Chapter 873: The Four Champions
Chapter 873: The Four Champions
The entire Great Hall buzzed with discussion as students talked about the disappearance of their champion.
Rumors had been circulating since morning about the missing Albert Anderson. But if Albert was truly missing, how did he sign up to be a champion? Perhaps someone had signed up for him?
What was going on?
Everyone was baffled, with countless questions running through their minds.
Even Professors Karkaroff and Maxime were perplexed by the turn of events.
It seemed that Hogwarts was without a champion...
What now? Crouch and Bagman, the officials from the British Ministry of Magic, exchanged confused glances, equally unsure of the situation.
As the murmurs filled the hall, the blue and white flames in the Goblet of Fire, which had been dormant, suddenly turned red again. A charred piece of parchment was spat out of the goblet.
Almost instinctively, Dumbledore reached out with his long fingers and grabbed the parchment.
The buzzing in the hall gradually faded as all eyes turned to Dumbledore, who held the parchment in his hand. What was going on?
Did the Goblet of Fire choose a new champion for Hogwarts since Albert hadn't shown up?
Everyone was eager to know what was written on the piece of parchment.
Staring at the note in his hand, Dumbledore remained silent for a long time before finally clearing his throat and reading out the name: "Harry Potter."
An eerie silence filled the hall, devoid of any applause, as if time had frozen.
It was absurd; when had Harry Potter become qualified to replace Albert Anderson as Hogwarts' new champion?
Upon hearing Dumbledore utter Harry's name, every person in the hall turned their heads to look at Harry Potter's seat.
At that moment, Harry Potter himself wore a confused expression, his mind blank as he tried to make sense of what was happening. He could only see his classmates staring at him with their mouths agape.
"Harry Potter!"
When Dumbledore saw Harry Potter's name emerge from the Goblet of Fire, his mind raced with countless thoughts. He recalled Albert saying that Harry would certainly become Hogwarts' champion.
Because of this, he had even kept a close eye on the situation, but it had still occurred.
What's more, Albert was missing.
This champion selection process was turning into a fiasco, but they had to continue for now. At the very least, they needed to resolve the immediate issue. Dumbledore called out again, "Harry, please step forward and enter the chamber."
"Go on," Hermione urged, gently pushing Harry, who was standing there in a daze.
Just as Harry instinctively stood up and prepared to walk towards the staff table, the Great Hall's doors were flung open.
Every student, who had been staring at Harry, now turned their heads to the entrance as Albert, the presumed missing champion, walked into the hall.
What was going on?
The unexpected events of the day had left everyone bewildered, and they watched in silence as Albert made his way to take the seat that had been left for him by the Gryffindors.
"Where have you been all day?" George asked in a hushed tone as he saw Albert about to sit in the empty seat they had kept for him.
"Ran into some trouble," Albert replied.
Dumbledore, upon seeing Albert, breathed a sigh of relief. "Mr. Anderson, please come forward!" he called out.
"Hurry up, you're Hogwarts' champion," George urged.
"Me? A champion?" Albert exclaimed, feigning surprise, as he made his way along the aisle between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables.
As he reached the staff table, Professor McGonagall asked in a low voice, "Mr. Anderson, what mischief have you been up to?"
"Last night, while I was talking to Katrina, someone ambushed us and locked us in a secret room," Albert replied, sticking to the story he and Katrina had concocted.
Professor McGonagall stared at him, wide-eyed, as if she had just heard something unbelievable. "Go through that door, the other champions are waiting for further instructions," she said, her voice dry.
Albert made his way along the staff table and pushed open the door. As he was about to step inside, he heard Dumbledore's voice, "Harry, come here as well."
Albert entered the small room, his eyes scanning the wizard portraits on either side of the wall before landing on the two champions standing by the blazing fireplace.
Viktor Krum sat on a sofa, deep in thought, while Fleur Delacour turned to look at Albert, her expression unchanged, as if she had expected his arrival.
"What an incredible evening," Albert remarked as he found a vacant seat.
"Unfathomable?" Furong was perplexed.
"You'll see soon enough," Albert replied. As he finished speaking, they heard footsteps approaching, and Harry Potter walked into the room.
"Come and sit over here, Harry!" Albert called out.
"What's going on?" Furong and Krum looked up at Albert simultaneously.
"He's the fourth champion." Albert replied in both French and Bulgarian.
"Are you joking?" Furong frowned, looking down at the young boy before her with disdain.
Krum, hearing the familiar Bulgarian language, glanced at Albert with a hint of surprise and asked, "The fourth champion?"
"Exactly that." Albert waved at the bewildered Harry. "Come and sit here, Harry. Ignore them; they'll be arguing for a while."
"I didn't put my name in." Harry sat on the sofa next to Albert, sounding confused.
"I know." Albert soothed, "Don't worry about it. You have more pressing concerns, like your safety."
"My safety?" Harry looked even more perplexed.
Just then, the sound of arguing grew louder, and the door behind them was flung open again, admitting a crowd of people.
"What does this mean, Dumbledore?" Madame Maxime was the first to question.
"I'd like to know that myself. I don't recall anyone telling me that the host school could have two champions." Professor Karkaroff gave a short laugh. "Did I miss something in the rules?"
"You heard right." Madame Maxime said, "Hogwarts cannot have two champions; it's blatantly unfair."
As the other headmasters challenged Dumbledore, Harry looked increasingly uneasy. However, he suddenly caught a whiff of a strong, fragrant milk tea, and turned to see Albert sipping from a cup, leisurely munching on a slice of cake.
Taking a large gulp of his tea, Albert asked, "Want some?"
"No, I'm full." Harry replied awkwardly.
"Let them bicker. It's normal; the outcome won't change anyway." After devouring most of the cake, Albert surveyed the quarreling professors with interest. Noticing Snape pinning all the blame on Harry, he teased quietly, "You and Snape have quite a history, huh?"
"He's disliked me since my first day at school." Harry whispered back.
"There must be a reason. There's no such thing as hatred without cause." Albert ignored Snape's murderous glare and refilled his cup with a wave of his wand.
Professor Dumbledore suddenly turned and fixed his gaze on Harry's eyes, asking calmly, "Harry, did you put your name in the Goblet of Fire, or did you ask an older student to do it for you?"
"No." Harry replied fervently.
"He must be lying!" Madame Maxime exclaimed.
"That's no longer important, Madame Maxime. No amount of accusations will change the fact that Hogwarts has two champions." Karkaroff interjected smoothly, "I believe it would only be fair if each school had two champions, Dumbledore."
"Fair?" Moody scoffed. "What do you mean?"
"Someone wants to kill Potter. They knew that putting Potter's name in the Goblet and casting a Confundus Charm would force him to compete."
"Moody, how can you say such things!" Ludo Bagman looked anxious.
"It's common knowledge that Professor Moody suspects everyone wants to murder him." Karkaroff mocked loudly, "He even worries about being poisoned when he eats!"
"Haven't you understood me yet?" Moody snapped. "The moment Albert Anderson entered the Triwizard Tournament, your idea of fairness went out the window. Last night, someone attacked him to prevent him from participating, didn't they?"
"Are you joking?" Karkaroff sneered.
"Don't pretend, Karkaroff. You know very well that Albert's skill far surpasses that of a student. He's won numerous international awards." Moody didn't bother to hide his scorn. "Don't be naive; you know as well as I do that with Albert as Hogwarts' champion, there's little point in having Potter compete. Unless, of course, someone wanted to take this opportunity to kill him, as the Tournament tasks would be far too challenging for Potter and could very well end up costing him his life."
The smile faded from Karkaroff's face, leaving a look of displeasure. Moody's words, though harsh, rang true.
With Albert Anderson in the competition, the other schools stood little chance of victory. International awards were a far cry from a school tournament, and Albert's abilities were clearly exceptional.
Adding Harry to the mix hardly made a difference.
"I think we should file a complaint with the Ministry of Magic and the International Wizarding Federation." Karkaroff turned to Madame Maxime, his final act of defiance.
"Is there no way to make Harry drop out of the Tournament, or to cancel the whole thing, Dumbledore?" Professor McGonagall couldn't help but ask. She felt that Moody's words rang true, and the Triwizard Tournament was far too dangerous for Harry, not just the tasks themselves, but also the unknown individual who had secretly entered his name, and the one who had attacked Albert.
"I'm afraid not. A magical contract cannot be broken," Dumbledore said to everyone in the room, "We have no choice but to accept it."
Most people in the room were dissatisfied: Dumbledore was expressionless, deep in thought, Professor McGonagall looked annoyed, Madame Maxime glared angrily, Karkaroff's face turned ashen, and even Snape, for some reason, looked irritated.
Indeed, Moody glared at Karkaroff, wishing he could glare at Albert instead, but to avoid arousing suspicion, he had to settle for glaring at Karkaroff to hide his true feelings.
However, Bagman was clearly an exception, as the night's events at Hogwarts had excited him immensely.
"Well, shall we continue then?" Bagman rubbed his hands together, smiling at the people in the room, "Bartemius, it's up to you to guide our champions now."
"Yes, let's get back on track." Mr. Crouch looked as if he had just recovered from an illness, appearing haggard and weary.
"The first task will test the champions' courage and will take place on November 24th." He addressed Harry, Albert, Furong, and Viktor, "Each champion will face an unknown challenge alone, carrying only their wand, and must complete the task before their peers and the judging panel, without requesting or accepting help from any teacher."
"As for the details of the second task, the champions will only find out after the first task is completed."
"Given the high demands and lengthy duration of the Tournament, the champions are exempt from end-of-year exams and can focus solely on preparing for the Tournament." Mr. Crouch turned to Dumbledore, "That's all I have to say."
After Crouch finished speaking, Madame Maxime had already wrapped her arm around Furong's shoulders and quickly led her out of the room. Karkaroff bid Krum farewell, and the two left without another word.
Crouch refused Dumbledore's offer of a drink and returned to the Ministry of Magic via the fireplace, with Bagman following suit, looking bitter-sweet. They had to deal with the unexpected events of the night, and the three imported dragons were clearly not enough.
"Harry, Albert, I suggest you both get some rest now." Dumbledore smiled at the two of them.
"No, I'm going to the kitchen. I don't want to go to bed hungry!" Albert interrupted.
"I'll have the house-elves send food to your room." Professor McGonagall didn't want Albert wandering around at night.
"Remember to have them heat it up, and send some sweets and drinks too." After Albert finished speaking, he turned to Professor Moody and said gratefully, "I heard from Fred and George that you were the one who entered my name, thank you, Professor. Otherwise, I really would have missed out on this interesting competition."
Upon hearing Albert's gratitude, Moody froze in his place, surprised that Albert would thank him, and even more so that he, apparently, had entered Albert's name into the Goblet of Fire?
How was he not aware of this?
Moody's expression stiffened, and he gripped his walking stick tightly. To be honest, at that moment, he wanted to use his walking stick to give Albert a good thrashing, but he managed to restrain himself.
After a long while, Moody croaked, "No, it wasn't me. It must have been your classmates who did it, they've done it before."
"Either way, thank you, Professor. I will do my best to bring the championship back to Hogwarts." Albert replied sincerely.
"Your top priority should be to protect yourselves." Professor McGonagall glared at Moody as she admonished them, "Especially you, Potter. If things get too dangerous, don't hesitate to drop out of the competition, it's not a disgraceful thing to do."
"I think Professor McGonagall is right, Harry. You should learn to protect yourself; this whole tournament seems to be a plot against you." Albert nodded.
Harry nodded glumly, but at least he felt relieved that Albert didn't think he had used illegal means to get himself chosen.
Watching the two of them leave, Dumbledore consoled Minerva, "It's not as bad as you think, Minerva."
"Don't you think this whole Triwizard Tournament reeks of conspiracy?" Professor McGonagall retorted sharply.
"We have no choice but to accept it," Dumbledore said to his old friend, "Alastor, keep an eye on Harry."
"No problem." Moody replied expressionlessly.
Moving day is coming up in the next three days, so there might be some days off or less frequent updates.
(End of Chapter)
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