When Harry returned to the hall, he received a message from Vivi, stating that the situation with Crouch had finally been resolved, and now Mr. Crouch had firmly become one of "the people standing on our side."
It wasn't hard to understand, really. Old Batty, as someone heavily addicted to power, would never accept being dismissed from his position due to some issues.
Even if he couldn't become the Minister of Magic, as long as he could keep his current position, it was better than anything else.
Harry was quite happy about this good news.
Usually, when the summer semester began, it meant Harry had to rush to train with the Quidditch team, preparing for the final Quidditch match of the season.
However, this year, Quidditch matches were canceled due to the Triwizard Tournament, and he had to prepare for its third and final task.
But the third task was different from the second; there were no clues for them to actively uncover.
Harry was too lazy to ask anyway, knowing the professors would notify him when the time was right.
As days passed, Harry spent his time in the library, hoping to find a way to save Annie.
But like a hundred years ago, he found nothing.
Maybe...
He mused, should he visit Durmstrang's library? After all, they don't prohibit students from researching Dark Magic, and Gellert initially honed his skills there as a top student?
The more he thought about it, the more it seemed feasible, so he mentioned it in communication with Vivi.
"Oh, you mean Annie?" Vivi said. "I don't think Durmstrang has a suitable solution, but I do have an immature idea."
"What idea?" Harry curiously asked.
"Well..." Vivi pondered, then said to Harry, "Perhaps we could use a soul artifact."
"A soul artifact?" Harry exclaimed in shock, "Sebastian considered this before, you remember what we did? We made him kneel and promise never to think of such evil ideas again..."
"Relax, darling," Vivi said with a gentle smile, "I am aware of that, but you might be misinterpreting my point. My idea is to use Voldemort's soul artifact to absorb the Black Magic Curse from Annie…"
"Are you entirely sure?" Harry asked cautiously.
"No." Vivi shook her head and said, "It's just a thought, it may succeed, or it may not."
Harry took a deep breath.
He couldn't help but complain, "Why don't you say you have two trees planted at your doorstep, one date tree and the other is also a date tree?"
"We could experiment," Vivi said cheerfully, "For instance... let someone obtain the related curse, then test it with one of Voldemort's soul artifacts... I think it's a good idea, what do you say?"
"Who to get cursed?" Harry cautiously looked at Vivi, feeling like Vivi would use someone significant as the test subject.
"Little Bartie Crouch." Vivi continued to smile, "Once the Triwizard Tournament is over, Little Bartie Crouch will be of no use… Hmm… but I promised Mr. Crouch, to let Little Bartie first find a witch to carry on the Crouch clan's lineage, and afterwards leave him at our disposal."
"You agreed with Old Batty on this?" Harry asked surprised, "Oh my, I always thought you could never be coerced..."
Upon hearing Harry's naive words, Vivi laughed heartily.
"Hahaha... you truly believe he could pressure me? It's just my sympathy for their family's ancient heritage... Of course, I suggested Mr. Crouch find an enchantress, after all, magic creatures and humans can be enhanced using a magic spell... you understand."
"The adult world is really too complicated." Harry recited with a blank expression.
They talked until midnight, agreeing to meet again for the third task, reluctantly ending the call.
After Transformation Class the next afternoon, Harry was unexpectedly stopped by Professor McGonagall.
"Potter, be at the Quidditch Pitch at nine tonight," Professor McGonagall told him, "Mr. Bagman will be there to inform the warriors about the third task."
"Alright, Professor," Harry answered obediently.
So, at half-past eight that night, Harry read for a while in the common room before heading downstairs.
As he passed through the hall, Victor was just coming out of the Slytherin common room.
"What do you think it will be?" Victor asked Harry as they walked down the stone steps into the cloudy night, "Fleur keeps going on about underground tunnels, to be honest, I struggle to understand her accent… If I heard correctly, she believes we are supposed to find treasure."
"That would actually be quite nice, if it really is a treasure hunt, I could ask Professor Scamander of the Magical Creatures Protection Class for a Sniff and let it handle the treasure hunting."
"That's a genius idea, Harry." Victor seemed quite pleased, as though he hadn't considered such a method, Harry's words truly opened a new world for him.
They walked across the dark lawn toward the Quidditch Pitch, then through a gap in the stands into the pitch.
"Merlin's biggest T-shirt!" Harry angrily pointed to the drastically altered Quidditch Pitch, shouting, "What have they done to my beloved Quidditch Pitch!?"