The Return to Hogwarts

After a few seconds of silence in the principal's office, the first person to speak was none other than the portraits of past principals hanging on the wall. The hot-tempered Armando Dippert jumped up in anger, his head slamming heavily against the top edge of the frame. Yet, he still glared angrily at Karkaroff. No one doubted that if he could step out of the frame, he would immediately grab his wand and give Karkaroff a good beating.

"Schemer, despicable character! You are openly trying to trip up the heroes of Hogwarts!"

Amidst the angry accusations of a group of Hogwarts headmasters from past generations, Armando Dippet's voice stood out.

"Thank you!"

Professor McGonagall nodded toward the framed picture of Dippert, then looked at Karkaroff, her fist clenched.

"Principal Dippert's view is exactly what I wanted to say!"

At the conference table, Amosta and Dumbledore remained silent. Moody, though wanting to shove his hand into Karkaroff's mouth, restrained himself, having already been warned twice.

Of the remaining people, Ludo Bagman first showed surprise, then frowned.

What he wanted was a topic of conversation, not to make things difficult for Granger so that she couldn't win.

Mrs. Maxim remained silent, neither agreeing with Karkaroff's suggestion nor explicitly rejecting it. She could see that the suggestion was undoubtedly very beneficial to Beauxbatons.

"Say something, Dumbledore, Amosta!"

The fact that these two "leaders" did not immediately express their opinions gave Professor McGonagall a bad feeling. She glared at them, hoping to convey her attitude through her stern gaze.

"Oh, please wait a moment, you two,"

Before Dumbledore and Amosta could express their opinions, Karkaroff smiled sweetly.

“I did this not because I wanted Hermione Granger to face a more difficult rescue situation, but for other reasons.”

Dumbledore's bright eyes flashed, and he smiled as he spoke.

"I would like to hear more, Professor Karkarov."

Chapter 839 A Backhand Slash

2024-04-03

Ignoring the clamor of the noisy portraits on the walls, Professor Karkaroff maintained his disgusting fake smile and posed questions to everyone.

"May I ask, what is the purpose of our gathering here?"

"It is to select the people who are most important to the warriors, so as to inspire their courage."

Confusingly, Amosta, whose personality was clearly sharper, maintained an intrigued smile, just like Dumbledore, without intimidating Karkaroff's agitated behavior. In fact, he even cooperated with Karkaroff's questioning.

"Oh, that's exactly right!"

Blaine's cooperation caused an uneasy and questioning glint in Karkaroff's yellow eyes, but he seized upon this satisfactory answer to speak loudly.

"As Professor McGonagall said, Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley were both of vital importance to Miss Granger. I naively believe that this conclusion also applies to Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley. The three of them are each other's closest friends, and their friendship has withstood the test of time!"

Karkaroff pretended to wipe his eyes, while Minerva's lips were pressed into a thin line in anger. She was extremely annoyed that Karkaroff wouldn't let go of her words. In another situation, she might have pulled out her wand and turned this fame-seeking guy into a weasel!

"so what!"

Suppressing her impulse, Minerva said sternly.

"Haven't you noticed the problem yet, Minerva?"

Karkaroff feigned surprise and said,

“They are each other’s most important person, and as you said before, friendship cannot be precisely measured, but now we have to choose the most important person for Miss Granger, oh, if we really do this. Then, please tell me—”

Karkaroff asked arrogantly,

What should three best friends do after the competition?

"Varied"

Minerva immediately pressed Karkarov for an answer, but as soon as she spoke, she sensed what Karkarov was trying to say, and swallowed her words.

"That's exactly what you think, Minerva!"

Seeing her like this, Karkarov's eyes gleamed with smugness.

"The problem isn't with Miss Granger, nor with the one we chose, but with the one who remains. Will he suffer severe emotional trauma? Oh, poor child, he thought he was crucial to Miss Granger, but we're telling him he's insignificant compared to the chosen one."

"Nonsense, Karkarov!"

Moody roared, slamming his fist on the table as he stood up. Leaning on his cane, he stormed up to the startled Karkaroff, pointing his wand at his eyes.

"Hypocrite, using high-sounding excuses to hide your despicable thoughts. Oh, you vile scoundrel, I can see right through you. You've been racking your brains just to put Hermione Granger in a disadvantageous position, haven't you!"

Moody looked furious; his blue demonic eyes bulged out, and every scar on his face twisted like a centipede being doused with boiling water, which was quite frightening.

"Oh, this—is this just a discussion?"

The intense atmosphere was something Ludo hadn't expected. He stood up, wiping the sweat from his temples with an uneasy smile, while Professor McGonagall simply watched coldly as Karkaroff staggered backward, frightened by Moody, without uttering a word to stop him.

"Professor Moody?"

Amosta's gentle voice made Moody's wand-holding hand tremble, but he still roared.

"Do you need me to take him out, Blaine? If you agree, I'll do it right away!"

“Oh, I would have preferred you to remain calm, Professor Moody,”

Amosta said

"As Ludo said, we are just discussing it."

Mrs. Maxim finally got up to offer some words of comfort, and after all that commotion, the atmosphere in the office was finally less tense, but it was still icy cold.

"So."

After a moment of contemplation, Dumbledore looked at Amostella.

"In any case, Professor Karkaroff has frankly offered his unique perspective. Oh, I must admit I overlooked that. What are your thoughts, Amosta?"

"We cannot ignore Professor Karkaroff's suggestion—"

Amosta's words left Professor McGonagall and Professor Moody in disbelief. They hadn't expected Amosta to actually side with Karkaroff and create more difficulties for Hermione. Their surprise even made them forget to refute him for a moment.

"As the organizer of this Triwizard Tournament, Hogwarts should set an example of fairness and impartiality. That's why we organized this meeting instead of making a decision directly. Karkaroff's point is indeed reasonable. I think we can set up two rescue targets for Miss Hermione Granger."

"Amosta!"

Minerva looked anxious, but Amosta raised a hand to stop Professor McGonagall from speaking, and at the same time silenced Moody.

Although his plan had succeeded, Karkaroff was not as happy as he had imagined; instead, he began to feel uneasy. He stared at the young but deep face across the conference table, unable to understand why Amostella Blaine would support him, and why Dumbledore was almost cooperating with him!

"Madame Maxime?"

Dumbledore looked gently at the headmaster of Beauxbatons.

"Without a doubt, the person Fleur ultimately loves is Gabrielle, her younger sister. They have always been very close. Before coming to Hogwarts, Fleur even came to me to ask if I would allow Gabrielle to come along so that she could fulfill Gabrielle's wish to witness the games in person."

Perhaps the heated argument about Hermione Granger had frightened Mrs. Maxime, for the moment Dumbledore consulted her, she gave her answer without any hesitation.

This was a suitable recommendation, and none of the attendees objected.

"Ahem-"

When everyone's attention returned to Karkaroff, Principal Durmstrang, who had sparked the argument, coughed twice guiltily.

“It’s your turn, Karkaroff,” Moody said coldly.

"."

Karkaroff was still hesitant about whether to let Viktor find someone less important to ease his mental burden, or to choose an important person as the rule dictates, to spur his determination. But when he finally had to make a decision, he realized the awkward situation.

Viktor had a good relationship with many of the students he brought, but he knew very well that they were just normal classmates and that the word "important" didn't apply to them at all. In other words, he didn't really have any choice.

"Demstrang had a student named Polyakota."

"Don't try anything funny, Karkaroff,"

Professor Moody said in a cold and calm tone,

“I’ve taught your students, and I know their relationship isn’t that great.”

Karkaroff grinned. He had indeed forgotten that his students had been receiving an education at Hogwarts for the past six months, and these people were not entirely unaware of his students' situation.

"And what about Daphne Greengrass?"

Karkarov's eyes darted around.

"As you all know, she was Viktor's dance partner at the Christmas Ball. I dare say he must have been captivated by that wonderful girl from Hogwarts!"

“I spoke with Severus about this before, Professor Karkaroff,”

Professor McGonagall said expressionlessly,

"It is said that Mr. Krum has not visited Miss Greengrass once since the Christmas ball, and they have not even spoken to each other."

"Any other suggestions, Professor Karkaroff?"

With the controversy subsiding, Ludo regained his interest and asked with a smile.

Karkaroff now knew that his earlier disruption had put him in a difficult position, but he couldn't immediately find anyone who met the 'most important person' requirement for Viktor. He had suggested several students, but they were all rejected by Minerva McGonagall and that annoying Moody. The most difficult part was that he himself couldn't provide any evidence to prove that those people were important to Viktor.

"We need to hurry,"

Amusta glanced at the wall clock, his tone tinged with impatience.

"Since you haven't been able to come up with a suitable candidate, Professor Karkarov, why don't you listen to my suggestion?"