The night was deep and quiet, and there was no longer a single person to be seen on the grounds.
Under the hazy moonlight, Eda searched toward the edge of the grounds.
On the surface, Hogwarts was peaceful and calm, but beneath that calm, undercurrents were surging.
Barty Crouch Jr. was very likely lurking nearby, watching for an opportunity. Letting Harry wander around alone at a time like this was certainly not a good idea.
As for Krum, who was with Harry, Eda did not believe that a student could stop Barty Jr., and she had absolutely no trust in anyone from Durmstrang.
Following the direction in which Harry and Krum had disappeared, Eda groped and searched for their figures.
After a few minutes, Eda saw Harry suddenly dart out from behind a tree, looking somewhat flustered.
Eda saw Harry, and naturally Harry saw her too. Harry hurried over and said breathlessly, "I saw... I saw Mr. Crouch... Barty Crouch. He seemed to have gone mad!"
"Where?" Eda asked anxiously. She still had some suspicions about Old Crouch and believed that he might have been involved as well. Now that she knew where Old Crouch was, Eda could not wait to ask the old man a few questions.
"Over there!" Harry pointed toward a dense patch of woods. "He said... he wanted to see Professor Dumbledore. He had a secret he wanted to tell Professor Dumbledore."
Eda raised her wand high and pointed it toward the castle. Then a silver-white Chow Chow sprang out, happily racing toward the castle before disappearing in the blink of an eye.
"Lead the way, Harry!" Eda urged. "Quick!"
Seeing Harry still standing there somewhat blankly, Eda directly gave him a push. Harry finally came to his senses and led the way back into the Forbidden Forest, with Eda following closely behind him.
From what Harry had just said, Eda could tell that Old Crouch's mental state was probably not very good, and that he wanted to see Dumbledore.
There was only one possibility for wanting to see Dumbledore at a time like this. He wanted to reveal what had happened back then, to reveal the truth that Barty Crouch Jr. was still alive. This meant that Old Crouch was very likely in danger.
In this world, only the dead could keep a secret forever. If someone living knew your secret, the solution was simple. Make the person who knew your secret shut up forever.
The two of them ran all the way into the Forbidden Forest. After seeing the winged horses belonging to Beauxbatons, they stopped in a quiet clearing. Harry and Krum had just been talking here, and this was also where Harry had encountered Old Crouch.
However, Eda did not see Barty Crouch, nor did she hear any sound. She did not even see Krum.
"This is the place!" Harry said somewhat frantically. "It was right here just now, but where did everyone go?"
Sure enough, something had happened. When Old Crouch had just said that he wanted to see Dumbledore, Harry should have taken him away with him instead of leaving him with Krum.
If it had been Eda, she definitely would have taken Old Crouch away with her. It would have been both protection and surveillance. At the very least, she would have knocked Old Crouch unconscious and dragged him to Dumbledore.
"Mr. Crouch!" Harry shouted. "Viktor, Viktor Krum!"
The surroundings were pitch-black. The only response to Harry's shouts was the rustling of layers upon layers of vegetation as the wind passed through them.
Eda sent the light from the tip of her wand sweeping in one direction. The glow tore through the darkness, illuminating that section of the Forbidden Forest. Then Eda did the same toward the other directions, repeatedly firing the illumination spell to expand her field of vision.
Finally, in the pitch-black forest, Eda vaguely saw a figure lying on the ground.
Eda cautiously approached and discovered that the figure she had seen was indeed Viktor Krum. At this moment, Krum was curled up on the ground.
They had found Krum, but Barty Crouch was still nowhere to be seen.
The night grew even darker. The Forbidden Forest was normally dim, but now it was so dark that one could barely see one's own hand. Finding someone in the Forbidden Forest under such conditions was extremely difficult, and if Old Crouch had been kidnapped, it would be even harder.
Harry crouched down and checked Krum's condition. He said, "He's still alive. Krum's just unconscious!"
"Rennervate!" Eda pointed her wand at the unconscious Krum.
Krum opened his eyes, his face filled with confusion. He struggled to sit up, but his body had not yet recovered its strength, and he wasted quite some effort without success. Helpful as ever, Harry gave Krum a hand and helped him lean against a tree.
"He hit me!" Krum covered the back of his head and muttered, "That old madman hit me! As soon as you left, he attacked me."
"Are you certain it was Mr. Barty Crouch who hit you, and not someone else?" Eda asked. She remained on guard, in case the culprit had not gone far and might take advantage of the darkness to launch a surprise attack.
"I'm certain!" Krum said. "There were only me and that old madman there at the time. If it wasn't him, who else could it have been?"
Krum's expression did not look like he was lying, and there was no reason for him to lie. Yet Eda still felt that the person who had knocked Krum unconscious was not Barty Crouch, but someone else.
After a while, a series of thunderous footsteps reached their ears. Hagrid appeared, panting heavily and carrying a giant crossbow, with Dumbledore right behind him.
"How is it?" Dumbledore looked at Eda and asked.
"Too late. Barty Crouch is gone," Eda replied. "Krum says Barty Crouch knocked him unconscious, but..."
"No buts!" Krum loudly interrupted Eda. "It was that old madman! It was just him and me. Only him!"
Eda curled her lips and said nothing more. As long as Dumbledore understood what she meant, that was enough. As for Krum, he should just keep lying there. Waking up would only cause more trouble.
"Hagrid, go and get Professor Karkaroff," Dumbledore said. "His student has been attacked. Then, please notify Professor Moody as well..."
"No need, Dumbledore," a deep voice huffed and puffed. "I'm right here."
Moody came toward them, leaning on his cane and limping. He said that he had run into Snape, and Snape had told him about what happened. When Dumbledore received the message, the Headmaster had been with Snape.
"Then go notify Karkaroff, Hagrid," Dumbledore said. "Quickly."
Hagrid nodded vigorously, then turned and ran out of the pitch-black Forbidden Forest, causing the ground to shake beneath his footsteps.
"I didn't see Barty Crouch here. I'll go look for him," Moody said gruffly. He then raised his wand and limped into the Forbidden Forest.
Dumbledore and Eda did not watch Moody's back as he left. His magical eye should currently be looking through the back of his head, observing every movement of everyone present.
The Forbidden Forest was extremely quiet. Krum leaned against a tree, holding the back of his head. Neither Dumbledore nor Harry spoke, while Eda was busy thinking.
After seeing Krum knocked unconscious, Eda had believed that the fake Moody had knocked out Barty Crouch and taken him away, or perhaps even killed him. But Moody said that he had seen Snape in the castle, which meant the timing seemed a little too tight.
From the moment Harry encountered Barty Crouch, to when Harry ran out of the Forbidden Forest and met Eda, and then when Eda and Harry returned to the forest, those few short minutes seemed insufficient for the fake Moody to accomplish everything.
Knocking Krum unconscious, taking Crouch away, returning to the castle and encountering Snape, then coming back from the castle to the Forbidden Forest. There really did not seem to be enough time. Snape had become Moody's best alibi.
Unless... unless the fake Moody had known where Barty Crouch was from the very beginning. He had prepared everything in advance and calculated the timing precisely, without allowing even the slightest mistake. Otherwise, Eda might have caught him in the act.
Again, if only Harry had not left Barty Crouch behind, and had instead returned to the castle with Krum while bringing Crouch along.
The thunderous footsteps sounded again in the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid had returned, with Karkaroff hurriedly following behind him. Karkaroff was still wearing his smooth, silvery-white fur cloak. His face was pale, and his expression was anxious.
"What's going on?" Karkaroff exclaimed when he saw Krum lying on the ground. "What happened? How are you, Viktor?"
Krum, still leaning against the tree and holding the back of his head, said, "I was attacked. I was attacked by that official named Barty Crouch."
Upon hearing this, Karkaroff immediately blew his top and began making a fuss. He angrily shouted, "Crouch attacked you? The judge of the Triwizard Tournament attacked you?"
Then Karkaroff pointed at Dumbledore and launched into a furious tirade. "This is a sham! A conspiracy! You people joined together to trick us into coming here, using some so-called fair competition to let your student gain fame and glory!"
Karkaroff pointed at Harry and continued, "Potter, he is underage, yet you forced him into the competition! That is the first injustice!"
Karkaroff then pointed at Eda. "And her! You tell me she is still a student? She's nothing but a tool to clear the obstacles for Potter! Can you people sink any lower?"
"To hell with promoting international wizarding cooperation! To hell with restoring our good relations from the past! Today, I finally know what kind of person you are, Dumbledore!"
Karkaroff roared almost hysterically, venting all the dissatisfaction and resentment he had been holding inside.
Eda glanced sideways at Karkaroff. She really did not want to bother with this complete idiot.
At the Ministry hearing, he had betrayed Snape, yet this year he still had the nerve to ask Snape for help. He really had no shame.
Under everyone's astonished gazes, Karkaroff, apparently possessed by some inexplicable courage, actually spat at Dumbledore's feet.
I have to respect you for having guts!
Eda was stunned, even forgetting to teach this madman a lesson.
Eda had not reacted yet, but someone else had. Hagrid charged straight toward Karkaroff like a bolt of lightning.
...
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