Chapter 518: The Second Portkey (Edited)

"What's going on?"

The fake Moody stepped up on his own crippled leg.

Of course he'd seen Fish being carried off by the Triwizard Tournament trophy, and he'd seen Harry's sparks, but Moody's artificial leg gave him far less mobility than the other three patrollers, even if he'd started moving before Harry threw the sparks.

But that wasn't a problem, he hadn't been exposed yet, and the spare Portkey he'd used to take Fish had been timed because he needed to take it with him, so he couldn't take Harry until it was time.

Now, he just needed to make sure he didn't reveal his identity and try to stay by Harry's side until such time as the spare Portkey came into effect.

Then Barty Cratch Jr. keeping his expression of surprise, approached the group as if he knew nothing.

"The Triwizard Tournament Trophy became a Portkey, and it took Fish."

Dumbledore briefly explained the situation, and his blue eyes suppressed boundless anger.

Krum had spoken of being controlled by the Imperius Curse after being sent out of the Labyrinth, and Karkaroff had then asked for the tournament to be stopped.

In fact, Dumbledore had a bad feeling at the time, and wanted to take advantage of the situation to stop the game, but the two judges representing the Ministry, Fudge and Bagman, refused to do so on the grounds that the Triwizard Tournament had never stopped halfway through.

As the organizer, Hogwarts had only used a similar reason to hold the tournament when Harry had been chosen, so Dumbledore was in no position to insist.

In the end... it still happened.

Dumbledore was very upset about this.

From what Harry had just told him, Dumbledore had basically deduced that whoever was behind all this had planned to bring Harry to the Triwizard Tournament not to kill him, but to take him away.

Given the relationship between Voldemort and Harry, and Harry's recent mention of the scar problem, Dumbledore thought there could be no other culprit.

There were still a few details he couldn't be sure of, but Dumbledore had to admit that the plan was somewhat unexpected, and that the only flaw was probably miscalculating Fish's strength.

But Dumbledore still had one doubt, if Voldemort and his servants had already thought of using the Portkey to take Harry, why did they have to use the Triwizard Tournament trophy as the Portkey? Wouldn't it have been easier to find a way for Harry to play the Portkey at school?

Is there a reason they can't reveal it? Or does it have to be today? Or is it difficult for them to get in touch with Harry?

Dumbledore's blue eyes roamed over some of his presumed targets....

Karkaroff looked nervous, but it was all too obvious that he had guessed who was behind it, so he put him on a watch list for the time being.

Ludo Bagman... well... this guy is just an idiot, and with his puzzled look it's unlikely to be him, but it's possible that, as then, he's unwittingly helping Voldemort and his men do something, so he'd wait and ask him alone.

Fleur, also in the maze and the easiest to reach, had her hands folded and was whispering a prayer for Fish in French with concern, she didn't look like Voldemort's accomplice either.

Finally, Dumbledore's eyes fell on Mad-Eye Moody.

He didn't really suspect Moody, but it was Fish's words that had affected Dumbledore, so he looked at him unconsciously.

Professor Moody, like Dumbledore, was cautiously looking around with his magic eye, and he nodded with a serious face when he met Dumbledore's gaze....

Surely it couldn't be Moody.

Dumbledore shook his head with a wry smile, and was also a little worried and confused.

Only there was someone else with a more disturbed mind to comfort.

"Calm down, Minerva. You have no clue to look for him now. You will only waste time and experience. The most important thing we need to do now is to keep an eye on Harry."

Dumbledore hurried to calm Professor McGonagall, who wanted to leave the school to look for Fish.

"Harry?"

Professor McGonagall was completely terrified, not even thinking about why the Triwizard Tournament trophy had become a Portkey.

"Yes, Harry," Dumbledore repeated, "He is the real target of whoever did this."

"Me?"

Harry pointed to himself in confusion, the looks around him making him uncomfortable.

"If the opponent's target is Fish, he wouldn't have controlled Krum to attack him."

Dumbledore explained briefly and then said to Professor McGonagall and the others, "Take Harry to my office, I'll come as soon as I'm done here."

As much as he wanted to ask Harry for clues right away, as Headmaster of Hogwarts, Dumbledore had to deal with the other students and the two guests from both schools first.

Besides, the Ministry of Magic, which was organizing the Triwizard Tournament, would surely send more people to solve the problem as soon as they knew about it, and Dumbledore would need their help in finding Fish.

Professor McGonagall pursed her lips, nodded, and joined Flitwick, Hagrid, and Moody in accompanying Harry to the castle.

Harry looked at the stern-faced Professor McGonagall, then at Flitwick and Moody, who looked just as bad, and wanted to say something, but didn't know what to say.

Hagrid patted him gently on the back and reassured him, "Don't think so hard, Harry, it's not your fault."

"Hmm..." replied Harry vaguely, still full of guilt.

The group arrived at Dumbledore's office in silence, Professor Flitwick conjured up some chairs and they all sat around Harry.

Professor McGonagall was sitting across from Harry, to his right, but instead of focusing on him, her head was down, staring at the floor in a trance, both hands unconsciously clutching her robes....

It was the first time Harry had seen Professor McGonagall so vulnerable.

The feeling of guilt grew worse.

A few moments later, the office door opened again and in walked Snape and Professor Sprout, Snape looked coldly at Harry, then pulled up a chair and sat far away.

Professor Sprout sat next to Professor McGonagall, looking at her with a worried expression, but, like Harry, not knowing what to say.

"Harry, can you think of any clues?" Professor Moody, sitting to Harry's left, suddenly spoke up, breaking the awkward silence that reigned in the office, "Did anyone give you any extra help during the Triwizard Tournament? If things really are as Dumbledore suspects...".

Professor McGonagall raised her head, glancing nervously at Harry.

Harry licked his parched lips, looked at Professor McGonagall, then at Professor Moody, hesitating to speak.

"By the way, I gave you a hint for the first test..." volunteered Professor Moody, grabbing his cane and tapping his head with the handle, "Well, in that case, I have a slight suspicion... so who else but me?"

Seeing that Professor Moody had said that, and with Professor McGonagall's expectant gaze, Harry began to try to remember....

"Hagrid... he told me that I would be facing the Fire Dragon in the first test."

Harry looked at Hagrid to his right and said truthfully, "As for the rest...".

He shook his head and said, "The clue for the second test Fish told me at the beginning, other than that, Ron has had to practice his magic spells on me."

"So..." Professor Moody turned to Harry, and leaned forward, "Who taught you the conjunctivitis spell?" His magic eye stopped blinking, and instead joined his other normal eye, staring at Harry, and said, "I only prompted you with the summoning spell."

Harry replied, somewhat nervously, "That, that's what I found myself in.... flipping through the book."

All the teachers, except Hagrid, knew he was lying.

It wasn't just because of Harry's panic, but also because the conjunctivitis spell was a more damaging curse, definitely not one he could learn now, and the book with the spell, which was kept in the forbidden section of the library, was not something he could easily borrow.

"It's about Fish's safety, what are you hiding?!"

Professor Moody stood up, took a step forward, stepped in front of Harry and shouted.

Harry pressed his lips together tightly and refused to answer.

"We need clues now! Harry! Don't you want to save Fish?!"

Professor Moody slapped the crutch in his hand, roared angrily and approached Harry again.

Harry was sprayed with spittle, and he could even feel Professor Moody's violent snorting, and....

He already had Moody's cane pressed against his leg.