Just as Sirius led Harry away and Hermione explained to Professor McGonagall why the quality of her homework had declined, no one noticed a fly-sized shadow silently weaving between the feet of the crowd and slipping out of the staff room.
Noctis, maintaining his tiny form, beat his nearly soundless wings like a speck of dust carried by the breeze and followed closely behind Igor Karkaroff, who was striding out of the Castle with a gloomy expression.
Karkaroff was clearly in a foul mood. Instead of returning with the other Durmstrang students to the great ship anchored on the Black Lake, he hurried alone along the lakeshore.
His long silver-white hair whipped messily in the cold wind. Noctis made skilful use of the shadows cast by grass and rocks, keeping his distance as he followed him.
The enormous Durmstrang ship loomed dark and eerie, like a sea creature stranded on the shore.
Without disturbing anyone, Karkaroff walked straight up the gangplank and returned to the captain's cabin.
Like its owner, the room exuded a gloomy air of decay.
Ancient sea charts hung from the walls, while years of damp had darkened the wooden furniture and left its edges beginning to rot.
The window did not close properly, and the cold wind from the lake seeped through the cracks with a faint, mournful whine. The flame of an oil lamp on the table flickered wildly, casting twisted shadows across the walls.
Karkaroff slammed the door shut behind him, as though trying to block out every gaze and sound from Hogwarts.
He leaned against the door, his chest rising and falling heavily several times as he struggled to suppress his emotions.
Then he abruptly strode to the centre of the room and roughly pulled up the sleeve of his left arm.
Beneath the dim, flickering light, the skin of his forearm was exposed.
A distinct mark had been branded there: a skull with a serpent emerging from its mouth.
The Dark Mark, the symbol of a Death Eater.
Noctis silently landed on a high, dust-covered beam and concealed himself perfectly within the shadows. His keen raven eyes pierced the darkness as he watched the scene below.
Karkaroff stared fixedly at the mark on his arm, his breathing growing heavier and heavier.
Compared with its formerly blurred appearance, the mark had become much clearer, and an ominous dark red hue was faintly visible within it.
"Damn it... damn it!"
At last, he erupted, his suppressed rage bursting free like a broken dam.
He tore his gaze from the mark and began pacing around the cramped room like a caged beast, his hoarse voice trembling with fury.
"You pompous old bat!"
He slammed his fist against the wooden table beside him, producing a dull thud.
"Who do you think you are? Hiding beneath Dumbledore's robes, do you truly believe that makes you a White Wizard?"
He stopped abruptly and glared at the empty air as though Snape were standing directly before him.
"Damn you... aren't we the same kind of people? We both once... we both served him! We both... made the same choice!"
Karkaroff's face twisted with fear and extreme resentment.
"And you dared look at me like that, with that... that revolting expression, only to tell me, 'No comment'!"
"To hell with 'no comment'!"
Karkaroff was practically shouting, his voice echoing through the draughty captain's cabin.
"Why do you act so high and mighty in front of me? Why won't you share information with me? If we don't stand together, if... if he truly returns, we'll all die without even a grave!"
He panted heavily, then seemed to remember someone else, and his fury shifted towards a new target.
"And Mad-Eye Moody! That paranoid old lunatic! The way he looks at me, you'd think he was about to draw his wand and curse me! He must know something... he must be watching me..."
Karkaroff descended into a paranoid frenzy. One moment he was cursing Snape's betrayal and arrogance, and the next he was terrified of Moody's surveillance and the reckoning he believed was approaching.
In his eyes, Snape was a turncoat with an equally stained past. Yet rather than joining forces with a supposed kindred spirit, Snape had drawn a clear boundary between them. That frightened and enraged Karkaroff more than any open threat.
From the beam above, Noctis silently watched everything, committing every uncontrolled word and every expression of fear and anger to memory.
The solitary performance in Karkaroff's captain's cabin unfolded before Sagres without a single detail being missed.
When he saw how clearly the Dark Mark had reappeared on Karkaroff's arm, Sagres immediately understood.
"So that's it..."
He murmured to himself,
"The Death Eaters' marks are becoming clearer. It seems they can sense that Voldemort has recovered some of his strength, at least enough to make those old brands burn again."
Voldemort had not fully returned, and he was still far from regaining his former power. Even so, the change in the Dark Mark was undoubtedly a dangerous sign to certain people.
Karkaroff had clearly been terrified by it. He saw enemies everywhere, mistakenly believed that the Dark Lord had returned, and was desperately seeking reassurance and protection from those he considered his own kind.
"Unfortunately, Snape is not like you," Sagres commented quietly.
With a thought, he sent an instruction to Noctis.
"Continue watching him."
The mosquito-sized raven shifted his claws slightly on the beam, indicating that he had received the message.
...
Meanwhile, near the edge of the Quidditch pitch, Harry was walking with Sirius.
"This is undoubtedly a conspiracy, Harry," Sirius said firmly, his expression grim. "Someone wants to hurt you by placing you in an extremely dangerous situation. The Goblet of Fire does not make mistakes, but it can be deceived."
Harry nodded heavily. Sagres's analysis had pointed to the same conclusion, and hearing Sirius confirm it only made his heart feel heavier.
"But don't be afraid." Sirius placed a hand on Harry's shoulder, his gaze firm. "I'll watch every one of your tasks closely. Dumbledore will certainly do everything he can to protect you and uncover the truth. And Alastor Moody may look terrifying, but he's an exceptionally experienced Auror. Dark magic and conspiracies are precisely what he knows best. His presence here is largely meant to prevent this sort of thing."
He paused, considering his words before adding,
"There's also Professor Greengrass. I don't know him well, but he's extremely powerful. I'm sure he'll help us when it matters."
While Harry was still processing this, heavy footsteps sounded behind them.
"Harry? Need a word with you."
Hagrid looked somewhat flustered when he noticed Sirius and lowered his booming voice.
He pulled Harry aside, his enormous body blocking most of the view, then bent down and whispered mysteriously,
"Listen, Harry. I've thought about it for a long time, and I've decided to tell you. The first task... well... what you're going to face is... dragons!"
He almost hissed the final word, his expression showing both worry and a trace of inappropriate excitement.
Harry's heart sank.
Although he had already suspected it, having it confirmed still felt like a bucket of icy water had been poured over him.
"As expected..." he murmured as several terrifying images of dragons flashed through his mind.
Hagrid patted his shoulder in an attempt to reassure him, though the force nearly knocked Harry off balance.
"Don't worry, Harry. There must be a way..."
He muttered a few more words, but Harry barely heard them.
Then Hagrid hurried away again, as though he had just completed an important mission.
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