Chapter 560: Hogwarts Champion

With the departure of the crowd, the room suddenly became much quieter.

"Ron, Cedric, Ivan, Harry, Hermione, I suggest you go up to bed," Dumbledore said, smiling at the five of you. "I'm sure Gryffindor and Hufflepuff are waiting for you to celebrate with you, and it would be a shame to deprive them of this excellent excuse to make a lot of fuss and noise."

Ivan looked at Dumbledore again and wondered if he had found out anything.

He thought he would get no answer, but suddenly he saw that Dumbledore was smiling at him.

Dumbledore was quick to nod to Ivan, and the smile seemed to be especially meaningful.

What had happened tonight was very strange, and the battle had already begun. He didn't know who would end up laughing....

When they dragged Ron, who could barely walk, and left the room, they found that the Great Dining Hall was already deserted. The candles had burned low, giving the toothy grins on the pumpkins an eerie, flickering quality.

"Weasley, I didn't expect you to be a champion too!" said Cedric with a reluctant smile, approaching Ron. "But anyway, we're representing Hogwarts now, even though you're my opponent..."

"Only one person can represent Hogwarts, I'll beat you. I will prove that I am the true champion!" shouted Ron.

He didn't shake Cedric's hand and let him stand there so embarrassed.

Ron looked paranoid now, and after the tremendous pressure wore off, ecstasy followed.

His mind was in a state of chaos, with only one thought: his champion status had been recognized by the Ministry of Magic and the school, and his dream had come true. He was the Hogwarts champion, the true champion.

Due to his excitement, Ron's face was flushed and his whole body was trembling slightly.

"Well... See you later!" said Cedric coolly, withdrawing his right hand.

They quickly parted ways, and Ivan, Harry, Ron and Hermione followed the stairs to Gryffindor Tower.

"I became a champion, I'm a champion, I'm the Hogwarts champion!" muttered Ron to himself.

Along the way, he kept repeating these words, as if hypnotizing himself.

Ivan, Harry and Hermione exchanged glances and looked anxiously at Ron.

"Ron, you shouldn't have talked to Cedric like that!" said Harry hesitantly. "He's really a nice guy."

"Then what should I say? We're competitors now, and that cute boy doesn't recognize me at all," said Ron. "He and I are champions, but there's only one who can represent Hogwarts, isn't there?"

"Yes, but..." Harry paused and continued. "Well, then can you tell us how you put your name in the Goblet of Fire? Is it the way Ivan mentioned?"

"I didn't. I didn't put my name in the Goblet of Fire. I wanted to, but I didn't get the chance. We were at Hagrid's all day." Ron froze for a moment and said angrily, "You guys don't believe me?"

"Don't be silly, of course we believe you, otherwise we wouldn't have asked Professor Moody to come and help you!". Ivan replied unconsciously. He was still pondering why Batty Crouch Jr. chose Ron, what was this guy's plot?

After Ron became champion, the whole story and future events were too far off course for him to anticipate anything.

A lot of things needed to be pushed and reasoned out.

"I'd like to believe you too, Ron!" said Harry, "though this is really hard to believe."

"Well, you three! Now the question is not whether Ron had become a champion, but who put his name in the Goblet of Fire." Hermione frowned.

"Whoever he is, he's obviously helping me, isn't he?". said Ron with a laugh.

"Didn't you hear what Ivan and Professor Moody said?!" Hermione's eyebrows rose again. "That person wants to get you killed!" she said loudly.

"Get me killed?!" Ron froze for a moment, somewhat disapprovingly.

"The professors said that the Triwizard Tournament tasks are very dangerous. It's not something we can cope with. You're very likely to die there, Ron!" said Hermione worriedly.

"You're not as strong as Ivan. There are too many..."

"What's wrong with you?!" Ron interrupted Hermione. "I've become a champion. You should congratulate me, not say such dirty things."

Their eyes met Ivan's, Harry's and Hermione's, and the atmosphere was somewhat grim.

"Congratulations!" Hermione said quizzically, looking at Ron in surprise. "You're crazy; this is not a good thing, those...".

"I know, you've always thought I'm not as good as Ivan, Harry or even you!" shouted Ron, interrupting Hermione once again, and the smile on his face solidified. "But I'm the champion now, not you. That's enough to prove everything, isn't it?"

There was an awkward silence, and Hermione seemed stunned by Ron's words.

Ivan knew that Ron had been depressed for too long and was suddenly overwhelmed by the ecstasy of being called champion.

They had to delay the subject until tomorrow, or let Ron face the first task, and Ivan was sure that he would then sober up....

Ivan gently took Hermione's little hand and signaled her not to continue.

Harry still wanted to say something, but they were already in front of the Fat Lady's portrait.

The Fat Lady was not alone in her frame. Ivan saw that the sorceress witch, who had just appeared in the room below, was now sitting smugly beside the Fat Lady.

She must have traversed all the frames of the seven staircases to get here before them.

Both she and the Fat Lady were looking at Ron with the utmost interest and a smile on their faces.

"Well, well, well!" said the Fat Lady, "Violet just told me all about it - who just got elected school champion, then?"

"Nonsense," Hermione said slowly, she was angry too.

If she had known earlier, she wouldn't have come in to defend Ron.

"It most certainly isn't, I've seen it with my own eyes..." said the pale witch indignantly.

"No, no, Violet, it's the password," said the Fat Lady calmly, and swung forward on her hinges to let them into the Common Room.

The explosion of noise that reached their ears when the portrait opened was deafening.

Everyone seemed to have planned to stay here. About a dozen pairs of hands pushed Ron into the Common Room, and he found the entire Gryffindor House shouting, clapping, and whistling.