The award ceremony for the Triwizard Tournament champion was grand.
Cornelius Fudge, representing the Ministry of Magic, handed the Triwizard Cup to Kael, along with one thousand Galleons in prize money.
Ms.Maxime and Fleur applauded from the side... Fleur's expression looked a bit regretful.
After all, she hadn't even set off before the competition was already declared over. It could be said she got no experience from it at all.
But that's how the tournament goes—her points just weren't high enough. Besides, Ms.Maxime had just mentioned that Kael destroyed nearly half of the maze with a single charm... The path of fire he created still hadn't gone out; anyone could see it clearly from the stands.
That also proved, from another angle, just how strong Kael actually was. At least, she was sure she couldn't manage it.
The sky gradually darkened, and the award ceremony ended with an atmosphere of excitement and celebration.
The only ones who couldn't smile were probably the Durmstrang students.
Their champion, Krum, had been carried out unconscious not long after entering the maze, and their Headmaster Karkaroff was nowhere to be seen.
With both key figures missing, they felt like outsiders just standing here, not knowing whether to join in the celebration or head back to the ship.
After the ceremony, Dumbledore quietly came to Kael's side and said softly:
"Come with me. I might have a few things to ask you."
"Alright." Kael nodded, instinctively glancing at Dumbledore's left hand.
"Oh, no need to worry." Dumbledore seemed to catch his thought, holding out his left hand as he spoke, "Just burned a little by Fiendfyre. It'll heal soon enough."
The blackened scorch marks had already vanished, leaving only a shallow scar.
"Of course, there's no such thing as getting off without a price," Dumbledore said with a smile, "And Tom didn't come off any better—I wasn't at a disadvantage."
He winked, exchanged a few words with those nearby, and then headed back to the castle.
Kael followed after him.
At this time the students were still out watching the tournament, so the castle was silent. The two of them went up the stairs all the way to the eighth floor and entered the Headmaster's Office.
Harry was already there waiting, along with Professor McGonagall, Professor Moody, Snape, and Sirius.
So, for the next while, Harry once again recounted the entire process of how he was taken away, and everything he experienced on the mountaintop.
"That person, Barty Crouch Jr, was truly cunning," Professor Moody couldn't help but say. "I think he probably only drank the Polyjuice Potion after we'd all left the castle.
"Filch... I saw the Squib before dinner started, and he definitely hadn't had any Polyjuice Potion then."
"Professor, can you really see through that kind of Magic Potion?" Harry asked curiously.
"I can't," Professor Moody said, "But distinguishing a Squib from a normal wizard isn't all that difficult."
Harry suddenly understood. Now that he thought about it, there indeed had been something off when Filch came to find him, and he'd even seen signs of a wand in Filch's pocket.
But at the time his mind was full of the third task, so he hadn't thought too much of it—then he'd been knocked out and taken away.
"Wait!" Harry suddenly thought of something. "If the one who took me was Barty Crouch Jr, then where's the real Filch?"
The Headmaster's Office fell silent at once.
Neither Dumbledore nor the other professors seemed to have remembered the castle's caretaker at all.
"Minerva..." Dumbledore said, "Would you mind checking Filch's office? And bring Madam Pomfrey along—I think Filch will be needing some treatment."
"Understood." Professor McGonagall nodded and quickly left the room.
"Let's continue," Dumbledore turned back to Harry. "You said just now that Kael drove off those Death Eaters?"
"Yes, Professor." Harry's voice was a bit excited. "It was a giant Fire Dragon made of flame. As soon as it appeared, all the Death Eaters ran."
Everyone's eyes instinctively went to Kael. Some thought it was the charm he'd used during the tournament, but only Professor Moody considered another possibility.
After all, it's not just any fire charm that can form a Fire Dragon... Like the charm Kael used in the maze—though powerful, that was only the most basic form.
Only Fiendfyre can easily take the form of Fantastic Beasts.
Although that charm is pure Dark Magic, the former Auror didn't say anything inappropriate.
He had already retired from the Auror Office; now he was just a professor at Hogwarts. Since even Dumbledore said nothing, he certainly wouldn't either.
Best to just act like nothing happened.
"Dumbledore went over at that point, right?" he asked.
Judging by the timing, from when Kael was taken by Portkey to when he used the Fiendfyre Curse in self-defense, it fit almost exactly with Dumbledore's departure.
"You could say that," Harry said hesitantly. "Suddenly there was a thick mist. It was impossible to see anything inside it—then I heard the Headmaster's voice."
"Mist?" Professor Moody frowned. "Was it there already?"
"No, it was this," Kael suddenly said, pulling something out and placing it before everyone.
It was a sparkling blue gem, a bit smaller than a Golden Snitch. Inside it, a wisp of white mist floated slowly about.
It looked just like a shrunken Crystal Ball.
"What's this?" Sirius asked in curiosity.
"A Mist Gem," Kael replied. "You crush the gem, and the white mist inside keeps pouring out, with the exact effect Harry just described."
"Remarkable little thing," Professor Moody's Magic Eye stared steadily at the Mist Gem. "If I'm not mistaken, it's from Uagadou.
"When I was chasing a foreign Dark Wizard before, he used something similar—threw down a stone and hundreds of spiny bugs came flying out."
"About right," Kael said, "I bought this in Hogsmeade, and the shopkeeper said it came from an old tribe on Moon Mountain.
"Since it worked so well, I always carry it with me."
"You did the right thing," Professor Moody said sincerely. "When there's a huge difference in strength, using something like this to limit the enemy's actions and buy time for rescue is the best move... I'm guessing that's why you bought it in the first place."
Kael didn't reply, which counted as tacit agreement.
"Not at all tempted to become an Auror after you graduate?" Professor Moody blurted out.
Even though he didn't think much of the current Ministry of Magic, he automatically thought of the Auror Office whenever he saw suitable candidates.
"I can pull strings so you skip all the exams—you could even be registered as an Auror in your sixth year, without doing any missions, and get a handsome salary every month."
"How much?"
"Fifty Galleons."
"That's a bit low," Kael muttered.
"It's not bad," Professor Moody said. "Don't forget, you don't have to do anything. Right up until you graduate, all that money is practically free."
Kael was a bit tempted. After thinking for a bit, he asked, "Then if I want to do something else after graduation, can I quit?"
Professor Moody froze, then immediately shook his head, "Of course not."
Honestly, to quit after taking two years of salary for nothing... would a Hufflepuff really say something like that?