Chapter 285: The Portkey

Leaving aside the argument between Alaric and Fleur, beside the spider's corpse, a barely recovered Fake Moody struggled to stand up, finally arriving beside the cocoon containing Harry.

Carefully, he cast the severing charm, turning the cocoon into a pile of shards.

Just as Harry was about to give up hope, he suddenly noticed the darkness before him dissipating.

Excitedly sitting up, he looked around and saw the heavily scarred Professor Moody by his side, looking at him with concern.

"Professor Moody, did you come to rescue me?"

Harry saw the spider's corpse and the heavily injured Moody Professor, immediately understanding what had just happened.

Feeling regretful, Harry's tone was filled with apologies.

He knew Professor Moody had placed high hopes on him winning the Triwizard Tournament and had supported him at every stage of the competition.

Therefore, Harry felt most sorry to disappoint Professor Moody by not winning the championship due to being caught by the spider.

Moody, however, shook his head and grinned wryly.

"Son, you misunderstand. Apart from you, no other champions have made it here so far."

"What do you mean..." Harry looked puzzled.

Seeing Harry's confused expression, Moody sighed with impatience.

"I mean, you still have a chance. You're closer to the championship trophy than anyone else."

Finally understanding Moody's implication, Harry was still puzzled.

"But... that's not right. I didn't defeat the spider, did I? It was you, Professor. How could I... this isn't..."

"Cheating, right?" Moody appeared annoyed and anxious, disliking Harry and Dumbledore's hypocritical nobility.

Yet, he reluctantly continued to explain—or rather, deceive.

"Yes, yes, my boy," he pretended to be relieved.

"You are indeed an honest child. I'm sure Albus would be pleased with your choice."

Harry managed a forced smile at his praise.

"However," Fake Moody suddenly changed tack, "in fact, there were some accidents during this competition.

The creature was designed too powerful... I mean, this spider, its strength exceeded the limits."

("Although he's a despicable person, I agree with him on this point." Fleur muttered from a nearby corner.)

Harry looked at Moody in surprise.

"In fact, I was entrusted to handle this matter," Fake Moody continued fabricating.

"Alaric designed the creature, and when we discovered that his creature would prevent any champion from reaching the trophy, the tournament had already begun.

As the most experienced patrolman, I was assigned to handle this."

"So..." Harry's voice hinted at excitement as he vaguely guessed what was happening.

"Exactly," Moody nodded affirmatively.

"So, in fact, if it weren't for you arriving at the finish line too early, the creature wouldn't have stayed here after you arrived, which means..."

"Which means, me winning the championship trophy now isn't cheating, right?"

Harry was almost shouting with excitement.

"You're absolutely right, my boy."

Moody finally breathed a sigh of relief as Harry started to believe.

"So, go enjoy your glory."

Harry's gaze moved to the trophy.

In its gleam, he momentarily imagined himself walking out of the maze holding it high.

He raised the Triwizard Cup high, with cheers from the crowd ringing in his ears; he saw Cho's face glowing with even greater admiration than before...

In the eyes of Fake Moody and the three hidden in the corner, he limped forward, reaching for the handle of the cup's glittering pedestal.

"Aren't we going to stop him?" Hermione anxiously looked at Alaric, feeling restless.

"If we wait any longer, it'll be too late."

"No," Alaric shook his head.

"Let's watch."

Although deeply concerned for Harry, the two girls trusted Alaric's judgment.

So they watched helplessly as Harry grabbed the handle of the cup.

Then, the area around the cup twisted momentarily, and Harry disappeared instantly.

"It really was a portkey!"

Hermione exclaimed in astonishment, but her voice remained unheard by Fake Moody due to Alaric's Muffliato Charm.

Fake Moody seemed to have completed some great task as his demeanor suddenly changed.

No longer hunched and limping like Moody, though he still wore Moody's face, he now seemed like a completely different, much younger person.

He laughed maniacally for a moment, sending shivers down the girls' spines.

Unlike the original story, this time he dared not stay at Hogwarts any longer.

Just now, Hermione had exposed his identity and purpose in order to help Harry defeat the final boss.

He had given up on silencing Alaric, Hermione, and Fleur, opting instead to support Harry.

Now that he was exposed to everyone, returning to Hogwarts would be walking into a trap.

"I'll let you go this time, old blind man (referring to the real Moody)," he muttered resentfully.

With that, he turned and with a crack, Fake Moody also disappeared—although Hogwarts couldn't Apparate, Dumbledore's enchantment made the Triwizard Cup an exception.

"They're all gone. What do we do now?" Fleur looked at Alaric, at a loss.

She couldn't believe there was such a conspiracy hidden in the Triwizard Tournament.

Previously, she had been skeptical about Hermione's guess regarding the cup, but now it seemed she had been very lucky.

If she had won the championship, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

The other end of the portkey must be a dangerous place, maybe filled with Death Eaters.

Just as she was relieved that she hadn't been transported herself, Alaric's words shattered her relief.

"We follow them," Alaric said without hesitation.

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