Amost and Ludo and Bati slightly waited on the transfer platform because a swarm of little wizards rushed into the venue, filling up all the available space. Among the hordes of sports class students sent out by him to maintain order, they screamed at the top of their lungs, doing their best to maintain order and leading the little wizards who had come to watch to their seating area.
No need to waste effort to describe the excitement of these children seeing the complex terrain of the arena in the center and the match screen hanging in the air, illuminating the entire venue. In short, these children added another high to the already hot atmosphere of the venue, as if a spark could ignite roars throughout the entire arena.
"I dare say, people will definitely remember this match, Ammost!"
Ludo looked at the faces of the emotionally high-pitched people and excitedly said himself.
"Go down quickly, Ammost, pay attention to time--" Barty Crouch also impatiently said.
"How is it, Alastor? Everything okay?"
The three of them descended into the circular passageway at the foot, and Ammost found that as a security officer Moody was standing in front of the railing, staring at the flashing light display and dozens of wings in the air flying around. All-round telescopes, focusing on something, seemed to have completely forgotten that three people had walked past him from behind.
This is very suspicious.
After passing by Moody, Ammost suddenly stopped in his tracks. He turned to look at Moody and asked calmly.
"What?"
Moody looked back in surprise, and upon recognizing Ammost, his magical eyes involuntarily shifted to the side. He hesitated for a few seconds before regaining his composure.
"Oh, everything is normal, Amost. I don't mind your monitoring, oh, I have to check Charlie Weasley now. We can't afford any trouble now!"
Ammost watched as Moody quickly walked into the channel leading to the temporary detention of dragons, and a trace of unnoticeable light flashed in his purple eyes.
Barty began to urge again, so Ammost took a step forward again, leading them towards a tent outside the venue that could connect with the safety channel inside. They entered one by one after lifting the curtain.
The tent made of thick felt was warm as spring, and there weren't many people inside. Several officials from the Department of Magical Sports were waiting here, and they would be responsible for guiding the warriors into the arena shortly. The three champions of this Triwizard Tournament were each resting in a corner of the tent, as well as Professor McGonagall, who was comforting Hermione.
In the last few days, Amost had been swamped with tasks, and he had no time to pay attention to the emotional states of these soon-to-be-famous little guys.
First, Fleur, as soon as Amost entered, her eyes were glued to him, but now her eyes no longer have that amorous emotion. She sat there with her pupils in a state of shock and magnification. Moreover, Amost noticed that the faint pink color on Fleur's snow-white skin had disappeared, deeply illustrating what it means to have a pale face like snow.
Crom was more composed. After looking at Ammost, he dropped his head and stared at his outstretched hands with a sullen expression, his fingertips trembling slightly. Cedric seemed to want to stand up and greet him, but as he leaned on the bench and exerted himself to rise, he failed, which made him feel a bit embarrassed. So, he did not move again.
And the youngest champion of this tournament – Hermione.
Hermione opened her mouth slightly, and her eyes were full of confusion. When she noticed that Professor Brian had entered, the blank look in her eyes turned into a plea. She clutched McGonagall's hand tightly, even though McGonagall was constantly comforting her, it seemed like she didn't hear a single word.
The air was brimming with tension, especially when the champions noticed Professor Brian and two officials from the British Ministry of Magic entering. This tension reached its peak, and Ammost even worried that the champions might burst into tears at any moment.
"Is it time already, Amost--"
Professor McGonagall's voice was trembling, and she looked more nervous than Hermione.
Amost scanned the four champions with his gaze, and upon noticing that they had all put on the competition robes he provided, he nodded in satisfaction. He heard Professor McGonagall's question and smiled as he said,
"We still have a little bit of time to wait!"
Then, Amost turned around to face Ludo and Barty.
"So, Ludo, Barty, who will it be?"
"This is your home, Amost. Let you do it," Ludo happily said.
Amost asked Barty Crouch with his eyes, and the latter only nodded half-heartedly.
"All right, gentlemen and ladies, please come to me."
Amost waved at the champions, and the staff members also very attentively delivered a purple silk bag that was sealed with magic to Amost's hands.
The three little guys watched the bag in Brian's hand at the same time, their eyes surprisingly consistent, panicked and repulsive, unwilling to face.
"Please don't worry too much, everyone. Let your hands and feet do their thing to show your courage, strength, and wisdom. I can assure you that no one will die in vain today--"
Amost joked, and Ludo burst into laughter holding his belly, but the three champions showed no signs of relaxation on their faces, and McGonagall glared at him fiercely.
Cough cough—-
Amost awkwardly coughed twice, and then he pulled out his wand to break the seal on the silk bag in his sleeve. With one hand, he held the bag open, and with the other hand, he grasped it.
"Like this--"
The cheers from the arena outside were like a wave, and Amost knew he had to make haste. He smiled and said to the champions,
"This bag contains models of the things you'll need to deal with later. You need to take one golden egg from them. The golden egg is mixed in with regular eggs, so you'll be able to tell at once. Is there any question?"
Indeed, it was stealing the golden egg from dragons, and the thought flashed through Hermione's foggy mind. Then, before her thoughts could become muddled again, Professor Brian had already handed her that terrifying purple bag.
"I think no one would have any objection to allowing our youngest champion to choose first. Come on, Miss Granger, fate is in your hands—"
Hermione pursed her lips, and her dry lips felt like two pieces of bark touching each other when they closed together. Her mind was still repeating the few spells she had practiced these days until Professor Brian prompted her again, and she finally snapped out of it.
She noticed that everyone's gaze fell on her, and she also felt her heart pounding violently in her chest, which caused a spasm-like pain in her chest.
Let go with fate, Hermione stuck her hand into the bag.
Tap--
Amost watched as Hermione's wrist dipped into the bag. At that very moment, a very faint and crisp sound suddenly rang out outside the tent. No one would have noticed this strange sound over the howling wind. Meanwhile, within the dark space of the bag that no one could see, a fine spark of electricity suddenly flashed, and then one of the four miniature models quickly wormed its way into Hermione's loosely clasped palm!
Hermione instinctively pulled her hand back, and then her choice was revealed to everyone.
"Oh, it's a Chinese fireball, you are number four to come out."
Ludo was about to say excitedly, but he suddenly realized something and suspiciously looked at Amost.
"To prevent any leaks, I changed the order a bit--"
Amost's gaze from the corner of the tent came back to him without a trace, just there, a small black shadow had flitted by.
"Is that so--"
Ludo muttered to himself in a voice only he could hear, then, as if he had come to a realization, the suspicion in his gaze toward Amost faded away. Looking at Hermione, whose flushed cheeks were red with excitement, his eyes sparkled with determination!
(This chapter is over)
