Hogwarts: My name is the Unforgivable Curse...

Chapter 357 Baron's Secret Trump Card

Seeing the bewildered expressions on the faces of the audience below, Little Barty couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

"A bunch of naive good-for-nothings...you'll be surprised yet!"

"Dumbledore's death, the Dark Lord's return... these are things a thousand times more exciting than playing house. I wonder if you'd be interested in witnessing them? But it's no use if you're not interested, because the broadcasting magic I've set up will show every drop of blood that splattered when Dumbledore died, transmitting it back to Hogwarts so that when Master wakes up he can see a school that has completely submitted to him, and then let those traitors and Mudbloods die in utter despair..."

"Karkaroff was reliable enough this time; he managed to get those three brats into the ghost ship almost simultaneously to activate the water teleportation, maximizing the pressure Dumbledore will face later. If we're lucky, we might not even need that one's help..."

"Hmph, considering his contribution, once the master recovers, I can plead with him to punish that coward less. After all, although that guy is shameless and disloyal, at least he has some brains, and he's still useful to the master when their interests align..."

"But don't think that betraying your classmates will get you away with it, Karkaroff... Once Master conquers Azkaban, guess how those you betrayed will treat you? Heh..."

Although, according to the plan, he was about to launch an unprecedented and momentous operation in less than ten minutes, Barty Jr. felt no tension or unease whatsoever. After all, their plan was meticulously crafted, and they had gathered the strength of so many pure-blood families. That old bastard Dumbledore was still completely unaware of it all. More importantly, they had obtained the promise and assistance of "that gentleman"...

Even if this plan fails, it doesn't matter. Once the backup plan left at Hogwarts takes effect, Dumbledore will never be able to completely kill his master again. And according to the information just passed over yesterday, the spies planted at Hogwarts have almost started to act, and may have even succeeded...

They have long since established an invincible position!

"What an astonishing scene—the giant squid's superior intelligence has become a disadvantage in front of Miss Delacour!"

A myriad of thoughts flashed through Barty's mind, but it didn't affect his outward appearance at all, where he maintained Ludo Bagman's signature enthusiastic smile, continuing to excitedly shout in an exaggerated tone: "Higher intelligence means a more sophisticated mental structure, which naturally means being more susceptible to mental magic... And in the realm of the mind, what could be better at than a half-Veep? Miss Delacour hypnotized this poor giant squid with almost no effort—wait, perhaps compared to the other two magical creatures guarding the ghost ship, this giant squid isn't so pitiful after all..."

"Very good, Miss Delacour has finally entered the ghost ship, her speed almost matching Mr. Krum's—the gap between the three warriors has narrowed further, which means the final trophy match may be more intense than ever before..."

"The third ghost ship has also temporarily disappeared from the screen. I suggest everyone take advantage of this time to rest and relax, because in five minutes, you might not even want to blink!"

As soon as Ludo Bagman finished speaking, the atmosphere in the stands visibly relaxed. The students, who had been intently watching the game on the screen just seconds before and barely daring to breathe, finally began to discuss animatedly. Countless voices merged into a noisy buzz, instantly turning the once tranquil lakeside into a lively place.

The students at Beauxbatons were worried that their champion might lose the match due to their current disadvantage, while the students at Durmstrang were congratulating Krum on his brilliant performance, with many smugly explaining their old "ghost ship" to students from other schools; and as for Hogwarts, the majority of the voices were indignant on behalf of their champion, Avada Kedavra…

"This cover-up is far too obvious."

Even Cedric, who was usually reluctant to speculate maliciously about others, couldn't help but complain: "Ken has had the worst luck in the last two projects. Last time, the stone pillar appeared directly under the fire dragon's body, and this time he encountered the most troublesome of the three guardian magical creatures, the long-horned water snake..."

"Even the other two warriors were obviously lucky."

Immediately, someone around him chimed in, "In the last competition, Krum got his best flying broomstick, and this time Delacour is facing the magical creature most easily countered by her talent... If it's just the organizers, Durmstrang, manipulating things behind the scenes, wouldn't it be enough to give Krum a little advantage? Why help Delacour?"

"It's probably to balance the game and make the competition more entertaining. Think about it, even when they were being targeted, Kent managed to lead the other two Warriors by a quarter. If you remove all those off-court factors, wouldn't it just be a one-sided stomp? The Triwizard Tournament is supposed to be about mutual exchange and friendship, so it has to give the other schools some face..."

"Exactly, and even with such a clear disadvantage, Ken is still in the lead, isn't he? He's not lacking in luck... Baron, why aren't you saying anything?"

"I?"

Baron, who had been silent the whole time, seemed to be suddenly awakened and looked up: "...Nothing, I was just thinking about something."

After chatting with the people around him for a few more minutes, and seeing that no one else was paying attention to him anymore, Baron took a deep breath as quietly as possible, forcibly suppressing his wildly pounding heart with his cold lungs. At the same time, he reached into his pocket with his slightly trembling, sweaty hand and firmly grasped a key-shaped object...

He didn't know if the information his father had given him was accurate, nor did he know if the terrifying thing his father had described would really happen in a few minutes... But if the information was true, then he—who had learned a shocking secret and was already prepared for today's events—would have to risk his life to lead the students to safety and protect them from the aftermath...

He used the magic key his father had given him.

(End of this chapter)