Hogwarts: My name is the Unforgivable Curse...

Chapter 358 Emergency Rescue

So, five minutes later.

"...Everyone, please calm down and don't rush."

Looking at the three still empty fog screens and the countless students below, eagerly anticipating the event and already showing signs of restlessness, Little Barty suppressed the urge to burst into laughter. He forced a slightly confused and uneasy expression and explained to the poor students who were still unaware of what was about to happen: "What I said just now was only the theoretical time; in reality, there will still be some margin of error..."

"This is the first time Durmstrang Academy has attempted to replicate the water teleportation magic from the ghost ships and apply it to the construction of new vessels, so there will be some uncertainty... However, please rest assured that both the technology and the ghost ships have been verified countless times by the judging panel, so there will be no safety issues. At most, the teleportation process will take a little longer than expected, just like it is now. The warriors will not encounter any danger during this stage..."

Seeing Ludo Bagman's confident assurance, the students, who had been somewhat restless, gradually calmed down—after all, it's not uncommon for magic to have errors, and only about five minutes had passed, so the deviation wasn't too great.

However, a few uneasy faces were still hidden among the crowd—not just Baron.

And so, another five minutes passed.

"What...what's going on?"

In fact, starting from the third minute, the students' questions and clamor had gradually become uncontrollable, and now it had reached a fever pitch, almost to the point of pushing towards the judges' table. The judges, who had initially remained calm, finally showed signs of anxiety and were huddled together, whispering amongst themselves…

"I'll go check how the magic works!"

Karkaroff was the first to stand up. After uttering those words to either the students or the judges, he vanished into thin air with a loud pop—as the headmaster of Durmstrang, Karkaroff naturally possessed the authority to Apparate within the school. At the same time, the three previously black mist screens suddenly coalesced again, displaying Karkaroff now wearing the Bubble Head Charm. He was holding his wand, intently probing the dark depths of the water, seemingly searching for some sign…

Seeing the principal's actions, the previously noisy students quieted down somewhat, at least no longer intending to rush onto the judges' table to pull their beards and hair. The remaining four judges—especially Ludo Bagman—also began to sit uneasily, awaiting Karkarov's decision…

Perhaps three minutes later, or perhaps three centuries later, Karkarov finally disappeared from the screen again. At the same time, a familiar loud bang came from the direction of the referee's bench—Karkarov appeared before the bench, soaking wet, his hair clinging to his forehead and cheeks, dripping water. But he didn't even spend a second longer to dry himself off before rushing towards the other four referees:

"Professor Dumbledore, we're afraid we'll need your help here!"

Dumbledore, completely oblivious to the fact that Karkaroff had splashed him with water, stood up abruptly with a serious expression: "What happened?"

"There was a problem with the water transport process."

Karkaroff's face was pale, and his lips were trembling slightly, whether from the cold water or his extreme tension was unclear: "All three ghost ships are stuck in the teleportation process, inside the water—hundreds of meters deep!"

"...How could this happen?"

The other judges' faces also turned pale, while Dumbledore immediately stood up from his seat, a strangely shaped, ancient wand appearing in his hand at some point. He frowned and asked Karkaroff, "Didn't we check several times? What went wrong this time?"

It's not clear yet.

Karkaroff shook his head and replied, "But we can't let them stay stuck there any longer—we don't know how long the magic on the ghost ship can withstand the healing power of space, which is far more terrifying than the pressure of hundreds of feet of water… They're hiding too deep in space; I'm afraid only you among us can get them out, Professor Dumbledore!"

Crouch and Mrs. Maxime didn't say much after hearing this—they had a very clear understanding of Dumbledore's power, and they had also heard rumors about the mysterious wand in Dumbledore's possession...

"I see."

Dumbledore nodded seriously, his face showing no sign of relief. "Then I'll trouble you to take me down, Professor Karkaroff. Besides, you should be more familiar with water teleportation magic than I am, and I'm afraid I'll need your help later."

"This is simply my duty."

Karkaroff nodded readily, then glanced at "Ludo Bagman" beside him: "Mr. Bagman, why don't you come along too? The warriors might be a little frightened in an accident like this, and you have the most experience in handling these kinds of situations..."

"no problem."

Ludo Bagman nodded in agreement without making a sound.

"Mr. Crouch, Mrs. Maxime, would you please stay here and maintain order among the students? The professors at Durmstrang will cooperate with you. Please, please, do not cause any further trouble."

Crouch and Maxim nodded in agreement, then stood up and stepped down from the judges' table to begin speaking with Durmstrang's professors. Karkaroff, meanwhile, firmly grasped Bagman and Dumbledore's sleeves, then vanished with another loud bang, only to reappear a moment later on the screen made of mist.

This time, the scene on the screen was no longer the pitch-black water, but a vast space illuminated by countless bonfires floating in the sky. Countless lakes surged around this space, but as if separated by an invisible wall, they could not get any closer, and in the end, they could only helplessly form turbulent whirlpools around it—this was the originally planned final battleground for the Triwizard Tournament trophy.

Suddenly, three figures appeared without warning inside the previously empty space. They were Dumbledore, Karkaroff, and "Bagman".

"Let's begin, Professor Karkaroff."

Dumbledore seemed to sense something as soon as he landed, and then immediately drew his Elder Wand and pointed it precisely to a certain spot in the void, turning to Karkaroff beside him with a questioning look.

"……good."

Karkaroff glanced at Dumbledore in surprise, then drew his own wand and pointed it in the exact same spot as Dumbledore's...

(End of this chapter)