Unexpected Turns in Selection
Before Sean could even answer Stephanie's question, Hermione immediately became alert.
But with so many people watching in a public place, and the other person only asking a very ordinary question, isn't it too bad for me to suddenly become so sensitive?
While Hermione was still struggling with her decision, Sean had already nodded.
"Of course I'd like to participate if I have the opportunity. I'm quite curious about this year's competition events."
"I understand," Stephanie nodded.
Then, she naturally took out a quill pen, and then took out a piece of paper, casually writing her name on it.
"Stephanie?" Sean looked at her with considerable surprise.
As far as I can remember, Stephanie wasn't someone who enjoyed participating in group activities; to be precise, she almost never participated in group activities other than required classes.
This girl prefers to read quietly by herself. She doesn't like to show off or cause trouble, and she doesn't have the passion and sense of honor that young people have.
Stephanie walked past Sean, leaving behind a whisper that only he could hear.
"I'm interested now."
Amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, Stephanie calmly walked to the Triwizard Cup —she wasn't even as tall as the Triwizard Cup placed on the box.
Then, Stephanie calmly tossed the note with her name on it into the raging flames.
It's as commonplace as taking a book off a bookshelf.
The crowd was stunned for a moment, then applause and cheers erupted. Those who dared to sign up for the Four-School Tournament were Champion in their eyes.
Hermione, who had been watching this scene, subconsciously turned her gaze to the Weasley brothers who were whistling beside her—should she get some Ageing Potion?
However, before she could fully implement her rebellious idea, the Weasley brothers ran over, whistling as they went.
"The Champion of Hogwarts!"
"We are unstoppable!"
Under everyone's gaze, the twin brothers bumped their bottoms and then happily tossed their name tags in.
"They're not doing this for any Champion ' glory—" Sean heard Ron muttering. "Fred and George spent the whole night yesterday discussing with Lee Jordan how to use the 3,000 Galleon prize money from the final victory. They even wanted to take over a shop in Diagon Alley!"
Sean turned his head and smiled, saying, "At least you have dreams, don't you?"
Harry shrugged. "If they hadn't been chasing Krum for autographs yesterday, today's actions would have looked pretty impressive."
Sean chuckled; these two were just too funny.
Brave students from various schools threw their name tags into the Triwizard Cup, drawing admiration and envy from onlookers— the Four-School Tournament are no playground for children. Even with today's relatively comprehensive safety measures, the danger of this competition still far exceeds what students are used to.
Many sixth and seventh graders still remember that their senior from the previous Triwizard Cup spent half a semester in the hospital because of a curse.
At the entrance of the Great Hall, a man and a woman were watching what was happening inside.
After seeing Sean throw his name tag into the Triwizard Cup amidst cheers, Charlotte raised her fist and waved excitedly.
She glanced at Colton beside her and smiled smugly.
"Tsk tsk tsk, Mr. Sterling, this time, it's Hogwarts that has won."
Colton, arms crossed and face calm, made no comment or rebuttal to Charlotte's provocation—the two had already tacitly agreed that Sean's level far surpassed that of the current contestants.
He merely glanced at Charlotte in passing.
"Miss Hawke, even if Sean leads Hogwarts to victory, it still cannot change the fact that you were defeated by me in the last session."
Charlotte's face immediately darkened, and she glared angrily at the other person. "Just keep in your past glory!"
"Thank you for reminding me, I won't forget." Colton smiled slightly and politely patted his chest.
Faced with Colton, who was unyielding and far more eloquent than herself, Charlotte gritted her teeth, her face flushed, and then suddenly changed her expression, looking behind her. "Mr. Grindelwald..."
Upon hearing the name, Colton immediately straightened up and, maintaining an elite demeanor, looked back.
"Ah—" A sharp pain shot through his foot, and when he turned around, Grindelwald was nowhere to be seen.
"Hawk ...you..."
"Stay alert, Mr. Sterling!"
Charlotte stepped on the other person's foot, stuck out her tongue menacingly, and then happily ran away.
Only after watching the other person's smug figure disappear around the corner did Colton's furrowed brows relax, and he revealed a faint smile.
Time flew by, and the Halloween Eve dinner seemed to last much longer than usual. Perhaps because it was two consecutive days of feasting, people didn't seem to enjoy the elaborately prepared dishes as much as they usually did. People in the Great Hall craned their necks, anxious expressions on every face. Everyone was restless, frequently standing up to check Dumbledore had finished eating.
Finally, the golden plate returned to its spotless state, and the noise in the Great Hall suddenly rose. Then, Dumbledore stood up, and the Great Hall fell silent. Karkaroff beside him looked extremely nervous, as did Madame Maxime.
Only Grindelwald maintained a cheerful smile.
"Well, the Goblet is about to make its decision," Dumbledore said. "I estimate it will take another minute. Listen, after the names of the Champion are announced, I want them to go to the top of the Great Hall, then down the faculty desk, and into that room next door—" he pointed to the door behind the faculty desk, "—where they will receive their initial instruction."
He pulled out his wand and waved it dramatically. Instantly, all the candles except those in the jack-o'-lantern went out, plunging the Great Hall into a state of semi-darkness. The Triwizard Cup now shone brightly, brighter than anything else in the entire Great Hall; its sparkling blue-white flame was almost blinding. Everyone watched, waiting... several people kept checking their watches...
Even Sean felt a slight tension due to the atmosphere in the Great Hall, though not much.
"This time, we will select a total of twelve Champion, three from each school—" Dumbledore announced loudly, as everyone stared intently at the Triwizard Cup before him.
The flame in the goblet suddenly turned red again, crackling and sparking. Then, a tongue of fire shot into the air, and a charred parchment flew out—everyone in the Great Hall held their breath.
Dumbledore nimbly caught the note, and the red flame in the Triwizard Cup turned blue-white again.
"Let's see—the first Champion!" Dumbledore raised his voice, "Viktor Krum, from Durmstrang!"
Applause and cheers filled the Great Hall, and the world's number one Seeker received many screams from Hogwarts.
"I knew it was you, Krum!" Karkaroff stood up and pumped his fist, looking extremely excited.
Krum stood up, shook hands with Dumbledore, turned right, walked along the faculty desk, and went through the door into the next room.
"The next Champion— " The Triwizard Cup blazed once more, and a second note flew out. "Reinhardt Nott, also from Durmstrang."
The applause subsided slightly, and amidst Karkaroff's shouts, the burly boy who had once made a throat-slitting gesture at Sean stood up, revealing a carefree smile, and walked towards his destination.
Sean frowned. This guy also has the surname Nott?
Immediately afterwards, Dumbledore announced Durmstrang's third Champion.
"Leon Schneider!"
A gloomy-faced, seemingly listless black-haired boy stood up, adjusted his glasses, and walked over expressionlessly.
Sean and Capen was nearby, exchanged a glance and both saw the smile in each other's eyes.
The third Champion shares the same name as the owl that Sean gave to Capen ...
"Thus, the selection of Durmstrang's three Champion is complete. Next—" Dumbledore caught the note again.
"The first Champion from Beauxbatons, Phoebe Delacour!"
Amidst the boys' enthusiastic cheers, Phoebe hugged her sister, then gracefully stood up, her silver hair swaying like a dancing sprite.
Immediately afterwards, Dumbledore drew out two more of Beauxbatons ' Champion, both of whom were girls and looked excited and nervous.
"Look, Beauxbatons ' style seems a bit more... radical than we thought?" Hermione said. "Those who weren't chosen look particularly disappointed."
Sean felt that the word "disappointment" might be too mild; several Beauxbatons students who weren't selected were crying over there.
After choosing Beauxbatons, they arrived at Newmontgard. Dumbledore grabbed the slip of paper and called out the first person's name.
"Morgens Daniels!"
Sean clapped. This person was someone he knew well, and his abilities were beyond doubt.
The second one is "Hugo Barbarossa!"
The blond fat man stood up with some surprise. He still had a piece of melon stuffed in his mouth and looked more like a bystander than a Champion.
Amidst the laughter of many, Hugo chewed vigorously, then wiped his mouth, gave the laughing students a provocative and arrogant smile, and then walked towards the teacher's desk.
"Hugo must be very strong now..." Hermione said while clapping her hands.
Sean nodded in agreement. Hugo's strength was beyond doubt; he was born with a powerful Magic Power Source. Sean had a perfect example of this— Capen.
Moreover, this guy is very likely Sin of one of the sins: Gluttony. Those who mock him may never imagine how terrifying this fat man can be when he goes all out.
Dumbledore called out the last name, "Patricia de Delansal!"
A sexy and hot girl stood up amidst cheers, blew a kiss to her companions, and then strode over, her full chest bouncing, making many boys stare wide-eyed.
"Why are you looking at me? I wasn't looking at you..." Sean said somewhat guiltily in the face of Hermione's suspicious gaze.
He only glanced at it very, very briefly, just once.
Next came the most anticipated moment in the Great Hall, where many Hogwarts students stared intently at the Triwizard Cup in front of Dumbledore.
Their three Champion are coming.
The Triwizard Cup turned red again, sparks flew, and flames shot high into the air. Dumbledore pulled the tenth parchment from the tip of the flames.
"The first Hogwarts Champion," he proclaimed, "Is Cedric Diggory!"
The cheers from the table were deafening. Every Hufflepuff was jumping up and down, screaming and stomping their feet, when Cedric walked past them with a bright smile and headed toward the room behind the faculty desk.
Sean clapped with a big smile. From any perspective, Cedric was a very reliable teammate.
"The second Hogwarts Champion— " Dumbledore grabbed the parchment again, and then a slight look of surprise appeared on his face.
"George Weasley!"
A gasp rippled through the Great Hall. George burst into laughter and jumped up, while Fred and Lee Jordan grabbed him and shook him wildly.
"Oh, George," Hermione, somewhat surprised, "But he is indeed quite strong, isn't he?"
Sean was also a little surprised, but he immediately cheered and applauded.
The only person who didn't clap was Stephanie. The Silver-haired Girl sat at one end of the Ravenclaw Table, while everyone around her stood up to cheer and applaud, she alone wore a regretful expression.
Two of the three spots are already taken, so there's no chance I'll be selected... Stephanie thought disappointedly.
This was the first time she had ever been so eager to participate in a tournament, but the Triwizard Cup did not seem to acknowledge her enthusiasm.
After George skipped into the room, Dumbledore pulled out the last slip of paper.
Before the announcement could even be made, the students in the Great Hall turned their attention to Sean at the Ravenclaw Table.
The students at Hogwarts had almost assumed that Sean would get a seat; otherwise, why would Professor Dumbledore have made a special exception for him?
Sean smiled at Hermione and the others, and straightened his collar.
"Fred Weasley." Dumbledore's voice echoed throughout the Great Hall.
An inexplicable silence fell, and the entire Great Hall paused for a moment, including Sean himself.
This also includes Fred.
Fred pointed at himself in surprise. "Me?"
"That's right, Mr. Weasley." Dumbledore showed the note in his hand, which read "Fred Weasley".
After a brief moment of surprise, applause broke out, but many people cast surprised and regretful glances at Sean.
Sean scratched his head a little awkwardly and joined in the applause.
This was indeed something he hadn't anticipated, and his action of adjusting his collar just now was slightly awkward...
However, he quickly composed himself and put on a smile again.
If he wasn't selected, he wasn't selected. He doesn't need the Triwizard Cup to prove himself.
Just when everyone, including Dumbledore, thought it was all over, the flame in the cup turned fiery red again.
Sparks crackled and popped as they flew out. A long tongue of fire suddenly shot into the air, carrying with it a piece of parchment.
"Sean Wallerup".