Chapter 743
Year-End Banquet
Chapter 743 Year-End Banquet
"Yes, yes, of course I'll go!"
Michael exclaimed excitedly, "The Alchemy Tournament, like the Quidditch World Cup, is held only once every four years! It's one of the most prestigious international competitions in the magical world! I've only ever heard of it before, never witnessed it! I can't miss such a great opportunity!"
As the group headed towards the auditorium, Ryan, upon hearing this, asked curiously, "Even if Wade doesn't attend, you can still buy a ticket and be an audience member, right?"
"Don't you understand this?"
Michael stepped back to face the group, shaking his finger as he said, "The Alchemy Tournament is different from the Quidditch World Cup; it's by invitation only."
"The contestants are young alchemists who have made a name for themselves in the past four years and are directly invited by the organizing committee. The audience is limited to wizards who have received gold leaf invitations, but contestants and judges can bring their friends and family!"
"Moreover, those who receive invitations are usually academic luminaries, celebrities, high-ranking officials, big businessmen, and representatives of pure-blooded families, as well as a few famous editors and journalists. Ordinary people simply don't have the opportunity to buy tickets to attend, and may not even know that this competition exists!"
Ryan stroked his chin: "So mysterious?"
Wade explained, "After all, alchemy isn't like transmutation or spells; there's no direct competition between the contestants, and the matches aren't that exciting. Without some knowledge of alchemy, watching these kinds of matches would mostly be quite boring."
"Moreover, many alchemical products can only be appreciated by getting up close. If there are too many viewers, most people will have to sit there for hours without understanding the criteria for judging them."
“But on the field, I thought your alchemy was quite spectacular!” Ryan said. “Even without the subsequent battles, it was a feast for the eyes.”
Wade smiled and said, "Everyone's alchemy process is different..."
“Hey, stop being modest!” Michael put his arm around Wade’s shoulder and pointed at Ryan, saying, “So, only this guy got invited to be the referee—he’s not even in the same league as the others!”
Everyone nodded in agreement, and then Theo said, "Actually, I think this alchemy competition should be different from previous ones. Even if we don't have the chance to go to the event in person, we should be able to watch it live on the streaming platform..."
“That’s so boring! If Wade isn’t on the judging panel, watching the alchemy competition live is less interesting than watching a Muggle talk show!” Michael asked with concern, “Wade, do you know how many friends and family members a judge can bring?”
"The invitation states that judges can bring seven people, contestants can bring five people, and invited audience members can also bring one companion..."
Before Wade could finish speaking, the group stepped into the auditorium and exclaimed "Oh!" in unison.
Inside the auditorium, the usual distinct colors were gone, replaced by a sea of silver and green decorations to celebrate their return to the Academy Cup after three years.
"Wow……"
After a two-second pause, Michael couldn't help but exclaim again, "This scene... it's been so long..."
At the end of their first year, they also saw Slytherin banners hanging all over the Great Hall.
However, Dumbledore then gave the students extra points for their daring adventure in the Chamber of Secrets, ultimately allowing Gryffindor to win the championship.
For the next two years, Gryffindor won the Quidditch tournament every year due to Harry Potter's outstanding performance, to the point that it felt like red should be the color to celebrate the start of the holidays.
Wade couldn't help but blurt out a pointless question: "Slytherin won the House Cup this year?"
“Obviously,” Michael asked. “What are our Ravenclaw scores?”
Wade: "...How would I know?"
The two looked together at their reliable Hufflepuff companion.
"Uh..." Theo looked embarrassed. "Well..." "Got it, we're last, right?" Michael asked nonchalantly. "What about Gryffindor?"
Before Theo could speak, a voice came from behind them:
"Ravenclaw 341 points; then Gryffindor 355 points; Hufflepuff 386 points, and finally Slytherin... 507 points."
Hermione walked over and said, "You're last, we're second to last."
Theo gave a wry smile.
Harry and Neville, standing next to Hermione, both seemed a little angry, and Ron couldn't help but mutter, "It's all because of Snape... He keeps giving Slytherin extra points—Malfoy even got ten extra points for cutting the narcissus root well! The other houses are getting their points deducted!"
Harry couldn't help but mutter, "If only Professor McGonagall would side with us someday..."
"What? Forget about it!" Hermione walked towards her seat. "You're more realistic about hoping for a different Potions professor next semester!"
Wade and Michael exchanged a glance, both with the same nonchalant expression.
Since it was the year-end banquet tonight, the group did not sit at the same long table, but instead walked towards their respective colleges.
Wade ignored the stares directed at him and sat with Michael at the front of the long table, with Anthony on his other side, his imposing figure immediately blocking out all other gazes.
"Strange, very strange," he said. "The Slytherins don't seem very happy!"
Indeed, at the Slytherin table, apart from a few younger students who seemed quite excited, most were silent. Some even looked at the green decorations overhead with mocking expressions.
In this atmosphere, even the Slytherin students who wanted to celebrate fell silent with unease. After a few whispers among themselves, a silent gloom began to spread across the long table. Thus, the group that should have been celebrating the most found themselves in the most oppressive atmosphere.
"Since our fathers are in Azkaban, there's no way we can celebrate, right?"
Padma on the other side whispered.
Michael shook his head: "Not everyone's father has been arrested. I think they're definitely connecting it to what happened in first grade..."
He winked at everyone, his meaning couldn't be clearer.
—When Slytherin thought they had won the championship, suddenly losing that honor was even more humiliating for them than finishing at the bottom of the class.
The reason these people remain silent is probably because they fear history will repeat itself.
Padma suddenly realized and looked at Wade: "I remember... Wade and Harry won the league championship, and... and they thwarted that person's plot, and the school hasn't given them any extra points yet!"
Michael nodded, his smile knowing.
Anthony's eyes widened: "How many points would it take to match your combined record? Five hundred? One thousand? Honestly, I'd think any number more is reasonable!"
"No wonder Slytherin was like that," muttered Cho Chang nearby. "It's better to have never had something you're destined to lose sooner or later!"
Wade's heart sank. He looked at the Slytherin table, then at the teachers' table, regretting that he hadn't paid attention to the house grades and hadn't talked to Dumbledore sooner.
In his view, the score for the competition could be left unaddressed—the Ministry of Magic had already rewarded it with Galleons and honors; or it could be added in advance to secure the champion before tonight, but it shouldn't be changed at the last minute before the banquet begins.
Under his watchful eye, the teachers' seats gradually filled up, and once all the students had arrived, Dumbledore stood up, and the Great Hall gradually quieted down.
(End of this chapter)