Professor McGonagall explained everything in great detail. The Four-School Friendship Tournament consisted of four events. Opponents would be determined by drawing lots. The first three events used a points system, while the fourth was a four-school free-for-all.
"The first event is potion brewing. Any school that successfully completes the potion within the time limit earns one point. All four schools compete together in this event, so no drawing of lots is required," Professor McGonagall said.
"The second event is a one-on-one duel. There will be three rounds. Each school sends out three students. The winner of each round earns one point. And I should mention—during the first three events, each person may only participate in one event. No one is allowed to compete twice."
"The third event is a team battle. Two schools will each send out two students. The four participants will engage in a mixed battle. The winning team earns three points."
Hearing this, Zacharias Abbott, the fifth-year representative from Hufflepuff, couldn't help asking,
"In that case, couldn't a school just send its two strongest members to the team battle, win three points, and only need one point from the earlier events to win?"
"The other three schools would probably think the same thing," Sean analyzed. "They might even change their strategy—putting their four strongest students into the first two events, and the weakest ones into the team battle. As long as they secure points in the first two rounds, the team battle wouldn't matter."
The rules and format of the tournament were quite interesting. Strategy and tactics clearly played a major role.
Professor McGonagall nodded toward Sean. "Exactly as Mr. Grylls said. The Friendship Tournament requires careful strategic thinking."
"The school with the highest score advances directly. The two losing schools will compete again. The loser of that match takes fourth place. The remaining three schools then compete for first, second, and third place," McGonagall continued.
Sean felt confused after hearing this.
So the rankings were already decided? Weren't there supposed to be four events?
"Professor, aren't there four events?" asked Penelope Clearwater, a third-year from Ravenclaw, voicing the same doubt Sean had.
"Patience. I'm just getting to the fourth event," McGonagall said calmly.
"The fourth event will be determined based on the rankings from the first three. Before the fourth event begins, each team will receive a ring. The four teams will then enter the Valley Forest in order of their rankings. When each team enters the forest, its members will be separated."
"You will be split apart from your teammates. You must then find a way to reunite with them, locate the trophy belonging to your school, and at least two members must carry that trophy out of the Valley Forest in order to claim victory."
The Valley Forest was not unfamiliar to Hogwarts students. It was a mountain forest roughly ten kilometers from the school, inhabited by some magical creatures—but it was far less dangerous than the Forbidden Forest.
McGonagall continued explaining, "Remember, the ring is the key to obtaining the trophy. Without it, you cannot retrieve the trophy. Therefore, before entering the Valley Forest, you must decide who will carry the ring."
The more Sean listened, the more interesting the fourth event sounded. Its difficulty far surpassed the first three. It would truly test both intelligence and strategy.
However, there was something he still wasn't sure about, so he asked,
"Professor, are all four rings identical?"
"Yes. The rings for the four teams are identical," McGonagall replied. "But the trophies are different—four trophies engraved with the names of the four schools. Each trophy is protected by a magical barrier. Only someone wearing a ring can retrieve it."
"So that means someone could use their own team's ring to take another school's trophy?"
"That's correct."
Sean fell silent, thinking carefully about the rules of the fourth event. The teams would enter the forest in order of ranking, and each team would be scattered upon entry. That made the decision of who held the ring extremely important.
Under normal circumstances, the ring would likely be entrusted to the strongest member of the team—the captain.
But that strategy had a major flaw.
If the other teams believed Hogwarts's ring was in Captain Charlie's hands, they would certainly focus their efforts on targeting him.
They might even form temporary alliances to steal the ring from him. If that happened, Hogwarts wouldn't be able to retrieve its own trophy. Of course, Hogwarts could also steal another team's ring.
At the end, at least two people had to carry the trophy out of the Valley Forest. That probably meant that during the event, injuries might occur, preventing the entire team from leaving together.
"Professor, have there ever been deaths in previous Friendship Tournaments?" Sean asked. "I heard the Triwizard Tournament had quite a high casualty rate."
"No," McGonagall replied. "Before the fourth event begins, each participant will receive a pendant. The pendant is a Portkey. If you encounter danger—or simply wish to withdraw—you only need to channel a small amount of magic into it, and it will transport you out."
"The Valley Forest will also be placed under magical restrictions during the event. Apparition will not work inside," McGonagall added.
The rule about entering the forest in ranking order was somewhat similar to the final task of the Triwizard Tournament.
Theo seemed to have noticed that as well. He asked,
"Professor, how much time separates each team's entry into the Valley Forest?"
"One hour," Snape answered before McGonagall could respond.
Snape continued, "That means the first team to enter has more time to search for the trophy. If they find a trophy—even if it isn't their own—they could still take it away, depriving the rightful team of their prize."
Sean realized that the order of entry into the forest was extremely important.
And in this chaotic battle, there didn't seem to be any rule preventing schools from forming alliances. That was likely another test of the students' strategic thinking.
If they could persuade another team to cooperate, even the team entering last wouldn't necessarily be at a complete disadvantage.
Theo clearly had the same thought. He casually glanced toward Penelope before saying to Snape,
"Professor, then for the first event—the potion brewing—we could send the weakest member of the team. Since the task is simply to finish the potion within the time limit, it would be ideal if they succeed. But if they fail, we can still focus our efforts on the later events."
Sean understood Theo's reasoning. Normally, if a team wanted a higher ranking, they would place their main bet on the team battle.
However, Snape's next words made Sean realize why that plan wouldn't work.
Even though Theo was Slytherin's representative, Snape still gave him a cold glance.
"Do you think the potion competition is merely there for decoration?" Snape said sharply. "The potions you brew are typically advanced potions. And any potion successfully completed will become equipment that you can take with you into the Valley Forest."
Sean finally understood.
Sending a lower-year student to the potion event would almost guarantee failure.
Of course, he was an exception. Last semester alone, he had already brewed two advanced potions by himself.
His talent in potions really did resemble Snape's own style. Compared with Hermione successfully brewing Polyjuice Potion in her second year, Sean was clearly even more impressive.
If Penelope were sent to compete in the first event, Hogwarts would lose a point—and they would also lose a valuable tool for the fourth event.
To Read 100+ advanced Chapters, head over to P@treon
patreon.com/DarkVerse146