Spellcasting Gods

As the days passed, the Triwizard Tournament finally began with the arrival of students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang Magic Schools.

Just like the cry of Gero, the Pirate King, before his execution, the students of Hogwarts were also drawn to this dangerous competition that could bring fame, fortune, and glory. Almost everyone longed to become a warrior and represent their school to fight and dominate the battlefield.

Unfortunately, Headmaster Dumbledore quickly and ruthlessly shattered the younger students' illusions by personally setting an age limit. Unless the protective magic could be broken, even throwing their names into the Goblet of Fire became an impossible task.

Seeing the amusing scene of wailing and lamentation in the auditorium, Zhang Cheng, who had kept a low profile throughout the semester, suddenly stood up and placed a badge next to the Goblet of Fire in full view of everyone.

moment!

All the adult wizards felt a powerful repulsive force dispel the magical protection that restricted the age for registration.

Upon realizing this, Albus Dumbledore immediately questioned him with a serious expression: "My dear Zhang, I want to know what you mean by doing this? Are you questioning my decision as headmaster?"

“No, Headmaster, I just think you’re being a bit too harsh on the students. You know, for wizards, age has always represented ability. I believe some younger students are fully capable of spellcasting skills that surpass those of older students. For example, Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter. I guarantee that even among the graduates, there aren’t many who can surpass them. Are you going to deprive them of their free will and rights just because of this ridiculous age issue?” Zhang Cheng explained calmly, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Although he didn't use any words with strong emotional connotations, anyone who wasn't a fool could see the confrontational attitude between the two.

“But they are all still children! Moreover, great strength is not the same as mental maturity! You are doing something very dangerous,” Dumbledore retorted, not to be outdone.

“Child?! Is this your excuse for depriving others of their freedom? I'm sorry, Principal, we don't live in the dark Middle Ages, and you have no right to force anyone to make a choice.”

At this point, Zhang Cheng opened his arms and shouted loudly to the students below the stage who were eagerly waiting: "My dear students of Hogwarts! Tell me! Do you yearn to make every choice in your life according to your own will, or do you let others make choices for you?"

"Own!"

"That's right! We must make our own choice!"

"Freedom! We want freedom!"

……

Suddenly, the students, who had long been suppressed by school rules, finally erupted with unprecedented rebellious sentiments.

Admiring the chaotic situation he had created, Zhang Cheng turned around and stared at the old man's angry eyes, saying meaningfully, "Look, this is their choice. I'm sorry, dear principal, but I'm afraid this time you can no longer suppress the students' free will like a tyrant before."

"You're playing with fire!" Dumbledore warned gravely.

“No, it is you who is playing with fire, Headmaster. Alright, put away that terrifying expression, don’t forget we have guests.” Zhang Cheng glanced fearlessly at Ms. Olim Maxim, who had half-giant blood, and Igor Karkarov, who was sitting in his seat looking like he was watching a good show.

"I swear, I will expel you at the end of this semester," Dumbledore solemnly declared.

Zhang Cheng shrugged nonchalantly and replied with a sneer, "Is that so? I was just thinking of getting you removed from your position as principal. Let's wait and see who has the last laugh."

Upon hearing this, Dumbledore's pupils contracted sharply, and he began to deeply regret the decision he had made two years ago.

He never dreamed that an Easterner who seemed to have no connections could, in just two years, work closely with the nobles of the British magical world, creating one huge problem after another for him, and now escalating to the point of being a real threat.

Ultimately, this brief confrontation ended with Zhang Cheng emerging victorious.

After all, even the principal couldn't go against the wishes of nearly 90% of the students. He could only grit his teeth and let the badge remove the age restriction, allowing every student to have the right to register for the Triwizard Tournament.

Clearly, this was the first time that the over 100-year-old Dumbledore had experienced the terrifying power of the word "freedom."

It's important to understand that in the world of ordinary people, the United States has used this slogan to launch countless wars to maintain its own interests and hegemony, plunging several countries into chaos, famine, and war, and causing the deaths of millions of innocent people.

Interestingly, even in the internet age, where news and information are highly developed, there is still a large group of idiots who believe that airplanes, tanks, cannons, and fleets bring freedom—a freedom more precious than survival…

Chapter 0769 Live Experiments

"Professor, your speech yesterday was absolutely brilliant."

"That's right! From today onwards, I will be your most loyal follower and admirer!"

"Freedom! What a wonderful word! I wish I could have more of it!"

"Yes! We should vote to decide which school rules should be kept and which should be thrown into the dustbin of history. This is no longer the ancient, dark Middle Ages!"

……

The next day, during his magic practice class, Zhang Cheng was immediately greeted with a warm welcome from countless students.

After all, in their eyes, he was the only adult in the school who was willing to stand up for himself and confront the principal, so he easily won the favor of rebellious teenagers.

These students, who have not yet truly experienced the harshness of the world, do not understand that many times, things that seem to make them happy are not necessarily good, and things that seem to make them unhappy are not necessarily bad.

Zhang Cheng's reason for doing this was very simple: to begin vying with Dumbledore for influence in the school, especially for the support of the students who had been neglected on a regular basis.

In this way, if the headmaster is dismissed by the Ministry of Magic for some reason, he will have the opportunity to use this support to completely control the school, and no matter how many professors support Dumbledore, they will be powerless to do so.

It's important to understand that power has never been about quantity, but rather a contest between wisdom and shamelessness.

Especially in modern society, whoever can better deceive the lower classes can win more support and become the ruler who is high above.

Whether they fulfill their promises or try to delay and deceive after taking power is another matter entirely.

For the entire class period, Zhang Cheng patiently listened to these overly excited young people discuss how to change the school's outdated and backward state through their own efforts. Some radical individuals even proposed establishing a student council to manage daily affairs themselves, instead of being manipulated by the principal and professors.

He merely offered an encouraging smile without offering any comment or opinion, but the occasional flash of contempt and disdain in his eyes betrayed his true thoughts.

After finally getting through get out of class, he quietly returned to the laboratory located in the castle's basement.

As soon as you pass through the entrance, the first thing you see is Hermione standing in front of the lab table, testing the blood sample taken from Ron after his transformation.

"So, did you find anything?" Zhang Cheng asked with a half-smile.

He was eagerly anticipating how this strong-willed girl would react when the truth hidden behind the massive experimental data was finally revealed.

Completely corrupted and willingly becoming his own lover?

Unable to escape the torment of his conscience, he suffered a mental breakdown and went insane.

Neither of them would be beyond his expectations.

“A lot! Unlike the black substance you gave me last time, this blood contains an unusually strong life force. It can even make the test mice extremely aggressive, and they can grow to the size of a dog in just a few hours.” To prove her description, Hermione pointed to the mutated black mouse in the cage not far away.

With its sharp teeth, it had already bitten through the inner cage made of wire mesh and was constantly spewing out a red, magma-like substance, trying to melt the outer iron pillar, which was as thick as three fingers.

"Quite astonishing! Strictly speaking, this can no longer be considered a rat, can it?" Zhang Cheng exclaimed as he raised the Supreme Authority disguised as a magic wand and shot out a stun beam, which made the mutated giant rat behave.

“These are the test results. I found six substances in the blood that may be related to the mutation. If we want to go further, we may need to use monkeys or chimpanzees,” Hermione suggested with a complicated expression.

As a kind-hearted girl, she was clearly unable to accept the cruelty of human experimentation and therefore had to offer alternative solutions.

"Don't worry, leave the rest to me." Zhang Cheng smiled gently and bent down to kiss the other's sensitive earlobe.

Amidst rapid breathing and groans, Hermione quickly forgot about the human experimentation, immersing herself completely in the stimulation and pleasure brought by intimate contact.

The two lingered for more than twenty minutes before she reluctantly turned and left, clutching a thick stack of notes, intending to quickly take a shower and change out of her soaked shorts when no one was looking.

She even suspected that if things continued to develop at this pace, she would soon completely lose her self-control and abandon the last line of defense she had been holding onto.

Watching the girl disappear completely at the end of the pipe, Zhang Cheng, without turning his head, instructed the house-elf hiding in the corner: "Dobby, you should have heard what Granger just said. Bring me back twenty living people before midnight, at least two wizards. Also, remember, you'd better be careful; I don't want to cause too much of a commotion."

“As you wish, great and evil master.” Dobby bowed deeply, then turned and passed through a portal, appearing in Peckham, one of the most dangerous areas of London.

Located south of the Thames, this area has no direct subway access or bustling skyscrapers; instead, it is home to throngs of poor people, illegal immigrants, and rampant criminal gangs.

Due to the extremely poor public security situation, there isn't even a decent supermarket in the area. After dark, street thugs can be seen everywhere, and they will stop any strangers who appear, trying to get some cash from them.

In places like this, even if several people go missing, it won't attract the attention of the police.

Using invisibility magic as cover, Dobby quickly circled the area twice, finally locking onto a small group. He rushed in with lightning speed, knocked everyone down with a Stunning Charm, stuffed them into a leather suitcase modified with an Infinite Extension Charm, snapped his fingers, and Apparated to Knockturn Alley.

Whether by coincidence or luck, just as he was about to ambush one or two dark wizards who had come to conduct illegal transactions, three figures completely shrouded in cloaks suddenly emerged from Borgin Burke's shop, looking around mysteriously, completely unaware of the house-elves hiding in the corner.

Dobby, of course, wouldn't let such a golden opportunity slip by. He immediately shot a disarming spell at the nearest guy, and then used a soul-stealing spell to control another wizard to attack his companion. The latter was caught off guard and immediately fell straight to the ground.

In the blink of an eye, three wizards who came under the cover of night to sell dark magic items fell into his hands.

Seeing the shock and confusion on their faces, the house-elf revealed a chilling smile, muttering in a voice only he could hear, "Ah! Three dark wizards! Master will surely reward the capable Dobby for this. Don't be alarmed, gentlemen, I assure you your sacrifice was worthwhile..."

Chapter 0770 The Prelude to the Triwizard Tournament

On October 31st, the lively Halloween Eve dinner was held as scheduled in the Great Hall of Hogwarts.

Unlike last year, this time the students are not only looking forward to the delicious meal, but also to the announcement of the contestants for the top three competition.

Due to Zhang Cheng's interference, ninety percent of the students in the three magic schools secretly slipped their names into the system, even though they knew in their hearts that their chances of being chosen were no more than one percent.

At this moment, humanity's tendency to selectively believe is on full display.

It's like buying a lottery ticket. Almost every buyer knows that the odds are one in millions or even tens of millions, but they still feel like they are the lucky one.

However, if it were something else entirely, such as a food that might have a one in tens of thousands chance of causing cancer, people would see it as a monster and would rather not eat it than take the risk.

No wonder scientists say that whoever understands human psychology can control human behavior.

Admiring the excited and expectant eyes of the students below the stage, a hint of amusement flashed across Zhang Cheng's previously expressionless face as he focused his attention on Barty Crouch Jr. not far away.

It has to be said that this guy must have read "An Actor Prepares" to be able to portray the crazy Alastor Moody so vividly that even the old fox Dumbledore was fooled.

Of course, it's not that his acting skills are particularly good, but rather that he has found a simple and clear method that prevents anyone from doubting him.

The method was to chase after those who had joined the Death Eaters like a mad dog, barking wildly at them, such as Severus Snape, the Potions professor and headmaster of Slytherin House, and Igor Karkaroff, the headmaster of Durmstrang School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Thanks to Barty Crouch Jr., Zhang Cheng has had a very comfortable semester and has not yet discovered any underhanded dealings from Snape.

You know, last semester, that annoying old bat was like a shadow, always ready to pop out from a dark corner and give you a fright. Even doing small experiments had to be done in secret.

But as the saying goes, evil people will always have their own evil counterparts to deal with them. When faced with a truly madman, even someone as powerful as Snape had to back down. After all, he was once the Dark Lord's right-hand man, and his reputation wasn't exactly clean.

As the last bit of food was cleaned from the plate, Dumbledore, who had maintained a serious expression, finally stood up, raised his wand, and waved it forcefully.

moment!

All the pumpkin lanterns and candles were extinguished, plunging the entire hall into darkness, except for the bright blue-white flame of the goblet that shone through.

As a medium for forging magical contracts, the Goblet of Fire undoubtedly possesses considerable power, enough to deter most opportunists.

Unfortunately, no matter what, it is just an inanimate object, without a soul or the ability to think or discern independently. Once it encounters a skilled wizard, it will inevitably be deceived.

"Time's up! When your name is called, please go through the door behind the faculty and staff dining table to the next room." The old man didn't say much. After nodding to the other two principals, he stared intently at the cup, patiently waiting for it to reveal the name of the first contestant.

After about ten seconds, the Goblet of Fire suddenly spewed out red sparks, followed by a charred parchment floating out of the flames.

Dumbledore grabbed it in his hand and announced in a clear, powerful voice, "The one representing Durmstrang in the Triwizard Tournament is—Viktor Krum!"

The hall erupted in applause, and many of the children even jumped up excitedly.

Clearly, as a Seeker who has participated in the Quidditch World Cup final, this young man enjoys considerable popularity, no different from top sports stars in the ordinary world.

Without saying a word, he stood up and strode toward the designated door, disappearing into the darkness shortly afterward.

When the discussion in the hall subsided slightly, the Goblet of Fire spat out a second parchment.