Chapter 395: Approaching
Chapter 395: Approaching
"Whoosh~"
The Golden Snitch spread its slender wings in Harry's hand and vanished in an instant under their watchful eyes.
The three of them hurriedly looked around. "There it is!" Harry pointed above Ron's head and cast a Disarming Charm, but it missed. Hermione and Ron fumbled to chant the spell, and two red beams disappeared into the sky.
"You're still far off", Sirius said smugly, crossing his arms.
Harry glared at his godfather. "Why don't you give it a try?"
Sirius silently flicked his wand, and seven or eight leaves from a pumpkin vine shot out like sharp blades. The Golden Snitch quivered and dodged. Sirius pouted, looking embarrassed.
"I don't believe it—"
He joined the trio. They positioned themselves at the four corners, tilting their heads back to aim spells at the sky. The Golden Snitch darted around a small area, evading the spells like a nimble ghost. Occasionally, it would be hit by luck, and a palm-sized transparent shield would appear on its surface, refracting colorful light in the pale sky and blocking the spell.
The four of them played enthusiastically for a while until they saw three tall figures emerging from the Forbidden Forest. They were the Wagadu Champions.
The Wagadu Champions pointed at Harry and his friends, speaking in a strange accent, but their voices were loud enough to be heard. Harry and his friends gradually made out words like "cheating... fake Champions..." which put them in a foul mood.
"Pay no attention to them. Once you beat them in the first task, they'll learn to keep their mouths shut", Sirius said angrily.
Harry thought Sirius was trying to convince himself—Sirius clearly wanted to confront them and teach them a lesson.
Days passed, and on the last class of the new week's Friday, all the Champions underwent a pre-tournament wand inspection. Mr. Ollivander personally came to evaluate the condition of each Champion's wand.
Bagman and several Headmasters were present. Harry observed the Champions from other schools. Krum seemed even more withdrawn, his face dark and silent, as if he had forgotten how to speak. Byers, whom they hadn't seen in a while, appeared much darker. Every time he passed the Quidditch pitch, he could hear the collective training sounds, but two goblins always stood guard at the entrance, so he never went to watch.
Fleur Delacour stood proudly in a corner, with the other two Beauxbatons Champions flanking her on either side.
The three Wagadu Champions hadn't changed much, except for looking more muscular. More than one person suspected how they trained. When the wall-like Champion pulled out a wand that looked more like a club, Mr. Ollivander looked displeased.
"African wands... they are too extreme, even more so than German and American wands... I cannot give a proper evaluation, but perhaps they can surprise us at times..."
Harry guessed they might try to smash the fire dragon's toes while it wasn't paying attention. He found this idea bizarre and turned his head away in exaggerated disbelief. The jaguar-like Wagadu Champion, Nona Lebert, said, "That's because we are better at Gesture Casting!"
During the wand inspection, a small incident occurred. Harry refused an interview with a woman named Rita Skeeter, who he had no fondness for since second year, when she had defamed Headmaster Dumbledore.
When she tried to grab Harry's shoulder with her claw-like, red-nailed hand to take him to the broomshed for an interview, he immediately pulled away. She gave him a dangerous look, but her face broke into a false smile when she saw Professor Mcgonagall approaching.
In the end, the newspaper featured their names and relatively normal concerns—questions about their age. The Champions from other schools were not so fortunate. For example, Ilvermorny's Champion, Viktor Gravies, was heavily publicized for having been defeated by a 'regular' fourth-year girl from Hogwarts. There were also side notes: the Beauxbatons Champions were known for their charming magic, and the Durmstrang Champions would present a 'spectacular' dark magic show, with the talented Quidditch player Krum mentioned prominently. The introduction of the Wagadu Champions attracted a lot of attention, with a dynamic photo of a student surnamed 'Alifendi' transforming into an African elephant appearing on the Daily Prophet for several days, drawing countless exclamations and discussions.
One of the effects of the newspaper was that Ron's selection as a champion could no longer be kept a secret. In the Weasley family, only Mrs. Weasley was unaware of the news. The others—Ginny, Fred, and George Weasley were at school; Mr. Weasley and Percy had access to information at the Ministry of Magic; Charlie, who worked at a dragon reserve, was closely involved with the first task; and Bill, who worked at Gringotts, kept in frequent contact with the family.
They had all formed an alliance to keep the news from Mrs. Weasley.
But all their efforts were in vain after Rita Skeeter's report. The very next day, a Howler arrived, not for Ron, but for the Weasley Twins—
"If I hadn't seen it in the newspaper, who knows how long you would have kept it from me—poor little Ronnie! He's only in his fourth year—" Ron kept his head down, staring at the bowl of oatmeal in front of him, as if he could drown himself in it. Everyone in the Great Hall turned to look at him, snickering. Mrs. Weasley's deafening voice echoed through the hall, "Stop focusing on those pranks and pay more attention to your little brother—"
Fred and George Weasley had already slipped away with two slices of bread, and Ron ran out of the Great Hall, leaving behind a room full of stunned students and the incessant Howler.
...
Everyone perceives time differently. While ordinary students were planning for their first Hogsmeade trip of the new school year, the champions were honing their skills in various corners of the castle.
Ron had missed Potions class assignments for two weeks straight. Snape didn't bother to hide his displeasure, marking a T on Ron's work, but Ron only yawned in response, which made Snape stare at him throughout the entire antidote preparation lesson.
"We'll definitely pass this year anyway", Ron told Harry and Hermione after class.
"But next year is our O.W.L. year!" Hermione argued, having confided to the two of them that she regretted turning in her Time-Turner.
"Who cares, Hermione? You don't seriously think I'm planning to take his advanced class, do you?" Ron looked at her strangely. "Fred and George Weasley selectively dropped some classes last year, including required ones like Astronomy and History of Magic. They spent their time discussing product ideas in class..."
"That's different! Do you have any plans for your future? Potions are essential in many fields!" They argued as they left the classroom and headed to the Library, where they still had many spells to practice.
Felix's requirements were also becoming more stringent. In recent days, he had each team of champions face two fire dragons simultaneously. A panel of professors' memory constructs evaluated their performance.
"Using Accio to summon your Firebolt was a good idea, Harry, but you need to consider your other two teammates!"
"Collins, you're facing a dangerous beast. You need to learn to mask your scent. Also, the Stunning Spell was well done."
"Ron, the Burrowing Charm isn't used that way. You can't just jump into the hole yourself."
Finally, November 24th arrived.
(End of Chapter)
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