Seven in the evening, Great Hall of Durmstrang Castle.
The once-spacious hall was once again packed full with students from all three schools, while at the front on the teachers' platform, Karkaroff still sat in the center, with Dumbledore, Maxime, and Barty Crouch on either side.
The seat that had originally belonged to Ludo Bagman was still conspicuously empty. One glance at it was enough to immediately remind people of the bizarre murder from a few days ago, the castle that might have been infiltrated, and the possible conflict between wizards and goblins…
All of it added an oppressive atmosphere to the hall out of nowhere.
"Now then, we will announce the latest progress in the investigation into the Ludo Bagman case, as well as the further concrete arrangements for the Triwizard Tournament schedule."
Karkaroff's voice echoed through the hall.
"If all goes as expected, meetings like this one will be held once every week from now on, so that everyone can gain a clearer understanding of the current situation and reduce some unnecessary worry and suspicion… We owe thanks to Professor Dumbledore for proposing this suggestion."
A sparse round of applause slowly rose, then gradually faded away. Dumbledore smiled lightly and nodded, saying nothing.
'As expected, Karkaroff also has an Unbreakable Vow on him.'
Taking advantage of this chance to see Karkaroff again, Avada carefully examined the structure of his spiritual power and vitality one last time, and, just as expected, found the Unbreakable Vow that corresponded to the one on Crouch's body.
'That settles all the previous speculation.'
'But… why do they all seem so relaxed mentally?'
Avada swept his gaze across the mental states of the four judges in confusion.
'It's one thing for Crouch and Karkaroff to be relaxed. Dumbledore probably didn't tell them what's about to happen… but why does Dumbledore himself show no tension at all?'
'If things go as badly as possible, he may have to fight Karkaroff and Crouch, two top-tier wizards, plus an entire investigation team, all while splitting his attention to protect the students… and that puts no pressure on him whatsoever?'
'And Madame Maxime is calm too… did Dumbledore not tell her the plan? Isn't she trustworthy?'
"…Next, Mr. Barty Crouch will summarize the latest progress made by the investigation team."
Barty Crouch stood up with a grave expression and began speaking about the various "clues" he and the investigation team had uncovered during the course of "solving the case," as well as the negotiations being conducted outside with the "goblins." His words were full of meaningless details and official jargon. The students below quickly grew drowsy listening to it, and even those who had originally cared quite a bit about the matter lost interest after hearing such a long string of empty platitudes…
At last, after finishing off a great pile of seemingly pointless technical terms, Crouch finally sat back down.
"Thank you, Mr. Crouch, for your report, and for the investigation team's hard work throughout this time."
Karkaroff nodded, paying no attention whatsoever to the students' reactions below.
"Then, if there are no further questions, I will now announce the latest schedule arrangements for the Triwizard Tournament—"
"Wait, Professor."
Hearing three familiar voices overlap at once from beside them, the students all widened their eyes and turned toward the nearest source of the sound.
In the middle-front, rear-left, and front-right sections of the hall, three figures stood up in unison after saying those words together. Under the astonished gazes of those around them, they walked to the very front of the student seating and stood shoulder to shoulder.
"…Mr. Krum, Mr. Ken, Miss Delacour."
Karkaroff arched a brow.
"Do you have some doubts about what Mr. Crouch said just now?"
"Yes, Professor."
Standing in the middle, Avada quietly exchanged a glance with Dumbledore. After receiving a confirming look in return, he stepped forward.
"In fact, we happen to know a little about Mr. Ludo Bagman's past, but it seems to conflict somewhat with what Mr. Crouch said earlier. So we would like to ask about something—for example…"
Seeing that Dumbledore had already quietly drawn one hand into his sleeve, the tension in Avada's heart finally eased completely. A trace of a smile also appeared in his eyes.
"We believe Mr. Bagman did not die because he owed money and was killed by goblins. Rather, he learned something he should not have known, and then mistakenly allowed those who desperately wanted to hide that something to realize that he knew."
'Ha.'
Within Avada's magical senses, the mental powers of both Karkaroff and Crouch suddenly tensed, making him sneer inwardly.
"What are you trying to say?"
Karkaroff's face had turned ugly.
"A kind member of the investigation team once told me,"
Fleur also stepped forward half a pace, speaking in the uniquely pleasant voice of a half-Veela,
"that Mr. Ludo Bagman was famously addicted to gambling, and that he also participated in this betting pool on the Triwizard Tournament… And the contestant he bet on to win was Viktor Krum. He even wagered a full three hundred Galleons. Given that he was already in debt, three hundred Galleons must have been a considerable sum to him."
A wave of murmuring rose from behind them—Crouch had never mentioned that before.
"At the time, I found it very strange. At the Quidditch World Cup, he had clearly clashed with Krum, and Krum held no particularly obvious advantage over Ken or me. So why was he still willing to stake such a large sum on Krum winning? But no matter how much I thought about it, I could only come to one conclusion…"
She shook her head lightly.
"That as one of the earliest planners of the Triwizard Tournament events, Bagman already knew Krum had a very high chance of becoming a champion. So at the World Cup, he deliberately manufactured a public conflict with him—and as everyone knows, that conflict was almost entirely his own unreasonable provocation—in order to raise the odds on Krum's victory, so that he could win more money in the betting that followed…"
"Thank you for your valuable line of thought, Miss Delacour."
Crouch suddenly cut Fleur off in a stiff voice.
"We have received the clue you have provided, and we will focus our attention on it going forward. You may return to your seat."
"Ah, no, that won't do. We haven't finished asking our questions yet."
Krum, who had remained silent until now, suddenly spoke up. His iron-tower-like body stepped forward as well, once again aligning shoulder to shoulder with the other two.
"But raising the odds alone wouldn't make money. Bagman would still have needed to find a way to help me win the Tournament. So I suspect the reason he actively sought the position of judge was so he could cheat in the coming tasks and use behind-the-scenes manipulation to ensure my final victory. After all, things like that were commonplace in past Tournaments…"
"Mr. Bagman did not come here at his own request."
Karkaroff stared straight at Krum, the goat beard on his chin faintly trembling.
"Durmstrang was the one that invited him. The same goes for Mr. Crouch…"
"Oh, invited of your own initiative."
Krum nodded blandly.
"After he uncovered that dirty deal between you and Mr. Crouch from more than ten years ago?"
"!!!"
For the first time, a look of shock appeared on Karkaroff's face.
(End of Chapter)