After the nearly headless Nico left, a house-elf appeared. "Your Excellency Headmaster Dumbledore! We searched the abandoned classrooms but found no suspicious persons!"

"Have they already left?" Dumbledore murmured, nodding to the house-elves. "You've had a long day. Get some rest!"

"Oh! Your Excellency Headmaster Dumbledore, please don't say that!" the house-elf exclaimed excitedly. "Will it be the usual tonight, a pot of strong tea and a plate of snacks?"

"Hmm..." Dumbledore shook his head, then nodded and sighed, "Put it in the Headmaster's office now!"

After the class leaders finished counting the number of students, they began to report one by one.

Penelope Crivart arrived last, her voice filled with anxiety and worry, "Headmaster Dumbledore, Vizzet isn't in the Great Hall! Could he be...?"

“Miss Crevatt, Vizet is safe now,” Dumbledore reassured her gently. “He left the castle on business, and we all know that.”

After a moment's thought, he added, "It's nothing serious. I hope you can keep it a secret for him."

"It's good that nothing happened!" Penelope breathed a sigh of relief. "Headmaster Dumbledore, I'll keep it a secret."

“Miss Crevatt, please inform the other prefects,” Dumbledore said. “Tell the students that the candles will go out in ten minutes, and then it’s time to rest.”

“Vizet…that reminds me of something…” Dumbledore reached into his pocket and pulled out a bookmark.

A quill pen appeared out of thin air, which he grasped in his hand and slowly wrote a line: "Vizet, I remember you have a map..."

-------------------------------------

As night falls, there's no need to return to the common room in Hogsmeade; the entire village is still immersed in joy.

Vizet appeared at the back door of the Hog's Head and followed the door to Aberforth Dumbledore.

"Oh my!" Abufusi exclaimed with delight, "How did you get here?"

Vizette lowered her voice, mimicking Aberforth's words, "Come over for a couple of drinks with me during your vacation, I'll like you even more..."

"You rascal!" Aberforth burst into cheerful laughter. "Don't be so rigid, isn't this just perfect!"

He cleaned a glass and poured Vizette a glass of pomegranate juice. "But I think... it's definitely not that simple."

"Given your personality, you should be in the lounge right now, either reading a thick book or doing something else..."

“I’m planning to participate in that…” Vizet pointed ahead, where there was also a poster for the All England Wizarding Duel Tournament.

This poster is rather simple. Although the content is similar, it lacks magical effects, not to mention the wax key. It's a very plain poster.

“Practice makes perfect!” Aberforth and Wizette clinked glasses. “I’ve heard some drunkards say that before…”

"The initial selection assessment for this competition... seems to have some hidden elements, which I think should be quite suitable for you!"

"Hidden content?" Vizette drank half a glass of pomegranate juice. "Is it... increasing the difficulty of the assessment to gain some kind of advantage?"

“You guessed right!” Aberforth gave a thumbs up. “In the end, it’s all about adding suspense. A duel between evenly matched opponents is what makes it exciting enough, don’t you think?”

Vizette nodded. "Of course!"

“The hidden content lies here…” Aberforth explained, “During the initial selection assessment, you can request the organizers to increase the difficulty.”

"If you can pass the doubled difficulty test, you can advance to the next round. It's Halloween Eve now... there's a month to register..."

He considered the timeline for a moment, then shook his head. "In short, I should only need to participate in the competition after the Christmas holidays at the very least."

“That’s great!” Wizette exclaimed with delight. “No more interruptions from the games…and a full Christmas break. Aberforth, thank you for telling me that!”

"What nonsense are you spouting!" Aberforth cursed. "If you hadn't come today, wouldn't I have been unable to tell you anything?"

"Have a couple more drinks..." Vizet raised his glass knowingly, his tone tinged with a hint of teasing, "I'll drink mine, you can drink as you like."

"You little brat! You even finished the pomegranate juice?" Aberforth cursed again, but then picked up the glass and drank the wine in it in one gulp.

"No need for a couple more drinks, just get that damn test passed as soon as possible and come back to tell me the good news!"

Chapter 187 Anonymous Mask

Vizette held her wand in her hand before unfolding the poster for the All England Wizarding Tournament and pressing down on the red wax coating.

The moment he pressed the sealing wax, he immediately felt a pulling force in front of him, and his vision blurred as if someone was pulling on his navel and dragging him somewhere.

The experience of using the door key wasn't great. After a brief period of oppression, Vizet's feet touched the ground, and she found herself in front of a dilapidated castle.

The castle was naturally not as grand as Hogwarts; its walls were already mottled and cracked, emitting a strange "whooshing" sound with the cold wind.

The tower atop the castle has collapsed, turning into scattered stones, now covered by a thick layer of withered branches and leaves.

The wooden door had long since rotted away, leaving only rusty iron plates connected by hinges, dangling on the door frame. Occasionally, a gust of wind would blow in, making a creaking sound that sent chills down one's spine.

When Vizet entered the castle, he could sense that magic had been cast around him, most likely a kind of Muggle curse to prevent any unexpected events from happening.

The walls were covered with moss and vines, which grew so vigorously that they seemed determined to devour the entire castle.

In the central square of the castle stands a tall human-shaped statue, flanked by thick stone pillars.

The statue depicts a tall wizard, and the details, from the wizard's robe to the pointed hat, are very well done, giving it a lifelike feel.

The sleeves of the wizard statue are much longer, indicating that the statue is quite old and may have existed in the same era as the castle.

As Vizette approached the wizard statue, two flames emerged from the stone pillars on either side of the statue. The flames quickly grew and soon turned into a raging fire, illuminating a large area around them.

Similar to the gargoyle statue in the principal's office, the wizard statue slowly came to life, its arms, which had been resting on its shoulders, reaching forward in a gesture resembling an embrace.

The wizard statue straightened its body, its open arms suggesting it was welcoming Vizette.

Vizette looked at the base of the statue, where the drooping sleeves appeared on both sides of the base, emanating a faint light.

A slight tug came from her fingertips, and Vizet released her fingers. The poster for the All England Wizarding Tournament fluttered up, sinking into the rippled base of the statue like a leaf slowly sinking into water.

Clearly, this ruined castle is similar to King's Cross Station; one only needs to pass through the base of the statue to enter the registration and assessment area.

He was like that poster, his figure submerged in the base of the statue;

After he completely disappeared, the wizard statue returned to its original pose, with its hands crossed over its shoulders once more.

-------------------------------------

After a brief period of darkness, Vizet appeared in a reception room;

The living room was tastefully decorated, complete with tapestries and armchairs, and a fireplace on the right kept the entire living room warm.

“Mr. Vizette Lovegood?” A welcoming witch stepped forward, holding the poster with sealing wax in her hand. “Welcome!”

She led Vizette to a mahogany table, took out two registration forms, and said, "Mr. Lovegood, you are free to choose which registration form to use."

Vizette looked at the two registration forms and noticed that one of them had obvious magical traces, while the other was an ordinary registration form.

Before he set off, Flitwick had explained to him some important points about the registration process, such as the differences in registration forms and registration fees.

The receptionist witch continued, "This registration form comes with a magical contract, provided by the Ministry of Magic, which will do everything possible to ensure that your information is not leaked during the competition."

"In other words, after filling in your real information, you can choose to fill in a nickname or a pseudonym to participate in the 'All-England Wizards Duel Tournament' anonymously..."

She went on to explain in detail, "We're not just doing this to protect your privacy, but also to ensure your safety. Anonymity can effectively prevent some unexpected incidents from happening..."

“Participating anonymously can also reduce your psychological burden and alleviate various external pressures, allowing you to focus on showcasing your magical talents…”

"In addition, adopting an anonymous approach is also to ensure, as far as possible, that all participants can duel in a fair environment, and to encourage more wizards to participate in the competition."

Vizette nodded. "It is indeed a good arrangement."

"Thank you for your recognition!" the reception witch said with a smile, picking up another registration form. "Of course, you can also choose not to remain anonymous..."

"However, you will have to bear the risks yourself. All the above protections will no longer apply. Once you leave the competition venue, we will have no responsibility for any accidents that happen to you..."

She listed many possible accidents, and looking at Vizette's young face, she bent down slightly, picked up a suitcase, and gave her final explanation as she opened it.

"I'm sure you realize that simply using anonymous application forms for protection is clearly far from enough... so we've thoughtfully prepared..."

Vizette took out five silver coins from her pocket. "Madam, all I need is an anonymous application form."

"Anonymous Mask! It can perfectly conceal your face, requiring only ten..." The reception witch was stunned upon hearing Vizette's words. "What did you just say?"

Vizette placed Silver Scissors on the table. “Madam, I only need an anonymous registration form. Thank you so much for your thoughtful protection.”

Regarding the mask of anonymity, Flitwick also talked about his experience participating in the competition;

He believed the wizard who was receiving him and spent a full ten Galleons to buy a mask;

After becoming the champion of that year's duel, he kept the mask and would occasionally take it out to show it when talking to his friends about the match.

Until a friend who was skilled in alchemy told him that the principle of the Anonymous Mask was actually very simple, basically equivalent to a "spy lens" worn on the face.

Before going on stage, if someone tries to see what the other person looks like, the mask will sound an alarm, thus achieving the purpose of "preventing peeping".

The reason why the "Mirror" anonymous mask doesn't make a sound after entering the duel arena is because there is magic around the arena that interferes with the Mirror.

In comparison, magical contracts provided by the Ministry of Magic are far more practical than so-called masks of anonymity.

“Actually, I’ve already prepared a mask after Professor Flitwick reminded me…” Vizette took a mask out of her pocket.

“Professor Flitwick…” The reception witch opened her mouth, then shrugged helplessly and placed the anonymous registration form on the table. “Then please fill in your information!”

Chapter 188 The Dark Mark Sensed?

While Vizette was filling out the information, the receptionist witch was still promoting their anonymous masks, claiming how stable they were and how exquisite their designs were.

Vizette politely declined, and when he finished filling out the information and was considering a pseudonym, he simply wrote down the name "North" in the corresponding field.

He took out his mask from his pocket; it was a silver mask he had created based on the "Elementary Magical Forging Techniques".

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