Chapter 616: Criteria for Judging a Spy
Chapter 616: Criteria for Judging a Spy
"Come out!" Ivan hissed, his voice low and menacing. He held his wand tightly, his expression taut with tension.
He had a good idea who was in the hallway, but he hesitated about whether to act immediately. Anyone appearing here in the middle of the night was likely up to no good, especially someone he already suspected of foul play.
"Put down your wand, it's me, Hals!"
A hoarse, deep voice echoed from the corridor, followed by the familiar dull thud of a wooden leg and a wand striking the floor.
Moments later, Mad-Eye Moody's scarred face came into view again.
"What are you doing here so late, Professor Moody?" Ivan asked, not lowering his wand.
"I could ask you the same thing!" Moody snapped, then his expression suddenly grew serious. His magic eye swiveled to look in another direction.
Ivan thought Moody was about to attack, but instead, he made a gesture for silence and pointed to a window.
Ivan recognized the low-quality diversion tactic but still turned his head as instructed, activating his protective ring and keeping his Magic Ring ready to strike.
If Moody made a move, Ivan would confirm his suspicions and retaliate legally.
However, no attack came. Instead, through the window, Ivan saw a shadow skulking across the lawn.
"You were too loud just now. Karkaroff almost heard you!" Moody sighed in relief.
"Is that so?" Ivan said, half-believing. He had been using Legilimency the whole time but had gained little insight, as Moody never looked at him with his normal eye.
"So, you're investigating Karkaroff?" Ivan probed.
"You could say that! But I've been looking into more than just him recently!" Moody said casually, then started walking toward the entrance hall's exit. "Let's hurry and follow him. Hopefully, Karkaroff hasn't gone too far."
Ivan hesitated but decided to follow Moody, keeping a half-step behind to keep him under surveillance.
Moody seemed to notice but said nothing.
The two of them trailed the shadow from a distance, and Ivan grumbled to himself about spending the entire night on this stakeout. Why did everyone seem to prefer sneaking around at night?
Ivan was seething but continued to accompany Moody as they followed Karkaroff. He was genuinely curious about where Karkaroff was heading.
The dark figure slipped behind a banyan tree, apparently waiting for something. After about a minute, a tall Witch approached from the other side, her face showing impatience.
Maxime? She didn't go back to the carriage?
Ivan immediately recognized her. Maxime was the only Witch of that height in Hogwarts. Considering the timing, she must have just parted ways with Hagrid. Now, she was meeting Karkaroff here, at this hour.
Ivan felt the situation becoming increasingly complex, like a tangled web of threads.
He glanced suspiciously at Moody, even suspecting that everyone present was under some control, preparing to ambush him.
"We should get closer to hear what they're saying!" Moody, oblivious to Ivan's paranoid thoughts, squinted and cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself, then gestured for Ivan to follow.
Ivan collected his thoughts and stepped forward a few steps, his presence concealed. As he drew closer, the voices of Karkaroff and Maxime grew clearer.
"Now it's clear, we must unite!"
"Do you think they won't target us if we don't act? Think about it, the remaining three referees are Hogwarts' headmaster and two officials from the British Ministry of Magic! Can you honestly say they won't favor the two Hogwarts Champions?"
"From the moment the Champions were chosen, it was obvious they're all in this together!"
Karkaroff spoke angrily, his words sharp and cutting.
Maxime, however, seemed hesitant. She hesitated for a moment, glancing around before speaking. "What do you plan to do? Cause trouble for the Champions before the competition? I won't do that!"
"No, that's not what I mean!" Karkaroff quickly explained, seeing Maxime's misunderstanding. "I mean we can find reasons to lower the scores of the Hogwarts Champions and then give higher scores to our own Champions..."
"That doesn't seem right," Maxime said, though she seemed somewhat swayed, still hesitant.
"Hogwarts has two Champions, which is already unfair! They're the ones who broke the rules!" Karkaroff tried to persuade her.
Maxime thought for a moment before nodding.
The two then continued to whisper for a while before parting ways, acting as if nothing had happened, and returning to their respective camps.
"Such despicable behavior! They're actually planning to lower your scores during the competition to ensure Hogwarts loses this year's Triwizard Tournament..." Mad-Eye Moody, after Karkaroff and Maxime had left, removed the Disillusionment Charm, speaking angrily and tapping his wand on the floor, causing a series of strange thuds.
Ivan felt a headache coming on. He hadn't expected Karkaroff to be so shameless!
In the original timeline, this man always gave Harry low scores, and now he had roped Maxime into it as well, which was truly repulsive.
To ensure the completion of the two tasks set by the System, Ivan had planned to score the highest in every event, or at the very least, be the top performer in each round!
But if Karkaroff and Maxime deliberately targeted him during the scoring, winning would be much harder.
After a few more curses, Mad-Eye Moody calmed down and turned to Ivan.
"Don't worry too much, Hals. I'll inform Dumbledore about this. You just need to focus on how to get through the tasks!"
"I'm not too concerned about you, but Harry is a different matter... He's too young and shouldn't be participating in this competition!" Mad-Eye Moody, hobbling on his wooden leg, added gruffly as he walked toward the castle.
"Yes, I'm worried about him too!" Ivan put on a concerned expression. "I've learned the specifics of the first task: it's a Dragon, a Mother Fire Dragon guarding her egg! The Ministry of Magic's intention is clear—they want us to retrieve the dragon egg. Do you have any ideas on how to help him get through this?"
Ivan looked expectantly at Mad-Eye Moody, waiting for his response, hoping to confirm whether Moody was a Voldemort sympathizer, partly by gauging his level of concern for Harry's success.
(End of Chapter)
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