The Bard of Hogwarts

Chapter 310 Removal of Restrictions, Confirming the Speculation

Hogwarts, the Great Hall where the dinner is held.

Filch also had his moment of glory.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the castle caretaker carefully placed the box he was carrying on the table in the main guest area, then bowed slightly before quietly leaving.

"I know many people are curious about how the three warriors will be selected, but I want to say that the entire selection process will be conducted by the fairest selectors..."

Dumbledore paused briefly, then took out his wand and tapped the ornate box three times.

The box, like a wax figure under high temperature, melted and dissipated little by little.

An antique-looking, unassuming wine glass was presented to everyone.

"A fair selection! The warriors from the three schools will be chosen fairly by the Goblet of Fire!"

"The Goblet of Fire is now ignited! The three-way battle is irreversible at this moment!"

"boom!"

As Dumbledore finished speaking, the Goblet of Fire suddenly burst into a bright and dazzling blue-white flame.

"Those who wish to participate, or are interested in participating in the Triwizard Tournament, please write your names and schools on parchment after the banquet and throw them into the Goblet of Fire."

"Therefore, I will give you twenty-four hours to consider. Tonight, the Goblet of Fire will be placed in the foyer..."

Having said that, Dumbledore looked around at all the young wizards in the Great Hall, his deep blue eyes filled with seriousness and caution.

"Finally, I must remind everyone that once your name is chosen by the Goblet of Fire, there is no turning back, and no room for regret!"

When the greatest white wizard of the twentieth century was serious, no one dared to ignore his words. Even the most unruly students, including George and Fred, behaved very well.

Dumbledore seemed to have achieved this effect, his gaze sweeping over everyone again before he slowly spoke:

"If you are fortunate enough to become warriors, you will be bound to the Goblet of Fire with an unbreakable pact. All warriors must persevere to the end, unless you die along the way!"

The word "death" made everyone in the Great Hall sit up straight. At this moment, not only the young wizards of Hogwarts, but also students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, all showed thoughtful expressions.

Ino's eyes also flickered with contemplation, but he was thinking about something different from the original story: the age limit of 17 had been removed.

Logically, this is normal. As a high-level alchemical artifact, the Goblet of Fire cannot select a representative who is not worthy of the title. If that were the case, the three-way competition with its hundreds of years of history would be a joke.

In the original story, age and responsibility are mostly just pretexts.

If a first-year wizard is selected, it only means one thing: that the first-year wizard's overall strength surpasses that of everyone at Hogwarts.

If we don't send this little wizard to the field and send someone else instead, that would be truly irresponsible and disregard human life.

After all, the selection process for the Goblet of Fire is fair.

……

The age limit has been removed; this is a small change in the story.

However, after this change, Ino thought back to all her previous speculations.

Peeling back the layers, it seems that everything in the original story really did happen right under the old headmaster's nose.

Using age limits to fish, using castle portraits to monitor, and then watching Barty Jr. tamper with the Goblet of Fire—everything he did was to save Harry, or rather, to make Voldemort personally remove his own remnant soul.

However, the black swan event eventually occurred, and Dumbledore made a mistake despite his wisest judgment.

Cedric, an unexpected death.

In fact, no matter how meticulous a plan is, it will always have its flaws, just like the time converter and the magic stone; human-made things are always incomplete.

But as headmaster, Dumbledore's love for the castle and his students may have exceeded most people's imagination.

For Dumbledore, this incident was probably the final straw that broke the camel's back, because he could have prevented it all from happening in the first place...

It may have been this incident that triggered the old principal's emotional defenses to crumble, causing his previously suppressed guilt and sorrow to surface, leading him to recklessly touch the Resurrection Stone.

……

At the same time.

While Ino was deep in thought, Dumbledore had already begun to discuss the matter.

Three levels, five judges scoring fairly, and a story about honor and prize money.

Glory and prize money! As Dumbledore finished speaking, the entire Great Hall erupted in excitement, and the slightly oppressive atmosphere from before vanished completely.

The Gryffindor table.

"Harry! A thousand Galleons! A whole thousand Galleons! Merlin's stockings, how heavy must they be all together..."

Ron was so excited he could hardly breathe; he desperately wanted his own vault.

Bill and Charlie got jobs, Percy was still interning, but he was visibly becoming more respectable, and George and Fred were living a life of unimaginable wealth...

Ron knew them too well; if they were willing to give each other two gallons of pocket money, he conservatively estimated that George and Fred had at least two thousand gallons in savings.

All told, he was the poorest in the entire Weasley family; even Ginny was richer than him.

It didn't matter when the whole family was poor, but now that he's the only one poor, the contrast is heartbreaking.

In fact, not only Ron, but all the young wizards present, except for a very few who remained calm, were very excited.

One thousand Galleons is a huge sum of money for many people, and even for many families.

……

At the head table.

Dumbledore let the students play around for a few minutes before stretching out his hands and pressing them down in the air.

After the noise in the auditorium gradually subsided, he slowly began to speak:

"Alright! I've said what I needed to say. The rest of the time is yours! Before I leave, I must say one last thing: the Goblet of Fire's decision is non-negotiable!"

As Dumbledore finished speaking, the professor and the foreign guests left one after another, especially the two high-ranking directors of the Ministry of Magic, who decisively left the Great Hall.

Interestingly, Barty Crouch Sr. was as pale as if he had lost too much blood, and he almost lost his footing and fell to the ground when he left.

Fortunately, no one is paying attention to the main guest seats right now; everyone's attention is focused on the Goblet of Fire.

……

As the adults left, the atmosphere in the auditorium immediately became lively.

The chattering and discussion were so loud that the ceiling would have been blown off by the magic.

Ino smiled as he looked at the scene before him. This was the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry he had always dreamed of—a castle filled with laughter.

With a light tap of his finger on the table, a glass of freshly squeezed grass juice appeared before him, and the power granted by the castle was displayed at that moment.

Just as Ino picked up her cup, she heard an awkward greeting beside her.

"Hello! Your performance that day was fantastic!" Krum said with a faint smile.

He recognized the person in front of him a long time ago; the catchy song from the World Cup match was still fresh in his memory.

"Thank you! Your Quidditch is really good too." Ino responded in kind to the friendly exchange.

After a brief conversation, Krum sat down. He had actually wanted to say hello yesterday, but hadn't had the chance, and hadn't run into anyone during the day.

"Do you want to participate in the Triwizard Tournament? I think you could easily become a Hogwarts champion."

(End of this chapter)