To be honest, Dudley wasn't very interested in participating in the Triwizard Tournament.
If the Death Eaters were still going to tamper with the Goblet of Fire as he remembered, Dudley didn't mind getting transported along to give Voldemort a little surprise.
A weak, frail Voldemort would be much easier to deal with than the Dark Lord in his prime.
He just wondered if our old schoolmate Tom was in his baby state now...
Dudley, who was about to leave the Great Hall, suddenly stopped, his expression turning strange.
The system, which hadn't been active in a while, had finally given him a big task.
'A spellcaster must maintain enough curiosity about any unknown thing—win the Triwizard Tournament and touch Voldemort's nose.'
Touch Voldemort's nose?
So here's the problem: does that thing Voldemort even have a nose?
Or was he supposed to put one on his face for him?
Was the system trying to make trouble?
"Dudley, what's wrong?"
Seeing that Dudley was standing still and not moving, Hermione also stopped, turning to him with a look of confusion.
"I suddenly feel like doing something..."
"What?"
"Participating in the Triwizard Tournament."
Hermione wasn't surprised by Dudley's words.
Dumbledore had just said that the Goblet of Fire would select the most outstanding wizards from the three schools.
Who was the most outstanding young wizard at Hogwarts?
It was none other than Dudley.
This was a universally recognized fact at Hogwarts.
Just then, Harry's head popped out from around the corner of the door. "D-Dog, Cedric said he's going to enter."
Cedric Diggory, the rising star of Hufflepuff, and a very (outstanding) member.
Of course, he was also the first young wizard to join the Disciplinary Committee after the original group of six.
According to the original plot... Cedric represented Hogwarts in the Triwizard Tournament, was transported with Harry to the cemetery in Little Hangleton, and was killed by Wormtail with a single Avada Kedavra.
"Tell him he's out of luck."
Dudley said calmly, pulling out a piece of parchment and scribbling a few words on it. He walked straight toward the 'Age Line' that Dumbledore had just cast.
The Age Line, which should have reacted, seemed not to exist at all, letting Dudley walk right through and toss the parchment with his name on it into the Goblet of Fire.
The whole process was seamless and went off without a hitch.
The blue-white flame in the Goblet of Fire seemed to burn even more intensely.
"Of course, it's Mr. Dursley."
The students who were still in the Great Hall saw this and exclaimed with genuine admiration.
Just moments ago, Professor Dumbledore had said that only those who were 17 could enter, but it hadn't been long at all, and Mr. Dursley had already used his actions to break that rule.
So far, there was nothing Mr. Dursley couldn't do.
After Dudley left, some young wizards who were not of age also tried to imitate him, but without exception, the moment they stepped into the 'Age Line,' they were bounced back by a mysterious force.
They couldn't register at all.
The next day, as the morning sun's rays began to appear and the horizon was filled with specks of light.
It was another foggy day, a very common weather pattern at Hogwarts.
The students from Durmstrang had already come down from their common room, the gigantic ghost ship.
Since Durmstrang is located in an extremely cold region, the students who attend school there have developed a good habit of working out in the morning, which is why the Durmstrang students are all very well-built.
Karkaroff glanced at the still-silent Hogwarts castle, a smile unconsciously forming on his lips.
Compared to the diligent Durmstrang students, the Hogwarts students were far too lazy.
'Have your Hogwarts students ever seen the sky at six in the morning? Our Durmstrang students have. Every single day.'
That was the difference between the two schools.
Durmstrang was destined to win the Triwizard Tournament.
Viktor Krum walked at the front of the Durmstrang students, taking the lead in their run. As a professional Quidditch player, he was the tallest of the group, with neat, clean short hair, and his years of training had given him well-defined muscles.
Viktor had barely run two steps when he suddenly stopped, listening intently. He seemed to hear a sound coming from a distance...
"What is it, Viktor?"
Karkaroff looked at the stopped Viktor, asking in confusion.
"I hear a sound, like someone else is running, just like us."
Good boy Viktor answered honestly.
"That's impossible..."
Karkaroff said with disdain. "The people at Hogwarts are lazy bums, a bunch of people who only know how to enjoy themselves."
However, just as he finished this sentence, his face turned extremely ugly.
Because he also heard that sound.
"Ha-huh-ha..."
This time the sound was much closer and clearer.
The wizards from Durmstrang looked at each other.
They heard it; it wasn't an illusion. Along with the shouting, there was a uniform sound.
The sound was all too familiar... It was running!
Out of the thick fog, several strong figures emerged.
A man even more powerfully built than Viktor, like a bodybuilding coach, was leading the run, followed by two young wizards with physiques not inferior to Viktor's, and then several more figures.
It's Dursley, Potter, and Longbottom!
Viktor recognized the identity of a few of them.
"One, two, one, two, one, two, three, four!"
"One, two, three, four!"
Dudley led the shouting of the chant, and the others behind him followed suit.
The group jogged over to stand in front of Viktor and his group.
"Morning workout?"
"Uh, yeah."
Viktor nodded dumbly. He clearly saw the dense sweat on their bodies, a sign that they had been exercising for a long time.
"Keep up the good work. We're done. See you at the Great Hall later."
"Okay, okay..." Viktor nodded blankly.
Dudley patted Viktor on the shoulder and then left with the members of the Disciplinary Committee.
It wasn't until they had completely disappeared that Viktor came to his senses as if waking from a dream.
That brief contact had made him clearly feel the explosive strength in the other's body.
Yesterday, because everyone was wearing robes, it wasn't very obvious, but today he could clearly see the massive pectoral muscles on the other's body, which were bouncing with every step.
If they were to play Quidditch...
They would be perfect for any position.
So, Hogwarts did have morning workouts, and they even started earlier than they did.
Karkaroff's face was gloomy, and he looked very unhappy. He didn't say a single word during the entire encounter.
'The sky at six in the morning?'
'Have you seen Hogwarts at four in the morning?'