HP: I beat the otome game at Hogwarts

Chapter 153 The Strange Girls

At the dinner table the next day, everyone was still excitedly discussing the big news from the previous night—the three-way battle for supremacy.

Ron and Harry noticed that George and Fred weren't running to the Hufflepuff table next door to sell their pranks; instead, they were huddled together, whispering about something.

"Have you thought of a way to participate in the Triwizard Tournament?" Harry asked curiously.

Last night, when Headmaster Dumbledore announced that the Triwizard Tournament would be held at Hogwarts and that the winner would receive a trophy and a thousand Galleons, the Great Hall erupted in cheers.

George and Fred's faces lit up. This would not only bring honor to Gryffindor and Hogwarts, but also a large sum of Galleons—they were short of money, could there be anything better?

But the next second, Headmaster Dumbledore's words disappointed them and many underage wizards greatly—participants had to be at least seventeen years old.

“This is for safety reasons,” Hermione said. “The headmaster is right to do this; the Triwizard Tournament has a long history of high death tolls—”

But the students booed loudly, with Fred and George protesting the loudest—the twins were also under seventeen and were only in sixth grade.

“We haven’t decided yet,” Fred said seriously, for the first time looking somewhat like a brother to Percy. “It depends on who the Triwizard Tournament’s selectors and referees are, and what the selection process will be. We need to take all factors into account and make a comprehensive decision on whether to use a potion or a spell to disguise our age—”

“I asked Professor McGonagall in my Transfiguration class this morning how the warriors are selected, but she wouldn’t tell me,” George said resentfully. “She just told me to shut up and focus on practicing my Transfiguration.”

Lyra sat next to Hermione, chuckling to herself. After being scolded by Professor McGonagall, George vented his frustration on his classroom prop, a raccoon.

—The transformation failed, and a fluffy sofa grew four legs, running around the classroom and making everyone laugh so hard they were doubled over.

“I think,” Hermione said, with a charmingly smug air, “it’s easy to deduce—”

“Oh, Hermione!” Fred’s eyes lit up immediately. “The smartest and most studious one among us—”

George, Ron, and Harry all praised Hermione with expectant eyes. Hermione blushed a little from the boys' enthusiastic flattery, but finally relented.

“From Headmaster Dumbledore’s words, we know that the selectors for the warriors will possess extraordinary impartiality,” Hermione began her rational analysis, her eyes shining like stars in the night sky whenever she displayed her wisdom. “Clearly, it’s difficult for humans to maintain perfect impartiality. Nine times out of ten, it’s likely that a magical object, such as a powerful alchemical artifact, will act as the selector—”

Ron gasped slightly, and Harry gasped softly.

"As for the referees in the Triwizard Tournament—" Hermione continued, "the headmasters participating in the tournament must be members of the refereeing team. Because according to 'Hogwarts: A History,' during the tournament in 1792, a monstrous creature with the body of a chicken and the tail of a snake went out of control and injured three headmasters—this means that the headmasters were also in the arena. Apart from the champions, only the referees should be allowed to enter the arena!"

"Wow--"

Before they knew it, everyone at the table had gathered around Hermione, who was talking animatedly. They all exclaimed in amazement at Hermione's ability to deduce things from just a few words in the book.

“It’s nothing,” Hermione thought, believing it was common knowledge that no one seemed to know. “It’s all written in the books; you can find it just by reading them—”

“Hermione, not everyone is as knowledgeable as you—” Lyra said. “I thought that book would at most be about the history of the school or something.”

Like the twins, this was the first time she had ever heard that "Hogwarts: A History" contained a record of the Triwizard Tournament!

Lyra believed that after hearing Hermione's words, the previously neglected copy of "Hogwarts: A History" would be borrowed by everyone in the library within the day.

The hottest topic at school right now is the Three Kingdoms Tournament.

The boys all fantasized about becoming Hogwarts warriors, fighting for honor, winning prizes, and gaining the favor of the girls they liked;

The girls had thought about being selected as warriors, but they talked more about the fact that the school would be welcoming students from two other schools—maybe they would even have the chance to develop a romance with a warrior from another country!

Then everyone started guessing which country's wizard would be participating in the competition.

“Isn’t it obvious—” Hermione scoffed impatiently, “The Triwizard Tournament is a friendly competition between the three largest magic schools in Europe.”

She was annoyed by the other girls' boring topics, but couldn't resist their collective pleas—ever since she had demonstrated her extraordinary reasoning and erudition at the dinner table.

"The European Magic Education Assessment clearly states that the three largest magic schools in Europe are Hogwarts in the UK, Beauxbatons in France, and Durmstrang in Germany."

So the girls started discussing whether French wizards or German wizards were more suitable for dating.

“German wizards are very strong. Unlike Hogwarts, which only has Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Durmstrang seems to allow direct learning of the Dark Arts,” Angelina said. “I wonder how good their Quidditch is.”

“I’ve heard that French wizards are all very womanizers, but they’re also incredibly romantic,” Arya said, chewing on her quill. “I remember the cosmetics Lyra brought back from her vacation in France were really good—”

Oh my! Now all the girls jumped up. The witches from France must all be very good at dressing up!

As the British witches and the hosts of this competition, they cannot afford to be defeated by the French witches on their own turf!

Soon, all the girls at Hogwarts began to appear strange in the eyes of the boys.

They started to gather in groups, sometimes laughing and giggling, sometimes whispering and discussing.

Their serious expressions made it seem as if they were discussing some academic issue.

But Harry swore he had just walked past a group of girls and overheard them talking about the twelve correct ways to apply blush—

"Should we go to the Literati House first this weekend, or Honeydukes?" Harry asked Ron and Hermione.

Harry can finally openly spend the weekend at Hogsmeade with his friends this year, thanks to the permission his godfather Sirius Black has given him.

He was thrilled with his first trip to Hogsmeade this year—even though he had just been there during the summer holidays.

“Oh, you and Ron go ahead,” Hermione said, packing her notebook and quill into her bag. “I’ve arranged to go shopping with Lyra and the others to buy some girls’ things.”

“Even Hermione…” Ron and Harry muttered in confusion.

The girls' eccentricities, which seemed unbelievable to the boys, reached their peak on the day Beauxbatons and Durmstrang arrived at Hogwarts.