The events that took place in the auditorium at noon quickly spread throughout the entire castle.
Every single Gryffindor student was thrilled, thinking that there was finally someone in the castle who could make Snape feel afraid.
Because even Professor McGonagall had never managed to make Snape deduct points from his own house, let alone leave him without a word of rebuttal.
For a time, Professor Alastor Moody's reputation soared to new heights in Gryffindor, and the deeds of the Weasley Brothers were spun into several versions, passed along by word of mouth among the students.
It could be said that the reason this matter spread throughout the school in less than half a day was in large part thanks to Gryffindor.
But the cost was that their house points began dropping at an alarming rate, as if the hourglass in the auditorium had sprung a leak—the points plunged by more than half in just a few days.
It wasn't until Professor McGonagall finally couldn't stand it any longer and stepped in to warn a few people that things temporarily came to a halt.
One weekend in mid-November was the second Hogsmeade weekend of the school year. The students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang were also invited to visit this famous wizard village.
The shopkeepers seemed to have received the news ahead of time as well, adding plenty of foreign elements to their stores.
For example, at Honeyduke's Sweet Shop, there was a row of dancing frosted macarons at the most prominent spot right by the entrance, as well as a barrel of flaming syrup apples.
Gladrags Wizardwear also had long dresses with a French flair and elegant fur cloaks available.
At the Three Broomsticks, Kael saw through the window that Ms. Maxime was sitting with Hagrid, drinking a kind of blue wine—which he'd never seen before—from goblets the size of small buckets.
Between the two of them, they took up the largest table in the shop.
"Kael, I think you should really stock up on these."
After arriving at Zonko's Joke Shop, Fred, without even asking, forced an entire crate of dungbombs onto Kael.
"Exactly," said George. "We might not know what the competition task is yet, but whether you need to duel or go after some sort of creature, dungbombs are the most effective tool."
"Just one little one..." Fred raised his eyebrow. "Is enough to take down a dozen people, and the more confined the space, the better it works."
"Of course, the premise is that you're prepared and have used a Bubble-Head Charm," George reminded him.
"Forget it." Kael put the box back on the shelf. "The rules already said we can only use what's in our hands—our wands. There's no way you'd be allowed to bring this sort of thing in."
"What?" Fred frowned, disgruntled. "That's really not fair..."
But Kael actually thought it was pretty reasonable.
Honestly, if you really wanted to, it wasn't impossible; you could always use a Summoning Charm... but Kael felt that dungbombs were best left unused. Otherwise, he'd probably go down in history as the smelliest Champion ever.
That's really not the kind of reputation you'd want.
That night after returning to the castle, Fred and George were still grumbling about the principals' strict rules, insisting that the contest would be a lot less fun if you couldn't use props.
The next day, after breakfast, Kael—as usual—headed to the Charms classroom on the third floor.
"Before we begin today's lesson, let's review the Summoning Charm," said Professor Flitwick. "While it's a very simple spell, it frequently appears on O.W.L. exams, and you simply can't get by without it in daily life."
His gaze lingered on Kael for a moment before quickly darting away.
"If you ever need something and don't have time to fetch it, the Summoning Charm is the perfect solution..."
For the next ten minutes, everyone began practicing the Summoning Charm as Professor Flitwick had instructed.
Until the classroom door was knocked upon.
It was Ginny—she slipped into the classroom.
"Yes, Miss Weasley?" Professor Flitwick asked.
"Sorry, Professor, but Mr. Bagman asked me to bring Kael downstairs. All the Champions have to go," said Ginny.
"Of course, not a problem." Professor Flitwick smiled at Kael. "Go on, then, we aren't learning anything new today."
Kael nodded, handed his textbook to Conna beside him, and got to his feet to head for the door—everybody's eyes on him as he left.
"This is so amazing, Kael—you're Hogwarts' Champion now." The moment the door closed, Ginny burst out, "Mum was absolutely thrilled when she heard. She said she's definitely coming to watch you compete. Bill and Charlie said they're going to ask for time off to come too."
"The first task?" Kael asked, puzzled.
"Mum's definitely coming to all three tasks." Ginny replied. "But who knows about Bill and Charlie. They're so far away, I guess they'll probably wait for the last one."
"Oh, we're here. Good luck." said Ginny—they'd already arrived at a room.
Kael knocked and went in.
It was a rather small classroom, the desks pushed against the back wall to leave a space in the middle. At the front were three tables placed side by side, covered with a long length of velvet.
Ludo Bagman was sitting beside them, chatting with a witch in a magenta robe.
Krum and Fleur had already arrived, standing nearby.
"Ah, our last Champion!" Bagman stood up. "Come in, nothing to worry about, this is just the wand-weighing ceremony and a few photos. This is Rita Skeeter... She's writing a little article for the Daily Prophet about the Tournament."
This was Kael's first time meeting the famous—or perhaps infamous—Rita Skeeter.
After all, plenty of people hated her, including Chris, who had been slandered by her articles before.
"Ludo, before we start, may I speak with Kael for just a moment?" Rita Skeeter said. "He's the youngest Champion, you know... It'll give my piece a little color."
"Sorry, Miss Rita Skeeter." Before Bagman could speak, Kael cut in, "I think we'd better check the wands first. I still have class to get to, you know."
"Ah, quite right..." Bagman said loudly, "With the Tournament coming up, every class is important."
Rita Skeeter's face darkened, and she stared right at Kael.
But Kael acted as if he hadn't noticed her at all.
"You were lucky not to agree," Fleur whispered. "Ms. Maxime warned me to beware of her."
"She's right," said Kael.
Soon, Professor Dumbledore pushed open the door. Following him were the other three judges: Maxime, Karkaroff, and Chris.
Last to enter was Olivander, the owner of the Diagon Alley Wand Shop.
"Looks like everyone's here."
Dumbledore sat behind the tables covered with velvet.
"Allow me to introduce Mr. Olivander. He'll be inspecting your wands to ensure they're in perfect condition before the contest."
...