Dumbledore reached out and caught the parchment; sparks danced on his fingertips.
"The Durmstrang Champion is—" He paused.
"Viktor Krum!"
Applause erupted in the Great Hall.
Over at the Gryffindor table, Ron clapped the loudest, his face flushed red with excitement.
Students from the other Houses also applauded; after all, as hosts, they needed to show proper sportsmanship.
Karkaroff excitedly waved his fists, his beard trembling along with the movement.
"Well done! Viktor! I knew you could do it!"
Krum stood up, walked expressionlessly past the Slytherin table, and headed toward the door.
His companions were applauding him, but Krum didn't even look back.
The door closed behind him.
The applause in the Great Hall gradually subsided, and everyone's eyes refocused on the goblet of fire.
The flames began to leap again, and in less than ten seconds, they turned red once more.
A second piece of parchment flew out.
Dumbledore caught it.
"The Beauxbatons Champion is—Fleur Delacour!"
Applause rang out again, and there was a stir at the Beauxbatons table.
Fleur stood up, her silver hair shimmering in the candlelight. She elegantly tossed her hair and walked toward the door.
Several girls near her lowered their heads, and some were wiping away tears. Madam Maxime clapped her hands, looking pleased but quite restrained.
Fleur walked through the door, and the Great Hall fell silent once more.
Next was the moment for the Hogwarts Champion to be revealed.
Most of the Hogwarts students straightened up, anticipating the appearance of that name.
Just then, the flames of the goblet of fire began to leap again.
The red flames flickered, and a third piece of parchment flew out.
Dumbledore reached out, caught it, unfolded it, and glanced at it. His eyebrows rose slightly.
"The Hogwarts Champion is—"
Even the sound of breathing vanished in the Great Hall.
"Charlie White!"
"Ooooh!!!"
The Hufflepuff table erupted in cheers; everyone stood up, clapping the tables, whistling, and screaming, making noise loud enough to blow the roof off.
The other three Houses were also applauding, with the Gryffindors being particularly enthusiastic.
"Charlie! Take the Triwizard Cup!"
Ron led the shouts, and many others joined in.
Charlie stood up, just about to leave the table.
Madam Maxime's voice suddenly rang out.
"Wait!"
Charlie stopped and glanced over calmly.
As expected, someone was going to object.
The cheers in the Great Hall gradually quieted down.
Maxime stood up from her seat; her height forced everyone around her to look up at her.
"Mr. Karkaroff, how old is Krum this year?"
"Eighteen."
Maxime nodded.
"Our Fleur from Beauxbatons is seventeen, which also complies with the rules."
"Professor Dumbledore, I have a question." Her French accent was particularly noticeable in the quiet Great Hall.
"Charlie White is only fourteen this year. His age is under seventeen, which violates the rules of the competition."
Karkaroff immediately jumped up from his chair, instantly joining the fray.
"Exactly! Rule violations are absolutely unacceptable!" His voice was sharp.
"You yourself set the age limit, Professor Dumbledore."
The students at the Hufflepuff table exchanged glances, their excitement instantly doused with cold water.
Cedric stood up.
"Charlie was chosen by the goblet of fire! If that's the case, he should be the Champion."
"But the rules are the rules! The rules stipulate that Charlie is outside the scope of participation. If Charlie can compete, why can't I?" Karkaroff stared directly at Cedric.
Charlie said calmly.
"Then why don't we select again? How about you participate too?"
Karkaroff's excited expression froze, and he said somewhat unnaturally.
"I was just saying that; of course, I wouldn't lower myself to bully students, so you must also follow the rules."
Charlie curled his lip.
"Tch, great at running your mouth."
Just then, Dumbledore raised a hand, and the Great Hall quieted down again.
"The Triwizard Cup is a competition among students, so naturally, there is no reason for a Professor to participate."
"The age limit was established to protect students who lack sufficient ability." His voice was calm, but every word was clearly heard by everyone.
"The goblet of fire is an extremely powerful magical artifact. It can determine whether a person possesses the strength to compete. Since Charlie was chosen, it proves his ability is sufficient."
"This is sidestepping the issue." Madam Maxime's voice rose by an octave.
"Rules cannot change based on the person! If Hogwarts is allowed to do this, then Beauxbatons will question the fairness of this competition!"
"Me too!" Karkaroff echoed.
"Unless Hogwarts chooses a new Champion, this competition is fundamentally unfair!"
Just as everyone was arguing endlessly, the goblet of fire suddenly began to tremble.
The blue-white flames leaped again, and everyone's gaze was drawn to them.
The flames turned red.
"Impossible..." Ludo Bagman muttered.
"Three Champions have already been chosen..."
Sparks flew everywhere, and a fourth piece of parchment shot out of the flames.
The entire Great Hall was silent.
Dumbledore reached out and caught the parchment, his expression somewhat grave.
The parchment unfolded in his hand, and the writing on it was clearly visible.
Dumbledore stared at the name, silent for a long time.
Behind his glasses, his blue eyes lost their usual mildness.
"Harry Potter."
His voice was very quiet, but everyone heard it clearly.
A commotion erupted in the Great Hall.
"What?"
"Harry Potter?"
"When did he enter his name?"
"Aren't there only three Champions in total? What's going on?"
Over at the Gryffindor table, Harry froze in his seat, his face pale.
He turned his head, trying to explain to his friends.
"I didn't..."
"I didn't put my name in..."
Hermione and Ron both turned to look at him, their eyes full of shock.
Charlie also looked at Harry in shock. When did this happen? Did Harry enter his name without telling anyone?
But moments later, Charlie realized.
Wait, there are only three Champion slots for the Triwizard Tournament, so how could a fourth one suddenly appear?
Even the judges at the staff table looked bewildered; this was clearly unexpected.
That meant there was a problem with the goblet of fire.
Was it an inherent flaw in the goblet of fire, or had someone tampered with it?
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