Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 427 Global Young Wizards Championship

The auditorium was completely silent. Such a dramatic entrance left the students speechless, only daring to exchange glances with their friends.

Rice lowered his head, his eyes filled with an inscrutable expression.

After making a rather imposing entrance, Rowena stood quietly by her seat in the faculty section, waiting for Dumbledore to introduce her to the students.

Upon seeing Arius arrive, Dumbledore smiled slightly.

"Professor Arianes will be taking on the role of Alchemy Professor at Hogwarts, which means that students interested in alchemy can consider enrolling in Professor Arianes' Alchemy course. However, the course is currently only open to students in their fifth year or above who have achieved excellent results in their OWL exams. Specific requirements will be posted on the school bulletin board—students who do not meet the requirements can submit an application to their respective house head, and may also take Alchemy if approved."

As soon as Dumbledore said this, the Great Hall, which had been quiet due to Rowena's entrance, was instantly filled with a buzz of discussion.

When everyone heard "new professor," they instinctively assumed this swift-witted woman was the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. But then Headmaster Dumbledore said she was the Alchemy professor, which meant...

All eyes turned to Professor White, who was sitting on the faculty bench.

Dumbledore took in the students' reactions, but he didn't point it out, only saying that "there are no other changes in teaching positions this academic year."

This definitively confirms that Professor White will continue as the professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts.

This is the first time since Voldemort's rise that the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor has been re-elected! The implications are self-evident. The symbolic significance is even more profound at this moment when Voldemort is making a comeback.

Voldemort's curse has been broken!

Dumbledore watched with a smile as the young wizards below the stage chattered amongst themselves, his gaze sweeping over the clock in the Great Hall.

"Time is almost up..." he murmured to himself.

Seeing that Professor Dumbledore was standing there, neither continuing to speak nor announcing that everyone could start eating, the young wizards understood that the headmaster still had something to say, and so the discussions in the Great Hall gradually subsided.

As the clock struck seven, Dumbledore spoke.

"Next, I will announce the most important thing of this academic year."

To inspire young wizards worldwide to love and explore magic, promote the exchange and integration of magical knowledge across different cultures, and jointly usher in a more dazzling new era of magic, Hogwarts will host the first Global Young Wizarding Championship after a long series of contacts and communications. Of course, it has a more elegant name: the World Young Wizarding Championship.

The competition is open to all young wizards under the age of 21. Magic schools, individuals, and magical organizations can all send representatives to participate, but in principle, no single magic school may send more than thirteen representatives, and no single organization may send more than seven representatives…

While Dumbledore was announcing the rules of the World Young Wizards Tournament to all the Hogwarts students and staff, in other parts of the world, regardless of their time zone, headmasters of various magic schools gathered their students at 7 p.m. to announce the grand event to be held at Hogwarts this year—the World Young Wizards Tournament.

Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, Durmstrang, Cordostas, the Magic Institute, Vagado, Castor, Ilfamoni...

English, French, German, Russian, Japanese, Portuguese...

Various languages ​​echoed in the auditoriums of various schools, all with one goal: to achieve the highest possible ranking in the competition and make the school the number one magic school in the world!

The young wizards' interest was also piqued.

Who could refuse an opportunity to showcase themselves in front of wizards from all over the world? Especially when it brings honor to their alma mater.

In the past, students from every magic school claimed their school was the best, and the title of the world's number one magic school has always been controversial. Now, everyone can find an opportunity to prove themselves.

Every student longs to be one of the thirteen who represent the school, even if it might cost them their lives.

The news spread further, from the eight prestigious magic schools to wizarding families and organizations, and hundreds of wizards were heading towards Hogwarts.

……

At this moment, Hogwarts' Great Hall, like the Great Halls, Meeting Halls, Council Chambers, and Squares of other magic schools, was in an uproar, with everyone excitedly discussing the upcoming Global Young Wizards Championship.

"By Merlin!"

"I really want to qualify for the competition!!!"

"There's no age limit, so as a third-year student, does that mean—"

"over thinking!"

Rice narrowed his eyes: Each magic school can have a maximum of thirteen participants? It seems to be a little different from the plan he had discussed before, but it's not a big problem. It's probably a suggestion from other magic schools.

Besides, even if there are a hundred spots, as long as I don't apply, I naturally won't become a candidate! Rice's mood was extremely calm and undisturbed.

But just then, Rowena on stage suddenly smiled at him, and Rice's heart skipped a beat.

Oh no! Why is Rowena smiling at me? Wait, as an old friend I haven't seen in a long time, it doesn't seem like a big deal for her to smile at me. Am I being too sensitive?

Rice kept reassuring herself, trying to calm herself down and not let Rowena's interference throw her off balance.

Dumbledore, who was on the stage, had already explained the rules of the World Young Wizards Tournament. Then he gestured to Professor McGonagall to bring the Sorting Hat to him.

"Here I want to thank Professor White and Professor Arius. With their help, we upgraded the Sorting Hat so that it can help us select students qualified to participate in the World's Young Wizarding Championship. It will take into account various factors to score wizards, and the top thirteen students will become the representatives of Hogwarts in the competition... It seems a bit late now, how about we have dinner first? And hold the selection tomorrow?" Dumbledore asked tentatively.

"No!" The students were quite vocal, shouting that they wanted Dumbledore to start the selection process right now—they would rather stay up until midnight than wait until tomorrow.

Upon learning that the Sorting Hat was responsible for the scoring, Rice was immediately relieved: all he had to do was get past the Sorting Hat to avoid becoming a contestant!

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.

First update delivered. There will be another chapter at midnight tonight.

(End of this chapter)