At this mont, the eyes of every young wizard were fixed on Harry Potter. So were puzzled, others confused, but most were openly suspicious.
On the platform, Snape’s fists clenched tight. His dark eyes swept over the crowd, while Dumbledore frowned deeply. This certainly wasn’t his doing.
Erwin, however, rely smiled. As expected of Voldemort—he had sohow bypassed all their security to enter Harry’s na. No one had noticed a thing. Even with all of Erwin’s preparations, he hadn’t detected a shred of abnormality.
Draco swallowed the at in his mouth. "My goodness, Harry, you’re amazing! Did you have soone put your na in?" he asked.
Harry shook his head frantically. "No, I didn’t!"
Draco paused, then nodded. "Then soone’s trying to fra you!"
Harry blinked. "You believe ?"
"Of course," Draco said with uncharacteristic sincerity. "Besides my parents, you and Hermione are the people I trust most. You need to tell the Headmasters about this. I suspect soone is trying to harm you!"
Harry nodded, but before he could speak, Erwin’s voice cut through the murmurs.
"Harry Potter, co up here."
Under a sea of suspicious eyes, Harry walked to the stage. Seeing the doubt on the students’ faces, Erwin raised his voice.
"Alright, everyone, settle down. This selection process was under my direct supervision. I can assure you that no older student put Harry’s na into the Goblet of Fire. As for how it happened, I will investigate personally. Stop looking at your classmate of four years with such mistrust!"
The students quickly averted their gazes. They trusted Erwin implicitly.
Erwin glanced at Dumbledore, who gave a slight nod.
"The Champions selection is complete," Erwin declared. "I hereby declare the Tournant officially open! Each event begins on November 24th. Prepare yourselves. Now, return to your common rooms. Harry, stay behind."
The crowd dispersed, murmuring. Because Erwin vouched for Harry, they accepted it. They knew Erwin would give them an answer eventually. That was the weight his na carried at Hogwarts.
Inside the Headmaster’s office, the atmosphere was tense. Mada Maxi, Karkaroff, Barty Crouch Sr., the Heads of House, and Dumbledore were all waiting.
Erwin led Harry inside.
The mont Karkaroff saw Harry, he started to bark complaints. Erwin shot him a cold look, and Karkaroff instantly shut his mouth, intimidated into silence.
Snape couldn’t hold back. "Harry! Explain yourself! Why is your na in the Goblet of Fire?"
Harry shook his head. "I swear, Professor, I didn’t ask anyone to do it! I didn’t even touch the thing!"
Snape looked to Erwin for confirmation.
Erwin nodded. "It’s true. I had people watching. Every student who entered did so with their own hand. None of them entered Harry’s na."
Dumbledore leaned forward. "Then soone used a thod capable of fooling Erwin’s surveillance."
"Perhaps," Erwin said, noncommittal. "I didn’t watch the Goblet personally. If it were a powerful adult wizard, deceiving the students monitoring it wouldn’t be difficult."
"So what do we do?" Karkaroff demanded. "Whatever the reason, this is a violation of the rules!"
Erwin raised an eyebrow. "Are you suggesting we expel Harry?"
Harry paled. "No! Please, I don’t want to be expelled!"
Professor McGonagall stepped forward, placing a comforting hand on Harry’s shoulder. "Don’t worry, Harry. Erwin won’t let that happen. This isn’t your fault."
She gave Karkaroff a sharp look. Erwin has made his decision. Watch your step.
Karkaroff was a survivor. He caught the implication imdiately.
"No, of course not," he backtracked quickly. "I rely ant to ask how we proceed. The Tournant is dangerous, after all."
Erwin stepped in. "Since the Goblet chose Harry, he participates. The rules are binding. We aren’t selecting a substitute for Hogwarts. The Goblet is a magical artifact; we can alter the format, but we can’t reverse its selection without restarting the entire tournant. Do you really want to start over?"
Silence fell. Erwin was right. Restarting the Goblet was a logistical nightmare.
"Furthermore," Erwin continued, looking at the visiting champions, "Harry’s participation benefits you. It’s harsh, but Harry is the youngest and least experienced. His presence gives you an advantage. Or would you prefer we send a capable seventh-year to crush you instead?"
Karkaroff stayed silent. It made sense. Harry was the weak link.
Mada Maxi was the first to agree. "I approve. Fate has chosen him. Let the boy compete."
Barty Crouch Sr. nodded stiffly. "Durmstrang agrees."
Karkaroff had no choice but to follow suit.
"Then it’s settled," Erwin said. "Make your arrangents. And let be clear: this was not Harry’s fault. I will not hear any slander against Hogwarts students regarding this incident. Is that understood?"
His gaze lingered on Karkaroff, delivering a warning the man didn’t dare ignore.
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