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Chapter 702: So You Were the Mole!
Chapter 702: So You Were the Mole!
Listening to Sirius Black's explanation, Ivan sighed, not saying much more. He was well aware of how deeply Sirius Black was fixated on Peter.
Back then, when Harry told him that Sirius Black had abandoned them to confront the Death Eaters, he found it strange. Now, it made more sense—only seeing Peter could make him reckless enough to pursue him without a second thought.
"Then what? Did you catch up to Peter?" Ivan asked.
"I followed Peter into a forest and watched him take off his coat. That's when I saw he was carrying a monster in his arms..." Sirius Black's expression turned grave. "I didn't know that monster was the Dark Lord at the time, so I chose to fight them instead of fleeing immediately... I ended up being hit by the Imperius Curse."
Ivan's shock was evident on his face. He hadn't expected Peter to bring Voldemort to the Quidditch World Cup, risking discovery.
No wonder Barty Jr. suddenly disappeared from the camp. He must have successfully attracted Voldemort's attention by casting the Dark Mark and was ordered by Voldemort to rescue him.
As Ivan pondered this, Sirius Black continued speaking.
"After being hit by the Dark Lord's spell, a voice kept urging me to take Harry out alone and hand him over."
"However, the Dark Lord must have overlooked one thing. I spent over a decade in Azkaban, where the Dementors honed my willpower..."
At this, Sirius Black gave a self-deprecating laugh before continuing. "So, he couldn't completely control me. I knew that following his command would kill Harry, so I fought it with all my might."
"But the Dark Lord's magic was too powerful. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't break free from the Imperius Curse. In the end, I came up with a plan. Instead of resisting, I used my last bit of sanity to mimic the Death Eaters, setting fire to the tents around us and drawing the attention of nearby Aurors!"
"You wanted the Aurors to capture you, hoping they would realize you were under the Imperius Curse?" Ivan immediately guessed Sirius Black's intention.
"Yes! That's exactly what I was thinking! At the very least, being locked up again would have been better..." Sirius Black sighed. "Unfortunately, not long after the Aurors caught me, Arthur arrived with his team and vouched for me!"
"This is really..." Ivan shook his head in frustration, unsure of what to say. Arthur Weasley's willingness to vouch for Sirius Black, despite the risk, was a true sign of friendship, but it backfired.
Sirius Black also gave a bitter laugh. The resistance had drained him of all his strength, and more importantly, the Dark Lord had noticed, strengthening his control over him.
The only silver lining was that this incident made the Dark Lord more cautious.
After completing his statement and returning from the Ministry of Magic, the Dark Lord didn't force Sirius to go to The Burrow to take Harry. Instead, he ordered him to stay home and wait for further instructions.
"What about Lupin and Kreacher? After being under his control for so long, didn't they suspect anything?" Ivan asked, puzzled.
"Lupin found a new job and moved out a few weeks after you left. So, the Dark Lord stayed at my residence for a long time. As for Kreacher..." Sirius Black's face contorted with pain and anger, his nails digging deeply into his palms, his voice turning icy.
"The Dark Lord made me command Kreacher to never leave the house. Kreacher couldn't resist my orders. Additionally, a House-Elf named Winky was constantly monitoring him."
"Winky? The House-Elf who was dismissed by Mr. Crouch?" Ivan furrowed his brow, remembering that Hermione had mentioned Sirius Black adopting Winky when he first started school.
"Right! That's it! The Dark Lord was short on hands, so I took Winky! That House-Elf had been abandoned by her master and really needed a home. The Dark Lord ordered Barty Crouch Jr. to re-sign a Pact with Winky, binding her to help him with certain tasks.
However, the Dark Lord doesn't trust House-Elves much, considering them stupid, lowly, and incapable of accomplishing much of anything..." Sirius Black said, glancing forward.
By now, they had reached the base of the Whomping Willow. Sirius Black picked up a stone from the grass and hit the knot on the tree trunk, then led Ivan into the secret passage they had come through.
As they made their way through the tunnel, Sirius Black continued to explain the events that followed. In the days leading up to the official start of term at Hogwarts, the Dark Lord had devised a plot to use the Triwizard Cup to bring Harry to his presence.
"Why didn't Voldemort just have you go to The Burrow and bring Harry out directly?" Ivan asked.
"At that time, Arthur had already started to suspect me. The next day, he wrote a letter, questioning why I had set fire to the campsite. An Auror had seen me do it", Sirius Black explained. "The Dark Lord was worried I might be exposed, so he had me write a reply, blaming the Ministry of Magic for harassing me..."
"Arthur might have believed my explanation, at least he didn't write me again, but the Dark Lord thought it was too risky to have me take such a chance.
Moreover, his Resurrection Rituals weren't ready yet. He still needed some special ingredients, and the potion would take a considerable amount of time to brew. In comparison, if Harry were to go missing for too long, it would easily draw Dumbledore's attention."
"The Dark Lord suspected Dumbledore had placed a curse on Harry, allowing him to track Harry's movements with a specific magic. He also feared I might rebel again, so he adjusted the plan temporarily, making me a mole to assist Barty Crouch Jr. in bringing Harry out of the school."
Sirius Black scoffed at Voldemort's suspicions, believing Dumbledore would never curse Harry to monitor him.
But Voldemort was clearly convinced of it, planning to wait until everything was ready before making his move, ensuring Dumbledore would be too late to react.
"So, it was you who leaked the news of Barty Crouch Jr.'s death to Voldemort?"
A few days ago, when Harry received his second dream premonition, Ivan had suspected there might be a mole in their midst, but he hadn't considered Sirius Black.
Sirius Black nodded. Since the start of term, he had been having Harry write letters regularly, detailing every event at Hogwarts and sending them to him.
When Harry suddenly mentioned the unusual behavior of Mad-Eye Moody, Voldemort guessed that Barty Crouch Jr. might have run into trouble...
(End of Chapter)
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