Chapter 244
"Champion Malfoy of Hogwarts! Please enter the water immediately—the task has begun!"
Ludo Bagman's anxious voice echoed across the lake.
Krum and Fleur had already dived beneath the dark surface.
Harry followed soon after.
But one champion remained—
Draco.
He stood at the shore, pacing slowly, staring into the lake… yet making no move to enter.
Murmurs spread through the stands.
"What's Draco doing?" Narcissa asked, gripping Lucius's sleeve.
"Perhaps he has a plan," Lucius replied, though his eyes were fixed coldly on Bagman.
Bagman felt that gaze.
He understood exactly what Lucius was thinking.
After all—he had leaked the task.
Draco should have been prepared.
Yet now—
He looked completely unready.
Bagman's palms grew sweaty.
His confidence began to crumble.
He tugged at his tie, unease creeping in.
"I'll… go check on him," he said quickly, forcing a smile before hurrying toward Draco.
---
The audience began whispering.
"Coward," a Ravenclaw girl muttered. "He's too scared to jump."
Behind her, a calm voice replied—
"What we see is not always the truth."
It was Luna Lovegood.
The girl scoffed. "Still defending him? Just because you danced with him?"
Luna didn't respond to the mockery.
"Sometimes, a person's worth is shown through character—not ability," she said softly.
Then she leaned back, closing her eyes, a faint smile on her lips.
---
Meanwhile, Bagman reached Draco.
"Why aren't you in the water?" he demanded, then lowered his voice.
"If there's a problem, tell me—I can help."
Draco glanced around, visibly tense at first.
Then he spoke calmly.
"The task requires us to retrieve what we value most."
He paused.
"Does it say we must dive?"
Bagman froze.
"If you don't dive, how will you retrieve it?" he snapped, barely controlling himself.
"That," Draco replied indifferently, "is not for you to worry about."
---
At the judges' table, Albus Dumbledore narrowed his eyes slightly.
His fingers rested together on the golden tablecloth.
A quiet understanding formed.
He adjusted his glasses.
The sunlight finally broke through the clouds.
Dumbledore had noticed something others hadn't—
Draco's behavior.
The subtle hesitation.
The small, uncharacteristic movements.
This was not the same composed, calculating boy he knew.
There was only one conclusion.
The champion and the hostage—
Had been switched.
A clever plan.
And successful.
Dumbledore said nothing.
He simply smiled faintly and turned his gaze back to the lake—
As if he could see straight through its depths.