LRAB Page 385
Page 385
However, what is shocking is that his high position in the Ministry of Magic was actually the result of the secret support of the Death Eater Lukewood.
What shocked Harry the most was Barty Crouch's ruthlessness.
This serious, high-ranking Ministry of Magic official actually sent his own son to Azkaban prison, where he was imprisoned alongside Barty Crouch Jr.—Bellatrix Lestrange, the terrifying woman from Harry's dreams.
Harry felt much more relaxed after his meeting with Dumbledore.
When he held the sizzling honey candy given to him by Dumbledore and pushed open the heavy brass door to the headmaster's office, the nightmare had lost its hold on him.
“Harry,” Dumbledore’s voice sounded behind him, “keep the story of Neville’s parents being driven insane by the Death Eater Bellatrix’s Unforgivable Curse a secret. This story should be told by Neville himself, when he is ready to face it all.”
“I understand, Professor.” Harry nodded and was about to turn and leave.
“And—” Dumbledore’s voice rang out again.
Harry turned around and saw Dumbledore standing beside the Pensieve, the silver light from the pensieve illuminating his face. On that weathered face, the marks of time seemed even more profound.
He gazed intently at Harry, as if looking through his eyes into a distant future, and said, "May Lady Luck smile upon you in the final challenge."
After Harry's footsteps faded into the corridor, Levin appeared in the headmaster's office and sat in the chair Harry had just left.
“Levin, these are the memories Harry just gave me. You might want to take a look.” Dumbledore gently placed the memories he had just received from Harry into the Pensieve. The silvery substance in the Pensieve immediately began to churn like a sea of clouds, flashing various images from time to time.
Levin did not refuse the invitation, although he had heard about those experiences from Harry, but it would be better to experience those memories firsthand.
When Levin emerged from the Pensieve, Dumbledore was pacing beside it, his gaze deep, as if deep in thought.
Seeing Levin look up, he stopped and slowly asked, "What do you think about the connection between Harry and Voldemort?"
“This is clearly more than just a nightmare. The pain, the realism—nothing a dream could provide.” Levin sat back in his chair, his words carefully chosen.
“You’re right,” Dumbledore said softly, sitting back down at his desk. “That’s not an ordinary scar. That unsuccessful spell bound Harry to him; they were symbiotic in a way.”
He paused, then looked at Levin inquiringly: "I have some ideas, but I'd like to hear yours more."
“I have a theory, just a theory… I’ve seen some information about Horcruxes. Based on Voldemort’s current state and the strange connection between him and Harry, I suspect that he unintentionally turned Harry into one of his Horcruxes.” Levin fabricated a reason, revealing information he already knew.
Dumbledore remained silent after hearing this. He stared ahead, and every now and then, the tip of his wand would draw a wisp of silver thread from his temple and drop it into the Pensieve.
The silence at that moment seemed unusually long.
“Dumbledore, this student has such a deep understanding of Horcruxes, aren’t you worried he might go down that path?” A slightly sly voice suddenly broke the silence.
“Thank you for reminding me, Phineas.” Dumbledore stared at Levin with a serious expression, while the boy wore a bored look. “I believe Levin understands the disastrous consequences of splitting one’s soul. He’s not the kind of person to act rashly.”
The two fell silent again. Dumbledore continued to put his thoughts into the Pensieve, while Levin sat quietly to the side, lost in thought.
"This last game is his last chance," Dumbledore finally said.
"Bagman said before, 8"
.
.
,
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The family has prepared a little surprise for the warriors, ensuring that no one leaves empty-handed. So what is that surprise? Levin suddenly seemed to remember something and asked...
"Oh, yes, those pure-blood families suddenly made this suggestion. They donated six more medals of different materials, intending to place them at the end of the maze as a reward for the warriors."
Dumbledore's light blue eyes watched the silvery-white substance spinning in the Pensieve. With a gentle wave of his wand, the six medals seemed to be summoned and danced in the air above the Pensieve.
Levin scrutinized them closely. "I think Voldemort's most likely method is to secretly turn these medals into Portkeys. Once Harry comes into contact with them, he might be teleported to a predetermined location. The pure-blood families who first suggested this are the most suspicious. We need to keep a close eye on them, because they may be acting on Voldemort's orders."
He knew, of course, that there was a problem, since this plot point was not in the original work at all.
The pure-blood family is probably doing this to deal with the variables brought about by Levin.
"It probably won't be that championship medal."
Dumbledore looked at Levin through the Pensieve with his characteristic penetrating gaze. "Given the current rankings and the extraordinary strength Miss Granger has shown, they should be able to predict that Harry has no chance of getting first place, and he might not even be able to beat Miss Delacour for second place."
At this point, Dumbledore glanced at Levin with surprise. The letter was full of admiration for the boy, who was not only outstanding himself but also able to teach one equally outstanding little witch after another.
“So, they might strategically let Harry compete for third place,” Levin calmly analyzed. “However, since there are already signs, it’s best for us to pretend we don’t know about their methods.”
He pulled a metal badge from his robe pocket. Although it was enchanted, the badge was bare and undecorated.
This is a communications badge, and the same one is worn by the Erudite Society and the new Aurors.
"This medal can be used for location tracking and communication. I will also give Harry a 4.9, but not now. Harry hasn't learned Occlumency yet, so he's easily detectable. I'll give it to him before the competition."
A box of colorful candies suddenly floated in front of Levin.
"Berberis Beans will give you a unique kind of excitement." A mischievous glint of anticipation flashed in Dumbledore's eyes.
However, Levin did not reach out to take it.
Just like their vibrant colors, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans have a wider variety of flavors than you can imagine.
But this stuff seems to have too many flavors, so much so that it not only has delicious flavors like chocolate, mints, and marmalade, but also strange flavors like spinach, soap, offal, and dried boogers.
Levin had no desire to experience such a stimulating sensation.
“Thank you for your kind offer, Professor Dumbledore.” Levin stood up, smiling as he declined, “but I think I still prefer some simpler snacks.”
Levin had been at Hogwarts for four years and this wasn't the first time he'd chatted with Old Man Dumbledore; he knew the man's habits very well.
Generally speaking, when Old Deng offers food to the young wizard, it usually means that the meeting is over, similar to serving tea to guests in his hometown.
Levin nodded to Dumbledore and left the headmaster's office.
Chapter 424 Preparation before the game
As the end of May approached, the atmosphere in the castle became tense and exciting once again.
Everyone is looking forward to the final competition, which will be held a week before the holiday.
During this period, the busiest people were naturally the warriors from the three schools and their supporters.
Durmstrang had the worst academic record among the three schools, and Principal Karkaroff was determined to turn things around using some unconventional methods.
So he secretly sneaked into the Quidditch field, intending to record the maze's route. However, he got so dizzy and disoriented in the maze that he was trapped for two whole days before Snape, who had just discovered something was wrong, rescued him.
He didn't know that he wasn't unlucky; it was simply because a few tree spirits didn't like him and played a little joke on him.
Despite the somewhat embarrassing experience, Karkaroff gained a strange sense of confidence. He felt that if he himself had been stuck in this maze for three days, none of the young wizards would be able to get through.
Fortunately, he had recorded all the wrong paths he had taken in those three days. Although they were all failures, they were still better than no experience at all. Krum, who had received his personal instruction, would still have an advantage over other warriors.
At this moment, he began to give special training to Krum and Polyakov with full confidence.
Within a month, he vowed to transform Krum and make him the first Triwizard Tournament champion in Durmstrang history.
He was determined to win this honor!
Meanwhile, Mrs. Maxim was also making preparations in full swing.
She ran into a wall with Hagrid and knew nothing about the obstacles in the labyrinth of 19, but that didn't stop her from making some guesses.
You should know that when Hagrid chatted with her, his favorite thing to talk about was "the little cuties he raised over the years".
In addition, she urged Furong to go see Levin every day, just like a madam urging her girl to entertain guests.
She hoped Fleur could learn more skills from Levin, and ideally, cause Hermione to fall out of favor, so that Beauxbatons could outmaneuver Hogwarts in this competition.
After all, Beauxbatons has only one less win in the Triwizard Tournament than Hogwarts.
We absolutely must catch up this time!!
Only Hogwarts is the most laid-back, with all preparations handled by the warriors themselves.
Harry used every spare moment to diligently practice his magical skills.
This time, his confidence was even stronger than the previous two times. Although the competition was sure to be fraught with difficulties, he had learned of the upcoming challenge in advance and had ample time to prepare.
Professor McGonagall often stumbled upon Harry practicing all over the school. She appreciated his efforts and granted him special permission to use the Transfiguration classroom during lunchtime, giving him more space and time to hone his magic.
On weekends, Harry would go to the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmeade to receive training from Sirius Black.
Harry quickly mastered the [Slowing Charm], which could slow down attackers;
He also learned the [Shattering Spell], which allows him to easily destroy obstacles that block his path;
He also realized the Direction Charm, which Hermione reminded him of, which allows him to point his wand due north, enabling him to determine whether he is going the right way in a maze.
However, he has not yet fully mastered the advanced usage of the [Ironclad Spell]. Once he is proficient in this spell, he can reduce the range of the shield, thereby gaining a faster casting speed. In that case, he can block the spell like he would block an arrow and then quickly launch a counterattack.
Of the six champions, Hermione was the most relaxed. After a whole year of competition, she was fully aware of her enormous advantage over the other champions, an advantage that couldn't be compensated for in just one or two months of intensive training.
Therefore, she carried out her training step by step, and even had time to review for the final exams.
One day in June, the breakfast table in Gryffindor was bustling with activity.
A screeching owl flew across the restaurant as usual, delivering today's Daily Prophet to Hermione.
She opened the newspaper, glanced at the front page, and immediately sprayed a mouthful of pumpkin juice all over the newspaper.
"What's wrong, Hermione?" Harry noticed her unusual behavior and asked with concern.
“N-nothing…” Hermione hurriedly tried to hide the newspaper, but Harry could already read something unusual in her expression.
“It’s about me, isn’t it?” Harry pressed, holding out his hand.
Hermione hesitated for a moment, but ultimately handed him the newspaper.
Harry took the newspaper, and his photo immediately caught his eye, with a shocking headline below:
Harry Potter
— Disturbed and in a dangerous emotional state
Special correspondent Rita Skeeter has revealed a previously unknown side of Harry Potter: the boy who defeated Mystic is emotionally unstable and potentially quite dangerous. Recently, shocking evidence has surfaced regarding Harry Potter's unusual behavior, raising questions about his ability to participate in a major event like the Triwizard Tournament, and even whether he is suited to continue studying at Hogwarts…
The following content largely mocks Harry Potter for claiming his scars were painful just to gain sympathy, mentions his interactions with werewolves and giants, emphasizes his Parsleyan fluency, and portrays this once-praised savior boy as a dark wizard.