New Competition News

By around 3 p. m., the sixth-grade students had finished their last exam and were happily looking forward to the upcoming competition and holiday.

However, the fifth-grader OWL had to wait another two hours.

In the afternoon, Kyle and Cedric sat by the Black Lake, discussing the upcoming match.

Fred and George, on the other hand, went back to their old ways and went to find Bagman and Karkaroff. According to them, the closer the match got, the less they could let their guard down.

Now that the maze is complete, Bagman might just tell Karkaroff the way to the trophy.

"The match starts in a few hours, I really hope time flies by..." Cedric said, looking at the Giant Squid basking in the sun in the middle of the lake. "How are you doing with those spells? Are you alright?"

"Of course, no problem," Kyle said. "I think you're more nervous than I am."

"I don't know either, probably because it's the last event," Cedric said. "You were leading in the first two events, and it would be such a shame if... I mean, you lost in the last one."

"Don't worry, I won't lose."

"I know," Cedric said with a smile. "Professor Sprout will be very happy if you win the Triwizard Tournament trophy."

"I saw her in Hogsmeade last time; she seemed to be picking out new robes in the wizarding clothing shop."

"A new robe?" Kyle turned to look at him. "You must be mistaken. Didn't she just buy a new robe last year?"

This might sound strange to other people, since nobody buys only one piece of clothing a year. But for Professor Sprout, it's perfectly normal.

Normally at school, she wears more sturdy clothes that are convenient for caring for plants in the greenhouse, and she only changes into a long robe for the opening banquet.

Kyle also noticed that she hadn't changed her yellow robe for several years until last year, when Hufflepuff won the House Cup for the fourth consecutive year, and she finally got a new one.

Moreover, she even wore this new robe as a formal dress to the Yule Ball.

"I must be right," Cedric said. "After all, if you win the championship, it's not only an honor for Hogwarts, but also for Hufflepuff. Professor Sprout will definitely want to celebrate."

Well, changing into a new robe to celebrate... that's certainly very much in Professor Sprout's style.

Just then, Cedric suddenly said, "Kyle, look over there, it's the headmaster."

Kyle turned around and saw Dumbledore walking out of the castle with several other referees, who were having a heated discussion.

"What are they talking about?" Cedric asked curiously.

"I don't know." Kyle shook his head, because they were too far away to hear what the referees were saying.

"I think it's probably related to the competition."

"No way," Cedric said in surprise, "The match is about to start, do they still have some disagreement?"

"Who knows?" Kyle said, not really paying attention.

Every principal wants to favor their own school's Champion, so disagreements are perfectly normal.

At five o'clock, bursts of excited cheers echoed from inside the castle.

"I think the exams should be over," Cedric said.

Then they stood up, preparing to return to the castle for dinner.

"Hey, you guys are here..."

Just then, Fred and George, who had disappeared all afternoon, returned, looking very excited.

"Guess what news we heard..."

"Bagman wouldn't actually tell Karkaroff the way to the maze, would he?" Cedric asked hurriedly.

"No," Fred shook his head, "But Bagman did go to see Karkaroff again."

He said the maze was completed by all the judges together, and no one knew the exact route.

"That's alright," Cedric said.

"But we heard something else," George said mysteriously. "The judges seem to want to use the same method as the Second Task to make the competition a bit more difficult."

"The approach to the Second Task?" Kyle asked, puzzled. "What does that mean?"

"Hostages," Fred said. "They want to add a few more hostages to the competition. The Champion have to find all the hostages before they can take the final trophy."

"You must have misheard me," Cedric blurted out. "The maze is dangerous enough already, why add more hostages?"

"We swear, we didn't," George said earnestly. "Anyway, that's what Bagman said, and we heard it clearly."

"Wait... wait a minute, it's daytime now." Cedric suddenly realized something, "Your Disillusionment Charm can get close to them?"

Leaving Ludo Bagman aside, Karkaroff is, after all, a school principal. In broad daylight, without the cover of darkness, surely he couldn't possibly be unaware that someone was approaching using Disillusionment Charm.

"Of course not, so we borrowed a very useful little gadget." Fred raised an eyebrow, then pulled an ear-shaped object from his pocket.

"The Extendable Ear was only made a week ago."

George said, "We disguised it as a bush and just happened to overhear Bagman and Karkaroff's conversation."

"Alright." Cedric sighed, glancing at Kyle. "Looks like Kanna is going to be a hostage again. Let's see how long it takes you to get her out."

"No, no, no, you're wrong this time." Fred shook his finger. "The Hogwarts hostage isn't Kanna, it's Harry."

"Harry Potter?"

"That's right," George said. "They think that involving the Boy Who Lived the ordeal would definitely make the game more exciting."

"Let Harry participate in the last competition?" Kyle sensed something was off and asked, "Do you know who suggested this?"

"Karkaroff? Or... Barty Crouch?"

"I don't know about that."

Fred said, "It must have been decided a long time ago. We were only paying attention to Bagman, and it was he who mentioned it when he was talking to Karkaroff."

"Bagman also said that this match would definitely make the front page of the Daily Prophet for the next week."

Kyle frowned, still feeling something was off, but before he could ask any more questions, Kanna and Cho ran over from a short distance away.

What are you talking about?

"About the Triwizard Tournament," Fred said. "Oh, by the way, you guys go have dinner first, we need to go see Headmaster Dumbledore."

"The hostage doesn't necessarily have to be Harry; we can be hostages too," George said.

"This is Triwizard Tournament, and the only one we can participate in..."

"We discussed this when we came here."

"Even if I can't be Champion, I have to try my best to get this job as a hostage, no matter what."

Having said that, they rushed out of the castle in a flurry of activity to find Dumbledore.

Kyle stood there pondering for a moment.

While it's a bit strange to take Harry hostage, with Dumbledore around, there shouldn't be any problems...

Just remind them to check the Goblet of Fire later to make sure there's nothing wrong with it.

Having figured this out, Kyle went to the Great Hall with the others.