Varga gave Tris a strange smile. "Oops, you caught me."
The next instant, he crushed the potion vial he had been holding, and his body abruptly twisted.
A Portkey!
The word flashed through Tris's mind.
He was not the only one. Several adult wizards present instantly understood what had happened. But another thought occurred to them at the same time: Portkeys should not work at Hogwarts.
Hogwarts was covered by an Anti-Apparition Jinx. Despite its name, the spell actually blocked all the standard teleportation magic wizards used.
That included, but was not limited to, Apparition, Portkeys, and Floo Powder. Only the special abilities of house-elves and a few magical creatures could bypass the barrier.
In addition, the headmaster had the authority to permit exceptions in specific areas.
The fireplace in the Headmaster's Office, for instance, could be used with Floo Powder, and Dumbledore could temporarily allow Portkeys to operate in designated areas.
But now Varga had suddenly produced a Portkey and looked about to teleport away, leaving everyone struggling to react.
He could not possibly have the headmaster's privileges, yet his twisting body clearly showed that the Portkey had activated. Under normal circumstances, it should have been impossible to activate at all. How had he managed to use it?
In that brief moment of confusion, Varga's figure had already turned translucent and was about to disappear.
Suddenly, however, the entire space seemed to shudder faintly. Varga's fading figure abruptly became solid again, as though a pixelated image had suddenly cleared.
Varga seemed to lose his balance all at once and fell to the floor. He immediately looked up at Dumbledore, who stood a short distance away.
Tris looked at Dumbledore as well, his eyelid twitching slightly. Dumbledore seemed no different from usual, still wearing a cheerful smile.
Only the tip