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Chapter 254: That's My Son!
On the stands, a chorus of screams erupted in unison.
Some Wizard families, raised entirely apart from Muggle society, viewed Muggles as dangerous beasts that exhaled toxic gas—people who had never once encountered a Muggle, let alone seen their television.
Now, staring at the giant mirror towering like a wall, displaying the inner maze, they were utterly mesmerized. Even young Muggle-born wizards, who had never seen a screen this large, were stunned—especially by the image’s crystal clarity, so lifelike it felt like looking into a real mirror.
Someone inside, convinced the wall had vanished via magic, ran to the side of the streaming mirror, peering behind it to check if there was an extra hole. Seeing only dense bushes and leaves, he froze in shock.
Though the competition hadn’t officially begun, the audience’s excitement had already been completely ignited.
Then, several other enlarged streaming mirrors began showing different parts of the maze. The scenes were nearly life-sized—so close that people could almost smell the fragrance of the grass and trees.
In the central double-sided mirror, a hissing voice echoed.
The enlarged ball python coiled like a giant spiral shell. Its serpent skin bore black-and-white patterns, and its cucumber-shaped head was tucked safely within its body.
Those afraid of snakes jumped back in terror, some even stumbling backward, their skin crawling with goosebumps.
Meanwhile, in the maze’s heart, the ball python regarded the strange, bold magical puppet bird before it, flicking its tongue.
It had just eaten a full meal and wasn’t interested in this tiny trinket—barely enough to fill a tooth gap.
To the audience, however, it looked like the giant serpent was glaring at them with menace—so frightening that many nearly collapsed from fear.
Then, another voice cut through the air:
“Are you all ready? It’s time to depart!”
“Of course.”
On the left mirror, a group of young wizards spoke, utterly unaware of the crowd. They didn’t glance their way—just carried on their conversation.
“Well then. As planned—I’ll lead, Betti will watch our back, Brian and Chad will prepare their spells, Caro will memorize the route, Avery will cover the rear… Buck—”
The boy speaking was tall and strikingly handsome, radiating natural authority. All the other children clustered around him, clearly in awe.
Amos Digory shouted excitedly to those around him:
“My son! Can you see? That’s my son! Go on, Cedric—great job!”
He yelled at the mirror, but of course, no one heard.
Another boy grinned:
“I’ve got the dung egg and the bouncing egg ready. If enemies show up, I’ll launch them first to distract them.”
He mimed throwing, one hand holding a dung egg, the other with several green, potato-shaped objects hanging from his belt.
The stands erupted in warm laughter.
“What’s a bouncing egg?” someone asked.
“You don’t know?” a student replied. “Weasley Twins’ new invention—a trinket that jumps around wildly and screams at the top of its lungs.”
“Most teams bought one,” another added. “They say it helps save time.”
“…But they’re competing too, aren’t they?”
“So Slytherin teams rarely buy them,” the student said. “They worry the Weasleys might’ve rigged them.”
At that moment, Wade was talking with the “technicians” from Aslan Magical Workshop.
“Only one mirror’s voice should be amplified at a time,” he said. “Having three voices at once is too chaotic.”
“That’s easy,” said Coliver, the bearded man with the short wand.
He waved his wand at the mirrors, and the jumbled voices instantly cleared, crisp and distinct.
Coliver was the main supervisor of the workshop. Shorter even than Professor Flitwick, his iron-brown beard was a tangled mess.
Wade suspected he might have fairy or dwarf blood, but out of politeness, he didn’t ask.
To make communication easier, they all sat cross-legged on the ground, their heads naturally tilted upward toward the stands.
“Leave the ball python alone for now,” Wade said, sketching a range in the air. “Let’s show the audience what challenges the competitors will face—then focus on the teams.”
“Mm,” Coliver said. “That group back there? I think they’ll make it to the end.”
“Don’t just focus on those who’ll succeed,” Wade replied. “Keep two mirrors for the failures—watching others stumble? That’s half the fun for the crowd.”
Though only three mirrors were visible on the stands, Machionni had actually placed over a dozen mother mirrors throughout the maze, both inside and out, and Coliver decided which scenes to broadcast.
After hearing Wade, he hesitated, then switched one mirror’s focus to a group of boys, their faces pale and tense, huddled together.
They advanced slowly, trembling, wands raised, completely unaware that a giant lizard had silently followed them.
Suddenly, the lizard shot out its tongue—snapping onto the boy at the back. Sticky slime coated him head to toe.
“Ah—!”
The boy screamed as he was yanked backward, flailing midair. The crowd, only now noticing the attack, erupted in screams.
After another teammate was snatched, the others finally remembered to run.
One crashed into a tree trunk. Another, too fat, got stuck between two trees, unable to turn. A third stumbled headfirst into a giant spider’s web—so large it startled the half-human-sized spider.
Laughter rolled across the stands, never stopping. In the center, Cedric’s team was left completely ignored.
Coliver gave Wade a big thumbs-up, then suddenly understood the secret to capturing attention.
He kept the main screen reserved for strong contenders, switching between them in turn. The side screens, meanwhile, showcased teams about to be eliminated.
With the vision of a god, and eyes sharp as knives, Coliver always picked the perfect moment—just before a disaster struck—making the live broadcast feel eerily like a professionally edited video.
He also assigned someone to manage the audio switching, ensuring the sound didn’t lag behind the visuals—because without voice, the audience’s joy would be half as bright.
Magic made it effortless. No need for speakers. No sound engineers. A spell could make one wizard do the work of ten.
Wade watched as the streaming mirrors delivered flawless, crystal-clear footage. The voices were natural, the ambient sounds from the maze even carried through clearly.
Satisfied, he quietly stepped aside.
Coliver grew more confident, smoothly managing the broadcast. He turned to share his thoughts with Wade—only to realize the man was gone.
(End of Chapter)
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