— — — — — —
Devon, Uk—
On a misty morning in late August, thin plumes of smoke rose from Ottery St. Catchpole village. The Burrow was the same as ever, except today it was especially lively.
Molly went around waking the children one by one.
"Arthur, Percy, hurry up and eat. I've already packed your lunches."
"Fred, if you dare spit out those beans, I'll plant you in the garden."
"Mom! I'm George!"
"That's right, Mom. I'm Fred, your good boy who ate all the beans!"
"That's not important."
Molly shot them a glare. "After breakfast, you two weed the back garden. Ron, go chase that ghoul out of the attic. Then we're doing a full house clean!"
"Why us?" Fred and George protested, pointing at the two older brothers who were snickering. "Why don't you make Charlie and Bill do it? They've been home resting for half a month already!"
"Because we're going to see old friends," Molly replied calmly. "We won't be back until the afternoon."
Bill stood there with his long hair tied back in a ponytail, an earring dangling from his ear. He wore a bizarre mix of leather jacket and ripped jeans, looking effortlessly cool.
George completely gave up. "Fine. Having work is a blessing. Mom, today I'm your full-service house-elf. Use me however you like."
As for Ron, he'd already finished his oatmeal and silently headed upstairs to engage in mortal combat with the ghoul.
"Ginny, sweetheart."
When it came to her youngest daughter, Molly's attitude did a complete turnaround. Her voice softened immediately. "Hermione's coming this afternoon, right?"
"That's right, Mom."
"Then you still have time. Go back to your room and get some sleep. You look exhausted."
Ginny nodded obediently. Before heading upstairs, she shot the twins a provocative look.
Fred and George exchanged glances and sighed in unison.
Sigh… their little sister was way too good at acting. She'd completely fooled their parents.
Resigned, the twins trudged toward the back garden.
The reason Molly was so energized this morning was simple. There would be two guests at the Burrow that afternoon. One was Harry, who had already visited once before. The other was Hermione.
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had originally invited Sirius as well, but with the Quidditch World Cup just around the corner, the Astra Abyssum staff were no less busy than Ministry officials. Even if Sirius usually didn't manage things personally, when he was needed, he never slacked off.
He and Lupin were basically living at the stadium now, sleeping in tents for days on end.
So Sirius had asked the Weasleys to look after Harry for a few days, and they'd all go to the World Cup together afterward.
Hermione, meanwhile, had just finished her alchemy studies. Nicolas Flamel had given her a few days off, so she happily accepted Ginny's invitation to visit.
...
Afternoon, Arthur Weasley rushed home the moment he got off work. He took the twins and Ron to pick people up. Not long after they left, the fireplace suddenly flared green, and Hermione stepped out.
"Hermione, you're finally here!"
Ginny, who'd been waiting in the dining room, ran over and pulled her into a huge hug, practically vibrating with excitement. Hermione beamed, then greeted Molly, who had just come out of the kitchen.
Molly enthusiastically brought out all kinds of snacks for Hermione to nibble on while they waited for everyone else to return.
Ginny introduced Charlie and Bill to her. The two girls whispered to each other, and they didn't have to wait long. About half an hour later, the fireplace lit up again. First came the twins and Ron, and a couple of minutes after that, Harry appeared.
"Have you eaten yet?" Fred asked excitedly as he dragged Harry out of the fireplace.
"I have," Harry said. "What's that thing? That weird-looking—"
"Ton-Tongue Toffee!" Fred announced proudly. "George and I invented it. Haven't had the right test subject until now."
The kitchen erupted in laughter. Hermione was the only one who didn't laugh, her brows knitting together in concern.
Bill and Charlie stepped forward to shake Harry's hand. Bill's style completely overturned Harry's expectations. He'd imagined Bill would be basically another Percy. He hadn't expected him to be this… trendy.
Charlie, on the other hand, instantly earned even more goodwill. Though they'd never met, Charlie had helped a lot with Norbert back in first year.
"How's Norbert doing?" Harry asked.
Charlie paused, then shook his head. "Norbert? The Norwegian Ridgeback? We call her Norberta now; she's a girl. Anyway, she is—"
Bang!
Before the stunned Harry could ask another question, a sharp sound rang out. Arthur suddenly appeared, and Harry had never seen him look this angry before.
"Fred, what exactly did you give him to eat?!"
"Dad, I didn't give him anything," Fred said with an innocent grin. "I just accidentally dropped it on the floor…"
"You did that on purpose! I'm telling your mother—"
"Telling me what?"
Molly's voice came from the kitchen as she directed a stack of dishes to float out after her.
"Nothing, Molly," Arthur said vaguely. "I've already dealt with them."
Molly shot the twins a look. With Harry and Hermione present, she decided to give them some face for now and settle accounts later when no one else was around.
"Go play for a bit, everyone. The soup still needs another half hour."
"I'll show you my room." Ginny grabbed Hermione and dashed upstairs. There was an extra small bed squeezed into the room, making it a bit cramped, but everything was neat and tidy.
"Did Daphne really decide to enter the competition?" Ginny asked the moment the door closed. "Astoria told me Tom already took her home, and now she's acting all mysterious every day."
"It's not just decided. She's definitely going," Hermione replied, her expression equally strange. "At first, Daphne might've just been doing it on a whim. But once Tom stepped in, the whole thing changed."
"So now she can't back out even if she wants to, right?" Ginny said gleefully. "They don't even know what they're in for. You can't imagine how tragic Daphne looks in my head right now."
Hermione couldn't help smiling too.
At that moment, two heads poked through the half-open door. Harry and Ron.
"What competition??" Ron asked curiously.
Ginny's smile vanished instantly. She looked at the two of them with pure disdain. "You do know eavesdropping is rude, right?"
Ron felt wronged and protested, "You didn't close the door properly. We didn't mean to hear it."
"Then you could've covered your ears!"
At that point, Ron felt Ginny had perfectly inherited their mother's domineering streak. He gave up arguing and kept pressing about the competition, but Ginny and Hermione both clammed up and refused to say anything.
"I'm telling you, something's definitely up," Ron muttered as he headed back toward the stairs, saying to Harry, "They know everything and just won't tell me."
Harry hesitated, then lowered his voice. "Well… I might know a little too."
"What?" Ron froze and turned around stiffly.
"Sirius mentioned that Hogwarts is going to be very lively next year, but he didn't give details."
Even Sirius knew?
Ron's brain, rarely this sharp, clicked immediately. "It's Tom and the Astra Abyssum Guild. He's definitely stirring up something big again."
Harry nodded in agreement. They exchanged a look and both saw the same anticipation for the coming school year in each other's eyes.
---
London, Riddle Manor—
In the bathroom on the third floor, Daphne was submerged in a steaming bathtub, only her small head sticking out. A towel rested on top of her head, and her face was scrunched up in misery.
"Tom!" The girl's trembling, tearful voice echoed through the room. "Is it not done yet? The water's still getting hotter. I'm about to be boiled alive!"
"Don't panic," Tom said calmly as he continued adding potion to the tub. "You won't be cooked. At worst, half-cooked."
"Endure it for the sake of getting stronger. Just a few more times and it'll be over."
"Waaaaa, I regret this!"
"Regret doesn't count. Regret still uses up time."
---
The Ministry of Magic—
Crouch was holding a video conference with several magical school headmasters via a Lume-Lens.
"Gentlemen, I believe setting the age limit at seventeen is far too narrow-minded. It stifles the enthusiasm of talented students. Many of them are strong enough already, yet barred purely because of age. That's unfair. I propose abolishing this rule."
"Of course, this isn't just my opinion. It's also Dumbledore's."
The figures on the screen fell silent. Their reactions were exactly the same as Crouch's had been before.
What, was Tom Riddle going to compete? Had Dumbledore lost all shame just to secure a championship?
Crouch read their expressions and immediately added, "Professor Dumbledore asked me to pass this on. Mr. Riddle will not be participating."
That eased their expressions somewhat, but they still didn't agree in the end.
They were convinced Dumbledore had made preparations and was betting everything on a younger student. That was why he was pushing for the rule change.
Vinda Rosier, attending the meeting in Grindelwald's place, twitched an eyebrow—she, too, opposed the change. After a brief pause, she glanced down, her expression shifting ever so slightly.
When she looked back up, her face had completely changed.
"I think it's a good idea," Vinda said with a smile. "The Triwizard Tournament didn't even have an age limit back then. Why add unnecessary restrictions now?"
???
Did you really switch sides that fast? One moment you were opposing us, and the next you're supporting Dumbledore's demand?
What the hell is wrong with the acolytes these days?
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