Chapter 401 A Question of Trust: Leaving Me Behind to Collect His Corpse
"Another Portkey. It seems he was well prepared," Adrian said flatly, his voice betraying no emotion.
"All students are to be led by their prefects back to the Castle. No one is to remain on the field," Dumbledoreshouted, then looked at Maxime and Karkaroff. "It seems the tournament has encountered some unexpected circumstances. I trouble you both to calm the students of your respective schools."
"Where is Delacour?" Maxime asked worriedly. "The Triwizard Tournament is hosted by Hogwarts. If anything happens to Delacour, you will bear a great deal of responsibility, Dumbledore."
"I know, but the priority now is to avoid unnecessary panic."
Maxime sighed deeply and led the Beauxbatons students toward the Castle.
Karkaroff, however, was stunned for a long time before recovering from the fake Moody's statement. The Dark Lordwas about to make a comeback. Could he, a traitor, possibly escape punishment?
Run. He had to run, and fast.
"I will go and reassure the Durmstrang students immediately," Karkaroff said, his voice trembling, quickly directing the Durmstrang students to gather in the Great Hall. Meanwhile, he quietly slipped away from the group halfway and disappeared.
"This is a serious mistake on Hogwarts' part," Adrian said.
"I don't deny it," Dumbledore said regretfully. He knew someone in the school was using Polyjuice Potion to impersonate another person, but he hadn't suspected Moody.
Firstly, Moody was a senior Auror who possessed powerful magic. Subduing him would not have been easy.
Secondly, Moody was physically disabled, making impersonating him extremely troublesome. Yet, unexpectedly, the culprit truly acted as a disabled person for a whole year, matching Moody's personality and tone perfectly.
Most importantly, Moody had helped Harry Potter during the first task, which completely eliminated him as a suspect, as the person intending to harm him would never try to help him.
"Miss Klein, do you have any way to locate them?"
"No."
"The Ministry of Magic will help search for them," Fudgeinterjected. "The Aurors will find them in the shortest possible time."
"Then thank you."
Adrian said unhurriedly, though he didn't hold any hope for the Ministry of Magic.
Finding people relies on efficiency; by the time the Ministry of Magic finds them, it will be too late.
Just then, Gaines walked over, looking remorseful. "I apologize, Miss. I let him get away."
"Is Aaron alright? Has he contacted you?"
"Not yet, but I'm certain the Young Master is fine," Gaines said confidently.
He was absolutely sure of this. After all, he had personally trained Aaron for several years, and besides his true strength being unknown, Gaines understood him in all other aspects.
His will to survive was extremely strong; he could forcefully carve out a sliver of hope even from a death trap.
Furthermore, the man who left had mentioned that Aaronwould not be in danger for the time being, so there was no need to worry too much. Perhaps he would return unharmed tomorrow... On the other side, the five people landed via the Portkey in an overgrown graveyard.
It was gloomy and terrifying here, devoid of any life. Not far away stood a small chapel and a dilapidated old house; having been uninhabited for a long time, they were both cast in a shadow of darkness.
"Where are we?" Fleur swallowed. "Madame Maxime never mentioned the trophy was a Portkey."
"Adrian didn't mention it either, but I think we should leave here quickly," Aaron said calmly, then drew his wand and aimed it at Krum. "But before that, we need to eliminate the unstable element in our group."
The atmosphere immediately became tense. Harry, Cedric, and Fleur were somewhat bewildered. Besides warily drawing their wands, they tacitly distanced themselves from the two.
Krum drew his wand, confronting him with a sneer. "You're going to attack me already?
I think this is a trap you set up yourself, luring all of us to this dreadful place to achieve your ulterior motives."
Aaron raised an eyebrow, wasted little breath, and immediately cast the Expelliarmus.
"Expelliarmus."
A pale red light knocked Krum's wand away. Just as he was about to go and subdue him, Cedric aimed his wand at him.
"Don't move."
Aaron rolled his eyes speechlessly. "You should be trusting me right now."
"That's why I didn't immediately attack," Cedric said. "You owe us an explanation."
"I can explain, but we need to get out of this place quickly," Aaron said urgently. "It's very dangerous here. If we don't retreat now, it might be too late."
The three were unmoved. In their eyes, while the graveyard was gloomy, this place was clearly not as dangerous as two erratic Wizards.
"Damn it!" Aaron gave a wry smile and turned to Harry Potter. "It's fine if you didn't listen to me before, but you must listen to me this time.
Viktor was acting strangely in the maze. Think about the dreams you've been having. This is a conspiracy targeting you, and me too."
Hearing this, Harry hesitated for a moment before making up his mind. "Let's get out of here first."
"Harry..." Cedric wanted to say something more.
"I trust him."
"Very good." Aaron nodded in satisfaction, but the next moment, an Expelliarmus hit him, and his black wand fell to the ground.
"That was just in case," Harry said guiltily.
Aaron blinked, feeling a sudden surge of anger. "Harry Potter, you are definitely going to regret this.
And you two, if I wanted to harm you, would you have the chance to be standing here right now?"
"We could fire red sparks, but now we don't even have the chance to fire sparks," Krum said flatly, tipping the scale of trust that had leaned towards Aaron back to the balance point.
Aaron:... Why hadn't he realized Krum was so articulate before?
"Let's leave here first," Cedric said, pocketing both wands. "Harry, you and Fleur watch them. I'll go get the Portkey back, hoping it can still transport us once more."
Just then, Harry suddenly felt a splitting headache. The lightning-shaped scar on his forehead burned like fire, more intensely than ever before.
"Ah!"
Harry clutched his forehead, letting out a painful scream, and even his wand slipped to the ground.
"Are you alright, Harry?" Cedric asked worriedly.
"The trophy, quickly," Harry cried out with difficulty. He already vaguely guessed what they were about to face.
Aaron immediately tried to run toward the trophy, but just as he took two steps, a blue-white sphere of light landed at his feet.
"I don't want to hurt you, but you'd better not move," Fleursaid somewhat awkwardly.
Aaron reluctantly stopped, looking at Harry Potter clutching his head and screaming in pain, a bitter smile spreading across his face.
A moment ago, they still had a chance to leave, but the reaction of that scar indicated that the main culprit had arrived. Leaving now would likely be difficult.
Out of the darkness, a figure slowly walked towards them.
He was short, wearing a hooded cloak, and holding a wrinkled dwarf in his arms.
"Now it really is too late," Aaron murmured.
"Who are you? What do you want?" Cedric shouted, pointing his wand at them.
"To eliminate those who interfere," the dwarf said in a hoarse voice.
"Avada Kedavra."
A powerful green light shot out from the figure's hand, heading straight for Cedric.
Aaron performed a sliding tackle, knocking Cedric down, and they narrowly avoided the Killing Curse.
"You owe me a life," Aaron said, pulling his own wand out of Cedric's pocket, then looking at the figure. "Pettigrew Peter, is that you? I have to say your guts are much bigger now than last year!
Last year, all you knew was running away. This year, you greet me with a Killing Curse right away!"
Pettigrew removed his hood, revealing a face that was wretched yet tinged with panic.
He didn't speak. Instead, the dwarf he was holding spoke indifferently: "Long time no see, Gaius."
"It has been a while. To be remembered by the infamous Lord Voldemort for several years, I am truly honored!" Aaron's expression was complex, but he showed little fear.
Hearing this, Fleur retreated a few steps, stunned, nearly falling to the ground, and her body trembled uncontrollably. Cedric, too, was pale and utterly silent with fear.
They knew there might be danger here, but they never expected it to be this dangerous.
This was the Dark Lord! The shadow looming over the entire magic world.
Although he currently looked like a weak dwarf, merely his name made him a taboo in the entire magic world, leaving them with almost no courage to resist.
"So, you arranged all of this?"
"I have a servant loyal to me, one whose devotion has not wavered for over a decade."
"It wouldn't be this coward, would it?" Aaron said, looking contemptuously at Pettigrew.
"Of course not. He is forced to obey my commands out of fear."
Wormtail visibly trembled. "Master, I, I am loyal to you."
"Silence, Wormtail. I can tell the difference."
"Yes, yes, yes, Master."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk!" Aaron shook his head. "What a pathetic insect!"
"Pathetic indeed, pathetic enough to be disgusting.
But he is still useful. I truly cannot do without him right now," Lord Voldemort said, making no attempt to hide his weakness. Then he changed the subject. "However, I will soon reclaim my magic, and this requires the cooperation of one of you."
"Harry Potter?" Aaron glanced at Harry, who was still in pain, and pondered for a moment. "You need him. To fully resurrect, you need him present, or you need something from him."
"Clever."
"My servant infiltrated Hogwarts for a year, all for the purpose of getting Harry Potter to touch the Portkey."
"This is my father's grave. It is very far from Hogwarts. No one will find this place, not even Dumbledore," Lord Voldemort said triumphantly, openly telling Aaron not to entertain any other ideas.
"Sigh!" Aaron let out a long sigh. "Since Harry Potter is the one you need, can you let the rest of us leave?
If possible, could you return Harry Potter unharmed after you're finished with him? If not, let me stay behind to bury him."
Lord Voldemort paused, then burst into laughter, his amusement mixed with coughing sounds. "You are just as amusing as you used to be.
But do you think that's possible?"
Aaron:... One must still have fantasies, just in case they come true!