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To be honest, Dudley did not have much interest in participating in the Triwizard Tournament.
If the Death Eaters still followed the plan in his memory and tampered with the Goblet of Fire, Dudley did not mind being transported along and giving Voldemort a surprise.
A terribly weakened Voldemort would be easier to deal with than the Dark Lord in his prime no matter what.
He simply did not know whether dear old Tom was currently in baby form.
Dudley, who had originally planned to leave the Great Hall, suddenly paused. His expression became strange.
The system, which had not appeared for a long time, finally gave him a major task this time.
A caster must remain curious about the unknown. Enter the Triwizard Tournament, win, and touch Voldemort's nose.
Touch Voldemort's nose?
Then came the question. Did Voldemort even have that thing?
Or did Dudley have to press one onto his face?
Was the system trying to cause trouble?
"Dudley, what is wrong?"
Seeing Dudley stand there without moving, Hermione also stopped and turned to look at him with confusion.
"I suddenly want to do something."
"What?"
"Enter the Triwizard Tournament."
Hearing Dudley's words, Hermione was not surprised.
Dumbledore had just said that the Goblet of Fire would select the best wizard from each school.
Who was the best young wizard at Hogwarts?
It could only be Dudley.
This was a fact recognized by all Hogwarts.
At that moment, Harry suddenly stuck half his head out from around a corner.
"Brother D, Cedric says he wants to enter."
Cedric Diggory, Hufflepuff's rising star, was an extremely outstanding member.
Of course, he was also the first young wizard outside the original six-person disciplinary group to join.
According to the original plot, Cedric had represented Hogwarts in the Triwizard Tournament, been transported to the Little Hangleton graveyard with Harry, and then been killed by Wormtail with Avada Kedavra.
"Tell him he has no chance."
Dudley spoke calmly. He took out a piece of parchment, wrote a few words on it, and walked straight toward the Age Line Dumbledore had just drawn with magic.
The Age Line, which should have reacted, seemed not to exist. It allowed Dudley to walk in and throw the parchment with his name into the Goblet of Fire.
The entire process was smooth from start to finish.
The blue-white flames in the Goblet of Fire seemed to burn even more fiercely.
"Of course Mr. Dursley could do it."
The young wizards who were still in the Great Hall saw this and praised him sincerely.
Professor Dumbledore had just said that those under seventeen could not enter. How long had passed? Mr. Dursley had already used action to disprove that claim.
So far, there seemed to be nothing Mr. Dursley could not do.
After Dudley left, some underage young wizards tried to imitate him. Unfortunately, without exception, the instant they stepped into the Age Line, a mysterious force threw them out.
They could not complete the entry at all.
The next day, faint morning light appeared, and the first glow of sunrise touched the meeting point of earth and sky.
Another foggy day. This was very common weather at Hogwarts.
The Durmstrang students came down early from their resting place, the enormous ghostlike ship.
Because Durmstrang was located in a bitterly cold region, the students there had developed a good habit of exercising in the morning. As a result, Durmstrang students generally had sturdy builds.
Karkaroff glanced at Hogwarts Castle, which remained utterly silent, and a smile unconsciously appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Compared with the diligent students of Durmstrang, the students of Hogwarts were truly lazy.
'Have your Hogwarts students ever seen the sky at six in the morning? Our Durmstrang students have. Every day.'
This was the difference between the two schools.
Durmstrang would win the Triwizard Tournament.
Viktor walked at the front of the Durmstrang students, taking the lead as they began running. As a professional Quidditch player, he had the tallest build among them. His short hair was neat and clean, and years of training had given him sharply defined muscles.
Viktor had not run far before he suddenly stopped and listened carefully. He seemed to hear a sound coming from the distance.
"What is it, Viktor?"
Karkaroff looked at Viktor, who had stopped, and asked in confusion.
"I hear something. It sounds like people running, the same as us."
Viktor answered honestly.
"Impossible."
Karkaroff said disdainfully, "The people of Hogwarts are lazy. A spoiled lot who only know comfort."
But the moment he finished saying this, his expression became very ugly.
Because he heard the sound too.
"One, two, one."
This time, the sound was much closer and clearer.
The wizards of Durmstrang looked at one another.
They heard it. It was not an illusion. Along with the shouted cadence came a neat, unified sound.
That sound was very familiar.
Running.
Several vigorous figures emerged from the thick fog.
A man even more powerful than Viktor, built like a prizefighter, ran at the front. Behind him followed two young wizards whose builds were not inferior to Viktor's, and then several more figures.
It was Dursley, Potter, Longbottom, and the others.
Viktor recognized them.
"One, two, one. One, two, one. One, two, three, four."
"One, two, three, four!"
Dudley led the cadence, and the people behind him answered.
The group jogged all the way to Viktor and the others.
"Morning training?"
"Uh... yes."
Viktor nodded blankly. He could clearly see the dense sweat on their bodies. This was proof that they had already been training for a long time.
"Keep going. We are already finished. See you in the Great Hall later."
"Right... right."
Viktor nodded stiffly.
Dudley patted Viktor on the shoulder, then led the members of the disciplinary group away.
Only after they had disappeared completely did Viktor wake as if from a dream.
That brief contact had let him clearly feel the explosive power in Dudley's body.
Yesterday, because everyone had worn robes, it had not been easy to tell. Today, he had clearly seen the man's powerful build, obvious with every step.
If he played Quidditch...
No matter what position he played, he would be perfect.
So Hogwarts also had morning training, and it was even earlier than theirs.
Karkaroff's face was dark. He looked extremely unhappy and did not say a single word the whole time.
'The sky at six in the morning?'
'Have you ever seen Hogwarts at four?'
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