Hogwarts: My name is the Unforgivable Curse...

Chapter 300 Hibiscus's Talent

"But how can we investigate?"

After Avada and Fleur explained, Krum's eyes lit up, but after thinking for a moment, he still asked a question: "These kinds of betting games are usually unofficial and quite private, so the confidentiality for clients is definitely not bad. Bagman himself certainly wouldn't reveal such shady dealings; the only people who probably know who he bet on are himself and the bookmaker..."

"Even the bookmaker probably doesn't know; these kinds of bets are usually anonymous."

Avada shook his head and added, "That is indeed a problem—and we couldn't even investigate the gambling itself ourselves, we can't even leave the school now."

"Hmm...or perhaps we can look at it from a different angle...did Bagman do anything unusual during your interview, Krum?"

He suddenly asked Krum.

"no."

Krum recalled for a moment, then answered definitively, "He only asked normal questions and didn't offer any hints or anything... If he really wanted to help me win the game by cheating, shouldn't he have secretly given me some information when we were alone?"

"And what about his performance? You two had a conflict before—did he seem stiff or unnatural?" Avada pressed on.

"...No, not either."

Krum shook his head: "He acted quite normally at the time, as if our previous conflicts had never happened... and he was the one who volunteered to be the first to interview me, which surprised me a bit..."

"This could be one piece of evidence supporting our deduction... but it's too weak, almost negligible."

Avada rubbed his temples in frustration: "But what else can I do..."

"Why don't we just look among Bagman's belongings?"

At this moment, Fleur, who hadn't said much until now, suddenly blurted out this sentence, causing Avada and Krum to look at her in astonishment.

"What's so surprising? Isn't this an easy solution to come up with?"

Furong looked at their surprised expressions with some confusion, then smoothed her hair and explained, "Regardless of what happened on the gambling side, since Ludo Bagman participated in this betting, he must have some receipts or similar documents, and it's highly likely he brought them to Durmstrang. We can find them by searching his office and personal belongings!"

"Even if what we find in the end isn't a direct answer, but just a string of numbers or something else, it's still a very important clue—at least we have the ability to investigate further independently, right?"

"..."

"Are you... insane?"

Krum tilted his head, and after a long pause, he managed to utter, "Don't you know where Bagman's belongings are now?"

"If we're lucky, they'll remain in that still office, under constant, heavy guard, with layers upon layers of security, and no one will be allowed to touch them... But if we're unlucky, they've already fallen into the hands of the British investigation team! We don't even know where they are—in a room that's been requisitioned as a data room? Or in those little tents on the playground?"

"And if, as you've deduced, those investigators were indeed problematic... how do you think they'll handle the evidence that's unfavorable to them?"

"That makes things even easier."

Furong tossed her cascading long hair and flashed a confident smile: "Why don't we just go and ask them for it?"

"???"

Krum was stunned, as if struck by a petrification spell, completely unable to comprehend Fleur's thoughts.

"You mean... Legilimency, or the Imperius Curse?"

Avada, who had long teetered on the edge of Azkaban, paused for a moment before quickly following Fleur's train of thought: "I can use these mental spells with my bare hands—but don't forget we have surveillance badges on us! I've studied them carefully; these things are very difficult to shield without leaving a trace. They're the kind that will immediately sound an alarm at the slightest touch, and the alarm is almost impossible to intercept. Dumbledore didn't leave any backdoors when he made them..."

Krum glanced at Avada silently, then quietly moved a little further away without making a sound—this guy just said he could cast the Imperius Curse with his bare hands?

Even I, a top student at Durmstrang, think you're being a bit extreme.

"Ahem, it's not that exaggerated!"

Hibiscus was startled when she heard the suggestion of the Soul-Stealing Curse, not quite understanding why a fifteen-year-old boy could propose such a torture without batting an eye. However, her expression softened, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly: "Some gentler, more discreet methods."

"Those guys naively thought that taking my wand completely controlled me—heh heh, if they had just consulted Mrs. Maxim, this wouldn't have happened..."

Suddenly, she brushed her hair behind her ear and smiled at Avada and Krum—in an instant, in Avada's eyes, Fleur seemed to glow. Her face was as if a veil had been lifted, revealing unparalleled beauty and charm. Her figure became infinitely more graceful, and every movement seemed like a dance…

"This is... Veela's innate magic?"

Avada blinked, channeled his mental energy to dissipate the effect, then stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment before his eyes lit up: "This method seems feasible!"

"This magic seems to affect the senses directly, and even Occlumency can't completely prevent it—if anyone on the investigation team isn't so determined, and given that I can hide nearby and use some tricks... maybe I can really get them to fall for it!"

"If this move were even a little stronger, it might even be able to directly control those people to bring us what we need... uh, Krum?"

He suddenly noticed that Krum next to him seemed to have fallen into a daze, just staring blankly at Fleur. So he had to poke his ribs hard to force him to come back to his senses: "Well, looks like this trick worked well..."

"His performance already demonstrates remarkable willpower."

Fleur muttered to herself, staring at Avada with an expression of utter disbelief, "I just activated my innate magic to the maximum! And you weren't affected at all??"

"...Well, actually, a little bit."

Avada then realized that his calm demeanor might have slightly dampened Fleur's confidence, and scratched his head awkwardly: "I've achieved some success in mental magic, so it's normal for me to have a bit more resistance in that area..."

"...In short,"

Hibiscus had no choice but to suppress her talent and frustration, forcing herself to hold her head high and salvage her dignity, saying, "With me here, the investigation won't be dangerous—after all, I didn't use any magic. I just asked a staff member a few questions, and he told me everything I wanted to know. Besides, we weren't asking for anything sensitive, just something as trivial as finding out who Bagman bet on to win… Even if the people monitoring us saw the whole thing, they can't really say anything, right?"

(End of this chapter)