章 588: Chapter 588: Will You Be My Mentor? (Edited)
Cedric sighed in relief, his mood calmed. At that moment, he could feel that the back of his robes was soaked with sweat.
He had truly feared that the judges would consider his actions a violation of the rules.
Once he had settled down, he shivered. Cedric admitted that his previous action had been impulsive, and if he had thought a bit more, he wouldn't have acted that way.
It was a reckless action, almost like gambling. Fortunately, Cedric won the bet.
This was something only a Gryffindor would do. Cedric teased himself in his mind and, in passing, criticized the young wizards of Gryffindor. Even though he felt his behavior wasn't very "Hufflepuff," Cedric forgot that the badger, Hufflepuff's representative animal, could also be fierce.
It's one of the most combative animals in the world. After getting excited, even young badgers can act boldly regardless of the consequences. So, if you think about it carefully, Cedric's behavior is still very "Hufflepuff."
Cedric adjusted his robes and took the new Portkey, disappearing in the same spot.
When he regained his balance, he found himself in the Forbidden Forest once again.
Cedric didn't rush into action. After making sure there was no danger around, he began to examine the results of his previous adventure.
First, there was the fragment of the magical bracelet. This piece was slightly larger than the one on the troll, about the size of a thumbnail. When the two fragments were close, there was a slight attraction force between them, as if they wanted to come together.
"Do the fragments of the magical bracelet have a mutual attraction property?" Cedric observed the behavior of the two pieces and made an assumption.
He placed the two fragments on the ground, without restricting their movement. As expected, the two fragments started to move closer slowly. When they were close enough, they seemed to encounter some kind of obstacle and stopped, then moved very slowly in the same direction.
Cedric: !!!
Spectators in the field: !!!
"It seems that Cedric has made an important discovery! Apparently, putting the fragments of the magical bracelet together can indicate the location of the next fragment. This will give him a great advantage—"
"But Champion Cedric also needs to strengthen himself as soon as possible..."
"To be frank, Cedric was the first to discover the characteristics of the bracelet, and his leadership in the game's progress is closely related to this, as he is the only one of the three who has obtained two fragments. It's evident that Cedric will have the advantage in the next stages of the game. If Fleur and Krum want to win, they need to speed up their progress and obtain at least two fragments..."
The commentators were excitedly analyzing the situation, and the young wizards in the stadium were whispering and discussing the impact of this discovery on the event.
Many believed that the balance of victory was tilting in Cedric's favor. However, the main character of the events, Cedric, wasn't so confident; in fact, he felt at a disadvantage.
"Ah... the effect of the bracelet fragments is amazing. I wasted a lot of time at the beginning, so my progress must have fallen behind... Have the other two champions obtained many fragments?"
Krum, Fleur: A-choo!
If the big stage could transmit sound, the young wizards who were present there would have burst into laughter.
Cedric felt a bit disheartened, but quickly cheered up.
"It doesn't matter. At least I have two fragments now." After giving himself a pep talk, Cedric took out the map fragment and tried to identify his position.
However, he encountered a very uncomfortable reality: he couldn't find his position on the map.
According to the Ministry of Magic, the fragment of the map would have a mark indicating the current location of the fragment's possessor. The person who obtained the fragment could use it as a coordinate to determine their position on the map.
That was logical and convenient, but for Cedric, there was a small problem: the mark on his fragment pointed to the location of the Sphinx, and Cedric, having been transported twice, couldn't locate himself.
Even if he could find it, Cedric felt he should avoid meeting that Sphinx again. He had just severely offended her, and he feared she wouldn't be friendly in a future encounter.
However, there was still a way: searching for landmarks on the map. For example, in Cedric's fragment, there was a small lake, and next to it was a drawing of a fire-breathing dragon.
Cedric had no intention of facing a fire-breathing dragon, but he thought he could use it as a reference to determine his position, as such a large creature would be quite visible.
Once decided, Cedric started to move, and in a few steps, he reached a small pond. Observing the surroundings near the pond, Cedric frowned: there were entrails by the water and traces of fire on the shore... People had been here!
What puzzled Cedric even more was that he also saw several dragon claw prints. This left him even more confused: why were there traces of dragon activity and human activity near this pond?
This pond seemed familiar to him... After analyzing it carefully, Cedric finally concluded that it was the dragon pond marked on the map. What he didn't know was what had happened here, as the dragon had disappeared, and someone had been active in this area.
"It's not the time to delve into this." Cedric shook his head to dispel his doubts and said, "The most urgent thing is to go to the Whomping Willow."
Cedric remembered his dean's instructions vividly. He had to head to the Whomping Willow to get his "extra help." And the curious thing was that the Whomping Willow was right on the edge of the map fragment.
Perhaps his bad luck had run out after the two previous encounters, as this time he arrived at the Whomping Willow unscathed.
At that moment, Tom was patrolling beneath the Whomping Willow tree, riding on Buckbeak.
The treasure chest beneath the Whomping Willow, of course, was Tom's doing. After seeing the small Portkeys, Tom came up with this mischievous idea.
The Portkey was a padlock! The organizers' intention was clear; they wanted the participants to set traps for themselves. Otherwise, why bother turning a padlock into a Portkey? They even hid this Portkey in Norberta's passage chest!
Tom, who understood the organizers' true intent, placed the Portkey inside the chest and created a teleporting chest trap. Then, he tossed the chest beneath the Whomping Willow and waited for the champions to arrive.
After waiting for a while, Tom finally "caught" Fleur. Seeing Fleur approach the chest excitedly, Tom felt the joy of his prank.
Now he could understand Fred and George.
Pranks were really fun!
He didn't know how Fleur was feeling right now, he hoped she was okay.
Fleur, whom Tom had in mind, had just escaped from Norberta's pursuit. She hid in the treetop while transforming a rock into her own appearance, luring Norberta. After tricking Norberta, she quickly moved away in the opposite direction until she felt safe and stopped.
Finally, she had time to check what was in her treasure chest. Surely the items inside the chest, protected by the Whomping Willow and the Portkey, would be very valuable!
The used Portkey had lost its magic and could be touched freely. Fleur tossed the padlock on the ground and opened the chest.
The moment the chest opened, she heard a slight pop, followed by an indescribably nauseating smell that enveloped her.
"Aaahhh!" Fleur screamed. It was so foul! As a lover of cleanliness, Fleur felt like she was about to die in that place; it was as if she had fallen into a septic tank.
In the Quidditch field, uproarious laughter erupted. Fleur might not recognize the mechanism inside the chest, but the young wizards of Hogwarts were very familiar with it.
Stink bombs!
Inside that chest was the essential accessory for a prank, a stink bomb. Only one stink bomb was needed to make a high-level prank.
The young wizards of Hogwarts had a high degree of recognition for the stink bomb, thanks to Fred and George, who started playing with them since they entered school.
"Aguamenti!"
"Tergeo!"
Fleur cast all the cleaning spells she knew, but she could still faintly perceive the unpleasant smell in her nose. Although it was bearable.
At this moment, she felt like she was in a bathroom, but before, it was as if she had fallen into a sewage pit...
Fleur struggled to calm herself and looked inside the chest. At this moment, she needed an extremely powerful object to soothe her heart.
The chest was empty; there was only a note.
A bad feeling overcame Fleur. She took the note and read the words written on it.
[Be careful next time]
It was a short and concise sentence in the note.
Fleur: !!!
She had only one thought in her mind at that moment: to dismember the person responsible for making this chest.
Tom had no idea about the mental damage his consecutive pranks had caused Fleur. At that moment, he was watching Cedric, who was nearby.
While Tom observed Cedric, Cedric was also observing Tom.
"Wow! Oh boy! What kind of monster is this?" Cedric was astonished by Tom's imposing figure with his golden armor and powerful mount.
Isn't he too impressive? That staff, even with one strike, could knock him unconscious! Cedric imagined what it would be like for that golden knight charging at him and shivered.
Did Tom Yodel really have such a set of armor? Cedric couldn't fathom how he had acquired it.
Although Tom was wrapped in his armor, Cedric recognized him. Not only because Professor Sprout had given him a hint from the stands but also because of Buckbeak.
After seeing Cedric, Tom, who knew that everything they did was being "broadcast live," couldn't afford to be weak. He gave Buckbeak's belly a squeeze and urged him to charge toward Cedric.
Seeing Tom approaching like an armored tank, Cedric felt like he had been shot in the chest, and his heart was about to stop.
"Wait a moment!" Cedric thought quickly and shouted aloud.
Tom: ???
Please, everyone is watching!
Of course, Tom showed no intention of stopping and charged directly at Cedric, attacking with his staff. Cedric, by a hair's breadth, managed to dodge Tom's attack and hurriedly shouted at him, "I hope you'll join my team and complete this event with me."
Cedric was extremely sincere in his attitude. He remembered what Dumbledore had said before the event started: Volunteers in the Forbidden Forest could become an asset to the champions as long as they gained their approval.
Fighting Tom Yodel was definitely out of the question. Not to mention his spellcasting ability, just his mount and armor could easily defeat him. It would be better to try to persuade him with words.
Tom stopped, and Cedric's reaction was somewhat unexpected.
He even had the feeling that Cedric was saying, "Can I be your master?"
Although it was strange, it seemed there was a similar Master-and-Servant relationship between the volunteers assisting the champions.
"Do you want to be my Master?"
Cedric: ...
"Yes."
Tom scratched his head. Dumbledore had stipulated that the challenges designed by the volunteers had to be sufficiently difficult.
"Hermione Granger is also in this forest. Find her, and if she agrees, I will help you." Tom proposed a somewhat challenging test.
Cedric: ...
"Can you tell me where Miss Granger is?" Cedric had a bad feeling.
And his suspicions were confirmed. Tom shook his head and said, "I have no idea... Have you tried Divination?"
Cedric: ...
Divination was useless! Cedric despised the so-called Divination and was aware of the importance of talent for that subject. Unfortunately, Cedric had no talent for Divination.
He didn't know where Hermione was, but he had to find her, which was extremely difficult.
"I have a faint feeling that she is in that direction. You can try your luck there." Tom pointed in a direction; he had a hunch that Hermione was there.
The communication between Tom and Cedric surprised the spectators. To them, Tom was just a moving statue.
"It's strange, the champion Cedric is interacting with the Golden Knight! Is it possible to communicate with that knight?" Lee Jordan didn't recognize Tom. A second ago, he thought Cedric would return to the Quidditch field, but it turned out that Cedric had found this surprising method.
"Too bad we don't know what they're saying." The Durmstrang commentator shrugged. Everyone knew what the conversation between Tom and Cedric was about: Cedric wanted to "tame" the Golden Knight!
It was something Krum had already managed to do once. He had pocketed a Durmstrang student.
Would it now be Cedric's turn? Many had that thought.
If Cedric gained the support of the Golden Knight, he could practically declare victory in advance.
As for the condition Tom had set, no one knew...
"Alright, I guess I'll give it a try." Cedric sighed and headed in the direction Tom pointed.
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