The Bard of Hogwarts

Chapter 334 Appeasement and Delay

The Killing Curse is one of the three unforgivable curses.

Its reputation far surpasses that of the Imperius Curse and the Cruciatus Curse. In particular, its iconic green beam of light always brings death and fear to those who see it.

Admittedly, many forms of magic can cause killing, even some household magic.

But no matter what, no other magic can produce the sensory effects of the Killing Curse.

……

At the head table.

Dumbledore stood frozen in place, seemingly oblivious to Barty Crouch's question, his gaze fixed intently on Harry's figure in the arena.

He only relaxed slightly after seeing Snape and Professor McGonagall enter the arena.

On the other hand, Mrs. Maxim and Karkarov wisely remained silent; it was someone else's business, and it was none of their business to comment.

a long time.

Dumbledore spoke slowly: "The decision regarding the Goblet of Fire is irreversible, and you should be well aware of that, Barthimius."

"Yes, I know perfectly well!" Barty Crouch took over the conversation, feeling a bit of pressure from Dumbledore's silence earlier.

"I understand that, but I understand even more that the public needs an explanation. Although it was just one dragon, a lot of people saw it."

Old Barty looked around. He didn't know exactly how many people were in the stands, but he estimated that the Daily Prophet would release all the information by tomorrow or even this afternoon.

If the Ministry of Magic does not provide a solution, the ban on the Unforgivable Curse will become worthless and have no binding force.

"Let's wait until the first match is over! Then Harry and I will go to the Ministry of Magic together, and we'll let Wizengamor decide this matter."

Dumbledore spoke softly, but his tone conveyed an undeniable certainty.

"Okay! That's settled then." Old Barty nodded slightly.

Whether it was due to delay or some other reason, since Dumbledore had spoken, he decided to respect his decision.

Old Batistuta immediately sat back in his seat and continued to act as referee without saying a word.

……

At the same time.

After seeing Harry being led away by the two professors, Dumbledore spoke again, but this time he used amplification charms.

"A minor mishap occurred! A brave individual resorted to some extreme measures when faced with a death threat!"

Dumbledore's voice filled the room, which greatly reassured all the young wizards.

"...We will handle these matters properly, but the competition must continue. We look forward to the beautiful Miss Delacour and the valiant Mr. Krum achieving even better results."

In the magical world, language truly possesses magic, whether it be a curse or a prophecy.

But there are some people, like Dumbledore, whose words, even if they are just ordinary, seem to possess magic.

Many of the young wizards in the stands pictured Fleur's figure, while the rest of the group recalled Krum's heroic figure at the Quidditch World Cup.

The unrest and fear were easily resolved with a few words.

At this point, Bagman, a near-professional host, livened up the atmosphere:

"Now, please welcome our third warrior to the stage..."

……

Inside the tent.

Upon hearing Bagman's voice, Furong stood up nervously.

Although she was unaware of what was happening outside, Dumbledore's final explanation clearly reached the tent.

Accidents, extreme actions, even threats of death...

Krum is alright, after all, Quidditch is a high-risk profession, and it is common for people to be injured or even die if things go wrong.

However, Furong couldn't face it calmly. In essence, she was just an excellent and beautiful girl who had never experienced anything like this before.

But in any case, the die is cast.

After briefly adjusting her mindset, Furong lifted the tent flap and walked straight out alone.

On the other side, Ino also stood up and turned her gaze to Krum.

"I'll go see what's going on! Good luck!"

After exchanging brief greetings, Ino headed back towards the small door she had come from.

Although Dumbledore made it sound so easy, he still felt that things weren't that simple, and the story had been completely distorted.

Moreover, no one knows whether Voldemort is the same paranoid maniac he was in the later stages or the main soul that possessed Quirrell a year ago.

Actually, Voldemort was alright in the later stages. After all, in any story, it's not that we're afraid of villains being crazy, but that we're afraid of villains having brains.

If it were the main soul of a first-year student… Inno couldn’t help but recall the experience of spending time together in the corridor back then.

Although Voldemort harbored tyranny at the time, he still possessed reason, and his conversations were logical and well-founded.

Things seemed to have become somewhat confusing, and as for the three-way battle for supremacy, he no longer had the mind to care about it.

Honestly, this competition is just a spice of life. The so-called covenant of the Goblet of Fire has a bronze lamp that illuminates the secrets; if one really puts in the effort, cracking it wouldn't be too difficult.

Lost in thought, Ino left the Quidditch pitch and headed towards the school hospital on the second floor of the castle.

……

Hogwarts, the university hospital.

Harry lay blankly on the hospital bed, still not quite sure what had just happened.

I vaguely felt angry at the time, and then I directed my anger at that Hungarian tree-peaked dragon.

As for what happened next... Harry looked around and saw Professor McGonagall looking worried and sad, while Snape stood expressionless in the corner.

"It's not a big problem! Or rather, I didn't find any obvious problems. But he needs to rest right now, as this condition is due to overexertion. I'll go and get him some nourishing medicine."

After a thorough examination, Mrs. Pomfrey came to this conclusion.

"Thank God!" Professor McGonagall's expression softened as she looked at the hospital bed:

"Harry, you heard that too! Now just rest and don't think about anything! Leave everything to me."

After confirming that Harry was alright, Professor McGonagall turned to Snape in the corner and gave him some instructions:

"Then you stay here and keep an eye on him! I now need to fulfill my responsibilities as vice principal and talk to a few referees!"

With that, Professor McGonagall strode swiftly toward the door.

With Professor McGonagall gone, only Harry and Snape remained in the vast school hospital. The two stared at each other, and for a moment the atmosphere became inexplicably awkward.

Harry simply didn't know what to say, and Snape was even less inclined to speak, his mind preoccupied with the final Killing Curse.

Clean, efficient, and fatal, without any hesitation or slack, and imbued with an unparalleled confidence. It was as if whoever stood before him was destined to obediently await their execution, to be ended by the Killing Curse.

He had only seen this style in one person.

……

While in his hospital bed, Harry had no idea what Snape was thinking.

After a brief moment of realization, he began to worry about his score, wondering what kind of score the judges would ultimately give him.

Time passed quietly in this peaceful atmosphere.

Fifteen minutes after Professor McGonagall left, Ino also arrived at the school hospital.

"Knock knock!"

After standing at the door and glancing at the situation inside, he knocked lightly on the door twice and then pushed it open to enter the room.

(End of this chapter)