"Wade!"
Before Wade could answer, he heard someone calling his name from behind.
He turned around and saw Fred and George, their heads covered in grass and reeking of dragon dung, walking wearily from the direction of Hagrid's hut.
"Fred, George?" Wade asked, surprised. "What were you two doing out so early?"
"Oh, we got a little curious about the carriages Mahoutokoro brought last night," Fred said.
"—And we were kindly trying to feed that old man some bread," George interjected.
"—Only to be caught by Professor McGonagall."
"'Don't tamper with the guests' transportation! Mr. Weasleys, why is it always you two!'"
George mimicked Professor McGonagall's stern tone: "'Gryffindor, twenty points from you! And after dinner, go see Professor Hagrid, he needs your help with some work!'"
"—'Perhaps some work will burn off your excess energy!'" Fred concluded, then spread his hands. "So we went to build a fence for the Abraxans—"
"—And clean up stinky dragon dung from three dragons!"
"—And elephants! Do you know how big of a pile they can make at once?"
"Stop!" Wade quickly made a stopping gesture, frowning. "I'm about to go eat breakfast, gentlemen!"
"I just want to gnaw on carrots this morning," Fred lamented.
"I think you two need to go back to your dorms and shower more," Wade said expressionlessly.
"Alright, good suggestion," George said, reaching out. "Wade, lend me your broom, I really don't have the energy to climb the stairs."
Wade's broom hadn't been returned to his dorm yet, so he handed it to Fred. He watched the two brothers wobble on one broom, flying crookedly towards Gryffindor Tower. Their erratic trajectory made one worry they might fall out of the sky.
Fortunately, the Weasley brothers' flying skills were excellent, and they successfully made it into Gryffindor Tower.
As Wade entered the castle, he saw the Triwizard Cup placed on a stool in the center of the Entrance Hall. If it weren't for the blue and white flames burning inside, its crude craftsmanship would likely have deterred anyone from looking at it twice.
At this moment, the Durmstrang students were queuing up to cast their votes, their expressions serious, their movements decisive, while the Ilvermorny contingent waited behind them.
Each time a name was thrown into the flames, the flames rapidly turned red, spitting out sparks.
At some point, Theo and Ryan had also arrived in the Entrance Hall. They saw Wade and approached him, carrying a stack of parchment.
"Wade, have you seen Hermione this morning?" Theo asked.
"No, why?" Wade asked.
"Great, take a look at this." Theo handed Wade a sheet of parchment from the stack he was holding.
Wade took it and glanced at it, discovering it was Hermione's newly written initiative. It used vivid words and pictures to describe the plight of House-elves, the various injustices they suffered, and a few isolated examples of House-elves rebelling due to abuse by Wizards. It concluded by calling on everyone to treat House-elves kindly.
Then Ryan cleared his throat and recited as if from a script: "Dear friends, every life deserves respect, and House-elves are no different. They too yearn for care, for respect, and loyal, capable House-elves deserve all of it!"
"Treat House-elves kindly, and you can gain more loyal service; abuse House-elves, and they will grow weary of work, or even flee and rebel! Improving the quality of life for House-elves benefits both them and ourselves!"
"We suggest everyone start with small things: give House-elves enough food and water, provide them with a comfortable place to rest, allow them to dress decently, and don't force them to do things they don't want to do…"
Wade couldn't help but crack a smile: "Are you two helping Hermione hand out flyers? How did she convince you?"
Ryan looked up at the ceiling, and Theo gave a wry smile: "I don't know what happened, but somehow we just went along with it."
"Well, her approach now is much better than her previous plans," Wade said, folding the initiative and putting it in his pocket.
Both groups had already cast their names. Wade casually tossed his own parchment in and walked into the Great Hall with Theo, chatting as they went.
His actions were so natural and unforced, utterly different from the solemn or grand gestures of others, that even Theo, walking beside him, didn't notice, still talking about Hermione's S.P.E.W.
"Hermione says this is a good opportunity, with the other schools here, to spread the idea of improving House-elf welfare worldwide."
Theo said, somewhat troubled, "Of course, I think her idea is great, but everyone else just sees us as crazy and foolish."
Ryan, however, said, "It doesn't matter if people think you're crazy for sticking to what's right—I never understood why Hermione was a Gryffindor before, but now I finally get it."
Upon entering the Great Hall, everyone noticed that the decorations had been changed to a Halloween theme. The candlelight overhead glowed green, a large swarm of live bats flew around the ceiling, and hundreds of small figures carved from pumpkins were placed in various corners of the hall.
Mando and Mahoutokoro students were already at breakfast, but this time, the dining hall hadn't prepared a variety of foreign foods for these international students. Many frowned at the roasted potatoes or steaks on their plates, looking displeased.
Wade and his two companions casually sat at the Hufflepuff table. Macmillan leaned in and said, "See those Mahoutokoro students? I heard the youngest among them is only thirteen!"
"Thirteen years old and participating in this competition?" Ryan asked, surprised. "Aren't they afraid of danger?"
"Don't underestimate the people from that school. I heard they start school at seven. So even though they sound thirteen, they've actually been studying magic for almost twice as long as us!"
Macmillan said with a serious expression, "That thirteen-year-old even has a Golden Robe!"
"Golden Robe?" Theo was puzzled.
"At Mahoutokoro, only when students achieve the best grades in all subjects does their robe turn gold… Do you understand now?" Macmillan explained.
Theo thought for a moment and then said, "But I still think Viktor Krum is more impressive."
"That's because you only noticed the big star and not the others."
Hannah Abbott also said mysteriously, "There's a student from Uagadou who's at least two meters tall. It feels like he could punch a Teebo Warthog to death, and he looks like he's thirty. He's also one of the Champions this time."
"And there's Serafina Picquery from Ilvermorny. I heard she's the niece of the President of the Magical Congress of the United States of America, and her magical abilities are also extraordinary…"
Everyone was enthusiastically discussing the "seed players" from various schools. Wade couldn't understand how they had gathered so much information in just one night.
But these names were not unfamiliar to him. In the information Antoine had given him earlier, the students most likely to become Champions from each school had already been marked.
Strictly speaking, these students certainly couldn't withstand a single Flame God attack. However, this competition would be broadcast live to the entire Wizarding World, and Wade couldn't very well burn his opponents to ashes in the arena.
His gaze slowly swept across several long tables. Many people suddenly felt a chill down their spines, as if they were being targeted by some predator.
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