The next day, the entirety of Hogwarts was enveloped in the feverish atmosphere of the Triwizard Tournament. In the entrance hall, the goblet of fire burned quietly, surrounded by that golden Age Line, like an insurmountable chasm, blocking countless eager younger students.
Throughout the morning, a strange smell permeated the Gryffindor common room.
Fred and George occupied a table in the corner, covered with various cauldrons, beakers, and bubbling potion bottles. They were concentrating fully on brewing their masterpiece—the Aging Potion.
"A bit more Unicorn hair, George!"
"Fred, I think there should be one more drop of Hellebore syrup!"
The two were like two mad Alchemists, arguing while adding various materials to the cauldron.
The potion in the cauldron changed from a disgusting green to a murky brown, then to an eerie purple, emitting an odor that made the surrounding students keep their distance.
Hermione sat in an armchair by the fireplace, reading a book and occasionally casting a disapproving glance.
Lia was curled up on her lap, sleeping soundly.
She had no interest in becoming a champion; those glories and adventures, in her view, were equivalent to danger.
There was no place more fascinating than Hermione's embrace.
Until noon, Fred and George finally let out a cheer of victory.
"Success!"
They held up a small bottle of smoking potion that looked like mud, their faces brimming with proud smiles.
The eyes of everyone in the common room were drawn to them.
"Are you really going to drink that?" a third-year student asked uncertainly.
"Of course!" Fred puffed out his chest. "Ready, Fred?"
"Ready, George!"
"Bottoms up!"
"Bottoms up!"
With that, the two split the mud-colored potion in a manner of a cross-arm toast and drank it all.
Under everyone's gaze, Fred and George held hands, leaped up, and crossed that shimmering golden boundary.
They landed steadily inside the circle; the goblet of fire was right in front of them.
The crowd erupted into thunderous applause and cheers.
Fred and George waved triumphantly to the crowd, then turned, preparing to throw the parchment with their names into the cup.
However, the moment they raised their hands, a sudden change occurred!
The golden Age Line suddenly glowed brightly, emitting a loud "buzzing" sound.
An incredibly powerful magic force erupted from the line, violently repelling the two!
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
Fred and George flew backward like two cannonballs, tracing a pathetic arc in the air before crashing heavily onto the stone floor a dozen feet away.
What was even more startling was that the moment they were flung away, with a sudden "poof," a thick, white, long beard sprouted from each of their chins without warning!
The whole place was dead silent for a second.
Then, earth-shattering laughter erupted.
"Hahahaha!"
"Look at their beards!"
"Merlin! They look like Dumbledore's brothers!"
The entire Great Hall was filled with cheerful air because of Fred and George's "white beard farce," and the anticipation for the upcoming Halloween feast grew even stronger.
Finally, night fell.
The Great Hall for the Halloween feast was decorated even more magnificently than usual.
Hundreds of jack-o'-lanterns floated in mid-air, their flickering candlelight reflecting off the enchanted starry sky on the ceiling, and huge tapestries depicting various ghosts hung on the walls.
The food was astonishingly abundant, and the students' chatter and laughter almost lifted the roof.
But Lia had little appetite.
She slowly ate the milk pudding Hermione had prepared for her, spoonful by spoonful.
Ever since Dumbledore announced he would reveal the list of champions, that needle-like Danger Intuition on her skin had never ceased.
This premonition was even stronger than the one in Moody's class; an invisible storm was gathering over the Great Hall.
Finally, when the last dessert vanished from the table, Dumbledore stood up.
The entire Great Hall fell silent instantly, everyone's gaze focused on him.
"Well," Dumbledore's announcement spread to every corner with the help of magic, "the goblet of fire is almost ready to make its choice. I estimate it will take another minute."
His deep gaze swept across the room as he continued, "When the champions' names are read, I hope they will come to the front of the Great Hall, pass through the door by the staff table, and enter the next room. There, they will receive instructions for the first round."
He drew his wand and gave a light wave toward all the candles in the Great Hall.
Except for the candlelight in the jack-o'-lanterns, all other lights were instantly extinguished.
The entire Great Hall fell into darkness, the only light source being the goblet of fire standing quietly in front of the staff table.
Its blue-white flames appeared exceptionally bright, dancing in everyone's retinas.
Clusters of sparks shot out from the cup's mouth, and then, a piece of scorched parchment was spat out by the tongue of flame, spinning in the air.
Dumbledore reached out and caught it.
He glanced at it by the firelight and then announced in a sonorous voice:
"The champion for Durmstrang is Viktor Krum!"
A corner of the Great Hall erupted in thunderous applause and cheers.
Krum stood up, expressionless, and walked through the crowd amidst support toward Dumbledore, then disappeared through the door behind the staff table.
His movements were casual; he had known it would be him long before he put his name in.
Before the applause had died down, the goblet of fire erupted again.
"The champion for Beauxbatons is Fleur Delacour!"
The students of Beauxbatons let out elegant and enthusiastic cheers.
The girl with stunning charm stood up, walked gracefully through the Great Hall, and also entered the room next door.
Now, only Hogwarts remained.
The red flames of the goblet of fire rose for the third time, spitting out the final piece of parchment.
"The Hogwarts champion..." Dumbledore read, "is Cedric Diggory!"
"Yeah!!!"
The Hufflepuff long table instantly exploded!
Amidst the deafening cheers and screams, Cedric Diggory, his face full of surprise, stood up surrounded and patted by his classmates. His handsome face was flushed with excitement as he walked quickly toward the room where the champions were waiting.
"Awesome! It's Cedric!" Ron shouted loudly.
Harry was also applauding for Cedric with a sincere smile.
However, as soon as he finished speaking, Lia's body suddenly stiffened!
Just when everyone thought the dust had settled and Dumbledore was preparing to announce the end of the feast, a sudden change occurred!
That goblet of fire, which should have returned to calm, erupted once again, and most violently, with a crimson glow! Its flames were no longer dancing tongues but an angry roar, and the entire cup was vibrating violently!
At this moment, Lia's Eye of Truth was passively pushed to its limit!
In her vision, the world lost its color, leaving only the flow of magical energy.
She clearly saw a Dark Arts energy, originating from the same source as Alastor Moody's crazily spinning magical eye—full of decay, deception, and malice—like an invisible venomous snake, tightly coiled around the ancient goblet of fire!
This power did not originate from Moody himself, but extended from somewhere deeper and more hidden within him.
Like a filthy hand, it forcibly twisted the ancient and fair contract magic within the goblet of fire, brutally squeezing out a piece of parchment that shouldn't have existed from the heart of the flames!
"Poof!"
The fourth piece of parchment was furiously spat into the air by the goblet of fire!
Dumbledore's movement was lightning-fast; he grabbed the parchment, the smile on his face having vanished without a trace.
His expression became incredibly solemn, and those blue eyes that always twinkled with wisdom were now frozen with frost.
The entire Great Hall fell into a deathly silence.
Everyone's eyes widened, not understanding what had happened.
Dumbledore was silent for a moment; that thin piece of parchment felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.
Finally, in a tone so complex it was hard to describe, he read out the name on it word by word:
"Harry Potter."
Dead silence.
An absolute dead silence lasting three seconds, where even breathing seemed to have vanished.
It was as if someone had cast "Silencio" on the entire Great Hall.
Then, there was a landslide-like uproar.
"What?"
"Harry Potter? How could he!"
"He's only fourteen! He cheated!"
Questioning and angry discussions drowned out the entire Great Hall.
The faces of the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students were filled with the anger of being cheated.
Most of the Hogwarts students were also in shock and doubt.
Harry sat frozen in place, his face pale.
"I... I didn't," he muttered to himself, so faintly that only Ron and Hermione beside him could hear, "I didn't put..."
Ron's face was full of confusion; he didn't believe his good brother would do such a thing.
But the facts were as they were.
Hermione was puzzled.
So she chose to cheat.
"Lia, did you see anything?"
"It's the smell of that one-eyed dummy."
Lia sat on her chair and whispered the answer stealthily in her ear.
Her breath made Hermione's earlobe itch.
Just as she turned her head to scold the mischievous Cat-girl, she saw Lia staring straight at Dumbledore.
Then, meeting Dumbledore's worried gaze, she slowly raised a hand.
She used her index finger to gently point at her own eye.
Dumbledore noticed Lia's movement.
Without any extra movement, just as he had when announcing the names of the previous three champions.
"Harry Potter!" he called again, "Harry, come up here."
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