The Triwizard Tournament!

A once-in-fifty-year rainstorm turned the once-wealthy Professor Sprout into a real-life version of Runtu (a character from a Chinese folktale known for his rural upbringing).

This is a very sad story.

Whether Professor Snape was happy or not is unknown, but his tense face looked quite melancholy.

This melancholy is likely mixed with worry... worry that the lake water will wash away the precious plant "corpses".

Anyway, Sprout lost a lot, Hogwarts lost even more, and the School Governor lost everything... Professor Snape made a fortune.

Dead magical plants... they should at least be recycled and used to brew Potions.

His little box would mysteriously be filled with more herbs again.

Snape continued repairing the lake embankment to prevent his underground classroom from flooding.

Professor Sprout also left to rescue her little darling.

William watched longingly, wanting to join in and save the herbs.

He's Hogwarts's most herb-loving student... though he wasn't before, but now he is!

Seeing that Professor Sprout had left, Professor Flitwick started blowing smoke rings again, creating all sorts of interesting patterns.

William glanced around but didn't see the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor — Mad-Eye Moody.

He's a cautious person... staying away from the school grounds probably mitigates the curse.

Soon, the Great Hall doors opened, and everyone immediately quieted down.

Professor McGonagall led a long line of first-year students quickly to the center of the Great Hall.

Most of the students were fine, but a few were soaking wet, as if they had swum across from the lake.

One of the children was even wrapped in Hagrid's mole-skin coat. The coat, worn by him, had a long hem that dragged on the ground like a rag.

"Brother, I fell into the lake..." he said silently, his mouth agape, to Colin Creevey of Gryffindor.

Oh, he's Colin's brother.

Colin Creevey, Harry's "go-to" cameraman, is quite famous.

Especially during the year he was in the Chamber of Secrets, he was attacked. People found a large number of photos in his camera.

The students then realized that he liked taking photos... but only of Harry, and especially of his private portraits.

In bed, in the bathroom, on the grass, in the wild, in the carriage... In short, he used every place others would use for "dating" to film Harry.

That's downright fanatical!

Professor McGonagall placed a three-legged stool on the ground in front of the new students, and on the stool placed a wizard's hat that was patched but not so dirty.

After Anne washed it, the Sorting Hat also became very clean.

It swayed its body, singing this year's new song.

The Sorting Hat is actually quite powerful; it's been around for a thousand years... with a new song every year.

It's comparable to a certain "washed-up old singer" who used to release an album every year.

Last year, it learned yodeling, and this year it has made another breakthrough by learning the tearing sounds of death rock.

Anyway, William had plugged his ears with magic long ago, so he didn't experience that heart-wrenching, soul-crushing feeling that was so out of tune it was like Beauxbatons.

Professor McGonagall seemed stunned as well, remaining frozen for a full minute before she remembered who she was and where she was...

Many of the young wizards were terrified and absolutely refused to wear the hat.

This displeased the Sorting Hat leader, who felt offended.

When it came time for the college selection, they were also rather unenthusiastic. Anne was much more considerate... This year's students aren't very good.

A girl named Ola Quirke was assigned to Ravenclaw. She sat down on the bench, looking at William with a mixture of surprise and excitement.

"Ah... William Stark, I grew up listening to your stories!" she exclaimed excitedly, covering her mouth.

"..."

William has only been in the industry for five years, but he sounds like a has-been.

Okay, he became famous during the summer after he was in first grade.

Quirke was only seven or eight years old at the time; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he grew up listening to his stories.

Harry's story is a thing of the past; today's children prefer to hear about Stark vanquishing monsters and wreaking havoc on cities.

"What just happened?" Qiu Xun asked. "Was the rain too heavy?"

"No... there was Merpeople clinging to the side of the boat, and she capsized it," Quirke explained nervously.

"What do they want to do?" William asked, puzzled.

"I don't know..." Quirke shook his head in confusion.

"They said they used to work in Hogsmeade, but now they're unemployed. They've earned some Galleon and want to marry a wizard."

"..."

So she's the girl from the foot massage parlor that was shut down last year; now she's looking for honest guys.

I wonder if there was Merpeople princess in the story who went to learn technology, otherwise, there would truly be a turquoise lake above Cedric's head.

Just then, a deafening clap of thunder rang out, and the Great Hall doors were flung open with a bang.

A gruff man stood in the doorway, leaning on a long cane and wearing a black travel cloak.

Such a flamboyant entrance naturally attracted the attention of countless people.

He took off his hood, revealing a head of long, gray hair, and began to walk toward the work table.

With each step he took, the wooden prosthetic leg beneath his feet produced a hollow sound that echoed throughout the Great Hall.

He walked straight to the end of the High Table, turned right, and limped toward Dumbledore.

Another bolt of lightning flashed across the ceiling, illuminating the man's face in vivid light.

It was as if it had been carved from a piece of rotten wood; every inch of the skin on that face seemed to be covered in scars.

His mouth was also crooked, one eye was small and black; the other eye was large, round like a coin, and a bright blue.

--Magic Eye!

A stranger approached Dumbledore. He stretched out a hand, a hand as scarred as his face.

Dumbledore shook hands with him and gestured for the man to sit in an empty seat on the right.

Everyone knew that this was the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor.

Even after the freshmen were assigned to their respective colleges, everyone was still reeling from the shock.

The school is getting more and more outrageous... stutterers, liars, Werewolf, crooked-mouthed wizards... no one would be surprised if a toad showed up next year.

The Sorting Ceremony was over, and Professor Snape finally returned. However, seeing Moody sitting next to him, he hesitated reluctantly.

Even though she was unwilling, she still swallowed her anger and sat down next to Moody like a timid little wife.

Dumbledore stood up and smiled, "Please allow me to introduce our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."

My longtime friend, Professor Moody.

The applause was sparse, and most people were still staring intently at Moody, whose crooked mouth and striking appearance were truly remarkable.

Moody didn't pay any attention, shifting his gaze away from Snape, and then shook his head to brush his long, gray hair away from his face.

He pulled over a plate of sausages, held it up to his mutilated nose, and smelled it, as if checking if it was expired.

He took a knife and a fork out of his pocket, poked one end of a sausage, and started eating.

Ignoring the Pumpkin Juice beside him, Moody reached into his travel cloak, pulled out a curved bottle, and took a large gulp.

Do you still bring your own cutlery and drinks?

A person who pays attention to detail!

Dumbledore didn't mind; it was a habit of his friend's for many years. He cleared his throat and said with a smile:

"Alright! Before we eat, I must ask everyone to pay attention; I have an announcement to make."

Everyone held their breath, and even the students who had heard the news listened attentively.

"In the coming months, we will be honored to host a very exciting event."

This event has not been held for over a century.

That's right... I'm very happy to announce that the Triwizard Tournament will be held at Hogwarts this year!

The news immediately caused a stir among the crowd, and people reacted in various ways.

Some people were confused, while others were excitedly banging on the table, as if they were already about to win the championship.

"You've made a wise decision!" Fred exclaimed excitedly, having already received the news from William.

I love you, Principal!

The tense atmosphere that had hung over the Great Hall ever since Moody entered was suddenly broken.

Almost everyone burst out laughing.

Dumbledore chuckled softly as well.

"Really? That really surprises me. Are you sure you're not joking, Mr. Weasley?"

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat loudly.

"Oh—it's probably not appropriate to talk about this now..." Dumbledore shook his head.

Where was I? Oh, right, the Triwizard Tournament... Some of you don't know what this Triwizard Tournament is all about.

Therefore, I hope those who know the situation will forgive me for explaining this briefly; I'm allowing their minds to wander for a moment.

Dumbledore quickly introduced the Triwizard Tournament.

It also highlighted the number of deaths in the past.

The death toll here certainly doesn't just refer to the three Champion, but also includes the professor and the spectators.

Watching a single match can result in a large number of deaths; the cost is indeed very high.

Therefore, it's quite normal for the event to be suspended.

But the students in the Great Hall weren't worried. What did the people who died more than a hundred years ago have to do with them?

"For centuries, there have been several attempts to revive the Triwizard Tournament," Dumbledore exclaimed.

"Our Ministry of Magic of Department of International Magical Cooperation and Department of Magical Games and Sports believe that the time is ripe for another attempt... The winner will receive a prize of one thousand Galleon."

A thousand Galleon... it seemed to set the entire castle ablaze.

Dumbledore was essentially saying, "Want honor and Galleon?"

If you want them, they're all yours. Go be Champion! All these Galleon are right there!

(Please vote for this post, everyone!)

I swear on Tom's name that I'll get the update schedule back on track tomorrow!