Chapter 346: Put Their Names In
Amanta didn't believe his nonsense.
But she knew that Julius must have done something...something to deceive the Goblet of Fire.
"what about me?"
Julius chuckled and turned to her slowly, a hint of amusement in his eyes.
"Of course there is a way."
He raised his hand slightly, ran his fingertips across his collar, and pulled out a parchment notebook that looked quite old from the inside of his robe. He searched through it for a while, and after finding a certain page, he stretched out his finger and tapped the words on it.
"What is this?" Amanta frowned and glanced at the notes. What came into her eyes was a string of ancient spells, obscure and difficult to understand, but she only analyzed it a little and realized -
This is an extremely powerful confounding spell.
Unlike the normal Confusion Charm, this one is specifically designed to deceive magical items with great judgment.
"...You mean, use this?" She looked up at him, her eyes full of inquiry.
"That's right." Julius raised the corner of his lips and looked at her meaningfully, "But you alone are not enough."
Amanta was silent for a moment, pondering the logic: "Because the Goblet of Fire has too strong judgment, we need to exert enough magical impact to make it temporarily 'misunderstand' my age."
Julius nodded slightly, with a gleam of appreciation in his eyes: "That's right."
"That is to say..." Amanta looked at the Goblet of Fire blazing in the center of the hall, her fingertips subconsciously stroking the wand on the inside of her robe, "You need to cross the age line, and then the two of us will cast the spell together."
Julius smiled: "See, we can always find reasons to cooperate."
Amanta ignored him, took a deep breath, and then pulled out a piece of parchment with her name on it from her robe.
She raised her eyes slightly: "Can it really succeed?"
Julius just smiled meaningfully: "It just increases the possibility."
"If the Goblet of Fire doesn't choose us, at least our illegal actions won't be exposed."
Amanta nodded, but in her heart she was thinking, if she wasn't chosen, she could still think of another way, such as letting Cedric drink some diarrhea potion before the final...
She flicked her wrist, whispered a spell, and pointed her left wand straight at the Goblet of Fire.
Julius stood before the Goblet of Fire, wand raised.
The two magical powers merged together, weaving into strands of silk that surrounded the Goblet of Fire.
The blue flame of the Goblet of Fire flickered slightly.
Amanta held her breath, and Julius gently raised his hand, took her name, and then, without hesitation, threw it into the Goblet of Fire.
laugh--!
The flame suddenly turned red and jumped up violently, bursting out sparks, as if briefly pondering the qualifications of this contestant.
Amanta stared at it intently, her heart pounding.
Did you make it?
The spell seemed to work, and the flames quickly licked the parchment in and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Just when she breathed a sigh of relief and was about to put away her wand——
"Amanta?!"
A familiar voice suddenly sounded behind me, breaking the silence of the night.
Her body froze instantly.
Harry stood behind them in shock, his emerald eyes wide.
Amanta's heart sank.
She turned slowly and saw disbelief written all over Harry's face. His eyes swept between her and Julius, and finally fell in the direction of the Goblet of Fire.
The air seemed to freeze in an instant.
"...What are you doing?" Harry's voice was a little unstable, as if he was trying hard to suppress his emotions.
Amanta was silent for a moment, her eyes flickering slightly, and then, trying to speak in the calmest tone possible, she said, "We are voting for a name."
"Vote for a name?" Harry's voice rose a little, as if he repeated it in disbelief.
His gaze fell back on the Goblet of Fire, and then his eyes suddenly widened: "You-you threw it in?!"
Amanta pursed her lips slightly and did not deny it.
"Why?" Harry took a step forward and looked into her eyes. "Amanta, you - didn't you say this had nothing to do with you?"
Amanta remained silent, looking at her friend in front of her, not knowing how to start talking for a moment.
Should she tell Harry?
Tell him she wanted to prevent Cedric's death?
Tell him that she wants to change the future herself?
but……
Does this really explain it?
Just as the atmosphere was becoming increasingly heavy, Julius suddenly spoke up, his tone lazily teasing: "Harry, you have really good ears."
Harry's face darkened and he glared at Julius: "Don't try that on me."
He took a deep breath, clenched his fists, and looked at Amanta with a complicated expression: "...Are you really going to do this?"
Amanta met his gaze for a long time, then spoke in a low voice.
"Yes."
Harry stared at her, his eyes full of questions and grievances.
Amanta was silent for a moment, feeling a little helpless - how should she explain it?
Was she going to tell him that she knew Cedric would die? That she could see the future?
No... that doesn't explain it at all.
Moreover, she knew better that Harry had always wanted to participate in the Triwizard Tournament, and he must be furious now.
If Harry creates a rift between her and her because of this, things will be more difficult to deal with later.
Amanta lowered her eyes and quickly weighed the options in her mind.
She made a decision.
She raised her head, looked at Julius, and said calmly: "Do me one more favor."
Julius raised an eyebrow, "Oh? What else do you want?"
Amanta's eyes fell on Harry, and then she said calmly: "Please help me put Harry and Draco's names in as well."
The air suddenly became silent.
Harry and Julius looked at her at the same time.
The corners of Julius' mouth rose slightly, as if he had expected this scene.
"Amanta..." Harry widened his eyes and looked at her in shock, "Are you crazy?!"
"What? You wanted to participate just now, but now you don't want to?" Amanta raised her eyebrows and said in a slow tone.
"That's because -" Harry stopped abruptly, and scratched his messy black hair in annoyance, "It's because you - you hid it from me before!"
He looked at Amanta with a hurt expression, and said angrily, "Why are you and Julius tinkering with this and hiding it from me?"
Amanta pressed her forehead and felt that Harry looked like a horrified owl.
"Yeah, why?" Julius smiled meaningfully and looked at her sideways, his eyes full of teasing.
Amanta didn't bother to pay attention to him. She thought for a while, then said, "Because Julius came to me before and said that he might have a way."
"But I'm afraid you'll be unhappy if you find out, so I want to see what he's up to first."
Harry frowned, as if digesting her words.
He looked into her eyes, still with a bit of grievance in his eyes: "Amanta, aren't we the closest friends? Why do you hide everything from me?"
Amanta sighed helplessly and reached out to ruffle his messy hair.
"Is participating in the Triwizard Tournament a good thing? Do you know that you could lose your life at any time? I just don't want to put my friends in danger."
"Besides..." She looked at the Goblet of Fire and said nonchalantly, "It's not certain that we will be chosen. After all, there are so many outstanding seniors in the seventh grade."
Harry opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing.
...It seems to be true.
He frowned and still muttered unwillingly: "But you shouldn't have kept it from me."
Julius had been watching the show nearby, and when he heard this, he curled his lips slightly and smiled meaningfully.
“What a strange friendship.”
Amanta glanced at him, too lazy to pay attention to his teasing.
She raised her hand and cast a spell, and the magic once again wrapped around the Goblet of Fire. Julius also raised his wand and cast the Confusion Spell with her.
After a moment, the flame jumped and blue flames surged.
She exhaled slowly and handed Julius the two slips of paper with Harry and Draco's names written on them. Julius took them with narrowed eyes and casually threw them into the Goblet of Fire.
boom--!
The blue flame of the Goblet of Fire turned crimson again and engulfed the two pieces of parchment.
Harry looked at the Goblet of Fire with a complicated expression, and suddenly felt that it was a little unreal.
“…Is that all?”
Amanta shrugged: "Maybe."
Julius chuckled, the sound low and amused.
"Now, we just have to wait for the results."