Chapter 250: Stalemate

"It's impossible," Madame Maxime said, her large hands adorned with numerous exquisite opals resting on Fleur's shoulders.

"Hogwarts cannot have two champions; it's extremely unfair."

"Furthermore, I believe your other candidate is also problematic," Karkaroff remarked, his face still carrying a cold smile, his eyes growing even icier. 

"As far as we understand, your age line is supposed to exclude competitors who are not of age. Otherwise, we would have brought more candidates from our school."

"This has nothing to do with Miss Granger," Alaric glanced at Karkaroff and suddenly spoke up. 

"I can attest that Miss Granger broke through the age restriction with absolute skill."

He had been silent until now, knowing the whole truth, feeling there was little to say. But once he spoke, all attention turned to him; no one could ignore his opinion.

Initially dismissive of Alaric's words, Karkaroff didn't care much. He hadn't witnessed this morning's scene and was unaware of Alaric's prowess. 

He intended to refute him loudly, pointing out that he was just a child and couldn't prove Hermione was a suitable candidate.

However, when he looked into Alaric's eyes, he suddenly felt a chill in his heart, as though he were being targeted by something dangerous.

In that gaze, he sensed immense pressure. At that moment, he even felt he wasn't facing a wizard but a dragon.

—What on earth is going on? Just a kid, why?

Suddenly, Karkaroff recalled the rumors he had previously scorned. Now, he truly began to believe that this boy was a master on par with Dumbledore.

So the words he was about to utter changed immediately.

"Alright... let's forget Miss Granger," he decisively negated his initial view. "But what about Harry Potter? I refuse to believe he could achieve this too. Are you favoring him?"

Truly a former Death Eater who would betray his colleagues, yet also resolute in conceding.

"This is all Potter's doing, Karkaroff," Snape said quietly, hostility gleaming in his dark eyes. 

"Don't blame Dumbledore; blame Potter for persistently violating the rules since his arrival—"

"Thank you, Severus," Dumbledore cut in firmly, and Snape closed his mouth, but his eyes continued to shoot malicious glimmers through his greasy black hair.

Professor Dumbledore now looked down at Harry, who in turn stared back, striving to decipher the emotions hidden behind those half-moon spectacles.

"Did you put your name into the Goblet of Fire, Harry?" he asked calmly.

"No," Harry said. He was acutely aware that everyone was scrutinizing him closely. Snape impatiently muttered in the shadows, indicating disbelief.

"Did you ask older students to enter your name into the Goblet?" Dumbledore ignored Snape's interruption and continued, "I recall Alaric mentioning this method."

"No," Harry exclaimed passionately. 

At this moment, he began to envy Hermione. Despite being under seventeen, a single sentence from Alaric had convinced everyone of her capability, while he had to face such questioning.

He regretted not having a better relationship with this boy—He had to admit, some envy and jealousy had caused him to lose a reliable friend.

Of course, if Alaric knew his thoughts, he would certainly mock Harry's daydreams.

"Ah, he must be lying!" Madame Maxime exclaimed loudly. Snape shook his head and pursed his lips.

"He couldn't have crossed that age line," Professor McGonagall declared sternly. "He doesn't have that kind of ability. I believe we all agree on this—"

"Dumbledore must have made a mistake with that line," Madame Maxime shrugged.

"Of course, that's possible," Dumbledore replied politely.

"Dumbledore, you know very well you didn't make a mistake!" Professor McGonagall said indignantly. 

"This notion is absurd! Harry couldn't possibly have crossed that line on his own, and as Professor Dumbledore believes, Harry hasn't persuaded older students to do it for him. I think others should also believe this!"

She glared angrily at Professor Snape.

"Mr. Crouch, Mr. Bagman... and Mr. Alaric," Karkaroff smoothly said, seeming reluctant when mentioning the last name.

 "You three are our—uh—impartial judges. Surely you also think this is highly inappropriate, right?"

Bagman wiped his round doll-like face with a handkerchief and looked at Mr. Crouch. Mr. Crouch stood outside the circle of firelight, half his face hidden in shadows. 

He looked somewhat peculiar; the half-shadow made him appear much older, almost like a skeleton. But when he spoke, his voice remained as stern as ever.

"We must adhere to the rules. The rules clearly state that anyone whose name is expelled from the Goblet of Fire must compete in the Triwizard Tournament."

"Hey, Barty knows the rules inside out," Bagman said, glancing at Alaric.

"I'm not familiar with the rules, so I have no opinion," Alaric said lightly.

"So that's two votes in favor and one abstention," Bagman said, smiling broadly, looking at Karkaroff and Madame Maxime, as if the matter had been satisfactorily resolved.

"I insist that my other students re-enter their names," Karkaroff said. 

His voice was no longer smooth, his smile gone, his expression quite ugly. 

"You must bring out the Goblet of Fire again; we will continue to add names until each school has two champions. Only then can it be considered fair, Dumbledore."

"But Karkaroff, this is impossible," Mr. Crouch said, "The Goblet of Fire has just extinguished—it won't reignite until the next Tournament—"

"—And Durmstrang will definitely not participate in the next one!" Karkaroff thundered.

"We've had so many meetings, so many negotiations, and yet something like this happens! I feel like leaving right now!"

Madame Maxime also showed agreement; in this matter, she stood on Karkaroff's side.

Although the judges unanimously agreed to the participation of the fourth champion, if two of the three participating schools disagreed, the competition could not proceed.

Now, the discussion had reached a stalemate.

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