"Filius and I have checked it," said Moody, who had been the last to enter the room alongside Professor Flitwick, interrupting the argument. "The Goblet of Fire was fooled by an exceptionally powerful Confundus Charm.
"A highly skilled wizard made the Goblet of Fire believe there were four schools competing this year, rather than three. And as the only student from the fourth school, Harry was naturally selected as its Champion."
"How does knowing the cause help with our current situation?" Karkaroff asked disgruntledly, though he spoke much more politely than before.
He was even more intimidated by Moody than he had been by Sirius.
"It certainly helps," Moody said coldly. "It means Potter didn't do this himself. A highly skilled wizard did it deliberately."
"What makes you so sure Potter didn't do it?" Karkaroff objected, though his voice was quiet.
"You can bring your students here and have them try one by one. If any of them can fool the Goblet of Fire, I'll accept your suspicions. Or are you saying that not a single person in your entire school can match a fourth-year at Hogwarts?" Moody said coldly.
Karkaroff fell silent at once.
He had a pretty damn good idea of his own students' abilities. Only a handful had even mastered the Confundus Charm, let alone reached a level where they could fool the Goblet of Fire.
"So what? Even if someone did it, it could still be..."
"It means someone wants to put Harry in danger!" Moody said coldly. "Karkaroff, surely you know what makes Harry different? Or would you like me to explain it all from the beginning?"
Karkaroff immediately shut his mouth.
"All right, all right." Crouch pinched the bridge of his nose hard. "Things have reached this point, and there's no changing them. Forget