A Heart-Pounding Job

The award ceremony for the champion of the Triwizard Tournament was very grand.

Cornelius Fudge, representing the Ministry of Magic, handed the Triwizard Cup to Kyle, along with a prize of one thousand Galleon.

Madame Maxime and Phoebe were clapping beside them... Phoebe looked somewhat disappointed.

After all, the competition was already over before she even started, so she had absolutely no experience.

But that's how competitions are; her score was low, and as Madame Maxime just said, Kyle destroyed almost half the maze with a single spell... The path paved with flames is still burning; anyone standing in the stands can see it clearly.

This also proves that Kyle is indeed very strong; at least she definitely couldn't do it.

As darkness fell, the awards ceremony concluded in this lively atmosphere.

The only ones who couldn't laugh were probably Durmstrang's students.

Their warrior, Krum, fell into a coma and had to be carried out shortly after entering the maze, and Principal Karkaroff was also missing.

With both key figures absent, they felt like outsiders, unsure whether to join the celebration or return to the ship.

After the awards ceremony, Dumbledore quietly approached Kyle and whispered:

"Come with me, I might have something to ask you."

"Okay." Kyle nodded, glancing instinctively at Dumbledore's left hand.

"Oh, no need to worry." Dumbledore seemed to read his thoughts and extended his left hand, saying, "It's just Fiendfyre; it will heal quickly."

The black scorch marks have disappeared, leaving only a shallow scar.

"Of course, it's impossible to have no cost at all," Dumbledore smile. "And Tom didn't fare much better; I didn't lose out."

He blinked, exchanged a few words with the people around him, and then returned to the castle.

Kyle followed behind him.

The students who had watched the game had not yet returned, and the castle was quiet. The two of them went up the stairs to the Headmaster's Office on the Seventh Floor.

Harry was already waiting there, along with Professor McGonagall, Professor Moody, Snape, and Sirius.

So, for the next period of time, Harry recounted the entire process of being taken away, and everything he experienced on the mountaintop.

"That man, Barty Crouch Jr.., is really shrewd," Professor Moody couldn't help but say. "I think he probably drank the Polyjuice Potion after we had all left the castle."

"Filch ...I saw that Squib before dinner started; he hadn't drunk the Polyjuice Potion then."

"Professor, can you see through this Potions?" Harry asked curiously.

"I can't figure it out," Professor Moody said, "But distinguishing a Squib from a normal wizard isn't so difficult."

Harry suddenly realized that something was definitely off when Filch came to him, and he even saw traces of a wand in the other man's pocket.

However, at that time he was only focused on the third competition and didn't think much about it. Then he was knocked unconscious and taken away.

"Wait a minute!" Harry suddenly realized something. "If the person who took me away was Barty Crouch Jr.., then where is the real Filch?"

Silence fell over the Headmaster's Office.

It seems that Dumbledore and the professors have forgotten about the castle gatekeeper.

"Minerva ..." Dumbledore said, "Could you please go to Filch's office? And please also ask Madam Pomfrey to come along. I think Filch might need some treatment?"

"I understand." Professor McGonagall nodded, then quickly left the room.

"Let's continue." Dumbledore looked at Harry again. "You just said that Kyle repelled the Death Eaters?"

"Yes, Professor," Harry said, his voice trembling with excitement, "It was a giant dragon made of fire, and it scared away all the Death Eaters as soon as it appeared."

Everyone's gaze instinctively turned to Kyle, some of them believing it was the spell he had used in the game, but Professor Moody thought of another possibility.

It's not like you can just conjure a fire Dragon with any Fire-Making Spell... Like the spell Kyle used in the labyrinth, although it was powerful, it was only the most basic form.

Only Fiendfyre can easily condense into the shape of Fantastic Beasts.

Although this spell was pure Dark Magic, the former Auror didn't say anything inappropriate.

He has now retired from the Auror Office and is just a professor at Hogwarts. Even Dumbledore hasn't said anything, so naturally he won't say anything either.

Just pretend you know nothing.

"Was that when Dumbledore went there?" he asked.

If you calculate the time, from the time Kyle was sent there by the Portkey to the time he cast the Fiendfyre to protect himself, it was almost exactly the time when Dumbledore left.

"I guess so," Harry said hesitantly. "Suddenly a thick fog rolled in, so thick that you couldn't see anything in it. Then I heard the headmaster's voice."

"Dense fog?" Professor Moody frowned. "Was it there all along?"

"No, it's this." Kyle suddenly said, taking something out and placing it in front of everyone.

It was a crystal-clear blue bead, slightly smaller than the Golden Snitch, and you could see a wisp of white smoke slowly moving inside.

It looks like a miniature crystal ball.

"What is this?" Sirius asked curiously.

"The Mist Gemstone," Kyle said. "If you crush the bead, white smoke will continuously pour out, just like Harry described."

"This is quite a nice item." Professor Moody's magical eye remained fixed on the Mist Gemstone. "If I'm not mistaken, this should be something from Uagadou."

"When I was hunting down a foreign black wizard, he used something similar. He threw a stone, and hundreds of caterpillars flew out of it."

"Pretty much," Kyle said. "I bought it from Hogsmeade, and the shopkeeper said it came from an ancient tribe in the Mountains of the Moon."

"Because it works well, I've always carried it with me."

"You did the right thing," Professor Moody said sincerely. "When the difference in strength is so great, using this method to restrict the opponent's movements and thus buy time for rescue is the most correct approach... I guess that's why you bought it in the first place."

Kyle remained silent, which was taken as tacit agreement.

"Aren't you really considering becoming an Auror after graduation?" Professor Moody couldn't help but ask.

Although he was very pessimistic about the current Ministry of Magic, if he came across the right person, the first place he would think of was the Auror Office.

"I can decide to exempt you from all assessments. You can even become a registered Auror in the Ministry of Magic in your sixth year, without having to participate in missions, and you'll receive a generous monthly salary."

"How much?"

"Fifty Galleon."

"That's a bit too little," Kyle muttered.

"That's quite a lot," Professor Moody said. "Don't forget you don't need to do anything; this money is a free gift until you graduate."

Kyle was somewhat intrigued and, after thinking for a moment, asked, "If I want to do another job after graduation, can I quit my job?"

Professor Moody paused for a moment, then shook his head repeatedly. "Of course not."

Good grief, quitting after getting two years' salary for nothing... Is this the kind of thing a Hufflepuff would say?