[101] The Cerberus's Lair

Igor Karkaroff, dressed in a white fur coat and a dark fur hat, was tall and thin, with short, neat hair and a goatee. He was a former Death Eater, and Hall's prime suspect.

At the head table, Dumbledore greeted Karkaroff and shook his hand cordially. Their conversation was polite and amicable, as if they were genuinely pleased to see each other.

"Albus," said Karkaroff, his voice smooth.

"Igor," Dumbledore replied warmly.

Dumbledore ushered the two visiting headmasters to the head table, and the students took their seats. Dinner officially began.

A group of Durmstrang students were seated at the Slytherin table, and the most conspicuous of them all, Viktor Krum, was among them.

Hall looked exasperated. Draco, to Hall's left, was nearly delirious, clutching Hall's robe tightly, desperately suppressing the urge to scream.

Viktor Krum was sitting to Hall's right, just one person away from Draco.

Ever since Krum sat down, Draco had been constantly muttering in Hall's ear. "Hall, that's Krum! Good heavens, it's Krum!" He was so excited he almost jumped up.

Hall was trying to pull his robe back, but Draco was about to rip it off. A look of helplessness crossed his face.

"Hello, my name is Viktor Krum," the tall young man said with a friendly smile, extending his hand to Hall.

Hall quickly adjusted his expression, flashing a standard, polite smile. He returned the handshake. "Hello, my name is Hall Weasley."

Krum grinned, revealing his bright white teeth. "I know you. The first Slytherin Weasley since Hogwarts was founded."

Hall responded with a forced smile, sensing that the newcomer was up to no good.

Then he heard Draco's suppressed voice. "Quick, quick, introduce me!!!"

Hall abruptly stood up, walked to Draco's left, and shoved Draco back into his original seat. Then he casually sat down in what had been Draco's seat.

This action stunned Draco, Krum, and Blaise, who was sitting to Draco's left.

"What are you doing!" Draco stared blankly at Hall.

Krum looked at the two of them curiously, wondering what had happened.

Blaise coughed, covered his mouth, took a sip of his pumpkin juice, and stared intently at Hall and Draco.

Hall peeked out from beside Draco, looked at Krum, and introduced him with a smile. "This is Draco Malfoy. He's been admiring you for a long time."

Then he nudged Draco, signalling him to introduce himself.

Draco, head bowed shyly, began chatting with Krum.

Taken from NovelPhoenix, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Hall sighed, moved his utensils, and continued enjoying his meal.

To his left, Blaise seemed to be muttering to himself. "You sense something's not right, don't you?"

Hall, biting into a chicken leg, mumbled an indistinct "Mmm."

"We'll be more careful, and you be careful too." With that, Blaise raised his drink and clinked glasses with the other Durmstrang students across from him.

Hall, head down, ate his steak, a faint, cold smile playing on his lips.

As the banquet drew to a close, Filch pushed open the doors of the Great Hall. Although he now possessed magic, Filch had chosen to remain at Hogwarts as a doorkeeper. Hall looked on in surprise as Filch used a Levitation Charm to transport a massive golden chest into the Great Hall. He placed it gently in the open space in front of the main stage.

Dumbledore rose from his seat and stepped down from the stage. Filch bowed respectfully, then quickly retreated to the side. All eyes were drawn to the object on the stage. The students began to whisper and speculate, wondering what was inside.

Dumbledore walked to the towering golden chest and placed a hand on one side of it.

"Eternal glory awaits the student who will win the Triwizard Tournament," he boomed, his voice echoing throughout the Great Hall. "However, that student must first complete three tasks — three extremely dangerous and arduous tasks."

"For the above reasons, the Ministry of Magic has issued a new regulation."

Hall saw a man emerge from a side doorway. The man was impeccably dressed in a suit, with short, neatly combed grey hair and a very serious, upright demeanour. Dumbledore smiled and gestured for the man to come forward.

"Please welcome the Director of the Department of International Magical Cooperation to provide further explanation," Dumbledore announced.

Barty Crouch.

Crouch stood beside the golden chest, announcing less-than-good news to all the students present.

"After careful consideration, the Ministry of Magic has finally decided — for safety reasons, all students under the age of seventeen are strictly prohibited from registering for this Triwizard Tournament."

His tone was firm and unquestionable. "This is the final decision."

The words were like a bomb, instantly detonating the entire Great Hall. Nearly half the students began to protest, booing and expressing their dissatisfaction.

"Bullshit decision!" someone shouted.

"Unfair!"

"What's going on!"

Hall sat in the audience, watching the chaotic scene before him. Amidst the cacophony, he clearly heard two incredibly familiar and loud voices. Without even turning around, he knew who it was. George and Fred.

It was obvious even to a fool that what they had been so excitedly and mysteriously trying to share with Hall was the Triwizard Tournament. Now that they knew they couldn't participate, they were naturally very dissatisfied.

Hall helplessly covered his face. He could already foresee what was likely to happen next. Given George and Fred's personalities, they would definitely try to break this restriction, or at least create some chaos.

When Hall told Dumbledore about it, Dumbledore's first reaction was, "Didn't Gellert tell you?"

Hall still felt a lingering fear. Was this another of Grindelwald's twisted jokes?

Dumbledore didn't expose Grindelwald's mischief. He said gently, "The nature of this matter is very serious. Those things should have been stationed on the outskirts of Hogwarts, not inside the grounds." His eyes became serious. "The Ministry of Magic is putting pressure on us, and public opinion outside is very bad. This situation arose because of my decision. The outcome was already determined when I agreed to make Sirius a professor."

Hall understood. Because Sirius came from Azkaban. Anyone imprisoned there was branded a ruthless criminal. Over the years, he was the only one to escape.

"So you agreed?" Hall was still surprised. How could Dumbledore allow such things in?

Dumbledore shook his head. "To prove my choice was correct, I only agreed to have the appropriate personnel supervise them. The Dementors are confined to a specific area. This was also the Board of Governors' decision."

"Although Krum has seemed strange to me from the beginning, I always felt he wasn't the one following me." Hall frowned. "He doesn't have the ability to control Dementors."

"I will investigate this myself, Hall."

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