Dinner tonight was much more sumptuous than usual, and just as the judges walked up to the staff table from a side door, delicious dishes appeared one by one on the gold plates.
Kael took a piece of bacon and glanced toward the staff table.
Ms. Maxime looked delighted, beaming from ear to ear, but sitting next to her, Karkaroff wore a stony expression.
Bagman too; usually he was always cheerful, but today he was acting completely out of character, talking anxiously with Dumbledore.
But Dumbledore just shook his head.
"His front-page dream's been dashed." Suddenly a voice came from nearby. Kael turned his head and saw it was Fred and George.
No one knew when they'd arrived at the Auditorium, and they'd even sat down at the Hufflepuff table.
"Don't look so surprised. We were worried you'd be too nervous, so we came over to cheer you on." George said with a grin.
"Well, thanks a lot, then." Kael said. "But what were you saying just now about Bagman's front-page dream? What does that mean?"
"That's actually the second bit of news we wanted to tell you," Fred whispered. "The plan to add more hostages has been cancelled."
"What?"
"Just what it sounds like." George spread his hands. "We just found Headmaster Dumbledore and volunteered to be hostages ourselves..."
"But the Headmaster refused..."
"He said the maze was too dangerous, and he didn't want any students other than the Champions taking risks, so before everyone entered the Auditorium..."
"Dumbledore, Maxime, and your dad, the three judges, voted to cancel the plan."
"Karkaroff didn't look happy," Fred glanced at the staff table. "He thinks everyone's being too timid, said this isn't the Triwizard Tournament he remembers at all, and he started a huge argument with everyone right in the Entrance Hall."
"Did it help?" Cedric asked.
"Of course not," George said. "The original Triwizard Tournament was stopped because there were too many deaths. Now that it's finally been brought back, most people don't want students risking their lives anymore."
Kael instinctively glanced at the staff table too. Bagman was still talking to Dumbledore, clearly siding with Karkaroff.
But none of that mattered.
Cancelling the hostage thing was definitely for the best—at least it would spare him a lot of trouble during the event.
Soon, dinner was over, and the enchanted ceiling of the hall gradually shifted from blue to the deep hues of dusk.
Dumbledore stood up, and everyone immediately fell silent.
"Ladies and gentlemen, in ten minutes I'll be asking you all to head over to the Quidditch Pitch to watch the final task of the Triwizard Tournament. Right now, I'd like the Champions to follow Mr. Bagman to the stadium."
Kael stood up as all the Hufflepuff students around him applauded, watching as he walked out of the hall alongside Fleur and Krum.
Fleur looked a bit nervous, breathing deeply over and over. Krum didn't seem much better; he stumbled off course several times.
They entered the Quidditch Pitch, which looked different again from before—hedges surrounding the field now stretched twenty feet high, leaving only a dark gap ahead of them.
"Take a break and get yourselves ready," Bagman led them to a changing room nearby and then left.
Fleur and Krum each found somewhere to sit. Kael originally wanted to chat with Fleur to pass the time,
but she didn't seem in the mood for talking, so Kael kept quiet too, finding a spot for himself and waiting patiently for the event to begin.
Ten minutes later, people started filtering up to the stands, a buzz of excited conversation and clattering footsteps all around. For a second, Kael almost felt like it was right before the first task again.
He'd been in the changing room then as well—listening as the crowds outside filled the seats.
Suddenly, the door to the changing room moved, and everyone looked up at once.
A head slipped quickly out through the crack in the door.
"Who's there?"
Kael, who was closest, walked over and opened the half-shut door, just in time to see Hermione and Ron's backs as they tried to sneaky away.
"Sorry, we didn't mean to disturb you," Hermione said, a little embarrassed. "We just wanted to see Harry and tell him not to be nervous."
"Harry?" Kael frowned.
"Yeah, Filch took him away," Ron said, sounding envious. "He said it was to help with the third task. Pretty lucky, getting to be involved in the Triwizard Tournament."
"But he doesn't seem to be around here," Hermione said. "We'll go now. Good luck, Kael."
"Wait a second..." Kael quickly stopped them. "When did Harry get taken away?"
"Just a moment ago," Hermione said. "Not long after you left, Filch came... He said it was on Professor Dumbledore's orders—taking Harry to the Quidditch Pitch to help with the event."
"After we left?" Kael started to feel something wasn't right.
At dinner, Fred and George had said the plan to add hostages to the maze was cancelled—so why would Filch take Harry away?
No... Something's off!
Hermione and Ron traded confused glances as Kael bolted for the judge's section.
"What's so weird about that?" Ron scratched his head, clearly confused by Kael's reaction.
One moment they were chatting, the next he was off running.
"Oh no, you don't think he's going to snitch on us, do you...? You know, technically we're not allowed in the Champions' changing room," Ron worried.
"Don't be silly, Ron. Kael's not like that," Hermione said sternly, though her face was tense. "Come on, let's go check at Beauxbatons and Durmstrang's seats—see if anyone from their teams is missing."
"Why do we have to go there..." Ron grumbled. "The event's about to start."
But Hermione ignored him and ran toward the center stands on her own.
Meanwhile, when Kael reached the judge's section, Dumbledore was talking to a few professors with star-shaped brooches.
"Oh, Kael?" He looked at Kael with a puzzled expression. "The event is about to begin. What brings you here?"
"Something's up, Professor," Kael said, glancing at the others around.
Dumbledore immediately picked up on it and stepped forward a few paces. "Go ahead, what is it?"
"Do we need to rescue hostages in this task?"
"You're certainly well informed," Dumbledore smiled. "We did consider it, but scrapped the idea in the end, so you don't have to..."
"Harry's been taken away."
Dumbledore hadn't finished speaking before Kael cut in.
"Just now, after dinner, Ron said Filch took Harry away—said it was to help with the task."
Dumbledore's expression gradually turned grave.
"That can't be. The idea to add more hostages was already rejected before dinner began."
"But Harry really was taken away," Kael insisted. "Ron and Hermione both saw it with their own eyes."
The smile vanished completely from Dumbledore's face. He looked around solemnly, his gaze lingering for a moment on Karkaroff, then back to Kael.
"I understand," he said in a deep voice. "The event is about to start—hurry back."
"Alright." Kael said, then turned and left the stands.
To be honest, the whole thing really threw him off… especially since he'd never imagined Filch would be the one to take Harry.
Imperio? Or Polyjuice Potion?
Kael couldn't say for sure, since this past month, to keep better track of Ludo Bagman, the Marauder's Map had always been in Fred and George's possession.
Even if Kael had been using the Marauder's Map, he probably wouldn't have bothered checking on Filch.
A grumpy, Squib caretaker was the perfect disguise, after all.
He could appear anywhere in the castle without raising suspicion.
Even if he were to take a sip of Polyjuice Potion right in front of students, no one would likely think twice about it—or he could just pick a quiet corner to do it instead.
Kael thought carefully. When he'd returned the Marauder's Map to Fred and George, he'd taken another look... but Filch had seemed normal then.
If Kael remembered right, Filch was in his office with Mrs Norris, and there was no "Barty Crouch" on the map anywhere in the castle.
Lost in thought, Kael walked back to the maze entrance.
By now, Fleur, Krum, and Ludo Bagman were all outside, waiting for him.
"Good thing you made it—one more minute, and you'd have missed the event!" Bagman hurried over to pull Kael into line.
Though he said so, a flicker of disappointment flashed in his eyes, as if he'd have loved to see Kael miss the event entirely.
...