Most traps in the wizarding world are triggered in two ways.
One is physical activation—like when Isabela stepped directly onto one. The other is magical activation—when the trap detects a wizard of sufficient magical power nearby, it suddenly springs.
For the former, insect dolls weigh less than a football, far too light to set off any trap. Otherwise, before the Champions even entered the Chamber, these small creatures would already have destroyed all the traps in the dark environment.
By the same logic, insect dolls would not set off the latter kind either. The amount of magic they carried was no greater than that of a tiny pixie.
Thus, while the Chamber was a step-by-step deathtrap for the Champions, for the insect dolls it was a free passage.
Small and light, they could easily slip through gaps between vines and rocks, reaching places humans could hardly access.
Wade sat in a corner, leaning against the cold wall with his chin resting on his hand and his eyes closed, waiting idly.
Before long, a scorpion-shaped doll returned, clacking its pincers, and brought him a golden egg.
Wade put the egg away, waved his hand, and sent the scorpion doll back to work.
Just then, he suddenly heard a loud bang—
Another person was transported inside.
Wade raised his eyebrows. He pointed his wand at an animal bone lying by his feet. The finger-thick bone stretched and reshaped itself, becoming a slender convex mirror.
Through the mirror, he saw Viktor Krum appear beside the compass. His thick brows were furrowed, his expressions were cold, and there was a deep wound on his left arm with blood staining his robes red.
Viktor ignored the injury and moved quickly toward the wall with wand in hand as his sharp gaze swept the surroundings in vigilance.
After a moment's wait, seeing no ambush, he studied the Chamber, understood that he now had to choose a passage to search for the egg, and, keeping his guard up, stepped heavily into the tunnel.
…
After three consecutive near-disastrous incidents, the Ministry of Magic urgently mobilized staff to set up a soundproofing charm around the arena.
That way, the contestants would no longer be distracted by Bagman's booming commentary.
But whether fortunately or unfortunately, they also could not hear what Bagman said next—
"Look, my friends!" Bagman nearly leapt into the air in excitement. "Wade Grey has already obtained the golden egg! He is the first Champion to seize one! As long as he brings it back to the arena, he will secure his—oh, heavens!"
Bagman froze for a moment at what he saw in the Streaming Mirror, then immediately shouted in an even more thrilled voice:
"By Merlin! Look closely! After finding the egg, he hasn't left—he's staying put—there's no one stopping him from accessing the compass now!"
"It's obvious—Wade Grey intends to ambush the next Champion who enters the Chamber! This is an extremely risky move! Given that he's younger than most of the other competitors, we must say—this is bold! But his opponents are by no means pushovers…"
"Viktor Krum has entered the Chamber! Are we about to witness a head-on clash? Will Viktor fall into the ambush of this genius alchemist Wade, or will Wade be slain by the world's beloved Quidditch star?"
The audience held their breath, eyes glued to the Streaming Mirror, nearly forgetting about the two Champions still locked in the deadly game of "he flees, the dragon pursues, and his escape is all but impossible."
"Oh no… be careful, Viktor!" a Hogwarts girl shouted in worry.
Her brown-haired friend snapped angrily, "Whose side are you on? How can you cheer for the opponent?"
"But… but…" The girl clutched her chest, flustered. "That's Viktor!"
The brown-haired friend: "…"
She too was a fan of Viktor Krum. But right now, what she wanted even more was to see her idol struck down, bloodied, collapsing slowly with that usual stern face twisted into disbelief—vulnerable and defeated.
Then, in her imagination, the scene fast-forwarded: Viktor, dejected, lying in a bed at the hospital wing, hiding under the blankets and silently crying, when suddenly a girl pushed the door open with a bouquet in her arms…
The brown-haired friend clenched her fists, almost trembling with excitement at the little drama playing out in her head, silently cheering Wade on.
"Go on, Wade!" shouted Theo of Hufflepuff. "Take Krum down!"
"But…" a dormmate beside him hesitated. "Wouldn't that be a bit underhanded?"
"Underhanded?" Theo scoffed. "That's called strategy! Just wait and see if the other contestants will play nice with each other!"
"A competition is a competition. Any tactic allowed by the rules is fair. Spells are part of it, and so is using your brain."
Ryan added firmly, "The task requires the Champions to bring the golden egg back safely. That's practically a hint that they should expect attacks from others in there."
Karkaroff stroked his staff, glancing now and then between Wade—so perfectly hidden—and Viktor, and his eyes flickered with both worry and hope.
He knew his student was quick to react, and might not fall prey to Wade Grey's ambush.
But Wade was clearly no easy opponent either. If Viktor took another injury, how could he handle the challenges ahead?
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Viktor finally lowered his wand slightly and moved toward one of the passageways.
A wave of regretful sighs swept across the stands.
…
Wade regretfully lowered his wand.
Viktor had chosen the other passage. Since the two tunnels weren't directly aligned, once Viktor went in, Wade's spells would hardly be able to reach him. And Wade wasn't about to leap out of hiding for a reckless attack.
In the meantime, two more golden eggs had been brought to his side, and Wade stowed them away as well.
If he wanted, he could create enough insect dolls to sweep the Chamber clean, leaving not even a shard of eggshell for anyone else.
But the Ministry had spent so long preparing this Tournament, inviting eleven wizarding schools in a grand show of force. It wouldn't do for the very first task to end with Wade eliminating everyone else at once and securing the championship outright.
If nobody else had a chance to play, the outcome would either be the judges forcibly changing the rules and disqualifying Wade under some "violation," or everyone refusing to compete with him any further.
So Wade chose not to attack the Champion who had gone into the other passage. He would simply hold this one position and filter out a portion of his opponents in advance.
Soon after, two more contestants tumbled into the Chamber almost at the same time. The moment they hit the ground, they bounced back up and raised their wands as they sent spells flying at one another!
--------------------------------
🙏🙏Please consider supporting this translation project by becoming a P@treon member!!!
Your support is greatly appreciated!
Available on my P@treon page for just $4!!
Early access to the following translations:-
⭐Harry Potter: Becoming a Study God (HP:BSG)- 200+ Chapters
⭐MCU: Druid's Adventures (MCUDA)(⭐COMPLETE⭐) - Total Chapter 460
⭐Famous Police Detective in Detective World (FPDDW)- +165 advance chapters
⭐Marvel: Little Genius (MLG) (⭐COMPLETE⭐) - Total Chapter 450
[email protected]/Lightreaper457
--------------------------------