Chapter 555: Yodel's Small Money-Making Tips (Edited)

Fred and George: ?!

It was the first time they had been called naive.

"Hey, George, I can't believe someone just called us naive." Fred winked at his brother.

"Fred, we should write this day on our tombstone: 'On September 1st, 1994, Tom Yodel called both of us naive.'"

They both burst into laughter.

Tom watched them silently. Soon, under Tom's concerned gaze for the disabled kids, Fred and George stopped laughing.

"So, Yodel, what are you trying to say?"

Tom sighed and said quietly, "So, do you think the 'impartial referee' Dumbledore brought is a living person?"

Fred and George simultaneously furrowed their brows. They hadn't really considered that possibility. Now that they thought about it carefully, the referee might not be human.

"If it's not a person, wouldn't it be even easier to fool them? Let's not forget we have aging potion—"

"I mean, Dumbledore can prevent students under seventeen from participating in the first place. He just needs to make a list!" Tom interrupted Fred's fantasies.

Yes, magic and the referee were unnecessary at all. As the headmaster of Hogwarts, Dumbledore had enough time to collect students' birthdates and simply forbid those under seventeen from enrolling.

Tom used Fred as an example. Let's suppose Fred somehow managed to make his physical age reach seventeen and break the first age detection line. After enrolling, he would trigger the detection mechanism left by Dumbledore. Eventually, after detection, they would find out that Fred Weasley was on the blacklist, and his enrollment would be automatically canceled.

These were the two security measures left by Dumbledore. The first one was to select students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, and the second was to get rid of those mischievous Hogwarts students. If one wanted to bypass these two barriers, they could only look for an error, like informing the Goblet of Fire that the rules had changed, there were four schools, and the fourth school had only one participant...

After hearing Tom's explanation, Fred suddenly understood and then regretted that Dumbledore was cheating. In the simplest and most basic way, he had snatched away their opportunity to enroll himself and George.

"This is so unfair!" George said angrily. To him, Dumbledore had ruined their mutual agreement by using dishonorable methods.

"Wait a minute, there's still a loophole. Dumbledore knows we're not old enough, but he doesn't have the final say. According to what Dumbledore said, it seems the referee will only select the most suitable person from among those enrolled. So, in reality, Dumbledore can only prevent us from enrolling... In that case, whether the referee is real or not, we have a way to exploit it. We're both experts at finding loopholes." Fred was not willing to give up.

"For example, what you mentioned about the blacklist, George and I could temporarily change our last names to 'Weaseley' or something." George quickly devised a countermeasure.

Seeing that Fred and George were determined to participate, Tom couldn't say much more and just let them make fools of themselves.

"I don't understand why you insist on entering such a dangerous competition. Didn't you hear what Dumbledore said? Many people have died in the Triwizard Tournament." Hermione was worried.

"It's true, but he also said that they would be prepared this year. Besides, life always needs a bit of adventure as a balance. George and I ventured into the Forbidden Forest in our first year... By the way, Tom, if you had the chance to enter, would you participate?" Fred said casually.

Upon hearing this, Hermione looked at Fred, who seemed carefree. Somehow, seeing the carefree attitude of these two, Hermione got angry, as if she were possessed by Professor McGonagall.

She decided she was going to give these twins some trouble.

"If Tom and Harry can enter, what makes you think the judges will choose anyone other than them?"

Fred: !!!

After pondering Hermione's words, Fred thought she had a point. If he were the judge, he would also choose Tom as the champion.

Fred and George sighed, Hermione's words almost made them give up on the idea of competing.

"In reality, the chances of you two becoming champions are very low, but you could prepare in advance and gain some advantages in the selection."

Tom's words caught Fred's attention. He wanted to become a champion mainly for the high privileges and the 1,000 Galleons he would receive if he won.

Now that there was an opportunity to make money, Fred wasn't going to let it pass.

"Think about it, it seems like everyone is very interested in who will become the Hogwarts champion. Why not take advantage of it? You could bet on who will be the Hogwarts champion and get shared profits."

Tom didn't mention the odds because he was worried that Fred and George weren't good enough at math to handle such complex operations, and he feared it would end up like Bagman's time.

"The key part comes afterward. Once the champion is announced, you could immediately create merchandise related to the champion and sell it. For example, brooches with the champion's name and words of encouragement, fireworks that form the champion's name... Moreover, you could also include the surprise boxes we mentioned earlier." Tom spoke enthusiastically, giving Fred and George ideas for making money. Both of them nodded excitedly, eager to follow Tom back to Ravenclaw Tower.

After parting ways with the twins, Hermione shook her head. She felt that the students were too obsessed with commercial activities and were straying from the right path.

"Are you going to enter if they really find a loophole?" She frowned at Tom. In her heart, she was determined to talk to Professor Flitwick if Tom really planned to enter.

Tom shook his head. He had no intentions of becoming a champion, as according to his plan, he could play a much more interesting role...

After correctly answering the question at the door, the wooden door to the Ravenclaw Common Room swung open, revealing a familiar and cozy atmosphere. Outside, the storm raged on, and the rain pounded against the tower's windows, making the common room even warmer.

Hermione and Tom bid each other goodbye and headed in opposite directions. Hermione went towards the girls' dormitory, while Tom ascended the stairs to his dormitory.

In the room, there were six canopied beds lined up against the wall, each with blue curtains. Everyone's suitcases were already placed at the foot of their beds, looking very neat. Perhaps because he had spent a long time chatting with Fred, Tom's roommates had already climbed onto their beds and closed their curtains to rest. Tom didn't say much either, he climbed onto his bed quietly and prepared to rest. At that moment, he realized that the system he hadn't paid much attention to for a long time seemed to be showing some changes as the new semester began.