Champion's Fate

Dumbledore stared at Fudge with his penetrating eyes, but Fudge's gaze darted around. He instinctively took a few steps back, distancing himself from Dumbledore, as if the headmaster of Hogwarts were about to cast some kind of bewitching spell on him.

"Listen to me, Cornelius— " Dumbledore said calmly, "No one intends to destroy anything, much less create any panic..."

"Enough, enough, Dumbledore —I don't want to hear any more of this from you—"

"Voldemort is back," Dumbledore said firmly, looking at Fudge. "Fudge, if you accept this fact immediately and take the necessary measures, we may still be able to turn the tide. The most important first step is to free Azkaban from the Dementor's control—"

"Stop it, Dumbledore. Your jokes should stop. This isn't funny at all. Since when has the headmaster of Hogwarts been taking orders from a mad boy, just because... just because he's the Boy Who Lived?"

Their argument had already alerted the others present.

At this moment, Mrs. Weasley, Bill, and Ron all gathered around.

"Ridiculous..." Seeing this, Fudge didn't want to argue any further. He shook his head. "I won't listen to you anymore. The department will discuss this matter in detail and then give a final solution and conclusion..."

"Uh... excuse me for interrupting," Skylar interjected, "Professor Dumbledore, although this isn't really my business, Granger, as a student of Hogwarts, was kidnapped and endangered within Hogwarts grounds. If I hadn't happened to rescue him, who knows what serious consequences might have occurred... I think you, Professor, will give everyone an explanation, right?"

Before Dumbledore could speak, Scrimgeour interjected, "Granger is also an important witness. I suggest that after waking her up, we use Veritaserum to extract her statement. This will help us understand the truth of the matter..."

"I object!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed. "We shouldn't use Veritaserum on a child, especially since she's a victim, not a suspect!"

"Hmph," Scrimgeour retorted without hesitation, "Hogwarts is completely in the wrong in this matter. If the school hadn't been negligent in its handling of student safety, how could this have happened?"

Dumbledore waved his hand to interrupt McGonagall and calmly said, "Using Veritaserum is acceptable, but it must be under the supervision of a Hogwarts professor. The dosage and procedure must be carefully calculated and arranged. Ideally, Professor Snape of Hogwarts should be in charge of preparing it, and no mistakes are allowed... As for any oversights by the Hogwarts administration, as the headmaster, I will certainly give all students an explanation... Now, if you have nothing else to say, can we take Granger to the Hospital Wing first?"

Dumbledore instructed Professor McGonagall to take Hermione to the Hospital Wing and sent a message to Snape explaining what was happening. Scrimgeour also left with McGonagall. In his words, Hermione, as a key witness, needed to be accompanied by Auror from the Ministry of Magic at all times, from the beginning to the end of the interrogation.

After a moment of silence, Skylar spoke again, "I think..." His handsome face once more displayed his signature wicked smile, "Now that everything has settled, shouldn't we begin the awards ceremony for the Triwizard Tournament, select the champion, and bring the Goblet of Fire to a perfect close?"

"That's right!" Lucius smiled as well. "Skylar's performance in this match was remarkable—defeating the Death Eaters impersonating the professor, rescuing his classmates, two classmates... I think no one would object to choosing him as the champion, right?"

"I object!" Mrs. Weasley, though a woman, was not intimidated by Lucius's power. "Harry was the first contestant to return from the maze, a fact witnessed by everyone, especially since he returned with the Goblet of Fire —according to the rules, he is clearly the champion!"

"That's right," Bagman said cautiously, "While I Malfoy everything Lord Malfoy has done, the rules clearly state that only the first to return to the judges' table with the Goblet of Fire from the maze can be considered the champion..." He nervously licked his lips, glanced at Skylar and Lucius, and then said, "I'm sorry... but rules are rules..."

Oops!

Skylar's lips twitched. He hadn't expected this turn of events and didn't know what to say for a moment.

Lucius was about to say something more, but Skylar stopped him.

"Forget it..." Although Skylar longed for the title of the Triwizard Tournament champion and the fame that came with it, he had already experienced too much tonight. He was a little tired and didn't want to continue arguing endlessly about this kind of thing—it was just a championship, let it go!

Skylar let out a long sigh of relief, smiled again, nodded to Harry, and said politely, "Congratulations, Harry, you won."

"I won?" Harry scratched his head, looking bewildered.

"Yes, you won," Skylar said.

"Yay-- Harry, you won! You won! You beat Malfoy! From now on, you are the champion of the Triwizard Tournament! You are the strongest Champion in our Hogwarts!" Ron hugged Harry tightly and screamed excitedly.

"Of course I won! I won! I won!" Harry finally realized what was happening and roared arrogantly, raising his hands high.

At this moment, his mind was already immersed in a fantasy—the image of him holding the Triwizard Cup high, the cheers of the crowd in his ears, Cho Chang's exquisite and outstanding face radiating admiration, while the defeated Skylar, like a loser ignored by everyone, knelt in some shadowy corner...

Bagman grabbed his hand, dragged him to a pre-arranged awards stage, and announced loudly using Sonorus: "Distinguished guests, the winning school of this year's Triwizard Tournament is— Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! The Champion who has successfully overcome all obstacles and won the Goblet of Goblet of Fire is—Harry Potter!"

Scattered applause finally broke out in the previously silent audience.

Compared to Harry's embarrassing return with his backside exposed, Skylar's entrance was far more imposing. Moreover, he brought along a comatose classmate, apparently because he was delayed in his arrival to rescue his classmate from a Death Eaters impersonating a professor...

Leaving aside the Slytherin seats, even the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff seats were filled with discontented whispers.

However, rules are rules.

People finally realized that although Skylar's performance was undoubtedly more outstanding, the real winner was still Harry stood on the podium.

Skylar looked at Harry, who was standing confidently on the awards stage, and sighed helplessly.

Sudden--

"The true Champion of Hogwarts is still Malfoy— " a shout rang out from the crowd.

"Skylar (Malfoy) Don't be discouraged!" Countless voices rang out simultaneously from different corners around, instantly merging into a huge wave of sound.

"Thank you all! I will not be discouraged. Believe me, one day I will bring glory to my beloved Hogwarts again!" Hearing the cheers and encouragement from the crowd below, Skylar was so moved that his eyes reddened, and he couldn't help but open his arms and say loudly.

The cheers and applause that erupted everywhere gradually turned Harry's smug face on the awards stage into a grimace. He hadn't expected that Malfoy, who had lost the match, would win the hearts of Hogwarts. And he, who had worked so hard to win, had been completely ignored.

Seeing that the situation was starting to spiral out of control, Bagman decisively shouted, "Harry Potter, accept your trophy! Reporters, come over here and take a picture of him..."

To be honest, he also felt that Skylar's victory was well-deserved. Moreover, although he was the head of a Ministry of Magic, it was the relatively unimportant Department of Magical Games and Sports. He wouldn't risk offending the House of Malfoy for a trophy or a set of rules!

The problem was that he had racked up a huge debt during the Quidditch World Cup, especially from the Goblin creditors who were particularly difficult to deal with. So he gambled everything on Harry in the Triwizard Tournament —if Harry won, all his problems would be solved.

Harry Potter's victory is his only chance to turn the tide.

Therefore, even if it went against his own heart, even if it meant offending the powerful House of Malfoy, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and go for it.

Harry reached out and touched the Goblet of Fire.

Logically, the flames of the Goblet of Fire of Fire should extinguish at this point, spewing out brilliant sparks to celebrate the victorious Champion.

But that didn't happen.

"What's going on?" Bagman frowned, a bad feeling creeping into his mind. "Harry, weren't you the first Champion to touch the Goblet of Fire of Fire?"

"What? I... I didn't..." Harry stammered, only then realizing that he wasn't the first Champion to touch the Goblet of Goblet of Fire —although he was the first to be Champion after touching Goblet of Fire at the graveyard—but he had overlooked how Skylar got there in the first place.

Clearly, Skylar's presence at the graveyard was due to triggering the Portkey Charm on the Goblet of Fire!