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

Looking at the trophy in front of him, Cedric waved his fist happily and was about to go up and pick it up.

"Wait, Cedric!"

"What's wrong?" Cedric stopped in confusion when he heard Harry's shout.

Harry's face was serious, and unlike Cedric's excitement and happiness, his whole body was tense, because Sebastian had discussed with him before that the mysterious man's men might tamper with the trophy and use the portkey to take him away from Hogwarts.

This was his mission, his destiny, so he could not let Cedric be taken away by the portkey at any cost.

Just as he was about to grab the trophy in advance, Sebastian's voice rang in his ears: "The trophy is fine, take it with confidence. The real danger is Barty Crouch."

Hearing this, Harry felt a little relieved and forced a smile on his face: "Nothing, I just think it would be more meaningful if the three of us lift this trophy together."

"That makes sense. I was just too excited." Cedric smiled sheepishly. "What are you waiting for? Come on!"

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

Little Barty first left a detection magic in front of the stairs leading to the second floor of the maze, then came to the entrance where Harry and the other two entered the maze, and leaned against the hedge, quietly waiting for Harry's return.

It didn't take long before he sensed signs that the detection magic had been activated.

coming!

Little Barty quickly calculated the time, took out a special ring from his pocket, extended his wand and whispered: "Mentos!"

In the blink of an eye, the ring turned into a door key with a timing function. At this time, all the cameras were focused on the Warriors, so Batty Jr. was not worried that his little trick would be discovered.

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

He turned around and looked at the maze in front of him with a grin, like a hunter waiting for his prey to fall into his net.

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

The moment Harry and the other two walked out of the maze, the audience seats suddenly became boiling. The young wizards shouted their names excitedly, and the deafening cheers echoed throughout the venue.

Amid the cheers of the crowd, Barty Crouch Jr.'s eyes lit up, he drew his wand and cast a loudspeaker spell, then greeted them with an enthusiastic smile and open arms.

"Hahaha, welcome back the champions! On behalf of the Ministry of Magic, I, Barty Crouch, would like to extend my warmest congratulations to you!"

Fudge, who was sitting in the special guest seat, felt a little unhappy after listening to Crouch's words.

What's going on? I, the Minister of Magic, haven't even said a word yet. What Ministry of Magic do you, Crouch, represent?

It would be more appropriate for me, the Minister of Magic, to come forward to send blessings to the warriors.

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

"Come on, everyone, raise your wands high!" Crouch raised his wand and said excitedly, "Let us use the light of magic instead of fireworks to celebrate the Hogwarts Warriors winning the championship!"

The moment Harry saw Crouch, he tensed up.

The time had come to test his acting skills, so even though he resisted Crouch's touch, he still raised his wand in an excited manner.

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 is something wrong with the ring on the other party's hand.

It looks like the other party is about to take action...

Harry did not try to resist, but tried hard to suppress the fear in his heart, while silently making the final mental preparation.

"Champion!" Even more enthusiastic cheers broke out from the audience. Countless little wizards raised their wands high, and colorful balls of light shot up into the sky as the spells were cast, like a gorgeous fireworks show, which completely pushed the atmosphere to a climax.

However, in the midst of this carnival, Grindelwald, who was dressed as Bagman, showed an intriguing smile.

The lively scene is about to begin.

He quietly observed Crouch's actions, with a bit of scrutiny and mockery in his eyes.

Is this Tom's subordinate? He clearly had a better chance to take Harry Potter away, but he chose to do so when everyone was happiest.

This is really crazy. Is this a slap in the face to the wizarding world, or a high-profile announcement of Tom's return?

It doesn’t matter. Seeing their crazy enthusiasm, I might as well help out.

Bagman looked up, and when he saw a billowing green light in the night sky, he pointed sharply toward the sky and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Look, the Dark Mark!"

Under the effect of the loudspeaker spell, Bagman's terrified voice was clearly heard by every audience member.

In an instant, the noise at the scene came to an abrupt end, replaced by dead silence. People looked up blankly at the terrible mark in the sky, fear gradually spreading across their faces.

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

It's the Dark Mark!

Who put this?

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

what? !

Harry is missing?

Everyone suddenly came to their senses, withdrew their gaze from the sky, and looked towards the field, and found that only Cedric and Malfoy were left there.

"Crouch took Harry away?"

"Was this the work of the Ministry of Magic?"

"The Dark Mark in the sky...was placed there by Crouch. He's a Death Eater!"

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

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

The young wizards realized that with Headmaster Dumbledore around, there seemed to be nothing to be afraid of.

"Don't panic, everyone!" Dumbledore's voice was full of 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 get angry. The competition was about to end successfully, but such a big mess happened.

Moreover, this mess was caused by a high-ranking official of the Ministry of Magic. This is a provocation, a slap in the face of the Ministry of Magic, and even more so a slap in the face of Fudge.

Barty Crouch! You are courting death.

He quickly ran to where the two disappeared, and shouted at the Aurors who came over with a distorted face.

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