#425 - Chapter 425: A Slap in the Face to the Magic World

Looking at the trophy in front of him, Cedric happily pumped his fist, ready to go up and grab it.

"Wait, Cedric!"

"What's wrong?" Hearing Harry's shout, Cedric stopped in confusion.

Harry's face was serious. Unlike Cedric's excitement and happiness, he was tense all over. Because Sebastian had discussed with him before that the Dark Lord's men might tamper with the trophy, using it as a Portkey to take him away from Hogwarts.

This was his mission, his destiny, so he couldn't let Cedric be taken away by the Portkey no matter what.

He was about to take a step forward and grab the trophy when Sebastian's voice sounded in his ear: "The trophy is fine, take it without worry. The real danger is with Barty Crouch."

Hearing this, Harry felt a slight relief in his heart and squeezed out a smile on his face: "It's nothing, I just think it would be more meaningful if the three of us lifted this trophy together."

"That makes sense, I was too excited just now," Cedric said with an embarrassed smile, "What are we waiting for, come on!"

On the other side, Sebastian focused all his magical senses on Barty, watching his every move.

Barty first left a detection spell in front of the staircase leading to the second level of the maze, and then came to the entrance where Harry and the others entered the maze, quietly waiting for Harry's return by the hedge.

Before long, he sensed traces of the detection spell being triggered.

Here it comes!

Barty quickly calculated the time, took out a special ring from his pocket, and gently chanted with his wand: "Portus!"

In the blink of an eye, the ring transformed into a Portkey with a timer function. At this moment, all the cameras were focused on the champions, so Barty wasn't worried that his little actions would be noticed.

He picked up the ring, put it on the middle finger of his left hand, and then slowly left the maze and came to the stands.

He turned around, grinned, and looked at the maze in front of him, like a predator waiting for its prey to fall into the trap.

Come on, Potter! The stage is set, let's put on a top-notch performance for the wizarding world!

The moment Harry and the others walked out of the maze, the stands instantly erupted. The young wizards excitedly shouted their names, and the deafening cheers echoed throughout the arena.

Amidst the cheers of the crowd, Barty Crouch Jr.'s eyes lit up. He drew his wand and cast a Sonorus charm, then opened his arms with an enthusiastic smile and went up to greet them.

"Hahaha, welcome champions home! I, Barty Crouch, on behalf of the Ministry of Magic, extend to you the warmest congratulations!"

Listening to Crouch's words, Fudge, sitting in the special guest seat, felt a little unhappy.

What was this all about? He, the proper Minister of Magic, hadn't even spoken yet, and Crouch was representing the Ministry of Magic.

This kind of behavior of sending blessings to the champions should be done by him, the Minister of Magic.

His face darkened slightly as he watched Crouch stretch out his left arm, put it around Harry's shoulders, and turn to face the audience.

"Come on, everyone, raise your wands high!" Crouch raised his own wand, his voice impassioned, "Let us use the light of magic to replace fireworks and celebrate the Hogwarts champion team winning the championship!"

The moment Harry saw Crouch, he tensed up.

The time to test his acting skills had come, so although he resisted Crouch's touch, he still pretended to be excited and raised his wand.

Just then, he felt a slight pain at the back of his neck, as if he had been pricked by a needle. Before he could react, his whole body became numb.

This is... an extremely powerful paralyzing potion. There's something wrong with the ring on his hand.

It seems the other party is about to make a move...

Harry didn't try to resist, but tried to suppress the fear in his heart, while silently preparing himself for the worst.

"Champions!" The audience erupted in even more enthusiastic cheers. Countless young wizards raised their wands, and colorful orbs of light soared into the sky with the spell, like a magnificent fireworks display, completely pushing the atmosphere to a climax.

However, in the midst of this carnival, Grindelwald, disguised as Bagman, revealed a meaningful smile.

The exciting scene is about to begin.

He quietly observed Crouch's actions, his eyes filled with scrutiny and mockery.

Is this that Tom's subordinate? Clearly, there are better opportunities to take Harry Potter away, but he insists on choosing the time when everyone is happiest.

That's really crazy enough. Is he going to slap the wizarding world hard in the face, or does he want to announce Tom's return in a high-profile way?

Whatever, seeing this burst of madness, I'll still lend a hand.

Bagman raised his head, and after seeing the tumbling green light in the night sky, he suddenly pointed to the sky and shouted loudly in a strained voice.

"Look, the Dark Mark!"

Under the effect of the Sonorus charm, Bagman's terrified voice clearly reached the ears of every audience member.

In an instant, the noise on the scene came to an abrupt halt, replaced by a dead silence. People stared blankly at the terrible mark in the sky, and fear gradually spread across their faces.

No one paid attention to the champions anymore. Everyone's attention was on the green skull with a snake coming out of its mouth.

It's really the Dark Mark!

Who put it there?

In a moment of silence, Cedric shouted in horror: "Harry! Harry is gone, and Mr. Crouch is gone too!"

What?!

Harry is gone?

Everyone suddenly came back to their senses, turned their eyes away from the sky, and fixed their eyes on the field, only to find that only Cedric and Malfoy were left there.

"Crouch took Harry away?"

"Did the Ministry of Magic do it?"

"The Dark Mark in the sky... was put there by Crouch, he is a Death Eater!"

Turmoil and fear spread quickly like a tide, and the entire venue fell into complete chaos.

"Silence!" Dumbledore's voice drowned out all the noise, allowing everyone to slowly calm down.

The young wizards reacted, with Headmaster Dumbledore around, it seemed there was really nothing to be afraid of.

"Everyone, don't panic!" Dumbledore's voice carried a convincing power, "We will find out what's going on."

"Yes!" Fudge also stood up, "The Ministry of Magic will definitely give everyone an explanation."

Fudge was so anxious that he was about to burst into flames. Just as the Triwizard Tournament was about to come to a successful conclusion, such a big mess had occurred.

And this mess was created by a high-ranking official of the Ministry of Magic. This was a provocation, this was a slap in the face of the Ministry of Magic, and this was even more of a slap in the face of him, Fudge.

Barty Crouch! You're asking for death.

He quickly ran to the place where the two disappeared, and shouted with a twisted face at the Aurors who had rushed over.

"Quick! Even if Crouch runs to the ends of the earth, you have to bring him back to me!"