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Chapter 669: For the Sake of Justice!
Chapter 669: For the Sake of Justice!
"He is my son, Barty Jr. This photo was taken last year, but I don't think much has changed since then." Crouch said with a touch of sentiment.
"Thank you, Mr. Crouch. The information you provided should be very helpful." Ivan glanced at the photo a few times before putting it away.
"No, I'm the one who should be thanking you for your trouble!" Crouch shook his head and chuckled bitterly. He then looked at Ivan, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "Hals, may I ask why you are so determined to find my son, Barty Jr.?"
Crouch was genuinely puzzled about this.
He wasn't asking to exonerate Barty Jr.; on the contrary, he hoped his son would be caught soon to atone for his past misdeeds.
However, Crouch believed such matters should be handled by the headmaster and the staff. Shouldn't someone Ivan's age, a student, focus on learning and enjoying life instead?
Moreover, Ivan was the Hogwarts Champion, having just won the second task. Normally, this would be the perfect time to celebrate with friends.
"Mr. Crouch, Harry is my best friend. Now that he is in danger, I can't just stand by and do nothing", Ivan explained.
There was another crucial reason Ivan didn't mention: Barty Jr. Crouch had planned to deliver Harry to Voldemort, allowing the Dark Lord to be reborn. To ensure his own survival, Ivan felt it was best to thwart Voldemort's resurrection plans. This was the real reason for his determination.
Was it for the sake of friendship and a sense of justice? Crouch looked at Ivan with a complex expression. Once upon a time, he too had held similar ideals.
Crouch patted Ivan on the shoulder, offered a few words of encouragement, and then turned to leave.
With a new lead, Ivan didn't linger and headed down the stairs toward the Great Hall.
Entering the entrance hall, Ivan realized he was a bit late. The long tables of the four houses were already full, but fortunately, Harry, Ron, and Hermione had saved a seat for him. Ivan quickly took his place.
"Ivan, where were you? George and the others had a celebration in the common room this afternoon, but you never showed up", Harry asked curiously.
"I found an empty classroom to practice magic. You know, I've never been much of a fan of celebrations. I'd rather spend that time reading a few more books", Ivan said vaguely, tapping his wand on the empty plate in front of him, summoning a delicious steak.
"You should have told me earlier. I wouldn't have gone if I knew", Harry sighed, remembering the "enthusiastic" Gryffindors who made him want to find a hole to hide in.
With Ivan absent, most of the young lions had redirected their attention to Harry, endlessly asking him to recount his perilous experience at the bottom of the lake, as if they could never get enough.
George and Fred even turned his rescue of Ginny into a heart-wrenching love story, playfully calling Ginny his most beloved treasure.
Harry kept complaining about George and Fred's pranks, but Ivan wasn't paying attention. His focus was on the young wizards who had a sweet tooth.
However, after scanning the hall, Ivan quickly realized that finding Barty Crouch Jr. based on his fondness for sweets would be extremely difficult.
Since most young wizards have a particular fondness for sweets, it would take forever to check each one individually.
Ivan furrowed his brow, feeling quite disappointed. He had thought he had a crucial lead that could help him catch Barty Jr., but now it seemed that this clue wasn't as useful as he had hoped.
Clang!
Just as Ivan was thinking this, a sharp noise suddenly came from the entrance hall, interrupting his thoughts.
Ivan turned his head curiously and saw that it was the clumsy Neville who had accidentally bumped into Mad-Eye Moody, who was just leaving the Great Hall. A plate had fallen to the ground, and the pastries scattered haphazardly.
"I-I'm sorry, Professor Moody... I didn't mean to!" Neville stumbled and fell to the ground. When he looked up, he saw Mad-Eye Moody's scarred face, and his words became jumbled.
"Be more careful next time, boy!" Mad-Eye Moody grumbled, pulling Neville up from the floor. He then tapped his wand and cast a Scourgify to clean up the broken plate and scattered pastries into a trash bag.
"Is Professor Moody always like this?" Ivan asked, his curiosity piqued as he watched the scene from a distance.
"Of course, Professor Moody just looks a bit intimidating, but he's actually quite nice", Harry nodded. After a semester of classes, his impression of Mad-Eye Moody had improved.
Although Mad-Eye Moody was often strict in class, they always learned a lot of new things in his Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons.
"Yeah, if Professor Moody could just be a bit more normal and stop always suspecting that someone is trying to kill him, it would be even better!" Ron chimed in, rolling his eyes.
"That's not what I meant", Ivan rolled his eyes. "I'm asking if you've noticed that Professor Moody likes to eat sweets after meals."
Harry and Ron exchanged a glance and shook their heads. Who would bother to pay attention to that?
Ivan sighed, realizing he couldn't rely on them, and began to recall on his own. He vaguely remembered the beginning of the term when he had seen Mad-Eye Moody taking some pastries and donuts after meals, but he wasn't sure if it was a regular habit.
"Professor Moody does have a sweet tooth... Why are you asking this?" Hermione suddenly spoke up.
"Are you sure?" Ivan placed his hand on Hermione's shoulder and asked urgently.
"I heard it from the House-Elves in the kitchen. Sometimes, Professor Moody comes in the middle of the night to have them prepare snacks", Hermione pouted, clearly unhappy. She then continued, as if a floodgate had opened.
"The House-Elves are already overworked. They clean the entire castle and prepare our food all day, and then they have to deal with people disturbing them in the middle of the night!"
As she spoke, Hermione glanced at Ivan, because from what she knew, he occasionally visited the kitchen late at night to force the House-Elves to cook for him.
(End of Chapter)
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