A bitter smile appeared on Jamison's face—Lord Slytherin's words had made it abundantly clear: he had no room to refuse.
Did he really think a wizard of this level would negotiate with him? Everything he had, everything his daughter had, came from the man sitting before him. The consequences of offending him were not something Jamison could afford.
Besides, the position of Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation wasn't something just anyone could attain—only his own laziness had made him reluctant to accept it.
The reason Rhys wanted to place Jamison in that position was for next year's Triwizard Tournament. It was tied to the dreams he and his friends once shared.
Back then, they had aimed to build the best wizarding school in the world!
But what did "best in the world" actually mean? Muggles had their QS World University Rankings, but the wizarding world had no such thing. And even if there were, such rankings wouldn't convince everyone—you could hardly say which was superior between Harvard, MIT, Oxford, or Cambridge.
Likewise, Hogwarts would probably be severely penalized for its Defense Against the Dark Arts curriculum.
If it came down to reputation among wizards, it would still be difficult to determine a clear winner. Every region believed its own magical institution was the best.
The only one Hogwarts could confidently beat in terms of reputation might be its North American counterpart, Ilvermorny. After all, that school was directly descended from Hogwarts, and Hogwarts naturally had the upper hand over it.
Since there was no way to determine the best by ranking or reputation, Rhys thought—why not settle it with a large-scale tournament? Let any school, any magical institution, send their best students to compete at Hogwarts… until a true winner emerged.
And to prevent certain people from claiming it was merely a "victory of prodigies," Rhys didn't intend to limit the number of participants—if Hogwarts swept the top three spots, no one could say it was just because they had a few geniuses.
If other schools still weren't convinced, Hogwarts would even welcome duels between professors, to prove that its faculty was the strongest. With Dumbledore and Helga Hufflepuff sitting in as anchors, it didn't matter how many challengers showed up—they were bound to lose.
Rhys hoped that next year's tournament would solidify Hogwarts' status as the top wizarding school in the world. Dominating just the three European schools wasn't enough—if they were going to do it, they would aim for number one globally.
Of course, to realize all of these plans, Mr. Jamison would have to put in double the effort. That was also why Rhys wanted him to become Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation. Bringing this tournament to life required the full support of that department.
However, if Jamison was truly resistant to it in his heart, Rhys wouldn't force him. After all, the workload involved in organizing such a tournament would be immense, and it needed someone genuinely committed to see it through. It was just that, in Rhys's view, Jamison was the only one truly capable of making it happen. If he refused, the plan might have to be shelved entirely.
"I'll speak with Bones," Jamison finally gave in. He agreed to Rhys's request.
"Excellent." Seeing that Jamison was willing to take on the burden, Rhys was genuinely pleased.
"Once you take office…" Rhys began to lay out his vision, sharing the full scope of his plan with Jamison so he would understand just what kind of responsibility he was taking on.
"So that's it!" Jamison slapped his thigh in realization. Now he finally understood why Lord Slytherin was so intent on interfering with the Triwizard Tournament—because this competition could directly elevate Hogwarts' standing!
As a founder of the school, such a temptation was impossible to resist.
"It'll also be a rare and valuable trial for the students," Rhys added one more sentence before Mr. Jamison left.
Jamison nodded to show he understood. He knew his two daughters would most likely be participating in the tournament, but he had confidence in them.
Watching Jamison's figure disappear through the doorway, Rhys, whose mouth had gone dry from talking so much, picked up his teacup again and took a sip of the now lukewarm tea.
And immediately frowned again. He had thought that being thirsty might make it taste better, but the tea was still barely drinkable. He really didn't understand why every Wizard was so insistent on coming here.
After wrapping up the next steps with Jamison, Rhys left the tea shop and returned to the school—he needed to meet with Helga and Rowena as soon as possible.
...
Half an hour later, deep within the Hogwarts dungeons—
"So, Salazar, what is it exactly that you needed? Why did you suddenly ask me to come down here—I haven't even finished grading the students' assignments!" Helga Hufflepuff complained with mild annoyance. She wasn't like a certain old snake who lazed around all day and had his students doing his homework for him.
She was very busy!
Rowena Ravenclaw also looked at her old friend with curiosity. She knew full well the habits of these two—if they were coming to her together, it was probably something big.
Facing the urging of his two old friends, Rhys calmly asked them a question: "Have you heard of the Triwizard Tournament?"
Naturally, people from the 10th century wouldn't have heard of a tournament that only began in the 13th century, so Rhys gave them a simple explanation of its rules.
When Helga and Rowena learned that it was a competition between the "three oldest magical schools in Europe," both of their eyes lit up.
Just like Rhys, they were quite interested in such a competition.
But then Rowena quickly caught onto one problem: each school could only have one champion.
Her gaze immediately sharpened. Of course, she hoped her student would be the one to represent Hogwarts in the tournament—Salazar's two apprentices were suddenly a threat in her eyes. As for Helga, who still didn't even have a single apprentice, she didn't consider her a competitor at all.
"But I think only letting three schools participate is rather small-minded, and limiting each school to just one champion feels a bit unreasonable…" Fortunately, Salazar's next sentence redirected Rowena's attention before she could start spiraling with ideas.
After hearing Rhys's full plan and all the effort he'd put into it, both Helga and Rowena gave him a round of applause.
"Salazar, well done!"
"It's an excellent plan!"
Both of them were full of praise for Rhys's idea.
The goal of "making Hogwarts the number one magical school in the world" was incredibly appealing to them as well—it had been the shared dream of the four founders.
"Is there anything we can do to help?" Helga asked enthusiastically.
When it came to Hogwarts' honor, she couldn't possibly let Salazar fight this battle alone. Since Salazar had come up with the idea and had even placed his people in the Ministry to push it forward, Helga felt she couldn't just stand by and do nothing.
"Try persuading Dumbledore. Since Hogwarts will be the host of the tournament, his attitude is crucial," Rhys assigned the most important task to Helga.
"No problem!" Helga replied with great determination.
_______
Read 12 Chapters ahead:
Patreon: HornyFBI