Chapter 237: Chapter 236 "May Ends"
Harry received a letter from Sirius, who strongly criticized Harry for venturing into the Forbidden Forest alone with Skyler. Sirius believed that dangerous individuals at Hogwarts were attempting to prevent Crouch from meeting Dumbledore.
In fact, Dumbledore had been on high alert since Harry's name entered the Goblet of Fire. Deceiving both the magical awareness of the Goblet and the age restriction required careful planning by a powerful wizard. Underage wizards theoretically faced challenges in achieving this covertly.
Dumbledore, recognizing the danger, concluded that lurking adults were involved in the Triwizard Tournament scheme. Suspects included visiting Ministry of Magic officials and two principals: Igor Karkaroff, Olympe Maxim, Ludovic Bagman, and Barty Crouch Sr.
While the Ministry was quick to suspect Madame Maxime due to her being a giant hybrid, Dumbledore, not one to harbor racial biases, even assigned Hagrid to approach her for monitoring.
Of course, the unexpected attraction between Hagrid, a man devoted to caring for magical creatures, and Madame Maxime was beyond anyone's control. Nevertheless, suspicions about Madame Maxime could be dismissed.
Karkaroff, a proven Death Eater who betrayed his comrades to save himself, was a complete villain. Snape's intelligence suggested he was panicked about Voldemort's return, fearing severe punishment for his betrayal.
While he didn't seem to have a motive to target Harry, the possibility of him trying to quickly eliminate Harry to atone for his sins couldn't be ruled out, making him Dumbledore's primary suspect.
As for Bagman, he faced accusations of being a Death Eater but cleverly feigned ignorance during interrogation, leveraging his star status to evade charges.
Behind the seemingly silly facade, Bagman excelled at deception and used his popular image to his advantage. Rita aptly described him as a "veteran liar." In the original book, she even shared this meaningful insight with Hermione.
"Don't prattle on about things beyond your understanding, dear. I happen to possess information about Ludo Bagman that would make your curly hair stand on end," Sirius teased, poking fun at Hermione's distinctive curls.
"I can't help it, okay? There is something behind his personality that just seems to tick off my head every time I see him. It's like he is hiding something behind his silly-willy attitude. And I don't like it the slightest!" Hermione replied, expressing her doubt for Bagman with an annoyed expression.
In Dumbledore's discerning eyes, Bagman was just as suspect as Karkaroff. The prolonged disappearance of Jorkins, a subordinate in his department, within Albania didn't seem to concern Bagman.
Moreover, being one of the few individuals privy to all Triwizard Tournament events, Bagman's enthusiasm when Harry became the fourth champion struck Dumbledore as peculiar. How could he be oblivious to the risks posed to a 14-year-old in the dangerous tournament?
Thus, Bagman became the second figure under Dumbledore's scrutiny.
Barty Crouch Sr., initially an upright man with an aversion to dark magic, raised suspicions due to his abnormal behavior. Once a committed workaholic, he gradually neglected his duties, opting to spend his days at home.
This shift suggested secretive plotting and an undisclosed plan, making Dumbledore, with his deep understanding of human nature, hesitant to rule out the possibility of Crouch turning to the dark side.
Having been an anti-Black advocate and losing the Minister of Magic election, Barty Crouch Sr.'s subsequent experiences, including his family's tragedies, contributed to the eruption of his dark side.
Knowing well that he didn't take action sooner on his son's behavior is adding more fuel to the fire burning in his heart, ready to correct what went wrong in his life even if it meant to go under Skyler's command.
Given Crouch's abnormal behavior, Dumbledore couldn't be blamed for not discerning Moody's impersonation; all three were genuinely suspicious individuals.
Aligned with Dumbledore's suspicions, Sirius believed that the mastermind's ultimate goal was to kill Harry. After sternly reprimanding Harry in the first part of his letter, Sirius implored him in the second paragraph to stick close to Ron and Hermione, avoiding departure from Gryffindor Tower.
The directive included preparing for the third task, practicing stun and disarming spells, and even exploring a couple of poison spells.
In the ensuing days, Harry oscillated between researching poison spells in the library with Hermione and Ron and covertly practicing in vacant classrooms almost daily.
"Do you think I could be on par with Skyler if I have the chance to face him in a fair duel?" Harry asked while looking at Ron.
Ron stared at Harry in the eyes before showing a sign of doubt, "Listen, Harry, I am your friend, and I hate the Malfoys as much as you do, but I don't think Skyler is on our level. He is probably on par with the Professors..."
Hermione, on the other hand, tried to speak a few times before finally letting out an awkward comment, following Ron's judgment, "Ron is right; Skyler right now is unbeatable if he faces other students."
Harry and Ron look at Hermione for a moment after hearing her biased opinion; they know that Hermione is leaning toward Skyler no matter what happened due to some accident in the past.
The trio had their growth spurge as well alongside Skyler's unimaginable power surge; although they are behind in lots of stages, they have been showing great tenacity, which breeds discipline in which they keep practicing their magic power.
Harry diligently practiced the Stunning Charm, a spell he hadn't employed before, with some sacrifices required from Ron and Hermione.
Ron, displaying great loyalty, became a frequent target, knocked unconscious and revived by Harry at least five times daily. Despite a mat being positioned for his falls, occasional inaccuracies led to bruises and aching all over.
Though Ron did grumble and suggest alternatives like a house elf or Mrs. Norris as substitutes, he genuinely participated in the practice.
When Hermione criticized Ron for his landing inaccuracies, Ron retorted, "You can't aim so accurately after being knocked unconscious, Hermione!" expressing frustration.
Unfazed, Hermione swiftly changed the topic, "That's not the point here, Ron! Harry is a quick learner; it won't be long before he finally masters the spells and probably goes on the same level as Skyler," Focusing on Harry's progress with the Stunning Spell and reassuring them about the Disarming Spell.
Proposing practice for poison spells that evening, Hermione suggested other defensive spells and charms as well, emphasizing their ability to intercept potential attacks. "Harry, let's start with this," she concluded.
"I still can't get how nonchalant you are on telling me I screwed up but I can't do the same for you," Ron said perplexedly.
While the trio of Harry, Ron, and Hermione immersed themselves in preparing for the third project, Skyler remained active on his end.
The Serpentis Vigil Club was making significant strides. Crafting a new wand for Susan marked a turning point, with the six trusted girls earnestly pursuing their individual paths to strength. Their dedication pleased Skyler as their daily training bore fruit, rapidly boosting their abilities and alleviating his concerns.
Regarding the intelligence network, Dobby's enhanced intellect, courtesy of the improved "Baruffio's Brain Elixir" provided by Skyler, elevated his efficiency.
With the addition of two new subordinates, Dadai and Beben, Dobby now commanded a team of five house elves. They efficiently managed the information delivery and transfer within the current scale of the intelligence network, surpassing Skyler's expectations.
Consequently, Skyler could finally devote time to studying his own magic—primarily the "Phantom Clone" passed down by the Chang family and the "Wandless Flight" bestowed upon him by Snape.
The days unfolded in a monotonous yet productive routine until June 5th arrived.
Skyler celebrated his 15th birthday.
On this day, not only did Skyler successfully advance to the level of "Junior Auror" by reaching the age threshold, but also, through dedicated effort over the past few days, he finally mastered the techniques of "Phantom Clone" and "Wandless Flight."
In essence, if he utilizes the snake ring to share Sulf's magical power, he is now poised to attain the status of a "quasi-mage"!
[Acquisition of "Phantom Clone"!]
[Acquisition of "Wandless Flight"!]
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