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Chapter 315: The Fourth Champion
🕑 Added 2025-03-06 18:07:38 +0000 UTCAs the fourth piece of parchment appeared, Ino also found his answer.
All the previous details began to connect in his mind.
During the summer break, Voldemort's remaining two Horcruxes were collected; after the school year began, the new gamekeeper was Mad-Eye Moody; even Harry's progress in Occlumency…
All of these events seemed unrelated on the surface, but upon closer inspection, they appeared to be subtly connected.
Ino was now quite certain that last night's accidental encounter was a wonderful misunderstanding.
Probably, Dumbledore had intended to cheat under the moonlight, but he didn't expect someone else to beat him to it.
The only thing Ino wasn't sure about was whether the impromptu change last night was part of the headmaster's plan.
Or perhaps, no matter who became the champion, it wouldn't affect the plan's progress.
...
With some lingering doubts, Ino casually pushed open the door.
What met his eyes was a simple, rectangular wooden room.
The room had a fabric-covered long sofa, a few high-backed chairs, and a high round table, with little else.
The lighting was somewhat dim, with only a couple of three-pronged candleholders on the walls providing faint illumination. The overall impression was rather shabby.
Ino couldn't help but feel speechless at the sight. He wondered where all of Hogwarts' money was being spent.
It was like that damp, slippery path they had taken by boat in their first year, which had been pitch dark the entire way, without even a single magical lamp to light it.
As he silently criticized in his mind, he heard slightly unfamiliar English in his ears.
"Mr. Swinburne!"
Fleur, though she entered later, was the first to react, standing up with a smile to greet him.
Krum, half a beat behind Fleur, also stood up to greet him: "I knew it! This is great! We're on the same stage once again."
Krum's plain and simple words, accompanied by his honest and sincere smile, easily won people's favor. The phrase "on the same stage" even subtly drew them closer together.
However, Ino found it all rather amusing.
After all, someone who could think ten years ahead of graduation and cleverly complain when their efforts went unanswered was surely not as simple and honest as they appeared.
Especially when considering the Goblet of Fire.
Without any external interference, the Goblet of Fire was truly impartial.
One could confidently say that the three people present, chosen as champions to represent the three ancient European wizarding schools, were no pushovers.
Of course, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang had their shortcomings. After all, they brought fewer people, making it easier to overlook some low-key yet genuinely excellent individuals.
After a brief moment of thought, Ino politely responded after Krum finished speaking:
"I'm honored to be a champion alongside you! Miss Delacour and Mr. Krum!"
While the three of them exchanged polite pleasantries in the room, the atmosphere in the Great Hall had become quite different.
...
Silence. Absolute silence.
As the Goblet of Fire spat out the fourth piece of parchment, the vast Great Hall became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
Not only the students but also the people at the staff table wore expressions of shock, as if no one had anticipated this sudden change.
The parchment floated down freely, and Dumbledore instinctively caught it, staring at it in bewilderment. After a brief pause, he read the name aloud:
"Harry Potter!"
There was no school prefix, just the simple name with a surname, but no one cared about these details now. Everyone was waiting for an explanation.
Likewise, as Harry's name was announced, there was no applause or cheers in the Great Hall.
The earlier silence gradually gave way to a hum of conversation, the prelude to further discussion.
Many people in the hall turned their puzzled gazes towards Harry, including those closest to him—Neville, Ron, and others. Their expressions were remarkably uniform, each displaying a look of disbelief.
"This has nothing to do with me!" Harry said blankly.
Three wizarding schools suddenly had a fourth champion, and even a fool could tell something had gone wrong. Harry was no exception, and he immediately chose to defend himself.
"We know!" Ron said, his eyes wide open, forcing a smile after a moment, "But this is a good thing. Congratulations, Harry!"
Though he said the words, Ron felt a pang of bitterness, like when a friend who had shared hardships suddenly revealed that they were just experiencing life for fun.
"It's not about congratulations! Don't you see something's wrong?"
Somehow, Harry suddenly shouted, his emotions so intense that his eyes began to redden.
This unexpected outburst drew the attention of those at the staff table. Snape frowned, staring down at them, while Professor McGonagall nervously stood up and quickly walked towards Dumbledore.
Unlike Ino, whose strength and reputation were evident to all, Professor McGonagall was utterly against Harry becoming a champion—a student who could barely manage his Transfiguration homework by copying. But in this situation, she knew she had to do something. The safety of the students and the reputation of Hogwarts weighed heavily on her mind.
As she approached, Dumbledore spoke first: "Minerva, listen to me. This matter needs to be discussed, but not right now…"
His gaze swept around the hall before finally settling on a bewildered Harry: "Harry Potter, please go to the adjacent room by the Great Hall."
Hearing Dumbledore's voice, Harry felt as if he had just woken from a dream. He got up from his seat, stumbling towards the back of the hall.
Seeing the shocked faces around him, he suddenly felt that Hogwarts had become unfamiliar, as if he had never truly belonged there.
Similarly, as Harry got up and left, the hall finally erupted into various discussions.
Especially the Hufflepuffs—after Cedric was not chosen, they had been disappointed. But with Ino Swinburne as the champion, they couldn't really complain.
After all, whether it was the Dementor incident last year, the blue phoenix, or this year's Quidditch World Cup and the red phoenix, Ino had proven his excellence. The Daily Prophet had even done a detailed report on him.
However, Harry Potter, hailed as the Boy Who Lived, seemed to have done little since his first-year fame. His grades were average, his abilities were average, and the only notable thing about him seemed to be Quidditch.
These accomplishments might have been noteworthy in the past, but with a professional Quidditch World Cup Seeker standing right in front of them, Harry's Seeker title didn't even stand out as a comparison.
Hearing the buzz of conversations behind him, Harry almost fled as he pushed open the door that symbolized glory.
"Silence!"
Dumbledore's magically amplified voice echoed throughout the Great Hall, drowning out all the chatter.
"There has been a small accident, but we will resolve it. For now, the feast is over!"
"Prefects, lead everyone back to your respective common rooms in an orderly manner."
With Dumbledore's long-established authority, all four houses' prefects stood up as soon as he finished speaking.
...
At the same time.
When Harry pushed open the door, he was met with the same curious and shocked gazes, making him feel utterly embarrassed. Fortunately, there was at least one different look.
"Harry! Don't worry, Professor Dumbledore will handle everything."
Ino stood up and softly comforted him.
Perhaps others didn't know, but Ino was aware that Harry was now like a ticking time bomb.
