(Gilderoy Lockhart)
The duel didn't last long.
Harry tried everything he could think of. Feints, rapid-fire spell combinations, transfiguring the ground beneath Ivan's feet.
Even a rather clever attempt at using the maze itself to limit his opponent's movements.
And I had to admit… The boy was talented. Very talented, in fact.
His movements were quick, his spellwork precise, and his instincts considerably sharper than they had been at the beginning of the tournament.
He had clearly spent months preparing for this.
Unfortunately for Harry...
Ivan Karkaroff was simply operating on an entirely different level.
Every spell Harry cast was countered, every feint was recognised, every trick was anticipated.
Sometimes Ivan didn't even bother casting a spell.
He simply moved.
A step to the side, a turn of the wrist, a casual flick of his wand.
It was becoming increasingly difficult to watch.
At some point, the duel had stopped looking like a competition between two champions and started looking like a professor demonstrating defensive magic to a particularly enthusiastic first-year.
Harry's frustration was becoming painfully obvious.
His breathing grew heavier, his robes were covered in dirt and grass.
His hair, already hopeless under normal circumstances, looked as though he'd been struck by several miniature explosions.
And still he refused to give up.
"Come on, Harry!" Sirius shouted from beside me. "You can do it!"
Harry tried another combination, but Ivan dismantled it almost immediately.
Sirius fell silent. That was when I knew things had become serious.
Beside him, Remus placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't feel so down."
Sirius didn't answer.
"You taught him everything you could in a relatively short time," Remus continued quietly. "This isn't your fault. And it certainly isn't Harry's."
He nodded toward the crystal. "His opponent is simply..."
Remus paused. "...a monster."
I nodded solemnly. "Indeed."
I watched Ivan casually deflect another curse.
"I've never seen a young wizard so skilled in magic. It's almost surreal." Remus frowned. "I've seen some talented students in my time, but this..."
He shook his head. "He's on another level."
I nodded again. "And he's been holding back."
Everyone nearby turned toward me.
Tonks' eyes widened. "Are you kidding me?"
She pointed toward the crystal sphere. "What that kid has shown already is enough to beat half the Aurors I know."
She paused. "Probably more than half."
Her expression became incredulous. "And you're telling me he's been holding back?"
I sighed. "Yes."
I watched Ivan calmly swat aside another spell.
"He could have ended this fight at practically any point."
Tonks stared at the crystal. "Then why hasn't he?"
"That's precisely what bothers me." I folded my arms. "He's testing Harry."
"Testing him?"
"Yes." I narrowed my eyes. "He isn't fighting to win."
My gaze remained fixed on Ivan. "He's studying Harry's abilities. His instincts. His spell selection. His reactions under pressure."
Aurora frowned. "Why?"
"I don't know."
And that was the problem. I hated not knowing.
Especially when the person I didn't understand was displaying enough magical ability to make even me uncomfortable.
I glanced toward the judges' platform. Igor Karkaroff had been watching the duel earlier, but now...
My eyes narrowed, his chair was empty.
I blinked. "Wait."
I looked around. "Where did Karkaroff go?"
Tonks glanced toward the judges. "Wasn't he sitting there?"
"Yes." I looked at the empty seat again.
Aurora turned toward me. "I saw him leave a minute ago."
She shrugged lightly. "Perhaps he had to use the loo."
I stared at her. "Now? At this time?"
Aurora raised an eyebrow. "People do occasionally have biological necessities, Gilderoy."
"During the final duel of the Triwizard Tournament?"
I gestured toward the crystal sphere. "With his own champion, his own nephew, fighting for the Cup?"
I shook my head. "No."
Something felt incredibly wrong.
I looked back toward the maze, where Ivan was still calmly dismantling Harry's attacks.
Karkaroff was gone.
And Ivan had somehow disappeared from the crystal's view earlier.
I didn't like coincidences, especially when there were this many of them.
"Something's going on." My voice had become quieter.
Aurora looked at me.
I stared at the empty seat. "And I don't like it."
…
"Alright, I've seen enough." Ivan's voice carried clearly across the maze.
Another red streak of magic shot toward him, but Ivan simply swatted it aside with his bare hand.
For several seconds, the entire stadium was silent.
Then…
"LOOK AT THAT!" Bagman's voice practically exploded through the magical amplification.
"He's stopped Potter's spell with his bare hand!"
The audience erupted.
Harry, however, didn't cheer. He stared at Ivan's hand with wide eyes, his expression betraying genuine disbelief.
Even I couldn't blame him.
Stopping a spell without a wand was possible, but it required extraordinary skill in wandless magic.
And Ivan had done it as casually as someone brushing away an annoying fly.
Harry froze, and that moment of hesitation proved to be his undoing.
"Stupefy."
A thin red beam shot toward him.
Harry reacted instinctively, twisting his body aside.
But the spell wasn't really meant to hit him. It was a distraction.
Behind Harry, one of the maze's enchanted branches suddenly moved and coiled around his ankle before he even noticed.
Harry's eyes widened.
"What?!"
The branch tightened, and then it yanked.
Harry was ripped off his feet and hauled upside down into the air. His wand slipped from his fingers and fell into the grass several feet away.
"Harry!" Sirius jumped halfway out of his seat.
I immediately raised a hand to stop him. "Wait."
Sirius looked at me.
I shook my head. "If Ivan wanted him dead, Harry would already be dead. And this is a public tournament, everyone is watching, there's no need to worry."
That didn't seem to make Sirius feel any better.
It certainly didn't make me feel better.
Inside the maze, Harry dangled helplessly a few feet above the ground, his robes hanging toward his head as his glasses threatened to slide off his face.
Ivan approached slowly with a faint smile on his lips.
"I must admit," he said, "you've impressed me."
Harry frowned.
"For a fourth-year student, that is."
The smile disappeared. "But you're not what I expected."
Harry's expression hardened.
Ivan continued. "Everyone has spent more than a decade calling you the next Merlin."
He gestured casually toward the fallen wand. "The legendary Boy-Who-Lived. The infant who supposedly defeated the greatest Dark Lord to ever exist."
His eyes narrowed. "Destined for greatness."
Ivan sighed. "Such a disappointment."
A murmur spread throughout the stadium.
Harry, despite hanging upside down, somehow managed to look offended.
"Sorry to disappoint you," he said dryly. "But I'm just Harry."
Ivan raised an eyebrow.
"A normal wizard." Harry shrugged awkwardly. "Now, how about you put me down? You can take the Cup. You won fair and square."
For a moment, Ivan simply stared at him, then he shook his head.
"No can do, Harry." His expression became considerably colder. "You've already answered one question for me."
Harry's brow furrowed.
Ivan stepped closer. "You're not the legendary wizard everyone believes you to be."
His gaze sharpened. "But there's still one thing I need to know."
Harry's expression changed.
"How did you survive the Killing Curse?"
The words seemed to suck the warmth from the entire stadium.
Even Bagman fell silent.
Harry's face went pale.
Ivan continued calmly. "People have claimed you're immune to it."
He gave a small shake of his head. "I don't believe that."
Harry swallowed.
Ivan raised his wand. "So..."
His eyes gleamed. "Why don't we find out?"
Harry's eyes widened in genuine panic. "No."
The word escaped him almost involuntarily.
Ivan smiled. "Don't worry."
He lifted his wand toward Harry. "If you're really immune..."
A green glow began gathering at the tip. "...you'll survive."
My blood ran cold, that wasn't a threat, he genuinely intended to do it.
And suddenly, everything I'd found strange about Ivan Karkaroff over the past several months came crashing together.
The unnatural composure, the absurd magical ability, the secrecy, the missing records.
And now this.
I stood up. "Albus."
Dumbledore was already on his feet. His expression had lost its usual warmth.
"Yes, Gilderoy."
I tightened my grip around my staff. "Something is very wrong."
Dumbledore's eyes remained fixed on the crystal.
"I believe," he said quietly, "we are about to find out just how wrong."
Inside the maze, Harry stared at the wand pointed directly at his chest.
Ivan's smile widened. "Let's see what happens when the Boy-Who-Lived meets the Killing Curse a second time."
…