The oak doors of Hogwarts Castle closed heavily behind Harry and Ron, isolating them from the stifling air of the Ministry of Magic and the lingering dizziness brought on by Apparition.
Professor Lupin walked away quickly, leaving the two in the entrance hall.
At this moment, the bizarre, perplexing, and enigmatic reversal trial in the Wizengamot Court was still booming in the heads of the two little guys, like a group of lovelorn Trolls performing a newly learned tap dance in their minds.
"Merlin's XXX!"
Ron dramatically raised his arms and rushed into the Gryffindor common room, collapsed into the armchair closest to the fireplace, his chest heaving violently, his face and hair redder than the flames in the fireplace, "Do you remember? Harry? You surely remember! Karkaroff! Just like that… Boom! Azkaban!"
"Weasley! Speak clearly!"
Ginny, like a startled ginger cat, instinctively jumped in front of Ron, her brows knitted together, her gaze like a searchlight scanning Harry and Ron's faces, Hermione, Neville, and the Weasley Twins, who were promoting new products to the two, were drawn over by the commotion.
Harry took a deep breath, trying to get his still buzzing ears back to normal—Apparition was really an uncomfortable way to travel, of course, he didn't mean that Portkeys or Floo Powder were any more comfortable, they were all six of one and half a dozen of the other, none compared to Harry Potter flying on a broom—
The boy struggled to organize the tangled mess in his head, "Karkaroff… he jumped out accusing the senior of being the culprit of everything, demanding to have him locked up in Azkaban…" Harry's narration stumbled a bit, considering he was still immersed in confusion and shock—
"Then… then, Minister Fudge… he suddenly ordered Karkaroff to be arrested—on the spot! Saying he disturbed the court."
"What? Fudge arrested Karkaroff?"
Fred nearly choked on his own saliva, exchanging incredulous looks with George, "Is it true? Harry, you might as well tell me the Giant Squid will crawl out of the Black Lake and attend the next Yule Ball…"
"Yes! Then, the senior stood up."
Harry's tone carried an entirely unbelievable emotion, he stood up, mimicking William's action at the time, "He just walked slowly to the plaintiff's stand, and then Fudge made way for him."
Ron, having caught his breath, nodded vigorously in addition, "Right right! Then the senior produced evidence of Helbo and Karkaroff's transaction, clearly proving Karkaroff sold out Krum, he was the follower of Helbo! The real traitor—"
"This… really is…"
"The key is the end!"
Harry's voice rose somewhat as he tried to recreate the most absurd and shocking scene, "The senior… he picked up a small gavel, tapped it on the table, and announced a lifelong sentence for Karkaroff in Azkaban—then the Aurors took him away."
The common room fell silent, save for the crackling sound of the fireplace.
"Then… what about the accusations Minister Fudge had against the senior before?" Neville asked the critical question softly, "He… he didn't pursue it any further? Wasn't today supposed to be the senior's trial?"
"No."
Harry shook his head, his brows furrowing along with it, after the roaring sea of emotions, confusion slowly wrapped around him like a vine, "After Karkaroff was taken away, the scene was strange, everyone was probably stunned by the senior, Minister Fudge… he didn't say anything more, the senior's case just went unresolved like that."
Harry recalled the subtle expression on Fudge's face at the court, mixed with tension, a hint of imperceptible compliance, even a bit… of relief? "After that, even when the senior mentioned it, Fudge didn't bring up any issues of responsibility against the senior."
"This is just like…"
Ginny blinked, trying to find a fitting analogy, "Like a carefully rehearsed play—Karkaroff jumps out accusing the senior, conveniently giving Fudge a way out, and the senior seizes the chance to throw him in Azkaban?"
The common room fell into silence again, apparently, everyone felt it seemed just like that.
"Then, why didn't he tell us directly?"
Harry's voice was full of frustration and deep confusion, even a sense of being deceived, a feeling more unsettling than facing the despicable Helbo, "Why didn't he tell us, he knew long ago that Karkaroff was Helbo's accomplice? If we knew, at least… at least at that time, we would have a foundation, at least…"
At least we wouldn't be like fools fretting there! Hesitating for a moment, Harry swallowed back the latter half of the sentence.
He remembered what William said to him at breakfast yesterday—"Don't think too much"—at this moment, the words no longer brought comfort but an estrangement, so ultimately, why were they kept in the dark?
Fred scratched his head, "Maybe the stakes are too high, knowing in advance would be risky?"
"Risk? We are the parties involved!" Harry retorted instinctively, green eyes flashing with dissatisfaction.
"It's for our protection, Harry."
Hermione spoke, but evidently, not even this could comfort the Fat Lady, who was sulking at the entrance after her greetings went unanswered by Ron.
"Protection? Leaving me to flounder around like a headless chicken..."
Harry grumbled, his heart churning with complex emotions. He still preferred William from before. Although his senior still appeared as poised as ever, this poise was beginning to exclude him. This unfamiliar estrangement and distance made the boy very sad, but he didn't know how to change it—
Seeing Harry's fraught and pained expression, Hermione shook her head. She knew a little more than everyone else—
The kind of little bit you could learn if some Death Eater kidnapped her, used a Cruciatus Curse with Veritaserum to torture her for a bit, and then could even know the color of William's underwear.
But before that, the Death Eater would first need to get past a Fire Dragon hibernating in the girl's satchel.
And there were two Basilisks disguised as hair ties—although the dastardly Helbo had fled, he left quite a legacy behind.
At the very least, William was now Basilisk-free—
But now, there was no way to comfort Harry. Precisely because she understood what William was doing and what the truth was, she couldn't tell Harry. The boy's Occlumency was indeed practiced well, but Harry's mana could only prevent a certain noseless figure from projecting little videos into his mind at night—
If that person discovered he could spy...
Hermione sighed and gently patted Harry on the shoulder to show comfort.
Time passed like the Hogwarts Express, whistling past the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
The biting cold of winter was replaced by the gentle spring breeze. The thick ice covering the entire Black Lake had long melted, the shimmering water reflecting the blue sky and white clouds. Around the castle, the heavy snow gave way to fresh green sprouts, the trees sprouted tiny green branches, and the Giant Squid stretched its tentacles lazily in the now warm lake water.
The Quidditch Pitch regained its bustle, the racers' flying figures and the Beaters' bat collisions once again becoming the background sound outside the castle.
Because the planned fourth event was cut—
Even if William was declared innocent, he didn't return to serve as a referee, so the Eight-Team Tournament's final event was fully entrusted to the British Ministry of Magic.
The Beauxbatons' carriage was still parked by the shore, the fact that the Abraxan had given birth to three foals in half a year left Madam Maxime somewhat bewildered, making her wonder if the grass in the United Kingdom was richer.
Durmstrang's ship had vanished though, the "crazy" champion and the "sentenced" headmaster meant these Northern European folks packed up and left Hogwarts that same night. Thus, the final participating group was reduced back to four people, from three schools.
So, as time drew near, everyone's thoughts inevitably once again focused on the tournament.
On the edge of the Forbidden Forest, the framework for the third event, initially just a concept, under the "efficient" (which specifically means nearly five months of dawdling) construction by the Ministry of Magic, a not-so-grand maze sprouted up at the forest's edge.
It was completely different from the grand and ancient pyramid maze beneath the Black Lake. This newly constructed maze was made of towering, solid, magically reinforced hedges. The towering green walls shone with a greasy luster under the sun. The height wasn't too exaggerated, so Ministry Aurors frequently blocked little wizards from flying in on broomsticks to try their luck.
It was neat, orderly, exuding a kind of... cheap yet pragmatic vibe.
"As expected, I might have already found the path."
Harry, Cedric, and Hermione stood at a window of a deserted tower high in the castle, gazing at the abrupt, expansive green maze. The spring breeze carried the scent of grass and earth as Hermione, holding a sketchbook, used her good eyesight to sketch a faint outline.
"Oh my, are you going to get chased and have your butt bitten by a Blast-Ended Skrewt in there?"
Ron approached from behind, sharing cookies with Ginny. He gleefully said, "If you ask me, drop out while you still can, Harry. Those 'little darlings' Hagrid's raised have grown fast. They're now even bigger than Fluffy (the Three-Headed Dog) in its adult form—"
Saying this, Ron gestured, completely ignoring Harry's increasingly pale face, "Hmm... even half its head is bigger than you."
"Haha, very funny."
Harry leaned against the window sill, his voice slightly muffled with discouragement.
"Seriously, how does Hagrid manage to raise those things so big?"
Hermione said, scratching her head in frustration, "Those creatures don't even conform to Darwin's theory of evolution—oh wait, that's a Muggle book." Hermione pondered for a moment, "Right, they don't conform to Mr. Scamander's principles at all—"