Seeing that both Arthur and "Moody" had agreed, Dumbledore added in a low voice:
"Don't let Harry notice. He's already anxious enough. Greater trials still await him."
Professor McGonagall, seeing that Dumbledore had not accepted her suggestion, felt there was little point in staying any longer. She turned and left with Hermione.
Arthur naturally followed.
Outside the room, McGonagall first offered her congratulations to Hermione. She was genuinely delighted that her student had become a champion—if Hermione could bring the trophy home as well, it would be a tremendous honor.
But soon after, her tone turned serious. She repeatedly reminded Hermione that safety must come first during the competition. Glory meant nothing if it came at the cost of her wellbeing.
It was obvious how deeply McGonagall cared for her student.
After a round of heartfelt reminders, McGonagall finally sent Hermione and Arthur back to their dormitory to rest. So much had happened tonight, and it was already very late.
Once they had said goodbye to McGonagall, Hermione turned toward Arthur, her eyes full of anticipation.
Compared to McGonagall's congratulations, she was far more eager to hear his.
Arthur saw right through her. He reached out and gently brushed her hair.
"Congratulations, my little witch," he said softly. "Hogwarts' champion."
Hermione's face lit up instantly.
Seeing how adorable she looked, Arthur couldn't help but lean down and peck her cheek.
But the young witch clearly wasn't satisfied—she puckered her lips at him in protest.
With a helpless smile, Arthur kissed her again, this time properly.
Hermione finally got what she wanted and laughed happily, looking foolishly cute.
"Alright," Arthur said, squeezing her hand. "It's late. Let's go back and sleep."
Hand in hand, they headed toward the dormitory.
Meanwhile, in Gryffindor Tower…
Harry had already returned to the dormitory. Having just finished washing up, he sat leaning against his bed, trying to figure out how he was supposed to survive the Triwizard Tournament.
No matter how much he thought about it, it was useless—he didn't even know what the first task would be.
Ron passed by his bed and suddenly asked,
"How did you do it?"
Before Harry could answer, Ron continued bitterly,
"Forget it. No point asking. You didn't even tell your best mate."
"Tell you what?" Harry asked, completely confused.
"You know exactly what," Ron replied coldly.
"Ron, listen to me. I honestly don't know what's going on either. I don't even know how my name ended up in the Goblet."
Harry tried to explain, but Ron didn't believe him.
"Oh, get lost. Who do you think would buy that?"
With that, Ron turned over in bed, pulling the covers over himself, his back facing Harry—clearly done with the conversation.
"…Fine. Whatever."
Seeing that his friend refused to trust him, Harry couldn't be bothered to say more. He took off his glasses and lay down to sleep.
The Lands Between — Raya Lucaria Grand Library
Arthur's figure appeared within the vast library, with Ranni at his side.
Because of their summer travels in the Eastern lands—where convenience had often been lacking—Arthur hadn't returned to the Lands Between in nearly two months.
The moment he arrived, he received a message from Sellen, asking him to come to the Grand Library.
It just so happened that Ranni hadn't seen her mother in quite some time either, so Arthur brought her along.
Upon returning, Arthur first accompanied Ranni to see Rennala, greeting his mother-in-law.
After that, he went to meet Sellen.
Ranni stayed behind to catch up with Rennala, while Arthur headed deeper into the academy.
When Sellen saw him, she spoke gently:
"My apprentice… it's been a long time. The matter you entrusted to me is complete. The Academy has been fully reclaimed."
"Though our numbers are still small, everything is moving in a positive direction. As you instructed, I removed all those stubborn, single-school purists."
"I've also reorganized lunar magic and stellar magic. Following your ideas, I merged them and compiled an entirely new curriculum."
Sellen didn't say it outright, but Arthur knew well enough—
Accomplishing all this in such a short time could not have been easy. She must have faced immense resistance, yet she hadn't complained once.
"Teacher," Arthur said sincerely, "you've worked hard."
"Oh, nonsense," Sellen waved it off lightly.
"It's a teacher's duty to shoulder their student's burdens. As long as you're satisfied, that's enough."
Arthur nodded.
"More than satisfied. Honestly, you exceeded my expectations."
Hearing this, Sellen smiled in relief.
"Good. Then I can finally pursue the Primeval Current without regrets."
She paused, her voice tinged with melancholy.
"My apprentice… we'll be parting ways for a while."
Her tone carried deep reluctance. She knew exactly what pursuing the Primeval Current meant.
Once she set foot on that path, it might well be a farewell forever.
Primeval sorcerers were a faction within glintstone mages—one long rejected by the academy.
Their method of seeking the origin was to fuse sorcerers together, forming a mass—becoming the seed of a star.
To ordinary glintstone mages, this was nothing short of a nightmare.
Fusion meant discarding emotions, individuality, even thought itself—becoming nothing more than a stone that existed solely for the pursuit of the origin.
And even without taking that extreme path, the end result was often the same.
Sorcerers like Azur and Lusat, whom Arthur had once encountered, had relied on their profound mastery instead of fusion—yet their bodies still crystallized into glintstone.
Their heads became stone, robbing them of speech.
That was the sign of becoming a "star seed."
Because of this, Primeval magic had long been classified as forbidden.
Sellen knew all of this.
Yet despite her deep attachment to Arthur, she still chose to walk this path—because it was her life's purpose.
To abandon it would be to deny her very existence.
Arthur understood this all too well.
As her student, he could have persuaded Sellen to give up her pursuit—but he couldn't guarantee what would happen afterward.
Would she become another Rennala, broken and hollow after losing her purpose?
Arthur wasn't confident he could pull her back from that abyss.
So he chose not to stop her.
Instead, he had already prepared a safeguard—embedded within Sellen's Primal Glintstone, her soul core.
With it, even if she became a sorcerer mass, she would not lose her emotions or sense of self.
She would still be able to act freely in spiritual form.
Arthur smiled at her.
"Then let me wish you success in reaching the origin, Teacher. We'll meet again… soon."
The meaning behind his words was subtle, leaving Sellen momentarily puzzled.
She assumed Arthur simply didn't understand the true cost of pursuing the Primeval Current.
After all, she had never taught him that knowledge.
"My apprentice," Sellen said softly, "before we part… may I have a hug?"
Arthur stepped forward and embraced her.
Sellen leaned into his chest, trying to listen to his heartbeat—
—but the glintstone crown covering her head blocked her completely.
For the first time, she found the crown unbearably obstructive.
After a brief moment, Sellen pulled away.
If she lingered any longer, she feared she wouldn't be able to leave.
"That's enough," she said quietly.
"My apprentice… goodbye."
After bidding Arthur farewell, Sellen left the Grand Library and entered a classroom within the Academy.
Inside were a group of imprisoned glintstone sorcerers—the very purists she had mentioned earlier.
Since Arthur had no intention of accepting them, Sellen decided to make use of them.
Forming a sorcerer mass required many mages.
They didn't need to be Primeval scholars—only glintstone sorcerers.
Ignoring their desperate pleas, Sellen raised her hand and cast her spell.
The room filled with screams—then silence.
As magic flared, the sorcerers' bodies dissolved, turning into streams of light that flowed into their glintstone crowns.
Soon, only piles of crowns remained on the floor.
With a wave of her hand, Sellen gathered them around herself.
The crowns circled her, forming a massive sphere of glintstone—
and her own crown became part of it.
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