Study Days at Hogwarts

  Chapter 973 This is a business

   "It should be here."

Albert looked up at the signboard of the coffee shop, and then looked down at the watch on his wrist. After making sure that there was no danger around him, he opened the door with his suitcase and walked into the Muggle shop in front of him. His gaze swept over the customers in the coffee shop. , landed on the middle-aged man who was drinking coffee at the corner, he raised his feet and walked towards him, greeting him in fluent French.

   "Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long."

   "I've been waiting for half an hour."

   "Sorry for the delay on the way."

  If the shopkeeper at the counter could understand French, he would have caught the **** who had been here for five minutes, but unfortunately he couldn't understand French.

  The seemingly ordinary dialogue is actually the two sides exchanging signals.

   After all, both of them have drunk compound potions, so they can't recognize each other's identity, so they can only use codes to connect. While confirming each other's identities, they can also avoid others from finding out that something is wrong and causing unnecessary trouble to Bard.

  This ordinary conversation is like meeting two friends, and no one will doubt their identities.

  After the conversation, the two exchanged business cards, smiled and shook hands, and then paid the money and left directly under the astonished gaze of the boss.

   "The coffee here is terrible." Bud whispered.

   "Maybe, you should order a cup of hot cocoa." Albert joked with a smile.

   "I tried it, but the boss told me that hot cocoa is not sold here." Bud looked helpless.

   "He didn't kick you out?"

   Albert's face twitched slightly, not knowing what expression he should show.

   "Are you really planning to go to the competition?"

   The two turned a corner and walked towards the outskirts of the city.

  Albert heard something in the other party's words, raised his eyebrows slightly and asked, "Is there any question?"

"Two days ago, I got some bad news." Bard said in a low voice, "Your situation doesn't seem to be very good. I'm worried that something will happen during the game. Although there will be many Aurors around, if they If you want to harm you, there are some..."

"Don't worry, I just received the news that someone is also planning to come to watch the game." Albert said meaningfully: "The principal and the group of people around him, so I don't think even if people come from the other side, they shouldn't show up." Question. After all, he himself still has a strong deterrent force. Moreover, I actually secretly placed people on their side. Even if there is any plan, I can know it at the first time. At most, it may happen during the game. It's a little messy."

   "He didn't stay at school and came to watch the game?" Bud didn't breathe a sigh of relief after hearing the news, but frowned instead.

   "Is there something wrong?" Albert asked suspiciously.

"I'm worried that he will pull you into the water." Bud reminded, "That guy is being watched by people in every move now, and... In short, you have to pay attention to yourself. Although that guy is a good person, sometimes in order to achieve certain purpose, he doesn’t mind sacrifices, I think you should know a certain sentence that his club often says.”

   "Some things are worth dying for." Albert murmured softly.

  Bud was very helpless. He asked Albert to participate in the International Wizarding Duel Competition, just to make the other party famous.

Prestige is actually quite useful for Albert, especially as a Muggle wizard. If Smith's surname is used...it is obviously impossible...so Albert needs to use countless auras to silence others, and he It happens to have such ability.

  Who knew that Voldemort returned suddenly and had his eye on Albert.

  After the news of the Dark Mark appeared in France, although Bud didn't get much news, he wanted to know that this matter had something to do with Albert. Who told him to go to Nicole Village to visit Nicole Flamel, Bud even suspected that Albert had placed the Dark Mark, and only he could come up with such a showy operation.

   "Okay, I'll take you to the temporary residence first, and give up the game if necessary." Bud continued to warn, "Your safety is more important than anything else, you have to promise me."

   "I will." Albert comforted with a smile, "I never do things I'm not sure about."

  Bad's safe house is located in the outskirts of Madrid. The house is large, but it looks old.

  At the beginning, Bud spent some time to buy this place, and used the Loyalty Charm on the house to turn it into a safe house.

   As for the usage, I know everything.

   I know that there are not many people here, and even less people usually come here.

  After entering the house, several people were stunned by the scene inside. It looked like a haunted house, and the roof was damaged due to disrepair.

   "How long has it been since you came?"

   Albert poked open the cobwebs on top of his head with his wand expressionlessly, and asked Bud sideways.

   "About thirty years." Bud said awkwardly, "You also know that it's normal for some things to become like this without maintenance, and you don't live here anyway."

   "Even if a ghost suddenly appears here, I won't be surprised." Katrina muttered.

  Isobel stared at the several well-preserved portraits of handsome men and women on the walls of the hall, and looked thoughtfully at the old man in front of her. She seemed to have guessed the purpose of this place.

   "Want Carla to clean up?" the house-elf shrieked.

   "No, you have other tasks." Albert scanned the portrait, then looked at the old man in front of him and asked, "Can I put these paintings here?"

   "You don't live in it anyway, so there shouldn't be any problems with it." Bud coughed lightly and changed the subject, "No, just let them stay here."

  Bad seemed to change the subject, and began to tell Albert how to sign up for the International Wizards Duel Contest and precautions.

   "Are you going to continue betting?" Albert asked suddenly.

   "That's not a good idea."

  Bud didn't really want to bet, because he didn't want to put any pressure on Albert, so as not to cause him to be **** at a critical moment, and he couldn't leave the first time when he encountered danger.

   "I saw in the crystal ball that I won the duel championship trophy." Albert hinted.

   "This should be considered cheating!"

  Katrina understood the conversation between the two, and couldn't help but widen her eyes.

   "This is called investing in yourself." Albert corrected.

   "No wonder you are so rich." Katrina secretly glanced at Isobel, she felt that Isobel probably knew about these things.

   "If you want to invest in me, I don't mind." Albert said with a smile, "If you have money, everyone can earn it together."

   "Forget it." Katrina shook her head.

   "Then we'll invest ten Galleons in you." Isobel glanced at his sister, reported a number casually, took out a handful of Galleons from his pocket and handed them to Albert.

   "Of course it's no problem." Albert looked at Bud, who obviously didn't care, and said with a smile, "If you see it, you have a share, but if you lose money, don't blame me."

  Bud doesn't mind even more. It's considered a little pocket money for the sisters, but it's not much anyway. The most important thing is that everyone is happy.

  Before leaving, Bud did not forget to remind: "In short, pay attention to safety, this is more important than anything else."

   "You two have such a good relationship." Katrina was surprised by the relationship between the two. If she didn't know it, she would have thought that Bud was Albert's grandfather.

After Albert temporarily settled down, he went to the registration office of the Spanish Ministry of Magic to sign up for the International Wizarding Duel Competition. The registration process was almost the same as Bard said. There was a special area for players to register, in order to deal with wizards from all over the world. , Next to the wizard in charge of registration was a witch in charge of translating, and Albert discovered that the other party was still an acquaintance.

   "Long time no see, Ms. Diana?" Albert smiled and greeted the witch.

   "Are you really planning to participate in the International Wizarding Duel Contest?" Diana looked Albert up and down, and asked with a slightly raised eyebrow.

   "Yes, I plan to try it." Albert nodded.

   "Do you know each other?"

  Another wizard looked at Albert and raised his eyebrows slightly.

   "Yes." Diana said.

   "I suggest you persuade him to give up the competition." The wizard reminded in a low voice, "You should be aware that the duel competition is cruel, so that your friend will not be injured."

  Different from previous duel contests, today's duel contests are more dangerous, and throwing black magic at each other is a common thing.

   Moreover, Albert is not very old, and he obviously doesn't know the dangers of the world. Some guys will even do some extreme things in order to get the championship bonus.

   "It's useless, and don't underestimate that guy." Diana obviously didn't think she could convince Albert. She is also very aware of Albert's strength, because some unscrupulous old guy plans to buy him to win the final championship.

  I have only seen this kind of coquettish operation not long ago.

  If you are not sure, the other party will obviously not do that.

   Moreover, as far as she knew, the one in front of her was the champion of the Triwizard Tournament. Not long ago, she defeated a fire dragon by herself, which was much more vicious than most contestants.

Diana patiently popularized the rules of the International Wizarding Duel Contest to Albert, and reminded him not to use the Unforgivable Curse, not to try to kill the opponent, especially after the opponent surrendered, lost the ability to continue fighting, or the referee pronounced the result. Keep attacking or you will be disqualified.

  Finally, Albert also signed a magic contract, proving that he himself took the initiative to participate in the competition, and if he dies unexpectedly during the competition, it has nothing to do with the competition party.

   As for not being able to use black magic, of course it doesn't exist. There will be black wizards participating in every session.

   That's right, the Dark Wizard.

  This is also the reason why the wizard just hoped that he would not participate, because Albert really looked like a rookie, and he could only serve as cannon fodder if he participated.

It is worth mentioning that the Spanish Ministry of Magic did not build a large stadium like the British Ministry of Magic, but borrowed the venue of the Muggles. The duel competition was held on the large football field in the outskirts of the Muggles, which could accommodate tens of thousands of people. audience.

  Wizards will use a large-scale spell to expel Muggles around the football field, and by the way, use an enchantment to cover the entire stadium to ensure that Muggles will not notice the abnormality of the stadium.

   Of course, in order to avoid attracting the attention of Muggles, the International Wizarding Duel Tournament will be held at night.

After being informed of the location of the Duel Tournament, Albert, with the help of Diana, bought tickets for three people for three days. It cost several hundred galleons in total!

  However, Albert didn't care about Garen's question, anyway, Bud had already asked someone to help place the bet.

  As long as someone dares to start a bet, he dares to bet. Who made Albert predict that he would win the world trophy!

   It's just that such opportunities are running out.

  With the lessons learned from last time, if you do it again, you will probably be blacklisted by the gambling game.

  …

   Returning to the temporary residence, Albert told Sister McDougal about the duel contest.

   "Why did they choose to use Muggle buildings? Are they really not worried about causing any trouble?" Katrina asked puzzled.

   "Because it's cheap and can make a lot of money, setting up a stage by yourself costs money and time. Why do you think the Spanish Ministry of Magic is serious about organizing the duel competition and offering high prize money to the champion?"

A duel between two powerful wizards is very rare in the magic world, so many people are willing to spend money to watch the game, especially the last day of the game. Not only is the ticket price scary, but it is also hard to get a ticket. There is no way, Who makes watching a wizard duel more exciting than watching a Quidditch match?

   Albert can buy it entirely because he is a player, and the tournament provides convenience to the players.

   The duel competition lasted for three days in total, and a round of elimination system was implemented.

   It is said that there will be hundreds of wizards participating. On the first day, each person needs to play three games to select the top sixty-four.

   Then, enter the next round of screening.

  The large number of prize money for the championship makes each duel contest quite tragic, and at the same time attracts a large number of spectators. The funniest thing is that the Spanish Ministry of Magic actually allows dark wizards to participate, and these dark wizards are also one of the highlights of the duel contest.

  Of course, the participating dark wizards cannot cause trouble on the competition field, otherwise the Aurors will send them to **** at any time.

Although many wizards have protested against this matter, in order to make the game more attractive and to fill their pockets, the regulation that black wizards are allowed to participate has not been deleted. After all, dark wizards are also a big selling point. Especially when a powerful wizard defeats a black wizard, the scene is always very lively. Most importantly, there are actually very few cases where a black wizard wins a duel championship, because in regular games, some of their conspiracy methods cannot Use, once you lose and attack others, the Aurors who maintain order have the right to kill them on the spot. This kind of thing has indeed happened before, but if it happens a few more times, there will be more dead black wizards, and no black wizard will dare to do this Done.

   There is no way, the life of the black wizard is also life, most of the people who will come to participate in the competition are seeking money, no one will even want their own life.

   If there are really crazy guys, the Aurors who patrol around will give them a little bit of a look, and they will also offer a reward for the head of the other party. This is an open secret.

   As for where did the Aurors come from?

  The number of Aurors in Spain is not enough, so they can naturally borrow from other countries. Some Aurors in France and Germany are willing to accept invitations to help.

  As long as you are willing to come and help, you will have a lot of extra income.

  Who wouldn't?

  (end of this chapter)