A surpising revelation

Once inside I closed the door and saw her take a seat at her desk. "So what's the problem?" she asked.

I didn't answer but instead whispered, "Rivelio," I felt my face itch and burn up again and I felt myself getting slightly shorter. I saw Monet's face change from a frown to surprise to shock and finally a laugh.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"You're the kid who beat up those 6 and alluded the Aurors like it was nothing. Everyone is talking about it. I get it, you're probably worried that the clothes won't fit because of the stature change. Right?" she said with a knowing smile.

"Yes, that right." I nodded with surprise.

"Then it's much simpler this way. The clothes can change shape to fit the wearer. You can be obese or anorexic and the clothes will shrink or expand to fit your size." She said confidently. I was amazed at the power of magic once again. It was so convenient.

"And here I thought you couldn't pay." She chuckled. I laughed as well and placed a pouch on the table that had 200 galleons inside. "Thank you for the clothing Madame Monet." I nodded.

"No worries. You're a very talented kid. Good luck in school. I heard they're holding the once in a decade duelling competition between Ilvermorny and Mahoutokoro in Japan. You should participate. With your capabilities, you might reach a high level." She revealed to my shock.

"I didn't know that was a thing. Especially between these two countries if we take into consideration their history." I said truthfully. Monet laughed at my words.

"Most of the time we don't care for the squabbled between No-Maj people. As long as both magical communities stay out of it, wizards don't participate. The competition has been going on for two centuries. It started out in 1802 and has been going on since then." She paused and then shook her head.

"But we haven't been able to take the lead for long. Every time we win one, they win the one afterwards. We can never cement our lead. Ilvermorny has won 9 so far and so has Mahoutokoro." She said before sighing.

I was amazed that they had something like that going on. It reminded me of the Triwizard cup.

"So how does it work?" I asked.

"They will hold and school-wide competition where the top ten will be selected. Everyone can enter but usually, it's the 7th years that take all the slots. Then, depending on the rotation, either we go over to Mahoutokoro or they come over to Ilvermorny. This time sadly, we'll have to fight on their home ground." She didn't seem to have little confidence.

"Why does it matter where the tournament is held?" I asked.

"It makes all the difference. One side is accustomed to the environment and is being cheered on by their entire school. The other side is forced to stay in a foreign land that they are unaccustomed to and are placed under a lot of pressure from being spectated by the opposing school. This puts heavy psychological pressure on the visiting team. And usually, that is more than enough to affect their performance." She concluded.

I understood. It was naturally to be nervous. After all, not only were they representing the school but they were now being subjected to intense pressure from being in an unfamiliar environment.

"I understand. I'll see if I can participate. After all, it sounds like fun. Do you know how long the competition lasts?" I asked.

"The selection will start in October and will last two weeks. After that, the selected participants will have 2 weeks to get ready and the competition will start in November and will go on for a week. After all, it's duelling. Usually, battles like those don't go on for more than a couple of minutes at most." She said casually.

I nodded. It made sense. Unlike the Triwizard tournament, there wasn't that much planning involved. And the battles only went for several minutes so it would be unrealistic to stretch it out. As I was thinking about how to make it work with my initial goal a crazy idea popped into my head.

'Drak, Achlys, how about we make a deal with the headmaster. I will guarantee victory and in return, they help me with a key that is of no use to them.' I proposed.

[sounds like a good idea. The headmaster would probably take the bet. But they would test you, so you better be ready for that. And it would make our life easier. We would no longer have to sneak around. Naturally, the headmaster might not know either. So, we might still need to search for it.] Drak said.

{I don't really care. But if I have to give my two cents, then I would say it's worth a shot.} Achlys said dismissively.

'It seems we have ourselves a plan.' I nodded to myself.

"Anyway. It was a pleasure chatting with you, Madame Monet. Look forward to the news of Ilvermonry's victory." I said with a smile before getting up.

"Confidence of arrogance?" she asked. I shrugged. "Who knows." I then waved my hand and transfigured myself into the same disguise as before and walked out the door where Alfred was waiting.

Back in the office, Madame Monet was sweating. "What a talented little kid. I was going to use Legilimency to try and peek at his secrets, but I suddenly got the feeling that I was being stared at by two hungry beasts. He is definitely not as simple as he looks." She mumbled to herself.