Chapter 285: The first match full of human touch

Tomorrow's exam question?!

Harry and Cedric looked at each other and could see the disbelief in each other's eyes.

According to the history they had learned before, the Potions Championship had always been a closed-book competition, and there had never been a situation where the test questions were notified one day in advance.

To be honest, it is necessary to know the time of the first round of the game, after all, the competition will be held tomorrow.

However, Harry never thought that they would know the test questions a day in advance.

And it has been personally certified by Professor Swan.

Have the rules of the Potions Tournament changed?

"Tomorrow's competition is about brewing a shrinking potion. As long as you brew it successfully, you can pass the first round."

"Don't worry, this news is absolutely true." Sebastian smiled slightly and said mysteriously.

"I heard this myself from the jury."

Merlin's potion!

Would the jury even reveal this kind of information?

You know, the judges on the panel are not professors from Ilvermorny, but some well-known potion masters in the wizarding world.

They had just appeared at the dinner, and some of them appeared in the Potions textbooks.

Professor Swann is truly powerful and can even find out information like this!

By the way, Swann Alchemy seems to be the biggest sponsor of this competition.

Thinking about it this way, it makes sense that Professor Swann was able to get first-hand information.

No wonder the school let Professor Swan be in charge of international exchange affairs, it is such a perfect match for his profession.

The advantage of knowing the test questions in advance is huge.

Tomorrow's game is secured!

Looking at the students' excited expressions, Sebastian did not explain much, but just silently stepped aside, giving space to Snape and the students.

In fact, at this time almost all schools have received tomorrow's exam papers.

This is not because every school has a powerful professor leading the team, but because the authorities are deliberately letting people off the hook.

A long time ago, the Potions Championship was not like this, and there was no such thing as loose competition.

At that time, there were only two rounds of competition: preliminary and semi-final, and each round tested the true level of the participating students.

However, due to the high difficulty, it is often the case that some magic schools cannot even pass the first round of the competition.

Over time, in order to avoid embarrassment, many magic schools would not send students to participate in the Potions Championship if they felt that their students' level was not high enough.

The most exaggerated Potions Championship was one in which only two schools participated.

Everyone saw that this wasn’t going to work.

It's not enough to just compete, you also have to be good at dealing with people.

So, from then on, the format of the Potions Championship was increased to three rounds.

Although it was not stated explicitly, basically everyone knew that the first round of matches was a friendly match, but the students were not aware of it.

This time, the authorities deliberately chose a potion that lower grade students had learned as the test question, and revealed it to all schools in advance, so that everyone could pass the first round of the competition.

After all, everyone has come from far away, and we can’t let the participating students not even get past the first round.

At this time, Snape had already changed back into his iconic black robe. His serious temperament made Harry and others dare not make any unnecessary movements.

Although they were still full of excitement and anticipation, Snape's stern expression made everyone quickly calm their chaotic thoughts.

So, in a quiet atmosphere, everyone carefully reviewed the steps of brewing the shrinking potion according to Snape's requirements.

The next morning, after breakfast, the delegations, led by the staff, went to the already decorated Potions Championship venue.

Individual tables had already been set up in the venue so that the contestants could compete without being disturbed.

On the table was a standard crucible and a crucible stirring rod, in addition to which there were three potion ingredients for the students to use.

A large auditorium was built on the other side of the venue, surrounded by advertising slogans of American Swann Alchemy.

In addition, there are several magic cameras to broadcast this grand game in real time.

Professors from various schools, teachers and students of Ilvermorny, and reporters from various news media who came to watch the game took their seats one after another.

Amid the whispers of the audience, the contestants entered the arena and found their own positions.

Before the competition officially began, Gilbert Fontana, the headmaster of Ilvermorny, walked onto the podium.

He waved his hand gently, and the whole place suddenly became quiet.

"Dear representatives, dear students," Fontana said with a friendly smile on his face, "Today is a special day. We are honored to welcome the most outstanding students in the wizarding world to participate in this magic school potion championship."

"This is not only a test of your knowledge, but also a test of your soul. Potions is an art. Only with patience, concentration and wisdom can you go far on this path."

"Today's competition is about brewing a shrinking potion." He glanced at all the contestants. "This is a potion that looks simple, but actually requires a lot of skill and detail."

“I hope that each of you can calm down and show your best level, not only for yourself but also for the school.”

"The time limit is one and a half hours, the game starts now!"

Harry looked away and focused on the table in front of him.

He first carefully checked the crucible and potion materials, and after confirming that they were correct, he began to process the potion materials in an orderly manner.

One and a half hours of playing time is plenty, and everyone has three chances.

As long as you don't get nervous and don't make any major mistakes, it will be easy to pass the first game.

However, it turns out that not every contestant can maintain a good mentality even at the same starting line.

During the competition, Harry smelled a strange smell more than once. It was obvious that some students were too busy under pressure and messed up the potion.

They could only grumble quietly before emptying the cauldron and picking up the next potion ingredient to start brewing.

Harry remained unmoved, and just concentrated on using his magical perception to feel the reaction of the potion in the crucible.

Leech juice, mouse spleen, all the processed potion materials were added into the crucible precisely under Harry's control.

Soon, the potion in the crucible turned bright green.

Harry let out a breath and raised his hand for the judges to rate his potion.

The judges immediately determined that Harry's potion was of perfect quality, but to be fair, they still took out a toad and made it drink Harry's potion.

Under everyone's gaze, the toad began to slowly change and eventually turned into a tadpole.

"Congratulations, Hogwarts contestant Harry Potter, you have passed the first round and may now go down and rest."

The contestants finished their training one after another, and basically all of them passed the first round. Only two unlucky students from the School of Magic messed up three chances and had to leave the stage sadly.