"It should be here."
Albert looked up at the sign of the coffee shop, then looked down at the watch on his wrist. After making sure there was no danger around, he pushed the door open and walked into the Muggle shop in front of him with his suitcase. His eyes swept from the customers in the coffee shop to the middle-aged man drinking coffee in the corner. He walked towards the other person and greeted him in fluent French.
"I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long."
"I've been waiting for half an hour."
"I'm so sorry, I was delayed on the way."
If the shopkeeper at the counter could understand French, he would definitely expose this jerk who had just been there five minutes ago, but unfortunately he couldn't understand French.
What seems like a normal conversation is actually a secret code between the two parties.
After all, both of them had drunk the compound potion, so they naturally couldn't recognize each other's identity. They could only use secret codes to connect with each other. While confirming each other's identity, they also avoided being discovered by others and causing unnecessary trouble to Bud.
This was a casual conversation, like two friends meeting up, and no one would doubt their identities.
After the conversation, the two exchanged business cards, shook hands with a smile, and then paid and left in the boss's surprised look.
"The coffee here is terrible," Bud whispered.
"Maybe, you should order a cup of hot cocoa." Albert teased with a smile.
"I tried, but the boss told me they don't sell hot cocoa here." Bud looked helpless.
"He didn't kick you out?"
Albert's face twitched slightly, not knowing what expression he should show.
"Are you really going to participate in the competition?"
The two turned a corner and headed towards the outskirts of the city.
Albert heard the other party's words, raised his eyebrows slightly and asked, "Is there any problem?"
"I got some bad news two days ago." Bud said in a low voice, "Your situation doesn't seem good. I'm worried that something might happen during the competition. Although there will be many Aurors around, if they want to harm you, some of them are..."
"Don't worry, I just received news that someone is planning to come and watch the game." Albert said meaningfully: "The principal and the group of people around him, so I think even if someone from the other side comes, there shouldn't be any problems. After all, he himself still has a strong deterrent power. Moreover, I actually secretly planted people on their side. Even if there is any plan, I can know it at the first time. At most, there may be some chaos during the game."
"He didn't stay in school and came to watch the game?" Bud frowned instead of feeling relieved when he heard the news.
"Is there something wrong?" Albert asked doubtfully.
"I'm worried that he will drag you down with him." Bud reminded, "That guy's every move is being watched by people, and... In short, you have to be careful. Although that guy is a good person, sometimes he doesn't mind making sacrifices to achieve certain goals. I think you should know a certain sentence that his club often says."
"Some things are worth dying for," Albert murmured softly.
Bard was helpless. He asked Albert to participate in the International Wizard Duel Tournament just to help him gain some fame.
Reputation is actually quite useful to Albert, especially as a Muggle wizard. If he uses the last name Smith to the outside world... that is obviously impossible... So Albert needs to use countless halos to shut up other people, and he happens to have this ability.
Who knew that Voldemort suddenly returned and targeted Albert.
After the news of the Dark Mark in France spread, although Bard did not get much information, he knew that this matter was related to Albert. Who made him go to Nicola Village to visit Nicolas Flamel? Bard even suspected that the Dark Mark was placed by Albert. Only he could come up with such a trick.
"Okay, I'll take you to a temporary residence first, and we'll give up the game if necessary." Bud continued to instruct, "Your safety is more important than anything else, you have to promise me."
"I will." Albert smiled and comforted, "I never do anything I'm not sure of."
Bud's safe house is located on the outskirts of Madrid. The house is large but looks old.
At the beginning, Bard took great pains to buy this place and used the Fidelius Charm on the house to turn it into a safe house.
As for the purpose, those who understand will understand.
Not many people know about this place, and usually no one comes here.
After entering the house, everyone was stunned by the scene inside. It looked like a haunted house, and the roof was damaged due to years of disrepair.
"How long have you not been here?"
Albert expressionlessly used his wand to brush away the spider webs above his head, then turned his head to ask Bud.
"About thirty years." Bud said awkwardly, "You know, it's normal for some things to become like this due to lack of maintenance. Anyway, you don't live here."
"I wouldn't be surprised if a ghost suddenly appeared here," Katrina muttered.
Isobel stared at the several intact portraits of handsome men and women on the walls of the hall, and looked thoughtfully at the old man in front of her. She seemed to have guessed the purpose of this place.
"Do you need some cleaning, Kara?" the house-elf asked sharply.
"No, you have other tasks." Albert glanced at the portraits, then looked at the old man in front of him and asked, "Can we just leave these paintings here?"
"You don't live here anyway, so there shouldn't be any problem in this regard." Bud coughed lightly and changed the subject, "No need, just let them stay here."
As if to change the subject, Bard began to tell Albert about the registration method and precautions for the International Wizard Duel Tournament.
"Are you going to continue betting?" Albert asked suddenly.
“That’s not a good idea.”
Bud didn't want to place the bet because he didn't want to put any pressure on Albert, which would tie his hands at the critical moment and prevent him from leaving at the first moment when he encountered danger.
"I saw myself winning the duel championship trophy in the crystal ball," Albert hinted.
"This should be considered cheating!"
Katrina understood the conversation between the two and said with wide eyes.
"It's called investing in yourself," Albert corrected.
"No wonder you are so rich." Katrina glanced at Isobel secretly. She felt that Isobel probably knew all this.
"If you want to invest in me, I don't mind." Albert said with a smile, "We can make money together."
"Forget it." Katrina shook her head.
"Then we will invest ten Galleons in you." Isobel glanced at her sister, casually reported a number, and took out a handful of Galleons from her pocket and handed them to Albert.
"Of course, no problem." Albert looked at Bud, who obviously didn't care. He smiled and said, "I'll have a share if I see you, I'll have a share if I see you, but if you lose money, don't blame me."
Bud didn't mind at all. He just gave the two sisters some pocket money. It wasn't much anyway, and the most important thing was that everyone had fun.
Before leaving, Bud did not forget to remind him: "In short, pay attention to safety, this is more important than anything else."
"You have such a good relationship." Katrina was surprised at their relationship. If someone didn't know, they would think Bud was Albert's grandfather.
After Albert settled down temporarily, he went to the registration office of the Spanish Ministry of Magic alone to sign up for the International Wizard Duel Tournament. The registration process was almost the same as what Bud had said. There was a special area to help the contestants register. In order to cope with wizards from various countries, there was a witch in charge of registration who was responsible for translation next to the wizard. Albert found that the other party was an acquaintance.
"Long time no see, Ms. Diana?" Albert greeted the witch with a smile.
"Are you really planning to participate in the International Wizarding Duel Tournament?" Diana looked Albert up and down and asked with a slightly raised eyebrow.
"Yes, I plan to try it." Albert nodded.
"Do you know each other?"
Another wizard looked at Albert and raised his eyebrows slightly.
"Yes," Diana said.
"I suggest you persuade him to give up the competition." The wizard lowered his voice and reminded, "You should know the cruelty of the duel competition, so as not to let your friend get hurt."
Unlike previous dueling competitions, today's dueling competitions are more dangerous, and throwing black magic at each other is a common occurrence.
Moreover, Albert is still young and obviously doesn't know how dangerous the world is. Some guys would even do something excessive to win the championship prize.
"It's useless. Besides, don't underestimate that guy." Diana obviously didn't think she could convince Albert. She also knew Albert's strength very well, because some unscrupulous old guy was going to buy this guy to win the final championship.
I saw this kind of operation once not long ago.
If the other party is not sure, they obviously won't do that.
Moreover, as far as she knew, the man in front of her was the champion of the Triwizard Tournament, who had recently defeated a fire dragon alone and was much more brutal than most of the contestants.
Diana patiently introduced the rules of the International Wizarding Duel Tournament to Albert, and reminded him not to use the Unforgivable Curses, not to try to kill his opponent, especially after the opponent surrendered and lost the ability to continue fighting, or after the referee announced the result, he must not continue to attack, otherwise he would be disqualified from the competition.
Finally, Albert signed a magic contract to prove that he took part in the competition on his own initiative, and if he died accidentally during the competition it would have nothing to do with the organizers.
As for not being able to use dark magic, that is of course not the case. There are always dark wizards participating in every session.
That's right, a dark wizard.
This was also the reason why the wizard just now hoped that he would not participate, because Albert really looked like a rookie, and if he participated he would only be cannon fodder.
It is worth mentioning that the Spanish Ministry of Magic did not build a large stadium like the British Ministry of Magic, but borrowed a Muggle venue. The duel competition was held in a large football field on the outskirts of the Muggles, which could accommodate tens of thousands of spectators.
Wizards would cast spells to expel Muggles on a large scale around the football field, and at the same time use a barrier to cover the entire field to ensure that Muggles would not notice anything unusual on the field.
Of course, to avoid attracting the attention of Muggles, the International Wizarding Dueling Tournament will be held at night.
After being informed of the venue of the Dueling Tournament, Albert, with the help of Diana, bought tickets for three people for three days. It felt like watching the Quidditch World Cup. Moreover, the tickets for the Dueling Tournament were particularly expensive, costing several hundred Galleons in total!
However, Albert didn't care about the issue of Garlon, because Bard had already found someone to help him place the bet.
As long as someone dares to start a gambling game, he will dare to bet. Who made Albert predict that he would win the world trophy!
But there are not many such opportunities.
With the lesson learned from last time, if it happens again, I will probably be blacklisted by the gambling industry.
…
After returning to his temporary residence, Albert told the McDougal sisters about the duel competition.
"Why did they choose to use Muggle buildings? Aren't they worried about causing any trouble?" Katrina asked in confusion.
"Because it's cheap, and you can make a lot of money. Building a stage yourself is expensive and time-consuming. Why do you think the Spanish Ministry of Magic takes the dueling tournament seriously and offers a high prize money to the champion?"
A duel between two powerful wizards is very rare in the wizarding world, so many people are willing to spend money to watch the game, especially on the last day of the game. Not only are the tickets shockingly expensive, but they are also hard to come by. There's no other way, because watching a wizard duel is more exciting than watching a Quidditch game.
Albert was able to buy it only because he was a contestant and the event organizers provided convenience to the contestants.
The duel competition lasts for three days in total and adopts a one-round elimination system.
It is said that there will be hundreds of wizards participating. Each person will need to play three games on the first day to select the top sixty-four.
Then, proceed to the next round of screening.
The huge amount of prize money for the champion makes every duel tournament quite fierce, and it also attracts a large number of spectators. The funniest thing is that the Spanish Ministry of Magic actually allows dark wizards to participate, and these dark wizards are one of the highlights of the duel tournament.
Of course, the participating dark wizards cannot cause trouble on the competition venue, otherwise the Aurors will send them to hell at any time.
Although many wizards have protested against this, in order to make the competition more exciting and to fill their own pockets, the rule that dark wizards are allowed to participate has never been deleted. After all, dark wizards are also a major selling point, especially when a powerful wizard defeats a dark wizard, the scene is always very lively. Most importantly, there are very few cases of dark wizards winning duel championships, because in formal competitions, some of their conspiracy methods cannot be used. Once they lose and still sneak attack others, the Aurors who maintain order have the right to kill them on the spot. This kind of thing has indeed happened before, but after it happened a few more times and more dark wizards died, no dark wizard dared to do so anymore.
There is no way. The life of a dark wizard is also life. Most of those who come to participate in the competition are seeking wealth. No one is so stubborn as to give up his own life.
If there are really guys with abnormal brains, the Aurors who are responsible for patrolling around will show them how powerful they are, and even offer a bounty on their heads. This is an open secret.
As for where the Aurors come from
Spain does not have enough Aurors, so they can naturally borrow from other countries. Some Aurors from France and Germany are willing to accept the invitation and come to help.
As long as you are willing to come and help, you can earn a lot of extra income.
Who wouldn’t want to