Chapter 338 The Backstop

The summer night breeze should not be cold, but the breeze blowing on the hillside carries a strong atmosphere of solemnity.

The snake named Nagini bound Cedric's whole body, and only his head was exposed.

Sherlock stood next to the snake, less than three feet apart.

Opposite Sherlock, above the black-robed man holding the baby in his arms, there were so many Death Eaters riding broomsticks that they could not see the number and were suspended in the air, each pointing their wands at him.

"What do I know?"

He said softly, while the fingers of his right hand were gently rubbing the feather plucked from the phoenix Fawkes in his palm.

As long as he held it tightly and let the feather ignite, Fawkes, who was far away on the other side of Hogwarts, would be able to sense his location and rush over with people.

But if this happened, Cedric would definitely die on the spot.

As his teacher, Sherlock could not just abandon his student's life.

He had no other better solution for the time being, so he could only try to delay the time and put his hope on Hogwarts, who would respond quickly after discovering that he and Cedric were missing.

"You asked someone to help Fiddlesticks escape from the German Ministry of Magic, right?"

Voldemort didn't seem to refuse to communicate with Sherlock at all. To be more specific, this was the first time they met face to face.

"I had high hopes for that ghost thing, but in the end, it was just a waste!"

Sherlock's arm, where the tip was hidden, twitched slightly, and it was obvious that the ghost thing that was innocently scolded was very angry.

"Harry's name was thrown into the Goblet of Fire, and I suspected that someone among those who came to Hogwarts this year had a problem." He said slowly, "At first, I suspected Crouch, and Moody suspected Karkaroff."

"They both did reveal various doubts later, especially Crouch. You can't completely control a person with a strong mind. He broke free from the Imperius Curse and escaped. It was then that I realized that when his soul was taken, his target was only me from beginning to end."

"The conspiracy against Harry was assigned to another person, and Karkaroff naturally became extremely conspicuous at this time."

"And the fact is indeed so. In the second competition, he started his action in a hidden way and attacked Harry under the water of the Black Lake."

"If it weren't for the giant squid that saved Harry at the critical moment, Harry would have fallen into your hands at that time."

Voldemort did not hide his disgust for the incompetence of his men.

"I have given the traitor a chance to make merit again, but he did not seize it. He successfully proved his worthlessness."

Sherlock's thoughts moved slightly. Behind him, in the blind spot of the Death Eaters' vision, more than a dozen wands floated out silently, hiding under Sherlock's robe.

"Your subordinate is very clever. He must have escaped now."

Gu Yu/span  "He can't escape." Voldemort's voice was cold and flat, as if he was stating a trivial matter. "So, how did you judge that I wanted to capture Harry?"

"Because Karkaroff had the opportunity to kill Harry underwater, but he didn't do it."

The wand under Sherlock's robe had been divided into two parts. One part was aimed at the snake Nagini, and the other part was inserted into the soft ground, preparing for the pre-casting posture of some magic.

"And his attack on Harry and throwing Harry's name into the Goblet of Fire are very conflicting."

"If you want to find an opportunity to attack Harry directly, there is no need to let him participate in the Triwizard Tournament. This will make him the focus of everyone's attention, making it even more difficult to attack."

"So, at that time, I was actually wondering, since you can separate the actions against me and Harry, will you also divide the most critical actions about Harry into two parts."

"After all, Karkaroff was a betrayer. No one can guarantee whether he will work hard for you, so you need another person to cover you."

"Who do you think this person is?" Voldemort asked indifferently.

"It is because I can't guess who this person is that I came up with this plan with Dumbledore."

Sherlock said calmly.

"Since you want Harry to participate in the Triwizard Tournament, you must start in the competition. Harry is fine in the first two events, so your focus will be on the last event. No matter who the backup is, or what you want to do, as long as the Harry participating in the competition is not Harry, your plan will fail."

"But after holding the trophy and being brought here, I can basically guess who the backup is for your plan."

"Ludo Bagman, a man who was found to be involved with Death Eaters hidden in the Ministry of Magic, but was exonerated because of his achievements in the Quidditch World Cup."

"Except for this trial that almost no one remembers, everyone believes that he has no connection with Death Eaters and Voldemort. He is a clean director of the Department of Magical Sports and Sports."

"Just because of this, you think it's him?" Voldemort said.

Tied up by Nagini, Cedric, who was already fascinated by Sherlock's reasoning, suddenly felt like something was touching his face.

But when he turned his head and looked around, there was nothing.

Until he saw Sherlock's direction, his pupils shrank slightly.

Under Sherlock's robe, there were nearly ten wands pointing in his direction, and the tips of the wands swung twice in a humane way, as if to greet him.

"Of course, it's not just that. He's usually too attentive to Harry. He has expressed his willingness to provide Harry with some unknown help in any project."

"This can also be explained as a retired Quidditch player's recognition of Harry, an outstanding British seeker. But in this situation, his behavior is a bit too obvious, isn't it?"

"But these suspicions are just suspicions after all. Without actual evidence, we can't even use overt means to attack Karkaroff. Not to mention Bagman, who is still the director of the Sports Department."