The official start time of the Triwizard Tournament was announced just after dinner that day.
It was a sumptuous banquet, with all seven stipulated referees present, and reporters from almost every newspaper office of various magical societies in Europe.
At the same time, it was announced that in order to ensure the smooth progress of the competition, Lucius led the Aurors to settle in Hogwarts Castle and guard all the main passages in the castle as well as the entrances and exits of the secret passages that had been discovered.
Anyone who is not blind can tell who they are guarding against with this kind of strict defensive action.
And even at the dinner, Jon and the others did not see any of the hemp students in the castle.
Their life trajectories were completely classified underground, and Voldemort would not allow them to interact on any level until Dumbledore and his party left.
At the dinner, Jon also saw the three wizards from the International Federation of Magic.
Regarding Matthew, George and Lee had already told him about this man in the afternoon, and the other two wizards, one with a white turban on his head, thick beard, and a lanky figure, were obviously a
Middle Easterners, the last one is a dark-skinned witch.
She has a plump figure and has wavy black hair. She looks no longer young. She is wearing a purple robe full of weird patterns. After hearing the introduction, everyone present knew that she was from another magic school from Africa.
Vice-Chancellor.
They all looked kind. At the beginning of the dinner, when Voldemort introduced them to everyone one by one, these three referees from the Federation all smiled at the students at Hogwarts Castle and Jon.
.
At the end of the dinner, when the rules of the next game were officially announced, Matthew served as the general representative of the referees.
"The first competition event will start in a week. During this time, we still need to focus on arranging the environment of the venue. In addition, the warriors from the four schools will gather in the auditorium on time at 10 a.m. tomorrow. You will use the
The wands need to be tested uniformly."
"Finally, I would like to emphasize again the rules of the upcoming Triwizard Tournament. First: Except for wands, each warrior is not allowed to bring other magic props in all competition events. When the project officially starts, we will have dedicated personnel to conduct searches.
, once violations are discovered, they will be directly sentenced to the bottom of the ongoing project."
"Second: Players are allowed to attack each other in the event, but the use of the Unforgivable Curse and any spell that may cause death is prohibited. If such a phenomenon is found, the team to which the warrior belongs will be directly sentenced to defeat. Note that the penalty here is
Not a single event, but the loser of the entire Triwizard Tournament."
"Third: During the competition period, the Warriors' affiliated schools and camps are not allowed to provide additional help in any way. If this occurs, the punishment will be based on Article 2."
"fourth......"
These rules are very complete, covering almost all possible ways of cheating, and were obviously recognized by Voldemort and Dumbledore when they were established.
After explaining all the rules, Jon and the others' first day at Hogwarts Castle was finally over.
When everyone left, the eight Aurors who had been guarding the door of the auditorium were keeping an eye on Dumbledore and his group, monitoring them so that no one would sneak into other places in the castle after leaving the auditorium.
"These people are just like the hens my mother raised in the chicken coop." George made a face at one of the Aurors, and then whispered to Jon next to him, "Regard this castle as your own."
They come to protect their nests, but in fact they will be slaughtered sooner or later."
"Don't say such things here. If they hear it and attack you, Professor Dumbledore won't be able to react immediately."
As Jon spoke, he also looked at the Aurors there.
One of these eight people was always looking at Dumbledore, two others were staring at Rozier, three were always staring at him, and the other two were casually observing the others.
These well-trained Aurors know very well who among this group of people is likely to cause trouble.
Dumbledore is indeed the strongest, but it is basically impossible for him to go into battle himself. Once such a situation occurs, it will be a life-or-death showdown with Voldemort. Letting someone watch him is just a precaution.
First, it can be regarded as respect given to the supreme leader.
And Rozier is Grindelwald's. Although the two parties belong to the same camp as the Witch Leveling Line, they belong to two different factions. If Grindelwald wants her to do something small in the castle, even Dumbledore may not know it.
, so two people were specially sent to keep an eye on her.
Jon, who was stared at by three people at the same time, was naturally the focus of attention.
First of all, he was known as the warrior of the Triwizard Tournament. Under the premise that Voldemort wanted to continue the game in sequence, he could not attack Jon. That would be tantamount to deliberately sabotaging the progress of the game and unilaterally tearing it up.
made a blood oath with Dumbledore.
And Jon is not lacking in the ability to cause trouble. Among the Death Eaters, he dares to say that his strength must be stronger than Bella and Rodolphus. He can be slapped in the face.
Therefore, he is the most troublesome and the one who needs Auror's attention the most.
But Jon was in no mood to do anything, at least not yet.
Although he is now in Hogwarts Castle, his heart is always concerned about the Animagus potion buried in Lyon. Before leaving, he specifically asked Neville to help pay attention to the weather in Lyon, in case there is any thunder.
If there are signs of a heavy rainstorm, Lupine, who is staying at school, must be asked for help as soon as possible, and he must come to Hogwarts Castle to convey the news.
The rainiest time of the year in Lyon is during these two or three months. If no good news comes during this period, there will be no hope for this year.
After leaving Hogwarts Castle under surveillance, the other students returned to the carriage, and Jon came to the driver's seat in front of the carriage with a lunch box in his hand.
He didn't see Hagrid during the meal. Hearing Dumbledore say that he was taking care of the Thestrals, Jon felt that he had missed the point of eating now. It would not be easy for Hagrid to enter the auditorium again, so he specially helped Hagrid.
He packed some food to prevent him from eating only rock biscuits, which were suitable for grinding teeth.
However, when Jon came to the car carrying his things, he did not see Hagrid.
The Thestrals were still walking leisurely on the grass, and there was a plate of biscuits on the table in front of the driver's seat, but Hagrid was missing.
Jon stepped forward and touched the black hair of the Thestrals. These animals had spent a lot of time with him at sea, so they were not repulsive to him.
"Can you tell me where Hagrid is?"
The Thestral raised its head and snored in the direction of the Forbidden Forest.
It was pitch black there, and except for the roars of unknown animals that came from time to time, nothing else could be seen.
Jon frowned slightly.
When Snape brought them here, he made it very clear that entry into the Forbidden Forest was prohibited, and the outside of the forest was also set up with magic. Since he dared to say that, he would not send anyone
If someone comes to guard it specifically, it means that he is very confident in the spell to protect the Forbidden Forest.
Jon could tell that Hagrid had been obsessed with the Forbidden Forest ever since he arrived at Hogwarts Castle, but if he wanted to break in so recklessly, something would definitely go wrong.
He stared at the direction of the Forbidden Forest for a few seconds and then placed the dinner he had brought on the table. Just as he was about to return to the carriage to find Dumbledore and ask him to help him search for Hagrid outside, he stumbled a bit.
The sound of footsteps suddenly reached his ears from far to near.
Hagrid looked very embarrassed. His already disheveled hair and beard were now covered with grass clippings. There was also an obvious red mark on his face, as if he had been hit by something heavy. He also wore more robes than before.
There were several broken holes.
"Are you okay? Hagrid."
Hearing Jon's voice, Hagrid raised his dejected head at this moment. He looked into Jon's calm eyes and couldn't help but feel a little panicked.
"Ah... of course I'm fine. I just went out for a walk, uh... but you know, as people get older, it's easier to see things clearly in the dark. I don't
I tripped over a tree root, I was so careless..."
Jon didn't speak, but nodded as he defended, as if he believed everything he said unconditionally.
But it was his gesture that made Hagrid completely unable to continue.
He sat down on the grass with a gray face, and the moonlight shone on him, making him look like a stupid bear who had been stung all over his body instead of stealing honey.
"I lied, Jon. I tried to enter the woods just now, but failed."
Jon did not blame, nor was he qualified to blame. He could tell that Hagrid was in a very bad mood now. Jon had never seen such a sad expression on his face since they met.
He walked to Hagrid and sat down. He didn't ask why, but considered his words.
"Actually, you can trust me and wait a little longer Hagrid. No matter what you want to do in the Forbidden Forest, you can wait for it after being in exile for so many years. Why can't you wait for less than a school year?"
"I trust you as much as I trust Dumbledore, Jon." Hagrid's voice was filled with tears.
"But after I came here, I really couldn't wait any longer, and I didn't dare to wait any longer. When Hogwarts Castle was captured by the Dark Lord that year, I wanted to help Dumbledore, so I could only
I took the smallest Beech and Tooth with me, and there were so many other friends of mine who stayed behind. I abandoned them. After so many years, they could only hide in the Forbidden Forest. I had to make sure they were still alive.
.Aragog, Hoth, Morris, Parson..."
He covered his face with his big hands, and finally couldn't help crying when he said these names.
"Ya Ya followed me to death. He is the most timid... But when I was being chased, he rushed over and helped me block a killing curse... He saved my life.
Life... I dare not think that they will die if they stay in the Forbidden Forest... If I could let them all out..."
Jon sighed and stood up, barely able to pat Hagrid on the shoulder.
"They are all magical animals, not pets that have lost their ability to survive. Hiding in the Forbidden Forest is like returning to the safest environment for them. You don't have to blame yourself like this."
Hagrid hugged Jon and cried like a child who had lost friends and family.
For Hagrid, these animals are indeed his closest family members. After being expelled from Hogwarts, he also lost his father. If Dumbledore hadn't taken him in and placed him in the Forbidden Forest in the end,
If he came to be a gamekeeper, he would really be homeless.
During the decades he worked as a gamekeeper, those animals had the deepest feelings for him, not to mention that he also experienced Yaya dying to save him.
This undoubtedly increased his sense of guilt, and when everyone else gathered in the auditorium tonight, he couldn't help but try to break into the Forbidden Forest to care about the safety of his animal friends.
No matter how much comfort Jon felt about something like this, he couldn't heal the scars in Hagrid's heart. He patted Hagrid's back and thought about it before continuing.
"Actually, if you really can't wait to know how they live in the Forbidden Forest, I can help you."
Hagrid wiped the snot and tears from his face, but when he heard Jon's words, he shook his head very firmly.
"This is my personal matter, Jon. I can't involve you. You still have to participate in the competition and place everyone's hopes on it. You shouldn't take risks for me."
"Don't worry, I will definitely not break into the Forbidden Forest as you think." Jon comforted, "According to Professor Dumbledore and I's speculation, the first competition event that will start in a week will most likely be in
It will be carried out in the Forbidden Forest. If there is a chance, I can go and see your animal friends on your behalf."
Hagrid was obviously a little moved, but he quickly shook his head and said.
"No! Even if you can enter the Forbidden Forest through the competition, it will still interfere with you. You can't affect the competition just because you help me."
"You just said that you believe in me just like you believe in Professor Dumbledore." Jon shrugged, "I am more measured than anyone else, and I didn't give you an absolute promise, I just said that when I have the opportunity
situation, so you shouldn’t have such high hopes directly.”
Hagrid had red eyes and looked at Jon eagerly. After a long silence, he finally no longer refused, but held Jon's hand tightly and said in a trembling voice.
"Thank you... thank you very much, Jon..."
"What's the word "thank you" between us? Oh, by the way, I almost forgot that I'm here to deliver dinner. Among other things, the house elves in the castle are really good at grilling sausages. I brought more for you.