bacchusnovels Chapter 455 You're a good person, Ron
Chapter 455 You're a good person, Ron
Chapter 455 You're a good person, Ron
Sparse applause rang out in the auditorium, much less enthusiastic than when students from the previous two schools had entered.
"This is Mr. Ludo Bagman, Director of the Department of Physical Education and Sports at the Ministry of Magic."
This time, the applause was much louder.
Perhaps it was because Bagman was somewhat famous as a batter, or simply because he looked much more approachable.
Bagman waved cheerfully, flashing a bright smile as he responded to the applause.
In contrast, Barty Crouch neither smiled nor waved when introduced; he appeared calm and serious, quite out of place with the enthusiastic welcome.
"Over the past few months, Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch have worked tirelessly to arrange the Triwizard Tournament," Dumbledore continued. "They will join me, Professor Karkaroff, and Mrs. Maxime as the judging panel to fairly evaluate the warriors' efforts."
Upon hearing the word "warrior," the students' attention immediately focused.
Dumbledore seemed to notice the silence, smiled slightly, and said, "Mr. Filch, please bring the box up."
No one noticed that Filch had been lurking in a corner of the Great Hall until he slowly walked toward Dumbledore, holding a large wooden box inlaid with jewels.
The box looked quite old, with fine scratches all over its surface.
The students watched with curiosity, and whispers arose.
Some second and third-grade wizards even stood up to see better, but because they were too short, they could only barely see from their seats.
"Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman have carefully reviewed the specific events of this year's competition for the warriors," Dumbledore said, as Filch carefully placed the box on the table in front of Dumbledore. "They have also made many necessary arrangements for each event. There are three events in total, held at different times throughout the school year, testing the warriors' magical talents—their courage,..."
Reasoning ability, and of course, their ability to react to danger.
Upon hearing the last sentence, the auditorium fell silent. Everyone held their breath and listened intently.
"As you already know, three champions will participate in the competition," Dumbledore said calmly, "representing the three participating schools. We will score them based on the quality of their performance in each task. After all three tasks are completed, the champion with the highest score will win the Triwizard Cup. And the one responsible for selecting the champions is a fair selector—the Goblet of Fire."
As Dumbledore spoke, he drew his wand and tapped the lid of the box three times.
The lid slowly and with a creaking sound opened.
Dumbledore reached inside and pulled out a large wooden goblet. The goblet was roughly carved and the surface was not smooth, but inside it was filled with dancing blue and white flames.
He carefully closed the box, placed the cup on the lid, and made sure everyone in the auditorium could see it clearly.
"Every student who wishes to run for champion must write their name and school on a piece of parchment and drop it into this goblet," Dumbledore continued. "Those who wish to participate may register within twenty-four hours. Tomorrow night, Halloween night, the Goblet of Fire will select the three champions it deems most worthy of representing the three schools. Tonight, the goblet will be placed in the foyer, where all those who wish to participate can have access to it."
"To prevent those underage students from being tempted," Dumbledore added, "once the Goblet of Fire is placed in the foyer, I will draw an age line around it, and no student under the age of seventeen shall cross that line."
"Finally, I want to remind every student who intends to run for the Triwizard Tournament that it is no joke, and you should not participate lightly. Once a warrior is chosen by the Goblet of Fire, he or she must persevere in the competition. Whoever throws their name into the goblet has essentially signed a magical contract with the Goblet of Fire, and once they become a warrior, they cannot change their mind. Therefore, please think carefully and make sure you really want to participate in the competition before throwing your name into the goblet."
He smiled slightly as he said this, "Alright, I think everyone should get some rest. Goodnight."
"The age limit!" Fred Weasley suddenly exclaimed, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "That's easy! We'll definitely be fooled by the aging serum, won't we? Once the name's in the cup, everything's fine—it can't tell who's seventeen and who's under seventeen!"
The students began to walk through the auditorium toward the door leading to the foyer. Before leaving, Ron excitedly received Krum's autograph, which made him so thrilled that he almost jumped for joy, walking unsteadily as if he had drunk too much.
Just then, Karkarov hurried over, seemingly distracted.
"Alright, let's get back to the ship." He said in his usual serious tone. "Viktor, how are you feeling? Have you eaten? Should I send someone to get some thawed wine from the galley?"
Krum simply shook his head slightly, draped the fur cloak over his shoulders again, and seemed unwilling to say anything more to him.
"Professor, I'd like some wine," another boy from Durmstrang said, his mouth watering.
"I didn't ask you, Poliaco." Karkarov's voice suddenly turned stern, his usual gentle, fatherly expression vanishing instantly. "I noticed you've spilled food on the front of your robe again, you wretched boy."
At that moment, Karkaroff glanced at Harry, casually said "Thank you," and then quickly lowered his head.
But suddenly, Karkarov stopped.
His gaze was fixed on Harry, his eyes showing obvious confusion and surprise, as if he couldn't believe his eyes.
Durmstrang students also stopped in their tracks, all turning their gazes toward Harry.
Some of them already knew from Krum's conversation with Harry that Harry was the famous boy.
Therefore, they did not show the same surprise as Karkaroff.
Suddenly, an angry voice came from behind: "It's you!"
Karkarov suddenly turned around.
Mad-Eye Moody stood there, his heavy body leaning against his cane, his magical eye fixed on Durmstrang's headmaster.
Karkarov's face turned pale instantly, his expression shifting from resentment to fear, a terrifying emotion that was almost too daunting to look at.
"It's you!" Karkaroff said through gritted teeth, his eyes filled with doubt and vigilance, as if he was still trying to make sure he wasn't mistaken.
"It's me," Moody replied grimly, his tone completely flat. "Unless you have something to say to Porter, Karkaroff, get on with it. You're blocking the doorway."
At this moment, many students were already standing at the entrance of the auditorium, eagerly peering over the shoulders of those in front of them to see what was happening.
Karkarov said nothing more, waved his hand, and continued walking with his students.
Moody kept his eyes fixed on him until they completely disappeared from sight.
The magical eye remained fixed on Karkaroff's retreating figure, Moody's expression filled with extreme disdain and disgust.
To be fair, Barty Crouch Jr.'s acting brought the character of Moody to life.
Even if it were the real Moody, he probably wouldn't have performed like this.
On the other side, after saying goodbye to Eileen, Krum and the others, Selena walked towards Ron's direction.
Ron was still standing there, clutching the autograph Krum had just given him, his eyes unconsciously following the group of Durmstrang students as they moved about. He was thinking that he should take this opportunity to get a few more autographs—and then sell or keep them as a souvenir, or give them away to others.
Just then, he noticed that one of the exceptionally beautiful girls in the group of Durmstrang students was walking towards him.
At that moment, Ron almost forgot what he was supposed to do; his heart raced and his mouth seemed to suddenly become unresponsive.
The Selena before him was still as beautiful as a dream; her smooth long hair and azure eyes made him feel as if he were in another world. She was almost identical to the Veela from before.
Selena walked up to him and smiled slightly. "Excuse me, where is Professor Phillips's office?"
This question stunned Ron. He opened his mouth, stammered several times, and finally managed to utter a sentence: "Oh, oh, um, Professor Phillips's office—uh, you, uh, you're going to that place?"
Seeing Ron's uneasy expression, Selena smiled slightly. "Yes, I need to speak with her. Could you tell me the way?"
Ron felt his face burning and his mind a jumble of thoughts.
He couldn't look Selena in the eye, lowered his head, and unconsciously clenched his robe. He forced out the words, "I... I can take you there! I... I know how to get there." As he spoke, he subconsciously pointed in the direction of Sean's office, his voice trembling slightly.
Selena nodded slightly, seemingly unbothered by Ron's nervousness (which was quite different from Krum's): "That's great, thank you, classmate."
These words were like magic, instantly easing Ron's tension somewhat. He looked up and suddenly realized that he had actually agreed to take her, and a surge of joy welled up inside him, though he still couldn't quite control his hands and feet.
"Come with me," Ron forced an unnatural smile. "You, uh, just follow me."
At this moment, Hermione walked over to Ron and Selena, her expression serious and her brows furrowed.
She looked Selena up and down, then said coldly, "What are you doing going to see Professor Phillips?"
Ron's heart sank; something bad was about to happen.
Sure enough, the next second...
Selena raised an eyebrow slightly, looking at Hermione coldly: "This is none of your business."
This answer was crisp and to the point, without any hesitation. It was precisely because of this that Hermione was taken aback—she hadn't expected Selena to be so direct.
"Alright," she said softly, "but I still suggest you tell us why you want to see Professor Phillips. After all, we have an obligation here to ensure everyone's safety."
Selena didn't respond, only smiled slightly, turned her head, and looked back at Ron: "Will you take me?"
Ron had been trying to appear less nervous, but Hermione's sudden interruption and Selena's cold attitude made him feel somewhat awkward. He turned to Hermione, his brow furrowing slightly. "Hermione, is there any need to be so nervous? Selena just wants to see Professor Phillips, there shouldn't be any problem." His words carried a hint of reproach, and his tone was unconsciously a little hurried.
Clearly, Ron didn't want Hermione to keep asking questions.
Hermione glared at him, unconvinced: "I don't think Selena is a trustworthy person, Ron. You'd better watch out."
"Hermione," Ron sighed impatiently, "can't you just leave me alone for a moment? I know what I'm doing."
Hermione simply snorted and didn't intend to argue any further.
Her gaze darted between Ron and Selena before she finally turned away in frustration.
But did they really leave?
Selena calmly watched Hermione leave, completely ignoring her reaction.
"Thank you, Ron."
Ron breathed a slight sigh of relief and nodded.
"It's okay, come with me."
After saying that, he turned and walked towards the corridor, but even so, his mind was still in turmoil.
The two were not walking in sync, and Ron could hear the Durmstrang girl's light footsteps echoing behind him from time to time, making his heart pound in his throat.
"You're a fourth-year Gryffindor student, right?" Selena's voice broke the silence. "You seem a little nervous. Don't worry, I won't bite."
"Oh, uh, no, I'm not nervous!" Ron hurriedly replied, his voice too eager, which only made him sound more ridiculous. He quickly adjusted his breathing, turned around, and tried not to let Selena see that he couldn't keep his composure at all.
"Aren't you nervous?" Selena smiled, seemingly noticing his embarrassment. "I've noticed you keep shifting your eyes; maybe you're a little unfamiliar with me."
Ron's heart skipped a beat, almost making him even more flustered by her words. He quickly lowered his head, as if trying to avoid her gaze. "No, no, I'm just... I guess I'm used to it!" He felt his answer sounded like a fool, and he was both annoyed and anxious.
Selena didn't mind at all. She smiled gently and said, "Don't worry, Ron, I won't make you feel uncomfortable."
Ron's heart was pounding even faster, and he could only nod slightly and continue guiding her forward.
The two finally arrived at Sean's office. Ron stood in front of the door, somewhat at a loss: "This is it. You, uh, do you want to go in?" He almost swallowed the words, his tone unusually wooden.
Selena smiled slightly. "Thank you, Ron. You're such a good person." She turned and knocked on the door. After receiving a response from inside, she pushed the door open. However, the moment she opened the door, she turned back, a playful and mischievous glint in her eyes. "See you next time, Ron."
Ron stood frozen in the doorway, watching her disappear behind it, until the sound of the door closing snapped him out of his daze. He looked down at his hands and felt as if he could almost hear his heart pounding, like he had just finished a marathon.
"See you next time," he murmured to himself, his face still slightly flushed, and he couldn't help but let out a silly grin.