Chapter 265: The Guest Is Coming
Chapter 265: The Guest Is Coming (Please subscribe, favorite, and vote)
In the Room of Requirement, Liam examined the Crown in his hand for a moment. Although its functions were somewhat redundant for him, it was still a valuable artifact, so he needed to consider how to handle it.
If he turned it in, he would earn a substantial amount of Honor Points. However, as someone planning to participate in the Triwizard Tournament, Liam didn't need Honor Points at the moment. Therefore, he decided to keep the Crown for now and use it when necessary.
After gaining 6 Deviation Points from destroying the Horcrux, Liam left the Room of Requirement with a smile.
Despite the impending Triwizard Tournament, classes continued as usual. In fact, because representatives from the other schools were about to arrive, each teacher hoped to teach their students as much as possible in a short time to avoid embarrassing themselves in front of the students and faculty from the other two schools.
Even the usually not overly strict Professor Mcgonagall barked at the students near the end of class, "Neville, please, for the love of all that's good, don't reveal to the Durmstrang students that you can't even manage a simple Transfiguration Spell!"
Among all the classes, Liam enjoyed Mad-Eye Moody's the most. Moody didn't seem the least bit perturbed by the upcoming tournament. After all, he was only filling in for a year and wasn't a permanent professor. Moreover, having survived countless near-death experiences, nothing, not even the threat of death, could affect his mindset, let alone a competition. Therefore, his classes continued to follow his teaching plan:
During these classes, he transformed all the desks and chairs into various obstacles and then released a bunch of wooden dummies to simulate Dark Wizards attacking the students. These dummies only cast a marking spell, projecting a white letter T on the heads of those hit.
In the first practical lesson, Mad-Eye Moody gave everyone a stern warning by setting the difficulty of the dummy array to the maximum. As a result, by the end of the class, most students walked out of the classroom with a large T on their foreheads, except Liam, who passed the test with his ample combat experience and earned Mad-Eye Moody's additional twenty points for Gryffindor.
"Liam, please stay after class", Mad-Eye Moody called out as Liam was about to leave. Reluctantly, Liam said goodbye to Hermione and followed Mad-Eye Moody into his office.
This was Liam's first time entering the office of the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. When Professor Moody opened the door, Liam saw a collection of peculiar items, which he assumed were tools used by Moody during his time as an Auror.
As Liam examined these items, Mad-Eye Moody entered and said, "You seem quite interested in these things."
"Yes", Liam nodded and pointed to a glass-like gyroscope on the table. "I've seen this before at Harry's place. It's the Mirror of Revelation, right?"
"Right. I also have a Detector and the Mirror of Erised. An Auror should have all the necessary equipment", Mad-Eye Moody proudly explained the various devices in the room. Suddenly, he turned to Liam and asked, "Are you Layne Liang, a fourth-year student at Hogwarts Gryffindor College?"
Liam was taken aback but replied, "Yes, I am Layne Liang, a fourth-year student at Hogwarts Gryffindor College." At that moment, Mad-Eye Moody scanned the instruments on the table, but they showed no signs of activity.
“Oh, sorry, I have allergies.” Mad-Eye Moody took out a flask from his belt, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip. Liam’s enhanced nose easily detected the scent of Pumpkin Juice. “Your performance in class today far surpassed everyone else’s. I thought you might be a Dark Wizard in disguise, planning to assassinate me.”
Liam now understood just how paranoid Mad-Eye Moody could be. However, apart from his paranoia, Moody was a rather charismatic person, which was why so many people admired him. Over the next half hour, Moody shared a lot of his practical experience from his days as an Auror. He even told Liam that his combat skills were at least on par with those of new Aurors after six months of field experience, and encouraged Liam to consider becoming an Auror after graduation.
Liam just smiled politely. Clearly, Moody thought he had exceptional talent in combat, which was why he suggested the Auror path. In reality, Liam’s skills were honed through a lot of practical experience, and his innate talent wasn’t much better than anyone else’s.
As he left, Liam felt that this version of Mad-Eye Moody was more genuine, but it wasn’t a good sign. It meant that the plot he knew was changing, and the future had become unpredictable.
Time quickly moved into mid-October. After the first Care of Magical Creatures class of the week, everyone learned from the notice board in the entrance hall that the representatives from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang would arrive the following Friday.
In anticipation, the school entered a state of unprecedented tidiness. Not only were the dust and spider webs in the corners cleaned, but even the busiest common rooms were tidied multiple times a day by the house-elves. Moreover, the castle’s armor and portraits received a thorough maintenance, something Liam learned from talking to some of the portraits had not happened in over a century.
On the morning of October 30th, everyone who came down for breakfast found the Great Hall completely redecorated overnight. The walls were adorned with large silk banners, each representing one of Hogwarts’ houses: Gryffindor with a red background and a golden lion, Ravenclaw with a blue background and a bronze eagle, Hufflepuff with a yellow background and a black badger, and Slytherin with a green background and a silver serpent. Behind the teachers’ table hung the largest banner, featuring the Hogwarts coat of arms: the lion, eagle, badger, and serpent united around a large letter H.
Liam swore this was the most splendid decoration he had seen at Hogwarts since his arrival. Even sitting at the long tables, he could faintly sense the aura of an alchemical product from the banners.
So, as he left the Great Hall, he deliberately got closer to the banners and discovered that they were indeed alchemical products. Each banner was imbued with cleaning and wear-resistant effects, and none of them had a history of less than three hundred years.
“Truly, Hogwarts is the most powerful magic school in Europe. Even a simple item like a banner can showcase its deep and rich history. A new banner might cost only seven or eight silver sikka, but after alchemical treatment, the cost rises to over 20 Galleons. The only effect of these alchemical banners is to enhance the school’s prestige,” Liam thought, gaining a deeper understanding of Hogwarts’ heritage.
Additionally, the professors began ordering prefects and the student council president to keep a close eye on those who were prone to accidents or mischief, to avoid any embarrassment during the welcoming ceremony. The Weasley Twins were a prime example of this. Liam even saw Professor Mcgonagall instructing Nearly Headless Nick to keep a close watch on Peeves, ensuring he didn’t cause any trouble today.
Amidst the mix of tension and anticipation, the time for the guests’ arrival finally approached.
(End of Chapter)
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