Hogwarts doesn't need a savior

When the after-meal desserts were also swept away by the little wizards, even Ron, who claimed that he could "eat a whole hippogriff", held his stomach and did not move. The food residues on the table disappeared at the same time, leaving only clean plates.

At this time, Headmaster Dumbledore stood up again, and the conversations and discussions in the hall stopped immediately. Even the wind and rain outside the window seemed to have weakened by three points.

"Seeing you guys wolfing down your food really makes me happy." He smiled as he looked at the auditorium full of people again after two months. "Now I think you're all full and starting to feel sleepy."

There was a burst of laughter from the audience, especially from Fred and George.

"However," Dumbledore raised his voice slightly, "I still have to ask you to cheer up again, because there are several very important announcements to make to everyone."

The auditorium fell silent again. Everyone stared at him intently, especially the young people who had vaguely heard the gossip. Their eyes were full of anticipation.

"First of all, Mr. Filch, the castle caretaker, wants me to tell you that there are more prohibited items in the castle this year - a total of 437 items. The list is in his office, and anyone interested can go and check it out."

As he said this, the corners of Dumbledore's mouth twitched slightly.

He heard the whispers in the audience - and nothing good was said about Mr. Filch.

But he pretended not to hear and said loudly: "The Forbidden Forest is still not open to the public unless special permission is given. Hogsmeade's weekends and holidays will also remain the same as before. Students below the third grade and those without the permission of their relatives are not allowed to visit."

As soon as these words were spoken, the young wizards in the lower grades sighed with regret - there were a few in the upper grades as well, but Harry was no longer among them. He got the autograph of his godfather Sirius Black, which was very nice, and also received a tour guide as a gift.

"This year I can go with you openly without wearing an invisibility cloak!" he said excitedly, his face full of joy.

But before he could finish his words, the smile on his face froze because of another announcement from Dumbledore.

"I am also very sorry to tell you that we will not be holding the House Cup Quidditch Tournament this year." Dumbledore said in a calm tone, but it was like a stone that caused a thousand ripples and caused an uproar.

"Why?!" Fred and George asked in unison, their mouths wide open, surprised and indignant.

"Because we are going to hold a large-scale event starting in October, which will last for the entire school year." Dumbledore looked at the two well-known naughty kids gently, not minding their offense at all. "This will take up the teachers' time and energy, but I believe you will all have a lot of fun from it."

After a pause to give everyone some time to buffer, he continued, "I am pleased to announce to everyone that in the coming months, Hogwarts will be honored to host a wonderful event that has not been held for more than a century - the Triwizard Tournament. However, this year's event will be different."

"What did you say, Professor Dumbledore?!" Fred asked loudly before he sat down.

The entire hall was filled with joy. Most of the young wizards from wizard families knew more or less about this dangerous yet fascinating ancient competition.

"Perhaps some of you are not quite clear, or maybe you didn't hear it clearly like Mr. Weasley." Dumbledore said with a smile, "So I will explain it briefly, including the Triwizard Tournament and the characteristics of this year's event."

"The Triwizard Tournament is a friendly competition between the three largest magic schools in Europe. The founders are our Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang from the European continent. Each school selects a champion, and the three champions compete in three magic events every five years. Later, it was tragically interrupted due to too many deaths."

He deliberately stopped here for a moment, but it was obvious that the death many years ago could not arouse today's attention and vigilance, and everyone was whispering excitedly.

"We have been planning this restoration operation for more than a year. Although several attempts in the past century have failed, we are lucky this time." He continued, "Moreover, with the great help of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, the Department of Sports and many knowledgeable people, we have created many highlights for this year's event."

"Highlight?" Harry looked around and saw surprise and expectation in many people's eyes.

"This year," Dumbledore said, raising his voice, "we will welcome two new partners of great reputation, our partner Castrobus, a thousand-year-old school from South America, and Ilvermorny, a new school from North America that also has four magic schools like us!"

"!"

As soon as this statement came out, the audience was in an uproar.

Although they didn't know much about Ilvermorny, most of the young wizards present were impressed by Castrobusche, especially Professor Inès Garcia from Castrobusche.

This is exactly what Dumbledore hoped to achieve.

He smiled at Lin En, who was sitting in an inconspicuous corner of the staff table, and said in a clear voice: "In October, teachers and students from the four schools will come and hold a ceremony to select warriors on Halloween. An impartial referee will decide which students are most qualified to win honor for the school and win generous bonuses for themselves."

"It would be impolite to call this competition the Triwizard Tournament. After agreement among all participating parties, we will officially name this event the Transcontinental Magic Schools Tournament. You can also call it the Five Schools Tournament."

Dumbledore's resonant voice reached the ears of every young wizard, igniting their enthusiasm and expectations - honor and wealth were the most exciting trophies, and there were many people who fantasized about becoming Hogwarts warriors.

At least several hundred people were staring at Dumbledore with extremely fanatical eyes, and even more were discussing excitedly, but Dumbledore spoke again and they quickly quieted down.

"I fully understand that everyone here is eager to win this unprecedented crown for Hogwarts."

He said cheerfully, "But after much discussion, we decided that only adult students are allowed to register, and the deadline is set for Halloween this year."

At this point he had to raise his voice slightly to be heard over the angry protests - especially from the sixth grades whose birthdays were later in life and the fourth and fifth grades who thought they were as good as the older students.

The truth that some are happy while others are sad seems so clear and full of truth in the Hogwarts Great Hall at this moment.

"This measure is very necessary, because each project is difficult and dangerous, and there will be outstanding wizards involved in the design. No matter what precautions are taken, it is almost impossible for underage students to cope with it. Therefore, this regulation will be implemented to the letter, and I will personally guarantee this."

Dumbledore said seriously, his eyes sweeping over the young people who were still protesting, full of majesty, "So I ask those who are unable to sign up not to waste their time."

"We protest!" someone spoke up first, "We are all in the sixth grade, why are we treated differently?!"

Dumbledore did not respond, but raised his voice again: "Delegations from the four schools will arrive in October and spend most of the school year with us. I believe you will show the warmth and friendliness of the school, and I believe you will support the champion who is finally selected. Now you should go to rest and make sure you are full of energy tomorrow!"

After he finished speaking, he sat back in his seat and talked in a low voice with Mag next to him, completely ignoring the few young people who were still standing in the crowd of people leaving.

Chapter 425 Youthful Spirit

"They can't do that, it's not fair!" Fred and George were furious at Dumbledore's neglect.

"Let's go, that's Dumbledore's decision." Hermione advised, "If you don't leave now, everyone will leave."

"No, I won't go back. I'm going to find Uncle Eric. He will definitely not agree to this!" Fred said stubbornly, and walked towards Lynn who was leaving with Doris, Babel and an unfamiliar witch.

George was a little slower than him, but when he heard this, he hurried over, leaving only Harry, Hermione and Ron, who was also moved by the prize.

-----------------

Soon after, in Lynn's office.

"You also heard that ridiculous rule that Dumbledore mentioned, right?" Fred asked, still angry.

George also said angrily: "This is unreasonable! We will be seventeen next April, and we are all in the sixth grade. Why can someone who is a few months older than us participate in the competition?"

The twin brothers, who were eager to make up the funding gap through bonuses, seemed angrier than all the young wizards who could not sign up. They did have the capital to do so - in the use of magic, there were only a handful of people in the sixth grade who could surpass them.

But they were indeed not good at studying, and the fact that each of them had five certificates was the result of their improvement after Lynn's intervention.

Listening to the brothers complaining, Lin En didn't say anything at first. He waited for a while, and when he saw that they had said everything they wanted to say, he slowly asked, "Are there any other things you are not satisfied with?"

"…No more, Uncle Eric."

“To be honest, I don’t object to the demands you’ve made. When it comes to selection, fairness comes first.” Lin En said, “And even if we resume holding it regularly in the future, it will only be once every five years. It’s not easy to catch up.”

"That's right!" the two brothers said in unison.

"But I'm going to pour some cold water on you." Lynn looked at them with a strange expression. "If we really want to participate in the competition, it's not as easy as it seems. Dumbledore is not trying to scare people. To tell you the truth, I will participate in the project design."

"...?"

"And, from what I understand, you're in a hurry to make money because you're owed gambling money by Ludo Bagman, right?"

"...!"

There was a storm outside the window, and the twins shuddered and gasped.

"You must not tell Mom!" George said, "otherwise we'll be finished." Fred nodded repeatedly.

"Well... it's okay. Arthur told me that anyway, so I'll just take it as a lesson for you." Lynn said, "But you should learn from it and never trust a gambler like Bagman who has no bottom line."

He lazily leaned back in his chair, his eyes playful, "As for the competition, I will talk to the principal and others later. This is a big event involving several schools. I think everyone will have this question. You wait for the news."

"Are you willing to help us?" Fred was overjoyed. "That will certainly work!"

"That may not be the case. I am just making a suggestion. Even if my suggestion is accepted, I am not sure whether you two can pass the corresponding test."

"As long as there is a chance!" George vowed.

After chatting for a while, especially talking about the course selection for the advanced class, the two brothers, whose OWLs scores were all E, left happily, completely forgetting that they seemed to not know the password yet.

But this was not what Lin En was concerned about. He thought that the two people who were always careless in class needed to be taught a lesson.

Professor McGonagall will definitely give them a good "treat" for being blocked outside the common room at the beginning of the school term.

-----------------

While the Weasley twins were happily rushing back, Harry, who had just finished washing up, was lying on his bed, having a heated discussion with his roommates who were also unable to sleep due to the explosive news today.

Dean and Seamus had no interest in participating in the competition, but they were looking forward to this year's campus life, especially Seamus who was a fan of Krum. He was already imagining the arrival of Durmstrang.

A sticker of the Bulgarian Quidditch team, made especially for Krum, sat on his bedside table, next to a poster of his favourite Muggle football team.

Neville was sitting alone on his four-poster bed, packing up the things he had brought from home. Harry saw several wands in a wooden box - none of them looked like they were used by decent people, but he was considerate enough not to ask any questions.

"A tournament bigger than the Triwizard Tournament is exciting, isn't it, Harry?" said Ron, leaning back against the soft pillows. "If only we could somehow register without Dumbledore knowing, there would be a lot of money."

"It doesn't necessarily mean he hid it from Dumbledore." Dean said excitedly, "Didn't he say that he would find an impartial referee to choose the champion? This means that it is likely that it was not him, but someone else."

Neville finally packed up his things and said slowly, "I heard from my grandmother that many people died in this competition before, some of them were underage wizards, and people at that time felt very sorry about it."

He probably meant it to be persuasive, but it seemed to have the opposite effect - Ron suddenly became excited.

"That is to say, the rule of not allowing minors to participate is not set in stone!" He grasped the key point and was very excited. "If that's the case, it would be great if we could participate! I just don't know if our level is good enough. Since we have to choose, we will definitely choose the best one."

"The best... Percy has already graduated, and Professor Foley has directly become our professor. That means it's the seventh grade?" Harry thought for a moment, "Springhall or Roger Davis?"

"I think it should be Cedric Diggory." Neville sat cross-legged on his bed, which was just warmed by the long-handled charcoal stove that the house elf had brought in advance. "His level is not much worse than Doris, just last year."

"Fred and George always say he's a big fool." Ron shrugged. "But I have a good impression of him. At least he looks handsome and a decent person. Percy often mentions him to me." He remembered the incident at Stoat Hill.

Knowing his own abilities well, he didn't think much about signing up for the competition, but he was full of anticipation - instead, Neville took out his wand and looked it over.

They were all grown boys, so it was impossible for them not to be tempted by such an honor, especially after nearly two years of hard training. Although his talent was still more concentrated in herbal medicine, the fighting talent inherited from his parents was also reflected by 70 to 80 percent.

He had conquered the wands of the Lestrange brothers, and now only Bellatrix, the strongest and most stubborn, was left.

The three enemies who drove his parents crazy are obstacles that he must overcome on his path to growth, and they are also his whetstones.

The voices in the dormitory gradually died down, and after being tired all day and caught in the rain, they fell asleep one after another.

With thoughts somewhat similar to Neville's, Harry also turned over in bed, his head full of fantasies - about warriors, victory, honor... and the feelings that a young boy who is just beginning to fall in love will be attracted to at first sight.

He thought of himself becoming the champion amid cheers, and seeing Qiu Zhang in the blurry crowd.

If only I could deceive that fair referee... Thinking of this, he buried his head in the pillow and fell asleep contentedly.

Chapter 426 Personal Injury Magic

The next morning, the storm finally ended, the dark clouds completely dissipated, and the refreshing sunshine from the east sprinkled all over the castle.

Harry, Ron and Hermione, who had received a good night's sleep, were studying their class schedules for this semester while having breakfast. Not far away were Fred and George, who were yawning. They had been enjoying the cool breeze outside the common room for more than an hour the previous night and were going to be put in detention by Professor McGonagall for the weekend.

From them, Harry learned that Professor Eric was about to intervene in the matter of age standards, and he was in a good mood.

In his eyes, there is nothing that this amazing professor can't do, including dealing with those mysterious bad guys.

Looking at the class schedule which was obviously much more complicated than last year, he happily broke off a piece of bread and swallowed it whole.

According to this specially rewritten timetable, their first class this year was Defense Against the Dark Arts, in the morning.

The new professor was the Auror. Although Harry had never seen him actually take action, he was already looking forward to it.

"Ron, do you know what Professor Shacklebolt's past was like?" he asked.

"Well... Dad mentioned him to me before. They used to be colleagues in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. I heard that he was a very enthusiastic but quiet man. He took over Mad-Eye's job and should be the most powerful Auror now." Ron said vaguely while wolfing down his bacon.

Harry was a little confused: "The most powerful Auror? Mad-Eye?"

"Mad-Eye is a very powerful but crazy Auror. Many people think he is the most powerful one." Ron finally finished the bacon on the plate and drank a large glass of pumpkin juice. Only then did he calm down. "When You-Know-Who was at his peak, he led the Aurors to fight against them. Uncle Eric is very familiar with him."

"I see..." Harry seemed to understand. When the second grade just started, he heard Lynn mention Aurors. They were a group of elite wizards whose mission was to fight the worst criminals and dark wizards. They were the strongest force of the Ministry of Magic.

He also met a few, such as Professor Eric's good friend Mr. Brian Johnson.

It sounds like this "Mad-Eye" is more powerful than Mr. Johnson, and Professor Shacklebolt is about the same?

While he was thinking, the breakfast on his plate was almost cold.

"Speaking of Aurors, I heard that Andrew will soon complete his Auror training, probably by the end of this year." Hermione looked up from her book. "He may very well be one of the Aurors who completes his training and becomes a full-time Auror the fastest."

"Andrew? Andrew Travers?" Harry asked. "The Slytherin prefect?"

"Yes, that's him. The professor mentioned it during the home visit, saying that he might be a few months ahead of a prospective Auror named Tonks."

"That's great..." Harry sighed, "I wish I could be an Auror and fight crime."

"If you can study hard and get the corresponding certificates, I think you have a chance, Potter." A familiar voice sounded behind the three of them. It was Professor McGonagall.

Harry turned his head and met the gaze of the serious headmaster, who was handing out this year's course timetable to others.

"But now," she took a break from her busy schedule and walked over to the three of them, patting Hermione's shoulder affectionately, "you should go to class. Kingsley's class will definitely be very rewarding."

"Ah! Yes, we'll go right away!" Noticing the passage of time, Harry quickly bent down, ate something in a few bites to fill his stomach, and hurriedly left with his two good friends.