Chapter 354 It Takes the Eight of Us to Win
When they were halfway through their meal, Dumbledore had already walked up to the podium at the front of the hall with two headmasters of other schools.
Karkaroff was wearing a dark blue fur robe, and he was standing at a distance, not making eye contact with the Hogwarts students. Madam Maxime was tall, wearing a dark grey cloak, and her expression was still not very good.
Dumbledore raised his finger and tapped the podium lightly. The crisp sound instantly drowned out the noise in the entire auditorium.
"Dear students." He swept his eyes across the four long tables of students, "After yesterday's selection for the Goblet of Fire and subsequent consultations with the headmasters, the rules for this year's Triwizard Tournament have been finalized."
"For the first time, the competition will adopt the format of 'team competition'."
He paused.
"Each school will form a team of four warriors, and a total of 12 warriors from the three schools will participate in all stages, and the final total score will be determined based on the team's performance."
There was an immediate uproar in the auditorium.
"Team competition? Really?"
"I've never heard of such a rule!"
“This year is too outrageous!”
Dumbledore held up his palm for silence.
"Below is the list of warriors participating in the competition from the three schools."
"The Beauxbatons team: Fleur Delacour, Marina Dubel, Elsa Montero, Bella Cave."
Furong had a proud smile on her face as she excitedly whispered to the three girls around her and shook hands with each other. The scene was quite elegant.
"The Durmstrang team: Viktor Krum, Andrei Mikhailov, Leon Karenin, Nikita Valto."
There was a cheer from Durmstrang, especially when Krum was called again, and even some of the Hogwarts students applauded.
Dumbledore concluded:
"The Hogwarts team: Julius Hoffmann, Amanta Merlyn, Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter."
The auditorium was in an uproar again, some people whistled, some whispered in amazement.
"They are all fourth graders... This is too far..."
"And it's all Slytherin..."
"Can they do it?"
Dumbledore continued, "The first match will be held on November 24th. The location and content will be revealed on that day."
"Please warriors, be fully prepared before this. And please other students, please respect and encourage the warriors without disturbing their training."
He finished, his voice soft but penetrating, "Then - the Triwizard Tournament officially begins."
Applause and whispers of discussions rang out one after another.
"Why do I have a feeling something big is going to happen..." Harry muttered.
"You feel this way every day." Draco rolled his eyes. "Why don't you eat something? We're going to start the devilish training from now on."
"You mean Amanta's training?" Harry glanced at him. "Can you stand her 'academic sadism'?"
Amanta lowered her head and drank bitter orange juice. "Anyone who says one more word will have to climb the rope ladder around the Room of Requirement three times tonight."
"..."
At this time, Luna and Neville walked across the hall and came to their table one after the other.
"Amanta." Luna asked softly, "Are you really... all going to participate?"
"It seems so." Amanta put down the cup and nodded slightly.
Neville frowned: "How did you do it? Isn't the age line very strong? You can't..."
"Of course we entered legally." Draco smiled and asked for a beating. "The Goblet of Fire just thought we were too charming."
"He's talking nonsense." Harry sighed, "All you need to know is that now we have to find a way to survive and win."
Luna nodded, her eyes swept between them, and then suddenly asked: "Will you get hurt?"
"I hope not," Amanta replied.
"We're going to win," Harry said, patting his chest.
"Tonight at seven o'clock." Amanta looked at them. "SO team, assemble. Room of Requirement. Don't be late."
"I'll go inform Hermione and Cedric." Neville said seriously.
"I'm here to find Hermione." Luna said with a smile, "I know where she is studying now."
Amanta nodded, "Remember to inform them... there are new members joining this time."
Luna asked, "Who?"
Harry pointed to someone in the distance who was drinking tea.
"Julius."
Luna: "...Oh."
Neville: “Huh?”
"It's okay." Amanta stood up and glanced calmly across the auditorium. "You'll know when you see him tonight."
*
It was dark at night. When Amanta and the other two arrived at the Room of Requirement and pushed the door open, the others were already waiting inside.
Cedric was leaning against the window, Neville was sitting on the cushion and stroking a cat that appeared out of nowhere, Hermione was flipping through a thick book "Records of Magic Competitions of All Ages", and Luna was squatting in the corner studying a blue bubble worm floating in the air.
The most eye-catching one was their new member, Julius, who was standing by the fireplace and wearing a dark green cloak.
The atmosphere in the air is slightly subtle.
"We are here." Cedric was the first to break the silence and smiled at them, "We are waiting for you."
Amanta nodded, "We are all here tonight - the SO team, with eight official members."
Draco snorted and sat down on the sofa: "Eight people... it's really lively."
Harry sat down next to him and grabbed a biscuit from the table and stuffed it into his mouth. "I hope it won't be so busy that anything goes wrong."
Julius glanced at them and said in a gentle tone: "As a new member today, I don't know what to do... Of course, if you don't welcome me, I don't have to come."
"Don't act pathetic." Draco rolled his eyes. "If you hadn't come, we wouldn't have this meeting today."
"You talk like you're Head Boy," Harry complained.
Hermione cleared her throat. "Okay, how did you get past the age limit in the Goblet of Fire? The age limit is a high-level restrictive spell that even professors may not be able to break easily."
Luna tilted her head and looked up. "Did you use something... like, convince the Goblet of Fire that it misjudged your age?"
"Theoretically..." Hermione paused and frowned, "It's not completely impossible."
"It's Julius," Harry mumbled as he chewed.
"We don't know what happened." Draco immediately denied it, "I wasn't even there the night they did it."
"But what we didn't expect was that the four of us were selected at the same time." Amanta glanced at Julius calmly.
Julius chuckled. "I just tried the spell in an ancient book... I'm not sure if it worked. I can't control who the Goblet of Fire chooses."
Cedric was silent for a moment, then said gently, "I see. It is indeed quite magical."
"I still find it suspicious," Neville whispered.
"These are no longer important. After all, we cannot change the choice of the Goblet of Fire." Amanta looked around at everyone, "We are now the Hogwarts delegation and a unified team."
"We all don't want to lose, right?"
"We must work together perfectly in the next game so that we can face Beauxbatons and Durmstrang without losing out."
"So," she glanced at Julius, "trust must be mutual. Julius, since you are now a member of the SO team, you should have the attitude of a member."
"Of course." Julius still had a smile on his face, "I will naturally protect my 'teammates'."
His tone was ambiguous, and Harry coughed, remembering the bottle of blood he had glimpsed that night, and couldn't help feeling a chill down his spine.
Hermione changed the subject in time: "Regarding the first game, we need to speculate on the possible content."
"Previous competitions were almost all about testing courage, magic control, and adaptability. Common events include taming magical creatures, passing through mazes, finding items, solving puzzles, and fighting."
“It is also possible that teamwork-related puzzles will be added, as this is a new game mechanism after all.”
"I will go to the library to look up the original records of previous years' competitions. There may be hidden information there."
Cedric nodded, "I'll ask my father too, he once studied the Ministry's files on the tournament."
Neville said, "I can consult the professors of Herbology and Magical Creatures - if the first level is likely to be a biological project."
"I'll contact the seniors who are proficient in Quidditch and see if it could be related to physical skills or reaction time." Harry volunteered.
Luna tilted her head. "Maybe I can use the 'Demon Spy' to find the competition venue. It can tell if there are any strange barriers set up nearby."
Draco looked at them and rarely interrupted them. Instead, he whispered, "Okay... I'll check the relevant spell scrolls in my library and find out what weird spells they might use."
Amanta looked at them, and saw them standing up one by one and assigning tasks spontaneously. She was actually a little moved for a moment.
"thank you all."
She sounded serious.
"We're not alone - we're eight at Hogwarts."
“Maybe there are only four of us standing on the stage, but I believe… this game can only be won by the eight of us.”