A Certain Magical Hogwarts

Chapter 498 The Goblet of Fire

Upon entering the building, William discovered:

This place was not built temporarily for the International Wizarding Conference; it has existed for a long time.

In particular, its various magnificent decorations are not only comparable to, but even more opulent than, the headquarters of the British Ministry of Magic.

William was not Italian, and he often skipped Professor Binns' classes, and the professor never gave a detailed introduction to Italy.

He had no choice but to ask Nymeria about the situation briefly.

It turns out there are complex historical reasons behind this.

The Italian Ministry of Magic is headquartered in Rome, but it also has several branch offices.

This is easy to understand, as Italy was originally Roman territory.

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, it went through a long period of federal states. True Italy, however, only achieved complete unification in 1861 when it established a kingdom and conquered Rome, the capital of the Papal States, in 1870.

Before the emergence of the Ministry of Magic, countries existed in the form of wizarding councils.

However, in 1692, the International Federation of Wizards passed the Law of Secrecy.

The magical world urgently needs a more organized and sophisticated management system to support and regulate wizards' secrecy efforts.

Therefore, the functions of the Wizarding Council were completely abolished in 1707 and expanded into the Ministry of Magic.

At this time, Italy was still a fragmented federation, not yet fully unified. Several powerful nations each possessed their own Ministry of Magic.

The Ministry of Magic in Venice was located in St. Mark's Basilica, and it continues to function to this day.

As for why the Ministry of Magic was established in St. Mark's Cathedral...

This is similar to the Magical Congress of the United States. Despite having such a poor relationship with the US government, they still built their Magical Congress in the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.

They probably understand one thing: the more dangerous a place is, the safer it is.

The elevator quickly arrived at the second floor, and Nymeria knocked on a birchwood door.

"Come in."

The three entered a very spacious room where five wizards were sitting.

An elderly man with white hair was sitting in a chair, solemnly giving instructions.

The old man paused for a moment and gestured, "Well, Stark and Miss Granger, please have a seat for a while."

The room contained many antique seats—a Renaissance velvet sofa, a country-style rocking chair, and a pair of chairs that appeared to be Byzantine in style.

Hermione was unsure where to sit, but William pulled her to sit comfortably on the sofa.

He observed the entire room.

The room is filled with antiques, and the black wooden walls are decorated with works by various Renaissance masters.

Especially a woman, who had no eyes, was holding a plate, yet a smile appeared on her lips.

On the mantelpiece sat a plaster bust. Below the statue were two stone "monster drip spouts" that served as firewood racks in the fireplace.

Their mouths were wide open, revealing their frightening throats.

William tilted his ear and, in his meager Italian, managed to make out the content of their conversation.

They were all officials from the Weather Control Department of the Ministry of Magic. The old man requested that magic be used as soon as possible to mitigate the torrential rain.

The four wizards left quickly.

The old man stood up and walked toward William and Hermione, sitting down in the Byzantine-style armchair.

—Oberon Martell.

He was a highly respected wizard, having served as senior secretary to three ministers, but never as Minister of Magic.

He's quite old, even older than Newt. There have been persistent rumors that Martell is in poor health and will soon retire.

Upon closer inspection, William noticed something. Martell's right hand was eerily white, with obvious burn marks.

He wore a wrinkled robe that clung to his thin frame, making him look like a loosely slack sack.

The open neckline exposed her neck, which also bore severe burn marks.

William took the letter out of his pocket and handed it over.

"This is a letter from Professor Dumbledore to you; I think he has already mentioned it to you."

Martell reached out his withered hand, grabbed the letter, and stuffed it into his pocket without opening it.

"Have the three principals decided to restart the Triwizard Tournament?" he asked.

"Yes, but the final venue has not been determined yet; they are still meeting and negotiating in France," William explained.

"However... I think it will be finalized before the Federation begins."

Martell muttered, "What's there to discuss? Let's just do it in Beauxbatons."

Most students from countries surrounding France completed their studies in Beauspartan. Italy was no exception.

Martell is clearly a Beauxbatons.

"Let's go, let's get the Goblet of Fire." The old man stood up and led the way.

Noticing William examining Martell's wounds, Nymeria, who had been following them, whispered an explanation:

"Do you see that St. Mark's Bell Tower?"

"I saw it when I came."

"It suddenly collapsed in 1902."

William and Hermione exchanged a glance; the tour guide they had met twice had also mentioned this incident.

"No Muggles died in that collapse, only a cat."

Namelia said reverently, "It was Mr. Martell, who had just graduated, who saved everyone with magic."

However, he himself was also burned.

"Because of this, he became the youngest recipient of the Order of the Doge of Venice."

"Why were you burned?" Hermione asked, puzzled.

"I don't know, but a strange flame appeared at the time." Nymeria shook her head.

"The Ministry of Magic still doesn't understand why the clock tower suddenly collapsed."

Did it collapse suddenly?

William felt there was something similar he had heard about somewhere before.

Martell led the way, turning a corner as the group ascended a wide, golden staircase.

At the end of the stairs, there is a spacious foyer decorated with Italian marble and stucco walls adorned with gold leaf.

"You wait here."

A group of Aurors stood guard on both sides of the entrance hall, and Nymeria also stayed behind.

Martell opened the door, and William and Hermione followed him inside.

William's gaze first fell on the extraordinary central circle of the dome, where a coffered ceiling decorated with flowers and patterns spiraled down from the dome to the floor.

A huge bronze "portrait" sits on the ground, leaning over the railing and gazing downwards.

The statue is also of an old man, dressed as a governor. He holds a large wooden box inlaid with jewels in his hands.

Martell waved his wand, and the box floated on the table.

"This magical item has not left Venice for over two hundred years since the last tournament," he said softly.

Just as the old man was about to open the box, there was a knock on the door.

Captain Auror pushed open the door and said seriously, "Sir, there is an urgent matter that you must deal with immediately."

Martell frowned and looked at William. "The Goblet of Fire is right here. Check it out first. I'll be back in a bit."

The old man left quickly, following Captain Auror.

The door to the room was closed again.

William and Hermione stood there quietly, gazing at the large wooden box.

It was a smoothly polished wooden box with exquisite hinges. The wood was white, with a dull sheen and coarse grain.

An oak tree, William recognized.

The box lid has only a single ring with a cursive English letter M inside.

William turned to the side, picked up the box, and examined it carefully.

Surprisingly, it was quite heavy!

William carefully placed the box on the large table. Hermione stood beside him, and together they stared intently at the small box.

This is what Dumbledore asked them to help retrieve!

"Open it quickly!" Hermione said excitedly.

This thing is a magical item that allows you to choose a warrior.

William nodded, drew his wand, and tapped the ring on the box lid three times.

The lid slowly creaked open, and William reached in and pulled out a large, roughly carved wooden goblet.

The cup itself is unremarkable, even rough, and it's hard to imagine that this is the Goblet of Fire.

If you threw this cup on the street, people would definitely choose the jeweled box over it.

"How do we light it?" Hermione asked curiously.

"I don't know, maybe Dumbledore will have to come." William shook his head.

Hermione lifted the heavy glass, one eye closed and the other open, trying to peer inside.

It looks like they're looking through a telescope.

She was looking for a source of fire.

After a moment, Hermione stammered, "William!"

"What's wrong?" William asked, looking at Hermione's terrified face.

"...This cup...looks like...it's fake!"

"What?!"

William quickly took the cup and, like her, looked inside.

William soon realized that Hermione was telling the truth.

Because at the bottom of the cup, there is a row of small printed words:

Made in England!

1994!

……

……

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(End of this chapter)