The next day, reports on the Triwizard Tournament made the front page of The Daily Prophet.
The entire front page was taken up by a group photo of the champions. The photographer had excellent technique, placing Fleur and Charlie in the most prominent positions.
The entire article was practically a puff piece for Charlie.
From his appearance and temperament to his various achievements, Rita dedicated three full pages to describing him.
Fleur and Krum's names were mentioned only in passing.
"The beautiful girl from Beauxbatons" and "the Quidditch star from Durmstrang"—there were no specific achievements mentioned for them either.
As for Harry, his name didn't even appear.
Rita only used the title "the fourth champion" in the article, and even in the photo, Harry had been deliberately cropped to the edge, showing only half his body.
The reason seemed simple enough.
When Rita last reported on Charlie, she had mentioned Harry, writing him and Hermione into that sensationalist article.
Now, whenever reporting on anything involving Charlie, she instinctively wanted to ignore Harry, fearing she might provoke Charlie again.
This made Harry feel quite relieved.
Looking at the report in the newspaper, he actually felt a bit fortunate.
His position as a champion had come about inexplicably in the first place, and now he just wanted to keep a low profile, finish the tournament without any incidents, and avoid any unwanted attention.
But some people clearly didn't see it that way.
Apart from Gryffindor, people in other houses initially thought Harry was a petty person stealing glory from others.
Charlie had entered fair and square, yet Harry still denied having entered his own name.
Later, when people saw Harry covered in bruises after his daily special training, some gradually changed their minds, but many still did not accept Harry's status as a champion, especially those in Slytherin.
At lunchtime, most of the students were eating in the Great Hall.
At the Slytherin table, Pansy deliberately raised her voice.
"Some people become champions sneakily, yet they still don't get any recognition. Look at today's report; they didn't even mention his name, and you can't even see his full face in the photo."
"Exactly, it's embarrassing," a girl beside her chimed in.
"Charlie has such a good temper, too, still willing to hang out with him and even train him specially. Isn't that just eating into Charlie's own training time?"
"Maybe he doesn't even want to teach him, just doing it to save face—after all, he is the savior of Gryffindor," another Slytherin student said with a laugh.
A burst of laughter erupted from the Slytherin side.
But Draco didn't laugh. He frowned and nudged Pansy, wanting her to shut up.
Mocking Harry was one thing, but don't drag Charlie into it.
Draco knew very well that Charlie hated people meddling in his affairs.
But Pansy didn't seem to grasp his meaning and continued to giggle.
At the Gryffindor table, the atmosphere suddenly froze.
Most people didn't look too happy.
Anyone with eyes could tell they were talking about Harry, but they found it hard to retort.
After all, the report made it very easy for people to think that way.
Ron slammed his fork down.
"Those jerks, I'm going to go have it out with them!" Ron's face turned bright red.
He saw how dangerous Harry's special training was every day.
Harry reached out and grabbed him.
"Don't."
"But they—"
"Arguing now will only make me look like I'm lashing out in anger." Harry's voice was calm, but his fingers were gripping his robes tightly.
Hermione also pressed down on Ron's shoulder: "Harry is right; arguing now is pointless."
Ron sat back down reluctantly, glaring fiercely at the Slytherin side.
Just then, Charlie put down his knife and fork, stood up, and walked toward the Gryffindor table.
The noise in the Great Hall gradually died down, and everyone's eyes turned to him.
This made Charlie glance at the Slytherin side and sigh inwardly.
These people were still too idle, staring at other people's gossip all day; ten sets of practice exam papers would keep them quiet.
Pansy's laughter cut off abruptly, and the expression on her face froze.
Draco inwardly groaned, cursing Pansy in his mind.
This stupid woman, she just had to run her mouth at a time like this.
The atmosphere at the Slytherin table instantly became tense; the students who had been jeering just a moment ago lowered their heads, pretending to focus on the food on their plates.
Charlie walked up to Harry and said indifferently.
"Are you done eating?"
Harry nodded.
"Then let's go." Charlie signaled for Harry to get up.
"You had a day off yesterday; I'm going to drill you hard this afternoon."
He paused and continued.
"Remember, don't let the gossip outside get to you." Charlie's voice wasn't loud, but it was very clear in the now-quiet Great Hall.
"Everything relies on strength; results are the best proof."
Harry nodded heavily. He had indeed resisted the special training before, but now, because of this gossip, he decided he must prove himself through his results.
He was determined to take second place in the Triwizard Cup.
Harry stood up, about to leave with Charlie.
"Charlie, wait a moment."
Draco stood up and walked quickly to Charlie.
He pulled a few badges from his pocket and spread them out in his palm for Charlie to see.
"Take a look at this."
The background colors of the badges represented the four houses: Hufflepuff's gold background with black lettering, Slytherin's green background with silver lettering, Gryffindor's red background with yellow lettering, and Ravenclaw's blue background with bronze lettering.
It read: Charlie Will Win!
"I want to use these for support. Each badge sells for 1 Sickle." Draco paused for a moment, his tone probing.
"What do you think?"
Charlie took the badge to look at it and asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Will anyone actually want these badges?"
"Of course." Draco nodded immediately, his tone full of confidence.
"I've already asked; many people want to buy them."
Charlie tossed the badge back into Draco's hand.
"Then forget about the 1 Sickle; I'll cover the whole cost."
Draco was stunned for a moment.
"Everyone can take them for free. However many people take them, come to me for reimbursement, calculated at 1 Sickle per badge."
Clutching the badges, Draco's face broke into a smile.
He realized that Charlie hadn't minded what happened just now, and the weight in his heart finally lifted.
"No problem!" Draco replied loudly, his voice full of excitement.
He wasn't doing it for money, just to get closer to Charlie by doing this; the money was a small amount for both him and Charlie, so there was no need to be modest about it.
Draco immediately set up a table in the center of the Great Hall and lined the badges up neatly on the surface.
"Get your free Charlie support badge! One per person, you can pick them up for your friends too!"
His voice echoed through the Great Hall.
A few Hufflepuff students were the first to gather around, followed by students from the other three houses.
Soon, a long line formed in the Great Hall.
Even Hermione, not planning to worry about Harry's special training that afternoon, joined the queue.
Draco stood behind the table, watching Crabbe and Goyle distribute the badges.
His face beamed with a smile; this was how you did things properly.
He glanced at Harry, who was standing nearby. What was the point of hanging out with Charlie every day?
Can you handle things like this? Do you have confidants like mine? Is your status as high as mine?
Harry gave him a puzzled look, not understanding why this person was suddenly looking at him with that kind of expression.
Draco pinned a badge to his chest and said arrogantly to Harry.
"Want one?"
Harry couldn't stand that look on his face.
"I'll go get one myself, no need to trouble you."
"Mine is a special edition badge, different from everyone else's; there's only one in the whole school."
People around who heard this also looked over curiously.
"Want to know what's different about it?"
Harry frowned: "What's different?"
Draco's mouth curled up, and he pressed his finger onto the badge.
A light flashed across the surface of the badge, and a line of small text appeared below "Charlie Will Win"—
Potter Will Eat Shit.
Harry was absolutely livid.
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