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Chapter 267: Dueling Competition Registration
Chapter 267: Dueling Competition Registration
On the third day after the holiday, Felix finally received a reply from the Ministry of Magic. The response came from Walsh Sidwell, the advisor to the Minister of Magic's office. Walsh had no objections to the speech being moved to Friday but suggested arriving half an hour early to discuss some preliminary matters.
"If you can't make it in time for lunch, the Ministry will provide a hearty meal", Walsh wrote in the letter.
...
The school notice board always sparked lively discussions among the students. On Thursday afternoon, after the classes ended, young wizards noticed a new notice posted on the board: a small dueling competition would be held during the first Duelling Class of the following month.
At the bottom of the notice was the student council's emblem and the signatures of the Head Boy and Head Girl.
One student read the rules aloud: "All students from first to seventh year are eligible to participate. They need to register with their House Prefect, and the lists will be compiled and sent to the Head Boy daily."
"The dueling competition will be held by year, with participants from the same year facing off against each other until the top student from each year is selected to receive a prize. Each year's top student can challenge the next year, while seventh-year students can only wait to be challenged... Wow! I like this rule. It's a great way to take care of the first and second-year students."
A few second-year students glared at him.
"Are you going to sign up, Draco?" Pansy Parkinson, wearing a deep green dress, asked softly.
"What's the point of not participating if I can legitimately teach some people a lesson?" Draco's gaze fell on a group of Gryffindor students. "I learned an interesting spell over the holidays."
He and Pansy strolled away, his voice trailing behind them: "That Weasley made things difficult for me at the club, saying I only cry and call for my dad to cheat... It was the big oaf who injured me first. I had bandages on my hand for two weeks!"
The news of the dueling competition spread quickly. Rumors circulated that the winner could receive a prize of one hundred Galleons or choose an item from Professor Hup's collection, which included advanced Magical Automata, unique Scrying Mirrors, and mysterious potions, as well as unknown rune artifacts crafted by the professor.
That afternoon, the rumor was confirmed by Ravenclaw's female Head Girl, Penelope Clearwater. The young wizards were thrilled.
The Weasley Twins fanned the flames by announcing that the top student from each year would receive a Lover's Mirror, the latest trendy item with orders already booked through April, making it impossible to get one immediately.
However, the twins didn’t lose out. They successfully promoted the Lover's Mirror and introduced a second design.
The prefects of the four houses, who had never before felt their houses were overly crowded, now found themselves constantly surrounded by students asking questions. By the time the actual registration began, the young wizards were somewhat hesitant.
Most of them felt they had no chance and naturally shifted from being participants to spectators. That evening, lists of potential contenders and promising wizards from different houses were compiled, from the top seeds in each year to the most promising young wizards.
The Leaderboard feature on the Answer Parchment provided valuable references, especially for Defense Against the Dark Arts, which was closely linked to dueling and thus seen as a predictor of the competition results.
Although the dueling competition was still a ways off, they had already started placing private bets.
On Friday morning, the seventh-year students welcomed their second Ancient Runes class of the week. When Felix entered the classroom, he found that all the students had already arrived early.
This much enthusiasm?
However, according to the plan, he was supposed to wait until next week, after the students completed their homework, before starting the practical sessions of Mind Chamber Magic. After all, too much of a good thing could diminish its value.
"Today, we will cover the theoretical part of the course—"
"Professor", Percy raised his hand and stood up to speak on behalf of the class, "we have all completed the homework from the last class, including the essays and knowledge maps." He walked up and handed over a stack of parchment.
"Hmm?" Felix took it with surprise. Percy spoke earnestly, "Not a single one is missing; I checked thoroughly." He looked at the students in the class, who all nodded vigorously.
Felix skimmed through the work, and it was indeed true. He even saw Marcus's essay, which, despite the wide spacing between words and excessive paragraph breaks, was genuinely filled with two feet of writing.
He put down the homework and smiled, "Alright, then I'll move up next week's content."
The students found themselves once again pulled into the magical classroom, where the space stretched out, plants sprouted from the ground, and Wand Trees shot up from the earth. They gazed in wonder, chattering and whispering to each other. Some students couldn't wait to get out of their seats and start exploring.
Wood was particularly eager to try breaking a branch off a Wand Tree, but it started growing rapidly and tossed him far away—
"Ah!" In the midst of the others' surprised expressions, he nimbly got up from the ground and grinned, "Not a bit painful~"
Inspired by his demonstration, many others couldn't resist giving it a try.
Felix watched with interest, controlling the Wand Trees and flinging the daring students into the air, watching them scream as they fell from dozens of feet high, landing with a thud on the ground.
After a bit of playful chaos, the students soon turned their attention to the professor, their eyes filled with anticipation.
Before they could speak, ancient magical scrolls condensed from the air and floated gently into their hands.
"Today's lesson is simple. We will review the knowledge we've learned from a different perspective."
Felix waved his hand, and the homework the students had just submitted appeared in front of them. "First, go over your essays again and identify any issues. Later, I will guide you through a review of this knowledge, and you will see that the connections are quite clear and intricately linked."
Felix deliberately ended the Mind Chamber Magic session half an hour early, giving the students time to organize their insights.
As one of the few underperforming students in the class, Marcus Flint discovered for the first time that he could easily follow the professor's train of thought. Learning wasn't about struggling in silence but about a thrilling rush of progress. He finally experienced the joy of learning.
As a repeat student, his expectations were low—just passing and graduating smoothly. But now, perhaps he could aim a bit higher and try for an E?
...
At noon, Felix arrived at the visitor entrance of the Ministry of Magic—a red phone booth—slightly earlier than the scheduled time.
"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and the purpose of your visit."
A female voice spoke, just as it did the last time Felix attended Belby's award ceremony, even down to the indifferent tone.
"Felix Hep, invited to give a speech to internal Ministry of Magic staff."
After a moment, a square silver badge slid out of the coin slot. Felix pinned it to his chest and, as the ground slowly descended, his expression became filled with anticipation.
(End of Chapter)
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