Chapter 596: The Banquet Ends in Discord
Chapter 596: The Banquet Ends in Discord
Ivan's blunt words infuriated Karkaroff.
Dumbledore, standing nearby, tried to mediate, speaking up.
"Come now, Karkaroff. Hals has a point. The Triwizard Cup couldn't have randomly selected four Champions. We shouldn't blame the two children for this!"
"Then who should we blame? You, Dumbledore?" Karkaroff demanded.
He even suspected that Dumbledore had tampered with the Triwizard Cup, leading to this outcome.
After all, the current situation seemed to favor Hogwarts!
Two Champions participating would significantly increase Hogwarts' chances of winning, and Dumbledore had the capability to cast a spell on the Triwizard Cup.
"If you insist on thinking that way, then it was indeed my oversight for not securing it properly. But please believe me, this is not a result I desired..."
Dumbledore spoke calmly, showing no irritation at Karkaroff's accusations. After a pause, he continued.
"We are all aware of the dangers of the Triwizard Cup. There would be no reason for me to go to great lengths just to have an underqualified student participate. If I wanted a second Champion, there are many more suitable candidates at Hogwarts!"
"Who knows what you were thinking? All I know is that now Hogwarts has two participants, which is a serious violation of the rules!" Karkaroff said, his patience wearing thin.
"Mr. Crouch... Mr. Bagman!" Maxime, equally frustrated, turned to the two Ministry of Magic officials with furrowed brows and spoke.
"You are the organizers and fair referees of this tournament. What do you say should be done? Should we allow re-registration, or prohibit one of Hogwarts' Champions from participating?"
"Ah... technically, one school having two Champions is against the rules. However, the magic contract has already been established. According to the rules, each of them must participate!" Ludo Bagman wiped his round, cherubic face with a handkerchief, looking decidedly uncomfortable.
"Ludo Bagman is right! Moreover, we haven't fully understood what happened yet. We can't assign blame without evidence. This might just be an accident!" Crouch interjected, trying to soothe the situation.
"You expect me to believe this is an accident? Not a chance!" Karkaroff's face was grim. He saw Ludo Bagman and Crouch as biased towards Hogwarts, ganging up to bully them, the foreigners.
Maxime chimed in. "Since Hogwarts has two Champions, for the sake of fairness, we should place the Triwizard Cup back and increase the number of slots until each school has two Champions!"
"No, I'm afraid that's not possible, Madame Maxime. The Triwizard Cup has just extinguished. By tradition, it won't rekindle until the next tournament." Ludo Bagman shook his head, looking helpless.
"There won't be a next time! Durmstrang will not participate in such an unfair competition again. I'm leaving tonight with my students!" Karkaroff stormed off, pulling Krum with him, his anger evident.
The other Durmstrang students also rose from their seats, indignant, and followed Karkaroff out of the Great Hall.
Maxime did the same, leading the Beauxbatons students out in protest.
Harry stood there, watching the two leave, feeling at a loss. He feared that this year's Triwizard Tournament might be over before it even began.
"Don't worry, Harry, they don't have the courage to back out! The moment Krum and Fleur put their names into the Triwizard Cup, a magic contract was formed. If they ultimately don't participate, the backlash will be severe!" Mad-Eye Moody limped down from the magic podium, his face grave, but he still tried to reassure Harry.
Ivan looked at Mad-Eye Moody and suddenly asked, "Professors, why didn't Mr. Bagman suggest canceling one person's qualification? Even if they must participate, if we invalidate the results of one Hogwarts Champion, wouldn't that be more fair?"
As he said this, Ivan glanced at Harry, his face full of apology. "Oh, Harry, don't take it personally, I'm not targeting you!"
Harry nodded absentmindedly, still in a daze, wondering why he had become a Champion. He hadn't even heard what Ivan was saying.
"We can't do that, Hals!" Mad-Eye Moody sighed, glanced at Harry, and explained to Ivan. "It would be too cruel to Harry. He hasn't done anything wrong, yet he would have to face the same dangerous tasks as you. We can't let him put in all that effort and not get a fair evaluation."
"Also, the Triwizard Tournament is a very important event, and many Wizards across Europe are closely following it. If Harry performs exceptionally well and wins the tournament, but we invalidate his results, the Judges would be inundated with Howlers!"
"Of course, we could use your method and invalidate the results of the Hogwarts Champion with the lowest score. However, I bet Karkaroff and Maxime wouldn't agree to such a fair solution!" Mad-Eye Moody grinned.
Ivan finally understood.
After explaining to Ivan, Mad-Eye Moody turned to Dumbledore. "How about I take charge of investigating the Triwizard Cup, Albus? I think Hals's suspicion is well-founded. Someone might have tampered with the cup to target Harry..."
"You're the best choice for this! After all, you have more experience in such matters..." Dumbledore agreed without hesitation.
Ivan subtly furrowed his brow but didn't say anything. On the surface, Mad-Eye Moody indeed seemed the perfect choice for the investigation. However, he couldn't be sure if Mad-Eye Moody was trustworthy. Raising objections could only tip off any potential conspirators.
If he were wrong, the next time he tried to share crucial information, such as the location of a Horcrux, his words would be much less credible.
After a brief discussion with two high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Magic, Dumbledore reached an agreement. He raised his wand and cast Sonorus, then addressed the noisy young wizards.
"Well, it's getting late, and I think you all need a good rest. The feast is over!
As for the guidance and advice for the Champions, we'll arrange that for tomorrow. I'll inform Mr. Karkaroff and Madame Maxime!"
With that, Dumbledore and the other professors, along with the Ministry officials, left the Great Hall. The other young wizards, grumbling under the Prefects' scolding, reluctantly returned to their respective Common Rooms.
(End of Chapter)
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