Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 344 Cedric Diggory

After listening to Professor White's words, the girl blinked: This game is so childish...

In her opinion, wasn't this something that could be done with a little effort? She was already fifteen years old, past the age of playing such games. However, out of respect for Professor White, she took the wooden box and began to fiddle with it.

Helga smiled without saying a word; this game was not as simple as it seemed.

The four beads at the corners of the box are unaffected by gravity but are highly sensitive to magic, so even untrained novice wizards can instinctively make the beads move. However, making them move doesn't mean they can be accurately pushed into the corresponding holes; the ability to precisely control the beads is where talent is revealed.

However, this device also had its problems: once a wizard picked up a wand, they could easily manipulate the beads in the box. Therefore, Helga forbade students from using wands.

The girl, unaware of the truth, picked up the box and subconsciously tilted one corner. As a result, the beads did not fall as she expected, but were firmly fixed to the four corners of the wooden box as if they were stuck.

girl:???

Hufflepuff grinned, she loved seeing that surprised little expression!

After gently tapping the wooden box to no avail, the girl realized that the game wasn't as simple as it seemed. She held the box in each hand, one corner at a time, and stared intently at the beads inside.

At that moment, she really wanted to make the beads inside move.

As if sensing her feelings, the yellow bead in the corner suddenly trembled, and then "whoosh," it darted out from the corner and crashed into the edge of the wooden box like a golden thief, making a crisp sound.

"It's done!" The girl was overjoyed: getting the beads moving meant they were halfway to success! She comforted herself with that thought.

Next, she carefully repeated the "process" she had just gone through, and the beads started moving again. But the result was the same as last time: the wooden beads flew to the other side of the box and wouldn't obey her commands at all.

After trying this repeatedly for about ten times, the girl gave up—the last straw was that the yellow ball fell into the green hole, thus completely eliminating her chance of passing the level.

She placed the wooden box on the table in front of her and, somewhat embarrassed, told Professor White that she couldn't control the balls.

"It's alright, it's alright." Helga had expected this. She picked up the wooden box and casually tossed it back into place, putting all four beads back in their original positions.

By this time, many Hufflepuff students had noticed the game that Professor White and the girl were playing. They gathered around the two of them, looking curiously at the wooden box in the girl's hand.

Seeing that the students were drawn over, their eyes sparkling with eagerness, Helga decided to add fuel to the fire.

"Children, whoever is the first to complete this game will receive a cup!" She pulled a small golden cup from her bosom. The cup was exquisitely crafted, with a lifelike little badger carved on it.

"During the day, water poured into the cup turns into honey water; at night, water poured into it turns into wine; and at the moment between dawn and dusk, it turns into black tea," Helga explained the functions of the cup to the students gathered around her.

Now, even more people are willing to play the game.

They took turns trying, but few could get those sensitive little balls to obediently go into the correct hole.

The failed wizards didn't leave; instead, they ran to the other side to make room for the students who hadn't tried before, and in the process, they shared their experiences.

"Don't try to move the ball by tilting the box!"

"Just silently repeat 'Get moving' in your mind."

"Don't be too hasty, go slower, be gentler..."

Helga didn't stop the students from sharing their experience. She had considered this long ago; a few summaries of her insights could help the young wizards find the right way to start the game more quickly, but how well they actually played still depended on their talent. It was like telling someone who had never played a shooting game, "Left click to fire, right click to aim, R key to reload." These tips were useful, but not really of any practical use.

The box was handed to a round-faced boy. Like the other students, he couldn't handle the ball very well. The ball kept making crisp clattering sounds inside the box, and the boy's round face grew redder and redder.

After failing a few times, he put the wooden box aside and ran away with his face flushed.

"Won't you try again?" Helga glanced at the boy, but the boy just shook his head with his mouth shut.

"I'll give it a try." A voice came from the crowd, and many students instinctively made way for him. A tall, handsome boy stepped out of the crowd. He had black hair and a pair of bright gray eyes.

Helga's eyes lit up when she saw the boy standing in front of her: she knew this student. His name was Cedric Diggory, a fifth-year student at Hufflepuff House, the team captain, the Seeker, and also the prefect.

To sum it up in one sentence, he's so outstanding that he's almost unlike a Hufflepuff.

Helga handed the box to Cedric, who didn't rush to start the game but thanked her first before starting to fiddle with the box.

Everyone, including Hufflepuff, held their breath, as if afraid their breathing would affect Cedric's performance.

Snapped!

A crisp sound came from the box, the sound of the bead hitting the box wall. Cedric had successfully activated the bead. Then, in less than ten seconds, four muffled sounds, "clang, clang, clang, clang," came from the box.

That's the sound of the bead falling into the hole.

Cedric returned the wooden box to Hufflepuff, having already placed the four beads into their corresponding holes.

The lounge erupted in enthusiastic applause and cheers, interspersed with a few screams from the girls, and Helga smiled.

She has found the answer.

It's a pity he's a bit older, but it won't have a big impact. I'll try my best to persuade him to stay at the university for further studies after graduation. Besides, older wizards have more abundant magic power, and their strength will increase faster after I teach them.

After completing the game, Cedric didn't rush to claim his prize. He told Helga that he had acted impulsively and cut in line, so he hoped the professor would give the other students another chance. If anyone else could also finish the game, he would play another match with them.

Helga naturally had no objection—her goal was to identify gifted children, not to give away a cup, and she naturally hoped that every student would have a chance.

But no one in the lounge could complete the game like Cedric after that, and he became the undisputed winner.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

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(End of this chapter)