Harry Potter: I started checking in from Diagon Alley

As Cedric got to know Eric better, he even began to wonder if he had really lost his mind before.

Why did I suddenly have the idea to challenge such a monster?

Despite repeated defeats, Cedric has now completely calmed down.

If you can't beat them anyway, why bother trying?

He has made rapid progress during this period and is now completely different from the person who rashly challenged Eric back then.

But the gap shows no signs of narrowing; on the contrary, it is widening.

When he learned about the format of this dueling club from Professor Sprout, he was almost overwhelmed with happiness.

Because they were divided by grade level, Eric was assigned to the lower grades, which meant he wasn't on the same track as the other students.

The top three winners will be selected from both the high and low groups, for a total of six people.

All six of them will receive scholarships.

I heard it's exceptionally generous.

Even if Eric does win the championship in the end, it will have nothing to do with Cedric's personal achievements.

It's impossible for Eric to suddenly skip several grades and join the competition for the senior group.

So anything is possible.

Cedric was incredibly envious of the scholarships for the top three students.

Wood shared the same thought.

His initial gloomy mood vanished instantly upon hearing the competition rules, replaced by a sense of high aspirations.

Seeing their excited smiles, Eric knew exactly what they were thinking and said speechlessly, "You're very happy, aren't you?"

Cedric and Wood exchanged a smile, a subtle and understated one.

Eric said thoughtfully, "You guys should watch out for that guy from our academy named Clement."

Cedric asked, "Is he the guy who followed you in just now? I heard he's quite capable, but is there any need to be overly concerned?"

Eric said, "I don't know, but he might be hiding something."

Dumbledore clapped his hands, gesturing for everyone in the room to come closer to him, and said, "Eric, the four of you have guaranteed admission spots directly submitted by your respective heads of departments. You can stay here and rest until it's your turn to play, or you can watch other people's matches. Here, this is for you."

Dumbledore waved his wand, conjuring a shield-shaped brooch bearing the Hogwarts crest in the palms of Eric and his companions.

"I've put a spell on this brooch. When it's your turn to play, you'll see your match venue number and your opponent's information on the back of this brooch."

Before Dumbledore could finish speaking, a woman in extravagant attire suddenly jumped out from the side and interrupted, "Headmaster, when can I interview these geniuses?"

Cedric was startled. The woman was wearing a bright green suit skirt with high shoulder pads and huge glasses, and looked like a green bean fly.

The woman was also holding an old-fashioned camera that seemed to have been enchanted; she was clearly a reporter.

Dumbledore introduced, "This is Ms. Rita Skeeter, a special correspondent for the Daily Prophet. I won't waste any more time. You're free to do as you please after the interviews are completed, until the Round of 16 are decided."

Daily Prophet!

Apart from Eric, the other three gasped, and even Cedric seemed a little surprised.

They never imagined that a simple intramural club competition would attract a reporter from the Daily Prophet.

Slytherin's Quidditch captain, Flint, had a burning desire in his eyes; he was already fantasizing about a future where he could be on the front page of the newspapers like Eric.

Eric remained the most composed, saying, "It's just the Daily Prophet; I'm already tired of it."

Dumbledore turned and led the professors out, winking at Eric with a smile before leaving.

Eric remained calm; Rita Skeeter was equally famous to him.

Besides being a well-known journalist, this woman, like Sirius Black, is an illegal Animagus.

If this woman is left unattended, the impact she can have is considerable.

click.

Rita Skeeter held up her camera and took close-up photos of the four people.

Eric warned, "Don't take my picture."

Rita Skeeter ignored her and continued taking pictures, laughing, "Come on, smile."

Eric smiled and waved his wand; her camera began to smoke, and a clicking sound came from inside.

Rita Skeeter quickly covered the camera and said urgently, "I won't take any more pictures, I won't take any more pictures."

Eric then stopped.

Rita Skeeter, no longer daring to provoke Eric, pulled out her notebook and quill pen and said, "Let each of you say a declaration of victory, and I'll publish an article about it later."

Wood, the most shy one, gave a simple, honest smile: "I will try my best not to disappoint the people of my hometown, Gryffindor, and get into the top three in the senior group."

Flint, his face flushed with excitement, exclaimed, "I will do everything in my power to become the Duel Champion! You see, Hogwarts' Duel Club has a long history and tradition. I will uphold the honor of Slytherin and use all the knowledge I've acquired in this competition to show the other three houses how formidable Slytherin is. I also want to thank my Head of House, Professor Snape…"

Rita Skeeter quickly interrupted, "Alright, alright, just one sentence each, next one."

When it was Cedric's turn, he smiled sheepishly and said, "I'll try my best to win the senior group championship."

Rita Skeeter asked in bewilderment, "Don't you want to be the overall champion? Why limit your goals to the senior group?"

Cedric pretended not to hear and turned around with Wood, not wanting to answer the question at all.

Eric was standing right next to him; how was he supposed to answer that?

Rita Skeeter was baffled and eventually turned to Eric.

Eric's official statement was perfunctory: "Play with style and skill, friendship first, competition second."

Rita Skeeter was utterly speechless; not a single word she uttered was usable.

Chapter 96 Malfoy vs. Harry

In the center of the hall, Dumbledore slowly walked into the crowd.

The place where the principal used to speak has now been replaced by a semi-elevated platform.

Dumbledore stepped forward and, using a loud voice to ensure the entire Great Hall could hear him, announced: "This year's Duel Club will be held with the support of Professor Flitwick and myself. We are pleased to inform you that we have received a total of 312 applications, the highest number of participants in the history of the Duel Club. Now, I will announce the rules and requirements for this year's Duel Club. Each participant will draw lots to determine their opponent. The entire draw will be completely random, under my supervision, and there is no possibility of any human intervention."

Dumbledore said, “Each participant will have a limited range of opponents to choose from, and the age difference will not be too large. This protection rule will expire after the final sixteen are determined. But I need to remind you that before that, the heads of the four houses—Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff—each have one guaranteed spot in the final sixteen, and they have already made their choices.”

Dumbledore said, "The four players who have made it into the Round of 16 are: Oliver Wood of Gryffindor! Marcus Flint of Slytherin! Cedric Diggory of Hufflepuff! And finally, Eric Clapton of Ravenclaw!"

Every time Dumbledore called out a name, the other students from the house in the room would spontaneously cheer, which would naturally draw boos from other houses. For example, Flint of Slytherin was booed the most by the other three houses.

Of the four, Flint was the least popular, and even in Slytherin, there was a large number of people who disliked him.

They just didn't want to boo their own people on behalf of the other colleges.

Otherwise, the boos would definitely drown out the cheers.

Of course, they wouldn't support Flint either, and ultimately chose to stand by and watch.

When Eric's name was finally announced, the cheers nearly lifted the hall off its feet; he received the most enthusiastic welcome.

Eric's popularity and talent are enough to win him a large number of supporters.

In addition, Eric was handsome and had an outstanding face, so many younger girls would think about how to send him love letters every day.

However, Eric rejected them all.

Upstairs in a small room, Flint watched this scene with a pale face, glancing at Eric beside him out of the corner of his eye, trying to appear calm.

Wood and Flint were bitter rivals, both serving as Quidditch captains for their respective houses and having clashed many times. Taking the opportunity, Wood stepped forward and asked, "Why is your leg shaking?"

Flint was startled and quickly covered up, "No, you must have mistaken me."

Cedric patted him on the shoulder sympathetically: "It's okay, we all understand."

Flint, enraged, slapped Cedric's hand away and went to fawn over Rita Skeeter, trying to get her to portray him as more handsome in the reports.

Downstairs, Dumbledore continued addressing everyone: "That means, apart from these four contestants, there are only twelve spots left in the Round of 16 for others to compete for."

These words instantly cooled the atmosphere that had been cheering for the four people.

Yes, many people suddenly realized that since those four were guaranteed a spot in the top 16, there were fewer spots left.

Then what's the point of cheering?

Although these four individuals were both capable and renowned enough to qualify for the guaranteed admission, and were highly regarded within their respective colleges, they had no objections to the result.

But in the end, they still occupied four spots.

The competition among the remaining participants suddenly became much more difficult.

Dumbledore concluded, “Given the large number of participants, we will also set up a breakout venue. The upperclassmen will go with Professor Flitwick to the Quidditch pitch, where you will have plenty of room to play. As for the lowerclassmen, your playing area will be in the Great Hall. Now, everyone, please take out your registration forms.”

The crowd standing in the Great Hall, listening intently to Dumbledore's speech, all took out their registration forms, puzzled.

Dumbledore took out his wand and gracefully drew an arc in front of him, covering the entire Great Hall with magic. A ring of light shot out from his wand and spread outwards.

The next moment, all the students who had signed up were touched by Dumbledore's magic and were surprised to find that the registration forms in their hands had turned into small shield-shaped brooches that were slowly heating up.

It was exactly the same brooch that Eric and his three companions received.

"This is your most important credentials for joining the Duel Club. When it's your turn, it will show your opponent and the arena," Dumbledore said. "Finally, we need to make some changes here."

Dumbledore pointed his wand at the sky, and the colorful ribbons hanging in the Great Hall suddenly swirled and fell, flying towards the center of the crowd. Several stone pillars that appeared out of nowhere also descended with them.

The ribbons and stone pillars intertwined, forming long, rectangular shapes that separated the crowd.

Once all the ribbons were in place, everyone realized that they had divided the entire auditorium into more than twenty equal-sized dueling areas, including passageways.

The divided dueling arena, in terms of both shape and length, closely resembles a fencing venue.

Eric thought it was like many fencing matches happening at the same time, which was quite spectacular.

Dumbledore then announced in a loud voice, "The Duel Club is now open!"

Sparse cheers rose as Dumbledore announced the start of the Dueling Club, and many people's brooches began to heat up at the same time. They forgot about cheering and immediately began to pay attention to their opponents in the first round.

Led by Professor Flitwick, the senior students walked through the Great Hall to the Quidditch pitch.

The younger students stayed in the auditorium.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were together, and his brooch was getting warm, while Ron and Hermione's brooches were not reacting for the time being.