This came as a surprise to Dumbledore, as he had seen the age line on the floor of the Great Hall, and it showed no signs of being broken, so he was curious as to how Ivan managed to sign up…
However, Dumbledore had no intention of questioning them in public. After urging George and Fred to go to the hospital wing as soon as possible, he left the hall.
The Weasleys, having been warned, did not hesitate to help each other to the infirmary.
Ivan comforted them both, then crossed the threshold into the Great Hall.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting at the Gryffindor table enjoying breakfast and chatting about the Triwizard Tournament.
When they saw Ivan coming through the door, they waved at him.
"Ivan, over here!"
Already hungry, Ivan hurried over to the empty seat Hermione had left for him, stuffed a pastry into his mouth, and asked about the registration of the participants.
"The Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students have been here, and I saw Cedric of Hufflepuff put his name in!" Harry exclaimed.
Ron added, "Angelina was the only one who signed up for Gryffindor all morning, and George and Fred tried to fool her with Ageing Potions, but they failed…"
Ivan nodded. It seemed that his method of registering for the competition had not been leaked. The senior he met last night was quite trustworthy.
"I've told you before, these little tricks can't possibly affect the magic Professor Dumbledore sets up…" Hermione took the opportunity to lecture them, trying to discourage them from becoming champions.
Harry and Ron refused to listen, and after a few perfunctory replies, the conversation turned to Ivan.
They were curious as to why Ivan was up so late today, and they couldn't wake him up in the morning…
"It's Saturday off, isn't it? You have to let me sleep more!" Ivan replied, yawning.
Hermione looked at Ivan suspiciously, thinking that something was amiss, and then, as if she had suddenly thought of something, she asked coldly, "You didn't sneak in here last night to break Professor Dumbledore's age line, did you?"
Harry and Ron immediately realised this and stared at Ivan.
Ivan hesitated for a moment. He wanted to find an excuse to get away with it, but he knew that his name would definitely be called during the banquet later. There was no way he could hide it, so he could only speak vaguely.
"You could say that!"
"Oh my God, you didn't call us for something this important!" Ron exclaimed as he rushed forward excitedly. "What happened? Did it work?"
Ivan didn't know whether to answer or not, and although Harry and the others' registration didn't affect him, there were so many young wizards watching the Goblet of Fire during the day that he could hardly keep out of sight.
Telling Ron and Harry would mean the whole school knew…
As Ivan was having a headache, Professor McGonagall came in from the other side of the hall and waved him over.
"Hales! You come with me for a moment…"
"I'm sorry, Ron, but I have to go. Professor McGonagall is looking for me! I'll tell you when I get back…" Ivan looked as if he had seen his savior. He ate two bites of dessert and ran away.
Harry and Ron, who were left behind, looked at each other, increasingly convinced that Ivan had found a way to break the age limit.
Hermione rolled her eyes at them. "That's impossible. Professor Dumbledore said no one could cross that age line!"
… .
At the same time, McGonagall led Ivan away from the crowded Great Hall and into the deserted Tower.
Along the way, McGonagall explained to Ivan the principles behind the release of restrictive magic.
"The age line that Albus set up is also a type of restrictive magic. With your current level of magic, it will be difficult to break it head-on, but there are ways to do so!
Once you find the magic node and destroy it, you can temporarily disable it."
McGonagall explained everything to Ivan.
This magical node was naturally left behind by Dumbledore to facilitate Ivan's deciphering!
However, McGonagall did not reveal the exact location of the node. She intended to use it as a test for Ivan to find his own way.
McGonagall took a pocket watch out of her wizarding robe and opened it. "It's ten-thirty in the morning. You have almost eight hours to find this watch before the feast starts!"
"Hales, I've already told you how to cross the age line. It's up to you to do it!" McGonagall laughed.
"You should have told me before, Professor!" Ivan said, looking very strange.
"I don't think it's too late, do you?" McGonagall tried to reassure Ivan, thinking he was worried about running out of time. "You have to have faith in yourself, Hulse. Eight hours is more than enough time to find that magic node…"
"No, Professor! I mean… I put the name in that Goblet of Fire last night!" Ivan threw up his hands, his face full of innocence, but his words were clear: You're too late, Professor!
"What? You signed up for the competition last night?" Professor McGonagall stopped in her tracks and stared at Ivan in shock.
Ivan had no intention of hiding the truth, so he told her exactly how he had done it.
McGonagall's mouth twitched as she listened. She had not expected Ivan to use such a "special" method to get around Dumbledore's age line.
McGonagall was even more embarrassed by her own words. After a while, she shook her head with a wry smile and sighed.
"I guess I worried for nothing, Hales!"
"Professor, this was an unexpected idea. Otherwise, I would have had to ask you for help…"
Ivan wasn't going to be pleased with himself just because he had put his name into the Goblet of Fire early on. He understood that McGonagall was trying to help him.
Even though it was said a little too late and it didn't do any good, Ivan took the hint.
After explaining this misunderstanding, Ivan had no intention of returning to the Great Hall. He did not want Ron and the others to ask him questions, so he decided to decorate the castle with a Transfiguration Charm to welcome the Halloween feast…
It wasn't until early evening, when Ivan thought the feast was about to begin, that he strolled towards the Great Hall.