Sherlock, Harry, and Ron returned to the entrance hall and threw the papers with their names into the Goblet of Fire.
This scene received strong support from the onlookers.
"Lion King!"
"Savior!"
"We were just saying that if you didn't come, I was going to write your names and throw them in myself," the Gryffindor prefect said to Sherlock and Harry, half-joking and half-serious.
"Really?" Sherlock tilted his head. "If I'd known, I wouldn't have had to make the trip myself."
"Hahahaha!" The nearby little lions all laughed happily.
The Weasley twins also ran over to join the fun. "Listen, Sherlock, even though you're our Lion King, I won't give you this opportunity!" George said.
"Harry, same goes for you. Although you're the hero who defeated the Dark Lord, I won't give up either!" Fred said.
"Sigh, doesn't anyone care about me?" Ron said with a mournful face. "I entered my name too!"
Being ignored really doesn't feel good.
"Maybe everyone thinks that with Sherlock and Harry around, you won't be chosen at all?" Neville said quietly. "Don't worry, I'm actually the same."
Ron sighed deeply.
"Neville, you're really good at comforting people."
At this moment, Ginny also quietly walked over. She took Hermione's hand and asked in a low voice, "Hermione, even Ron is participating. Don't you plan to participate?"
"My abilities aren't sufficient to handle such an event." Hermione smiled and shook her head. "With Sherlock and Harry already having put their names in the Goblet of Fire, I don't think it will select any other wizards under seventeen."
"What if?" Ginny's voice became even quieter, only audible to the two of them. "What if you could compete alongside Sherlock? Wouldn't that be better?"
Hermione looked at Ginny with some surprise, noticing her gaze, and suddenly understood.
Originally, Ginny had already decided this year to try out for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. She was preparing to use this method to increase her time with Harry.
Hermione had been very supportive of Ginny's decision.
Who would have thought that this year would bring the Triwizard Tournament? As a result, that plan fell through.
Missing one chance meant waiting another year.
Thinking about how Sherlock, once participating in the Triwizard Tournament, would certainly occupy a lot of time, and how this kind of shared adventure experience was definitely a good opportunity to deepen their relationship, Ginny was projecting her own situation onto Hermione. She had already missed one opportunity herself, so she didn't want Hermione to miss this one.
Understanding Ginny's thoughts, Hermione immediately grasped her hand in return. "Ginny, it was Sherlock who actively suggested Harry throw his name into the Goblet of Fire."
"Hermione, you mean..."
"I trust his choice," Hermione said firmly.
The news that Sherlock and Harry were going to participate in the Triwizard Tournament (and Ron too) quickly spread. After all, both were prominent figures on campus.
Colin and Dennis Creevey were the most excited. As Harry's fervent fans, they couldn't wait to tell everyone they knew.
Colin even pulled Harry to take several photos with the two brothers.
After three years of practice, he was now a skilled photographer.
Having finally escaped the brothers' entanglement, Ernie Macmillan from Hufflepuff grabbed him. "Cedric entered too, Harry!"
Ernie gripped Harry's hand with his broad palm and shook it vigorously up and down. "I believe he'll definitely become Hogwarts' champion. Then it'll be up to you guys!"
Even Harry himself hadn't expected so many people to support him.
Some people wanted to find Sherlock too, but Sherlock said he felt a bit tired and wanted to return to the dormitory to rest.
So, Harry was pulled aside by one person after another, asked questions, and shown support.
During this process, the Creevey brothers kept popping up here and there, giving him extra surprises, which made him even more frustrated.
Until Cho Chang, under the pretext of doing homework together, pulled him out of the crowd.
"Phew, saved." Harry wiped the sweat from his forehead and drank down the water Cho handed him in one gulp. "Thank you, Cho."
"It seems you don't like such occasions?" Cho showed a sweet smile.
"It's not that I don't like them. If I had actually won the competition, I could accept this. But now I've only just entered the competition. No, I haven't even entered the competition yet, I've only just registered. This is really too embarrassing."
"Harry, as long as you're willing to register, you'll definitely be chosen by the Goblet of Fire. Everyone I know thinks so," Cho looked at Harry and said sincerely. "I believe in you."
Being looked at by Cho's tender eyes, Harry impulsively told Cho about a dream he'd had these past two days.
He dreamed he had become Hogwarts' champion. He stood on the field joyfully raising his hands, facing all the teachers and students who were cheering and screaming. He had just won the Triwizard Tournament, and Cho's face stood out particularly clearly in the blurred crowd, her face was flushed, full of admiration and appreciation.
Cho looked at Harry in surprise but then laughed. She said in a soft voice, "You don't need to dream. As long as you're willing, I can look at you like that right now."
Their eyes met, and everything was understood without words.
Not far away, Hermione was sitting with Ginny, chatting.
"Where's Sherlock?" Ginny asked.
"I think he probably ran off while everyone's attention was on Harry?" Hermione sighed. "He can always manage to disappear and appear without a trace. I'm already used to it."
"You may be used to it, but I'm not," Ginny said wistfully.
Hermione glanced at Harry and Cho, who were chatting happily, and immediately understood what she meant.
"She's so far ahead of me." Ginny said with some disappointment. "I was first, I was clearly here first..."
Hearing this, Hermione couldn't help but smile wryly.
She instinctively said, "Ginny, love doesn't work on a first-come, first-served basis. You absolutely must not have such a childish idea as 'I was clearly here first'..."
Speaking to this point, Hermione felt a sudden chill.
What Ginny had just said felt strangely familiar. Without thinking much, she had instinctively spoken what was in her heart.
But thinking carefully now, weren't these exactly the words Gemma had said to her alone before graduation?
Wasn't Ginny's situation with Cho the same as her own situation with Gemma? In this competitive game of love, they were clearly the ones who came first, yet they had been overtaken by others.
This moment was exactly like that moment. Even the words she'd blurted out to comfort Ginny perfectly replicated Gemma's consolation to her.
How could they be so similar?
Just as Hermione was in a daze, Ginny suddenly showed a resolute expression. "I understand, Hermione!"
"What do you understand?"
Hermione looked at Ginny in surprise, not knowing what had suddenly happened to the girl before her.
"You're absolutely right. Love doesn't work on a first-come, first-served basis. Ideas like 'I was clearly here first' are far too childish!"
"Oh..."
"I've decided. As long as Harry hasn't gotten together with Cho for even one day, I won't give up for even one day!"
"Uh..."
"Thank you, Hermione. I knew you would support me!"
"..."
For a moment, Hermione didn't know what to say.
However, what surprised her came next.
Ginny suddenly stood up and strode toward Harry and Cho with an unstoppable attitude, forcefully inserting herself into Harry and Cho's private world.
Yet the three of them actually started chatting like this.
This scene actually gave Hermione the feeling of "I'm not here to break you up, I'm here to join you."
Once they started chatting, they couldn't stop.
When Harry woke Sherlock, who had been resting in the dormitory, he found it was already dark.
He glanced at the time and looked Harry up and down, then couldn't help but laugh. "Harry, it seems you spent the entire afternoon with two young ladies. Was it Cho Chang and Ginny?"
Harry wasn't surprised that Sherlock could tell.
He nodded and said, "I just separated from Cho and Parvati."
"Parvati Patil? What were you doing with her?" Sherlock was somewhat surprised.
It wasn't strange for Harry to be with Cho Chang. But why would the other girl be Patil from Gryffindor?
"Oh, at first I was indeed with Cho and Ginny." Thinking about how Ginny had suddenly forcefully joined his conversation with Cho today, Harry still felt somewhat baffled.
For some reason, Ginny had suddenly become assertive. If it were before, she definitely wouldn't have done this.
But whatever the case, the result was good.
Cho was the gentle type and didn't create a confrontational situation with Ginny. The three of them chatted quite happily.
"But later Ginny had something to do and left first. Cho said she could help me look at my homework. She had originally used this as a pretext to pull me out of the crowd. Who knew Parvati would come too..."
Speaking to this point, Harry felt a bit embarrassed.
But when facing Sherlock, he always spoke his mind.
So, after a slight pause, he continued, "Last time Ron and I made up a bunch of unfortunate events, right? As a result, Professor Trelawney asked us to write out our predictions for the month after next as well.
Last time, Ron and I had help from Parvati and Lavender with our homework. Actually, I wasn't planning to trouble her this time. But unexpectedly, she came to me on her own, and I just happened to be with Cho..."
The rest didn't need to be said.
Sherlock laughed heartily. "Harry, ladies are indeed your area of expertise."
"It's not as exaggerated as you say..."
Seeing Sherlock laugh, Harry felt even more embarrassed.
"Don't doubt it, my dear Harry. Once you become a champion participating in the Triwizard Tournament, you'll definitely become even more popular. By then, in addition to the Boy Who Lived, the Savior of the Wizarding World, the Only Nemesis of the Dark Lord, and the Gryffindor Boxing King, you'll have another new nickname."
"Huh?"
"The Gryffindor Casanova. What do you think of that nickname?"
"..."
After the teasing, Sherlock took this opportunity to tell Harry about his meeting with Dumbledore.
Only then did Harry understand that Sherlock participating in the Triwizard Tournament with him was also Dumbledore's idea.
After hearing Sherlock's words, Harry, while suddenly understanding, also asked with some worry, "Sherlock, if the Goblet of Fire doesn't choose us... won't Dumbledore take us to find the Horcruxes?"
Compared to the anxious Harry, Sherlock seemed much more carefree. "If I get it, I'm fortunate. If I don't, it's fate. However, if I can't participate in the Triwizard Tournament, for me it would be like losing a great pleasure, which would indeed be somewhat regrettable. As for the Horcruxes..."
Sherlock's gaze became profound. "This matter still depends on Dumbledore having a lead."
"Sherlock, do you think Professor Dumbledore has any clues now?"
"Yes, but he can't be certain. The Triwizard Tournament has indeed distracted his attention to a certain extent. I actually think he could hand this matter over to Professor McGonagall and other professors to handle, since currently only the three of us know about the Horcruxes. If we could find the Horcruxes before Voldemort regains his body, it would be the most perfect opening for us."
Harry didn't notice that Sherlock had used "opening" rather than "outcome."
He was concerned about another aspect.
"But since Voldemort spent so much time creating and hiding the Horcruxes, isn't it unlikely we could find them all in just a few years?"
"Not necessarily. I'm afraid even Voldemort himself wouldn't have thought that Lucius Malfoy would so easily hand over his diary to us. Not only did it let us destroy a Horcrux early on, but it also made us aware of the special relationship between the Horcruxes and him. From this perspective, we should all thank Lucius. Perhaps we'll search for a long time, but once we find the right direction..."
Sherlock's gaze became profound. "Perhaps the speed at which we find the Horcruxes will surprise even ourselves."
Noticing Harry's confused look, Sherlock laughed. "Let's go. Didn't you come to call me to the feast?"
"Ah, I almost forgot about that!" Harry slapped his forehead.
After he had separated from the two girls and found that everyone else was in the Great Hall but Sherlock was nowhere to be seen, he wondered if Sherlock might still be in the dormitory and hurried back to call him.
"If I hadn't come to find you, would you have missed the Halloween Eve feast?"
"Would you not come to find me?"
"No."
"Then there's no need for this question to exist."
Harry smiled contentedly.
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