https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-639-I-Just-Made-Some-Reasonable-Guesses-Based-on-Information/13453021/
Chapter 640: Where Did It All Go Wrong?
Chapter 640: Where Did It All Go Wrong?
"Crimes I've committed are enough to keep me in Azkaban for life. Killing one more person won’t change anything, so I have no reason to hide the truth from you." Crouch said irately.
Mad-Eye Moody pursed his lips but didn’t argue back.
Ivan, on the other hand, knew exactly what had happened to Bertha Jorkins. After Crouch used a Memory Charm to erase her memory, she ended up in Romania, where she ran into Voldemort. Now, her body was cold, and she had provided Voldemort with a wealth of information.
However, Ivan wasn’t about to reveal this information, as he couldn’t explain how he knew it.
Crouch continued his account. After dealing with Bertha Jorkins, everything returned to a semblance of peace, and no one else came to disturb him. This allowed him to focus on more pressing matters, such as the upcoming Triwizard Tournament and the Quidditch World Cup.
"For over a decade, my son Barty Crouch Jr. has behaved well and caused no trouble. Winky pleaded with me to be more lenient with him, and it just so happened that the Quidditch World Cup was taking place. So, I decided to take him to the event."
"He used to love Quidditch..." Crouch sighed wistfully.
"Ha, looks like your prisoner was having a pretty good time", Mad-Eye Moody said sarcastically. "You had the nerve to bring Barty Crouch Jr. to a place with so many people."
"I took many precautions. I booked a private box at the top of the stadium, put an Invisibility Cloak on him to ensure he wouldn’t be seen, and had Winky watch him closely... but alas, something still went wrong!" Crouch explained.
"What went wrong? Did he run away?" Mad-Eye Moody asked.
"Yes! He disappeared, right there at the Quidditch stadium!" Crouch’s face showed a hint of panic.
"Can you tell us more specifically? Mr. Crouch? When did you find out about this?" Ivan quickly followed up, suspecting that this was where things began to unravel.
"Barty Crouch Jr. must have broken free from the Imperius Curse I placed on him and took advantage of the ensuing chaos to escape." Crouch sounded very angry, blaming the incompetent house-elf for failing to watch his son.
However, under Ivan’s persistent questioning, he revealed more details.
After the riot, as a high-ranking official of the Ministry of Magic, he immediately mobilized forces to apprehend the Dark Wizards causing trouble. He then led a team to the location where the Dark Mark had appeared and unexpectedly found Winky there.
Seeing Winky, Crouch knew that Barty Crouch Jr. must have escaped, though he suspected his son was still nearby.
"So, you’re saying your son released the Dark Mark?" Mad-Eye Moody pounded his wand in anger. "You knew this and still planned to pin the blame on Harry and Sirius Black!"
Crouch gave a bitter laugh and continued without contradiction, "After everyone left, I returned to the site to retrieve my son, but I searched every inch of the surrounding area and couldn’t find Barty Crouch Jr. anywhere..."
Hearing this, Ivan’s brow furrowed. In the original timeline, Crouch should have successfully found Barty Crouch Jr. and brought him back home.
So, where did it all go wrong?
Ivan struggled to recall the plot points from his memory. He suddenly remembered that in the original timeline, Barty Crouch Jr. had been accidentally hit by a few wizards’ spells, which forced him to stay in place. It was a highly coincidental event.
If that hadn’t happened, Barty Crouch Jr. would have had a high chance of escaping during the chaos and would have gone straight to Voldemort.
This would explain why Voldemort and Peter Pettigrew didn’t need to stage a raid on the Crouch residence, and why Barty Crouch wasn’t controlled by Voldemort’s Imperius Curse.
Ivan couldn't feel a bit of happiness after realizing all of this.
Knowing where the problems began was one thing, but the key was how to solve them!
Where was Barty Crouch Jr. now? His name wasn't on the Marauder's Map, and how did he manage to modify the Triwizard Cup...
Each of these questions gave Ivan a headache. He had previously thought that Barty Crouch Jr. was impersonating his father, Crouch, to pull off everything, but now it seemed that Crouch himself had no issues. This meant that all his previous assumptions were wrong!
"During this time, I have been searching for Barty Crouch Jr.'s whereabouts, but I couldn't find him anywhere in the entire tournament grounds. So, I had to ask people to help me investigate his movements in Britain", Crouch said, looking weary.
"Why didn't you simply refuse to be the referee of the Triwizard Tournament and use more time to find your son?" Ivan asked curiously.
"No, you're mistaken, Hals. Only by accepting this job did he have a valid reason to avoid questions!" Mad-Eye Moody sneered. "Right, Barty?"
Crouch nodded guiltily. When he wasn't at the castle, he used the excuse of being busy with the Department of International Magical Cooperation to dodge Ludo Bagman's inquiries. The Ministry of Magic assumed he was handling the Triwizard Cup's affairs.
This cover story ensured that no one would question his whereabouts for a while.
However, Crouch hadn't anticipated that months would pass without any news of Barty Crouch Jr. It was only today that he saw a note written by Barty Crouch Jr. himself, thanks to Ivan and Mad-Eye Moody.
"For months, I've been hesitating about whether to tell anyone—Minister Fudge or Dumbledore..." Crouch's face was a mask of struggle. He had spent countless nights torn between his personal desires and his sense of duty, nearly driving himself to the brink of mental collapse.
Thinking about this, Crouch slowly turned to look at Ivan, speaking with a sense of gratitude. "I need to thank you, Hals. You helped me make the right choice."
"Hah, you make it sound so easy, Barty! If we hadn't come in and figured everything out, would you have turned yourself in? Don't kid yourself!" Mad-Eye Moody's lips curled into a sneer as he ruthlessly exposed Crouch's selfish thoughts. "You would have continued to cling to the hope of finding your son, wouldn't you?"
"You know very well that once the truth comes out, you'll end up in Azkaban. Everyone will know what kind of person the former Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement really is... You wanted to find your son and return to your old life!" Mad-Eye Moody's words were as sharp as a knife.
"Enough, Alastor!" Crouch was visibly irritated by Mad-Eye Moody's sarcastic tone. "I did make a mistake, but it's the Ministry of Magic's job to judge me. Don't forget, you're no longer an Auror!"
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(End of Chapter)
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