From Azkaban to Hogwarts.

-

"To admit defeat?"

When Karkarov heard these words in his own tent, he was speechless.

He thought Mrs. Maxim was always someone who would do anything to win, but he never expected that she would come and talk to him about completely surrendering to Hogwarts.

"Losing one game has nothing to do with failure. I will come back with my students in five years."

Mrs. Maxim shook her head. She wasn't going to admit defeat to Hogwarts so easily. If she lost this time, she could try again next time—Fleur's sister would be participating in the tournament in five years, and she had an ace up her sleeve.

"It's as if we're afraid to fight."

Karkarov chuckled softly. "Do the same next time. In a four-person match, if they hadn't had such a huge advantage in the second game, their disgusting delaying tactics would never have succeeded."

“We’ll talk about the individual matches later,” Mrs. Maxim said, not intending to fall for it—the first match had shown that Durmstrang’s group fighting skills were indeed on a whole other level. “What about five years from now? For now, we just need to quickly decide on the champion and then agree on the date for the next match.”

"Yes, we Durmstrang people have always been able to face our mistakes squarely."

Karkarov nodded, then turned to his students, "Krum, get ready. We'll congratulate the champions in a grand manner—the Three Kingdoms Tournament championship is, of course, a matter for the three of us to resolve."

-

"Recognize the champion?"

When Professor McGonagall's office was filled with so many guests, she was stunned—she really hadn't expected her old rivals to come and admit their defeat.

Everyone here has a strong tradition of cheating, so she really didn't think of it that way.

"Of course, we acknowledge the championship; we admit you won."

Karkaroff acted very shrewdly.

Since he was ready to concede defeat, he adopted a very humble attitude. "So, Professor McGonagall, I'll trouble you to find Albus, and then the three of us will jointly sign a document to end this year's Triwizard Tournament, so that this competition can be recorded in each of our libraries."

This decision was quite formal. Although Professor McGonagall could have made the final decision herself, she still began writing to Dumbledore, urging him to return to the school as soon as possible to handle the follow-up matters.

"Please wait a moment, Albus will be here in a while."

Since it concerned the school's reputation, Fudge's letter could only be left unwritten. The other two years had been marked by easy surrender, so why was Hogwarts so afraid to win?

If word gets out, what will be the point of the upcoming three-way competition? They'll be at a disadvantage from the start.

Just as everyone in the office was drinking and waiting for Dumbledore to arrive, there was another knock on Professor McGonagall's office door.

As the door opened, Ilfamoni's four champions appeared in the doorway. After a moment of slight surprise, they revealed their intentions with a touch of embarrassment—to acknowledge Hogwarts' victory as an opponent.

'Whatever those guys want to do, they don't want the game to end. All we can do is rush to finish the game—that's the only way we can help the principal.'

"Furthermore, this is something the principal and his team have always hoped for: to establish a foothold internationally and lock us into the top three competition. If we leave now, this uncertain competition will most likely be the last one our school participates in."

"We can't take our defeat and shame home. We must acknowledge our failure and remember that there's always a chance to recover. If we don't succeed this time, we'll try again next time, and the time after that. We'll eventually win again, and we'll eventually wash away our shame. Therefore, I hope everyone can go together, acknowledge our failure, and preserve hope for future participation."

...

As the four warriors of Iphamoni anxiously awaited responses from the other three schools, a soft bang was heard outside, followed by another knock on Professor McGonagall's office.

The person who came this time was Dumbledore, who looked travel-worn.

Good afternoon, Albus.

Karkarov stood up and greeted him.

Then came the others present—Dumbledore responded to each of them, and as his gaze swept over the four Ilfamoni warriors, Dumbledore nodded slightly, then said nothing more.

...

"So... is this how we conclude the match?"

"We're fine."

Iphamoni's student mustered his courage and was the first to respond.

Durmstrang has no objection.

"Beauxbatons approves of the results of this competition."

Mrs. Maxim nodded one last time.

After signing and taking an oath, the Triwizard Tournament officially ended when the retrieved Goblet of Fire pressed an ugly pattern onto the parchment bearing the names of the four schools.

Chapter 494 Today is a good day

Lost?

Inside the minister's office, Fudge looked at the report in astonishment. "We handed the person over to their Aurors, a three-person team escorting a wizard who lost his wand, and then they lost him?"

“What’s so strange about that? They’re quite good at making a fool of themselves—” The Auror who came to deliver the report showed no surprise at all. “You should know, Minister, that Grindelwald escaped from their prison back then, so it’s not surprising that a school principal would escape now.”

"Is that so?"

“Of course, Minister,” Auror, who was handing over the report, laughed first. “That’s absolutely true. To be precise, their senior investigator was first switched by Grindelwald. With Mr. Newt’s help, they found Grindelwald, but then Grindelwald escaped during the subsequent transport.”

"But we've finished our job anyway—they didn't agree to let us escort them, so if anything goes wrong, we'll have to take responsibility ourselves..."

“Mocking our opponents doesn’t make us any more noble, Hardy,” Fudge said, straightening his expression and becoming serious. “We should try to remind them and ask them if they need help, instead of laughing at them here.”

Just as the Auror named Hardy was feeling deflated from the Minister's reprimand, Fudge reached out and patted the Auror on the shoulder. "But I still have to commend you. You did a fantastic job this time, fully demonstrating the style that the British Ministry of Magic should have."

"Now go to the logistics department to collect your team's 1,000 Galleons bonus, and then collect a week's leave. Go."

"Yes, Minister!"

-

"champion?"

Inside the administrator's office, Filch glanced at Professor McGonagall, then at the notes he had just finished writing, and fell into deep thought.

He had just given a comprehensive explanation of the reasons, time, and experience for the four special contribution awards, and was preparing to add them to his file—but now he's the champion again?

However, the championship trophy is definitely more attractive than the special contribution award medal, but...

“Okay, Professor, I’ll make room for that Triwizard Tournament trophy right away, and then prepare a detailed report to add to the file.”

"Thank you for your hard work, Filch."

Professor McGonagall nodded. "In addition, we plan to hold a celebration after our guests leave, which also requires preparation."

"Don't worry, Professor McGonagall, I'll arrange everything before the holidays!"

“That’s great, Filch. I still need to inform Professor Binns… Hopefully, the students won’t get too excited during the celebration; our guests haven’t left yet…”

“No problem, Professor, I will keep a close eye on the Weasley twins.”

“That would be great, thank you for your help, Filch.”

-

"Pack your things, get ready to leave."

Ilfamoni's children began packing their belongings in a daze—according to the arrangements made by the Magical Congress personnel who arrived later, after leaving Hogwarts, they would transfer to the Knight Bus in Hogsmeade Village to reach the Muggle airport, and then charter a plane back to the United States…

This arrangement was outrageous, but no one had the heart to complain. The principal was still in custody, and it was unknown what charges he would face. As for them, they had tasted defeat in the three-way competition, getting thoroughly thrashed by the other three schools in various ways…

Whether it's transportation, exam-taking strategies, or castles and libraries...

Let's go...

Led by the commissioner, they crossed the gate and headed towards the entrance of Hogwarts.

As they passed by the gates of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, they saw students from both schools packing their belongings. After a brief farewell, they headed toward the gates of Hogwarts at the urging of the commissioner.

The giant warden of Hogwarts was already standing at the gate, opening the magical door for them. Just as they sighed and prepared to leave, a figure rushed over, only revealing a slight smile when he saw the door open.

"Wait a minute, Tom, what are you doing here?"

"She ran away, she ran away, Nora ran away!"

The wizard named Tom, who was being questioned, spoke hastily, then looked distressed, as if he had just realized what terrible thing he had said.

The students were slightly puzzled before realizing who Nora was referring to.

"The principal is alright!"

A student cheered, but was quickly and sternly stopped by the commissioner, who said, "Shut up! Are you showing sympathy for a criminal?"

"The principal is alright!"

More cheers erupted, causing the commissioner to blush. He tried to say something more, but several leading students held him firmly in place with their wands.

“Alright, alright,” he quickly changed his tune, “but if you keep going like this, our car won’t wait!”

Several prefects in the crowd discussed it for a while, and after letting the students celebrate for a bit, they helped to quiet them down, line them up, and then head towards Hogsmeade Village.

Hagrid shook his head and watched their commotion from afar. After confirming that the newcomer had no intention of coming in, he rushed back to his house impatiently, destroying many newly grown saplings and plants along the way.

-

"Anyway, Krum did a good job, didn't he, Albus?"

Karkaroff shook hands with Dumbledore, then walked toward his ship, waving once on the deck. "I'll be back. We won't let Hogwarts win the next tournament."

Having said that, the ship began to rapidly transform and then submerged into the water, leaving Dumbledore no chance to reply.

Just as Dumbledore was about to make a joke, before Professor McGonagall could even give him a warning look, a carriage appeared in the sky above Hogwarts, followed by another…

"It seems Mrs. Maxim isn't in a very good mood..."

Dumbledore said with a smile, seemingly unconcerned about her leaving without saying goodbye...

However, Professor McGonagall was unusual this time and didn't say anything. Instead, she whispered to Dumbledore and left, leaving behind a group of professors who were just there to watch.

"Last bit of overtime before the holiday... The competition took so many twists and turns..."

Professor Taylor yawned, "If I'd known the third match wouldn't be this bloodless, I should have brought Afra to see it. She'd been nagging me for ages to come see the Triwizard Tournament..."

Do you have some misconception about the word "bloody"?

William looked at Professor Taylor in surprise—were those snakes that Monta conjured up that morning really something a child Afra's age could see?

"I really don't know why they had to leave so soon... the semester is still a while away..."

Adams asked another question in a low voice.

"Afraid of a raid..." William stretched, clenching his fists in front of his chest. "Theoretically, it's possible to keep it, but what if someone comes to arrest Karkaroff tomorrow, and then someone issues a warrant for Madame Maxim the day after? That would be really too..."