I, Hogwarts Second Time Around.

Chapter 258 Do you want to become my follower?

"The difficulty has increased?" At the long table in Gryffindor, the trio present each had a different expression upon hearing this.

Hermione frowned slightly.

The other two looked excited.

For them, a great adventure and battle are what truly define the value of their championship.

If it's just like an exam, then what's the point of the competition?

"Has Dumbledore gone mad?" Hermione shook her head, looking displeased at Ron and Harry, who were beaming with excitement. "They were forced to stop the Triwizard Tournament in the past because it caused the deaths of many young wizards. Now that it's reopened, they've even increased the difficulty."

"So what?" Ron said nonchalantly, "New generations surpass the old!"

"My dad says that the graduates of Hogwarts in recent years have become stronger and stronger, far surpassing our previous 'seniors'." He proudly raised his head, his face full of glory. "Think about when we graduated, Hermione, I guarantee we were the strongest class of young wizards ever."

"Yes, Hermione, think about what we've been through in the last few years!" Harry had the same expression. "Even if the competition was for heroes to fight dragons, I wouldn't be surprised."

How many legendary wizards have we fought? Think of Lani, the second-year witch—she's the reincarnation of Rowena Ravenclaw!

"Besides, with Dumbledore around, do you think he'd let a young wizard get hurt?" Ron said matter-of-factly. "He can cast a spell to make all danger disappear the moment it arises."

Ron's words made sense.

That's what all the young wizards at Hogwarts thought.

On the other hand, the reason why the school brawl was so serious was because Old Deng did not intervene to stop them.

In the young wizard's eyes, Dumbledore—the greatest wizard in the world—should know everything and be omniscient. He knew everything that happened in the castle, yet he didn't stop him; that was tacit approval!

"But—" Hermione wanted to say something, but before she could finish speaking, Dumbledore's voice continued from the platform.

She could only shut her mouth.

But his expression still showed he wasn't very happy.

------

"Ahem!"

"As you already know, there will be four champions participating in the competition," Dumbledore continued calmly. "Each will represent one of the participating schools, and we will score them based on the quality of their performance in each competition event. After the four events are completed, the champion with the highest score will win the championship trophy."

This is the first Champions League trophy in a century.

"It is the highest honor for a young wizard." His voice was impassioned, and with each word he spoke, the young wizards below would scream.

"Now then! Let us welcome a truly fair selector, the Goblet of Fire!"

At this point, Dumbledore drew his wand and tapped the lid of the box three times.

The gilded lid slowly opened like mercury, and Dumbledore reached in and pulled out a large, roughly carved wooden goblet.

The cup itself is unremarkable, but it is filled with dancing blue and white flames.

Dumbledore swung his staff again, closing the box and placing the cup on the lid so that everyone in the Great Hall could see it clearly.

"Every student who wants to run for Warrior must write his or her school's name on a piece of parchment and drop it into this goblet," Dumbledore said. "Aspiring Warriors may register within twenty-four hours."

Tomorrow night, Halloween night, the Goblet will select the names of four students it believes best represent the four schools.

Tonight, the wine glass is placed in the foyer, and all students who wish to run for office can have access to it.

"Of course, I know there will be some young wizards who can't resist the temptation," Dumbledore blinked and continued, "After the goblet is placed in the foyer, I will draw an age line around it, and no one under the age of seventeen shall be allowed to cross that line."

"At the same time—I remind certain young wizards to keep their promise to me. Do not attempt to decipher this ancient magical artifact!"

"A magical item passed down for thousands of years, if damaged, will require a large sum of money to compensate."

"."

Upon hearing this, all the young wizards at Hogwarts were speechless.

Everyone knows who Dumbledore is referring to.

This fine is extremely targeted.

"Finally, I would like to remind every student who is running for the title that this competition is not a game, so please do not participate rashly. Once a warrior is chosen by the Goblet of Fire, he or she must persevere in the competition to the very end."

Whoever casts their name into the cup forms a magical covenant that must be obeyed. Once one becomes a warrior, no one is allowed to change their mind.

Therefore, please think carefully before you act, and make sure you are truly determined to participate in the competition before casting your name into the cup.

"I guess the aging potion definitely won't work." Fred pondered, resting his chin on his hand on the Gryffindor bench.

"Of course, you think you can fool Dumbledore with such a little trick?" Hermione rolled her eyes at him.

"Looks like we'll have to try something new, George."

"Great minds think alike," George replied with a grin. "I have a good idea. What about you?"

"Of course, George. I have a good idea too," Fred said.

The two exchanged a glance and immediately began to talk in hushed tones.

Hermione didn't pay attention to what the twins were underestimating; she didn't think the twins had any way to break through Dumbledore's magic.

On the other side, the old principal's eyes were shining.

He stood gently on the platform, looking down at the young wizards below, "Finally, I think this wonderful night should have a perfect ending."

Then—let me sing the school song!

"No--"

As soon as Dumbledore finished speaking, the professors lowered their heads or simply turned their heads away.

But the headmaster was in high spirits. He took out his wand, and white silk was spat out from the tip of the wand.

Then he turned around and waved his wand like a conductor, and instantly, golden words appeared on the silk.

The young wizards in the audience stood up one by one.

It could be shame, numbness, excitement, or disgust.

A series of chaotic tunes came out of the little wizard's mouth.

"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hogwarts."

Please teach us knowledge.

Whether we are balding old people,

The child who fell and injured his knee

Our minds can accept

Some interesting things.

Because our minds are empty, filled only with air.

Dead flies and trivial matters,

It taught us some valuable knowledge.

Give us back what we have forgotten.

You just need to do your best, and we'll take care of the rest.

We will study hard until we turn to dust.

A unique school song performance.

Dumbledore enjoyed it from beginning to end, even though the young wizard tried his best not to make up any strange tunes in order not to embarrass himself.

The Geminis didn't use a funeral march.

However, their performance was still chaotic and disorganized. In short, the three major schools witnessed the Hogwarts junior wizards' group die-hard incident.

The next day was Saturday.

Generally speaking, most young wizards don't get up until the afternoon.

But this time, everyone got up very early.

When Irving went to the auditorium for dinner, there were already more than seventy people gathered in front of the entrance hall.

The Durmstrangers were voting, while the other young wizards from Hogwarts were watching.

"Has anyone put their name in yet?" Ron asked a third-grade girl eagerly.

"Yes, all of Durmstrang's representatives," she replied, "but I haven't seen anyone sign up for Hogwarts yet."

Ahead, the Goblet of Fire was placed in the center of the foyer, on the stool where the Sorting Hat was usually kept. A thin gold line, ten feet in radius, was drawn around the floor, encircling the goblet.

Not only that, but the entire entrance hall and walls are covered with golden ancient runes.

Clearly, Headmaster Dumbledore's so-called selection process began the moment the young wizards entered the foyer.

Irving discovered that he recognized many ancient runes.

Age, expulsion, permanence, choice

Just like lines of code, runes with different meanings work together to create a set of computer operating logic.

Hermione, who came up the spiral staircase, also noticed the magical runes on the wall.

She immediately took out her parchment and quill pen and began copying and comparing.

"Where are George and Fred?"

Harry came over. "They left the common room early this morning. I thought they were already at the door."

"They must have gone to prepare something," Ron said, walking over as well. "What I'm curious about is why Cedric from your school didn't put his name in the Goblet of Fire."

"Still struggling with it, huh?" Irving replied.

"By the way, Owen, are you really confident you can break through Dumbledore's restrictions?" Justin asked curiously from the side.

"Yes—" he answered confidently, "but I cannot guarantee that the sect will remain intact and break his magic within 24 hours."

"What do you mean?" Ron asked, puzzled.

"I mean, give me time. I can unravel this magic in three or four days, but in twenty-four hours—I can blow up the gate first, and then just crack the Goblet of Fire. That would be faster."

"."

That's a really crude way to crack it.

The men stared at Owen, their lips twitching.

At that moment, a large group of wizards entered the hall, all dressed in robes of blue and burgundy.

These are clearly Iphamoni's junior wizards.

The one leading them was the witch named Koyatl Stewart.

She walked past indifferently.

As you approach the Goblet of Fire, reach out and drop a piece of parchment into it.

The Goblet of Fire immediately burst into blue flames.

Then, the Iphamoni behind her began to drop their own parchment letters into the Goblet of Fire.

Just when most of the young Hogwarts wizards thought that the seemingly arrogant witch would simply turn around and leave.

She suddenly changed direction and walked straight toward the witch in front of the door, who was carefully observing the magic patterns on the wall and writing something down.

"Um?"

I suddenly felt many more eyes watching me from behind.

Hermione turned her head in confusion.

Then she saw that incredibly beautiful girl walking towards her with an arrogant expression.

"Bang!"

The silver-haired girl reached out and braced herself against the wall behind Hermione, then took the parchment from Hermione's hand with her other hand.

"The heir to Gryffindor?" she said casually.

His eyes were fixed on Hermione's delicate handwriting.

"Can you understand these?"

"I can understand it!" Hermione looked up, displeased, at the girl in front of her.

"And I'm not some Gryffindor heir. I'm just an ordinary little wizard."

"Ordinary wizards can't conjure lava behemoths tens of feet long, don't underestimate yourself." Koyatl Stewart's bright red eyes shifted from the parchment to Hermione's face.

"Want to become my follower?" she said.

"???" Hermione frowned. Hermione's sudden words left her momentarily confused about what the girl in front of her meant.

Was she being sarcastic?

Miss Granger's brown eyes showed displeasure.

"Don't look at me like that." Koyatl suddenly brought her face very close, almost whispering in Hermione's ear, "We all know who we are. Compared to those good-for-nothings who are destined to amount to nothing, we are destined to make a difference."

"I'm sorry, I don't think I'd amount to anything." Hermione slapped away Koyatl's outstretched hand. "Maybe you could find someone else. Oh! If I had to recommend someone, there's someone in Hufflepuff who would be perfect."

"Hmph~" Koyatl snorted, her voice tinged with displeasure and sarcasm. "Ordinary fourth-year wizards wouldn't understand these things."

She shoved the parchment back into Hermione's hand. "Perhaps you should transfer to Ephamony now instead of continuing to waste your talents here."

"Shut up!" Miss Granger suddenly emitted a white light.

That was a banishing spell, but she released it silently without a staff.

Her cheeks were slightly flushed, perhaps from anger, or perhaps because the girl had been too close. The damp air tickled her ears, making Miss Granger feel very uncomfortable.

"Hogwarts is the greatest school of magic." She stuffed the parchment and quill into her pocket, staring seriously at the girl in front of her. "You should have the most basic respect for her, before this castle you don't know."

"Heh—I think I understand it quite well." Koyatl Stewart smiled faintly, not surprised by Hermione's sudden wandless spellcasting. "It's just a decaying, dilapidated castle."

"call out"

"call out"

"Bang!"

The red spell shot out from the tip of Miss Granger's wand the moment Koyatl Stewart finished speaking.

One of them called out directly to her face.

The other attack, hidden behind the previous spell, emerged from the shadows.

She cast the spells so quickly that it was almost impossible to distinguish between the two spells with the naked eye.

But Koyatl Stewart reacted quickly; she summoned the Armor Charm directly, and unusually, her Armor Charm did not conjure up a phantom blue armor out of thin air.

Instead, it was a golden, wing-like object. The wings moved in unison, easily deflecting Hermione's attack.

"Is this the strength of the strongest young wizard at Hogwarts?" Koyatl Stewart said with a mocking expression. She slowly put away her wand, and her face returned to its normal indifference.

It was as if everything around her was black and white, and Hermione was the only one with color.

But now, the color has also disappeared from her body.

"This is truly disappointing."

After saying that, she tilted her head back, looked past the onlookers, and walked into the auditorium.

The young wizards of Iphamoni followed the girl into the hall with mocking expressions.

"Hermione, are you alright!" Ron and Harry rushed over. "What does that woman mean? Why is she being so arrogant?"

"It's nothing." Hermione said with a gloomy face; this was the first time she had ever felt such humiliation.

Others couldn't see it, but she did.

He couldn't cast any spells to break through the woman's protective spell.

This was unlike any enemy she had ever encountered.

Even when facing a dark wizard capable of casting a killing spell, her magic remains unchanged. As long as the opponent reveals an opening, she can defeat them with simple petrification and strength-relieving spells.

But the girl's impression was that even if she did nothing but stand still and let her cast spells, she couldn't break through her magic.

A deep sense of frustration welled up inside Hermione, and she instinctively looked at Owen.

From the very beginning, she refused to learn those dangerous dark magic spells from Owen. She adhered to Professor Flitwick's philosophy that even the most ordinary spells could defeat the most powerful dark wizards.

But now—perhaps she's about to master some even more powerful magic.

"Can you still stand watching this?" Justin asked, his face also radiating anger.

"Teach her a lesson, Irving. I support you."

The shouts in his ear brought Irving back to his senses.

He rolled his eyes at Justin, then walked over to Hermione.

"Her magic is strange."

"Strange?" Hermione looked at him.

"Her magic is mixed with something else, something more profound than that of ordinary people," Owen said thoughtfully.

"Is it ancient magic?"

"How could that be?" Owen patted Hermione on the shoulder. "There's only one person on this planet as outstanding as me."

"."

"You're so shameless." Hermione gave him a disdainful look.

Then, she burst into laughter through her tears, a sense of relief diluting the bitterness in her heart.

Just then, a voice called out from the spiral staircase, "What happened?"

It's Gemini.

George and Fred.

They walked over happily, shoulder to shoulder.

"Hermione was just bullied?" Ron said.

"Huh?" The twins looked at Hermione in disbelief.

Oh my god!

The Queen of Gryffindor is being bullied!!!

"No!" Hermione put her wand back into the inside pocket of her robe, then changed the subject, looking at the twins: "Didn't you want to put your names in the Goblet of Fire? Have you thought of a way?"

"Of course!" the twins exclaimed, gesturing wildly. "Watch as the great Weasley Alchemist shows you fools what alchemy truly is."

(End of this chapter)