章 562: 0560 Problems
Moody's expressionless, scarred face startled both Hermione and Cedric as they suddenly realized with a jolt of panic that they had been chatting right outside the open door of Professor Moody's office.
To make matters worse, as all the young witches and wizards at Hogwarts were well aware, a mere wall was no barrier whatsoever to Moody's magical eye. He must have seen the two of them conversing in the hallway before pressing his ear against the door to eavesdrop on their hushed conversation for some time.
"Professor, we can explain—" Cedric started to say, eager to clarify the situation, but Moody abruptly cut him off before he could get another word out.
The scars twisting Moody's cheeks contorted as he growled, "Mr. Diggory, I believe you were on your way to the Great Hall for supper. Off you go then. I need to have a private word with Miss Granger."
Though extremely reluctant to leave Hermione alone to face Moody's wrath, Cedric knew he had no choice but to comply with a professor's direct order. He took a hesitant step, glanced back over his shoulder with a worried expression, wavered for a moment longer, and then finally disappeared around the corner and down the stairs.
Hermione could feel the blood draining from her face, leaving her skin ashen. She had no idea how Professor Moody would choose to punish her for this, but it was clearly a serious violation of the tournament rules that constituted cheating.
If the consequence was limited to stripping her of her champion status, she could happily accept that. But the terrifying possibility that she might be expelled for this loomed in her racing mind. And if Hagrid somehow got implicated in this as well...Hermione knew all too well how terrified Hagrid was of breaking the law and losing his position at Hogwarts.
"Come in and sit down, Miss Granger," Professor Moody commanded gruffly, beckoning Hermione forward as he turned and limped back into his dimly lit office.
Hermione had fully expected Professor Moody to waste no time in sternly rebuking her, immediately launching into a relentless interrogation similar to that of his days as an Auror passing judgement on wicked dark wizards. However, to her utter bewilderment, none of the harsh treatment she had steeled herself for came.
"So, you've figured it out, have you?" Professor Moody said, his gruff tone oddly gentle, even bordering on pleased in a way Hermione couldn't understand.
"I...I don't...I mean..." Hermione stammered helplessly, her mind racing as she tried to determine the wisest course of action.
Should she come clean right away in a desperate bid for leniency or attempt to maintain a façade of innocence as long as possible?
Having never landed herself in such dire straits before, Hermione felt unprepared to steer such an interrogation. A violent tremor tormented her from head to toe as her imagination uncontrollably conjured vivid images of herself and Hagrid hastily packing their bags and being driven out of Hogwarts in disgrace.
"Now, now, no need to look so distraught, Miss Granger," Moody said with an abnormal chuckle, perhaps noticing the terror written plainly across Hermione's ashen facial features and taking pity on her.
His face softened into an almost kindly expression that seemed extremely out of place on his scarred face. "You know, a bit of strategic cheating has always been a time-honored tradition in the Triwizard Tournament."
'Huh?' Hermione's mind came to a screeching halt, certain she must have misheard or misunderstood the professor's shocking words.
Moody, however, seemed carelessly unaware that he had just dropped a bombshell, casually unscrewing the cap of his hip flask and taking a hearty swig of its contents.
From Professor Moody's undisguised twisted expression, the bottle probably didn't contain a delicious beverage. Hermione wrinkled her nose, feeling the smell was a bit familiar, very familiar, but she had no time to dwell on this issue.
"Ah, let me clarify," Moody continued with a raspy chuckle, his piercing gaze taking in Hermione's gobsmacked expression. "The Triwizard Tournament is designed to test the champions' mettle in a comprehensive manner.
The true competition extends far beyond the official tasks, Miss Granger. Gathering critical intelligence is a crucial component of a champion's overall performance. And in that respect, it seems you've passed with flying colors. Mr. Diggory owes you a debt of gratitude."
Hermione kept blinking dazedly for long seconds, her mind struggling to process this revelation. Only when the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding burst from her lungs did she feel the lingering chill slowly melting away, color rushing back into her pale cheeks.
'So that's how it was!' Suddenly, the pieces all clicked into place, and the fundamental structure of the Triwizard Tournament that had previously struck Hermione as blatantly absurd began to make a bit of sense.
Ever since she had first learned the shocking details of the extremely dangerous tasks featured in past tournaments, Hermione had always thought it was simply too absurd.
Putting adolescent witches and wizards who should still be receiving education against the most fearsome dark creatures known to wizard kind - werewolves, Dementors, vampires, dragons! – without any fair warning seemed like an act of utter madness. Even fully qualified adult witches and wizards would be struggling to survive such lethal trials without extensive preparation.
But now Professor Moody's straightforward words provided the missing context to resolve that fundamental disbalance in her mind. Although a part of her felt annoyed that she had required someone else to spell it out for her. With this realization, the cold dread that had held her paralyzed vanished in a rush, leaving Hermione flushed with embarrassment.
"I...it was pure luck that I stumbled upon it," Hermione said very modestly, trying not to appear too smug.
Moody let out a hoarse, dry laugh, his magical eye spinning rapidly. "Since that's the case, you must have already thought about how to deal with the dragon, eh?"
Hmm— Hermione subconsciously wanted to mention the spells she had been practicing these past few days. But before the words came out, she stopped herself, her expression becoming tense again.
If finding out about the tasks items or beings could be considered a hidden test in the tournament, then discussing how to deal with them with a professor was definitely not something that was allowed. After all, Barty Crouch had already made it clear that champions could not accept help from any professor.
"Professor Moody—" Hermione's eyes flickered as she said with difficulty, "The rules state that discussing this is not allowed."
"Oh, Miss Granger, you don't think I'm going to give you ideas, do you?" Moody let out an exaggerated laugh. "Of course, I won't do that. Even though your classroom performance is excellent, I won't give you special treatment because of it. But I must remind you, Miss Granger, you and Mr. Potter have seen how despicable Karkaroff is. You can take the high road, but I dare say Karkaroff won't be satisfied with just finding out the tournament challenge from Snape. He might even hold a meeting, gather everyone from Durmstrang to come up with ideas for the Durmstrang champion... I'm just—"
Moody's eyes suddenly stopped moving, both eyes quietly staying in their sockets. They began to emit an extremely faint but alluring green glow, a bit like the color of Harry's eyes, Hermione thought blankly.
She was completely unaware of how unreasonable this phenomenon was. But she suddenly had an urge to confide, and then she spilled out her entire plan.
"Brilliantly reasoned, Miss Granger!" Moody said approvingly once Hermione had finished sharing her preparations. "Impeccably selected spells for the task at hand - the Conjunctivitis Curse to target the dragon's eyes, the Impediment Jinx to slow its movements and reaction time, and the Flame-Freezing Charm and Extinguishing Spell to neutralize its most formidable weapon. How in the name of Merlin did you plan such a comprehensive strategy?"
"It was Professor Watson!" Hermione blurted out without thinking. Too late, she realized her slip and shot to her feet in horror, nearly toppling the chair over backwards.
'How could this be? I shouldn't have exposed Professor Watson!'
Moody also looked stunned. He had not expected Watson to be involved in this matter. He didn't seem like someone who would pull strings for a young witch.
"Professor Watson just…. He just gave our class some general tactical advice in a purely academic sense, using the example of an overwhelmingly powerful opponent to illustrate his point!" Hermione scrambled to clarify, desperate to come up with an excuse for Professor Watson. "He wasn't speaking about the tournament at all, I just inferred from his lesson to a real-world situation."
"Be that as it may..." Moody said slowly, his gaze still curiously unfocused. Seeing Hermione ready to bolt for the door, he gestured for her to retake her seat. "Please, sit back down, Miss Granger. We aren't quite finished here."
Though hesitant, Hermione sat back down. The conversation had already reached this point, and she also wanted to hear what Professor Moody would ultimately say.
The cracked Foe-Glass on the desk scattered the sunlight from the window, forming strange, disorienting shadows on the wall. Hermione suddenly realized there were quite a few odd objects in this office. She had seen most of them in books, but there were also some things she couldn't make heads or tails of.
"Professor Watson's oversight is understandable," Moody finally said, his normal eye swiveling to refocus on Hermione while his magical one whizzed around seemingly on its own. "His mastery of combative magic is unrivaled, so he can rely on his own exceptional power to carry the day. That luxury has perhaps blinded him to certain fundamental vulnerabilities in your strategy as it stands."
"What?" Hermione had been feeling annoyed at herself for being so talkative just now. But hearing this, she asked in surprise.
"Admiration can cloud one's judgement, Miss Granger. I'd have thought a witch as brilliant as you would have spotted the problem," Moody said, his tone gently rebuking. "The Conjunctivitis Curse requires pinpoint precision to land cleanly. You know, you're not targeting a block of wood. You're very likely to hit the Dragon's eyelid or even head. One twitch at the crucial moment, and you've just angered a dragon without nullifying its most lethal asset."
Hermione flushed at this oversight, silently criticizing herself for not anticipating that glaring flaw.
Of course, landing such a challenging curse on a moving target at a distance under the intense pressure would be hard. How could she have staked her survival on such an obvious gamble?
"The Impediment Jinx and Flame-Freezing Charm are sound in theory but still risky," Moody continued relentlessly. "I guess they'll certainly have an effect, but it's not guaranteed... You understand what I mean, Miss Granger. Against such a large magical creature, the intensity required to achieve the desired effect would be immense. If your magical power falls before the task is complete..."
Seeing the dumbfounded Hermione, Moody grinned smugly. "Of course, as I said, these are all very useful little spells, just not very safe. I think you can give yourself a stronger trump card... An easily obtainable prop that will make you less conspicuous—"
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章 563: 0561 Final Preparations
A thin, wispy fog shrouded the area like a filmy veil as the first morning light glimmered faintly on the horizon.
High above in the dim, grey pre-dawn sky, a yellowish-brown owl returning late from its nightly hunt glided silently on the cool wind currents. It circled past the tallest astronomy tower of Hogwarts and tiredly towards the Owlery to rest its weary wings after a long night of hunting for prey in field and forest.
However, just as it flashed past the Ravenclaw Tower, the owl's sharp gaze captured a wondrous sight - a majestic, circular structure that had appeared as if by magic overnight on the sturdy stone overpass set up across the deep ravine separating Hogwarts from the nearby mountains.
The owl's curiosity triumphed over its bone-deep fatigue. Intrigued, it tucked its wings and dived sharply crossing several miles in the blink of an eye.
Then, riding a lucky oncoming gust of wind, the brown owl quickly soared again with powerful beats of its broad wings. Eventually, it landed on the edge of a huge, rectangular screen.
This enormous screen, suspended on a complex bird's nest-like steel frame structure, appeared black overall, as if a starless night sky had been captured and pinned in place.
Up close, the owl could see it was pieced together by many square stone tablets fitted edge-to-edge. Each tablet was engraved with intricate magic runes. Tilting its head curiously, the owl lowered its hooked beak and pecked tentatively a few times at the strange surface with a hard-tapping sound, but this curious probing attempt was apparently defined by the enchantments as an attack.
As a result, a gentle but firm wave of invisible force surged out of nowhere, catching under the owl's wings and blowing the startled bird back up into the air.
Hoo hoo--! The owl circled indignantly above the intriguing building, hooting its disgruntled protest after losing a few feathers to that sudden gust. Ruffling its remaining feathers with an almost offended air, the owl shifted its attention elsewhere, studying the transformed area spread out below.
Relying on its exceptional dark vision, it immediately discovered that it was not the only one hovering in the air around the new structure.
A number of strange little objects were also flying around, but these were quite odd to the owl's eyes. They all had small white wings like moths or lacewings that fluttered extremely fast as they flew around.
The owl had indeed seen some people stick similar things to their eyes and look around intently while it had delivered letters to various wizards. Those odd things they wore had occasionally emitted fierce, blinding white flashes of light to illuminate a scene, but unlike the small winged objects currently before its eyes, they didn't have wings.
The owl did not choose to fly down lower for a closer look, despite its curiosity, because the early morning air down there contained a more concentrated amount of stirred up dust and debris at those lower positions, which made the owl's sensitive eyes feel quite uncomfortable.
However, this lingering dust did not significantly affect its vision. Hovering on an air current, it could still clearly see what the bustling wizards below were doing as they worked like busy ants.
A large number of wizards were waving their wands in unison as they stood around the stadium, and then the huge wooden boards and beams placed on the ground at their feet rose up and flew into the sky one by one as if pulled by invisible string. These boards inserted and fitted themselves into the load-bearing ports and sockets reserved in the steel frame's framework with loud thunking sounds, steadily forming a sturdy circular floor as they locked into place.
Bang! A crisp, loud explosion nearby suddenly startled the owl, and it hurriedly flapped its wings to make itself climb higher into the safety of open sky on instinct. Twisting its head around, it looked around for the source of the disturbance.
"Bryan, I've got the carpets you wanted!"
As the echoes of the noise faded, a wizard appeared seemingly out of thin air with a faint pop of displaced air, carrying a large gray cloth bag. The man's eyes wandered around the transformed area, clearly searching for someone.
After looking about briefly and not immediately finding anyone, he pointed his wand at his own throat and called out in an amplified voice that boomed across the space,
"Oy, where are you, Bryan?"
"Ah, thank you, Ludo, you've helped me out a lot--"
Before long, a tall figure emerged from a hidden small room behind the shielded referee's seat at the top of the circular stadium in answer to the call. He stood on the high stand dozens of feet in the air, but still accurately pinpointed the location of the person calling him far below.
"How's your wonderful new alchemy gadget coming along -- will there be any issues with it?"
With another loud pop of Apparition, Ludo appeared right next to Bryan up in the stands with his bag still in tow. He glanced curiously at the parts of unknown use that Bryan held in his hand and said enthusiastically.
"I don't exactly know just yet, Ludo, but I believe there won't be any significant problems," Bryan replied thoughtfully, turning the delicate pieces over in his fingers. "I plan to make an attempt at activating and testing the device at seven o'clock sharp--"
As Bryan spoke, Ludo happened to notice that there was more than one person bustling about in the small studio behind Bryan - two goblins were also busy inside, fiddling with gears and lenses and crystals.
Seeing the paranoid, secretive goblins, Ludo immediately scrunched up his shoulders, retracted his craning neck, and lowered his already-hushed voice quite a bit more as he leaned in closer to Bryan,
"I managed to get these carpets from the Ministry's warehouse stores. They were purchased brand new back when we were preparing for the Quidditch World Cup, but ended up going unused in storage. No need to spend yet more money, so ol' Barty agreed readily to me when I explained what we needed!"
Bryan expressed his sincere gratitude once again for Ludo's efforts and assistance. He looked out around the stadium and saw with satisfaction that it had finally taken its completed shape. He breathed a heavy sigh of relief, the tension easing from his shoulders a bit.
There was still a hazy amount of lingering smoke and disturbed dust particles in the air, making everything in sight appear slightly blurry as if seen through a filtered lens.
Not wanting to be clouded in dust, Bryan walked over to the sturdy safety railing at the edge of the high platform and casted a wide-area Scouring Charm with his wand in a clean arc from top to bottom of the stadium.
The next second, a strange glittering ripple spread out rapidly in an expanding sphere, and the troublesome dust all seemed to suddenly bear a tremendous momentary gravity, instantly falling like heavy snow back to the ground far below, the pulse of magic even affected the curiously-observing owl still circling high above in the brightening sky.
The new clarity of sight satisfied Bryan, who gave a pleased nod at the much-improved view. He turned to the large bag Ludo had brought and pointed his wand at it.
Whoosh--! Many neatly-bundled rolls of black carpets suddenly shot out from the open mouth of the bag like a barrage of soft cannonballs. They evenly distributed themselves to planned points in various parts of the stadium, then unrolled and stretched out their bodies until they stuck firmly to the floors, making the recently-finished stadium look even more polished and grand.
"Very nice indeed--" Ludo said happily, admiring the effect. He turned in a circle and found that the spectator seats behind them were not just simple chairs as he had first assumed. The smoothly-curved armrests had small rotating tabletops cleverly attached to them that could be used by the spectators to hold snacks and drinks.
His tour complete, Ludo suddenly frowned and glanced around in worry again, as if belatedly realizing there was still one key element missing from the scene.
"I say, where's ol' Dumbledore got off to?" he asked of no one in particular, hands on his hips. "Why isn't he here yet overseeing things? Shouldn't he be on site by now?"
Bryan raised his eyes to the steadily-lightening sky in the east and pondered Ludo's question for a long moment before giving a wry half-smile.
"Well now, I can't answer that particular question with complete accuracy of course, Ludo, but according to my guess he should have just gotten himself up at this time and is likely caressing his beard in the Headmaster's private luxury bathroom--"
Ludo immediately burst into a hearty, cheerful laugh at the amusing mental image, but then, when he turned to look at Bryan again, he found that he was already moving to return to the studio.
Ludo's face fell, then changed to a look of sudden nervous anxiety. He hurriedly reached out and grabbed at Bryan's sleeve, stopping him. Bryan turned back with an inquiring raised eyebrow, and in the face of those unsettlingly-shrewd eyes, Ludo found himself hesitating once again, his previous boldness suddenly abandoning him.
"Ahem, yes, well," Ludo coughed, clearing his throat uncomfortably. He lowered his voice and adopted a more coaxing, fawning tone.
"I say, Bryan, you see... well, you should know, just between us, that this tournament is under an absolutely tremendous amount of attention and scrutiny, and I don't just mean from the Ministry and the schools and all. I'm talking about attention from... ahem, shall we say interested outside parties, you understand?" Ludo tapped the side of his nose and attempted a sly expression.
Bryan's face turned blank, and he crossed his arms over his chest. When he spoke, his voice had gone cold and clipped. "Ludo... if you're about to ask me -- as an official overseeing and organizing this tournament -- who I think will win the Triwizard Cup, hoping I'll slip and tell you my predictions for the results so that you can turn around and win big on the gambling and bookmaking circuits..."
Bryan gave a stern glare that made Ludo wince and shrink in on himself, "Well, then, what I have to tell you is that any one of the champions has a chance to win, and I'll not play favorites or predict. I'm warning you, Ludo -- don't you dare bring those bad habits of yours anywhere near the Tournament. I won't stand for any inappropriate scandals or rumors of rigged outcomes tarnishing the tournament's reputation."
"Aw, come off it, Bryan! I'm sure I don't know what you mean about bad habits!" Ludo stuttered, looking offended, but there was an unmistakable glint of greed and calculation in his small eyes that contradicted his words.
"I was simply appreciating your past magnanimity, that's all!" Ludo continued on eagerly, undeterred, "But this tournament is the opportunity of a lifetime! Just think, that's a huge pot of gold to be had, and you clearly have the chance to get your hands on a cut of it nice and easy, no fuss, no muss! Why, with your information, it would be a piece of cake to--"
Bryan's eyes turned chilly and hard. He was just opening his mouth to lash on the shameless Ludo, but suddenly there was a new commotion and clatter from outside the stadium. Bryan immediately knew that Charlie and the others had escorted a few dragons to the stadium.
"Ludo, I'm not going to tell you again -- don't do anything foolish or reckless," Bryan said sharply, the warning clear in his face and voice. He shook off Ludo's grip on his sleeve and gave him a final glare. "I have to go see to the new arrivals. Stay out of trouble, or there will be serious consequences."
With that, Bryan turned on his back and strode away towards the hidden staircase, and his figure suddenly disappeared, leaving Ludo stamping his feet in frustration and reluctance.
Down on the grassy lawn outside the stadium's main gates, four huge carriages crashed heavily to the ground, landing hard from mid-air. The massive wooden hubs creaked and cracked, deforming to an almost exaggerated degree at the moment of impact before their heavy Cushioning Charms absorbed the worst of the shock.
They expanded like squashed marshmallows, then bounced back into shape, successfully bringing the four carriages -- and their critically-important living cargo -- to a safe, reasonably smooth stop on the spongy turf.
Bryan popped back into existence a few yards away just as Charlie scrambled down from the lead carriage's driver's box, as he gripped the side rails.
"Ho there, Charlie!" Bryan called out with a grin, striding over as Charlie jumped down the last few steps of the built-in ladder to land firmly on the grass. "How are our scaly 'protagonists of the hour', eh? No issues, I trust?"
"Sleeping soundly, Bryan!" Charlie also replied loudly, "I doubt they'll wake up for a good few hours yet. Before we dosed them with the specially-brewed extra-strength Sleeping Draught, Hagrid and his helpful little elf friend... Freodom, I think he said its name was...? fed the beasties to the gills for us.
After all, you know a hungry dragon is ten times more dangerous and feistier than a well-fed one, so we didn't want to risk it, not with the champions going up against them!"
A huge crack opened in the ground, revealing a ramp in everyone's sight, and at the other end of the ramp, a faint glow of fire could be seen.
Charlie instructed his companions to slowly drive the carriages into this temporarily made dungeon, where the dragons would be housed before the start of the tournament.
Another carriage moved up to the scene from the direction of the overpass, this one containing a complete temporary field kitchen staffed by a squad of Hogwarts house-elves. They would be responsible for providing delicious lunches to the early-arriving guests in the stadium, and during the spectating period, they could also enjoy delicious drinks.
Although not quite as grand in size as the professional Quidditch World Cup stadium, which could seat a hundred thousand spectators, the newly-finished Triwizard Tournament arena was still more than large enough to accommodate the sizable crowd that was expected to turn out for the event.
Cleverly concealed in the misty valleys between the surrounding mountains, many massive magical broadcast antennas had been erected overnight by the crews, their rune-etched metal frames rising high into the fog.
At the foot of each towering antenna, teams of goblins in Gringotts uniform and WWN staff technicians in burgundy robes hurried around the complicated-looking control panels, making last-minute adjustments and tapping their wands in careful patterns to fine-tune the sensitive equipment.
As the golden rays of the morning sun finally broke through the last bit of gloom lingering low between the mountains and valleys, Bryan stood in the center of the much-changed stadium and looked up at the enormous matte-black screen hanging high above the pitch.
He raised his wand and drew a complicated sharp-angled sigil in lines of glowing blue light, finishing it off with a twist and a decisive shot directly at the screen's heart.
All at once, the runes etched around the screen's edges flared with blazing blue radiance, pulsing in perfect time with the dancing wand-light still flowing from the tip of Bryan's outstretched wand. The strange radiance swiftly spread inside in forks of crackling lightning until it engulfed the entire screen in a rippling field of energy.
The black screen flickered, shimmered, then with a blaze of silver sparks, a stable image finally set itself out.
A bird's eye view of the finished Triwizard stadium appeared as if seen from a great height, perfectly showcasing not just the stretch of the pitch itself, but also the grounds and the complex terrain of cliff, forest and lakeshore surrounding it on all sides. It was a breathtaking sight, and Bryan felt his heart swelling with pride and satisfaction as he observed it.
From half a year ago to this day, all the long days and nights of work had finally, finally borne fruit.
Smiling, Bryan raised his wand high above and sent up an enormous fountain of red and gold sparks to sparkle in the brightening sky like celebratory fireworks. Far above in the dissipating mists, the tired owl saw the dazzling display and, taking it as a sign, turned around and soared off for the Owlery with a final hoot.
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