[Hogwarts Arena]
"All right, all the champions have already set out. Next, let's take a look at the images being transmitted live by the alchemical hummingbirds!"
With Bagman's high-pitched shout, the giant silver screen at the center of the venue began to display scenes from deep within the Forbidden Forest.
However, what appeared on the screen was not a four-way split like ordinary surveillance video showing all four champions at once, but rather the perspective of a single alchemical hummingbird.
This was a design choice made for aesthetics, the switching of images was entirely under Bagman's control.
And in order to better hype up the atmosphere, Bagman naturally chose to broadcast what he believed was the most exciting scene, the footage of Link in the depths of the Forbidden Forest.
"Oh! Our champion Link is moving so fast! He's already reached the area where the Blast-Ended Skrewts are!" Bagman excitedly explained.
"These creatures were bred by Professor Hagrid as dangerous weapons! Although they're the very first obstacle in this competition, their tails are… Merlin's beard! What am I seeing?"
"Link! Link has just wiped out all the Skrewts at once! What kind of magic is this? I've never even heard of it…"
On the massive silver screen, Link instantly reduced the horde of Skrewts into a field of ice shards, and in response the spectator stands erupted into endless cheers.
After all, among the crowd were countless victims of Skrewt harassment. Seeing those disgusting creatures completely annihilated, how could they not be happy?
But their good mood did not last long.
Because just after finishing off the Skrewts, Link raised his wand again, clearly preparing to swing it with a charged-up motion.
The next instant, there was a flash of brilliance, then the screen went completely black.
The atmosphere in the arena froze. The cheers of the crowd cut off abruptly, as if a flock of ducks had their throats suddenly pinched shut.
"Uh, looks like our champion Link might have accidentally damaged an alchemical hummingbird. Staff are already dispatching another one. For now, let's switch over and take a look at the other champions' progress…"
Bagman kept babbling out an explanation.
Live broadcasts were always the hardest to handle when accidents occurred, especially when the problem came from the most popular champion, Link. If things weren't handled carefully, the audience could easily get angry.
Fortunately, the crowd's focus was rather peculiar.
They seemed to think Link's sword-slash that destroyed the alchemical hummingbird was especially cool.
As a result, that awkward silence lasted only a brief moment before the cheers roared back, even more enthusiastic than before.
This eased Bagman's nerves slightly.
———
[Meanwhile, Inside the Forbidden Forest]
After wiping out the surrounding alchemical hummingbirds in one sweeping slash of a magnified Cutting Curse, Link did not continue forward.
Instead, he turned to look at the dense black forest behind him, the corners of his mouth lifting upward.
This Triwizard Tournament had never been pure in its intent, and he did not want anyone other than himself and Harry truly participating.
So Link was planning, from the very start of the task, to immediately eliminate the other two.
He knew well, in the original timeline, Krum had been controlled by Barty Jr.'s Imperius Curse and forced to attack Cedric.
That was a situation Link absolutely didn't want to face again.
Of course, his reason for doing this wasn't only to prevent unexpected incidents, but also for the safety of Krum and Fleur.
After all, Death Eaters could appear at any moment during the upcoming battle.
"Whew… Let's begin!"
Bang!
With a muffled sound, Link's entire body vanished into the mist, slipping away like a true phantom, rushing back the way he had come.
Because Link moved so fast, he hadn't gone far before Harry appeared in his field of vision.
At that moment, Harry was trudging forward with Lumos lit, struggling through the Forbidden Forest.
Even though Link had already cleared away all the Skrewts nearby, Harry's twisted expression and face full of fear made it obvious, the dark, silent forest alone was already giving him tremendous psychological pressure.
By contrast, Krum, who had set off third, showed no such fear. Relying on his excellent physical condition, he sprinted swiftly through the forest and had already caught up with Harry.
Their meeting did not lead to the conflict Link had expected.
Instead, Krum seemed to notice Harry's distress. Pulling a stainless-steel flask from his pocket, he took a swig himself before tossing it to Harry,
"Hermione's friend, maybe you need this. Rakia, fruit brandy, from my homeland. Take a couple of drinks and you'll find your courage again!"
With that, the usually stern Krum even managed a rare smile and a thumbs-up before speeding ahead, leaving Harry standing there baffled, clutching the flask awkwardly, not sure whether to drink or not.
"Hah! Turns out he has a good heart!" Link chuckled softly.
For Durmstrang, a school known for breeding dark wizards, to produce someone like Krum really was unusual.
But that alone wasn't enough to change Link's mind.
A flick of his wand, and the forest mist thickened, blocking the hummingbirds' sight.
Then, with a sudden surge of magical power, Link manipulated the moisture in Krum's lungs to expand violently.
"Urgh!"
Krum, sprinting ahead, suddenly let out a muffled groan, clutching his chest and throat before collapsing to the ground.
The ambush successful, Link wasted no time. He immediately cast a Stupefy.
Normally, the strength of a spell was proportional to a wizard's magical power.
With Link's current level, even a simple Stunning Spell was more than enough to keep Krum unconscious until the next morning.
But what surprised Link was that just as his spell shot out, Harry, who had been frozen nearby, suddenly screamed and rushed forward, throwing up a Shield Charm to block the Stunning Spell and protect Krum.
"You okay, Krum?"
Harry even reached out to help him up.
But before his hand could touch him, Krum seized Harry's arm and violently flung him aside.
Then came his pained voice, "Avada Kedavra!"
Green light burst from Krum's wand, piercing the darkness, flying straight toward Link's hiding spot.
But with his heightened senses active, Link had already anticipated the move. A mere shift of his body, and he easily dodged Krum's hateful strike.
Still, a flicker of surprise crossed Link's face.
The water in Krum's lungs should have already filled them completely.
That suffocating pain should have made any normal young man faint instantly.
How could Krum possibly still cast a spell under such conditions?
"Willpower, huh?"
Link muttered with a trace of admiration. But his wand was already raised again.
This time, he did not hold back.
A crushing wave of cursed magic power came crashing down like a mountain, slamming both Harry and Krum, and their hastily-cast Shield Charm, hard against the ground.
Finally, another Stunning Spell finished it. This time, Krum's body finally went limp.
Wrapped in mist, Link slowly stepped out from behind a tree. But instead of checking on Harry and Krum, his wand swung sharply to the side!
Buzz!
A massive invisible blade shot out, slicing through trees in its path, revealing Fleur's figure.
She had clearly witnessed the entire process of Link crushing Krum and Harry, and she already knew what her fate would be.
But unlike what Link expected, Fleur showed no shock or anger. Instead, with only a trace of regret, she smiled, "Looks like my journey ends here."
"Sorry."
Link murmured softly, words only he could hear, as his wand traced a graceful arc in the air. Another Stupefy shot out, striking Fleur, who had already abandoned resistance.
But unlike with Krum, before Fleur could fall, Link darted forward and caught her, gently laying her on the ground.
Only after finishing this did he notice Harry had stood up again.
Wand in hand, facing Link warily, Harry's trembling voice asked,
"Link?"
"You only just recognized me now?" Link asked in surprise.
From start to finish, he hadn't bothered much to hide his identity. That was why Fleur had realized and given up so quickly.
But he truly hadn't expected Harry to be so dense as to only figure it out now.
"It really is you, Link!" Harry said, almost relieved, glad that it was Link and not some dangerous foe planted by the organizers.
But then his expression changed drastically, "But… but why did you attack us, and knock out Krum and Fleur?"
"Are you stupid?" Link said with disdain as he drained the water from Krum's lungs. "Of course it's so Hogwarts can win the Triwizard Tournament championship."
That left Harry completely dumbfounded.
He stammered for a while before protesting like a stubborn child, "But you're already so strong. Do you really need to do this? Why not just rush to the finish and let us all fight fair?"
"Fair? At a time like this you're still so naive? Cheating is the fine tradition of the Triwizard Tournament!" Link frowned.
"Besides, this isn't cheating. There's no rule saying champions can't attack each other. It's just like you bringing a professional-grade Firebolt to Hogwarts' amateur Quidditch League. Same logic."
Harry's face flushed red at that. He seemed like he wanted to argue further.
But Link understood, it wasn't that Harry was being saintly. It was more that Krum's earlier kindness had influenced him, combined with the hot-headedness and rebellious streak of youth, leaving him tangled up.
Link, however, had no interest in chatting further.
He fired two red sparks into the sky from Krum's and Fleur's wands, then said to Harry, "Done and dusted. I'm heading out."
"You'd better hurry too. I'll take first place, you take second. Together we'll bring all the glory of the Triwizard Tournament back to Hogwarts! When that happens, we'll both be heroes of the school!"
With a wave, Link vanished into the mist, slipping toward the Black Lake.
That was the limit of what he could do for now.
From here, he would keep a distant watch over Harry. Only in such a "half-isolated" state would the Death Eaters be tempted to strike, against Harry, or against him.
Watching Link suddenly depart, Harry let out a huge sigh of relief.
Link's terrifying power in crushing both him and Krum so easily had been overwhelming.
For a moment, Harry had thought Link might eliminate him too.
By Link's own logic, if Harry was knocked out, Link wouldn't even need to continue the task, he'd automatically be champion. 'What a shortcut!'
Thankfully, Link still had a conscience.
With that thought, Harry loyally stayed with Krum and Fleur until the professors' rescue team arrived. Only then did he continue on.
Before leaving, he tucked the stainless-steel flask back into Krum's hand.
As for the Rakia inside, he definitely wasn't going to drink it.
Hermione had already warned Harry and Ron long ago about the time Link had gotten drunk and ended up in the hospital wing. Harry had been scared straight.
But not long after Harry left, a centaur lurking in the shadows far away pulled out a "Two-Way Mirror", a wizard's video communication tool, wiping its surface carefully before reporting, "Master, Krum and Fleur were defeated by Link Flamel shortly after setting out. Harry Potter is now heading to the Black Lake under Snape's protection. All our arrangements in the Forbidden Forest have failed."
"No matter. The Forbidden Forest is too close to the arena, Dumbledore can intervene at any moment. I never had much hope for that part."
On the mirror's surface, black smoke surged and rolled, and a rasping, inhuman voice spoke, "The real focus is the next stage. I'll have Bagman keep the screen locked on Link Flamel as much as possible to create an opening for you. Remember, you must bring Harry Potter to me!"
"Yes! Understood!"
The centaur bowed deeply, but after a moment of hesitation asked, "And what about Link Flamel? Didn't you say his blood was equally important to you?"
At that, the black smoke swirled more violently.
Then, like someone laughing at a joke only he could hear, the voice burst into wild laughter before finally calming enough to speak, "Don't worry about Link Flamel. As long as you bring me Harry Potter, Link Flamel will come on his own."
"On his own?" the centaur asked in confusion. "From what I know, he's a selfish man. Why would he do something so foolish?"
"Idiot! You don't understand him at all! He will come. He definitely will…"
The black smoke murmured endlessly, then faded into nothingness.
The centaur slowly raised his head, gazing in the direction Harry had gone.
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