bacchusnovels Chapter 516 The End of the Triumph Tournament
Chapter 516 The End of the Triumph Tournament
Chapter 516 The End of the Triwizard Tournament (6)
Before Harry lay a gleaming gold trophy.
Due to the unique nature of the three-way competition, this trophy is not a cheap gold-plated piece, but is made of real gold and silver, shining brightly.
Behind Harry were hundreds of people.
Witnessing this historic moment, many reporters silently raised their cameras, their hands already on the shutter button.
"Where is that person?" Fudge asked Sean nervously, turning his head slightly.
If that person hadn't appeared, wouldn't his grand operation have been a waste? Of course, it wasn't entirely a waste—at least he took many "approachable" photos, which enhanced his public image.
But these "achievements" pale in comparison to personally arresting the mysterious man.
Fudge felt a surge of anxiety and anticipation as he watched Harry's hand about to touch the trophy handle.
The three boys reacted differently. Crouch was nervous and expectant, filled with both hope and deep fear. He knew that once Harry's hand touched the trophy, his plan would be complete, and his master would return to the wizarding world.
Even if it meant his arrest—what did it matter? Azkaban was no stranger to him. He could always go back in again. But if he succeeded, his master would return to the wizarding world with his ideals, and all this sacrifice would become insignificant. For his master's great cause, everything he had was worth giving.
Therefore, deep down, he had already made a decision and knew clearly that success or failure hinged on this moment.
As for Dumbledore, he seemed to have sensed something.
So, just as Harry was about to place his hand on the trophy handle, Dumbledore and Sean emerged from behind at the same time.
"Wait a minute, Harry."
"Wait a minute, Harry."
The two shouted at the same time.
Hearing the commotion behind him, Harry's hand paused slightly, his heart skipped a beat, and he turned around to see Dumbledore and Professor Phillips walking towards him at the same time.
Only then did he realize:
Unbeknownst to him, so many wizards were following behind him.
What's going on here?
"Harry, don't touch that trophy," Sean warned again.
Upon hearing the instruction, Harry, though he didn't understand, obediently put his hands behind his back.
Seeing his plan fall apart, Crouch's heart skipped a beat... Oh no, just as expected, Phillips was going to ruin his big scheme at the last minute.
He gritted his teeth inwardly, and the anxiety churning in his heart welled up like a spring.
This is the closest we've ever come to our master's resurrection. If we miss this opportunity, who knows when we'll have to wait!
"What's wrong?" Harry asked.
However, neither of them paid any attention to him and instead silently walked to the trophy.
Sean knew, of course, that Crouch Jr. had turned the trophy into a door key, while Dumbledore was genuinely examining the trophy, wondering if Crouch Jr. had tampered with it.
Of course, the speculation that the trophy would be made into a door key was not among Dumbledore's first few possibilities.
He probably thinks the trophy is cursed or something, which is Voldemort's specialty, isn't it?
Just as Dumbledore was about to take out his wand to do something, Sean suddenly stepped forward and stopped him.
"Wait, Principal."
"Phillips, what are your thoughts?"
"I think it would be best to use a duplication spell before examining this trophy, to prevent it from being tampered with or damaged in any way, so that the evidence would be gone."
Upon hearing Sean's suggestion, Dumbledore raised an eyebrow and nodded in agreement.
"You're very thoughtful."
As he spoke, he used the Copying Spell, creating not just one copy, but seven or eight.
When it comes to caution, Dumbledore was just as cautious as Voldemort, and there's a reason he lived so long.
As Dumbledore and Sean examined the trophy, Fudge quickly stepped forward and directed everyone to come forward, including Crouch Jr.
Sean gestured for Fudge to come over to Harry, then directed the surrounding reporters to take pictures of the two of them.
Fudge gave his trusted confidant a look of admiration.
Now... is the perfect time to release a film.
Nothing could be more worthy of tomorrow's Daily Prophet's front page than a photo of him, the minister, with Harry, the savior and Triwizard Tournament champion.
While adjusting their postures, Sean secretly watched Crouch out of the corner of his eye.
This is a great opportunity, buy one get one free, let's see if he can seize it.
"Three, two, one!"
"cheese!"
In an instant, the sound of camera shutters went off one after another, and the flashes of light almost illuminated the entire night.
Just as everyone's attention was momentarily lost in the flashing lights, Crouch Jr. lived up to Sean's expectations, drawing his wand with a do-or-die spirit and stepping forward.
"Spell of Sudden Arrival!"
Dumbledore, however, remained wary of Crouch Jr.
The instant Crouch Jr. cast his Summoning Charm, he immediately cast a spell to prevent the trophy from flying towards Crouch Jr. However... Crouch Jr.'s Summoning Charm did not cause the trophy to fly towards him in the audience.
Instead, it was Harry standing on the other side!
Without warning, the trophy flew to Fudge and Harry's side, where the two were taking a photo side by side.
The moment the trophy touched them, the two people and the trophy vanished into the night wind.
The shutters and flashes from the audience paused for a moment.
Immediately following was an even faster and more intense shutter sound than before.
Before they even arrived, Fudge had already informed them that he was going to do something big for them—no, something big news.
Is this... it?
A miraculous transformation?
Although I don't understand, I respect it.
The simultaneous disappearance of the Minister of Magic and the Savior is indeed big news.
However, Dumbledore's expression wasn't so pleasant. In fact, it was... terribly gloomy, like a rag that had been mopped a thousand times on Snape's office floor, left unwashed, so gloomy you could wring out black water from it.
Right under his nose, Crouch Jr. still managed to get his way.
A humiliating disgrace.
He fixed his gaze on little Crouch, his eyes looking terrifying, as if he wanted to devour him.
In contrast to Dumbledore's gloomy expression, Crouch Jr. seemed to have accomplished some great mission, his arrogant smile blooming like a wrinkled flower on Moody's face.
That's it?
The plan was a success!
At that moment, Crouch Jr. could vaguely sense that the whole world seemed to be opening its doors to him.
All the sacrifices, all the preparations and schemes, came to a complete end in that instant. The disappearance of Harry and Fudge signified that the first step in their master's resurrection was complete, and he himself would usher in glory amidst this chaos!
"Stop!"
The sound was as loud as thunder as Sean shouted, trying to regain control of the situation.
The reporters were stunned; they hadn't yet grasped why Sean had done this and looked at him in bewilderment. Sean didn't offer any further explanation, but simply pointed his wand quickly to the sky.
A beam of yellow light shot out from the wand, slicing through the night sky like lightning.
Immediately afterwards, the light spread out, turning into countless points of light, which instantly burst into a dazzling light screen.
The next second—
Groups of Aurors and strikers appeared silently from all directions, like ghostly figures emerging from the mist. They quickly surrounded the entire area with precision and speed.
Dressed in uniform, they held their wands high, ready for battle, forming an invisible barrier.
The scene changed dramatically in an instant. A sense of oppression filled the air, and no one dared to utter a sound, much less express their doubts.
This phenomenon...could it be...?
A bold guess emerged in the minds of these journalists who studied journalism.
Could it be... that Phillips and Dumbledore are planning a coup? To overthrow the Ministry of Magic's rule? And what about these witnesses...?
surrender.
It seems there are no other options besides surrendering.
Unless they want to be killed to silence them.
The title of the article had already been polished and formed in their minds: The British wizarding world has suffered for Fudge for a long time, and the great Phillips and Dumbledore are about to visit their loyal Ministry of Magic!
"Catch Barty Crouch Jr. disguised as Moody!"
Sean pointed his wand at Crouch Jr., and the Aurors around him did not hesitate for a moment. With clear division of labor, dozens of disarming charms were cast in an instant.
Crouch offered no resistance, simply letting his hands hang down and bursting into laughter.
So what if we catch him now?
He watched coldly as the Aurors and strikers slowly gathered around him, and shouted sharply.
"When our master returns, you will all die!"
Barty Crouch Jr.?
Wasn't this infamous Death Eater supposed to have died in Azkaban over a decade ago? How did he come back to life? Is Moody actually Barty Crouch Jr. in disguise?
Master? Who is Barty Crouch Jr.'s master? And who is a wizard who can be called a master?
A name and a figure slowly appeared in the reporters' minds.
His face turned deathly pale instantly.
Is that person... coming back?
Harry and Fudge felt their feet slam into the ground, their legs buckled, and they fell onto the cold earth.
"Where is this?" Fudge asked in terror, his voice filled with fear and unease.
Harry shook his head, stood up, and struggled to pull the pot-bellied Fudge to his feet. The two looked around, surveying this unfamiliar place.
They were clearly far outside the Hogwarts area; the two could clearly sense that they had flown several miles—perhaps even hundreds of miles. The castle was no longer visible, and the surrounding mountains had vanished.
They stood in a dark, overgrown cemetery, with a tall yew tree to their right and the dark outline of a small chapel faintly visible behind it.
To the left was a hill, and through the dim light, the two could make out an old and exquisite house on the hillside.
Harry looked down at the trophy in his hand, then looked up at Fudge.
"Is this trophy a Portkey? Is this also part of the Ministry of Magic's setup? Are they preparing a surprise for me? Or—a test for the third project?" Harry asked, his tone hesitant, but mostly confused.
Fudge's expression was filled with fear, and although he didn't answer, Harry already knew the answer he didn't want to hear.
"No." Fudge trembled as he looked around the gloomy cemetery, where all was silent.
His voice trembled, "You...you think this will be part of the competition?"
Phillips never mentioned such a thing!
"I don't know." Harry's mental fortitude was far superior to Fudge's; perhaps the experiences of the previous hours had conditioned him to this adventurous state. "Pull out your wand, Minister, what do you say?"
"Okay." Fudge casually pulled his wand from his waist, still seemingly in shock.
Both of them drew their wands at the same time, and Harry nervously glanced around. Suddenly, he had that uneasy feeling again—as if some kind of gaze was quietly watching them.
"Someone's coming," Harry whispered.
They squinted nervously, staring at a shadow in the darkness, where two figures, one large and one small, moved slowly between the tombstones.
The larger one is humanoid, and is a wizard.
The smaller one was also humanoid, but resembled...an animal?
But its form is more like a humanoid animal—so, is it a fairy? Or a goblin?
Harry lowered his wand slightly and gave Fudge a questioning look. Fudge looked back at him, and neither of them spoke. Harry knew he couldn't speak, and Fudge couldn't say anything.
So they could only continue to watch the figure gradually approaching.
The shadow stopped in front of a tall marble tombstone, only six feet away from them.
At that moment, Harry and Fudge met the gaze of the short figure, and the air seemed to freeze.
Suddenly, Harry's scar throbbed with excruciating pain. The pain was more intense than ever before, almost making him lose consciousness. His wand slipped from his hand, he covered his face with his hands, his legs buckled, and he collapsed to the ground. Everything went black, his head felt like it was about to explode, and the pain was almost unbearable.
He heard a cold voice from overhead in the distance: "Kill him—"
"Avadaso—"
"I am Fudge, the Minister of Magic. May I ask...?"
"etc."
It's just a few words, but they come from three different people and last only two or three seconds.
Immediately afterwards, a bright green light flashed out from the night sky, piercing the darkness in an instant, but just as the green light was about to touch Harry and Fudge, it was violently pushed back by a red light.
The two beams of light collided violently in the air, almost instantly unleashing a tremendous amount of energy, which then formed a flash of light like a magical firework, before gradually dissipating in the air, as if swallowed by an invisible force.
Harry heard something fall heavily beside him. His scar still throbbed with pain, making him feel nauseous. Then, as the pain subsided, he slowly opened his stinging eyes in fear.
Fudge collapsed to the ground, his face deathly pale.
That second felt incredibly long to both of them.
They knew perfectly well that the curse was "Avada Kedavra," one of the three unforgivable curses!
They were almost killed!