HP: Wormwood and Lightning Wood

When Harry entered the room, the other three champions turned to look at him.

Krum, Cedric, and Fleur were gathered around the fire when Fleur tossed her long hair, raised her chin, and asked, "What's up? Did you come to deliver a message?"

Harry didn't know what to say, so he simply remained silent.

Cedric sensed something was wrong and his gaze fell on Harry.

Soon, with a flurry of footsteps, Dumbledore entered with a group of people.

Harry's tense shoulders finally relaxed when he saw Westergen behind Dumbledore.

"This is incredible!" Ludo Bagman, Director of Physical Education at the Ministry of Magic and host of this year's Goblet of Fire, stepped forward, brimming with excitement. "Harry Potter! The fourth champion!"

"What?" Furong opened her mouth wide in disbelief.

Krum straightened up, his sharp, leopard-like eyes scanning Harry up and down; Cedric, somewhat bewildered, scratched his head.

"What does this mean, Dumbledore?" Madam Maxime spoke first, slamming her folding fan on the table with a "smack".

"I think you have to give us an explanation," Karkaroff sneered.

"It's very unfair that Hogwarts can't have two champions," Madam Maxime continued. "Didn't you set an age limit, Dumbledore?"

She turned to Harry. "How did you get across the line, little boy? Or...did someone help you?"

Harry suppressed his anger. He had used himself as bait to lure Voldemort, facing immense danger, yet these ignorant people continued to question and mock him.

West shielded Harry behind him. "Perhaps it wasn't him who threw it in, madam. Why are you being so aggressive?"

"Harry, tell them, did you put the parchment into the Goblet of Fire?" Dumbledore asked, squinting.

Harry remained calm. "No."

"Boy, your words have no credibility," Karkaroff scoffed.

"I advise you to watch your words, Karkaroff." Moody's (or rather, Crouch Jr.) blue prosthetic eye was fixed on Karkaroff, his狰狞 face appearing like a terrifying beast in the flickering candlelight.

"So what do you want?" West asked softly, "To rekindle the Goblet of Fire, and then choose two more warriors?"

He chuckled. "Of course, to be fair, the two second champions from each school must be no older than 14. After all, Harry Potter is that age, right?"

"Excuse my bluntness, but even with all the protective measures in place, the Goblet of Fire is not something a 14-year-old student can handle," Crouch said. "If you don't care about the students' lives, you can certainly recommend two more warriors—but of course, you can't use the Goblet of Fire to choose them."

Maxim and Karkaroff's faces stiffened. They recalled the extremely high death rate of previous Goblet of Fire tournaments.

"Harry Potter is just a 14-year-old student. He could die in the Goblet of Fire at any moment, and all you're thinking about is the school's foolish glory." West's smile vanished, and his face darkened.

Maxim and Karkaroff finally realized that the young head of the Somerset family was on Harry Potter's side.

Dumbledore quickly tried to smooth things over, "Alright, obviously we don't know how this situation came about, but the Goblet of Fire has already called out Harry's name, and according to the rules, he must participate in the competition."

"My dear Mrs. Maxim, if you have any other solutions, I am all ears."

Maxim remained silent, his chest heaving. Karkarov's face was ashen.

Snape stood in the corner watching the show, ignoring the several glances Karkaroff gave him.

Urged on by Bagman, Crouch seemed to suddenly come to his senses, "Guidance... yes, next we'll be guiding the first project."

West stepped aside, realizing that Dumbledore had not freed old Crouch from young Crouch's Imperius Curse.

After all, with the fake Moody still standing by watching everyone, Dumbledore's choice was wise, though old Crouch would have to suffer more.

After the instruction ended, Harry followed West away.

West escorted Harry back to the portrait of the Fat Lady, and under her curious gaze, cast a soundproofing spell.

"Don't overthink it, focus on the game, I promise you'll be fine," West said, slipping a note into Harry's hand.

Harry, looking distracted, nodded. "What's this?"

"The clue for the first level," West said casually.

"Huh?" Harry jumped, then whispered, "Does this count as cheating?"

"I don't believe those two schools don't cheat, Harry," West ruffled Harry's hair. "Maybe in the end only Diggory won't know—of course, you can choose to tell him."

"I'd better tell him, otherwise it's too unfair to him," Harry muttered, opening the note and being startled by the words on it.

"A dragon?!" Harry's eyes widened. "How am I supposed to steal a golden egg from a dragon?!"

The only dragon he had ever seen was the one Hagrid had raised, and that dragon was still a baby.

"That's up to you then," West winked. "I have plenty of options. If you're unsure, come find me in the cellar."

Harry ran a few fingers through his hair. "Fine," he said, staring at the fat lady with a troubled expression, already imagining the interrogation he would face when he returned to the Gryffindor common room.

"Have you already given Harry the clue?"

West returned to the cellar, where Snape was already waiting.

"Yes," West sighed, "he still needs some guidance."

"He's just a fourteen-year-old boy," Snape frowned, "even if he's a troll with thick skin."

"Even your concern is so awkward, Severus," West laughed, his eyes crinkling, "So cute."

Snape felt he could no longer communicate with West.

West walked to the workbench and took out some simple alchemy equipment from his ring.

"What are you going to do?" Snape asked, watching West skillfully heat the mithril until it melted.

"Make two teleportation pendants. I need to make sure I get to Harry's side as soon as he's teleported away in the final stage." West stared intently at the mithril melting in the flames.

Under the exquisite control of magic, mithril was melted and cast into the prototype of two teardrop-shaped pendants.

"Twin Flower Roots, Apparition Powder, Unicorn Tail Hair..." Snape wasn't an expert in alchemy, but he knew a little about it and subconsciously noted down the materials he needed.

West applied the concoction to the pendant and chanted a spell.

If you leave the pendants to solidify under the moonlight, the two pendants will possess the magic to instantly teleport to each other.

"A magical spell." Snape's eyes gleamed with curiosity.

"Do you want to learn?" West asked.

Snape pursed his lips, sensing that West was harboring a lot of wicked intentions, but ultimately couldn't resist the temptation, "I want to."

"Give me a kiss, and I'll teach you."

"..."