Chapter 574: Chapter 574: Volunteers (Edited)
"Come and have a look at the latest registration list for Hogwarts champions."
"Breaking news, the Gryffindor Quidditch team captain, Angelina Johnson, has just registered! Gryffindor has another champion candidate!"
"Warrington from Slytherin has also signed up, those interested can place bets on him, although, of course, I wouldn't recommend that option..."
Fred and George were buzzing around like bees today, wandering all corners of the castle, promoting their betting activities to every person they encountered. The amount of work was staggering; it could scare anyone with social anxiety.
In all of Hogwarts, only Fred and George could do something like this.
Being Gryffindor students, Fred and George showed some favoritism when promoting candidates from their house. They would take the time to introduce any Gryffindor champion in detail, highlighting their strengths. In contrast, with the Slytherin entrants, they would simply mention their names and openly express that they wouldn't recommend betting on them.
However, this marketing strategy didn't have much effect. Young witches and wizards from all houses preferred to bet on champions from their own house. Especially Hufflepuff, which practically chose their Prefect and captain, Cedric, unanimously.
For Fred and George, that didn't matter much because as bookmakers, they would always earn a commission regardless of whether the favorite or the underdog emerged victorious.
Time passed quickly, night fell, and the long table in the Great Hall was once again filled with exquisite delicacies, but the students had no appetite to eat. They all anxiously awaited the final selection results.
Today, two more people joined the staff seats. The new members were the tournament judges: Issa May and Barry Crowder. Both sat next to Karkaroff and Madame Maxime, who had just learned they had been selected as judges for the Triwizard Tournament.
After the last dessert disappeared from the plates, Dumbledore stood up, and the entire Great Hall fell silent. Madame Maxime, sitting next to Dumbledore, looked nervous, while Karkaroff remained calm. Others had various reactions: Ludo Bagman had a wide grin and kept winking at students from different schools; Percy and Barry Crowder sat with seriousness and a very grave expression; Issa May had a strange reaction; she seemed more concerned about Headmaster Karkaroff from her own school, sneaking glances to observe his state.
Dumbledore waved his wand, and most of the candles in the Great Hall went out, leaving only the lights from the chandeliers above the long table and the Goblet of Fire shining.
"The Goblet of Fire is about to make a decision. The selected champions should enter the adjacent room along the staff table," Dumbledore gestured towards a door behind the staff table, where the champions would receive initial guidance.
After making some simple arrangements, Dumbledore closed his mouth and waited in silence for the Goblet of Fire to give the results.
The Great Hall fell silent again.
Suddenly, the flames in the Goblet of Fire changed color, from blue and white to red, with sparks jumping, creating a boiling sensation. Then, a piece of burnt parchment flew out and landed in Dumbledore's hands.
Everyone in the Great Hall held their breath.
"The champion from Durmstrang is... Viktor Krum!" Dumbledore pronounced the name on the piece of parchment clearly, and the atmosphere in the Great Hall erupted in jubilation. Applause and cheers almost made the entire Hogwarts castle tremble.
"Not surprising at all."
"I expected that."
"Aaaahhhh - Krum!!!" Some rabid fans almost fainted from excitement.
Krum rose from the Slytherin table and reluctantly approached Dumbledore. Karkaroff, sitting on the stage, applauded his brave champion for a few seconds and then returned to his usual calm.
"I thought you would be excited," Madame Maxime said, glancing sideways at Karkaroff, feeling a bit strange. How could he be so calm after what just happened? It was as if it had nothing to do with him.
"Why should I be excited? Isn't this something that was already expected?" Karkaroff resumed his calm state and responded to Madame Maxime's question with a cold smile. "I would only be surprised if those other incompetents managed to surpass Krum."
Reflecting on it, Madame Maxime thought Karkaroff was right. Krum had so much going for him that it would be a problem if he wasn't chosen.
Until the flames in the Goblet of Fire changed again, the room remained quiet. Madame Maxime didn't have time to chat with Karkaroff; the change in the flames made her nervous once more.
She tensed up, leaning slightly forward, and stared intently at the flames in the Goblet.
The second piece of parchment didn't make them wait for long and flew out of the Goblet with a soft sound.
"The champion from Beauxbatons is Fleur Delacour," Dumbledore announced the name from the parchment.
Madame Maxime almost jumped out of her chair; she was very happy because her bet had paid off. Unlike Durmstrang, there were many candidates at Beauxbatons to become champions, and Madame Maxime couldn't be sure of the final outcome, so she had to bet.
Fleur Delacour was the person she had trained in advance, personally teaching Fleur for a while, which led to her rapidly improving her level. Now, her "investment" had finally paid off.
At first, Madame Maxime was worried that the Goblet of Fire would show discrimination and exclude half-veelas like Fleur, but now it seemed that her concerns were unfounded. The Goblet of Fire was extremely fair and impartial; it didn't treat Fleur differently because of her heritage.
Fleur stood up with a smile next to Tom, shaking her shiny silver hair, and gracefully made her way to the professors' seats, a triumphant smile on her face.
Hermione's face turned slightly unpleasant as Fleur's hair intentionally brushed against Tom's face, leaving a trail of fragrance.
The moment the result was announced, several Beauxbatons girls burst into tears, shedding tears of sadness. The other non-selected candidates also looked grim, as if they had lost something important.
After a brief commotion, the Great Hall settled down once more, and at this moment, every wizard and witch had their hearts in their mouths because it was Hogwarts' champion's turn.
The Goblet of Fire turned red again and sent the third piece of paper into the air.
"Cedric Diggory," Dumbledore loudly announced Cedric's name.
"Hooray!"
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!"
"Merlin!"
A deafening roar echoed from the Hufflepuff table, the sound spreading throughout the Great Hall. After this result, the cheers of the Hufflepuff students rendered everyone in the room deaf. At that moment, even if someone spoke face to face, they wouldn't be able to hear what was being said.
For Hufflepuff, this was a historic breakthrough.
Previously, Hufflepuff was a transparent house at Hogwarts. They weren't as clever as Ravenclaw, as brave as Gryffindor, and they didn't have the cunning and pride of Slytherin. They were hardworking, unassuming, and went unnoticed. They were like wild herbs on the roadside or wildflowers on the mountain; they were everywhere but didn't draw attention.
But today, they finally became the stars.
Who could have imagined that a Hufflepuff student would become the representative champion of Hogwarts?
But that's exactly what happened, and everyone heard it loud and clear.
So the Hufflepuff students went crazy: they had finally made a small breakthrough on the Hogwarts stage.
The wild celebration continued for a long time; even Dumbledore couldn't calm down the Hufflepuff students.
Finally, when the noise subsided, Dumbledore smiled and said aloud, "Well, the three champions have been chosen. I'm sure you will support your champions with all your might. The students not selected should not be discouraged; they can still make a great contribution to this event..."
Tom wasn't interested in Dumbledore's words; he simply watched indifferently as the flames inside the Goblet of Fire slowly faded away until they were completely extinguished.
With the Goblet of Fire dormant, the selection phase for the three champions of the Triwizard Tournament came to an end. Everything was in order, without any hiccups. If it was said that there were three champions, then there were three champions; if it was said they had to be at least seventeen years old, then they had to be at least seventeen years old.
No matter how powerful you were, if you weren't at least seventeen years old, you couldn't become a champion.
Tom looked at the fully extinguished Goblet of Fire and displayed a happy smile. Once the Goblet of Fire went out, it would only be relit before the next tournament, so everything was clear.
Harry, in the audience, rubbed his sore hands from applauding frantically and felt a sense of loss, as if he had missed something interesting. Harry felt like he regretted missing out on this grand event; wouldn't it be great if he could be a champion? Surely that life would be very happy. Harry began to imagine his friends' reactions after becoming a champion.
After some nonsense, Dumbledore returned to the main topic. By this point, Bagman, Percy, and the others had already gone to the "dark room" to provide preliminary guidance to the champions.
"Now, the three champions are receiving a preliminary briefing on the contest in the adjoining room. Are you eager to know what is being said in the preliminary briefing?" Dumbledore looked at the young wizards in the audience and smiled mischievously.
"Professor Dumbledore, please, tell us, what is said in the preliminary briefing?" Lee Jordan couldn't contain his curiosity and stood up to ask loudly. The current Lee Jordan had an incredibly smooth chin; he had obviously healed.
Fred and George, who were beside him, also raised their heads from their accounting book and looked curiously at Dumbledore. The twins were busy calculating the amount of money they needed to deliver.
Dumbledore displayed a happy smile, as if he were watching a comedian making the audience laugh, and openly shared the content of the preliminary briefing.
It turns out that the so-called preliminary briefing was simply announcing the start time of the first event and then telling the champions...
The organizers couldn't reveal the content of the first event to them!
It was absurd. It was hard to imagine how the champions would feel hearing those words in the dark room.
"Did they bring us here all excited just to tell us the start time of the event? Is it really necessary?"
Of course, cheating was also an ancient tradition in the Triwizard Tournament. The three schools always managed to find out the content of the first event and then leak it to their own champions. This year was no exception. Madame Maxime was already in action; she had been very close to Hagrid these past few days, hoping to extract something from that "chatterbox." However, Hagrid knew nothing about the first event, so he couldn't reveal anything. Nevertheless, their relationship had improved considerably, and Madame Maxime wasn't at a loss.
After hearing Dumbledore's words, the young wizards were also disappointed.
Is that all? Is that your preliminary briefing?
"Students, I told you from the beginning that this tournament would do everything it could to make more students feel involved," said Dumbledore when he saw that the students in the audience seemed quite disappointed, and then he announced the second "bombshell" loudly: "So, I have something extremely important to announce to you! Volunteer sign-ups have begun!"
Volunteers? This unfamiliar word caused some commotion among the audience; everyone was very curious about what volunteers would do in the tournament. If it's about serving tea and water at the competition venue, then they're not interested. Some Muggle-born young wizards were familiar with the concept of volunteering and instinctively rejected it.
"We need a group of outstanding students to participate in the first event and increase the challenge a bit for our champions," explained Dumbledore to all the confused faces. "Those students interested in volunteering should submit their application to the Head of their respective house, and for students from other schools, they should approach the headmaster of their own school. After the applications are approved by the headmasters, they will be granted volunteer status. I must warn you in advance that volunteers will also be exposed to mortal dangers, so only mature and capable wizards who can fend for themselves may volunteer."
Although Dumbledore set some restrictions, all the young wizards in the Great Hall were filled with enthusiasm: This time, there are no age restrictions for sign-ups! And there's a considerable number of slots available!
This state of excitement did not fade even when Dumbledore announced the end of the ceremony.
On the way back to the Ravenclaw Tower, Tom asked Hermione, "Do you want to volunteer?"
"Of course not! Didn't you hear what Professor Dumbledore said? Volunteers will also be exposed to mortal dangers! So, I won't volunteer at all..."
"Dumbledore has already selected me as a volunteer."
Hermione: ?!
"How can he do that?" Hermione opened her eyes wide, surprised to the point that her cheeks puffed out. "Aren't volunteers supposed to be those who volunteer willingly?"
"There's a type of volunteering called 'forced volunteering.'" Tom shrugged, showing a helpless expression.
"So, do you want to volunteer or not?"
Hermione: ...
"Well... alright."
Hermione also 'volunteered' for the Triwizard Tournament.
Chapter 575: Chapter 575: These Are Your Wings (Edited)
"I won't miss this great event; it's the Triwizard Tournament!" Tom told Hermione.
However, those words didn't manage to dispel Hermione's concerns. Frowning, she explained to Tom the dangers of the Triwizard Tournament.
"It's one of the most dangerous competitions in the magical world. It's said that half of the participants lose their lives. How did you dare to sign up without knowing anything about the competition?" At that moment, Hermione stopped. Suddenly, she realized that Tom seemed to have been involved in designing the competition events.
"Do you know what the first event entails, don't you?" Hermione suddenly leaped, agile as a cat. "I completely forgot about that detail! So, you understand that the competition isn't dangerous? I worried in vain!"
Her facial expression was now filled with excitement. Upon learning that the competition wasn't dangerous, Hermione was carried away by the desire for adventure. Who could resist participating in the Triwizard Tournament?
"Well, not really, it's still quite dangerous, but volunteers shouldn't have any problems as long as they don't die," Tom had to admit. After his intervention, the danger coefficient of the tournament events had increased considerably...
But it was also much more fun.
Hermione: ?!
"Don't worry; Dumbledore has considered everything. Volunteers will be protected," Tom tried to reassure Hermione by appealing to Dumbledore.
However, this approach had been used so many times that Hermione didn't fully accept it.
"Protection doesn't guarantee absolute safety, Tom Yodel."
"Do you want me to tell you about the first event? After hearing it, you'll feel at ease," Tom winked at Hermione, dangling a very tempting bait.
"We shouldn't reveal secrets... But can you tell me where the first event will take place?"
Hermione took the bait.
"Of course I can."
Just as Tom was about to reveal the details of the Triwizard Tournament to Hermione, a beetle landed on the windowsill next to them. Tom got distracted and stopped his speech.
Looking at the beetle, his expression suddenly changed. It reminded him of an unpleasant woman: Rita Skeeter.
"Hermione, a question just occurred to me."
"Tell me." Although Hermione wanted to keep hearing about the tournament events, she was ready to patiently answer Tom's question.
"When an Animagus dies in animal form, does the body remain in animal form, or does it revert to human form?"
Beetle: ...
Hearing Tom's question, Hermione was perplexed.
It was an uncommon question, and there was no answer in the textbooks. Hermione had to rely on her intuition to deduce the answer.
"I suppose it would revert to human form. After all, spells require maintaining the form with magic, and Animagi are no exception. When a wizard dies, their magic dissipates, and their body returns to its original form."
"That makes sense," Tom nodded. Then, suddenly, he reached out and caught the beetle in his palm. "Let's leave the topic of challenges here..."
Tom couldn't speculate on the true identity of the beetle. It was normal for there to be insects on Hogwarts' campus, thanks to the gardening. He couldn't be sure that this beetle was the infamous Rita Skeeter.
There was only one way to verify it: catch the beetle and make it reveal its identity.
So, Tom squeezed the beetle and let it struggle in his hands.
Tom fell silent, but Hermione couldn't take it anymore. She was completely absorbed in the conversation, and Tom suddenly stopped speaking, leaving her hanging, full of curiosity.
"Tell me..."
"Aren't you afraid anymore?"
With Tom interrupting her that way, Hermione realized that her fear of the Triwizard Tournament had completely vanished. Dumbledore had prepared very solid plans to ensure everyone's safety.
Seeing that Hermione was no longer afraid, Tom felt relieved. He couldn't let Hermione participate in the tournament with that constant state of anxiety; why put her through all of this?
"What did you just catch?"
"It's nothing."
The two continued their conversation as they returned to their common room.
In a corner of the staircase, Tom saw Mrs. Norris, Filch's cat, guarding the entrance. Seeing the yellow eyes of the cat, Tom had an idea.
He crouched in front of Mrs. Norris, trying to approach her. But it was clear that Mrs. Norris had no interest in him at all. Instead, she stared at him with hostility, warning him not to dare to do anything inappropriate.
Tom remained unfazed and inched a bit closer.
"Meow (If you look at me again, I'll have the litter box cleaner punish you)," Mrs. Norris began to show her teeth and emitted a low growl.
Tom slowly extended his fist towards her. In front of his fist, Mrs. Norris's muscles tensed, always ready to teach this mischievous young wizard a lesson.
Then, he opened his fist.
A beetle appeared.
Mrs. Norris: Meow meow meow?
Upon being released once more, the beetle immediately unfolded its wings and flew into the sky.
I'm free!
The beetle flew towards a nearby window.
If only it could reach there, if only...
Pam!
The beetle felt something huge falling on it, as if it were the weight of the world, a soft but firm paw crushed it to the ground.
Mrs. Norris: You wanted to impress me with the beetle? Ha, you're too naive. I'm not a kitten anymore; I no longer hunt beetles.
Then, the beetle appeared under her paw.
Mrs. Norris: ?
What's going on with this beetle? How did it appear under my paw? Damn instinct!
Mrs. Norris, while disdainful of the beetle, began to play with her freshly captured prey.
Tom stood by the side, enjoying the spectacle.
At that moment, the beetle finally understood what suffering was.
It felt like a ball, being kicked back and forth, and at the same time like a piece of clay, molded into different shapes.
Finally, it couldn't bear it anymore.
Undo the transformation!
Suddenly, a witch dressed in magenta robes appeared in the hallway, surprising Mrs. Norris.
It was evident that this witch used to be very well put together: she had a flashy robe, well-coiffed hair, jewel-encrusted glasses, well-manicured nails...
But all those details had been destroyed by the cat. The witch's robe was torn to shreds, the elegant hairstyle had turned into a mess, and her glasses were crooked.
This witch was none other than Rita Skeeter, the reporter from the Daily Prophet and an Animagus specializing in turning into a beetle to investigate exclusive news.
Today, while prowling the Hogwarts campus, Rita noticed a pair of young wizards who were conversing, and the boy turned out to be Tom Yodel, who had stood out in the World Cup final, and the other, unusually, was his date, Hermione Granger.
This combination instantly caught Rita Skeeter's attention. She approached them, trying to eavesdrop on their conversation, and it turns out that just as she approached, she heard them discussing the form Animagi take after their death.
This frightened Rita Skeeter a lot, who thought of fleeing, but was caught by Tom.
She was terrified, believing that her identity had been discovered, but during the subsequent conversation, Tom Yodel showed no suspicion about the beetle's identity; he simply kept it in his hand. This baffled Rita Skeeter, but she decided to play along.
Of course, in the end, she not only encountered a "play-along" but also a cat.
After capturing her prey, the cat didn't devour her immediately but toyed with her until it squeezed every last drop of energy out of her.
Under the torment of Mrs. Norris, Rita decided to revert to her human form.
Back in human form, Rita was eager to find the cat to vent her anger, but Mrs. Norris quickly fled and disappeared in the blink of an eye. So Rita could only glare angrily at Tom and Hermione.
In this unexpected situation, Hermione was left dumbfounded. She didn't expect someone to suddenly appear in front of her. It's not that Hermione wasn't used to Animagus transformations; she had witnessed Professor McGonagall's transformations many times, but this time it was completely unexpected.
"Is there anything I can assist you with, Miss Animagus?" Tom said without flinching, an air of nonchalance about him, giving her a "what are you looking at?"
In any other place or with someone else, those words would have incited a verbal fight. But at Hogwarts, Rita Skeeter was momentarily rendered speechless by this. Because, as an Animagus, she was not registered with the Ministry of Magic.
This meant that if she were discovered, she could lose her job or even be sent to Azkaban.
"No, nothing," she realized the delicate situation she was in, Rita Skeeter decided to act quickly. "I just wanted to do a simple interview with the champions of the Triwizard Tournament..."
"Ah, I see. You can go," Tom indicated to Skeeter that she could leave.
However, just as Rita Skeeter was preparing to leave, Tom uttered a phrase that frightened her.
"Miss Skeeter, I suppose you wouldn't want the Ministry of Magic to find out that you're an Animagus, right? So I suggest you keep your quill in check and don't write any peculiar articles."
"Alright, I'll keep that in mind!" Rita Skeeter quickly fled.
On her way, she ran into Filch, who was furiously searching for the culprit who had scared Mrs. Norris. To Filch, Mrs. Norris was his closest companion and even his partner, and any action that harmed Mrs. Norris would not be tolerated by Filch.
So, when he saw Mrs. Norris looking scared, Filch erupted in anger. He picked up Mrs. Norris and raced frantically through the castle, and that was when Rita Skeeter appeared in his field of vision.
"Stop! Who are you?" Filch shouted, halting that unfamiliar face, and Mrs. Norris quickly hid behind Filch, wearing an expression of fear.
For Mrs. Norris, Animagus transformation was something very hard to comprehend.
Seeing Mrs. Norris's reaction, Filch felt he had caught the culprit.
"Come here and explain to me how someone from outside the school has entered here..." said Filch and without saying a word, he had Rita "arrested."
Rita Skeeter was desperate, wondering what kind of situation she had stumbled into today.
No one knows how Rita Skeeter managed to free herself from Filch's grasp. However, after that incident, Rita certainly moderated herself a bit.
...
"Floating runes... they can make objects levitate. Power runes... provide some propulsion..." Tom was sitting in the alchemy study of the Room of Requirement, carefully sculpting the magical silver in front of him.
The metal on the workbench no longer had any connection to the heavy chunk of magical silver. At this moment, it looked extremely exquisite, like a work of art.
This artwork was composed of thousands of feathers, affixed by Tom onto a board, forming the appearance of a pair of wings. The wings were nearly finished, with only a small hole in the center, keeping the wing's progress at 99%. What was actually supposed to be installed in that small hole was the most important part.
At this moment, that object was in Tom's hands. It was the control center of these wings.
"Connecting the magic text... done!" Tom carved the last magic rune and occupied the last empty space on the small sphere.
After finishing, Tom carefully placed the sphere into the round hole. The sphere fit perfectly into the hole, forming a complete unit.
The moment it snapped in, a flash ran through the wings; all the feathers trembled slightly, and the wings displayed as if they were ready to take flight.
Tom understood that he had finally succeeded.
These wings were the birthday gift Tom had prepared for Hermione. Perhaps she had traded her ability to fly for the ability to study. Hermione knew nothing about flying; she couldn't even handle a broomstick. Even the flying lessons didn't have final exams; otherwise, she would have surely had a pending grade on her record.
Tom designed this birthday gift especially for Hermione, considering her characteristic of being a "land bird."
The gift was ready; now, all that was left was to wait for Hermione's birthday.
...
On the morning of September 19th, Hermione dressed as usual and headed to Ravenclaw common room in the Ravenclaw Tower. At that moment, many students were already awake and discussing animatedly about the Triwizard Tournament.
Hermione listened to their bold speculations about the first challenge and found it amusing what they thought. At that moment, she encountered Tom, who was approaching her.
"Good morning," Tom greeted Hermione as he waved a small bag he had in his hand. "I've brought you breakfast; would you like to go for a walk?"
"Of course!" Hermione suddenly realized that today was her birthday. She knew that Tom would invite her for a walk on her birthday; he had never forgotten. Hermione lowered her head shyly. While feeling bashful, she was also looking forward to what birthday gift he would give her.
Both of them descended the stairs and crossed the Ravenclaw common room. Soon, they arrived on the lawn by the lake. Not far away, the Durmstrang ship was docked by the lakeshore, casting a blurry reflection.
Both of them stopped under a tree, and Tom asked Hermione to turn around and close her eyes.
"These are your wings," Tom thought silently as he took out the gift.
Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
0 Power
stone 
Paragraph comment