Karkaroff's Scheme

What angered Karkaroff the most, to the point that he dared to point his finger at Dumbledore and yell at him, was that Madame Maxime had refused his invitation this morning!

Originally, he wanted to invite Madame Maxime to see Krum's miserable state and to join him in pressuring Hogwarts to resign.

After reaping the benefits, we can then discuss the possibility of joining forces with the other party.

After all, Krum has already been attacked. In a couple of days, that Half-Veela might also be ambushed.

As both are disadvantaged groups, Karkaroff believes that Durmstrang and Beauxbatons could definitely join forces.

No! They must join forces to deal with the underhanded tactics from Hogwarts!

As a result, when he excitedly ran to Beauxbatons' carriage early in the morning to find Madame Maxime, that barbarian woman actually dared not even let him in the door!

And what's more, she said her carriage was robbed last night? She now needs to focus all her energy on catching that despicable thief and has no time to care about any competition.

She said it so convincingly that Karkaroff almost believed her!

"Please, can you at least put a little effort into your lies?!"

Where am I? This is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!

Besides the students, there were only professors left.

Oh, right, it seems there are a few Squib in Hogwarts who can't cast Curses?

Hmph! That Dumbledore actually allowed such disgraceful wretches into the sacred magic school. No wonder it's said that the quality of Hogwarts graduates has been declining in recent years.

So how could there be thieves at Hogwarts... wait!

Karkaroff suddenly realized something terrifying.

Could it be that the thief Madame Maxime was arranged by Dumbledore? Was it to distract Madame Maxime at this crucial moment, thereby sabotaging the alliance between Durmstrang and Beauxbatons?

Looking at Dumbledore, who was pretending to be serious and silently staring at Krum on the hospital bed, without uttering a single word of rebuttal even after Dumbledore's outburst, Karkaroff felt a chill run down his spine.

This kid... no, this old codger, is just too terrifying!

Although Karkaroff and Dumbledore look like they're the same age, Dumbledore old enough to be his father.

Why did he suddenly feel insulted?

It could be said that, in Karkaroff's view at this point, anything bad must have been done by Dumbledore!

Suddenly, a knock on the door interrupted Karkaroff's wandering thoughts.

"Please come in."

"Dumbledore said in a loud voice."

He knew that the person he had been waiting for had arrived.

Professor McGonagall opened the door, let Bell enter first, and then followed Bell in before closing the door behind her.

Then the old professor stood silently at the door, as if to prevent Bell from escaping.

Bell didn't take Professor McGonagall's wariness to heart.

After all, if he wanted to run away, he wouldn't need to go through the door at all.

Just find any wall, use the "Invincible Wall Passing Technique (Earth Escape Technique)" to smash through it, and you're good to go.

"Teach..."

"You brat! Is it you who hurt Krum?!"

Before Bell could speak, Karkaroff knew that this unassuming kid was the scapegoat Hogwarts had chosen after seeing that the other person was with Professor McGonagall.

Indeed, he couldn't do Dumbledore, but couldn't he do anything to a little brat?

Karkaroff had made up his mind. He was going to teach the other party a lesson he would never forget. He wanted to make the other party regret ever being born. Only in this way could he quell the hatred in his heart!

"Yes."

Without any denial or explanation, Bell openly and honestly admitted his "feat".

As a man, isn't it a heroic feat to take down another bastard who's trying to seduce your girlfriend?

"Hey kid! Hello..."

"Professor Karkaroff! Mr. Menethil is a student of Hogwarts, and I think it is my duty as the Mr. Menethil of Hogwarts to question him."

Dumbledore's voice suddenly rang out, interrupting Karkaroff's impotent rage.

Although Dumbledore's voice wasn't as loud as Karkaroff's, the moment he spoke, he immediately became the center of attention, easily overshadowing Karkaroff in terms of presence.

"Fine! Go ahead and ask! But if you can't give me a satisfactory explanation, I definitely won't let this go this time!"

Faced with Dumbledore's calm yet sharp gaze, Karkaroff ultimately succumbed.

However, he had no intention of letting Bell off the hook so easily. He simply wanted to observe first and see how Dumbledore planned to clear Bell's name before considering a countermeasure.

This is called "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated!"

He didn't hold the position of Principal Durmstrang for so many years for nothing. To prevent that terrifying, the Dark Lord from ever being resurrected, he had been constantly striving to improve himself.

This includes, but is not limited to, preparing a way out for oneself.

That ancient and mysterious Eastern Country was the refuge he had chosen for himself.

Even at the height of his power, Grindelwald had never set foot in that country. Karkaroff simply didn't believe the Dark Lord would dare chase him there!

After Karkaroff yielded, Dumbledore turned his gaze back to Bell. He stared at the slightly tense Bell, remained silent for a moment, and then slowly spoke:

"Mr. Menethil, can you tell me why you attacked Mr. Krum?"

"Professor, I think you've misunderstood something. I didn't attack Krum; Krum attacked me. I was simply acting in self-defense. Many people in the Great Hall last night can testify to that."

Bell said neither humbly nor arrogantly.

Upon hearing this, Dumbledore nodded.

That's exactly what the "helpful" Little Wizard who took Krum to the Hospital Wing yesterday said. Although he couldn't quite understand why the other person looked so excited when talking about it.

If he remembered correctly, that Little Wizard shouldn't be from Gryffindor House.

Of course, being a meticulous person, Dumbledore did not simply believe the other party's one-sided account.

Last night, he also asked several students.

Apart from those who didn't know what had happened, all the students who witnessed the entire incident said that it was indeed Krum who attacked Bell first.

With so many students from different houses testifying, Dumbledore was convinced that Bell was indeed "forced" to launch a defensive counterattack.