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"Wicked!" Harry exclaimed, having heard the stories before; the man was a living legend in his field! Usually, there was applause that accompanied the arrival of a new teacher. This time however, such was the shock said teacher's appearance caused, that it was only Hagrid, Dumbledore Harry and Severus -the potions master was looking at the man next to him smiling widely and looking every bit the excited five year old he felt, something he would have never allowed himself to look like out in the open a year ago.
"Isn't that the guy your father said blew up some dustbins last night?" Adrian asked Ron, making Harry smile even wider.
"Must be." Ron said and nodded in shock.
"What happened to him? What happened to his face?" Asked Hermione as Harry turned to Neville and explained who exactly Alastor Moody was. It didn't take long for Neville to share his brother's enthusiasm, especially after Harry whispered that he was the same man that had apprehended Bellatrix Lestrange.
Moody seemed totally indifferent to his less-than-warm welcome. Ignoring the jug of pumpkin juice in front of him, he reached again into his travelling cloak, pulled out a hip flask, and took a long draught from it. As he lifted his arm to drink, his cloak was pulled a few inches from the ground, and Harry saw, below the table, several inches of carved wooden leg, ending in a clawed foot.
"Okay, how wicked is that?" Neville asked, looking between the wooden leg and his best friend.
"Very!" Harry agreed, forgetting even the Triwizard Tournament for a second. Only for a second though as Dumbledore intervened yet again, clearing his throat.
"As I was saying," he said, smiling at the sea of students before him, all of whom were still gazing transfixed at Mad-Eye Moody, "we are to have the honour of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year." Finally! Harry thought, exchanging a wide smile with Neville while, at the staff table, Severus looked torn between pride and the ever-present feeling of worrying for his son.
"Merlin help me," he muttered under his breath, watching his son smiling, excited once more.
"You're JOKING!" said Fred Weasley loudly. The tension that had filled the Hall ever since Moody's arrival suddenly broke. Nearly everyone laughed, and Dumbledore chuckled appreciatively.
"I am not joking, Mr. Weasley," he said, "though now that you mention it, I did hear an excellent one over the summer about a troll, a hag, and a leprechaun who all go into a bar…" At that, professor McGonagall cleared her throat, seeing the Headmaster was getting off subject.
"Pity, that was a good joke. Uncle Alvin told it over the summer…" Neville muttered, forcing Harry to feign a cough just to mask his laughter while Dumbledore carried on.
"Er -but maybe this is not the time… no…" said Dumbledore, "where was I? Ah yes, the Triwizard Tournament… well, some of you will not know what this tournament involves, so I hope those who do know will forgive me for giving a short explanation, and allow their attention to wander freely." And he went on explaining about the three schools and about eternal glory for the winner. Such grand words were lost on Harry who saw the Tournament under a completely different light; it was his chance to test himself, to improve and prove at himself more than anybody that all the effort he had put into his studies had paid off.
"Not even the words 'death-toll' have stopped anybody from wanting to compete." Neville stated looking around, a half smirk plastered on his face.
"Come on, Nev!" Harry urged him, The Glint present in his eyes. Neville just chuckled, shaking his head at his brother's antics.
"There have been several attempts over the centuries to reinstate the tournament," Dumbledore continued, "none of which has been very successful. However, our own departments of International Magical Cooperation and Magical Games and Sports have decided the time is ripe for another attempt. We have worked hard over the summer to ensure that this time, no champion will find himself or herself in mortal danger." Dumbledore explained; Harry wondered how the man would feel when he placed his name in the Cup. He had hard time believing Dumbledore had simply forgotten about his emancipation. "The heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving with their short-listed contenders in October, and the selection of the three champions will take place at Halloween. An impartial judge will decide which students are most worthy to compete for the Triwizard Cup, the glory of their school, and a thousand Galleons personal prize money."
"I'm going for it!" Fred exclaimed, his brothers nodding while Ginny looked at them concerned. Still, it was an exclamation most students had made at that point and not only from the last two years either. There was a group of second year students at the Hufflepuff table that seemed quite eager, Harry noted.
"Eager though I know all of you will be to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts," he said, "the heads of the participating schools, along with the Ministry of Magic, have agreed to impose an age restriction on contenders this year. Only students who are of age -that is to say, seventeen years or older- will be allowed to put forward their names for consideration. This" There we go, Harry thought, as Dumbledore raised his voice slightly, for several people had made noises of outrage at these words, and the Weasley twins were suddenly looking furious, "is a measure we feel is necessary, given that the tournament tasks will still be difficult and dangerous, whatever precautions we take, and it is highly unlikely that students below sixth and seventh year will be able to cope with them. I will personally be ensuring that no underage student hoodwinks our impartial judge into making them Hogwarts champion." His light blue eyes twinkled as they flickered over the student body, landing on Harry and staying there a moment longer than on the rest.
HI GUYS IF YOU WANT READ 300 + CHAPTERS THEN VISIT
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