Fleur raised an eyebrow, a flash of disdain in her eyes.
For the first time, she looked Harry over carefully.
"Him?" Fleur lifted her chin.
"You think I would lose to him?"
Charlie was indeed strong, but Fleur completely disbelieved that Harry was stronger than her or that he would place higher.
Krum said nothing, only staring at Harry without expression.
His gaze was like that of someone assessing an opponent, yet also as if he were contemplating just how absurd this competition was.
Harry stood where he was, feeling like a piece of beef dragged to the market for people to pick over.
Bagman put on a smile, attempting to ease the atmosphere.
"Everyone, everyone, please listen to me." He walked to the center of the room and spread his hands.
"The choice made by the goblet of fire is magically binding. Those selected must compete; that is the rule."
"Now that it has happened, all we can do is try to compensate."
"You all heard Charlie's proposal just now. As long as your students score higher than either Harry or Charlie, you will have beaten Hogwarts. That is already a significant concession."
"Why don't the two of you think it over carefully."
Maxime and Karkaroff exchanged a glance; their goal was to keep Charlie from competing.
But as Bagman said, once the goblet of fire had made its choice, they actually had no other option.
They just hoped to secure some advantages for themselves within the rules.
Although Harry was the so-called Boy Who Lived, he now appeared to be just an ordinary student without any particularly exaggerated strength.
If they only needed to beat Harry to win the Triwizard Cup, this competition still held hope.
After all, Fleur and Krum were the pride of their respective schools, carefully selected.
Maxime took a deep breath and looked at Dumbledore.
"What is Professor Dumbledore's opinion? Can Charlie make decisions on behalf of Hogwarts?"
Dumbledore nodded.
"Charlie's will is my will."
Upon hearing this, Bagman immediately laughed out loud.
"Since no one has any objections, the panel of judges will adopt this proposal."
But Karkaroff's face remained gloomy; he stared at Dumbledore, his tone full of dissatisfaction.
"This competition is truly terrible. If not for the magical contract of the goblet of fire, I would take my students and leave right now." He paused, his voice becoming sharper.
"Durmstrang will never participate in the next one if the competition is this unfair!"
"Is that so? That is truly surprising."
The door to the room was pushed open again.
Moody limped in, his magical eye spinning wildly in its socket, scanning everyone in the room.
The sound of his staff striking the floor was piercingly loud in the silent room.
"Though, come to think of it, it's normal, Karkaroff." Moody's voice was low and gravelly.
"Of course you wouldn't dare participate in the next competition."
Karkaroff turned around abruptly.
"What do you mean?" His voice sounded strained.
Moody did not answer immediately; he limped to the center of the room, that magical eye locked firmly onto Karkaroff.
"Someone put Potter's name into the goblet of fire." Moody's tone was icy.
"And this person knew that as long as the goblet of fire selected Potter, Potter would have to compete."
He paused, his gaze sweeping across the room.
"Clearly, someone wants Harry to lose his life."
The air in the room froze instantly.
Bagman's smile stiffened on his face; he looked at Moody somewhat uneasily.
"Professor Moody, why would you say that?"
Karkaroff said loudly.
"Who doesn't know that Professor Moody always thinks someone is out to get him? Now that thought has extended to Potter!"
Moody's magical eye snapped toward Karkaroff, and his normal eye also stared fixedly at him.
"Am I just spouting nonsense?" Moody's voice was full of anger.
"The person who put Potter's name into the goblet of fire used a powerful Confundo to bewitch the goblet of fire."
He walked toward Karkaroff step by step, the sound of his staff striking the floor feeling like it was striking everyone's heart.
"I suspect he entered Potter's name as a student from a fourth school, making Harry the only choice."
Moody stopped walking, his magical eye spinning wildly.
"And the people capable of doing this should all be here, right?"
His words sounded like he was suspecting everyone, but that magical eye never left Karkaroff.
Karkaroff's face turned even uglier, and he took a step back.
"If you have something to say, just say it!"
Moody sneered.
"Are you sure you want me to speak plainly? Karkaroff, the former..."
"Enough, Alastor." Dumbledore's voice was not loud, yet it made the temperature in the entire room drop by several degrees.
Moody turned his head and looked at Dumbledore, very unwillingly.
Dumbledore was also somewhat helpless; if he let him continue, there would be no end to it.
Karkaroff's face was livid; he opened his mouth, but in the end, he said nothing, only glaring fiercely at Moody.
Seeing this, Charlie pondered to himself.
Moody suspected that Karkaroff had entered Harry's name? But what would be the point of Karkaroff doing that?
Could it be that Karkaroff, as a former Death Eater, was still fiercely loyal to Lord Voldemort and wanted to take revenge for Lord Voldemort?
But that didn't make sense; it was too conspicuous, and he could have used a much more low-key method.
Charlie shook his head.
The nickname Mad-Eye really wasn't for nothing; Moody's paranoia was truly so severe that it had become indiscriminate.
Dumbledore scanned the room, his tone returning to a calm state.
"Since we have now reached a consensus, Mr. Crouch, please provide guidance for our champions."
Crouch stood in the corner, nodding mechanically after hearing his name.
He stepped forward a few paces, and Charlie noticed that Crouch had deep dark circles under his eyes and looked very haggard.
He was a completely different person from the one at the Quidditch World Cup.
Crouch said to Charlie and the others, his voice hoarse.
"The first task will take place on November 24th. The champions will need to complete the task in front of a large audience."
"The specific details will be kept secret; it will test your courage and adaptability."
"Furthermore, during the competition, champions must not accept any help from teachers; the only thing you can rely on is the wand in your hand."
"Only after the first task is over will you receive clues for the second task. At the same time, because of the competition, the champions do not need to take their end-of-year exams."
Charlie was somewhat surprised after hearing this; an unexpected bonus? No exams.
Although those exams were simple for Charlie, who would want to sit in a classroom when they could be out having fun?
Crouch's voice grew increasingly hoarse.
"That is about all."
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