The slacker professor at Hogwarts

Chapter 379 A Wonderful Journey

Time flies, and a week has passed in the blink of an eye.

It's time for the three-way battle for supremacy again.

Quidditch Duels School Team Tournament Round 2 is back!

Figures from all over the world rushed toward the New Age Basin. It was a sea of ​​people and red flags waving. Some wizards who had experienced such rich lives as the "Grindelwald era", the "Voldemort's War of Ambition" and the "Dumbledore era" had never seen such a prosperous scene.

I have never seen a place where so many wizards gather.

Even the Quidditch World Cup didn't have it.

Some completely unfamiliar figures seem to be becoming a unique feature of this place, such as an Arctic shaman wearing a heavy polar bear fur robe, an Egyptian shaman in light armor, and an African tribal shaman leading a group of children like on a spring outing.

Of course, the most attention-grabbing are definitely those Muggles who, for various reasons, have learned about the magical world.

For example, the Dursleys.

Fate can be so strange. When Professor Gilderoy Lockhart appeared as Harry Potter's mentor, Harry changed, and his Muggle family changed along with him.

The biggest change was that Harry Potter began subscribing to the Daily Prophet and the Duelist Club newspapers under his own name, with the delivery address at 4 Privet Drive, Little Huigkin, Surrey.

As a way of giving back to loved ones.

Heaven knows how much Harry's aunt Petunia cared about those two newspapers; she valued them more than the family's bank statements.

She didn't even need the Ministry of Magic to send a special letter reminding her of the importance of adhering to the Secrets Act. Even if her husband Vernon and son Dudley wanted to take a look, they had to wait until she was in a good mood.

With just these two newspapers, the Dursleys' perception of Harry Potter and their understanding of the wizarding world had become completely different.

So, just as the Daily Prophet was telling the outside world about the expansion of transportation in the New Age Basin in an inconspicuous page, and was providing special Floo Powder tickets for Muggle families, Penny excitedly submitted an application to the newspaper.

Of course, they didn't have an owl, so they drove to Lockhart House on the Thames in London, where they found the newspaper's special station and submitted their application to a strange-looking dwarf.

uh~

Actually, she's a fairy who works at a newspaper.

Not every goblin is filled with the stereotypical arrogance and hostility toward humans. Goblins outside Gringotts have few political aspirations. They serve many organizations, depend on these organizations for survival, and are trusted by wizards.

Then, as we waited and waited, something amazing happened.

It was a drizzly afternoon when an owl postman brought them tickets to enter the wizarding world.

It's palm-sized, rectangular, and appears to be folded from a piece of gold paper; when I squeezed it, there seemed to be some powder inside. (Floo Powder)

The front is printed with the words "Direct Access to the New Era Basin Station".

Below is a line of smaller print—Tickets for this site are provided by the Duel Club Research Lab.

In addition, the Daily Prophet provides a special notice on the use of FlooNet tickets (including the prohibition of carrying weapons) and information on long-term purchase methods (still purchased at the Lockhart Tower site, where Muggle money is available for purchase).

Also attached were the review notices from the Muggle Problems Mediation Committee under the Department of Magical Accidents and Disasters of the Ministry of Magic, and the notification from the Floo Network Management Bureau under the Department of Magical Transportation to open a special access route for their fireplace.

No one knows the complex process the Dursleys went through to enter the New Age Basin simply by using the fireplace.

All of this was the result of Grindelwald and Dumbledore using their influence to gradually achieve their goals. In a very short time, they coordinated so many departments and extended this entire process to all parts of the world.

The Dursleys were clearly unaware of this; they were simply waiting anxiously for the Daily Prophet's reminder of the start time of the Triwizard Tournament.

The whole family worked together to clean the fireplace until it was spotless and bright enough that you could even move in and sleep in it.

this day.

The weather was somewhat gloomy.

Somewhat nervously, they kept all the doors and windows of their house closed and the curtains drawn, being extremely careful to avoid revealing the existence of magic through their actions, knowing that this would get them imprisoned in the wizarding jail.

The three of them then nervously squeezed into the fireplace, huddled together in a small circle, and stared intently at the ticket.

"I----"

"Did I light it?" Vernon's voice was a little hoarse.

"Of course—of course, hurry up!" Penny's tone became strange, a mixture of longing and fear. She gripped Vernon's arm with one hand, her nails digging into him without her noticing.

Vernon took out his lighter and pressed it hard, but it wouldn't light no matter how many times he tried.

In the end, Dudley, unable to wait any longer, snatched the lighter and finally lit it on fire.

The lit ticket quickly emitted a large amount of green flames, which spread over the three people's bodies and instantly enveloped the entire fireplace.

"Ah~"

Dudley was startled and dropped the ticket in his hand, trying to squeeze out of the fireplace, but Vernon grabbed him.

"Quiet down, we have to like these weirdos—"

Before he could finish speaking, the golden ticket emitting green flames floated up and, to everyone's horror, quickly wrinkled, becoming like a human face.

The face spoke, its voice strange and grating, yet extremely firm and powerful: "Destination: New Era Basin!"

This was a brilliant innovation by George and Fred, combining Floo Powder and Roaring Letter to create an extremely reliable way to use the fireplace that could never go wrong.

Its greatest function is not to be lazy, but to strongly resist interference, so that it will not be interfered with by any fireplace affected by the black wizard's spell and arrive at the wrong address.

Rita Skeeter, who often frequented dueling clubs in her spare time, keenly recognized the value of this invention—it was perfect for Muggles.

As Rita explained to the young wizards the vast scale and market of Muggle wizards and half-blood wizard families, the young wizards began to realize the value of what could only be described as a casual invention.

Boom~

Flames surged~

The three nervous Muggles were suddenly surrounded by a dazzling array of colors and found themselves in a brightly lit house.

The fireplace also became wider, allowing them to stand up comfortably.

Someone outside shouted, "Hurry up and come out! Others will need to use it later, don't block the passage!"

The Dursleys hurriedly and somewhat flusteredly walked out, and, guided by a scrutinizing wizard, headed towards a small room at the end of the corridor.

They will undergo an investigation there.

Or rather, population registration.

This was a signal arranged by Grindelwald, who was eager to know the population size of those in the Muggle and magical worlds who knew about them, as well as the relatives of Muggle wizards, in order to determine some future strategies.

Unlike Dumbledore, he was unwilling to share this information with the Ministry of Magic, and the staff at the New Age Basin Station who were in charge of these registration matters were all employees of the three schools.

For example, Filch, the janitor at Hogwarts.

He was assigned to one of the review rooms, responsible for registering all the information after the Aurors reviewed the Muggles.

"Harry Potter?"

Filch looked at the three Muggles in front of him with some curiosity.

So, is this middle-aged woman who looks somewhat mean-spirited Lily Evans's sister?

Oh, they do look somewhat similar.

"Yes, yes." Penny looked at a wizard waving a wand at them from the corner with some fear.

The man seemed to be casting some kind of spell, chanting, "Gunfire! Knives! Weapons!"

"Don't worry!" Filch looked at the panicked family. "It's necessary that the New Age Basin is now open to wizards and Muggles from all over the world who know about it, and that dangerous weapons and the like are prohibited."

"We don't have that!" Vernon said seriously, knowing he needed to make his position clear at this point.

"Very good~" Filch didn't say anything, but just quickly scribbled and drew, gesturing for them to pick up a document from the table that read, "Special Notice from the Tournament Committee—Please abide by all regulations during the Triwizard Tournament!"

He rattled off the important reminders he'd been repeating for days until he was practically numb: "No spellcasting unless absolutely necessary, no stealing—"

Finally, he pointed to an open door in the corner, "Go out from there, and you'll officially enter the station. Once you leave the station, you'll be in the New Era Basin. You can move around freely there."

Vernon and his two companions walked out of the station somewhat nervously, and as they looked around, they felt that countless figures appeared in every corner of their field of vision.

"Very good!"

Vernon had just been looking at the notice and excitedly pointed to one line on it, saying to his wife, "Here, wizards are forbidden from casting spells at will!"

A wizard who can't cast spells is just like them.

Then what is there to worry about?

Oh~

This is clearly a misconception, because the magical world is not just about wizards.

As the crowd surged forward, a book was knocked out of a little wizard's canvas bag. The book quickly opened to reveal sharp teeth and hairy, spider-like legs, and began to scramble on the ground, causing a great commotion.

The three witnessed the book biting incident right next to them, less than five meters away.

The wizard whose leg was bitten by the book screamed in pain, shook his leg violently and fell to the ground, blood flowing everywhere.

Fortunately, the situation was quickly brought under control by the Argentine special team that arrived at the scene, and the injured person was sent for treatment, which prevented a larger disturbance from occurring.

"Sweetheart," Vernon said to his wife Penny with some fear, "it seems the magical world isn't as wonderful and romantic as you described; it's dangerous!"

Penny stared intently at the blood on the ground, swallowed hard, and nodded.

The family soon encountered their first problem upon entering the magical world—they had no wizarding currency.

The Daily Prophet, which provided them with the tickets, obviously couldn't help in this regard. Their only option was to find their wizarding relative, Harry. The young wizards at the school were allowed to exchange Muggle currency for a certain amount of wizarding currency at Gringotts.

This is not a conventional currency exchange system; there is no so-called exchange rate. It is a special welfare program for a specific group of people, and the amount is not large.

The problem is that after Harry moved from Privet Drive to Sirius Black's house, they can no longer contact him without owls.

Dudley, drooling over the wizard's various desserts and delicacies, and Penny, full of anticipation for the magical items, could only watch helplessly, feeling extremely embarrassed.

To his surprise, Vernon Dursley appeared extremely excited and happy.

Once they reached a less crowded area, Vernon whispered to his wife, "We can trade with other families who have Muggles and buy wizarding currency with pounds."

Penny's eyes lit up, and she looked at him like he was a hero, just like her son Dudley. "Can you find someone willing to trade with us?"

Vernon laughed heartily. "That's easy. Don't you remember? I was the best medical device salesman when I was young!"

"Sweetheart, that's not the point. Haven't you noticed? This is a business opportunity!"

His gaze was fixed intently on the figures around him. "Look at these wizards' awful clothes and accessories. Some are even wearing raincoats as clothes! I bet some Muggle-made products would appeal to them. Wizards aren't restricted by this; Harry used to wear Muggle clothes to school!"

"I think I should contact more wizards' Muggle relatives and set up a trading platform! I guess this didn't exist before! Hmm, if it did, Harry would know that even if we lose business opportunities, it's okay; at least we've gained the chance to trade. If not—"

Dudley immediately became excited. "Does this mean we'll have wizard currency? Can I buy a Puffball then? I just saw someone selling them, and they looked really interesting!"

"There will be!" Vernon murmured. "I realize we need Harry. This matter absolutely cannot be handled carelessly. We need someone who can find out the policies and rules."

but----

Where is Harry?

The Dursleys saw it very quickly.

After they followed the crowd to a huge place resembling the Roman Colosseum, found a seat, and waited for the match to begin, Harry finally appeared on the ring.

Vernon watched from afar with a somewhat complicated expression, remarking to Penny, "He seems to be doing really well here. I'm starting to think he's the leader of a team?"

Penny didn't speak, but just stared intently at the figures rising into the air on flying broomsticks, her eyes filled with longing and anticipation.

Due to the previous incident, this match will again be Hogwarts versus Durmstrang.

It's worth mentioning that on the night that incident happened, Durmstrang team captain Viktor Krum was finally found in a suitcase under his bed in his dormitory after being searched by the Aurors.

He appears to have gone through a ordeal, being sent to the school hospital for treatment, and it is said that it will take at least six months to recover, which is equivalent to withdrawing from the competition.

Many insiders privately discussed that this rising star of Durmstrang was destined to fall from grace after meeting the new principal, Grindelwald.

No one can save him.

Unless he continues down the path of magic after graduating and leaving Durmstrang, and returns to the top stage with overwhelming power.

He received no help from Grindelwald.

Even though Grindelwald seems much milder now, he is still a strong person at heart and doesn't like troublemakers who are difficult to control and influence.

The new captain of Team Durmstrang is Valentine Kowalski.

He was not a particularly outstanding student.

This was clearly still Grindelwald's politically motivated approach, intended to show some goodwill to Valentine's grandmother, Queenie Kowalski, who was vying for the position of First Wizard of the Magical Congress of the United States.

(Queenie, Newt's sister-in-law, a proven saint, a born Legilimency.)

Many people are discussing these things.

It must be said that the importance of the Triwizard Tournament is becoming increasingly apparent, and many things happening here are quietly influencing the entire wizarding world.

Many newspapers predicted that the Hogwarts team would inevitably win this match.

Unsurprisingly.

If we say that these young wizards who participated in the Triwizard Tournament are outstanding contestants who have stood out among their peers.

Then people can see that some figures have once again stood out from this group of young wizards, showing a level of excellence that surpasses the average.

"They're even better than most Aurors! They could be professors at major magic schools!" Some people would always exclaim in amazement.

Hermione's Flying Bird Charm is almost a textbook collection of encyclopedic spells, casting it is like controlling and commanding a powerful magical army.

Ron's Heart of the Fellowship, with its powerful mental strength, has led many to speculate about the limits it can reach.

As people discussed whether any player could rival these two, a figure quietly entered their field of vision—"The Savior" Harry Potter.

His spellcasting didn't seem as exaggerated as the other two, but with the analysis of combat power in various newspapers and magazines and the observation of everyone in various matches, many people noticed that the intensity of Harry's spellcasting magic seemed extremely exaggerated.

His three signature spells—Disarming Charm, Full Imprisonment, and Full Repulsion—make Harry more like a rampaging tank in magical duels, unstoppable and invincible.

Of course, standing out does not mean that everyone else is overshadowed.

Many eye-catching figures appeared during the competition, and these young wizards each had their own unique characteristics.

Draco Malfoy's signature magic is the Summoning of the Serpent Gods, which grants him the ability to grow and shrink and strong magical resistance, making him look like a dragon knight.

Fleur Delacour has been demonstrating increasingly impressive magical control over curses and healing. If she can improve her skills quickly this year of the competition, we can expect to see the birth of a signature spell.

Vincent Crabbe may not be the best player in the game, but he is always seen in the medical team at the event, and he seems to be gradually becoming an indispensable figure.

The Weasley twins, George and Fred, are also inconspicuous in the fighting matches, but they are the most familiar to everyone in the event because they always appear in the audience, peddling all sorts of strange and wonderful things.

Among them, the most popular items are undoubtedly the House Magic Stone from "The Humble Abode PLUS" and the "Cloud Eye," which has been widely recognized as an essential item for watching the game.

The Eye of the Cloud is a magical hat that looks like a fluffy cloud. When worn, it has a monocle hanging down on the eye socket, allowing people to view the game from a top-down perspective.

It's as if everyone's eyes are on the clouds high in the sky.

After the competition, some curious individuals flew high into the sky on flying broomsticks in an attempt to find the eye in the clouds, but they couldn't find it no matter what they did.

It is said that this magical item utilizes the power of the mystical magical imagery of water vapor refraction and cloud formations, which gather water vapor.

that's it.

While everyone was discussing the young wizards who were participating, the competition officially began.

The first match is still Hogwarts vs. Durmstrang.

This was almost a complete rout!

If it weren't for these young wizards from dueling clubs, Durmstrang's students would actually be far more powerful than the students you'd typically imagine on campus.

They were all inspired by Grindelwald's magical powers and taught how to use them better.

But as Snape told Sirius—"Once I start learning the Fiendfyre spell and demonstrate enough power, Crabbe, who is naturally gifted with the Fiendfyre spell, is no match for me!"

These bloodline talents are just a slightly higher starting point; ultimately, it all comes down to individual excellence.

After the Hogwarts team began to emphasize the use of Apparition Reversal, Hermione's Swarm of Cursed Birds, Ron's Giant Anima Protection, and Harry's Invincible Charge almost completely overwhelmed them, leading to a decisive victory.

The battle ended far too quickly.

It happened so fast that everyone was still analyzing the various possibilities, and then it was all over; so fast that the young wizards felt like they had only just warmed up.

After discussion and deliberation with the participating young wizards, the event organizers decided to proceed with the second round of the competition.

Hogwarts vs. Beauxbatons.

This time it's a bit more interesting. Draco, George, Fred, Luna, and Fleur seem to have formed a special team to attack Hermione, who has the biggest impact on everyone.

Then there is no more.

Just like Hermione said—we're not on the same level anymore!

Hurry up and catch up with the group, guys. I don't want to be alone. We're going to head towards the stars and sea of ​​magic together, into the realm of magic masters, and then surpass the realm of magic masters!

"Ladies and gentlemen!"

After the fireworks exploded, the host, Witsel, excitedly shouted, "Two consecutive victories! I declare Hogwarts the winner of the Quidditch Duels School Team Tournament!"

The music started.

Professor Felius Flitwick, Headmaster of Ravenclaw House at Hogwarts, brought a band onto the stage and played the Hogwarts school song.

"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hogwarts,"

"Please teach us knowledge."

"Whether we are balding old people or children who have hurt their knees."

"Our minds can accept some interesting things."

'

In the audience, the Dursleys stared blankly at Harry, who stood in the center of the stage, happily raising the trophy of victory, and felt that the Harry in front of them had become somewhat unfamiliar.

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