The Return to Hogwarts

To be honest, Krum was much easier to talk to than Harry had imagined. Most importantly, he wasn't hostile towards Hermione, who was also a champion. He even congratulated Hermione, and the tone of his voice sounded much more comfortable than when Ron had said it the night before.

When Harry asked him why he hadn't asked Malfoy for help—Drum had been sitting next to Malfoy at the dinner parties the past two days, and both Harry and Ron had seen Malfoy fawning over Drum—he was surprised to learn that Drum had been sitting next to Malfoy.

Krum muttered something Harry didn't quite catch, but it seemed to mean that he thought Malfoy wasn't very reliable, which improved Harry's impression of Krum considerably. At the same time, Harry realized he had just been a little impolite.

"Okay, I'll think of something—"

To express his apology, Harry accepted Krum's request.

They started walking back, and Krum told Hermione why he had been in the library.

"I'm doing research to prepare for my first project—"

Hermione's expression hardened at the mention of the competition. She wanted to find out what direction Krum was exploring, but before she could speak, she realized she shouldn't ask, because the competition rules required her to rely entirely on herself, and asking another warrior about his ideas would obviously be cheating.

"Make preparations?"

Harry blinked, puzzled. He'd learned from Hermione about Barty Crouch's advice to the champions, which, aside from preparing them mentally for the trials, seemed to offer nothing substantial.

"But the Ministry of Magic hasn't said anything, has it? What can you possibly find in the book?"

Compared to Hermione, Harry was much more uninhibited; he didn't care about any rules and asked directly. Krum also showed magnanimity, expressing his own thoughts as well.

"Yes, they didn't say, but there are clues—"

Krum raised his thick eyebrows, glancing at Hermione's profile as she feigned indifference. The hint of smugness in his eyes minimized the intimidating effect of his idol status.

"The specific projects are top secret, but generally they fall into a few categories. If you can find the records of previous championship tournaments, you can probably guess what they want the warriors to fight."

"Oh!"

Hermione's eyes lit up immediately. What an obvious idea! If it weren't for her concerns about the unconventional path to becoming a champion and Ron, she would have thought of it too.

"--I'm not familiar with Hogwarts' library."

Krum spoke again in that awkward accent,

"I couldn't find any record of that. Your librarian doesn't seem to like people asking questions—"

"I can help; I'm quite familiar with the library!"

Hermione said cheerfully.

Harry, who was acting like a bodyguard, shrugged helplessly after hearing Hermione's words. He seemed to have already anticipated that he probably wouldn't be able to leave the library today.

Just as Harry had predicted, Hermione gathered up every book in the library that could be connected to the Triwizard Tournament. The stack of books was enough to build a wall. The three of them kept taking notes on the key points in the books, except for lunch and dinner when Harry would rush downstairs to get them some food.

Of course, he also ran into Ron in the Great Hall, but when he asked Ron to go with him to the library to help Hermione and Krum find the archives, Ron hesitated and said that he and Seamus had made plans to play Goblin Stone together that afternoon.

This annoyed Harry a little, but it also made him feel a bit strange. He could vaguely sense that Ron seemed to be deliberately avoiding Hermione since last night.

He didn't have much time to think about the problem. The thought flashed through his mind and he quickly put it aside. Right now, the most important thing was to help Hermione find some clues about the competition.

"That's insane!"

After Mrs. Pince repeatedly asked them to leave the library, Hermione and Harry finally left with a stack of parchment recording the events of the Triwizard Tournament centuries ago. Krum had left earlier, telling them that Professor Karkaroff did not want them to stay in the castle too late.

"They actually made the warriors fight against Dementors, werewolves, Infernals, and chicken-bodied, snake-tailed monsters—"

As they crossed the covered bridge, Hermione suddenly stopped, facing the shimmering Black Lake, and cried out in despair.

"But these are all illegal!"

Chapter 579 Sirius's Reply

2023-11-07

Hermione had tried to anticipate the ridicule and disdain she would face upon becoming a champion, but when the new week began and classes resumed, she discovered the situation was far more serious than she had anticipated. She assumed all the conflicts would be directed at her, but that was clearly wishful thinking. After a few classes, she realized the entire Gryffindor House was involved in the affair.

Hermione's last thing to do right now is deal with Hufflepuff, but the worst thing is that Monday morning's first class is Herbalism class with Hufflepuff.

The atmosphere in the classroom was incredibly awkward. Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs were divided into two distinct groups, neither speaking to nor cooperating with each other. When Finchley pretended not to catch his Bouncing Boulder and let it hit Hermione's nose, many of the Hufflepuff classmates who were secretly watching her burst into laughter.

Professor Sprout criticized Finley a few times, but her tone was indifferent, as if she didn't take it seriously. Moreover, she was no longer so keen on calling on Neville or Hermione to answer questions in class.

Perhaps because Hagrid stayed close by, Tuesday's Protecting Magical Creatures class with Slytherin was surprisingly peaceful. However, the Slytherin girls kept pointing and whispering about Hermione. When Malfoy whispered something to Pansy Parkinson, who was standing next to him, Pansy immediately burst into laughter, clutching her stomach.

This incident affected not only the students of Hogwarts School of Design, but also Beauxbatons and Durmstrang protested in their own ways.

To them, the entire Hogwarts was not trustworthy.

To express their dissatisfaction, the eye-catching girls of Beauxbatons stopped eating in the Great Hall and hurriedly left the castle to return to their carriages after each class.

Fred learned from the kitchen that the people of Beauxbatons were having the kitchen goblins deliver food to the wagons.

Durmstrangers weren't about to let Viktor Krum get away with it either. When they encountered Krum in the Great Hall, he was surrounded by a group of students from the school. Just as Harry feared someone might harm Hermione in the castle, Professor Karkaroff was worried that some scheme might be plotting against Viktor.

"If they're so scared, why don't they just give up the match and go back to their own territory!"

On Wednesday morning, Harry angrily shouted when he discovered that the students from Beauxbatons were still not at the Ravenclaw table.

"Stop talking, Harry—"

Hermione tried to keep her tone calm as she spoke.

“Their concerns are valid. After all, the person who cast my name into the Goblet of Fire has not been found. If that person really wants to disgrace Hogwarts, attacking their champions is the best way.”

Harry frowned, instinctively wanting to refute her, but after thinking it over, he realized Hermione wasn't entirely wrong. His shoulders slumped, and he looked somewhat dejected. Ron, sitting opposite Harry, glanced up at him, but when he noticed Hermione was also observing him, he immediately looked away.

A flapping sound came from above the auditorium; it was morning, the time when owls would be delivering mail.

A letter floated down from mid-air and landed gently in front of Harry, instantly lifting his spirits.

"Oh, it's Sirius!"

After glancing at the name on the envelope, Harry exclaimed excitedly. He eagerly tore open the envelope, unfolded the letter, and began to read it quickly. "Sirius wants to speak with us personally about the warriors!"

Hermione and Ron were both focused on the letter, so Harry unfolded it and placed it on the table for them to see, while he continued speaking.

Sirius said it wasn't convenient to say everything in a letter, and he wanted to talk to us in person. He also must think this matter is very urgent, so he hopes we can go to Hogsmeade this Saturday. He'll be waiting for us at the Three Broomsticks pub!

"But isn't this week Hogsmeade Open Day?"

Hermione took Sirius's letter to read, and upon hearing Harry's words, she instinctively retorted.

"Oh, Professor Blaine didn't seal off all the secret passages leading to Hogsmeade, did he?"

Harry said with delight. He hadn't seen his godfather since the start of the school year, and since his godfather was willing to let them go there on a closed day at Hogsmeade, he must know they had a way of doing it, which seemed to mean that Sirius somewhat approved of him doing something risky.

Sirius's letter seemed to give Harry a sense of security, and he eagerly anticipated the meeting, his gloomy mood of the past few days vanishing completely.

Hermione wasn't as optimistic as Harry, and didn't believe Sirius could solve any real problems.

However, at this moment, any small act of help was invaluable to her. Moreover, she knew that Sirius had been extremely busy since joining the Ministry of Magic as an Auror, and now that he was willing to make the trip alone for this matter, Hermione was very grateful.

Because of Sirius's supportive attitude, Harry and Hermione were in much better spirits throughout the day, and even the strange looks from other houses in class were not so unbearable.

Hermione wasn't with them for the afternoon classes. After finishing their classes for the day, Harry and Ron went down to the Great Hall together. Before dinner, Harry had to do his daily training on the playground. Half an hour later, when he and Hermione returned, Ron had already left the Great Hall.

Have you noticed that Ron seems a bit off?

Harry returned to the Great Hall and didn't see Ron. He sat down, wiped the sweat from his forehead with a napkin, loosened his collar, and then asked with a frown.

Hermione, who was also wiping her sweat, paused. She avoided Harry's gaze and asked in as casual a tone as possible,

"what's wrong?"

Harry didn't answer immediately. He'd spent most of his time these past few days focused on Hermione's selection as a champion, but even so, he sensed something was amiss. Harry frowned, pondering Ron's changes in the dormitory and in class, but couldn't quite put his finger on them.

"He seemed preoccupied and didn't seem inclined to talk."

Hermione shoveled food into her mouth, hoping Harry would skip the question, but Harry kept looking at her, seemingly determined to get an answer.

"He's probably worried too."

Hermione gave a vague answer, grabbed a glass of pumpkin juice and gulped it down, ignoring Harry, who seemed less than pleased with her reply.

After dinner, Harry and Hermione did not return to the common room because they had Professor Blaine's class later. If they went back to the common room now, it would take them half the time to travel there and back. Meanwhile, Neville at the table and a few girls from the Quidditch team outside the table were also busy finishing their homework.

Once most of the people in the Great Hall had left, the young Gryffindor wizards who needed to attend classes hurried upstairs together. They found the gym classroom with practiced ease. From dozens of meters away in the corridor, Harry and Hermione heard cheerful laughter coming from inside the classroom. Harry immediately frowned because Malfoy's voice could be heard in the laughter.

Harry frowned, his good mood, which had been lifted by Sirius's letter, vanished instantly. He glanced at Hermione and noticed that her expression looked somewhat gloomy; clearly, she probably had the same guess as him.

The cheerful laughter ceased the moment the Gryffindors entered the classroom. Inside, the Slytherins stared at Harry and Hermione with mocking eyes.

"Hey!"

The repulsive-looking Pansy Parkinson stepped out of the crowd, a smug look on her face, and pointed to the badge on her chest at Hermione.

"Do you like this, Granger?"

Hermione pursed her lips, and when Harry saw what the badges on the Slytherins' chests looked like, his face turned ashen. He stepped out of the crowd, his voice incredibly somber.

"Take that stupid thing off, Parkinson, or I'll make you pay!"

Chapter 580 Sword

2023-11-07

Pansy Parkinson, and standing behind him Malfoy and Millison, every Slytherin student wore a silver-green badge on their chest.

The badge featured a beaver, but when Pansy Parkinson pressed it, the beaver's hair rapidly grew long, brown fur, and then, in a rapid spinning motion, the face transformed into Hermione's. However, the design didn't completely change; the beaver's exaggerated front teeth and body remained.

Everyone in Slytherin did the same, and then Harry saw a bunch of beavers with Hermione's faces on them.