Chapter 117: Suspicion among Warriors
Harry Potter was walking quickly through the corridors of Hogwarts Castle, hoping to find Cedric Diggory as soon as possible.
He couldn't say he liked Cedric. Cedric was undoubtedly very likable, but people always compared Harry to him—from age to appearance, from academic performance to Quidditch skills—to prove Cedric's legitimacy as a Hogwarts knight.
Especially in recent days, the Hufflepuff classmates' hostility towards Harry has been rising.
Ernie Macmillan and Justin Finch-Fletchley, who had been friendly with Harry since the resolution of the Chamber of Secrets incident in their second year, also wore "Support Cedric" badges and re-dissociated themselves from him.
Those Hufflepuffs who had always been at odds with Harry, such as Zacharias Smith, a Chaser on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, were even more outspoken in their hostility towards Harry, often mocking him in public and with the words "Potter Stinky Shit" often flashing on his chest.
As for Cedric himself, although he maintained a decent demeanor on the surface and greeted Harry in a friendly manner when the warriors checked their wands, everyone could see that he did not believe Harry's statement that he "did not vote in the Goblet of Fire".
"Then why did you even think of telling him?" Ron asked in confusion, following in the footsteps of his now-lost friend. "The students in his house treated you so badly. Many Hufflepuffs walked around the school wearing that damn badge, hoping you would make a fool of yourself and be laughed at by them. Why did you even care about his life or death?"
"Ron, this isn't a matter of personal preference," Harry whispered. "At least we have to start from the same point, right?"
Last night, after returning from Hogsmeade, he accepted Hagrid's invitation and discovered a terrible fact - the headmasters of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons seemed to have known about the dragon.
This meant that Harry no longer had to feel insecure or ashamed about knowing about dragons in advance; it also meant that only one other Hogwarts champion, Cedric Diggory, did not know the content of the first task.
Harry wasn't sure if Cedric could maintain his composure the first time he saw the dragon; in short, when he learned that the dragon was the first task, the only thing he felt was a dizziness brought on by fear.
"You'd think so," Ron muttered, curling his lips. "Have you ever thought, if Cedric knew about this, would he be as noble as you and willing to share this with you?"
"I don't know. I never told him that expecting anything in return. I mean, it's only fair, isn't it?" Harry said to Ron, hurrying around the corner. "In a way, Hermione has a point. I don't just represent Gryffindor House, I represent Hogwarts, just like Cedric doesn't just represent Hufflepuff House, he represents Hogwarts as well."
"Yes, Hermione would say that - although I think she said that most likely because he's not bad looking. She has a stubborn and unbreakable filter for those who are good-looking, and it started back then with Lockhart," Ron said a little unbearably.
"It didn't start with Lockhart." Harry shook his head, remembering that Hermione had liked to be a study partner with Draco since their first year. "It started much earlier than him."
"Oh, I see Cedric. He's with his group of classmates wearing badges." Ron pointed somewhere in the courtyard in the distance and said, "Should we go straight to him?"
"I'm afraid I'll hardly get the chance to talk to him," Harry said sullenly. "These days, the students around Cedric are always blocking my way, trying to stop me from getting close to him. They're probably afraid I'll do something unscrupulous and cast a curse on him—stop him from participating in the competition—so they're always wary of me."
"They're crazy! But it doesn't matter." Ron said angrily, "I'll go get Cedric. You wait here first!"
A quarter of an hour later, Cedric Diggory said goodbye to another Hogwarts warrior with a confused look on his face, and walked back to the common room with a heavy heart.
He had just learned shocking news from Harry Potter about the first task of the Triwizard Tournament - they would have to pass by dragons.
"Are you sure?" He was stunned for a moment, suppressing his fear and asking Harry in a low voice.
"Absolutely sure," said Harry. "I saw it myself."
"How did you find out? We're not supposed to know..." Cedric felt uneasy.
"Don't worry about it. I'm not the only one who knows. Fleur and Krum know now too - Madam Maxime and Karkaroff both saw the dragon." Harry said hurriedly.
Cedric stared at Harry, a cloud of confusion and suspicion rising in his grey eyes.
"Why are you telling me?" he asked the slight, green-eyed boy before him, a lightning-shaped scar on his head barely visible through his black hair.
As fellow warriors competing in the competition—they're vying for the glory of the championship—shouldn't they be competitors?
Was Harry bluffing, trying to scare him and wear him down?
However, looking at the serious expression on the boy's face, Cedric felt that Harry didn't seem to be lying.
Harry even kept saying "this is only fair."
If Harry really cared about things like "fairness," why would he violate the age rules of the Triwizard Tournament and secretly put his name in the Goblet of Fire? Could it be that his insistence that he "did not put his name in the Goblet of Fire" was actually true?
This wasn't the first time Cedric had wavered in his negative assessment of Harry.
He had wondered about this earlier. Harry was a respectable opponent on the Quidditch field, he had never resorted to underhanded tactics or shown any hostility to him outside of the field—completely unlike the Slytherin Seeker—but faced with the ultimate temptation of becoming a Triwizard Champion, was the Boy Who Lived not tempted at all?
All students - whether at Hogwarts, Durmstrang or Beauxbatons - regard it as a great honor to become a champion in the Triwizard Tournament.
Everyone was eager to become a warrior. Not only because of the generous bonuses, the exemption from final exams, and the halo and glory bestowed upon them, but also because being selected as a warrior itself was a recognition of one's ability, talent, and character.
Some might question a referee's inclination and stance—everyone has their own selfish motives—but no one could question the Goblet of Fire.
It has gone through the years and witnessed many twists and turns. It has judged so many people with both moral integrity and talent, and has seen the names of so many expectant applicants.
It has absolutely objective evaluation criteria.
This means that anyone who can be recognized by it must be a person of high moral character.
After sitting in the Hufflepuff common room and thinking for a while, Cedric suddenly looked up and asked the students around him, "Do you think Harry Potter is really the kind of person who would do anything to achieve his goal? In my impression, he is a sincere and brave man."
"Cedric, you can't always think in a gentlemanly way. Are Gryffindors necessarily sincere and brave? They just mistake outspokenness for sincerity and recklessness for bravery." Zacharias Smith said disdainfully, "Look at the Weasley twins, didn't they also try to use aging potions to participate in this competition?"
"Having said that," Ernie McMillan said, "I don't think he'll deny what he did. I've misunderstood him before—"
"Ernie, you're too naive. Porter has always been a fame-seeker," Zacharias said. "Think back, when has he not done something to attract attention?"
"That's not true. I don't think he enjoys being talked about," Ernie said doubtfully. "But he does have some bad luck. Why does everything happen to involve him?"
"There are no coincidences. Wake up, he's suspicious." Lacaris said contemptuously, "Why, Ernie, are you crazy and want to support Potter instead of Cedric?"
"Of course I will support Cedric. He is our pride and a well-deserved warrior." Ernie said with a blushing face, pointing to the badge pinned on his lapel.
"But how could he possibly have crossed that age line? That was Dumbledore himself—" Justin Finch-Fletchley hesitated, stroking the badge in his hand.
"Shut up, you clueless idiot." Zacharias looked the Muggle-born classmate up and down and rolled his eyes. "Potter must have used some evil dark magic to change the mind of the Goblet of Fire. It's probably very evil - I've heard my father talk about some examples of people doing whatever it takes to participate in the Triwizard Tournament. Or maybe Dumbledore gave him a backdoor. Either way, it's despicable."
"Don't say that," Cedric woke up from his thoughts on "how to deal with the dragon" and tried to smile at the indignant students with uneasiness and doubt on his face. "I appreciate your support, but there's no need to quarrel over it, and there's no need to attack Harry Potter for it. We can't decide what others think, nor can we influence how others act. We can only do our own thing first."
The surrounding students nodded in agreement and dispersed. "Support Cedric" flashed bright red on their lapels.
At this moment, the boy who puzzled Cedric was standing in Alastor Moody's office, facing the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher with one of his magical eyes spinning and the other normal eye that did not move.
"You just did a very graceful thing." Moody said softly to the stunned boy, "Sit down."
Harry sat down and looked around. He saw all sorts of strange things: a cracked looking glass, a golden dowser, something that Professor Moody claimed was a magic mirror, and a huge chest with seven keyholes.
Moody now brought up the dragon thing again. "So, you found out about the dragon, didn't you?"
Harry didn't answer.
"That's all right," he said, sitting down, licking his lips and stretching his wooden leg. "Cheating has always been a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament."
"I didn't cheat," Harry said firmly. "I - I stumbled upon it."
He couldn't betray Sirius, and he couldn't tell Professor Moody that Hagrid had violated the regulations.
Moody didn't seem to mind. He said a lot about how Karkaroff and Maxime would never be so detached, but Harry was too busy watching the rapidly spinning magical eye to feel a little sick.
"So... have you figured out how to get past that dragon of yours?" asked Moody.
"I've thought about it," said Harry.
"What is it?" Moody asked, staring at Harry intently.
"Is that something I can tell you?" said Harry. "I thought it was a secret."
"Oh, as a professor at the host school, I certainly can't be partial, right? I just want to hear how you deal with it and give you some kind, general advice. Make sure you don't underestimate the fire dragon." Moody said in a gruff voice.
"I want to use a summoning spell," said Harry.
"Very good—very good—" A trace of surprise suddenly crossed Moody's face, and he asked cryptically, "Use your strengths to get what you need?"
"That's right." A faint smile appeared on Harry's face.
"You - did you come up with this on your own? Very clever." The evil eye stared at him motionlessly.
"Actually, it was my friend who suggested it to me," said Harry.
"Ron Weasley?" Moody asked approvingly.
"No," said Harry, "Draco Malfoy."
"Oh—he's your friend?" Moody paused, his broken nose twitching as he asked suspiciously, "A Slytherin? A Malfoy? Don't you know who his father is? Are you so confident in asking him for advice and help? Aren't you afraid he might do something behind your back?"
"He's a Hogwarts student like me, isn't he? He's never been unfriendly to me, and he even helps me practice spells." Harry looked at him and said with a faint feeling of annoyance in his heart - why did Moody always act like "Draco is a monster"?
"Don't be too trusting, Harry. Always be alert, Harry, be alert." Moody didn't pursue the topic further. He said in a rumbling voice, "Spend more time with your Gryffindor friends and practice well!"
"I'll practice hard. Thank you for your advice, Professor Moody." Harry said and walked out.
The professor, with his magic eyes rolling, stroked his wooden leg and stared at Harry's figure walking out of the office in surprise and suspicion. Thinking of his confrontation with Draco Malfoy last night, he couldn't help but fall into deep thought.