Luckily for both Oleandra and Viviane, the mysterious man did not stick around for long. He quickly set off towards the edge of the woods, which was the direction they had come from. As he moved further out of earshot, the man's footfalls gradually faded into the background noises of the forest, but Viviane still did not dare move a single inch, despite the man's apparent departure.
In all likelihood, the man had formidable perceptive faculties, and he had probably received training in tracking and anti-tracking. And from her position, there wasn't much she could see without moving her neck. Unless danger approached her, she had no intention of moving until help arrived or Oleandra woke up by herself.
Thankfully, Viviane did not need to wait for too long. Some time later, she heard some familiar voices, as well as the barking of a dog, growing louder. Good thing too, as she was fairly certain that a millipede was making its way across the back of Oleandra's neck. A few seconds later, Fang, Hagrid's big cowardly dog, was licking Oleandra's face and slobbering all over her clothes.
"Rennervate," said Professor Dumbledore, and Viviane retreated back into Oleandra's mind.
Oleandra's eyelids flickered open as she awakened; she then unsteadily got to her feet, as Dumbledore's Reviving Spell finished working its magic. She had been hit by a very powerful Stunner, so she was still slightly woozy.
"Why is my face all wet?" she muttered, wiping herself on her robes.
She looked around and saw three concerned faces lit by wand light, plus one dog. Professors Hagrid, Moody and Dumbledore had all come looking for her. Unconsciously, she looked at their feet; the only person she knew who possessed such powerful perceptive abilities was Professor Moody, with his magical eye. But it couldn't have been him; her attacker had left regular footprints, and Moody had a peg leg.
"Yer lucky you come by so often," Professor Hagrid said. "It would've taken longer ter find yeh if Fang didn' remember yer scent."
"And that Potter saw you fly into the woods," Professor Moody scoffed.
"Miss Greengrass," Professor Dumbledore said, "can you explain what you were doing in the Forbidden Forest?"
Oleandra leaned against a tree trunk and blinked a few times to make sure her eyes were properly working. Wizards and Witches always showed up in colourful light in her Mystic Eyes' vision, on account of the magic running through their veins, but Professor Moody and Professor Dumbledore were especially bright in her eyes. Whether it was because they were especially powerful or because there was deception on their persons was unclear; anything ranging from wigs to fake doors set off her falsehood-detecting senses.
"Miss Greengrass?" Professor Dumbledore repeated.
"Ah— I thought I had seen a suspicious character spying on Harry and Krum from the forest's edge," she responded. "I decided to track them down, but I got Stunned from behind."
"Yeh could've bin killed!" Hagrid said worriedly. "What were yeh thinkin'?"
"I thought I was being sneaky," Oleandra grumbled.
It did not take much for the hunter to become the hunted; a valuable lesson that Oleandra did not intend on forgetting. She actually had been very careful, but how could she have been guessed that her prey had her in their sights the entire time, and tricked her with a simple Muggle's anti-tracking technique? They must have had eyes on the back of their heads to see her sneak up on them!
"So, you didn't see Crouch come by, I take it?" Professor Moody said, before turning to the headmaster. "Dumbledore, if there's nothing else to learn here, I'll keep up the chase. Crouch might not have been the one to attack Krum."
"I'll leave it to you, Alastor," said Dumbledore with a nod.
Wand at the ready, Professor Moody then limped off further into the forest, his peg leg producing a dull thud with his every step. When the thuds had grown faint, Oleandra turned to Dumbledore.
"What's going on, Professor?" she asked him. "What was that about Mr. Crouch attacking Krum? I thought he was sick…"
"From what Harry told me, Barty Crouch emerged from the forest, looking quite dishevelled, and asked to see me," Professor Dumbledore responded. "But by the time I had arrived, he was gone, and Mr. Krum was unconscious. We assumed that Crouch had attacked him, but it seems there may be someone else in play… unless Mr. Crouch was the one who stunned you."
It's at this moment that Viviane shared with Oleandra what she had heard the mysterious assailant say.
"There's something else," Oleandra said worriedly. "I heard the man say that he couldn't afford to kill me, because he didn't want the tournament to be cancelled. Whatever it is he's after, it'll happen during the third task. I think we should put this whole thing on hold until—"
"The Triwizard Tournament will go on as planned," said Professor Dumbledore firmly. "But rest assured that we will do our utmost to remain on the lookout. But in the meantime, Miss Greengrass, I think it would be better for you avoid taking such needless risks for now."
"But—"
"Hagrid, will you please escort Miss Greengrass back to the castle?" said Professor Dumbledore.
"How can you be so callous?" Oleandra shouted. "Don't you care that your students might be in danger?"
"Oleandra!" said Professor Hagrid sharply. "Yeh can talk ter me however yeh like, but never, ever insult Dumbledore in front o' me! Yeh have no idea how much he cares fer all o' yeh!"
"That's enough, Hagrid," said Professor Dumbledore calmly. "She is rightfully concerned about her fellow students' safety. Miss Greengrass, please believe me when I say that the very last thing that I wish to see is you, Harry, or any of my other students hurt."
Oleandra could tell that Dumbledore was telling the truth. There was not even the slightest hint of a lie, so why, why was he not doing anything to curtail his enemy's plans when he knew what they entailed?
"Fine," she said reluctantly. "But I'll remember those words, Professor."