Looking at the baffled expressions on the faces of the audience below, Barty Jr. could not help letting out a cold sneer inwardly.
A bunch of naive fools... What's shocking you now is only the beginning!
Dumbledore's death, the Dark Lord's return... things far more thrilling than this childish little game. I wonder whether any of you have the interest to witness them for yourselves? Though it doesn't matter if you don't, because the broadcast magic I arranged will capture every last drop of blood that splashes out when Dumbledore dies and send it all back to Hogwarts, so that the moment my master awakens, he'll see a school that has already completely submitted to him—and those traitors and Mudbloods will die in utter despair...
Karkaroff has been fairly reliable this time. He at least managed to get those three brats into the ghost ships and trigger Aquatic Teleportation at nearly the same time, which will maximize the pressure Dumbledore has to face later. If luck is on our side, we might not even need that person to intervene...
Hmph. For the sake of this contribution, once the master returns, I can perhaps plead on his behalf a little and ask that coward be punished less severely. After all, even if that man is shameless and disloyal, he at least has some brains. So long as their interests align, he's still useful to the master...
But don't think your betrayal of your former classmates will simply be forgotten, Karkaroff... Once the master is able to break through Azkaban, just guess how the people you sold out will treat you. Heh...
Even though, according to the plan, in less than ten minutes he was about to set into motion a great undertaking unlike anything in history, Barty Jr. felt not the slightest bit nervous or uneasy.
After all, their plan had already been perfected to the utmost. It had gathered the strength of so many pure-blood families. That old bastard Dumbledore still had not noticed a thing. More importantly, they had obtained the promise and assistance of "that one."
Even if this plan were to fail, it still would not matter. Once the backup they had left behind at Hogwarts took effect, Dumbledore would never again be able to kill the master completely. And judging from the information that had just been passed along yesterday, the spy they had planted inside Hogwarts had probably already begun to act—
And perhaps had already succeeded.
They were already standing in a position of complete invincibility.
"What an astonishing scene—before Miss Delacour, the giant squid's exceptionally high intelligence has actually become a disadvantage!"
All kinds of thoughts flashed through Barty Jr.'s mind in an instant, yet none of it affected the enthusiastic smile of Ludo Bagman that he maintained on the surface, nor the exaggeratedly excited tone with which he continued shouting his commentary.
"Greater intelligence means a more refined mental structure, and naturally that also means it is more susceptible to mental magic... And when it comes to the mind, what could be more adept than a half-Veela? Miss Delacour has hypnotized this poor giant squid almost effortlessly—although, compared to the other two magical creatures guarding the ghost ships, perhaps this giant squid doesn't really count as pitiful..."
"Excellent, Miss Delacour has also successfully entered the ghost ship. Her speed is not far behind Mr. Krum's—the gap between all three champions has narrowed even further, which means that the final scramble for the Cup may be more intense than ever before..."
"The third ghost ship has now temporarily vanished from the screen as well. I suggest everyone make full use of this time to rest a little and relax, because in five minutes, you may not even want to blink!"
As Ludo Bagman's voice fell silent, the atmosphere in the stands visibly loosened all at once. Just a few seconds earlier, the students had all been staring fixedly at the screens, barely daring to breathe too heavily. But now they finally began talking excitedly, countless voices gathering into a noisy hum that instantly filled the once-quiet lakeshore with lively commotion.
The Beauxbatons students worried that their champion might lose because of her current disadvantage. The Durmstrang students were busy celebrating Krum's outstanding performance, mixed in with no small number of smug explanations to outsiders about their school's ancient "ghost ships."
As for the Hogwarts group, the most common voices were those indignantly speaking up for their champion, Avada...
"This favoritism is way too obvious."
Even Cedric, who was usually unwilling to assume the worst of others, could not help complaining, "In two consecutive tasks now, Ken's luck has been the worst. Last time, a stone pillar appeared directly beneath the dragon's body, and this time he ran into the hardest of the three magical creatures guarding the path, the Horned Serpent..."
"And the other two champions have obviously had good luck too."
Someone beside him immediately chimed in.
"In the previous task, Krum directly got the broomstick he was best with. This time, Delacour happened to face the magical creature most vulnerable to her natural gifts. If it were only the host school, Durmstrang, pulling strings behind the scenes, then wouldn't it have been enough just to give Krum a little advantage? Why help Delacour too?"
"Probably to balance the competition and make it more entertaining to watch. Think about it—even while being targeted like this, Ken is still clearly ahead of the other two champions. If you stripped away even that little bit of outside influence, wouldn't it just become a one-sided stomp? The Triwizard Tournament is supposed to be for exchange and friendship, after all. They have to save a little face for the other schools too..."
"Exactly. And even with such obvious disadvantages, Ken is still the one in the lead, isn't he? It's not like he needs that little bit of luck... Baron, why aren't you saying anything?"
"Me?"
Baron, who had been silent the whole time, seemed to be jolted awake as he lifted his head.
"...It's nothing. I was just thinking about something."
After exchanging a few more words with the people beside him, and once he was sure that no one around him was paying attention anymore, Baron quietly drew in a deep breath.
The cold air filling his lungs forced his wildly pounding heart to calm down a little. Then, with a hand covered in cold sweat and trembling faintly, he slid it into his pocket and gripped a key-shaped object tightly.
He did not know whether the information his father had told him was really accurate, nor did he know whether, a few minutes from now, something as horrifying as promised would truly happen.
But if that information was true, then it would fall to him—
Him, who had learned a world-shaking secret and had already made preparations for today—
To take the risk of moving all the students present to a safe location, protecting them from being caught in the aftermath.
Using the miraculous key his father had given him.
(End of Chapter)