Hogwarts: Harry Returns from Azeroth

Chapter 281, page 280: The Eighteen Warriors are Chosen!

Percy's rescue plan failed because Fleur soon went to the Goblet of Fire with her companions to register. The wooden goblet, burning with blue flames, swallowed the slips of paper with names and schools written on them. The students watched it with trepidation, discussing among themselves who the champion of Hogwarts would be.

Generally speaking, most people's guesses tend to fall into a few categories, since it's easy to see who has excellent grades and is favored by professors.

Percy Weasley of Gryffindor, Fred and George, and even Hermione Granger, Cedric Diggory of Hufflepuff, Penelope Crivart of Ravenclaw, Cho Chang, and... Draco Malfoy of Slytherin.

Basically, it's those who have served as prefects, student council presidents, and shaman apprentices in various grades. After all, they earned these positions because they were truly outstanding and received the professors' approval. As for Draco—

No joke, Draco now wields considerable influence in Slytherin, a far cry from the bullying he faced in his first year. He's now ruthlessly eliminating the upperclassmen who bullied him back then.

As an Enhanced Shaman, Draco excels in melee combat and has also trained his body in all aspects under Harry's tutelage, which has directly resulted in his extremely sharp senses and lightning-fast reaction speed.

Even though he was ambushed by the upperclassmen during his counterattack, it was just a mere spell. Drak dodged it with a few quick movements, and what followed was a brutal beating.

This kid seems to have realized something strange; he doesn't care if you're a boy or a girl, anyone who dares to stand in his way will get beaten up.

With the added prestige of the Malfoy family and the care of his family friend Snape, by this year, Malfoy was able to swagger around in Slytherin—no one would mock or ridicule him to his face anymore, and no one would dare to hide his things or persecute him.

And it's completely reversed now. Wherever Draco Malfoy appears, he's always accompanied by several Slytherin students, not just Goyle and Crabbe. These little snakes are quite adept at currying favor with the strong, and right now, the strong one in Slytherin is Draco Malfoy.

"Did Professor McGonagall give you her autograph too?" Harry asked his friends before the dinner began.

“Well, Professor McGonagall and Remus gave me their autographs, so I didn’t go to Professor Flitwick,” Hermione said hesitantly. “But to be honest, I think Professor McGonagall was more like encouraging me to participate; she didn’t seem to think I would be chosen.”

“You’re only in your third year, to be honest, I’m already quite surprised she even signed your autograph,” Harry said reassuringly, then turned to Ron and Neville and asked, “What about you two?”

"Haha, I didn't."

"I do not have either."

These two are both single.

“Professor McGonagall gave us a good scolding and told us to study hard and stop daydreaming,” Ron sighed deeply. “Damn it, I dream of becoming a warrior.”

“Oh, I’m glad she didn’t agree,” Neville said, looking a little pale. “Now that I think about it, I shouldn’t have asked for the autograph, since my magic is really not that great.”

“Don’t say that, Neville. You have to be brave and try, you know?” Ron laughed. “Think of Hagrid, even Hagrid bravely pursued love!”

"Pursuing love?" Harry said in surprise. "He's already started?"

“Huh? You knew?” Neville said blankly, “Hey, that’s not very friendly of you, you didn’t even tell us.”

“No, I just thought they were a good match in height,” Harry said, shaking his head. “And Hagrid looked quite energetic when Madam Maxim came down yesterday.”

“Yes, he certainly looks great,” Hermione said, suppressing a laugh. “We spent the whole afternoon with him, and you have no idea how, well, how funny, Hagrid looked when he dressed up. He combed his hair, wore new clothes, and even sprayed on cologne.”

“You’re right,” Ron nodded repeatedly. “It would be even better if those bomb-tailed snails didn’t exist; they look really scary.”

These new magical creatures have already shown their highly aggressive side, and Ron is already worried about Hagrid's fingers.

“Hmm… I think he might need some advice,” Harry said after a moment’s thought. “Mrs. Maxime is a romantic Frenchwoman, and Hagrid probably still has a lot to learn when it comes to dressing up.”

“Yes, I think his perfume is a bit too strong,” Hermione agreed.

She glanced at Harry, and suddenly blushed slightly, but not noticeably.

Even Hagrid would...

"Let's go, the dinner should start." Unaware of this, Harry walked into the Great Hall first.

Just like last night, it was a banquet, and the dishes on the table were quite plentiful. The only difference was that almost no one was in the mood to eat properly. Their little faces were full of anxiety, and they were restless and impatient to finish what was on their plates and find out who would be chosen as the warrior.

The professors were also very excited. After all, this Triwizard Tournament was completely different from the past. They would no longer be just spectators, but could also become warriors, so they were full of expectations. What surprised Harry was that Barty Crouch also looked expectant.

This was completely different from his previous behavior; Harry had thought Crouch would be bored.

"Quiet!" Harry had to use a spell to amplify his voice to drown out the students' chatter. "The Goblet of Fire is about to make a decision. Next, those whose names are called, please step out from the long table and enter the room to my left—there, you will be given some instructions."

The blue flame burning in the Goblet of Fire suddenly turned red, and sparks crackled and spewed out. A tongue of fire shot into the air, carrying a piece of charred parchment, which Harry caught.

"Viktor Krum, the warrior of Durmstrang!"

A burst of enthusiastic cheers erupted from the four long tables. Krum's selection was no surprise, and as a Quidditch star, he also had many supporters at Hogwarts.

"Maria Miller, a warrior of Durmstrang!"

This time the cheers were much quieter, but Durmstrang's students themselves applauded quite enthusiastically.

"Still Durmstrang's warrior, Wolfgang Fisher!"

The person whose name was called had an irrepressible smile on their face and, amidst applause, squeezed through the gaps and entered a small room next to the auditorium.

The Goblet of Fire seems to be awarded in order of schools; only after one school has completely finished selecting its students will the next school be chosen.

First, three Durmstrang student warriors were chosen, followed by three Durmstrang professor warriors.

Michael Weber, Professor of Transfiguration at Durmstrang.

Leon Max, Professor of Duel and Martial Arts Magic at Durmstrang.

Anna Thomas, Durmstrang's professor of Dark Arts. This last one is quite formidable, especially for schools like Hogwarts and Beauxbatons that prohibit the teaching of Dark Arts. A professor who specializes in teaching Dark Arts is always a cause for concern.

“The six champions of Durmstrang have been chosen,” Harry said briefly, then caught a piece of parchment flying out of the Goblet of Fire. “Very good, the champion of Beauxbatons, Fleur Delacour!”

Fleur received far more applause than Krum, perhaps due to the special treatment afforded to beautiful witches, regardless of school or college—the only problem being that the enthusiastic applause mostly came from men, while the women… well, they mostly just sneered.

Even Beauxbatons' students themselves were like that.

It's truly moving.

"Beauxbatons' second warrior, Alan Dehaka."

"Isabella Lando, the warrior of Beauxbatons."

Following closely behind the three student warriors were the three professor warriors.

Jacques Jean Albert, the alchemy professor at Beauxbatons, is a professor who is not involved in direct combat, which is quite surprising since alchemy and potions are generally non-combat courses.

But thinking about Snape, it doesn't seem so surprising.

Louise Jade Madan, Professor of Charms in Beauxbatons.

Henry Albert, professor of magical animal conservation at Beauxbatons.

When the last Beauxbatons champion was chosen and entered the room, the Hogwarts students held their breath in unison. After all, the other two schools had already made their choices, and it was now their turn.

Who could it be?

Crack!

Harry caught the note that flew out of the flames.

"Cedric Diggory, the champion of Hogwarts!!"

A rare, deafening cheer erupted from the Hufflepuff table. For these little badgers, who were used to keeping a low profile and never really showing off, the emergence of a warrior from their academy was something they had never seen before.

Harry could see that Professor Sprout was practically grinning from ear to ear. In the past, these kinds of things were always contested by the other three houses, but this time, Hufflepuff also had a chance to shine.

Well, it's clear that Hufflepuff's students don't actually enjoy being quiet and unassuming; they just haven't had the opportunity in the past.

Cedric was trembling with excitement. He ran all the way from the long table in Hufflepuff to the professor's seat, bowed deeply to Harry, and then hurried into the small room.

The applause and cheers in the auditorium continued, but the next note had already been ejected by the Goblet of Fire.

"Hogwarts' second champion is—Draco Malfoy!!"

Even Harry was a little surprised, and even Draco himself hadn't expected to be chosen as a champion. He stared blankly at Harry, seemingly not having reacted yet, until Goyle grabbed him and shook him hard, finally bringing him to his senses. Then, he left the Slytherin table with an excited expression.

The Slytherins gave their king a warm round of applause. These usually aloof little snakes could no longer remain so, and many of them were shouting and cheering excitedly.

Draco Malfoy's transformation over the past three years has astonished many. And given the special occasion, the other three houses are also applauding Malfoy, though not with the same fervor.

Even Gryffindor—even Gryffindor!!
"Thank you! Professor, thank you!!"

Suppressing his excitement, Draco walked to the front of the main table, bowed deeply to Harry like Cedric, and thanked him loudly.

"Cough, hurry up and go in." Harry smiled helplessly. Draco's behavior made it seem as if he had secretly put him on the champion's list.

Just then, the Goblet of Fire spewed out another parchment, and this time, Harry paused for a moment after receiving it.

His name was not written on the parchment, of course.

"Hermione Granger, the last student warrior of Hogwarts!"

Harry shouted out the name on the slip of paper, but this time it was the Gryffindor students who went berserk.

Hermione was so excited that she covered her mouth with her hand, and her eyes seemed to be filled with tears. Ron kept patting her shoulder and shouting something.

Cedric made a strange opening, and Hermione ran up to Harry amidst deafening cheers. Well, she didn't bow, but she waved to Harry before rushing into the small room.

As expected of Hogwarts' home ground, the other two schools, which only had a group of elite students, were completely outmatched in terms of sound. The noise was so loud it sounded like they were going to lift the ceiling off the Great Hall.

Dumbledore watched this scene with amusement; he loved it.

Well, the only ones who don't seem so happy are probably the Ravenclaw students, since they're the only one of the four houses that didn't send any champions.

These proud eaglets now looked like plucked chickens. Although they were still clapping, their faces were full of bitterness. Many of them leaned against the people next to them as if their souls had been taken away, listless and weak.

But the students from the other three colleges didn't care about that; they were itching to dance and celebrate right there.

Hey, we're sending three warriors to the Triwizard Tournament, but guess which academy got left out?

It's you~~ It's all of you~~~
"Quiet, be a little quieter!" After receiving the new parchment, Harry had to fire a deafening firework with his wand to barely quiet the cheers.

"Next up is the hero of the professors' group—without a doubt, our Transfiguration professor! Professor McGonagall!!"

Professor McGonagall rightfully deserved a round of applause from everyone; no one could question this serious, old-fashioned, fair, and responsible professor.

(End of this chapter)