After confirming that Link and the other three understood what he meant, old Barty Crouch once again retreated into the shadows.
"Well then, since the business is finished, does anyone want to go have a drink?" Dumbledore said with a smile to the other headmasters as well as old Barty and the others.
"Come now, Barty, and Madam Maxime, Professor Karkaroff, how about we go have a bedtime drink?"
Ludo Bagman was clearly very interested in Dumbledore's suggestion. It could be seen that he was someone who didn't like to sit still.
Unfortunately, old Barty Crouch forcefully dragged him back into the room.
Karkaroff and Maxime, however, were much more straightforward. Before Dumbledore even finished speaking, they each led Krum and Fleur out.
As they walked, they were still chattering away in their own countries' languages, arguing intensely, as if complaining about Dumbledore and the British Ministry of Magic's overbearing attitude.
Looking at the room, which became empty in no time, Dumbledore shrugged and said helplessly to Link and Harry, "Link, Harry, I suggest you two hurry along as well."
He winked at them. "I believe the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs are waiting to celebrate with you. They finally have such an excuse to raise a ruckus, if you take that chance away from them, that really wouldn't be right."
Harry instinctively looked at Link. Seeing Link nod, he then followed behind him out of the room.
The Great Hall was now deserted. The candles floating in the air had all been removed, which made the jack-o'-lanterns, lit from inside by eerie green flames, look even more sinister.
Harry kept his head down all the way, until the two of them reached the staircase where they were about to part ways. Then he finally forced out a few words, "Link, I really didn't..."
"I know. Just as I said just now, I believe you, Harry." Link cut Harry off.
"The situation we face now is very difficult. Harry, I want you to remember this, whatever you need help with, come to me and Dumbledore. We will do everything in our power to help you."
Harry didn't speak, but his breathing clearly grew much faster, like he could no longer control his emotions.
His whole face was buried in darkness, but with the Sensory Charm, Link could still see his reddened eyes, and the tears flowing down from them.
"Go on, Harry. Dumbledore was right, go and celebrate properly with your friends." Link patted Harry's shoulder. "At least tonight, we should be happy."
"Mm!"
Harry nodded hard, and only then, reluctantly, climbed the marble stairs.
Link, however, stood watching Harry until he disappeared, then walked toward a side door by the stairwell.
His expression was a bit helpless.
Even though he had done so much work, in the end Harry still became a champion.
It was as if there was some invisible great hand behind the scenes, constantly pushing events along, making sure everything generally followed the path originally set.
To be honest, that made Link feel a bit powerless.
The only thing worth feeling relieved about was that this invisible hand was not omnipotent.
At least this time Cedric had not become Hogwarts' champion.
Link felt very gratified about that.
Because in the original story, Cedric had been killed by Peter Pettigrew's Killing Curse during the Triwizard Tournament.
But this time, his fate had shifted, and Link believed he should be able to keep living on.
However, there was also a problem, that now Link was a bit afraid this matter might hurt his friendship with Cedric.
After all, Cedric had previously been entrusted with such high expectations. Now that he hadn't succeeded, it was a hard slap in the face. Any normal person would probably feel unbearably ashamed, right?
Thinking of this made Link feel even worse.
But very soon, Link realized his worry was completely unnecessary.
Because just as he stepped into the Hufflepuff common room, a wave of deafening cheers crashed into his ears, and Cedric was the very first to throw himself forward and give him a huge hug.
"Congratulations, Link!"
Cedric said with a big laugh. His face was red with excitement, and he looked even happier than Link himself.
"Tha, thank you…"
Link stammered, stunned, not knowing how to react for a moment.
"Come see what we've prepared for you! Pumpkin pasties, pumpkin stew, pumpkin candy, pumpkin cream soup… all made from the leftover pumpkins from the elves' Halloween feast! And of course, there's this, "
As he dragged Link further into the common room by the arm, Cedric shoved a cup of beer into his hands. "Butterbeer! We paid a hefty price to the Weasley twins for this!"
"Normally we wouldn't dare to be so reckless, but tonight doesn't matter! Professor Sprout was so delighted that she allowed us to have just a teeny bit on such a festive night!"
The unique sweet fragrance of pumpkin was already drifting over.
It made Link's nose sting slightly.
"This really is… really is wonderful. Cedric, honestly, I thought you'd be upset with me, or sulk about this somehow. Damn it, I was even sad over it for quite a while."
"How could you think that?" Cedric looked like he'd just heard something utterly absurd.
"We're comrades, we're Hufflepuffs, we're one! No matter who among us became champion, I'd feel truly happy for them! Or do you mean to say that if it had been me, you would've been jealous or resentful?"
"Of course not!" Link answered firmly.
"Well then, that's settled! But let me be clear, during the Triwizard Tournament, you have to give that Krum guy a proper thrashing! If you don't, don't blame me for being angry!"
"That much, I'm more than confident about, even without your reminder!"
With that said, both Cedric and Link burst out laughing, and with their arms slung around each other's shoulders, they walked into the crowd.
The celebration had begun.
Many had already completely lost control before Link even arrived.
Even Rolf, usually the shyest of all, was so worked up he'd climbed onto a table, beating his chest like King Kong in a Muggle movie while howling away.
Everyone else was desperately crowding around Link, shoving pumpkin candy or peanuts and such into his hands, then shouting excited congratulations.
If Link accepted what they gave him, or exchanged a word or two with them, they would instantly fall into a frenzy of excitement, almost delirious.
It was as if, by doing so, they too could gain some share of the grand honor.
Of course, among everything pressed into Link's hands, drinks were always the most plentiful.
Some particularly over-the-top fellows even handed over Firewhisky strong enough to be lit straight on fire.
On any other day, Link would have turned the tables and poured the drink down their throats himself.
But tonight, he refused no one.
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