Harry is Taken Away

Tonight's dinner was much more lavish than usual, and as the referees walked into the classroom seating area through the side door, delicious dishes appeared on golden plates.

Kyle took a piece of bacon and glanced at Fang Zheng at the classroom table.

Madame Maxime looked very happy, beaming with joy, but Karkaroff, sitting next to her, had a stern face.

Bagman was the same; he was usually very happy, but today he was unusually anxious, talking to Dumbledore about something.

But Dumbledore simply shook his head.

"His dream of getting a front-page shot has been shattered." A voice suddenly came from the side, Kyle turned around to find Fred and George.

They arrived at the Great Hall without anyone noticing, and even sat at the Hufflepuff's table.

"Don't be too surprised. We were just worried you were too nervous, so we came to cheer you on," George said with a smile.

"Thank you so much," Kyle said. "But what did you mean by Bagman's front-page dream?"

"This is the second piece of news we have for you," Fred said quietly. "The plan to increase the number of hostages has been canceled."

"What?"

"It means exactly what it says." George shrugged. "We just found Headmaster Dumbledore and offered to be his hostage..."

"But the principal refused..."

"He said the maze was too dangerous and he didn't want students other than Champion to take risks, so he did it before they entered the Great Hall..."

"Dumbledore, Olympe Maxime, and your father, the three judges, voted to cancel the plan."

"Karkaroff looked very unhappy." Fred glanced at the High Table. "He thought everyone was too cowardly, and said this wasn't the Triwizard Tournament he remembered at all. He had a big argument with everyone in the Entrance Hall."

"Was it useful?" Cedric asked.

"Of course not," George said. "The original Triwizard Tournament was canceled due to too many injuries and deaths. Now that it has finally restarted, most people don't want the students to take too many risks."

Kyle instinctively glanced towards the High Table; Bagman was still talking to Dumbledore, clearly also supporting Karkaroff.

But none of that matters.

Removing the hostages would be the best outcome, at least it would save him some trouble during the match.

Soon, dinner was over, and the enchanted ceiling gradually turned from blue to a deep twilight.

Dumbledore stood up, and everyone immediately fell silent.

"Ladies and gentlemen, in ten minutes I will be inviting you to the Quidditch Pitch to watch the final game of the Triwizard Tournament. Now, Champion, please follow Mr. Bagman to the pitch."

Kyle stood up, and the Hufflepuff students around him applauded as they watched him, Phoebe, Krum walk out of the Great Hall together.

Phoebe looked a little nervous and kept taking deep breaths. Krum wasn't much better off, straying off course several times.

They entered the Quidditch Pitch, which looked different from what they had seen before. The hedges surrounding the pitch had all grown to twenty feet long, leaving only a dark gap in front of them.

"Take a rest and get yourself ready." Bagman led them to a nearby locker room and then left.

Afterwards, Phoebe and Krum each found a place to sit down. Kyle originally wanted to chat with Phoebe for a while to pass the time.

But she didn't seem to want to talk at the moment, so Kyle didn't say anything either, found a place to sit down, and quietly waited for the match to begin.

Ten minutes later, people began to enter the stands, and the air was filled with excited chatter and noisy footsteps. For a moment, Kyle felt as if he had returned to the time before the First Task began.

He was also in the locker room at that time, listening to the crowd outside entering and taking their seats.

Suddenly, the locker room door moved, and everyone immediately looked up.

A head darted out through the crack in the door.

Who's there?

Kyle, who was closest, walked over and opened the slightly ajar door, just in time to see Hermione and Ron's backs as they prepared to sneak away.

"Sorry, we didn't mean to bother you," Hermione said somewhat awkwardly. "We just wanted to see Harry and put him at ease."

"Harry?" Kyle frowned.

"Yes, he was taken away by Filch, supposedly to prepare for the third competition," Ron said with envy. "How lucky he is to be involved in the Triwizard Tournament."

"But he doesn't seem to be here," Hermione said. "Let's go. Good luck, Kyle."

"Wait..." Kyle called out to them hurriedly, "When was Harry taken away?"

"Just now," Hermione said, "Not long after you left, Filch came over... He said he was taking Harry to the Quidditch Pitch to help with the match, as requested by Professor Dumbledore."

"After we left?" Kyle sensed something was wrong.

During dinner, Fred and George discussed why Filch had taken Harry away when the plan to add more hostages to the maze had been cancelled.

Wrong!

Under Hermione and Ron's surprised gazes, Kyle quickly ran towards where the referee was.

"Is there anything strange about this?" Ron scratched his head, a little confused about what Kyle meant.

How come they suddenly ran away when we were having a good chat?

"Oh no, is he going to report us...? You know, according to the rules, we're not allowed in the Champion' rest area."

"Don't be silly, Ron. Kyle isn't that kind of person," Hermione said, her expression grave. "Let's go to Beauxbatons and Durmstrang's location and see if they're missing anyone."

"Why do we have to go there?" Ron asked reluctantly. "The game is about to start."

But Hermione ignored him and ran towards the central stands on her own.

Meanwhile, when Kyle arrived at the referee's location, Dumbledore was talking to several professors wearing star badges.

"Oh, Kyle?" He looked at Kyle, puzzled. "The match is about to start, what are you doing here?"

"There's something, Professor." Kyle glanced at the others.

Dumbledore immediately understood, took a few steps forward, and asked, "Speak, what is it?"

"Do we need to rescue the hostages in this match?"

"Your information network is quite impressive," Dumbledore chuckled. "We did consider that idea, but then rejected it, so you don't need it..."

"Harry has been taken away."

Dumbledore was interrupted by Kyle before he could finish speaking.

"Just now, after dinner, Ron said that Filch took Harry away, claiming it was to cooperate with the competition."

Dumbledore's expression gradually became serious.

"That's impossible. The proposal to add more hostages was rejected before dinner even started."

"But Harry was indeed taken away," Kyle said. "Ron and Hermione saw it with their own eyes."

Dumbledore's smile vanished completely. He turned and looked around, his gaze lingering on Karkaroff's face for a moment before returning to Kyle.

"I understand," he said in a deep voice. "The competition is about to begin; you should go back now."

"Okay," Kyle said, then left the stands.

To be honest, this was something he hadn't expected... especially since he never imagined that Filch would be the one to take Harry away.

Imperius Curse? Or Polyjuice Potion?

Kyle wasn't sure either, because for the past month, Marauder's Map had been in the hands of Fred and George in order to better monitor Ludo Bagman's movements.

Even if Kyle had the Marauder's Map, he probably wouldn't pay any attention to Filch.

An annoying, and even Squib, doorman is the best disguise.

He could appear openly anywhere in the castle without arousing suspicion.

Even if he drank a sip of the Polyjuice Potion in front of the students, probably no one would think there was anything wrong with it. Or he could deliberately find a secluded place to drink the Polyjuice Potion.

Kyle thought back carefully. When he returned the Marauder's Map to Fred and George, he took one last look at it... but at that time, Filch seemed to be fine.

If Kyle remembers correctly, he was in his office with Mrs. Norris at the time, and there was no name "Barty Crouch" in the castle.

As Kyle pondered this, he returned to the entrance of the maze.

By this time, Phoebe and Krum had already come out of the room, as had Ludo Bagman; everyone was waiting for him.

"Luckily, you were only a minute away from missing the match." Bagman quickly ran over and pulled Kyle into the team.

Despite saying that, a hint of disappointment flashed in his eyes, as if he would rather see Kyle miss the game.