Chapter 251

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I transformed myself and my clothes into a black jaguar, or panther, for short. Then, I put my wand in the holster with the telekinesis because I also created a kind of harness for myself, where the holster was located. Funny, yeah, but what can I do? The wand doesn't go anywhere. I'm not an animagus with my own spatial pocket.

I quickly got to the place of the alleged incident, meeting Krum with a Lumos over his head. His gaze was blank and veiled with a white veil — an overly powerful Imperio, forcing you to follow the instructions exactly, leaving not a drop of free will.

"Reducto," Krum tried to knock the golem over my shoulder, but I put a very good Protego right in the shape of the animal, to my own surprise.

Leap to the side, dash, acceleration.

"Crucio," Krum no less calmly tried to apply torture to me, sending out a red beam, but I dodged it, regaining my human form in the process and punching Krum right in the face with my fist in the process.

There was a crunch, and the Bulgarian was thrown aside, and I had my wand in my hands.

"Stupefy," I stunned the boy. Suddenly, Potter appeared next to me, lighting his path with Lumos on a wand.

"Did he throw a Crucio?"

The guy looked even more disheveled, glasses on one side, the left pant leg was torn in a couple of places, from under which blood could be seen. And in general, judging by the traces of dirt, he was constantly falling.

"Yeah. I heard Fleur's cry and came running here. Then he tried to take me down with Stupefy, and when that didn't work, with the Cruciatus. Wait, I noticed something."

Leaning over the stunned Krum, I pulled back the eyelid on his left eye with my fingers.

"Look."

I pointed to the blurred pupil.

"And what does that mean?" asked a leaning Potter.

"It means we won't tell anyone that Krum threw Cruciatus. Pupils like that are a sign of a powerful Imperio. The problem is that this single symptom is already beginning to dissipate. We will not be able to prove to anyone that he did not try to Crucify of his own free will.

"I see. You're right. But here's the thing..."

"What?"

"There're Hagrid's Blast-Ended Skrewts behind us. They'll probably follow us."

"Oh, so that's why you're so bruised."

"Creepy creatures. They're as big as an elephant. At least they're clumsy."

"Harry. Have you seen Fleur?"

"Yes. She will no longer be able to participate."

"Is she even alive?"

"Merlin, of course, she is! But with all that damage and unconsciousness... I fired sparks with her wand because those... 'lovely creatures,'" Harry was clearly mimicking Hagrid. "They would have eaten her."

"Then let's send Krum, too. Imperio may not disappear yet, and who knows... Maybe next time it will be Avada?"

"Yeah..."

Potter took Krum's wand and sent red signal lights hovering over the labyrinth into the sky.

"Let's go," I nodded. "Or they'll think we need to be evacuated."

After walking quickly twenty meters through the maze, Potter suddenly stopped.

"Wait a minute. D We're the only ones left?"

"The competition continues, Harry," I nodded at the fork. "I'm going left."

"Oh, okay..."

We separated again. For about twenty minutes, I steadfastly and by the rules overcame various obstacles, from Devil's Snare to Bogart. But I didn't linger. In the end, I was first at the cup and simply waited, enchanting the button as a portkey, disguising this action as a game of transfiguration. I wonder if Potter will stumble upon the Sphinx. Personally, I was lucky - who knows what kind of mind-blowing riddle this chimera would come up with?

Potter showed up a few minutes later.

"What are you waiting for?" he asked perplexedly but pointed his wand at me just in case.

"You. I guess since it's just us, de facto both of us from Hogwarts, why not take the cup at the same time?"

"De facto? And de jure?"

"Well, you're basically from an unknown fourth school. Who knows, what if the Cup decides that particular school won and flies off to uncharted lands until the next Tournament? It is kept at the winning school. Do you know where the school you are participating on behalf of is located?"

Potter scratched the back of his head thoughtfully but did not remove his wand.

"I somehow didn't even think about it."

"That's the thing."

"So?"

"We'll take it on the count of three. Come here."

We stood beside the goblet, and as soon as I put the portkey button back on the inside of my cloak, we stretched our arms out against its handles.

"One... two... three..."