In the afternoon, Maurise arrived right on time at the room at the far end of the left corridor on the second floor for the Weighing of the Wands.
The person conducting the ceremony was Garrick Ollivander.
"Hornbeam, Thestral tail hair core. You take excellent care of your wand, Mr. Black," Ollivander said, his tone carrying a note of distinct approval after carefully examining the wand.
"Thank you, Mr. Ollivander."
Maurise took his wand back and returned to his seat against the wall.
Aside from him and Ollivander, the room was occupied by the three Headmasters, Mr. Crouch, Ludo Bagman, and Krum.
For some reason, Harry and Fleur had not yet arrived.
Just then, the door opened.
Harry and Fleur walked in, followed by Rita Skeeter and a man carrying a large camera, presumably a photographer.
Rita swept her gaze around the room with a wide, predatory smile, her eyes eventually landing on Ludo.
"Is it time, Ludo?" she asked in a sugary sweet voice.
"Indeed it is!" Ludo was in extremely high spirits. "Once these two champions have their wands checked, we can proceed with the photographs! Everyone is undoubtedly eager to see our champions this year."
Maurise wasn't surprised. It was entirely expected for the media to be involved in an event as monumental as the Triwizard Tournament. However, Rita Skeeter being the journalist in charge was slightly troublesome. The woman specialized in sensationalism and manufacturing drama.
Fortunately, Maurise held a significant piece of leverage over her. She likely wouldn't be stupid enough to try and spin him into her next sensational headline.
He noticed that when Rita looked at him, her gaze clearly darted away, avoiding direct eye contact.
"Mr. Potter, step right up," Mr. Ollivander beckoned Harry forward kindly.
Harry approached and handed over his wand. Fleur, meanwhile, took the empty seat right next to Maurise.
She frowned slightly, leaning in to whisper, "Black, did you give an interview to that reporter?"
"No," Maurise shook his head. "Has she been bothering you?"
"Yes, she is incredibly persistent," Fleur sighed, seemingly annoyed with herself for getting dragged around by the woman earlier. "But she is much more focused on Harry Potter. She only asked me two questions."
"What did she ask you?"
"Nothing of importance," Fleur brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Just mindless gossip. I will not let her get under my skin, and I hope you will not either. Actually, I must warn you: do not answer any of her questions."
Although it was a well-intentioned warning, Maurise had a strong feeling there was a hidden meaning behind Fleur's words. Her tone sounded distinctly peculiar.
What exactly had Rita asked her?
The Weighing of the Wands concluded quickly without any issues. The only detail worth noting was that the core of Fleur's wand was a hair from her Veela grandmother.
Following that, Ludo enthusiastically directed the champions for the photoshoot.
The photography session dragged on for a grueling half hour. The photographer's camera practically never stopped flashing.
To Maurise's surprise, Krum seemed highly averse to the whole affair. After having only a few pictures taken, he retreated to the very back of the group.
"I do not like being in the newspapers," he muttered darkly to Maurise.
Combining this with the fact that Krum had spent almost all his free time hiding in the library, Maurise became increasingly certain of one thing: Viktor Krum likely had a touch of social anxiety, or perhaps he just genuinely abhorred large, public gatherings.
With the Weighing of the Wands complete, the champions could finally focus entirely on preparing for the First Task.
---
On a Saturday morning inside the Ship in a Bottle.
Maurise had gathered the members of the Explorers: Fred, George, and Kyle. He had also informed Neville, but the boy had not shown up for some unknown reason.
The goal for today was simple: teach their newest member, Kyle, how to meditate.
After finishing the book Wizarding Meditation Techniques that Maurise had handed him, Kyle looked up in sheer amazement. "I have never heard of this kind of magic before."
"That is completely normal," Fred said, looking up from a mirror in his hand. He puffed his chest out proudly. "Because Maurise invented it."
Although he hadn't noticed any immediate changes when he first began practicing, he could now tangibly feel the benefits of meditation. The most prominent change was how much smoother and more effortless casting spells had become.
"Actually, I learned it from a book myself," Maurise corrected mildly. He noticed the object in Fred's hand, raising an eyebrow. "Fred, what is that?"
Fred exchanged a quick glance with George and answered promptly, "A Two-Way Mirror."
A Two-Way Mirror? Maurise recalled reading that they were exceedingly expensive magical artifacts. How could Fred and George afford one?
Before he could ask, Fred added, "It is broken, and we only have this one. Its twin is long gone."
"We found it in a secondhand shop," George chimed in. "The owner didn't even realize what it was, so we got incredibly lucky. It only cost us six Sickles."
"Five Sickles," Fred corrected.
"May I see it?" Maurise asked.
"Of course." Fred handed the mirror over.
Maurise inspected it. The surface of the glass was covered in a dense web of fine cracks. It was clearly broken beyond repair.
"We have been trying to fix it," Fred said seriously. "But it is too heavily damaged, making it incredibly difficult. Still, we have learned a lot from studying it, and we are working on a brand new invention."
"A new invention?" Maurise returned the mirror, his curiosity piqued. "What is it?"
"You will find out soon enough," Fred smiled mysteriously. "Trust me, it is a highly promising invention."
Maurise looked at the two of them and shook his head helplessly. They were almost certainly tinkering with a new prank product. Those two never forgot their true calling.
George sighed regretfully. "If only we had a pristine Two-Way Mirror to use as a reference."
"I might be able to lend you my Two-Way Mirrors," Kyle suddenly spoke up from the side.
"Really? You have a set of Two-Way Mirrors?!" George jumped up excitedly, nearly knocking over the coffee table in front of him.
Kyle nodded. "They were my birthday present from my dad this year. I keep them in my dormitory."
Maurise remembered that Kyle's father was a wealthy magical entrepreneur. It made perfect sense that he could get his hands on a set of Two-Way Mirrors.
Kyle's generous offer instantly won him the twins' favor. The two of them excitedly began showcasing their previous inventions, like the various Skiving Snackboxes.
Maurise, meanwhile, sat quietly and read his book.
At some point, Cinder appeared in the room, dropped several copies of the Daily Prophet onto the table, and hurriedly flew back out.
Fred noticed them first and picked one up to read. Half a minute later, he patted George on the shoulder, handed him the newspaper, and whispered, "You need to see this, George!"
After George finished reading it, he passed it to Kyle. "You need to see this, Kyle."
Once Kyle had finished, all three boys turned their heads in unison, staring at Maurise with incredibly peculiar expressions.