Dracula looked away from the top of the tower, and looked at Dumbledore with deep eyes, "Although the punishment caused by the contract of the Goblet of Fire will indeed cause great harm to the contestants, there is really no other solution ?"

"Potter is just a 14-year-old wizard after all, and no one believes that he can successfully complete the competition before the end of the first project. Not to mention, this also makes Hogwarts, the organizer, suspected of favoritism and fraud."

"It's nothing more than Bagman's enthusiasm for Porter's participation. After all, he's willing to do anything to win back the betting money... But what about Crouch? He's notoriously harsh."

"You may be overthinking, Professor Dracula." Dumbledore obviously trusted Crouch, and shook his head with a smile, "Barty looks harsh, but he is still very considerate of others. Harry and The contract of the Goblet of Fire is always to be fulfilled."

"Not necessarily?" Dracula chuckled, "If I'm right, Dumbledore, you should be fully capable of breaking the Goblet of Fire contract, right?"

"To put it bluntly, that cup is just a fairly good alchemy product. If you and Nico can't break it together...it's too fake."

"Pushing the boat along the way can also give Porter a platform to exercise and improve, which happens to allow this "savior" to grow faster to the point where he can take charge of himself--as for the danger in the game, it's not a problem, what danger is yours? Can't this great wizard sitting on the judging table solve it?"

Dracula looked at Dumbledore with a half-smile, waiting for his reply.

Dumbledore was silent for a moment, then sighed softly, and exhaled a thin cloud of white mist in the cold snow.

"You're right, Professor Dracula." He said softly, "Although I still don't know who the person who put Harry's name into the Goblet of Fire is, but instead of blaming him, I thank him a little bit. "

"Voldemort has not completely returned, and the wizarding world is still as calm as a pool of stagnant water under the maintenance of Fudge. It is really difficult for me to find any way to quickly grow Harry..."

"And the Final Four is a great platform to have enough security under my control and enough urgency for Harry. I can't think of anything better than Harry being a warrior opportunities for exercise.”

"

I knew it." Dracula hooked the corner of his mouth, "but you are the only one with such a mentality, and Crouch is not as busy as you. "

"Do you think those in the Ministry of Magic would like you to hope that the "savior" will accelerate his growth? At best, they regard Potter as a mascot."

"But you overlooked a problem, Professor Dracula," Dumbledore shook his head, "Barty didn't know that Nicole and I could break the contract of the Goblet of Fire, so in order to prevent Harry from being punished by the contract, he also Had to agree to allow Harry to compete."

"It's not the only way to break the contract." Dracula shrugged. "Prepare for a formal game without spectators. It doesn't count as a score. Can't Potter admit defeat as soon as he enters the field?"

"As long as you are willing to think of a way, you can always find a loophole to bypass it, it depends on whether Crouch thinks about it or not."

"Perhaps Batty also wanted to set up a model for Harry?" Dumbledore narrowed his eyes, "After all, Harry is also a celebrity in the British wizarding world, and even in the entire magical world. It is also a feasible solution to expand the influence of the British Ministry of Magic."

"And it's very possible that Batty didn't think of other plans to bypass the Goblet of Fire contract in a short time... I will go to the Ministry of Magic and find out how he reported to Fudge."

"Well, it's better to ask." Dracula nodded.

"Of course, I'm just guessing, because I didn't find any traces of the Imperius Curse on Crouch, and I don't see any problems with his memory... I was wondering if Veritaserum would be used. What can I ask..."

"Don't!" Dumbledore was shocked enough by Dracula's bold idea, and quickly stopped him, "Professor Dracula, you really don't need to tear yourself apart with the Ministry of Magic because of this uncertain matter."

"I'm sure I won't let them see that I did it," Dracula said matter-of-factly.

"Listen to me, let's forget it this time..." In the cold weather, Dumbledore almost felt sweat on his forehead, "Leave this matter to me, and I will check if there is any problem with Batty .”

"Well, it's a pity..." Dracula smacked his lips regretfully.

Then, he jumped lightly, stepped on the railing covered under the snowflakes, turned his head and smiled at Dumbledore:

"Good night, then, Mr. Headmaster. I hope to hear from you before the Yule Ball!"

After all, Dracula leaned back and fell straight to the water of the Black Lake under the bridge.

The next moment, a pair of broad wings stretched out from his back, abruptly changing the direction of the fall, driving Dracula to fly to the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's office on the third floor of the castle.

Looking at Dracula who left suddenly, Dumbledore shook his head with a smile.

"Good dream, Professor Dracula."

……

"Potter! Wes is here! Can you concentrate a little bit?"

During Transfiguration class on a Thursday in mid-December, Professor McGonagall's annoyed voice crackled like a whip, causing Harry and Ron to look up hastily from their seats.

The class was drawing to a close, and they'd just finished an assignment Professor McGonagall had assigned them to turn some guinea fowls into guinea pigs.

The bell for the end of get out of class may ring at any time, and the next game will not come in a short time. Harry and Ron have no sense of urgency at all right now. They are holding two fake wands invented by Fred and George, and you come to the back row of the classroom I fencing to the ground.

"Come on, Potter and Wes, you two can already be regarded as senior students, can't you make your behavior commensurate with your age?" Professor McGonagall glanced at the two of them angrily as he spoke. .

"Especially Potter, you are a Hogwarts warrior, representing the image of Hogwarts - if students from other schools see your rough-and-tumble behavior in class, guess what they will do think?"

Harry sat on the stool with his back tensed, too scared to speak.

Ron blamed Fred and George in his heart for inventing such a fun thing, which caused the two of them to be scolded in class.

Come to think of it, Fred and George are the real seniors, and their behavior is not appropriate for their age.

Yup!

Of course, Professor McGonagall didn't know what Ron was thinking. After deducting two points from Gryffindor, she turned her attention to the other students in the classroom.

"Everyone stop, I have something to tell you," she said.

The classroom immediately fell silent, and the little wizards looked up at Professor McGonagall.

"Well, the Yule Ball is coming - an important tradition of the Triwizard Tournament, and a good opportunity for us to communicate with guests from foreign countries."

"This dance is only open to students in the fourth grade and above, but if you want, you can invite a junior student..."

In the classroom, several little witches let out ambiguous smirks, especially Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown from Gryffindor. The muscles on their faces were tense, and they couldn't help turning their faces away. Looking at Harry as a warrior.

Professor McGonagall ignored them, and the straight man Harry thought it was very unfair. She had scolded him and Ron just now, but now she stopped blaming Parvati and Lavender.

"Remember to put on your dress robes then," continued Professor McGonagall, "the ball will be in the Great Hall at eight o'clock on Christmas evening and ends at twelve midnight. Listen—"

Professor McGonagall surveyed the class calmly.

"The Yule Ball certainly gives us a chance to...well, dress up and relax," she said in a casual tone, "but that doesn't mean we're going to relax our behavioral requirements for Hogwarts students."

"I would be heartbroken if a student from Gryffindor disgraced the school in any way!"

The bell for the end of get out of class rang melodiously. Everyone stuffed their books into their schoolbags as usual, and then threw their schoolbags over their shoulders. The classroom was noisy and busy.

Professor McGonagall raised his voice and called out through the noise: "Potter—you stay here, and I want to say a few words to you."

Harry thought that Professor McGonagall would reprimand him and Ron for their fencing behavior in class, so he walked towards the podium listlessly.

Professor McGonagall waited for the whole class to leave before saying, "Potter, every warrior must have his own partner—"

"What partner?" Harry asked inexplicably.

Professor McGonagall looked at him suspiciously, as if to think he was joking.

"The partner you're taking to the Yule Ball, Potter!" she said sharply. "Your partner!"

Harry's heart skipped a beat, and his cheeks felt hot.

"Dancing partner?" he said flushed. "I don't dance, Professor McGonagall."

"Oh, you have to dance," Professor McGonagall looked at him earnestly. "I'm just about to tell you this—according to tradition, the ball is opened by the warriors of the Triwizard Tournament and their partners."

"Even if this year becomes a Final Four tournament, this will not change!"

"But..." Harry felt ashamed when he thought of letting himself dance in public, "I really can't dance, can I not dance?"

He was afraid that Professor McGonagall would disagree, so he quickly added: "Cedric is so handsome, he will definitely dance, can't we let him dance on behalf of Hogwarts?"

"This is a traditional practice, Potter!" However, Harry's wish was completely useless, and Professor McGonagall said firmly, "You are also a Hogwarts warrior, and as one of the representatives of the school, you must obey everyone Do as expected.”

"So, you must find yourself a partner, Potter."

"But... I can't..."

"You heard what I said, Potter!" Professor McGonagall said in an unquestionable tone.

Harry had no way to refute, so he nodded silently, thinking about the backup dancer.

Qiu Zhang's smooth long black hair and delicate face immediately appeared in his heart. After all, he had a crush on her for a long time in the previous school years.

Then the next moment, Harry slapped himself—Cho Zhang was dating his good friend Cedric, and he couldn't think about it anymore.

"Are you all right, Potter?"

Professor McGonagall's voice brought Harry back to his senses.

Harry looked up and saw that Professor McGonagall was looking at him worriedly. From her expression, it was obvious that she was worried that he had some kind of mental illness, and she would suddenly slap herself...

"Ahem, I'm fine, Professor." Harry coughed twice, and said awkwardly, "I just shook my hands."

"You don't need to be so nervous, Potter." Professor McGonagall said, "Dancing can be done quickly, and we will train a few warriors later... Do you need to go to the infirmary to have a look?"

"I'm really fine, Professor McGonagall." Harry kept shaking his head, "I should go, Ron is still waiting for me outside the classroom!"

After speaking, under Professor McGonagall's still suspicious eyes, Harry ran out of the Transfiguration classroom.

Chapter 260 The Marauder's Map

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"Are you going to the dance, Ron?"

In the Gryffindor common room, Harry leaned listlessly on the sofa and asked the little friend next to him.

"I'll forget it, you don't know, my dress..." Ron said listlessly.

There are too many children in Wesley's family, and the money is not enough, so Mrs. Wesley can only buy Ron a second-hand old dress, embroidered with purple lace, and the cuffs are still open like flowers. I can't tell whether it is a male model or a female model...

"Actually, it might work if you tidy it up a bit." Harry patted Ron on the shoulder sympathetically, then sighed again, "Professor McGonagall forced me to go to the dance, and you must accompany me when the time comes." Let's go together!"

Ron also sighed sadly.

It can be seen that he still really wants to go in his heart, but his dress is too unsightly, so he really can't accept the risk of making a fool of himself to attend this Christmas ball.

"Hermione, are you going to the dance?" Harry turned his head to look at Hermione, who was lying on the coffee table reading a book, "Should you stay in school this Christmas holiday?"

"Well, you have become a Hogwarts warrior, and I will definitely stay and help you."

Hermione nodded slightly, looked away from the book in front of her, looked at Harry seriously and said, "Harry, I think you might as well think about the next project instead of worrying about the prom. It might It's more dangerous than facing a fire dragon!"

"Don't worry yet, Hermione." Ron said nonchalantly, "There are still more than two months before the start of the next project, and there is enough time. But the Christmas ball is only a few days away!"

"Yeah, Hermione, I'd rather go back and face the dragon than dance at the Christmas party now," agreed Harry.

As always, Harry has no motivation without pressure, and his current pressure is all about dancing in public at the Yule Ball.

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