"Ireland has scored its sixth goal... Ireland has scored its seventh goal... Yes, cheer, for Ireland has scored its eighth goal... With a score of 130 to 10, is there still hope for the Bulgaria Team?"
Ludo Bagman's hoarse shouting kept echoing, and Barty Crouch Jr. continued to wait in the darkness for more than ten minutes, finally confirming with deep reluctance—
The plan had indeed gone awry; the attempt to use the cursed giant trees to create chaos in the stadium and seize Harry Potter had to be declared a failure.
Barty Crouch Jr. angrily and puzzledly pondered the reasons for the failure—
The Ministry of Magic had no reason to discover his perfect plan because Barty Crouch Jr. was well aware of their perfunctory and lazy work attitudes.
Moreover, he had checked in the forest that afternoon; all the giant trees were intact and ready to be awakened at any moment.
Could it be his spell to awaken them that had the problem? Or did someone use some Defensive Spell near the stadium, blocking the forest trees from receiving the signal?
The worst-case scenario was that Dumbledore had discovered the problem... but such a short time shouldn't be enough for him to lift all the spells!
Furthermore, Dumbledore couldn't possibly have too many helpers, because when Barty Crouch Jr. was in the box, he saw that Dumbledore's followers were watching the exposed Death Eaters.
This included the box where Barty Crouch Jr. was previously, where members of the Weasley Family kept a watchful eye on the Malfoys, their gazes were far from friendly, nor were they purely of contempt.
There was that kind of vigilance and faint caution... like Aurors watching Dark Wizards about to make a trade.
Barty Crouch Jr. felt a slight stirring in his heart.
—Could it be that those traitors wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to do something, but Dumbledore's people had discovered them in advance?
If that's the case... it might also be an opportunity...
Barty Crouch Jr. pondered this as he coldly glanced at the box door behind him, then turned and went down the stairs.
He first needed to confirm what exactly went wrong with the giant trees he worked hard to awaken.
Ten minutes later, Barty Crouch Jr. stood at the forest's edge, gazing at the massive scars on the ground, his face pale, his body trembling, seething with anger yet unable to stop the fear gnawing at him.
He tightened the Invisibility Cloak around him, carefully avoiding the few burning tree root remnants, navigating around the magically created murky swamp, following the fan-shaped scorched trail forward.
The ashes beneath his feet were both thick and soft; when he stepped down, it almost felt like there was no resistance, and his shoe tops were already submerged in dust.
There were no trees, no weeds, and not a single crawling insect, just a vast expanse of white ash, still gently falling to the ground.
Barty Crouch Jr. crouched down, using his hand to brush aside a layer of ash, discovering beneath it glassy, enameled traces on the ground, making him feel a few degrees colder.
Who on earth did this?
What kind of magic was it?
Could it have been Dumbledore...?
Barty Crouch Jr. shook his head.
This wasn't Dumbledore's style, and he didn't want to believe in such a possibility.
Afterward, Barty Crouch Jr. thought of another Dark Wizard as famous as Dumbledore—Grindelwald.
Although that old man had never been active in the United Kingdom, but... what if?
An image surfaced in Barty Crouch Jr.'s mind: Grindelwald Apparating to this campsite, whether he was here to watch the match or for some other purpose, when suddenly a horde of giant trees came rumbling out from the forest toward him.
Grindelwald would naturally see this as an attack and provocation, responding immediately with an incredibly powerful magic, burning the forest to the ground, and then leaving.
If Grindelwald did this... then Grindelwald's power far surpassed the master's estimation.
But an aging Dark Wizard is still easier to deal with than an unknown enemy. Furthermore, if Grindelwald used such magic, his body might not withstand it, and he perhaps has already returned to his old lair for recuperation.
Barty Crouch Jr. mused: If his speculation were true, then the plan to abduct Harry Potter still had a chance of succeeding...
The wizard left the forest, erasing any traces of his presence.
The invisible breeze lifted the ashes from the ground, and as they settled again, all traces of someone's footsteps were completely covered.
...
After the Witch Pure Party Apparated away from the campsite, Grindelwald stayed behind.
"Vid, would you accompany me on a walk?" he said.
Delaine and Antoine understood his implication, slowing their pace and keeping their distance, while Vid could still hear Antoine clamoring about wanting to watch the game.
Soon after, an elderly man and a young man walked side by side through the campsite.
Though the night was dark, some areas along the path were adorned with lanterns of various sizes, causing their shadows to lengthen and shorten repeatedly.
"Tell me, Vid." Grindelwald's tone was relatively calm: "How did you feel after successfully casting that spell?"
Vid remained silent for a moment, then said: "...I think I understand why pride is considered the foremost of the seven deadly sins."
Having the power to overturn the order, it's hard not to become arrogant, blind, seeing others as mere tools or even worthless, justifying one's own plunder, bullying, and oppression as the "law of the jungle, survival of the fittest."
Upon hearing this, Grindelwald chuckled.
"Child, I won't deny that Dumbledore has taught you many useful things, but you have also inevitably caught some of his ludicrous weaknesses."
"You are too passive, Vid Gray!"
"This world, war or no war, is a merciless battleground. Life-and-death struggles are everywhere! Fear may not equate to power, but—"
"Restricting your own power, fearing your ambition, not daring to wield authority?"
"Do you know what this behavior is called? It's foolish self-deception! Hypocritical, naive, indecisive!"
"You even believe that a bunch of fools can maintain world peace, fantasizing that a decaying, incompetent Ministry of Magic can bring about fairness and justice, unwilling to make the more correct decisions!"
"When you can simply wave your Magic Wand to make enemies disappear from the face of the Earth, why tolerate a bunch of clowns treading upon your head?"
Vid initially kept his head down listening to the reprimands, feeling a vague stir within, but as he listened more closely, he felt a growing sense of strangeness, suspecting that Grindelwald wasn't just scolding him... or at least not him alone.
His heart suddenly skipped a beat, his throat tightening — could Dumbledore be nearby?
Instinctively, Vid glanced around, yet saw only tents of varying heights.
"You must remember—"
Grindelwald suddenly halted, turning to face Vid, speaking in a measured tone: "Silence can be a strategy, but it must never become a habit! Otherwise, even if you possess the world's greatest power, you're nothing more than a puppet shackled and manipulated by others!"
He stared into Vid's eyes, his gaze flickering, seemingly glancing elsewhere as well.
"You know my expectations of you, Vid, but remember my words—do not let your morals become the shroud of your companions!"