As the upper-year students' near-frantic excitement gradually drove the atmosphere higher and higher, even the lower-year students—including the utterly bewildered first-years—slowly stopped feeling afraid of Moody's fierce and terrifying face, and the back half of the Great Hall became lively once more...
Probably with the exception of Harry's side. He and Ron were arguing fiercely with Hermione about something. Hermione was so angry that she had even put down her knife and fork and hardly ate at all. Who knew whether they were fighting or what.
And so, amid this generally cheerful atmosphere, the abundant feast on the tables was swept clean with remarkable speed, followed by equally exquisite and delicious desserts.
After even the last of the sweets had been eaten and the tables were left completely spotless, Headmaster Albus Dumbledore stood up once more.
"Next, there are still several important matters I need to inform everyone of."
"First, Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tell you all that the list of prohibited items inside the castle has grown by a few more this year. They include Screaming Yo-Yos, Fang Frisbees, Multi-Strike Boomerangs... er... the full list contains roughly four hundred and thirty-seven items in total. Anyone interested may consult it in Mr. Filch's office."
The corners of Dumbledore's mouth twitched a few times as he rapidly flipped through the thick stack of parchment in his hands.
"Next," he continued, "as always, I must remind you that the Forbidden Forest on the grounds is out of bounds to students, and that no one below third year, or without a guardian's signed permission, may visit Hogsmeade Village."
"And finally..."
He deliberately paused for a moment. Only after confirming that he had successfully aroused the curiosity of most of the students did he spread his arms with delight.
"I am very pleased to announce that the Triwizard Tournament, which has been discontinued for more than a century, will be held again this year!"
"What?!"
"The Triwizard Tournament?! The one that was forced to stop because too many people died? It's starting again this year??"
The effect of those words was almost exactly the same as when Professor Moody had first entered the hall—those upper-year students sitting near the front of the house tables all jumped up in shock and chattered noisily, while the lower-year students in the back once again fell into confusion, staring at their heatedly discussing seniors and wondering whether they had somehow missed an entire subject at Hogwarts... though, to be fair, most of them slept through History of Magic anyway.
"The Triwizard Tournament was founded around seven hundred years ago."
Dumbledore seemed to realize that about half the school probably still had no idea what the Triwizard Tournament actually was, so he offered a brief explanation.
"It is a friendly competition between the three largest wizarding schools in Europe: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. In this competition, each school selects one champion, and the three champions then compete in three magical tasks."
"The Triwizard Tournament was originally meant to be held once every five years, with the three schools taking turns hosting. It was generally considered an excellent way for young witches and wizards from different countries to build friendships. However, due to the inadequacy of various safety measures at the time, the death toll became far too high, and the Tournament gradually became difficult for people to accept."
"And finally, in 1792, during the Triwizard Tournament hosted by Durmstrang, a dreadful accident not only eliminated all of the champions, but even left the three headmasters of the time gravely injured. After that, the Triwizard Tournament was forced to cease, and it remained suspended until today."
"The three headmasters were all seriously injured?!"
A student below gasped in shock.
"Wouldn't that mean the thing that caused the accident was stronger than three Dumbledores put together? Does something that powerful even exist in the world?"
"I've heard about that incident—it was a rampaging Cockatrice."
"A magical creature?! That thing could take on three Dumbledores?!"
"Probably not... the headmasters back then weren't on the same level as the current one..."
"Ahem."
Seeing that things were on the verge of slipping out of control again, Dumbledore had no choice but to raise a hand once more and suppress the students' voices before continuing.
"For more than a century, people have repeatedly attempted to restore the Tournament, but for one reason or another, all such efforts came to nothing. However, this year, after much complex and serious negotiation among multiple parties, the host school of that unfinished Triwizard Tournament from a century ago—Durmstrang—has decided to resume that uncompleted competition, cleansing its own stain while also renewing the bond between Europe's three greatest magical schools..."
'Durmstrang?!'
This time, no one else had much of a reaction. Only Avada was stunned.
'What the hell is this... even the host has changed???'
'Then is the force behind this Tournament still the conspiracy of the pure-blood families or not? If it is, then why isn't it even being held at Hogwarts? And if it isn't... then what's with that fake Moody??'
'Oh, right—Durmstrang's current headmaster is also a former Death Eater who's successfully rehabilitated himself... But what exactly are they after? If Durmstrang is the host, then Dumbledore should be the only one heading over there with a batch of selected champion candidates, while fake Moody stays behind at the school to keep teaching... holy shit?!'
Avada suddenly realized just how serious this might be.
'Are they planning to lure Dumbledore away and then do whatever they want to Hogwarts?'
'Wait, no, that's not right either...'
He felt as though the word Durmstrang had smashed his thoughts into complete disorder.
'What in Hogwarts right now is worth coveting for those pure-bloods? Control of the school? But this time it's not like two years ago, when Dumbledore was removed through formal procedure. If anything really happens, he can absolutely come back and retake everything by force and with full justification!'
'Voldemort's main soul? I refuse to believe Dumbledore isn't carrying that thing around with him...'
'Kill a few people at random to avenge Voldemort?... and then voluntarily hand furious Dumbledore the perfect excuse to purge the pure-blood families?'
Gradually, Avada gave up thinking.
'Forget it. I'll just ask Dumbledore directly later. I refuse to believe he'd calmly allow an impostor to run wild in a Hogwarts without him there to hold things down...'
While Avada's brain was gradually ceasing to function, Dumbledore on the platform continued speaking:
"...Therefore, according to the agreement between the three parties, our champion candidates will travel with me to Durmstrang in October, and the official selection of the champions will take place on Halloween."
"And because we have put extremely strict safety measures in place—measures that can fully guarantee that none of the participants will encounter the slightest real danger—in this Triwizard Tournament, revived after more than a century, we have decided to abandon the old rule that only adult students may be selected as champions. Instead, the champion candidates will be determined through an impartial comprehensive ability assessment."
"In other words, whether you are a seventh-year student about to graduate or a first-year student who has only just entered the school, as long as you pass the coming series of tests with outstanding results, you will be qualified to travel to Durmstrang, place your name among the champion candidates, and earn the chance to win the Cup, claim glory, and take home the reward of one thousand Galleons!"
Seeing the gradually brightening and eager expressions of the students—especially the younger ones—Dumbledore smiled again.
"However, I must say in advance that these tests will not become any easier just because you are young and have mastered less knowledge. Everyone will face the same difficult challenge. So personally, I do not recommend that students below fifth year take part in the tests, unless some of you truly possess extraordinary talent..."
"Oh, Professor!"
Someone below suddenly raised a hand.
"If we fifth-years pass the tests, go to Durmstrang, and even become champions, then what happens to our O.W.L.s?"
"The arrangement will be the same as for seventh-years. Any fifth-year students who go to Durmstrang will sit Hogwarts's O.W.L.s there under supervision."
Dumbledore seemed to have anticipated this sort of question long ago and answered calmly:
"And if a fifth-year student is selected as a champion, then their final results will automatically be marked as Outstanding in all subjects. And if they win the Tournament—well, by that point, an O.W.L. certificate will not really matter that much to you anyway."
(End of Chapter)