Fudge Thinks He's Got It Together Again / Inter-School Tournament-Cheating Is King...

"Isn't that right?" Akinbad pressed on, his expression righteous. "Without his help, how could you, a fourth-year wizard, possibly compete with three older students and even gain a huge advantage?!"

"Babajide, I think your judgment is very irrational! And this is not something we should be dwelling on now. We can discuss it when we get back. You'd better give Hermione a fair and objective score right now!" Dumbledore finally couldn't help but speak up to stop him. He already knew that something bad was about to happen.

However, it was too late, because another voice had already forcefully interrupted.

"I think we should just let no one go back today, and settle things right here and now in front of everyone!" Harry floated down from the Kelpie's back and looked coldly at Akinbad, who had a smug look on his face.

"You're saying I helped Hermione cheat, right? Then show me the evidence!!"

It's over...

Dumbledore had already closed his eyes.

Chapter 702 Fudge Feels He's Doing It Again

Now Harry finally understands why Voldemort alone could create such chaos in the Britain Wizarding World.

Because this lousy place is actually ruled by politicians, especially a bunch of worthless Western politicians. These people do nothing of substance all day long, all they know is to sneak around like eels, digging tunnels and robbing people.

Harry had set a trap, and Cornelius Fudge couldn't wait to fall into it. Worried that he wasn't strong enough, he even brought over Akinbad from the International Confederation of Wizards, the two clowns coming together to make a fool of themselves.

Alright, let's see what kind of evidence you can produce~

"Evidence? You helped Hermione Granger cheat, isn't that obvious?" Akinbad looked around and saw that Fudge still looked adamant, so he gritted his teeth and continued, "You're the referee for this match, you must know the details of the match process very well, it's normal for you to have leaked this information to Hermione Granger in advance!"

"Is that so?" Harry shook his head noncommittally, then turned to the three headmasters. "As far as I know, the Triwizard Tournament's proceedings were discussed by the three headmasters and the Ministry of Magic staff, and no one has ever let me know anything about it... I think that's correct?"

"Of course we wouldn't leak this kind of information willingly," Igor Karkaroff was the first to speak, "Besides, there are many arrangements we ourselves don't even know about."

"That's right." Olympe Maxime then nodded in agreement.

"Harry ..."

"How about this," Harry said, ignoring Albus Dumbledore's attempt to speak, "Besides the three headmasters, his nephew and Ludo Bagman were also in charge of the competition." He pointed at Fudge instead. "We can just grab those two nefarious guys right now, give them some Veritaserum, and ask them... whether they leaked any information to me!"

"Harry Granger, what we need now is for you to voluntarily confess your crimes!" Fudge snapped. "Don't bring up irrelevant people!!"

Should we capture Rufus and Ludo and force-feed them Veritaserum?

That's absolutely unacceptable; wouldn't that immediately expose the deception?

Therefore, Fudge could only resolutely retaliate against Harry, and he was certain that he could get a piece of the pie from the kid today, because he had a key trump card!

For Harry, Fudge, it's no longer just simple resentment.

Since Harry's rise to power, the Britain Ministry of Magic has suffered a devastating blow, losing not only its reputation but also a large amount of public support.

Even today, radicals frequently arrive at the Ministry Atrium, throwing Stink Pellets and Dungbomb to vent their frustrations; and Gibbon is constantly bombarded with all sorts of curse letters and Howler, with calls for his immediate resignation echoing through various channels.

Just a few months earlier, in order to quell the trouble at the opening banquet, he had to personally deal with his most beloved nephew!

It's fair to say that in countless midnight dreams, Fudge would sometimes succumb to the urge to abandon the You-Know-Who and simply get rid of that damned Harry Potter!

But... he can't.

Putting aside the power Harry now possesses, Fudge couldn't even get past Dumbledore.

Although the other party had saved him when the Ministry of Magic was on the verge of collapse, Fudge felt no gratitude whatsoever, because it made him realize even more deeply just how terrifying a threat Dumbledore truly was!

Sure enough, his ministerial position was something the other man had rejected; he could take it away whenever he wanted, and the other man had never taken him seriously.

Therefore, Fudge was determined to turn the tide today. To this end, he even went through various channels to find out an important piece of information and spared no expense to contact Babajide Akinbad, the vice president of the International Confederation of Wizards who had always been at Dumbledore.

As the vice-president, he was overshadowed by Dumbledore, the president; and as the Minister for Magic, he too was overshadowed by Dumbledore... With this connection, Akinbad would definitely be willing to help him.

So at this moment, this is no longer the Black Lake arena, but Cornelius Fudge's home turf in his counterattack...

"Hey, why aren't you saying anything?"

A sarcastic question interrupted Fudge's reverie. He looked up and found Harry staring at him expressionlessly.

"I'll talk... why should I talk?" Recalling what had just happened, Fudge glared back defiantly. "Now it's your turn to explain your own problems!"

"It's just a baseless accusation, what do I have to say for myself?" Harry shook his head dismissively. "All three headmasters say it's not true, and you won't go to those two guys and say I helped Hermione cheat or something. Can you actually produce any substantial evidence?"

"Do you dare say that after you got the Golden Egg, you didn't tell her how to unlock its secret?" Akinbad questioned again. "The Golden Egg contains the voice of Merpeople, which can only be heard underwater... Something that even a novice wizard wouldn't know, you must have told her!"

"Alright, then I'll explain it to you properly." Harry used Amplifying Charm, making his voice resonate throughout the entire Black Lake. "Hogwarts students present, if anyone can testify for me, please shout out: When the last match ended, did anyone who left the venue with me see me open the Golden Egg?"

"Never seen it! Harry has never opened the Golden Egg!" "Yeah, we followed him and Hermione all the way back to the Eagle House. If you don't believe me, bring us Veritaserum to test it!"

Fred and George in the audience immediately used the Amplifying Charm to cheer for Harry from afar.

"We were all there that day in the Eagle House common room!" "We didn't hear the sound from inside the Golden Egg until Hermione opened it!"

After the Weasley Brothers, Ravenclaw students Terry Booth, Michael Corner, and others chimed in to defend her, all remembering what had happened that day... Hermione opened the Golden Egg for the first time in front of everyone, Luna Lovegood immediately recognized it as Mermish.

Harry had never touched the Golden Egg before, nor had he ever heard the voice inside Golden Egg, so he had no chance to cheat!

However, for Akinbad, this situation was already considered a rare loophole.

"Hmph, you still dare to say you didn't cheat?" He turned smugly to Hermione, as if he had regained some confidence. "Even without Harry Granger's help, didn't you still solve the puzzle with the help of others?!"

However, he didn't notice that after he said that, almost everyone in the room gave him a look as if he were an idiot...

The same goes for Cornelius Fudge, who was in cahoots with him.

Chapter 703 Inter-school Competition, Cheating is King

"I see. So this is how the vice president defines cheating. It seems I cheated too."

After Akinbad made his outrageous remarks, Cedric Diggory, who was present, was the first to stand up and speak out in Harry's defense.

"I only found out that the voice inside the Golden Egg was Mermish after someone reminded me; not only that, but someone also told me in advance that I had to deal with the Dragon during the first match... If you think this is cheating, you can just cancel my score!"

Cedric Diggory has always been an honest and good-natured young man who values his friends. Now, in order to help Harry share the burden, he even went so far as to expose his own 'cheating' behavior.

His actions will undoubtedly inspire others present.

"That's right, it's the same for me." After receiving her principal's approval, Phoebe also took the initiative to admit, "Olympe Maxime helped me with both of my matches. She was the one who told me about the Dragon, and she also helped me find the information about the Merpeople."

"I didn't get through the competition on my own either," Viktor Krum said quietly, though he wasn't familiar with Hach and the other man.

Igor Karkaroff himself added to what he hadn't finished saying, "I secretly saw the Dragon arrive and then told Viktor. Durmstrang's students were all here to help him, but those silly boys took too long to solve the Golden Egg puzzle."

"You... you guys?!" Akinbad stared at the crowd in disbelief, completely stunned.

He finally realized that he had made a huge mistake!

Harry Granger... this kid is definitely not someone you should mess with!

Akinbad, an African wizard, was not very knowledgeable about things in Britain and Europe. Therefore, he naturally assumed that such cheating in the Triwizard Tournament was something that could not be brought to the public eye. He never expected that these people would expose themselves so readily.

What he hadn't expected was Harry's reputation. Touching this kid was like stirring up a huge hornet's nest; even the headmasters of the other two Europe schools would gang up on him!

"Mr. Akinbad, I heard you graduated from Uagadou, and your school was once a member of the Potions Championship?" Harry spoke up casually. "I'm curious, when your Uagadou students participated in the tournament, did you have to rely solely on your own to obtain all the Potions recipes and ingredients, absolutely without seeking any help? If you dare to nod, then I'll admit Hermione cheated without hesitation."

"This..." Akinbad was momentarily speechless. He absolutely dared not nod, because Hogwarts was also one of the four schools participating in the Potions Tournament.

Since Harry Granger dared to bring this up, it means he knows the ins and outs of the matter perfectly well!

"See, out of ideas now?" Harry shrugged, a hint of amusement in his expression. "So, whether it's the Triwizard Tournament or the Potions Championship, cheating like this exists, and it's been like this for hundreds of years. In inter-school competitions like these, isn't it all about who has the most ingenious cheating methods?"

Harry's final summary drew laughter from the students, especially the Weasley Brothers, who were deeply moved and laughed through their tears.

Yes, this Triwizard Tournament is practically all about cheating!

From the moment the Goblet of Fire arrives at Hogwarts, it's a time for students to show off their unique abilities. Their cheating methods aren't particularly sophisticated, and they can't even cross the Age Line.

Although Hermione did not participate voluntarily, the fact that someone was able to put her name into the Goblet of Fire is, in a sense, a form of cheating.

So why doesn't the Ministry of Magic investigate that matter properly? Is it because they can't... or are they simply too afraid?

The laughter grew louder and louder, with all the students whispering and pointing at Akinbad, as if this were not a cheating identification scene, but a circus enclosure for a clown performance.

In stark contrast to all the laughter were the faces of Fudge and Akinbad, two high-ranking officials, as black as soot.

Honestly, Harry thought that if they had any sense at all, they should have stopped now.

If they were willing to stop here, this situation would at most be a misunderstanding, something to laugh off and move on from.

Later, Harry demanded that they offer a sincere apology, compensate for the damage to their reputation, and declare that he would be willing to suffer further setbacks.

His original intention was exactly that: to use the competition as an opportunity to let everyone know that Fudge was clearly framing him, thereby causing Fudge's reputation to plummet again until he completely lost public support.

Adding another Akinbad wouldn't really matter, since Harry's plan has a high margin for error. At worst, he can just take another jab at the International Confederation of Wizards and warn them not to act like an appendix, constantly jumping out and causing inflammation.

Dumbledore could see by now that Harry was so confident in confronting them head-on, it was clear that he had been prepared for this.

Perhaps all those sensational news stories about "The Quibbler" were deliberately orchestrated by him to lure that fool Fudge, into taking the bait.

So this time, Albus Dumbledore isn't going to bother with these trivial matters anymore, and he's genuinely annoyed by Fudge's terrible teammate.

Cornelius Fudge really doesn't know what's good for him, daring to bypass him and secretly collude with Babajide!

For a fleeting moment, Albus Dumbledore even considered letting Harry crush the Ministry of Magic, and then replacing him with a more obedient... well, he meant a slightly smarter minister.

So... should we choose Arthur or Kingsley Shacklebolt, but it definitely can't be Scrimgeour.

Of course, the reason I didn't choose Scrimgeour wasn't because he was too headstrong or because our political views clashed, but because he simply couldn't outmaneuver Harry, that cunning little fox... Hmm!

Dumbledore, who was pondering this in his heart, suddenly woke up. He managed to compose himself and finally let out a long sigh.

That was close!

In short, he realized he couldn't dwell on these things too much, because he could easily get caught up in them if he wasn't careful...

"Hey, why are you all so quiet again?" Harry looked at the two clowns with disdain. "If you really have no evidence, then stop pretending, okay? Just admit you're framing me, and save everyone's time."

"Who... who said I have no evidence? I'll show it to you right now!" Harry's attitude seemed to finally provoke Fudge, who suddenly roared out of control and waved his hand forcefully behind him.

"Give him the medicine, then bring him here to me!!"

This is a rare opportunity, we must crush this brat here!

Fudge was now somewhat delusional. He summoned his henchmen, all of whom were holding thick iron chains... Harry recognized them as the shackles the dragon trainers had used to restrain their Dragon.

But now, they are locked to the limbs and neck of a Half-blood Giant...

It's Hagrid.

Chapter 704 He'd Die for You, But...

Cornelius Fudge actually sent men to capture Hagrid!

At this moment, the Half-blood- Giant, looking blank and staggering, was being forcibly dragged in front of the crowd by several Auror using chains.

He had several wounds caused by magic spells on his body, indicating that he had put up a fight, but in the end, he was still tricked and outmaneuvered.

And judging from what Fudge just said, it seems he was drugged?!

"Rubeus..." Olympe Maxime covered her mouth in disbelief upon seeing this.

After Hagrid appeared, Hermione, Luna Lovegood, Dumbledore... almost everyone at Hogwarts changed their expressions at the same time.

Harry's eyes were now even more ferocious and terrifying, and the bulging veins on his clenched fists were throbbing incessantly.

"Rubeus Hagrid, the gamekeeper at Hogwarts and professor of Care of Magical Creatures Class, seems to have an unusually close relationship with Harry Potter..."

After bringing Hagrid here, Fudge finally revealed a smug grin. "He can definitely tell everyone whether Harry Potter helped Hermione Granger cheat in the previous competition! And perhaps some other interesting secrets as well."

"Fudge, Hagrid has absolutely nothing to do with the Triwizard Tournament!" Dumbledore demanded of Fudge, his face grim. "Why did you bring him here?!"

"Minister Fudge, I also think you've gone a bit too far. This Mr. Hagrid is Half-blood- Giant, you know, half-humans like him are protected by special laws..."

Akinbad had clearly grasped the situation by this point, and while subtly reminding Fudge, he immediately found a pretext to change course.

However, Fudge was already completely disregarding everything else.

"But if he is a criminal, then my temporary restraint of him isn't illegal!" Fudge glared back at Akinbad; he no longer needed to be on the same side as this idiot.

Moreover, he was very angry with Akinbad.

If this incompetent teammate hadn't taken the money but failed to deliver, and hadn't been unable to extract any useful information from that crazy girl's head, why would he have gone to the school to arrest another insider?!