Even if some wizards questioned whether Draco and the others were truly qualified to compete, Dumbledore had no intention of changing his decision, and with the professors—including the judging panel—silently agreeing, the matter was no longer up for debate.
This made this year's Triwizard Tournament far more unusual than those of previous years.
Naturally, the tasks had to be adjusted as well.
Sure enough, the Quidditch Pitch was now busy with frantic preparations. All of it stemmed from the addition of one more champion, and the Ministry of Magic, which oversaw the event, now had to deal with the consequences...
"What do you think happened, Draco?" Pansy asked, still leaning against the window without looking back.
Even from behind, Draco could tell she was in an excellent mood.
After all, she and Draco had just slapped the majority of wizards right across the face. And it had been a hard, stinging one...
Hearing her question, Draco finally lifted his eyes toward her. "You mean Potter?"
His gaze drifted from the book in his hand to Pansy. With her back against the window, her slim figure was on full display.
The gentle curve of her waist and the unguarded way she leaned toward him made Draco suddenly realize that the little girl who used to shadow him everywhere had quietly grown into a lovely, striking young woman.
Completely unaware of his thoughts, Pansy stepped away from the window and stretched, raising both arms.
"Of course I mean him. I've never heard of a fourth champion in the Triwizard Tournament."
"Mm."
The half-hearted response earned an irritable eye-roll from Pansy. Harry Potter might not pose any threat, but Draco could at least take the matter seriously.
Dropping onto the seat beside him, Pansy tapped her moist lips with a finger.
"I can say for sure that before you got there, the only people I saw near the Goblet of Fire that night were Viktor Krum and Alastor Moody."
"Yeah, you told me that last time."
"So clearly, if someone wanted to put the parchment in, they only had the chance after we left. But the real question is..."
"How did they know I could break the Age Line?"
"Exactly! How could they have known? That's the part that doesn't make sense."
Pansy frowned at Draco, her expression turning serious.
Seeing her like this, Draco put down his book.
"What are you trying to say?"
"Draco, have you ever considered that there might be a traitor among us?"
"Oh?"
"I think it's—"
"What exactly are you suggesting, Pansy Parkinson!"
Before Pansy could finish, Hermione cut her off. Judging by her irritated expression, she clearly knew what Pansy had been about to say.
"Granger... when did you get here?"
"Hmph. The moment you said the word 'traitor.'"
As the two girls started glaring daggers at each other again, Draco instantly understood who Pansy had been ready to accuse.
He only shook his head.
Pansy's theory wasn't entirely unreasonable, but it still didn't explain how a fourth champion had appeared.
More importantly, Draco didn't believe Hermione could be that traitor...
...
On the lakeside walkway.
Hermione had barely arrived at their agreed meeting spot when she overheard something that instantly made her bristle.
Seeing Hermione on the verge of snapping, Pansy instinctively hid behind Draco. She suddenly realized her earlier assumptions might not have been all that accurate.
Because she had forgotten one very important detail...
"I... didn't even say anything yet."
Pansy, uncharacteristically timid, turned her head aside instead of meeting Hermione's eyes. The sight alone was enough to cool Hermione's anger a little.
"Hmph. Let me tell you this: even Potter himself doesn't know why he became a champion."
"He doesn't know? How is that possible?"
"I don't think Potter is lying. Gryffindor is already in an uproar over this, and honestly, it's not the kind of thing he'd need to hide."
As she said this, Hermione couldn't help recalling what had just happened in the Gryffindor common room.
The moment Harry Potter stepped inside, he was met with neither praise nor celebration, nor even cheers from his own house. What awaited him instead was a barrage of questions tinged with irritation at being kept in the dark.
Was it that the method of entering couldn't be revealed?
Or that he simply didn't want others to know?
The difference between the two would decide how everyone treated Harry afterward. Unfortunately, Harry—stammering and unable to explain anything—only made matters worse for himself...
Those closest to him in particular felt as if they'd been betrayed by a friend.
So all Hermione saw and heard were repeated questions about why he'd hidden it from them, along with looks of confusion and suspicion.
Yet despite how messy things became, Harry Potter stubbornly stuck to what he'd said from the beginning.
He didn't know anything.
Which was exactly why Hermione believed he wasn't lying...
Perhaps it was because she understood him well enough, and because she knew both sides of the situation.
Hearing Hermione's explanation, Pansy didn't question it further and accepted it at once.
"I see. Then someone must have entered Potter without telling him. But... what reason would they have? It's not like it was one of his admirers, right?"
"...That's exactly why I came to see you two. I didn't expect that the moment I arrived, I'd walk right into such ridiculous suspicions."
"....."
Draco shifted his gaze away from the girls, who were once again exchanging sharp looks, and instead focused on what Pansy had said earlier.
Who would enter the great Chosen One into the tournament?
And what would that wizard gain from it?
Unlike everyone else, Draco had watched firsthand as Dumbledore convinced the others to allow Harry Potter to compete.
The situation had been far more complicated than it appeared.
Snape's objections, the professors' collective concern, Karkaroff and Maxime's displeasure, Alastor Moody's unsettling chuckling, and… Barty Crouch's strange behavior.
Probably no one expected that this Triwizard Tournament, which Dumbledore and Cornelius Fudge were using as their political stage, would suddenly be thrown off balance by Potter becoming a variable at such a time...
But…
Thinking this, Draco glanced at Pansy and Hermione, still locked in their bickering. He couldn't help letting out a quiet, amused breath.
Because Harry Potter wasn't the only unpredictable variable here...