Hogwarts: Harry Returns from Azeroth

Chapter 283, Section 282: Hermione's Embrace and the Time-Turner

The Triwizard Tournament, restarted after hundreds of years, represents more than just friendship between the three schools; it also marks the first formal contact between wizards and Muggles, leaving no room for carelessness.

“...When completing the competition, the champion must not ask for or accept any help from others, so during the first event, the champion’s only weapon is his wand.” Crouch’s gaze flashed over Harry’s waist at this point. “Well, maybe a sword or a hammer or something, but not a person.”

"You will only learn about the second project after the first one is over, and because the competition is very demanding and long-lasting, the student warriors will not have to take the academic year exams."

“Wait, I have a question,” Karkaroff asked. “Now that Principal Potter has become a Warrior, doesn’t that mean he already knew what the three projects were? I mean—they were originally planned by us!”

“I know, Karkaroff,” Barty Crouch said expressionlessly, “but time is of the essence and there is no room for change. The first project will proceed as planned, but the subsequent two projects will be modified accordingly.”

“To be honest, it’s not a big problem,” Bagman said with a shrug. “We all know what the tradition of the Triwizard Tournament is.”

As soon as these words were spoken, no one in the room spoke—the adults understood without saying a word, while the minors looked around curiously, wondering what kind of riddle everyone was talking about.

“I think that’s about it? Headmaster Potter,” Crouch looked at Harry, his tone still impatient.

“That’s probably true,” Harry nodded slightly. “I’m sorry for this accident. I think there have been some bad people infiltrating Hogwarts again… It’s really embarrassing. I’ll arrange for people to ensure safety.”

"That would be for the best," Karkaroff scoffed.

The students had already dispersed from the auditorium outside; everyone from the four houses had their own things to do, and they had to celebrate the warriors born in their respective houses.

Especially Gryffindor.

After saying hello, Ms. Maxim pulled Fleur and several other Beauxbatons away. She seemed to be imparting some experience to Fleur, but her voice was so soft that no one else could hear her.

As for Durmstrang's men, apart from Krum bowing slightly to Harry before leaving, the others followed Karkaroff's lead and didn't give him a pleasant look. However, no one really cared about Karkaroff's displeasure.

At least Harry doesn't care.

All he wanted to know was why, damn it, someone had infiltrated Hogwarts again, cast a powerful Confusion Charm on the Goblet of Fire, and then put his name in—Harry just couldn't understand why Hogwarts was like a leaky building, with malicious people sneaking in every year.

Could it be another one of Voldemort's Horcruxes?

Just how many pieces did this kid divide himself into?

Or has Voldemort's main soul been resurrected and returned from the Twisting Nether?

What can a little brat do? Has he sided with some abyssal demon king or demon lord?
Collaborators?
It's simply mysterious.

“Congratulations, mentor,” Cedric said, leaning closer. “It’s a good thing you’re in the professors’ group, otherwise I really don’t know how I would have been able to beat you.”

“The tournament is a points-based system, Cedric,” Harry casually remarked. “You just need to play beautifully enough to get a high score. Don’t be afraid.”

"Then what are Professor McGonagall and I supposed to do?" After things had settled down, Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall came over. The little old man with white hair said irritably, "Now what? How am I supposed to defeat you?"

“Maybe there’s a chance,” Harry thought for a moment and said, “The professors’ group’s competitions will be more realistic and brutal, and there will be opportunities for warriors to fight each other.”

“That’s really not good news,” Professor McGonagall said, pursing her lips. She rarely joked. “I hope you can get your elemental giants to go easy on you.”

“We’re on the same side, Professor,” Harry joked.

“There are also individual awards, Professor Potter,” Professor McGonagall said with a smile. “Just to clarify, I will not give them up.”

“Me too,” Professor Flitwick interjected. “Luckily, I was also chosen as a champion, otherwise I can’t imagine how people would laugh at us if we were the only ones left out of such a grand event.”

“So you can now go back to the lounge and enjoy the celebration, Philius,” Professor McGonagall was in a particularly good mood. “I suspect tonight will be a long night.”

This usually serious and rigid professor became unusually cheerful in front of his students.

Three—three champions have emerged from Gryffindor!

Even though Harry is the headmaster, he is still a member of Gryffindor while he is the headmaster! His seven years as a student haven't even ended yet!
"Oh! Thank goodness! Professors, you've finally come out!" Colin was standing at the door looking around when the group left the auditorium, and he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw them.

"What happened?" Professor McGonagall asked seriously.

“Uh, of course nothing happened.” Meeting Professor McGonagall’s gaze, Colin immediately tensed up. He stammered, “I mean, uh, they told me to wait for you here, and, uh, to invite you to the common room when you come out—I mean, the Gryffindor common room, of course! Everyone wants to have a good celebration!”

“I see,” Professor McGonagall’s expression softened. She thought for a moment and then said, “I will go, but I need to go back to my office first.”

“That would be perfect,” Colin said immediately.

“As for you two,” Professor McGonagall glanced at Harry and Hermione, “you probably haven’t been back to your house’s common room in a long time, have you? Headmaster Potter… remember not to be too late.”

Professor McGonagall's voice carried a rare hint of teasing, as Hermione was flushed with excitement and clutching Harry's arm.

They walked very fast.

It wasn't curfew yet, but Hogwarts was eerily quiet tonight. The corridors were unusually deserted—at least outside the common rooms of each house. The Beauxbatons and Durmstrangers had all returned to their carriages and boats, so Harry and Hermione were the only ones walking through the long corridors.

“Speaking of which, I haven’t congratulated you in person yet on becoming a champion of Hogwarts,” Harry said after thinking for a moment. “Congratulations, your name will probably be recorded in the history of magic as one of the first champions in the Triwizard Tournament after its restart.”

“Thank you!” Hermione exclaimed. “I mean—thank you for everything you taught me! Magic, elements, and everything else—if it weren’t for you, I probably wouldn’t be able to stand up after just two spells!” Getting more and more excited, Hermione suddenly pulled Harry to a stop, then stood on tiptoe and gave him a tight hug—extra tight, as if she were trying to pull Harry down, before letting go abruptly.

If Hermione's face was only a light pink before, it is now a true red.

“That’s your own hard work,” Harry said gently. “You deserve this reward for your efforts.”

“Oh, you’re talking just like Dumbledore now,” Hermione muttered, looking down.

Where no one could see, a hint of disappointment and annoyance flashed across Hermione's face.

This idiot...

Fred is completely wrong. Even when I suddenly hugged him like that, he just smiled, like some old man hugging his grandson—Pah! What a terrible analogy!

“That’s far from it. At least I don’t have a white beard yet,” Harry shrugged. “Sorry, I’ve been dealing with those people a lot these past few months, so I might be a bit…”

"It's alright, let's hurry up," Hermione said, quickening her pace.

"Huh?" Harry paused for a moment, then quickly caught up with Hermione. "By the way, how's that thing working?"

“Great,” Hermione replied quickly, clenching her fists. “It went very smoothly—it really helped me a lot, allowing me to attend so many classes at the same time.”

“Ron told me you seem a bit irritable lately,” Harry said, tilting his head. “You’re a bit too tired, Hermione.”

“No, I’m not tired,” Hermione said, somewhat angrily. “That’s just normal. Didn’t you and Professor McGonagall warn me when you approved my application? It’s normal! Even Percy said so!”

Third-year students will face the dilemma of elective courses. Hogwarts has a wide variety of electives to choose from, but time is limited each week. This means that if a studious student takes all the courses, many of the courses will have completely conflicting schedules.

But no problem, magical magic will solve this problem. These exceptionally studious students, after proving their abilities and applying, will receive a magical item called a Time Converter. Using it, the user can travel back in time and attend two classes at the same time.

Such a wondrous item naturally comes with many limitations, but Hermione has indeed obtained it, which is why she has been somewhat irritable lately.

More class time, more homework, and more knowledge than other students are not only a reward for being a good learner, but also a heavy burden, not only physically but also psychologically.

To date, in recent decades, only one person has successfully withstood this burden and persevered to graduation: Percy Weasley, who took all the courses and graduated with perfect grades of O.

This is one of the reasons why Harry thinks highly of Percy; the boy is truly outstanding.

“Well, if you insist,” Harry sighed slightly, “I just wanted to tell you that you don’t have to completely follow Percy’s example. There are indeed many courses that you don’t need to master… Just follow your own interests.”

"So my interest is in mastering all knowledge and becoming stronger!" Hermione declared, turning around and putting her hands on her hips. "If Percy can do it, so can I! That's it! Let's go!"

After saying that, Hermione turned around and continued walking briskly toward the Gryffindor Tower.

Watching his friend's retreating figure, Harry scratched his head in confusion—he didn't understand why Hermione's mood had suddenly plummeted, when she had just been excited about becoming a champion.

How mysterious...woman.

The same goes for girls.

The Gryffindor common room was once again decorated, well, extraordinarily gold and red, the kind of bright, shiny gold and red.

The ceiling of the lounge seemed to have been enchanted, with images of the six warriors lined up overhead, each smiling and waving down at their cheering followers—frankly, it was a bit too creepy, because Professor McGonagall in the images was smiling like Dumbledore, which was nothing like her.

Harry was certain that once Professor McGonagall arrived at the lounge, she would definitely talk to the student who cast the spell about the details of his magic.

It felt like time had rewound to two years ago, when Harry first triumphed on the Quidditch pitch. He was pulled inside by a multitude of arms as soon as he opened the door to the common room, and then lifted up in celebration—Hermione, on the other hand, didn't receive the same treatment; ladies always need to be pampered.

Even so, Hermione was still surrounded by a crowd of people who were making a lot of noise. Those who usually thought she was a bookworm who only knew how to read all day seemed to have disappeared. Everyone was congratulating her or loudly asking her how she did it.

In the blink of an eye, Hermione became one of the most popular people in all of Gryffindor.

The lively atmosphere reached its peak when Professor McGonagall pushed open the door to the lounge and entered. To everyone's surprise, the Gryffindor lioness, their great headmistress, had changed out of her pure black wizard robes and was now wearing light casual clothes.

No student had ever seen Professor McGonagall like this, which shows that she was indeed quite happy—no matter how serious she was on a normal day, Professor McGonagall was always a Gryffindor.

Since we are Gryffindor, no one can resist honor—the Triwizard Tournament champion!
If only students could participate, that would be one thing, but now, she is a warrior too!

An exceptionally lively night.

The students practically emptied the kitchen of the food prepared by the house-elves. The diligent little creatures squealed as they began to restock, and then the food was taken away by students from all four houses.

Some of the older students somehow managed to get their hands on some alcohol, and Professor McGonagall drank a few more glasses, which made her face look rosy.

The entire Halloween weekend was exceptionally lively, and the eighteen newly minted warriors received enthusiastic cheers wherever they went.

This was the first time the students of Hogwarts had united as one to defeat the other two schools.

(End of this chapter)