Wood missing?
A ripple of alarm passed through the spectators at the scene, but apart from Charles no one yet suspected Wood might have been in any real danger.
After a moment's thought Charles realized Wood was most likely alright — otherwise Karkaroff wouldn't have dared to sit so calmly beside Dumbledore. Still, Charles called Gengar back and asked what had happened.
His guess proved correct: Wood was fine.
In fact, Karkaroff had originally planned to disguise himself as Wood and take part in the competition. But after he'd knocked Wood out and forced him to swallow the potion — nausea clawing at him all the while — he discovered to his dismay that Wood's Pokémon immediately recognized the impostor. They refused his commands and even turned hostile. He had no choice but to abandon the ruse.
A pity — the five hundred Galleons he'd spent on that potion had gone completely to waste.
Karkaroff watched the contest with a sullen gaze, waiting for the winner of the next duel. Next time, he thought, he'd have to try another method.
When Lee Jordan announced that Harry had advanced without a fight, a Gryffindor student came running from the dormitory: Wood had been found in the common room.
He was still groggy and couldn't remember what had happened; he assumed he'd overslept from nerves.
"You all right, Wood?" Harry asked with concern when he saw him sitting in the competitors' room, clutching his head. Harry felt a twinge of embarrassment — having advanced without fighting, he felt unfairly indebted to Wood.
"Fine. I overslept — my fault." Wood rubbed his temple with one hand and patted Harry's shoulder with the other, dismissing Harry's worry. "By the way, whose match is this?"
"Cedric and George." Fred folded his arms and said.
"Hope George does well."
"Hard to say — Cedric's no ordinary kid." Fred shook his head. That Hufflepuff was famous for being excellent, even in third year. There were only a little over thirty trainers in the Pokémon Masters Club, so most people had some idea of Cedric's strength.
George had been unlucky to be paired with Cedric.
"Harry, whoever wins will be your opponent tomorrow. Go watch their match and plan ahead," Fred advised.
Harry nodded.
Cedric's Pokémon weren't flashy-looking, but they were surprisingly capable.
— A Linoone!
Cedric had been searching the reserve for the Hufflepuff Pokémon Charles had shown in class, and finally he'd found it in a corner of the grasslands.
The only thing odd was its markings — Cedric realized the Zigzagoon he'd found looked strange.
Later Charles explained to him that this was another form of Zigzagoon, and that it had since evolved into a Linoone.
"That kid's not someone to mess with," Ron muttered. "I mean, that Linoone — it looks like the kind that'd go for the worst places in a fight, right?"
Harry: …
Hearing Ron, Harry suddenly thought Cedric's Galar Linoone did look vicious. And, he admitted to himself, he also found Cedric a little off-putting.
That third-year kept talking with Cho Chang like he hadn't a care in the world — shameless!
With that in mind, Harry resolved that if he faced Cedric tomorrow, he'd make him regret underestimating him.
"If only I'd learned a Fighting-type move or two. Cedric's Linoone… I think it's Normal/Dark?" Harry said.
"You'd have to match its speed too," Fred replied. "George's Nidorino learned Double Kick, but Nidorino's not as fast as a Linoone, so the hits barely land."
On the battlefield, George and his Nidorino soon showed signs of losing. It didn't take long before they fell to the Linoone's decisive strikes.
In subsequent rounds, Cho was unlucky — she met a seventh-year whose Pokémon weren't stronger than hers physically, but whose magic made the difference.
Ron, Fred and Percy managed to advance to the next round.
—
At the dinner that night, after two days of competition, Madame Maxime had shed some of her earlier reserve and spoke amiably with Charles. Wizards from both the magical institute and Castelobruxo had become deeply curious about Pokémon and many expressed hope of introducing Pokémon courses at their own schools.
"I'd be glad to help," Charles said. "Coincidentally, my seventh-years have graduated; they've already learned some Pokémon basics. Even material not yet in textbooks isn't difficult once foundations are set. If you're willing, perhaps you could recruit them as instructors."
"That's a fine suggestion," the wizard from the magical institute responded, "but where would you source real Pokémon? If young wizards don't get to see real ones, the teaching might not be effective."
"Exactly, Mr. Gold. Even in Care of Magical Creatures we show real creatures to the pupils — at least some of them," said the elderly witch Benedita Dorado.
"I will continue to expand the reserve and provide Pokémon to schools for teaching. Qualified young wizards may apply to me for capture permission," Charles promised.
Although he'd used incubators to hatch many of the reserve's Pokémon, almost all of them had been raised in the wild. The reserve had been established ten months ago, and naturally-born Pokémon had begun to make up the majority.
The number of Pokémon was increasing — exporting them was inevitable.
Moreover, if he didn't send Pokémon out, he couldn't achieve his larger goal of promoting Pokémon education.
Madame Maxime, however, seemed unimpressed.
"I heard from Dumbledore that Mr. Gold is close with Mr. Nicholas?" she asked.
"I had the fortune to meet Mr. Nicholas while on my travels. He truly is a master in many regards," Charles replied, smoothening the phrasing of his interrupted studies into "travel"—it sounded better.
"You know, Nicholas is an honored alumnus of Beauxbatons — would you consider a post there?" she asked bluntly, attempting to poach him from Dumbledore.
"Thank you, madam, but I'm used to being at Hogwarts," Charles said, and his gaze flicked to a slightly haggard Karkaroff nearby.
"Mr. Karkaroff, does Durmstrang have plans to introduce Pokémon courses?"
Karkaroff, lost in thought, was startled by the question and stumbled over a reply. "Ah — I'll have to consult with the board — Pokémon… they're certainly intriguing. I believe the board could be persuaded."
He spoke without conviction.
In truth, his attitude toward Pokémon remained dismissive — not because he looked down on them, but because, in his mind, they paled beside the return of his master. When the great lord Voldemort returned, what would he not be able to obtain? The power over Pokémon would no longer belong to some half-blood like Charles Gold.
But first he had to complete his plan and obtain Harry Potter's blood.
Karkaroff had replayed yesterday's failure in his head and realized simple disguise wouldn't fool Pokémon.
'Looks like I'll have to use that other method…'
His gaze drifted, unconsciously toward the Hufflepuff table. Dumbledore noticed it, but only watched thoughtfully and did not act.
"Cedric, you fought beautifully today!" Many Hufflepuffs crowded around Cedric, praising him vigorously.
Cedric Diggory was personable — he got along well not only with his peers but with many older students as well. More importantly, he was handsome; his face was not as square as it might be later when, in some cruder imaginations, he'd be described as vampire-like.
In short: an excellent young man.
"Lucky me — George Weasley's Pokémon isn't as fast as mine," Cedric said, glancing toward Ravenclaw's table. He regretted that the girl who'd charmed him earlier hadn't looked his way.
'I should go comfort Cho — she lost her match today,' Cedric thought, and soon resolved to find her after the feast.
Boys shouldn't be passive. If you act like Harry Potter, you'll lose the girl before you even try.
He didn't wait long. The feast ended, and Dumbledore and the other professors left early; the students then filed out.
When Cedric passed through the great hall doors, Ravenclaw's group had already gone a fair distance. He hesitated and then left the line.
"Hey, Diggory, where are you going?" a Hufflepuff called out. The Hufflepuff dormitory lay closest to the kitchens; to catch up with Cho in Ravenclaw, Cedric had to step away.
"I'll be right back," he answered shyly. After all, he was only in third year — a touch of embarrassment was natural.
Ravenclaw's procession had vanished.
Cedric left the professors' path and took a long way toward the Ravenclaw tower.
This pleased Karkaroff immensely. He'd found an excuse to get Dumbledore away and had hidden at a corner along Cedric's route, wand in hand.
When Cedric turned a corner, he nearly collided with a dark figure and was startled — but he relaxed immediately when he recognized the man as the headmaster from Durmstrang.
"Sir…"
Karkaroff didn't give him a chance to speak. A wand flick, and Cedric went blank — like a soul snatched away.
"Release your Pokémon," Karkaroff ordered in a cold voice.
Cedric mechanically produced a Poké Ball and tossed it.
The Linoone blinked its tongue out and looked between its trainer and Karkaroff, sensing danger. It reared up on its hind legs and showed teeth and claws, placing itself between Cedric and the Durmstrang headmaster.
But Karkaroff was unfazed. He whispered a command.
"Enough. Recall the beast. Go back to your bed. Tomorrow, in the match, you will fetch for me—"
Cedric recalled the Linoone and, like a puppet, shuffled away.
The corridor felt colder for a moment, as if a draft had passed through the empty hall.
Karkaroff shivered, looked about, then slipped away furtively.
A few minutes later, a darker patch of corridor seemed to stir. Two tall figures emerged there.
"Charles?"
"Dumbledore?"
The older and younger wizard exchanged a surprised look and cried in unison, "What a coincidence."
"A walk after dinner does wonders for the health," Charles said.
"…"
"So, you noticed Karkaroff's odd behavior already?" Dumbledore observed Charles but asked no probing questions. "Karkaroff wants Harry's blood. There's one person in this world who would want Harry's blood—"
"Voldemort," Charles supplied.
"You're right. I believe he discovered some magical protection on Harry when trying to seize the Stone. To break that protection, he needs Harry's blood to resurrect himself — only then can he touch Harry." Dumbledore's gaze burned. "We mustn't let him return."
Dumbledore clearly suspected Charles was hiding something.
Charles had indeed discovered Karkaroff's aim, but this time he did not tell Dumbledore everything.
Dumbledore didn't presume Charles had any ill intent, but he suspected Charles had a plan he preferred to keep secret. Out of trust, Dumbledore didn't pry; he had only one bottom line — Voldemort must not be resurrected.
Charles: …
"Don't you think letting Voldemort come back would actually help us? Harry has a fragment of soul that still needs dealing with!"
"I don't think so, and Harry is still too young," Dumbledore said, voice absolute. "Besides, the Stone is not—"
"The Stone is with me." Charles produced the black, faceted stone and thrust it in front of Dumbledore. For a moment Dumbledore looked breathless.
But he quickly steadied himself.
"He must be wielding a wand that will not kill Harry." Dumbledore said.
The original plan had of course been the Elder Wand, but now Dumbledore could not call Harry over and invite him to be killed with "Expelliarmus" in some contrived test.
"Worried he'll lose control? Don't worry — I already prepared a contingency. The day Harry told me his scar hurt, I knew Voldemort had returned."
"Using Voldemort to intimidate those people would be better than me taking direct action, wouldn't you agree?"
(End of Chapter)