The Lowered Age Limit

This year's Sorting Hat was very efficient, completing the sorting process in just over half an hour.

Finally, with Kevin Whitby being sorted into Hufflepuff, the Sorting Ceremony came to an end.

Dumbledore stood up, smiling at all the students. "Eat."

The previously empty plate was suddenly and magically filled with food.

Mikel ladled himself a large spoonful of mashed potatoes and said, "Even though I've seen it many times, it still feels a little unbelievable every time these foods suddenly appear."

"A staple of Hogwarts," Kyle said with a smile.

As they ate their delicious steak and ham, they discussed the possibility of inscribing magical runes on the small boat and also tentatively agreed on a price.

One hundred Galleon per ship.

This number is indeed a bit high for some students who haven't graduated yet, but it's a preliminary estimate, and we can discuss it further if it's not suitable.

After the main course was over, Kyle chose a plate of Yorkshire pudding from among the many desserts.

This traditional British pudding tastes great, and more importantly, it's not as sweet as syrup tarts, making it perfect as an after-dinner snack.

Finally, all the food was devoured, the remaining crumbs on the plates disappeared, and the plates were clean and Winky again.

At this moment, Dumbledore stood up again, the buzzing in the hall immediately stopped, and everyone looked at him.

As is customary, Dumbledore first emphasized a few points of attention, such as that new students are not allowed to go to the Forbidden Forest, etc. He would say these things every year, so there was nothing new about them.

The only difference is that there are a few more items prohibited in the castle, including but not limited to the screaming teacup, the combo boomerang, and the biting quill pen... all of which are new items from Zonko's Joke Shop last year.

Including these, the entire list now contains 437 items.

It must be said that Fred and George deserve immense credit for the comprehensiveness of this list; conservatively estimated, the two of them alone contributed more than a hundred names.

"I regret to inform you that there will be no Quidditch match this year!" said Dumbledore.

The Great Hall erupted into chaos as everyone stared at Dumbledore in disbelief and chatter.

But before he could explain, the Great Hall door was suddenly kicked open.

A man appeared at the doorway, leaning on a long cane, and limped toward the High Table.

Everyone in the Great Hall turned to look at him.

With each step he took, a hollow sound echoed in the Great Hall.

Suddenly, a forked bolt of lightning flashed across the ceiling, illuminating his face.

Gasps of surprise echoed through the Great Hall.

His face was covered in scars, with hardly a single unscathed spot, but that wasn't the most frightening thing.

What's most frightening is his eyes.

He only has one normal eye; the other is very large, round like a coin, and bright blue.

"Oh, it's Alastor Moody!" someone exclaimed instinctively.

Almost instantly, the blue eyeball rolled back and disappeared into the man's head, seemingly staring at the person speaking behind him.

The student who had just called out Alastor Moody's name immediately lowered his head, not daring to look at him.

The man walked up to Dumbledore, and the two spoke in hushed tones before he sat down in one of the empty chairs.

"Please allow me to introduce our new Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts," Dumbledore cheerfully broke the silence, "Professor Alastor Moody!"

The awkward thing was that not a single student applauded this time; only Dumbledore and Hagrid clapped, making the atmosphere even colder than Professor Lupin's last year.

On the Hufflepuff table, Kyle looked down at the parchment in his hand.

As soon as Moody entered, he immediately opened the Marauder's Map, but strangely, no names were displayed, and no names moved as he walked toward the High Table.

It's as if he doesn't exist... To be precise, he used some method to make his name undrawable.

Hogwarts is not plottable and will not appear on any map.

However, this is to be expected of an old Auror is inherently suspicious.

There are quite a few spells in the Wizarding World that are related to names, the most well-known of which is Voldemort.

Anyone who calls out this name will be located by him, and he will immediately rush to their location. This is why most people call him the You-Know-Who.

Honestly, if Moody's name actually appeared on the Marauder's Map, even if it was his real name, Kyle would suspect that someone else was impersonating him.

This might actually be true now.

It seems this old Auror escaped unscathed... or so it seems.

Kyle put away the Marauder's Map and continued looking towards the High Table as if nothing had happened.

Dumbledore then stopped insisting on introducing the new professor.

"Let's continue our previous topic."

He said, "The reason for cancelling Quidditch is that we will be very honored to host a wonderful event in the coming months, an event that has not 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 was silent for a few seconds, then erupted into an unprecedentedly loud buzzing sound.

"You're kidding, right..."

"Triwizard Tournament... Oh my god..."

"I simply can't believe it..."

Someone jumped up excitedly and enthusiastically explained to the clueless students what the Triwizard Tournament was.

Simply put, if this were only in Europe, it would be the biggest event ever, even surpassing the Quidditch World Cup.

Everyone was so excited that they shouted and jumped around, and Dumbledore chuckled softly.

"I'm not joking," he said. "Some of you don't know how this Triwizard Tournament works, so I feel it's necessary to explain it a little..."

The so-called Triwizard Tournament is a friendly competition between the three largest magic schools in Europe... Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang...

He then explained in detail the origins of the Triwizard Tournament, its inherent dangers, and the number of deaths in previous tournaments.

Except for a few individuals, everyone seemed uninterested in those who died more than a hundred years ago, their enthusiasm undiminished.

Especially after hearing that the champion would receive a prize of 1,000 Galleon, they rushed to sign up, their excited shouts almost lifting the ceiling off the building.

"I know you all want to participate in the Triwizard Tournament and bring glory to your schools," Dumbledore said. "However, the participating schools and the Ministry of Magic have agreed that there should be an age limit for this year's competitors. Only students who are fifteen years of age or older will be allowed to register, in order to give consideration to..."

Dumbledore had to raise his voice slightly to drown out some of the protests, "This decision is necessary. No matter how many measures we take, students below fifth grade are simply no match for us. This is also for your safety..."

"Oh, damn it!" someone exclaimed, pounding their chest at the Hufflepuff table. "I was only a few months away... Could you tell them to move the selection to December?"

"Ha, how lucky." Mikel said happily, completely disregarding his feelings. "My birthday is in March, just turned fifteen... Kyle, you must have turned fifteen too."

"What?" Kyle initially thought he had misheard, but after hearing Mikel's words, he came to his senses and nodded, saying, "Oh, yes, he just turned fifteen last month."