Chapter 328: Not Backing Down Now
Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 328: Not Backing Down Now
It appeared that in the absence of Draco and his ridiculous badges, people didn't have a proper outlet for their anger… Add to that all of Umbridge's oppressive restrictions, and now the situation had reached a boiling point.
Harry didn't recognize the three Hufflepuff boys at the front, but they were likely seventh years.
He did recognize Cho Chang, though.
Harry hadn't thought about her since the second year when Cho and some of her friends began to mess with Luna.
But that quickly stopped when Lyra and Ginny stood up for their friend.
It seemed like she was now dating Cedric Diggory again, and by the look on her face, the girl was very upset with Neville at this moment… much like everyone else present in the pub.
Harry was thinking about a way to handle this in the most peaceful way possible. After all, he was sure that Dumbledore would not be happy if he sent a bunch of students to the infirmary today.
Then, his sister decided to shove away one of the seniors who got too close to them.
"Leave us alone, and Neville is not a fake champion. He did not cheat!" Lyra shouted.
"Oh yeah? Then how did his name come out after the Hogwarts Champion had already been selected?" Cho asked with a smirk.
That was a question that Lyra had no answer to, so she turned to look at her brother for help.
Neville did know the answer to that question, but he could not say anything. Even if he did, the reaction was bound to be a negative one.
They did not even believe that he did not put his name in the Goblet… why would they believe him if he began to talk about the return of the Dark Lord without an ounce of evidence?
The two foreign champions, Krum and Fleur, were also present, sitting at the second-floor tables, from where they had a perfect view of the whole commotion.
Neither of them seemed interested in joining in to support either side and were content to just watch the Hogwarts students fight each other.
"Cho is right, there is no way for you to be a champion other than cheating," one of the older boys said.
"Potter, get out of the way. I can't believe you are defending him!" Cho let go of Cedric's arm and got closer to Lyra.
"That's enough, Cho, just leave us alone." Ginny went to stand next to her friend.
"Ginny? What are you doing here?" Ron appeared from among the crowd and pointed at his sister with an angry face.
"Come here right now! I can't believe you are with that traitor!"
"Ron…" Neville wore a hurt expression. He could take those comments from others, but he had considered Ron his best friend.
"You two, move!" one of the Hufflepuff boys exclaimed. He had his wand in hand. "Don't think you are untouchable because some people are afraid of your brother."
"Okay… let's stop right here." Harry moved in front of his sister and Ginny, standing very close to the three large Hufflepuff boys.
"Before you lot get hurt," he then added.
The three boys became angered, and three more of their classmates came closer, with the clear intention of confronting Harry.
"There is no need to fight!" Now Cedric was getting worried. This could only end up making him look bad if some seniors began to beat students on his behalf.
"That's right, there is no need to fight," Cho pointed at Neville. "All he has to do is drop out of the tournament, and we can let this go."
"Cho…" Cedric looked at his girlfriend with conflicted feelings. He had already told her that it was impossible to drop from the tournament, even though he didn't tell her the specifics about the magical contract.
"I can't do that…" Neville said.
"So you admit it then? You wanted to be in the tournament after all," Ron joined in the conversation. "You found a way to put your name in the cup and didn't tell me anything." The redhead huffed.
"So? What if he did?" Harry's words were loud enough for everyone to hear, despite not shouting.
"So what?"
"That's against the rules!"
"Yeah!"
The crowd began to complain.
"Sure, the rules said that no one under the age of seventeen could enter, but… it's not like many of you didn't at least try."
That shut down the murmurs.
"I remember seeing the Weasley twins attempt to cheat their way through the age line for almost an hour. And you were all cheering for their success. So what is your complaint with Neville being chosen? It's not like he took anyone's spot." Harry pointed at Cedric. "The Hogwarts Champion is right there."
"He took the spotlight away from Cedric!" Cho shouted.
"All the newspapers talk about the 'Boy Who Lived' being in the tournament. He stole all the attention from my boyfriend."
"I don't care that much about that…" Cedric muttered.
"That's it? You all think Neville wanted more fame?" Harry snorted. "You are all being ridiculous."
Harry's words made many of the pub's occupants hesitate, and they began to doubt if their motivations were correct after all.
But the seniors from Hufflepuff were too angry to back down now.
"No! That's not enough. The cheater has to leave the tournament, or else…" He pulled his wand and showed it to Harry as a threat.
"We are going to take matters into our own hands."
While Neville, Lyra, and Ginny were looking concerned, Harry shook his head in disappointment.
"Oh well… I tried at least. So no one can complain." He looked up at the senior students.
"Just remember that… you chose this."
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