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Chapter 306: The Resolute Old Barty
Chapter 306: The Resolute Old Barty
The only gain from Sherlock and Mad-Eye Moody's trip was this ring.
Mad-Eye Moody's face was grim, and he said darkly,
"This proves that old Barty was actually under someone's control from a very early stage! And we only discovered it now!"
Sherlock examined the ring in his hand, his mind racing back to the events of the summer Quidditch World Cup.
"If we calculate based on the time of the fight, Crouch must have been controlled after the World Cup ended, around the same time his son, Barty Jr., was killed by me."
Even with this deduction, the information they had was still limited.
After another thorough search of the small building yielded no results, Sherlock and Mad-Eye Moody returned to Hogwarts together.
There was no curfew in the castle tonight, but the students couldn't be too reckless. By this hour, most had returned to their common rooms.
Dumbledore's office was still brightly lit. He wasn't handling any other matters but had been waiting for news from Sherlock and Moody.
However, the news he received was not good.
After listening to Mad-Eye Moody's report, Dumbledore picked up the ring with the Crouch family crest that Sherlock had found, murmuring softly,
"The Crouch family manor."
In the end, Dumbledore shook his head.
"I have no knowledge of this. The older the family, the more they tend to keep their estates in secret locations. The exact location of the Crouch family manor has never been disclosed to the outside world."
Sherlock stared at the ring, his eyes narrowing.
"If Crouch continues to stay out of the public eye, can we deduce that he is about to meet with some misfortune?"
Mad-Eye Moody's expression was grim.
"I don't understand. If one of the Death Eaters used the Imperius Curse to control him, intending to create chaos at Hogwarts, frame Harry, and kill Sherlock, why would they change their plans now, just after the first task of the tournament and only halfway through the school year?"
This question was not lost on Sherlock and Dumbledore.
Dumbledore tapped his fingers lightly on the desk.
"There are two possibilities. First, someone from the Death Eaters learned that we were suspicious of him. Keeping Barty at Hogwarts could lead us to other information about them."
"Second, Barty is consciously fighting the Imperius Curse."
Sherlock frowned. As a Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, he was well-versed in the Unforgivable Curses.
"Resist the Imperius Curse? Professor, with all due respect, while history does show that some wizards with immense willpower have managed to break free from the Imperius Curse, does Barty Crouch Sr. truly have that capability?"
Dumbledore and Mad-Eye Moody exchanged a glance and shook their heads.
"You didn't experience the era when the Dark Lord cast a white terror over the wizarding world, Sherlock. You wouldn't understand how rare and admirable it was for old Barty to so clearly stand against the Death Eaters."
Mad-Eye Moody spoke in a solemn tone.
"One could say that the interests represented by the Dark Lord at the time were beneficial to all pure-blood families. That's why ninety percent of the pure-blood families in the Wizarding World aligned with him."
"Among the few remaining pure-blood families that did not publicly declare their stance, the Crouch family was the most powerful. At the beginning of the 1970s, old Barty had already become the Deputy Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and in 1974, he was officially promoted to Head, putting the Ministry of Magic's armed forces under his control."
"If he had chosen to side with the Dark Lord at that time, the Ministry of Magic would have essentially lost its ability to resist, and the various benefits the Dark Lord promised could have made him the second most powerful person in the Wizarding World."
"The Dark Lord at that time was not as insane as he later became. He kept his word on everything he said, so no one would have doubted that he was trying to deceive. As long as old Barty agreed, he could have gained a more prominent position."
"However, in such a situation, old Barty not only showed no inclination to join the Dark Lord but also publicly declared that he would lead the Aurors to launch a military strike against the Dark Lord's forces. He held this stance for six years, during which he faced countless attacks but never wavered in his resolve!"
Dumbledore continued, his hands clasped together, his voice calm.
"His son joining the Death Eaters might have been out of a sense of guilt for not fulfilling his responsibilities as a father. Barty might have bent the law once to hide his son, Barty Jr., who should have been imprisoned in Azkaban for life, ensuring his safety. But he would never have actively joined Voldemort, even under the threat of death."
"The only thing that could have made him do this is the Imperius Curse. And Barty Crouch Sr.'s willpower is strong enough to resist the Imperius Curse. He is not as weak as you might think, Sherlock."
Although Sherlock had traveled back in time for a while, his experience did not instill much goodwill towards Barty Crouch Sr. His trust in the man was certainly not as steadfast as Dumbledore's and Mad-Eye Moody's.
However, since they both leaned towards the second possibility, Sherlock was willing to accept their judgment.
"But regardless of which possibility it is, Crouch's current state is dire", he said, stroking his chin. "If he is relying on his will to resist the Imperius Curse, the Death Eaters would not have missed this. If they realize they can no longer control him, the most likely outcome is that they will kill him to silence him."
Sherlock's point was well-founded.
Given that they couldn't find old Barty and didn't know the location of the Crouch family manor, there was nothing more they could do.
They stayed in Dumbledore's office until two in the morning, ultimately returning without any success.
After returning to his own office, Sherlock did not immediately rest. Instead, he pulled a transparent box from his pocket, which contained an unremarkable-looking beetle.
He stared at the beetle for several seconds before speaking calmly.
"Will you transform back into human form on your own, or do you need some help?"
(End of Chapter)
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