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The second World's Greatest Wizard Card qualifying tournament, hosted by Witch and Poison, began with tremendous momentum.
The Daily Prophet ran three consecutive interviews introducing the event.
With real prize money on the line, many wizards began practicing whenever they had free time. Friends pulled friends in, and even wizards who had not cared much about Wizard Cards at first gradually became interested.
The wizarding world had never had much entertainment. Wizard Cards had a broad audience and had formed its own social circle, much like Quidditch.
In truth, not every wizard loved Quidditch. Many simply followed along because everyone around them liked it.
Following the crowd was only human.
Compared with Quidditch, which required strong physical ability, Wizard Cards were much easier to enter. They suited both old and young.
With the European Wizard Series card packs officially released, wizarding Europe grew excited. Some wizards even traveled from other countries specifically to participate.
Wizard Card sales reached a new peak.
The matter did not stop there.
After the Famous Wizard Series went on sale, many wizards who considered themselves important began to feel that not being included was embarrassing.
Competition over status existed everywhere.
At first, Dudley had actively invited famous British wizards to authorize their portraits. Now, wizards were coming to request cards of their own.
Even Lucius Malfoy, who usually looked down on everyone, visited the Carrow family one evening.
Even Minister Fudge was not immune.
So another batch of famous wizards from various countries was printed as expansion packs.
News of the tournament reached even Hogwarts. Many older students had already prepared their decks.
"The Wizard Card tournament is starting again. Brother D, are you joining?"
At dinner, Ron came to the Slytherin table with lamb chops in both hands. Harry, Hermione, Neville, and the others came with him.
Gryffindor and Slytherin still had occasional friction, but they were far less hostile than they had been in first year.
The House Cup belonged to the disciplinary group anyway. None of the four Houses could even get close to it. Without that competition, many conflicts naturally faded. Quidditch still had rankings, but even that had become healthier rivalry.
Students might be taught the wrong ideas at home, but school could correct them.
After all, once they started at Hogwarts, how many days did they actually spend at home each year?
Most of their time was at school. If the atmosphere on campus improved, much of the nonsense disappeared.
Students moving between House tables during meals had become normal. Hufflepuffs went to Gryffindor today, Gryffindors went to Slytherin tomorrow, and the four Houses no longer looked as sharply divided as they had at the beginning.
To Dudley, it felt more like different classes in a school than separate factions.
"No. I do not have that much time." Dudley shook his head at once.
Recently, he had been training Ripple Breathing, researching the communication snails, studying spells, and learning Ancient Runes. He truly did not have the energy for anything else.
"You lot can have fun."
High-intensity study could not continue forever. People were not machines. Even machines needed time to cool down.
Dudley approved of occasional relaxation. Forcing study without pause only reduced efficiency.
"Hermione?" Neville asked.
She shook her head too. "I am not going either."
For her, resting from Charms meant studying Ancient Runes. Resting from Ancient Runes meant studying Transfiguration. If Transfiguration became tiring, then there was always something else.
She truly thought of it as relaxing.
She had never been that interested in Wizard Cards to begin with. She cared because Dudley made them. If he was not joining, she had little reason to compete.
It was a pity, though.
Her hidden-card deck was frighteningly strong.
Dudley patted Harry on the shoulder. "Harry can represent us."
His cousin was different. He loved Wizard Cards and often practiced with Draco and Neville.
As for Ron, his performance was too unstable. When he was strong, he was absurdly strong. When he was weak, he had no combat power at all.
His games depended entirely on luck.
Dudley took out a deck and handed it to Harry. "Take this. I built the deck inside. I hope it helps."
When Harry heard that Dudley had built it personally, his face lit up.
Meanwhile, Sirius Black, who had finally been released by the Ministry, was staying in Lupin's quarters.
Fudge had repeated his story until there was no more political value left to squeeze from it. Only then had the Minister closed the case and cleared Sirius's name.
"Remus, what are Wizard Cards?" Sirius asked curiously.
It was the term he had heard most often lately.
"A popular card game," Lupin said, giving him a simple explanation.
To be honest, he also thought the game was interesting. It was easy to learn, easy to keep playing, and surprisingly strategic.
Unfortunately, his finances were not generous. He could not buy many expansion packs and had to make do with the basic set.
Sirius lost interest as soon as he heard it was a card game.
In his opinion, any game that required thinking was boring.
"Hard to believe Harry did not join the Gryffindor Quidditch team."
"He actually does not like Quidditch!"
Sirius complained to Lupin. Compared with cards, he preferred competitive sports like Quidditch.
Simple, direct, and full of action.
"That is not strange," Lupin said. "Not everyone likes Quidditch."
Lupin himself had only a moderate interest in it, unlike James and Sirius, who had both been devoted fans.
"But James liked it."
Sirius emphasized the point, still unable to understand Harry's lack of interest. "What fun is there without Quidditch?"
"Sirius."
Lupin's tone rarely became so serious.
"James was James. Harry is Harry."
"If you truly want a good relationship with your godson, you had better remember that."
"Harry admires Dudley far more than he admires James."
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