"Ludo Bagman 'Comes Back from the Dead' — The Most Creative Triwizard Tournament Yet!"
"[With the first task of the Triwizard Tournament being held at Durmstrang now officially concluded, the details surrounding it have finally been revealed. The organizers of this tournament—Durmstrang itself, the two headmasters of Hogwarts and Beauxbatons, as well as the Department of Magical Games and Sports and the Department of International Magical Cooperation of the British Ministry of Magic—jointly crafted an ingenious and highly original challenge for us. As for the three champions—Mr. Ken of Hogwarts, Miss Fleur Delacour of Beauxbatons, and Mr. Viktor Krum of Durmstrang—their performances were nothing short of brilliant...]"
Inside Leach University, Avada, while controlling Nathan Clarke's body, lounged lazily on a sofa with a freshly delivered copy of today's Daily Prophet in hand, flipping through the newly added "Triwizard Tournament Special" section.
Even burdened with so many secrets and heavy responsibilities, it did not change the fact that Leach University was, at its core, still a school responsible for teaching and nurturing students. And whether they were students or professors, everyone needed some way to relieve the pressure of their intense daily studying or research in this oppressive building hidden away in another dimension. As a result, the Triwizard Tournament had unexpectedly become incredibly popular within the university—its level of attention even surpassing that of the outside world by quite a bit...
At the very least, after sitting through several classes today, Avada noticed that almost all of his students had been talking about the Triwizard Tournament nonstop. So even though he had personally gone through the task and knew far more of the details than the paper did, he still could not resist getting a copy of the Daily Prophet to see exactly how the "Ludo Bagman" who was now actually Barty Jr. was describing the tournament to the public...
"['We unanimously believed that only when faced with the unknown can a person's true ability and character be revealed.']"
"[Mr. Igor Karkaroff, Headmaster of Durmstrang, had this to say during the interview: 'But no matter what, this is still an officially sanctioned competition. And if it is a competition, then naturally it has procedures, rules, and corresponding safety measures... In that case, no matter how much we conceal the contents of the task or heighten the sense of mystery, the champions will still only approach it with the mindset of participating in a competition. They know in their hearts that this will not truly threaten their lives, and that victory or defeat only concerns their school's honor and the prize of one thousand Galleons... That alone is not enough to draw out a person's true potential.']"
"['To that end, after discussing matters with the other four judges, I decided that for this tournament's revival after a century, we should add something especially original—that is, to maximize the concept of the "unknown," to elevate it to a level beyond the competition itself.']"
"['In the end, we decided to conduct the first task outside the competition itself in the form of an "unexpected incident." And in order to ensure that this incident felt real enough that no one could easily see through it, we incorporated a large number of genuine elements, along with some rather marketable rumors and conspiracy theories, all with the consent of the parties involved...']"
"Rumors and conspiracy theories... heh."
Avada rolled his eyes. "They really are planning to use this tournament as a chance to whitewash themselves?"
"But dragging out this sort of old business that nobody really cared about anymore... aren't they afraid it could blow up in their faces? Crouch is one thing, but where does Karkaroff get this kind of confidence from?"
"According to Krum, he was already an unpopular 'worst headmaster ever' to begin with. If he were actually nailed down as a former high-level criminal on top of that, even his position as headmaster should be hard to keep, right?"
"Then again... at least during the period when Hogwarts and Beauxbatons were visiting Durmstrang, Karkaroff's behavior really wasn't nearly as terrible as Krum described. Judging by his spiritual state, there definitely was some acting involved, but honestly not that much... so what's going on there?"
After reining in his wandering thoughts a little, Avada returned his full attention to the newspaper in his hands.
"[According to Mr. Bagman's account, this first task of the tournament followed the following script: Mr. Ludo Bagman, a man fond of gambling, found himself unable to repay money he owed to the goblins and thus began entertaining darker intentions. He planned to make a fortune through betting on the Triwizard Tournament. To that end, he claimed to possess conclusive evidence that Headmaster Karkaroff of Durmstrang had once been suspected of being a Death Eater, and used that as leverage to secure himself a judge's seat...]"
"[Originally, the organizers had also planted numerous clues throughout the school, and several professors had even been assigned the role of 'guides,' hoping that under the pressure of lockdowns and surveillance, the champions would display their wisdom, perseverance, magical ability, and social skills, gradually gathering clues step by step until they reached the truth. But to the astonishment of all involved, the three champions solved this carefully crafted 'murder case,' which the production team had spent nearly a year planning, in just two short days and with only the most limited clues.]"
"['If you ask why... it was probably because the talent displayed by Mr. Ken was simply too overwhelming.']"
"[Mr. Barty Crouch, who acted as the host of the event, said this: 'He cracked this challenge in an almost absolutely dominant fashion. Whether it was uniting the champions, collecting and organizing clues, deducing the final two conclusions that were the hardest to arrive at, or making preparations in advance and publicly exposing the truth while ensuring his own safety... he was practically the one directing everything with his own hands. When he finally stood up and explained the method of the crime, I felt as though I was seeing one of the seasoned Aurors I used to work with back in the day...']"
"[It is reported that the mysterious 'Mr. Ken' had actually already experienced a previous 'case-solving' incident. As early as 1992, Hogwarts—where he was then studying—was secretly infiltrated by tools left behind by a mysterious dark wizard as well as several ill-intentioned individuals, and even Headmaster Dumbledore was once forced out of office... On that occasion as well, it was Mr. Ken who first discovered the truth and made enormous contributions to saving Hogwarts. That, too, is one of the reasons he became one of the most favored champions this year...]"
"[Rufus Scrimgeour, Head of the Auror Office in Britain, has stated that he is considering recruiting Mr. Ken directly into the Auror ranks after graduation, in the hope that he can use his talents to make British society safer and more prosperous...]"
"So even the Aurors noticed my performance?"
Reading the shameless praise in the Daily Prophet, even Avada could not help feeling rather pleased with himself, and he was just about to continue reading to see how much higher they were planning to praise him...
Knock, knock, knock.
"Professor Clarke?"
After Avada waved a hand and opened the door from afar, a young face poked its way inside—it was one of the students he had taught.
"Headmistress Goshawk asked for you in her office."
(End of Chapter)