Chapter 351 The Least Reliable of the Four

Chapter 351 The Least Reliable of the Four

Amanta stared gravely at the flames in the fireplace.

In the corner of the Slytherin common room, the green flames dimmed and the sound of crackling charcoal echoed around the fireplace.

"From today on, the identities of the four of us are different."

Her voice was not loud, but it was so calm that it made people shut up automatically.

"Don't think of this as an honor. Even without the risk of death, the Triwizard Tournament - no, the Triwizard Team Tournament, is much more difficult to win."

As soon as Harry had some free time, he stuffed some Fizzy Bee Candy into his mouth and asked vaguely, "You mean... after the rules have changed, it will be more disadvantageous to us?"

"Yes." Amanta didn't look up. "In the past, a warrior represented a school in an individual challenge. The strategy was more flexible and the risks were better controlled."

"But now it has become a team battle, with four people on each team. This not only tests the teamwork, but also reduces the room for error."

"And..." She raised her eyes and scanned the two of them, "We are facing two teams composed of the best adult wizards from two schools."

After the words were spoken, everyone's faces turned serious.

Draco leaned against the sofa, crossed his long legs, frowned and said, "They are all over seventeen years old, mature enough to cast spells, and have learned much more than us. I won't talk about Krum, he made the national team last year. Fleur is also the leader of Beauxbatons."

"I bet those two schools picked the top seniors."

Harry paused between bites of his candy bar and said dryly, "So we're... the smallest team?"

"Yes," Amanta said bluntly, "and there are still...uncertainties within the team."

"Who are you talking about?" Harry glanced at Draco.

Draco sneered: "Need I say more? Who is the most unreliable among the four of us?"

"Don't look at me." Harry raised his hands. "At least I won't sneakily throw someone else's name into the Goblet of Fire."

"Then who are you talking about?" Draco said with a forced smile.

"Who else could it be... Of course it's You——"

"——Me?" A contemptuous and low voice interrupted.

The three of them were shocked and turned their heads abruptly.

In the shadows behind them, Julius Hoffmann was leaning against the wall. He appeared silently at some point and looked at them with a dark but polite smile.

"What a pity." His eyes were deep. "It sounds like you guys don't welcome me very much."

"Can't you walk with less noise?" Harry looked frightened. "You almost scared me to death!"

"I'm sorry," Julius lowered his eyes, but his look showed some interest, "I thought the tactical team meeting should be open to all 'Hogwarts Warriors'."

"You were chosen by the Goblet of Fire, not by us." Draco said rudely.

“I know.” Julius was not annoyed and slowly approached, “But if we don’t want to lose too badly in the first mission, we must cooperate.”

Harry looked at Amanta, then at Draco, and muttered in a low voice: "That depends on a certain degree of cooperation... Who knows what's going on in your mind."

"I can assure you," Julius looked at Amanta, "I don't intend to kill any of you, at least not yet."

"That sounds reassuring." Draco rolled his eyes.

Amanta tapped the table.

"Sit down, Julius." Her voice was still cold. "Now that you are here, don't hide anything. We need to discuss what preparations we need to make before the first game."

"Oh?" Julius smiled and sat down, gathering his robes elegantly. "Are you going to start trusting me, Miss Merlin?"

"I don't believe you." Amanta said calmly, "I just know that if we don't cooperate, no one will make it to the end."

“That’s very well said.” Julius supported his chin with an ambiguous smile, “I can’t wait to see how we work together.”

The atmosphere between the four people was like being pressed into a deep well of silence, bottomless but with surging undercurrents.

"Then you tell me first," Harry was the first to speak, directly throwing out the question he wanted to ask the most, "What did you do with the Goblet of Fire that night? How did we all get chosen?"

Julius had just sat down, his slender fingers folded on his knees. Hearing this, he raised his eyebrows and showed an expression that said, "You still remember this."

"Me?" He said innocently, "I just used a Confusion Charm."

Harry stared at him suspiciously. "One spell can cause four people to be selected at the same time?"

Julius shrugged slowly. "I didn't expect this. I came across this spell in the Durmstrang Library by chance - the book was very old, and it said that the Confusion Charm could deceive 'some of the most ancient magical judgment mechanisms'. I just tried it."

"Just a try?" Draco sneered, "and the Goblet of Fire chose the four of us?"

"Do you think I could have predicted all this?" Julius looked back at him with a half-smile. "Don't treat me like a god."

Amanta narrowed her eyes, obviously not believing it.

He refused to tell the truth.

Of course she knew that this was not such a simple "confusion". How could the Goblet of Fire be fooled by a random spell? Moreover, the parchments with their names on them were thrown in by him personally.

However, she didn't intend to force him.

"Don't worry about that for now." She glanced at Harry and Draco, whose tension was gradually heating up, and then looked at Julius, "I still have some questions for you."

"You've been to Durmstrang before." Her tone turned calm. "Then you should know what kind of magic Durmstrang students usually prefer?"

"Of course it's the Dark Arts." Julius said without hesitation, "This is the official teaching content. The class hours for Defense are even less than the magical attack spells at Hogwarts."

"So they're more likely to lean towards curse magic when fighting in a team?" Harry asked.

"Not necessarily." Julius thought for a moment, and his tone suddenly became a little ironic. "Some people like to play with fireballs, while others directly use certain spells to control their opponents to hurt themselves... You have to know that Durmstrang's magic education is very...results-oriented."

Harry frowned. "That doesn't sound very fair."

"They don't care about justice, they only care about winning or losing." Julius raised his eyebrows and said, "But they are indeed very efficient."

"What about Beauxbatons? What do you know about it?" Draco asked.

"Fleur Delacour?" Harry suddenly interrupted, looking gossipy. "She didn't seem to do anything today. She just stood there. That look almost petrified me..."

"Her Veela bloodline," Amanta said calmly, "has a certain mental interference ability. You must be careful not to be affected by it."

"I wouldn't." Harry whispered, his ears turning a little red.

"Most Beauxbatons use elegant and smooth spells and natural magic," Julius added, "They prefer elemental summoning techniques, such as fog, wind, and crystallization. The movements are light but the control is strong."

"In other words," Amanta whispered, "one is more inclined towards dark magic attack, and the other is more inclined towards mental and elemental disturbance."

"And on our side—" She paused, her eyes sweeping over the three of them, "We haven't established coordination yet, the magic power gap is obvious, and our tactical style is messy."

“Sounds like an interesting team.” Julius chuckled, his fingers occasionally tapping the arm of the chair.

"Are you happy to see us in such a mess?" Draco asked coldly.

"On the contrary." Julius smiled. "I am also a member of our team - victory is also mine."

"Can't you please stop smiling so... maliciously?" Harry muttered.

Amanta said nothing.

She lowered her head and flipped through the parchment at hand, her eyes falling on the notes in the Goblet of Fire. A cold, thoughtful gleam flashed in the depths of her eyes.

She has noticed it.

Julius never intended to simply "participate". Perhaps he was playing a bigger game.

But at least for now, he was on their side. She would take advantage of that.

"Go on." She raised her head and said in a calm voice, "Next, we must formulate tactics, study spells, and do physical training. We can't fall behind in any of them."

"Even I need to train my physical fitness?" Draco looked hurt.

"Of course you do." Amanta glanced at him. "And you, Harry. You've been eating too many Chocolate Frogs lately."

"Hey..." Harry looked aggrieved, "I'm just a wizard who's still growing..."

Julius leaned back in his chair and watched them quarreling with interest, rubbing his chin with his fingertips and smiling at the corners of his lips.

“It looks like this is going to be a…very interesting journey,” he said.

Amanta gave him a cold look.

"Don't be too happy, Hoffman," she said calmly, but the sharpness in her words flashed like a knife. "I will keep an eye on you."

Julius tilted his head and smiled a little more gently.

"I know." He whispered so that only she could hear him. "I've been waiting for you to look at me."