Chapter 184 : Third Task
Dumbledore looked toward Harry as he finished explaining what had happened.
"So he was somewhere near the woods," Dumbledore said quietly.
"And when you found him, he appeared confused and barely able to speak. You said he seemed desperate to tell me something, but he was unable to explain himself clearly."
Harry nodded. "Yes, sir. He kept trying to say something, but I couldn't understand most of it. I thought bringing him here would give him a chance to explain."
Dumbledore's expression remained grave as he looked down at Crouch's body.
"You did the right thing by bringing him back, Harry. Unfortunately, we arrived too late."
Harry looked at the body again, still struggling to understand how quickly everything had happened.
Dumbledore placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Harry, I think it would be best if you returned to your room now. Leave this matter to us."
Harry hesitated. "But, Professor—"
"You have done enough for tonight," Dumbledore said gently. "Go back to the castle and get some rest."
Harry nodded reluctantly and turned toward the entrance. But the strange words Crouch had spoken kept turning over in his mind.
Voldemort...
He still couldn't understand why Barty Crouch Sr. had said that name.
***
The next morning, the news spread through Hogwarts.
Barty Crouch Sr. was dead.
The discovery caused immediate chaos. Crouch had been a senior Ministry official and one of the judges of the Triwizard Tournament, and the fact that he'd died on Hogwarts grounds made the matter even more serious.
Classes were suspended for the day while Dumbledore and the teachers dealt with the investigation.
Ministry officials arrived at the castle, and the area around where Crouch's body had been found stayed cordoned off while students and staff were questioned.
Harry heard different versions of the story all morning, but none of them explained what had actually happened.
"I heard he was attacked."
"No, someone said he was already dying when Harry found him."
"Then who killed him?"
Nobody seemed to know.
Teachers were questioned. Students were asked whether they'd seen anything unusual the previous evening. Ministry officials searched the grounds for any sign of whoever was responsible.
Nothing useful turned up.
Whoever had killed Crouch had left no obvious trail, and by the end of the day there was still no suspect.
***
At the Slytherin table in the Great Hall, the conversation still circled Barty Crouch Sr.'s death.
The students had heard little beyond the fact that a Ministry official had been found dead on the grounds, and that the investigation had turned up nothing so far.
Draco shook his head, picking at his breakfast.
"Father always said Hogwarts was a useless academy. Looks like he might've been right. Even a Ministry official can be killed here."
Victor barely looked up from his plate. "Draco, there's more to this than that, so please be quiet for a moment. I'm trying to think."
Draco frowned but let it go.
Victor lowered his eyes, expression turning thoughtful.
He already knew there was more to the story than the school was being told.
The person responsible wasn't some unknown attacker who'd slipped into Hogwarts. He knew exactly who was behind it.
Moody.
Or rather, the man everyone currently believed was Alastor Moody.
Victor's thoughts turned cold.
Barty Crouch Junior.
He'd been hiding in plain sight all year, wearing Moody's face, teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts while secretly carrying out Voldemort's plan.
If Crouch Sr. had managed to escape and reach Hogwarts, Junior would have had every reason to silence him before the truth got out.
Victor leaned back slightly, still turning it over.
Yeah, kill your own father for some bald lunatic. What a piece of shit. He already betrayed and tortured his own father, and now he's gone as far as killing him.
His thoughts were cut short when he noticed Moody looking directly at him from across the Great Hall.
The magical eye was fixed on Victor.
Fuck. I'm getting the feeling something messy is about to happen.
Victor looked away without changing his expression. The Third Task was getting closer, and he had no intention of letting himself get careless — not when he already knew the Tournament was being manipulated from behind the scenes.
The weeks passed quickly, and eventually the day of the Third Task arrived.
The Hogwarts grounds had been transformed for the occasion.
A huge maze stood before the assembled crowd, its tall walls of thick hedges rising several metres into the air.
The entrances were marked clearly, while the enchanted corridors inside twisted away in different directions, making it impossible to see what waited beyond the first few turns.
The stands surrounding the maze were packed — students, teachers, Ministry officials, visitors from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang.
Harry stood with the other champions near the entrance, wand already secured inside his robes.
Cedric looked toward the towering hedges with a serious expression. Krum stayed focused and silent.
Fleur watched the maze carefully, eyes tracing the walls as though trying to guess what waited beyond them.
Victor stood among the spectators, watching everything closely.
The atmosphere felt completely different from the first two tasks. No roaring dragon. No Black Lake hiding the danger from view.
This time, everyone could see the maze — but nobody could see what waited inside it.
Ludo Bagman stepped forward, his magically amplified voice carrying across the grounds.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the Third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin!"
The crowd erupted into cheers.
*****
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