Chapter 117: Warrior Selection

The next day, Thursday night.

The long-awaited moment had finally arrived.

Thousands of floating candles burned in the Great Hall, and the long tables of the four houses were incredibly lively, with everyone coming to watch the Triwizard Tournament Warrior selection.

"Sit down, everyone, the Warrior selection is about to begin!"

Dumbledore stood beside the Goblet of Fire, raising his hand to shout at the chattering little wizards filling the room.

Everyone then sat down one after another and quieted down.

Dumbledore also slowly raised his hand to stroke the Goblet of Fire, beginning the Warrior selection ceremony.

On the Eagle House side.

"John, what if you really get selected?"

Ethan lowered his voice and asked John worriedly.

"What else can I do, go up."

John said as a matter of course.

"Exactly, John broke through the Headmaster's Age Line by his own ability, something no one in the whole school could do; if he gets selected, that's a very face-saving thing."

Ryan patted John's shoulder excitedly, laughing and saying.

Having seen John take on a group of Death Eaters alone that day, he had great confidence in John's strength.

On the Lion House side.

"Ron, you signed up for the Triwizard Tournament too?"

"That's for sure!"

Harry asked Ron in surprise, and Ron nodded as a matter of course.

"Harry, didn't you sign up?"

"I don't want to get involved in any eternal glory; I don't want to flip over and become an eternal laughingstock."

Harry waved his hand, indicating he had no interest in it.

Ron nodded, thoughtful.

"Hermione, what about you, did you sign up?"

Harry asked Hermione at this time, only to see her say very directly.

"No."

Harry wasn't surprised by this; Hermione really didn't seem like someone who would join in such fun.

Soon, the little wizards' low conversations were interrupted by the suddenly brightening light of the Goblet of Fire.

The originally deep blue flame suddenly turned red, and tongues of fire shot up high.

Then a piece of parchment with scorch marks flew out and was steadily caught by Dumbledore.

"The Durmstrang Warrior is—Viktor Krum!"

Applause erupted in the hall, and the Durmstrang students stood up one after another, cheering and shouting for Krum.

Krum, who had been keeping a poker face, couldn't help but clench his fists in excitement.

The first Warrior was born.

After Krum went on stage and shook hands with Dumbledore, he walked into the door leading to the judging room under Dumbledore's guidance.

Many people looked at him with envy; after all, becoming a Warrior meant glory, applause, and the eyes of the entire wizarding world.

At this moment, the Goblet of Fire had movement again; red tongues of fire rose again, and a second charred piece of parchment flew out.

Dumbledore unfolded the parchment, his voice spreading clearly throughout the hall.

"The Beauxbatons Warrior is—Fleur Delacour!"

Enthusiastic applause erupted in the hall again, and the Beauxbatons students stood up one after another, applauding and cheering for their beauty.

Fleur's face was also filled with smiles, and then she stood up gracefully, walked toward Dumbledore, bowed, and shook hands.

Then she followed Krum into the judging room behind the hall with light steps.

The Goblet of Fire was silent for a moment, the firelight suddenly jumped violently, a third red flame shot into the sky, and a charred piece of paper flew out spinning.

The whole audience held their breath, and Dumbledore reached out to catch it.

Only this time, the expression on his face appeared a bit dramatic; the name on the slip of paper was unexpected yet strangely reasonable to him.

"The Hogwarts Warrior is... John Merrick?"

Huh?

John was stunned.

People who knew John were also stunned.

People who had heard John's name looked at each other even more.

Only those who didn't know what was going on applauded and shouted again.

"Yi! I got it!?"

John, reacting belatedly, suddenly realized that he had actually been selected!

John immediately stood up from his seat, greeted the gazes from all directions, and walked up without any stage fright.

"Wait, I remember that person, isn't he a second-year student?"

"He is a second-year! Is he 14 yet?"

Seeing John's appearance, whispers erupted in the crowd, questioning and astonishment intertwined.

Last year, he had helped Professor Lupin neutralize a disarming spell from Professor Snape in front of the whole school.

So some people still recognized him.

And Dumbledore also looked at him with some doubt.

He was absolutely certain that the Age Line he set had never been cracked or broken through from beginning to end.

But John was clearly under 14; how did he fool his Age Line?

Could it be that Filius taught him some advanced Confundus Charm?

Or did Severus give him a potion that could fool the Age Line?

It couldn't be Minerva who helped him sign up...

"Don't look at me like that, Headmaster; I signed up myself, I didn't ask anyone to do it for me."

John met Dumbledore's gaze calmly and said with a smile.

Dumbledore looked at John's appearance and was speechless for a moment.

Now at least he was sure of one thing: John must have signed up of his own volition, and he was very happy about it.

Dumbledore shook his head helplessly and handed the parchment with the name on it to John.

No matter how he broke through the Age Line, since he had the ability to sign up, and the Goblet of Fire had selected him, he could only accept this result.

In any case, with John's ability, handling the Triwizard Tournament challenges should be more than enough.

John took the parchment and walked toward the door leading to the judging room.

"He cheated!"

"Yeah, he's not even 14 yet!"

At this moment, several sharp voices sounded, clearly carrying dissatisfaction and jealousy.

John stopped, turned, and looked at the questioning crowd.

He chuckled.

"If you have the ability, you cheat and show me."

He had no intention of defending himself, instead raising the parchment in his hand provocatively.

The crowd went silent for a moment, then erupted into various noisy sounds.

Some stomped their feet in indignation, some loudly questioned the fairness of the rules.

"Quiet! Since the Goblet of Fire has made its choice, there is no room for change."

At this moment, Dumbledore shouted, stopping the scene that was about to lose control.

The entire hall went silent.

Everyone's gaze was focused on John, and John proudly made a V-sign.

Then he walked toward the door leading to the judging room without looking back.

"Alright, now the three Warriors have been born!"

Dumbledore looked around the hall and spoke again, his voice steady and powerful.

"But in the end, only one can be recorded in history, can lift that trophy representing the champion..."

"The Triwizard Cup!"

As Dumbledore's lips lightly uttered these three words, a blue trophy flickering with mysterious light slowly appeared in the air.

Seeing the appearance of the Triwizard Cup, everyone forgot their controversy over John for a moment, their gazes all attracted by the floating trophy.

Only at this moment.

The Goblet of Fire, which had already completed the selection, suddenly jumped violently, the flame turning from a stable blue to a glaring crimson.

With a bang.

Another piece of parchment shot out from the flames.

Instantly, everyone in the hall was stunned.

The three Warriors had clearly been produced; why would the Goblet of Fire spit out another piece of parchment?

Dumbledore's brows were furrowed subconsciously, and he reached out to catch the parchment.

He stared at the familiar name on the paper, his face sinking instantly.

"Harry Potter?" ===== CHAPTER 118 =====