Chapter 124
Pushing open the door, Soren stepped into the room.
It was a room filled with portraits of wizards, many of whom were quite old. Upon seeing Soren enter, they all dove into the large frame in the center, whispering and commenting on Soren 's figure and appearance.
Eleanor noticed the movement and looked over, her face showing an expression of having anticipated this, "It's really you, Soren . It seems that the day you compete with me won't be long now."
Soren had already accepted reality and let go of the burdens in his heart. At this moment, his gaze was filled with confidence, "I will satisfy you when that time comes, Eleanor."
At this time, Katalin walked over with a look of surprise, "That's great, Mr. Malfoy! I never expected you to become a champion of Hogwarts. Competing with you is my dream," Katalin then changed to a serious tone, "You must give it your all, let me see your 'true' strength!"
Soren curled the corners of his mouth into a slight smile, his eyes shining with an inexplicable light.
The long-lost fighting spirit ignited fiercely in his chest.
My true strength, huh?
Do you know that when I get serious, even I can feel scared!
He had indeed been suppressed for too long—ever since the incident with the ghost society, he had too many concerns and could only rely on two alien allies to take action for him. After that, he inherited Hufflepuff's legacy, forging a triune magical power, but where exactly had his strength gone? Even he himself was unsure.
After a while, the door was pushed open again, and a figure hesitated before stepping in.
The three champions turned to look, and Harry Potter gazed at them somewhat uncertainly.
Katalin thought he had come to deliver a message, her eyes filled with confusion.
"What's wrong?" she asked, "Do they want us to go back to the Great Hall?"
A flurry of footsteps came from behind, and Ludovic Bagman entered the room. He grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him forward.
"This is truly bizarre!" Bagman said, "Absolutely bizarre! Please allow me to introduce—though it seems unbelievable—this is the fourth champion of the Triwizard Tournament!"
Eleanor straightened up, sizing Harry up and then glancing at Soren , revealing a thoughtful expression.
Katalin tossed her long hair and smiled brightly, somewhat arrogantly saying, "He can't compete; he's too young!—Of course, Mr. Malfoy is an exception; you can't expect everyone to be as outstanding as Mr. Malfoy, can you?"
"That's a bit difficult!" Bagman shook his head, "The age limit as an additional safety measure was only implemented this year. Since your names have come out of the Goblet of Fire... I mean, I think since it has come to this point, backing out is not allowed... The rules state clearly that you must adhere to the rules... You must do your utmost to complete the competition!"
The door was pushed open again, and a large crowd surged in: Professor Dumbledore, closely followed by Mr. Crouch, Professor Karkaroff, Madame Maxime, Professor Sprout, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Snape. Before Professor McGonagall closed the door, the buzzing voices of hundreds of students could be heard from the adjacent Great Hall.
"What does this mean, Dumbledore?" Madame Maxime shouted arrogantly, her large bosom in a black satin dress heaving heavily.
"I would like to know that as well, Dumbledore," Professor Karkaroff said, his face wearing a cold smile, his blue eyes glinting with icy disdain, "Hogwarts has two champions? I don't remember anyone telling me that the host school could have two champions—did I not read the regulations closely enough?"
"This is impossible," Madame Maxime said, her hand adorned with many ornate opals resting on Katalin's shoulder, "Hogwarts cannot have two champions; this is extremely unfair."
"In our impression, your age line is supposed to exclude underage competitors, Dumbledore," Karkaroff continued, still wearing that cold smile, his eyes filled with deeper frost, "Otherwise, we would certainly have brought more candidates from our school."
"This is all Potter's fault, Karkaroff," Snape said quietly, hostility flashing in his black eyes, "Do not blame Dumbledore; blame Potter for insisting on violating the regulations. Since he entered the school, he has continuously broken school rules—"
"Thank you, Severus," Dumbledore said firmly. Snape closed his mouth, but his eyes still glinted with malice through his greasy black hair.
Professor Dumbledore was now looking down at Harry, who was also looking at him.
"Did you put your name in the Goblet of Fire, Harry?" he asked calmly.
"No," Harry said. Snape made an impatient sound from the shadows that indicated disbelief.
"Did you ask an older student to help you put your name in the Goblet of Fire?" Professor Dumbledore ignored Snape and continued to ask.
"No," Harry said, agitated.
"Ah, he's definitely lying!" Madame Maxime said loudly. Snape shook his head, pouting.
"He couldn't have crossed that age line," Professor McGonagall said sternly, "I believe we all agree on that—"
"Dumbledore's age line must have been set wrong," Madame Maxime said, shrugging. "At least I know—both Mr. Malfoys put their names in publicly."
Professor McGonagall was momentarily at a loss for words.
Yes, two fourth-year students broke Dumbledore's magic, which was simply unbelievable in Professor McGonagall's eyes.
"Mr. Crouch... Mr. Bagman," Karkaroff said, his voice becoming oily again, "you two are our—um—objective judges. You must also think this is extremely inappropriate, right?"
Bagman wiped his round, doll-like face with a handkerchief and glanced at Mr. Crouch.
Mr. Crouch stood outside the glow of the fire, half of his face hidden in shadow. He looked a bit strange; the shadow made him appear much older, almost like a skeleton. However, when he spoke, his voice was as stiff as ever.
"We must adhere to the rules; the rules clearly state that anyone whose name is spat out of the Goblet must compete in the tournament."
"Hey, Barty knows the rules by heart," Bagman said, breaking into a smile as he turned to Karkaroff and Madame Maxime, as if the matter had been satisfactorily resolved.
"The next tournament, Durmstrang will definitely not participate!" Karkaroff fumed. "We've had so many meetings, so many negotiations, and I never expected this to happen! I want to leave right now!"
"Empty threats, Karkaroff!" a voice roared from the doorway. "You can't leave your champion now. She must compete. They all must compete. Just as Dumbledore said, this is bound by a magical contract. This is beneficial for you, isn't it?"
Moody had just entered the room. He limped toward the fire, each time his right foot hit the ground, it made a loud thud, thud.
"Beneficial?" Karkaroff said, "I'm afraid I can't understand what you mean, Moody."
Karkaroff tried hard to make his tone sound dismissive, as if he didn't care about Moody's words at all, but his hands betrayed his inner feelings; they involuntarily clenched into fists.
"Is that so?" Moody said softly. "It's quite simple, Karkaroff. Someone put Potter's name in that goblet; they knew that if the name was spat out, Potter would have to compete. I have a feeling that the one who put that boy's name in the goblet is definitely a very skilled wizard..."
"Oh, what evidence do you have for that?" Madame Maxime asked, raising her large hands.
"Because they tricked a very powerful magical object!" Moody said. "To deceive that goblet into forgetting that only three schools were participating in the tournament requires a particularly powerful confundus charm... I suspect they must have entered Potter's name as a student from the fourth school and ensured he was the only candidate from that school..."
Karkaroff scoffed at this and nearly got into an argument with Moody.
"We don't know how this situation arose," Dumbledore said to everyone gathered in the room, "but it seems to me we have no choice but to accept it. Harry and Soren have been chosen to compete. Therefore, they must abide by the rules of the Goblet of Fire and give it their all in the competition."
"Well, shall we continue?" Bagman said, rubbing his hands together and smiling at the people in the room, "Time to give our champions some guidance, right? Barty, you take it from here?"
Mr. Crouch seemed to suddenly awaken from his reverie. "The first task is to test your courage, so we are not going to tell you what it is. The ability to face the unknown is an important quality for a wizard. The first task will take place on November 24, in front of your fellow students and the judging panel. During the task, the champions must not request or accept any help from their teachers. When facing the first challenge, the only weapon the champions will have is their own wands. Only after the first task is completed will they learn about the second task. Due to the high demands of the competition and its long duration, the champions will not participate in the end-of-year exams."
Mr. Crouch turned to look at Dumbledore. "I think that's all, Albus?"
"Yes, nothing has been overlooked," Dumbledore replied.
"Wait, Professor, I have something to say," said Soren suddenly.
Dumbledore looked at Soren in confusion.
Soren said, "Mr. Crouch mentioned that the ability to face the unknown is an important quality for a wizard, but I've looked at a lot of information about previous Triwizard Tournaments and found that cheating methods abound. Professors from various schools who are aware of the competition content are eager to inform their students about the tests. I think this is very bad and must be stopped; otherwise, there won't be any semblance of a competition."
A shrewd light flashed in Dumbledore's eyes as he stared at Soren. "What you mean is..."
"It's actually very simple. Why not establish a magical contract that prohibits anyone who knows the details of the competition from informing any champion in any way? If anyone has the idea of leaking information, they will be bound by the magic of the contract and unable to move. The magic of the contract will remain in effect until the Triwizard Tournament is over." After saying this, Sherrin displayed a mischievous smile.
No one knew better than him how terrible this year's competition was, for instance, for the first task—the dragon—before it even began, every champion already knew what the competition entailed.
Madam Maxime and Professor Karkaroff looked somewhat uneasy.
Madam Maxime said, "It shouldn't be necessary."
Professor Karkaroff said, "The Triwizard Tournament has been around for so many years without the need for a confidentiality contract."
Dumbledore looked at Bagman and Crouch, and both nodded in agreement; three of the five judges were in favor, and Madam Maxime and Professor Karkaroff had no choice but to reluctantly accept.
Dumbledore waved his wand gently, and a piece of parchment appeared, floating in the air. The tip of his wand emitted light, quickly forming dense text on the parchment, outlining various confidentiality agreements. After everyone present read through it, they agreed that the contract covered all aspects.
With a flick of his wand, golden names formed from magic were imprinted on the parchment; then came Madam Maxime, Karkaroff, McGonagall, Bagman, Snape, Hagrid, Flitwick, Sprout; finally, the four champions participating in the competition.
Once everything was completed, the parchment was suddenly ignited by a ghostly blue flame, burning cleanly in mid-air at a visible speed.
It felt as if a rope appeared in everyone's hearts, reminding them not to do anything that would violate the contract.
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