v4 Chapter 81： Puzzles of the Sphinx and Cedric the Unwuthful

Cedric:  …

After listening to the riddle, he was stunned, what is this all about?

The Sphinx seemed to have anticipated this, sitting on her hind lap, looking at Cedric with interest.

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She is very aware of the difficulty of her puzzles. The little wizard in front of her should be able to answer one right, and if she is lucky, she may be able to win another - if he answers one right and one wrong, then do you want to eat him?

The Sphinx was lost in thought.

Cedric pondered for a long time, and he felt that the situation in front of him was really not his area of ​​expertise.

"Can you read it again?" He decided to write down the puzzle first.

"Of course." The Sphinx winked at Cedric, smiled slightly, and read the three puzzles again. Cedric hurriedly wrote them down on the ground.

"Please let me think for a while." Cedric frowned as he looked at the puzzle.

"Of course, you can consider the end of time." The sphinx showed a mysterious smile, and then lay still, like a statue next to the Egyptian pyramids.

Cedric's expression changed, and he vaguely grasped some thoughts, but the thoughts were cunning like a loach, and they disappeared from his mind as soon as he turned around.

He stared at the puzzle on the ground, his brain racing—he was going to start with the first one.

"The thing that devours everything? What kind of monster is it?" Cedric's mind came up with the figure of the troll he just defeated. If it were dozens of times bigger, it might really become the kind of monster that devoured everything. All monsters right? Too bad it doesn't even have twenty feet.

Cedric's train of thought gradually deviated. He began to recall the names of the powerful and magical beasts in the wizarding world: kolamai, thunderbirds, fire dragons...

When he thought of fire dragons, Cedric's expression changed: Fire dragons are very picky eaters, but the flames they spew are not! Will the result be flames? The flame can devour birds and beasts, flowers, plants and trees, and can also burn stones to ashes, and steel into molten iron.

But fire doesn't seem to be able to knock down mountains.

"Kill the kings, destroy the walls, knock down the mountains..." Cedric repeated, frowning.

Why the emphasis on kings? In front of the flames, there seems to be no difference between the king and the wild boar.

Cedric felt that he was one window away from the right answer.

He looked at the Sphinx sitting gracefully in front of him, and a sentence crossed his mind:

"You can consider the end of time."

Yes, it's time! In the face of time, even the sea will turn into a mulberry field. This is the answer! Cedric checked it out and found that the answer to the time puzzle perfectly matched the description of the problem.

"The answer to the first puzzle is time." Cedric replied confidently, while the palm under the robe unconsciously pinched the shell of the port key. If the answer is wrong, he will run away.

The Sphinx showed a friendly smile and nodded to Cedric.

Cedric's puzzle has attracted a lot of attention. However, rather than guessing, more students choose to watch Furong's screen. After all, she's now evading a Norwegian crestback dragon. Most of the people who follow Cedric are Hufflepuff's little wizards and students who love to solve puzzles. They focus on Cedric's puzzles and try to solve them together with Cedric.

"Is the answer actually time? I thought it was a Voldemort bat, after all, that thing can devour everything..."

"How do Voldebats knock down mountains?"

"Isn't it big enough..."

"Then I want to say that flames can burn down mountains!"

While bickering, the little wizards speculated on the answer to the second question.

"Resurrection from the dead, making people laugh, making people cry - it must be the Philosopher's Stone!" Seamus of Gryffindor vowed: "The Philosopher's Stone can make people live forever!"

Ron, who had been staring at Fleur's screen, heard the word "Sorcerer's Stone" and immediately regained his spirits. He turned to look at his classmates, and said with certainty: "The magic stone does have the effect of prolonging life, but it does not meet the introduction in the puzzle. First of all, let's make it clear that the magic stone cannot bring people back to life—— Its function is to prolong life, not resurrection. Second, the effect of magic stone cannot last for a lifetime. In order to prolong life, wizards need to take magic stone continuously."

Seamus looked at Ron like he had seen a ghost. Such a professional analysis was really not something that Ron could tell.

Ron's face was flushed when Seamus saw him. He lowered his head and said in a low voice, "I have studied the efficacy of the Philosopher's Stone very seriously, because it can turn stones into gold! Turn stones into gold!"

Ron, who was born in poverty, desperately hopes to make a fortune. Therefore, he has seriously understood the functions and characteristics of the Philosopher's Stone, and even secretly found a way to refine the Philosopher's Stone-in the end, these attempts ended in failure.

"It's memories." Cedric replied calmly, "Memories contain joys and sorrows, which can make people cry or make people laugh. The dead can be resurrected in the memory, or they can be restored to their youthful appearance. . If not forgotten, memories can accompany people for a lifetime."

The sphinx nodded again, and out of nowhere she pulled out a fragment of the magic ring and a small roll of parchment.

"You can choose the reward, wise warrior." The Sphinx pushed the two treasures towards Cedric with his tail, and she repeated the functions of the two treasures at the same time.

Cedric seems to be in a tangled mess.

He didn't understand the third question at all, and he even felt that he was speechless! He felt that with his own wisdom, he probably couldn't figure it out.

This meant he had to choose between maps and shards.

Either of these two items is a reasonable choice. Maps can help Cedric quickly increase his strength, and fragments are the fundamental purpose of his strengthening. Both options have pros and cons.

"It's so hard to make a choice..." Cedric looked at the two treasures eagerly.

"Think slowly, don't worry, you and I have plenty of time." Sphinx is a very patient magical animal, she sat on the side, watching Cedric worrying on the side with interest.

"You can try to solve the third puzzle, because the first two questions are the foundation, even if you answer wrong, I will not embarrass you." Sphinx gave a small suggestion.

Cedric: Huh.

He has no clue!

But he looked at the two treasures in front of him, and a very Gryffindor approach came to mind.

He pretended to hold two treasures for comparison, with one hand reaching into the inner pocket of the robe.

"Please repeat the third question, please?"

"Of course—" The Sphinx just wanted to repeat the puzzle, but Cedric quickly crushed the cover outside the door key and touched the body of the door key with his fingers.

Cedric disappeared in an instant, along with the magic ring fragment and the map fragment.

"Bastard!" The Sphinx stood up suddenly, roaring angrily. This is the first time someone dared to play it like this since she was born! Her paws made deep scratches on the ground

But no matter how angry the Sphinx was, it couldn't change the fact that Cedric ran away with the door key with two treasures.

"Interesting little guy," Sphinx said through gritted teeth after venting his inner anger, "Don't, don't let me meet you again, good at taking advantage of little smart guys."

The little wizards watching the game were boiling, literally boiling.

Cedric's behavior, at best, is unrestrained, at worst, it is proper, not martial arts, and exploiting loopholes in the rules.

Durmstrang and Beauxbatons' little wizards stood up one after another, shouting: "Cheating! Shameless cheating!"

The little wizards at Hogwarts recovered from their shock. After hearing what Durmstrang and Beauxbatons' little wizards were shouting, they responded unceremoniously:

"This is the fair use rule!"

"The game doesn't forbid it."

"The five-pack of Fleur Delacour is more like cheating!"

...

"Maybe only the referees can give a fair conclusion." Lee Jordan shouted, the scene was too noisy, only in this way could he let his voice overwhelm the movements of others.

He looked at the referee bench behind him, eagerly waiting for the referees' conclusion.

The referees on the jury were also caught in a dispute.

"Headmaster Dumbledore, isn't Cedric's behavior illegal? Isn't the door key we equipped to protect the personal safety of the warriors? How can it be used to exploit such a loophole?" Looking down at Dumbledore, his tone was aggressive.

In her opinion, Cedric was completely exploiting the loophole and should be disqualified immediately.

Karkaroff on the side was much more determined than she was, and looked completely unconcerned. This appearance was keenly captured by Insa May, an outstanding graduate of Durmstrang. A hint of confusion flashed in her eyes: this is not like Professor Karkaroff's reaction!

As the former student council president, Yinsa Meeker knew Karkaroff, the principal, too well. He is a small-minded, short-sighted man. Forgiveness and forgiveness simply don't exist in that person's dictionary.

Can such a person suffer such a loss? Obviously not possible.

Professor Karkaroff's reaction is too abnormal! Insa May came to a conclusion. A conjecture that had been lurking in her heart for a long time came to her mind: Professor Karkaroff should be controlled by someone!

As for the control method, there is a high probability that it is the Imperius Curse, one of the three Unforgivable Curses.

Insa May's conjecture is not groundless. She knows some secrets that outsiders don't know. For example, Professor Karkaroff disappeared for a few days during the summer vacation. When he reappeared, he explained that the pressure of running the school was too great, so he gave himself a vacation.

Many people don't believe this statement at all, and most people think that this person may have been replaced or controlled by the Imperius Curse. Coincidentally, Karkaroff's personality changed a little after the event, which also caused some gossip among Durmstrang's students.

Insa May felt the need to find the truth. At first she thought that someone had used the compound decoction to disguise herself as Professor Karkaroff, but then this speculation was overturned - she had paid close attention to Karkaroff and found that he did not take the opportunity to steal the compound. decoction. This potion needs to be drunk every once in a while, so you can still find clues by careful observation.

But after dozens of days of observation, Yinsa Mei was sure that Professor Karkaroff had no flaws in the compound decoction. Of course, there are more flaws in behavior, and she is more and more sure that her principal should be controlled by the Imperius Curse.

But she didn't know who did it. Her eyes swept over the people around her, and everyone looked suspicious. The mischievous Ludo Bagman, who is hiding something from everyone; Mrs. Maxime, the headmaster of Beauxbatons, is it not normal for an evil half-blood giant to do such a thing? As for the legendary Dumbledore, what kind of person is he? Can he do what he looks like? A kind, gentle man is no match for Grindelwald...

Karkaroff and the others were unaware that there was such a rich mental activity in a young referee at this time.

All eyes were on Dumbledore.

As the host and Cedric's headmaster, Dumbledore had to make a statement.

He stroked his beard and talked about something completely unrelated.

"If I remember correctly, the Apparition exams are scheduled for the students in fifth grade?" Dumbledore glanced at Percy.

"That's right, sir, fifth-graders have been in—"

"Thank you, Mr. Wesley," Dumbledore interrupted Percy without giving Percy more room to play, "Mr. Cedric should be able to Apparate?"

Percy suddenly woke up, "It's like this, Cedric has successfully obtained the qualification for Apparition."

"So Mr. Cedric, who encountered the Sphinx in the wild, could use Apparate to escape even without the Portkey, couldn't he?" Dumbledore's words were persuasive.

Madame Maxime also accepted his explanation.

"We still have to revise the rules as soon as possible lest someone continue to exploit loopholes." Although she accepted the explanation, Mrs. Maxime obviously had some ideas.

"Next time." Dumbledore said with a smile.

After the biggest thorn was softened, the referees quickly unified their opinions.

"After discussion by the referee team, Mr. Cedric's operation is in line with the norms." The host Ludo Bagman shouted enthusiastically, and there was a loud cheer from the audience - this is the little wizard at Hogwarts. celebrate. They cheered, ecstatic for Cedric's breakthrough.

As for the little wizards of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, there was no sound at all. The jury has ruled like this, what else can they do?

————

Four thousand words two in one

Ask for a monthly ticket and a recommendation ticket!

At the same time, I wish you all the best to fish out Wan Ye! Today's Winter Solstice PV is so handsome! What are the side jobs designated by Bai Zhu and Yula~