Chapter 548: Response and Doubt

"Karkaroff, you should know that this is impossible. You should not have forgotten..."

"I haven't forgotten," Karkaroff shouted, "I don't think these things will have any connection with the past. But you, Moody, if you can live less ridiculously, I think the Ministry of Magic doesn't need to be so vigilant against you."

"A former Auror Director who may discredit the organization at any time, plus as the host, then set up a privileged class, I don't think such a Triwizard Tournament has any comparable value. This is unfair to us..."

Karkaroff shouted, looking like an old madman.

Krum took two steps back with a gloomy face, and it seemed that he realized something.

Fleur leaned forward slightly. She wanted to see Fanlin's reaction. Perhaps Fanlin's facial expression would become very exciting.

However, what was destined to disappoint her was that Fanlin's face did not have any exciting expression. He just stared at Alastor Moody and Professor Karkaroff with some indifference.

Eyes can't deceive. Furong clearly felt that Fanlin had something to say, but they had no right to speak here. Even now, she couldn't move freely in Hogwarts.

"Ahem..." Fanlin coughed twice, but it obviously didn't work.

A blue halo spread out, and Harry clearly felt that the temperature around him dropped a few degrees.

Could it be that Fanlin was going to use a spell here?

These powers seemed to have disturbed everyone, and they couldn't help but focus their attention again.

"I'm sorry, Professor Karkaroff." Fanlin bowed slightly and said, "If it's really as you said, if I want to help Hogwarts win this game... I'm sorry, Harry is not a good choice."

Fanlin said, and Harry was slightly stunned.

"If I really want to win this game, I just need to let the Goblet of Fire choose me."

"Choose you?" Karkaroff laughed, "The Goblet of Fire is controlled by you?"

"Believe me, I can do it. It only takes some willpower. I believe that all the professors here can do this." Fanlin said slowly, "It seems that I don't need Harry to help me accomplish anything. If that's the case, I don't think you will ban me from participating in the Triwizard Tournament."

Karkaroff's face was a little ugly. It was mainly her idea to ban Fanlin from participating in the competition, to exclude all those who threatened Krum...

The scene was a little awkward. Fanlin put the naked facts on the table, which made everyone feel uncomfortable.

However, Fanlin didn't care much.

When Voldemort comes back, where are these people?

Naturally, the next thing will be left to Dumbledore to deal with.

Dumbledore said to the people in the room. "Well now it seems that after excluding Mr. Eyre, we have no choice but to accept the facts. Cedric and Harry have both been selected to participate, so they have no choice but to..."

"Dumbledore - but -"

"Dear Madame Maxime, if you have any good suggestions, I am all ears, but it seems that your previous suggestion..."

Dumbledore waited for her to speak.

But she didn't speak, just stared. Not only her, Snape also seemed angry, Karkaroff's face was livid, and Bagman was quite excited.

"Then let's start." He rubbed his hands and smiled around. "It's time to give instructions to the players, right? Barty, are you interested in helping?"

"Okay, instructions, yes, the first task..."

Battie moved closer to the fire. Harry felt that he was sick. The circles under his eyes were dark, and his dry skin was as thin as paper. But he was not like that during the Quidditch World Cup.

It seems that Barty's body... should have been in contact with Voldemort.

"The first task is to test your courage," he told Harry, Cedric, Fleur and Krum.

"Of course we won't tell you what the task is. Facing the unknown, courage is very important for a wizard, very important."

"The first task will be carried out on November 24th, in front of all the judges and students."

"Competitors cannot ask teachers for help or accept any form of assistance from teachers during the completion of the competition task. The contestants will carry out the first task with the help of wands. After completing the first task, they will be informed about the second task. In view of the time-consuming and spiritual nature of the competition, the contestants will be exempted from the final test."

Mr. Crouch turned to look at Dumbledore, "Albus, I think that's all, right?"

"I think so." Dumbledore looked at Crouch with concern.

"Are you really not staying in Hogwarts tonight? Barty?"

"No, Dumbledore, I have to go back to the Ministry," said Mr. Crouch. "It's been a tough, busy time... I let Percy take charge, and the boy is very enthusiastic. But, to be honest, a little too enthusiastic."

"Then at least have a drink before you go?"

"Barty, stay, I want to stay here." Bagmon said happily.

"You know what's going to happen at Hogwarts. Staying here is much better than staying in the office."

"I don't think so, Ruth." Crouch regained his impatient look.

"Professor Karkaroff - Madam Maxime - how about a nightcap?" Dumbledore asked.

But Madam Maxime had already put her arm around Fleur's shoulders and walked out quickly. Harry heard them talking rapidly in French. Karkaroff signaled to Krum, and they both left quietly.

"Harry, Cedric, Verlin, it's time for you to go to bed." Dumbledore smiled at them, "I believe Gryffindor and Hufflepuff are waiting to celebrate with you, but I can't say goodbye to them. What a great excuse to cause chaos and noise!”

Harry looked at Cedric and Fanlin. Digory nodded, but Fanlin didn't care.

So the three of them walked together.

The hall was empty. The candles were almost burned out, making the light from the pumpkins uneven and swaying eerily.

"That," Cedric smiled. "We are rivals again."

"I guess so," said Harry, who actually couldn't think of anything to say. My mind is still confused, as if I have been brainwashed.

"So, tell me..." Cedric asked as they walked to the entrance hall, "how did you put the name in?"

Torches light the hall instead of burning goblets.

"I didn't put the name in." Harry glared at him. "I didn't. I told the truth."

"Ah, okay then, bye." Harry could tell that Cedric didn't believe him.

"Oh, by the way, Fanlin..." Digory turned around. "To be honest, you are really prohibited from participating..."

"I don't think this should be a topic, Cedric."

Cedric nodded, skipping the marble steps and heading for the door to the right of it. Harry stood listening to his footsteps on the stone steps before ascending the marble stairs.

Except for Ron, Fan Lin and Hermione who may believe him, everyone thinks that he put his name in for the competition.

But how could they think that? You must know that the competitors he faces have taken three years more magic classes than him, and he also has to complete those very dangerous tasks in front of everyone.

Yes, he had thought about it and was fascinated by it, but in fact it was just a joke, a daydream. He really had never seriously thought about participating.

But someone thought of it. He was wanted to compete and he was selected. why? Is it to give him grace? He doesn't think so, maybe...

To see him make a fool of himself? Then they'll probably get their wish. Want to kill him? Didn’t Moody think so too? Or was someone maliciously making a joke on him?

Yes, there are people who want him dead. Someone has wanted him dead since he was a year old...Voldemort?

But how could he get his name into the burning goblet? Voldemort should be hiding in some distant country now, lonely, vulnerable, and helpless.

But in the dream he had before he woke up from the pain in his scar, Voldemort was not alone, and he was talking to Trevor about murdering Potter.

Potter suddenly found himself facing the fat aunt and was startled. He didn't realize that he had been walking. It’s quite strange that the fat aunt is not alone in the photo frame. The witch he saw when he went downstairs just now, who flew to the picture frame next door, was sitting proudly next to the fat aunt.

She must have gotten there before him, flying over every portrait hanging on the steps of Hogwarts, and they both looked him up and down with great interest.

"Okay, okay." said the fat aunt, "Villette told me everything. Then you were selected as a representative?"

"Nonsense." Harry said dully.

"Of course it's not nonsense!" the pale witch said angrily. "Oh, oh, Wei, don't be angry, this is a code." The fat aunt comforted her. The fat aunt turned the hinge and opened the door to let Hart into the common room.

As soon as the door opened, a loud noise almost knocked Potter back. Then he was confronted by dozens of pairs of Gryffindors in the room. Everyone screamed, clapped and whistled.

"You should have told us you signed up," Fred yelled, half happy and half angry.

"That's awesome. How did you do it without growing a gray beard?" George shouted with a smile.

"I didn't," said Harry, "I don't know how -"

Angelina was already lunging at him. "Although I'm not me, I'm still a Gryffindor.

"Now you can take revenge on Digory for the shame of the last Quidditch game!"

Katie. Bell - one of the Gryffindor Chasers

.

"We got some food, Harry, come and eat some." "I'm not hungry. I was full from the dinner."

No one wanted to hear him say he wasn't hungry, and no one wanted to hear him say he didn't put his name in.

No one noticed him. Lee Jordan got a Gryffindor flag from somewhere and insisted on wrapping the flag around Harry like a cloak.

Harry couldn't get away. Every time he tried to run back to the dormitory from the stairs, everyone surrounded him, forcing him to have another glass of Bart's wine, and stuffing desserts and peanuts into his hands. Everyone wants to know how he did it, how he deceived Dumbledore's age line and put his name in...

"I don't," he said over and over again, "I don't know what's going on."

Judging from the way everyone looked at him, he was talking in vain.

Almost half an hour later, he couldn't bear it and cried out, "I'm tired, George, really, I'm going to sleep." What he wanted to do most was to find a few good friends and go to them to seek understanding.

But it seems that both of them are not present.

The same is true for Fan Lin. He doesn't know where he went. He doesn't like this very much, especially...

Harry felt sorry, and somehow involved Vanlin...

He insisted on going to bed.

At the stairs, the Weasley brothers tried to stop him from leaving, and he almost pushed them to the ground. Finally getting rid of everyone, he quickly climbed into the dormitory. In the empty dormitory, he found Ron lying on the bed with his clothes on, and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Harry closed the door hard and looked up at him.

"Where have you been?" Harry asked him.

"Hi, hello!" Ron was smiling, and his smile was forced and strange.

Harry suddenly realized that he was still wrapped around the scarlet Gryffindor flag. It was tied too tightly, and he pulled it off for a long time. And Ron lay on the bed looking at him, motionless.

"Then, congratulations." Seeing Harry tear off the flag and throw it into the corner, Ron said.

"Congratulations? What do you mean?" Harry stared at Ron. Ron smiled strangely, like a grin.

"No one else has crossed the age line." Ron said. "Fred and George couldn't get through, what did you use - the invisibility cloak?"

"The invisibility cloak didn't help me get through the age barrier either." Harry said slowly.

"Yes," said Ron. "If it was the invisibility cloak, you might have told me. It could have hidden us, couldn't it? But you found another way."

"Listen to me, I didn't put my name in. Someone else must have done it."

Ron raised his eyebrows. "Why did they do that?"

"I don't know." Harry thought it was ridiculous to say "planned to kill me."

"It's okay, you can tell me the truth," he said. "If you don't want others to know, that's fine. But I don't know why you lied so hard. You won't get into trouble. The fat lady's friend, Violet, told us a long time ago that Dumbledore asked you to participate. There are 1,000 gold coins and prize money, right? And no need to take the final exam...

"I didn't put my name in!" Harry's anger rose.

"Well," Ron said in the same suspicious tone as Cedric, "You said this morning that you would put your name in at night so that no one would see you. I'm not stupid."

"You remember it very clearly." Harry interrupted him.

"Yeah." Ron said without a smile, "Harry, you want to sleep. I guess you'll be on the video phone early tomorrow morning, doing things like that."

He lowered the curtains wrapped around the pillars. Harry stood at the door, staring at the red velvet curtains. Behind it, lying was one of the few friends he had believed would believe him.

Harry suddenly felt a little bad, this was not a good thing, the gap between dreams and reality was really... (To be continued)