Chapter 113 Opening Ceremony
·
Shui Shen Zhi Feng
Chapter 113 Opening Ceremony
The day of school is coming soon.
Xie Lin shared a carriage with Daphne and Astoria. There was one person missing in the carriage, and there was an empty seat. They all felt a little uncomfortable.
Before entering the carriage, Schelling saw Draco, Goyle, Crabbe, Pansy and the others in the aisle, and greeted them.
In the carriage, Xie Lin looked preoccupied and frowned, as if he was thinking about something.
"What's the matter, Brother Sherin?" Astoria asked.
"It's nothing..." Xie Lin shook his head, as if trying to drive away a certain idea in his mind.
He felt something strange in Draco's body.A long time ago, when he first awakened the magic eye, he had seen similar abnormalities.
He saw some weird gray-black shadows on Lucius' magic power. At that time, he thought it was because his father had magic power that didn't belong to him (the dark mark left by Voldemort on him).Now he saw a similar gray-black shadow on Draco, what did this mean?
Thinking that his family had something to hide from him, he felt an uncomfortable feeling in his heart.
It's not that he thinks that family members can't have their own secrets. For example, he himself hides a lot from his family members.However, this time, he had a very bad premonition in his heart, and that gray-black shadow made him very afraid.
With the cultivation of spiritual and soul magic at the level of Schelling, he already has a keen intuition that ordinary people don't have, and he believes that his feelings will not go wrong.
"Scherin, do you know? I heard that Gallup Lestrange has applied for a suspension of school. This time the Lestrange family lost the most important direct descendant (he became a werewolf and was removed from the genealogy), and also lost a large number of clan members. It can be said that it has come to an end." Daphne knew the grievances between Schelling and them, and said gloatingly.
Xie Lin sighed, and said without hesitation: "Counting Mei, the so-called sacred 28 pure-blood families, there are two more withered families... The pure-blood families can't stand much trouble..."
What he didn't say was that what's waiting in front of the pure blood family is probably only more turmoil...
Before Gallup was turned into a werewolf, the memory in his mind had already been cleaned out by Bathory's hypnotic magic and Anis' nightmare magic, and this memory was washed away.On the same front as Gallup, there is also Miles Bletch of the Bletch family, and the master behind the two of them-Irina Selwyn, the female head of the Selwyn family.
A coldness flashed in his eyes, and then it was their turn.
In the auditorium, first-year freshmen are queuing up, waiting to receive the sorting arrangement of the sorting hat.
On the Slytherin table, Gemma Farley and Marcus Flint have both graduated.
The new Quidditch captain is Draco.The newly elected prefects are Terrence Higgs and a female prefect.
At the sorting ceremony, Slytherin admitted Malcolm Baddock, Graham Pritchard, Emma Dobbs, etc.; Schelling did not notice particularly outstanding characters, and this year's Slytherin also happened to not have any powerful family members.
On the contrary, it was a short Ravenclaw boy who caught Schelling's attention. His name was Gabriel Cresswell. It didn't sound like he came from a long-established magical family, but somehow Schelling was familiar with this surname—ah, when I was reading the "Daily Prophet" on the train today, I seemed to have seen the little news that Dirk Cresswell was promoted to the director of the Goblin Liaison Office of the Ministry of Magic yesterday.
Schelling remembered that Dirk Cresswell was a character in the original book.He is very talented and knows how to speak goblin language, which is appreciated by Slughorn. He is a member of the innermost circle of the Slug Club and often informs Slughorn of some inside stories about Gringotts.
Xie Lin had a lot of correspondence with Slughorn during the summer vacation, and the two of them came and went and established a good relationship, so they already knew some important people in the Slug Club.According to the information from Slughorn, Dirk Cresswell has two sons, and the eldest just entered the grade this year. It seems that Gabriel is his eldest son.
There is one vacant seat at the faculty table.
"Xie Lin, do you know who the new teacher of this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts class is?" Daphne asked.
Others sitting nearby pricked up their ears to listen intently.Who doesn't know, Schelling is one of the members of the Faculty Hiring Committee, so he naturally has the right to know first.
Daphne's father actually knew it too, but Daphne never asked. She thought she would know it naturally when she came to school, but she didn't expect to see an empty seat, so she asked this question.
"It's Mad-Eye Moody." Sherin replied flatly.
"What?" Many young wizards present couldn't help but exclaimed.
Mad-Eye Moody is a retired Auror. He is very famous. It is said that half of the cells in Azkaban are filled by him. Almost all the notorious dark wizards he captured are notorious.Many of the families of the young Slytherin wizards are related to Death Eaters, so the name of Mad-Eye Moody is extremely deterrent to them.
A bright light flashed in Draco's eyes, but his face was full of dissatisfaction, and he complained: "I didn't mean you, Schelling, since you are a member of the Faculty Hiring Committee and have the power to veto the hiring of faculty, how could you let Mad-Eyes Moody pass the selection?"
How shrewd Xie Lin is, coupled with the ability to see the sky, the changes in Draco's eyes completely fell into his eyes.Bitterness surged in his heart, Draco was obviously complaining, but in fact he was hurting his prestige within Slytherin!
If Schelling voted for Mad-Eye Moody to pass the selection, it would undoubtedly chill the hearts of many purebloods.If Schelling said that he was powerless to prevent Mad-Eye Moody from becoming a professor, it would undoubtedly reveal that Schelling's ability is not as strong as everyone imagined.
With such a short sentence, Schelling was caught in a dilemma. Is this... really Draco?
Not to mention that Draco and his brotherhood for so many years are by no means fake. When did Draco, a brat, become so scheming?
Xie Lin forcibly suppressed the distracting thoughts in his heart, and said with a natural smile: "Don't worry too much, there is actually a reason for Mad-Eye Moody to teach. Dumbledore convinced me with a reason that no one can refuse. Many of you may know that the Triwizard Tournament will be held this year. Regardless of Mad-Eye Moody's character, his strength is beyond doubt. Having him as the professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts can increase the chances of our school's players winning."
"Don't forget, our Slytherins have performed the best in the past few semesters. If there is no accident—" Sherin smiled with strong confidence, "This time, it is also a great opportunity for our Slytherins to strive for glory!"
"That's right! Schelling, what you said makes sense..."
"We are too stupid to think of this..."
Several young Slytherin wizards suddenly realized, and they all agreed with what Xie Lin said.
Terence, the new prefect, also leaned over and said, "By the way, if you sign up, Schelling, I think you have a great chance to be selected as a representative player of Hogwarts." Terence's words won the approval of most of the young wizards nearby.
The conversation ended when Dumbledore stood up to speak.Schelling lightly deciphers the prestige crisis lurking in the conversation.
After the sorting ceremony, Dumbledore stood up and delivered a speech. In addition to the annual school rules, he went on to say: "I also regret to tell you that there will be no House Cup Quidditch tournament this year."
"What?" Draco gasped in surprise.He turned to look at his Quidditch teammates Montague and Warrington.They all gaped and stared at Dumbledore silently, as if too surprised to speak.
A gleam flashed in Xie Lin's eyes, and now Draco's behavior was becoming more and more unpredictable to him.
Dumbledore continued: "This is because a large event will start in October and continue throughout the school year, taking up a lot of teachers' time and energy - but I am sure you will all have a lot of fun out of it. I am very pleased to announce that this year at Hogwarts -"
"This is probably the Triwizard Tournament that Dad mentioned before... But I didn't expect this event to last the entire school year, it's too exaggerated!" Draco said with some disappointment, because it meant that his status as Quidditch captain would not become a regular until the next semester.
At this moment, there was a deafening thunder, and the door of the auditorium was knocked open with a bang.
A man stood in the doorway, leaning on a long cane and wrapped in a black traveling cloak.The people in the auditorium turned their heads to look at the stranger, a forked lightning flashed across the ceiling, and everyone gasped.
The lightning illuminated the man's face very vividly. It was a very horrible face. It seemed to be carved out of a piece of rotten wood.
Every inch of skin on that face seemed to be scarred, the mouth was like a big crooked opening, the place where the nose should be raised was missing, and the most terrifying thing about this man was his eyes.
One of his eyes was small, black, and shiny, while the other was large, round like a coin, and of a vivid bright blue.The blue eye was constantly moving without blinking, turning up and down, side to side, completely independent of the normal eye.Later, the blue eye rolled over and got into the man's head, and everyone could only see a big white eye.
The little wizards all covered their mouths with their hands, looking at the man who just broke in in fear.His image fits perfectly with the most terrifying villain in everyone's mind, like a dangerous dark wizard.
"Allow me to introduce our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher," Dumbledore broke the silence happily, "Professor Moody."
Normally, when a new teacher meets everyone, everyone applauds, but now, apart from Dumbledore and Hagrid, no teacher or student applauds.
Dumbledore and Hagrid clapped their hands a few times, and found that the applause echoed lonely in the silent auditorium, so they put down their hands knowingly.The others seemed taken aback by Moody's strange appearance, and just stared at him intently.
Moody seemed unmoved by the lukewarm response.Ignoring the large pitcher of pumpkin juice in front of him, he reached into his traveling cloak, pulled out a curved decanter, and took a swig.
"Sherin, what's wrong with you?" Daphne asked with concern.
It shouldn't be, Daphne was puzzled by Xie Lin's absent-minded reaction. Moody's face was indeed a bit scary for the young wizards, but with Xie Lin's heart, there shouldn't be such a big reaction.Who is Schelling? He is a man who dares to confront hundreds of dementors. He is a man who can calmly deal with the revived Feathered Serpent statue. What is Moody compared to them?
What she didn't know was that in Xie Lin's eyes, Moody's body exuded a violent black aura, and he recognized this aura almost instantly, it was the shadow of the dragon!
What? Where's Barty Jr.?Who is this "Moody"?What about the good plot benefits?
Dumbledore cleared his throat. "As I said," he said, smiling at the many students in front of him, "in the next few months, we will be honored to host a very exciting event, which has not been held for more than a century. I am very happy to tell you that the Triwizard Tournament will be held at Hogwarts this year."
The tension that had been hanging over the auditorium ever since Moody walked in was broken and almost everyone laughed.
Students born in wizarding families know more or less about the Triwizard Contest. They may not know the exact details, but they all know that this is one of the three major honors for students in the international wizarding community.
The other two honors are the "Wizard Interschool Potion Championship" and "Cairo International Alchemy Conference". Compared with the first two, the Triwizard Tournament, which can highlight actual combat ability and courage, and demonstrate heroic spirit, is undoubtedly more popular among young wizards.
Those Muggle-born students were also in a hurry to inquire, and after knowing what the Triwizard Tournament was all about, they were all amazed and discussed excitedly.
Dumbledore knew that some students had never heard of the Triwizard Tournament, so he explained: "The Triwizard Tournament is a friendly competition between the three European schools of magic, Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. Each school selects a warrior, and then the three warriors compete in three magic items. This is a very good display platform and helps young wizards from different countries to establish friendship.
"There have been several attempts over the centuries to bring back the Tournament," continued Dumbledore, "but none have been successful. However, we at the Department of International Cooperation and Sports at the Ministry of Magic believe that the time is ripe for another attempt. We have done a great deal over the summer to ensure that no one's life is put in danger."
"In October, the principals of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will lead the competitors, and the ceremony of selecting the warriors will be held on the eve of Halloween. An impartial referee will select three warriors to compete for the Tri-Strong Cup, win honor for their schools, and personally receive a bonus of [-] Galleons."
"I know you are all eager to win the Triwizard Tournament for Hogwarts," he said, "but the participating schools and the Ministry of Magic have agreed that there should be an age cutoff for this year's competitors. Only students over the age of 17 will be allowed to enter."
Dumbledore raised his voice slightly, because some people protested angrily after hearing his words, "This measure is very necessary, because the competition is still very difficult and dangerous, and it is impossible for students under the sixth and seventh grades to handle it."
"The delegation of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will arrive in October and will spend most of the year with us. While they are here, I hope you will all be warm and friendly, and that Hogwarts champions will be given your support once the final selection is made. Well, it is getting late, and it is important that you go into class tomorrow morning refreshed and clear-headed. Go to bed! Hurry up!"
In the wizarding world, 17 represents adulthood, which is not only reflected in magic power, but also in the maturity of mind
(End of this chapter)
The day of school is coming soon.
Xie Lin shared a carriage with Daphne and Astoria. There was one person missing in the carriage, and there was an empty seat. They all felt a little uncomfortable.
Before entering the carriage, Schelling saw Draco, Goyle, Crabbe, Pansy and the others in the aisle, and greeted them.
In the carriage, Xie Lin looked preoccupied and frowned, as if he was thinking about something.
"What's the matter, Brother Sherin?" Astoria asked.
"It's nothing..." Xie Lin shook his head, as if trying to drive away a certain idea in his mind.
He felt something strange in Draco's body.A long time ago, when he first awakened the magic eye, he had seen similar abnormalities.
He saw some weird gray-black shadows on Lucius' magic power. At that time, he thought it was because his father had magic power that didn't belong to him (the dark mark left by Voldemort on him).Now he saw a similar gray-black shadow on Draco, what did this mean?
Thinking that his family had something to hide from him, he felt an uncomfortable feeling in his heart.
It's not that he thinks that family members can't have their own secrets. For example, he himself hides a lot from his family members.However, this time, he had a very bad premonition in his heart, and that gray-black shadow made him very afraid.
With the cultivation of spiritual and soul magic at the level of Schelling, he already has a keen intuition that ordinary people don't have, and he believes that his feelings will not go wrong.
"Scherin, do you know? I heard that Gallup Lestrange has applied for a suspension of school. This time the Lestrange family lost the most important direct descendant (he became a werewolf and was removed from the genealogy), and also lost a large number of clan members. It can be said that it has come to an end." Daphne knew the grievances between Schelling and them, and said gloatingly.
Xie Lin sighed, and said without hesitation: "Counting Mei, the so-called sacred 28 pure-blood families, there are two more withered families... The pure-blood families can't stand much trouble..."
What he didn't say was that what's waiting in front of the pure blood family is probably only more turmoil...
Before Gallup was turned into a werewolf, the memory in his mind had already been cleaned out by Bathory's hypnotic magic and Anis' nightmare magic, and this memory was washed away.On the same front as Gallup, there is also Miles Bletch of the Bletch family, and the master behind the two of them-Irina Selwyn, the female head of the Selwyn family.
A coldness flashed in his eyes, and then it was their turn.
In the auditorium, first-year freshmen are queuing up, waiting to receive the sorting arrangement of the sorting hat.
On the Slytherin table, Gemma Farley and Marcus Flint have both graduated.
The new Quidditch captain is Draco.The newly elected prefects are Terrence Higgs and a female prefect.
At the sorting ceremony, Slytherin admitted Malcolm Baddock, Graham Pritchard, Emma Dobbs, etc.; Schelling did not notice particularly outstanding characters, and this year's Slytherin also happened to not have any powerful family members.
On the contrary, it was a short Ravenclaw boy who caught Schelling's attention. His name was Gabriel Cresswell. It didn't sound like he came from a long-established magical family, but somehow Schelling was familiar with this surname—ah, when I was reading the "Daily Prophet" on the train today, I seemed to have seen the little news that Dirk Cresswell was promoted to the director of the Goblin Liaison Office of the Ministry of Magic yesterday.
Schelling remembered that Dirk Cresswell was a character in the original book.He is very talented and knows how to speak goblin language, which is appreciated by Slughorn. He is a member of the innermost circle of the Slug Club and often informs Slughorn of some inside stories about Gringotts.
Xie Lin had a lot of correspondence with Slughorn during the summer vacation, and the two of them came and went and established a good relationship, so they already knew some important people in the Slug Club.According to the information from Slughorn, Dirk Cresswell has two sons, and the eldest just entered the grade this year. It seems that Gabriel is his eldest son.
There is one vacant seat at the faculty table.
"Xie Lin, do you know who the new teacher of this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts class is?" Daphne asked.
Others sitting nearby pricked up their ears to listen intently.Who doesn't know, Schelling is one of the members of the Faculty Hiring Committee, so he naturally has the right to know first.
Daphne's father actually knew it too, but Daphne never asked. She thought she would know it naturally when she came to school, but she didn't expect to see an empty seat, so she asked this question.
"It's Mad-Eye Moody." Sherin replied flatly.
"What?" Many young wizards present couldn't help but exclaimed.
Mad-Eye Moody is a retired Auror. He is very famous. It is said that half of the cells in Azkaban are filled by him. Almost all the notorious dark wizards he captured are notorious.Many of the families of the young Slytherin wizards are related to Death Eaters, so the name of Mad-Eye Moody is extremely deterrent to them.
A bright light flashed in Draco's eyes, but his face was full of dissatisfaction, and he complained: "I didn't mean you, Schelling, since you are a member of the Faculty Hiring Committee and have the power to veto the hiring of faculty, how could you let Mad-Eyes Moody pass the selection?"
How shrewd Xie Lin is, coupled with the ability to see the sky, the changes in Draco's eyes completely fell into his eyes.Bitterness surged in his heart, Draco was obviously complaining, but in fact he was hurting his prestige within Slytherin!
If Schelling voted for Mad-Eye Moody to pass the selection, it would undoubtedly chill the hearts of many purebloods.If Schelling said that he was powerless to prevent Mad-Eye Moody from becoming a professor, it would undoubtedly reveal that Schelling's ability is not as strong as everyone imagined.
With such a short sentence, Schelling was caught in a dilemma. Is this... really Draco?
Not to mention that Draco and his brotherhood for so many years are by no means fake. When did Draco, a brat, become so scheming?
Xie Lin forcibly suppressed the distracting thoughts in his heart, and said with a natural smile: "Don't worry too much, there is actually a reason for Mad-Eye Moody to teach. Dumbledore convinced me with a reason that no one can refuse. Many of you may know that the Triwizard Tournament will be held this year. Regardless of Mad-Eye Moody's character, his strength is beyond doubt. Having him as the professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts can increase the chances of our school's players winning."
"Don't forget, our Slytherins have performed the best in the past few semesters. If there is no accident—" Sherin smiled with strong confidence, "This time, it is also a great opportunity for our Slytherins to strive for glory!"
"That's right! Schelling, what you said makes sense..."
"We are too stupid to think of this..."
Several young Slytherin wizards suddenly realized, and they all agreed with what Xie Lin said.
Terence, the new prefect, also leaned over and said, "By the way, if you sign up, Schelling, I think you have a great chance to be selected as a representative player of Hogwarts." Terence's words won the approval of most of the young wizards nearby.
The conversation ended when Dumbledore stood up to speak.Schelling lightly deciphers the prestige crisis lurking in the conversation.
After the sorting ceremony, Dumbledore stood up and delivered a speech. In addition to the annual school rules, he went on to say: "I also regret to tell you that there will be no House Cup Quidditch tournament this year."
"What?" Draco gasped in surprise.He turned to look at his Quidditch teammates Montague and Warrington.They all gaped and stared at Dumbledore silently, as if too surprised to speak.
A gleam flashed in Xie Lin's eyes, and now Draco's behavior was becoming more and more unpredictable to him.
Dumbledore continued: "This is because a large event will start in October and continue throughout the school year, taking up a lot of teachers' time and energy - but I am sure you will all have a lot of fun out of it. I am very pleased to announce that this year at Hogwarts -"
"This is probably the Triwizard Tournament that Dad mentioned before... But I didn't expect this event to last the entire school year, it's too exaggerated!" Draco said with some disappointment, because it meant that his status as Quidditch captain would not become a regular until the next semester.
At this moment, there was a deafening thunder, and the door of the auditorium was knocked open with a bang.
A man stood in the doorway, leaning on a long cane and wrapped in a black traveling cloak.The people in the auditorium turned their heads to look at the stranger, a forked lightning flashed across the ceiling, and everyone gasped.
The lightning illuminated the man's face very vividly. It was a very horrible face. It seemed to be carved out of a piece of rotten wood.
Every inch of skin on that face seemed to be scarred, the mouth was like a big crooked opening, the place where the nose should be raised was missing, and the most terrifying thing about this man was his eyes.
One of his eyes was small, black, and shiny, while the other was large, round like a coin, and of a vivid bright blue.The blue eye was constantly moving without blinking, turning up and down, side to side, completely independent of the normal eye.Later, the blue eye rolled over and got into the man's head, and everyone could only see a big white eye.
The little wizards all covered their mouths with their hands, looking at the man who just broke in in fear.His image fits perfectly with the most terrifying villain in everyone's mind, like a dangerous dark wizard.
"Allow me to introduce our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher," Dumbledore broke the silence happily, "Professor Moody."
Normally, when a new teacher meets everyone, everyone applauds, but now, apart from Dumbledore and Hagrid, no teacher or student applauds.
Dumbledore and Hagrid clapped their hands a few times, and found that the applause echoed lonely in the silent auditorium, so they put down their hands knowingly.The others seemed taken aback by Moody's strange appearance, and just stared at him intently.
Moody seemed unmoved by the lukewarm response.Ignoring the large pitcher of pumpkin juice in front of him, he reached into his traveling cloak, pulled out a curved decanter, and took a swig.
"Sherin, what's wrong with you?" Daphne asked with concern.
It shouldn't be, Daphne was puzzled by Xie Lin's absent-minded reaction. Moody's face was indeed a bit scary for the young wizards, but with Xie Lin's heart, there shouldn't be such a big reaction.Who is Schelling? He is a man who dares to confront hundreds of dementors. He is a man who can calmly deal with the revived Feathered Serpent statue. What is Moody compared to them?
What she didn't know was that in Xie Lin's eyes, Moody's body exuded a violent black aura, and he recognized this aura almost instantly, it was the shadow of the dragon!
What? Where's Barty Jr.?Who is this "Moody"?What about the good plot benefits?
Dumbledore cleared his throat. "As I said," he said, smiling at the many students in front of him, "in the next few months, we will be honored to host a very exciting event, which has not been held for more than a century. I am very happy to tell you that the Triwizard Tournament will be held at Hogwarts this year."
The tension that had been hanging over the auditorium ever since Moody walked in was broken and almost everyone laughed.
Students born in wizarding families know more or less about the Triwizard Contest. They may not know the exact details, but they all know that this is one of the three major honors for students in the international wizarding community.
The other two honors are the "Wizard Interschool Potion Championship" and "Cairo International Alchemy Conference". Compared with the first two, the Triwizard Tournament, which can highlight actual combat ability and courage, and demonstrate heroic spirit, is undoubtedly more popular among young wizards.
Those Muggle-born students were also in a hurry to inquire, and after knowing what the Triwizard Tournament was all about, they were all amazed and discussed excitedly.
Dumbledore knew that some students had never heard of the Triwizard Tournament, so he explained: "The Triwizard Tournament is a friendly competition between the three European schools of magic, Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. Each school selects a warrior, and then the three warriors compete in three magic items. This is a very good display platform and helps young wizards from different countries to establish friendship.
"There have been several attempts over the centuries to bring back the Tournament," continued Dumbledore, "but none have been successful. However, we at the Department of International Cooperation and Sports at the Ministry of Magic believe that the time is ripe for another attempt. We have done a great deal over the summer to ensure that no one's life is put in danger."
"In October, the principals of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will lead the competitors, and the ceremony of selecting the warriors will be held on the eve of Halloween. An impartial referee will select three warriors to compete for the Tri-Strong Cup, win honor for their schools, and personally receive a bonus of [-] Galleons."
"I know you are all eager to win the Triwizard Tournament for Hogwarts," he said, "but the participating schools and the Ministry of Magic have agreed that there should be an age cutoff for this year's competitors. Only students over the age of 17 will be allowed to enter."
Dumbledore raised his voice slightly, because some people protested angrily after hearing his words, "This measure is very necessary, because the competition is still very difficult and dangerous, and it is impossible for students under the sixth and seventh grades to handle it."
"The delegation of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will arrive in October and will spend most of the year with us. While they are here, I hope you will all be warm and friendly, and that Hogwarts champions will be given your support once the final selection is made. Well, it is getting late, and it is important that you go into class tomorrow morning refreshed and clear-headed. Go to bed! Hurry up!"
In the wizarding world, 17 represents adulthood, which is not only reflected in magic power, but also in the maturity of mind
(End of this chapter)
