— — — — — —
Once a treasure changed hands, its previous owner would be covered in a golden glow.
The golden light lasted for ten minutes, and during that time, no one could attack them. It was meant to be a safety buffer.
But in the hands of a "genius" like Daphne, it was basically just a countdown timer.
The moment the glow faded, she knew she could strike again.
And so... for Jauncey, the next twenty minutes were nothing short of a nightmare. No matter how he ran or hid, he couldn't shake off Daphne and Kamio, who tracked him relentlessly.
The second the protection wore off, they attacked without hesitation and snatched two more treasures.
Along the way, they even ran into the unlucky Nassim, who got robbed once as well.
Daphne did feel a bit disappointed, though. She hadn't run into Fleur. Otherwise, she could've fought her fair and square.
"..."
"Dumbledore, isn't it time yet?"
Fontaine urged anxiously. Those two champions had no bottom line. Robbing him once wasn't enough, and now they'd set their sights on Jauncey like he was some kind of Gringotts vault.
If this kept up, wouldn't he be stripped of everything?
That was why Fontaine kept pushing, desperate for Dumbledore to announce the end of the match early.
"It's about time," Dumbledore said.
He looked up at a small Lume-Lens. Instead of showing the match, it displayed a countdown. Only two minutes remained.
He left the Quidditch pitch and walked to the edge of the Black Lake, raising his wand toward the calm surface.
The instant the countdown hit zero, a brilliant sphere of light burst from the tip of his wand and dropped into the water, dazzling even in broad daylight.
In a flash, the lake lit up with radiant patches of light. The water turned crystal clear, revealing countless aquatic creatures in vivid detail under the intense glow.
The light pierced through every zone. The champions who had still been searching for treasures all stopped.
But in the end, it was just a little too late.
Less than thirty seconds before Dumbledore cast the spell, Daphne and Kamio had completed their third round of "robbery."
"Let's go," Tom said with a smile. He handed the little Gabrielle in his arms over to Hermione, then stood up, taking Astoria's hand.
"Aren't you going to tell my sister?" Gabrielle asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"If I do, I probably won't be able to leave today."
Tom shook his head quickly. He glanced at the screen, where Fleur's clothes had already been stained black with squid ink. Only a madman would stick around now.
"Hermione, I've already had the house-elves prepare the celebration feast tonight. Just bring everyone to the Room of Requirement when the time comes. I'm heading off first."
With that, Tom called for Fawkes. A flash of fire flared, and the next second, the two of them had vanished without a trace.
By the lakeside, Dumbledore seemed to sense something. He turned his head slightly, a faint smile tugging at his lips, but said nothing more.
…
..
As the judges began tallying the champions' scores, on another continent, Voldemort—lightly disguised—had already slipped into the ruins.
It didn't sit well with him.
Back in the day, aside from his time at Hogwarts when he had to play humble in front of Dumbledore, when had he ever needed to change his face and sneak into some ridiculous ruin?
But times had changed.
After taking a few harsh beatings, Voldemort had come to terms with reality.
For now, he didn't have the luxury of arrogance. If he exposed himself, there was every chance Dumbledore would come knocking one day, with Tom right beside him. And that would be even more humiliating.
So he didn't just alter his own appearance. He also brewed a batch of Polyjuice Potion and had Bella change her form as well.
As for Lockhart, there was no need. Voldemort had no intention of dragging that useless burden into the ruins with him.
"So many people…"
After entering the ruins, Bella—now disguised as an ordinary-looking woman—glanced at the hundreds of wizards gathered both inside and outside the palace. A flicker of killing intent flashed in her eyes as she asked in a low voice, "Master, should I drive them all out first? I can stir up some chaos on the outskirts and draw their attention."
"Don't do anything unnecessary. I have a way to get you inside," the handsome middle-aged man beside her replied coolly, his tone edged with impatience.
Voldemort hadn't used Polyjuice Potion. His body had been modified enough that he could perform human Transfiguration directly.
Right now, he looked like he had in his forties, back before dark magic had eroded him. With that striking appearance, it wasn't hard to see how he'd once managed to charm Helena into losing her bearings, or trick a descendant of Hufflepuff into handing over a treasure.
But Voldemort himself despised this face. Back when he'd been investigating his origins, he'd seen memories from his uncle—memories of his Muggle father. The resemblance was uncanny.
Bella fell silent. Voldemort found a quiet corner and began studying the structure of the temple with a cold, calculating gaze, along with its protective measures.
There were three temples in total. Or rather, the temple had three layers, nested one within another. They were currently in the outermost layer.
A crowd of wizards was searching for a way into the middle layer. No one dared to use brute force. Someone had tried earlier. Their spell had bounced right off the wall and rebounded, leaving behind a terrifying curse that drove them mad on the spot, attacking their own companions like a wild beast.
So from time to time, golden light flowed across the walls, outlining intricate, mysterious patterns. That was the detection magic of Gringotts curse-breakers. Fortunately, those spells didn't trigger any attacks or curses. Otherwise, everyone would've given up on this place already.
Voldemort watched for a while, then a faint smile crept onto his lips.
"A bunch of idiots. They can't even break something as simple as a maze spell."
Thanks to the legacy of Herpo the Foul, Voldemort was well-versed in magic from the Greek era. The enchantments in this temple differed slightly from what he knew, but the origins were clearly the same.
That only made him more certain the ruins were genuine.
He called it simple, but in truth, it wasn't. This was expert-level work, crafted by a true master of that age.
If this wasn't an ancient Greek ruin, he'd gladly cut off his own head and let Dumbledore use it as a ball.
"Bella, go to the northwest corner. Under the statue of Zeus, tap lightly at that spot with your wand…"
Voldemort carefully laid out instructions. Bella nodded repeatedly, then walked to the designated spot. She pretended to examine the area before pulling out her wand.
Suddenly, the entire temple began to tremble violently. The murals on the walls shifted, peeling away from their original positions. The commotion instantly drew everyone's attention, and they all rushed toward Bella's location.
Seizing the opportunity, Voldemort slipped over to a blank wall. As a mural of Hermes drifted past, he pressed his wand against the surface. A smooth, seamless door appeared out of thin air.
"Fools."
He cast a mocking glance at the crowd gathered around Bella, then stepped through the doorway. As the Hermes mural moved again, the door vanished just as silently as it had appeared.
On the other side, Voldemort had already entered the temple's inner courtyard.
.
.
.