"Headmaster Dumbledore, let's hold the selection while we eat. The two things don't conflict!" Cedric's voice rang out from the Hufflepuff table.
The moment he finished speaking, he was met with a burst of cheers, clearly earning the support of many students.
Seeing that none of the students below had any intention of waiting until the next day, Dumbledore simply went along with everyone's wishes. However, instead of beginning the selection immediately, he first pulled out a fist-sized crystal ball from his robes. White mist swirled inside it.
"I must thank Professor White once again. In order to make the selection results more convincing, she not only modified the Sorting Hat, but also thoughtfully created this magical crystal ball for us, one capable of displaying the intensity of a person's magical power." As he spoke, seemingly to prove Professor White's abilities, Dumbledore drew his wand and pressed it against the crystal ball.
The mist inside instantly turned red, then gradually shifted toward gold, eventually becoming as dazzling as the sun itself. The brilliance was so intense that the students seated in the front row could not help but close their eyes.
"Minerva, give it a try." Dumbledore handed the crystal ball over to Professor McGonagall.
Professor McGonagall repeated the process, and the glow of the crystal ball dimmed considerably.
If the crystal ball in Dumbledore's hands had resembled a miniature sun, then in Professor McGonagall's hands, it was at most comparable to a high-powered incandescent lamp.
Professor McGonagall smiled awkwardly and casually passed the crystal ball to Professor Sprout beside her. She could not be the only one feeling embarrassed. Someone else had to share the experience.
When the tip of Professor Sprout's wand touched it, the mist inside the crystal ball turned earthy yellow, and the brightness was roughly the same as when Professor McGonagall had used it.
After a brief moment of thought, Professor Sprout placed the crystal ball in front of the newly appointed Professor Aries. She wanted to use the opportunity to gauge the level of this new colleague.
Hopefully she's not another Lockhart, Professor Sprout thought to herself.
Rowena naturally understood what Sprout intended. The corners of her lips lifted slightly as she extended a finger and rested it against the crystal ball.
The crystal ball showed no reaction at all.
Rowena raised an eyebrow. Beside her, Helga spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Hold back a little."
'So it really exceeded the detection limit.' Rowena immediately understood and began suppressing her magic power. After a short while, the crystal ball finally turned cyan, releasing a brilliance no weaker than the one it had displayed in Dumbledore's hands.
A chorus of astonished gasps rose from the students below. Although, strictly speaking, magical power alone could not fully represent a wizard's true strength, it still said quite a lot. Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout were perfect examples.
The newly arrived Professor Aries actually possessed magical power on par with Headmaster Dumbledore. What an incredibly powerful witch!
"Thank you, that's enough. Otherwise Madam Pomfrey will have to prepare eye-treatment potions for everyone." Dumbledore joked lightly as he took the crystal ball back from in front of Rowena.
"Let the feast begin! Students from each House, come forward in order!" Dumbledore announced loudly.
The golden plates and goblets before everyone instantly filled with food and drinks. Meanwhile, the students stepped forward one by one according to their seating order. Just like during the Sorting Ceremony, they put on the Sorting Hat while simultaneously pressing their wands against the magical crystal ball.
It was obvious that magical strength had a direct relationship with age. The older the student, the brighter the crystal ball shone. A few students already possessed magical power that somewhat resembled the professors'.
However, the scores given by the Sorting Hat were not determined entirely by the brightness of the crystal ball. Some students received unexpectedly high or unexpectedly low scores.
The students went forward in sequence: first Gryffindor, then Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and finally Slytherin.
Rhys paid a bit of attention and, as expected, students like Hermione and Cedric received extremely high scores. One scored ninety-eight, the other ninety-nine. Their selection was practically guaranteed.
What surprised him was that Neville's score was also quite impressive. He had actually scored a full eighty-seven points. Unless a large number of high-scoring students suddenly appeared in Slytherin, Neville's chances of being selected were also very high.
"Diggory's score is actually lower than Granger's. That's really unbelievable. Sister, how many points do you think you'll get?" Astoria asked quietly.
In Astoria's view, Diggory possessed an Elemental Domain, yet his score was lower than Hermione's, which was rather unexpected. Perhaps it was because Cedric had not fully awakened his Domain yet, or perhaps the Sorting Hat had counted the phantom Rhys within Hermione's Domain as well.
"One hundred points!" Daphne declared confidently.
Rhys remained silent beside them.
The crystal ball Helga had created did not make him panic. He had clearly seen Rowena's reaction when she first touched the crystal ball. Its display capability obviously had an upper limit. As long as enough magical power was poured into it, it would simply freeze and stop displaying anything.
Of course, he would not use such an attention-grabbing method. He planned to suppress his own magical power so that his magic intensity would appear no different from that of an ordinary student.
Even so, he still felt uneasy because too many unexpected things had happened. Rowena's return, the Sorting Hat's modification, and this so-called magical crystal ball…
Why were there suddenly so many things he did not know about?
That was definitely not a good sign.
Rhys's thoughts shifted, and an idea formed in his mind.
While everyone's attention was focused on the feast and the selection ceremony, he quietly stood up.
"Rhys, you—?" Daphne turned to look at him.
"I'm going to the bathroom. I'll be back soon. Don't make a fuss about it." Rhys's expression was gentle, looking perfectly calm and composed.
"Oh, alright." Daphne nodded, and by the time she turned her head again, Rhys had already disappeared.
Entering the bathroom, Rhys swiftly took out several bottles and jars and began preparing a potion. Just to be safe, he intended to drink a potion that would completely suppress the intensity of his magical power.
For wizards, concealing their own magical power intensity was an extremely difficult thing, because no one normally had any reason to do so. If Helga's crystal ball had been made exceptionally sensitive, then even with Rhys's abilities, there was a chance he could have slipped up. But with the assistance of potions, things were different.
The potion Rhys prepared was, in essence, a type of poison. After drinking it, he would enter a weakened state, and the intensity of his magical power would naturally decrease as well.
That way, no matter how precise Helga had made her crystal ball, it would not detect anything unusual.
Of course, the best strategy was simply not to participate in the selection ceremony at all. That was the real reason Rhys had come to this bathroom.
After drinking the potion, Rhys quietly waited inside the bathroom. He also cast a spell that transmitted the sounds from the Great Hall next door into the room.
The Great Hall was noisy and chaotic, but Rhys did not care.
[Alright, the thirteen contestants have been selected. Everyone should head back and get some sleep now!]
Rhys heard Dumbledore announce the end of the ceremony, and a faint smile appeared on his face.
Rowena, this round was my victory!
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12 Chaps ahead at Patreon.com/HornyFBI