[HP] Stranger things

"Ann! Cedric! Did you see who issued this mark?" Susan couldn't help asking after the express started.Ann turned to Cedric after listening with earplugs.

Cedric's pretty eyebrows frowned, "It's the house elf of the Crouch family. According to my father, it's Harry Potter's wand."

"But didn't Crouch always hate Death Eaters the most. He even sent his son into Azkaban!" Zacharias exclaimed.No one wanted to believe that Barty Crouch had betrayed, and everyone thought it was impossible.If the most loyal Crouch betrayed, it felt that the wizarding world might not be far from being ruled by that person.

No one spoke, and it was Susan who broke the silence. "Hey, little sister, thanks to you, my OWLS results are surprisingly good this time. There are four O's! There are also two E's and one A's. It's a miracle. Well, you and Cedric shut up. O."

Ann and Cedric kept their mouths shut and listened to them happily discussing their OWLS results. This was another way of escaping the reality they didn't want to face.It may be because everyone performed very well this time, talking about the results, I felt that time flies, and the car will arrive soon.

The car door opened, and there was a rumble of thunder in the air.They got off the train, heads down and squinting in the pouring rain.It was raining hard and fast, as if buckets of cold water were being poured over their heads.

At this time, they moved little by little with the flow of people and walked across the dark platform.Outside the station, a hundred horseless carriages were waiting for them.Cedric protected Ann and quickly climbed into one of them, and then he felt relieved, followed by Cynthia and Justin.The door slammed shut, and a moment later, with a violent jolt, the long carriage set off along the path leading to Hogwarts Castle, splashing and splashing along the way.

The carriage passed through the gate with winged boar sculptures on both sides, and drove down the wide driveway, shaking violently due to the strong wind.Leaning against the car window, Ann saw Hogwarts getting closer, and the many lighted windows gleamed dimly behind the thick rain curtains.Their carriage stopped at the foot of the stone steps in front of the two oak gates, and at this moment, a bolt of lightning pierced the sky, and the people in the front carriage had hurried up the stone steps and ran into the castle.The four of them jumped out of the carriage and ran up the stone steps in three steps and two steps. They didn't raise their heads until they entered the cave-like deep entrance hall.Torches were lit in the foyer, and the marble staircase was magnificent.

The people around screamed and pushed each other, all wanting to leave this place of right and wrong as soon as possible.When Ann and Cedric came in, they got a headache from the noise. When Ann looked up, she saw that Peeves, who was fond of mischief, was floating twenty feet above their heads.He was short and wore a hat with bells and an orange bow tie.He took the water bomb and aimed at the target again, the muscles on that mischievous broad face tensed.

"Peves!" cried an angry voice, "Peves, come down!"

Professor McGonagall, Vice-Chancellor and Head of Gryffindor House, burst from the Great Hall.The ground was so wet that she slipped and grabbed Hermione's neck to keep from falling.

"Peves, come down now!" Professor McGonagall yelled, she straightened her pointed hat and stared up through her square-rimmed glasses.

"I didn't do anything!" Peeves giggled, and threw a water pump at several fifth-grade girls—the girls rushed into the auditorium screaming in fright, "Anyway, they're already wet, Right? Hey, little boy! Give me a shot!" He picked up another water pistol and aimed it at a group of second graders who had just entered.

"I'm going to call the Headmaster!" cried Professor McGonagall. "I warn you, Peeves!"

Peeves stuck out his tongue, tossed the last of the water pods into the air, and whizzed up the marble stairs, giggling wildly.

"Okay, let's go!" Professor McGonagall said sternly to the drenched crowd, "into the auditorium, hurry up!"

The auditorium was as splendid as ever, and it had been decorated for the banquet of Xin Xuesi.Hundreds of candles floated above the table, illuminating gold plates and goblets.The four long college tables were already filled with chattering students.There was a fifth table at the top of the auditorium, and the staff sat one by one on one side of the table, facing their students.It's much warmer here.

"Is there any teacher in Defense Against the Dark Arts class this year?" Cynthia frowned and glanced at the teacher's desk.

None of their Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers stayed for more than three semesters.The best of them was Professor Lupine last year, but he was a werewolf, so he had no choice but to resign.

An also frowned. Next year they will face the NEWTS exam. Without a teacher, she can't imagine what it would be like. The teacher of this class is really very important.

The heavy rain was still pounding heavily on the tall, dark windows.Another burst of thunder exploded, rattling the glass windows, and a flash of lightning flashed across the cloudy ceiling, illuminating the golden plate, the first remaining food on the plate disappeared, and it was filled with desserts in the blink of an eye .

"Syrup pie, Susan!" Ann said, deliberately bringing the delicious pie to Susan. You must know that this girl was obsessed with dating during the summer vacation and gained three pounds and now she is shouting to lose weight. "Raisin pudding, look! And chocolate cake!"

At last the dessert was swept away, and the last crumbs of the plate disappeared, and the plate was clean and shiny again, when Albus Dumbledore stood up again.The humming of voices in the hall stopped suddenly, only the beating of strong wind and heavy rain could be heard.

"Okay!" Dumbledore looked at everyone with a smile and said, "Now that we have all eaten and drank enough, I must ask everyone's attention again, and I have a few announcements to announce."

"Mr. Filch, the caretaker, wants me to tell you that this year, a few more items have been added to the prohibited items in the castle. They are screaming balls, toothed flying saucers, and combo boomerangs. The entire list includes about 430 seven items. , can be seen in Mr. Filch's office, and those who are interested can check it."

Dumbledore's mouth twitched a few times.He continued: "As before, I want to remind everyone that students are not allowed to enter the Forbidden Forest on the other side of the venue, and students under the third grade are not allowed to visit Hogsmeade Village."

"I also regret to inform you that there will be no House Cup Quidditch this year."

"What?" Justin looked incredible, but Cedric smiled with an expression I knew a long time ago. Dumbledore continued: "This is because a big event will start in October and last for the entire school year." , took up a lot of time and energy of the teachers, but I believe that you will all get a lot of fun from it. I am very happy to announce that this year at Hogwarts—”

Just then, there was a deafening roar of thunder, and the auditorium door slammed open.

A man stood in the doorway, leaning on a long cane and wrapped in a black traveling cloak.Everyone in the auditorium turned their heads to look at the stranger, and suddenly a forked lightning flashed across the ceiling, and everyone basically gasped.

The lightning illuminated the man's face very vividly.It was as if carved out of a piece of rotten wood, and the carver had only a vague idea of ​​what a human face should look like, and was not very good with a carving knife.Every inch of the skin on that face seemed to be scarred, the mouth was like a big crooked opening, and the place where the nose should be protruding was missing.And the most terrifying thing about this man is his eyes.

One of his eyes was small, black, and sparkling; the other was large, round like a coin, and a vivid bright blue.The blue eye kept moving without blinking, turning up and down, left and right, completely irrelevant to the normal eye—later, the blue eye rolled over and got into the man's head, All you can see is a big white eyeball.

The stranger walked up to Dumbledore.He held out a hand, which was also scarred like his face.Dumbledore shook hands with him and whispered something.He seemed to be asking the stranger something, but the stranger shook his head without a smile and answered in a low voice.Dumbledore nodded, motioning for the man to take an empty seat to his right.

The stranger sat down, shook his head, brushed his long gray hair from his face, and pulled a plate of sausages, holding them up to his mutilated nose, and sniffing them.He took a pocketknife from his pocket, poked it through the end of a sausage, and ate it.His normal eye was fixed on the sausage, but the blue eye was still constantly moving around in its socket, looking at the auditorium and his classmates.

"Allow me to introduce our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher," Dumbledore broke the silence happily, "Professor Moody."

Normally, when a new teacher meets everyone, everyone applauds, but now, apart from Dumbledore and Hagrid, no teacher or student applauds.Dumbledore and Hagrid clapped a few times, and found that the applause echoed in the silent auditorium seemed solitary, so they dropped their hands with interest.The others seemed to be stunned by Moody's odd appearance, and kept their eyes on him.

"Moody? Mad-Eye Moody? The one who was deposed for using the Unforgivable Curse?" Zacharias looked shocked.An's complexion was also not very good. Although she was a good-looking dog, she didn't judge people by their appearance. The main reason was that the professor's appearance and his eyes made her feel scared.

Moody seemed unmoved by the lukewarm response.Ignoring the large pitcher of pumpkin juice in front of him, he reached into his traveling cloak, pulled out a curved decanter, and took a swig.As he raised his arm to drink, his cloak was pulled up a few inches from the floor, and a few inches of carved wooden prosthetic leg emerged from under the table, with a claw-shaped foot underneath.

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "As I said," he said, smiling, looking at the crowd of students in front of him, who were still staring blankly at Mad-Eye Moody, "in the next few months, we will be honored to Hosting a fantastic event that hasn't been held in over a century. It is with great pleasure that I report that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."

"You're kidding!" cried Fred Weasley.

The tension that had been hanging over the auditorium ever since Moody walked in was suddenly broken.Almost everyone laughed out loud, and Bullido smiled appreciatively too.

"I'm not kidding, Mr Weasley," he said, "but since you mentioned joking, I did hear a very funny one about a troll, a hag and a leprechaun, all of them into the same tavern..."

Professor McGonagall cleared his throat loudly.

"Oh, it's probably inappropriate, inappropriate to say that now," said Dumbledore. "Where did I say that? Ah, yes, the Triwizard Tournament. Some of you don't know about the Tournament." What the hell is going on, so I hope those who know the situation will forgive me to explain a little here, and I allow their minds to wander for a while."

"The Triwizard Tournament was created some 700 years ago as a friendly rivalry between the three largest wizarding schools in Europe. The three schools are: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. Each school selects a warrior, and then three warriors compete in three magic items. The Triwizard Tournament is held every five years, and the three schools take turns hosting it. Everyone agrees that it is the friendship between young wizards from different countries. It was an excellent way, but later, there were too many deaths, and the Triwizard Tournament was interrupted."

"Death toll?" Ann whispered, looking around in astonishment.But most of the students in the auditorium were not as nervous as she was, and many were chatting excitedly.Justin was also eager to hear the details of the Triwizard Tournament, not interested in those who died more than 100 years ago.

"There have been several attempts to revive the Tournament over the centuries," Dumbledore continued, "but none of them have been successful. However, we at the Ministry of Magic's Department of International Magical Cooperation and the Department of Magical Sports believe that another attempt should be made. The time has come. We have done a lot this summer to make sure that no one of the Warriors lives is in danger."

“In October, the headmasters of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will lead their hand-picked contenders, and the ceremony to select warriors will take place on Halloween. An impartial referee will decide which students are most eligible to compete. Three-strong cup, to win honor for one's own school, and one thousand Galleons for the individual."

"Hey! Ann, I want to participate!" Cedric said in a low voice from the other side of the table, his eyes full of anticipation.Ann didn't say anything, but she didn't want to.But Ann looked around, and it seemed that he was not the only one who fantasized about becoming a Hogwarts warrior like him.At each college table, Ann could see someone staring at Dumbledore fanatically, or whispering excitedly to their neighbors.But Dumbledore spoke again, and the Great Hall fell silent again.

"I know you are all eager to win the Triwizard Tournament for Hogwarts," he said, "however, the participating schools and the Ministry of Magic have agreed that there will be an age cut-off for this year's competitors. —that is, students over the age of 17 are only allowed to register for consideration. We feel," Dumbledore raised his voice slightly, because some people protested angrily after hearing his words, the Weasley twins He suddenly became angry, "This measure is very necessary, because the competition is still very difficult and dangerous. No matter how many precautions we take, it is impossible for students below the sixth and seventh grades to handle it. I I will ensure that no underage student deceives our impartial judges into becoming a Hogwarts champion." His blue eyes flashed meaningfully as he glanced across the long Gryffindor table, " Therefore, if you are under 17, I beg you not to waste your time applying."

“A delegation from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will arrive in October and will be with us for most of the school year. I know you will all behave when our foreign dignitaries stay here. Warm and friendly, and once the champion of Hogwarts is finally selected, you will support him or her wholeheartedly. Well, it's getting late, and it's important that you walk into class fresh and clear tomorrow morning. Go Go to bed! Hurry up!"

Dumbledore sat down and turned to Mad-Eye Moody.There was a clack, clack, ping, ping, ping, pong, and bang in the dining room. The students stood up one after another, rushed to the two opposite doors, and entered the hall.

Ann and Cedric are once again leading this year's freshmen back to Hufflepuff.Although Cedric was very happy, he still didn't miss an important word.

Still proud to be a Hufflepuff this year.