The Prime Suspect

As Vincent and Hermione tried to think with Voldemort's and the Death Eaters' logic, Dumbledore on the field also finished his investigation of the black smoke.

First, it was an evil curse that exacted life and soul as its price. Before the curse was triggered, those afflicted showed no difference from normal.

Second, the curse could be triggered by any spell. Once the number of spells hitting the cursed target reached the preset limit, the curse would activate.

Finally, the power increase brought by the curse varied from individual to individual. Magical creatures with massive bodies and vigorous life force, like the Hungarian Horntail, would gain devastating power.

In other words, all four dragons in the first task had been compromised. Harry had merely been lucky enough to escape disaster by not casting spells directly at the dragon.

Dumbledore shifted his gaze toward the two furious headmasters.

Such an explanation did not seem likely to convince them.

"Luck?!" After Dumbledore returned and voiced his conjecture, he was indeed met with two faces filled with anger and disbelief.

Compared to luck, the idea that someone had used underhanded means to eliminate Harry's opponents was clearly much easier for the two to accept.

There was no helping it. They would have to check the other three dragons.

Fudge and the others had just finished "visiting" the injured Dragon Tamers. As they emerged from the tent, they heard that the three headmasters intended to verify whether the dragons had been cursed.

The dragons were housed behind another entrance directly opposite the tent, where an open area had been fenced off.

The three dragons lay sprawled on the ground, snoring away. They did not look cursed at all.

Using any magic left traces. It was not impossible to erase them all, but dragons were