In the end, Rita Skeeter couldn't quite adapt to this fresh style of video interviewing, and her prowess in "making things up" was largely diminished—
Ah, what a pity...
Seeing the Speedwriting Quill still embellishing details, William sighed—and afterward, nothing unexpected happened in the magic wand check, except when the girl from Uagadou pulled out a "bat" roughly as long and thick as her arm, which made Mr. Olivander's eyes twitch, nothing else noteworthy occurred.
"...I feel like she's planning to use that stick to beat us all up."
As they left the room, Cedric and Harry walked together whispering, while William stayed behind to brainwash (cross out) teach Rita some "Journalism Knowledge" from thirty years ago, so he didn't follow them. It was still class time as the nine champions walked through the quiet corridors, distinctly forming several camps.
Harry, of course, was with Cedric, and due to Hogwarts' "cheating," the champions from the other schools evidently didn't want to associate with them.
The "Miss Veela" from Beauxbatons was speaking with Krum, while the "egotist" from Ilvermorny walked ahead of them, occasionally chipping in a remark. Meanwhile, the "Golden Snitch" from the Magic Institute and Castelobruxo's "Cauliflower" were whispering together.
Besides them, there were two more who appeared out of place—
The "Brown Bear" Alexander Vladimir and the "Ascetic Monk" Abebe Hailu had no intention of chatting and walked one in front and one at the back of the group.
These nicknames had spread among the students over time, and one had to say, they were quite fitting.
Even Harry had earned the nicknames "Gryffindor's Savior" and "Cheater"—but Cedric, on the other hand, didn't hear any nicknames about himself. With his reserved personality, not having showcased much of his capabilities, being just somewhat handsome, this champion didn't draw much attention compared to those flamboyant ones—
"Don't worry, they'll all see your strength eventually! Just that we still don't know the true nature of those events..."
Now, it was Harry's turn to "comfort" Cedric. Harry was quite aware of the other's strength, given they were both part of the same Duel Club, and Cedric was always the leading figure—
Wait, speaking of the Duel Club...
Harry blinked, realizing there was still a week until the first event of the Eight-Team Tournament, and tomorrow was Saturday, with a Duel Club meeting in the afternoon. Given William would be the referee, he certainly knew the details, he could subtly ask about it then—
It's not like he hadn't thought about it before, but William had been busy with the live broadcast details, even though it was said to be fully delegated to Mundungus, certain crucial points William wanted to oversee personally, as it directly related to his wallet size—
Forget about Voldemort, the Savior... anything messy blocking my money-making path gets beaten to death!
So, in these past few weeks, Harry hadn't even seen William much, and seeing him in the castle today was somewhat beyond Harry's expectations.
However, in last week's Duel Club, he heard Professor Lupin mention that William might return this week for a session, and considering Hogwarts' two champions were in his Duel Club, the content of this activity spoke for itself.
Harry shared his guess with Cedric, who also felt the likelihood was high, thus time slowly crept to the afternoon of the next day in anticipation—
"What do you mean you're not going tonight?"
Staring at Hermione half lying on the sofa reading a book, Harry blinked, shifting his gaze away from the book's title—he had to mention, lately the books Hermione read seemed increasingly strange, like these recent ones—
"On the Importance of Revolutionary Programmes for Organizational Action", "How to Lead a Revolution", "America's Civil War Chronicles"...
What's she reading these for? Planning a rebellion?
"Senior said tonight's champions' special event..."
Hermione raised her head with a lackluster voice, a pair of large dark circles around her eyes.
Harry was stunned, looking for confirmation from Neville nearby, who, noticing the gaze, also looked up from trimming excess branches from his seventeenth Devil's Snare, nodding affirmatively.
"Meaning tonight it's just me and Cedric?"
"Ha, you're really overthinking..."
"?"
Soon, Harry found out what he had overthought, because as soon as he stepped into Underground Classroom No. 5, he saw several semi-familiar faces.
Fleur Delacour, Alexander Vladimir, Daniel Stephens, Piero Hamilton, and that Yamamoto Senren... apart from Durmstrang's Krum and Uagadou's Hailu, the rest of the champions were all seated in the classroom—
"Great, everyone's here."
William nodded, standing up from behind the lectern, clapping to draw everyone's attention, then snapped his fingers lightly, and the classroom door closed automatically, "I've gathered you here today, naturally for the first event of the tournament happening a week from now—I'm here to spill the beans."