My Hogwarts has a serious problem.

Chapter 472, page 469: The Triumph of the Three Kingdoms

Dumbledore shook hands with him and whispered something, but none of the students below could hear it.

He seemed to be asking the stranger something, and the stranger shook his head without a smile and answered in a low voice.

Dumbledore nodded, gesturing for the man to sit in an empty seat to his right.

The stranger sat down, shook his head to clear his long, gray hair from his face, then pulled over a plate of sausages and held it to his mutilated nose to smell them.

He took a small knife out of his pocket, poked it into one end of a sausage, and started eating. His normal eye was fixed on the sausage, but his blue eye kept darting around in its socket, taking in the auditorium and his classmates.

"Please allow me to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," Dumbledore said cheerfully, breaking the silence, "Professor Moody."

Normally, when a new teacher meets everyone, everyone applauds to welcome him. But now, apart from Dumbledore and Hagrid, only Lynn clapped. When Umaru, who was sitting next to him, saw him clapping, she also clapped a few times with Lynn, Dumbledore, and Hagrid. The applause echoed in the quiet hall and sounded lonely. They simply clapped twice and then put their hands down.

Everyone else seemed stunned by Moody's strange appearance, staring at him intently.

Dumbledore cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention back to himself.

"In addition, starting this year, Hogwarts will offer a brand new compulsory course called Wizarding Morality. In this course, the professor will teach you about the development of magical society, the proper character to be a person, the relationship between wizards and Muggles, and the history of the evolution of wizarding thought, among other things. And the professor for this course is an old acquaintance of some students; he is Professor Fawkes, who taught Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts in 1990."

Dumbledore introduced Fawkes to the young wizards below.

This time, the applause was much louder than that for Professor Moody. Although the students didn't know what the so-called moral education class was supposed to teach, at least the older students were familiar with Fox, and the younger students, seeing his neat clothes and handsome old-man appearance, had a much better first impression than those of Moody.

Introducing the two new professors was only secondary; Dumbledore was now beginning to announce the truly important matters to all the students.

"As before, I must remind everyone that the Forbidden Forest over there is off-limits to students, and Hogsmeade Village is off-limits to students below the third year."

"I also regret to inform you that the Academy Quidditch tournament will not be held this year."

"What?"

The saddest news was undoubtedly coming from the mischievous monkeys of Gryffindor. Harry was so surprised he could hardly breathe. He turned to look at his Quidditch teammates, Fred and George.

They all stared at Dumbledore with their mouths agape, speechless, as if too astonished to speak.

Dumbledore continued, "This is because a large event will begin in October and continue throughout the school year, taking up a lot of the teachers' time and energy, but I believe you will all have a lot of fun from it."

This year, Hogwarts will be honored to host a truly spectacular event, one that hasn't been held in over a century.

I am delighted to announce that the Triwizard Tournament will be held at Hogwarts this October!

"Are you kidding me?" Fried asked incredulously, his mouth agape.

Dumbledore smiled at him and said, "I'm not joking, Mr. Weasley. The Triwizard Tournament was established over seven hundred years ago and is a friendly competition between the three largest magic schools in Europe."

The three schools are Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. Each school selects one champion, and the three champions then compete in three magical events.

The Triwizard Tournament was held every five years, with the three schools taking turns hosting. Everyone agreed that it was an excellent way for young wizards from different countries to build friendships—but later, due to the sheer number of deaths, the tournament was discontinued.

The students were not deterred by Dumbledore's statement that the "deaths were too many to handle"; instead, their eyes gleamed with excitement.

Children at this age don't really understand the concept of death; all they notice is the fun of the competition itself.

"For centuries, there have been several attempts to revive the Winged Tournament," Dumbledore continued, "but none have been successful. However, our Department of International Magical Cooperation and the Department of Magical Sports at the Ministry of Magic believe that the time is ripe for another attempt. This summer we have done much work to ensure that every champion is safe and sound."

However, this year's Triwizard Tournament has undergone some minor changes compared to centuries ago. Not only are three European schools participating, but the Ifamoni Magic Academy from America has also applied to participate.

"In October, the headmasters of Beauxbatons, Durmstrang, and Ifamoni will lead their carefully selected competitors to a ceremony to choose warriors, which will take place on Halloween. An impartial referee will determine which students are most qualified to compete for the Triwizard Cup, bringing honor to their schools, and each student will receive a prize of one thousand Galleons."

Immediately, the students' breathing became heavy.

They all knew what a prize of one thousand Galleons meant; that amount of money was enough to rent a shop in Diagon Alley for up to three years!

Moreover, it's not just about the money; just being able to represent Hogwarts in a competition is a tremendous honor that greatly satisfies the vanity of all young wizards.

But Dumbledore soon poured cold water on the hopes of most people.

"I know you are all eager to win the Triwizard Tournament trophy for Hogwarts. However, the participating schools and the Ministry of Magic have agreed to set an age limit for this year's competitors. Only students who are seventeen years of age or older will be allowed to register for consideration."

Only students in sixth grade and above can reach the age of seventeen, but even among sixth graders, not all of them meet this standard.

For example, the Weasley brothers, although they are also in sixth grade, will not turn 17 until next April, so they do not meet the enrollment requirements yet.

Or rather, 80% of the young wizards at Hogwarts aren't even eligible to apply.

It felt so good to let it all out!!! o(*￣▽￣*)ブ

(End of this chapter)