The Triwizard Tournament, Unheld for Two Hundred Years

When William confirmed that Phoebe was in Maxime's office, he was utterly devastated.

The feeling was like taking a high school entrance exam math test and suddenly seeing... the Egypt pyramids.

There's a sense of temporal and spatial dislocation, like I've picked up the wrong exam questions.

No, Phoebe, what are you doing wandering around her office with nothing better to do?

Why didn't you remind me?

Far away in France, in Phoebe, one could almost hear William's resentment.

She looked at the Sound Transmission Conch in Madame Maxime's hand, and helplessly shrugged, thinking to herself:

"William, you said so quickly, how can I remind you?"

Therefore, it's best not to speak ill of others behind their backs, otherwise it will be very embarrassing if you get caught in the act.

For example, right now...

"William, are you still there? Why aren't you saying anything?"

Maxime forcefully pulled William back to reality.

What could he say? What did he dare to say?

"It's been such a long time, child. You've come to France for summer vacation, why didn't you come to see me at school?" Maxime continued.

"It's been three years since the Order of Merlin was awarded," she said softly. "I miss you so much!"

Judging solely from the voice, one might mistake the person opposite for a legally petite girl who is only 1.5 meters tall.

But the stark reality is that the voice came from a half-head taller female Giant than Hagrid!

Forget about taking down a whiny girl with one punch; she could kill a Troll with one punch.

This is the real humanoid berserker.

And this berserker has set its sights on William.

"Haha, I left in a... rush..." William said with a mournful face.

"Professor, you are..."

"You old man?!"

"No... Auntie... Sister... How have you been lately? I miss you too... I'll definitely do it next time..."

"Maybe next time? After all, I have a terrible temper, as volatile as Abraxan..." Maxime's tone was icy.

"You misheard me. I meant you are of noble birth, as handsome as Abraxan, a noble among horses and a dragon among men," William said sweetly.

"So, what about you stealing my Abraxan?"

"Madam, I didn't steal that."

"You may not know this, but Black was in France at the time."

I swear on my best friend Tom's name... Black stole it and framed me."

"Not bad." Maxime smiled knowingly.

"William, with your excellent speaking skills, no wonder Phoebe has always admired you."

I really should reward you with something.

I remember you wanted to apply to Beauxbatons as an exchange student, right?

"No way!" William quickly denied it three times. "I'm going to Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"Do you think you can dodge me?!" Madame Maxime scoffed, her tone neither loud nor soft.

We'll see each other again this summer, and next school year we might have a whole year to spend together!

You'd better be prepared to experience the caress of Maxime's iron fist.

"..."

"Alright, I'm going to keep Gabrielle's Thunderbird egg as the school pet, as compensation for the Thunderbird attack on the pavilion that caused me to fall into the water," Maxime said softly.

"As for you, goodbye child, please... live well."

At least live to see us again!

Good!"

"..."

"What?! Anne owns a Thunderbird?!"

During lunch in the Great Hall, Hermione heard the news and, in a panic, broke a glass.

William waved his wand, and the cup Reparo.

"Keep your voice down, everyone can hear you."

William glanced around; the Ravenclaw students were all secretly watching them.

"How could she have Thunderbird egg?!"

Sitting at the Ravenclaw dining table, Hermione glanced at Anne at the Gryffindor table.

Anne had already noticed that Hermione wasn't at the Gryffindor table; her brother was squeezed together with her, whispering to each other.

And here she was, glancing back at herself again? Her brother was clearly tattling.

She glared back at Hermione fiercely.

William quickly explained the situation.

Hermione took the strawberry tart from his hand, took a bite, and squinted her eyes, saying:

"You can't blame Anne too much; the situation was urgent."

"The issue now isn't whether it's strange or not, but that Thunderbird will soon grow to be as big as a house."

Just like Hagrid's dragon Norbert, he had to obediently send it away. Although the Thunderbird wasn't as big as a dragon, it wasn't suitable for a student to keep at Hogwarts.

"What about the Undetectable Extension Charm?" Hermione, expertly placing a fried egg on William's plate.

"Like Newt's trunk, should we make one for Anne too?"

"Such a large space can't be set up quickly."

William ate his fried egg and said softly, "What I mean is, let's return the baby bird to that Thunderbird and let her 'adopt' it for a while."

"When that Thunderbird grows up, it might fly back to find Anne."

It will take at most one or two years. By then, I will be able to expand the Anne Safety Watch to a sufficiently large size.

"A feasible solution." Hermione nodded in agreement. "Anyway, Anne certainly doesn't have the ability to raise Thunderbird right now."

In a couple of years, she might forget; and the Thunderbird might never come back...

William and Hermione quickly reached an agreement.

Once they made their decision, Anne had no room to resist.

"By the way, what did Madame Maxime mean?"

Hermione wiped her mouth and poured herself a cup of black tea.

What do you mean by "we'll see each other again during summer vacation, and then have a whole school year to spend together next semester"?

Will Madame Maxime come to the United Kingdom for the Quidditch World Cup during the summer holidays?

"I don't think it's the Quidditch World Cup," William thought for a moment, then said in a low voice, "I heard from Dumbledore that the International Confederation of Wizards will be held this summer."

"What does this have to do with us?" Hermione took a sip of her red tea, staring with a confused look.

"Of course it's relevant; we might both have to attend."

"Huh? We're not United Kingdom representatives, are we? Just ordinary little wizards..."

"This International Confederation of Wizards Conference will discuss Arya's situation. All nations are wary of her, fearing a second Grindelwald may emerge."

William smiled gently, picked up Hermione's black tea, took a sip, and mumbled:

"We both had direct contact with her, so... Anyway, Miss Granger, you're no longer an ordinary little wizard."

You are renowned, your every move influencing international trends, and you are one of Hogwarts' most outstanding students...

William wrote a report behind Rita's back, and one of the passages described Hermione in this way.

Hermione was stunned for a moment, then became furious and snatched back her tea, drinking it all in one gulp.

"How do you explain that school year?" She poured William another cup of tea using her own cup.

"I don't know either. Why would a Beauxbatons headmistress want to spend a whole school year at Hogwarts?"

William took a small sip of his black tea and found it to be scalding hot.

The girl squinted and suddenly screamed, startling him so much that he spilled water and almost burned his hand.

"Sorry, sorry." Hermione quickly grabbed some tissues and started wiping William's clothes.

The girl whispered excitedly, "Is the school planning to restart... the Triwizard Tournament?"

"Um..." William frowned, "It hasn't been held for hundreds of years, has it?"

"To be precise, it was 202." Hermione once again demonstrated her impressive memory.

She raised her eyebrows and boasted smugly:

"Since 1792, a Cockatrice has rampaged through the Triwizard Tournament, injuring all three headmasters, and it has never been held again."

"..."

Chatting with Hermione is already a bit tiring.

She loved showing off her superhuman memory. Especially when she managed to beat William on one of the rare occasions, the excitement was so overwhelming that she wanted to drown him completely.

"But Black hasn't caught up yet, is it really a good idea to restart so rashly?" Hermione was not in favor of it.

"Is safety guaranteed? Dumbledore a hurry," she criticized seriously.

"Yes, that's exactly what I was going to tell you, about Black."

William quickly recounted the story of the Fat Lady.

"I'm going to find Dahei. I suspect he escaped from prison specifically to target Peter."

Hermione glanced around, afraid someone would hear, then leaned close to William's ear and breathed hot air into his mouth.

"William, this is a risky move. What if we're wrong? We've checked the mouse; it's not Animagus."

William countered, "Is Crookshanks still interested in Scabbers?"

Hermione shook her head, seemingly lost in thought, and said:

"You're right... Crookshanks lost interest in Scabbers after returning from Christmas."

"This further proves the point; the current Scabbers is definitely not the same rat as before."

Crookshanks probably possesses the ability to see through the Animagus.

"How are you going to find Black?" Hermione asked, staring at William.

"Martial law is in effect everywhere, especially in Hogsmeade. There's no way he can hide there; he can only hide in the Forbidden Forest."

William said confidently:

"I plan to have Aragog activate the Acromantula to conduct a full-scale exploration of the Forbidden Forest."

Catching Dahei is only a matter of time!

"But... I still think that actively contacting Dahei isn't a good thing," the girl said worriedly.

He gently comforted him, saying, "It's alright, trust me. If I'm wrong, we'll just capture Black and hand him over to the Dementor."

Hermione wrinkled her nose, whether in silent protest or convinced by William, it was hard to tell.

She glanced at him and gently took his hand.

William smiled, blew on the steam, and drank the black tea in one gulp.

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