A Certain Magical Hogwarts

Chapter 601 Hermione's Comeback Against All Odds

For William, the Warriors' roster selection is a minor matter.

As agreed with Dumbledore, each of the four houses must have someone.

This is also why Qiu and Cedric were sent to talk.

If all three houses have champions, but Slytherin doesn't... where does that leave Professor Snape's depressed face?!

He must be furious... An angry Potions Professor will turn into a point-deduction maniac, indiscriminately deducting points from other houses.

He would also talk sarcastically all day long, constantly saying things like "Ha~ that's what a warrior is," for ten or eight years.

Most importantly, Hogwarts is a unified whole. Dumbledore does not want any particular house to be isolated.

If you want to play... you have to play with Slytherins too.

Given this situation, William's approach was quite brutal: simply sell it. Sell it to whoever in Slytherin has the money and who's the fool...

These days, wizards as rich and foolish as Malfoy are a rare sight.

So when he saw Cedric's message that Malfoy had spent 3500 Galleons, he immediately replied that it was too little, it should be at least 5,000.

Cedric stared at the words, speechless for a long time.

He often felt out of place when he was with William and Cho, which turned out to be because he wasn't ruthless enough.

William and Hermione, no longer concerned with the warriors, quickly arrived at Hagrid's cabin.

Early in the morning, Hagrid wrote more than a dozen letters urging them to gather at the cabin, as if something big had happened.

William wasn't sure if it was a big deal or not, but he saw Hagrid carrying Professor Flitwick to the university hospital near the end of the dinner last night.

Thinking about it... it might be related to our own dean.

William knocked on Hagrid's door, and a low barking sound immediately came from inside.

"You two are finally here!" Hagrid exclaimed, opening the door immediately. "I thought you'd forgotten where I live!"

"We're so busy, Hagrid—" Hermione stopped abruptly halfway through her sentence, looked up at Hagrid, and was clearly too surprised to speak.

Hagrid was wearing his best Armani suit.

This outfit was certainly not his old, ugly brown suit; it was a Christmas gift from Roy to Hagrid.

He had someone take his measurements and then ordered a custom-made one, so it fit him perfectly.

The problem was that, just like when he first went to William's house, Hagrid tried to straighten his hair, using a lot of machine lubricant.

Wait... what's that smell?!

Ya Ya ran out in terror, seemingly unable to stand the smell inside.

The room smelled really bad, with a strong cologne scent, along with a lot of malt liquor and rock bread aromas.

These flavors mixed together are like fermented beans; just one whiff of them makes you want to vomit.

So, Hagrid's current state can be described as follows:

He was wearing a suit, had his hair in pigtails, a floral tie around his neck, and smelled disgusting.

This outfit didn't suit Hagrid. Hermione stared at him blankly for a moment, then clearly decided not to comment.

"Who are you going to see?" William asked.

"It's not that I'm meeting anyone... it's just that I suddenly feel I should pay more attention to my appearance." Hagrid said, blushing.

Pay attention to your appearance... I didn't see you paying attention to your appearance when you were drinking with those old ladies at the Leaky Cauldron.

"You two know her... do you think she... might like me?" he whispered. "And my outfit?"

"Who?" William raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me it's Mrs. Maxim?"

Hagrid gave a barely audible "hmm," seemingly quite shy.

William and Hermione exchanged a quick glance.

"But I remember you didn't say that before," William said, squinting.

"You told us... how did you say it again, Hermione?"

Hermione quickly mimicked Hagrid's tone, saying, "'I will never love any woman in my life, no matter how beautiful she is.'"

"Even if that guy named Maxim stood in front of me, I wouldn't be tempted at all..."

Hermione, with her unparalleled memory, relentlessly lashed out at Hagrid.

"I was young and naive back then!" Hagrid rubbed his cheek.

"Now that I've grown up, I know I'm not young anymore and it's time to find a woman who cares about me and understands me."

I think she's quite nice.

"..."

Those words were spoken only last year. Has Hagrid matured in just one year?

"William, don't doubt my resolve!" Hagrid said hoarsely. "I've truly fallen in love with her, Miss Maxim."

Hagrid looked out the window; he could see Beauxbatons' carriage from there.

Hagrid's expression became utterly entranced, his eyes misty, and he twisted his large hands around his collar, saying:

She surpasses all the fire dragons in the world;

She's cuter than any hippogriff!

No conch shell could compare to a single strand of her beautiful hair!

"..."

Here comes Hagrid's wonderful metaphor! It's probably about 50/50 with Newt's metaphor.

Are all the love confessions from magizoologists this hardcore?

William and Hermione decided to change the subject, and he asked, "Hagrid, how's the Blasttail doing?"

"In the pumpkin patch outside," Hagrid said, sounding a little unhappy.

"They've grown enormous; each one is now at least three feet long."

There was only one problem: they started killing each other.

"What?!" William stood up. "How is this possible!"

Hearing this devastating news was like a bolt from the blue.

Hermione pursed her lips, trying hard not to laugh.

"Oh, this is terrible, isn't it, William?" she said gleefully.

"That's terrible," Hagrid said sadly, "but it's okay, I've separated them and put them in boxes now. There are probably only about twenty left."

This isn't a problem?

Last time there were seventy or eighty, and overnight you're telling me there are only twenty left?

William and Hermione sat for a while before leaving the cabin.

Hagrid wasn't there to discuss anything; he was just there to find out Maxim's preferences.

Moreover, upon seeing Mrs. Maxim emerge from her carriage, he immediately abandoned William and Hermione and ran to strike up a conversation with her.

This intense sycophantic attitude is even more Harry-like than Cedric's.

As William walked along the road, he was still thinking about the fried snails.

He also had a bet with Hermione.

A perfectly favorable situation was inexplicably turned around. It's like a cooked dragon flying away.

That won't do.

He asked softly, "Hermione, do we still stand by what you said last time?"

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked, feigning confusion.

"It's about... the bet," William reminded him.

Hermione asked knowingly, "What about the bet? Explain yourself! My memory isn't very good."

"..."

William said helplessly, "You proposed a bet between us... In the end, you win, but we can each make one condition that we must fulfill."

"But the situation is different now; the tamarins are almost all dead."

What goes around comes around. Hermione, now triumphant, happily said, "Why should I agree to a game I'm guaranteed to win?"

"..."

William chuckled awkwardly.

He used to be in the right and refused to agree no matter what, but now it's her turn to refuse. What a world!

"However... it's not like I can't agree." Hermione's lips curled up, and she smiled like a little fox.

William looked up quickly and asked, "Really?"

"Really, but the price has gone up." Hermione quickened her pace, put her hands behind her back, and turned around, her eyes sparkling.

You need to agree to two conditions.

Gazing at the cheerful steps of the young girl, William smiled knowingly, his dark green eyes slightly narrowed, his expression gentle.

……

……

An empty classroom in the castle,

"Is this the final Warriors roster?"

William took the list and looked it over carefully.

Beauxbatons had six men, Durmstrang had eight.

These two schools alone earned them a whopping 50,000 Galleons.

Indeed, we need to hold more events.

William recalled what he had read in "Hogwarts: A History of the School":

The four magic schools—Hogwarts, Cordostadt, the School of Magic, and Vagadot—will host a Potions Tournament.

The winning school will receive a golden crucible.

Speaking of which, this competition, like the Three Kingdoms Tournament, hasn't been held for many years.

Dumbledore's business is terrible. Ever since he became headmaster, nobody wants to hang out with Hogwarts anymore.

How can we make money if we don't hold competitions?

This kind of match can include Harry and Neville.

Especially Nawei.

All he needs to do is blow up the cauldron, causing other wizards from different schools to get injured, unable to participate in the competition, or mentally break down.

Hogwarts is guaranteed to win.

William glanced at the list again.

Cedric doesn't need to worry about that; he's an adult wizard and just needs to participate normally.

With his ability, he is definitely qualified for a spot on the Warriors.

Others needed William to pull strings behind the scenes.

He glanced at the twins again.

"Are you two sure you want to compete for one spot?"

"That's right, I think it's time to determine who's better between George and me," Fred laughed.

"Yes, this is a great opportunity!" George said earnestly.

The two suddenly decided not to participate at the same time, but instead to use the Goblet of Fire to determine who was stronger.

Indeed... twins are always inseparable, and everyone wants to know who is more capable.

"Alright," William said softly, "In that case, not counting Cedric... Hogwarts only has five champions."

Five warriors... which means we need to add more.

Harry and Ron, who had already been discharged from the hospital, both felt their hearts pounding.

They learned from the twins that William could break the age barrier and secure a spot on the Warriors roster.

I came along to take a look because I also want to become a warrior!

Ron, in particular, stared longingly at William.

"William, do you think the two of us are a good match?" Harry asked quickly, suppressing his excitement.

William shook his head. "Harry, you're not up to it. Dumbledore strictly warned you not to become a warrior."

"Oh, I see..." Harry was utterly disappointed.

"Me? What about me, William!" Ron swallowed hard. "Do you think I'm okay?!"

William looked at Ron.

Even disregarding the fact that Ron is the twin brother, just considering that Malfoy and the captain of Slytherin are both capable of buying their way into the top ranks.

William had no reason to refuse Ron.

No more than one person on either side.

But he still asked cautiously, "Ron, are you sure you want to participate? Many people have died in the Triwizard Tournament; it's very dangerous."

Once you've decided to participate, there's no way to back out. It'll be too late to regret it later.

"No, I won't regret it!" Ron readily agreed.

This is a warrior!

Once you become a warrior, you can enjoy the spotlight.

Only a fool would regret it!

William nodded and said, "Alright, since you've decided... let's add one more spot."

Ron looked at William with excitement. From that moment on, he had officially bought the title of William's little brother.

"Go and make a commotion to draw everyone to the playground," William instructed.

Everyone excitedly went outside.

……

……

Ten minutes later, William and Hermione walked into the empty Great Hall.

He stood outside the age line, waving his wand.

The blue and white flames in the Holy Grail suddenly began to flicker, the tongues of fire swirling around and crossing the age line, sweeping away all the dozens of names in Hermione's hands.

William said softly, "This competition... will definitely be very interesting."

……

……

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(End of this chapter)