Before Avada could say anything else, Crouch had already picked up Fleur Delacour's wand and, just as before, lightly tapped its tip with his own.
Whoosh—bang!!
As Old Barty cast the Reverse Spell, a red beam immediately shot out from the tip of Fleur's wand and slammed into the wall, scattering tiny crimson sparks everywhere—fortunately, he had deliberately aimed it at an empty spot.
"A Stunning Spell?"
Crouch's brows instantly furrowed as he turned sharply to look at Fleur.
"I was in Defense Against the Dark Arts class earlier!" Fleur hurriedly explained. "There was a student dueling session in class… the students and professor there can all testify!"
"Hmph."
Only then did Crouch seem to calm down a little. He gave a noncommittal snort, then waved his wand to create a magical shield in front of himself before continuing to tap Fleur's wand. The spells that appeared afterward were all consistent with Fleur's explanation—Shield Charms, Disarming Charms, and other magic commonly used in student duels. None of them were lethal curses, and the few offensive spells that did appear were all effortlessly blocked by Crouch's shield.
Soon enough, the magic emerging from Fleur's wand grew too vague to distinguish clearly. Crouch set it down, returned it, then picked up Krum's wand and repeated the process. It seemed he had not cast many spells that afternoon. In fact, during the wand inspection that morning, even the Aviary Charm Gregorovitch had cast only appeared a few times in the Reverse Spell before being played back.
"For the time being, no issues have been discovered. However, I still regret to inform you all…"
In the end, Crouch placed all three wands back on the table, then looked up at the three of them, who still appeared uneasy.
"Your wands cannot yet be returned to you. The results from Reverse Spell alone cannot serve as conclusive evidence. You are still under suspicion of having diluted the spell traces through the use of numerous other spells, cast magic wandlessly, used non-magical means, or committed the crime with someone else's wand… next, we will conduct further investigations, including verifying the list of previously replayed spells. Only after everything has been cleared can we return your wands."
"And during this period, each of you will need to be isolated separately, to eliminate any possibility of collusion or destruction of evidence. I know your suspicions are actually not very great, but at present, aside from you, there are no other suspects. This is a necessary procedure, and I hope you can understand."
"…"
None of the three said anything. They merely nodded silently.
"Then…"
After Crouch put away his wand, Karkaroff circled around the desk and sat back down in his chair.
"Next, Professor Dumbledore, Professor Maxime, I'll have to trouble you to take the three champions downstairs. There are several empty rooms below with fairly decent conditions where they can stay temporarily. As for the exact location, you can simply ask any professor or student… and please do your best to ensure the living arrangements and magical protections are thorough. After all, their suspicion is not that great."
"No problem."
Dumbledore and Maxime both nodded.
"And Mr. Crouch, please continue gathering clues. This matter may very well trigger a diplomatic crisis between our school and Britain, and right now you are the only person who can represent the British Ministry of Magic in investigating it. I also hope you can clear Durmstrang's name as well—of course, we will do everything we can to give you an explanation."
"It is my duty."
Crouch answered crisply, then pulled open the door and walked out first. Karkaroff, meanwhile, took out a stack of parchment and envelopes from a drawer and began writing furiously. Under the guidance of Dumbledore and Maxime, the three champions also left empty-handed. The five of them went downstairs in silence, reached the underground level Karkaroff had mentioned, and, with directions from a passing professor, indeed found several empty rooms that were spacious and clean enough.
"You will have to stay here for a while, though it won't be long. I estimate no more than two days…"
While Dumbledore used magic to rapidly transform the three rooms, making them as clean and comfortable as possible, he turned to the champions and said, "And I also hope that after you come out, you will be more careful. If, after a full investigation of Durmstrang, we still cannot find the killer, then that will most likely mean someone from outside the school secretly infiltrated the grounds… and if that is true, then everyone's situation will become very dangerous."
"Then what about the Triwizard Tournament?" Fleur asked with a frown. "We have already entered into a contract with the Goblet of Fire. We must complete the competition—but from the current situation, the tournament obviously can't continue as normal, can it?"
"That depends on how the situation develops."
Madame Maxime glanced at her student before explaining, "If Mr. Bagman's murder can be solved quickly, then the tournament should still be able to proceed normally. But if the case remains unresolved for a long time, or if new dangers appear—such as what Dumbledore mentioned, someone infiltrating the school—then we will still do our best to let you complete the competition process, but the proceedings may become rather perfunctory…"
"This is indeed unfortunate for all of you."
Dumbledore continued. In the brief span of their conversation, he had already finished arranging the three rooms and had additionally cast several extremely powerful protective spells.
"As the first champions of the revived Triwizard Tournament in this century, to encounter such an incident, to see your chance at glory vanish into nothing, and to have suspicion thrust upon you for no reason at all… we can all understand your dissatisfaction."
"But please do not complain too much. After all, Mr. Ludo Bagman, the most unfortunate of all, has already lost his life. And at present, we do not have the slightest clue about the murderer. No one can guarantee how things will develop from here…"
"Then, Professor, can you tell us exactly how Mr. Bagman died?" Avada asked urgently—Dumbledore knew his abilities, so he naturally understood how useful Avada could be in an investigation like this.
"He was stabbed through the heart with a silver dagger."
Dumbledore exchanged a glance with Maxime before speaking.
"That dagger possessed special magic that could erase the blood that should have flowed out. So even though the door to his office was open at the time, it was only after some time had passed following his murder that anyone noticed he was actually dead… put these on."
As he spoke, he created three button-sized badges and handed them to the three champions.
"They can be used to confirm your location and life status, in order to prevent any other accidents that might occur—of course, they are also to prevent you from leaving your rooms without permission."
"The moment you leave the bounds of your room, or remove that badge, we will immediately sense it on our end as well… I trust you will not do such a thing. It would only needlessly increase the suspicion that is currently not very great to begin with."
"Very well, I believe we have said enough. Now please enter your respective rooms, and do not leave unless you are notified or an emergency occurs. Meals will be delivered at mealtimes. If you have any issues, you may inform us then… relax. This situation will not last long."
Under the watchful eyes of Dumbledore and Maxime, the three of them had no choice but to attach the badges to themselves and obediently enter their respective rooms. Dumbledore had indeed arranged the rooms quite well—clean, spacious, and fully furnished with all the necessary facilities. Other than not being allowed to leave, there was little difference from a normal dormitory room.
'Just what… is going on…'
(End of Chapter)