While Christian and Hermione were talking about the final exam, Oliver returned with a summons from Professor McGonagall. "You didn't get me in trouble, did you?" Christian asked.
"No, at least, I don't think so."
"You better," Christian warned before following him. Classes had ended, so their destination was Professor McGonagall's office.
"I brought Christian," Oliver said.
"Thank you, Mr. Wood." McGonagall turned her focus onto Christian until she realized something. "You're dismissed."
"Oh," Oliver said before walking out of the room. However, midway to his journey, he stopped and returned to Christian's side: "About the —"
"The answer is still no."
"Oh, come on."
However, Christian ignored him, so Oliver walked dejectedly out of the room. "Professor, why did you want to see me?"
"Why are you putting these things in Oliver's mind?"
"I did no such thing," Christian immediately denied. "We were talking about Quidditch, and I gave him my opinion. I didn't expect him to run to you."
"Well, now your opinion is stuck in his head, and also in mine."
"You're entertaining this?"
"I must admit I am," McGonagall nodded. "Filius and I were contemplating how to use the extra money we will receive from your disk launch, and he decided to hold an official school dueling tournament with a prize. However, I haven't found something to do with my share yet."
"And you're thinking of expanding the school's Quidditch program?"
"My original thought was to buy new equipment for the school, but I'm more interested in your idea," McGonagall nodded.
"I see. Then, why am I here exactly?"
"Oliver was just regurgitating your thoughts, not truly understanding them. I want to talk to you so I can have a better understanding of how to proceed."
"I'm glad to help, but those thoughts are not something that I have clearly planned out. Just random ideas I had."
"That's fine," McGonagall nodded. "Just talk me through all your thought process."
"Alright. First, there is the issue of transportation and the location of the games. I reckon you would need the cooperation of our and foreign ministries to organize such a competition," Christian stated. Traveling can be made simple with the Floo Network or Portkey, but the political aspect of this competition is the true issue.
"I plan to talk to Ludo Bagman and Barty Crouch regarding this competition. That's their department," McGonagall revealed. Ludo Bagman was the head of the Department of Magical Games, and Barty Crouch Sr. was the head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation. They will be the ones organizing the Triwizard Tournament in a few years.
"The second issue would be the broom. I always thought it was unfair how a team could have an overwhelming advantage because they could afford a better broom. Even in international competition, some teams do not have the funds to buy everybody the latest broom model, forcing them to compete at a disadvantage."
"You want to standardize brooms?"
"It would be a great way to force the game to be more about skills than how wealthy someone is."
McGonagall was briefly silent. "That's probably not feasible."
"Why not?"
"You're not the first person with this complaint. Unfortunately, broom companies worldwide have a vested interest in ensuring their products are used in international games. They have used their wealth and power to ensure the rules never change."
"I can't believe even the wizard world faced the problem of lobbying?" Christian was speechless.
"Money has always been a fundamental driving force of the world — no matter which society," Professor McGonagall commented.
"An unfortunate truth," Christian agreed. "Well, that's all my thoughts."
"Hmm," McGonagall muttered. "I'm worried about the student's grade. With such intense competition, they will spend a considerable amount of time training and playing multiple games. How do I ensure they don't neglect their grades?"
"Create a grade standard for eligibility to play. If a player fails to meet the requirement, they can't play or even practice — if you want to be harsh."
"That's a great idea," McGonagall said with a serious expression. "Even if this thing does not work out, I think I may apply such a rule."
"Just don't tell anyone it was my idea," Christian said. He did not want to be bothered by Harry and other team members.
"You don't have to worry about that," the professor reassured. Their conversation had essentially ended, so Christian said his goodbye. As he headed to the common room, he thought about what he should be doing in the week left of school.
'I forgot to check the diadem,' Christian suddenly thought. When Odin's Eye first activated, it absorbed something from the diadem, and Christian never checked what happened. 'I can't go now since I may be discovered, so let's wait at night.' Since he couldn't use the Disillusionment Charm, he risked being discovered by someone.
Christian spent the rest of the day reading and checking on Harry. At night, when most students had returned to their common rooms to rest, he sneaked out to the Room of Requirement, asking for a place to hide things.
As expected, he found the diadem on the floor, but there was something next to it. Christian picked up what resembled a clear orb with silver-gray mist inside. "What's this? And the mist — why is it somewhat familiar?"
The orb felt smooth on his hand, but besides that, he could not tell anything from this thing. 'Maybe Mum will know.' Christian placed the orb inside his bag before looking at the diadem. The murmurs or temptation from the piece of Voldemort's soul were gone.
'Did Odin's Eye absorb Voldemort's soul to activate itself?' That's the only explanation Christian could think of. 'The fact that it could perfectly remove the soul from a diadem without destroying it is impressive even by Vincent's standard, right?'
Christian shook his head since this question was pointless. He had no idea how capable a wizard of Vincent's calibre was — that's how vast the difference between them was.
'I wonder whether the diadem's original enchantment still works?' Christian thought. 'It's unlikely. Unless the diadem was preserved in an area with immense magical energy, it's impossible to last more than a thousand years. And even if it did, the process of becoming a Horcrux would have destroyed the enchantment.'
He observed the diadem for a few more seconds before putting it inside the bag. Christian then sneakily left the room and returned to his dorm. However, he immediately saw a strange bird waiting for him with a letter in its mouth.
Christian squinted before taking the letter. As soon as he finished reading the content, he immediately put it inside his bag. 'Want me to become your new pawn?' Christian sneered. The letter was from Voldemort, who wanted to tempt him to help him in his time of duress with the promise of forbidden knowledge.
'I can imagine how much effort it took to write that letter in your current state,' Christian smiled, not hiding his schadenfreude. He left his room, heading to the Owlery to check on Sango. He missed that calm and fiercely independent bird.
At night, Christian meditated before starting his soul shaping. 'Why is the darkness of the soul even more intense?' Due to his high level of concentration, Christian can usually ignore the darkness of the soul, allowing him to have extra energy to focus on the actual training. However, things were now different.
'Is this what it means that my reality has a low amount of mystery?'
Christian was soon proven correct. Previously, he could move his soul for more than five inches and train for more than 30 minutes before tiring himself out. However, now he could only move an inch, and he would be tired in under 10 minutes.
'No wonder there have only been 3 Grand Sorcerers in the past hundred years,' Christian groaned softly. 'I guess things will take longer than I anticipated.'