A Certain Magical Hogwarts

Chapter 598 Hermione, do you want to be a warrior?

After the dinner, Dumbledore stood up again.

Without him saying a word, the auditorium fell silent. A mix of excitement and nervousness filled the crowd.

As everyone knows, the main event is here. Dumbledore is about to announce the selection process for the Warriors.

Top students expect the same selection process every time; struggling students expect different selection processes.

The former hopes to compete on grades; the latter... compete on family connections, personal networks, chaotic battles, or looks... anything but exam scores.

There are also some people who can't compete at all, like Ron... I hope they draw lots!

It's all down to luck now.

Wait... could it be the Sorting Hat?

The students of Hogwarts all remembered that tattered hat.

Dumbledore didn't keep them waiting any longer and ordered, "Bring the box over."

Filch immediately ran toward a small hut.

"Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch have worked tirelessly over the past few months to arrange the Triwizard Tournament," Dumbledore announced loudly.

The twins scoffed. Crouch and the others didn't know, but Ludo was a notorious gambler and had racked up a huge debt.

That old liar.

Dumbledore continued, "They will join me, Professor Karkaroff, and Mrs. Maxime to form a jury to judge the warriors' efforts."

Filch jogged over, a little excited and out of breath. His comical appearance made everyone laugh.

Dumbledore took the wooden box and gently placed it on the table in front of him.

"Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch have developed three interesting projects for the warriors."

Before the competition, no warrior knows the competition event!

These projects, conducted at different times throughout the school year, will test the warriors in many different ways.

It will test their magical talents, courage, reasoning abilities—and of course, their ability to overcome danger!

Upon hearing the last sentence, the auditorium fell silent; it seemed as if everyone had stopped breathing.

"As you already know, three warriors will participate in the competition, selected from three schools," Dumbledore said calmly.

"We will score each person's completed project based on quality, and to be fair, we will remove the highest and lowest scores."

Karkarov pursed his lips, seemingly quite dissatisfied with the rule.

Indeed, when Dumbledore proposed this rule, he vehemently opposed it.

Strangely, the more he opposed it, the more everyone agreed.

How can I disagree? If you oppose it so much, doesn't that mean you'll give others low scores but give your own students high scores?

They have absolutely no manners!

Sitting in his chair, William looked at Karkaroff and couldn't help but laugh.

This was his suggestion, as a precaution against someone as shameless as Karkarov.

Rita didn't think highly of him. Maxim's assessment was also quite apt: a bully who preys on the weak!

We should be wary of people who have no morals.

Dumbledore drew his wand and tapped the wooden box lid three times.

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

The cup itself is unremarkable, but inside it flickers a blue-white flame.

"The one in charge of selecting warriors is a fair selector, namely the Goblet of Fire."

Everyone stared at the cup with curiosity, finding it quite ordinary.

What most people don't know is that two dragons lived inside, one of which destroyed... Venice.

They were bound within the Holy Grail by Merlin's magic, serving as its energy source.

They could not escape, and their power was completely suppressed, almost becoming one with the Holy Grail.

"Every student who wants to run for Warrior must write their name and school on a piece of parchment and drop it into this goblet."

"Dumbledore said."

"Tomorrow night, Halloween night, the Goblet will select the name it believes best represents the students from the three schools."

"Ah—" Dumbledore seemed to suddenly remember something. He smiled and said:

"To prevent underage students from succumbing to temptation," Dumbledore said, "I will place the goblet in the foyer and draw an age line around it."

No one under the age of seventeen may cross this line.

I will make sure... no underage wizard becomes a warrior!

The students immediately erupted in a commotion, loudly discussing the selection process.

It seems the Goblet of Fire can pick out the strongest wizard from each school!

At the Slytherin table, a group of Durmstrang students whispered and murmured amongst themselves.

"We didn't come for nothing this time. The Hogwarts students are all Krum's fans... They're chasing stars, what a bunch of good-for-nothings!" A wizard named Poliaco looked at Krum with envy.

"Yeah, I just asked that idiot Malfoy. Hogwarts changes its Defense Against the Dark Arts professor every year," another person said.

"Our school teaches dark magic, so if you can get selected... you're guaranteed to win, hehe."

"That's right, brothers, we have to work hard... When we get to Hogwarts, we'll show them what we're made of!"

At the Slytherin table, several Durmstrang students whispered.

"Hmph~ Just because you see a few Slytherin students praising Krum, you think all Hogwarts students are like that?"

Not far away, Judy Crouch crossed her arms and sneered.

"Let's talk after we beat the strongest one!"

Poliaco scratched his head and asked, "Who's the best fighter at Hogwarts?!"

"Of course it's Stark, who else would it be but me?" Judy rolled her eyes.

"Age Boundary!"

At the Gryffindor dining table, Fred Weasley's eyes were also shining.

"That's easy. They should be fooled by the aging serum, right? As long as your name is in that cup, you can laugh happily—it can't tell who's seventeen and who's under seventeen!"

Ron leaned closer and asked eagerly, "Is it really going to work? Which of you will try it tomorrow?"

He's so desperate to be a warrior.

That girl named Furong is really pretty. If he can become a warrior and win the championship, he'll confess his feelings!

George patted Ron on the shoulder and said seriously, "Since you're in such a hurry, you'll be the one to test whether the aging agent works tomorrow!"

"No...I won't..." Ron immediately shrank back in fear.

No, Dumbledore said there's an age limit. What if there's danger?

"Little brother, you can't refuse," Fred said with a smile.

"According to the agreement, you're our contracted drug user. Otherwise, why don't you go and repay those Galonns yourself?"

"..."

The students all stood up and walked towards the lounge.

William left with a group of girls, drawing envy, jealousy, and resentment from the others.

"Hibiscus, are you going back to the carriage?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, Mrs. Maxim requires all students to return." Fleur glanced at the main table and said with some regret, "I was hoping to visit your dormitories."

Gabrielle also leaned close to Anne's ear, asking... if she could sneak into the Gryffindor girls' dormitory.

She wanted to sleep with Anne in the Gryffindor girls' dormitory.

Anne's eyes darted around, and she lowered her voice, saying, "I'm afraid it won't work tonight. I'll ask Hermione where she put the Invisibility Cloak."

I'll steal it tomorrow, and then you can come wearing it.

Gabrielle glanced at her sister and nodded vigorously.

William is chatting with Trinity.

"Although Karkaroff wouldn't dare attack you at Hogwarts," William instructed, "it's still best to be careful."

"It's alright. If we really start fighting, I don't know who will come out worse," Treney laughed fearlessly.

William sighed inwardly, realizing that Professor Barbling was right; Trinity was indeed suitable to go to America to help her.

The group parted ways at the intersection, with Anne following behind William and Hermione, dawdling and unwilling to leave. Finally, Hermione managed to shoo her away.

In the end, only he and she remained.

The two skillfully made several turns, avoiding the crowds, and strolled leisurely in a secluded corridor.

"Anne seems unusually obedient today," William remarked, puzzled.

Whenever Anne sees him and Hermione trying to be alone, she tries to sabotage it in every way possible, like a leech that you can't shake off.

Hermione raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "She wanted to steal my Invisibility Cloak for Gabrielle, but she didn't want to annoy me, so she was being so obedient."

"How did you know?" William's curiosity was piqued.

"This is easy." Hermione couldn't hide her smug smile.

During the dinner, Gabrielle asked what the girls' dormitory looked like, how many people could live there, and whether the school would come to check the dormitories.

She was just whispering with Anne, and Anne is suddenly being so obedient... She only acts like this when she needs something from me.

William was somewhat moved.

When they first met, Hermione, unfamiliar with the wizarding world, was no match for Anne. Now, she's completely under Anne's thumb.

Hermione smiled radiantly, took William's arm, and said with a smug look, "Aren't I amazing?"

"Impressive!" William laughed. "So, are you planning to give her an invisibility cloak?"

"Let her steal it if she wants," Hermione scoffed. "I'll just pretend I didn't see it. At most... I'll remind Fleur."

Wow... William's exclamation this time came from the bottom of his heart.

You can offend neither side and still win over both.

"Does the aging agent work?" Hermione asked.

"It won't work." William shook his head. "Professor Dumbledore had already considered this. His age line has a similar effect to a tracking thread, which the aging agent can't hide."

"I see." Hermione hugged William's arm tighter, the weight of which was growing stronger every day.

She leaned on his shoulder and murmured, "Warrior..."

William suddenly put his arm around her waist and asked, "Hermione, do you want to be a warrior?"

"Hmm?" Hermione looked up, puzzled.

"You know, Dumbledore thinks this competition can help train some students," William explained.

Hermione pondered William's words.

"Be more confident." William tugged at Hermione's cheek and gave her a smile.

"You've been undergoing professional combat training with me every night for over two years now."

"If there were no age limit, even if I didn't participate, you would still be the strongest wizard in all three schools... no one could rival you."

Hermione nestled into his arms and whispered, "Is it okay?"

William hugged Hermione and said, "With me here, nothing that happens at Hogwarts... will be a problem."

Hermione nestled against his chest, like a cat, and gave a soft "hmm."

……

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(End of this chapter)