After rescuing every student who had been knocked out, caught in traps, or hopelessly lost, Tver led the indignant crowd toward the center.
The competition was drawing to a close. Only three teams remained on the high platform, and by sheer coincidence, each represented one of the three schools.
Hogwarts had started with the largest number of teams. Unfortunately, they had thrown themselves too enthusiastically into besieging Viktor and his group, and as a result, they had suffered the heaviest losses.
The defending champions, Angelina's sixth-year squad, were clearly outmatched when facing the seventh-year teams from the other two schools.
Luck couldn't stay on their side forever. They became the first team eliminated in the final round.
That outcome left quite a few Hogwarts students regretting how easily they had been stirred up, foolishly ganging up on their own school's strongest team.
"See? Without us, they've got no chance against the other schools!" George said shamelessly, hands planted on his hips.
...
They truly regretted it now. They should have beaten those two senseless when they had the chance!
It didn't take long before the final winner emerged amid Durmstrang's rough, thunderous cheers.
Of course, it was Durmstrang's powerhouse team!
Tver had a faint impression of them, though only a faint one.
After all, they were all former opponents he had defeated.
"I hope you've all gained something from this tournament—"
"Oh, we've gained plenty. At least now I've seen just how treacherous people can be," George muttered.
After Cedric's post-match breakdown, the Weasley twins and Davies finally understood the layers of psychological maneuvering that had unfolded throughout the competition. They couldn't help exclaiming that playing with minds was harder than casting spells!
What they didn't realize was that it wasn't just their brains that couldn't keep up. Their magic wasn't on the same level either...
"Of course, I can see that many of you feel unsatisfied. Some of you were eliminated before you even had a proper fight. Some couldn't even deal with a few simple traps."
Tver cast a stern look at the Durmstrang team that had been wiped out by the clamp trap. As seventh-years, being eliminated so easily was nothing short of humiliating for their alma mater.
This was, in fact, a shared weakness among Durmstrang students. They focused too heavily on direct combat and certain unusual branches of magic.
When faced with unfamiliar, yet actually quite common magical traps, they were highly likely to stumble.
"Don't assume that learning these things will weaken you. On a real battlefield, you won't just be facing spells thrown head-on. You'll also have to deal with all kinds of traps left behind by your enemies!"
"Recognizing and handling those traps is the very first lesson you must learn before stepping onto a battlefield!"
"So no matter which Wizarding School you come from, this academic year I will teach you how to deal with all kinds of bizarre magical traps, along with the corresponding counter-spells and methods for handling them!"
Barty Jr. seemed almost addicted to teaching lately. He was constantly demonstrating strange magic in class, calling it "early exposure."
The material itself wasn't the problem. Tver occasionally covered similar content.
The issue was that Barty Jr. only demonstrated—he didn't teach.
After his lessons, the students remembered the traits of those spells, but he never showed them the proper ways to counter them.
Of course, it was entirely possible he didn't know the standard solutions himself.
That left Tver trying to find roundabout ways to teach students how to deal with dark magic.
The students present, however, knew none of this. All they felt was that the professor's traps were unbelievably bizarre.
"Seriously, if every enemy were as strong as the professor, we might as well just surrender. What's the point of dealing with traps at all?" George grumbled as they walked back toward the castle.
Viktor subtly gave him a thumbs-up.
That didn't mean they disliked this kind of class. On the contrary, neither Durmstrang nor Beauxbatons had a professor like this, let alone a course remotely similar.
Today's match alone had been enough to open their eyes.
And after witnessing the professor's strength firsthand, they could only look forward to what was coming next.
Meanwhile, once the lesson ended, Tver returned to his office.
There was another matter waiting for him.
"According to Peter Pettigrew, Voldemort has confirmed that the Gaunt family ring and the Slytherin locket have disappeared. He's arranging for Barty Jr. to inspect Ravenclaw's Diadem at the school."
Marvolio's voice sounded muffled, as if he were deliberately keeping it low.
"And? That's what we expected from the start, isn't it? The key is how Voldemort plans to respond."
That was precisely why Tver had taken the risk of having Wormtail pass information to them so frequently.
Ever since Voldemort became aware of Marvolio's existence during the summer, there was no guarantee events would continue to follow the original course.
Tver needed to keep as close an eye as possible on Voldemort's movements. At the very least, he couldn't allow him to undermine the forces he had spent years building.
"Peter doesn't know what Voldemort is doing. But from his descriptions, I suspect Voldemort has started researching Horcruxes again…"
Marvolio's tone was grave. The situation clearly wasn't as simple as it sounded.
"Voldemort studied Horcruxes before, but back then he treated them purely as tools for immortality."
"Now, I suspect he's trying to analyze their structure itself. He might even be considering the existence of Limbo."
Tver understood Marvolio's concern.
If Voldemort was merely researching Horcruxes, or even Limbo, that alone wouldn't pose much of a problem.
The real issue was this: a cautious Voldemort who was willing to devote himself to theoretical study. There was no telling what strange magic or new ideas he might develop—and whether he would use them against them.
After all, even in the long history of magic, Voldemort was undeniably a genius of the highest caliber.
"Do we know the direction of his research? Is he pursuing eternal life, or simply strengthening the soul?"
"No. Peter can't understand what Voldemort is writing at all. I can only make rough guesses based on what he describes."
"However, he did mention Herpo the Foul…"
"Oh?" Tver's interest sharpened immediately. "The first Dark Wizard to create a Horcrux, right? What is Voldemort trying to study?"
"It's hard to say. He looked into this material before he split me off, but didn't get far. At most, he confirmed the existence of a single Horcrux."
Indeed, Herpo the Foul lived in an era even earlier than the founders of Hogwarts. Only fragments of his knowledge had survived to the present day.
"Still, that's not entirely bad news," Tver said, offering Marvolio some reassurance. "Besides Horcruxes, Herpo the Foul was best known for dark magic, curses, and breeding Basilisks."
"Even if Voldemort digs deeper, at most he'll reach Dumbledore's level. He won't pose much of a threat to us."
If Voldemort's power increased, that alone wouldn't trouble Tver.
On their side, they had Grindelwald, Marvolio, himself, and Dumbledore. In terms of sheer strength, they could overwhelm Voldemort dozens of times over.
What they truly feared was something else—Voldemort devising some bizarre magic that made him nearly impossible to kill, or placing a curse on Dumbledore as he once had in the original timeline.
Otherwise, Tver wouldn't be this concerned.
In his plans, neither Dumbledore nor his own teacher was allowed to die.