HP: It's a snake, not a badger.

Chapter 126 Competition Rules

"Ding ding".

"Children, the first period is a break today; we have other activities to participate in."

Dumbledore struck his silver cup to stop the students from leaving the Great Hall, as they were about to welcome the participants from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. He led the way, followed by the four heads of the house, and then the students arranged by year; no one dared to wander off.

With their beloved Professor Salafina standing right there, who would dare to do such a thing? And with Lady Loyna Dubois beside her, the two witches used their intimidation to quell their rebellious thoughts.

Aside from that, everyone was happy, especially the younger wizards. They could do whatever they wanted as long as they didn't have to attend classes, even if it meant standing in the cold wind for a long time.

Harry glanced in the direction of Slytherin from afar. He was worried that Draco might catch a cold. The weather was getting colder, and given Draco's personality, he certainly wouldn't be wearing many layers. There were no insulating spells outside the castle. But Barty was right in front of him, and for his safety, he couldn't do anything.

He quietly walked to the side, tugged at Emeric's sleeve, and handed him a piece of clothing. "Brother Emeric, could you help me deliver this piece of clothing to Draco? It's inconvenient for me to go over there."

Since Emeric added storage to their brooches last time, Harry has put in several spare outfits, and now they're coming in handy.

Thinking something serious had happened, Emeric rolled his eyes and took the clothes from Harry's hand. He quickened his pace, strolling from the middle to the front row, casually shoving the clothes into Draco's hands before finding a corner to sit in. He didn't want to see Karkaroff's old face; what if he had nightmares about it? It was terrifying.

Soon, a carriage appeared in the sky, and four huge divine horses landed in front of them. As the carriage door opened, a faint fragrance wafted into the air.

"Hello, Headmaster Dumbledore, it seems we arrived first," Orim Maxim said to Dumbledore, bowing slightly.

"Wow, what a big guy," Ron exclaimed in a low voice. Hermione quickly pulled him back, afraid he would say something that would make other schools question Hogwarts' education. Harry quietly moved to the side; he also wanted to hold Draco's hand.

While the two headmasters were exchanging pleasantries, a boat emerged from the water, splashing so much water that it nearly soaked Dumbledore's clothes. Without even looking, it was clear that it was Durmstrang; only they could be so rude.

"Thump."

With a loud bang, the large ship docked at the shore of Black Lake. Karkaroff walked at the front, followed by a group of burly students, most of whom were acquaintances of Emeric, the kind of people he used to duel with every day.

"Let's go inside first, so the children don't get cold." Dumbledore noticed that Beauxbatons' students were shivering slightly, and he figured they would catch a cold soon. When Severus's workload picked up, Emeric would be causing a ruckus for ages.

After everyone was seated according to the school's rules, Dumbledore waved his wand, summoning the elves to serve him hot tea. Then he pointed the wand at his throat and "speaked loudly."

"Children, quiet down. First, let me introduce you. To my right is Ms. Olem Maxim, Headmistress of Beauxbatons. And to my left is Mr. Igor Karkaroff, Headmistress of Durmstrang."

"Now, I have something to announce: there will be no Quidditch match this year." Dumbledore paused mischievously, making sure all the Hogwarts students were looking at him, nervously waiting for his next words, before continuing, "Because this year we will be holding the Triwizard Tournament."

"I thought they came for tourism, but I didn't expect them to come and be our opponents."

"Demstrang looks like a force to be reckoned with, but what's this Triwizard Tournament?"

"I hope it's not my turn to play."

The Hufflepuffs chattered excitedly, surprisingly unaware of the rules of the competition, despite being the most well-informed academy.

"Alright, children, quiet down. You can ask Mrs. Pins about the origins of the Triwizard Tournament. To save everyone's time, I won't go into details, as we're about to announce the rules."

After clearing his throat, Dumbledore continued, "Only students aged seventeen and over may participate. No matter how many safety measures we have taken, accidents can still happen, so limiting your age for registration is for safety reasons. Don't try to get away with it. Now, let our Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman announce the competition details."

The two officials who were called upon stood up. "Each school will select one warrior to participate in the competition. There are three events in total this year, which will be held at different times throughout the school year. They will test the warriors in various aspects, such as their magical talent, courage, knowledge, and so on..."

"We will score each warrior based on their performance and completion of the three events. The student with the highest score will win the Triwizard Cup. Finally, Headmaster Dumbledore will announce our chosen ones."

Dumbledore then stood up, knowing he had just finished speaking, and said, "We have a just selector, and that is the Goblet of Fire."

He drew his wand and tapped it three times on the table, whereupon a large, crudely made goblet appeared. The goblet itself was unremarkable, but it was filled with flickering blue flames.

The cup was raised into the air so that everyone in the auditorium could see its shape.

"Each candidate for Warrior needs to write their name and school on a piece of paper. You have one day to drop the paper into the cup, because the Goblet of Fire will select three Warriors tomorrow. The cup will be placed in the center of the Great Hall until the deadline."

Dumbledore suddenly grinned mischievously. "To prevent underage wizards from succumbing to temptation, I'll draw an age line around the Goblet of Fire. Anyone who tries to cheat will be punished to varying degrees."

"Finally, please think carefully. Once you become a warrior, there is no going back. Alright, now go to class." After saying this long speech, Dumbledore let out a breath, picked up his cup and took a sip of tea to moisten his throat; his voice was almost hoarse.

Aside from Slytherin, who remained relatively quiet, the other three houses were engaged in heated discussions, each vying to nominate their champion. Emeric watched the commotion for a while, then, finding it uninteresting, tapped Draco on the head, signaling him to come with him.

"Let's go, it's time for class. I'll be teaching your Potions class today."

He really didn't want to run into Karkaroff; that doting motherly look was disgusting, and he wondered where Karkaroff had picked it up. Emerick slipped away with Draco; he planned to deduct twenty points from Gryffindor's score for this lesson, but seeing Karkaroff made him feel nauseous and he needed some soothing.