"If I'm not mistaken, in matches like this before, the teams that looked strongest were always the ones everyone targeted first?"
Though she phrased it as a question, Fleur's tone was far more certain than Davies's hesitant manner.
"Exactly! That's why Cedric and the others were knocked out so quickly by us last time!"
Davies thumped his chest as if he'd personally defeated Cedric single-handedly.
Fleur didn't even spare him a glance. She kept scanning their surroundings.
She might not have much real combat experience, but her sharp instincts told her immediately how much the environment could influence a battle.
After casting a tentative spell to test the conditions, she became even more convinced that her caution was justified.
"What is it?" Davies finally looked around at the dense fog.
"The professor's traps are troublesome, but they don't just come flying at us out of nowhere."
Fleur shook her head.
"The other teams are definitely looking for us. We need to leave this spot immediately."
"Huh?" Davies's teammate, Lee Jordan, blinked. "Didn't Davies say we were supposed to link up with the other teams and coordinate with George and the others from the inside and out?"
"That's impossible. Right now, the teams with the three Champions are all prime targets. No other team will take us in."
Fleur let out a quiet sigh. Teaming up with Davies was already proving exhausting.
"Then why did Cedric say we should work together?" Davies asked again.
"I don't know whether he had ulterior motives or simply didn't think it through. But if we foolishly try to approach other teams for an alliance, we'll be the first ones surrounded."
Fleur balanced her wand flat on her palm and murmured softly, "Point Me."
The wand spun lazily before coming to a firm stop, pointing to her right.
Tver's fog only restricted the range of their magic; simple directional spells still worked.
"Let's go. The other teams are probably trying to search along the edges of the Colosseum right now."
Without waiting for Davies and the others to finish thinking it over, she gripped her wand and strode off in the indicated direction.
Davies and the other two quickly followed. In this environment, even walking for a minute could be enough to completely lose sight of one another.
"I still think that even if George and Fred can be a bit underhanded, Cedric wouldn't be that calculating," Davies muttered.
"If you had the chance to eliminate a strong opponent with just a few minutes of acting," Fleur replied calmly, "would you take it? Even if that opponent were your good friend?"
"Yes." Davies didn't hesitate for even a second. He nodded firmly.
"Exactly."
Whether or not Cedric truly intended to cooperate didn't matter. In any given situation, you chose the option that best served your own interests.
That had always been Fleur's principle.
After settling her teammates' doubts, she tightened her grip on her wand and moved ahead cautiously, probing the way forward.
She didn't know what kind of trap awaited them, but if the professor said it would hinder their movement, then it certainly—
"Help!"
Jordan suddenly stumbled. There was nothing visible on the ground, yet a powerful force clamped tightly around his ankle.
The momentum of his forward step sent him pitching ahead, but just before he hit the ground, his body froze midair for a split second. Then, as if he'd struck a spring, he was flung backward.
"Don't worry. We've seen this plenty of times. We used to get caught in these all the time during class."
Davies stopped Fleur from rushing forward and strode over confidently. He crouched down and peered at Jordan's right ankle, where an invisible clamp had seized the fabric of his trousers.
A full minute passed…
"Er… let me explain. In the past, whenever we got caught in one of these, it would automatically release after a bit, so…" Davies said with an awkward laugh.
Luckily, Fleur wasn't the type to mock people. If the Weasley twins had been here, Davies would have been laughed at hundreds of times by now.
She crouched down without hesitation, frowning as she examined the invisible clamp.
"You don't know what kind of magic this is?"
"All I know is that it's something the professor used to punish us…"
"Then haven't you ever wondered why something invisible can leave such clear pressure marks on your body?"
"Uh…"
"If you'd taken a few more of the professor's classes, you'd know," Lee Jordan added helpfully. "If you tried to analyze every spell he's ever used, you'd probably have to stay at school until your hair turned white."
Fleur wasn't trying to snap at them, but—
"If we don't even know what the spell is, how are we supposed to remove it?"
"…Should we try a general counter-spell?"
Davies cautiously raised his wand. When Fleur gave a reluctant nod, he immediately aimed at Jordan's ankle.
"Finite."
"Ah—!"
Jordan suddenly cried out in pain, bending over and clutching his other ankle—the one that had been perfectly fine a moment ago.
Davies didn't need anyone to tell him what had happened.
Another clamp had snapped onto his left foot.
"I—I knew it wouldn't be that simple!" Jordan groaned, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes.
As punishment for using the wrong counter-spell, not only would a second or even third clamp appear, but Tver had also thoughtfully increased the pain—ensuring they would be far more cautious next time.
The problem was, Davies didn't have the luxury of being cautious. He scratched his head in frustration, staring at Jordan writhing in pain.
If they couldn't solve this quickly, their early start would mean nothing.
But if they abandoned Jordan, they would lose their numerical advantage.
The issue was—they simply couldn't break the spell.
"Seriously, doesn't anyone know how to undo this thing?!"
"Maybe we can try a different approach," Fleur said thoughtfully.
Davies had completely forgotten about maintaining his image in front of his goddess. He waved his hand irritably.
"We don't even know how this clamp was formed! What, do you expect me to pry it open with my hands?"
"Why not?"
Fleur let out a soft laugh and crouched down again. She reached out her pale hands and carefully felt around Jordan's ankle.
Crack.
With a slight twist of force, the transparent clamp shattered like brittle glass.
Jordan's ankle was finally free.
"…What?"
Davies and the other two stared at her, dumbfounded.
"If I'm not mistaken, it could also be undone with magic—if you use the correct method," Fleur said, the corner of her lips lifting. For the first time, she looked less aloof and more playfully confident.
"But Mr. Fawley has also prepared a rather unconventional yet effective solution for us."
Tver nodded in approval.
His body was not only invisible, but even the obstacles within the arena subtly shifted aside to allow him to pass.
He observed everything at ease.
The trap was nothing more than a simple combination spell—a Binding Charm layered with a Concealment Charm.
Undoing it was equally simple. A proper dispelling charm would work, or it could simply be broken apart by hand. Magic constructs without a visible form but with tangible substance were often structurally unstable. Fleur had taken advantage of precisely that.
Students, however, were so used to solving everything with spells that few of them considered a physical solution.
As a result, Tver had already seen no fewer than five teams completely taken out by a single clamp.
One of them was even a seventh-year Durmstrang team. In their haste, the three of them had cast nearly ten spells in less than half a minute.
Unfortunately, not only had they failed to remove the trap, they had triggered additional clamps until both ankles were locked tight—leaving them in so much pain they couldn't even stand.
...
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