The Return to Hogwarts

Amostella saw Hermione still in Professor McGonagall's arms. The fireplace in the room was burning brightly, but Hermione's thin shoulders were still trembling slightly.

Fleur, Krum, and Cedric had clearly learned what had happened from Professor McGonagall, and Amosta could sense the anger hidden in Fleur's furrowed brow.

Everyone was preoccupied with their own thoughts, except for Ludo Bagman, whose intrigued expression as he scrutinized Hermione stood out among the group. Amostella glanced at him and immediately knew what the guy was plotting.

"Mrs. Maxim!"

Fleur had expected Amosta to give her an explanation, but when he entered the room, he merely glanced at her indifferently, which ignited her anger. Fleur violently tossed her hair and strode towards her headmaster.

"The professor told us that the little girl was also chosen as a warrior!"

Professor McGonagall pursed her lips and remained silent.

Madame Maxim straightened her tall, imposing figure, her pretty head resting against the chandelier filled with lit candles, her large breasts, clad in a black satin dress, heaving violently.

"What does this mean, Dumbledore?"

Mrs. Maxime's gaze lingered between Dumbledore and Blaine for a moment, ultimately choosing Dumbledore. Karkaroff, however, made the opposite choice. A cold smile played on his lips as he looked at Amostella, but the lingering fear he'd felt outside prevented him from meeting her eyes.

“I want to know that too, Blaine,”

Karkarov walked toward Krum, who was looking at Amosta with a puzzled expression.

"Hogwarts can have two champions? I don't recall anyone telling me that the host school can have two champions—ah, of course, Blaine, unless you change the bylaws at the last minute, like when you decided to broadcast the Triwizard Tournament to the public?"

"This is impossible--"

Ludo said with a smile,

“There’s never been such a tradition, but to be fair, Amosta’s decision to broadcast the tournament live to the public was a brilliant idea, wasn’t it, Barty?”

As soon as Barty Crouch entered the room, he went straight to the fireplace. He stood there warming himself by the fire, his expression hidden in the shadows. When Ludo asked him a question, he only let out a soft, unintelligible hum.

"That's not the issue we're discussing right now!"

Mrs. Maxime said firmly, "Hogwarts cannot have two champions; it's extremely unfair, unless this girl is kept out of the tournament!"

Curled up in Professor McGonagall's arms, Hermione bit her lip, her eyes filled with longing as she looked at Professor Dumbledore and Professor Blaine. Amosta received Hermione's pleading look, and he knew very well that Hermione wasn't begging him to help her keep her knighthood, but quite the opposite.

But he was destined not to give Hermione the answer she wanted.

“I think we both know this is unrealistic, madam—”

Amosta spoke to Mrs. Maxime, but his gaze encompassed everyone. And everyone noticed that the pale purple hue in Blaine's eyes seemed to have changed, as if two golden flames had replaced the center of his pupils. At the same time, the room became scorching hot, a heat that the fireplace by the wall could not provide.

Professor Moody, leaning against the door, and Buddy Krach, by the fireplace, both unconsciously shifted their shoulders.

"The backlash from violating the Goblet of Fire pact would be enough to cripple Hermione Granger's magical talents, and I don't think anyone in this room has the right to make that decision."

The magic was instantly dispelled, and Hermione's cheeks and lips, still wet with tears, turned deathly pale.

"This is not our fault, Blaine!"

Karkaroff's eyes grew even colder. He didn't care how much despair his words had caused Hermione; his gaze shifted to Dumbledore.

"In our understanding, Dumbledore, your age limit is designed to exclude underage competitors; otherwise, we would certainly bring more candidates from our schools."

From the moment he entered the room, Dumbledore's gaze never left Hermione's eyes. His penetrating eyes seemed to scrutinize her soul. Karkaroff's questioning did not move him; he calmly asked,

"Are you sure you didn't put your name in the Goblet of Fire, Hermione?"

"I didn't, Professor Dumbledore!"

Hermione and Dumbledore didn't have many opportunities to interact directly; the last time was when Dumbledore hinted that she should use the Time-Turner to go back in time and capture Peter.

Even now, Hermione still doesn't know why this happened to her, but now that she's much more rational, she knows that only Professor Dumbledore and Professor Blaine can clear her name. Her voice is still damp.

"I spent all of today with Harry and Ron. I didn't."

Did you ask an older classmate to help you put your name into the Goblet of Fire?

Professor Dumbledore continued to ask.

Hermione was stunned for a moment before she realized that there was such an easy way to bypass Professor Dumbledore's age limit, but she immediately came to her senses and shook her head frantically at everyone.

She's clearly lying—

Karkaroff glanced at Hermione and gave a contemptuous sneer.

"If you know Miss Hermione Granger well enough!"

Professor McGonagall's chest heaved; she no longer cared about the image of Hogwarts and Gryffindor, and glared angrily at Professor Karkaroff.

"You will then know that Miss Granger is the finest young wizard in Gryffindor. She is intelligent, hardworking, and humble. Her grades are the best in her year. All the professors who have taught her at Hogwarts can speak highly of her. Professor Karkaroff, and I myself absolutely believe that Miss Granger is not lying!"

"These are two different things—"

Mrs. Maxim glanced at Hermione with some surprise, but still frowned and spoke.

"Thanks--"

Karkaroff nodded to Mrs. Maxim, then glanced at Professor McGonagall, his cold smile fading into indifference.

"Results don't prove anything, and perhaps her good results and her Warrior status were achieved through the same means—fraud and deception!"

"Do you think we're all fools, Karkaroff?"

To Amostella's surprise, Snape leaned against the wall and lazily defended Hermione.

“I think we need to reach a consensus first before we can discuss what comes next,” Amosta said, stepping forward again.

"The Goblet of Fire is a powerful magical artifact with a very strong ability to discern. If Miss Granger had simply asked someone to put her name in the Goblet of Fire, it would have chosen only three champions and would not have made such a basic mistake as choosing four, unless someone tampered with it. And frankly, the only people currently in this house at Hogwarts who might be able to interfere with the Goblet of Fire's power are those who could do so."

"Mrs. Maxim, and Professor Karkaroff, I'm sure you both agree that Hermione Granger isn't capable of convincing us to help her cheat, right?"

A moment of silence followed as Madam Maxim, Professor Karkaroff, and three other legitimate warriors observed the Hogwarts staff in the room. Amosta had, it must be said, presented a compelling argument to prove the innocence of the young witch who had been unexpectedly caught up in the incident.

Hermione's complexion finally regained some color. Her mood, which had been like a rollercoaster, recovered from Karkaroff's recent assessment of her. She realized that she had finally cleared herself of the shameful suspicion!

It's inappropriate to accuse Severus of helping the obnoxious little witch cheat, and Moody is clearly not someone to mess with. Accusing Blaine and Dumbledore, or even the equally famous Minerva McGonagall, of helping students cheat would obviously make him seem insane.

Karkaroff's dull, yellowish eyes darted about in their sockets almost as fast as Moody's Enchantress Eyes. After a moment of resentment, he looked at the two high-ranking officials from the British Ministry of Magic, his voice shifting from harsh and cold to slick and oily.

“Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman, you two are our—fair judges. You surely also believe this matter is extremely inappropriate, don’t you?”

Chapter 571 Conclusion

2023-11-03

Karkaroff posed the question to two high-ranking officials of the British Ministry of Magic, and Bagman showed great excitement in response. He was about to offer his opinion, but when his gaze fell upon Amostrath Blaine's expressionless face, Bagman fell silent. So, he cautiously looked at Barty Crouch.

Hermione immediately turned her gaze to Crouch, never expecting that her fate would fall into the hands of this Ministry of Magic official she disliked.

Mr. Crouch stood outside the circle of firelight, half his face hidden in shadow. He looked rather odd; that half-shadow made him appear much older, almost like a skeleton. But when he spoke, it was as stiff as ever.

“Amostella is right. Hermione Granger has no other choice, and we must abide by the rules, which clearly state that anyone whose name comes out of the Goblet of Fire must participate in the tournament.”

"That's it!"

Ludo Bagman said, a smile spreading across his face as he turned to look at Kakarov and Ms. Maxim, as if the matter had been resolved satisfactorily.

"If it has to be this way!"

Karkaroff seemed to have mastered the essence of Crouch's tone of voice; his own voice was no longer smooth but harsh, the smile on his face vanished, and the veins on the back of his clenched fists bulged.

"You must put the Goblet of Fire back on the table, and we'll keep adding names until every school has two champions. That's fair, Blaine!"

"But Karkaroff, I'm afraid that won't work—"

Neither Amosta nor Dumbledore offered a response, so Bagman said awkwardly,

"The Goblet of Fire has just been extinguished—it will be rekindled at the next tournament—"

A moment of silence followed. Fleur turned her gaze to Amostella, whose face was grave, while Viktor looked at Hermione. He quite liked this witch from Hogwarts. On the night of the World Cup final, this little witch had fought against a dark wizard so far more powerful than herself in the VIP box, which was enough to demonstrate her courage.

As for Cedric Diggory, the true champion of Hogwarts, he was now somewhat at a loss, as if no one in the room really cared about him.

"--Demstrang will definitely not participate in the next championship!"

Karkaroff flew into a rage.

“We’ve had so many meetings, Blaine, so many negotiations and consultations, and I never expected this to happen! I just want to leave right now!”

"The gates of Hogwarts are always open, Karkaroff. You may leave at any time, but your champion must remain—"

Amosta said coldly

"Just like Miss Granger, I can't stand by and watch Mr. Krum be turned into a dud by the backlash of the Goblet of Fire contract."

Karkarov's face flushed red. He stared intently at Amosta and said through gritted teeth,

"You're threatening me, Blaine! I swear I'll file a complaint with the Federation. Don't think you can escape punishment for your mistakes just because you're the vice president!"

"A bluffing threat, Karkarov!"

A voice roared from the doorway.

"You're not going to give up on the championship, Karkarov. I've been listening to you complain as if you were the biggest victim, but the real victim hasn't said a word for himself yet!"

Moody limped over to Karkaroff, making a loud noise each time his right foot touched the ground.

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I can't understand what you mean--"

Karkarov instinctively took a step back, then, realizing so many people were watching him, he stepped forward and said angrily,

"Weren't Durmstrang and Beauxbatons victims? And what does 'real victim' mean?"