Hogwarts: This professor is too Muggle.

Chapter 394 Love is Blind
Early morning, in the mountains behind the castle.

After breakfast, several members of the competition committee arrived at the forest farm to inspect the construction progress of the competition venue. Special advisor Melvin walked in front, turning his head to talk to several wizards, whose identities were revealed by the badges on their chests.

Charlie Weasley, dragon tamer, Romanian representative, is in charge of the taming of dragons in Scotland.

Terry Tulls, the owner of Horror Tour, is in charge of site construction.

Wright and Hagrid, one a member of the Magic Mirror Club and the other a forest ranger, were mainly there to join in the fun.

There are also two familiar faces, Crouch and Bagman, Ministry of Magic employees. They've already worked together on the Quidditch World Cup final, so they have plenty of experience and can steadily advance the work even if someone isn't at their best.

The tour has been going on for half an hour, and we've only walked half a circle around the perimeter of the site.

"The tribes in the mountains are quite cooperative. A while ago, the eight-eyed giant spiders came to cause trouble, saying that the foundation we dug was their nest. We thought they could talk and wanted to have a good talk, but the centaurs who were passing by shot a few of them for us."

Terry chuckled and explained, "Only the unicorns don't want to show themselves; they stay far away."

The atmosphere wasn't always this harmonious. Since the Goblet of Fire was rebooted, Melvin's suggestions have been too novel and radical, and many people couldn't accept them. A lot of time was spent discussing them, but there were still no results.

This situation continued until the start of the school year. It's unclear exactly when it started, but all aspects of the event progressed rapidly, and all staff members were excited. Only Crouch was absent-minded and out of sorts all day.

"The seamless stretching spells are all set up on the field, it's even more spacious than Dartmoor's stadium!" said Wright, who was assisting with the alchemical setup for the Horrific Journey. "But are we really going to throw all the fire dragons into the first project?"

Doubts gradually spread, and employees whispered among themselves that the move was far too radical.

“It’s been decided.” Melvin nodded, his tone calm, even gentle, suppressing the chatter of the accompanying wizards.

"Don't worry about the students' safety. I'm confident we can provide comprehensive protection."

Melvin looked at the cleared-out area, which stretched across several hills: "Two years ago, Romania made a breakthrough in dragon taming technology. Charlie was able to get the dragons to understand commands and execute some simple orders. Humans are not on the dragons' diet, and the students will not be in any danger if they are not provoked."

Hagrid's two thick, dark eyebrows were furrowed tightly; he was still worried.

"I have already crafted a batch of alchemical armor to distribute to the contestants as props on the day of the competition. It will be enough to withstand the dragon's breath until the nearby keepers arrive."

Melvin took a glass ball out of his pocket and showed it to the other wizards, while reminding them: "The armor and the fire dragon are classified information. They must not be revealed to the teachers and students of the four schools before the competition officially begins. Remember to sign a confidentiality agreement after you have seen it."

"..."

Hearing this, Hagrid, who had been standing nearby, rolled his eyes and quietly backed away.

He thought he had done it without anyone noticing, and the forest ranger's hunting skills were quite good. However, the mixed-race giant's burly and heavy body was too conspicuous, and his hard-soled leather boots made clear footsteps on the grass.

No one exposed the suspect who might have leaked information.

Just in time for sunrise, the orange-red morning sun illuminated the mountains, its glow spilling into the forest where the fire dragons dwelled. The dragons poked their heads out of their caves, the giant beasts bathing in the warm light to absorb heat, spreading their huge wings, their colorful, metallic scales trembling in unison, and colorful flames emanating from their mouths and nostrils.

The group stopped and stood there, captivated by the magnificent sight before them.

“Dragons…” Wright sighed with emotion. “Unlike the original safe and reliable tournament format, after your modifications, the Goblet of Fire selects more warriors, the first event will also have more dragons, a larger venue, and more unexpected events brought about by all the warriors competing at the same time.”

Crouch, unusually jolted back to reality from the cheers, noticed the receding footsteps behind him: "You let Hagrid leak the news, aren't you worried that some students might break the rules and withdraw from the competition?"

"Let them withdraw from the competition. They are all underage students who have always been well protected at school and have never experienced real adventure. We can't force them into the arena, can we? Who wants to face a fire dragon head-on?"

Melvin said casually, "You remember the theme of the first project, right? We discussed it before we even reached an agreement."

Crouch paused, his gaze glazed over again, and he murmured softly, "Courage."

……

"Melvin is absolutely insane! He's putting 20 warriors in a competition simultaneously, facing 12 different kinds of fire dragons in the same mountain forest! He's mad!"

"Don't even mention 20 underage students, even if there were 20 adult wizards or 20 Aurors, they wouldn't be enough to fill the teeth of these fire dragons!"

"I need to hurry back and tell Harry and Hermione that they can't get involved in this kind of life-threatening competition."

Hagrid hurried toward the castle, the half-giant's hard-soled leather shoes clattering on the grass like horses' hooves.

As you approach the edge of the forest, the trees gradually thin out, and the withered leaves on the branches turn yellow and fall slowly to the ground with a gust of autumn wind.

As the view gradually opened up, before even stepping onto the path leading to the castle, we could see Beauxbatons' divine horse in the distance, as well as the tall Lady Maxim.

Hagrid paused, suddenly at a loss.

Even by normal standards of beauty, this female principal is a beauty. In the eyes of the half-giant, Ms. Maxim is an even more unique fairy. In order to be able to talk to this witch, Hagrid began to learn how to dress and wear cologne.

His tricks didn't work. Madam Maxim wasn't the kind of shallow witch who would talk to him even when he was disheveled, drunk and carefree at the party, spilling wine on himself.

But Hagrid wasn't a fool; he knew Orim's purpose.

During this time, she never hesitated to smile and used the divine talisman horse as an excuse to invite him for a walk, but she subtly inquired about the competition and asked what kind of animal was the roar that was heard from time to time in the mountains and forests.

“Melvin entrusted me with this…” Hagrid hesitated, “but Orim did it to protect her students.”

"Hey, Rubeus!" came the witch's joyful call from ahead.

The half-giant's figure was too conspicuous. Even though Hagrid stopped in time, Madam Maxim still spotted him and waved to him from afar. She had an olive-colored face, bright black eyes, and fluttering eyelashes.

Love is blind.

Even if his motives were impure, Hagrid still thought Orim was a good headmistress and very beautiful.

(End of this chapter)