A sharp intake of breath resounded in the conference room, the male wizard who had just asked about the new product for his granddaughter slid straight out of his chair to the floor, he cursed and got up, but no one cared about him, the room looked like a vegetable market, even Professor Marchbanks looked at Dumbledore with surprise.
“Are you sure he’s really back? Dumbledore; I mean … really back?” Amelia Bones said seriously with a serious look behind her monocle.
Dumbledore shook his head slightly, and Ms. Bones’ stiff body relaxed, both her thick eyebrows returned to their proper place.
“So, we still have time to prepare.” She let out a huge sigh of relief.
“Provided we don’t turn a blind eye and pretend like nothing is happening-”
“That’s enough, Dumbledore!” Fudge shouted, his face turning purple and spittle flying, but he seemed completely oblivious to it, “Stop spreading panic! There’s no evidence that he’s actually back … or shown signs of coming back!”
“The evidence is right under your nose Fudge, you just need to put your head down and examine it calmly for a few seconds.” Dumbledore said.
“Where?”
“Barty Crouch-”
“Aha! I knew you would say that!” Fudge roughly tugged at his collar, his face and neck discoloured with rage, and he stood up, the bowler hat in his hand squeezed flat as he waved his arms agitatedly. ” Ladies and gentlemen, let me tell you how ridiculous this so-called evidence is, and you will see how ridiculous-”
The members of the Wizengamot stared in shock as they watched Fudge walk around the room, speaking in a loud voice.
” Barty Crouch! I hate to say it, as there’s a scandal involved, but – the former Head of the Department of International Magical Co-operation had committed a crime, Barty Crouch used a Polyjuice Potion to swap his wife and son out of prison, and the Dementors failed to detect it … I admit that Azkaban is flawed, and we are considering adding a thief-proof waterfall to wash away the effects of all magical spells and Polyjuice Potions – ”
Fudge suddenly stopped. With one hand clutching his bowler hat with a death grip and one hand resting on his chair, he exclaimed, “Think of how insane he was, committing a murder a decade or so ago, he was so … evil! No better than those Death Eaters.”
“Cornelius,” Amelia frowned, ” Barty did do something wrong, but according to his testimony, his wife was dying at the time, and Barty couldn’t resist his wife’s last plea– ”
“More than that!” Fudge interrupted her, ” Barty Crouch committed more than that, he drove his own son crazy!”
The conference room went silent, except for the heavy panting of Fudge himself, who resembled a dangerous gladiator; they felt like they were inside an ancient gladiatorial arena instead of the Ministry of Magic’s conference room, where Fudge looked prepared to fight anyone who dared to take a chance.
Then he welcomed his fated opponent. Dumbledore crossed his arms on the table, looked at Fudge with interest, and said softly, “Peculiar point of view! Fudge, I’m getting more and more interested in what’s going on in your head, and I’m all ears.”
Fudge seemed exasperated by Dumbledore’s calm expression, and his voice got louder as if he had used an amplification charm.
“I have proof too! Dumbledore, and if you choose to believe Barty Crouch’s word, you’ll believe him all the way. Isn’t that right?” Fudge had an odd smile on his face, he had prepared quite a bit for this day to speak smoothly.
His small eyes fixed on Dumbledore, and Dumbledore did not shy away from meeting his gaze. Dumbledore’s body seemed to emanate an unspeakable pressure, so Fudge took the initiative to avert his gaze.
“Imperius Curse … right? Gentlemen, have you ever wondered how Barty Crouch managed to rein his son in? In order not to expose his crime and continue to move up in the Ministry of Magic, he personally cast the Imperius Curse and detained Crouch Jr. under incognito for twelve whole years!”
“He got what he deserved, that little Death Eater!” Professor Marchbanks said loudly, “He was involved in the torture of the Longbottoms, the worst of it – if it weren’t for Felix,” she gave a quick glance to the side, “the poor couple would still be muddling along in St. Mungo’s .”
“I know.” Fudge said impatiently, “I assure you, I have no sympathy for that Death Eater, my uncle died in the war, and I hate them as much as you do! I just want to tell you that Barty Crouch has gone mad long ago, and he is not what you think. What would happen to the heart of a man who used the Unforgivable Curse for twelve years straight? Hmm?”
Felix glanced at Fudge in amazement for thinking of this breakthrough, and as for the effect, just look at the greatly shocked wizards – Barty Crouch’s reputation is completely finished, and there will be no one will sympathize with him in the future.
But thinking about how Dumbledore found him yesterday, he knew that Dumbledore is equally well-prepared.
“So, do you want to know what happened? It was a tragedy,” Fudge said with a heavy expression, “the father used his power for personal gain and controlled his own son with an Imperius Curse, and finally his son went mad under the spell, mad enough to go completely insane, he hallucinated that he had heard another voice in his head and imagined that the Dark Lord is still alive, but in any case, he got rid of the spell’s control, and in turn, he controlled his father!”
“The spell messed with Crouch Jr.’s head, and for six months he pretended he was receiving commands from the Dark Lord, pretended he still served the Dark Lord, infiltrated Hogwarts, and tortured his father, which he had done all based on a figment of his imagination.”
Felix let out a deep sigh, he had a whole new understanding of Fudge’s character, Fudge’s stubbornness and persistence had opened his eyes. Fudge’s strategy was also convincing, first exposing Crouch’s crimes, turning Crouch into a dangerous criminal by using fact, and finding justification for Crouch Jr.’s behaviour, although there were still quite a few flaws, but it was already a passable story, and if his guess is right, Fudge will next destroy all Crouch’s testimony –
” Barty Crouch is crazy!” Fudge exclaimed, “When he disappeared, he suffered terribly, both mentally and physically!” He looked at Amelia Bones, “You are well aware of that, aren’t you?”
” Barty Crouch did suffer inhuman torture, but-” Ms. Bones spoke cautiously.
“And the people at St. Mungo’s have confirmed his condition!” Fudge immediately looked at Dorothea Bonham, “That … Healer of yours, he himself admitted that Barty Crouch had been subjected to a significant amount of Confundus Charm and memory tampering!”
Ms. Bonham slowly nodded her head. Quite a few members of the Wizengamot got convinced, with sad expressions on their faces.
“That’s how it is!” Fudge waved his hat, “There is no Dark Lord! And there is no war!” He put the hat on his head, a smile appeared on his face as he looked at Dumbledore.
Dumbledore also smiled, he even clapped his hands a few times, “Fudge, your fiction was great …”
“So, you have proof?” Fudge asked impatiently.
Dumbledore calmly said: “If the evidence you expect would be to see Voldemort standing in front of you with your own eyes,” Fudge couldn’t help but cringe when he heard the name, as Dumbledore continued: “Then I really don’t have it, but I’m happy to share some facts, and my own speculation based on those facts. ”
“So are you going to make up stories too, Dumbledore? but I’m too busy to be interested in hearing these-”
“I’m afraid not.” Dumbledore said.
“What – not?” Fudge sucked in a breath, as if Dumbledore was not talking, but took out his wand to threaten him.
“Fudge, please forgive me, I am the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, and even though you are the Minister of Magic, you are still a member of the Wizengamot, so according to the procedure you must hear me out.” Dumbledore said, and Fudge stared as if he had been lashed.
Felix sat quietly in his chair and thought, that even if Dumbledore intended to tell all about Voldemort’s secret, he would still not believe it. He believed that Dumbledore is going to make a warning, the question is, how extreme it will be.
“Where should I start?” Dumbledore said softly, “The night fourteen years ago; Voldemort with the help of a traitor entered the safe house of the Potters and killed them. However, he failed to kill Harry Potter when he was still a baby, as his Killing Curse rebounded, he lost his power from then on – ”
“He was dead.” Fudge said stiffly.
“Where’s the body?” Dumbledore asked rhetorically.
“No one cares about that Dumbledore!” Fudge said impatiently, “He’s dead! Probably turned to dust, or someone took the body.”
“It’s just a rosy hope,” Dumbledore said as he shook his head, “I realized then that there’s another possibility existed, that Voldemort is still alive and kicking somewhere in the world … but people were too eager to hear a good news, too eager to restore order and embrace peace.”
“Where is the proof Dumbledore? Where’s the proof?!” Fudge asked.
“Why can’t you hear him out?” Professor Marchbanks said in a loud voice, “He wasn’t this rude when you were talking!”
Fudge gave her a hard stare and muttered, “Well, I’d like to hear … what evidence … there is.”
“Thank you, Griselda,” Dumbledore smiled in gratitude toward Professor Marchbanks as he continued, “I did not put my guesses out there, and perhaps, as Fudge said, he really did turn to dust and die. Though by what I know of him, that is highly unlikely.”
“One of the proofs is the curse that still haunts the Hogwarts – the Defense Against the Dark Arts class – even years after Voldemort’s death, which made my heart grow uneasy, so I took it upon myself to gather evidence that he is still alive, keeping an eye out for unusual sightings and legends… …”
“It took several years, but I finally found suspicion in a Muggle newspaper.” Dumbledore said, “Yes, I got into the habit of reading muggle newspapers in those years, and I still maintain it, I especially like the Sudoku game on it, according to the muggles that can prevent Alzheimer’s.”
Fudge looked at him with a dull expression, as if Dumbledore had already shown signs of Alzheimer’s disease.
” To get back to the point, I read in the newspaper about an expedition team who had heard horror legends about the Albanian forest, where some small animals and livestock would die without warning and behave perversely before they died; and an eight-year-old boy swore he saw a snake reading a newspaper that had a picture that moved. ”
“We all know what this means?” Dumbledore said as he looked at the crowd.
In the crowd, Tiberius Ogden said with discontent, “What fool wizard threw the newspaper around after reading it?”
“That doesn’t mean anything …,” Fudge said with a stiff tongue. “It may be an Animagus from another country who just happens to be a snake.”
“I checked, and they’re possessed.” Dumbledore said.
“Wh-what?”
“Possessed,” Dumbledore repeated, “which doesn’t mean anything, maybe it’s some evil spirit at work, but again, I need to warn you all, it could also be someone who has lost their power; I continued to investigate in the forest… …and found a large pit full of animal carcasses, mostly rats and snakes, but of course, snakes were the most numerous. I tried to solve the riddle, and for a time I believed I saw a familiar figure, tattered and broken as he became a phantom, and passed before me in a flash, but I never saw him again afterward.”
“You mean that thing … he was hiding from you?” Amelia Bones asked gravely.
“I think so,” Dumbledore nodded slightly, “I persuaded a few families close by to move away from there and asked the owner of the local wizard tavern to keep an eye out for the ghost, and so on; After a decade, I gained more information and my inner suspicions became firmer.”
“But if it was truly that man, why didn’t he come out, instead of hiding and wandering in the Albanian forest for more than ten years?” Amelia Bones asked.
“Exactly! I would like to know that too-”
“I’m afraid I can only give some guesses,” Dumbledore said.
“Your guesses are very informative.” Ms. Bones said as some of the wizards in the room nodded in agreement, while others kept shaking their heads.
“I think – before I make my speculation – I need to remind you that Voldemort has lost his powers, he is weaker than ever, and even more limited than what the ghost is capable of accomplishing,” Dumbledore said, “and one of his flaws is that he cannot overpower the thoughts of those who fiercely resist him for long, so he prefers to possess simple-minded animals, especially snakes; He has a special affinity for snakes.”
“Parseltongue.” Ms. Bones said grimly.
“True, perhaps for the first few years after he lost his power he had the hope that some Death Eaters would find him and help him regain his power … but he was sorely disappointed, he maintained his rule with fear, so it was doomed with nothing when he failed,” Dumbledore said softly. “Of course, the few who remained loyal to him were imprisoned in Azkaban.”
“Barty Crouch Jr., Lestrange!” Ms. Bones said.
Felix’s mind flickered, he once again triggered by the thought of Azkaban and Dementors, The first time was during the conversation with Neville, he didn’t realize the problem in the end, as he had missed a key – Azkaban is a prison with all kinds of criminals inside.
He leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling, trying to think. Dumbledore’s voice became a background sound, providing him with inspiration –
“Almost four years ago, Voldemort possessed a professor at Hogwarts, infiltrated the school, and tried to get the philosopher’s stone hidden inside … Finally, Harry Potter and his friends stopped him … The philosopher’s stone was also destroyed .”
“More than a year ago, Peter Pettigrew, the war hero who was considered dead reappeared, along with a Death Eater – later proved to be Crouch Jr. – they were ordered to infiltrate the school, but before they could initiate the plot, they were discovered by Harry Potter and his friends, and the battle broke out at the edge of the Forbidden Forest; Fortunately, Sirius Black the person who was considered to be a loyal servant of Voldemort at the time was there along with two school professors, so together they rescued Harry Potter and his friends …”
“Unfortunately, they almost died at the hands of an out-of-control Dementor,” Dumbledore said sternly, Fudge’s eyes flinched, and Umbridge even hid her head behind her papers. “Peter Pettigrew died that night, by Dementor’s kiss … before he died, he suddenly repented and admitted that he was the traitor who betrayed the Potters in the first place, and he said something along with it.”
The conference room became silent, all held their breath and looked at Dumbledore.
Dumbledore softly repeated: “He said: he is coming back, the man whose name can not even be mentioned is coming back, I have done something wrong, forgive me–”
“What!” Ms. Bones sucked in a breath as she stared incredulously at Fudge, “No one told me about this! You put a hush order on it?”
Fudge stammered, wiping his sweat, and finally he simply yelled, “What do you want me to do?! To impose total quarantine on the basis of a single statement that nobody believes?! To destroy the peace we’ve worked so hard to build over the years?!”
“Peace never should be faked.” Felix smiled as he finally thought things through.
Azkaban, the Dark Wizard, the Death Eaters … Voldemort, the Resurrection … to add Dumbledore.
All this pieced together into a guess, if Dumbledore had repeatedly given Voldemort deadly wounds, if Voldemort had been extremely weak and had to use the help of others, his options would be extremely limited.
He needs a Death Eater, who is fanatically loyal to Voldemort and agrees with his philosophy. Only they can gain Voldemort’s limited trust and get the honour of helping the “Great Dark Lord” to deal with his wounds and even organize the resurrection ceremony.
If such a person is free after the war, it is impossible for him not to do something for more than a decade, so he must be locked up in Azkaban.
Will they know more things like – Horcruxes for example?
Well, certainly not. Voldemort is extremely selfish and would not tolerate the secret of the Horcrux being known, even if they are loyal servants who would give their lives for him. He probably would have used some kind of spell to keep the secret, an Obliviate or a Concealment Charms would have served the purpose …
Fudge glared at Felix, the expression on his face remained stubborn.
“By the end of this year, the omens became more obvious,” Dumbledore said, “There were several disappearances, Bertha Jorkins disappeared without a trace in Voldemort’s last hiding place, and after that, a Muggle disappeared; His name is Frank Bryce, and he lives in the village where Voldemort’s father was born. I read it in the newspaper, do you remember? I’m still reading Muggle newspapers … and Crouch, if he wasn’t rescued, it could have been another disappearance.”
“Dumbledore, these things you say are also speculation, maybe just coincidence!”
“I have a witness.” Dumbledore said in a quiet voice.
Fudge looked at him quickly, almost twisting his neck at the speed; the others also looked at Dumbledore, and Fudge muttered, “You don’t want to say it’s Barty Crouch, his testimony is not credible–”
“What about his house-elf?” Dumbledore asked courteously, simultaneously waving his wand, and the figures of Winky and Dobby appeared abruptly in the room.
Winky’s expression looked a little bewildered, but Dobby adapted to the scene quickly, so he grabbed Winky’s hand and the two of them bowed deeply, saying acutely, “Greetings, wizard gentlemen.”
Everyone stared at them – not because of Dumbledore’s magic, but because they both dressed in elaborate miniature clothes. What this meant is perfectly clear to them.
These two are free elves.
————
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