"…"
Although the three champions' scores had already been announced and the first task had come to an end, the entire hall still remained in that same rigid silence, as if the ones sitting in their seats were not students at all but a roomful of frozen computers, to the point where one could almost hear the mournful hum of overworked brains in the air…
"Well then, it seems everyone still has more or less a few questions."
Looking at the crowd of students below, all so stiff they seemed mentally crashed, Karkaroff could not help but shake his head and laugh. Beside him, Bagman, who had just "come back from the dead," simply raised his camera and began snapping away, click click click, freezing one bewildered, dumbfounded, utterly lost face after another. It seemed the next issue of the Daily Prophet was about to gain several more pages of comedy…
"Understandable. After all, this is partly on us, the production team. In order to make the case feel as real as possible, to prevent anyone from realizing this was actually a competition, and to ensure the champions remained fully invested in the task, we truly did put a great deal of effort into the setup. Originally, all of this was supposed to be behind-the-scenes content for the newspaper report, but in order to let everyone set their minds completely at ease, I will reveal a small portion of it here first."
"When the Triwizard Tournament tasks were first being planned, back in the latter half of last school year before the term had even ended, we had already unanimously decided that we wanted to present a contest different from tradition—one more thrilling and exciting, but also capable of fully testing the champions' courage, wisdom, and strength. And in previous tournaments, 'concealing the task' had always been the key to making the competition exciting. This time, we decided to push that concept to the limit… In the end, we decided to design the first stage around the theme of 'solving a murder case.'"
"…In other words, when Bagman deliberately picked a fight with me during the Quidditch World Cup, that was already part of the Tournament?!"
Krum pointed at the still-grinning Bagman with a slightly trembling finger.
If this had only been Bagman's personal idea, that would have been one thing—but who would have thought this had actually been part of the plan jointly designed by the entire Triwizard production team?!
In other words, every move they had made had been predicted from the very beginning… no, not even from the beginning, but before it had all even started?!
"At the time, there were many backup plans. Picking a fight with you was only one of them. After all, back then we only knew you were one of the most likely candidates to become a champion, but we couldn't be certain whether you actually would become one."
Ludo Bagman smiled at Krum.
"But whether you ultimately became a champion or not, the matter would have been published in the newspaper afterward, and at that time I would also have publicly apologized to you. After all, it did cause you quite a bit of unnecessary trouble and criticism."
"…"
Krum nodded silently, though his expression had already eased quite a bit.
"And as for Miss Delacour's grandmother and her supposed connection with goblins, that was naturally only an excuse to pull her into the competition. Of course, that arrangement was made only after obtaining her grandmother's consent. After that, we also arranged for Mr. Ken to be the last one to meet with Mr. Bagman, thereby evenly distributing suspicion among the three champions, and we confiscated their wands as a form of pressure to ensure their active participation in the task."
Karkaroff's smile grew even smugger.
"And then, in order to make every detail of the case as realistic and logical as possible, we deliberately incorporated certain real characteristics of some participants into the design. For example, Mr. Bagman really does enjoy gambling, and he really did lose money to goblins before… but the amount was very small and essentially recreational in nature. In addition, the entire panel of judges already knew about it, so it could not possibly affect the fairness of the competition. You may rest assured on that point."
"Besides that, some long-circulating conspiracy theories were also woven into the design of the case, including the rumors that spread when I first came to Durmstrang, claiming that I was a Death Eater…"
Karkaroff directly rolled up the sleeve on his left arm in full view of everyone, then turned slightly and displayed the bare skin of his arm to the entire hall.
"Look—as Mr. Ken said earlier, every Death Eater is branded on the left arm with the symbol of a black skull, the so-called Dark Mark… but your headmaster does not have any such thing."
'…Fake.'
Avada narrowed his eyes. At a glance, he saw through the concealment covering the Dark Mark beneath Karkaroff's skin—the exact same mark that had once appeared on his own body.
So he had simply hidden it in advance, then shown it off in public.
So he and Crouch were using this opportunity to publicly clear their own names?
But the other students were clearly buying it. The moment Karkaroff revealed his left arm, the heavy atmosphere in the hall visibly loosened. Quite a few students finally showed expressions of relief, and even Krum and Fleur looked noticeably better…
"The difficulty of this task lay in figuring out Mr. Bagman's 'cause of death,' and in using the various hints we left around the castle to gradually deduce the 'shady agreement' between myself and Mr. Crouch."
Noticing that his words had already achieved a very obvious effect, Karkaroff was in an even better mood.
"To be honest, we always thought this task was already difficult enough. According to our original estimate, the case should not have been solved until next week at the earliest… The efficiency of this year's champions has far exceeded our expectations, and that is precisely why their scores are all so high… Ah, right, speaking of the champions—their wands still haven't been returned to them, have they?"
Only then did Karkaroff realize he had forgotten something, so he pulled out the three wands from his pocket and sent them flying steadily toward their respective owners.
'…Good. They haven't been tampered with.'
Avada gave the three wands a quick glance, then finally relaxed enough to take his own back in hand. After lightly wiping it off, he tucked it away.
"So,"
after returning the wands, Karkaroff continued,
"because of the champions' astonishing efficiency, we may perhaps move the second task slightly forward. In any case, the exact timing of the tasks in this Triwizard Tournament was always meant to be flexible, and that is one of the ways this competition differs from those in the past… Therefore, I now announce that the second task of this Triwizard Tournament will take place on December 5th, exactly one week from now. Very well, it has been an honor to witness the champions' brilliant performance together with all of you, but it is getting rather late, and I imagine all of you are in great need of rest—especially the champions. You may now return to your lodgings."
"You may all leave. Good night, everyone!"
Only after those final words fell did voices gradually begin to rise in the once-silent hall. Then they grew louder, and louder still, until the place was once again roaring with life. Students surged toward their respective champions with looks of admiration and awe, clearly intending to give their heroes the grandest welcome possible upon their return…
"…"
On the surface, Avada maintained the same excited smile as everyone else. But in secret, he quietly cut off two scraps from his own sleeve and turned them into two slips of paper. He passed them to Fleur and Krum in the most inconspicuous way possible before returning red-faced with excitement to his own group, where he blended right in with his jubilant classmates. But Fleur and Krum's expressions stiffened for just an instant after glancing at the message written on the slips…
[The conspiracy has not disappeared. Stay vigilant!]
(End of Chapter)