Chapter 475: A Lowered Age Line
Chapter 475: A Lowered Age Line
The Sorting Hat completed its task efficiently this year, taking just over half an hour to sort all the students into their respective houses.
Finally, as Kevin Witby was sorted into Hufflepuff, the Sorting Ceremony came to a close.
Dumbledore stood up and smiled warmly at all the students. "Let's eat!"
The empty plates that had been in front of them suddenly filled with delicious food.
Michel served himself a large scoop of mashed potatoes and said, "I've seen it many times, but every time the food appears like this, it still feels a bit surreal."
"It's a Hogwarts tradition," Kyle laughed.
As they enjoyed their tasty steaks and ham, they discussed the possibility of engraving magic runes on the boats, and also tentatively set a price.
One hundred galleons per boat.
It was a bit high for students who had not yet graduated, but it was just a preliminary discussion and the price could be negotiated.
After the main course, Kyle chose a plate of Yorkshire pudding from the array of desserts on offer.
This traditional British pudding tasted delightful, and more importantly, it wasn't as sweet as treacle tart, making it the perfect dessert.
Soon, all the food had been devoured, and the crumbs that remained on the plates vanished, leaving them clean and sparkling once more.
At that moment, Dumbledore stood up again, and the buzz of conversation in the Great Hall ceased as all eyes turned to him.
Following tradition, Dumbledore emphasized a few rules, such as the prohibition on first-years entering the Forbidden Forest. He reiterated these rules every year, and there was usually nothing new.
The only difference this year was the addition of a few more items to the list of objects prohibited within the castle, including, but not limited to, Screaming Teacups, Ricochet Boomerangs, and Biting Quills... All of which were new products from Zonko's Joke Shop last year.
With these additions, the list now totaled four hundred and thirty-seven items.
It was undeniable that Fred and George had played a significant role in expanding this list. Conservatively estimated, the mischievous twins were responsible for contributing over a hundred items to the list.
"I regret to inform you that there will be no Quidditch tournament this year!" Dumbledore announced.
The Great Hall erupted into chaos as students exclaimed in disbelief, their eyes darting towards Dumbledore.
But before he could explain, the doors of the Great Hall banged open.
A man appeared in the doorway, leaning on a long cane and limping towards the staff table.
Everyone in the hall turned to look at him.
With each step he took, a hollow sound echoed through the hall.
Suddenly, a forked lightning bolt streaked across the ceiling, illuminating his face.
A series of gasps rippled through the Great Hall.
His face was covered in scars, with barely a patch of unscathed skin, but that wasn't the most frightening aspect.
What truly startled everyone were his eyes.
He had only one normal eye; the other was large, round like a coin, and bright blue.
"Oh, it's Mad-Eye!" someone exclaimed involuntarily.
In an instant, that blue eyeball flipped, and it seemed to drill into the head of the person who had spoken, as if staring directly at him.
The student who had called out Mad-Eye's name quickly lowered his head, not daring to meet his gaze.
The man made his way to Dumbledore, and after a brief conversation, he took a seat in one of the empty chairs.
"Allow me to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor," Dumbledore said cheerfully, breaking the silence. "Professor Alastor Moody!"
Awkwardly, not a single student clapped. Only Dumbledore and Hagrid applauded, and the atmosphere was even colder than it had been with Professor Lupin last year.
At the Hufflepuff table, Kyle lowered his head and looked at the parchment in his hand.
Ever since Moody had entered the hall, he had immediately opened the Marauder's Map, but strangely, the map did not display the man's name. Moreover, as Moody had made his way to the staff table, none of the names on the map had moved to indicate anyone approaching him.
It's only to be expected of a naturally suspicious old Auror.
There are quite a few name-related curses in the wizarding world, and the most well-known one is Voldemort.
Anyone who utters this name will have their location detected by him, and he will immediately kill them. That's why most people call him You-Know-Who.
To be honest, if Moody's name had appeared on the Marauder's Map, even if it was his real name, Kyle would have suspected that someone was impersonating him.
Now that it doesn't appear, it's more likely to be the real deal.
Looks like this old Auror has escaped that fate... Probably.
Kyle put away the Marauder's Map and nonchalantly continued looking in the direction of the staff table.
Dumbledore didn't insist on introducing the new professor further.
"Let's return to the previous topic," he said. "The reason for canceling the Quidditch tournament is that in the coming months, we will have the honor of hosting a wonderful event that hasn't been held for over a century.
I am delighted to announce that the Triwizard Tournament will be held at Hogwarts this year!"
The entire Great Hall fell silent for a few seconds before erupting into an unprecedented buzz.
"You're kidding, right...?"
"The Triwizard Tournament... Oh my..."
"I can't believe it..."
Someone jumped up in excitement, eagerly explaining to the clueless students what the Triwizard Tournament was.
In simple terms, if it were only within Europe, then this would be the most prestigious event, even surpassing the Quidditch World Cup.
Everyone was ecstatic, jumping up and down in excitement, and Dumbledore smiled gently.
"I'm not joking," he said. "Some of you may not know what this tournament is about, so I think it's necessary to give a brief explanation...
The Triwizard Tournament is a friendly competition between the three largest magic schools in Europe: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang..."
He then went into detail about the history of the Triwizard Tournament, as well as the dangers involved and the number of fatalities in previous tournaments.
However, apart from a handful of individuals, the rest of the students didn't seem to care about those who had died over a century ago, and their enthusiasm remained undiminished.
Especially when they heard that the champion would receive a thousand galleons as a prize, they were even more eager to sign up, their excited shouts nearly bringing down the ceiling.
"I know you all want to participate in the tournament to bring glory to your school," Dumbledore said. "However, the participating schools and the Ministry of Magic have agreed to set an age limit for this year's competitors. Only students who are fifteen years old and above are allowed to sign up, for safety reasons..."
Dumbledore had to slightly raise his voice to be heard over some of the protests. "This decision is necessary. No matter what precautions we take, students below the fifth year simply wouldn't be able to handle it, and we are considering your safety..."
"Oh, damn it!" Someone from the Hufflepuff table pounded their chest in frustration. "I'm just a few months shy... Can't they change the selection to December?"
"Ha, lucky me," Michel said, paying no heed to his feelings. "My birthday is in March, so I just made it past fifteen... What about you, Kyle? You must be over fifteen too, right?"
"What?" Kyle had thought he'd misheard, but upon hearing Michel's words, he snapped out of his daze and nodded. "Oh, yes, I turned fifteen last month."
(End of Chapter)
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