

“Indeed, this force majeure has caused a lot of trouble.” Moody replied gruffly, his tone almost overflowing with sarcasm. His blue-glowing demonic eye darted around in its socket before fixing on Karkaroff. “It’s made it so that someone has to wait.”

Karkarov pretended not to hear, raised his head, and stared straight at the ceiling, his eyes darting around as if he were extremely interested in the arrangement of the bricks above him.

“Mr. Crouch, if things go according to plan, when should the first project have started?” Cedric Diggory stepped forward half a step and asked in a calm tone, his face composed.

"November 24th," Old Barty answered without hesitation, clearly remembering the date perfectly.

After answering the question, he turned to Dumbledore and slightly turned to the side: "Albus, let these children go back and rest first. The rest of the time should be left to our judging panel."

Ludobagman accompanied the warriors to the lobby, constantly muttering about the trivial matters of project preparation.

One minute they're saying the first project will definitely be amazing, the next they're lamenting how huge the adjustment of the number of participants is.

As he approached the oak gate and watched the warriors silently preparing to cross the threshold, he suddenly blinked, as if remembering something important, and slapped his forehead.

"Wait! I almost forgot something important!" Ludo's voice suddenly rose, tinged with excitement. "There's another piece of news I haven't told you yet!"

The warriors who had reached the door stopped in their tracks and turned to look at him in unison, their previously solemn expressions instantly becoming focused.

After all, having just heard the news of the project's postponement, everyone wanted to know if there were any other arrangements for the event.

Dylan glanced at him, and Harry took a half step forward, his ears perking up slightly.

Furong adjusted her long robe and waited for what was to come.

Ludo raised an eyebrow, deliberately building suspense, and drawled, "This is fantastic news! Think about it, we'll be spending a lot of time preparing for the project, and it's not something that can be done in a day or two… so—" He suddenly raised his voice, "you definitely won't have to take your exams this year!" "That's it?" Draco frowned, disappointed. He had thought it would be some specific hints about the project. "Mr. Bagman, isn't there any other… more practical good news? Like, the specific type of project?"

"That's all I can think of for now." Ludo shrugged, glancing at the warriors' uniformly indifferent expressions, and scratched his head in confusion. "Don't you guys think this is something to be happy about?"

He took two steps forward, trying to convince the crowd: "The academic exams are so difficult! The theory of spellcasting, the proportions of potions, the practice of transfiguration... don't you have to spend time studying the books for each of them?"

"You guys now have to figure out how to deal with unknown project challenges, and you also have to find time to review and prepare for exams—won't that drive people crazy?"

As he spoke, he rubbed his temples with empathy, as if to say, "I understand your difficulties." "Isn't this something to be happy about?"

"I actually think it's good news."

A steady voice suddenly came from behind, it was Barty Crouch.

He had already left the conference room and was standing by a stone pillar in the foyer, his gaze fixed on Ludo.

"At least you remembered to fulfill your duties and filled in the details I missed."

"Oh! Old Barty!" Ludo was startled by the sudden voice, nearly jumping back. He hurriedly grabbed the doorframe for support. "Why are you out here? Weren't you in a meeting with the principals?"

“You are also a core member of the referee team.” Old Barty walked closer, pushed up his glasses, and said in a completely calm tone, “Adjustments to the project require the professional advice of the Department of Magical Sports. We really need your help. We can’t just leave you here chatting idly.”

His gaze swept over the group of warriors, and he nodded slightly. "You can all go back now. We will notify you of any new information as soon as possible."

Ludo wanted to say something more, but was stopped by Old Batty's look.

He could only give the Warriors an awkward smile, then turned and followed Old Barty to the meeting room. Before leaving, he turned back and waved to everyone, muttering, "Does nobody think that being exempt from the exam is good news?"

After Barty Crouch led the still-grumbling Ludo Bagman away, the atmosphere in the foyer noticeably relaxed.

The warriors, whose faces had been tense, relaxed their brows. Some breathed a sigh of relief, while others exchanged relieved glances with their companions.

The people in the lobby gradually dispersed.

As Viktor's figure disappeared outside the door, the foyer instantly became deserted, leaving only the four Hogwarts warriors.

The torches on the stone wall flickered, casting long shadows of the four people.

“Should we prepare something in advance? Like looking up information from previous events?” Cedric spoke first, his brows furrowing slightly, his tone revealing a pragmatic consideration, clearly indicating that he had already begun planning for the project.

“I never imagined… that we would actually become heroes.” Harry’s voice was a little unsteady. He raised his hand to touch the back of his head, his eyes still carrying a hint of unreality, as if the scene of the Goblet of Fire announcing their names was a dream.

“It’s a good thing I didn’t go to Durmstrang.” Draco scoffed, his tone full of disgust. He leaned against a stone pillar and rolled his eyes. “Otherwise, being with a cheating headmaster would have been a disgrace.”

The three people spoke almost simultaneously, breaking the silence of the hallway and somewhat dissipating the cold atmosphere.

Upon hearing Cedric's words, Harry immediately turned to Dylan, his eyes full of concern: "Dylan, if you need help looking up information or practicing any spells, just let me know. I'll definitely be able to help."

"Tsk, what's the big deal?" Draco scoffed, but added, "My dad knows those people at the Ministry of Magic very well, and this tournament is co-organized by the Ministry of Magic."

"If I have any inside information about the project, I'll definitely get it as soon as possible and let you know then."

"Won't this... break the rules?" Harry asked hesitantly, his brow furrowing.

"Tch." Draco shrugged indifferently, his tone nonchalant. "Cheating is nothing new during the Triwizard Tournament. Maybe it's an old tradition, like 'concealing the details of the Sorting Ceremony.' Karkaroff dared to pull these tricks, so what's the big deal? I never expected him to be this kind of scoundrel."

“I think Harry and Malfoy both have a point,” Cedric added, looking earnestly at Dylan. “Dylan, whether you need information, practice partners, or anything else, just ask and I’ll do my best to help you.”

"Don't worry, I won't stand on ceremony with you or Harry."

Dylan smiled and nodded. "But for now... let's go back to our respective lounges."

He pointed to the corridor outside the foyer with a smile: "I bet by the time we get back, our classmates will have already prepared the celebration items, and they might be waiting to surprise us."

After the Halloween dinner ended, the Gryffindor students returned to the common room, led by Professor McGonagall.

Professor McGonagall stood in front of the portrait and gave him a few words of advice: get some rest and don't cause any trouble.

Seeing that everyone nodded in agreement, she turned and left in her high heels.

As soon as her footsteps disappeared at the end of the corridor, a rustling sound came from the common room.

Fred and George exchanged a glance, quickly stood up, and gestured for Ron, Neville, and the others to be quiet.

A group of people crouched low and tiptoed toward the door of the portrait. As soon as they crossed the threshold, the plump lady behind them hurriedly spoke.

"Hey, wait a minute! Don't go!"

The group paused, and the plump lady leaned out of the portrait, her eyes full of curiosity: "Has Gryffindor chosen a champion? I asked you when you came back, but no one would say!"

"Madam, we're just going to the kitchen to get some food so we can properly celebrate the birth of our academy's warrior!" Fred's eyes darted around, a sly smile spreading across his face, his tone light and cheerful. "When we get back, we'll tell you everything, down to the last detail!"

"Then you'd better hurry!" The plump lady raised an eyebrow, a hint of suspicion in her eyes. "I'll wait here, so don't dawdle too long!"

"All done!" Fred waved his hand and led the way toward the stairwell, lowering his voice to the people behind him, "This will keep her in suspense. When we come back, she'll definitely still be here, and won't go visiting other portraits to leak the secret."

"Are you that sure?" Ron raised an eyebrow, his tone full of doubt, but he didn't stop walking.

"My Ronald, this is the golden experience we've accumulated over many years of night tours!" George patted his chest, his tone full of pride. "To doubt this is to doubt our professional capabilities in night tours!"

“Should we…keep our voices down?” Neville gripped his wand nervously, glancing warily around, his voice barely audible. “What if we run into Filch on night patrol when we’re going down the stairs? His cats are very sharp!”

"Don't worry!" Fred turned and glanced at Ron, a confident smile playing on his lips. "We have plenty of ways to deal with Filch. We'll make sure he can't even catch a glimpse of us."

“That sounds really convincing.” Ron rolled his eyes, his tone sarcastic. “If you hadn’t glanced at me unconsciously when you said that, I might have actually believed you.”

“My Ronald, I must say, you’re getting more and more perceptive, or rather, more and more humorous!” George patted Ron on the shoulder with feigned emotion, almost making him stumble.

Just then, Neville suddenly stopped, his face pale and his voice trembling: "Wait...did you hear footsteps? Is it Filch and Mrs. Lorris?"

"Hmm?" Fred and George immediately held their breath and stood still, listening intently.

Footsteps came from below the stairs, accompanied by soft conversation.

“Neville, that’s impressive! Your ears are really sharp!” Fred relaxed his breath and praised with a smile. “But it’s not Filch, I guess…”

“They’re probably from other academies, with similar goals to us!” George chimed in, his eyes knowing. “They’re definitely going to prepare something to celebrate for the warriors!”

The voice just fell.

The movable staircase slowly turned in a different direction, and a group of figures appeared on the opposite steps.

The leader was Luna, who was wearing a light blue bathrobe and had silver star hair clips in her hair.

Several people followed behind, carrying empty baskets, along with members of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, their numbers roughly the same as the Gryffindor team.

The two groups met in the middle of the stairs. The Ravenclaws clearly had little experience with nighttime outings. Anton Goldstein was so frightened that he almost jumped back, his hand reaching for his wand, looking like he was about to run away.

"Luna, you should have told us sooner! We could have helped you carry it!" Fred waved with a grin, breaking the brief awkward silence.

“Exactly!” George quickly chimed in, somewhat urging, “But as a Hogwarts student, shouldn’t you have at least one night out before graduation? This is such a perfect opportunity; it will definitely be an unforgettable memory!”

Luna blinked her silvery-white eyes and gave a faint smile: "Thank you, but we can do it ourselves."

She turned to look at her nervous companions behind her, and gently clapped her hands. "Don't worry, just follow them, you won't be discovered."

After a stumbling escape, the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors finally reunited in front of the painting leading to the kitchen.

(End of this chapter)