Chapter 277: Match Day

With Alaric's Ultimate Exam Guide, all written exams were a breeze for Cho Chang.

Alaric felt that if he sold exam preparation materials, he would make a fortune in the wizarding world.

In practical exams, Cho Chang was obviously more confident.

Since being able to transform into a dragon, her mastery and manipulation of magic had greatly increased.

Practical exams were just a piece of cake for her.

Two weeks flew by.

The O.W.Ls exams finally ended, followed by the end-of-term exams at Hogwarts.

Then, on the evening after all exams were over, the third task of the Triwizard Tournament was to be held.

The arrival of the competition relieved the champions, regardless of whether their results were good or bad.

The burden of the Triwizard Tournament was about to be lifted from their shoulders.

However, trouble found Harry one morning.

During breakfast, as usual, Ron received the morning edition of the Daily Prophet from an owl.

After opening the newspaper, he nearly spat out his drink in shock.

"No way, of all days, it had to be today, that old hag," Ron muttered indignantly, glaring at the headline.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked. "Is it Rita Skeeter again?"

"No," Ron tried to hide the newspaper.

"She wrote something about me, didn't she?" Harry asked.

"No," Ron said unconvincingly.

But before he could stop Harry from seeing the paper, the news was already spreading across the Great Hall.

Malfoy also held a copy of the Daily Prophet, loudly reading,

"Harry Potter—disturbed, emotionally unstable."

"Special correspondent Rita Skeeter reports:

The boy who defeated the Dark Lord appears emotionally unstable and potentially dangerous.

Recent shocking evidence reveals strange behavior by Harry Potter, raising doubts about his suitability for participating in such a high-stakes competition as the Triwizard Tournament, or even attending Hogwarts.

"The Daily Prophet exclusively reveals that Potter frequently falls ill at school, claiming pain in his forehead scar (a scar left by the curse of the Dark Lord attempting to kill him).

Last Monday's Divination class saw Potter storming out of the room, claiming the pain in his scar made it impossible to continue.

"Experts at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries suggest that Potter's brain may have been affected by Dark magic, insisting that the pain in his scar indicates significant mental instability…"

"Hey, Potter! Potter! How's your head?

You okay? Not going to go berserk on us, are you?" Malfoy mocked Harry.

Crabbe and Goyle joined in, tapping their heads with their fingers and making crazy faces, even sticking out their tongues like snakes.

Slytherin students snickered, turning to see Harry's reaction.

Harry forced a casual smile, but inside, he felt a dark cloud looming.

His scar had been hurting very frequently lately, as if... as if something was about to happen.

Before breakfast ended, the champions were informed to gather in the meeting room.

The champions' relatives were invited to witness the final task, a chance to meet them.

Fleur Delacour stood up from the Ravenclaw table and walked into the meeting room with Hermione.

Shortly after, Krum lazily followed suit.

Harry sat still, not wanting to go. He had no relatives—no one willing to come watch him risk his life.

But just as he was about to get up and head to the library to study some spells, the meeting room door opened, and Fleur poked her head out.

"Harry, come on, they're waiting for you!" she called.

Before entering the meeting room, Harry remained puzzled.

Indeed, the Dursleys hadn't come—ever since his godfather Sirius Black regained his reputation, Harry preferred staying at Number 12, Grimmauld Place in London rather than Privet Drive.

If his godfather counted as family, he would prefer Black to come.

As Harry had thought, his "family" turned out to be Black.

Additionally, Lupin and the Weasleys had also arrived, making the meeting room lively.

In addition, in the meeting room, Viktor Krum stood in one corner with his black-haired parents, speaking rapid Bulgarian.

He inherited his father's hooked nose.

On the other side, Fleur chattered incessantly in French with her mother.

Fleur's little sister, Gabrielle, held her mother's hand.

Only Hermione stood alone in a corner, with Alaric accompanying her to prevent her from feeling too lonely.

Unlike Harry, though Hermione's parents were present, they were Muggles and, according to the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, were not allowed to be exposed to anything related to wizards, let alone attend the Triwizard Tournament.

On this point, the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy indeed seemed quite ridiculous.

However, soon Alaric had his own business to attend to.

Upon learning that Fleur's parents wanted to meet him because their daughter had taken a liking to a Hogwarts boy, they insisted on seeing Alaric.

Ignoring Fleur's attempts to stop her, her mother came to Alaric herself and struck up a conversation with him.

Fleur inherited her allure from her mother.

In fact, her mother's allure was even more pure than hers, despite being over forty years old, she still looked like a beautiful woman.

Talking with his "future in-laws" made Alaric somewhat embarrassed.

It was the first time he had such a close interaction with a girl's parents, and even someone as powerful as him felt a little overwhelmed in this situation.

However, Alaric quickly took control of the conversation.

Though essentially a researcher, Alaric did not feel overwhelmed by them.

After the conversation ended, Fleur's mother greatly appreciated Alaric in front of her husband and daughter, believing her daughter had chosen a very outstanding partner.

Of course, she still knew nothing about other girls, and Fleur herself knew nothing.

Finally, Alaric and the Delacour sisters accompanied their parents on a walk through the castle, which took up an afternoon, before returning to the Great Hall for dinner.

Ludo Bagman and Amelia Bones, head of the Ministry of Magic Law Enforcement, sat at the teacher's table.

Since the disappearance of old Barty Crouch, at Alaric's request, Mrs. Bones, though unaware of the reason, had taken over the subsequent work of the Triwizard Tournament judge, and was now one of the judges.

Alaric definitely had his own purpose in doing this.

According to the original book, tonight's game would be the beginning of Voldemort's rebirth, and Alaric's plan to defeat Voldemort and take control of the Ministry of Magic will also begin.

Alaric's collaborator, Mrs. Bones, main role was to inform this matter to the Ministry of Magic.

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