The Triwizard Tournament was a friendly competition between the three great magical schools of Europe.
Its purpose was to encourage exchanges between young witches and wizards, strengthen friendships among the schools, and lay the foundation for future cooperation.
For the champions chosen by the three schools, the three tasks were meant to test their overall abilities.
For the teachers of the three schools, however, the three tasks tested one thing above all else: their ability to cheat.
Yes, cheating.
Cheating had always been a tradition of the Triwizard Tournament.
Finding ways to leak information to their own champions, providing assistance, giving targeted training for upcoming tasks, and so on.
A champion who won the Triwizard Cup needed more than just personal ability. The teachers' cheating was just as indispensable.
Charlie Weasley had revealed the content of the first task to Eda in an almost completely open manner.
That was also all Charlie knew. He had no idea what the first task specifically involved. His guess was that the champions would have to get past a dragon and retrieve something.
Why not fight the dragon directly? Probably because it was practically impossible for students to defeat a fully grown dragon, especially a nesting female guarding her eggs. Dragons at that time were several times more dangerous than usual.
After returning to Hogwarts from the Three Broomsticks, Eda spent all her time thinking about how to deal with a dragon.
A slide tackle was definitely out of the question. If she wasn't careful, she'd just slide straight into the dragon's mouth and become a free dessert delivered right to its doorstep.
There was about a week left before the first task. During that week, Eda needed to come up with a practical solution, one that would let her finish the dragon off quickly while avoiding injury herself, so the result would remain perfect.
While Eda lay on her soft dormitory bed daydreaming, Harry quietly slipped out of bed, left the castle, and headed into the Forbidden Forest, where Hagrid was waiting for him.
What Harry hadn't expected was that Hagrid wasn't waiting for him alone. Madame Maxime of Beauxbatons was there as well. Hidden beneath his Invisibility Cloak, Harry somehow ended up as an accidental third wheel.
Still, being the third wheel wasn't entirely without benefits. Harry also learned that the first task involved dragons. By chance, he even ran into Karkaroff in the Forbidden Forest. The Durmstrang headmaster had also come to secretly spy on the dragons.
Cheating. A classic Triwizard Tournament tradition.
Early the next morning, Eda had just gotten dressed and stepped out of the girls' dormitory when she spotted Harry pacing back and forth outside the entrance. The way he wandered around made him look exactly like some creepy guy staring at goldfish.
The moment Harry saw Eda come out, he rushed over, grabbed her by the arm, and pulled her into a corner.
The smoothness of the whole sequence left Eda stunned. Had the kid found out about Cedric and Cho Chang getting together and suffered some kind of emotional shock?
Harry cautiously looked around. It was still early, and there were hardly any people in the common room. Most of them were still in bed. Lowering his voice, he whispered, "Eda, the first task is dragons."
As though worried she wouldn't believe him, Harry added, "I saw them myself last night. They were in the Forbidden Forest outside the castle. There were four dragons, one for each of us."
"You saw Charlie?" Eda asked. It wasn't that she didn't want to tell Harry about the dragons. She had wanted to leave that opportunity to Ron, giving him a reason to reconcile with Harry.
The moment she learned Harry had already seen the dragons, the first person Eda thought of was Ron. She had assumed her emotionally clueless little brother had finally come to his senses.
"Uh... yeah, I did," Harry replied, remembering the mortifying scene from the night before. Hidden beneath his Invisibility Cloak, he had stood right in front of Charlie while Charlie imitated Mrs. Weasley, repeating everything she had said about worrying over him.
Shaking off his embarrassment, Harry continued, "Eda, we're not the only ones who know. Fleur and Krum definitely know too. Madame Maxime went into the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid last night, and Karkaroff sneaked over there as well."
Seeing that Eda remained completely calm and unhurried only made Harry even more anxious.
What's wrong with you? The situation's already this urgent, so why are you still taking it so easy?
Little brother, you're still too young. Big sister will teach you a lesson.
Eda said leisurely, "I met Charlie yesterday afternoon in Hogsmeade, so I already knew about the dragons. Don't make such a fuss. This is perfectly normal. The Triwizard Tournament has another name: the Fancy Cheating Championship."
That completely shattered Harry's worldview. He had always felt that he, Fleur, and Krum had gained an unfair advantage by cheating to learn about the dragons, putting Eda at a disadvantage.
But Harry had never imagined that Eda had actually been the first to receive the information. In the Triwizard Tournament, cheating was considered child's play.
It was something everyone tacitly accepted, as long as your methods weren't so clumsy that everyone could see through them at a glance.
Eda continued, "Yesterday we told Ron about it and hoped he would pass the message on to you. After all, things have been a little tense between the two of you lately, and you needed an excuse to make up..."
"Wait, you said Ron?" Harry asked in shock. "Ron knows about the dragons too?"
"Uh... wasn't it Ron who told you?" Eda covered her mouth. She suddenly felt that her good intentions might have backfired and pushed Harry and Ron even further apart.
Then Eda became angry as well, angry that Ron had let his temper get in the way. Throwing a fit was one thing, but he should at least know what was important and what wasn't.
"No. Hagrid took me," Harry said gloomily. His heart sank lower and lower, as though it had dropped all the way into his stomach.
Speak of the devil. While Eda was talking with Harry, Ron came out of the boys' dormitory with red ears. Normally, Ron would never get up this early, but for some reason he simply hadn't been able to sleep.
The moment Eda saw Ron deliberately ignoring Harry as he entered the common room, she was furious. She shouted, "Ronald Weasley! Get over here this instant!"
Hearing Eda's roar, Ron shuddered involuntarily. Hanging his head, he slowly walked over. At that pace, even his old great-aunt could probably move faster than he could.
"Move it! Didn't eat breakfast or what?" Eda shouted impatiently. "I'll count to three. One... two..."
She hadn't even reached three before Ron had already dashed over to her. Even though he really hadn't eaten breakfast, he didn't dare argue.
Forcing a smile, he asked, "Morning, Eda. Nice weather today. Is... is something wrong?"
"Oh? So polite now, Ronald Weasley!" Eda said. "You've started ignoring what I tell you? Think you've grown wings?"
Every sentence Eda spoke made Ron flinch. When she casually brushed her hair back with one hand, Ron instinctively took a huge step backward. Under her threatening glare, however, he silently stepped back toward her again.
"What did I tell you yesterday? And what did Fred and George tell you? Did you swallow all of it together with your Butterbeer?" Eda said. As she spoke, she grabbed Ron by the ear to stop him from pulling another James Harden-style step-back and escaping.
Watching Eda scold Ron and twist his ear, Harry couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from lifting. He was delighted, and all the uneasiness in his heart vanished.
Serves you right for not believing me! Serves you right for giving me all that sarcasm!
Ron hunched his shoulders and lightly patted the back of Eda's hand in surrender. "You told me to tell Harry about the dragons. Fred and George also told me how dangerous it was for Harry to become a champion..."
"And what did you do? Did you tell Harry?" Eda still didn't let go, though she eased up on her grip considerably.
Harry also wiped the smile off his face and looked straight at Ron. The look clearly said: Come on, look into my bright green eyes and tell me, did you tell me about the dragons?
One person was angrily twisting his ear. The other hadn't said a word, but was obviously just as angry. How could Ron not understand what was happening?
Ron hurriedly explained, "Sis, my dear sis, it's a misunderstanding, really! I did tell Harry, I swear! Please let go first..."
"Eda, he's lying. Hagrid told me. Hagrid took me into the Forbidden Forest," Harry said.
Finally getting a chance to "get even," Harry enthusiastically fanned the flames from the side.
Ron looked at Harry with a pitiful expression and explained, "It really was me! I went to Hagrid's hut, and we talked about Charlie. That's what reminded Hagrid to take you to see the dragons. I'm telling the truth... really!"
Seeing that the poor kid didn't look like he was lying, Eda finally let go. Ron immediately covered his ear and gently rubbed it.
"Quit pretending. I wasn't pulling that hard."
Harry, completely bewildered, asked, "But... but why didn't you just tell me directly? Why go through all those extra steps? How was I supposed to figure that out?"
"I thought you would," Ron said pitifully.
Eda and Harry said in unison, "How was anyone supposed to figure that out?"
...
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