[HP] Comparative

For the next week, the entire castle was shrouded in excitement and tension.Excited are the students, they are full of fantasies about Beauxbaton and Durmstrang that they have never seen; the nervous ones are the staff, Professor McGonagall hopes that they will behave well in front of the guests, while Fei Erqi wished that everyone who entered the castle had to brush their shoes first.

As night fell on Friday evening, the students filed down the steps and lined up outside the castle.Although the air is cold, everyone is full of expectations.Fortunately, the guests did not live up to this expectation——

Beauxbaton's carriage was brought by twelve elephant-like silver-maned flying horses, and Durmstrang's great ship emerged from the black lake like a ghost.

If there had to be a comparison between the sensations these two schools caused, it would be Durmstrang who emerged victorious.Because they had Viktor Krum, many of the students had just watched him catch the Snitch at the Quidditch World Cup held over the summer.

"It's Krum, Harry!" Ron was so excited that he didn't slow down when he followed the Durmstrang delegation up the steps. "He's still a student, I can't believe it!"

Hermione listened to him talking for several minutes, already getting a little impatient. "For Merlin's sake, he's just a Quidditch player."

"'Just a Quidditch player'?" Ron froze. "He's one of the best Seekers in the world, Hermione!"

The two argued over the issue without Harry getting involved.He noticed that Ron wasn't the only one excited to see Krum—Lee Jordan was jumping on tiptoes, trying to get a better view of Krum's back; They were complaining loudly why they didn't bring pens and didn't even have a lipstick on them.

In this atmosphere, Tom, who was still unmoved, was extremely conspicuous.He was definitely one of the closest Hogwarts students to Krum, but he acted like he didn't know Krum.

In fact, when the Durmstrang delegation got off the boat, the students cheered loudly for them, but the tall boy standing obliquely in front of Harry didn't even blink his eyes, and only clapped his hands politely twice.It was obvious, because the circle of senior Slytherins next to Tom was even more uninterested than he was, and seemed to be coping.

Harry knew they'd been bitter about Tom not being able to play, so it wasn't surprising.As for Tom himself, Quidditch never seemed to appeal to him.Even Hermione would go to Gryffindor games, but from what Harry knew, Tom would rather be in the library than watch the ball.

Maybe Tom really doesn't know Krum...

So Harry guessed as he climbed the last step.After all, Tom definitely didn't show up at the final of the Quidditch World Cup. How can the children in the orphanage have money to buy tickets...

This thought poured cold water from head to toe, and Harry's excitement just now disappeared without a trace.Following the flow of people, he stopped at the Gryffindor table, and couldn't help but look in the direction of Slytherin as soon as he sat down.

Tom had already sat down, talking to a large boy whom Harry recognized as Urquhart, the captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team, and looking at Dom, who was standing looking around in the Great Hall. Strong delegation.On the side, Malfoy, Montague, Derek and several other people had eager expressions on their faces, as if they wished they could take up Urquhart's words.

They were all members of the Quidditch team, and Harry realized that what he had just guessed was probably true.If Tom needed someone to teach him about Quidditch, Harry believed he would be better than Malfoy...

"Come on, Harry, step aside—"

Ron's urging woke Harry up. "What's the matter?" He asked wonderingly, looking around, "Who else wants to come?"

"People from Durmstrang, they don't have a place yet, we can..." At this point, Ron's excited tone suddenly changed, "Oh, it's over!"

Harry followed his gaze, just in time to see Tom, who got up at some point, talking to the leader of the Durmstrang delegation.The man wore a thick fur cloak, short gray hair, a sharp chin, and a carefully groomed goatee.Harry remembered that Dumbledore had just said his name was Igor Karkaroff.

"It's over, it's over..." Ron's face was full of tears, and he kept moaning, "Riddle made a move, they must be sitting with Slytherin..."

Harry finally understood Ron's intentions.At this time, Durmstrang's people had already sat down at Slytherin's long table one after another.Malfoy was still leaning forward, trying to strike up a conversation with Krum.

As for the students of the Beauxbatons delegation, they chose the Ravenclaw table.Their leader, Madame Maxime, was an extremely tall woman, and she sat with Karkaroff on the teacher's bench.They were joined by Cornelius Fudge, Director of International Cooperation at the Ministry of Magic, and Ludo Bagman, Director of Sports and Sports at the Ministry of Magic.

Although there were only twenty more people, the dinner was wrapped in excitement and nervousness from beginning to end.Affected by this atmosphere, the richer dishes did not save Harry's suddenly diminished appetite.Fortunately, Dumbledore stood up before he couldn't eat anymore, explained to everyone in the auditorium the schedule of activities for this year, and focused on the fair referee who selected the warriors——

Goblet of Fire.

"...Every student who wants to run for the Warrior must write his name and school name on a piece of parchment, throw it into this goblet, and sign up within 24 hours. Tomorrow night, which is Halloween In the evening, the goblet will select the names of the three students it thinks best represent the three schools. Tonight, the goblet will be placed in the foyer, and all students who are willing to participate in the election can have access to it.”①

The students couldn't help whispering, and everyone stared at the wooden cup burning with a blue and white flame.

"In order to avoid the temptation of underage students," Dumbledore continued, "when the goblet is placed in the hall, I will draw an age line around it. No one under the age of seventeen will be able to cross this line." A boundary."②

His gaze swept across the audience through half-moon glasses.I don't know if it was Harry's illusion, but Dumbledore's eyes seemed to stay in the direction of Slytherin for a very short while.

"Finally, I would like to remind every student who wants to participate in the election that this competition is not a child's play, so don't take part in it rashly. Once a warrior is selected by the Goblet of Fire, he must persist in the competition to the end. Whoever puts himself Putting your name into the cup actually forms a magical contract that must be kept. Once you become a warrior, you are not allowed to change your mind. Therefore, please think twice and make sure that you really want to participate in the competition. Put your name into the cup again. Well, I think it's time for everyone to go to bed. Good night everyone." ③

Harry thought that it was destined to be impossible to have a peaceful sleep that night, because everyone was excitedly discussing the game.Fred and George decided to use aging pills without blinking an eye, while Ron was only concerned about where Krum slept at night.As a result, the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang delegations had to go back to their respective cars and boats to rest, much to Ron's dismay.

After the pre-dinner altercation, Hermione didn't want to hear anything from Ron about Krum.In protest, Ron forced his way into the twins' conversation, leaving her and Harry behind.

Hermione rolled her eyes at this overly childish behavior. "That's fine," she pursed her lips, lowering her voice. "I was just trying to find some time to talk to you alone, Harry."

"What?" Harry was still thinking about the Goblet of Fire - he really wanted to take part in the competition, but he knew it wouldn't work; Dumbledore would be very angry if students who did not meet the age requirements signed up.

"Your wand," said Hermione, her voice lowered as she moved closer to him, "I finally found a book that mentions this."

Harry hadn't expected it.Because he has been rummaging in the library on and off for several days, finding nothing like finding a needle in a haystack. "Really? What did it say?" He immediately asked curiously.

"There's not much information," Hermione replied honestly, a little annoyed. "It says there's telepathy between twin wands. And, if they're casting spells at each other, there's a Flashback Charm."

Harry had never heard the name of the spell. "Flashback Curse?" he repeated wonderingly, jumping over an empty staircase reflexively under his feet, "what is it for?"

Hermione followed and jumped over the empty staircase. "It depends on the type of wand core," she said, her eyes beginning to sparkle, obviously interested, "but the actual effect is consistent—the winning wand causes the losing wand to repeat its most recent cast." spells, backwards in chronological order."

Harry raised his eyebrows. He couldn't think of a scene where he and Tom would cast spells on each other. "Sounds like it's useless." He commented objectively.

Hermione glanced at him. "Indeed," she admitted, her previous troubled tone reappeared, "I think there must be another connection, but I can't find it..."

"It's okay." Seeing that she was about to start blaming herself, Harry quickly comforted her, "I didn't expect to find anything. Without you, I wouldn't even know this!"

Hermione hesitated and smiled back at him. "I'll try again," she promised.

Later that day, Tom knocked on the door of the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's office on the third floor.

"It's you, Tom!" Little Crouch opened the door and found him, with a joyful smile on his face, "Come in!"

Tom did as he was told.After he entered, Crouch Jr. looked outside to make sure no one was there before closing the door again. "Why, is there anything I can do for you?"

"Yes, sir." Tom stood still in front of the desk, turned to look at the man with straw-colored hair, "Today we received guests from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, but I find that I know very little about them Not only that..." He showed a little ashamed expression, "I don't even know anything about other ancient magic schools in the world."

Crouch Jr. was a little surprised, because Tom had never shown any interest in this before.But he asked, "Would you like me to find you some books on the subject, Tom?"

Tom nodded. "I think you have some solid recommendations here."

"Well," Little Crouch looked at his bookshelf while rubbing his chin, "I suspect that my collection in this area is not enough for your requirements." He bit the accent on "in this area" and turned to Tom Blinking, "But you've got the right guy. I know where to get them."

"From where, sir?" asked Tom at the end of the sentence, but there was no question in his sentence.

Hearing the knowing and asking, Little Crouch's expression turned into a knowing smile. "Fudge, of course," he waved his hand nonchalantly, "he'd be happy to provide a little favor for the Minister's son."

Hearing this, Tom also showed a shallow smile. "Thank you, sir."

But Little Crouch didn't finish his sentence. "Tom, you should have heard from Dumbledore just now that Fudge and Bagman know the entire schedule of the Triwizard Tournament. I am not very familiar with Bagman, but Fudge is not a person who can stick to his principles."

The hint couldn't be more obvious, and Tom's smile became more obvious. "You're always a good judge of people, sir. But I don't want to be too public."

Little Crouch couldn't help staring at him, still in disbelief. "Let me ask again—Tom, are you sure you don't want to go?"

Tom shook his head decisively and firmly.

Crouch Jr. glared at the tall boy for a long while.Finally, he slumped his shoulders and smiled wryly. "Nobody can make you change your mind, can you, Tom? I'll swear your headmaster did."

"Yes," Tom admitted quickly, "but Professor Slughorn doesn't like trouble, so it's easier to persuade him than to persuade you."

"You..." Little Crouch almost laughed angrily. "Well, since you are so sure that you don't want it, then forget it." He reluctantly gave up, and then asked as if thinking of something: "Is there anyone else who knows about this? I mean, you And explicitly tell who you don't want to play?"

This question sounds ordinary, but Tom was quiet for a while, as if he was evaluating the meaning behind it. "No, sir." He smiled. "Just you and Professor Slughorn."

The author has something to say:

①②③: Quoted from the original text of Chapter 16 of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire".

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