Chapter 512 Title Of This Chapter: The Final Honor For A Young Wizard
How could this be?!
Evan blinked and confirmed it over and over again.
Whenever he looked up, he could see Moody standing in front of Dumbledore, and the two of them were whispering something.
But on the Marauder's Map, only Dumbledore's name could be seen, and there was only a small black dot on the opposite side of his name.
The Marauder's Map had lost the advantage it gave Evan before, and he was experiencing this situation for the first time.
The name of the individual occupying Mad-Eye Moody's place could not be marked.
Thinking about the Mud Men's Charm, that person must have cast a spell on his own name.
Like Voldemort, each time someone read his name, his location would be sensed.
The magic used by this individual was to keep his name untraceable and unmarked by any magic.
Using this magic on names would only be done by the most evil and powerful dark wizards.
That required a lot of magic and rigorous casting conditions, and Mad-Eye Moody would definitely not use this dark magic.
If it was Barty Crouch Jr. who was impersonating him at the moment, then his strength was completely beyond Evan's expectations. He had never thought that Barty would be so strong.
Evan put away the Marauder's Map. This sudden change gave him an ominous premonition. This individual was too peculiar and seemed more dangerous than Evan could anticipate.
Evan began to doubt if there would be unpredictable variables in his plan according to the original story.
His mind was in chaos, and for a moment, he was very confused.
However, since Barty Jr. was at the school now, he should not act hastily until he had the opportunity to get Harry out.
He would surely follow the original plot and start at the last minute of the Triwizard Tournament.
There was still time, and finally, Evan decided to look for an opportunity to test him first.
At that moment, depending on the results of the test, he would decide whether to act or let things take their course.
At the teachers' table, Dumbledore did not seem to think that the Mad-Eye in front of him was fake.
They whispered a few words, and then Dumbledore gestured for him to take an empty seat to his right.
Moody took a seat and shook his head.
Shaking his mane of dark gray hair out of his face, he brought a plate of sausages towards him, lifted it to what was left of his nose, and sniffed it. Then he pulled a small knife from his pocket, impaled a sausage on it, and began to eat.
His normal eye was fixed on the sausages, but the blue eye kept restlessly moving in its socket, watching the Great Hall and the students, lingering on Evan for a long time.
"Allow me, please allow me to introduce to you our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor," Dumbledore cheerfully said into the stunned young wizards' silence, "Welcome, Professor Moody."
It was customary for new staff members to be greeted with applause, but none of the staff or students applauded except Dumbledore and Hagrid.
Evan thought for a moment and then clapped, but the sound of his applause echoed sadly in the silence of the Great Hall.
Upon hearing the applause, Moody looked up, and his normal eye and false blue eye settled on Evan.
His incomplete nose twitched slightly, and Evan did not know what he was thinking.
After Evan, Dumbledore, and Hagrid exchanged a few handshakes, they let go.
No one else spoke. They seemed too absorbed by Moody's strange appearance to do more than look at him.
"Ron, do you remember?" Harry murmured. "This Mad-Eye Moody is the one your father went to help this morning!"
"It must be him," Ron said in a low and reverent voice. "The best Auror from the Ministry of Magic."
"What happened to him?" Hermione whispered. "What happened to his face?"
"I don't know, but he looks great," Ron whispered back, watching Moody with fascination.
Moody seemed completely indifferent to everyone's cold reaction.
After staring at Evan for a while, he continued eating.
Ignoring the jug of pumpkin juice in front of him, he returned to his traveling cloak, pulled out a flask, and took a long swig from it.
Raising his arm to drink, his cloak lifted a few inches from the ground, revealing, beneath the table, several inches of carved wooden leg ending in a clawed foot.
"Well, let's get back to the subject!" Dumbledore cleared his throat and said, smiling at the crowd of students in front of him, who were still absorbed in watching Mad-Eye Moody, "We will have the honor of hosting a very exciting event in the coming months, an event that has not taken place in over a century. It is a great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be held at Hogwarts this year."
"Oh, my goodness, did I hear correctly?"
"You must be joking!"
The tension that had filled the Hall since Moody's arrival suddenly dissipated. Almost everyone laughed, and Dumbledore laughed appreciatively.
Students born into wizarding families knew more or less about the Triwizard Tournament, having heard stories about it since childhood.
For a young wizard at school, this was the highest honor.
Students born to Muggle parents also eagerly asked to know about the Triwizard Tournament, and they were amazed and spoke excitedly.
"Well, some of you may not know what this tournament entails, so I hope those of you who do will forgive me for giving a brief explanation and allow your minds to wander freely," Dumbledore said with a smile, "As we all know, the Triwizard Tournament is a friendly competition between the three greatest magic schools in Europe: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. It was a very good exhibition platform that helped young witches and wizards from different nationalities to establish bonds. It had become a tradition in the past, until the death toll became so high that it was decided to discontinue the tournament."
"Death toll?" Hermione whispered, looking horrified at Dumbledore. "There is nothing in the books about this..."
But her anxiety did not seem to be shared by most of the students in the Hall; many of them whispered excitedly to each other.
Everyone was much more interested in learning about the details of the tournament than worrying about the deaths that had occurred hundreds of years ago.
"Several attempts have been made over time to reinstate the tournament," Dumbledore continued, "none of which have been very successful. However, our own departments of International Magical Cooperation and Magical Games and Sports have decided that it is the right time to try again. We have worked hard over the summer to ensure that this time no champion is in danger of death.
The heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will arrive with their preselected contenders in October, and the selection of the three champions will take place on Halloween. An impartial judge will decide which students are most worthy to compete for the Triwizard Cup, the glory of their school, and one thousand Galleons in personal prize money. I hope you understand that it will be a great honor for the champion, their House, and their school."