Chapter 384: Argument
Chapter 384: Argument
"Ron Weasley", Dumbledore called out again.
Ron was completely stunned. He couldn't help but wonder if there was another first-year student named "Ron" in the school, but he was the only one with the last name Weasley.
Soon, he stood up excitedly, I'm a champion, I'm a champion now!
He grabbed the dazed Hermione and walked over to Harry with a happy smile, whispering in his ear, "You're amazing, mate! I thought you had left me behind. How did you do it? Did you use the invisibility cloak at night? To be honest, you should have woken me up. I haven't seen it yet..."
"I didn't put any piece of paper in there!" Harry said irritably. He couldn't help but get angry; why couldn't Ron see that he hadn't done anything?
"Alright... you three, go through that door", Dumbledore said, his face devoid of a smile.
The Great Hall buzzed with chatter, making Harry's mind chaotic. He just wanted to leave as quickly as possible and find a quiet corner to think. He strode away without a backward glance, as if trying to shake off his troubles. Hermione followed closely, her face filled with worry—Ron walked last, deliberately slowing down and straightening his chest, walking like the great figures he imagined in his mind. The only regret was that there wasn't much applause in the Great Hall.
Harry pushed open the door, which he had been craning his neck to peer into earlier. Now he could finally see clearly. It was a small room with Wizard portraits hanging on both walls. As they entered, a wrinkled witch left her frame and whispered to a Wizard in the neighboring portrait. Below the portraits were six or seven spacious sofas, reminding Harry of the Arcane Club. The fireplace opposite them had a roaring fire.
Harry realized this was not a place for quiet thinking. Fifteen pairs of eyes stared at them, and in that moment, their gazes made Harry feel suffocated. Ron pushed him from behind, grinning and poking his head out, "What are you waiting for, Harry? Do you want them to get a better look at the youngest champion?"
"Shut up!" Harry said, but it was too late. A few steps away on one of the sofas, a girl who looked like a Veela, possibly named Fleur, raised her delicate face and looked at them in surprise, "You're the champions?"
"I..."
Before Harry could answer, she turned her head, her silver hair swishing, and the scent that hit Harry made him choke on his words. He heard Fleur say to someone, "Cedric, your students really know how to joke around..."
Harry then noticed that opposite Fleur sat the three Hogwarts champions. Cedric smiled at him, "Is there something you need? We can't hear much with all the commotion outside."
Harry found himself suddenly unable to speak, especially in front of the three Hogwarts champions. It felt as if Snape had secretly cast a Tongue-Tying Curse on him.
At that moment, a hurried set of footsteps approached, and Ludo Bagman ran over, "Why are you all blocking the door?" he said cheerfully, pushing Harry, Ron, and Hermione into the room. The warm air inside enveloped them.
"Absolutely incredible!" Bagman squeezed Harry's arm, dragging him to the center of the room. He looked around, as if reciting a classic dramatic line, "Absolutely incredible! Gentlemen... and ladies, allow me to introduce—though it may seem unbelievable—the sixth group of champions in the Triwizard Tournament!"
He seemed oblivious to everyone staring at him and waved at Hermione and Ron, who were still standing by the door, "Come on, this is a real wonder! There are your seniors, you should get to know them—"
Ron tugged at Hermione, but she shook him off. So, he walked over alone, straightening his back. He was now dazed, filled with overwhelming joy. He suddenly wanted to raise his wand and cast a Patronus Charm. He felt he could definitely succeed; he was a champion after all! This was a scene he had never even seen in the Mirror of Erised in his first year.
But Fleur's words poured cold water on his excitement—
"Excuse me, Mr. Bagman", Fleur said, "There must be a mistake. They can't compete; they are too young—two little boys and a little girl."
Harry, whose mind was a jumbled mess of emotions—seeing Cedric's confused expression, Krum frowning by the fireplace, his expression dark and uncertain, Bagman's wide-eyed shock, and the three Vagado champions eyeing them warily—felt a surge of anger at Fleur's words.
Little boys?
At that moment, a loud thud echoed as the door was slammed open. Madam Maxime, tall and imposing, entered, followed by a group of Headmasters and a pale-faced Barty Crouch.
“What does this mean, Dumbledore?” she said angrily, her head almost touching the chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The chandelier, filled with magical lights, blocked a large portion of the light when she stood up, instantly darkening the room.
“I would like to know that as well, Dumbledore,” Karkaroff said, a cold smile on his face and icy eyes.
The other Headmasters were furious, ready to pounce at any moment.
The Great Hall was a different scene—
Felix crouched halfway, examining the extinguished Goblet of Fire closely. It looked as if a clumsy carpenter had carved it with an ill-suited axe, lacking even a single smooth surface.
But he was examining it with great seriousness, his eyes flickering with light.
“Do you see anything, Felix?” Flitwick whispered. “Is there something wrong with the Goblet of Fire?”
“It’s easy to draw that conclusion. The question is, who and how,” Felix murmured. “What worries me more is the unique pair of champions… it’s not necessarily a good thing.”
Flitwick looked at him hesitantly, “Dumbledore will figure it out, won’t he?”
At that moment, the Great Hall was in chaos, with many professors spontaneously maintaining order. “Prefects, take charge,” Professor Sprout called out. “The Headmasters will deliberate and come to a decision. We just need to wait.”
“Not waiting!” a gruff voice said.
Professor Sprout turned around, taken aback by the limping figure approaching, “Professor Moody…?”
Moody remained in the Great Hall.
He moved past Professor Sprout, his magical eye whirling wildly in its socket, scanning the chaotic students in the Great Hall.
“Silence!” he bellowed. “Now listen to me,” he paced through the crowd, the dull thud of his wooden cane echoing, “There’s been an incident. Your Headmasters have more pressing matters to handle, and I need to ask some questions—”
He raised his head, his eyes sweeping over the crowd, and said softly, “I know some of you took an unconventional path or were afraid of embarrassment… in any case, you chose to sign up at night… when it was quiet… you thought you were alone, but there was another stealthy figure in the darkness. I am certain that some of you saw him… the unusual things, the things that were different from usual… strange shadows, unreasonable reflections. Think hard and tell me.”
In the unsettling commotion, the young wizards looked around, and a Hufflepuff student tentatively raised a trembling hand.
“You? You! What did you see, child?”
Moody strode over, one hand around the young wizard, leaning down to ask. The young wizard was terrified, trying to keep as far away from Moody’s magical eye as possible.
“Professor Moody, you’re scaring him,” Felix said, standing beside Moody, subtly observing him.
“You’re right, Professor Hup.” Moody smacked his lips, a smile stretching across his scarred face, making it even more terrifying.
However, he stepped back, making room.
Felix rescued the young wizard from Moody’s grip, asking gently, “What’s your name? What year are you in?”
“Owen, Owen Caldwell, sir,” the young wizard stammered. “I’m in my first year.”
Felix smiled, “You can call me Professor Hup. So, Mr. Caldwell, you were out at night? That’s quite brave for a first-year. Tell me what you saw.”
“It wasn’t a night out, Professor Hup,” Owen emphasized, seeing Moody lower his head again, the terrifying face drawing closer, he quickly closed his eyes, “I wanted to find some food in the kitchen. Eleanor told me, she’s my friend… but on the way back, I thought the Goblet of Fire was in the entrance hall, and I could take a look… Professor, I didn’t mean to break the rules.”
“Hmm, I understand. What did you see?” Felix probed.
“I, I saw… saw…” he stammered, suddenly opening his eyes wide, “The Headmaster of Durmstrang!”
The Great Hall fell silent, so quiet that a pin could be heard dropping.
“That’s impossible! He’s lying!” a Durmstrang student said indignantly.
“I’m not!” Owen’s face turned red, and he shouted, “I saw his beard, a beard like a goat’s! Sneaking out of the entrance hall!”
“Good job, kid.” Moody flashed a terrifying grin, pulling Owen towards a room adjacent to the Great Hall, “I need your testimony. Let’s see what they have to say!”
Felix followed behind, pondering the situation. He wasn’t as optimistic as Moody, suspecting that the meeting inside was already in turmoil.
Sure enough, as soon as they pushed open the door, they heard Karkaroff's voice—
"Charter? A biased charter! I insist that my student be allowed to re-enter, along with the other schools, of course, and this time, Hogwarts should be excluded!"
"But Karkaroff, I'm afraid that's not possible", Bagman said uneasily. "The Goblet of Fire has just gone out and won't reignite until the next Triwizard Tournament—"
"The next Triwizard Tournament, Durmstrang will not participate!" Karkaroff raged, pacing back and forth in the narrow room, his silver-furred cloak rustling loudly. "Therefore, I propose that the restrictions on Durmstrang students be lifted, especially concerning Dark Magic—"
"Karkaroff, we agreed—"
"Agreed? Haven't we had enough meetings already? What have they resulted in? Shameful cheating! I feel like leaving right now!"
"Are you crying wolf, Karkaroff!" Moody roared. "All champions must participate in the tournament, as Dumbledore said, bound by a magical contract. Unless you want your student to suffer severe punishment."
Karkaroff glared at him, his eyes red, but he no longer mentioned leaving. He turned to the other three Headmasters, "What about you? Am I the only one opposing this?"
The Headmaster of Vagado, a short witch, spoke. She was seated cross-legged on a sofa by the fireplace, with the three Vagado champions standing behind her. The broad-shouldered student blocked the firelight entirely.
"I've heard that cheating has always been a tradition in the Triwizard Tournament", she said, her mouth curling into a grin that made her look like a bizarre voodoo witch. "But I have always admired Headmaster Dumbledore. If he says there's no cheating, then someone else must have tampered with it—"
"That's why I'm here", Moody gruffly said. "Albus, I have some evidence." He nudged the young wizards, who nervously repeated what they had said in the Great Hall, then closed their eyes, their eyelashes trembling.
Harry watched him from a distance, seeing a reflection of his former self.
At this moment, things seemed to take a turn. Everyone, including the three Durmstrang champions, turned to look at Karkaroff, a Headmaster who had never been popular at the school.
"I, you, you're accusing me!" Karkaroff stammered.
"Then explain why you were in the entrance hall in the middle of the night", Moody growled. "Don't try to deny it; my eye saw you."
Karkaroff stood to the side, looking flustered. He turned to the other three Headmasters, "What do you think?"
"Don't try to change the subject! Clear your own name first!" Moody shouted.
"What do you think I would do?" Karkaroff shouted back. "I'm just cautious by nature, and I habitually check things… Even if I wanted to cheat, I wouldn't create a second group of champions for Hogwarts out of nowhere!"
This made some sense, and the other Headmasters nodded slightly. Everyone wanted their own champions to win and would never do anything to help the other schools get a second chance.
But Moody was relentless, "Perhaps someone's goal isn't to win… Yes", his voice carried a hint of a growl, "perhaps someone wants Potter to die. Yes, some of you might not understand, what's so special about an ordinary little boy… But you know his value, don't you, Karkaroff?"
His magical eye darted around, taking in everyone's expressions, while his one good eye fixed on Karkaroff, spittle flying.
"Don't forget your past, some scum remain scum for life, you—"
"Alastor!" Dumbledore looked at him sternly, and Moody clamped his mouth shut.
Karkaroff, like a wounded creature, suddenly lost all his strength and leaned against the wall. "This is… a threat! I tell you, it wasn't me… There's no reason…"
Madam Maxime snorted loudly, occupying a sofa by herself. "I must remind you, we've gone off-topic. I don't know what grudges you have, but our current focus is how to handle Hogwarts' additional group of champions."
"These are minor issues", Felix suddenly interjected.
"Minor issues? Minor issues!?" Madam Maxime angrily repeated his words.
"Yes, minor issues… Please, Madam", Felix said, looking at Dumbledore, "Albus?"
Dumbledore looked up, meeting his gaze—
In that instant, the light and shadow twisted, and the world seemed to invert.
---
There are many names in this chapter, so I'll clarify the main characters and their roles:
- Liam Elefanti — Elephant
- Nona Lebert — Leopard
- Panagiotis Brandsygo — Bronze Eagle (Eagle)
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
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