That night, a shadowy figure secretly snuck into the room where the Goblet of Fire was stored.
"What do you think he's doing? Is he that unconfident that Krum can secure the champion spot?" an old bee asked, using the dragon's invisibility to chat with him beside the Goblet of Fire.
"Karkaroff, my old friend. People like him just love to indulge in glory, which is what leads to what happens afterward," Dumbledore sighed with resignation.
"So what now? Just watch that guy cast the Confundus Charm on the Goblet of Fire?" Aiden asked.
"Let it be. Since they decided for themselves, let Krum go through with it," Dumbledore said, narrowing his eyes.
Aiden didn't speak. The two spectators simply watched as Karkaroff threw the parchment with Krum's name into the goblet and cast a powerful Confundus Charm on the ancient artifact.
"Well, it's getting late. Shouldn't young wizards be going to bed?" Dumbledore asked, turning back.
"I'm already fourteen!" Aiden protested, putting his hands on his hips.
"Wait, you've led me astray. Tonight your old friends aren't just limited to one," Aiden said, conjuring two chairs and gesturing for Dumbledore to sit and wait.
After Karkaroff finished his manipulation and left the Goblet's storage room, after a brief while, the door opened again.
A limping figure with a distinctive cane walked in.
"Alastor, how is that possible?" Dumbledore's voice was hollow with shock.
Dumbledore slumped in his chair, watching Moody walk to the Goblet of Fire, throw Harry's name in, and cast his own Confundus Charm.
But due to Karkaroff's previous Confundus Charm, the two conflicting magics clashed violently, and the flames in the goblet became furious, scattering everywhere.
Moody gripped his wand with both hands, increasing the magical output of the Confundus Charm while chanting spells to barely suppress the raging flames.
"He's not Moody. Perhaps we should call him Barty Crouch Jr.," Aiden explained calmly.
"What?" Dumbledore was astonished.
"It's complicated. I've lived with the Weasleys for thirteen years, and Wormtail Peter was also by my side for thirteen years. Strictly speaking, I can now directly manipulate him..."
Aiden slowly told Dumbledore about Peter's actions after escaping and Barty Crouch Jr.'s escape from his supposed death penalty.
"Well, this is really quite complicated," Dumbledore said, stroking his beard thoughtfully.
"What do you plan to do with him? Capture him now, then destroy Voldemort completely?" Aiden suggested.
"No. Tom and Harry's grudge is bound by prophecy. Forcibly intervening would not only cause us to be swept up by prophetic forces, but might also cost Harry his life."
At this moment, Dumbledore had broken free from his previous information disadvantage and gained some understanding of both sides' situations.
"Then I have a plan, a very long-term plan. Are you interested in joining?" Dumbledore asked after thinking for a while.
"I'm all ears," Aiden said, raising a slight smile.
Night shrouded Hogwarts, and the ancient castle buried various secrets as it always had.
The next day, still in the Goblet of Fire's storage room, Aiden sat on the nearby steps reading a book.
The trio walked in. Hermione brought a book and sat next to Aiden, while Harry and Ron circled around the Goblet of Fire with obvious curiosity.
"Eternal glory, how wonderful that would be. When we're three years older," Ron said, deliberately singing it like an operatic aria.
"Come on, I'm not going to enter," Harry said, understanding the danger and naturally wouldn't participate casually.
"Cedric!" came multiple voices. The little Hufflepuff badgers surrounded their house champion and approached the Goblet of Fire.
Cedric easily crossed the Age Line and dropped his ballot into the Goblet of Fire, while the other badgers cheered enthusiastically for him.
Ron wanted to go up and greet him, but was completely ignored.
Nearby, Hermione began asking Aiden about the spell he had used at the World Cup.
"Aiden, can you teach me that magic you used at the Weasley house last time? Of course, if it's your family magic, pretend I didn't ask," Hermione probed carefully.
"That magic is currently in development. I personally achieved it through special abilities. If this magic is completed, you can learn it from Professor McGonagall. She's currently my reviewer," Aiden answered.
"Oh, that would be wonderful," Hermione said with obvious anticipation.
"Woohoo!" Four people ran in with mysterious potions.
The surrounding people cheered along with them enthusiastically.
George and Fred ran in with Aging Potions. "Hey, everyone, we did it!"
"This won't work," Hermione said with certainty.
"Oh really?" George said, coming over and casually hanging on Aiden.
"Why not, Granger?" Fred asked, moving to Hermione's left side.
"A genius like Dumbledore couldn't possibly be fooled by something as crude as Aging Potion," Hermione said, pointing at the glowing Age Line.
"Crude things work precisely because they're crude." "Maybe because it's crude, he didn't think of it."
Aiden leaned directly backward, using George as a comfortable cushion to lie on the steps.
"My dear brothers, I must remind you that even if you fool the Age Line, the Goblet of Fire, as a carrier of powerful contract magic, also has basic identification functions," Aiden warned George behind him.
"We've made up our minds," George said, getting up and winking at Fred.
"Cheers," Fred said, raising his test tube bottle. "Cheers," George echoed, doing the same.
Along with them, a Ravenclaw witch and a Hufflepuff wizard also drank the dubious potion.
After drinking the Aging Potion, the four approached the light circle and stepped inside with one confident stride.
"Haha!" They laughed triumphantly.
The surrounding young wizards also applauded them with excitement.
The four threw the parchment with their names into the Goblet of Fire. Suddenly, the flames in the Goblet surged high, blasting them backwards to the door with explosive force.
Dumbledore happened to pass by and saw the 'old men' with long gray beards on their faces. He laughed out loud with genuine amusement.
"Nice beards, George, Fred."
After speaking, he left with continued laughter.
"I told you it wouldn't work," Aiden said, bending down to help the two 'elderly' men on the ground stand up.
"There's still one vial of Aging Potion left."
George's eyes rolled mischievously, and Fred immediately understood and cooperated.
"So, our beautiful little brother, want to try?"
"Fine, let you two witness this," Aiden said, walking confidently toward the Age Line.
The surrounding young wizards looked at him with intense curiosity, wanting to see how this Ravenclaw genius would break through Dumbledore's magical puzzle.
Aiden took out his wand. As magic cast by Dumbledore with the Elder Wand's enhancement, he had to use his own wand to properly counter it.
Aiden focused magic in his eyes and saw the Algiz (ᛉ) rune that Dumbledore had carved into the spell's foundation.
"Protection," Aiden murmured with understanding.
Aiden placed his wand on the Age Line, feeling for Dumbledore's unique magical frequency.
"This kind of magic, is it love?" Aiden sensed a familiar aura from Dumbledore's protective magic.
Knowing the composition of Dumbledore's magic, Aiden began carefully analyzing the ratio of emotion to raw magical power.
Finally, after everything was prepared, Aiden also carved an Algiz (ᛉ) rune in the air with precise movements.
Smoky magic wrapped around Aiden protectively, and he stepped toward the Age Line, walking straight through without resistance.
"No way," George and Fred said in unison, widening their eyes with shock.
Then Aiden stepped forward gracefully, cast a simple Disillusionment Charm on his parchment, and threw it into the flames.
The flames in the Goblet of Fire remained perfectly calm, acknowledging Aiden's qualification to participate.
"How did you do that?" George and Fred asked in amazement, and the surrounding young wizards also strained their ears to hear.
"Secret," Aiden said with a mysterious wink of his left eye at them, then turned to leave with casual confidence.