A Certain Magical Hogwarts

Chapter 602 X-Strong Championship!

A grand fireworks display drew everyone to the playground.

Dumbledore stood in the crowd, head tilted back, and gently clapped his hands, saying:

"So beautiful! I haven't seen such beautiful fireworks in a long time."

I heard there was a fireworks display like that at the World Cup final. It's a pity I wasn't there.

Mrs. Maxim looked at the dragon pattern in the sky, shook her head and said, "Professor Dumbledore, I have no intention of commenting on your school management philosophy."

But if this kind of rule violation happened at Beauxbatons, I would make the troublemaker... regret doing it!

Dumbledore smiled slightly:

A wise man once told me: Madness is a game for young people.

Why be so demanding?

"That person certainly can't be called a wise man," Maxim scoffed. "The 'wise man' you're talking about, you wouldn't happen to be yourself, would you?"

"No, it's Nicole."

Maxim rolled his eyes at Dumbledore and quickly said, "Never mind what I said."

Nicolas Flamel was not only a distinguished alumnus of Beauxbatons, but also the alumnus who donated the most to the school.

Why is Beauxbatons' scholarship higher than Hogwarts'?

Relying on the French Ministry of Magic?

That school has been closed for a long time.

They themselves are short of funds; I heard that the 10,000 Galleons they compensated William and Hermione last year was deducted from the Auror Stability Fund.

The Ministry of Magic doesn't invest much in education, and Beauxbatons' high welfare benefits are mainly due to Nico's donations.

This approachable wizard... he is none other than the First Wise Man of Beauxbatons!!

"Professor Dumbledore, who do you think will be the champion of Hogwarts?" Maxim asked, changing the subject.

"Hmm...that's hard to say." Dumbledore tapped his hands together lightly, fingers interlaced.

"Hogwarts has so many excellent students... many of them could become warriors."

"But there can only be one champion, right? Does Hogwarts have two?"

"Of course not, I can assure you of that..." Dumbledore smiled.

"There will never be two warriors at Hogwarts."

"Unfortunately... no matter who it is, they can't compare to Krum." Karkaroff couldn't help but interject.

"Really?" Maxim scoffed. "If Krum is so capable, why are you against Stark participating?"

"Am I the only one who objects?" Karkaroff asked, his face grim. "You objected too!"

Upon seeing the Venice tragedy, Maxim immediately expressed his opposition.

What she meant, translated, was:

If you don't ban Stark, I'm quitting the game.

This hero, enhanced dozens of times and surpassing other minor wizards by n versions, is something you at Hogwarts can only play... but others won't have the same gaming experience.

This isn't a true hack-and-slash game! It's a genuine platformer!

It's all about evenly matched strength.

Karkarov thought so too.

Forget those warriors, he felt he was no match for Stark!

Such a prodigy... it would be the biggest injustice for him to participate in the competition!

"I objected because I know how capable William is, I knew that after the Paris attacks..." Maxim laughed, his tone sarcastic:

"But I'm not as confident as you are, thinking that my school will definitely win."

Besides... you opposed Stark's participation, yet you yourself are competing as a wizard in your thirties..."

"Krum is only seventeen, his birthday was just before summer vacation!" Karkaroff growled. "How many times do I have to tell you, he just looks older than he is!"

"Oh." Maxim chuckled. "I didn't say Krum, look at you... what's the rush?"

Seeing the sharp-tongued Maxim, Karkarov jumped up and punched her knee.

However, fighting is out of the question.

With my small frame, at such close range, I might just be picked up and torn apart!

Dumbledore, who had started the whole conversation, quietly stepped back and continued to leisurely watch the dazzling fireworks.

He even secretly drifted off into his own thoughts for a while.

Anne once asked him about his retirement plans, and he said he wanted to go to a senior citizens' community to spend his later years in peace.

Anne said...you can come and stay at her house.

Dumbledore thought it was indeed a good idea; of course, being an old wizard selling fireworks wouldn't be bad either.

He wore a tall, pointed blue hat and a long grey robe, and pulled a carriage filled with various fireworks, wandering around the world...

After the fireworks, the Halloween dinner began again.

With two consecutive days of banquets, people didn't enjoy the elaborately prepared dishes as much as they usually did.

Of course, the more important reason is that everyone's attention is not on the food, but on the Goblet of Fire.

The Goblet of Fire has been moved and now stands in front of an empty chair on the faculty desk.

The students whispered amongst themselves, their eyes fixed on the Goblet of Fire.

Everyone is very curious about who the Warriors will be.

As time passed, people in the auditorium craned their necks to look, and every face showed anxiety.

Everyone was restless, constantly standing up to see if Dumbledore had finished eating.

Whether on purpose or not, the principal ate very slowly and chatted with others from time to time.

Finally, the golden plate was restored to its spotless state, and the noise in the auditorium suddenly rose considerably.

Dumbledore immediately stood up, and the Great Hall fell silent once more.

Karkarov and Mrs. Maxim, standing on either side, were just as nervous and expectant as everyone else.

They all looked forward to their school's one and only warrior!

"Well, it's time for the goblet to make a decision," said Dumbledore.

"After the Warriors' names are announced, I want them to walk to the top of the auditorium, then down the faculty table, and into the room next door."

He pointed to the door behind the faculty desk.

"They will receive initial guidance there."

Dumbledore pulled out his wand and waved it dramatically.

Except for the candle inside the jack-o'-lantern, all the other candles went out, plunging the auditorium into a state of semi-darkness.

The Goblet of Fire emitted a dazzling light, brighter than anything else in the entire auditorium.

The blue-white flames, sparking with light, were almost blinding, like a laser pointer.

Everyone watched and waited.

The blue and white flames suddenly turned red, and sparks crackled and popped out.

A tongue of fire shot into the air, from which flew a piece of charred parchment.

Dumbledore caught the piece of parchment.

"The warrior of Durmstrang," he said in a clear and forceful tone, "Viktor Krum."

Applause and cheers filled the entire auditorium.

Krum stood up from Slytherin's table and walked toward Dumbledore.

"Fantastic, Viktor!" Karkaroff roared.

"I knew you were destined to be a warrior! No one else can compare to you!"

Many of Durmstrang's students shrugged, waiting to give Karkaroff a good surprise.

A few seconds later, the flames turned red again. Propelled by the flames, the second parchment leaped out of the cup.

"The heroine of Beauxbatons," said Dumbledore, "is Fleur Delacour!"

"I'm going in first, William!" Fleur hugged William excitedly, then stood up and gracefully walked between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables.

The two female students buried their heads in their arms and cried sadly, tears streaming down their faces.

William squinted.

He now suspects that... Anne and Gabrielle chose Beauxbatons students who were all quite weak.

Soon, the Great Hall fell silent again, and it was time for the Hogwarts champions to take their turn...

The goblet turned red again, sparks flew, and flames shot high into the air. Dumbledore pulled the third parchment from the tip of the flames.

"The champion of Hogwarts!" he cried out, "is Cedric Diggory!"

Every Hufflepuff was jumping up and down, screaming and stomping their feet.

William and Cho also applauded.

Cedric was indeed the strongest of all the adult wizards at Hogwarts.

However, on the other hand, apart from William and Hermione, there couldn't be any underage wizards more powerful than him.

Cedric smiled broadly and walked toward the room behind the faculty desk.

It took Dumbledore a long time to quiet everyone down and get them to listen to him.

But before he could speak, the flame in the goblet turned red again.

Sparks crackled and popped as a long tongue of fire suddenly shot into the air, carrying a piece of parchment.

Dumbledore stretched out a long, slender hand, grasped the parchment, and showed a "shocked" expression.

"The fourth champion... Hermione Granger!"

Hermione calmly stood up, gently raised her chin, glanced at William in the distance, smiled at him, and walked towards the small room.

William clapped, and Qiu clapped along with him.

Gryffindor seemed to explode, and everyone immediately cheered.

Hermione Granger...the youngest recipient of the French Order of Valor, the Italian Order of Magic First Class, and the Order of the Doge of Venice.

In the last two years, the most popular witch in Britain has become famous all over the world.

He and Stark were known as the two geniuses of England.

The true champions of Hogwarts were undoubtedly the Starks.

Even if he hadn't participated, he should have received the medal twice, for saving Granger in Paris and Venice respectively.

Unfortunately... she was also a minor.

Everyone thought Hermione wouldn't participate. Unexpectedly, she lived up to her legendary witch reputation, truly exceeding Dumbledore's age limit.

This was completely unexpected, yet perfectly logical.

Dumbledore raised his hand, as if to say something.

Then the Goblet of Fire burst into flames again.

"The fifth warrior... Qiu Zhang!"

This time, instead of cheering, everyone stared at Qiu in astonishment.

What's going on?

Granger is understandable; after all, she's capable and has a huge reputation. But who is this Cho Chang?

fraud!!

Before anyone could even get angry, another piece of parchment appeared in Dumbledore's hand.

"The sixth warrior...George Weasley!"

"Sorry, bro. Looks like I'm a bit better than you."

George patted Fred's hair triumphantly and ran quickly toward the cabin.

Now no one was angry anymore; the students were all dumbfounded.

It was supposed to be a three-way battle, and you already have six warriors!

But then, an even more dramatic scene unfolded:

A dozen or so parchment sheets shot out of the Goblet of Fire like bullets.

The auditorium was deathly silent.

……

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(End of this chapter)