Go to Sleep, Ron, There's Everything in the Dream!

After setting the age line, Dumbledore officially ended the dinner.

Karkaroff and Maxim examined Dumbledore's magic worriedly until they were certain that the lines were as powerful as the old professor had said, and that even they could not break them.

As soon as the Headmasters left, the Great Hall became very noisy. Everyone was talking about the Goblet of Fire and who should be the champions…

"I was wondering this morning who would be in charge of selecting the champions, and I thought it would be terrible if Professor Dumbledore decided to do it himself, but it's just an age line!" Fred said confidently, his eyes shining. He didn't think an inflexible recognition spell could stop him.

"Right! It looks like the Ageing Potion we prepared in advance is going to work!" George was overjoyed. He was glad that he had brewed a bottle of Ageing Potion a few days ago. If he had only started preparing now, he would not have made it in time!

After a brief period of joy, they shared their joy with Ivan.

"I don't think it's going to be that easy to get past the age limit set by the professor…" Ivan tried to console the brothers as he saw how excited they were.

"Really? Well, we'll see about that tomorrow. It's a surefire way to do it!" George and Fred said confidently, ignoring Ivan's comments, thinking it would be better if he didn't use it.

Yvonne shook her head to herself and gave up trying to convince him otherwise. It wasn't as if Dumbledore had any lethal magic attached to his age, and even if he failed, he would only suffer.

Ivan turned to look at the Goblet of Fire on the dais. He had some ideas on how to break the age limit, but he wasn't sure if they would work…

However, Ivan had no intention of attempting it immediately.

There are too many people here at the moment, and the success of his method is bound to be followed by others, which would be a public slap in Dumbledore's face — after all, the old Professor had only just finished his Flag!

Ivan thought it would be better to sneak in late at night so that no one would see if he failed!

"Come on, stop looking. Let's go back to the lounge!"

With this in mind, Ivan left the Great Hall with Hermione, Harry, and Ron, both of whom were very fond of the Goblet of Fire.

Along the way, Harry and Ron discussed how to break through Dumbledore's age limit, and felt that if George's method worked, they could try it themselves.

As they approached the lounge, Ron asked Ivan if he had any good ideas.

"Who knows? I don't have a clue yet. Maybe I'll think of something after a while!" Ivan shrugged, half-joking.

"Well, if you think of anything, just let me know…" Ron said miserably, thinking he was out of ideas.

Harry was too shy to say as much as Ron, but kept his eyes on Ivan.

"Have you forgotten? Just because I can do it doesn't mean you can!" Ivan glanced at them and said helplessly.

Harry and Ron opened their mouths to say something, but stopped when they recalled their homework for Defence Against the Dark Arts.

"Ivan, Harry, Ron! Don't waste your time, Professor Dumbledore said you can't cross that line under seventeen!" Hermione interrupted.

Compared to Harry and the others, who had visions of glory and prize money from winning the Triwizard Cup, the young witch was keenly aware of the dangers of the game.

Hermione was particularly disturbed when she heard that many people had died in the previous Triwizard Tournament.

Even though she knew Ivan's skill with magic was exceptional, she was still worried.

Now that Ivan was so keen on becoming a champion, Hermione wanted to stop him.

After arguing for a long time, they finally stopped when they returned to their respective dormitories.

"By the way, Ron, don't you like Krum and Fleur? Are you still planning on entering the competition?" Yvonne asked him as she went to bed.

"Fleur? Who's that?" Ron asked, not answering for a moment.

In Hermione's absence, Yvonne could not be bothered to pretend that she did not know Fleur. "The Beauxbatons girl, of course," she said casually. "I got word of her, and it seems she's half-Veela…"

"Veela? I knew it. No wonder she's so beautiful…" Ron muttered to himself.

However, after a short daze, Ron quickly recovered and looked at Ivan as he stammered, "Even if I like Fu… what does liking Krum have to do with me becoming a champion?"

"I think they should be Beauxbatons and Durmstrang's finest, and will most likely represent their respective schools as champions," Ivan reminded him, curious about the choice Ron would make in the face of his idols, goddesses, and his own glory.

Ron was stunned; he had never thought of this before, but he had to admit that Ivan was right about the possibility of it happening, and he was torn.

His admiration for Krum was genuine, and his infatuation with Fleur was genuine, but the thought of the glory and prize money that the Goblet of Fire had brought him made Ron reluctant to part with it.

Ivan scratched his head when he saw that Ron was really thinking about it. He was just joking.

"Never mind… you take your time thinking about it, I'm going to bed!" Ivan yawned wearily and left Ron to his own devices.

He had to get up in the middle of the night to stir up trouble, so he had to rest early today.

As Ivan drifted off to sleep, he suddenly felt someone shaking him, and he opened his eyes to see Ron.

Ron had a determined look on his face, as if he had just made a difficult decision, and his voice cracked. "I've thought this through, Ivan! For the sake of Hogwarts's honour, I will not give in to Krum and Fleur, even if they become champions!"

After hours of deliberation, Ron decided that giving in was a sign of cowardice, and that only by beating the opposition fair and square and winning the Goblet of Fire would he gain the respect of his idol, the favour of his goddess, and the prize money of a thousand Galleons!

Ivan looked at Ron with a strange expression on his face as he tried to suppress his desire to complain.

"Go to sleep, you'll find everything in your dreams!"