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"Father is deliberately avoiding me."
At breakfast, Draco's expression did not look good. He had gone to find Lucius last night, wanting to ask him clearly, only to be turned away. Early this morning, he had gone again, but Lucius was not there.
Clearly, Lucius did not want to see him.
"He probably cannot let you know for some reason."
Dudley swallowed an egg in one bite and spoke, offering an explanation for Lucius.
Clearly, the elder Malfoy did not want the younger Malfoy involved. But Draco was already in the game. It was not something Lucius could prevent simply by wanting to.
To put it bluntly, would Voldemort let Draco go without drawing him into the Death Eater camp after returning?
What a joke.
"How many people have put their names in?"
Harry drank a full glass of milk and let out a loud milk burp.
"All the Durmstrang representatives."
Ron answered Harry. His eyes had barely left the Goblet of Fire.
To be honest, he very much wanted to put his own name in.
Compared with Durmstrang, where everyone had entered, Beauxbatons was much more cautious. So far, only half of them had put in their names.
"What about Hogwarts?"
Neville picked up a glass of milk and shrugged.
"After Brother D said what he did yesterday, no one else seems willing to enter."
Even Cedric had decisively given up after learning that Dudley had entered his name, let alone anyone else.
Oh, perhaps not necessarily. There would always be people who wanted attention.
Ron's two brothers, Fred and George, walked toward the Goblet of Fire looking excited. Both held pieces of parchment in their hands. Clearly, they wanted to enter themselves.
"Are your brothers seventeen?"
Harry looked at Ron.
Ron shook his head.
"They still have six months before they turn seventeen."
"The smell of Aging Potion. They drank a drop of Aging Potion."
Dudley swallowed another egg, answering the question for both of them.
In theory, the other members of the disciplinary group could also smell Aging Potion, but from that far away, only Dudley could detect it.
"Do you think they will succeed?"
"Do you even need to ask?"
Draco glanced at the twins and snorted.
"If Dumbledore's magic could be broken that easily, he would not be the greatest wizard of the twentieth century."
"They ignored Brother D's warning, so let them embarrass themselves."
Just as Draco said, the instant the two stepped into the Age Line, an invisible force threw them out.
Not only that, thick white beards grew from their chins, making them look like two Father Christmases.
Fortunately, the twins did not mind. Instead, they pointed at each other's beards and laughed loudly.
"The Age Line Dumbledore set contains twenty-seven spells linked together. Ordinary Aging Potion naturally cannot fool it. Unless that bottle of Aging Potion came from Professor Snape's hands."
In other words, it would need to be at least a perfectly brewed Aging Potion.
"Of course, potions are not the only method. If your Confundus Charm is strong enough, that can work too."
The Confundus Charm was an extremely useful all-purpose spell. It could be used in many situations. Although ordinary wizards generally knew it, truly mastering it was difficult.
A wizard with deep magical power could use the Confundus Charm not only to pass the Age Line, but even to confuse the Goblet of Fire, a magical object that had been used for countless centuries.
Over the next few days, all the Beauxbatons students entered their names. As the host school, Hogwarts, aside from the failed Weasley brothers, had no one else enter.
After all, Mr. Dursley had already entered. Anyone else who entered would merely become background.
Time quickly reached Halloween. The identities of the champions would be revealed.
During the feast, everyone sat properly in their seats, their gazes fixed on the Goblet of Fire burning with blue-white flames in the center.
"It is time."
Dumbledore spoke softly.
As his voice fell, the flames in the Goblet of Fire suddenly changed color, turning from blue-white to a bloodlike crimson.
A tongue of flame suddenly shot into the air, crackling continuously.
A charred piece of parchment floated out of the Goblet of Fire.
At that moment, everyone held their breath.
"The Durmstrang champion."
Dumbledore, holding the parchment, spoke.
Everyone on the Durmstrang side became nervous.
Even though Viktor was publicly recognized as their most outstanding wizard, the Goblet of Fire might not think so. Perhaps it would choose one of them instead.
"Viktor Krum."
Unfortunately, there was no surprise. When Dumbledore read that name, the other Durmstrang wizards looked somewhat disappointed, but they soon applauded for their school's representative.
As Headmaster, Karkaroff looked extremely happy. His palms were almost red from clapping.
Not long after, another tongue of flame burst from the Goblet of Fire.
Another piece of parchment flew out.
"The Beauxbatons champion."
Dumbledore looked at the parchment in his hand and read, "Fleur Delacour."
Fleur, the silver-haired girl, stood from the Beauxbatons seats and walked toward the adjoining room.
Very soon, the flame burst up for the third time.
This time, it was Hogwarts.
Dumbledore opened the parchment. After seeing the name on it, he smiled brilliantly.
"Hogwarts champion: Dudley Dursley!"
The next moment, thunderous applause swallowed the entire hall.
Unlike the first two schools, where students felt sad and disappointed at not being chosen, Hogwarts treated this as the expected result.
Only Mr. Dursley was qualified to represent Hogwarts. This was nearly the consensus among the young wizards.
Even Hufflepuff, which had Cedric, had to admit that Mr. Dursley was somewhat more outstanding than Cedric.
Even Dumbledore led the applause.
Yet at that moment, something changed.
The Goblet of Fire spat out flame again and produced another piece of parchment.
At this sight, not only Karkaroff and Maxime froze, even Dumbledore revealed astonishment. His expression changed sharply when he saw the name on the parchment.
"The fourth champion..."
"Harry Potter."
The hall erupted.
However, this situation did not last long, because the Goblet of Fire spat out flame again and, as before, produced another piece of parchment.
Dumbledore picked up the parchment and read the name on it without expression.
"Harry Potter."
The Goblet of Fire spat out flame yet again.
Still Harry Potter.
Then it happened again.
Still Harry Potter.
How many Harry Potters was Hogwarts choosing? Was this a joke?
Someone standing among the staff froze.
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