Chapter 442 The Blackened Cedric

Harry's face was filled with surprise when he heard Lupin's answer. His brows were furrowed, and his tone was full of confusion: "Why?"

"what why?"

"Why did Sirius do this, why did he hurt Cedric?"

Lupine looked troubled and ran his fingers through his hair. When they helped James pursue Lily, they used similar methods to embarrass Snape.

However, it is not easy to talk about this kind of thing openly. After all, in Harry's heart, his father was an upright hero who dared to fight Voldemort.

Lupine turned his attention to Cedric. Professor Spratt, the headmaster of Hufflepuff, used magic to wake him up and was holding his shoulders, seeming to whisper something.

"Harry, Sirius is here to help you." Lupine thought for a moment and slowly explained, "He really doesn't have any malice, he is just trying his best to help you. You have to believe in your godfather, he really won't hurt Cedry. gram."

Harry's eyes flashed with confusion and anger. He clenched his fists and raised his voice a bit: "You mean, he deliberately became a hostage and then escaped from bondage? He knew that the target of my mission was him, but he deliberately hid in Underwater, let me and Cedric have a conflict..."

Before Harry could finish his words, Cedric suddenly shook off the Dean's hand, waved his wand quickly, and uttered a spell: "Petrify them all!"

"Harry, be careful!"

The crowd around them panicked instantly, and Qiu Zhang reacted the fastest. She pushed Harry away, but she stood where Harry was originally.

Harry's eyes widened as he watched Cho Chang being hit by the spell. Her body instantly became stiff, like an out-of-control wax statue.

However, Qiu Zhang still had a concerned expression on his face, and his eyes as he looked at Cedric were full of confusion and confusion.

boom!

Then, Qiu Zhang lost his balance, fell straight backwards, and fell into the black lake. When Cedric witnessed Qiu Zhang's actions, he felt puzzled, jealous, and angry intertwined in his heart.

Mercus, who was reporting the situation to Dumbledore, saw this and immediately swung his fish tail to rescue her from the water.

Seeing that Qiu Zhang was fine, Harry immediately turned his head and roared: "Cedric, do you know what you are doing?"

Cedric's eyes flashed with anger, and he replied coldly: "You should ask yourself! Didn't you want my life just now under the water? Now, come on!"

After speaking, he waved his wand continuously, and several magic beams passed through the crowd and went straight to Harry Potter.

Harry counterattacked without any sign of weakness, blocking all of his spells. When he saw Cedric trying to hurt himself with magic spells, he stopped defending and instead used the spells he had learned to fight back.

Their wands burst into the air with dazzling light, and the beams of spells collided with each other in the air, making a deafening sound.

The people around him ran to the side in panic, fearing that they would be affected by the fierce magic battle. Dumbledore stood on the shore, with deep worry on his face, but he still remained calm, his eyes fixed on the battlefield.

"Enough!" Professor Snape stood up, his voice cold and stern.

However, Harry and Cedric turned a deaf ear, their attention completely focused on each other.

Snape's expression darkened further and he decided to intervene directly. His wand was pointed quickly at Cedric and the incantation blurted out: "Expelliarmus!"

A beam of light shot from the tip of his wand, striking Cedric first. Immediately afterwards, Harry was also stripped of his weapons by the same spell. But as his wand flew out, Harry cast his final spell, hitting Cedric.

Rogge, who was watching the battle, subconsciously curled his lips. Snape seemed fair, but he preferred Harry in the details.

Cedric was struck by the power of the spell, his body flipping through the air like an out-of-control propeller before he fell heavily into the canopy of a tree. His body bounced a few times on the tree canopy, and then he fell down, bruised and battered.

"Oh my God! What are you doing!" Madam Pomfrey screamed and rushed forward to check Cedric's injuries.

"Mr. Potter." Snape stared at Harry with cold eyes, approaching him step by step. His wand reached out and tried to point at Harry's throat.

Professor Lupine immediately stood in front of Harry. He took out his wand and prepared to stop him.

The confrontation between Lupine and Snape was extremely fierce. Their eyes were fixed on each other, and the wands in their hands were like sharp swords, slashing and blocking back and forth in the air.

Every collision of the wand made a crisp and short sound, echoing on the cold and silent shore. The students stared at the two professors in stunned silence, as if they were admiring the art of dueling that was unique to wizards.

Rogge sighed softly. He saw the shadow of swordsmanship in Teacher Snape's movements, while Lupine relied entirely on his body's reaction to fight.

"Who said wizards only use magic to duel?" Rogge secretly cursed, "Mr. Snape doesn't fully follow duel etiquette."

He thought again of Mr. Newt, who had a lot of bumps on his wand. Apparently, when he was young, he often dueled other wizards in this way.

He whispered to himself: "Professor Lupine is going to lose." As soon as he finished speaking, Snape suddenly launched an attack and stabbed Lupin's wrist with his wand.

Lupine felt a sharp pain coming from his wrist joint, and his right hand instantly lost strength. Snape took the opportunity to make a move, and Lupin's wand flew out of his hand, drawing a beautiful parabola high in the air.

Snape's lips curved into a sneer, and the corner of his eyes glanced at the teachers and students of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. Then, he said in a sarcastic tone: "Your hands are as dull as a wolf-dog's paws."

He waved his wand gently, signaling Lupine to step aside.

"Mr. Potter." Snape looked at him with cold eyes, as if he was interrogating the prisoner, "What explanation do you have for Cedric's murder accusation?"

Harry raised his head stubbornly, his eyes were firm and his tone was very strong: "I didn't do it!"

Other than that, there is no explanation.

Snape stared into Harry's eyes and couldn't help but feel shocked. Years ago, the owner of those eyes looked at him with the same determination.

He pushed Lupine away and stared down at Harry. Then, he hit Harry's blocking hand hard with his wand, and pulled out the dagger from his waist. There was a gasp from the surrounding crowd. Is Cedric's accusation true?

"What is this?" Snape stared at Harry seriously and asked in a joking tone: "Such a bright dagger, you couldn't have picked it up underwater by chance, right?"

At this moment, Merkus in the water shouted: "Gentlemen, I can prove that this dagger does not belong to Harry Potter."

Her voice sounded sharp and harsh, and no one present except Dumbledore and Daphne, who knew the mermaid language, could understand what she meant.

At this time, Fleur took a step out and testified for Harry: "I have seen this dagger. It does not belong to Harry, it belongs to a strange middle-aged wizard."

She glanced at everyone and said in a firm tone: "When I found the mermaid sculpture, the wizard had already untied the rope from his body."

"Miss Delacour, are you saying that someone else tried to harm Cedric?"

"I...I don't know." Fleur looked at Snape's destructive eyes, feeling a little afraid in her heart.

She took a deep breath, gathered up her courage, and continued to testify: "The man lent me the dagger to use to save people. Then, he asked me to insert the dagger into the tail of the sculpture. When Harry and Cedric arrived Then he used a magic spell and disappeared."

"If you don't believe it, you can ask the mermaids, they have all seen it."

"I can also prove that the dagger is on the fish's tail." Krum also stood up to support Harry, "When I save people, I use it."

"So, there's another person in the water..." Snape whispered to himself.

"Isn't this obvious?" Lu Ping sneered and counterattacked: "There are four warriors in the challenge, but only three hostages have been rescued. As long as you can count on your fingers, you will understand that there is one less person."

"Ahem..." Dumbledore cleared his throat and finally spoke, "Merkus has told me everything that happened underwater."

As he walked over, he motioned to Snape to put his wand away. There are no enemies here, but Sirius's willfulness has caused a series of misunderstandings.

"The target Harry needs to rescue is Sirius." Dumbledore's voice was calm and firm, "However, he woke up at the beginning of the game and got rid of his restraints."

He sighed helplessly and continued to explain: "The wizard that Fleur saw was him, and it was he who lent the dagger to the contestants."

Mrs. Maxim suddenly interjected: "So, neither of the two warriors of Hogwarts completed the challenge?"

"It's obvious!" she shouted excitedly, "They have to bring their most precious treasure back from the water within an hour."

"Fleur from our school rescued her sister, and Krum from Durmstrang did the same." Mrs. Maxim not only has a tall figure, but also has a sharp intellect. With just a few words, Karkaroff became an ally.

"Dumbledore, since Mr. Potter wants to save the wizard named Sirius. Then, what Cedric wants to save is the girl who was petrified just now." Mrs. Maxim pointed out the problem proudly, looking happy Extremely.

"Now, both of them have failed." Maxim's slightly mocking voice made Hagrid feel unhappy.

"The point now is not to score the game." Snape turned his head and his sharp eyes stayed on Madame Maxime for a second. Then, focusing on Harry, "We should pay attention to the murder accusation made by Cedric."

"Severus, using murder charges to describe a misunderstanding is too serious." Dumbledore shook his head slightly, with a hint of seriousness in his voice.

He raised his wand, whispered the Flying Charm, and Harry's wand fell into his hand. "The trace records the magic that Harry has used. Mr. Fudge, could you please check it?"

Fudge hurriedly took the wand, and with his lips moving slightly, he uttered the incantation of the retrospection spell. After a moment, he raised his head and announced firmly: "I can guarantee that Harry Potter has not used any spells that may cause harm..."

"Liar! You are lying!" Cedric's voice was almost screaming, and his face was twisted with anger. "I saw him attack me with a dagger, and he also tried to use a sleeping spell to make me sink to the bottom of the water."

"Cedric." Dumbledore's voice rose a little higher, and he looked directly at the other person with blazing eyes. "If Harry really wanted to hurt you, why did he come to save you?"

"He has to rescue you and Qiu Chang alone, which is not easy. Merkus, the leader of the mermaids, has revealed the truth under the water to us. Harry has never tried to hurt you. All of this is just Sirius misunderstanding caused."

Cedric tried to continue his accusation, but the headmaster's gaze weighed on him. Professor Sprout also comforted him softly, and he had to swallow the words he was about to blurt out.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Dumbledore said loudly, his voice full of power, instantly attracting everyone's attention, "Merkus, the leader of the mermaids, has given me a complete account of what happened underwater."

His words contained unquestionable authority, and everyone waited quietly for what would happen next.

"We decided to rate the warriors based on a perfect score of 50..."

After listening to Dumbledore's report and considering the opinions of the other two principals, the judges finally gave a specific score.

Fudge stood up, cleared his throat, and began to announce the results: "Miss Fleur Delacour, she was the first to successfully rescue the hostages by using the gillweed in the Mediterranean. In this challenge, she not only showed Rich knowledge of herbal medicine and keen insight. Therefore, we decided..."

He deliberately prolonged his voice to create a sense of suspense, and then announced loudly: "Give her full marks! 50 points!"

A burst of warm applause immediately erupted from the stands. Furong's results were undoubtedly well-deserved. Including the score in the first game, her total score has risen to 58 points.

"Mr. Viktor Krum used the transformation technique. Although it was incomplete, it was very effective. He was the second player to bring back the hostage. We decided to give him 40 points." Fudge continued to announce.

Karkaroff clapped his hands very enthusiastically, looking very proud of himself.

After the top two results were announced, everyone's eyes turned to Cedric and Harry Potter. As Madame Maxime said, they were all losers in a sense, failing to rescue their own hostages.

"Due to one of the hostages suddenly waking up and taking action without authorization, Harry Potter and Cedric's mission went awry and triggered a series of misunderstandings." Fudge explained, "We decided to inform the Ministry of Magic about the Sirius' attempt to harm students will be thoroughly investigated. The results of the investigation will be announced immediately."

"As for their scores..." Fudge looked around and announced slowly: "Cedric used the Bubble Charm and successfully got rid of Greenlody's attack. Although we failed to rescue the hostages, we decided to give him 28 points.”

"Harry Potter also used the Bubble Curse, and he was the last to return, well beyond the allotted time."

"However, the kindness and high moral character he displayed won the unanimous approval of the judges. Therefore, we decided to award Mr. Porter 45 points."

The audience fell into silence at first, and then, warm applause surged like a tide. Harry Potter's score obviously exceeded many people's expectations, but his behavior and spirit obviously won everyone's respect.

When Cedric heard this result, he coldly threw away the blanket on his body. He looked at Harry silently with cold eyes, and then left the arena silently.

At this moment, he no longer believed in the so-called white wizard and the Ministry of Magic. He clenched his fists, resenting the wizarding world's preference for Harry Potter and angry at his own powerlessness.

"So, the current ranking is..." Fudge looked at Harry with a smile and announced: "First place, Fleur, 58 points."

"Second place, Krum, 49 points. Third place, Harry Potter, 45 points. Fourth place, Cedric, 37 points."

"Finally, the next project will be carried out on the evening of June 24th. The warriors will know the specific content of the project one month in advance..."

After a long and unhelpful speech, the second challenge ended hastily. For this result, Karkaroff and Maxim are very satisfied.

After all, both Hogwarts champions were at the bottom of the pile. In addition, Harry and Cedric's scoring will undoubtedly intensify the infighting between them.

Madame Maxime is ready to open champagne to celebrate Beauxbatons School of Witchcraft and Wizardry's victory in the Triwizard Tournament in advance.