The Lonely Dragon of Hogwarts

Barty Crouch is a man in his fifties, with a straight back and stiff movements, wearing a spotless crisp suit and tie.

The middle slit in his short gray hair was a little unnaturally straight, and his short mustache looked like it had been trimmed with a slide rule.

John understood immediately why Percy admired him.

Percy has always advocated strict discipline and respected power.

And Mr. Crouch meticulously complied with the Ministry of Magic's requirement that wizards disguise themselves as Muggles in order to maintain the "Statutory of Secrecy".

He did it so authentically.

You can almost pretend to be a bank manager and work directly.

What's more, Crouch is also in charge of the entire International Magic Cooperation Department and is a very powerful man.

"You are an outstanding person. Dumbledore and Fudge both think highly of you."

Crouch said slowly.

Hearing this, John didn't react at all.

He had heard too many such words.

Not far away, Percy made a sound in his throat, and his complexion turned from red to blue, looking as if he had been choked.

Crouch frowned in confusion.

Seeing this, John smiled and explained:

"You just called his name wrong."

"is it?"

Crouch said softly.

This embarrassed Percy even more.

He regarded Crouch as his idol, and told people everywhere that he was appreciated by Mr. Crouch and would soon rise to prominence.

It turned out that Crouch didn't even remember his name.

This is really shameful.

But soon, something even more devastating happened.

After being clicked by John, Crouch still had no intention of finding out Percy's name.

Instead, he shook his head nonchalantly and continued:

"John, I heard that you only took Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes. Is this true?"

"Yes."

"This is not good." Crouch frowned, "Dumbledore and Fudge value you so much, you shouldn't let them down. I think you should at least take all twelve courses and pass the OWL exam. Just get straight A’s. That’s the most basic thing.”

John raised his eyebrows slightly.

He felt that Crouch was a little self-righteous.

With John's current situation, he doesn't need to take so many certificates to prove himself.

Crouch was clearly giving blind advice without knowing anything.

Or maybe he knows everything and is just a complete deceiver.

This kind of behavior coupled with the other party's condescending and preaching tone, John's good impression of him disappeared in an instant.

"I have my own study plan," John said expressionlessly, "I don't need Mr. Crouch to worry about it."

Crouch was a little anxious after hearing this and said:

"Are you worried about running out of time? That's not a problem! There is something in Hogwarts that allows you..."

Halfway through, Crouch suddenly paused.

He glanced at the people around him, as if he was afraid that everyone would hear something.

"I told you!" John was fed up with this person and said impatiently, "I have my own study plan, and I have no intention of modifying it at the moment!"

Crouch opened his mouth, as if he wanted to continue persuading.

But seeing John's firm and distant gaze, he finally shook his head and left slowly.

His back looked a little lonely, as if he was disappointed in John.

This relieved Percy.

If Crouch really thought highly of John and took good care of him, he would be even more embarrassed.

Now John and Crouch are falling out, which is exactly what he wants to see.

"John, please forgive me." Mr. Weasley explained with a complicated expression, "Crouch must have thought of his own son when he saw you. Barty Crouch Jr., that child once achieved twelve Crouch was happy for a long time with all A's in all subjects. But he..."

Mr. Weasley did not continue.

Because a deep and deep gong sound suddenly sounded in the competition venue not far away.

Immediately, large areas of hazy light began to flow on the ground, leading everyone to a path to the venue.

Mr. Weasley sighed and said:

"Okay, the game is about to start, let's go into the stadium."

John nodded and took Michelle and others to the venue.

They also encountered several vendors pushing carts and selling souvenirs along the way.

Bill and Charlie are both obviously fans of the Irish team.

They bought several green, light-up Irish team badges.

Mr. Weasley bought an Irish flag.

Ron was different.

He is the only Bulgarian fan in the Weasley family.

Or to be more precise, he is a fan of Krum, the Bulgarian Seeker.

"Look, how handsome he is!"

Ron pointed at a Krum holding a sign and said, Krum was flying on a broomstick.

You can tell that he really likes that thing.

Unfortunately, he did not sell the Mithril bat as John suspected.

So don't say Krum raised his sign.

He couldn't even afford a panoramic telescope that could be used to watch games in slow motion, replay or even analyze game data.

John and Harry wanted to help him pay, but he wasn't happy yet.

He said that he owed the two of them enough.

In the end, Michelle couldn't see through it and put the panoramic telescope directly into Ron's arms.

"If you don't accept it, I'm going to beat him up!"

Michelle threatened, shaking her fist.

It's a pity that her movements don't feel oppressive at all, but instead make people feel cute.

Ron's eyes turned red with emotion.

So she started to follow George and Fred and call Michelle Miss Shafiq.

Several people walked around and finally entered the huge competition venue.

"This place can accommodate [-] spectators!" Mr. Weasley said proudly. "Five hundred staff from the Ministry of Magic have been busy with this for a whole year. You can't imagine how difficult it is to do such a big project without telling Muggles." Things, they..."

Mr. Weasley clearly wanted to continue.

But an expressionless witch at the door interrupted him and took the tickets from their hands.

"They are all first-class tickets!" The witch smiled the moment she saw the tickets, "Top box! Go all the way upstairs to the top."

The stairs leading to the gymnasium are covered with burgundy carpet.

As the first guests to enter the venue, they did not have to squeeze in with other people. They went directly up the stairs and entered a small box.

It is located at the highest point of the entire stadium and is equidistant from the golden goalposts on both sides.

Inside there are about twenty purple and gilded chairs, divided into two rows.

John and others were not in a hurry to take their seats, but looked down.

That scene was something no one could imagine.

A hundred thousand wizards have already begun to arrive.

Thick crowds of people were lining up in a staircase along the oval gymnasium.

Everything here is shrouded in a mysterious golden light, which seems to come from the stadium itself.

This is indeed the best place to watch the game.

From their perspective, they can see everything about the entire stadium.

Especially the huge blackboard, with golden words flashing on it. As John expected, those words were all advertisements.

Cornflower: The broomstick for the whole family – safe, reliable, with built-in anti-theft buzzer…

Mrs. Skoll's all-purpose magic stain remover: easily removes stains...Fengya brand wizard clothes...

John was a little better.

He had seen many similar spectacular buildings in his previous life.

But Michelle, Harry and others were completely intoxicated by the wonders in front of them.

Their eyes were shining and their mouths were screaming non-stop.

At this moment, a series of footsteps came from behind them.

John turned around and happened to see Fudge, the Minister of Magic.

"Ah - John! What a coincidence!"

Fudge spoke first, showing great enthusiasm and even came up to hug John.

'What a coincidence, you gave me this vote, how could you not know I'm here? '

John was complaining in his heart, but with a smile on his face, he hugged Fudge and thanked him for giving him the ticket.

The two communicated for a while, and Fudge suddenly said:

"Ludo told me that you met Crouch outside earlier?"

Hearing this name, John's smile faded slightly and he said calmly:

"Yeah, he also said he wanted me to take all twelve courses and get straight A's in the OWL exam. What did he say..."

John paused, imitating Crouch’s tone and said:

"Only by doing this can you live up to the respect Dumbledore and Fudge place on you!"

As soon as he said this, Fudge's face looked a little stunned.

Percy, on the other hand, perked up instantly.

He really didn't expect that John would take the initiative to mention this matter.

In his opinion, Mr. Crouch was absolutely right.

It is necessary to take all twelve courses, which is what he himself did.

Referring to others, he felt that the minister should have the same idea as him.

John's behavior now is undoubtedly very offensive and shows that he is not enterprising.

'Now John is going to offend the minister too! '

Thinking of this, Percy clenched his fists in gloating, staring at John and Fudge with bright eyes, looking forward to what would happen next.

It would be best if Mr. Minister could scold John directly.

This way, he will be happy.