Chapter 284: Fourth Year
King's Cross Station.
After Yad dropped Sean at the station, Sean firmly insisted he return home, not wanting the attention that came with his protective presence.
Sean didn't wait long on the platform before Blaise, Jensen, Andy, and the others made their characteristically late entrance.
The friends had barely begun exchanging summer stories when Aldrich appeared with two children, eleven or twelve years old. They approached Sean directly and bowed before Aldrich announced, "Young master, these are the children who will be attending Hogwarts this year."
Despite their obvious nervousness and reverence, the two children (a boy and girl) stepped forward bravely to introduce themselves.
"Y-young master, hello. I'm Daisy Byrne."
"Hello, young master. I'm Duke Byrne."
Reaching out to pat both children's heads, Sean looked at the somewhat excited pair, knowing that Aldrich had very likely made these children see him as an idol or saviour-like figure. Connecting this to their surnames, Sean looked at Aldrich: "Aldrich, are these two siblings? Or perhaps sister and brother?"
"They are sister and brother, but they're not blood-related. Byrne is just a surname we gave them. Since they're coming to Hogwarts together, they'll be siblings from now on."
Crouching down, Sean looked at them and couldn't help thinking of Caesar, wondering if Caesar would awaken magical power. If Caesar could also awaken magic when he came to Hogwarts, he'd probably be like these two children.
Thinking of this, Sean's smile became increasingly gentle. He reached out to gently stroke Daisy and Duke's heads, saying softly: "After entering Hogwarts, if you encounter something you truly can't handle, you can come find me and I'll help you. But my suggestion is that unless there's really no other way, you should try to rely on yourselves as much as possible, because you only have yourselves. Do you understand what I mean?"
Seeing Daisy and Duke nod heavily, Sean smiled and once again patted their heads, then stood up and looked at Aldrich, asking quietly: "Aldrich, how are the preparations for the Fidelius Charm I asked you to prepare?"
"Young master, we're ready. When I return, we'll use the Fidelius Charm with me as the Secret-Keeper."
"Mm, prepare well. The situation in the magical world will become very troublesome in the future. You must ensure your own safety."
"Yes, young master. I understand."
Aldrich didn't ask what troubles there would be.
But he was very clear that anything his young master treated so seriously must be very troublesome indeed. So he had no doubts. Whatever his young master instructed, Aldrich would do his utmost to comply.
The Hogwarts Express's whistle sounded, telling students on the platform to prepare to board.
Hearing the whistle, Aldrich took Daisy and Duke to join the first-year students, making it easier for them to make friends. As for Sean and his group, they went directly to the front carriages.
Sitting in the compartment, Blaise looked at the slowly starting train: "I wonder if we can win the Quidditch Cup this year. I heard there are some very talented prospects in second and third years."
"It's impossible to win the championship this year."
Hearing Sean's words, Blaise was stunned and turned to look at Sean in surprise: "Why? I think this year's Slytherin Quidditch team is pretty good. Surely we don't have no chance at all?"
"It's not a question of having chances or not. Hogwarts won't be holding Quidditch matches this year."
"Why?" Blaise looked at Sean incredulously.
"Because of the Triwizard Tournament. This year Hogwarts will be hosting the Triwizard Tournament!"
"The Triwizard Tournament?"
Both Blaise and Jensen looked at Sean in surprise.
But Andy looked much calmer, obviously already knowing about the Triwizard Tournament.
Sean didn't keep them in suspense and directly explained to Blaise and Jensen: "This year our Hogwarts, along with Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, will be hosting the Triwizard Tournament. So Hogwarts' Quidditch matches will be suspended for a year. As for the Triwizard Tournament, basically representatives from the three schools are chosen to go through some trials and challenges, and the final winner will obtain the Triwizard Tournament championship.
Actually, to put it simply, this competition is about the three schools competing against each other in strength. The school that wins the championship naturally stands above the other two. The three European schools present a united front externally, but internally there must be a hierarchy. The Triwizard Tournament is one channel for competing for that hierarchy."
The magical world wasn't just Britain, nor just Europe.
The magical world was global, with Europe being just one part and Britain just a corner of it. Hogwarts was the only magical school in British magical society, but in the global magical world, it was just one of eleven magical schools. Without Dumbledore, Hogwarts would have nothing special about it.
After Sean's explanation of the Triwizard Tournament, Blaise let go of his obsession with Quidditch and instead began looking forward to the excitement of the Triwizard Tournament.
Last year's term opening had been overcast with dark clouds because of Dementors.
This year's term opening was still overcast with dark clouds, but this was purely due to the terrible weather around London.
The train arrived at the station, and students gradually disembarked.
At this point, heavy rain had begun falling from the sky. Sheets of rain poured down on the students, quickly turning them into drowned rats.
The older students were fine. The magic they had mastered could handle problems brought by such extreme weather. But for younger students, the problems brought by such extreme weather were very troublesome.
"Impervius!"
Lightly waving his wand, his body became dry and comfortable again, with rainwater falling on him quickly flowing to the ground.
Then Sean raised his wand, and an umbrella appeared from the wand tip. Holding the umbrella, he boarded a Thestral-drawn carriage and headed directly toward Hogwarts castle. As for the new students, they still needed to take boats through the rain to reach Hogwarts.
Getting off the carriage, Sean and the others walked into Hogwarts castle. But just then, Sean saw Peeves throwing water balloons at students who had just entered the castle, while Professor McGonagall was angrily scolding Peeves. However, this had little effect, and she herself slipped on water from a balloon that had fallen to the ground. If she hadn't grabbed Hermione beside her, she might have fallen quite hard.
Seeing this, Sean directly drew his wand and lightly waved it in Peeves' direction!