novelcrest Chapter 460 Can you do it?
Chapter 460 Can you do it?
Chapter 460 Can you do it?
Cho Chang always remembered Professor Phillips's Hogsmeade date a few months earlier.
The shame of that night was deeply imprinted in her mind. She had never lost her composure in front of a man, especially the professor she deeply liked.
To avoid this awkward situation, she deliberately avoided him until the end of the semester.
However, two months later, she did not expect to meet Professor Phillips again at the Quidditch World Cup a few months later. As someone from a wizarding family and with great enthusiasm for Quidditch, she naturally could not miss this grand gathering.
Actually, using the word "encounter" is clearly not appropriate.
It's more accurate to say "saw" than "met".
At that time, Professor Phillips was with the Lovegoods and the Weasleys, laughing and chatting.
What about her?
She chose to stand at a distance and observe silently.
The way the others talked was so natural that she felt out of place.
She couldn't go forward, nor could she talk to him as easily as others. She even blamed herself in her heart—why was she always so bad when she faced him?
Despite the distance, Cho Chang could still feel the reassuring aura emanating from Professor Phillips.
Perhaps it was this aura that made her afraid to get close, afraid of exposing her inner vulnerability.
But they all flew like moths to a flame.
Even knowing it would burn their wings, they were still deeply attracted by the light and heat.
Would she do that?
Since the Goblet of Fire selected nine champions, Hogwarts has become a sea of joy.
These days, apart from Slytherin, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff are celebrating like it's New Year's Day.
No matter where you go, you can see young wizards from the three houses boasting to each other about the prowess of their respective house's warriors.
"Our Harry from Gryffindor is the best! Look, he dared to put his name in the Goblet of Fire, which proves his courage! His bravery embodies the spirit of Gryffindor!" A young Gryffindor wizard raised his chin, his eyes full of pride.
"Hmph, what kind of guts is it to put your name in the Goblet of Fire? Cho Chang is the real deal!" another Ravenclaw student immediately retorted. "She's not only intelligent, but also an excellent Quidditch player. She doesn't need to rely on anyone to showcase her talent in this match!"
"You're not entirely right," one of the Hufflepuff students interjected. "Cedric has the best chance! Look at his performance over the past few years—steady, calm, and most importantly, he's never impatient for quick success; every step he takes is solid. He's no worse than the others, and he might even be more capable!"
"All you people ever talk about is Cedric," the Ravenclaw student shook his head, giving a mocking laugh. "Compared to that slow and methodical approach, Cho Chang is different. She has guts, she has intelligence, and she always steps up at crucial moments. Her winning the championship is the fairest outcome!"
"Ha, fair? You're all so naive." The Gryffindor students sneered. "Everyone knows Harry is the most talented. To say he's inferior to Cedric or Cho Chang is a joke. You dare compare him to those people?"
"Talent?" The Hufflepuff student frowned dismissively. "What talent? Does talent require a 'coincidence' like the Goblet of Fire to be chosen? If the Goblet of Fire hadn't chosen him, why would he be standing here? You're all blinded by his reputation."
The Ravenclaw students nodded quickly, "Exactly, what's the use of just a name? Truly capable people should be like Cho Chang, not relying on any external factors."
"Enough!" The Hufflepuff student, completely disregarding the fact that the Ravenclaw students had been on his side just a moment ago, immediately turned his attack back on them. "You Ravenclaws always have a lot of profound words to say, but those who actually do things don't let their words get them away. Cedric is the most capable; he got to where he is today without any excuses!"
"Akira was born with yellow skin. Can you do that?"
"Cedric, as a prefect, and who beat Harry last term, can you do that?"
Finally, the young wizard from Gryffindor unleashed the killer.
"Harry dared to challenge Lord Black to a duel alone, could you do that?"
The murmurs in the auditorium fell silent instantly; almost everyone was stunned by that statement.
These days have been incredibly strange for Harry.
No teenager can remain calm in the face of sudden attention—Harry is an exception.
Since the start of the school year, he has become accustomed to that attention and has long regarded it as a part of his life.
Even so, when he finally had the opportunity to bring glory to the school, he was still unable to contain his excitement.
Until he heard the rumor: the first event of the Triwizard Tournament was to fight Voldemort one-on-one.
Only the phrase "feeling as if he had fallen into an ice cave" can describe his feelings.
Could it be true?
That can't be...
But what if?
For the other young wizards, apart from a few warriors, life went on as usual.
This is the life that most people in this world lead.
There are occasional ripples, but they quickly return to calm.
Time flew by and it was already the end of November.
In November, Hogwarts is shrouded in a thin mist, and the chill of the morning is always biting.
The dew on the lawn condensed into tiny ice crystals, and the weak sunlight shone down, as if coating the earth with a layer of shimmering silver frost.
The lake surface seemed to be covered with a thin white veil, as calm as a giant mirror. Occasionally, the tentacles of one or two giant squid would slowly rise from the water and then quickly sink back into the water, stirring up ripples.
Sean has been having a very leisurely time these days.
They could even be described as lazy.
His daily life is basically a two-point line—the classroom and the office.
He's either in the classroom lecturing young wizards about Muggle studies, or in the office giving Tonks a crash course in disguise techniques.
In general, both involve "teaching," only the content of the teaching differs.
Indeed, this is an excellent quality of an outstanding professor.
Sometimes even Sean himself wondered why he worked so hard.
He thought of a poem that could perfectly describe himself:
When the silkworm is dead, the silk will be exhausted, and the torch will turn into gray and tears will begin to dry.
This is the truest reflection of his educational career.
It is thanks to people like him who selflessly dedicate themselves to the British education system, contributing their efforts to make Hogwarts flourish.
This finally made Sean understand the meaning of "gardener".
Thus, through his tireless efforts, the development of Tonks progressed... and the teaching progress has reached the second stage.
She was able to perfectly imitate every aspect of Hermione, and even after multiple "desensitizations," she felt no shame at all when impersonating Hermione to conduct teaching tasks with him.
In response, Sean is already preparing to give Tonks a second teaching assignment:
Luna.
The reason he chose Luna was because she occasionally came to his office to help him review some class assignments.
Of course, this was to avoid Tonks misunderstanding.
This process only takes place when Tonks is not present.
During the review process, the two of them would unconsciously wander out of the area of the desk, and even out of the constraints of their clothes.
Perhaps this is a peculiar habit that can enhance work efficiency.
To improve efficiency, you always have to sacrifice something, right?
Therefore, Sean declined to comment.
When Luna is mentioned, Penelope and Daphne inevitably come up as well.
Penelope graduated last academic year and has now started working at the Ministry of Magic as a secretary in the Division of Magical Law Enforcement.
Every week or every two weeks, she would send important matters and official documents from the Ministry of Magic via owl.
Penelope's professional skills are outstanding.
The term "business skills" here is unambiguous and simply refers to "business capabilities".
As for the strange items mixed in with the documents delivered by the owl, that's a different matter.
As for Daphne, Sean hadn't seen her in a long time.
The main reason was that she did not take his courses.
In addition, as Sean mentioned earlier, he rarely goes out and even his meals are delivered by house-elves, so it's not surprising that he doesn't encounter Daphne, who has been avoiding him.
This is not without a solution.
You can skip elective courses, but you still have to take required courses, right?
After Barty Crouch Jr. was "recycled," it seemed only natural for him to take over his position.
However, for Sean, this is actually a good thing.
He's already overwhelmed with work.
The frequent teaching took a toll on his health.
If he really missed Daphne, the most he could do was to put "Daphne's" name at the top of the list of the next teaching objectives assigned to Tonks.
This is quite an interesting experience.
And so, these leisurely yet busy days continued until... Tuesday morning, during the last Muggle Studies class.
Sean stood in front of the podium, quickly tidying up the handouts and textbooks scattered on the table.
He tidied up all the clutter on the desk and put it into the drawer—notebooks, exercise books, piles of class materials, and even a few quill pens that had just been used and a few ink bottle caps that had been accidentally dropped while writing.
By this time, there were hardly any people left in the classroom.
The students were all rushing to the Great Hall for lunch—ever since the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students arrived at Hogwarts—it was best to arrive a little earlier for lunch in the Great Hall.
This is similar to the situation in college where you have to compete with freshmen during military training for food.
However, one person didn't seem to be in a hurry to eat. She walked to the front of the podium, lowered her head slightly, stood there, her eyes wandering, watching Sean's busy back, and for a moment she didn't know how to start the conversation.
Sean turned around and saw her standing right in front of him.
"Miss Akiharu, what's wrong?"
Qiu Zhang paused slightly, seemingly startled by his gaze. His fingers unconsciously tightened around his sleeves. After a moment's hesitation, he spoke, "Professor Phillips, may I—have a word with you?"
Sean nodded slightly, put down his pen, and reached out to put the last book on the podium into his bag.
"Of course, Miss Akiharu." His voice was gentle, with a hint of expectation in his eyes. "What is it? Don't rush, tell me slowly."
It is indeed something to look forward to.
One of the reasons he hadn't seen Qiu Zhang for a long time was...
Another reason comes from Qiu Zhang.
Cho Chang possesses the wildness of Tonks, as well as the youthful energy of a wizard like Hermione.
In addition, she is of Asian descent and possesses the gentle grace of the East.
Such a contrast and combination, and the resulting flavor, are indeed hard to forget.
Qiu Zhang felt the intense gaze emanating from Sean, swallowed hard, and struggled internally.
She stood somewhat stiffly, looked up and met Sean's gaze, and suddenly found herself at a loss for words, unsure of where to begin.
Faced with this situation, Sean did not urge him.
After not seeing each other for a long time, we always need some small interactions to break the ice.
Then, as if he had suddenly remembered something, he took out a notebook from the briefcase next to him and handed it over under Qiu Zhang's somewhat puzzled gaze.
"Here, this is a new school term gift for you. I think you'll like it."
Qiu Zhang was a little stunned. When he took the notebook, his eyes unconsciously glanced at the cover.
It was a thick leather notebook with a simple cover, decorated with only a few lines of simple strokes.
"This is-"
Sure enough, faced with the doubt, the sense of unfamiliarity suddenly diminished, replaced by curiosity and confusion—she looked up at Sean, somewhat puzzled.
Sean smiled slightly. "I remember you once said you wanted to improve your skills and master some new tactics. Open it up and take a look."
This sentence is also the finishing touch.
Girls are generally emotional, and when someone mentions remembering what she said and putting it into action, it can be quite touching.
Cho Chang then looked down and opened the notebook to the first page, where a detailed analysis of Quidditch techniques was neatly written.
The signature above is Viktor Krum.
On each page, Krum meticulously wrote down his unique insights into different teams' tactics, flying skills, and even the rhythm of the game, as well as some profound analyses on how to stay calm on the field and how to adjust one's attacking style according to the opponent's formation.
Qiu Zhang could hardly believe his eyes.
Those seemingly simple yet profound suggestions left Qiu Zhang deep in thought.
So this is how Quidditch can be played!
This is exactly what is meant by "the greatest truths are the simplest."
Especially on the last page of the notes, Krum explained in detail how to change the rhythm of the game through tacit cooperation with teammates—this made Qiu Zhang so excited that he almost jumped for joy.
If such tactics could be brought back to Ravenclaw, then the ownership of the Quidditch Cup would probably be a foregone conclusion.
"These... these are the things Viktor Krum summarized about Quidditch?"