The Return to Hogwarts

"WWN has announced that it will use special methods to simultaneously broadcast the Triwizard Tournament matches in multiple countries. The Fairies have rented multiple Muggle sports venues and sold tickets. According to preliminary investigations, the amount involved is huge, and they have all claimed that they have received permission from the tournament organizers. Mr. Blaine, are you involved in this? Is there any transfer of benefits involved?"

The more than one hundred reporters who had been let into the classroom were all asking questions, some of them quite sharp, but Amosta seemed oblivious, smiling as he faced the end of the room and led Ollivander toward Madame Maxime. As he walked, the excited reporters parted like butter sliced ​​by a hot knife, and not one dared to block his way.

Finally, Amosta saw the warriors surrounded by a large group of people, and judging from their expressions, they seemed to be quite frightened by the scene.

Both Viktor and Fleur had interacted with people in public before, but they both looked at a loss, unsure how to face the excited interviewers. However, at least Mrs. Maxim and Professor Karkaroff were there, so they weren't too nervous.

There was no one in charge at Hogwarts before, and Cedric and Hermione looked at the reporters, who seemed to have taken stimulants, with fearful expressions, like two little rabbits surrounded by wolves.

“You’ve come at just the right time, Blaine!” Mrs. Maxim said, somewhat annoyed.

"We are fortunate to have witnessed Hogwarts' excellent organizational skills, Blaine!"

"Kakarov said angrily, noticing that a large patch of hair was missing from the arm of his shiny silver robe, which he didn't know who had plucked off.

"Oh, I'm so sorry--"

Amosta chuckled.

“Indeed, some people suggested that we schedule this meeting on a rest day so that the professors would have time to help maintain order, but I thought that if we did that, it might cause even more chaos. You know, the young wizards in this school have a great deal of curiosity.”

Amos Tower glanced at Cedric and Hermione, giving them a reassuring look, which finally eased the tension in the shoulders of the two young wizards who had been shrugging for so long.

"What is our charter, Amosta?"

Ludo Bagman emerged from nowhere, panting and disoriented, clearly having been bombarded by reporters.

Amosta looked around and, as expected, didn't find Barty Crouch.

"Before introducing our four warriors, as is customary, we need to test their wands. This is very important because they are their only reliable partner in the game—"

Hermione noticed that Professor Blaine hadn't done anything particularly unusual, but after he spoke, the room suddenly became orderly, completely unlike the chaos it had been just moments before. She couldn't even remember how she got into the classroom; it was as if she had just appeared at the door and been lifted in by countless hands.

The wand-testing ceremony was nothing special, just a traditional procedure, but the reporters present still showed great interest in it. They watched with great interest as Mr. Ollivander examined the wands of several warriors. Then, the owner of the Elegant Wizarding Clothing Shop measured the warriors' sizes in a small room that Amosta Blaine conjured up out of thin air, preparing their costumes for the upcoming competition. Fleur glared at him resentfully, but ultimately did not raise any questions in front of everyone.

This whole process took about half an hour. Finally, Amosta invited the warriors, Karkarov, and Mrs. Maxim to sit at a reserved row of tables and chairs.

"Now, we are ready to answer some questions that have been of great interest to the magical world, but please be mindful of the time—"

Amosta said with a smile.

"Mr. Blaine!"

As if time had been restored, the enlarged classroom immediately erupted in noise and chaos. The pressure from the reporters' eager expressions was suffocating even for the principals of the other two schools, let alone the few warriors whose minds were not yet fully mature.

Many people were asking questions, but Amosta still singled out Rita Skeeter, after all, the two had some acquaintance, though it was hard to say whether it was good or bad.

"Rumor has it that one of the two champions at Hogwarts this year was selected through irregular means!"

Rita looked sharply at Hermione Granger, and her pointed question made Hermione turn pale and stiffen as if she had been petrified.

"In an effort to cover up the scandal, the tournament organizers temporarily amended the rules to allow Hogwarts to have two champions. Is this the truth of the matter?"

"This is utter nonsense concocted by conspiracy theorists—"

This question, which sent a chill down Hermione's spine, did not shake the gentle smile on Professor Blaine's face.

"It should be noted that before this Triwizard Tournament, there was no age limit for warrior selection. In order to reduce the risk of the competition, this competition has a special rule that young wizards under the age of 17 are not allowed to apply for the competition."

At the beginning of this school year, when we announced this rule to the students, it caused dissatisfaction among many underage wizards. They believed that their rights should not be taken away and that they should have the right to fight for the glory of their respective schools. So, we conducted an experiment—Hogwarts selected some outstanding underage wizards and put their names in the Goblet of Fire. Hermione Granger was one of the best among them, and she will represent all the underage wizards from the three schools in the battle.”

This is a complete lie!

Hermione tried hard to keep a straight face and not show any panic. She didn't know how Professor Blaine had the audacity to lie about such an important matter in front of so many reporters.

If Amosta knew Hermione's thoughts, he might smile and say to her: You're too naive.

The truth always circulates only within a very small circle. Even if all the Hogwarts students could tell something was amiss, that would still be a minority. For the tens of thousands of wizards in the vast European wizarding world, they just wanted to see the spectacle. They might even have hoped the Triwizard Tournament would produce as many champions as possible. As for the reason behind this event, a logical explanation would suffice for them.

Chapter 606 The Rampaging Fire Dragon

2023-11-20

As the match time drew closer, Amosta became increasingly busy.

In order to maintain order on match day, Hogwarts released a limited number of seats for the public to watch the match. However, for the long-peaceful European wizarding world, countless social elites and dignitaries hoped to be there to witness the opening match of the first Triwizard Tournament in centuries.

Letters requesting permission to watch the game poured into Hogwarts like snowflakes. It wasn't just Amos Tower and Dumbledore; many of the faculty and staff who taught there had friends and family members who had received letters that subtly expressed their desire to be allowed into Hogwarts on the day of the game.

Even Professor Snape asked for a spot for one of his friends who was an expert in potions.

This was the most troublesome thing for Amosta, because he couldn't put everyone in the school; he had to be selective. For those who didn't get approval, Amosta would try his best to send a letter of apology.

Given his style, he wouldn't really want to do this, but now he no longer represents just himself; he's become a symbol of Hogwarts. And the world under the sun is always full of complex causes and effects, making it impossible to do whatever one pleases.

In addition, the live broadcast of the event also consumed a lot of his energy.

The fairies and WWN have reached a cooperation agreement, and the venue rental is proceeding at a rapid pace. They sent over several pieces of equipment, which were previously used to transmit broadcast signals, but only Amosta can convert the images into magical magnetic field signals and then restore them. This is a core technology that Amosta cannot hand over, so this task has to be done by him alone.

boom--

A colorful flame appeared in the student safety office, which was littered with parts. Amosta and Fox, looking slightly tired, emerged from the dissipating flames.

Early this morning, he left Hogwarts for St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Injuries and Sicknesses. He was there to discuss a collaboration. On the day of the competition, St. Mungo's would send a team of elite healers to their Hogwarts location.

Although he didn't think that with him and Dumbledore present, there would be no serious mass casualties, Madam Pomfrey alone wouldn't be able to handle the situation if something did happen.

Go then-

Amosta spoke to Fox, which was hovering in mid-air. After Fox returned to its true owner, Amosta looked at the messy parts with a slight melancholy and sighed softly.

Half of November has passed, and at this time of year, Hogwarts rarely sees a clear, starry night sky. Tonight is no exception; the sky outside the window is overcast with gloomy clouds, and the moon's light is obscured by the clouds, forming only irregular patches of light high in the sky.

call--

Suddenly, a fleeting silver light pierced through the wall and stopped in front of Amosta.

A silver phoenix spreads its wings, scattering dappled, dreamlike light; its azure eyes hold a hint of a smile.

"How was today, Amosta?"

"Stop beating around the bush, Headmaster Dumbledore—" Amosta's face darkened. "What is it?"

"Here's the thing, just half an hour ago, the tournament organizers transported the warriors' opponents to Hogwarts. They're currently stationed in the Forbidden Forest. Considering these special guests might not necessarily like the environment of the Forbidden Forest, I think you should go and take a look—"

"Why don't you go?" Amosta asked bluntly.

"Ah—" Phoenix winked playfully.

“I suppose you wouldn’t want a centenarian to endure the cold wind and dew in the dark forest and be frightened by a group of fire dragons, would you, Amosta? And as for Charlie Weasley, who accompanied these ‘guests’ to Hogwarts, I think you might be happy to catch up with him.”

“You are even more heartless than the masters of those alchemy workshops, Headmaster Dumbledore—”

Amosta ignored the cackling laughter of the Phoenix Guardian and walked straight out of the office.

It's eight o'clock in the evening, and there aren't many young wizards left in the castle. But almost every young wizard we met on the way had an expectant and eager look on their face, and even the air in the castle seemed to be filled with anxiety.

These young wizards were eagerly anticipating the Wednesday after next so they could witness a spectacular show, unaware that Professor Blaine, who passed by them, had been working tirelessly for days to prepare for it.

The location where the fire dragon was stationed had been chosen in advance, so no one needed to give him directions. What puzzled Amosta was why the escort team for the fire dragon was a day earlier than scheduled. With this question in mind, Amosta hurried along the lake shore.

About twenty minutes later, Amosta turned into the Forbidden Forest from a small path. Once there, finding your way was no longer particularly difficult, because, through the dense trees, bursts of blazing fire and furious roars occasionally erupted from the dark depths of the forest.

Amosta circled around a thicket of trees and came to a palisade enclosed by thick wooden planks. He was very familiar with this palisade because some of the magic used for imprisonment within it was his doing. However, the 'guests from afar' did not stay in their new home.

Four carriages were parked on the edge of the hunting grounds. Each of these carriages was larger than Beauxbatons' carriage, and now, the wooden planks on all four sides of the carriages had been removed, revealing the iron cages inside, and the fire dragon inside the iron cages.

"I've had enough!"

Suddenly, from among the group of people surrounding the four cages, but at least fifty feet apart, one of them screamed in despair.

"Get inside the enclosure right now, for Merlin's sake!"

As he spoke, the man raised his wand, seemingly intending to cast a spell on the fire dragon, but just before he could make his move, a short, stocky figure blocked his path.

"Don't do that, Lovek. It will only anger it. It's perfectly normal for them to be wary of their new environment after such a long journey!"

“But we can’t spend the whole night here, Charlie!”

The person preparing to cast a spell on the fire dragon roared,

"We've been trekking for over half a month to bring them here, and now I'm really looking forward to having a glass of whiskey and then lying down on a soft bed for a good night's sleep!"

The four dragons were in a cage, each with an arm-thick iron chain around its neck. They didn't make much noise, but just looked around warily. However, whenever any of the dragon trainers tried to approach the cage, the dragons would immediately stretch their necks and hiss loudly, spitting out intense flames at them.

Wow, how much is this worth?

Amosta thought about it with great interest, and then emerged from the darkness.

"Are you in trouble, Charlie?"

To be honest, the two weeks of travel had exhausted Charlie. He had never escorted a dragon on such a long journey before. So, even though he didn't want to use magic to calm the dragon down, he had to seriously consider Lovek's suggestion.

Just as Charlie was about to call his companions to cast a spell on the fire dragon, a voice suddenly sounded behind him, startling him. Then, his face lit up with surprise.

"It's you, Amosta!"

At that moment, a sudden change occurred. The dragons that had been staying in their cages, guarding against the approaching dragon trainer, froze upon seeing Amosta Blaine. Then, their four pairs of ferocious vertical pupils immediately blazed with boundless fury!

Roar! Boom!

For the past two weeks, these fire dragons had tried countless times to break free of the iron cage. They knew they couldn't succeed, but after the gray-haired, purple-eyed wizard approached, the fire dragons all raised their necks and roared. They pounded on the cage as if they didn't care about their lives, opening their bloody mouths full of fangs. The next moment, flames as blazing as the sun filled the vision of all the dragon tamers!

Chapter 607 Strong Suppression