Chapter 282: Celebration
Chapter 282: Celebration (Please subscribe, favorite, and vote)
That evening, right after dinner, Liam was planning to take a stroll around the castle. As he stepped out of the Great Hall, he saw Hermione standing in the entrance hall.
"What are you doing here?" Liam asked, curious. "Everyone should be celebrating in the Common Room. Why don’t you join them and relax?"
"Because everyone is celebrating, it’s a bit too noisy, so I came out to walk around. I just ran into Harry and the others on my way down and learned you were behind, so I waited for you."
"Thanks!" Liam smiled and suggested, "I don’t like noisy places either. Let’s wait until Harry and the others have celebrated a bit and the Common Room calms down before we go back."
The two of them climbed up to the Astronomy Tower. Since everyone was celebrating, the Astronomy Tower was deserted. From there, they could see the last streak of red sunset in the west and a full moon rising in the east.
"Today’s Tournament was quite thrilling, but your performance on the field was outstanding", Hermione said, leaning against the castle’s parapet. "By the way, what’s the content of the next Tournament?"
"I don’t know", Liam shook his head and pulled out the Crystal Pillar from his pocket. "This thing is a simple alchemical product. I checked it, and it glows when it gets close to something specific. So, I guess the next round might involve finding something."
"Based on past Tournament records, the organizers usually reveal the content of the next Tournament through a puzzle after the first round. But it seems different this time. I think they’ve increased the difficulty. They said this Tournament would be safe, but look at Krum with his severe burns. How can the organizers increase the difficulty when it’s already not safe enough?" Hermione said, her voice tinged with agitation.
"I think it’s because there are six participants this time. They need to increase the difficulty to select a true Champion", Liam replied, leaning against the castle’s outer wall.
As they chatted, the sky grew darker. The moonlight bathed the Astronomy Tower in a soft, silver-white glow, casting a gentle frost-like light on everything.
"So, in summary, the next Tournament will test multiple skills, and I think I’ll be fine", Liam concluded.
"I agree, but it’s best to be cautious. This Tournament has already had too many surprises", Hermione said, looking at Liam earnestly.
"Don’t worry, you know I’m not reckless", Liam said, looking at the serious expression on her face. The silver moonlight illuminated her face, making her look different from usual.
After staring for a few seconds, Hermione felt a bit strange and asked, "Why are you looking at me? Is there something wrong with my face?"
"No, just—just that you look really beautiful..."
Hermione’s face turned bright red, like a cute red apple. Liam laughed at her reaction.
"Stop laughing—” she said, but then she herself started to giggle, lowering her head. Once the laughter subsided, Hermione took Liam’s hand and led him towards the stairs, "I think we’ve spent too long up here. We should go join the celebration in the Common Room now."
"By the way, when did we first meet?" Hermione suddenly asked as they walked down the corridor to the Common Room.
“Hmm, let me think—” Liam stopped in the corridor. “It must have been when you were in second or third grade, and the School was holding some kind of performance. You were playing the piano on stage, and I was instructed by the teacher to give you flowers after your performance.”
“Ah, I remember now. Back then, you looked like a bookworm—”
“Bookworm? Are you sure you’re not talking about yourself? Haha—”
As the two of them laughed and joked their way back to the Gryffindor Common Room, another round of cheers and noise erupted inside. The tables and chairs were piled high with mountains of cakes, and jugs of Pumpkin Juice and Butterbeer. The Weasley Twins had set off some of their homemade fireworks, filling the air with twinkling stars and sparks.
Dean Thomas, who was skilled in drawing, had hung several banners around the Common Room. Half of them depicted Harry riding his Firebolt, darting around the Thestrals, while the other half showed Liam using his Railgun to take down a Dragon with a single shot.
“Where have you two been? Why did you come back so late?” Liam pulled Hermione down onto the sofa, and Harry, who was eating a Chocolate cake, asked. From the way he was eating, it was clear that he hadn’t had a proper meal in a while.
“We were just discussing some details about the next Tournament,” Liam replied.
“What? Details about the Tournament?” Harry immediately put down his cake. He seemed to have choked a bit from the sudden movement. After taking a few sips of Butterbeer from the cup Hermione handed him, he managed to swallow the cake. “What did you find out?”
Liam then explained to Harry that the Crystal was used to track something and concluded, “It seems this Tournament will involve finding something in a specific location. Compared to previous years, it’s going to be more challenging this year due to the larger number of participants. So, it’s best to start preparing early, especially in terms of survival and combat skills.”
“Thanks a lot!” Harry said. “If you hadn’t reminded me about the Tournament, I might not have thought to ask Sirius Black. I would have made a fool of myself.”
“You were just in a hurry. Once you calmed down, you would have figured it out,” Liam said. Just then, he saw Ginny approaching with a small plate of snacks. “Well, I won’t bother you anymore. I’ll go see what the Weasley Twins are up to.”
“Liam, Hermione, would you like a sandwich cookie?” Fred held out a silver platter. Hermione was about to reach out when Liam stopped her and said with a smile, “Hey, I made that potion. I could smell it from here.”
“There’s nothing wrong with it,” George said, sniffing it. At that moment, Neville suddenly turned into a golden retriever with a loud pop.
“Hermione, can I borrow your Liam for a moment?” The Weasley Twins pulled Liam up onto the table and announced, “Don’t worry, this is just the new effect of our Animal Biscuits. Five Sickles each, very cheap. And the potion has been verified by Liam, so it’s absolutely safe.”
Neville then transformed back to his original form and joined the laughter with his classmates. Soon, the Weasley Twins’ trial batch of cookies was sold out.
“To our thriving business,” Liam toasted with the Weasley Twins, clinking their Butterbeer bottles together after selling the last cookie.
By the time Liam lay down in bed, it was nearly one in the morning. As he thought about the Dragon Blood and future dragon products, he also reflected on the gains and losses of the day’s Tournament. Drowsiness soon overcame him, and he yawned, closing his eyes and falling asleep.
(End of Chapter)
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