Chapter 223: What Did You Bring Back?
Chapter 223: What Did You Bring Back?
Sherlock looked up at Silke, who was still perched on a tree branch. His usually indifferent expression softened into a helpless smile.
"Couldn't you say it was my heartfelt confession? Even though I did deliberately stall to give him a chance, some of what I said was genuine."
"And didn't I tell you to stay with the Weasley family? Why did you come here on your own?"
Silke gazed up at the glittering night sky.
"The stars have shifted. I knew where to wait to help you."
Sherlock followed her gaze to the sky but saw nothing out of the ordinary.
His weakest area of magic knowledge was divination, and the most complex form of divination was undoubtedly Astrology, which had deep ties to astronomy.
He shook his head, then suddenly froze, a sly smile spreading across his face.
"I found it!"
Hans felt his heart pounding in his chest.
He clutched Barty Jr., who seemed to be under a Stunning Spell, tightly in his arms, suppressing the discomfort from using Apparition in an emergency. His face and upper body were covered in blood.
But he dared not complain, not even to curse his pain aloud.
The room where Hans's Shadow Step landed was filled with countless figures in black robes and masks, lurking in the shadows. As soon as he landed, countless eyes fixed on him and Barty Jr.
Blood continued to pour from his mouth, but he still prostrated himself, placing Barty Jr. on the ground and kneeling before the back of a sofa chair.
"Master!"
Hans had risked his life to save Barty Jr., not because of any deep bond between them, but because if he returned alone, he would face certain death. Only by rescuing Barty Jr. could he atone for his failure.
A short, rat-like wizard standing beside the sofa chair carefully turned it to face them.
None of the once-feared villains in the Wizarding World dared to raise their heads to look directly at the being seated in the chair, now a grotesque, neither-human-nor-ghost form.
Hans did not dare to look up either. He pressed his bloodied forehead to the ground and recounted the events in a hoarse voice.
"We had already made contact with Crouch, but a professor named Sherlock Forrest at Hogwarts stopped us. His magic was strange and incredibly powerful. Charles and the others all died there. I barely managed to save Crouch."
The person in the sofa chair spoke in a cold, yet unusually gentle voice.
"Barty Jr., we meet again. Why won't you look at your master?"
Barty Jr., lying on the ground, remained silent. At first, the room was filled with surprise at his audacity, but soon, they realized something was wrong.
Blood was pooling around Barty Jr.'s body, quickly forming a large, crimson puddle!
"Wormtail!" The cold voice was now icy, sending a chill down everyone's spine. "Go and see what's wrong with him."
Peter's face paled as he ran to Barty Jr.'s side, feeling for a pulse. His body trembled, and he flipped Barty Jr. over, revealing a gory hole in his chest where his heart should have been!
"H-he's dead, Master."
Peter's stammering words sent a shiver through everyone present.
Hans, kneeling on the ground, collapsed, muttering in disbelief.
"Impossible, impossible."
The person in the sofa chair did not respond. He continued to stare intently at Barty Jr.'s corpse.
He was not grieving for the loss of a servant; even the most loyal servant was merely a useful tool to him, not worth any emotional display.
He stared at Barty Jr.'s body, and no one dared to make a sound, their breathing barely audible as they tried not to disturb their Dark Lord's thoughts.
"What did you bring back!" He finally seemed to realize something, his cold voice now tinged with rage. "This corpse is linked to the Hand of Glory! Our location has been exposed!"
Panic spread through the Death Eaters in the room.
"Burn Barty Jr.'s body immediately! Extract this traitor's memories and then kill him! We must move! Quickly!"
"Yes, Master."
Peter raised his wand menacingly at Hans, who cowered on the ground, begging for mercy.
"Legilimens!"
Soon, flames engulfed the entire building, consuming the two bodies lying in the room.
When Sherlock and Silke returned to the spot where the two dead Death Eaters had been, they were immediately surrounded by over twenty Ministry of Magic officials.
Clearly, the numerous Explosive Charms Sherlock had cast had caught their attention, and they had arrived belatedly.
"Sherlock!"
Among the Ministry officials were several familiar faces: Kingsley, Mr. Weasley, and a few others he had met at Order of the Phoenix gatherings. They all called out his name in surprise.
But among these people, even those with high status were not necessarily the most influential among those present.
The head of the International Magical Cooperation Office, Barty Crouch Sr., looked pale, as if he were tense about something.
His nervous demeanor was not unusual among the Ministry of Magic staff, most of whom also looked terribly frightened.
The dark mark that had just appeared in the sky made every Wizard who saw it think of some dire possibilities.
"Forrest, and the young lady next to you, you'd better tell us everything that happened!"
When Sherlock worked at the Auror Headquarters, Barty Crouch Sr. had not yet transferred from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, so he naturally recognized him.
However, from the tone of his voice, it was clear that Sherlock, a minor employee at the Auror Headquarters, had no close relationship with the head of an office. They were merely acquaintances.
Apart from Mr. Weasley, Kingsley, and a few others who were old acquaintances of Sherlock, the rest did not lower their wands, still aiming them straight at him.
The appearance of the dark mark made everyone present extremely tense. They all desperately hoped to catch the person who had cast it immediately, forcing them to admit that the use of such a dark mark was just to create chaos, rather than for some unimaginable reason.
Facing such a situation, Sherlock's expression remained unchanged. He narrowed his eyes and turned to meet Barty Crouch Sr.'s gaze.
"Are you really going to make me reveal everything I discovered here? It has a lot to do with you, Crouch."
Barty Crouch Sr.'s eyes clearly showed a moment of panic, but he replied strongly.
"How could it have anything to do with me?!"
Sherlock stared at him expressionlessly and suddenly said,
"Your son is dead."
Barty Crouch Sr. trembled, his face twitching uncontrollably.
Those around them looked confused when they heard this.
Everyone present knew that Barty Crouch Jr. had long died in Azkaban. Now, Sherlock bringing this up out of the blue, reopening old wounds, what did it mean?
"Everyone knows my son is already dead!"
Barty Crouch Sr. tried to suppress his emotions, but Sherlock clearly heard the trembling in his voice.
He smiled lightly and did not say more about Barty Jr., instead continuing,
"While watching the Quidditch World Cup Final, I noticed a few suspicious individuals in the stands."
As Sherlock spoke, his Control Magic perception clearly felt Barty Crouch Sr.'s muscles tense up.
"After the match, I secretly followed them and eventually ended up here. When the commotion started, they noticed me and attacked. I killed two of them in self-defense, and the other two managed to escape."
He recounted the entire incident truthfully but did not mention Barty Jr. again.
The Ministry of Magic staff exchanged glances. They would not let Sherlock and Silke leave just yet; they would take them to the Ministry to make a statement.
Kingsley accompanied Sherlock and the others to the Ministry, while Barty Crouch Sr. stayed behind at the scene.
He shakily walked over to the two mutilated corpses, with an Auror diligently taking notes.
"Preliminary analysis suggests the killing spell was a transfiguration spell. It first restrained the victims, then transfigured a sharp object to pierce them. The uneven terrain here is the result of an Explosive Charm, which was extremely powerful, likely the combined effort of at least twenty Wizards."
Barty Crouch Sr. did not listen to the Auror's report. He clenched his teeth and waved his wand, using magic to remove the masks from the two dead faces.
They were pale, lifeless faces, both from prominent pure-blood families in the British magical community, but neither was the familiar face he had feared to see.
Barty Crouch Sr. let out a long breath, his expression returning to a calm, though his dark eyes betrayed his thoughts.
Meanwhile, Sherlock faced no trouble at the Auror Headquarters. Kingsley was the one taking his statement and asking for relevant details.
After a simple recording, the incident was classified as a justified act of self-defense by Sherlock.
Sherlock did not mention anything about Barty Jr., and Silke remained silent on the matter as well.
It was five o'clock, and everything was right on schedule.
(End of Chapter)
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