458 Triwizard Tournament
The carriage passed through a gate with winged boar sculptures on both sides and drove down the spacious driveway, shaking violently due to the strong wind.
Saoirse's identity among the four seems a bit abrupt. Just last year, she and a few others experienced adventures in the world of Black Sun, and she also used Hufflepuff's golden cup to save the dying James. That At that time, James still looked like a fork.
Karan remembered that Hufflepuff's golden cup was supposed to be one of the Horcruxes, snatched away by despicable means when Voldemort was still working at Borgin-Bock, but this time it happened to appear in Saoirse's hands.
He never had time to ask Jinbei's question, and Saoirse's weird personality also made him don't know how to ask.
But unexpectedly, Saoirse took the initiative and asked with a smile: "Are you still planning to take risks this semester?"
"What kind of adventure?" Lily concealed it subconsciously: "It's fine if you want to violate the school rules yourself, but don't even think about taking us with you."
"Don't be kidding." Saoirse waved her hand at her. She looked at Karan and Snape with interest: "I'm serious. If you still plan to take risks, you must remember to call me."
Snape frowned and stared at her: "Why?"
Even though they were from the same college, he and Saoirse were not so familiar with each other.
"Because I'm going to die."
Saoirse said shockingly, startling both Lily and Snape.
Karan was also frightened. He didn't expect Saoirse to say the blood curse in disguise so calmly.
But Saoirse still had an indifferent attitude. She seemed to have long accepted the fact that she was not going to die soon: "Even if I can't die, I probably won't have much life left. In this case, I might as well experience more adventures." Maybe the chance of being saved can be even greater, just like that time in the Black Sun World. It was simply the most exciting adventure I have ever experienced. Only the wizards who survived that world could save me. It was all me. Magic like never before."
"I have been exploring the secrets of Hogwarts, including the Forbidden Forest. If anyone can save me, it must be at Hogwarts."
Both Lily and Snape were stunned for a moment. Only Karan roughly understood what Saoirse was talking about - she placed her hope of curing the blood curse in Hogwarts, a magical place full of secrets. School, and the bizarre world of Black Sun gave her hope, making her feel that only a powerful wizard in that world could cure her.
That's why she deliberately found Karan and the other three, just to experience another adventure similar to the one in the Black Sun World.
Karan thought for a moment and asked, "What about Hufflepuff's golden cup? Can't that cure you?"
Saoirse shook her head frankly: "It's not that simple. The golden cup is indeed magical, but the golden cup alone cannot cure the blood curse."
She said these words with absolute certainty, and then said a shocking fact——
"Because this golden cup was originally given to me by another blood-cursed orc."
"I still remember the other person's name, Nagini."
Karan blinked.
At this time, the carriage also stopped at the stone steps in front of the two oak doors. A bolt of lightning pierced the sky, and Saoirse hurriedly climbed the stone steps.
Snape, who had just stepped out of the carriage, stared at Karan's solemn look. He asked doubtfully: "The blood curse... and what about Nagini? Is what Saoirse said true?"
Karan nodded slightly.
He really didn't expect to hear Nagini's name from Saoirse.
But if you think about it carefully, this makes sense.
Credence Gaunt rioted during a speech due to the effects of Occlumency in his brain, which cost him the chance to join Grindelwald's camp.
But on the other hand, it also allows Credence to focus more on Nagini, allowing him to desperately seek a solution to the blood-cursed orcs.
In this way, Credence will be more likely to get the Hufflepuff Gold Cup in advance, which also means that Nagini has the Gold Cup.
The only pity is that Nagini failed to completely cure herself through the golden cup, and Saoirse couldn't do it either, so she tried to explore the secrets of Hogwarts.
Lily glanced at Karan: "Do you really plan to call Saoirse in the future?"
Among the few people, she and Saoirse were the hardest to deal with.
"Don't you want to know why she insists on targeting Gryffindor students?" Karan asked, "Maybe we will know in the future."
Lily left hesitantly, and Snape also walked towards the Slytherin table.
Callan sat in Hufflepuff House for a while. He pulled the water drops from his hair and looked in the direction of the teacher's table - Meadows was indeed there, and she was sitting with Headmaster Sprout. Next to her, many students had already made assumptions after seeing her.
After a while, Gaspard and Steve also arrived. They sat on both sides of Karan. Steve continued to complain about the bad weather until he was interrupted by Gaspard: "Are you sure you're fine? Already?"
This sentence was specifically used to ask Karan. Gespard and Steve had long known about the accident that occurred during the duel, and they sent a letter to Karan immediately.
"Don't worry." Karan said confidently: "This is Hogwarts, and Principal Dumbledore is here."
It happened that at this moment, Karan met the eyes of the gorgeously dressed Principal Dumbledore. The principal winked at him mysteriously, and Karan nodded slightly.
The new semester always starts with a sorting ceremony. It is hard to imagine that we have to cross the river by ferry in such terrible weather. When the freshmen walked into the auditorium anxiously, they looked like they had just swum here. Everyone was soaked by the heavy rain. Thoroughly.
The Sorting Hat began to sing its annual new song again. This time the meaning of unity in the lyrics was much stronger than before. After all, the wizarding world no longer had to face Voldemort, but also the mysterious Grindelwald.
Under the threat of the two Dark Lords, the atmosphere in the hall became more serious.
Professor McGonagall took out the list, read out the names of the new students one by one, asked them to sit on the bench, and put the sorting hat on their heads.
Whenever a new student was sorted into Hufflepuff, Steve would always applaud vigorously, and Callan was no exception.The most reserved one is Gaspard, but the luminous glasses don't seem to be popular among the freshmen, and no one dares to sit next to him.
Finally, the sorting ceremony ended with cheers, and Professor Dumbledore stood up.He looked at all his classmates with a smile and opened his arms in a welcoming gesture.
"I only have two words to say to you," he said, his rich voice echoing in the auditorium, "Eat!"
"That's great!" Steve exclaimed, watching as the empty plates suddenly and magically filled with food.
Gaspard slowly served the mashed potatoes and asked casually: "Do you all know?"
"I know." Karan said vaguely.
Steve looked at the two of them doubtfully: "What do you know?"
The two people looked at each other. They deliberately ignored Steve and began to discuss some rules. Steve became more and more confused as he listened. Even the steak no longer tasted good.
After all the snacks were eaten, Albus Dumbledore stood up again.The buzzing voices in the hall suddenly stopped, and only the howling of the wind and the pounding of heavy rain could be heard.
"Okay!" Dumbledore said, looking at everyone with a smile, "Now that we are all full and full, I must ask everyone's attention again, and I have some announcements to make."
"Mr. Filch, the administrator, wants me to tell you that this year, several more items are prohibited in the castle. They are acid bombs, bouncy baseballs, and grape umbrellas. The entire list includes about 330 seven items. In Filch You can see it in your office, and those who are interested can check it out.”
The corners of Dumbledore's mouth twitched a few times.
He continued: "As before, I would like to remind everyone that students are not allowed to enter the Forbidden Forest on the other side of the venue, and in Hogsmeade, students below the third grade are not allowed to visit."
"In addition, I believe everyone can also see——"
He stretched out an arm and introduced: "Professor Dorcas Meadows, she happily agreed to take up the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts again. Let us welcome her!"
There was a roar of applause in the auditorium, which was not enthusiastic at all. Some students were worried about Meadows' severity, while other students were full of doubts - is this the first time this has happened?
Have any other Defense Against the Dark Arts professors returned?
Meadows stood up and bowed slightly, then calmly sat down again. She had expected that the students' reactions would be so dull and was not surprised at all.
"She actually came back to be a professor?" Steve asked in surprise: "Is it too late to drop out now?"
Gaspard's face also turned a little pale. They were all one of the victims in the first grade.
"Don't worry." Karan comforted him: "Meadows has completely changed. If you don't believe it, just look at Snape. Wasn't he also taught a lesson?"
The two of them glanced in the direction of the long Slytherin table. Snape was sitting in the crowd with a pale face, not looking like he was accepting it calmly.
Karan then remembered that although he had already guessed that Meadows would return to Hogwarts, it was just a guess after all, and Snape might still be lucky.
"Forehead......"
In front of the two people's glaring gazes, Karan tried to suggest: "How about I invite Meadows out to meet and have a good talk?"
Steve quickly declined and said no, and Gesper simply stopped looking at Callan.
Well, Meadows' changes always take time for people to accept. Not everyone knows the inside story like Karan, especially the emotional sealing technique, which cannot be widely publicized.
Professor Dumbledore continued: "I would also like to inform you with great regret that the House Quidditch Cup will not be held this year."
"what?!"
James, who was secretly glancing at Lily, suddenly came back to his senses.
“This is because a big event is starting in October and continuing throughout the school year, taking up a lot of teachers’ time and attention – but I’m sure you’ll all have a lot of fun doing it. I’m really excited to announce that ——The Triwizard Tournament will be held at Hogwarts this year!”
The atmosphere in the auditorium was completely ignited at once.
"Oh my god!" Steve slapped the two people around him hard: "Did you all hear that?! This is the Triwizard Tournament!"
Seeing that the two of them had no reaction and were even looking at him with a smile, Steve finally realized that these two people had known about this for a long time.
"You didn't tell me!" he shouted angrily.
"But then there would be no surprise at all." Karan smiled and patted his shoulder, and looked around several times. Snape looked shocked, and Lily was more confused. She had never Have you ever heard of the Triwizard Tournament?
After the students' excitement finally passed, Principal Dumbledore explained: "Some of you still don't know what this tournament is all about, so I hope those who know the situation can forgive me for explaining a little bit here. For a moment, I allow their minds to wander for a while."
"The Triwizard Tournament was created some 700 years ago as a friendly rivalry between the three largest wizarding schools in Europe. The three schools are: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. Each school selects a warrior, and then three warriors compete in three magic items. The Triwizard Tournament is held every five years, and the three schools take turns hosting it. Everyone agrees that it is the friendship between young wizards from different countries. It was an excellent way—but then, the death toll was too high, and the Triwizard Tournament was interrupted."
"The number of deaths?" Lily looked at Mary McDonald in surprise, but Mary didn't think there was anything wrong with this at all: "Don't worry, it's just a very rare situation, you must participate, Lily, your results The best in Gryffindor!"
"There have been several attempts to revive the Tournament over the centuries," Dumbledore continued, "but none of them have been successful. However, we at the Ministry of Magic's Department of International Magical Cooperation and Department of Magical Sports and Sports believe that another attempt The time has come. We have done a lot of work this summer to ensure that every warrior's life is not in danger."
"In October, the Headmasters of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will bring their handpicked contenders, and the selection of the warriors will take place on Hallowe'en. An impartial referee will decide which students are best qualified to participate Compete for the Tri-Strong Cup, win honors for your school, and personally get a bonus of [-] Galleons."
"A thousand galleons?" Peter Pettigrew stared at Dumbledore with bright eyes, but James was dazzled by this great honor. He clenched his fists and said, "I must participate!"
When he said this, he deliberately glanced at Lily a few times, but it did not attract Lily's attention at all.
At this time, Dumbledore spoke again, and the auditorium became quiet again.
"I know you are all eager to win the Triwizard Trophy for Hogwarts," he said, "but for safety reasons, the participating schools and the Ministry of Magic have agreed to set an age limit for this year's contenders. ."
He raised his voice slightly, suppressing the protest and said: "17 years old!"
"Only students over 17 years old are allowed to register!"
Karan was not surprised at all by this. His eyes made contact with Meadows, and they both narrowed their eyes at the same time and nodded without any trace.