A magical journey that begins at Hogwarts

“Very good.” Aaron clapped his hands. “You’ve made a very wise decision.”

"Enough talk, let's get started!" Harry shouted.

"okay!"

Aaron waved his wand, and the ground beneath Harry and Cedric's feet rose rapidly, transforming into a ten-meter-high cylinder.

Seeing this, the civets displayed their agility and incredible jumping ability, pouncing towards the pillar. The ten-meter height didn't seem to be an insurmountable obstacle for them.

Cedric and Harry struggled to defend themselves, constantly using spells to repel them, but this only accelerated their splitting.

"This is really going to increase my workload!" Aaron clicked his tongue and waved his wand again.

Fences rose from the ground, separating all the spirit cats, and soon created a circular cage in the center of the maze.

As all the civets were locked up, the pillar beneath Harry and Cedric's feet began to slowly descend.

Phew! ×2.

Harry and Cedric breathed a heavy sigh of relief and lay down on the ground in a very unladylike manner.

"That was really exciting," Cedric said, still shaken. His clothes were torn to shreds by the cat's claws, and seven or eight bloody scratches could be seen at a glance.

Harry nodded in deep agreement; the last time he had this feeling was in the octopus's nest.

"Luckily I agreed quickly, otherwise I'd probably be lying here like them," Furong thought to herself.

Aaron walked over to the two men and helped them up. "Now we only need Krum. Before that, you two, no, all three of you should get some rest!"

The three exchanged glances, their eyes involuntarily drifting towards the trophy for the three-way battle at the very center.

They are very beautiful, but this honor has little to do with them.

Although they were supposed to be handling the trophy together, it was more like a buy-one-get-four-free deal, and they were the four who were given away.

Aaron frowned as he looked at the Marauder's Map in his hand.

Krum should have been near the finish line, but he went around to a spot 200 meters away, and there weren't many magical creatures around.

"Is there a problem?" Fleur asked. "Victor is quite strong. As long as he doesn't encounter too much danger, it shouldn't be difficult for him to escape unscathed!"

"How should I put it? Something's not quite right."

At this moment, the maze began to move as a whole, and except for a few hedge walls near the center, the rest of the maze made a soft rustling sound.

In the Marauder's Map, Krum began to accelerate. As if he knew the right route, he sped towards the finish line, leaving sparks and lightning in his wake, bypassing all the magical creatures.

"This...this shouldn't be!" Aaron's brows furrowed even deeper. He felt that if Krum was truly capable, he should have won the trophy long ago; there was no need for him to be last place!

An ominous feeling crept into Aaron's mind; Krum might be in trouble.

But after looking at the trophy for the three-way battle, he felt there was no need to think too much about it.

When soldiers come, generals will block them; when water comes, earth will dam it. Hundreds of people are watching this match, so even if Krum has any bad intentions, he can only keep them to himself.

Furthermore, all the fear stems from insufficient firepower.

With his current strength, unless the Dark Lord is resurrected, there are very few things that can make him feel wary.

Just as Aaron made that inexplicable promise, Krum arrived at the finish line, panting heavily.

He looked at the three men and one woman sitting beside the trophy, his expression becoming extremely complicated. "The competition... is over?"

“Not yet, but soon,” Cedric shrugged. “We’ve been waiting for you for several minutes.”

"I..."

“Let’s touch the trophy together!” Harry advised. “The competition isn’t officially over yet, but we’ve already lost. We’re just helping Aaron fulfill certain conditions.”

Krum nodded blankly, offering no rebuttal, as if it were a matter of course.

The five people surrounded the trophy of the three-way battle.

"I'll count to three, two, one, and then we'll all touch the trophy together," Aaron said. The other four people also reached out their hands in unison, just a hand's width away from the trophy.

"Three, two, one..."

The moment the words left his mouth, Aaron suddenly noticed that Krum had a strange smile on his face, and his pupils seemed to have lost all color, like a marionette.

Aaron's heart pounded, but it seemed like it was too late.

Their feet left the ground, the whistling wind filled their ears, and the surrounding scenery began to spin rapidly.

The spectators outside the arena stared blankly, unable to react to this sudden scene, thinking that the referee had set up some kind of test.

“The Portkey.” Adrian stood up from the judges’ table, her face icy cold. “Professor Dumbledore, I expect an explanation for why the Triwizard Tournament trophy has become a Portkey?”

"Wasn't this your arrangement?" Dumbledore asked, puzzled.

“I don’t recall making such an arrangement,” Adrian sneered. “The Triwizard Tournament trophy was placed in the maze by Hogwarts, and Hogwarts was also responsible for inspecting the area.”

Dumbledore paused, then, as if remembering something, turned to look near the maze. "Alastor, you..."

"I don't know what happened either," Moody roared, both anxious and angry.

"Thank you for your help, Uncle Genes."

Genes waved his wand expressionlessly, and a beam of white light struck Moody, sending him flying against the hedge wall of the maze.

Moody scrambled to his feet, his expression completely changed, his worry and anxiety turning into a sinister sneer. "When did you realize I was a fake?"

“I haven’t found anything, I just don’t want to let any suspects get away,” Adrian said calmly. “Dumbledore believes you, but you are indeed the most suspicious.”

"Sir, could you tell me where you teleported my young master?"

“He’s safe for now, but others might not be so lucky, especially Harry Potter.” Fake Moody said, bursting into laughter. His sickly laughter sent chills down the spines of the audience.

"Who are you?" Dumbledore asked, barely suppressing his anger. "Where is Alastor?"

"I still need him for some reason, so he is still alive."

"A compound decoction?"

The fake Moody didn't deny it, but just looked at him mockingly, "Goodbye, Dumbledore, I'm going to meet my master."

"You think you can just leave so easily?" Genes waved his wand expressionlessly, and a beam of blue light shot out from it.

The fake Moody immediately raised his wand to retaliate, but his crimson spell was easily shattered by the blue light, and he was sent flying again, landing on top of the hedge.

"Hahaha... You're really strong. I'm no match for you." The fake Moody endured the excruciating pain and wiped the blood from his forehead. "But it's too late. The Dark Lord is about to return and bring a new order."

After saying that, he jumped into the maze and disappeared from everyone's sight.

"Professor Dumbledore, could you please organize the scene?" Genes gave a brief reminder, slamming his wand heavily into the ground.

The green waves swept forward, instantly spreading throughout the entire maze.

The next moment, the walls of the maze began to rotate, their speed increasing while their speed decreased, forming a giant green vortex.

The entire audience gaped in astonishment, and even Dumbledore was very surprised.

Even a high-ranking archmage might not be able to use magic of this level. It's astonishing that Genes, a mere butler, possesses such terrifying power.

Before long, the Dementors, trolls, scorpion-tailed beasts, and other magical creatures in the maze were squeezed out of the vortex, but they all stood trembling in place, not daring to move.

Finally, the fake Moody appeared at the very center of the vortex, entangled by countless green hedges, his body covered with wounds of all sizes.

"Confinement quickly!"

Lupin conjured a rope and pulled him up, then pointed his wand at his forehead. "Where's Harry?"

Do you think I'd tell you?

Harry Potter was someone the Dark Lord specifically wanted!

Lupin gritted his teeth in anger, thinking of how to force him to speak, when Dumbledore walked over.

“Severus has truth serum, and I think Fudge will temporarily approve his use.”

"Huh?" Fudge was taken aback for a moment, then nodded immediately. "Yes, approved, it must be approved."

"You've missed your chance," the fake Moody said smugly. "Your time is almost up."

As soon as he finished speaking, he seemed to enter the eye of a storm, his body twisting a few times before disappearing from the spot.

Chapter 401 A matter of trust: Leaving me behind to collect his corpse.

"Another key. It seems he's prepared quite thoroughly," Adrian said calmly, his voice revealing neither joy nor anger.

"All students, led by their prefects, are to return to the castle. No one is to linger on the field," Dumbledore shouted. He then looked at Maxim and Karkaroff. "It seems there have been some unexpected developments in the competition. Please reassure your respective schools' students."

“What about Delacour?” Maxim asked worriedly. “Hogwarts is responsible for organizing the Triwizard Tournament. If anything happens to Delacour, you will bear a large part of the responsibility, Dumbledore.”

"I know, but the most important thing right now is to avoid causing unnecessary panic."

Maxim sighed deeply and led the students of Beauxbatons toward the castle.

Karkaroff was stunned for a while before he came to his senses from the fake Moody's speech. The Dark Lord was about to make a comeback. How could he, a traitor, expect to get away with it?

Run, you must run, and you must run fast.

"I'll go and appease the Durmstrang students right away." Karkaroff's voice trembled as he quickly directed the Durmstrang students to assemble in the auditorium, while he himself quietly left the group halfway and disappeared without a trace.

“This is a major blunder by Hogwarts,” Adrian said.

“I don’t deny it,” Dumbledore said, annoyed. He knew that someone in the school was using Polyjuice Potion to impersonate others, but he didn’t suspect Moody.

First of all, Moody is a seasoned Auror with powerful magic, so subduing him won't be easy.

Secondly, Moody is physically disabled, making it too troublesome to play him. However, the actor actually played a disabled person for a year, and his personality and tone were exactly the same as Moody's.

Most importantly, Moody helped Harry Potter in the first project, which completely ruled out Moody as a suspect, because someone who wanted to harm him would never try to help him.

"Miss Klein, do you have any way to find their location?"

"No."

“The Ministry of Magic will help find them,” Fudge interjected. “The Aurors will find them in the shortest possible time.”

"Thank you then."

Adrian spoke slowly and deliberately, but he had no hope for the Ministry of Magic.

Finding someone is all about efficiency; by the time the Ministry of Magic finds the right person, it'll be too late.

Just then, Genes walked over with a look of self-reproach. "I'm sorry, miss, he got away."