Chapter 318 Maze
Fleur's entangled look was not noticed by others, and the embarrassing words Gabriel said were also fooled by everyone using the excuse of being childish. Soon, except for the Klum family who did not understand English, they were still there. Apart from whispers in the corner, the members of the other three families were all in harmony.
Everyone gathered together to chat. From time to time, Mrs. Weasley and Black would tell some interesting stories from their reading days, making everyone laugh.
Furong's mother introduced some daily life and food about France to everyone. These novel things made the little wizards listen very seriously. At the end, Furong's mother also invited everyone to visit France if they had the opportunity. As the host, she could attend the whole trip. entertain.
Regarding this matter, everyone agreed happily on the surface, but in fact they all felt that Furong's mother was just saying polite words.
(Don’t read some one-sided self-media articles and think that foreigners can’t say polite words anymore. Although they are not as fluent as Chinese people in this regard due to the language environment and other reasons, they can still say polite words in ordinary social situations. Yes. Let me give you an example. For example, if someone greets you with "how are you", most of the time they are just being polite to you and do not really mean to ask if you are doing well. You only need to reply with "fine thanks". That’s enough. If you really tell someone how you’ve been doing lately, it will make them very embarrassed.)
Of all the people present, only the red-haired young man next to Mrs. Weasley seemed to take it seriously. Mike saw him nodding heavily when Fleur's mother said this.
The atmosphere in the conference room was very lively, but Harry was a little unhappy.
At first, he thought that Furong's mother didn't understand English, so he repeated her words to say hello to her, but now it seems that her English is very good.
This made Harry feel like he was being cheated.
But he didn't dare to talk about it face to face, so he could only sulk alone.
Fortunately, Black's attention did not leave Harry when he was chatting with everyone. He immediately discovered Harry's problem, and after being pulled aside by Black to teach him alone for a while, Harry's face finally showed up when he returned. There is a smile.
Everyone was talking and laughing in the conference room all morning, even the Krum family, who had been alone in the corner.
Mike was not surprised at all. Krum was at school and participating in the Quidditch World Cup and training. The days when he could go home must be numbered. The poor Krum couple must not have been reunited with their son for a long time. .
At noon, everyone followed their respective warriors back to the restaurant for dinner.
Black and Mrs. Weasley naturally went to the Gryffindor table, and the Fleur family sat with Mac and Flitwick. As for the Krum family, they went to the Slytherin table. Chris The master made a large space for them alone so that they could talk about old times for a while.
The food for lunch was no different from usual, which was quite surprising to Mike. After all, whenever guests came over in the past, their meals would always be better. Unexpectedly, the school suddenly became tough this time.
The atmosphere at the Ravenclaw table became very heated after the arrival of Fleur and her daughter. Mike, who had been offered as a treasure in the morning, was now collectively ignored by everyone.
Mike originally thought that everyone's attention would be focused on Fleur and her mother. After all, the mother and daughter were indeed extremely beautiful.
But what surprised Mike was that almost everyone was desperately piling food in front of Gabri, and then collapsed in their seats with an 'awsl' expression after receiving a timid thank you from Gabri. superior.
Mike was also happy to see this happen. He had long been a little overwhelmed by the preferential treatment given to his classmates. Now that someone took the initiative to help him share the firepower, he naturally applauded it with both hands.
After enjoying a not-so-luxurious lunch, Mrs. Weasley, Black and others were ready to let Harry take them on a tour of Hogwarts. Fleur, mother and daughter, and the Krum family also disappeared. As for Mike, since Professor Flitwick had to invigilate the exams for senior students in the afternoon, even though he also received an invitation from Black to visit Hogwarts Castle, he still returned to his dormitory to recharge his batteries. Preparing for the evening game.
It wasn't until dinner that Mike appeared in the restaurant again.
At this moment, some changes also occurred in the restaurant. Many professors who did not eat in the restaurant in the past actually appeared in the teacher's seat at the end of the restaurant this time.
In the most conspicuous position in the classroom, in addition to Dumbledore and the other two principals of the magic school, there were two new faces. Among them, the man with a short beard Mike had never seen before, and the other It was Mike's old acquaintance, Minister of Magic, Fudge.
Unlike the cheerful Fudge who usually appeared in public all day long, Fudge, who was currently sitting in the teacher's seat, frowned and looked a little glum.
Also unhappy was Ms. Maxim, who was sitting next to Fudge. Her eyes looked a little red at the moment, and she looked towards Hagrid from time to time.
Mike immediately smelled the gossip. Ms. Maxim was acting too much like a pregnant girl at the moment. If Rita Skeeter were here, the headline of the Daily Prophet tomorrow would definitely be about these two being lovers. Report.
However, Luo Hua deliberately acted ruthlessly, and Hagrid showed no concern for the glances Ms. Maxim cast her from time to time. He buried his head in eating the food on his plate, but what was different from usual was that the food on his plate was But much less than usual.
‘It seems that Hagrid is not in a good mood, and he doesn’t have much appetite anymore. ’
Mike thought as he looked at Hagrid's huge plate and the food inside, although it looked very small, was still enough to feed two adult men.
At the same time, Mike also noticed that Bagman's favorite seat on the teacher's seat was actually empty.
Mike searched around for a moment, and then confirmed that Bagman was indeed not in the restaurant.
Frowning and flipping the food on the plate, Mike had no intention of eating at all. On the one hand, he wanted to stay in good condition to participate in the competition, and on the other hand, he really had no appetite.
Bagman's sudden disappearance left him a little distraught.
Penello, who was sitting next to him, thought Max was nervous because of the game that was about to start. He patted Mike's shoulder and comforted him softly:
"It's okay Mike, you are very good. You will definitely be the winner of the Triwizard Tournament."
Mike smiled and held Penello's little hand in his palm. Just as he was about to respond, he saw that all the plates and food in front of everyone disappeared in an instant.
Then, Dumbledore stood up in the teacher's seat and announced with a smile:
"Ladies and gentlemen, in five minutes, I will invite everyone to the Quidditch pitch to watch the final event of the Triwizard Tournament. Now, warriors, please follow Mr. Alva to the sports field."
Mike wiped his mouth with the handkerchief Penello handed him, and then walked out of the auditorium with the other three warriors amidst the applause of the Ravenclaw students.
Outside the auditorium, the short-bearded man sitting with Fudge was already waiting for them on the steps.
"Hello, I'm Hassan Alva, you can call me Hassan." Seeing Mike and others arriving, Alva said, "I'm replacing Mr. Bagman as the temporary commentator and referee, and then it's up to me. Come and take you to the arena.”
After saying that, Alva made a gesture of invitation, then turned around and prepared to lead the way.
"Is Mr. Bagman sick?" Mike suddenly asked.
Alva seemed to have expected that someone would ask this question. He turned around again and smiled politely at Mike, and then said:
"Oh! You're right, Mr. Townley! Mr. Bagman just submitted his resignation letter to the Minister this morning, on the grounds that he was ill. But I think he may have felt that after that incident, he He is no longer qualified to serve as the director of the Sports Department!"
When he said this, the smile on Alva's face became even brighter. He paused for a moment, as if he was sorting out his words, and then said:
"But someone still needs to do the work he left behind, so as the deputy director, I can only take on this important responsibility!"
After saying this, Mr. Alva immediately raised his head and chest, as if he was waiting for compliments from Mike and others.
But he was destined to be disappointed. After getting the answer he wanted, Mike had already passed him to the Quidditch pitch. Fleur and Krum naturally had no intention of complimenting an official from the Ministry of Magic of the United Kingdom. He also followed behind Mike.
In an instant Harry and Mr. Alva were the only ones left on the steps.
Harry looked at Mr. Alva, who was still waiting for praise, and then at Mike and others who were walking away. He frowned and thought hard for a while, but still couldn't find any compliments in his mind. Finally, He could only give Alva an awkward yet polite smile, and then quickly chased after Mike.
But when Mike and the four of them arrived at the Quidditch pitch, it had become completely unrecognizable.
A hedge twenty feet high surrounded the edge of the field, and there was a gap in front of them, which was the entrance to the great maze.
Harry stuck his head out to look inside, and then retracted faster.
It's dark and scary in here!
Five minutes later, people began to fill the stands. Hundreds of students filed in. The air was filled with excited words and noisy footsteps, and Mr. Alva finally arrived on the field.
He seemed to regard what just happened as Mike's humiliation to him, and glanced at Mike viciously when he passed by Mike and others.
Mike ignored him, his attention now attracted by the sky.
The time now is between sunset and moonrise, and the sky is a clear deep blue, very magnificent.
At this time, Hagrid, Moody, McGonagall and Professor Flitwick walked into the sports field and walked towards Mike.
Their hats were all decorated with large, shining red stars, except for Hagrid, whose red star was on the back of his terry vest.
"We will patrol outside the maze." Professor McGonagall said. "If you encounter difficulties and want to be rescued, just shoot red sparks into the sky and someone will come to help you. Of course, those who accept help will be disqualified from continuing the game. ,have you understood?"
Mike regained his composure and nodded like the others.
"Good luck, Mac," Professor Flitwick whispered.
Then the four of them walked away in different directions and scattered around the maze.
At this time, Alvara's loud voice on the podium also sounded at the right time.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the last event of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin! Let me report the points ranking in front of me, which will determine the starting order of the next warriors. Mike Townley is from Hogwart Ci School is currently ranked number one!”
After Alva said Mike's name, there was an earth-shattering burst of applause and cheers from the stands. The sound was so loud that the birds in the Forbidden Forest flew away.
"Victor Krum, from Durmstrang College, currently ranked second!"
The cheers continued. As a Quidditch star, Krum had as many fans as Mike.
"Next is Harry Potter, also from Hogwarts School, currently ranked third. Fleur Delacour, from Beauxbatons College, currently ranked fourth!"
Compared with the previous two people, Harry and Fleur received much less cheers and applause, which made Harry very disappointed. Although Fleur didn't look strange, her clenched fists still gave her away.
"Now... Mike! Listen to my whistle and get ready to go!" Alva said, "Three-two-one-"
As a short whistle sounded, Mike's wand continued to swing, and he successively added various buffing spells such as the Wind Speed Curse and the Illusion Curse to himself. Then Mike stepped on his feet and completely transformed in the gradually darkening environment. He made a phantom and rushed into the maze at an astonishing speed.
This sudden scene immediately caused a burst of exclamation in the stands.
No one expected that Mike's speed could be so fast. From this point of view, if Mike could maintain this speed and not get lost for too long, the championship would be almost certain.
Thinking of this, the Hogwarts students in the stands immediately burst into unprecedented cheers!
The remaining three warriors at the entrance to the maze all had dark faces. Mike's strength put considerable pressure on them.
In the maze, Mike was still moving at high speed.
The sky was completely dark at this moment, and the moon hung in the sky instead of the sun.
Under the moonlight, the tall hedges cast dark shadows on the path. Perhaps because of the soundproofing magic added here, as soon as Mike entered the maze, the voices of the audience and Alva disappeared.
The surroundings instantly became silent, coupled with the maze formed by hedges.
This reminded Mike of a horror movie called The Shining that he had watched in his previous life.
If you think about it carefully, the situation you are facing now is very similar to the climax of the movie. Everyone is looking for an exit in such a maze made of hedges, and at the same time, they must always beware of dangers that may appear at any time ahead.
It's just that the characters in the movie are facing a mad murderer, while Mike is facing various magic traps arranged by the event organizers.
However, Mike is not the ordinary people in the movie who have no power. He is now a wizard who has mastered powerful magical power!
Mike suddenly laughed when he thought of this.