Karkaroff looked a little irritated too, much like Dumbledore.
But after looking around and seeing that no one present was easy to deal with, and knowing he was the one asking for help, he could only cast Tver a resentful look.
Picking up on the meaning in his eyes, Tver had no choice but to put aside his amusement.
"We should focus on the Dark Mark first. After all, Headmaster Karkaroff brought this up because he wanted us to pay attention to it."
"Hmph." Moody shot Karkaroff, who looked awkward, a sidelong glance. "I brought him and Snape here. The two of them were planning to run away from Hogwarts, maybe even from Britain itself!"
Snape frowned in displeasure, clearly hating being mentioned in the same breath as Karkaroff.
"Do not lump me together with this coward. He was the one who came to me, and he was the one who suggested running away."
Tver looked helplessly at his former headmaster.
"And where were you planning to hide? Back at Durmstrang?"
Discussing something so humiliating in front of his own former student, Karkaroff lowered his head awkwardly.
"Durmstrang would be too obvious. I was planning to get far away from Europe. Africa or Asia would be the best choice."
"But I was panicking at the time," he added quickly, looking up to stress the point. "Now that I've thought it through, if the Dark Lord really hates me, he'll find me even if I hide in Antarctica!"
"Nice to see you know yourself so well." Moody patted him mockingly on the shoulder, startling him. "Here's another piece of good news: You-Know-Who doesn't hate you quite that much."
"But the Dark Lord still won't spare me..." Karkaroff's face dimmed at once.
As a former Death Eater, he knew very well what kind of power the Dark Lord possessed, and what kind of methods he used to torture people.
If he really did fall into the Dark Lord's hands, he would be better off ending himself cleanly.
Tver shook his head, unable to understand it.
"I really don't get why you'd want to leave the safest place, Hogwarts, and run off to somewhere completely unfamiliar."
"Exactly!" Karkaroff's eyes lit up.
"With you and Dumbledore at Hogwarts, even the Dark Lord wouldn't be able to break in here!"
He looked at Dumbledore eagerly. "Albus, are you still short a headmaster... no, wait, a professor?"
"...Aren't you the headmaster of Durmstrang? What exactly do you mean by coming to Hogwarts to be a professor?" Dumbledore said helplessly.
"What's a headmaster's position compared to staying alive? Surely you agree?" Karkaroff said shamelessly.
"Besides, there are less than six months left before the Triwizard Tournament ends. Durmstrang can hardly keep staying here after that."
"I have to think about surviving three months from now, don't I?"
[...]
Dumbledore was left speechless by Karkaroff's sheer brazenness.
"All right then, Alastor, go ask Minerva whether there will be any vacancies on the staff."
"Severus, I remember there aren't many empty offices left in the castle. Please take him to see whether there's anywhere suitable."
"If, after the tournament ends, you still intend to remain at Hogwarts, you can stay there."
Moody and Snape both showed open disgust, but under Dumbledore's insistent gaze, and with Karkaroff muttering at them to hurry up, they sighed and led him out of the office.
Tver watched the scene coldly. He said nothing about the arrangement, but the look he turned on Dumbledore was full of doubt.
Just as Karkaroff had said, there were still several months left before the Triwizard Tournament ended. There was no need to start arranging a teaching post and living quarters for him this early.
So this was a deliberate attempt to send them away?
Sure enough, the moment they left, the smile disappeared from Dumbledore's face.
"Tver, what do you think of Karkaroff?"
"He's clever, but only in small ways. He has ability, but not the courage to match it. In times of war, he's arguably even less useful than Peter Pettigrew."
Tver did not bother sparing his former headmaster's dignity. If anything, after seven years of knowing him, his assessment was exceptionally objective.
That was not to say Karkaroff was less capable than Peter. In terms of ability, as the headmaster of Durmstrang, he could still crush most ordinary wizards.
It was just that when it came to crucial matters, especially anything involving his own safety, he would always choose to run away in the stupidest possible way, which meant all that power of his never amounted to much.
To put it simply, if he were facing an aggressive Voldemort, Peter might still resist with his feeble strength, while Karkaroff would absolutely rely on his petty cleverness and flee in self-deception.
So Tver had no interest at all in trying to win Karkaroff over.
Dumbledore was not surprised by that judgment. From Karkaroff's behavior just now, he had clearly realized as much himself.
"I had been thinking of having Karkaroff infiltrate Voldemort's side. But now it seems he'd be even more likely to betray us."
"Have you become addicted to planting spies? Snape and Peter aren't enough for you?" Tver looked at Dumbledore oddly.
"Of course not. This is Voldemort we're talking about." Dumbledore could not help laughing, finding his own behavior somewhat amusing.
He had actually been influenced by Tver without noticing it. Whenever he planned something now, he found himself wanting to plant a hidden piece here, hide a trap there, always trying to get multiple gains from one scheme.
"But when you mentioned wartime just now... do you also think war is certain to break out again?"
"It would be more accurate to say that Voldemort is certain to start one," Tver replied evenly, doing his best to keep the smile from showing on his face.
But Dumbledore paid no attention to his expression. In truth, the moment he asked the question, he had already sunk into recollection.
"I have lived through two generations of Dark Lords, Grindelwald and Voldemort. But do you know why, even though Grindelwald was the more inflammatory of the two, wizards were actually more afraid of Voldemort?"
The sudden shift in topic caught Tver off guard.
"Because teacher mainly targeted Muggles, while Voldemort tried to permanently reduce Muggle-born and half-blood wizards to the lower class?"
Dumbledore chuckled softly, paying no mind to the way Tver had glossed over Grindelwald.
"Exactly. The terror Voldemort brought far exceeded Grindelwald's. Every time his Dark Mark appeared in the sky, it meant that a wizard, often more than one, had died at their hands."
"Tver." He met Tver's eyes with steady resolve. "I don't know what sort of threat Muggles may pose."
"But Voldemort is the one we are about to face."
Tver understood what Dumbledore meant.
As long as it did not go too far, then in light of the harm Voldemort had once inflicted on wizards, Dumbledore could temporarily ignore some of the small moves made by Tver and teacher.
Tver did not really disagree with that way of thinking either.
With Voldemort growing more and more unhinged, he did not want the strength of wizardkind to suffer too much damage either.
After all, what he wanted was a healthier wizarding world.
That was also why Tver had always leaned toward using more peaceful methods to win over wizards.
"You can rest assured. I don't want to see wizards harmed either."
With Tver's assurance, Dumbledore finally showed a faint smile.