"A wand?"
Fleur and Krum were both stunned for a moment upon hearing that, then instinctively tried to recall it.
"Now that you mention it… he really didn't use it much, did he?"
Krum hesitated as he searched his memory.
"When the three of us were first chosen, he used wandless magic to project the schedule, and even failed twice in a row. Then during the next few meetings in the headmaster's office and the hall, and even during the two times our wands were examined… I really didn't see him use a wand at all!"
"That really is abnormal. Karkaroff does not have a habit of casting wandlessly. At least, in all seven years I've been at school, every time he used magic in public, he always used a wand…"
"And then on the next day, when Bagman's death was announced, Karkaroff did another projection—and that time, he used his wand!"
Fleur quickly caught on as well.
The three of them were all the finest young wizards of their generation, and their mental strength was naturally exceptional. That was enough for them to easily recall every detail in their memories.
"…Just as I thought."
After receiving confirmation from the other two champions, Avada braced himself against the table and slowly let out a long breath.
"That was Bagman's cause of death."
"Cause of death?"
Krum frowned.
"What does Karkaroff not using his wand have to do with Bagman's dea… wait!"
"A silent Killing Curse… could it be…"
"You can do that?!"
The two of them were clever enough themselves, so they instantly understood what Avada meant. They both looked up at him in utter shock.
"It's solved."
Avada collapsed backward into the chair behind him, tilting his head back and staring blankly at the ceiling.
"All the clues connect now. The killer, the motive, the method… every single piece fits."
"So what do we do now?"
Krum lowered his head without a word, while Fleur sprang to her feet, her gaze on Avada full of gravity.
"Should we go tell Dumbledore and Madame Maxime right now?"
"Better not."
Avada shook his head.
"It's curfew right now. Acting rashly will only make people more suspicious. At most, they've only seen the three of us enter the same room. They can guess we've formed an alliance and are discussing something. But I doubt even they would expect us to have figured out the answer already—how many days has it even been since Bagman was murdered?"
"And we need to make sure the first judge we see is Dumbledore or Maxime."
Krum raised his head again, his eyes looking somewhat lifeless.
"Most of the Durmstrang professors are mixed up with Karkaroff one way or another, or he never would have gotten the headmaster's position. If the three of us suddenly rush out together in a panic, anyone can guess we've found something major…"
"Then tomorrow morning."
Fleur made the decision cleanly.
"The earlier, the better. We'll go to the Hogwarts train and tell Dumbledore first. Much as I hate to admit it, Dumbledore is probably stronger than Madame Maxime, so telling him first is the safest option…"
"That works."
Krum gave a bitter smile.
"But I probably won't be sleeping tonight."
"Who would?"
Avada shrugged.
"But the days after this won't be as hard. Once this is exposed, the British Ministry of Magic will probably have to launch a major investigation. That investigation team is still operating under their name. Whether they were secretly bought off or were spies from the start, Britain won't be able to wash its hands of this…"
…
And so, after a sleepless night—
Knock, knock, knock.
A heavy knock on the door rang out abruptly, making Avada, who had barely been sleepy to begin with, sit up completely. With a casual gesture, he summoned his outer robe over to himself, quickly got dressed, and only then opened the door.
Fleur was standing outside. She looked somewhat tired, clearly having barely slept either, but even so, the tension deep in her eyes was impossible to hide.
"It's time."
"Where's Krum?"
"I'm here."
As she spoke, another door opened, and Krum stepped out, water droplets still clinging to his face.
"We leave now?"
"We leave now, before they realize what's happening!"
It was not yet five in the morning. At this hour, almost no one should be awake yet—or even fully conscious—including those capable of monitoring the three of them from behind the scenes. And more importantly, the main doors of Durmstrang Castle could already be opened.
"Let's hope Dumbledore didn't go out last night."
Before they started running, Fleur muttered one last sentence.
"Otherwise, we'll probably have to borrow a wand from one of the Hogwarts students…"
"Let's hope so."
Avada let out a quiet sigh as well, feeling his heart pounding violently in his chest.
"Let's go."
With that, he raised a hand and cast a small spell to silence the footsteps of all three of them, then charged out together with Fleur and Krum…
The underground floor… the main hall… the doors, now able to be opened… the biting cold wind rushing straight at them…
At last, they reached the side of the Hogwarts Express, and an overwhelming sense of safety rose in Avada's heart.
"Professor Dumbledore! Professor Dumbledore!"
With one glance, Avada spotted the tremendous mass of spiritual power in one of the front carriages. His heart sank, and he immediately ran up to the corresponding window and knocked on it.
After all, judging from his mental state, Dumbledore was not asleep at this hour anyway…
"…Ken?"
The curtains inside were drawn open at once, revealing Dumbledore's old face, still without his glasses. He looked at the three of them in surprise, then immediately disappeared from the window.
A few seconds later, with a hiss of released air, the train door clicked open outward. Dumbledore came hurrying into the freezing world outside wearing his glasses crookedly and still dressed in a nightgown, as though the subzero cold had no effect on him whatsoever. He simply stared at the three champions and asked:
"Mr. Ken, Mr. Krum, and Miss Delacour… for the three of you to come together at this hour, you must have discovered something extremely important."
"…The person who killed Mr. Bagman, Professor."
Fleur and Krum tacitly stepped back a little, completely yielding the right to speak with Dumbledore to Avada.
"We think we've basically figured the whole thing out!"
"The one who killed Bagman was…"
As Avada quickly explained the clues they had found, along with the deductions the three champions had made, laying out the entire chain of evidence in a clear and coherent line, he was surprised to discover from Dumbledore's mental state that beneath his shock, there was actually a trace of delight.
"…I understand."
After hearing Avada out, Dumbledore first fell silent in thought for a moment, then gave a serious nod.
"Your reasoning is very likely correct… but if they refuse to cooperate, it will still be difficult for us to obtain the most direct evidence."
"That's why we came to you, didn't we?"
Only then did Avada show the faintest smile.
"In the current Durmstrang, I'm afraid only you can make them 'cooperate' obediently…"
"Ah, that may not be necessary."
Dumbledore could not help but chuckle.
"I have a gentler method."
(End of Chapter)