Illegal Gathering?

After the First Wizard Card Competition began, Albert diligently fulfilled his duties as a referee.

There's no way around it; if no one's watching, the Wizard Card Competition will probably turn into a complete mess.

Fred, George, and Lee Jordan were all made to do manual labor, so it seems a bit unreasonable for them not to be referees themselves.

The level of the first elimination match was so low that it was truly an eyesore.

The contestants came from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, and neither side was very familiar with the Wizard Card rules; the phrase "a bunch of noobs" perfectly describes the competition. Because of their unfamiliarity with Wizard Card rules, they frequently made some basic mistakes.

Albert felt incredibly embarrassed watching this, and had an urge to cover his face.

The onlookers were thoroughly enjoying the spectacle, whispering things like, "So-and-so made another mistake," and "If all the contestants were this good, I might win the championship."

Some gossipy onlookers would even point out the mistakes made by the contestants, and whisper mocking them for not even understanding the rules of the competition, wondering how they could have signed up for the Wizard Card Competition.

The Hufflepuff boy, whose face was flushed red from making frequent mistakes, finally gave up the game amidst the whispers of the crowd and quickly disappeared into the throng.

"What kind of mess is this?"

Albert shook his head as he watched the other person leave. That Hufflepuff student was probably just trying his luck. He rarely played Wizard Card, his skills were terrible, and he didn't even understand Wizard Card rules. It was hard to imagine what he was thinking when he participated in this Wizard Card Competition.

Another Gryffindor student, watching his opponent's departing figure, turned to Albert and asked, "Did I win?"

"Yes, your opponent forfeited, you won."

Albert ticked the parchment, then called the next pair of players and swapped the cards in the Card Set.

The elimination rounds were much faster than Albert had anticipated, and the Hufflepuff boy was definitely not the only contestant who didn't understand the Wizard Card rules.

Sometimes, they even do things that are both funny and frustrating.

"You should have used a different Spell Card; that way, he would have lost for good."

It wasn't just someone who couldn't help but chime in, but it resulted in one side losing the game.

Most of the audience looked toward the source of the voice.

"Please keep quiet and don't disturb other people's matches. This is basic courtesy for spectators." Albert glared at the older student who had spoken.

The man froze instantly, his face turning bright red. He didn't argue, otherwise he would be telling everyone that he was an impolite person.

"Please do not interfere with the match," Albert said to the surrounding audience. "Also, the round from just now will be rewound three rounds and restarted."

Halfway through the elimination rounds, Albert also discovered that most students didn't know how to play Wizard Card very well, and a game would only last a few minutes at most. The better players were always able to win two games in a row and defeat their opponents.

Most of the players who ultimately emerged victorious were acquaintances of Albert, and only those who frequently smoked and played cards together could gain an advantage in the competition.

The most exciting Wizard Card Competition was undoubtedly the duel between Shanna and Katrina, which drew a large crowd to witness this evenly matched contest.

Albert readily abandoned his refereeing duties and ran over to watch the match.

In the end, Katrina lost.

"A fantastic match!" Albert began to applaud, and the others, stunned, joined in the applause.

Katrina was very frustrated. She originally thought that winning the championship would be easy, but she lost the game because she ran out of Card Set first.

If she can hold on for one more round, she will definitely be able to defeat Shanna.

Unfortunately, she had already lost and was eliminated in the first round.

"Albert has a rival now, and I'm looking forward to seeing you beat him," George said to Shanna with a smile. "Right now, you're the most promising seed to win the championship."

Albert was speechless. The game had only just begun. Weren't you guys afraid of something going wrong by jinxing it like this?

"What are you all doing here? Get out of here, don't all crowd together."

An untimely voice rang out from outside the crowd. Filch pushed through the crowd and walked over, wanting to see what these people were up to.

"Sir, is there anything I can help you with?" Albert asked, frowning.

"I received intelligence that someone is holding an illegal assembly here."

Filch pushed through the crowd and came over, his gaze immediately fixed on Fred and George, his loose cheeks twitching with excitement.

"And you all, disperse, don't crowd here," he said to the crowd around him.

"What happened?"

Fred, George, and Lee Jordan also came over, and when they saw Filch, they all frowned. This guy's appearance here was clearly not for good.

Moreover, if Filch insists that they are holding an illegal assembly, they really don't have a good way to deal with it, and the game will become a joke, which is definitely not an outcome that the three of them want to see.

"Fine."

Albert reassured the three, then turned to Filch and calmly said, "Illegal assembly? Are you sure your intelligence is accurate and you haven't been misled?"

"What do you mean by that?" Filch asked in a hostile tone, his eyes fixed on Albert.

"The Wizard Card Club's gatherings have been approved and authorized by Dumbledore from the very beginning," Albert explained with a smile. "Our gatherings are legal, legal from the start. If you don't believe me, I have the Headmaster's signature here."

Albert reached into his pocket and pulled out a roll of parchment, handing it to the other man.

Filch took the parchment, glanced at its contents, and his face immediately darkened, like a child who had heard that Halloween had been canceled.

"The Wizard Card Club was established with the principal's approval. The guy I'm trying to give you information to is definitely just looking for trouble."

Albert stared intently into Filch's eyes, trying to glean the man's name from him.

Filch stormed off in a huff.

This dramatic scene became the talk of the town; they hadn't seen Filch get his comeuppance in a long time.

"When did you prepare the parchment?" Fred asked in a low voice.

"Of course this thing is real, and so are my words." Albert glanced at Fred and said calmly, "The Wizard Card Club has the headmaster's approval, and the signature on the parchment is genuine. This activity is beneficial to student unity and friendship, so how could the headmaster not approve it?"

Actually, the parchment was prepared to prevent a professor from coming and causing trouble for them. Although the chances were slim, Albert still took precautions.

After all, some people do have rather low moral standards.

"Who provided Filch with the intelligence?" Lee Jordan asked grimly, preparing to settle accounts with the person.

The First Wizard Card Competition was of great significance to the four of them, and they would not tolerate anyone disrupting it, much less turning it into a joke.

"I don't know, let's not worry about that for now." Albert reached out and patted Lee Jordan on the shoulder. "Go back and do your refereeing job. The first round of the knockout stage isn't over yet."

"If I find out who did this, I'll teach them a lesson they won't forget," Fred said through gritted teeth.

If Albert hadn't been prepared, he would have been truly disgusted.