[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-wizard-war-at-hogwarts":3,"chapter-wizard-war-at-hogwarts-wizard-war-at-hogwarts-chapter-205":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Wizard War at Hogwarts",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2358178,4612,"Chapter 205","wizard-war-at-hogwarts-chapter-205",205,"\u003Cp>“Wait a moment,” Ron shouted from among the reporters, “I’m Harry’s friend, and I have something for him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry took the small booklet Ron handed him, noticed it contained strategies for handling interviews, and immediately gave Ron a wide smile. “You’re a lifesaver, buddy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Harry, congratulations on perfectly completing your task. May I ask how you felt facing the dragon?” Rita beamed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I felt nothing. When I found out the first task was just a dragon, to be honest, I thought it was boring.” Harry began speaking with confident bravado.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ron had written on the booklet: if Rita loved exaggeration, outdo her—so she’d learn to hold back; besides, even if readers saw these words exactly as written, they’d assume Rita had twisted them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, even the veteran journalist accustomed to sensationalist articles paused for several seconds upon hearing these words straight from Harry’s mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright,” she recovered, “I noticed Dumbledore gave you a six. Do you think that’s fair?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s fair. Dumbledore always considers things from a broader perspective—he wouldn’t want children imitating me and getting hurt, so naturally he’d lower the score, and also to keep me from getting arrogant.” Harry recited his prepared response calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Some spectators say your method of handling the dragon was overly bloody and brutal. Do you think this is true?” Rita asked a sharper question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you call Renata cruel, that might be a controversial claim. But if someone thinks I’m cruel, I’ll give them this advice,” Harry read from Ron’s joke, “Buy a ticket to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, find the national park with the Christ statue. Tell him to move over so you can stand there.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Frankly, you’re making unfounded judgments because you don’t understand Britain,” Cedric said, struggling to fend off a blonde local female reporter who kept steering the conversation toward same-sex romance. “Why are you fixated on this angle?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I never thought we’d lose—only whether we’d win small, medium, or big.” After finishing his interview, Harry handed the booklet to Cedric, who then began speaking without restraint. “I came to Beauxbatons and only realized Hogwarts is better. You talk about educational atmosphere? I say it’s just not hardworking enough.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You ask who performed best? You clearly want me to say Fleur, so I’ll say it—no argument from me.” Cedric shook his head, grinning. “Report however you like. I’ll just laugh when I read it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before he could read the even more outrageous lines at the back of the booklet, Madame Maxime ended the interview, invited the champions to stand together and wave farewell to the audience, and declared the first task a perfect success.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the way back, Harry exclaimed happily, “This booklet of yours is brilliant—you totally shut Rita down.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It works great on French reporters too,” Cedric praised. “That overflowing confidence—I could never come up with lines like that.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Actually, it was Hermione’s idea. She said I should prepare a booklet for interview responses,” Ron scratched his head sheepishly, then grinned mischievously. “Guess how I wrote it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry now understood why Elena and Fleur had been so composed during interviews—Hermione had clearly been their behind-the-scenes advisor. But he was curious: though Ron was naturally funny, how had he thought up so many over-the-top lines?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I read a ton of Rita Skeeter’s articles. I learned all this from her,” Ron boasted. “I bet she never imagined her own tactics would be turned against her.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid laughter and cheers, Harry returned to the train. All of Hogwarts’s students were gathered in the dining car, eagerly preparing to celebrate their victory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s a bronze egg, but it still shines,” a girl said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Open it quick—what’s inside?” someone goaded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, alright,” Cedric said, “Let’s open the dragon egg. If there’s a clue, maybe everyone can help us figure it out.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course.” Harry picked up the egg, examined it, and noticed a groove along the top of the crack. He pried his fingernail into it and easily pried the egg open.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside was empty—nothing at all. But the instant Harry opened it, an extremely terrifying, piercing shriek filled the entire room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry gritted his teeth against the pain in his ears and slammed the egg shut.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is ridiculous. She said the clue would be vague, but now it’s turned into a full riddle,” Ron grumbled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Actually, Madame Maxime gave us one more piece of information,” Cedric said. “A name: Meiledihe Pan De. But I’m still clueless.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Could it be some historical French figure?” Harry suggested. “Like Nicolas Flamel?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Qiu burst out laughing. “If it’s a historical figure, I’d guess Kennedy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s worry about this another day—right now it’s party time!” a boy shouted. The crowd erupted again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They partied late. After gorging themselves in the dining car, someone suggested an outdoor bonfire. Students lit a massive fire, danced and laughed around it, their noisy revelry sharply contrasting with the dim green glow of Durmstrang’s ship.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry slept until noon the next day. He told himself he should snap out of it, find books, research, and figure out who Meiledihe Pan De was. But the name felt familiar—he wondered if he’d heard it somewhere before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Harry?” Ron sat up in bed. “Do you remember how we found Flamel? Maybe we should ask the history teacher here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“History teacher,” Harry muttered. “No way—he won’t help us. Fleur already has a clear, complete clue—that’s her advantage. Beauxbatons won’t lift a finger.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Right, Fleur has the complete clue,” Ron snapped his fingers. “We can ask Hermione.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Will she tell us?” Harry asked, worried.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She won’t tell us everything,” Ron said. “But she’ll give hints—or useful advice.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s go then,” Harry began dressing. “Where’s Hermione? The library?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As they walked toward the library, they turned a corner and saw Hermione standing in the hallway talking to someone—Crum.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry quickly pulled out the Invisibility Cloak. Maybe eavesdropping was immoral, but if he didn’t think about Hermione and just pretended he was listening to Crum, it wasn’t so bad.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I really need to see Fleur. I need to talk to her alone,” Crum said anxiously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No. We can’t let Fleur talk to you alone. Tell me first what you want to say,” Hermione said. “Elena must agree too. Champions in the same group shouldn’t hide anything from each other.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But everyone deserves some privacy,” Crum complained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“True. But I don’t think you and Fleur have any privacy between you. Without this tournament, you wouldn’t even know each other’s names,” Hermione crossed her arms, her tone guarded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, I’ll whisper it to you—don’t tell anyone else,” Crum said. “I suspect there’s a conspiracy behind the Triwizard Tournament. I need to confirm something with Fleur.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What do you want to confirm?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well, it’s just—” Crum nervously glanced around. “Are you sure you want me to tell you first?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s necessary. I can relay it for you,” Hermione said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did Fleur fix the match?” Crum whispered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What?” Hermione’s eyes widened in shock. “That’s slander, a lie—it’s impossible!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But Renata seems to know something… I broke up with her, and I want to investigate this myself,” Crum stammered before the angry Hermione. “I’m not saying fixing matches is good—I just need to confirm, need someone to talk to.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You want to talk to someone who’s fixing matches? About what?” Hermione frowned, confused. “No matter what lies Renata fed you, since you broke up, don’t believe a single word she says. Understand?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, it was before we broke up. Anyway, she knew something. I’m stuck, and I’m really troubled,” Crum grabbed his hair in distress. “I should talk to the other champions alone—but hey, I can’t figure it out. It’s too complicated. A very complex conspiracy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Can’t you tell me?” Hermione’s expression softened with sympathy at his distress. “What trouble are you in? If you tell me, Fleur and Elena will help you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No. I have to confirm it with her alone—I can’t say anything until then,” Crum’s brow was knotted. “I asked Harry, but he seemed unaware. That’s why I came to Fleur.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s fine. Think it over. I’ll talk to Fleur too,” Hermione said gently. “If you think there’s a conspiracy and want to sort things out, write it down. It helps clarify your thoughts.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, alright. Thank you,” Crum pressed his forehead. “I’ll come back another day.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did Fleur fix the match? That doesn’t seem right,” Ron whispered. “And what conspiracy were they talking about?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m not sure about the conspiracy,” Harry said, slowly backing away. “But the match-fixing? That’s probably true. And Renata likely knows Crum fixed his match—even has proof.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1426,"2026-06-21T04:54:29.094Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","b9567a5098eb9af5d6a30b2c8ce580adb539d16d894dbef1d1253066eb53900d","wizard-war-at-hogwarts-chapter-206","wizard-war-at-hogwarts-chapter-204",528,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fwizard-war-at-hogwarts-cover.jpg"]