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Chapter 217: Barty Jr.
Chapter 217: Barty Jr.
The noise in the stands continued unabated.
In the box, Mr. Weasley was explaining the characteristics of the Veela to Ron, while Hermione looked at Ron with obvious disdain. Harry, the most composed among the children, was even adding details Mr. Weasley had missed.
On the field, the Veela's dance had ended, and the Irish mascots, the leprechauns, were flying over the pitch, showering the audience with countless gold coins.
Sherlock, however, seemed oblivious to all of this. He wasn't looking anywhere in particular, his head lowered and his brows furrowed tightly. He was focusing his magic intensely on a specific spot.
In the empty seat next to the house-elf Winky, who suffered from acrophobia, sat a person.
He was wearing an Invisibility Cloak, making him invisible to everyone else, but Sherlock's magic allowed him to see the person's face clearly.
Though his appearance had changed significantly since seventeen years ago, the familiar face was unmistakable to Sherlock!
Barty Crouch Jr.!
The son of the current Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, Barty Crouch Sr., and a former rising star in the Auror Office seventeen years ago. Thirteen years ago, he was discovered to be a follower of Voldemort, a Death Eater!
According to the widely known history, he should have been dead. Shortly after being captured by his father and sent to Azkaban, he was said to have died of illness.
But now, in Sherlock's line of sight, he was sitting there, pale-faced and staring blankly at the field. It was unclear whether he was watching the Irish leprechauns or something else entirely.
Silke noticed something was off.
"What's wrong?"
Sherlock simply shook his head and didn't reveal his discovery.
He then lifted his head, feigning nonchalance, and began educating Ron and the Weasley Twins, who were fighting over the leprechaun gold.
"These coins aren't real gold. Not only will Gringotts not accept them, but if you try to spend them and get caught, you'll be considered fraudsters. However, they make nice souvenirs."
Ron and George and Fred's faces were filled with disappointment, but they still put the gold coins in their pockets.
The mascots of both teams had left the field, and Balkman, the Head of the Department of Magical Sports and Games, was giving a speech before the match officially began.
Sherlock wasn't listening to what Balkman was saying. Instead, his thoughts were preoccupied with Barty Jr.
The once renowned Death Eater spy in the Auror Office hadn't really died in Azkaban.
Whether his escape from the prison island in the north was his own plan or not, Barty Sr. must have been involved.
Otherwise, Winky wouldn't have been instructed to secretly arrange a seat for this man, who was supposed to have died in Azkaban, under the pretense of reserving a spot.
Sherlock couldn't figure out why Barty Sr. had done this.
This box was not only filled with high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Magic but also included two of the highest leaders of the magical government, including the current Minister of Magic for Britain.
Barty Sr. had once been the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Even if he hadn't personally led any Auror operations, how could someone who had reached such a high position be a fool?
By placing Barty Jr. here, he was taking an enormous risk.
If anyone in this box discovered that Barty Jr. was still alive, Barty Sr. would lose his position at the very least.
The worst part was that the pristine reputation he had worked his entire life to maintain would be utterly destroyed, and he would likely spend the rest of his days in that dreaded prison, never to see the light of day again.
The Crouch family, with its long and storied history as a pure-blood lineage, would be utterly extinguished.
So, had he used some unknown method to escape from prison, only to have his son, cloaked in an Invisibility Cloak, take a tremendous risk to come here just to watch a Quidditch match?
Under the scrutiny of magic, Sherlock could clearly "see" the numb and gloomy face of Barty Jr.
For some reason, Barty Jr. stared silently at the Quidditch pitch, his entire being exuding a gray, lifeless stillness. Yet, Sherlock somehow sensed a fiery passion in his gaze, one that seemed capable of burning everything to ashes.
This emotion, so different from his current demeanor, made Sherlock feel a sense of unease.
There was no doubt that Barty Jr., the spy who had infiltrated the Ministry of Magic seventeen years ago and led the Death Eaters into the Department of Mysteries, had a deep vendetta against Sherlock.
Although it was because of him that Sherlock had learned about the Horcrux from the Lestrange brothers and, ultimately, found a way to return to the present under dire circumstances, these were not Barty Jr.'s intentions. Sherlock would not give him any credit for these "helpful" actions.
When it came time to act, Sherlock would not hesitate for a moment.
As Sports Commissioner Balkman announced the official start of the Quidditch World Cup Final, and the stands erupted in a roar, Sherlock quietly stood up from his seat.
Almost everyone in the box was focused on the pitch, but Silke noticed Sherlock's movement and looked up at him with a puzzled expression.
Sherlock gently shook his head, signaling that she shouldn't worry about him.
He left the box and found an unobserved corner to Apparate away. A few minutes later, he reappeared.
On the surface, he seemed unchanged, but in his pocket, he now had a withered arm.
Sherlock returned to the box, and by then, the Quidditch final had already begun. The crowd was already frenzied, and with the commentator's enthusiastic narration, every goal scored by either the Irish team or the Bulgarian team was met with a deafening cheer.
Sherlock and Silke exchanged a glance, and then he quietly took out the withered arm from his pocket, which he had brought back from Knockturn Alley.
Silke, with her extensive knowledge from the German Ministry of Magic, immediately recognized this famous Dark Magic artifact—the Hand of Glory.
This Dark Magic item was made from a real human hand and imbued with powerful tracking magic.
Once a Wizard was locked onto by this hand, their location could be determined no matter where they hid, unless they were protected by the Fidelius Charm.
The Hand of Glory, of course, was something Sherlock had acquired from the Lestrange Family.
It was the perfect tool for the task at hand.
The complexity of the Hand of Glory lay in its creation, but its use was straightforward.
Muttering a spell, an invisible thread appeared between the Hand of Glory and Barty Jr., who was hidden under the Invisibility Cloak.
(End of Chapter)
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