HP: Wormwood and Lightning Wood

As soon as class ended, West rushed back to the cellar.

Snape leaned against the cushions, his knees bent, with a book resting on them.

He looked rosy-cheeked and much better.

"Are you still feeling unwell, Severus?" West approached quietly and checked Snape's temperature with the back of his hand. "The fever has subsided, but you still need..."

"Perhaps you're not a thermometer?" Snape glanced at him. "How was class today?"

"Not bad, the students are all well-behaved."

West sat on the edge of the bed and told Snape about what had happened that day.

Upon hearing Harry's interview with Rita Skeeter, Snape raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Rita Skeeter? She's not someone to be trifled with, a bunch of cheap lies. Aren't you afraid she'll produce reports that are bad for Potter?"

“Rita Skeeter was bought off long ago, Severus,” West explained with a laugh. “She knows what to do.”

"Bribe her? Not a bad option." Snape nodded. "There are always people willing to swallow her carefully packaged garbage and be led by the nose by those sensational headlines."

"Perhaps this edition of the Daily Prophet will satisfy you, Severus." West played with his wand, and a small dark magic mark appeared before them before being sliced ​​in two by a blade.

On the day the latest issue of the Daily Prophet was published, Snape, after reading the paper, threw it at West's face. "Is this what you mean by 'satisfying me'?"

"Ugh." West groaned, caught the newspaper that had slipped from his hand, and unfolded it.

The Daily Prophet's homepage features a striking, bold headline: "Fourth Warrior in the Final Three: Chosen or Cursed?"

"The Goblet of Fire actually spat out the name of 14-year-old Harry Potter! The 17-year-old age limit and protective charms are useless. Is it amazing talent or the work of dark forces? That night, Potter, clutching his scar, rushed to the headmaster's office, shouting 'Burn like fire!'"

"Does that scar left by 'that person' hold a hidden meaning? The Ministry of Magic is eager to cover up the scandal, yet no one seems to care—has the flame of the Goblet of Fire been stained a dark green, the color of black magic?"

"Perhaps we should look at it from a different angle: what if the Goblet of Fire had never made a mistake? What if it chose Potter precisely because it foresaw an even more brutal test?"

"It's pretty good..." West asked, puzzled, rubbing his flushed forehead.

To be fair, Rita Skeeter, with just a few strokes of her pen, downplayed the controversy surrounding Harry's "cheating" in the competition, instead emphasizing his image as a victim forced into the conspiracy, and even hinting at a connection between Harry and the Man of Void.

"Suppose you could open your eyes wide and look at the bottom right corner?" Snape was somewhat annoyed.

"Um, the entanglement between the powerful and the Black Robe, the unknown emotional entanglement between the head of the Somerset family and the potions professor..." West read halfway through, then awkwardly put down the newspaper, his mind reeling.

That wretched Rita Skeeter! Didn't I tell her not to submit this report to the Daily Prophet? Now we're doomed.

This is terrible. Given the readership of the Daily Prophet, this news will probably spread throughout the entire wizarding world in less than a day.

"Explain yourself?" Snape's lips curled into a fake smile, his wand twitching restlessly in his hand.

"It seems our Lord Somerset is not only adept at bribing journalists," Snape's voice was incredibly gentle, "but also skilled at using scandalous news to divert public attention?"

West's earlobes visibly flushed red as he tried to explain, "I specifically told her to publish this in the Valentine's Day special of The Wizarding Weekly, Severus, I swear it was an accident..."

Snape said "Oh," and then asked, "Do you think it's appropriate to publish it in *Wizarding Weekly*?"

West shrank back, sensing his life was in danger.

Today, Harry keenly sensed the shift in attitudes around him.

Previously, because the Goblet of Fire had unexpectedly revealed the name of this 14-year-old student, far exceeding the 17-year-old age limit for participation, almost everyone believed that he had used unfair means to obtain the qualification to participate.

This suspicion spread like wildfire, and several of Hufflepuff's former friends even pretended not to see him on several occasions, walking right past him.

Now people look at him with eyes full of sympathy and blessings.

Cho Chang from Ravenclaw even came over to say, "Harry, good luck in the match, I hope you do well." After saying that, Cho Chang gave Harry a thumbs-up.

"Hey bro, may Merlin bless you." Macmillan's attitude toward Harry had completely changed.

"Potter!" Pansy tossed her curly hair as she passed by, making a point of showing Harry the badge she had pinned to her dragon-skin handbag.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, puzzled.

Hermione placed a newspaper in front of Harry. "Didn't you read the Daily News?"

Harry opened the Daily News and immediately saw the huge headline.

"This article has changed everyone's attitude towards you, Harry." Hermione looked somewhat surprised. "When did Rita Skeeter become so nice? I remember her before..."

Hermione remembered some offensive reports and shut her mouth.

"Merlin, are there really Slytherins wearing that badge?" Ron sized up the Slytherin students opposite him.

Harry felt dazed and his mind went blank. "What's with the badge?"

"Harry, why do you look so unwell?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"Sorry, I've been training these past few days, I'm a bit tired..." Harry looked at the badge on her coat, which had his picture on it. "What's this? Harry Potter will win...?"

Harry stammered, "Hermione, I think that's too much."

"Draco made this for you, Harry," Ron patted Harry on the back. "Haven't you noticed that many Slytherins are wearing your badge?"

Harry stared at the passing Slytherin students and noticed that a large number of them did indeed have their medals pinned to their clothes.

Draco leaned against the Slytherin table, talking animatedly and handing out badges.

The silver badges gleamed coldly in the candlelight, attracting not only Slytherin students but also several Ravenclaws who pushed through the crowd to join in.

"Oh no!" Harry covered his face in exasperation, feeling both embarrassed and surprised.

A group of guys wearing green ties with red badges featuring a large image of the Savior on them—honestly, it was an eyesore.

But all of this was done for him by Draco...

Thinking about this, Harry felt a sweet warmth in his heart again.

On the Saturday before the match, Harry received a letter from Hagrid, in which he instructed him to wear an invisibility cloak and go to the Forbidden Forest at midnight.

As night fell, Harry quietly slipped through the castle and followed the agreed-upon path into the depths of the Forbidden Forest.

Hagrid mysteriously led him to a secluded corner, where four giant dragons that had just been transported to Hogwarts suddenly appeared before him.

Harry remained calm, after all, he already knew about the competition from West and had even had a thrilling experience dealing with dragons before.

At this moment, Mrs. Maxim and Karkaroff were also present, which confirmed West's words—the principals of other schools were secretly seeking information about the competition for their own students.

As Harry watched Hagrid excitedly introduce the dragon, he narrowed his eyes, keenly sensing that there was more to the story.

Given Hagrid's personality, he would never have thought of revealing information to Harry in this way; it was most likely Crouch Jr. who hinted at it behind the scenes.

Crouch Jr. was determined to ensure Harry won the Goblet of Fire, which is why he came up with this plan to let Harry know the key information about the competition in advance.