[107] A Cunning Snare

"Who else did you give the potion to?" Snape began to guess. "Let me guess — those Gryffindor brats? Or Draco?" He looked down at Hall, who had grown taller and now reached Snape's shoulder. Snape bent down slightly, his face close to Hall's, his tone chilling. "Or yourself?"

Hall quickly shook his head. "What potion? No potion. I don't know!"

His innocent expression made it seem as if he truly knew nothing.

"You'd better not!" Snape sneered. "I doubt the Goblet of Fire would choose a bunch of foolish trolls." He paused, as if remembering something. "If it did, it means Hogwarts is utterly hopeless — only second-year trolls are presentable."

With that, Snape grabbed Hall's arm and strode towards the Great Hall's exit. They had been here long enough.

Upon reaching the office door, Hall obediently followed Snape inside, but his mind was elsewhere. Unable to suppress his curiosity, he asked, "Professor, I want to ask you — why did you put Krum in my room?"

Snape stiffened noticeably.

Hall persisted. "You knew he had a problem, didn't you? You did it on purpose."

"Weasley, watch your words. Do you have to question your poor professor like that?" Snape said coldly, piling several stacks of homework into a heap.

"So the safety of your poor student isn't important?" Hall rolled his eyes. "Krum pulled out The Secrets of the Dark Arts right in front of me and asked if I was interested. Is that something you can completely ignore?"

"The Secrets of the Dark Arts?" Snape was clearly taken aback. "Don't overthink it, Weasley. Durmstrang isn't like Hogwarts. They study the Dark Arts, but you're not allowed to look at them, understand?"

He knew Hall's memory all too well — or rather, he understood Hall's thirst for knowledge. But the Dark Arts were different. If this child learned the Dark Arts, especially now, with Voldemort's actions becoming increasingly obvious, his life would be ruined if he were discovered. Snape didn't consider himself a kind person, but he couldn't let his trusted student be put in danger.

"Damn Durmstrang! Damn Karkaroff!" Hall heard Snape mutter under his breath.

"He just wants to lure me in, and not only that, he really wants me to participate in the Triwizard Tournament." Hall shrugged. "Of course, Professor, you know I hate trouble, and besides, the prize money for the tournament isn't enough to sway me."

What Hall didn't say was that he already had some knowledge of dark magic, thanks to his teacher who had dropped out of Durmstrang to become a Dark Lord.

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"If you want to keep your head, don't even think about the tournament!"

Though Snape's tone remained harsh, Hall could hear a hint of relief in his voice.

Snape paused, thought for a moment, and continued, "I only intended for you to keep an eye on Krum, but I didn't expect they had their eyes on you as well."

"I'll handle Krum."

Hall emerged from the doorway, carrying his homework, the old wooden door creaking behind him. The hallway before class was packed with people. He followed the flow towards the classroom.

As he walked, he heard whispers around him.

"Someone's already put their name in for Hufflepuff. Besides Kate from sixth year, I heard Diggory from fourth year is also in. I wonder how he crossed the age line and even fooled the Goblet of Fire."

"Hmph, a fourth-year brat. He must have used some underhanded methods." The tall boy's face was full of disdain, his sharp voice particularly grating.

Hall froze, stopping in his tracks. He turned his head slightly and pricked up his ears.

"What real skills could a fourth-year possibly have? I bet he used some underhanded tricks."

"A fourth-year? Don't be ridiculous. Even if he gets selected, what will he use to win? His good looks?" The short, chubby boy, who seemed to know Cedric, laughed exaggeratedly. "Him? His only redeeming quality is his face. If he actually gets to the competition, I bet he'll be terrified, his legs will go weak, and he'll make a complete fool of himself in the very first event."

"Hmph! In the competition?! The Goblet of Fire will choose him?!" The tall boy's tone was sarcastic.

The short, chubby boy realised he'd said the wrong thing and quickly apologised.

The two boys and Hall took different staircases at the fork in the road. Hall frowned slightly. He was certain he'd given George and Fred each a bottle of the Ageing Potion, and he was sure they'd taken it in front of him. But now, recalling the twins' mischievous nature, a sense of unease crept into his heart.

Damn it. Could George have put Cedric Diggory's name in too?

This thought made Hall's heart race instantly. No way. Could it be that the trick of being able to put someone else's name in had been discovered?

Hall's brows furrowed even more deeply. The Weasley house and the Diggory house were just across a hill, and since their fathers were practically colleagues, the children had known each other since childhood. When Hall was little, he often tricked Cedric into buying random things, just like Ron. And Cedric always managed to get a pretty good price. So their relationship had always been fairly good.

Cedric Diggory was only fifteen years old now. Even if the Triwizard Tournament had been brought forward, would all of them still need to be assembled? Voldemort had appeared. To resurrect himself, he needed Harry. Hall understood that Harry was a key figure in this storm, one he couldn't escape. Those things could be prevented in advance; Dumbledore and the others must have made preparations.

But what about Cedric? He was originally unrelated to all of this.

Hall calmed himself. Perhaps he was just overthinking things. Cedric Diggory was only fifteen. Why would the Goblet of Fire choose a fourth-year student?

He sighed softly. The lingering anxiety wouldn't completely dissipate. Perhaps he should wait until Sunday night's banquet — see the results before making a decision.

He shook his head, took a deep breath, clutched his workbook tightly, and continued walking towards the classroom.

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