The Bard of Hogwarts

Chapter 326 Pre-match Interview and Wand Test

Time seems to pass by unnoticed, day by day.

Time flew by and it was almost the end of November.

On the morning before the competition, all the warriors were invited to a special classroom in the castle.

It is said that, according to the tradition of the Triwizard Tournament, the warriors' wands are inspected before the competition.

……

The second floor of the castle.

An empty classroom, because most of the desks were piled up at the back of the classroom, leaving enough space in front.

However, directly in front of them, there were three tables side by side, covered with a red velvet tapestry.

Behind the table were six high-backed chairs.

Since it's a wand testing exercise, Ollivander, the only wand maker in the British Isles, is naturally indispensable.

Similarly, there were five referees present, including three headmasters including Dumbledore, and two directors, Bagman and Barty Crouch Sr.

It's worth mentioning that, compared to the others who remained calm, only Bagman, who was in charge of Magic Sports, looked excited and seemed somewhat impatient.

In the classroom, Harry sat to one side, quietly observing everything around him. After the most rigorous special training, he could now subtly perceive everyone's actions.

Meanwhile, Ino noticed Harry's gaze early on and appeared alert and even a little nervous, looking exactly like a second Moody.

However, he didn't think it was a bad thing. Harry's biggest flaw in the original story was his recklessness. Now that he's become more cautious, he might avoid a lot of unnecessary trouble.

"Warriors, time is of the essence! If possible, please come up one by one, as you will soon be facing an interview with the Daily Prophet!"

Director Bagman of the Department of Magical Sports stood up, then continued, half-jokingly:

"Of course, there is no order to this. If you want to decide by drawing lots, I can do it now."

However, after looking around, Bagman couldn't help but turn his gaze to Ino.

There was nothing he could do; in his view, the other three warriors all seemed a bit abnormal.

Krum, with his blank expression; Fleur, who appears delicate; and Harry, who is extremely vigilant.

"Alright! Since there's no set order, I'll go first!"

Facing Bagman's gaze, Ino slowly stood up, walked to the velvet table, and handed the wand to the gray-haired Ollivander.

"Long time no see, Mr. Ollivander!"

"Yes! It's been a long time. I still remember the story of Mother Elder!" Ollivander carefully took the wand.

After observing carefully for a moment, he whispered, "There was no need to check it in the first place, but they insisted on doing so, saying that this is the rule."

Seemingly not very accepting of this kind of inspection, Ollivander's voice was soft, but just loud enough for the people present to hear clearly.

Fortunately, Ollivander knew his limits and stopped with just one sentence, then turned his gaze back to the wand in front of him.

He held the wand in one hand, and as it sliced ​​through the air, a beautiful elderflower bloomed at the tip.

"Elderwood shaft, phoenix feather core, 12 inches long, reasonably flexible..."

Ollivander recited the wand's information as if it were second nature, and then handed the wand to Bagman beside him.

Bagman took the wand, glanced at it briefly, and then handed it to Barty Crouch.

However, an interesting scene then unfolded.

Unlike the routine work of the two directors of the Ministry of Magic, the three headmasters' performances were quite different.

After receiving the wand, Karkaroff handled it as if it were a hot, fragile object, gently picking it up with both hands and handing it to Mrs. Maxim in the blink of an eye.

The striking female headmistress, upon receiving the wand, was naturally not as cautious as Karkaroff, because her attention was not on the wand at all.

Mrs. Maxim looked at the students in front of her, her eyes filled with both admiration and regret.

Faced with such a direct gaze, Ino immediately understood the reason. Some time ago, he had visited Beauxbatons' carriage, where he had politely declined the other party's offer of a book.

It seems that Maxim is still somewhat unwilling to give up.

Fortunately, this was not the time for conversation. Mrs. Maxim pinched the wand between two fingers and handed it to Dumbledore.

Under the watchful eyes of the others, Dumbledore, like a child who had discovered a new and exciting toy, immediately pulled out his own wand.

Two almost identical wands were placed on the table. The two wands were really similar, both in color and length, and even the knots connecting the bone wooden wands were almost identical.

Dumbledore hid the two wands under the table, then took them out again a moment later and smiled:

"Guess which one is yours."

Faced with this obviously fake and childish trick, Ino didn't expose it. Instead, he looked at it with great interest.

"It's not apparent from appearance..."

Ino stroked his chin with one hand, pretending to be deep in thought as he spoke.

"Hahaha, I knew you wouldn't guess!" Dumbledore laughed heartily, as if he had successfully pulled off a prank.

However, the back-and-forth dialogue between the two left everyone else present with a helpless expression.

Ollivander, in particular, was quite angry!

After all, a wizard not recognizing his own wand is, in his view, the greatest failure.

Considering that there were other people waiting behind him, Ino didn't want to waste any more time, so he immediately smiled and said:

"Although I can't tell the difference, my wand will bloom!"

As soon as he finished speaking, two almost identical wands appeared on the table, one of which actually had small white flowers blooming on its shaft.

After the joke ended, Bagman stood up again.

"Mr. Swinburne! Please go to the second classroom on the left. A special correspondent from the Daily Prophet will be there to conduct an interview with you."

……

at the same time.

While Bagman was speaking, Rita seemed somewhat distracted in the second classroom on the left.

As a special correspondent for the Daily Prophet, she used her talent to learn many unknown secrets.

But the more she learned, the more terrified she became.

Once upon a time, the Ministry of Magic was divided into numerous factions, but now it seems to be firmly locked in an invisible spider web, even subtly twisted into a single rope.

This sounds absurd, but as a top journalist with over a decade of experience, Rita keenly spotted the problem. She knew all too well what the consequences would be behind some subtle changes.

Perhaps it doesn't seem like a big deal now, but that's just because the time hasn't come yet.

"I hope I can keep up..."

In the empty classroom, Rita murmured to herself.

The thought that the person who caused all this would soon be the subject of an interview made her uneasy.

Her golden hair was tossing around unconsciously.

(End of this chapter)