Snape the Pot King

"Come on, don't think too much, Harry!" Ivan said, patting him on the back.

Harry nodded, his expression troubled.

Along the way, he opened his mouth several times to say something, but in the end, he held back.

"You can say whatever you want!" Ivan said, glancing at him.

"Ivan, you'll believe me, won't you? I didn't put the name in the Goblet of Fire at all, and I don't know why the note came out of it…"

Harry, who had been holding it in for a long time, couldn't seem to stop talking. He rambled on for a long time, detailing his schedule for the past two days so that Ivan would know he had no chance of touching the Goblet of Fire.

"Of course I believe you! Harry!" Yvonne interrupted him reassuringly, adding, "It's not easy to fool the Goblet of Fire, only a powerful wizard can do it, and for that you're above suspicion…"

Harry's pent-up feelings were soothed by Ivan's willingness to believe him, although he could not think of anyone who would go out of their way to make him a champion.

The two of them chatted all the way back to the lounge.

By the time they had read the exit order and opened the passage, Ivan was nearly deafened by the noise coming from inside.

A dozen pairs of hands reached out and pulled them both in, almost making Ivan think he was under attack.

The Gryffindor Restroom had obviously been decorated, with brilliant lights hanging from the walls and scarlet lion flags floating in the air.

A young wizard took out his tattered bed sheet and wrote the names of the two champions on it with a large pen.

"Ivan, Harry, you're amazing! I can't believe that both Hogwarts champions are in Gryffindor!" George exclaimed, throwing his arms around Ivan.

"But you should have told me you'd signed up!" Fred said, thumping Ivan on the shoulder.

"Why didn't we think of that cup in the first place?" George asked in frustration. He then turned to Harry and asked, "By the way, Harry, how did you get your name in? Like Ivan?"

"Or something else, something more novel?" Seamus now joined them.

The other wizards looked at Harry, curious about this.

"That's enough! I swear I didn't do it! I don't even know why it happened!" Harry shouted angrily, so loudly that everyone jumped.

For a moment, the noisy lounge fell silent, and George, Seamus, and the others were shocked by Harry's sudden outburst.

"Well, if you didn't vote for yourself, who was helping you?" Angelina muttered, finally turning to Ivan.

"Don't! Don't put this on me. I explained it to you in the Great Hall." Ivan shook his head. He wasn't going to take the blame.

"Come on, we all know how good you are! How hard can it be for you to fool around with a broken cup?" George said loudly. "We're all on the same side here now, and we're just curious … Nobody will ever tell!"

Yvonne rolled her eyes, not believing a word of it.

Did he not know what these people were like? All of them talked nonsense. If he talked nonsense tonight, it would spread throughout the school tomorrow… not to mention that he had nothing to do with it.

"If there are no outsiders here, why would I lie to you? Besides, there are two champions competing at Hogwarts, and even if we win, people will gossip about us. I wouldn't go to that trouble!" Ivan tried his best to explain, but he knew from the looks on the faces of the crowd that not many of them wanted to believe him.

Ivan did not bother to explain further.

He was already used to these misunderstandings. Compared to the group of Imaginative Monsters in Knockturn Alley, this was nothing…

Alas… that's the thing about good people. They tend to cause unnecessary misunderstandings!

Ivan thought about this in distress and half-heartedly celebrated becoming a champion.

Harry, on the other hand, seemed distracted throughout.

After a short celebration, Hermione pulled them into a corner.

Hermione, unlike the others, did not question how Harry got into the game, instead looking worried.

"Do you remember your dream, Harry?" Hermione asked solemnly.

"Of course I do! Why?" Harry replied hesitantly.

"Don't you see? You-Know-Who must be trying to get rid of you, or planning something! If he didn't do it himself, he could be pulling the strings!" Hermione went on, looking very serious.

Ivan looked at Hermione in surprise, as he had not expected her to deduce the cause and effect so quickly.

Harry thought Hermione's guess was highly likely, and after thinking hard for a while, said, "I think I know who it might be!"

"Who?" Yvonne asked quickly.

He had almost forgotten that Harry was also a good break, and that Barty Crouch Junior would most likely try to reach out to Harry and gain his trust.

"It must be Snape!" Harry shouted.

He couldn't think of anyone other than Snape, who had treated him badly throughout the school year.

If anyone wanted him dead, Harry thought it would be one or the other!

Ivan's breath caught in his throat, and he looked at Harry strangely, wondering if you could stop staring at one person and suspecting that Snape had been blamed enough over the years.

It was just the thought of Snape's penchant for keeping an eye on Harry all the time that made them even.

Despite Ivan's disapproval, Hermione agreed and suggested that Harry should tell Moody to keep an eye on Snape, or write to Sirius and ask his advice.

If worse comes to worst, go to Dumbledore!

As Hermione went on and on, Ivan couldn't help but give Harry a few words of caution, telling him to be careful, and that if anyone was suddenly nice or mean to him, it meant that there was something wrong with them.

With the support of his two best friends, Harry was able to forget about the questioning remarks and realised that there were still people who believed and cared about him.

"Wait… where's Ron? Where did he go?" Harry looked around, but there was no sign of his other friend.

"Well… Ron said he was a bit tired, so he's gone back to his room to get some rest, or more specifically, you can ask him yourself." Hermione hesitated, not telling them about Ron's private complaints.

She thought they were all friends, and that Ron was probably just taking things too hard.