The Quidditch World Cup ended prematurely in chaos.
Interviews with reporters from various newspapers and magazines, interactions between players and spectators, nighttime exhibitions... all these post-match activities could not be carried out because the spectators had all left and the camp was almost burned down.
The participating teams left the fastest, escorting their own members. As they ran, they angrily cursed the poor management of the British Ministry of Magic.
Poor Fudge, he originally wanted to hold a grand Quidditch World Cup and use the success of this game to raise his own reputation and fame, so as to maintain his political position when the next term comes.
However, the actions of the Death Eaters completely thwarted Fudge's plans. Instead of improving his reputation, he was directly criticized by the international community.
Now the whole of Europe knows that the British Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, is an incompetent idiot who can't even run a Quidditch match!
"Ministry of Magic in a panic... criminals not being caught... law and order lax... Dark wizards at large... bringing shame to the country... Who wrote this, eh?"
Fudge stood behind his desk, angrily pounding on the surface with today's Daily Prophet.
"Listen to this: The panicked wizards held their breath at the edge of the woods, waiting for news, hoping to get comfort from the Ministry of Magic. Unfortunately, they were greatly disappointed. Shortly after the Dark Mark appeared, a Ministry official appeared and declared that no one was hurt, but refused to reveal more. Whether his words would be enough to quell the rumor that several bodies were carried out of the woods an hour later remains to be seen."
"This is completely putting the Ministry of Magic on the spot. Those idiotic civilian wizards will definitely think that someone died in the World Cup final... But clearly no one died last night, and most of the injuries were caused by trampling!"
Fudge threw the newspaper to the ground and gasped.
The heavy breathing was accompanied by the angry, deafening roars coming from outside the office door from time to time, which showed no signs of weakening even through the walls and office doors.
There were letter after letter of howling, all sent from various magical families or magic shops, most of which were to complain about the safety issues of the World Cup and demand compensation.
Ordinary wizards hope that the Ministry of Magic will compensate them for their damaged properties such as tents and camping supplies. Magic shops hope that the Ministry of Magic will compensate them for their advertising fees. The participating teams hope that the Ministry of Magic will compensate their players for their mental damages and medical expenses.
For the entire morning, the members of the Ministry of Magic were busy dealing with all kinds of Howlers, as if they were fighting a fire.
If they didn't open the Howlers immediately, the dangerous letters would explode, destroying Ministry property; and if they did, the deafening sound would continue, enveloping the entire floor in noise.
Fudge's face became even uglier as he listened to the noisy noises.
"Mr. Minister, these reports were obviously written by a woman called Rita Skeeter." The pink toad Umbridge stood in front of Fudge and said in a coquettish voice, "That woman only knows how to write some sensational things to oppose the Ministry of Magic all day long."
She cleared her throat and put forward her own opinion, "In my opinion, the Ministry of Magic should set up a public opinion supervision department, and those newspapers and periodicals should be reviewed by the Ministry of Magic before they can be printed..."
"Dolores, I've told you so many times that we don't have enough staff to deal with those trivial matters!" Fudge said angrily, "We must now focus all our efforts on another big thing. If we do that well, my reputation will have a chance to turn around."
Yes, Fudge prepared two big moves to restore his credibility and reputation.
One of them was the Quidditch World Cup Final, which had been completely declared a failure; as for the other, it was also a major event that had been suspended for two hundred years, and it was also an event that Mr. Weasley had mentioned to the young wizards that was closely related to them...
…
Harry, Ron, Hermione and the Weasley twins learned what the event Mr. Weasley was talking about was at the start-of-term dinner.
After the meal time was over, the young wizards sat at the long tables of their respective colleges and watched as Headmaster Dumbledore, who was sitting in the middle of the professors' seats, stood up.
"Okay!" Dumbledore looked at everyone with a smile and said, "Now that we are all full and drunk, I must once again ask for everyone's attention. I have a few announcements to make -"
"Mr. Filch, the caretaker, wanted me to tell you that this year, a few more items have been added to the list of items that are prohibited from use in the castle. They are Screaming Yo-Yos, Spike Frisbees, and Combo Boomerangs. The entire list consists of approximately 437 items. It can be seen in Mr. Filch's office. Anyone interested can go and check it out."
The corners of Dumbledore's mouth twitched a few times.
Harry glanced towards the castle gate and saw Filch, leaning his mop on the ground, standing there smugly looking at the little wizard in the hall.
In fact, the young wizards had long been accustomed to the list of prohibited items that increased every year, and no one ever cared about these things.
Fred and George looked at each other comically, obviously becoming interested in the new prohibited items on the list and wanting to buy a few from Hogsmeade to try out.
"As before, I would like to remind everyone that students are not allowed to enter the forbidden forest on the other side of the grounds," Dumbledore ignored the students' already small reaction and continued, "As for Hogsmeade Village, no students below the third year are allowed to visit."
After saying these precautions, he raised his eyes with a smile and looked at the young wizards present.
"In addition, I am very sorry to tell you that there will be no House Cup Quidditch Tournament this year!"
His expression didn't look regretful at all.
"What?" Harry gasped in shock, turning to look at his Quidditch teammates Fred and George. "How could this be possible?"
Gryffindor had just won the Quidditch Cup in the previous academic year. Although the captain Wood, who served as the goalkeeper, had graduated and left, the composition of the other team members had not changed much, and they could play in the game without much running-in. It could be said that the situation was very good.
Sure enough, Fred and George also opened their mouths wide, staring silently at Dumbledore, too shocked to speak a word.
"Please be patient, don't rush to protest." Dumbledore pressed his palm downward and continued, "This is because a large-scale event will start in October and last throughout the school year, which will take up a lot of teachers' time and energy..."
"But I'm sure you'll all have great fun. I'm very pleased to announce that in the coming months we will have the honor of hosting a very exciting event, the likes of which has not been held for more than a century—"
Dumbledore deliberately paused for a few seconds, raising the anticipation in the hall to its highest level.
"I am very pleased to tell you that the Triwizard Tournament will be held at Hogwarts this year!"
"The Triwizard Tournament?" Fred stood up and shouted, "You're kidding!"
The uproarious atmosphere was suddenly broken by Fred.
Almost everyone laughed out loud at this, and Dumbledore also chuckled softly.
"I'm not joking, Mr. Weasley," he laughed, "but since you mention joking, I did hear a very funny joke about a troll, a hag, and a leprechaun who all went into the same tavern..."
Professor McGonagall cleared her throat loudly, and it was obvious that her face looked a little dark.
"Oh - it's probably not the right time to talk about this... Well, it's not the right time..." Dumbledore waved his hand as if he had suddenly realized something, "Where was I just now? Oh, right, the Triwizard Tournament..."
"Some of you still don't know what this competition is all about, so I hope those who know the situation will forgive me for explaining it briefly and allow their minds to wander for a while."
"The Triwizard Tournament was founded about seven hundred years ago. It is a friendly competition between the three largest magic schools in Europe. These three schools are: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. Each school selects a champion, and then the three champions compete in three magical projects. The Triwizard Tournament is held every five years, and the three schools take turns hosting it. Everyone agrees that this is a great way for young wizards from different countries to build friendships - but later, the number of deaths among participating students was too high, and the Triwizard Tournament was discontinued."
"Death toll?" Hermione caught on to this and whispered, looking around in amazement.
But most of the students in the hall were not as nervous as she was, and many of them were talking excitedly. Harry was also eager to hear the details of the Triwizard Tournament, and they were not interested in those who died hundreds of years ago.
"Over the centuries, several attempts have been made to revive the Tournament," Dumbledore continued, "but none have been successful."
"However, our Department of International Magical Exchange and Cooperation and the Department of Magical Games and Sports believe that the time is ripe for another attempt. We have done a lot of work this summer to ensure that every warrior will not be in danger of life."
"Not only that, this year's Triwizard Tournament will have a new magic school added to it - the Infamony School of Magic from the United States! From now on, the Triwizard Tournament will become a Quadruple Tournament, and the competition will be even more intense!"
Rolf Scamander, who was sitting at the Hufflepuff table, was originally doing nothing, but his eyes suddenly widened when he heard this.
He had a bad feeling. He felt that some of the people coming from Yin Famori would be his acquaintances. It would be a bit awkward to meet them in Hogwarts...
Dumbledore apparently did not notice Rolf's panicked expression, and continued to explain:
"In October, the headmasters of Beauxbatons, Durmstrang, and Invermorny will lead their carefully selected competitors, and the ceremony to select the champions will be held on Halloween."
"A fair referee will decide which students are most qualified to compete for the Triwizard Cup and win honor for their school. In addition, the winner will receive a prize of one thousand Galleons."
"I want to join!" Fred said to George in a low voice across the table.
His face lit up with excitement at the thought of the possibility of such honor and wealth.
And Fred was not the only one who fantasized about becoming a Hogwarts warrior. At each college's table, someone could be seen looking at Dumbledore with enthusiasm or expectation.
The entire hall became noisy, and everyone was whispering excitedly with their neighbors, guessing who would become the champion of Hogwarts.
Dumbledore cleared his throat and spoke again, and the hall slowly quieted down.
"I know you all aspire to win the Triwizard Cup for Hogwarts," he said, "but the participating schools and the Ministry of Magic have agreed to set an age limit for competitors this year!"
"Only students who are seventeen years old or older are allowed to register to ensure your safety."
Dumbledore raised his voice slightly, because some people raised angry protests after hearing what he said. The Weiss twins were among them, and the news that they could not participate in the competition made them angry.
"This measure is necessary because the competition events are still very difficult and dangerous. No matter how many precautions we take, students below the sixth and seventh grades will not be able to cope with them."
"Here, I will personally ensure that no underage student will be able to deceive our most impartial judge and become a champion of Hogwarts!"
His blue eyes gleamed meaningfully as he glanced over Fred and George's rebellious faces, "So if you're under seventeen, I hope you won't waste your time applying."
Fred and George flinched when the headmaster's gaze swept over them, then they looked over with wide eyes in dissatisfaction.
Dumbledore ignored the twins' actions and continued:
"The delegations from Beauxbatons, Invermorny, and Durmstrang will arrive in October and spend most of the school year with us. I hope everyone will be warm and friendly and carry forward the spirit of Hogwarts."
"In addition, once the Hogwarts champion is finally selected, you must support him or her wholeheartedly. The best result, of course, is that the Hogwarts champion wins the final championship."
Dumbledore winked at the little wizards and returned to his smiling expression.
"Well, it's getting late now. In order for you to walk into class tomorrow morning with full energy and a clear mind, go back to your common rooms and sleep!" He smiled and waved to the audience.
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