"You knew?"
Avada was even more shocked now—Dumbledore had really just stood by and watched his old friend suffer inside a trunk?
Or was it that he and Moody had deliberately arranged things in advance to set a trap for Barty Crouch Jr. and play some deeper game behind the scenes? But if that were the case, then Moody's life had still been in the hands of Barty Crouch Jr., a vicious Death Eater who was also highly cunning. Were they really not afraid something might go wrong?
"I usually know rather more than outsiders imagine."
Dumbledore smiled calmly.
"For example, I know that the sudden revival of this Triwizard Tournament is, in essence, still a conspiracy. I know that last year's werewolves targeted the children of a large number of officials from the Department of Magical Games and Sports and the Department of International Magical Cooperation, with the purpose of quietly ensuring that this year's Triwizard Tournament would be successfully established. At the same time, I also know that Hogwarts was originally supposed to host this Tournament, but under so-called 'strong demands,' the venue was changed to Durmstrang instead, and the justification given was rather flimsy..."
"...You know far too much, Professor."
"That is why you should never underestimate the wisdom of the elderly."
He leaned back in his chair, stroking his beard.
"So, can you calm down for the moment and listen to this old man's explanation?"
"All right, Professor... go ahead."
"Then let us begin with the cause of this Triwizard Tournament."
Dumbledore leaned forward again, making him look serious once more.
"This Tournament can be regarded as another attempt by the pure-blood families we defeated before. And the werewolf attacks that threw the entire magical world into chaos behind the scenes, along with the social unrest caused once the matter was exposed... their fundamental purpose was all to provide cover for the pure-blood families' secret operations."
"I must admit, they truly did deceive me at the time—mainly because the person I had sent in had not yet successfully infiltrated the pure-blood families from the inside, and thus could not obtain especially deep intelligence..."
"You planted a spy inside the pure-blood families?"
Avada very cooperatively played along.
"Under an extraordinarily accidental set of circumstances."
The moment he recalled the matter, Dumbledore could not help sighing a little.
"Last year, someone came to me. He possessed an unquestionable identity on the Death Eater side, and his skill in disguise and eavesdropping was nothing short of masterful... Most importantly, he voluntarily offered to become my spy, and even swore an oath of his own accord. But his personal story is rather tragic, so let us skip over it for now. You only need to know that such a person exists."
"Now, where was I—ah yes, the werewolf attacks. Under the cover of that incident, the pure-blood families seem to have discovered something extremely important during their investigation. And that, in turn, led to the current Triwizard Tournament being pushed into existence. From guiding the werewolf attacks to reinstate the Triwizard Tournament"
Dumbledore paused slightly, then continued smoothly, "from engineering the Tournament's restoration, all of their various actions over the past year have so far been found to have three objectives."
"Three?"
Avada repeated it, half in encouragement and half out of genuine surprise.
"That's right. Their calculations are extremely meticulous."
Dumbledore seemed to let out a cold snort.
"The first objective was to rescue a companion who, much like that spy of mine, was almost absurdly unexpected—a veteran Death Eater by the name of Barty Crouch Jr."
'Looks like they've already achieved that one.'
Avada nodded.
"The outside world long believed that man had died in Azkaban. It was not until last year that the pure-blood families, by some unknown means, discovered that he was not in Azkaban at all, but had instead been secretly imprisoned somewhere outside it. I imagine that, like me, they wanted to obtain such an unexpected piece on the board—someone nobody would anticipate, but who could prove highly effective at a critical moment. And so the task of rescuing him was added to the pure-bloods' agenda."
Dumbledore did not mention the whole ugly tangle involving Barty and his father, Bartemius Crouch Sr. After briefly explaining the situation, he quickly moved on to the second topic.
"And their second objective was this—to take one person away from Hogwarts once I am no longer there."
"Take one person away?"
Avada frowned.
"That's all? Just one sentence?"
"I am afraid so."
Dumbledore looked a little helpless as well.
"The inner circle of the pure-blood families has kept this matter extremely well hidden. Even the one carrying out the plan has not yet been told who the target is. Only when the pure-blood families believe the time is right to act will they reveal it at the last moment..."
"Do you have any guesses, Professor?"
Avada was troubled as well—he hated this sort of incomplete intelligence the most. It was impossible to guard against, and all it did was create needless anxiety.
"It is very hard to say with certainty."
Dumbledore shook his head, though he did not look especially discouraged.
"The conditions are far too vague, and the scope far too broad. Nor can I possibly know every secret of every person in this school... But to be honest, I am not particularly worried that they will succeed with this plan."
"Because I have already determined the method by which they intend to carry it out—through that fake Moody you discovered. As long as fake Moody remains under control or surveillance, that mission cannot be carried out."
"Then why not just arrest fake Moody directly?"
Avada grew even more puzzled.
"If you've already confirmed that he was sent by the pure-blood families and intends to abduct someone from Hogwarts, then shouldn't he just be sent to the Wizengamot for trial? That would also expose the pure-blood families' scheme yet again. It might even ruin their reputation completely this time..."
"A very sensible idea."
As expected, Dumbledore said exactly that.
"And so, the reason I have not chosen to do so must mean there is a deeper reason still. And that reason is the third objective in the pure-blood families' plan..."
"To kill me."
"?!"
Avada completely failed to control his expression. His shock showed openly on his face, and he almost leapt out of his chair.
"To kill you?"
He stammered for a long moment before he finally managed to force out a full sentence.
"Th-that... are you joking, Professor, or have the core members of the pure-blood families finally cracked under the pressure and gone mad?"
"I am not joking. And according to the intelligence that has been sent back, the upper ranks of those pure-blood families have not gone mad either."
Dumbledore said this with grave seriousness.
"That is precisely why I do not dare bring everything into the open just yet—if they are confident they can kill me, then that means they must possess the means to do it. And, if I may say something not especially modest, if there exists something capable of threatening my life, then that also means its power is great enough to endanger the entire magical world... I cannot possibly ignore such a thing."
"So, the most important reason I accepted the Triwizard Tournament without objection, and even agreed to let Durmstrang serve as the host, is to identify the thing capable of threatening me—and then do everything in my power to control or destroy it."
(End of Chapter)