Gradually adapting to the darkness before him, Yamamoto Senren also saw the other tightly closed door in the room, along with the iron lock hanging on it.
"Alohomora!"
A faint white light appeared at the tip of the magic wand, and a slight "click" sound came from the iron lock, but before a look of joy could appear on Yamamoto's face, a pale red magic circle suddenly surfaced on the lock's surface. He tried to tug it— the iron lock knocked against the iron door, making a crisp sound.
"Just as I thought."
In another room, Cedric also put down the iron lock in his hand, not too disappointed, as he guessed it wouldn't be so simple...
"Boom—"
"...Harry, are you still alive?"
Listening to the rumbling sound coming from next door, Cedric was silent for a moment and pressed the Copper Knut in front of him.
"...Cough cough, still alive, not dead yet."
After a long pause, Harry's voice finally sounded again, he kept coughing, "The Unlocking Charm didn't work, so I thought I'd try the Blasting Curse, never thought there'd actually be a Counter-Curse...ah, almost got blown to bits—"
"Ha, that's just like you Gryffindors."
"Eh? Why the sudden generalization? You know everything you're saying right now is being broadcasted, right?"
"...So they're actually aware of this?"
On the shore of the Black Lake, Professor McGonagall's mouth twitched slightly as she listened to Cedric and Harry's unrestrained chatter on the TV, while the veins on Professor Meow's forehead slightly protruded.
"Director, switch the screen—"
William hurriedly instructed Lupin, who he had roped in to help, to switch the screen—he had a feeling that if he let these two keep discussing this topic, those screens might just explode from Professor McGonagall's resentment. So, the image of a dust-covered Harry disappeared, replaced by sheer darkness—
Whose room is this?
The question echoed in everyone's mind, after all, every other Champion's first response upon entering such a dark environment was to recite the Lighting Spell to observe their surroundings, while not turning on the light in this case seemed particularly bizarre.
Hmm, William felt he could smell the scent of conspiracy.
"Clang—"
A dull thudding suddenly came from the screen, and before anyone could react, light appeared in the pitch-black room on the screen—the door had been opened, though the way it was done seemed quite unorthodox.
Because the door was gone.
Then, the next moment, the camera switched again to an empty corridor with only a dented iron disc lying silently on the ground, gently swaying.
Was the door smashed from within? William blinked, knowing he had painstakingly applied numerous restrictions on that door, and there was simply no way to open it; it was just a blinding technique, while the real path forward was to blow up the wall next to the door—the maze behind the door held many "surprises" he had set up.
Ultimately, there were four stone slabs in the middle of the maze, similar to the Golden Egg from the previous round, and whether you had a stone slab would determine if you got the clue for the next round.
The process could be simple or complicated, but now…
Whose subordinate could this be?
"It's Krum—"
Lupin's voice reached William's ear, as it seemed this reliable director had already checked on the other Champions and found the true culprit behind this "door massacre".
So, Karkaroff's earlier remark meant...and why would he say it? Unless he's using this incident to cover up something, or maybe…
"Wait, it's Krum?!"
Lupin's voice suddenly carried a hint of surprise, prompting William to look up and frown, "You've already said that once?"
"No, I mean—"
Lupin paused, then the large screen's image switched to a scene of a shallow beach, with clear lake water rushing to shore. The camera panned up, revealing a figure with closed eyes at the screen's center—it was Krum, wearing a black tight suit, the one meant for entering the water.
The audience also saw this, with many exclaiming in surprise.
"But wasn't he just underwater?"
Ron stood up, raising a questioning voice, looking at his idol lying pale by the riverbank, he...wait, was he not the guy?
So, Ron sat back down.
Seeing this scene, William instinctively looked to the other side of the main guest seats, where Karkaroff's beard was trembling, and he looked anxious, but it wasn't the kind of anger one would have upon seeing their Champion defeated; rather, it was an urgency to speak but being unable to—
The man seemed to keep looking in William's direction, so when the latter turned his head, the two locked eyes, and Karkaroff's face looked as if a weight was lifted off him, then he stood up, directing his gaze at the big screen—
"A setup! This is definitely a setup!"
The man shouted hoarsely, but his trembling beard had already stopped.
...
"...What was that sound just now?"
Cedric was suddenly startled, as that dull knocking sound was indeed grating.
"Probably just as unfortunate as me…"
Harry instinctively responded, guessing someone else tried the Blasting Curse like him, only to be caught by the Counter-Curse on the door—but before he finished, he halted abruptly, "What's this?" Gazing at the side of the door, seemingly where he had blown out a brick, Harry blinked.