HP: It's a snake, not a badger.

Chapter 128 The Warrior Appears

After a day, almost all the students who had reached the required age had thrown notes into the Goblet of Fire, including a little mouse.

"Severus, let's go. It's time to go to the Great Hall. I need to find a corner when we eat later." Emeric picked up his coat and handed it to Severus, then slipped a small bag of biscuits into his pocket, just in case Dumbledore talked too much and he got hungry.

Severus dressed and left the cellar one after the other with Emeric, keeping a great distance between them. This was partly to avoid suspicion and prevent gossip at this time, and partly to prevent Karkaroff from suddenly appearing and talking to Severus.

Severus walked to his seat and sat down, but before he could even warm his chair, Karkaroff came over to chat with him, ignoring Dumbledore's glare from the other side. Severus could only suppress his anger, keeping a straight face and giving disjointed, curt replies.

"To put your minds at ease while you eat, I've decided to announce the list of champions first." Dumbledore extended his wand, took the Goblet of Fire from the age line, and placed it in front of him.

The once noisy auditorium fell silent instantly. All the students looked at the professors' table with anticipation, and Karkaroff also shut his mouth and looked at the Goblet of Fire.

"Alright, let's see who the Goblet of Fire will choose as the champion," Dumbledore said, pointing to a small door on the side. "When the chosen champion hears his name, he should go through this door. For your safety, we have some things to tell you."

He then raised his wand and waved it at the Goblet of Fire. As the wand danced, the entire hall was plunged into darkness, with all the candles going out except for the wall lamps.

Blue-white flames erupted, scattering countless sparks, enveloping the entire Goblet of Fire in dazzling light. Soon, the flames turned orange-red, crackling as if burning fiercely, and a piece of parchment, still glowing with embers, flew out of the flames.

Dumbledore reached out and took the parchment, trying to decipher the writing by the firelight. It took him a long time to finally recognize the name.

"Viktor Krum, the warrior of Durmstrang." A clear and powerful voice resounded throughout the auditorium.

Krum stood up from the table and walked listlessly toward the professor's table, circling it towards the door. Karkaroff looked excited; he knew it would be Krum.

Dumbledore reached out to silence the cheers in the Great Hall, and at the same time, the goblet once again spewed out red flames, and a second parchment shot into the air.

"The warrior of Beauxbatons, Fleur Delacour."

The silver-haired girl rose gracefully and walked lightly across the auditorium toward the door. The remaining Beauxbatons students hung their heads in dejection, and two girls even slumped over their desks and cried.

Finally, the champion of Hogwarts had not yet been chosen, and all the students looked nervously at Dumbledore and the new parchment in his hand.

"Cedric Diggory, the champion of Hogwarts."

The Hufflepuff cheers were deafening, filling the entire auditorium. Cedric smiled as he rose from the crowd and, like the other two warriors, went into the next room.

"Children, be quiet. Our three warriors have arrived. I believe you will all give your full support to them. Now, let's..."

Suddenly, the Goblet of Fire spewed parchment out again, and everyone stared wide-eyed at Dumbledore, noticing his serious expression.

After a long silence, he finally spoke and read out the name, "Harry Potter."

As soon as he finished speaking, all the students turned to Harry. Their eyes were not filled with excitement or joy, but with doubt and suspicion, like needles piercing Harry.

"I didn't put my name in. It wasn't me. I've been working in the cellar these past few days." Harry frowned. He didn't know who did it. The most important thing now was to clear his name. Fortunately, he had been in the cellar these past few days because of Draco's reminder, otherwise he definitely wouldn't have been able to clear his name.

Dumbledore, standing on the platform, called out again, "Harry, please come up here."

Ron and Hermione nudged him, signaling him to hurry up and talk about everything later. And so, Harry walked toward the door, under everyone's gaze.

"Alright, children, eat first. We'll give you an answer to this matter. Don't go hungry." That's what he said, but Dumbledore wasn't in the mood to eat. He waved his wand to have the elves serve the food.

McGonagall got up and walked toward the door behind her. She didn't know what had happened, but Harry definitely needed someone with him now. She followed Ludo Bagman inside, and Dumbledore followed her into the room after he finished speaking.

Severus didn't move. He surveyed the entire auditorium, making sure no one could touch the Goblet of Fire to destroy the evidence. He gave Emeric below a look, signaling him to keep an eye on the students.

The room next door

"Why is there one more person? Hogwarts is unfair!"

"I'm sorry, ma'am, I didn't submit my name," Harry explained weakly. He didn't want to be a hero either; he didn't want Harry to know who did it.

"Calm down, Headmaster Maxim. I think Headmaster Dumbledore should be able to give us an explanation, right?" Karkaroff rallied Maxim, and the two of them put pressure on Dumbledore together.

"I'm sorry, the Goblet of Fire chose Harry, and we can't break the contract. Although we have two champions to compete, we also have two people at risk of injury, not to mention that Harry is only a fourth-year student," Dumbledore said. "Don't forget that no matter how many precautions you take, there is still a risk of death."

Hearing this, Maxim's expression softened a bit. A fourth-grade student really wouldn't be a problem; he might even get injured in the first match and be unable to finish.

Ignoring Karkaroff, who seemed about to say something, Dumbledore turned and said, "Due to an accident, we have an extra child, so we need to strengthen our precautions to ensure the student's safety."

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After witnessing this farce, Emeric and Severus went straight back to the cellar, both frowning deeply, as they still hadn't found any clues.

"Who do you think it is?"

"I can't figure it out, but it must be from Voldemort's place. I suspected Barty Jr., but Salafina just told me he hasn't left his office except for classes these past few days. It's impossible that someone else has sneaked in, right?"

Emerick's head ached just thinking about it. "If someone really manages to sneak in again, this place might as well not be called Hogwarts, it should be called a mouse hole."

Severus also felt a headache coming on. If it really was Voldemort's doing, then it wouldn't be long before he disappeared underground again. Thinking of this, he stood up and prepared to go to the workshop to brew potions. He needed a lot of painkillers and relief potions.

"What's wrong, Severus?"

"I'm tired of you moving out of my cellar."

"?"

"Severus, don't try to fool me. If you really want to protect me, keep me under your nose. Otherwise, I'll turn around and go find the Death Eaters and tell them I'm willing to give anything for you."

Emeric held Severus in his arms, looking like he was about to launch a suicidal attack, refusing to let go until he took back what he had just said.

"Let go, never mind."

Severus was indeed taken aback, and he gave in once again, patting Emeric's hand to let go.