Chapter 1827: The Triwizard Tournament
Chapter 1827: The Triwizard Tournament
To be honest, Alice wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about the Triwizard Tournament. She had more pressing matters on her mind.
Especially after the deep conversation with Albert on the deserted beach, Alice was eager to contribute to Albert’s grand mission of transforming the magical world.
Indeed, to some extent, Albert was single-handedly driving monumental changes in the magical world. The transformations he had brought to the British magical world in recent years far exceeded those of the previous centuries.
However, not everything goes according to plan.
On the eve of Easter, Headmistress Mcgonagall personally wrote a note inviting Alice to her office for an evening tea.
“Do you know about the Triwizard Tournament?”
After signaling Alice to sit down and summoning tea and snacks, Headmistress Mcgonagall got straight to the point.
“Yes.” Alice had a bad feeling but nodded, “Dad’s photo album has pictures from his time in the Triwizard Tournament. I remember he had a very cool dragonhide suit.”
“People believe the Triwizard Tournament is an excellent way for young witches to build friendships.”
As she said this, Headmistress Mcgonagall seemed to struggle to keep a straight face, muttering, “Well, bloody hell. Cough, cough, I mean the bunch of guys at the Ministry of Magic are planning to restart the Triwizard Tournament!”
From her tone, it was clear that Headmistress Mcgonagall had little enthusiasm for the tournament.
Seeing Alice’s lack of reaction, she realized she needed to provide more information.
“Apparently, they intend to use the Triwizard Tournament to determine the leadership of a significant project.”
At this point, Headmistress Mcgonagall couldn’t hold back any longer, letting out a string of curses.
Realizing it wasn’t appropriate, she took a deep breath and said, somewhat helplessly, “In any case, that’s the information I have.”
“To be frank, I’m not particularly interested in the Triwizard Tournament!” Alice spoke honestly, adding, “And, isn’t it considered cheating to be informed in advance?”
“Although I’m reluctant to admit it, cheating has always been a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament. Every edition is the same, probably only Dumbledore would disdain such tactics.”
Headmistress Mcgonagall’s words were harsh, laced with heavy sarcasm.
It was evident that she was also being forced into this situation. Otherwise, given her character, she would be reluctant to put her students at risk.
When significant interests are at stake, who knows what kind of “extreme” actions those politicians might take.
“Minister Kingsley believes that with you on our side, our chances of winning the Triwizard Tournament are very high. Therefore, they hope you will represent Hogwarts in the upcoming tournament and win the victory for the British Ministry of Magic.”
“I’m very busy, Headmistress, you know. I have a lot of advanced classes to attend.” Alice gave a reasonable excuse and immediately found a scapegoat.
“I think James would be a good fit. His abilities are strong, and he’s the right age.”
“I’ve already discussed your situation with them.” Headmistress Mcgonagall seemed to have anticipated this, dismissing Alice’s suggestion and cutting off her excuse, “But the Ministry of Magic believes you don’t need to take the exams next year. Yes, that’s always been a champion’s privilege.”
“You don’t need to take the final witch exam either?” Alice looked bewildered.
“No, you don’t.”
“What about the N.E.W.T. certificates?” Alice asked again.
“They plan to award you twelve N.E.W.T. certificates, all with outstanding grades, after investigating your academic performance.”
Mentioning this, Headmistress Mcgonagall couldn't help but show a bit of strain.
Well, not just her, even Alice found it a bit hard to believe.
The Ministry of Magic was really willing to do anything to have Alice represent Hogwarts in the Triwizard Tournament!
This piqued Alice's curiosity.
She was very curious about the important project Headmistress Mcgonagall had mentioned, but upon realizing that the headmistress wasn't going to reveal more, Alice didn't press the issue and asked about something else.
“What if I don’t win the championship?” Alice countered.
“You’ll still get the certificates, but the additional rewards the Ministry has prepared for you won’t be available.”
Headmistress Mcgonagall handed Alice an envelope, which contained a parchment listing a series of rewards for winning the championship.
For example, a 1000 Galleon reward was just the tip of the iceberg. There was also the offer of a position as the Minister of Magic’s assistant, or the choice to work in any department within the Ministry... and, well, they even promised to let her "inherit" Albert's seat on the Wizengamot. (Albert hadn't attended a Wizengamot meeting in over a decade.)
To be honest, when Alice first read the letter, her immediate thought was that the Ministry of Magic had gone mad. But she quickly realized what was going on and raised an eyebrow at Headmistress Mcgonagall.
“They are truly generous!”
“One might say they’re planning to give you Albert’s share and lure you into the Ministry of Magic,” Headmistress Mcgonagall said, not hiding her disapproval of her old friend’s tactics. Ever since Kingsley became the Minister, he had become more and more of a political animal.
No wonder Dumbledore and Albert had no interest in politics.
“If you were willing to become the Minister of Magic, they would give you that opportunity, and your chances of success would be quite high.”
That was the truth.
“No, I have no interest in politics, and I have no intention of working at the Ministry of Magic. Living a free and easy life suits me better,” Alice declined outright.
She suspected it might be due to Albert's influence, but Alice herself also had a strong aversion to politics and had never considered sacrificing her freedom for the sake of a bit of laughable power, serving as a workhorse in the Ministry for decades.
If she had been interested in politics, she would have already inherited the surname "Will, Male Desmith" a few years ago, without needing any promises.
As for the additional 1000 Galleons, it wasn’t particularly tempting to Alice.
After all, she wasn't short on money. At her seventeenth birthday party, she had received a beautiful pocket watch from Albert and the key to a Gringotts vault.
In that vault was the 10,000 Galleons she had inherited from Albert, along with the deed to her own mansion.
Alice's words left Headmistress Mcgonagall speechless, but it was understandable. Alice’s personality was simply like that, entirely different from Albert’s penchant for participating in various competitions.
Otherwise, given Alice's demonstrated abilities, she would likely have become a second Albert, collecting all sorts of championships with ease.
(End of Chapter)
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