Knock, knock, knock.
As the light outside the window gradually dimmed, a knock at the door interrupted Avada's train of thought.
"Mr. Ken, may I come in for a moment?"
Dumbledore's voice rang out from outside the door, but in a rougher tone—it was Moody.
"Coming."
Now understanding who it was, Avada rose from his chair and went to the door, opening it for Alastor Moody, who was still wearing Dumbledore's appearance.
"Professor, have you finished talking?"
"We have."
Moody nodded, causing the same half-moon spectacles perched on Dumbledore's nose to slip down slightly, forcing him to push them back up with obvious discomfort.
"Albus just left, and I've got to go attend the Christmas Ball that's about to begin. For quite a long stretch of time to come—at least until the start of the third task of the Triwizard Tournament—I'll be staying here and continuing to play Dumbledore's role…"
"For that long?"
Avada could not help being surprised.
He had only gone to get some information out of Grindelwald—did that really require a full half year?
Surely Leach University hadn't recruited Dumbledore too?
"It is a long time—but the result will be worth it."
Moody nodded, then reached into his pocket.
"Oh, right. Before he left, he asked me to pass this on to you."
As he spoke, he pulled his hand back out and opened his palm, revealing three beautiful crimson feathers, which he held out toward Avada.
"Phoenix feathers again?"
Looking at the phoenix feathers that had clearly been modified by Dumbledore's magic, Avada accepted them carefully while inwardly wondering whether Fawkes had perhaps had a few too many feathers plucked recently. Then he waited for Moody to explain what they were for.
"Just like the one you used before, these feathers are also specially made Portkeys. They can still maintain smooth spatial transport even under Durmstrang's lockdown, and you already know how to use them, so I don't need to explain that part."
After waiting for him to take the feathers, Moody continued, "What's different this time is that a message Dumbledore left behind has been recorded inside them. All you need to do is tap the base of the feather once with your wand, and it'll start playing."
"A message Dumbledore left behind?"
Avada frowned in confusion. "Wouldn't it have been easier for him to just tell me directly, or ask you to pass it on? Why go to all the trouble of engraving the information into a Portkey?"
"Heh. You'll see once you watch it."
Perhaps it was just Avada's imagination, but he was startled to see Moody wearing Dumbledore's face while flashing a sly, crafty grin. Dumbledore had certainly made expressions like that before, but Moody's unique flavor made it feel indescribably out of place on that face.
"For one thing, there's quite a lot of information in there. It doesn't just explain the pure-blood hardliners' plan and what's going to happen next—it also includes something else. Something critical."
He pointed at the feathers.
"One of these is for you. The other two need to be handed over to the other two champions, along with instructions on how to use them. They're all the same, so there's no need to distinguish between them… All right, you can sort out the rest yourself. If there's nothing else, I need to get to the Christmas Ball."
Moody stroked his beard and attempted one of Dumbledore's signature benevolent smiles.
"So I'll be off first, Mr. Ken."
"All right, Professor—goodbye."
…
Watching Moody disappear through the doorway, then reappear outside one of the windows he could see, striding briskly toward the now brilliantly lit Durmstrang Castle, Avada frowned slightly and then looked down at the phoenix feathers in his hand.
"The magical structure on them does match what Moody described. Besides the Portkey function, there's indeed a stored message. And the Portkey destination…"
He arranged the three feathers neatly across the tabletop, then sat down, drew his wand, and began examining them one by one with great care. Only after more than an hour did he finally lift his head again, roll his neck, and let out a relieved sigh.
"The preset target location is still somewhere inside Durmstrang… and there aren't any strange tricks attached. Basically safe."
There was no helping it—"Moody + Polyjuice Potion + Portkey" was a combination that left far too much psychological trauma in Avada's mind.
In the original story, that exact combination had led directly to Voldemort's return and Cedric's death!
Although his earlier observations of Moody's mental state had shown no malice, and his words and actions had all matched perfectly, and although a "phoenix Portkey" itself was almost enough to serve as one of Dumbledore's personal signatures… the risks that should be guarded against still had to be guarded against. After all, the original Moody, the Goblet of Fire, and the current Ludo Bagman had all already proven that Dumbledore could be fooled by Polyjuice Potion and by subtle tampering with important objects…
Since it's confirmed safe… then I can finally take a look at the message inside.
After standing and walking around for a bit to ease the stiffness in his back and waist, Avada sat down again and casually picked up one of the feathers, tapping the base of it with his wand.
Just what kind of information would be important enough for Dumbledore to leave it behind in such a roundabout way, and even go so far as to have Moody deliberately send me away during their conversation… Hm?
The moment he sensed the sheer volume of information stored inside the feather, his expression changed.
And as he gradually absorbed more and more of it, his expression became increasingly colorful…
Hiss…
Uh…
Well, this is…
At last, he slowly lowered the feather, sat in thought for a long while, and then a sly grin almost identical to Moody's gradually spread across his face.
"This time… Dumbledore really did something big."
"No, actually, a plan this devious—and the level of infiltration needed to support it—that's more Grindelwald's style."
"The old ones really are the sharpest."
He leaned back into the chair, adjusted his posture, and then put the feathers away, returning to his work on finding a way through Durmstrang's concealment.
After an unknown amount of time passed, he suddenly heard a burst of noise coming from the corridor. He immediately stopped what he was doing, swiftly cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself, and hid in the corner.
Creak—
With the sound of the door hinge turning, the dim room suddenly brightened. A figure with exactly the same face as Avada, dressed in immaculate formal wear and looking somewhat tired, walked into the room. After turning back to say something to the person behind him, he closed the door, then began glancing around suspiciously.
"I'm over here."
Avada spoke softly and revealed himself, making the man disguised as him start slightly before relaxing into a smile.
"So you really have already returned, Mr. Ken. I have to say, your popularity is remarkable…"
As he spoke, he pulled a folded piece of parchment and a very familiar-looking phoenix feather out of his pocket. He handed the parchment over while keeping a tight grip on the feather.
"Mundungus Fletcher. It's been a pleasure helping you. Everything that happened while you were away has been written down here, so you can look it over. Mission accomplished, and I ought to be on my way."
The moment Avada took the parchment, Mundungus Fletcher immediately activated the Portkey in his hand and vanished in a flash of fire, as though he were afraid of lingering even one second longer.