Hogwarts: My name is the Unforgivable Curse...

Chapter 374 Old Barty Gets the Hands

"……it's over?"

The audience was still somewhat bewildered—they had been momentarily blinded by the flash, and suddenly all the dark wizards had collapsed?

Where are the dozens of vicious dark wizards we were promised? Where is the realistic and thrilling final battle we were promised?

It's gone just like that?

Amidst the bewildered crowd, especially Fleur and Krum, who were still idly stroking the edge of the shield, completely bewildered by what had happened—they were in the middle of a match, how could they suddenly be thrown out? And then there was a flash of light inside and it was all over?

What happened?

"Ahem... So I hereby declare the third event of the Triwizard Tournament officially over."

Dumbledore coughed lightly, his aged and slightly bewildered voice echoing throughout Durmstrang: "However, given that a small... uh, unexpected incident occurred during the competition, the referee team will temporarily suspend the tallying and announcement of scores, as well as the explanation of the many unexpected events and twists in this competition, to first check whether there is any problem with the competition facilities, and then decide on some matters accordingly... Please wait a moment."

After speaking, he silenced his booming voice and, along with the other three referees whose expressions were equally complex, stepped down from the referee's stand. They went straight to the edge of the protective barrier and looked at Avada, who was still standing on the platform...

"Can you come out by yourself?"

"able."

Seeing the bewildered and resentful expressions on the faces of Dumbledore, the other three judges, and the two warriors, Avada's lips twitched slightly. He then slowly manipulated the shield to lower himself down and completely shut it off. The dark wizards, who had been piled up like a small mountain inside, were suddenly freed from the shield's restraint and scattered with a whoosh, spreading all the way to the judges and warriors beneath them…

"..."

Dumbledore's eye twitched visibly, and he forced a steady voice as he looked at Avada: "This shield... you broke it?"

"So...you didn't break the rules, right?"

"It seems not—did you break through this shield entirely on your own?"

Dumbledore asked again, his tone now tinged with a hint of probing: "Has anyone else, through any other means, secretly told you about the structure and weaknesses of this shield?"

"……No."

"No, Professor, it's one thing for others to be surprised, but why do you look completely taken aback? Could it be that Grindelwald, besides revealing that he's about to become a student at Noblyridge University, didn't tell Dumbledore anything else, such as the Soul and the Deathly Hallows?"

"We need to check the structure of the shield."

Dumbledore took out the Elder Wand, squatted down, and gently touched the ground. The grass on the ground instantly turned into countless ropes, binding the dark wizards tightly. He then neatly packed them up and carried them aside, clearing the land that held the protective shield.

This maneuver caused Avada's pupils to shrink slightly—this ground had been specially solidified with magic, and even when he was mobilizing his soul power, he absolutely could not perform such a large-scale and precise transfiguration as effortlessly as Dumbledore.

Sure enough, one should not get too arrogant and should always remember that one is just a researcher and does not have the power of those top wizards.

Next, the other three judges also took out their wands and pointed them at the ground, sensing the structure of the shield. However, Avada noticed that Barty Crouch the Elder, while taking out his wand, lowered his head and slightly moved his lips, whispering something into the air. Then, a few seconds later, Ludo Bagman, who had been lying in the crowd, also known as Barty Crouch the Younger, suddenly vanished without warning.

"Sure enough, he had already made a deal with Dumbledore and Noblyridge University—the illusion spell on that house-elf was far more sophisticated than the elf's own magic, so much so that Karkaroff and Maxim, who were very close by, were completely unaware..."

Seeing this, Avada became even more certain of his suspicions—as a high-ranking Ministry of Magic official with a fatal flaw, Nobiridge University would certainly not let go of such an opportunity to capture him and plant an informant within the Ministry. Barty Crouch Jr.'s escape was practically a godsend.

Since those Death Eaters dared to contact Grindelwald, they must have already informed him of Barty Crouch Jr.'s existence. If this were to be exposed, the impact on Barty Crouch Sr. would be extremely devastating—therefore, he had no choice but to seek help from the university, and Dumbledore, who already knew of Barty Crouch Jr.'s existence, naturally couldn't bypass him…

These are just speculations because his clone, Kru Impree, who remained at the university, wasn't involved in this plan. Firstly, the project didn't require many people, and he had just finished a large project and was currently on leave, only participating in missions in emergencies. Secondly, he himself needed to draw his mental energy back to his clone at any time, and rashly participating in important events would only increase instability…

"That's about it."

After a while, Dumbledore stood up first and looked at Karkaroff and Maxim, who seemed reluctant to get up: "You two should have noticed by now that the shield's structure is exactly as designed, without any hidden doors; there are no signs of it being broken or manipulated by external forces. All the previous changes originated from inside the shield... It's unbelievable, but that's the reality."

"..."

After seemingly determined to check one or two more times, Karkaroff and Mrs. Maxim reluctantly put away their wands and stood up, scanning Dumbledore and Avada's faces with extremely complex expressions.

"You've really taken on a good student, Dumbledore."

Kakaro sighed, whether out of jealousy or helplessness, "No wonder he was... "

"Alright, Igor."

Dumbledore shook his head slightly, interrupting Karkaroff's reflection: "Since no problems were found, we can announce the results—our students probably still have many questions waiting for us to answer."

"And Mr. Crouch... how is Mr. Bagman now?"

"Very good."

Crouch seemed to grit his teeth: "He's been secretly recuperating for months, and your Oblivion Charm worked wonders... He got off easy!"

"Alright, Mr. Bagman was just misled... Besides, you've essentially made him suffer, haven't you?"

Dumbledore gave Barty the Elder a half-smile, causing the latter to shudder almost imperceptibly: "You're right, Albus—let's go back."

(End of this chapter)