Chapter 293: Triwizard Tournament
"I do not recommend that you take all the children of the Dueling Club to Beauxbatons."
Snape refuted Grindelwald's instigation.
When Lockhart arrived at his office, Old Snape was busy with the finishing stages of a "Venomous Draught"; he was throwing a Runespoor with two heads into the cauldron.
A Runespoor has three heads; one of this one's heads had been bitten off by the other two quarreling heads.
"Now is the era of Dumbledore and Grindelwald." He stared at the Runespoor tumbling and struggling in the cauldron, his tone faint, "But the future will ultimately be our era."
As he spoke, he drew his wand and tapped the cauldron; the Runespoor suddenly twitched several times as if it had been hit by the Cruciatus Curse, instantly curling into a ring and remaining motionless. "I know you have many fanatical fans, but..."
He raised his head, looking at Lockhart who was munching on an apple. "The future's most accomplished followers will undoubtedly emerge from the Dueling Club you teach; they will become the backbone of this society, going to various Ministries of Magic, various magic schools, and various international organizations."
"The benefit of leaving a portion at Hogwarts is that you will retain your future influence over Hogwarts."
As their friendship deepened, and as his heart was no longer closed, Snape gradually revealed those qualities that were valued by the two big bosses, Voldemort and Dumbledore.
The part he spoke of was something Lockhart had never thought about.
"Is that so?"
Lockhart's expression was somewhat strange. "Grindelwald took Gregory Goyle; this child will transfer to Durmstrang Institute next school year."
Snape continued adding some medicinal powder into the cauldron. "It seems the effort you poured into little Crabbe allowed Grindelwald to see some potential for the future development of pure-blood families."
Lockhart did not dare take the credit. "No, Grindelwald has always been very good at excavating talent."
"You are as well."
The corners of Snape's mouth curled slightly. "You might not know, but Fudge is now like a preening peacock, showing off everywhere how he found the magic path belonging exclusively to him...opened by the 'Bubble-Head Charm'...under your guidance."
Preening peacock...
What a familiar term.
For some reason, Lockhart remembered the scene where he previously mentioned to Snape that Voldemort had the title of "Half-Blood Prince."
Yo, you stingy man.
Playful~
Weekend, Hogsmeade Village, Lockhart's small building next to the Hog's Head Inn.
On this day, the young wizards of the Dueling Club gathered here.
Today's protagonist was...Ron Weasley!
"Gentlemen! Gentlemen!" Fred, clutching a thick stack of manuscripts, jumped onto the table, waving frantically to everyone. "Please allow me to show everyone an extraordinary achievement!"
George put his arm around Ron, shouting very proudly from the side, "Ron from the Weasleys, my brother, he successfully researched the language for communicating with Matagots! Cat-talk!"
"This is a great step forward in the history of magic!" Fred shouted excitedly. "Following Gobbledegook, Mermish, and Parseltongue, the appearance of the fourth beast language! Right here! Right now!"
"It wasn't a Matagot," Ron countered weakly from the side, his face flushed red. "It was the 'Hajimi' cats bred by the Professor."
"This is a great moment!" Fred shouted. "In the history of magic, the invention of Gobbledegook was the beginning of human wizards officially integrating into the magical world in ancient times; Mermish was the beginning of ancient wizards conquering oceans and lakes; Parseltongue deeply influenced the development of ancient runes and mysticism..."
"And now, Cat-talk!"
Fred looked down at the manuscript and read, "'Hajimi Cat-talk: Basic Communication Terms,' compiled by Ron Weasley; it marks the beginning of another new era!"
What new era?
The young wizards of the Dueling Club were all very clear on how this new magical creature, the Hajimi, bred by Professor Lockhart, would change this era.
The young wizards loved these chubby, tiger-like cats far too much.
It possessed an extremely pure, magic-imbued beauty similar to that of a werewolf cub, making people unable to help but marvel at the wonder of the Creator.
"Fred, stop talking, bring it down and let us try!"
Hermione, Ginny, and Luna...these young girls...could not wait any longer, urging the feverishly boasting Fred to quickly bring the manuscript down to share.
Angelina, Alicia, and Katie, known as the Gryffindor "Three Musketeers," went as far as directly bringing over a Hajimi, watching expectantly.
Oh~
Fred could refuse Hermione and Luna, but he could not refuse his sister Ginny, and even more so, he could not refuse Angelina.
That was the Angelina both he and George liked very, very much.
For a time, the young wizards were very boisterous.
Excited shouts rose and fell.
But this liveliness belonged to them; it did not belong to Draco.
He did not like the Weasley family at all and did not want to see the revelry of the red-heads in the Dueling Club.
Thus, he took Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle to a corner and found Professor Lockhart, who was sitting lazily on the sofa watching the snowy scenery outside the window.
"Professor, I heard..."
Draco looked back at the young wizards in the distance and asked in a low voice, "You are going to serve as the Headmaster of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic?"
Lockhart raised an eyebrow; this kid was so well-informed?
Currently, only a few people probably knew about this matter.
Oh~
He looked at Goyle, who was following along, and realized: Goyle was going to follow Grindelwald to Durmstrang; he presumably learned the news because of this.
"Yes, but it has not been announced to the public yet." Lockhart nodded. "You know, when things are not yet finalized, it is best to keep a low profile in order to achieve success."
Draco quickly made an "I will keep the secret" gesture by his mouth, yet could not help but ask, "Can I go with you?"
"You?" Lockhart was stunned, sizing him up.
"You will definitely take Crabbe with you; I don't want to stay at Hogwarts alone. More importantly, I want to continue learning from you!"
Draco's attitude was very sincere; after thinking, he pulled his little girlfriend Pansy beside him. "She too."
The shrewd little Slytherins were good at seeking out the best living environments.
But they were still too young; some words were truly embarrassing to say out loud.
The biggest reason they firmly chose to transfer came from Lucius's teachings to his son..."You should firmly follow Professor Lockhart; he is the future and the guarantee of the Malfoy family's future glory."
Thus, some matters reached a decision even without needing to be discussed with Lucius.
Not to mention, the Malfoy family, the Lestrange family (where Draco's aunt Bella was), and the Black family (where Draco's uncle Sirius was) all had a certain level of influence at Beauxbatons.
Follow Professor Lockhart to Beauxbatons!
The clever Malfoy knew what to do.
He also gave his little girlfriend Pansy a hand; she likewise came from the Parkinson family of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, and her father served in the Ministry of Magic as Lucius's ally; he believed the adults would agree with his judgment.
Lockhart picked up the black tea on the small round table and tasted it.
He did not answer immediately.
He had to consider Dumbledore's attitude toward this matter, and finally, he nodded.
"You can!"
Just as Grindelwald had said during their political discussion at the mushroom house bonfire gathering: "The most valuable part of pure-blood theory is that pure-blood families believe they are nobler than some people, so they naturally accept that some people will be nobler than them. Then we can easily drive them, and they are very willing to accept it."
Why not?
"Great!" Draco excitedly exchanged looks with Crabbe and Pansy.
Goyle, to the side, opened his mouth, wanting very much to say that since everyone was going, could he be taken along too? But for some reason, as soon as this thought arose, a hair-raising sense of fear began to emerge from the bottom of his heart.
As if the Great Dark Wizard Gellert Grindelwald were staring at him.
Lockhart glanced smilingly at Goyle, sensing the slight magical fluctuations erupting from him, but said nothing.
He had some considerations.
Since he had decided to go to Beauxbatons and already had some firm followers, certain arrangements had to be made.
He scrutinized Draco carefully and finally asked, "If I hand the Hajimi breeding base over to you, can you do a good job?"
He had originally intended to hand this matter over to Ron, but Ron was busy with the research of the Hajimi language, neglected the breeding of the Hajimi, and had not shown much talent in this area.
Likewise, Lockhart did not see any talent for breeding magical creatures in Draco either.
But he saw the power of the families behind these pure-blood children; perhaps this would be one of the most important driving forces for promoting the Hajimi.
This belonged to the binding of interests.
"I am willing to try." Draco's eyes lit up, and he quickly stated his position again, "No, I mean, I will do my best to do it well!"
He had this confidence.
Unlike classmates like Harry, he better understood how to utilize the power of his family.
There were ways to recruit a group of Magizoologists to come and help; he believed he could do this well.
"Very good." Lockhart expressed his satisfaction.
He stood up and called the young wizards together to open a meeting.
The main discussion was the progress of the various major projects developed by the Dueling Club.
Everything was in the starting stage.
First was the Quidditch Dueling competition; currently, there was only one training base, and it had only just begun.
This project was led by Percy; he was about to graduate and intended to be responsible for this matter full-time.
This competition would procure great political resources for him.
Its potential for "cultivating a wizard army" was enough to give him plenty of cooperation opportunities with the Department of Magical Games and Sports and the Auror Department of various Ministries of Magic and the International Confederation of Wizards.
Percy had two assistants: Draco and Hermione.
Draco was mainly responsible for external liaising alongside him; Hermione mainly assisted him in managing internal operations.
Of course, the beginning of everything is difficult; Percy was currently having a headache over which angle to cut in from to start the operation of this activity.
"The three major magic schools are about to restart the Triwizard Tournament." Lockhart thought for a moment and gave a direction. "Headmaster Dumbledore and Headmaster Grindelwald have discussed it; they hope to hold it on an unprecedented scale."
He looked at Percy. "You can go to the three major magic schools to self-recommend the Quidditch Dueling sport mode, striving for the support of the three headmasters to let this sport become one of the segments of the Triwizard Tournament."
Percy became excited. "Yes, we can start from the magic schools; the Triwizard Tournament...this will be an event watched by the whole world!"
His personality was rigid and he often lacked groundbreaking thinking, but he was extremely capable when working within a framework; he immediately had a line of thought.
"I will contact student representatives of the other two high schools as soon as possible, in the name of student exchange, to also pull together a training team within Beauxbatons and Durmstrang."
"Then I will take those results to talk with the Headmasters!"
Draco instinctively glanced at Professor Lockhart, knowing that this man would next be the Headmaster of Beauxbatons, and was clear that this matter should go very smoothly.
Thus, he acted very proactively. "I will help you; I know many outstanding students from those two schools. With their participation, the training teams will be established very quickly."
Hermione's mind was the best among the three, especially during this period when she had learned a great deal about Muggle world sporting events; her belly was holding an unknown number of ideas.
"We should launch star players; that is the most attractive way to get attention!"
Speaking, she stood up. "Hogwarts has Harry Potter; he was discovered for his Quidditch talent by Professor McGonagall in his first year, and he is the Savior...everyone knows him!"
"Durmstrang Institute has Viktor Krum! He..."
For many young Hogwarts wizards, this was clearly an unfamiliar name; many people showed looks of doubt.
Ron even exchanged a look with Harry, with an expression of 'Who is this, to actually be listed together with you, the Savior?'
"Even though he is still a student, he is already an internationally renowned Quidditch athlete!" Hermione was proud of the rich data and information she had prepared, showing off the information she knew that others did not. "He is the Seeker for the school team, and simultaneously the Seeker for the Bulgarian National Quidditch team, and will participate in the Quidditch World Cup held this summer vacation."
Good heavens.
Such a fierce general.
Suddenly, it seemed even Harry was somewhat insufficient by comparison.
This was something Harry could not do: emerge undisputed from a school team, then go on to join a national team, and finally represent the country to participate in the World Cup.
Ron's expression twisted as if he had just swallowed a piece of dung-flavored chocolate.
Harry, on the other hand, took it quite well; he did not like his conspicuous "Savior" title at all.
Especially after knowing some things, every time he heard this title, he would always think of the true savior...his deceased mother.
The young wizards discussed intensely.
Lockhart, sitting at the head, was thinking: it was estimated that the "Quidditch World Cup" everyone was looking forward to this year would not be held; Grindelwald would not allow this grand-scale international event to consume everyone's attention and enthusiasm in advance.
But undoubtedly, this would be the most appropriate starting point for "Quidditch Dueling," the first project of the Dueling Club.
From this perspective.
Perhaps becoming the Headmaster of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic was his best choice.
Hitching a ride on the "Triwizard Tournament," the other three projects of the Dueling Club could likewise obtain rapid development.
Project Two: Hajimi Pets; person in charge: Lockhart; assistants: Draco and Ron.
Project Three: Full-industry-chain Dittany Pharmaceuticals; person in charge: Cedric; assistants: Crabbe and Luna.
Project Four: Magic Item Laboratory; persons in charge: George and Fred; assistants: Angelina, Alicia, and Katie.
Everything, seemingly just like that, became unknowingly bound with the "Triwizard Tournament" of the next school year.
In the afternoon.
Lockhart specifically took the young wizards to patronize the Hog's Head Inn next door.
Compared to Honeydukes Sweetshop, Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop, and the Three Broomsticks Inn that the young wizards often frequented, this was undoubtedly a place the young wizards usually did not dare to visit.
In the filthy, dark pub, those coming and going were all sorts of people who did not dare show their faces; just crossing the tables, they heard no fewer than three illegal things being discussed.
But clearly, these students of Lockhart's were not afraid of these dark wizards.
In fact, when some ill-intentioned gazes fixed upon this group of chirping "young chicks," a tall and handsome figure walked in, and all gazes were nervously retracted.
Gilderoy Lockhart!
It was said he had used an extremely terrifying spell to kill over a thousand dark wizards at once.
Killed them as if he had no psychological burden.
Cruel!
Ferocious!
Terrifying!
Very terrifying!
Many people even directly dropped drink money and tips on the table and slipped away quietly.
"If you come a few more times, they won't dare to come and patronize my little shop." Aberforth wiped a glass that looked a bit greasy no matter how it was wiped, complaining, "You, boy, have a reputation in some places that isn't very righteous."
Lockhart shrugged indifferently. "Give our young wizards some Butterbeer, and some snacks."
Aberforth lazily waved his hand to let the tavern attendant do the work and pulled Lockhart to a corner.
"I heard you're going to be the Headmaster of Beauxbatons?"
???
Lockhart blinked, not knowing how so many people knew this news.
"Gellert Grindelwald..." Mentioning this name, Aberforth had a face full of loathing and resentment, full of displeasure. "He is conducting a massive purge of opponents at Beauxbatons; given that he is already the Headmaster of Durmstrang, many people feel this matter is being taken too far; that is not a place he should be managing."
Lockhart was stunned. "There is such a thing?"
"I went to find Albus to ask him why he wouldn't manage it; only then did he tell me that Gellert is paving the way for you."
Aberforth sneered, full of malicious speculation. "That's how I knew you were going to be Headmaster, but I don't think Gellert is so kindhearted; he just always was full of malice toward the French magical world and is intentionally using your name to cause trouble."
Oh~
Understood.
Lockhart realized, weighing his words. "Someone found their way to you? Hoping you could help?"
Aberforth nodded. "We can never guarantee that we are always right, so we should allow some voices of opposition to serve as a constant alert to ourselves."
Lockhart could not make a guarantee, only promising, "I will go find out about it."
He always suspected that in this matter, Old Dumbledore was playing the good cop while Grindelwald was just playing the bad cop, waiting for his reaction.
How to avoid direct conflict with them, yet still firmly maintain his own position...this was a field of study.
He needed more intelligence.
"You should care more about things outside the school." Aberforth reminded him with deep meaning. "Have you heard? Rita Skeeter was almost killed by Gellert."
"???" Lockhart's eyes narrowed, and he asked with feigned surprise, "Ah? Why?"
Aberforth chuckled, full of banter. "She intended to report the news of Gellert committing evils at Beauxbatons; haha, she thought Gellert was as easy to bully as Dumbledore."
As he spoke, he spread his hands. "I heard she screamed that she was your person; only then was she let go by Gellert."
"So I say, a new era has truly arrived."
"You shouldn't just be a professor, nor should you just be a headmaster; you understand my meaning?"
"This is the well-intentioned advice given to you as a neighboring old man."
Aberforth concluded sarcastically, "Remember, Albus and Gellert are neither of them good people!"