https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-907-Suffering-the-Cruelest-of-Beatings/12527536/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-909-Dumbledore-Catches-Them-Red-Handed/12527541/
Chapter 908: Dumbledore Pays a Visit
Chapter 908: Dumbledore Pays a Visit
Having just celebrated Christmas, replete with a mountain of gifts and a festive ball, one would expect Dumbledore to be in high spirits. Yet, his mood was rather somber.
The reason for his concern was Barty Crouch's unexpected absence from the Christmas Ball due to illness. While it might seem trivial, given Barty's advanced age and the exhaustion from a year of preparations for the Quidditch World Cup, there was a more troubling implication when connected with Albert's prophecy.
Months ago, Sirius Black had approached Dumbledore, revealing Peter Pettigrew's survival and the appearance of a man in the prophecy orb—none other than Barty Crouch Jr. Dumbledore recognized him instantly.
Was Barty Crouch Jr. still alive? And if so, why?
Ever since, Dumbledore had been discreetly investigating the matter, knowing that Barty Crouch Sr. held the key to the mystery. However, as a high-ranking official at the Ministry of Magic, Dumbledore had to tread carefully without overstepping his bounds.
While Dumbledore stayed out of politics, he was no stranger to its intricacies. He understood that some matters required a delicate approach. Forcing Barty Crouch Sr. to divulge secrets, even if he was involved, would create a mess.
Fortunately, a window of opportunity presented itself when Barty Sr. recently dismissed his loyal house-elf, Winky, who now worked at Hogwarts. While interrogating Winky with a strong Veritaserum would likely yield answers, Dumbledore chose not to, as it could prove fatal or cause permanent damage to the small creature.
House-elves were renowned for their unwavering loyalty, safeguarding their masters' secrets even after being dismissed from service. However, Dumbledore didn't need to extract answers from Winky directly; he merely needed to gauge her reactions to his speculations.
Summoning Winky to his office, Dumbledore shared his concerns about Barty Sr.'s illness and his suspicions of him being controlled by the Imperius Curse. He inquired about Barty Jr., carefully observing Winky's responses.
While Winky didn't explicitly confirm Dumbledore's suspicions, the Headmaster didn't need her to. He could deduce the truth from her reactions alone. Undoubtedly, Albert's prophecy held true—Barty Jr. was alive, and Barty Sr. was involved. Perhaps he had employed some clandestine method to keep his son alive, and the man who died in Azkaban was someone else entirely.
Dumbledore had already guessed as much when Sirius informed him of Peter Pettigrew's survival. It was a tragic irony that two great mothers had sacrificed their lives to save their sons, only to fail in saving their sons' consciences and steering them away from a life of darkness.
With the truth unveiled, Dumbledore's immediate instinct was to seek out Albert, needing validation from the boy who seemed to possess knowledge beyond his years.
Albert knew things—perhaps even more than Dumbledore himself.
The Headmaster's suspicions were first aroused during the ball when he overheard a snippet of conversation between Albert and Percy Weasley, hinting at the impending death of a Crouch.
Indeed, Percy's words foretold the demise of a Crouch, and his subsequent appointment as the Minister's assistant seemed to cement that prediction. Albert was a prodigy when it came to prophecies, and even if he didn't know, Dumbledore believed their brief exchange would have provided the boy with valuable insights.
Moreover, Dumbledore was certain that Albert was aware of more than he let on—his intelligence was undeniable.
However, to Dumbledore's chagrin, Albert had seemingly vanished without a trace, eluding even the Headmaster's tracking magic.
Where had Albert gone?
Dumbledore had no idea, but someone must know. And so, he turned to Albert's roommates and friends for answers.
To his surprise, even they were clueless.
"He probably went home," they suggested.
"Or maybe he's spending the Christmas holidays with his girlfriend," was another guess.
These were the speculations of Fred, George, and Lee Jordan.
But a visit to Anderson's supposed home yielded no results. The place was empty, seemingly uninhabited for months.
Had the Andersons moved? On further reflection, it didn't seem far-fetched.
After all, this was someone who could predict the future, especially a powerful seer. If he truly didn't want to be found, it would be a challenging task.
The case of Nicolas Flamel served as a prime example. When Voldemort had sought the Sorcerer's Stone years ago, Flamel had immediately sensed the danger and contacted Dumbledore, who then cast protective charms around his residence.
Unable to locate Albert, Dumbledore felt a twinge of misfortune. His original plan had been to visit Ludo Bagman, Barty Sr.'s colleague, and discuss the security measures for the second project. However, Bagman now found himself in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, having consumed a batch of love potion-laced chocolate cauldrons.
The embarrassing part was that Bagman's affections, induced by the love potion, were directed toward a Hogwarts student, and the woman who had sent him the letter was either fake or part of an elaborate ruse. What was the true nature of this incident?
Dumbledore quickly deduced the answer when, the next day, Hogwarts was in an uproar as a large number of students exhibited the effects of having consumed love potions. It was discovered that Fred, George, and Lee Jordan had shared treats laced with love potions after breakfast. This wasn't the first time they had done something like this. On occasions when Albert received an abundance of sweets and treats for his various achievements, they would distribute the excess to the student body to prevent waste.
As for Bagman's debt-ridden situation, Dumbledore was already aware of it.
"Bagman cheated us with fake gold during the World Cup, and he wasn't even willing to return our principal investment. So, we just wanted to teach him a lesson by making him run around in circles without earning a single galleon," George explained to Dumbledore.
There was no doubt that the trio knew the treats were laced with love potions.
The trio, however, would never admit to it, passing it off as a harmless prank.
Dumbledore had no intention of punishing them either. After all, anyone would be infuriated to discover that their hard-earned stash of Galleons had been swindled, and a little prank like this showed remarkable restraint on their part.
As for the incident with the love potions, it was purely accidental.
After all, they knew "nothing" about it, and it was merely a customary gesture to share treats with everyone, devoid of any malicious intent.
Nonetheless, this unexpected turn of events disrupted Dumbledore's original plan, delaying his intended visit to Bagman.
As for going there himself...
No, that wouldn't do. It could easily lead to trouble. It would be best to find a legitimate reason for his visit, so that the people at the Ministry of Magic would believe it was merely an accident.
Otherwise, who knew what might happen?
If Crouch died, he would be in a very difficult position.
The Ministry would never admit that Voldemort was still alive and would instead pin the blame on him or some other dark wizard.
What about involving someone from the Ministry, perhaps an Auror?
That was definitely not a good idea.
To be honest, aside from a handful of trustworthy friends, Dumbledore was reluctant to place his trust in the Ministry's Aurors, especially Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic.
The man was becoming increasingly enamored with his position and power, "decaying" more and more as he gravitated towards pure-blood wizards.
He was unreliable, very unreliable.
For Dumbledore, the British Ministry of Magic was never a source of support but rather a hindrance, a nuisance.
There were simply too many pure-blood wizards who despised him and enjoyed hindering his efforts, many of whom were Death Eaters who had escaped justice by exploiting loopholes in the law. Even Dumbledore had no easy solution to this problem, as he couldn't overhaul the existing system within the Ministry.
Therefore, the best course of action was to enlist Ludo Bagman, Barty Sr.'s colleague, to accompany him in visiting old Barty, and Dumbledore already had a plausible reason for the visit.
The second project was far more dangerous than the first, as it involved the champion venturing into the Black Lake to rescue hostages, out of Dumbledore's direct supervision. Even Dumbledore didn't have a foolproof plan for ensuring the champion's safety in such a situation, so he had no choice but to rely on the merpeople dwelling beneath the lake. Although the merpeople had agreed to help, there were still significant risks, such as the champion being attacked or accidentally drowning in the lake.
They needed a reliable safety measure to ensure that the champion could be rescued promptly if any danger arose.
Fortunately, Dumbledore already had a plan in mind.
Dumbledore glanced at the proposal in his hand and then at the pocket watch on his desk. It would be time to meet with Bagman in another hour.
Before leaving the school, he had some arrangements to make.
At that moment, Dumbledore was waiting for someone in his office.
He didn't have to wait long before the door to the Headmaster's office was knocked on, and in walked Severus Snape with a gloomy expression on his face.
It was understandable, given that the Gryffindor quartet had managed to escape punishment due to the love potion incident, and those four detestable individuals had stirred up some rather unpleasant memories for Snape.
What annoyed Snape even more was that Dumbledore had already brushed off the whole affair as an accident, choosing to downplay its significance.
Even though Snape could tell that the three of them were lying, and he was convinced that Albert Anderson was the mastermind behind it all, he couldn't very well send those four delinquents to detention.
"I'll be leaving the school before eight o'clock, and I need you to keep an eye on Moody," Dumbledore said to Snape. "Just make sure he doesn't leave your sight."
"What's going on?" Snape asked, immediately sensing that something was amiss.
"I may have found a lead," Dumbledore said vaguely.
"A lead?" Snape asked, his hand reaching for his arm as if to steady himself. "On...him?"
There were very few matters that could capture Dumbledore's full attention, and Voldemort was undoubtedly one of them.
Dumbledore didn't answer directly, instead saying, "I suspect someone has infiltrated the school, and I need you to help me keep an eye on the professors."
"Including Moody?" Snape asked, his tone odd.
"Of course," Dumbledore replied, looking at Snape. "I'll also have Moody watch over you. You can come up with any reason for it."
"What's the point of this?" Snape frowned.
"There is a point," Dumbledore said. "If there are any Death Eaters within the school, they will surely sense that something is amiss and report it to Voldemort within two hours of my departure. That will give us a chance to unmask them."
"Do you suspect Moody?"
"Not at the moment."
"Alright, if you say so," Snape agreed, though he was still puzzled.
About half an hour after Snape left, Moody knocked on the office door.
"What can I do for you, Albus?" he asked.
"I need to leave the school to take care of something," Dumbledore said, getting straight to the point.
"It must be important, then," Moody said. "I'll get ready to go with you."
"No, I need you to stay here and help me keep an eye on Hogwarts," Dumbledore said. "I've always suspected that there might be a spy for Voldemort among the staff, and I need you to make sure that no professor sends any messages outside the school within two hours of my departure."
"Are you sure you don't need any help?" Moody asked again.
"No, I don't," Dumbledore assured him.
"Alright," Moody nodded, then asked, "Do you have any suspects in mind?"
"No," Dumbledore shook his head.
"There are no professors showing any signs of the Imperius Curse, and while it's possible that a more powerful version of the curse could be masking the symptoms, it's unlikely that there would be no signs at all after all this time," Moody analyzed. "After ruling that out, we're left with two suspects with prior Death Eater affiliations, one of whom, Karkaroff, fled not long ago."
"I trust that Snape won't betray me, and he has no reason to do so," Dumbledore said, looking at Moody.
"There are plenty of cunning individuals in Slytherin, and even you could be deceived," Moody said with a cold smile. "Albus, you're too soft-hearted, always giving people second chances. I've overheard them talking about the Dark Mark reactivating, and who knows if that person is planning to return to their master's side."
"If possible, take this opportunity to flush out whoever is hiding," Dumbledore said calmly.
Undoubtedly, this was a plot against him, but...what was the point of a plot that was so obvious?
However, young Barty soon realized the gravity of the situation.
He might be under surveillance.
Moreover, Dumbledore might have truly discovered Voldemort's whereabouts, and this move was intended to prevent anyone from tipping off Voldemort or to expose him, Barty Crouch Jr., hiding within Hogwarts.
Of course, it was also possible that it was all a ruse to lure him out and capture him.
What should he do now?
After some contemplation, young Barty ultimately decided against contacting Voldemort. He couldn't afford to expose himself just yet.
With the Crouch family's magical defenses, even if they encountered trouble, his master would surely find a way to escape on his own.
(End of Chapter)
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