Chapter 474: Rules
Chapter 474: Rules
Enticed by the strawberry candied fruit, Valen quickly recounted what had happened. However, it was clear that Valen was a step behind Hermione, not yet realizing the severity of the situation. Hermione, feeling awkward, fed Valen a few pieces of the fruit and left with the magic notebook Felix had given her.
"Professor, I think Valen was just careless", she tried to salvage the situation before leaving.
Valen blinked, what did "careless" mean?
"I understand", Felix said, holding Valen. Hermione hesitated for a few seconds, tiptoeing to leave, but he called her back. "Miss Granger, you can refer to Nearly Headless Nick's magic notebook to try and repair the Time-Turner. But no matter the outcome, remember, do not use it, and do not put yourself in danger."
"I promise, Professor", Hermione said.
Felix watched the door close, then turned his gaze to Valen, who was sitting on his lap, half-closing his eyes and patting his thigh contentedly. "Squeak! (Keep feeding me!)" Felix couldn't help but laugh at Valen's relaxed demeanor.
"Aren't you reading the Tales of Beedle the Bard?" he asked.
Valen looked at him suspiciously.
"A while ago, you were pestering me to tell you the story of the Fountain of Luck", Felix said. "Actually, you'll find that the story that follows is equally fascinating. It's called The Wizard's Furry Heart..."
"Squeak!" Valen was startled. "Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! (Don't trick me! That's a horror story!)"
"It's true. Each story by Beedle the Bard has a hidden meaning", Felix said with a smile. "For example, the wizard uses dark magic to separate his heart from his body and lock it in a crystal box to avoid the pain of worldly emotions. Perhaps this is Beedle's artistic expression of a Horcrux. Not to mention, the story warns us against tampering with the deepest secrets of life—"
At this point, he suddenly paused. Was his current transformation into a magical creature considered tampering with life? He pondered this question. Regardless, he should be more cautious and careful. At least until the transformation was complete, staying in the school and not going out was a good choice.
Who knew when he might push open the door to one of the company's branches and find himself face to face with a noseless creature?
Suddenly, a sweet taste filled Felix's mouth. He snapped back to reality and looked down to see Valen extending a small hand, stuffing a piece of strawberry candied fruit into his mouth.
"Squeak! (Change the story!)"
Felix, savoring the sweet treat, mumbled, "Then let's change the story. How about the Tale of the Three Brothers?" Valen nodded vigorously. Who wanted to hear about a furry heart? That was just a way to describe a cold, heartless wizard.
It had read the entire series of Mick the Young Wizard's Adventures.
"Once upon a time, three brothers were traveling along a quiet, winding path. As evening approached, they came to a swift river, where they met a figure who called himself Death..."
Meanwhile, Hermione returned to the common room with the magic notebook.
"Did you send the letter?" Harry asked. He had lent his Hedwig to Hermione so she could write to her family.
"Yes, and I brought this back", Hermione said proudly, waving the notebook. Harry's eyes lit up. "Information about the Time-Turner?" he whispered. After receiving a nod, he quickly sat down next to Hermione.
"Where's Ron?" Hermione asked casually, carefully unrolling the scroll.
"He's in the entrance hall, checking if the rules for the third task have been posted", Harry said. Hermione and Harry soon discovered that the notebook was similar to an "Answering Parchment." Harry stared at the icons, eager to tap the one labeled "Nicolas Flamel Disassembly Plan."
"Wait, Harry", Hermione stopped him. "Professor suggested we start with the experimental data on the Time-Turner that Nicolas Flamel collected." She tapped the first icon—a witch with a pained expression. Harry felt a bit uneasy, but he quickly regained his spirits as the notebook began to display lines of text.
"Eloise Mintumble? What did she do?" he asked curiously.
"Terminated all long-distance time travel with her personal experience", Hermione explained succinctly.
After a while, Harry finished reading Eloise Mintumble's story. He smacked his lips, about to share his thoughts, when Ron returned, beaming with excitement.
"The rules are out!" he shouted, waving the parchment in his hand, which rustled loudly and caught the attention of everyone in the common room. "Ran into Cedric and the others, and Collins helped me get a copy..."
Curious, the crowd gathered around.
"Read it out loud!" Seamus called out.
"Oh, uh... sure", Ron relished the attention, cleared his throat, and read from the parchment. "First, the scores for the first two tasks—Cedric's team has 126 points, Wagadu has 113 points, Beauxbatons has 110 points, Durmstrang has 100 points, and Ilvermorny has 73 points."
"You left one out", Neville reminded him.
"Did I?" Ron's smile was starting to waver.
"You forgot to mention—"
"Oh, right", Ron pretended to slap his forehead. "I forgot our score, ladies and gentlemen, are you ready for this moment?"
"Ron, if you still want your nose to be its current shape, you'd better get on with it", Fred threatened with a mischievous grin.
"It's 128 points", Ron said honestly, adding, "We're in first place."
The common room fell silent for a few seconds, then erupted in deafening cheers. Everyone clapped in unison. "Well done!" Seamus shouted, waving his fists in the air.
Ron's face turned bright red.
After a while, he managed to push his way out of the crowd and join Harry and Hermione, with Ginny trailing behind.
"They're too enthusiastic", Ron said, deliberately downplaying it. "I mean, it's not all my doing."
Ginny stared at him intently, as if there was something dirty on his face, making Ron feel extremely uncomfortable. He stammered, "Okay, I admit, Harry and Hermione did most of the work..."
Hermione snatched the parchment from his hand and read through the detailed rules. After a moment, she sighed in relief. "It's better than I expected."
"How so?" Harry asked.
"Before you get the trophy, you don't have to worry about attacks from other champion teams. You only need to deal with the dangers of the maze itself. The person who gets the trophy will reveal their position every two minutes, which helps the other champions from the same team and other teams confirm their direction. Who finds the trophy first is purely a matter of luck—"
"How do they plan to do that?" Harry couldn't help but ask. "How—how will the trophy reveal its position if I get it?"
"Um", Hermione quickly scanned the parchment. "It says the trophy will sing loudly, and the sound will last for ten seconds. The Weird Sisters recorded a special battle song for this. Another important point is that we must follow the international dueling competition rules, which means dark magic is banned, and there are strict limits on curses. The stinging hex we practiced might not be useful..."
Hermione went on to list a dozen more restrictions, such as not using lethal spells to attack the champions themselves, and if one side loses consciousness, like from a Stunning Spell, the victorious champion must signal to summon the patrolling guards.
"...Finally, the trophy, which is a Portkey, will transport the winner out of the maze, ending the competition", Hermione concluded, looking up.
"So the key to winning is to get the trophy first, and then—" Ginny said slowly.
"Stay mobile", Hermione said.
"Watch out for ambushes", Ron added.
"Quickly defeat your opponents", Harry answered without hesitation. The other three looked at him, and he explained, "I think the further into the maze we go, the more likely we are to be exposed. Just dodging won't be enough because you could run into someone at any moment."
(End of Chapter)
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