(Ivan Karkaroff)
The maze was... disappointing.
Dark?
Certainly.
Confusing?
To an ordinary wizard, perhaps.
But dangerous?
Hardly.
The towering hedges shifted subtly as I walked, attempting to redirect me into dead ends and circular paths. The enchantments were well-crafted, but nothing beyond what I would expect from a competent professor.
Every few corridors I could sense magical creatures lurking nearby.
Some concealed themselves through camouflage, while others relied on silence.
Neither approach was particularly effective against someone of my skill level.
As I rounded another corner, a faint rustle came from my left.
There, the creature was already preparing to pounce.
"Ivan Karkaroff comes across an Acromantula!"
Bagman's magically amplified voice echoed faintly through the maze despite the distance.
Must he narrate everything?
The horse-sized spider exploded from the undergrowth.
Its enormous black body sailed through the air, venomous fangs snapping eagerly toward my throat.
I threw myself into a roll.
To the audience, it probably appeared to be nothing more than quick reflexes.
But only I knew it was a perfectly premeditated act, since I'd sensed the spider nearly thirty seconds earlier.
The beast had all the subtlety of an angry hippogriff.
As I completed the roll, I drew my wand in one smooth motion.
"Arania Exumai."
A brilliant jet of blue-white magic slammed into the Acromantula before its legs even touched the ground.
The creature screeched as its massive body was launched backwards like an oversized Bludger, crashing violently into the hedge with enough force to shake leaves from the branches.
"And he repels it successfully!" Bagman shouted excitedly. "Wonderful reflexes!"
Reflexes… If only he knew.
The Acromantula hissed furiously as it struggled back onto its eight legs.
Persistent.
I'll give it that.
Without breaking stride, I walked calmly toward it.
The spider lowered itself threateningly, its fangs dripped venom onto the grass.
I barely spared it a glance and raised my wand once more.
"Arania Exumai."
This time I actually put some power behind the spell.
The blast struck like a battering ram, causing the Acromantula to sail over the twenty-foot hedge surrounding the corridor, disappearing from sight altogether.
A distant crash followed several seconds later.
"...I almost feel sorry for wherever it landed," Bagman remarked.
The audience erupted into applause.
"He sent the Acromantula flying over the hedge!" Bagman continued enthusiastically. "What a wonderful display of magical power! Ivan Karkaroff keeps proving why he's Durmstrang's champion!"
My jaw tightened almost imperceptibly.
Ivan Karkaroff.
I still wasn't accustomed to hearing that name.
It felt… borrowed, nothing more than a costume.
Yet it was still preferable to the alternative.
Tom.
I nearly grimaced. How I had come to despise that ridiculous name.
Tom.
Plain.
Common.
Forgettable.
A name suited for shopkeepers and accountants, not for a wizard destined to reshape the world.
Not for the greatest sorcerer of the age.
I had abandoned that weak little name decades ago.
I had forged something greater.
Something that inspired fear.
Something that carried power.
Lord Voldemort.
Even thinking about it brought a faint smile to my lips.
Soon...
Very soon...
The masquerade would end.
No more pretending to be an ambitious Durmstrang student.
No more hiding behind borrowed identities.
No more smiling politely for teachers and judges.
The wizarding world would learn the truth.
It soon would remember the name once whispered in fear.
The name mothers used to frighten disobedient children.
The name that had once almost brought Britain to its knees.
And this time there would be no prophecy to save them.
No infant miraculously surviving.
No foolish mistakes.
This time...
The Dark Lord would return and would take over the world for good.
…
(Gilderoy Lockhart)
"Come, little mouse..." came a melodious female voice from within the maze.
The crystal shifted to Fleur's perspective.
The French champion darted around a corner, breathing hard, her robes torn in several places.
Behind her...
A manticore stalked after her at an almost leisurely pace.
Its leonine body rippled with powerful muscles beneath its tawny fur, every step graceful despite its enormous size. A human face sat atop the beast's broad shoulders, beautiful in an unsettling, predatory sort of way, framed by long dark hair that contrasted sharply with rows of gleaming fangs.
Its massive scorpion tail swayed lazily overhead.
Each movement caused the black stinger to glisten ominously in the sunlight filtering through the maze.
"I only want one little bite," the creature sang sweetly.
"I promise it won't hurt..."
A pause.
"...For long."
Several younger students visibly paled.
I, meanwhile, was too busy trying not to strangle somebody.
"..."
I slowly turned toward the judges' table.
"Can someone," I asked with frightening calm, "tell me why there is a manticore inside the maze?"
Bagman looked at me and smiled proudly. "Oh! That was my idea!"
...
I had clearly asked the wrong person.
"When I looked over the approved obstacles," he continued enthusiastically, "I thought they seemed a little... tame."
"Tame," I repeated.
"So I asked Hagrid whether he had anything just a bit more dangerous."
My eyebrow twitched. "A bit?"
I stared at him. "Are you perhaps mentally impaired?"
Bagman's smile faltered. "I beg your pardon?"
"That," I said, pointing at the crystal, "is a fully grown manticore. They're one of the most dangerous magical creatures in existence."
"They're very well known wizard killers. And they actually enjoy hunting wizards, they love it."
"And you thought introducing one into a school competition was merely making things a little more exciting?"
Bagman scratched the back of his head. "Well… Hagrid assured me this particular one was… how did he put it?" He frowned, trying to remember.
"Oh! He said it was a sweetie."
I closed my eyes… of course he did.
"Hagrid," I said patiently, "describes every dangerous creature as a sweetie."
"When he first saw the dragons brought for the first task, he referred to them as 'cuddly little fellows.'"
Bagman's confidence diminished considerably. "...Did he?"
"Repeatedly."
"I see..."
He suddenly seemed much less pleased with his decision.
"Perhaps," he offered weakly, "you're worrying a bit too much. It's only a magical creature, they're not exactly intelligent."
Before I could respond, Dumbledore calmly stroked his beard. "Actually, Ludo… Manticores are exceptionally intelligent. They possess reasoning abilities comparable to those of humans."
"They can formulate strategies, understand speech, and they are perfectly capable of recognising opportunities."
Bagman slowly turned toward him. "...Oh."
I decided to finish the lesson. "They're also extraordinarily fast. Strong enough to tear a grown wizard in half. Their hide is resistant to most spells. Their claws can cut through enchanted steel."
"And," I added, pointing toward the enormous stinger lazily swaying behind the creature, "let us not overlook their venom, which is among the deadliest known to wizardkind."
"Untreated..." I paused.
"It can kill within seconds."
Bagman swallowed audibly. "...I may have underestimated them."
"You think?"
Beside me, Aurora pinched the bridge of her nose. "I think the more pressing question is..."
She looked toward Hagrid, who stood near the edge of the judges' enclosure nervously wringing his hands.
"Hagrid."
The half-giant looked up. "Professor Sinistra?"
"Did you actually tell Mr Bagman the manticore was harmless?"
Hagrid looked genuinely confused. "'Course not. I told 'im she'd never hurt me."
...
I slowly looked back at Bagman.
Bagman slowly looked back at me. His face had gone completely white.
"You..." I began very slowly. "...failed to notice the distinction?"
"I..." He opened his mouth.
Closed it.
Then opened it again. "In hindsight… perhaps I should have asked one follow-up question."
"You think?"
Even Snape, who had been watching the entire exchange in stony silence, allowed the smallest of smirks to cross his face.
"It would appear," he drawled, "that Mr Bagman's talent for gambling extends beyond Quidditch."
A few nearby professors snorted.
Bagman looked as though he desperately wished the earth would open beneath his feet.
Unfortunately for him...
The crystal suddenly zoomed back in on Fleur, who had unfortunately ran into a dead end.
The manticore smiled.
"Oh… I do love it when they stop running."
My grip tightened around my staff.
If that creature so much as scratched one of the champions...
Ludo Bagman was going to discover firsthand that I had invented several new offensive spells over the past year.
…