"This is too dangerous. Are you sure you can control Voldemort?"
Dumbledore spoke with deep concern.
Facing an enemy he had battled for most of his life, he had no choice but to be cautious. Yet Charles's current actions, in his eyes, were no different from dancing on the edge of a blade.
"I thought you were a Gryffindor. Was I mistaken?" Charles met Dumbledore's gaze.
The old man's eyes leaned toward brown—not particularly striking, yet bright enough to reflect wisdom and weariness alike.
"I thought your help would save me some worry," Dumbledore replied wryly. "But it seems I was wrong about that too."
Charles: "…"
Fortunately, Dumbledore didn't press further. He only emphasized one thing—that they absolutely could not allow the situation to spiral out of control.
After all, with Charles's presence, Voldemort was no longer as terrifying or troublesome in Dumbledore's eyes as before.
Even if Voldemort truly returned, what real trouble could he cause?
Once all his Horcruxes were destroyed, Dumbledore and Charles together could easily corner and annihilate the Dark Lord. Even for Voldemort, that would be a near-certain death.
By the third day of the tournament, only eight young wizards remained in the competition.
Dumbledore sat on the high platform, his gaze briefly settling on Karkaroff's empty seat.
Maxime, noticing his glance, said, "Looks like our most unpleasant guest won't be joining us today. Honestly, I don't know why he always looks so sickly."
Ever since Karkaroff arrived at Hogwarts, he hadn't shown a single friendly expression. Maxime had little patience for him to begin with—and considering his reputation, it was a wonder Durmstrang had taken him back as Headmaster at all.
"I must agree—it's rather unfortunate," Dumbledore said with a sigh.
He wasn't lamenting Karkaroff's absence at the match, but rather the path the man had chosen. Once again, Karkaroff had fallen to darkness.
But—
'I forgot to remind Charles to make sure Karkaroff doesn't… have an "accident."'
That thought struck Dumbledore suddenly.
After all, Karkaroff was representing Durmstrang. If something were to happen to him at Hogwarts, the explanation would be… problematic. Some might even suspect Dumbledore of assassination!
On the arena floor, Harry and Cedric stepped forward.
Today's battlefield was the Ice Field. The moment the frozen platform rose from the ground, a gust of icy air swept across Harry's face, making him shiver uncontrollably.
Cedric, on the other hand, seemed completely unaffected. His expression remained blank as he stepped onto the ice—
CRACK!
Cedric slipped and crashed face-first onto the ground, chipping half a front tooth on the frozen surface.
"Cedric?!" Cho Chang, already eliminated, gasped, covering her mouth.
Was this really Cedric Diggory?
The usually elegant and graceful Hufflepuff golden boy had suddenly turned into… this?
On the field, Cedric rose again, bloodied and blank-faced. Hiding in the shadows, Karkaroff exhaled in relief.
Good. The boy hadn't woken from the Imperius Curse. Otherwise, all of today's effort would have been wasted.
Still, to be safe, Karkaroff quietly cast an Anti-Slip Charm on Cedric. Hidden close beside his puppet, he planned to take Harry's blood and disappear immediately afterward.
Cedric ignored the blood on his face and sent out his Linoone straight toward Harry.
The audience exchanged confused murmurs.
"Dumbledore, is your student…" An old witch tapped the side of her head, implying Cedric had gone a little mad.
What a pity, they thought. Such a handsome boy—yet apparently not all there upstairs.
And he'd seemed perfectly fine yesterday!
Indeed, Cedric's appearance was frightening—face covered in blood, eyes blank, sprinting full speed with his wand raised—faster than his Linoone itself!
Of course, Linoone's hesitation also played a part. The Pokémon was clearly puzzled by its trainer's strange behavior. Under normal circumstances, its top speed could exceed a hundred kilometers per hour—faster than most broomsticks could even track!
But in a restricted battle arena, such speed was difficult to unleash. Pokémon like Linoone suffered most from tight corners and limited space—its wide turns always exposed openings.
That flaw had nearly cost Cedric yesterday in his match against George—if not for Cedric's own skills compensating for it.
'What's wrong with this guy?' Harry thought, momentarily frozen by Cedric's reckless charge.
But he quickly recovered. He'd always found Cedric's flirting with Cho irritating—so now that they were face-to-face, there was no way he'd back down.
"Go, Electabuzz!"
The fanged Pokémon stomped onto the ice, digging its claws into the frozen floor for balance. Its arms began to whirl with crackling electricity.
"Electabuzz, use Thunder Wave!"
Harry, as usual, opened by inflicting a status effect before going on the offensive.
Electabuzz thrust both arms forward, releasing a bolt of electricity straight toward Linoone—
But to Harry's shock, Cedric didn't even try to dodge. Linoone charged directly into the attack, as if welcoming the jolt head-on.
Harry didn't think much of it—his attack had hit, and that was all that mattered. He pumped his fist excitedly.
"Electabuzz, use Agili—"
BOOM!
A flash of black lightning exploded outward. It slammed into Electabuzz's stomach, sending the Pokémon flying backward until it crashed into an ice pillar.
Harry's unfinished command died in his throat.
"How's that possible?" Ron stared wide-eyed from the stands. "It was paralyzed! Its speed should've gone down—not up!"
"Not necessarily!" Hermione interjected immediately.
"If Linoone's Ability is Quick Feet, then being paralyzed would actually make it faster, not slower!"
"What are you on about?" Ron frowned.
"Quick Feet—it boosts Speed when the Pokémon's suffering from a status condition! But Linoone's Ability hasn't been recorded in our textbooks yet!"
Indeed, Charles never covered Pokémon Abilities in first-year lessons, though advanced notes existed in the library.
Hermione's explanation was just a guess—but a correct one.
"Oh, why doesn't the professor just include every Pokémon in the curriculum already?" she muttered in frustration—but by then, her warning came too late.
Linoone charged again, slamming its head into Electabuzz's chest and knocking it flat.
"Electabuzz, are you okay?" Harry cried out.
Before his Pokémon could respond, Cedric raised his wand—thick black smoke poured out, engulfing the entire field in seconds.
"Cough—cough—what's he doing now?" Harry gasped, covering his nose and mouth.
Then—the scar on his forehead exploded in pain.
He froze.
Voldemort.
The realization struck like lightning.
Cedric's bizarre behavior—it all made sense now. He was under Voldemort's control.
And Voldemort's target was—him.
The searing pain felt like an axe splitting open his skull. Harry wanted to scream, to roll on the floor—but he gritted his teeth and dove aside instead.
An instant later, the ground where he'd just been standing erupted in flames.
He sucked in a breath. Voldemort had dared attack him here—while the professors and headmasters were all watching?!
He shouted, "Professor—!"
"It's no use, Harry Potter," Karkaroff sneered, stepping from the smoke. "I cast a spell—you can't call for help."
His wand hovered above Cedric's head, invisible strings of magic pulling the boy like a puppet.
But now, the puppet had served its purpose.
Thud!
Cedric collapsed, lifeless.
"You're Durmstrang's Headmaster! How could you serve Voldemort?!" Harry shouted in fury.
He looked from Dumbledore's distant silhouette to the man before him—how could two headmasters be so different?
"A lapdog of Voldemort?!"
"You know nothing of the Dark Lord's greatness!" Karkaroff roared. "You're lucky—he doesn't want you dead. I only need a bit of your blood—"
A bolt of lightning burst through the smoke—Electabuzz had recovered and attacked again!
Crack!
Karkaroff flicked his wand, deflecting the electric blast—but it ricocheted straight into Linoone instead.
Then, with a flick, a burst of black magic hurled the Pokémon away.
"Useless creature," Karkaroff spat.
Though not famous for dueling prowess, he was still Durmstrang's headmaster—and a formidable dark wizard. Two Pokémon down in seconds—barely an effort.
"You're dead!" Harry glared with hatred.
"Really? And how will you kill me—stare me to death?" Karkaroff sneered.
Harry suddenly smiled back.
Then he charged.
The abrupt move caught Karkaroff off guard.
A wizard charging into melee? What in Merlin's name were they teaching at Hogwarts these days?
Harry lunged to press his hand against Karkaroff's face—remembering Quirrell's fatal reaction years ago. But Karkaroff wasn't Quirrell; he wasn't possessed by Voldemort.
All Harry managed to do was humiliate him.
"What—why aren't you—melting?"
Harry froze, bewildered.
"I might ask the same thing—why would I be?" Karkaroff sneered, slashing his wand.
The spell cut across Harry's cheek like a blade—blood sprayed forth instantly.
Then Karkaroff raised his wand again, flicking Harry's body into the air.
"Somnus!" (Sleep Charm!)
Killing or kidnapping Harry now would've been ideal—but Voldemort hadn't ordered it. And Dumbledore's wrath wasn't something Karkaroff wished to provoke.
Without the revival potion prepared, Voldemort's plan was still fragile. If Dumbledore found him now, everything would collapse.
So, instead of taking Harry, Karkaroff had to erase his memory of what happened.
Once that was done, he picked up a small shard of ice from the ground.
"Portus."
Crack!
Cedric stood dazed in the middle of the field, confused and disoriented.
'Wait—I was going to talk to Cho… how did I end up here?'
He turned around, spotting Harry lying unconscious nearby, blood streaking his face.
"Potter?"
Speaking hurt—his whole mouth felt sticky, like it had been smeared with syrup. His words whistled strangely.
He wiped his face—dry blood crumbled like rust flakes in his palm.
"What happened…? And—where's my tooth?"
The smoke had cleared by now, and Lee Jordan, hovering overhead, immediately began shouting into his mic.
"—What on earth just happened?! Harry Potter is down—unconscious! Did Cedric Diggory from Hufflepuff attack him in violation of the rules?!"
The announcement sent waves of outrage through the stands. The Hufflepuffs roared in protest, unwilling to believe Cedric could ever do such a thing—but Harry's condition was undeniable.
"Something's gone wrong, Dumbledore," Maxime frowned.
Dumbledore nodded grimly and rose to his feet. Madam Pomfrey was already rushing in with a Chansey—courtesy of Charles's Poké Ball—bounding beside her.
Truth be told, she'd been ready to intervene ever since Cedric slipped earlier.
Pokémon battles? At Hogwarts?Utterly reckless!
Little Hangleton Cemetery.
Space itself twisted—and Karkaroff appeared in the gloom.
"Ah, my servant! Quickly, give me the blood!"
A runic serpent slithered from the shadows—its head marked by a deep scar.
Seeing the vial of crimson, Voldemort's face split into a sickly smile.
"At last! I, the great Lord Voldemort, shall rise again!"
"Dumbledore—this time, you cannot stop me!"
"Hehehehehe!"
(End of Chapter)