0637 Terrifying Speculations

Words : 1368 Updated : Apr 21st, 2026

Chapter 636 of "Harry Potter: The Golden Viper" starts with thrilling twists: 0637 Terrifying Speculations Hermione did indeed notice the dismay that had appeared upon Harry's face like... Continue the story!

0637 Terrifying Speculations Hermione did indeed notice the dismay that had appeared upon Harry's face like a dark cloud. She had carefully considered how her words would impact him emotionally, knowing that shattering his illusions about Fleur's true intentions for asking him to the Yule Ball would be a heavy blow. However, as much as it felt bad for her to see her best friend sad, Hermione firmly believed that allowing Harry to remain oblivious to the likely truth would be even more unacceptable. "Harry--" Seeing the desolation etched across Harry's face, Hermione gently placed her right hand on his arm in a comforting gesture and called out his name softly. "Oh, I'm fine--" Lost in his own thoughts, it took a moment for Harry to register the pressure of Hermione's hand clutching his arm through his robes. Despite the sting of having his hopes and excitement deflated so abruptly, Harry had no anger towards Hermione for bursting his bubble. Mustering a weak smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, Harry tried to brush off the whole situation. "I just find this whole thing a bit ridiculous--" Now that Ron and Harry had both come around to agreeing with Hermione's speculation about Fleur's motives, an uncertain tension hung in the air between the three. What was the proper thing to do next? Should Harry go out to find Fleur and inform her that he no longer wanted to accompany her to the Christmas ball? The very idea that Fleur had simply wanted to find someone, anyone, to make Professor Watson jealous struck Harry as almost laughably absurd. Even Ron, who could be rather dense when it came to matters of the heart, wouldn't believe for a second that Professor Watson would get enraged with embarrassment over this. Harry's recounting of the event tonight and Professor Watson's casual smile had already explained everything. However, neither Hermione nor Ron had any intention of interfering with or trying to sway Harry's decision. They both believed that it was up to Harry to do what he wanted. They would support him no matter what, but they wouldn't make this choice for him. Sensing the heavy atmosphere and wanting to steer the conversation in a more fruitful direction, Ron deliberately injected some much-needed cheerfulness into his voice as he changed the subject. "Let's talk about what Professor Dumbledore and Professor Watson are concerned about!" he said with renewed spirit, as his eyes sparkled with genuine curiosity. "They're investigating the Dark Mark, right? Do you think they've found any clues?" Hermione looked at Ron with appreciation. She was well aware that Ron's bringing up of this topic now wasn't just out of curiosity. The trio's minds drifted back to that terrifying night at the Quidditch World Cup, when the eerie green skull with a serpent protruding from its mouth like a tongue had appeared in the sky, striking fear into the hearts of all who witnessed it. The Ministry of Magic had later released an official statement claiming that the masked wizards responsible for inciting the riots and chaos had managed to evade from Ministry's search and had conjured the Dark Mark only after everyone else had left the scene. But this flimsy explanation could only serve to mislead young, inexperienced wizards and those unaware of the true nature of the Dark Mark. Anyone with even a little bit of knowledge about the British wizarding world's dark history would immediately see through the Ministry's desperate attempt to cover up the truth. The Ministry had previously announced that Cliodna, the masked witch who Bryan Watson had defeated, along with her partners who had initially stirred up the riots, were nothing more than foolish admirers of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. These dark wizards supposedly worshipped the various atrocities and crimes committed by You-Know-Who in the past, but had never actually witnessed his reign of terror firsthand. They were portrayed as bumbling, clumsy imitators impersonating as true followers of the Dark Lord. However, the Dark Mark was not some common bit of magic that any second-rate dark wizard could conjure on a whim. Only You-Know-Who's innermost circle, his most loyal and trusted Death Eaters, possessed the knowledge to summon that symbol. Hermione's mind floated back to that night of the champion selection, when Professor Dumbledore had proposed a radical solution in the face of accusations and outrage from the visiting headmasters of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons... To appease Karkaroff and Maxime's demands for fairness and equal representation, Dumbledore had suggested destroying the Goblet of Fire itself, thereby invalidating the magical contract binding the chosen champions to compete. This would have allowed Cedric, Fleur, and Viktor to proceed with the tournament as originally intended, while sparing Hermione from the unknown dangers that lay ahead. At the time, Hermione had thought it was a rather well-adjusted solution to an impossible situation, with one obvious exception - the loss of the ancient, irreplaceable Goblet of Fire. Interestingly enough, the person who had reacted most intensely to Dumbledore's radical proposal was none other than Barty Crouch Sr. He resolutely refused to even consider the idea of destroying Goblet of Fire, insisting that the selection of four champions, irregular though it may be, was nevertheless compulsory and absolute. To calm the enraged visiting headmasters, Crouch had swiftly proposed a compromise - Hogwarts' final score in the tournament would be calculated as an average of Hermione and Cedric's individual performances. From an objective standpoint, taking into Crouch's position as a representative of the Ministry and one of the key organizers of the Triwizard Tournament, his strong opposition to destroying the Goblet of Fire made perfect sense. After all, it would affect both him and the Ministry if such drastic measures were taken, possibly forming doubt on their ability to properly manage and oversee such a historic event. However, connecting this to Professor Dumbledore and Professor Watson's intense scrutiny of Crouch's actions both before and after the Dark Mark incident made Hermione's suspicions grow even stronger. The Gryffindor common room was still lively with the sound of clinking glasses and wild laughter as the celebrating students continued to celebrate in Harry Potter's 'Good-Luck', though the initial enthusiasm had died down somewhat as the night grew. The fire in the hearth burned as brightly as ever, but Hermione felt a bone-deep chill settle over her, one that had nothing to do with the temperature of the room. What if Professor Dumbledore, while suggesting such an extreme course of action as destroying the Goblet of Fire, had actually been carefully gauging the reactions of those present? Professor Dumbledore should have been able to anticipate that someone would disagree with destroying the Goblet of Fire, yet he still said it. Didn't this mean he was probing? And Professor Watson's sharp comment about the culprit being among them that night... had that been also a deliberate attempt to flush out a hidden conspirator? The more Hermione turned it over in her mind, the more she became convinced that the two wise, powerful wizards, had similar suspicions and were not likely to be mistaken in their judgment. Professor Dumbledore and Professor Watson were widely acknowledged as two of the most brilliant minds in the wizarding world today, and when they were in agreement on a matter, Hermione had learned to trust their judgement without any hesitation. Professor Watson's cryptic statement... Professor Dumbledore's shocking suggestion, which now seemed more and more like a carefully laid trap or a test... Hermione raised her head to look at Ron and Harry, and her face turned terrifyingly pale. What if...what if her suspicions were correct, and Barty Crouch was not the upright, morally flawless Ministry official that the wizarding world believed him to be? Was it possible that he, or perhaps the mysterious Death Eater she feared might be working in collusion with him, had been present in that room on the night of her selection, hiding in plain sight among the tournament organizers and Headmasters? ******************************* For More /FicFrenzy

0637 Terrifying Speculations

Comments (0)