The Return to Hogwarts

"Our youngest warrior obtained the dragon egg, at the lowest cost!"

Thunderous applause erupted as many stood up to applaud Hermione. Ludo continued to shout excitedly, and Professor McGonagall shared the same sentiment. She watched the little girl on the big screen, holding the dragon egg high, breathing slightly, but with her brown eyes sparkling, and tears streamed down her face with joy!

Fleur Delacour and Hermione Granger.

The two girls in this final three competition seem to have completely opposite styles. One perfectly embodies the beauty of girlhood, while the other directly demonstrates the strength of girlhood.

Ron only truly relaxed when he saw Charlie go on stage and lead the dragon away from Hermione. He turned to look around; the people celebrating Hermione were still cheering loudly. His gaze returned to the dirty-faced girl on the big screen, a hint of sadness and pain flashing in his eyes. At that moment, a sudden realization dawned on Ron; he suddenly understood a little about what it meant to grow up gradually, drifting apart.

Then, a smile appeared on his sweaty face, and he clapped vigorously for Hermione.

"Come on, child, lie down on the stretcher, with your golden egg in hand. We need to examine it—"

Madam Pomfrey and several healers rushed to Hermione's side, looking at her with pride—although Hermione Granger and her two friends had given her no fewer troubles than any young wizard, she had indeed grown into the pride of Hogwarts!

“I’m fine, Mrs. Pomfrey—”

Everything before her eyes transformed back into the dreamlike illusion she had experienced when she first stepped onto the stage. Hermione, feeling dizzy, watched the replay of her calm and brilliant final response on the big screen, almost unable to believe it was her. She heard Madam Pomfrey's voice, turned her head, and said sweetly.

“Oh, Miss Granger, that’s not up to you. We need to conduct an examination before we can make a conclusion—”

Madam Pomfrey firmly pressed Hermione down onto the stretcher.

"amazing--"

Dumbledore wiped the moisture from the corner of his eye with his sleeve and said emotionally,

"These outstanding young people always grow into amazing people without us even realizing it."

"The growth of young people is always so dazzling that older people subconsciously overlook it."

Amosta said with a smile.

Dumbledore nodded in agreement, but then, realizing something, he looked at Amostella with a bewildered expression.

"Give us your scores, judges!"

Ludo Bagman said happily,

“I would give Miss Hermione Granger a perfect score, and I think it is entirely justified. Miss Granger’s brilliant response deserves this score!”

The highest score of the day has been achieved.

Aside from Ludo Bagman, Barty Crouch, Mrs. Maxime, and Dumbledore all gave it a score of 9, while the harsh Karkaroff gave it a score of 5, his lowest score of the night!

Faced with Ludo's surprised question, Karkarov, expressionless, coldly replied,

"I stand by my opinion. I believe Granger's use of a summoning spell to create an invisibility cloak at the start was a rule-breaking act, and these five points are based on her final performance—"

Then, the scores of the four Warriors appeared on the big screen.

塞德里克·迪戈里：9分；9分；9分；8分；6分，总计：41分

芙蓉·德拉库尔：8分；8分；9分；8分；7分，总计：40分

威克多尔·克鲁姆：9分；8分；10分；8分；6分，总计：41分

赫敏·格兰杰：10分；9分；9分；9分；5分，总计：42分！

When the results were announced, the scene immediately turned into a sea of ​​joy. Even Pansy Parkinson, who disliked Hermione the most in Slytherin, clapped a few times indifferently.

Let's go--

Amosta stood up and cheerfully addressed Ludo and Crouch.

"The warriors are probably too preoccupied to move right now, so let's go inside the tent and give them some information about the second match—"

After nodding and apologizing to the VIPs, Amosta led Ludo and Batistuta away from the jubilant stadium.

"You're number one, Hermione!"

After hearing the scores announced by the referees, Ha rushed into the tent where the warriors were staying. It was very quiet inside compared to outside. Cedric, Fleur, and Viktor were lying on makeshift beds, all with bandages on their bodies, resting with their eyes closed.

Harry's impulsive shouts caused the three heroes to open their eyes. They looked at Hermione Granger, who was in the best condition, and all expressed some surprise at the result.

"Oh, congratulations!"

Cedric forced a smile at Hermione, and Hermione returned the smile with a generous one.

"The warriors need a rest, Mr. Porter!"

Mrs. Pomfrey, who was applying some kind of ointment to Fleur's calf, could no longer contain herself. Her stern rebuke made Harry look embarrassed.

"Let's go outside and talk—"

Hermione grabbed Harry's arm and led him out of the tent. Several pieces of white gauze were stuck to her cheeks, marks from the flying stones. Apart from that, she was not seriously injured. Madam Pomfrey grumbled twice at their retreating figures, but in the end, she did not disturb this joyous moment.

Harry and Hermione lifted one of the felt covers of the tent and crawled out. The cold outside made them both shiver, but that was nothing. When they saw the person outside the tent staring at it with a look of struggle and hesitation in his eyes, Harry and Hermione suddenly froze. Of course, Ron, who was also caught off guard by their sudden appearance, fell silent as well.

"Cough cough, um, I wanted to ask how you are?"

Harry and Hermione were both staring at him, and that gaze put a heavy burden on Ron. His lips moved, and he stammered out his words.

Harry remained silent, while Hermione suddenly covered her mouth, her eyes welling up with tears.

"I think--"

The cold wind howled, and the noise from the nearby arena never ceased. After waiting for a response for a while, Ron awkwardly scratched his freckled nose.

“I—I think I should apologize—” Ron stammered, “because… well, everything before, I mean, my thinking was absolutely stupid, trying to fight a fire dragon… how could they even do that—”

Ron finally realized his problem, but Harry wasn't as happy as he'd imagined. He remembered what Hagrid had told him—

“Oh, it’s not that stupid,” Harry said in a low voice. “Everyone wants to be famous—Seamus, Neville, Dean. You just had a bad moment of folly.”

The two looked at each other, and suddenly, at a certain moment, they both grinned awkwardly.

"Oh, you two idiots!"

Hermione suddenly burst into tears, kicking her feet to keep her feet off the ground as tears streamed down her chest. Harry and Ron rushed to her side, and before they could stop her, she hugged them and then ran into the tent.

Harry and Ron stared at each other for a long time, then each shrugged.

"How did you know in advance that the competition event was the fire dragon?"

"Oh, that's a long story. A lot has happened these past few days, Ron—"

Harry and Ron, who hadn't spoken for over half a month, chatted outside the tent, while Hermione, with tears in her eyes, rushed into the tent. Coincidentally, at that moment, Professor Blaine, Ludo Bagman, and Barty Crouch walked into the tent from the other side.

Seeing the little girl hurriedly wiping away her tears, Ludo asked in surprise,

"What's wrong, Miss Granger? You clearly got first place, didn't you?"

“Oh, I was just—” Hermione blew her nose, “...crying with joy—”

“It’s too early to be happy, Miss Granger—” Amostella glanced discreetly at the two boys whispering outside the tent and said gently, “The challenges ahead will be even greater. Well then, let’s get down to business—”

Amosta turned his head and looked around; several warriors were watching him.

"--The second project will begin at 9:30 a.m. on February 24th next year. Unlike the first project, we have decided to give you a clue for the second project of the competition. The golden egg you obtained today contains a puzzle. Solve it and you will find out what you will face."

Chapter 633 Responsibility

2023-12-05

The highly anticipated first battle of the Triwizard Tournament has finally come to an end. Judging from all aspects, this Triwizard Tournament can be called a classic, with many memorable moments. It is even possible that it will leave a subtle mark on the history of magic.

But for the organizers, the matter did not end there.

The viewing area was filled with many prominent figures from all walks of life in the European magical world. Some of them Apparated away from the campus after the event, while others took a carriage to Hogsmeade Station, intending to catch the last Hogwarts Express back to London.

Of course, many people also chose to stay, and so a grand banquet began.

Thousands of candles hung in the air above the spacious Great Hall, making the castle's hall more magnificent than ever before. The four long college tables were now covered with luxurious velvet tablecloths, and the house-elves in the kitchen were doing their utmost to create dishes that were both beautiful and delicious.

To properly entertain these guests, almost all of Hogwarts' faculty and staff turned out, and even Mrs. Pince, who was in charge of the library, stood with Filch and toasted the guests with a dark expression.

However, not many young wizards attended the banquet. They preferred to return to their respective academy's common room and discuss the day's competition with their classmates rather than cautiously eat dinner in front of a group of adult wizards with fake smiles on their faces.

Of the four champions, three were in the Hogwarts infirmary, so Hermione, as the champion representative, had to stay in the Great Hall, which meant that a group of Gryffindors stayed there with her.

"What did you say!" Hermione's surprised voice suddenly rang out in the otherwise harmonious Great Hall. "How could Tom... and Sirius—"

Harry quickly made a shushing gesture to Hermione, while Ron beside him stared in disbelief.

"Sirius?"

Ms. Burns took a sip of her crystal-clear tequila and said thoughtfully,

"I heard your student calling Sirius's name, Amosta. Oh, is he at the arena today too? But I didn't see him. Oh, I guess he must be in his Animagus form?"

Amosta smiled.

"For my sake, please don't deduct his salary this time."

“You can’t coerce him with a salary. Although the Black family has declined, the remaining wealth is still enough for him to live a comfortable life. Honestly, he doesn’t need to do this hard job at all, does he?”

Amelia raised her glass to Ludo, who was beaming with joy in the crowd, then turned to Amosta and said...

"The reason Rufus disliked him was known to almost everyone in the ministry: Sirius had escaped from Azkaban and fled all the way to Hogwarts. During that time, the ministry used almost everyone they could to catch him, but they still couldn't. Rufus received criticism from Cornelius and Barty almost every day during those days—"

Amosta was perfectly aware that Amelia was probably questioning his reasons for putting Sirius Black in the Ministry of Magic. At the time, Amosta had only asked Amelia for help, but hadn't given her a sufficiently convincing reason. As a de facto political ally, this was bound to make her somewhat uncomfortable.

The two, who seemed to have a tacit understanding, strolled slowly past the people who wanted to toast them and headed towards the foyer. The clear night and cold wind made the two, who had drunk quite a bit, feel clear-headed. They went down the stairs, crossed the area, and walked towards the Black Lake.

The flawless moonlight reflected on the lake did not illuminate the waters of the Black Lake; instead, it made the abyss appear even darker.