They also had French and German dishes for dessert, and Ron noticed a weird, raw custard that tasted delicious.

Well, British food tastes are at the bottom, and any foreign cuisine can blow him up.

Fortunately, house-elves in the wizarding world are not as wasteful as English Muggle cooking, and wizards can use magic to make food more delicious even if they are not good at cooking.

As the golden plates were scrubbed again, Dumbledore stood up again, an excitement and nervousness that seemed to permeate the Great Hall.

"The time has finally come," Dumbledore said, smiling at the raised faces, "The Triwizard Tournament is about to begin." I'd like to explain a few words before I bring the box in. ”

"I'd like to explain our program for this school year. But first, allow me to introduce two guests, for there is no one else who knows them, this is Mr. Barty Crouch, Director of International Cooperation at the Ministry of Magic," there was a sparse round of applause in the auditorium.

"This is Mr. Ludo Bagman, Director of the Department of Physical Education at the Ministry of Magic."

The applause given to Bagman was much louder than that given to Mr. Crouch, perhaps because he was well-known as a batsman, or perhaps simply because he looked much more gracious. He waved his hand happily in thanks. When Barty Crouch's name was introduced, Crouch neither smiled nor waved.

Finally here, Zhuge Kongming's tips reminded Maple that Ludo Bagman is indeed the easiest fortress to attack in the Ministry of Magic, although his real power is not very heavy, but his position is still a very valuable pawn.

However, it is useless to deal with Ludo Bagman with money alone, he will only take himself as the wronged leader, and an adult wizard will not take a student's words to heart.

Fortunately, Ludo Bagman's fighting ability is not very good, and Maple can easily subdue him. You can't deal with a soft guy like Ludo Bagman with the same means as Dumbledore did.

At this time, it is time to learn the methods of the Death Eaters, to oppress, threaten, and intimidate with strength, although it is somewhat dishonorable, but it is absolutely effective.

"Over the past few months, Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch have worked tirelessly to arrange the Triwizard Tournament," Dumbledore continued, "and they will form a panel of judges with me, Professor Karkaroff and Madame Maxim to judge the efforts of the Warriors. ”

As soon as they heard the word "warrior", the students seemed to be more attentive. Dumbledore also seemed to notice their sudden silence, only to see him smile and say, "Mr. Filch, please bring the box." ”

No one noticed that Filch had been lurking in a corner of the Great Hall until now, and he was walking towards Dumbledore, holding a large wooden box encrusted with jewels, which looked very old. The students watched intently and discussed with great interest.

"The specific events of this year's Warriors' competitions have been carefully vetted by Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman," Dumbledore said, as Filch carefully placed the box on the table in front of him, "and they have made a lot of necessary arrangements for each event." There are three programs, each at different times throughout the school year, and they will test the warriors in many different ways, testing their talent in magic, their guts, and their reasoning skills. And, of course, their ability to overcome danger. ”

At the hearing of the last sentence, the auditorium fell silent, and it seemed as if everyone had stopped breathing.

"You already know that there will be three Warriors in the tournament," Dumbledore continued quietly, "representing one participating school. They will be graded based on the quality of each event, and at the end of the three events, the warrior with the highest score will win the Triwizard Cup. The one in charge of selecting the Champion is an impartial selector, and it is the Goblet of Fire. ”

With that, Dumbledore pulled out his wand and tapped it three times on the lid of the box. The lid slowly creaked open. Dumbledore reached in and pulled out a large, rough-cut wooden goblet. The cup itself is unremarkable, but the inside is full of dancing blue-white flames.

Dumbledore closed the box and placed the cup on the lid so that everyone in the auditorium could see it clearly.

"Every student who wants to run for a Warrior must write his name and the name of his school on a piece of parchment and throw it into this goblet," said Dumbledore, "and those who want to become a Warrior can sign up within twenty-four hours." Tomorrow night, the night of Halloween, Goblet will choose the names of the three students it thinks best represent the three schools. Tonight, the goblet will be placed in the foyer and will be accessible to all students who are willing to participate in the campaign. ”

"Lest the younger students fall short of temptation," said Dumbledore, "I'm going to draw an age line around the goblet when it's in the foyer." No one under the age of 17 can cross this line. ”

"Finally, I would like to remind everyone who is going to participate in the election to pay attention to the fact that this competition is not a child's play, and you must not participate in it recklessly. Once the Warrior is selected by the Goblet of Fire, he must hold the game to the end. Whoever throws his name into the cup actually forms a magical contract that must be observed.

Once you become a warrior, you are not allowed to change your mind. So, think twice and find out that you really want to participate in the competition before throwing your name into the cup. Okay, I think it's time for everyone to go to bed. Good night to all. ”

"Age Boundaries!" Fred Weasley said, his eyes sparkling, "That's easy, you can be fooled by the age-booster, right?" As long as your name goes into that cup, you can laugh happily. It can't tell who's over seventeen and who's not! ”

"If we succeed, will you join too, Harry? Would you like us to add your name to it? George then asked Harry.

Harry was a little moved, but he was hesitant to remember Dumbledore's insistence that students under the age of seventeen could not sign up. But when he thought of the glorious scene when he won the Triwizard Cup, Harry was a little nervous...

"What about Maple and Hermione? Why don't you see them? Ron said.

"The troubles of love, a bachelor like you won't understand." Fred sighed.

"Yes, poor Maple, who is in Hermione's custody, I'm afraid I won't have a chance to be happy with us in the future." George also quipped.

After the twins quipped, Ron ignored the guy who had forgotten about them when he had the opposite sex, and instead searched the crowd for Krum: "Where is he?" Did Dumbledore say where Durmstrang's delegates slept? ”

Without waiting for the twins to speak, their questions were answered almost immediately. By this time, they had reached the Slytherin table, only to see Karkaroff hurrying up to his students.

"Alright, let's go back to the ship." He said, "How's it going, Victor?" Have you eaten enough? Would you like me to send someone to bring some heated wine from the kitchen? ”

Krum shook his head and put the fur cloak back on.

"Professor, I'd like to have some wine." Another Durmstrang boy salivated.

"I didn't ask you, Polico," Karkaroff said sternly—his fatherly gentleness vanished at once, "I notice that you're dripping food on the front of your robe again, you nasty boy—"

Oh, what a mean headmaster!

Karkaroff turned and led his students towards the door, which happened to be at the same time as Harry, Ron, and the Weasley brothers. Harry stopped and let Karkaroff go first.

"Thank you." Karkaroff said nonchalantly, glancing at Harry.

Suddenly, Karkarov was completely stunned. He turned his head back to Harry, staring at him as if he didn't believe his eyes. Durmstrang's students stopped as they followed the principal.

Karkaroff's gaze slowly moved to Harry's face, staring at the scar. Durmstrang's students also looked at Harry curiously. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry could see several people with thoughtful expressions on their faces. The boy with the soup stain on his chest poked the girl next to him, unabashedly pointing at Harry's forehead.

"That's right, that's Harry Potter." An angry voice came from behind them.

Karkaroff jerked around. Mad-Eye Moody stood there, his heavy body leaning on his crutches, his enchanted eyes glaring unblinkingly at Durmstrang's headmaster.

Harry watched as Karkaroff's face turned pale, revealing a terrifying expression of resentment and fear.

"It's you!" He said, staring blankly at Moody, as if he wasn't sure he had actually seen him.

"It's me," Moody said gloomily, "unless you have something to say to Potter, Karkaroff, and get on your way." You've blocked the doorways. ”

Really, half of the students in the auditorium were waiting behind them, scrambling to get over the shoulders of those in front of them, trying to see what was causing the traffic jam.

Professor Karkarov didn't say anything more, he waved his hand and walked away with his students. Moody stared at him until he couldn't see anymore. His enchanted eyes were fixed on Karkaroff's back, and his mutilated face showed an expression of extreme disgust.

"Hello, I'm Maple Arribas, and it's—" Maple took Hermione's hand and smiled evilly, "My girlfriend Hermione Granger." ”

"Oh, your little girlfriend is so pretty! I'm Alison Vance. Alison Vance quipped, and Hermione blushed suddenly.

"Hello, Ms. Vance." Hermione said with a blushing face.

"Are your parents wizards? I really want to get to know them and ask them how they raised such a wonderful daughter. When Arthur told me about the magic TV you invented and the idea of the television medium, I couldn't believe it. Alison Vance said.

"You're too much of a prize!" Hermione said modestly, but with a smile on her face, and continued, "My parents are Muggles. ”

"Oh, really? What a surprise! Oh, sorry, I mean+ that's really—rarely—oh, I'm Alan Tweiss. Alendvez said in surprise, then felt a little rude, and hurriedly added.

"Hello, Mr. Tevez, I'm also Muggle-born. I don't think birth and lineage are everything, talent and hard work are the decisive factors to become a good wizard. And, actually, magic television is not our first innovation, in fact, the Muggle world already has televisions, and there is a mature television media network, we are just following a path that Muggles have already walked and stepped on. Maple said.

"Pretty to say, I'm Ordigo." Aldigo said, then complimented, "We've all seen Muggle television, but no one has ever thought of creating a magical television station, and you're the first to have such an idea and put it into practice, probably thanks to your experience in the Muggle world." ”

"Yes, Mr. Digo. There are many wizards who think they are superior to Muggles, but sadly, Muggles have things that wizards don't do. Muggles have done a lot of world-changing things, and we can all learn from them to make our wizarding world better. But pathetic pride and prejudice made wizards blind to all things Muggles. Maple said.

"It's wonderful and profound, it's like you're communicating with your peers, and it's really hard to imagine that you're just a student." Alison Vance said, and then couldn't help but tease Hermione, "No wonder our little beauty genius fell in love!" ”

"Ahem." Maple coughed, and Hermione was embarrassed again.

"Alright, it's getting late, it's time for them to go back and rest." The last photographer said, and then introduced himself, "I'm Hope Daniel, please advise me in the future, Director!" ”

"And Mrs. Director!" Alison Vance added.

"Ahem!"

"Please advise, Director, Mrs. Director!" Aldigo and Alan Tevez also said together.

"You are too polite, Hermione and I still have to go to school, so don't dare to give advice, and you will have to worry more about the specific work of the TV station in the future." Maple said.

After saying goodbye to the four of them, Maple and Hermione were still red on the way back to the common room.

After climbing into Gryffindor's cave and seeing Fred and George smiling and blocking them, Hermione blushed again, said "good night" to Maple and hurried away.

Maple glanced at the Weasley brothers angrily, how bored are you, sitting here for so long just to watch him have a good show?

Maple thought that telling the truth would shut them up, but they didn't expect that after telling the magic TV and TV about it, they did believe that Maple and Hermione didn't go on a date.

However, it also took more time for Maple to get rid of the endless pestering of the Weasley brothers after hearing the magic TV.

Finally out of trouble, the twin brothers, Maple turned and went upstairs to sleep. As she ascended the stairs, Maple recalled Hermione's shy look after Alison Vance made a few jokes, and the more she thought about it, the more amused she became, and the corners of her mouth curled unconsciously. But when he returned to the dormitory, Maple immediately restrained his smile in front of Harry and the others, as if nothing had happened.

At this time, Maple suddenly regretted that he had climbed the stairs too fast, otherwise he could have been happy a little longer.

The next day was Saturday, and in general, students went to breakfast late. However, this day was an exception.

Maple was woken up early in the morning by Harry and Ron, who later noticed that Hermione had woken up early. But when they went downstairs into the foyer, there were already more than twenty people there. They gathered around, eating bread and examining the Goblet of Fire. The cup was placed in the center of the foyer, on the same stool where the Sorting Hat was customary. A thin gold line was drawn on the floor, ten feet long on each side, and the cup was enclosed in the middle.

"Hello, Digo. Why did you come here so early? The results of the Triwizard Tournament will not be announced until the evening. Maple said.

"If you come here early, you might be able to get some unexpected shots." Digo smiled mysteriously.

That's right, Maple remembered the next scene where the Weasley brothers grew beards, and it was indeed an unexpected surprise.

Di Ge then reported, "The video shot yesterday has been processed and has been shown on our magic TV, striving to be ... ”

"It's good for you to call the shots about your work, you don't have to report to me." Maple directly interrupted Digo's words and said.

"Okay, you get busy first, I'm going to have breakfast." After that, Maple went to meet Hermione.

Although it is a little irresponsible, I like such a leader!

Brother Di said secretly.

"Did anyone put a name in it?" Ron asked a third-year girl eagerly.

"Yes, all the representatives of Durmstrang," she replied, "but I haven't seen anyone sign up at Hogwarts." ”

"Someone must have put their names in while we were sleeping last night." Harry said, "If it were me, I would do it, I don't want people to see it." How humiliating it would be if the cup crumpled your name and threw it out! ”

As soon as Harry finished speaking, there was a burst of laughter behind Maple and them, and when they looked back, they saw Fred, George, and Lee Jordan hurrying down the stairs, all three of them looking extremely excited.

"It's done," Fred whispered to Harry, Ron, and Hermione in a smug tone, "just drank it." ”

"What?" Ron asked.

"Age-enricher, stupid." Fred said.

"A drop from each of them," said George, rubbing his hands together with joy, "we just need a few more months to grow." ”

"If any of us wins, the thousand Galleons will be divided equally among three people." Lee said, with a smile on his face.

"I don't think it's going to work," Hermione reminded, "I'm sure Dumbledore will have thought about that." ”

"Forget it, Hermione, they won't listen to you at all." Maple said. What he told the twins about TV last night seemed to spur them on and make them even more desperate to get the joke shop they've always dreamed of out there and into Diagon Alley.

Sure enough, as Maple had said, Fred, George, and Lee didn't pay any attention to Hermione's words.

"Are you ready?" Fred trembled with excitement and said to the other two, "Come on, then—I'll go in first—"

Fred pulled out a parchment note from his pocket with the words "Fred Weasley - Hogwarts" written on it. Fred walked straight to the edge of the age line and stood there, swaying on tiptoe like a diver preparing to jump from a fifty-foot platform. Then, under the gaze of every pair of eyes in the foyer, he took a deep breath and stepped over the line.

For a moment, George thought Fred had succeeded, and then he let out a smug shout and jumped forward after Fred.

But he was too early to rejoice, and then he heard a sizzling sound, and a pair of twins were thrown outside the golden ring, as if an invisible shot put player had thrown them out.

They fell in agony to the cold, stone floor ten feet away, and they were humiliated in addition to the physical pain. With a loud popping sound, the two men had identical white beards on their chins.

The people in the foyer burst into laughter. Even Fred and George couldn't help but laugh when they got up and saw each other's white beards.

"I reminded you." A low, amused voice spoke, and everyone turned to see Professor Dumbledore coming out of the Great Hall. He looked at Fred and George, his eyes shining,

"I suggest you both go to Madam Pomfrey. She was already nursing Miss Fawcett of Ravenclaw and Mr. Summers of Hufflepuff, and they had made up their minds to age a little. But I must say that their beards are nowhere near as beautiful as yours. ”

Fred and George left for the hospital, and Lee Jordan went with him, still laughing profusely, and Harry and Ron giggled and went into the auditorium for breakfast.

Maple walked over to Digo, and Hermione followed.

"Did you shoot all the footage just now?" Maple asked Digo with a smile.

"It's all in." Brother Di couldn't stop laughing, looked at the playback with satisfaction, replied, and then asked, "Is this picture going to be played?" ”

"Hermione, what do you say?" Maple asked with a smile as she turned to Hermione.

"Of course it's going to be broadcast!" Hermione chuckled.

Book Reading House