"But how are we supposed to investigate it?"
After hearing Avada and Fleur's explanation, Krum's eyes lit up as well, but after thinking it over for a while, he still raised a question.
"Betting pools like this are usually unofficial and highly private. Their confidentiality toward clients is definitely not bad. Bagman certainly wouldn't go around talking about something shady like this himself. The only ones who would know who he actually bet on are probably himself and the bookmaker…"
"Even the bookmaker might not know. Bets like this are usually anonymous."
Avada shook his head and added, "That really is a problem. And we can't personally investigate the betting pool itself anyway. Right now, we can't even leave the school."
"Mm… or rather, maybe we can try a different angle… Did Bagman do anything unusual while interviewing you, Krum?"
He suddenly turned to Krum and asked.
"No."
Krum thought back for a moment, then answered with certainty, "The questions he asked were all normal, and he didn't give me any hints or anything like that… If he really wanted to help me win through cheating, then shouldn't he have taken advantage of us being alone to secretly tell me something?"
"What about his behavior? You two had clashed before, after all. Did he seem stiff or unnatural at all?" Avada pressed.
"…No."
Krum shook his head.
"He acted completely normal, as if our previous conflict didn't exist at all… And it was actually he who took the initiative to say he wanted to interview me first. I was a little surprised at the time…"
"That could count as supporting evidence for our deduction… but it's far too weak. Barely better than nothing."
Avada rubbed his temples in frustration.
"But what else can we do…"
"Why don't we just look through Bagman's belongings directly?"
At that moment, Fleur, who had not said much just now, suddenly threw out that suggestion, making both Avada and Krum stare at her in shock.
"What's with those looks? Isn't that an obvious solution?"
Fleur looked at the two of them in confusion, casually smoothing back her hair as she explained, "No matter how the betting pool worked, since Ludo Bagman took part in it, he must have had some kind of ticket or receipt in his possession, and he most likely brought it into Durmstrang with him. We just need to search through his office and personal belongings!"
"Even if what we find isn't the direct answer, even if it's just a number or something else, that would still be a very important clue. At the very least, we'd have the means to keep investigating independently after that, right?"
"…"
"Are you… insane?"
Krum tilted his head, and after a long pause, that was all he managed to say.
"Do you have any idea where Bagman's belongings would be right now?"
"If we're lucky, they're still in that frozen office, under round-the-clock guard with layers upon layers of protection, with no one allowed to touch them… And if we're unlucky, they're already in the hands of the British investigation team! We don't even know where those things are—some room that's been requisitioned as an evidence archive? Or those tents out on the grounds?"
"And if it's really like you two deduced, if those investigators themselves are suspicious… then how do you think they'll handle evidence that works against them?"
"That only makes it easier."
Fleur tossed back her waterfall-like silver hair and showed a confident smile.
"We'll just go ask them for it."
"???"
Krum froze as if he had been hit by a Full Body-Bind Curse, utterly unable to understand Fleur's thinking.
"You mean… Legilimency, or the Imperius Curse?"
Avada, on the other hand, paused for a moment and then immediately followed Fleur's train of thought.
"I can cast those kinds of mental spells without a wand—but don't forget, we still have those monitoring badges on us! I studied them carefully. They're very hard to block without leaving traces. They're the sort that set off an alarm the instant you tamper with them even a little, and that alarm is almost impossible to intercept. Dumbledore didn't leave even the slightest backdoor when he made them…"
Krum silently shot Avada a glance, then subtly edged a little farther away from him.
This guy had just casually said he could cast the Imperius Curse barehanded?
Even I, a top student from Durmstrang, think you're a bit too extreme.
"Ahem, nothing that outrageous!"
Fleur herself was startled when she heard the suggestion of the Imperius Curse. She really could not understand how a fifteen-year-old boy could propose something that criminal with a completely straight face. But soon her expression eased, and the corners of her lips curled upward.
"I mean something gentler. And much subtler."
"Those people naïvely think that taking away my wand has completely restricted me—hehe. If they had just bothered to consult Madame Maxime, they wouldn't have made such a huge mistake…"
Suddenly, she tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled brightly at Avada and Krum.
In an instant, in Avada's eyes, Fleur seemed to begin glowing. It was as though some veil had been lifted from her face, making her incomparably beautiful and enchanting, while her figure became infinitely more graceful, every move she made seeming like part of a dance…
"This is… Veela magic?"
Avada blinked, circulated his mental power to disperse the influence without a trace, then stroked his chin thoughtfully before his eyes lit up.
"This might actually work!"
"The effect of this kind of magic seems to act directly on the senses. Even Occlumency can't completely guard against it. If someone in the investigation team isn't particularly strong-willed, then with me hiding nearby and using a few little tricks as well… we might really be able to catch them!"
"In fact, if the strength of this move can go a little higher, we might even be able to directly control them into bringing us what we need… uh, Krum?"
He suddenly noticed that Krum seemed to have gone completely blank, just staring dumbly at Fleur in a daze. Avada had no choice but to jab him hard in the ribs to force him back to his senses.
"All right, looks like the effect is pretty good…"
"That reaction of his already counts as strong-willed."
Fleur muttered under her breath, staring at Avada as if he were some kind of monster, her tone filled with disbelief.
"I just pushed my innate magic to the limit! And you weren't affected at all??"
"…Ahem, actually, I was. A little."
Only then did Avada realize that his calm reaction might have damaged Fleur's confidence somewhat, so he scratched his head awkwardly.
"I'm somewhat accomplished in mental magic, so it's only normal for my resistance in that area to be a bit stronger…"
"…In any case,"
Fleur had no choice but to withdraw both her talent and her wounded pride at the same time, forcing her chin up as she salvaged her dignity.
"With me around, the investigation ahead won't be dangerous. After all, I'm not casting any spells. I'd just casually ask some staff member a few questions, and they'd tell me everything I wanted to know. Besides, we're not asking for any sensitive information. We're only trying to find out something minor, like who Bagman bet on to win… Even if the people monitoring us see the whole process from start to finish, they won't be able to say much, will they?"
(End of Chapter)