A collective shiver of genuine fear ran down the spines of the assembled students from Kunlun's magical academy.
They very quickly suppressed the briefly tempting thought that had been rising in their minds.
They harbored absolutely no doubt whatsoever regarding the complete truth and sincerity of Sunny Finch's deadly promise.
Sunny herself glanced briefly toward Erwin's position across the Great Hall.
In truth, if circumstances genuinely permitted it, she would have genuinely liked to cultivate a similar level of unified devotion and formal structure among her own followers.
But she understood her limitations with perfect clarity—she simply couldn't replicate Erwin's unique ability to inspire and unite people across such diverse backgrounds.
While the Kunlun students usually appeared outwardly polite and cooperative in group settings, their underlying cultural conditioning was inherently far too individually proud and competitive for such displays.
Throughout the entire documented history of Eastern magical education, there had only ever been one singular leader who achieved universal acceptance and devotion from the complete student body.
Therefore, Sunny genuinely didn't believe she could possibly achieve such an unprecedented feat herself.
Furthermore, although she had already grown remarkably strong for her age, there remained numerous practitioners considerably more powerful than herself back home—many graduated alumni possessed capabilities far exceeding her current level.
While those senior practitioners might not match Erwin's absolutely exceptional strength, they were still demonstrably far more powerful than Sunny herself currently was.
Therefore, accomplishing what Erwin had achieved was utterly impossible for her given current circumstances. Naturally, she wouldn't even seriously entertain the notion.
The other two visiting delegations found themselves in remarkably similar positions regarding internal hierarchy.
For example, Fleur Delacour and the star Quidditch athlete from Beauxbatons Academy. Although their individual skills and magical capabilities clearly surpassed those of their fellow students, they couldn't possibly achieve Erwin's kind of overwhelming dominance and unified following.
Naturally, they couldn't hope to reach his unique position either.
The day proceeded relatively uneventfully aside from the dramatic battle between Erwin and Grindelwald that had dominated everyone's attention.
Regular classes continued as scheduled throughout the afternoon and evening.
The students from the three visiting international delegations were systematically exposed to magical knowledge and techniques they had never encountered in their home institutions.
For the Kunlun students in particular, Western wandwork and spell-casting represented something completely novel and fascinating.
They demonstrated extraordinary interest and aptitude for the new material.
After merely one full day of introductory classes, despite not yet possessing their own personal wands, they had already successfully memorized dozens of complex spell-casting methods and wand movements with perfect accuracy.
For students trained in Kunlun's rigorous educational traditions, memorizing such theoretical material was almost trivially easy.
After all, they possessed natural talents for information retention and recall that Western practitioners could never hope to fully comprehend or replicate.
At least, that represented their own confident self-assessment of the situation.
Erwin, however, observed certain scenes throughout the day that struck him as genuinely strange and somewhat concerning.
For instance, he witnessed one Kunlun student carefully holding a piece of enchanted parchment precisely between two fingers, moving them in the exact wand pattern for casting the Levitation Charm.
The parchment promptly caught fire and burned rather than levitating—though in fairness to the student's technique, the parchment itself was admittedly quite flammable by nature.
Through observing this student's earnest but misguided actions, Erwin definitively confirmed an experimental hypothesis he had been developing.
Specifically: the fundamentally different magical traditions of East and West absolutely could not be casually combined or substituted so easily without extensive additional research and adaptation.
At the evening banquet, after the assembled young wizards had eaten and drunk their fill of the excellent feast, Dumbledore rose from his position at the staff table.
"Quiet down, everyone! I have an important announcement to make regarding the upcoming Tournament!"
Every young wizard throughout the Great Hall immediately turned their full attention toward the Headmaster standing on the elevated platform.
Dumbledore's voice rang out clearly. "Regarding this year's Four-School Tournament, after extensive discussions among representatives of the four participating institutions and the Ministry of Magic, we have collectively decided to implement some significant rule modifications!"
Upon hearing this unexpected announcement, the eyes of practically every student in the hall lit up instantly with renewed excitement and speculation.
Having never truly experienced the genuine mortal danger of the historical Triwizard Tournament firsthand, they possessed no realistic understanding of its actual perils and lethal risks.
In their innocent, youthful perspectives, they simply desperately wanted the opportunity to participate personally and potentially become celebrated champions themselves.
The assembled students immediately began murmuring urgently amongst themselves with speculation.
"Are they finally going to remove the ridiculous age restriction?"
"Merlin's beard, they absolutely should have eliminated that arbitrary rule ages ago! Only those of us currently under seventeen truly understand how absurdly unfair this restriction actually is!"
"Honestly, I think we should be considerably more concerned about Erwin Cavendish from Hogwarts than about whatever specific rule changes they announce!"
"His combat performance today was absolutely terrifying to witness! With that demonstrated level of raw power and skill, if he actually participated in the Tournament, literally no one else would stand even a remote chance against him!"
"Exactly right. If Erwin enters the competition, the rest of us might as well not even bother trying."
Students from all four participating schools surreptitiously sized up Erwin's position at the Slytherin table with various expressions of wariness and calculation.
Erwin himself remained utterly calm and apparently unconcerned, casually savoring the expertly prepared sweet and sour pork ribs placed before him.
"I must acknowledge," he murmured appreciatively, "Dobby's culinary skills are improving remarkably with each passing week."
On the elevated staff platform, Dumbledore couldn't help glancing enviously at the elaborate dishes arranged on Erwin's personal plate. He visibly swallowed with obvious longing.
If circumstances genuinely permitted it, he would absolutely love to sample Dobby's legendary cooking himself.
But Dobby now cooked exclusively for Erwin as his personal house-elf. Each elaborate dish required Dobby to prepare meticulously for extended periods before serving it properly to his chosen master.
This unique arrangement paradoxically made Dobby simultaneously both the busiest and the most idle of all Hogwarts' house-elves.
Busy because he frequently had to leave the castle grounds entirely to personally source the absolute freshest and highest-quality ingredients from suppliers throughout Britain and beyond.
Yet simultaneously idle because he ultimately only needed to attend to Erwin's relatively modest personal requirements rather than serving hundreds of students.
Dumbledore cleared his throat loudly. "Gentlemen and ladies, please maintain silence! We will absolutely not be removing the age restriction for safety reasons. Believe me sincerely, once you learn the specific details of the Tournament's challenges, you will be profoundly grateful we maintained this protective measure! However, we do understand and acknowledge your other significant concern, which pertains directly to our exceptionally talented Mr. Erwin Cavendish."
Dumbledore glanced meaningfully toward Erwin's position.
Erwin completely ignored the pointed look, which stung Dumbledore's pride slightly.
Fortunately, the Headmaster possessed sufficiently thick skin to proceed regardless.
"Mr. Erwin Cavendish will not be participating in this Tournament as a competing champion," Dumbledore announced clearly.
The moment he finished that pronouncement, the entire Great Hall absolutely erupted into chaos.
For students from the three visiting schools, this represented genuinely excellent news that dramatically improved their competitive prospects.
But for Hogwarts' own students, the announcement was decidedly unwelcome and disappointing.
While the four houses maintained their traditional internal rivalries throughout the regular school year, this Tournament represented direct competition between the schools themselves as unified entities.
Erwin was extraordinarily powerful—if he competed, Hogwarts was virtually guaranteed to claim absolute victory. How could the young wizards of Hogwarts possibly be happy about his deliberate exclusion from representing them?
The Slytherin students' reaction proved even more dramatically negative than the other houses.
Pansy Parkinson slammed her hand forcefully on the table and shot to her feet.
"This is completely unfair! This represents blatant, deliberate targeting of our First Hand! I swear on my family's honor, if you actually proceed with this discriminatory exclusion, my family will immediately file formal complaints with the Hogwarts Board of Governors!"
Draco Malfoy also stood abruptly. "I will inform my father about this outrageous situation! I absolutely will! You are specifically targeting and discriminating against the First Hand, and no one with any integrity will stand idly by and permit it!"
The other assembled Slytherins glared with open hostility and anger directly at Dumbledore's position.
Even Hermione Granger felt compelled to speak up. "Professor Dumbledore, with all due respect, this decision is transparently unfair to implement. Erwin is legitimately a member of Hogwarts' student body; he possesses the fundamental right to participate in the Tournament! He has earned the right to represent Hogwarts and compete for championship honors!"
Dumbledore felt a genuine headache beginning to form behind his temples.
Good heavens, these passionate young wizards were dramatically overreacting to a perfectly reasonable safety measure.
Erwin calmly set down his silverware with a soft clink.
He spoke quietly but with absolute authority. "Pansy, Draco—sit down immediately. And you as well, Hermione, please take your seat."
Pansy and Draco both glanced uncertainly toward Erwin.
Pansy began to protest. "But, my lord—"
Erwin's expression hardened noticeably, his voice taking on a stern edge. "Sit down now. I specifically taught all of you that no matter what circumstances arise, you absolutely do not interrupt others before they have completely finished speaking their full thoughts! Additionally, remain constantly mindful of your manners and proper decorum! Especially when performing before guests from other institutions!"