A certain Hogwarts rune professor

Chapter 467 Completely Different Attitudes
There was a violent gasp in the meeting room, and the wizard who had just asked for a discount for his granddaughter on a new product slid directly from his chair to the floor. He stood up cursing, but no one paid attention to him. Even Professor Marchban looked at Dumbledore in surprise.

"Are you sure he's really back? Dumbledore, I mean...really?" Amelia Burns said seriously, with a face under her monocle.

Dumbledore shook his head slightly, Ms. Bones' stiff body relaxed, and her thick eyebrows returned to their proper positions.

"So, we still have time to prepare." She was greatly relieved.

"The premise is that we can't turn a blind eye and pretend that nothing happened—"

"Enough, Dumbledore!" shouted Fudge, his face flushed purple and spittle flying, but he seemed completely oblivious to it. "Stop promoting the atmosphere of terror! There is no evidence that he really returned ...or there are signs of coming back!"

"The evidence is right under your nose, Fudge, and you just have to look at it calmly for a few seconds," said Dumbledore.

"where is it?"

"Barty Crouch—"

"Aha! I knew you were going to say this!" Fudge tugged at the collar roughly, his face and neck discolored with anger, he stood up, the bowler hat in his hand was crushed by him, He waved his arms excitedly. "Gentlemen and ladies, let me talk about this so-called evidence, and you will see how ridiculous it is-"

The members of the Wizengamot stared at Fudge walking up and down the conference room, talking loudly.

"Barty Crouch! I didn't want to say it was involved in a scandal, but - the former director of the International Department of Magic Exchange and Cooperation, committed serious malfeasance 12 years ago, eating his damned The son of a gangster was caught out of jail, out of everyone's eyes! Barty Crouch used Polyjuice Potion to switch his wife and son, and the dementors didn't find out... I admit there is a loophole in Azkaban , we're considering adding a Thiefproof Waterfall to wash away all spells and Polyjuice effects—"

Fudge stopped suddenly.Holding his bowler cap tightly with one hand, and putting the other on the chair, he said loudly: "Think about how crazy his behavior is. He committed murder more than ten years ago. He is So...evil! Not much better than those Death Eaters."

"Connelly," Amelia frowned, "Barty did do something wrong, but according to his testimony, his wife was dying at the time, and Batty couldn't stand his wife's last plea—"

"More than that!" Fudge interrupted her, "Barty Crouch committed more crimes than this, he also drove his own son crazy!"

The meeting room was quiet, only the heavy panting of Fudge himself. He looked like a dangerous gladiator. They were not in the room of the Ministry of Magic, but the ancient arena. Fudge was always ready to fight anyone who dared to fight. The one who takes the lead fights.

He ushered in his hit opponent, and Dumbledore crossed his hands on the table, looked at Fudge with interest, and said softly: "Fantastic point of view! Fudge, I am more and more interested in the thoughts in your mind, I'm all ears."

Fudge seemed offended by Dumbledore's calm expression, and then his voice grew louder, as if using a Magnifying Charm.

"I have evidence too, Dumbledore. If you choose to believe Barty Crouch, you have to believe everything about him. Isn't that so?" Fudge had a weird smile on his face, and he had done a lot for the day Prepare, speaking is very smooth at the moment.

His small eyes were fixed on Dumbledore, who met his gaze without hesitation.Dumbledore's body seemed to exude an indescribable power, and Fudge took the initiative to look away.

"Imperius Curse... Yes, everyone, have you ever thought about how Barty Crouch controls his son? In order not to expose his crimes and continue to climb up the Ministry of Magic, he personally cast the Imperius Curse, putting Little Crouch was restrained under the invisibility cloak for 12 years!"

"He deserved what he deserved, that little Death Eater!" cried Professor Marchbane. "He took part in the torture of the Longbottoms. He was a heinous one—if it wasn't for Felix," she said with a quick sideways glance, "the poor couple The husband and wife are still alive in St. Mungo's."

"I know," said Fudge 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! I just wanted to tell you, Barty G. Rauch is already crazy, he has been crazy for a long time, he is different from what you imagined. A person who has used the Unforgivable Curse for 12 years in a row, what will happen to his heart? Huh?"

Felix glanced at Fudge in surprise, he could think of this breakthrough. As for the effect, just look at those wizards who were shocked - Barty Crouch's reputation is completely ruined, and there will be no one in the future Sympathize with him.

But thinking that Dumbledore found him yesterday, he knew that Dumbledore was also ready.

"So you ask me what happened? This is a tragedy," Fudge said with a serious expression, "The father used his power for personal gain, and used the Imperius Curse to control his own son for his own rights. Finally, his son went crazy under the spell. Crazy enough, he fantasizes about another voice in his head, fantasizes that You-Know-Who isn't dead, but anyway, he's out of the grip of the spell, and instead, he's got his father!"

"The spell messed up little Crouch's mind. In the past six months, he pretended that he accepted the command of the mysterious man, pretended that he was still serving the mysterious man, sneaked into Hogwarts, and tortured his father. He figured it out."

Felix let out a long sigh of relief. He had a new understanding of Fudge's character, and Fudge's recalcitrance and stubbornness opened his eyes.Fudge's strategy is also very convincing, first exposing Crouch's crimes, turning Crouch into a de facto dangerous criminal, and finding the rationale for Crouch Jr.'s behavior, although there are still many Flaws, but it is already a qualified story. If the guess is correct, Fudge will destroy all Crouch’s testimony next——

"Barty Crouch is insane!" Fudge exclaimed. "He reappeared with severe torture, mental and physical!" He looked at Amelia Bones. "You know That, right?"

"Barty Crouch did suffer inhuman torture, but—" Ms. Burns began cautiously.

"St. Mungo's people also confirmed his condition!" Fudge immediately looked at Dorothea Boham, "Your...that therapist, he personally admitted that Barty Crouch had a serious illness Confusion spells and memory tampering!"

Ms. Boham nodded slowly.Many members of the Wizengamot were persuaded, with regretful expressions on their faces.

"This is the truth of the matter!" Fudge waved his hat, "There is no You-Know-Who! There is no war!" He put the hat on his head, looked at Dumbledore with a smile on his face.

Dumbledore also smiled, and he even clapped his hands a few times, "Fudge, your stories are all based on imagination..."

"So you have evidence?" Fudge asked impatiently.

Dumbledore said calmly: "If the proof you're expecting is seeing Voldemort standing in front of you with your own eyes," Fudge could not help but wince when he heard the name, and Dumbledore continued: "Then I really haven't, but I Happy to share some facts, and my own speculation based on those facts."

"So you're going to make up stories too, Dumbledore? I'm too busy to hear these—"

"I'm afraid not," said Dumbledore.

"What - no?" Fudge gasped, as if Dumbledore was not talking, but took out his wand and threatened him.

"Fudge, please forgive me. I am the chief wizard of the Wizengamot. Although you are the Minister of Magic, according to the procedure, you are only a member of the Wizengamot. You must listen to me." Dumbledore said , Fudge stared, as if being whipped.

Felix sat quietly in the chair thinking, if Dumbledore planned to tell the whole secret about Voldemort, he would never believe it.He is more inclined that Dumbledore intends to remind, the question is, to what extent.

"Where do you start?" Dumbledore said softly, "On that night 14 years ago, with the help of a traitor, Voldemort walked into the safe house of the Potters, killed the Potters, Baby Harry Potter misses, he bounces the Killing Curse on himself, and loses his power ever since—"

"He's dead," said Fudge stiffly.

"Where's the body?" Dumbledore asked.

"Nobody cares about that, Dumbledore!" said Fudge impatiently. "He's dead! Probably turned to ashes, or someone took the body away."

"It's just a beautiful hope," Dumbledore said, shaking his head. "I realized at the time that there was a possibility that Voldemort was still lingering in a corner of the world, surviving... But people are too eager to hear good news Too eager to restore order and embrace peace."

"Where's the evidence, Dumbledore? Where's the evidence?" said Fudge.

"Why can't you listen to him?" cried Professor Marchbane. "He's not so rude when you're talking!"

Fudge gave her a hard look, and grumbled reluctantly, "Well, I'd like to hear... what evidence..."

"Thank you, Geselda," Dumbledore smiled and thanked Professor Marchban, and he continued: "I didn't express my guess. Maybe, as Fudge said, he really turned into ashes and died. Yes. Although from what I know of him, the chances of that are low."

"One of the evidences is that the curse entrenched in Hogwarts——Defense Against the Dark Arts class, in the second year after Voldemort's death, is still working. I feel even more disturbed. I take the initiative to collect evidence that he is still alive. Pay attention Unusual experiences and legends..."

"It took me several years, and I finally found something suspicious in a Muggle newspaper." Dumbledore said, "Yes, I developed the habit of reading Muggle newspapers in those years, and I still keep it now. I especially like the Sudoku game above, which Muggles say can prevent Alzheimer's."

Fudge looked at him with a dull expression, as if he already had signs of geriatric disease.

"Come back to business, I read news about an expedition team in the newspaper. They heard the horror legend of the Albanian forest. Some small animals and domestic animals will die without warning. The behavior before death is very abnormal. An eight-year-old boy Swears that he saw a snake reading a newspaper, and the picture in that newspaper still moves."

"We all know what that means?" Dumbledore said, looking at the crowd.

Among the crowd, Tiberus Ogden said dissatisfiedly: "Which fool wizard threw away the newspaper after reading it?"

"That doesn't mean anything..." said Fudge stiffly. "Probably an Animagus from another land, who happens to be a snake."

"I checked, and they are possessed," said Dumbledore.

"W-what?"

"Possessed," repeated Dumbledore, "it doesn't mean anything, maybe some evil spirit is behind it, but again, I need to remind you that it could also be someone who has lost power. Investigating in the forest... I found a large pit full of animal carcasses, mostly rats and snakes. Of course, the number of snakes was the largest. I tried to unravel this secret, and for a while I thought I saw a familiar figure, He was dilapidated, turned into a ghost, and flashed past me, but I never saw him afterward."

"You mean that thing...he's avoiding you?" Amelia Bones asked gravely.

"I think so," Dumbledore nodded slightly, "I persuaded the nearby families to move out of there, and asked the owner of the local wizard tavern to keep an eye on the movements of the ghosts. After more than ten years, I got With more information, the inner guess is more firm."

"But if it's really that person, why didn't he come out, but hid and wandered in the Albanian forest for more than ten years?" Amelia Bones asked.

"Yeah! I'd like to know that too—"

"I'm afraid I can only give a guess," said Dumbledore.

"Your guess is very valuable." Ms. Burns said, some wizards in the conference room nodded in agreement, while others kept shaking their heads.

"I think—before I speculate, I need to remind you that Voldemort has lost his powers, that he is weaker than ever before, and even more limited than a ghost can be," said Dumbledore. "One of his flaws is that, Unable to suppress for long those violent thoughts against him, he is more inclined to possess simple animals, especially snakes. He has a special influence on snakes."

"Parseltongue," said Ms. Burns sullenly.

"That's right, maybe in the first few years when he lost his power, he still hoped that some Death Eaters would find him and help him regain his power... But he was disappointed, he maintained his rule with fear, and he was doomed to have nothing after failure," said Dumbledore He said softly, "Of course, the few loyal to him were imprisoned in Azkaban."

"Barty Crouch Jr., Lestranges!" said Ms. Burns.

Felix's heart moved, and he was touched again. The first time he was talking to Neville, he thought of Azkaban and Dementors, but he didn't realize the problem, but he ignored a key , Azkaban is a prison with all kinds of criminals.

He leaned back in his chair, looked up at the ceiling, and thought hard.Dumbledore's voice became the background sound, providing him with inspiration—

"Nearly four years ago, Voldemort possessed a professor at Hogwarts and infiltrated the school in order to obtain the Philosopher's Stone hidden inside... Finally Harry Potter and his friends stopped Quirrell... Magic The stone was also destroyed."

"More than a year ago, Peter Pettigrew, the presumed dead war hero, reappeared. He and a Death Eater, who turned out to be Crouch Jr., were ordered to infiltrate the school. Harry Potter and his friends found that the battle broke out on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Fortunately, Sirius Black and two school professors who were slandered as Voldemort's loyal servants rescued them in time, and they survived..."

"Unfortunately, these people almost died at the hands of out-of-control dementors," said Dumbledore sternly, with Fudge wincing and Umbridge hiding his head behind the papers. "Peter Pettigrew died that night, it was the kiss of a dementor... Before he died, he suddenly repented and admitted that he was the traitor who betrayed the Potters. He also said a word."

The meeting room was quiet, everyone held their breath and looked at Dumbledore.

Dumbledore repeated softly: "He said: He is coming back, the man who can't even mention his name is coming back, I did something wrong, forgive me—"

"What!" Ms. Burns took a breath, and she stared at Fudge in disbelief. "No one told me about this! You put a gag order?"

Fudge faltered, wiping away his sweat, and finally he yelled, "What do you want me to do? Martial law with a single sentence that doesn't make sense? Let the peace we have painstakingly built over the years be destroyed?"

"Peace is not faked." Felix said with a smile, he finally figured it out.

Azkaban, dark wizards, Death Eaters... Voldemort, resurrection... and Dumbledore to add.

It all comes together to surmise that if Dumbledore had fatally wounded Voldemort on multiple occasions, if Voldemort had been so weak that he had to seek help from others, his options were extremely limited.

This person must be a Death Eater who is fanatically loyal to Voldemort and agrees with his ideas. Only in this way can he gain Voldemort's limited trust and get the honor of helping the "great Dark Lord" deal with his injuries and even hold a resurrection ceremony.

If such a person gets away with it after the war, it is impossible for him to do nothing for more than ten years, so he must be imprisoned in Azkaban.

So will he know more things, like - Horcruxes?
Of course, of course, Voldemort was extremely selfish and could not tolerate the secret of the Horcrux being known, even to a loyal servant who would give his life for him.He might have used some sort of spell to keep it a secret, the Oblivion Charm or the Confusion Charm would do the trick...

Fudge stared at Felix, the expression on his face still stubborn.

"This year, the omens are more pronounced," said Dumbledore, "and there have been several disappearances, Bertha Jorkins disappearing without a trace from Voldemort's last hiding place, and then a Muggle. His name was Frank Bryce and he lived in the village where Voldemort's father was born. I read about it in the papers, remember? I read the Muggle papers... and Crouch, if not rescued , it may be another case of disappearance."

"Dumbledore, the few things you said are also speculations, maybe it's just a coincidence!"

"I have a witness," said Dumbledore in a low voice.

Fudge looked at him so fast that he almost sprained his neck, and the others also looked at Dumbledore. Fudge muttered, "You don't want to say it's Barty Crouch, his testimony is unbelievable." letter--"

"What about his house-elf?" Dumbledore asked politely, waving his wand at the same time, and Winky and Dobby suddenly appeared in the office.

Winky's expression was still a little dazed, but Dobby was quite used to this kind of occasion. He took Winky's hand, and the two bowed deeply, and said sharply, "Mr. wizards, hello."

Everyone stared at them - not because of Dumbledore's magic, but because they were both wearing dainty little clothes.What that means, they know all too well:

These are two free elves.

(End of this chapter)