Hogwarts: My name is the Unforgivable Curse...

Chapter 295 A New Direction

"A fairy... ha."

From beginning to end, Avada never believed the absurd claim that "Ludo Bagman was killed by a fairy."

Putting aside the fact that, as Cedric said, the goblins wouldn't kill a high-ranking official of the British Ministry of Magic just because of a debt; Bagman's cause of death doesn't match up with the goblins at all—he died from a killing curse, and it's very likely a silent killing curse!

Historically, there have indeed been numerous cases of fairies attacking wizards, demonstrating that their magical abilities should not be underestimated. While fairies may employ various methods to take a wizard's life, the Killing Curse would certainly not be among them.

While a few exceptionally powerful wizards might be able to cast a silent killing spell, casting it without a wand completely exceeds the limits of all magical creatures—and fairies, whose natural talent ceiling is much lower than that of wizards and who are neither qualified nor accustomed to using wands, are naturally not included in this category.

Furthermore, as a product of the early development of human wizards, the concept of "wand" was designed specifically for humans from its inception. From its appearance to its inner workings, it perfectly matches the characteristics of human spiritual power, ensuring that it can only unleash its greatest power in the hands of human wizards. This is also an important reason why human wizards were able to stand out from other intelligent races. The so-called "wand chooses wizard" is one of its specific manifestations.

Therefore, even if fairies manage to use their wands through some means, they will be constrained in their use, in a worse situation than a human wizard wielding an unsuitable wand. Furthermore, the laws prohibiting fairies from possessing wands are more symbolic than practical…

"However, we cannot rule out the possibility that fairies were involved in this matter."

As Avada entered Durmstrang Castle, she registered her name again at the table by the entrance before heading towards the stairwell leading to the underground floors: "After all, based on the information we have now, Ludo Bagman was indeed silently murdered with the doors wide open and no one noticing. This could potentially involve fairy spatial magic..."

Although he didn't know exactly what the fairy's spatial magic looked like, Avada had witnessed the fairy's shielding magic—almost all magical creatures with spatial talents were within the fairy's shielding range, which likely meant that they had mastered the principle and could simulate similar effects, just like Avada was now able to do.

"Let's see what the so-called 'investigation team' has to say tomorrow. If I were a pure-blood, I certainly wouldn't let such an opportunity to openly infiltrate Durmstrang pass by..."

"Furthermore, hasn't the 'investigation team' thing already been used once?"

……

And so, the night passed.

Just as Cedric predicted, a day later, Durmstrang had indeed lifted the curfew, and students were once again seen coming and going in the corridors. However, this brought Avada into the spotlight considerably—now, in addition to being a warrior, he also had the identity of a suspect, a dual identity that was probably unprecedented in the entire history of the Triwizard Tournament.

The only consolation was his Hogwarts companions—none of them truly believed Avada could possibly be the murderer. But the fact that Bagman was murdered less than a minute after he left was indeed very strange, and they could only say they couldn't help him. Those who could only try to provide as much gossip and rumors about Ludo Bagman as they knew, or try to find out as many clues as possible…

"A betting game? You mean... the betting game for this three-way championship?"

Avada looked at Baron in surprise—he belonged to one of the most well-connected groups, and his pure-blooded connections allowed him to have acquaintances even in Durmstrang, a place far from England.

"How did you find out about this? Shouldn't Durmstrang be completely isolated right now, unable to even send a single letter?"

"This information actually came from Hogwarts."

Baron shrugged. "You know, quite a few upperclassmen Slytherins are eager to participate in these things—almost the day after the Triwizard Tournament events were announced, betting odds were already popping up, some on the champions, some on the specific events… So, after the champions were chosen, betting on who would win was definitely already open the day you were selected for the Goblet of Fire, and given Ludo Bagman's personality and current status, he'd almost certainly be involved…"

"So?" Avada didn't react for a moment.

"Don't you find that strange?"

Baron frowned slightly: "It's a competition hosted by Durmstrang, yet they're inviting two British officials to be referees... Moreover, there's never been a case in the past where referees other than the three headmasters have been present—even if it's really to thank the British Ministry of Magic, as they say, is it really necessary to change the tradition of the competition just for this?"

"Moreover, there are so many strange things about Ludo Bagman, who became the referee: two of the three warriors had direct or indirect conflicts with him before the match even started, and he himself is a notorious gambler—generally speaking, even if it were simply to avoid suspicion, such a person shouldn't be the referee. Even at the Quidditch World Cup, Bagman was just a commentator. This arrangement was to avoid any bad rumors..."

"Perhaps you could try investigating from this angle."

He gave Avada a somewhat mocking look—others might not know, but Baron was well aware of his friend's ability to stir up trouble behind the scenes. Moreover, having been exposed to the comings and goings of various pure-blood families and having experienced the locked-room crisis in his third year, he also had an innate wariness of the upcoming so-called "investigation team"...

"All right."

Avada, who immediately understood Baron's meaning, nodded with a smile: "I'll try my best."

After a brief conversation with Baron, Avada continued to endure strange looks all morning. Then, at lunchtime, something finally happened that could divert people's attention: Karkaroff came to the dining hall and announced that a meeting would be held in the hall after dinner to announce a series of arrangements following the incident. All students, including guests from Hogwarts and Beauxbatons, were required to attend.

(End of this chapter)