Just as Miranda Goshawk had said, the Leach University students wearing the same red robes as Durmstrang were indeed having quite a good time right now.
This operation had been rehearsed months in advance. And for safety's sake, the students brought in for this performance were not only all elite upper-year students whose combat ability was at least comparable to that of a professional Hit Wizard, but priority had also been given to those who had graduated from Durmstrang and were especially skilled at acting.
So while the Death Eaters had yet to be gathered, they simply took the opportunity to happily revisit their old school, enthusiastically introducing their alma mater to their classmates who were not from Durmstrang...
"It's been so long since I came back!"
Quite a few of them did not even spare more than a glance at the fierce battle between Dumbledore and Grindelwald playing on the screen. Instead, they looked around at the lake and Durmstrang Castle as though they had been let loose.
"Haha, looks like the school hasn't changed much even after I've been gone so long. I wonder if this year's students still remember the legend I left behind..."
"Don't make it sound like you've been gone for ages. You only graduated two years ago."
Not far from him, a Durmstrang professor immediately glared over with an unfriendly expression.
"And I still remember that bag of Dungbombs you threw into the corridor before graduation. If you hadn't run so fast back then..."
"Cough, cough... Professor, don't roll up your sleeves just yet. We still have to go set up the scene in the castle together... Oww, ow, ow—"
The Durmstrang professors who had stayed behind did not seem surprised at all by the sudden return of so many students they had once taught. Instead, they happily began reminiscing with them, or scolding the troublemakers from back then with no real kindness in their voices.
After all, students selected by Leach University had naturally been elites at their original schools. Whether they had been good students who got along well with the professors, or thorny troublemakers who caused chaos every day, they had certainly left a deep impression on the professors here.
Aside from them, even the two remaining judges, Madame Maxime and old Barty Crouch—who had still looked anxious moments ago—both revealed expressions of relief after seeing those university students transported over. They began speaking calmly with Belby, Trimble, and the other university professors who had arrived along with them...
That was right. Aside from the person directly involved, Barty Crouch Jr., the entire panel of judges, along with almost all of Durmstrang's professors, were actors.
He thought he had successfully impersonated Ludo Bagman and deceived everyone.
In truth, from beginning to end, he was the one who had been kept in the dark.
And not only that, their current mental states looked remarkably relaxed. They showed none of the tense readiness one ought to have when facing a deadly Dark Lord, nor did they seem worried about what they would have to face next or the battle that might break out.
It was almost as if they had merely come here on a trip.
As for Ludo Bagman, who was currently still in a kidnapped state—at the very least, it was certain he was still alive. Otherwise, he could not have continued providing raw material for Barty Jr.'s Polyjuice Potion.
But as for where exactly he was being held and what his current health was like, this group of actors still had not completely figured it out. For the time being, they also had no intention of figuring it out.
That was not only to avoid alerting Barty Jr. and causing all their previous preparations to fall apart at the last moment. In a certain sense, Bagman ending up in this situation could also be considered well-deserved...
...
The space at the bottom of Durmstrang's lake, the originally planned final stage of the Triwizard Tournament.
After only a dozen or so minutes, the battle that had previously been more or less evenly matched had already entered its final phase.
The blue flames representing Gellert Grindelwald had swept through every corner of the underwater chamber like a true ocean, while the scarlet flames that had originally surged with equal ferocity had long since retreated into one small corner of that blue sea. Like a lonely sail in a storm, they swayed precariously, as though they would be swallowed completely by the blue flames in the very next second.
Dumbledore stood at the center of those faint red flames. At this moment, his face was pale, and the arm holding the Elder Wand trembled uncontrollably, almost unable to maintain his magic any longer...
"You've lost, Albus."
Suddenly, a cold voice pierced through the many explosive collisions of magic and entered his ears.
He saw the blue flames that had filled his entire field of vision suddenly bow down reverently like soldiers welcoming a king, retreating to either side and revealing a broad path.
And on that path, Gellert Grindelwald held his wand and strolled leisurely toward Albus Dumbledore, who was struggling to maintain his defense.
The currents stirred by the blazing flames sent Grindelwald's hair and robe hems whipping wildly, yet they only served as a backdrop to his elegance and composure in that moment.
He slowly walked up to Dumbledore, extended his wand, and lightly tapped the scarlet flame barrier.
Crack.
With a dull sound that was not especially crisp, Dumbledore's final defense shattered into pieces.
He raised his head and looked at the wand Grindelwald had pointed at him, but his gaze was unexpectedly calm, like an ancient well without ripples. Even the arm and beard that had still been trembling from overexertion now settled once more.
"Your progress in magic is more surprising than I expected."
There was not the slightest tremor in Dumbledore's voice from exhaustion or fear.
"But by contrast, your philosophy and thinking have not advanced even a little. To be honest, I'm rather disappointed, Gellert."
"If your contact with the outside world has never been broken during these fifty years, then you should know how magical society has developed during this period without your interference. You should know whether Muggles, and Muggle-born wizards, have caused the harm to magical society that you imagined they would. And you should know even better what sort of people Tom Riddle and his followers are..."
"You'd better show the master some respect, Dumbledore!"
Barty Crouch Jr., who had been watching the battle for a long time, now walked over as well, dangerous light already glowing from the wand in his hand.
"If you don't want to suffer more torture—"
"It is not your turn to speak."
Grindelwald glanced coldly at him, and an invisible pressure instantly tightened Barty's chest, as though he had been locked onto by some terrifying natural predator.
"I can help resurrect your master, but Dumbledore must be dealt with by my own hand. Do not forget your promise, Death Eater."
"..."
Barty Crouch Jr.'s fingers silently tightened around his wand, but in the end, he still quietly stepped back.
In his heart, he longed more than anything to leave Dumbledore's life to his master, to let the master personally end him as the first gift upon his resurrection.
But what he had not expected was that his excessively capable companions had actually invited this old Dark Lord—whose hatred and grievance with Dumbledore ran even deeper—onto the stage, seizing in one move the glory that should originally have belonged to his master.
But there was no helping it.
Barty Crouch Jr., in the end, was merely someone who had been rescued halfway through the plan, one of many pieces in this grand scheme. Although the matters he was responsible for were indeed more important than most, he was absolutely not important enough to bargain with Grindelwald.
He wondered whether, if it had been "Wormtail"—the one who had planned everything, whose rescue of Barty himself was also owed to him, and whose intellect and intelligence-gathering ability were terrifying even to his own allies—there might have been some chance to negotiate with Grindelwald and fight for that outcome.
Probably not. Although he truly is the greatest contributor to this operation, Grindelwald wasn't invited by him...
(End of Chapter)