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Chapter 851: Shadows Draw Near
Chapter 851: Shadows Draw Near
In the midst of a tranquil night, a piercing explosion suddenly tore through the silence, and a cloaked figure appeared out of thin air, seemingly carrying something in his arms. He strolled along a path until he stopped in front of a large house.
Ding dong! The doorbell rang.
"Damn it, who's calling at this hour?"
Being roused from sleep in the middle of the night put Crouch in a foul mood. The moment he opened the door, his face froze in astonishment as he beheld a man who should have been dead. In the visitor's arms was an ugly infant, who pointed a wand at Crouch.
"Loss of self!"
A hoarse voice rang out in the night.
Crouch, struck by the Soul-Sucking Curse, composed his expression and casually stepped aside, inviting the visitor in as if greeting a long-lost friend.
Peter quickly located little Barty, who was hidden in a very secretive spot, covered with a high-quality Invisibility Cloak.
Lord Voldemort raised his wand, awakening the still-unconscious man and lifting the Soul-Sucking Curse from him.
Little Barty opened his eyes, looking at the stranger before him with confusion. His gaze fell on his father beside him, startling him, and then on the baby in the man's arms, leaving his mind in a muddle.
"It's me, I'm back."
"Master, you've come to rescue me, to save your most loyal servant." Little Barty's face lit up with a brilliant smile. "I knew you weren't dead, it's wonderful, just wonderful."
"Now, Little Barty, take a seat."
Lord Voldemort asked Old Barty to leave the room and, turning to his loyal servant, rasped, "I haven't fully regained my original strength yet. I have a plan, and I need a loyal and reliable servant to help me carry it out so that I can reclaim the power that is rightfully mine."
"I'm willing," Little Barty said without hesitation. "I'm ready to take any risk for you, Master."
"I need you to bring Harry Potter to me," Lord Voldemort stated, revealing the ultimate goal of the task.
"Master, how can I bring Harry Potter to you?" Little Barty inquired, well aware of the Savior Potter's reputation.
"You will disguise yourself as old Auror Moody and venture to Hogwarts," Lord Voldemort began to explain his plan. "Let Harry Potter become a champion, and during the Triwizard Tournament, you will monitor and guide him, ensuring that he wins the Triwizard Cup. At the crucial moment, you will switch the Cup with a Portkey that will bring him to me."
"Ahem, sorry, Master," Wormtail coughed lightly, "but there's something I must bring to your attention. While Harry Potter is quite accomplished for his age, there's the presence of that Albert Anderson, a genius of this century. It's highly unlikely for Harry Potter to win the Triwizard Cup first, unless we get rid of that Mudblood beforehand."
Seemingly to reinforce Lord Voldemort's resolve, Peter added, "Albert Anderson has already secured several world-class champion titles, and he's hailed as the most brilliant wizard of our time. I'm certain he will become Hogwarts' champion."
"Albert Anderson?" Lord Voldemort tried to recall the name.
He remembered that when he had possessed Quirinus Quirrell, there was a student by the name of Albert Anderson who frequently approached Quirrell with questions about Dark Magic defense, eventually driving Quirrell to the point of wanting to avoid him at all costs.
"Wormtail, I know how much you loathe that Mudblood," Lord Voldemort said, staring at Peter with a cold smile. "He's the one who landed you in Azkaban, isn't he?"
"Yes, it was him," Peter lowered his neck and clenched his teeth, summoning the courage to say, "But what I'm saying is the truth. Albert Anderson could very well be the biggest obstacle in our plan."
"Making that Mudblood disappear now wouldn't be appropriate, especially since he's currently the center of attention. His disappearance would raise a lot of questions, and with Harry Potter becoming the Hogwarts champion, Dumbledore would grow suspicious of the entire affair."
For Lord Voldemort, that particular Mudblood was cunning, and the chain reaction caused by his disappearance might risk exposing their plan prematurely. He trusted Little Barty's capabilities more, believing that he could handle the matter without letting Wormtail's personal grudge ruin everything.
Of course, even if there were issues, the plan could still be adjusted. For instance, at the crucial moment, Little Barty could directly use the Portkey to bring Harry Potter to his side.
"Master, I'll handle this," Little Barty said confidently. "I won't let that Mudblood interfere with this grand plan."
Indeed, in Little Barty's opinion, truly skilled wizards came from pureblood lineages, and Mudbloods were never a real threat.
Wormtail's mention of this matter was likely driven by his desire for revenge.
Seeing that Lord Voldemort had made his decision, Peter dared not bring it up again, lest he incur the Dark Lord's displeasure and suffer the Cruciatus Curse. However, deep down, Peter still believed that Lord Voldemort had made a foolish choice.
Peter admitted to having personal motives, but having interacted with Albert Anderson, he knew better than anyone just how formidable that young man was.
Was it all a lie that he had won so many world-class championships?
Damn pureblood arrogance! "We need to deal with old Auror Moody first, and before that, we'll need to prepare the Polyjuice Potion," Lord Voldemort said, glancing at Wormtail, who took out a bottle of the Polyjuice Potion they had acquired from the black market.
"This bottle of Polyjuice Potion should last for a few days, but we'll need to purchase more, which could easily draw attention," Peter said softly. "It would be best if we brewed it ourselves to avoid any complications."
"That's not a problem," Little Barty said confidently, proud of his potion-making skills. "I can brew the Polyjuice Potion without any issues as long as you provide me with the necessary ingredients."
"I've already acquired some of the ingredients, which should be enough for your first batch," Peter told Little Barty.
"That won't be sufficient," Little Barty said to Peter. "I'll need a large quantity of Polyjuice Potion, and without the right materials, the plan simply won't work."
"Unicorn horns and African serpent skins are hard to come by. It takes time and galleons to acquire them from the black market," Peter frowned, his tone irritated. "And I can't be expected to purchase all the materials at once while also taking care of our guest here. Besides, it was I who captured Bertha Jorkins in Albania, which gave you the opportunity to escape."
"That's enough, Wormtail, continue acquiring the ingredients," Lord Voldemort interrupted the unpleasant exchange, as he still needed Wormtail's services. Turning to Little Barty, he instructed, "Wormtail will help you subdue Moody, and before that, you must be well-prepared."
Over the next few days, Voldemort controlled Crouch to purchase common potion ingredients for the Polyjuice Potion from a magic shop. Peter, on the other hand, disguised himself as a foreign wizard and procured unicorn horns and African serpent skins from the black market.
African serpent skins were the main ingredient for the Polyjuice Potion and were classified as restricted trade items due to their uncommon use in potions.
After Little Barty and Peter had made all the necessary preparations, they quietly arrived at Moody's house. As a former Auror, Alastor Moody was highly vigilant, and subduing him would not be an easy task.
Of course, Little Barty and Peter were well-prepared for this day, even going as far as to cast a Disillusionment Charm on themselves to launch a surprise attack.
However, plans rarely survive first contact with the enemy.
Little Barty and Peter were unaware that Moody had a magical eye after losing one of his eyes. Thus, when Peter rang the doorbell, Moody had already seen through their Disillusionment Charm via his magical eye.
Impossible! Moody was astonished to see Peter, and he never expected the supposedly deceased Peter Pettigrew to show up at his doorstep.
Peter's target was obviously him.
Nevertheless, Moody had no intention of fleeing, and Peter's presence did not instill fear in him to the extent that he felt the need to run away.
Instead, he was more inclined to capture Peter and find out what was going on.
Furthermore, Moody had a significant advantage as Peter was unaware that he had been detected through the magical eye's X-ray vision.
The doorbell rang for a long time, but there was no sign of Moody opening the door.
Seeing no response, Peter used magic to unlock the door and barge in. He evidently realized that Moody had discovered them, or perhaps, Moody was still asleep? The former seemed more likely.
Moody might have had some alarm measures in place, and they had to capture him before he could escape, or else their entire plan would fail.
As soon as Peter entered the house, he was ambushed. Despite Moody's old age and impaired mobility, he relied on his rich combat experience to make Peter's situation dire.
An explosion rang out in the room, and Peter scrambled behind a wall for cover.
"Damn it, Barty, get over here and help me!" Peter shouted. They had to capture Moody before anyone else arrived.
Of course, Peter was calling out to Little Barty to distract Moody and take advantage of the fact that their opponent was an elderly man who couldn't fight as nimbly as he used to.
Peter's shout startled Moody, and his instincts told him that there might be another enemy nearby.
Seeing that the situation was turning sour, Moody prepared to retreat, but Little Barty didn't give him the chance. He swiftly flanked Moody from another corner, trapping him inside the room.
"We must subdue Moody quickly. We can't let him get away just like that. We have to stop him," Peter shouted to Little Barty.
"Shut up!" Little Barty waved his wand and blasted a hole in the wall, fearlessly rushing into the room. He stunned Moody, who was about to Disapparate, with a Stunning Spell.
"This guy is tough. We almost let him get away," Peter sighed in relief. If Moody had truly escaped, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
"Quickly restore the place to normal. Those Ministry folks will be here soon," Barty glanced at the useless fool, plucked a few strands of Moody's hair, and added them to the Polyjuice Potion. He drank the potion and transformed into Moody's likeness.
Then, he took Moody's wooden leg and magical eye and installed them on himself.
"What should we do with this guy?"
Peter asked as he cast a Repairing Charm to fix the damaged parts of the house, wondering how Little Barty planned to deal with Moody. They had to ensure that Moody remained alive.
If Little Barty wanted to deceive Dumbledore, he had to understand Moody's past, his habits, and mannerisms to pull off the deception successfully. Moreover, he needed Moody's hair for the Polyjuice Potion.
In the end, they turned Moody into a mouse and temporarily imprisoned him in a magically conjured cage, intending to deal with him later after handling the incoming Ministry officials.
After helping to restore the house to its pre-combat state, Peter hastily departed.
Little Barty, following the original plan, took Moody's wand and cast spells at the trash cans in the yard, causing them to explode and scatter garbage everywhere, creating a mess to deal with the soon-to-arrive Ministry employees.
In fact, the plan went very smoothly, and when the Muggle police arrived, there was still a trash can spewing garbage.
The expressions on the faces of those Muggle policemen were quite amusing.
Finally, the one who came to handle the situation was Arthur, Moody's old friend, or rather, Moody himself in Little Barty's disguise.
Arthur had to modify the memories of those policemen before they could leave, ending the incident.
"What happened here?" Arthur asked, exhausted.
"I heard the alarm go off. I didn't see anyone, but I could hear someone sneaking into the yard, heading towards the house. They didn't succeed, probably because they didn't expect the trash cans to ambush them. They had to retreat temporarily due to the noise, and I suspect that they might be someone seeking revenge on me," Moody answered warily, scanning his surroundings.
"It's good that you're safe. At least the situation isn't too bad. I think you'll get off with a warning from the Ministry at most," Arthur replied, relieved. Although he suspected that Moody might be overthinking things, he also knew that Moody had quite a few enemies, especially in the current situation. Who knew if one of those Dark wizards from the Quidditch World Cup would get worked up and come to cause trouble for Moody?
"Thanks to you, or else I would've been in trouble."
"I remember you're supposed to start working at Hogwarts today, right?" Mr. Weasley asked.
"Yes, today."
"Well, to be honest... being the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher doesn't sound very lucky."
"I'll only teach for a year, doing Dumbledore a favor. He couldn't find a suitable Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," Moody mumbled, "After that, I can finally return to my peaceful retired life."
"I have to go now and deal with the folks from the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office. If Rita Skeeter comes to interview you, it's best not to pay her any mind. If you can avoid her, even better," Arthur reminded before leaving.
After Arthur Weasley's departure, Little Barty returned to the house to inventory Moody's clothing and Dark Detectors.
Finally, Little Barty discovered a hidden compartment in Moody's magical trunk and controlled Moody with the Imperius Curse, locking him inside the hidden compartment of the trunk before setting off for Hogwarts.
(End of Chapter)
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