Chapter 341: Sudden Accident
Chapter 341: Sudden Accident
Hogwarts.
The moment Sherlock and Cedric touched the Triwizard Cup and vanished into the maze, Dumbledore sensed something was amiss.
After confirming that Sherlock would replace Harry in the third task, Dumbledore had established a faint connection through Fawkes' feather.
This connection, however, was only effective within the grounds of Hogwarts. Outside the castle, it would only work if Sherlock used the feather to alert Fawkes to his exact location.
Now, this faint connection had been severed, and Dumbledore immediately knew that something had gone wrong with Sherlock.
The instant he realized this, Dumbledore stood up from the judges' stand.
The other judges, seated around him, noticed his sudden movement and the grave expression on his face.
Fudge wore a smile, but his eyes lacked any warmth as he looked at Dumbledore.
"What is it, Albus?"
Dumbledore didn't even glance at him, let alone say a word to anyone. He simply got up and walked directly toward the maze.
Fudge's forced smile finally faded, and his expression grew dark as he watched Dumbledore's back.
"The tournament is still ongoing. Where are you going?"
The other judges on the stand also reacted in various ways.
Madame Maxime looked the most bewildered. Fleur had already been the first to be eliminated, and Krum had followed shortly after. Regardless of who won, the champion would definitely be a Hogwarts student. She couldn't understand why Dumbledore seemed to want to interrupt the tournament.
Karkaroff had been struggling with something since the start of the third task. Now, as Dumbledore's movement drew everyone's attention, he made his decision and quietly disappeared from the venue without drawing any notice.
Bagman, on the other hand, appeared quite natural.
His face showed surprise, but it was unclear whether he was surprised by Dumbledore's actions or by how he had noticed the anomaly.
The students in the stands also noticed Dumbledore's hurried approach to the maze, and the crowd erupted into a buzz of chatter.
Hermione, Ron, and the Weasley family, who were sitting together, looked confused.
"What is Professor Dumbledore doing?" Ron asked.
Hermione furrowed her brow.
"Could something have happened to Harry?"
By the time they were wondering this, Dumbledore had already reached the maze.
He didn't need to navigate it himself. As he approached the hedges that formed the walls, they began to retract into the ground, clearing a path for him.
Fudge's anxious and angry voice rang out behind Dumbledore.
"You are disrupting the Triwizard Tournament! This event, which has been brought back through the efforts of many, is now being forced to halt because of you! You must give the Ministry of Magic an explanation!"
His words were heard by everyone in the stands, causing the noise to intensify.
Several professors, acting as safety officers, gathered around Dumbledore.
Professors Mcgonagall, Flitwick, and Hagrid all came, but Mad-Eye Moody was notably absent.
No one asked much about where Mad-Eye Moody had gone. Even Professor Mcgonagall and the others were now completely focused on Dumbledore’s sudden actions, paying little attention to the already elusive Mad-Eye.
Dumbledore continued straight ahead, heading directly toward the center of the maze, where the Triwizard Cup, the final prize, should have been placed.
As the last obstacle before the cup, the giant spider had clearly been defeated and lay on the ground. The Triwizard Cup, which had been on the central stone pedestal, was nowhere to be seen.
Everyone who saw this scene stared with wide eyes. Even Fudge, who had been loudly demanding that Dumbledore take responsibility for the tournament’s failure, was now speechless, his mouth agape.
Soon, some spectators came down from the stands and discovered the situation, causing chaos and discussions to break out all around. Only Dumbledore furrowed his brow deeply.
A brilliant golden light appeared on his shoulder, and Fawkes, ignoring the Apparition ban within Hogwarts Castle, materialized on his shoulder, shaking its head.
Fawkes was telling Dumbledore that it had not detected Sherlock using the feather.
People around him kept asking questions.
“What’s going on, Albus? Where are Potter and Diggory?” Professor Mcgonagall’s question echoed the thoughts of everyone present.
But Dumbledore did not give her a clear answer.
“As you can see, the tournament has had an unexpected turn. I don’t know where they are right now.”
His voice was serious, more serious than ever before.
Fawkes’ inability to locate Sherlock filled Dumbledore with a deep sense of unease.
At that moment, there was someone even more uneasy than him.
Silke, pale-faced, gazed up at the night sky, muttering quickly about the trajectories of the planets, hoping to use astrology to pinpoint Sherlock’s location.
But tonight’s astrology was chaotic and changing rapidly, making it impossible for Silke to use the divination techniques she had learned from the former head of the Department of Mysteries in the German Ministry of Magic. Even her usually reliable intuition, which had always been a source of hope, could not provide her with a clear direction.
All she felt was a heavy sense of fear, worry, and dread overwhelming her heart.
She couldn’t sense Sherlock’s exact location, but there was an unshakeable sense of panic that lingered in her mind.
Silke wasn’t sure if this panic was coming from Sherlock, but the current situation made her think it was.
Amid the chaos, with the deep sky offering no guidance, she pushed through the crowd and walked to the stone pedestal where the Triwizard Cup had been placed.
Facing the pedestal, Silke hesitated not a moment and removed the black ribbon that had covered her eyes.
A pair of golden eyes were revealed to the air.
The pale golden irises glowed faintly, like two stars that had fallen to the ground.
All the experiences of the pedestal, the people who had approached it, and every scene associated with it, flashed before Silke’s eyes!
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
