novelcrest Chapter 458 A Tricky Experience
Chapter 458 A Tricky Experience
Chapter 458 A Triumphant Experience
"The champion of Hogwarts!" Dumbledore announced loudly, "is Cedric Diggory!"
"Oh no!" Ron shouted almost reflexively, but apart from Harry, almost no one heard him.
The cheers from the Hufflepuff students nearby were deafening, shaking the entire Great Hall. Every Hufflepuff student was jumping, screaming, and kicking, the sound almost lifting the roof off.
Cedric walked past them with a bright smile on his face and headed toward the door behind the faculty desk.
The cheers didn't diminish at all; on the contrary, they grew even louder. After a long while, Dumbledore finally waved his hand, signaling everyone to quiet down.
"Excellent!" Dumbledore said cheerfully as the noise subsided. "Well then, our three heroes have been chosen. I know I can completely trust each and every one of you, students of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, you will all give your full support to your heroes. Through your cheers, you will also make an important contribution to this event—"
Before he could finish speaking, Dumbledore suddenly paused, and everyone noticed his unusual behavior. They all turned to the Goblet of Fire in unison.
The flame in the goblet turned red once more, and sparks crackled and scattered in all directions.
A flame shot into the air and then carried out another parchment.
As if on instinct, Dumbledore reached out a long, slender hand and grasped the parchment. He held it far away, staring at the name written on it.
A long silence followed. Dumbledore stared at the note in his hand, and everyone in the Great Hall stared back at him.
Then Dumbledore cleared his throat and loudly proclaimed, "Cho Chang."
As soon as he finished speaking, the air in the auditorium froze for a few seconds, the silence as still as death.
Then, almost all eyes turned to Zhang Qiu at the same time.
She remained seated, her eyes vacant, and an indescribable pressure quickly enveloped her.
There was no applause; instead, a low murmur, like a swarm of angry bees buzzing in your ears, gradually filled the entire auditorium.
The students began to whisper among themselves; some stood up from their seats to try and get a better look; others discussed in hushed tones, seemingly trying to figure out what was happening.
Everyone's face was filled with confusion and surprise, and some even doubted that they had heard correctly.
Zhang Qiu felt a wave of numbness. That gaze was like an invisible rope that bound her to her seat, leaving her unable to move and stiffly sitting there.
Professor McGonagall quickly stood up, walked past Karkaroff and Ludo Bagman, and spoke urgently in a low voice to Dumbledore.
Dumbledore frowned slightly, listened intently, and then nodded gently.
Zhang Qiu could almost feel the tense atmosphere. Under this pressure, she finally slowly got up.
Every step felt like carrying a heavy burden. She dared not look back at her classmates, whose eyes were filled with questions, and could only fix her gaze on Dumbledore. A confused thought suddenly flashed through her mind—she clearly hadn't submitted her name, so why was it her?
Her heart was pounding in her chest, as if it would burst out of her chest, and her steps quickened involuntarily as she crossed the gaps between the tables and seats and passed through the center of the auditorium.
But the next moment, she was free—
For the flame in the goblet turned red once more, sparks crackling and scattering. A tongue of fire shot into the air, then carried out another parchment.
Without hesitation, Dumbledore reached out and grabbed the parchment.
His eyes were fixed on the words above, and he read them aloud in a low voice.
Durmstrang, Selena Shackleton
The audience fell into a deathly silence once again.
A few seconds later, the silence was broken, and a chorus of shocked voices filled the air.
Even including...Sean.
He clearly remembered that Selena's name wasn't on the stack of notes he received yesterday.
Did Sean have a sudden realization upon seeing Selena's expression?
Unlike Cho Chang, Selena stood up readily and walked gracefully toward Dumbledore, even returning Sean's gaze with a smile.
Next, the notes in the Goblet of Fire erupted like a geyser.
"Demstrand, Mel Eileen."
"Beauxbatons, Gabe Carter."
"Beauxbatons, Abby Morris."
"Hogwarts, Harry Potter."
This sudden turn of events made it so that Harry Potter's name didn't seem out of place at all, and few people outside of Gryffindor even paid attention to it.
The scene instantly became extremely chaotic, with students' discussions, exclamations, and noises mingling together, threatening to engulf the entire auditorium.
Everyone was discussing this strange, unexpected event intensely.
Karkaroff jumped to his feet, his face pale. He turned to Dumbledore and asked urgently, "Dumbledore, what's going on?"
Ms. Maxim, Barty Crouch, and others also cast questioning glances at Dumbledore.
Moody's gaze, clear as a mirror, was fixed on Sean. Only he knew who was behind this farce.
However, thankfully—
Harry Potter is also on this list.
Therefore, Moody knew that the only thing he could do at that moment was to do everything he could to keep the game going.
If the Goblet of Fire were to be chosen again and the process repeated, it would certainly be under close surveillance. At that point, it would be much more difficult for him to manipulate things.
But the thought of this made Moody's face turn extremely ugly.
This also means that if he wants Harry to continue participating in the competition, he will have to bite the bullet and deal with the trouble caused by Sean. Meanwhile, the argument continues.
"What does this mean?" Seeing Dumbledore remain silent, Karkaroff's voice erupted again. "How can there be so many non-compliant players? Isn't this deliberately picking on us?"
Still silent.
After a long silence, Dumbledore finally spoke to Karkaroff: "Professor Karkaroff, we will find out the whole story. I assure you, there will be a fair explanation for all of this."
But Karkaroff wasn't buying it; his face was so dark it was almost dripping with rage. "Whatever the explanation, Dumbledore, this situation is out of control. We must act immediately."
However, at that moment, a deep, hoarse voice suddenly broke the chaos.
"That's enough!"
Moody abruptly stood up from his seat, his shocked gaze sweeping across the entire auditorium.
Those sharp eyes stared straight at Karkarov, and the surrounding air seemed to freeze suddenly; even the whispers stopped for a moment.
Karkaroff was taken aback, seemingly intimidated by Moody's fierce aura.
"You," Moody said, his voice icy as he looked down at Karkaroff, "do you want this match to spiral completely out of control?"
Faced with Moody's questioning, Karkaroff opened his mouth but didn't dare to speak.
He had no doubt that if he contradicted Moody at this point, Moody would do everything in his power to send him to Azkaban.
The entire auditorium resembled a game of animal chess.
Karkaroff is not afraid of Dumbledore, Maxim, Barty Crouch, or even Cornelius Fudge; the only one who can restrain him is Moody.
Seeing this, Sean suddenly had an idea.
Why didn't he develop a DLC for The Witcher Kill based on the complex interpersonal relationships in the game?
“We can’t let this game stop,” Moody continued. “Whether it was a bad choice or some other unexplained reason, we need a clear explanation.” He paused, then turned to Dumbledore. “But now, once the game has started, it must continue.”
"Continue?" Karkarov managed to speak, his lips trembling slightly, seemingly unable to meet Moody's gaze. Finally, he lowered his head, his tone softening, "You're right, the match should continue."
Upon seeing that the most troublesome Karkaroff had decided to continue the match, Dumbledore looked at Madam Maxim, who responded with a "you're in my hands" expression.
To be honest, having a few more people to do things isn't a big deal.
Once you decide to do something, other obstacles are nothing. For the Three Kingdoms Tournament, which has been suspended for hundreds of years, they are at most just a matter of re-establishing some rules.
So, after a brief discussion and some modifications to the rules, the group stopped their discussion.
"Quiet down!"
"Dumbledore said loudly."
The murmurs in the hall gradually subsided, and everyone turned to Dumbledore, quietly awaiting his further instructions.
"Gentlemen," Dumbledore continued, "despite the unexpected turn of events in this selection, the competition will proceed according to the rules. We have made adjustments to the new regulations." He glanced towards the Gryffindor table below, "all chosen champions will continue to compete, regardless of how they were chosen."
The students in the audience were still in shock, seemingly unable to fully process what was happening before their eyes.
"Go to the next room," Dumbledore repeated succinctly, his gaze shifting from one warrior to another.
Following his instructions, Selena Shackleton, Cho Chang, Harry Potter, and the other chosen warriors began to stand up one after another, each with a different expression on their face.
The sound of everyone's footsteps echoed in the quiet auditorium, and every student watched the warriors' march with bated breath.
"Is...is this real?" Ron's shocked voice came from the corner of the Gryffindor table.
"Yes," Hermione replied softly, "I...I don't know what happened either; it's not mentioned in the book."
As the last warrior entered the room, the noise in the auditorium subsided into silence.
Just as Dumbledore was about to announce that the dinner party would continue, the Goblet of Fire emitted another strange phenomenon.
The flame in the goblet suddenly shook violently, and the red flame emitted a dazzling light that instantly filled the entire auditorium. All eyes in the audience turned to it, and a tense atmosphere filled the air.
Dumbledore frowned slightly, his gaze fixed on the leaping flames—he had not anticipated this at all.
The regulations have just been revised again, so why do we have to revise them again?
Immediately, a tongue of fire rose into the air again, carrying out a piece of parchment.
This time, Dumbledore didn't immediately reach out to take it. Instead, he took a deep breath, his gaze complex, as if he were brewing something.
When he finally reached out and took the parchment, the auditorium fell silent once again.
Dumbledore looked down at the name on the note, and suddenly his eyes turned serious, and his expression changed slightly.
"Hogwarts, Sean Phillips," Dumbledore announced loudly, his voice echoing through the silent Great Hall.
At that moment, everyone was stunned.
The tense atmosphere froze again, and even the sound disappeared.
After a few seconds of silence, the entire auditorium erupted into even louder discussions, with everyone's face filled with confusion and shock.
Tonight's unveiling ceremony of the Goblet of Fire was full of twists and turns for them. "Sean Phillips? How could he possibly be—" Karkaroff blurted out, his eyes filled with astonishment.
"How is this possible?" Hermione exclaimed in a low voice, turning to look at Ron in disbelief.
"Professor Phillips, no, it can't be him." Ron was also somewhat at a loss. He almost stammered, "If Professor Phillips is also participating in the Triwizard Tournament, then we might as well not have the competition at all and just award the championship to him."
This sentiment also reflects the feelings of many young wizards.
How can a group of fourth or fifth grade wizards compete against a well-established wizard?
This sounds unfair to the other contestants no matter how you look at it.
Sean Phillips, a name almost universally known in the British Isles, is a professor with extensive experience in adventure and duels, whose participation made the entire competition virtually a foregone conclusion.
Compared to the other young wizards, the most "shocked" was none other than Sean himself.
Sean sat in his seat, unable to believe he was hearing his name called at this moment.
He slowly raised his head, his gaze as if struck by lightning, a mixture of shock, confusion, and bewilderment.
Snape, who was sitting in the corner, was ready to mock Sean, but seeing this expression, he swallowed his words.
"Professor Phillips."
Just then, Dumbledore's voice suddenly rang out.
"I believe you understand that, according to the rules of the Triwizard Tournament, your name should not appear among the selected warriors. Therefore, I hope you will participate in this competition as a referee, rather than as a participant."
Sean didn't answer immediately, but lowered his head slightly, pretending to think.
After a moment, he slowly stood up, stared into Dumbledore's eyes, and said in a calm tone.
"If this is the best arrangement for the competition, then I am naturally happy to take on this responsibility. As a referee, I will do my best to ensure the fairness and impartiality of the competition."
After he finished speaking, he bowed slightly to indicate his agreement.
"Very good." Dumbledore nodded slightly, a smile appearing on his face. "Then, Professor Phillips will serve as the temporary referee for this Triwizard Tournament, overseeing the entire competition."
After announcing the results, Barty Crouch, as the director, gestured to everyone.
"In that case, the competition can proceed as normal, and tonight's banquet can continue."
Thus, the banquet proceeded in this subtly tense atmosphere.