Chapter 329: Ruined Reputation
Chapter 329: Ruined Reputation
Indeed, that was the case.
The entire courtroom proceedings were almost entirely reported in the next day's Daily Prophet.
The word "almost" is used because the article did not mention Dumbledore's final three questions to Crouch before leaving the courtroom.
The entire page described Crouch's confession to using his position to help his son escape from Azkaban and the murder of his wife.
The accompanying magical photograph showed Crouch's face, calm to the extreme, during the confession.
Even with the effects of the magical potion that should have made the photograph move, Crouch remained as still as a wooden statue, not even blinking.
After the article was published, the already boiling British magical community erupted in a full-scale uproar.
No one doubted the authenticity of the Wizengamot's proceedings. Many had witnessed the trial, and it was clear whether Crouch had confessed voluntarily or under duress.
The public opinion shifted a full 180 degrees.
The Wizards who had harshly criticized Fudge the day before now directed their venom at Crouch, with their insults ten times more severe.
Even though, both in the trial and in the Daily Prophet's report, Crouch only admitted to helping Barty Jr. escape from Azkaban, and did not confess to the charges that Fudge, using the Ministry of Magic's announcements, had accused him of colluding with his son and working as a spy for the Dark Lord.
Yet, the Wizarding public had already naturally attributed these accusations to him.
People forgot his contributions to the Wizarding World during Voldemort's peak, and instead, with the utmost malice, accused him of crimes that were mere conjectures.
In less than two days, Crouch's reputation was utterly ruined.
His previous statements in the Daily Prophet about the Death Eaters and the Dark Lord regaining strength were now seen as lies to undermine Fudge and secure the position of Minister of Magic for himself.
Fudge's most clever move was to focus his criticism solely on Crouch. He categorized Dumbledore's supportive statements as "Dumbledore being misled by Crouch."
This allowed those who had great trust in Dumbledore, a pillar of the Wizarding World, to remain united, and some even began to whisper that Dumbledore, in his advanced age, had become a bit senile, falling for Crouch's deception.
Even Sherlock, who had previously not attracted much attention, saw his reputation in the Wizarding World steadily decline.
It was understandable that Dumbledore had been misled by Crouch, but for a young professor like Sherlock to support a "Death Eater" raised suspicions about his loyalties.
Some had even written to the Ministry of Magic, demanding an investigation into Sherlock, suggesting that Dumbledore's deception might have been a result of Crouch and Sherlock working together to stage a performance for Dumbledore.
However, Fudge was in no mood to provoke Dumbledore. Sherlock was a legitimate professor at Hogwarts, and Fudge could not extend his reach too far.
Having executed a brilliant turn of events, Fudge's primary concern now was to capture Barty Jr., who had escaped from Azkaban and gone into hiding years ago. This would solidify Crouch's guilt once and for all.
However, Crouch's response to the questioning was consistent from start to finish.
Barty Jr. had been killed by Sherlock on the night of the chaos following the World Cup.
This answer was absurd to the extreme.
Even the Aurors who were once Crouch's subordinates and still had some sympathy for him found Crouch's story incoherent.
Crouch had previously told the Daily Prophet that Sherlock had rescued him from the Death Eaters' control. Now, he claimed that Sherlock had killed his son.
Killed his son and then saved him?
Wasn't he afraid of retaliation after being rescued?
No one with a modicum of sense would act that way.
However, given Crouch's special status as both the Head of the Department at the Ministry of Magic and a member of one of the oldest pure-blood families, Fudge did not dare to use any special means on him, even though Crouch himself had offered to drink Veritaserum to answer all the questions truthfully.
The situation thus remained at an impasse.
Since the key figure, Barty Jr., had not been captured, Crouch had not been sentenced to Azkaban but was instead temporarily detained in the Ministry of Magic's holding cells.
However, Fudge had achieved his goal.
He had exposed Crouch's "lies", debunked the "ridiculous" claim that the Dark Lord was returning, and, most importantly, successfully "protected" his position as Minister.
Fudge was in high spirits, feeling that everything was perfect.
The only thing he was worried about was Dumbledore's response.
In the courtroom, he could see the anger in the eyes of the elderly man, who was well over a hundred years old.
However, Dumbledore, who had already returned to Hogwarts, did not have the time to deal with the outside affairs.
He was not about to abandon Crouch or ignore the inaction of Fudge's government. Instead, as the semester was drawing to a close, he had more pressing matters to handle.
On the vast, empty grounds of the Hogwarts Quidditch Stadium, a large and complex maze had sprung up over the past few months.
This was clearly the content of the third task, which Bagman had already informed all the champions about a month before the competition.
Although Hogwarts had been affected by the outside events and showed great interest in the Crouch affair, as the final task of the competition drew near, the students' discussions returned to the tournament itself.
Everyone wanted to know which school's champion would win the final trophy and the grand prize of a thousand Galleons.
In the third week after the Crouch incident, three days before the start of the third task, Harry had a hazy dream during Divination class.
While Sybill Trelawney was cryptically guiding everyone to observe the floating nebulae in the crystal balls, Harry's scar suddenly began to throb.
He felt as if his perspective had completely changed, and he found himself in a dark, gloomy room.
"Good news keeps coming. Excellent, really excellent."
A raspy, unpleasant, and cold voice echoed from where Harry was, as if the speaker were Harry himself!
(End of Chapter)
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