Dereliction of Duty and Bribery, What Happens Next / Entry Requirements: Raising Dragons Legally ...

"Harry, I think you can stop here." Dumbledore placed a hand lightly on Harry's shoulder. "We have no right to use Veritaserum on Ministry of Magic officials."

"But they also have no right to deliberately conceal the truth after committing dereliction of duty!" With only one final step to achieve his goal, Harry refused to give up. "Headmaster, I must remind you...you may be trying to save face for some people, but right now, it is Hogwarts that is being questioned!"

"I also think this matter cannot end without a clear explanation," Olympe Maxime interjected. "We must know the truth, no matter what."

"Agreed." Igor Karkaroff's expression shifted from his previous smooth talk to a hard one. "Ludo Bagman, you'd better explain what happened before the Goblet of Fire was delivered."

"This..." Ludo Bagman was completely at a loss, but Rufus Fudge was unable to speak, and he couldn't think of any excuse for himself.

"Speak quickly!!"

"Fine, fine..." After Harry's outburst, his mental defenses finally crumbled.

"I... Rufus and I... made a bet with someone before coming to Hogwarts..."

Chapter 630 Dereliction of Duty and Bribery, Further Explanation

Things were basically as Harry had predicted; it was definitely true, and the Britain Ministry of Magic couldn't escape blame either.

Through Ludo Bagman's halting narration, everyone came to the conclusion that it was their negligence that allowed others to take advantage of the situation and prematurely put Hermione's name into the Goblet of Fire.

The Triwizard Tournament, though seemingly just a magical exchange between three Europe schools, holds far greater significance and involves complex relationships, essentially making it a wizarding version of the Chunin Exams.

Rufus Fudge and Ludo Bagman, as the direct organizers, have dealt with all sorts of wizards over this period of time—domestic and foreign, those in charge of various projects and those who provide sponsorships—you name it.

More than a month ago, a wizard made contact with them through his Pure-blood Family connections, expressing his long-standing interest in the Triwizard Cup and the Goblet of Fire.

He even spent a lot of money to sponsor most of the materials for this competition, on the condition that he could see what the Triwizard Cup looked like in advance, in order to make up for the regrets of his student days.

Ludo claimed he could completely understand this person's feelings. After all, the Triwizard Tournament had been suspended for more than two centuries, and even he himself sometimes lamented being born at the wrong time.

Moreover, the other party was trustworthy enough to simply take the Triwizard Cup away for their own enjoyment, and when it was returned later, neither of them noticed anything unusual.

But after they satisfied the person's wish to see it, the person then made a further request: to see the Goblet of Fire as well.

This posed a slight challenge for the two, since the Goblet of Fire was different from the Triwizard Cup; it absolutely could not be handed over to outsiders before it was delivered to Hogwarts.

However, that person was particularly persistent. Not only did he personally use a beautiful Flying Carpet to comfortably carry the two of them to Hogwarts, but he also dragged them to a small gathering with the Three Broomsticks before arriving at the school.

After a few cups of wine, seeing that the two were still unwilling to budge, the wizard made one last request: to make a bet between the two of them.

They each had to take out something from their person and compare whose was more novel and valuable.

The winner can then take possession of the items belonging to the loser.

It was obvious to any normal person that this was no longer a bet, but a blatant bribe, so Rufus Fudge and Ludo Bagman... ultimately agreed without any doubt.

Compared to their opponent's wealth and power, neither of them could possibly possess anything of value. The only treasure they could use to compete was naturally the Goblet of Fire.

As for what happened next, even if Ludo didn't say it, everyone already knows.

Ludo and his companion 'won' the other person's treasure, while the other person took the Goblet of Fire and admired it alone in a private room for a while.

It should be said that this kind of not-so-clever tactic is unlikely to be fallen for by anyone with a brain.

Unfortunately, those two officials from the Ministry of Magic were a pair of universally acknowledged idiots.

"I didn't expect this either! When he returned the Triwizard Cup, there wasn't a single thing wrong! If it weren't for that, we wouldn't have felt comfortable handing the Goblet of Fire over to him!" Ludo nervously explained. "And... yes, it was Rufus Fudge! I was just a messenger, maybe a commentator at most. He was the main person in charge of this tournament, and he was the one who ultimately agreed to hand over the Goblet of Fire to them!"

"Damn it! Ludo Bagman, you bastard! Didn't you take what that guy offered? You were involved in this too!!"

Ludo dumped all the blame on Rufus Fudge, while Harry seized the opportunity to lift the young master's silencing order, which immediately triggered a torrent of profanity from the latter.

Now, Dumbledore didn't even have a chance to defend them.

On the eve of the Triwizard Tournament, the Goblet of Fire was tampered with due to bribery of the organizers' staff, which is an absolute scandal.

What's even more damning is that this scandal was exposed in front of the principals of the three Europe universities and all the Champion, leaving no room for clarification!

"Harry, is this alright?" After Moody had sent the two noisy idiots to a corner, Dumbledore turned to Harry with a grim expression.

"Headmaster, please stop joking. This isn't enough!" Harry shook his head noncommittally. "This whole thing happened because of the bribery and dereliction of duty by these two Ministry of Magic officials. The Ministry of Magic of Britain must give all the teachers and students of the three schools an explanation! They must clarify the truth, issue a public apology, and then kick these two guys out of the competition committee and await the final outcome... None of these steps can be omitted!"

"But Granger, have you thought about how the rest of the competition will be organized after this?" Moody interjected, frowning. "With such a scandal on the eve of the competition, what will the audience think once this gets out? How can they trust the fairness of the competition?!"

"That's easy, we can just continue hosting it ourselves!" Harry chuckled dismissively. "The three headmasters can act as judges, and I'm sure no one will doubt their impartiality; the referees can be me or Professor Moody, as long as they don't break the rules and everyone's safety is guaranteed; and finally, there's the commentary. Doesn't Gryffindor have a guy named Lee Jordan? He used to commentate on Quidditch Match, so we can give him some work this year."

With just a few words, Harry completely kicked the Ministry of Magic out of the competition, and also clearly arranged the follow-up matters, leaving Albus Dumbledore speechless.

Harry's offensive was incredibly aggressive, almost relentlessly shoving the blame onto the Ministry of Magic. Even though Albus Dumbledore wanted to protect it, he didn't dare go too far.

Because Harry has already defined Hogwarts, the beneficiary of selecting two Champion, as an innocent victim who will be suspected and blamed, if Albus Dumbledore continues to support the Ministry of Magic at this time, he would be committing the same dereliction of duty as those two guys before him.

"Alright... if the other two headmasters have no objections, we'll bypass the Ministry of Magic and organize the rest of the competition ourselves."

So, in the end, he had no choice but to give up on those two troublemakers.

"We at Durmstrang have no objections." Upon hearing Albus Dumbledore's words, Igor Karkaroff immediately expressed his support, "And I personally support Mr. Granger becoming a referee; that would certainly ensure the students' safety."

"I have no objection either... The Britain Ministry of Magic has been embroiled in too many scandals lately. They shouldn't be allowed to interfere too much in these kinds of competitions, otherwise it will all be a shady affair!" Olympe Maxime accepted the suggestion, not forgetting to take a jab at the Britain government.

"In that case..."

"Now, let's talk about something else!"

Once again, Harry interrupted Albus Dumbledore.

"The truth has come out, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang have received the necessary explanations, but what about us?"

Harry's gaze swept around the room before finally returning to Dumbledore.

"Because of those two bastards' bribery and dereliction of duty, Hermione was forced into becoming Champion. Shouldn't we be given an explanation for this?!"

Chapter 631 Entry Requirements, Legal Dragon Raising

Harry will absolutely not let this matter go so easily.

Are you kidding me? Do you really think Hermione has to enter the competition just because a name is randomly picked from the Goblet of Fire?

"Granger, stop making trouble, will you? Once the Goblet of Fire selects participants, it establishes an unbreakable contract. No matter what, all four of them must participate in the competition!"

Moody had by this time taken over from Albus Dumbledore and started confronting Harry; he knew Dumbledore's predicament.

There were some things that Dumbledore, as the headmaster, could no longer say.

"Mr. Moody, can't you understand what I'm saying?" Harry showed no sign of backing down. "I don't care whether Hermione has to participate or not, I only know that she's been dragged into this for no reason, and there has to be an explanation!"

"Kid, things have already come to this, and no one will give you the explanation you want! Anyway, the contract of the Goblet of Fire has been signed, and no one can change it."

Seeing that Harry wouldn't give up, Moody simply started to act shamelessly.

However, his expression quickly froze on his face.

Because in the blink of an eye, Harry had an irregular, dark red stone in his hand!

"The Sorcerer's Stone..." Dumbledore murmured, letting everyone know what it was.

"That's right, it's the Sorcerer's Stone." Harry nodded indifferently, but his tone was full of threat. "The contract of the Goblet of Fire can't be changed, right? Then I'll just turn it into a pile of rotten wood and see if that contract can be canceled!"

"You..."

"Oh, and while we're at it, let's destroy the Triwizard Cup too." Before Moody could speak, Harry interrupted, "I think you should just cancel the Triwizard Tournament altogether. The other two schools can just go back to where they came from."

"Hey! Who do you think you are...?"

"Phoebe! Shut up!!" Upon hearing that Harry intended to stop the competition from continuing, Phoebe immediately jumped out to mock him, but was then sternly reprimanded by Olympe Maxime.

Who is Harry?

He's someone no wizard in all of Europe dares to mess with!

The atmosphere in the room instantly plummeted to freezing. After pondering for a while, Professor McGonagall offered her opinion.

"Mr. Granger, if you really don't want Miss Granger to participate, you can have her voluntarily withdraw at the start of the first round... What do you think?"

She truly is a clever witch, and she cares deeply for Hermione; this method is relatively the best solution.

However, Harry still shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Professor McGonagall, but I disagree. I will absolutely not allow Hermione's reputation to suffer in the slightest! If she doesn't want to be Champion, then she doesn't need to participate in any competitions, much less concede!"

"This won't work, that won't work... What do you want?!" Moody demanded of Harry in a fit of rage.

"That depends on her own decision," Harry said with a smile, looking at Hermione beside him. "Whether or not she participates in the competition is her prerogative, and no one, including the Goblet of Fire, has the right to interfere."

The academically gifted girl seemed to have her own ideas; she had been subtly reminding Harry with her eyes, and what Harry needed to do was unconditionally support her.

"I can agree to participate in the Triwizard Tournament." Hermione had barely opened her mouth when everyone present was stunned for a moment.

However, her next words immediately turned the two idiots in the Ministry of Magic pale with anger.

"But as Harry said, I was dragged into this because of the Ministry of Magic's negligence, so there's no problem with me participating, but the Ministry of Magic must also provide compensation!"

"Tell me, Hermione, what do you want?" Dumbledore asked before his two incompetent allies in the Ministry of Magic could get to him.

He breathed a slight sigh of relief, since Hermione's willingness to take advantage meant there was still room for maneuver.

"I want to apply for a legal dragon-raising permit!" Hermione's words stunned everyone once again.

"Young lady, how can you be so unreasonable like that boy?" Moody scolded, speechless. "Keeping dragons privately is illegal, don't you know that?"

"Of course I know that private dragon ownership is illegal, but I'm applying for a legal collective dragon ownership permit," Hermione explained calmly with a smile. "As far as I know, the dragon trainers in the protected area deal with Dragon all year round, and Gringotts' underground vaults also keep Dragon as guards. So as long as it's not a private matter, dragon ownership is perfectly legal!"

"Therefore, I am requesting that Hogwarts be granted permission to keep dragons, so that students can actually learn more about Dragon in their Care of Magical Creatures Class. That is my request. If the Ministry of Magic agrees, I can participate in the Triwizard Tournament!"

Ever since she learned that Harry intended to use this incident against the Ministry of Magic, Hermione had been scheming about what she could do to maximize Harry's benefits.

After some thought, she finally realized that Harry actually lacked nothing except a legal dragon-raising license!

If the Ministry of Magic agrees to her request this time, then Norberta will become the collective property of Hogwarts and can be openly displayed!

As for the danger... the opponent has already put her name in the Goblet of Fire, so even if she doesn't participate in the competition, does that mean the danger has disappeared?

"Hermione..."

Watching the girl speak eloquently in front of everyone, Harry felt deeply moved.

Ultimately, Hermione decided to risk participating in the competition for his sake.

Yes, while he was standing up for her and trying his best to protect her, wasn't she also constantly thinking about how she could give him the greatest help?

He looked at Hermione's profile with gentle eyes, only to find that she was also looking at him with a slight smile.

That smile was like a gentle breeze brushing across Harry's heart, stirring a strong feeling within him...

Take her home, then give her a ton of Ageing Potion!

It's a pity that in such a heartwarming moment, there are always those who, oblivious to social cues, jump out and spoil the fun.

"I protest! Why can she make demands? This creates an extra challenger out of nowhere, and it's unfair to us!"

"Miss Delacour, please calm down." Dumbledore stopped Phoebe, who was constantly flirting with death. "I know this situation is not fair to any of the four Champion, but fortunately Hermione has given me enough inspiration. I have decided that, in addition to the Triwizard Cup and the 1,000 Galleon prize, the winning Champion will be specially allowed to make one wish to the Ministry of Magic in Britain. As long as it is within the Ministry of Magic's power, we will do our best to grant it."

At this point, Dumbledore paused for a moment before continuing, "In other words, if Hermione wants to secure the legal right to keep Dragon for Hogwarts, she must find a way to win the Triwizard Tournament!"

"No problem!" After a moment's thought, Hermione nodded firmly. "I will definitely try my best!"

"Very well, I think we can finally reach an agreement." A look of relief appeared on Dumbledore's face, then he turned to the corner of the room. "Mr. Bagman, before you give your decision, I need you to guide the Champion in their First Task."

"Oh... guidance, yes, I will definitely provide good guidance!" Ludo Bagman responded incoherently.

"The First Task is to test the Champion's courage; it will be held on November 24th... I... I'll tell you everything I know, please forgive me this time! It really was Rufus Fudge who orchestrated everything!!"

Chapter 632 Crisis Management, Current Situation

After the selection of the Champion concluded, Dumbledore and Moody left Hogwarts overnight with two dimwits from the Ministry of Magic. Their destination was no mystery whatsoever.

As Harry Prophecy long ago, Ludo Bagman, that idiot, would be more useful as an opponent than as a teammate.

But what he didn't expect was that, while this Prophecy was coming true, the Ministry of Magic also ended up with Rufus Fudge, who had the same attributes as Ludo.

With such a troublesome combination of problems, Albus Dumbledore will probably lose a lot of hair trying to turn the tide.

However, the Ministry of Ministry of Magic's crisis management was remarkably swift. Cornelius Fudge held a press conference the following morning, offering a sincere apology and vowing to dismiss the officials involved from their posts and never rehire them. He also stated that the Britain Ministry of Magic would continue to fully support the Triwizard Tournament but would no longer participate in any affairs of the tournament's organizing committee.

At the same time, Ludo Bagman and Rufus Fudge issued public apologies and statements of remorse; Rufus Fudge also admitted that he had discriminated against Olympe Maxime by blood at the dinner party and voluntarily requested to be severely punished in accordance with the provisions of the 'International Act on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Humans'.