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Chapter 570: New Updates on the Tournament
🕑 Added 2025-03-02 14:13:51 +0000 UTCBy around 3:00 p.m., the sixth-year students had completed their last exam and were eagerly anticipating the upcoming tournament and the holidays. The fifth years, however, still had two more hours of OWLs to endure.
That afternoon, Kyle and Cedric sat by the Black Lake, discussing the imminent tournament. The giant squid floated lazily in the sunlight, its tentacles breaking the lake's surface now and then.
Meanwhile, Fred and George were up to their usual antics, sneaking off to see Bagman and Karkaroff. According to them, the closer the competition got, the more critical it was to stay vigilant. After all, with the maze completed, who was to say Bagman wouldn’t help Karkaroff find an edge by revealing a shortcut to the trophy?
“The competition starts in a few hours. I wish time would hurry up,” Cedric said, staring out at the shimmering lake. “How’s the Charm coming along? Are you feeling ready?”
“Of course, I’m ready,” Kyle replied confidently. “You’re more nervous than I am.”
“Maybe,” Cedric admitted. “It’s the last competition, and you’ve been leading in the first two events. It’d be a shame if...” He trailed off. “Well, if you lost at the end.”
“Don’t worry,” Kyle said with a smirk. “I’m not going to lose.”
“I know,” Cedric said, smiling back. “Professor Sprout would be over the moon if you won the Triwizard Tournament. I saw her last time in Hogsmeade, at the wizarding clothing store. Looked like she was picking out a new robe.”
“A new robe?” Kyle turned to him in surprise. “You’re kidding. Didn’t she just get a new one last year?”
For most people, buying only one new piece of clothing a year might seem unusual, but for Professor Sprout, it was perfectly normal. At school, she typically wore durable clothes suited for tending the plants in the greenhouses. Her formal robes were reserved for special occasions, like the Start-of-Term Feast.
Kyle remembered that her bright yellow robe had gone unchanged for years. It wasn’t until Hufflepuff won the House Cup for the fourth consecutive year that she bought a new one, which she proudly wore to the Yule Ball.
“I’m pretty sure,” Cedric said. “If you win the cup, it’ll be a huge honor for Hogwarts—and for Hufflepuff. Professor Sprout probably wants to celebrate in style.”
Kyle chuckled. “That does sound like something she’d do.”
Just then, Cedric nudged Kyle and said, “Look over there—it’s the headmaster.”
Kyle turned to see Dumbledore walking out of the castle, flanked by the other judges. They appeared to be deep in a heated discussion.
“What do you think they’re talking about?” Cedric asked, his curiosity piqued.
“No idea,” Kyle replied, shaking his head. From their distance, it was impossible to hear the conversation.
“Probably something about the competition,” Cedric speculated.
“Could be,” Kyle said.
“But so close to the start?” Cedric looked puzzled. “Do they really still have disagreements now?”
Every headmaster wants their Champion to win—it’s only natural they’d argue about the details.
...
At five o'clock, a burst of excited cheering echoed from the castle.
"I think the exams are over," Cedric said, getting to his feet.
The group rose and began preparing to head back to the castle for dinner.
“Hey, there you are...”
Fred and George appeared just then, looking exhilarated. They had been missing all afternoon, but now their excitement was unmistakable.
“Guess what we heard...” Fred started eagerly.
“Did Bagman really tell Karkaroff the route of the maze?” Cedric interrupted, his voice brimming with curiosity.
“No,” Fred replied, shaking his head, “but Bagman did go to see Karkaroff again.”
“He said the maze was designed by all the referees together and that no one knows the exact route.”
“That’s good,” Cedric remarked, sounding relieved.
“But,” George added, leaning in with a conspiratorial tone, “we heard something else. The referees might use the same method as the Second Task to make the competition harder.”
“The Second Task?” Kyle asked, puzzled. “What do you mean?”
“Hostages,” Fred explained. “They’re planning to add hostages to the competition. The Champions will need to rescue all the hostages before they can reach the final trophy.”
“You must have misheard,” Cedric exclaimed, alarmed. “A maze is dangerous enough—why add hostages?”
“We didn’t mishear,” George said solemnly. “Bagman said it himself. We caught every word.”
“Wait... that doesn’t make sense. It’s broad daylight.” Cedric suddenly frowned. “Could you even get close to them with a Disillusionment Charm?”
Ludo Bagman aside, Karkaroff was the headmaster of Durmstrang. Even in daylight without the cover of night, it seemed unlikely he wouldn’t notice someone sneaking up under a Disillusionment Charm.
“Of course not,” Fred admitted with a grin. “That’s why we borrowed a very handy little prop.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a peculiar object shaped like an ear.
“Extendable Ears. We only made them last week,” George explained proudly. “We disguised them as part of a bush and eavesdropped on Bagman and Karkaroff.”
Cedric sighed, glancing at Kyle. “Looks like Kanna’s going to be taken hostage again. It’ll be up to you to save her.”
“No, no, no, you’ve got it wrong this time,” Fred corrected, wagging a finger. “Hogwarts’ hostage isn’t going to be Kanna—it’ll be Harry.”
“Harry Potter?”
“Exactly,” George confirmed. “They figured it’d add drama to the tournament—having the Boy Who Lived as part of the final event.”
Kyle frowned, a sense of unease creeping in. “Harry in the final event? Do you know who came up with that idea? Was it Karkaroff? Or... Barty Crouch?”
“We don’t know,” Fred admitted. “It must’ve been decided ages ago. We only overheard Bagman mentioning it to Karkaroff.”
“Bagman also said this competition will dominate The Daily Prophet’s front page for the next week,” George added.
Kyle’s frown deepened. Something about the situation didn’t sit right, but before he could press further, Kanna and Cho came running over from a distance.
“What are you talking about?” Kanna asked curiously.
“The Triwizard Tournament,” Fred replied nonchalantly. “Anyway, you lot go ahead and have dinner. We’ve got to find Professor Dumbledore.”
“Harry doesn’t have to be the hostage. We could do it instead,” George added suddenly.
“It’s the Triwizard Tournament—it’s the only one we’ll ever see...”
“We already talked about this before we came here,” Fred reminded him.
“Even if we can’t be Champions, we’ve got to do everything we can to be hostages.”
With that, the twins dashed off toward the castle, intent on finding Dumbledore.
Kyle stood there, thoughtful. While it was strange that Harry might be chosen as a hostage, as long as Dumbledore was involved, things should be under control...
Still, it wouldn’t hurt to remind them to check the Goblet of Fire later, just to be sure.
Once that was settled in his mind, he joined the others as they made their way to the Great Hall for dinner.
Comments
Caio Henrique Rocha
Thx!
Daikoon
Thanks for the chapters! Love the way you changed thing, but kept the overall story similar and believable.
Caio Henrique Rocha
I skipped a few chapters in the last batch—haha, my bad! But don’t worry, I took spoilers into account and decided to make up for it with a mass release. If I were you, I’d be hoping I keep messing up the chapter count every day—haha! Jokes aside, thank you all so much for your support!
