The Bard of Hogwarts

Chapter 307 The Dispute in the Auditorium

The Scottish Highlands at the end of September.

Due to its geographical location, it was already quite dark by 6 p.m.

But no matter how gloomy the sky was, it could never dampen the enthusiasm of the young wizards at Hogwarts.

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Krum was always placed in the front row of the crowd, only half a body length away from Karkaroff.

Amidst the cheers of astonishment, Igor Karkarov, the tall, thin Principal Durmstrang with his goatee, now half-closed his eyes and became somewhat arrogant.

"Hogwarts! It's really nice here... I really regret not coming sooner." Karkaroff said, his voice trailing off.

"It's not too late! Hogwarts welcomes you! Please come with me to the Great Hall; Mrs. Maxim is already waiting for us."

Dumbledore continued speaking with a smile, completely ignoring Karkaroff's change in expression, just like a phoenix unwilling to look down on a swallow-tailed dog.

The conversation between the two headmasters was unlikely to reach the young wizards' ears, but Karkaroff's arrogant expression was clearly visible to everyone.

Draco grew a little tired of looking at it. After a moment of thought, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a palm-sized frisbee.

But before he could make any other move, he found his hand being firmly grasped.

"Are you crazy! Making him look bad here is what's truly embarrassing for us!"

Ino was somewhat helpless. In the few minutes they spent together, although he didn't like Karkaroff's arrogance, he still had basic rationality.

If Hogwarts were to embarrass Karkaroff here, it would clearly demonstrate a lack of hospitality. Regardless of whether Karkaroff would lose face, Hogwarts would absolutely embarrass itself throughout Europe.

"I'm not crazy. We'll take advantage of the darkness and stay away from the crowd before he enters the castle, so no one will suspect it was us."

Draco spoke with absolute certainty.

Indeed, it was a good opportunity, but Draco overlooked another person, Dumbledore, who was running alongside Karkaroff.

Although the purpose of this frisbee is unclear, such traces are essentially evidence. Even if Dumbledore doesn't care, the appearance of a tangible object means Hogwarts has to take the blame.

Thinking of this, Ino picked up the frisbee from Draco's hand and put it in his pocket, then looked around... or rather, looked at the Gryffindor team.

After a brief delay, he finally confirmed that Draco was the only one in the room who dared to be so audacious.

This is actually normal. After Marcus graduated, although there were still many young wizards from the Twenty-Eight Houses of the Holy Church in Slytherin, they were either from collateral branches or their families were declining and in decline.

Among all the people in the castle, Draco Malfoy is probably the only one who truly has the confidence and courage to cause trouble.

Of course, Harry Potter was also qualified, but Harry's gaze kept drifting towards Ravenclaw, and no one knew what he was looking at.

……

in the night.

Draco wasn't too bothered when he realized his frisbee had been confiscated; it was all just a spur-of-the-moment thing anyway.

Just as he was feeling utterly bored, a familiar voice reached his ears:

"Draco, have you ever thought about becoming a champion and taking the Goblet of Fire?"

For a moment, Ino wanted to go himself, but when he thought about the whole year of competition, plus all sorts of complicated details, he gave up the idea.

Not everything needs to be in the limelight, and besides, the competition among the top three isn't that big.

"To be a warrior?" Draco accurately grasped the core meaning. If someone else had asked him, he would have naturally refused outright, mainly because of the danger.

But upon hearing Ino's question, Draco fell into thought.

"Don't rush to answer, we can talk about this back in the dorm tonight." Ino reached out and patted Draco on the shoulder; the whole thing was a spur-of-the-moment decision.

Perhaps, being fourth place is more shameful than third place.

In the original story, Barty the Younger could use the Confusion Charm to alter the Goblet of Fire, so by imitating him, he could also add Draco into it, which also satisfied Slytherin's sense of honor.

As they spoke, Ino slowly walked into the castle.

But it's clear that the dinner isn't today.

Since no one had received any notification from the professor or prefect, and there was no notification, it meant free time.

……

Outside the auditorium.

Ino glanced at the scene below, frowned slightly, and subconsciously looked towards the corridor leading underground.

"Are you going back to your dorm? I'll bring you some food later!" Draco noticed this subtle change.

"You don't need to bring any food! I have fresh flower cakes." Ino declined her roommate's offer and turned to walk in the other direction.

After Ino left, Draco straightened his clothes and strode into the Great Hall with the air of a "master of the house," displaying a slightly flamboyant demeanor.

however.

As soon as Draco entered the Great Hall, he saw that there were people even more flamboyant than him.

It was clearly a long table belonging to Slytherin, but Ron acted as if he were back in the Burrow, exuding confidence and elation.

"Just ten points short!" Ron emphasized again from the crowd.

"Besides, you can't blame Krom; he did a great job! There's a saying: if it's not the game's fault, if it's not the players' fault, then it must be the coach's fault!"

As he spoke, Ron would glance at Krum from time to time, and after seeing the latter smile at him, he became even more enthusiastic about his speech.

"Forget about coaches and players! You're the one in the wrong now!" Draco pushed through the crowd and swayed over to Ron.

"If I remember correctly, this is Slytherin territory! As for you! You poor bastard... well, Scarface's poor bastard lackey."

Halfway through his sentence, Draco seemed to realize something, abruptly changing the words he used.

It seems that Draco has some hidden talent; in the past, whenever he opened his mouth, he could always provoke a group of Weasleys.

Although things have changed somewhat, speaking up still attracts a lot of attention.

Harry was immediately angered by just one sentence. It wasn't that he cared about the nickname "Scarface"; what he cared about was the title "follower."

As Harry grew older, he understood many things. The word "lackey" was not only a mockery of Ron, but also an attempt to destroy their friendship, especially in today's situation.

Therefore, before Ron could react, Harry spoke first:

"A pauper? Ron is richer than you can imagine! He has wisdom, talent, courage, loyalty, and his family."

Harry's sudden outburst not only stunned Draco, but even Ron was surprised by his own excellence, and for a moment he was a little smug.

What the boys didn't notice was that when Harry erupted, Ginny's eyes lit up with countless little stars.

"Excellent? Beyond imagination?" After a brief moment of surprise, Draco quickly regained his composure and continued calmly:

"In that case, how about this excellent red-haired sidekick, and of course, Mr. Scarface, do you dare to make a bet with me!"

Draco's reaction gave Harry a sense of conspiracy, and before he could think it through, Ron's voice came from beside him:

"What do you want to bet? I'll play along to the end."

(End of this chapter)