This person is not right...
Watching as that blue magic eye turned away again, glancing at others, William couldn't help but furrow his brows. Then, sitting at the head, Dumbledore began to introduce this "intruder" to the others, and when William heard the man's name, he quickly remembered this legendary Auror—
Mainly, because in the list of Death Eaters Lucius Malfoy had submitted to him, the name Alastor Moody appeared quite frequently.
Because among the Death Eaters captured and sent to Azkaban, nearly a third of them had "Moody" filled in the column for their captor.
Evidently, this was a wizard with immense magical power, and also a veteran Auror. Although there was definitely a smaller number of Black Wizards caught by him than by William, it wasn't insignificant. Otherwise, Malfoy wouldn't always gnash his teeth in hatred whenever he mentioned this name; it was said that he was tracked by Moody for three whole months—
And clearly, his work was extremely challenging, as evidenced by the loss of an eye, a leg, and the scars all over his body—William remembered that being an Auror was a high-risk occupation, let alone that Moody was active during the First Wizarding War.
So, "We've decided to hire Mr. Moody as our special safety consultant," Dumbledore concluded, and everyone pretty much understood that surviving on the frontline of that wizarding war already spoke for his capabilities.
Only Karkaroff still looked very displeased, but under the scrutiny of these wizards from around the world, he couldn't say much and could only retreat sullenly to his seat without expressing any opinion on the matter.
Took my spot?
William was momentarily stunned, recalling that he was also some sort of safety consultant, although his main task was actually being a referee.
"Yes, Moody, this is our other safety consultant, William Richard."
At this moment, Moody suddenly whispered something in Dumbledore's ear, and after listening, Dumbledore nodded quickly and introduced William, thus the deep blue eye once again fixed its gaze upon William—
Hmm... that sense of dissonance disappeared again?
William relaxed his brow, reached out to shake Moody's hand; his palm was unusually rough, with a scar whose color differed entirely from the surrounding skin looking utterly menacing. He looked at William with his black eye and forced a somewhat stiff smile.
Though the feeling was fleeting, William never ignored his instincts; he withdrew his hand, deciding to find an opportunity to probe.
That madman Voldemort was always lurking outside, hiding in the shadows; he had never forgotten this.
Although he always verbally dismissed the opponent, he knew to despise the enemy strategically while respecting them tactically.
Then, before William could speak to probe, the side door of the hall opened, and this time, two people entered—both familiar faces: Barty Crouch, head of the International Magic Cooperation Department, and Ludo Bagman, head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Both appeared exhausted but forced themselves to muster some energy.
This time, Bagman couldn't shirk his duties, especially since the original Triwizard Tournament had been expanded to include eight teams, naturally making the preparations far more complicated than initially anticipated. Thus, as soon as the Quidditch World Cup wrapped up, both men had to immediately dive into the new task—
The two of them took the remaining two seats, and after a brief exchange of greetings and introductions, the banquet continued.
...
"She's really beautiful."
Ron mumbled, while unconsciously shifting his position to keep sight of the silver-haired girl who had just returned to another round table. Lowering his voice, he said to Harry, "She must be a Veela, just like those we saw at the World Cup—"
"Veela can't attend wizarding schools—"
Hermione immediately challenged, still chewing her dinner. Her brown hair, bothersome while eating, was tied into a ponytail behind her head. Her cheeks puffed like a little squirrel, "But maybe she's a Half-Blood Veela—" With that, she too glanced at the girl's back, "That silver hair is quite rare."
"Yeah, Hogwarts doesn't have girls as pretty as that!"
Ron quickly nodded, but his brainless comment evidently provoked the anger of nearby Hogwarts girls, who turned glowering eyes on him.
"Ha, you only dare to say that here." Ginny never held back in sarcastically mocking her brother, regardless of which brother, "Come on, stop staring at her like an idiot; your drool is about to drip onto Harry's pants."
Harry, in the midst of shaking his leg, froze, instinctively glancing down.
Realizing Ginny's use of exaggerated rhetoric, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief, though his gaze involuntarily drifted toward the girl directly opposite the table.
Looking at the enchanting Asian girl sitting beside Cedric and laughing charmingly, Harry could only heave a deep sigh.
Supposedly a film for three people, yet I...
"Am I wrong?!"
Just as Harry was lost in his sentimental thoughts (overly sentimental since Cho Chang wasn't even familiar with him), Ron was arguing his point, visibly aware of the murderous glances from surrounding girls but he persisted with stubbornly defiant neck, "Harry, what do you say?!"
"I...what?"
Harry was momentarily confused; having not focused on their conversation at all, he was suddenly being addressed, and almost replied, "Me too," but somehow an eerie feeling washed over him so he shut his mouth, answering a question with a question.
"I'm saying, Hogwarts doesn't have girls like that, what do you say?"
Ron repeated, glaring defiantly, sweat sliding down his forehead. If murderous looks could cast Sectumsempra, he might already be minced, but since the ones "lecturing" him earlier was Ginny, his "older brother" pride came to play, holding up the boy's spirit.
"..."
Harry looked at Ron as if he were staring at a corpse. Well, I thought you were my brother, but you treat me like a water ghost, huh? Trying to drag me down before dying? So, the boy frowned and opened his mouth with an "innocent" expression, "Why say that? We do have many pretty girls at our school, like... Ginny..."
Harry's words were dripping with sarcasm, causing the surrounding girls to glare at Ron even more coldly.
"How could you..."
Ron felt deeply betrayed and quickly looked to the other side at Neville for help, but received only a hand raised in front of him.
Neville: We're not close, don't drag me into this.
"Clang—"
On the other side, the spoon in Ginny's hand struck the golden platter harshly. She suddenly buried her head, making Kabuda, who was sleeping above her, raise its head in confusion.
"Squeak squeak (Earthquake)?!"
"There's no earthquake."
Hermione reached out to support Kabuda's butt and placed it on the table. A bewildered Niffler raised a paw to scratch its head.
"Stop making noise, if you had just looked up, you'd see who just came in."
Hermione gently tapped the platter with her spoon. It was then that everyone noticed two additional people at the staff seating. No wonder, these two Ministry department heads came in through the side door, and they didn't have an entrance "effect" like Moody.
"Why are they here?" Harry was somewhat surprised.
"Wasn't it them who organized the Eight-Team Tournament, if I recall?"
After cleaning the food off her plate, Hermione wiped her mouth and then patted her stomach. After a brief hesitation, she pulled over a plate of pudding in front of her, "I guess they want to witness the opening ceremony of the tournament firsthand."
As one by one the golden plates were cleaned anew, Dumbledore stood up. A mix of excitement and tension seemed to fill the hall, everyone feeling a surge of enthusiasm, not knowing what was next.
"The moment has finally arrived."
Dumbledore began, his booming voice echoing around the cloudy ceiling of the hall as he smiled at the upturned faces, "Yes, the Eight-Team Tournament is about to commence. I'll explain a bit first and then bring out the box—"
"Bring what in?" Harry asked quietly.
No one responded to him; everyone was focused on Dumbledore.
"—I will outline the program for our whole school year, but first allow me to introduce some guests, because I suspect there are still some who don't know them. This is Mr. Barty Crouch, head of the International Magic Cooperation Department."
Sparse applause echoed through the hall.
"And this is Mr. Ludo Bagman, head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports."
The applause in the hall grew a bit more enthusiastic, sounding impressive if it weren't mixed with the curses of the Weasley Twins.
"Bagman! Pay back the money!"
"Bagman! Refund the money!"
"Ludo Bagman, do you think you've treated us fairly? Screw you! Refund the money!"
"Thump—"
A huge red banner unfurled above the hall, Peeves excitedly clutching one end, while the other two sides stuck to the walls. The Weasley Twins jumped onto the table, red ribbons tied around their heads with "Pay back the money!" written on them.
The hall exploded in chaos, everyone's eyes focused on the twins and Bagman. Professor McGonagall's body trembled slightly; she tightened her face, trying to stand up, but was gently held down by William, who had somehow appeared behind her—
"?"
Professor Meow turned her head in confusion.
"That guy owes those two lads quite a sum, forty Galleons—"
William explained, he too didn't know these two would suddenly erupt, but, never mind, it's good entertainment.
"Even so, it's still no—"
Professor Meow still intended to get up and stop them, especially with so many people watching.
"Then Bagman paid the debt with Leprechaun gold coins—"
"...What a scoundrel."
Professor Flitwick, who was eating popcorn on the side, suddenly remarked.