And so, the next day.
Fortunately, Durmstrang only had one dining hall, and Barty Crouch, who had come as a judge on behalf of the British Ministry of Magic, apparently also had a room inside the castle rather than living in one of the special tents outside like those so-called "investigators." Thus, after getting up at a little past five in the morning and then forcibly dragging Baron into chatting with him for over an hour to kill time, Avada finally saw Barty Crouch walk into the dining hall with that same stern face of his…
"Look, he's here!"
Baron nudged Avada with his elbow and discreetly pointed at Crouch, who was carrying a tray toward the serving table.
"Can you spot anything unusual?"
[...Don't talk for now.]
On the surface, Avada pretended to keep chatting while burying his head in breakfast. At the same time, through the mental link, he sent Baron a brief message. Meanwhile, he withdrew all of his mental power from Leach University and focused completely through his magical senses, carefully analyzing Crouch's vitality and spiritual power, scrutinizing every possible trace that might indicate a contract mark.
After all, he had no idea whether the contract between Crouch and Karkaroff had a time limit, and more than ten years had already passed, so he had fully prepared himself for the possibility that this trip would yield nothing at all…
And then—
"…"
"???"
As his observation gradually deepened, Avada's brows slowly drew together, because what he was seeing was a completely unforeseen situation.
[Why… does he have so many contract marks on him?]
[That's normal.]
Baron revealed an unsurprised expression and began explaining through the mental link.
[He's a high-ranking Ministry official, and he used to hold a highly confidential position like Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. It's perfectly normal for him to be carrying several contract marks. Without going too far back, didn't he recently have to sign a secrecy agreement for the Triwizard Tournament? A contract of that level was probably magical too…]
[Wasn't he transferred long ago to the Department of International Magical Cooperation, a position that's much more public-facing?]
Avada's brow remained tightly furrowed, though outwardly he continued eating in silence.
[Most of the contract marks on him do seem to have time limits, but there's more than one permanent mark as well. I probably can't make a definitive judgment without comparing them to Karkaroff's, but Karkaroff's movements have been strange lately. And with my current situation, if I go looking for him on my own, it'll easily arouse suspi—wait!]
Baron saw Avada's hand suddenly tighten on the edge of his clothes, gripping so hard that veins bulged out on the back of his hand. He immediately knew Avada must have discovered something extraordinary, and so refrained from asking anything that might interrupt him.
[…The Unbreakable Vow.]
At last, Avada slowly withdrew his gaze and let out a long breath.
[Congratulations.]
Though Baron said congratulations, his expression remained extremely serious.
[You've probably cracked a major case open—and in a few days, this might blow up into something even bigger.]
[Do you need me to pass the message to Dumbledore?]
Avada had already revealed his suspicions to Baron in advance—except for the parts about breaking into the Ministry archives and secretly forming an alliance with the other two champions, since those could not be shared. So over the course of the previous hour, Baron had also learned the rough outline of what was happening, and what kind of dangerous undercurrent lay hidden beneath Durmstrang's outward calm…
Of course, all of this had been transmitted through the mental link. He had not forgotten that he still had a badge on him that could monitor his every move. However, he had not told the other two champions about the mental link either—after all, that was one of his trump cards.
[…Tell him. He should start preparing too.]
Avada nodded lightly.
The discovery of an Unbreakable Vow alone was enough to prove far too much.
Because the contents of such vows could not be written down, because the vow itself was so easy to make, because it had no expiration, and because breaking it meant immediate death, Unbreakable Vows were most commonly used in shady dealings—and among those, dark wizards were by far their primary users.
For that reason, the Unbreakable Vow was officially categorized as a mildly dark magical oath. Related knowledge was strictly controlled, and using it without authorization was illegal. Furthermore, in the name of ensuring openness and transparency—though that had never really been achieved—the Ministry had even passed a law forbidding Ministry personnel from using Unbreakable Vows. Therefore, the mere appearance of such a thing on a senior Ministry official was already an enormously significant discovery.
Even if there were no secret agreement whatsoever between Crouch and Karkaroff, based on this vow alone, Avada could already conclude that Crouch was absolutely hiding some dark secret that could not be brought to light.
Of course, he already had the dark secret of privately letting Barty Jr. go, but that probably would not have required the restraint of an Unbreakable Vow…
[And that makes the next part easier too.]
The corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
"After all, an Unbreakable Vow leaves very obvious traces. Even if Crouch took special measures to conceal it, I doubt he could hide it from Dumbledore if Dumbledore takes a careful look… Be extra cautious from here on, especially against that investigation team. They're the ones most likely to suddenly make a move."
[I know.]
Baron nodded. Having personally gone through the Chamber of Secrets crisis, and having been a key part of exposing the diary plot, Baron had something of a psychological scar when it came to so-called "investigation teams."
[If you need a wand, ask me anytime.]
[All right.]
Avada did not say anything more. After nodding, he and Baron stood up one after the other, left the dining hall, and went off to their classes for the morning.
…
A full morning passed. At eleven-thirty at noon, in a corridor on the third floor.
A crowd of seventh-year students poured out of a classroom in noisy confusion, heading downstairs toward the dining hall. Once all the students in the classroom—including the Beauxbatons champion candidates attending the lesson, who also left wearing puzzled expressions—had gone, Fleur Delacour was the last one to step out. As she casually closed the door, she looked toward the other end of the corridor—
Sure enough, a figure was slowly approaching from that direction.
"…"
Fleur silently withdrew her gaze and walked straight toward that figure. Then, just as they were about to brush past each other, she lifted a hand and tucked the hair covering her cheek behind her ear, the movement so natural and casual it looked as though her hair had merely brushed against her skin and tickled her.
'No changes. No need for further communication. Proceed according to plan.'
As Avada passed by her side, he instantly understood. After touching his nose, he quickened his pace and headed downstairs from the other end of the corridor.
(End of Chapter)