Chapter 248
·
Shui Shen Zhi Feng
Chapter 248
The story of Harry's trio will not be mentioned for the time being.
Old Batty took advantage of midnight to leave the school hospital. Hogwarts Castle was under curfew at this time, and there was no one to be seen. The only little Batty who had mastered the Marauder's Map had already fallen asleep because of his vigilance and injuries, so no one found old Batty's whereabouts.
The next difficulty was how to get in touch with that young Malfoy.He was also a member of the Slytherin house, and he knew the location of the Slytherin common room, but he couldn't get in without a password. If he accidentally touched some warning magic to attract the professors, it would be more harm than good.
There was no hesitation in his eyes, but a shrewd look flashed from time to time.
Since the young Malfoy had been programmed to restore his memory at 12 midnight, he couldn't have missed that.
"Could this be... a test of my ability?" This absurd thought flashed through Old Barty's mind, as if he had suddenly become a young man who had just entered society, while Schelling was a scheming old fellow, "If I didn't even think of this, wouldn't my own value be significantly reduced in Malfoy's eyes?" Thinking of this, even the old Barty, who was accustomed to wind and rain, couldn't help but feel a chill.
Old Batty gathered himself together, and came to the entrance of the Slytherin common room without a sound.
Sure enough, he had just arrived at a distance of about ten steps from the entrance, and the stone wall at the entrance to the Slytherin common room was automatically opened from the inside.
The one standing at the door was none other than the platinum blonde boy, Sherin Malfoy.There was a calm and peaceful smile on his face, as if he had expected the arrival of old Batty.
Schelling naturally knew the purpose of old Batty's visit.
The brand-new memory that popped up in old Batty's mind is his masterpiece. Not only that, he also used absolute dominance to rewrite old Batty's inner personality, and his ambitions and desires that had been buried in the past were excavated again and sprouted through the impact of extreme disappointment in family relationships.
In fact, part of what Ron deduced last night was correct. Although the attacker was not directed and acted by Schelling, the reason why Schelling caused so much trouble was naturally not because he was full and had nothing to do. His goal was just as Ron speculated——
It's Barty Crouch Sr.
Old Batty is a man who is resourceful, ambitious, resourceful, courageous, shrewd but also courageous to make decisions, and he is a usable talent.Judging from his ability to resist the Imperius Curse planted by Voldemort himself, and the Oblivion Curse he cast on Bertha Jorkins, his magic level is not low, and he also has quite strong personality.This is what Schelling values most about him—talent. In comparison, his status as the head of the pure-blood family and his position as the director of the International Cooperation Department are just icing on the cake.
Xie Lin looked at the alchemy watch on his wrist. After being improved by him, many functions were added to it.
On the dial of the watch, there were originally twelve pointers and various stars rotating along the edge of the dial.Xie Lin just swept his fingers across the watch mirror lightly, but he did not see any magic, and the picture on the dial suddenly changed——
There are still twelve pointers, but each pointer is engraved with a name——
Daphne Greengrass, Maury McDougal, Astoria Greengrass, Luna Lovegood, Cho Chang, Susan Bones, Draco Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa Malfoy, Dobby, Silver Fang, Barty Crouch Jr.
The edges of the dial are no longer various stars, but descriptions of different states or behaviors.
At this moment, most of the pointers are pointing to the state of "sleeping", including Barty Crouch Jr.That's why Schelling looked at his watch.
After defeating and capturing Barty Jr. with a stun spell in the Forbidden Forest, Schelling first modified Barty Jr.'s memory, and then buried the "suppression" command in his spirit, which would make him feel very tired and drowsy, and then put him back to continue to serve as his Defense Against the Dark Arts professor avatar.According to Schelling's prediction, at this point in time, the instructions in Barty Jr.'s brain should have been activated, and logically speaking, he should have fallen into a deep sleep.
But Schelling, who was cautious by nature, never did anything uncertain. He knew that Barty Jr. had a Marauder's Map, and most of the secret passages at Hogwarts, including the secret passage on the fifth floor, could not be hidden from him.So he had to make sure that Little Barty was really asleep at this moment.
Almost all pointers pointed as he expected, which made him feel relieved. There were only two people who surprised him——
Luna and Susan's pointers are pointing to the item "Practice magic".Still practicing magic after 12 midnight?What an effort!
Regardless of why Luna and Susan work so hard, let's focus on the meeting between Schelling and old Batty!
Schelling put his finger on his lips and made a silent gesture. Although all the humans in Hogwarts have fallen asleep, it doesn't mean that the meeting between the two of them is absolutely secret.The portraits, statues, armor, and ghosts in the castle may become Dumbledore's eyeliner.
Xie Lin first put a layer of invisible phantom spell and silent spell on the two of them, and then directed old Batty and him in a low voice to walk slowly to the mirror tunnel on the fifth floor.The two walked through the mirror and walked all the way to the secret room in the basement of Miracle Alchemy Workshop, only then did they unlock the magic of invisibility.
"Sir, have you made a decision?" Xie Lin sacrificed his sleep time at night, but he didn't want to waste too much time here, so he went straight to the point.
Old Batty fully understood what Schelling meant. He was asking himself whether he would represent all the forces of the Crouch family, join the camp that Schelling belonged to, and follow his lead.Since he had already made a decision when he was in the school hospital, he would not regret it now. He nodded and said, "I have one condition..."
"You want me to kill your son?" It was not difficult for Xie Lin to guess what he meant.
Old Batty frowned first. To be honest, he was a little palpitated by Schelling's ability to read people's hearts. This boy really didn't look like a boy. In a certain way, he was more like the Dark Lord who was good at manipulating people's hearts.But then he quickly loosened his frowning brows. The stronger Xie Lin was, the more beneficial he would bet on this time. At this moment, he was more determined to follow Xie Lin.
"Yes," he said in a deep voice, without any emotion in his tone, as if he was discussing not killing his son, but a livestock. "As long as I can kill him and erase my secret from the world, I would like to swear allegiance to you on behalf of the Crouch family and all the affiliated families, even by signing a magic contract."
"Yes." Schelling readily agreed, "Then what are your plans now? The mysterious man is still in the Crouch Mansion, right? It's not safe for you to go back."
Old Batty thought for a while, and asked, "Is this your safe house?"
"No, this is one of my peripheral strongholds. It is specially used for the students who follow me to gather here and practice magic. It is mainly for the convenience of this place. Because of the existence of secret passages, forces inside and outside the school can contact here, but in fact it is a stronghold that can be abandoned at any time. If you want to stay here, I have to cast a shielding spell on your name, lest others find you with owls."
Xie Lin thought for a while, "I have a real safe house outside the school. You can hide there. The highest level of defensive magic has been cast there, and even mysterious people can't find you."
What Schelling was thinking about was the Ella hut he inherited from his grandmother, where he had cast the most complete "Loyalty Curse". If old Batty wanted to hide there, no one would be able to find him.
Old Batty pondered for a while. If he were replaced by the timid Karkaroff at this moment, he would rush to agree without even thinking about it, for fear that Schelling would suddenly go back on his word.However, Old Batty didn't think so——
Although Batty Sr. lost his ambitions after experiencing the pain of losing his wife.But he didn't just slump. It can be seen from the fact that he still holds the power of the head of the first department and his attitude towards work is too serious. Deep in his heart, he still has an inseparable attachment to power and cause.
When he was working in the Ministry of Magic, he wasn't just dawdling around, but he had a clear view of everything around him. At that time, he was disheartened about chasing power, but he just felt that all these things were no longer important to him. Since the matter had nothing to do with him, he didn't bother to pay attention to it.
Last summer, on the day Schelling was awarded the Order of Merlin in the Wizengamot, Fudge's prestige was greatly affected by the Black escape incident, so Fudge tried to win Schelling to get closer to the Ministry of Magic and improve the image of the Ministry of Magic in the eyes of the public, just like the way he pulled the banner of Dumbledore and finally elected the Minister of Magic.Old Batty knew about this.
Later, Schelling took this opportunity to visit the Ministry of Magic from time to time, talking and asking questions to the staff of each department. On the surface, he was learning and understanding the operation of the Ministry of Magic, but in fact, he used Amelia Bones and Rufus Scoringer as a bridge to build contacts in the Ministry of Magic. He built a close and broad alliance of interests by various means of coercion and lure.
That kid Fudge probably doesn't know what kind of existence he has introduced to the Ministry of Magic, and he is still there foolishly joking around to improve his image!
On the contrary, the old Barty, who was far away from the center of power and watched coldly, managed to see clearly.He watched Schelling's infiltration of one department after another. Several departments suddenly had small but frequent personnel changes. First, the captain of the law enforcement reconnaissance team suddenly changed, and then the intelligence chief of the Auror logistics force, and then the two directors of the animal division and the alien division of the Biological Management and Control Division...
He knew that there was more than just a Malfoy family standing behind Xie Lin.
According to what he observed in the Ministry of Magic, he was more than [-]% sure that the Burns family, the Wankanda family, the Osbert family, the Runcorn family, and the McLaggan family had already stood behind Schelling.This is not counting those high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Magic whose families are unknown but who hold real power, such as Rufus Scollinger, Arnold Peasegood, Bernie Pillsworth, Bertie Higgs and so on.
As for the forces outside the Ministry of Magic, he is also the head of one of the 28 holy pureblood families and has his own intelligence network.Although he wasn't keen on hanging out with those pure-blood supremacists, it didn't mean he had no connection with them at all.
He had heard for a long time that the Greengrass family and the Nott family had an extraordinary relationship with Schelling.He can also be sure that these two families are definitely not the only ones who secretly made friends with Xie Lin.
It can be seen that there is no shortage of allies and followers under Schelling.What he lacks, what he longs for, is just——
Talent.
Excellent people.
People who can work for him.
It's not just mediocre people who make up for the sake of momentum.
Old Batty can be sure that if he agrees to the suggestion of hiding in the safe house so easily, then his evaluation in Schelling's heart will most likely drop by at least one rating, or worse, he will directly lose the value of being recruited by him.
(End of this chapter)
The story of Harry's trio will not be mentioned for the time being.
Old Batty took advantage of midnight to leave the school hospital. Hogwarts Castle was under curfew at this time, and there was no one to be seen. The only little Batty who had mastered the Marauder's Map had already fallen asleep because of his vigilance and injuries, so no one found old Batty's whereabouts.
The next difficulty was how to get in touch with that young Malfoy.He was also a member of the Slytherin house, and he knew the location of the Slytherin common room, but he couldn't get in without a password. If he accidentally touched some warning magic to attract the professors, it would be more harm than good.
There was no hesitation in his eyes, but a shrewd look flashed from time to time.
Since the young Malfoy had been programmed to restore his memory at 12 midnight, he couldn't have missed that.
"Could this be... a test of my ability?" This absurd thought flashed through Old Barty's mind, as if he had suddenly become a young man who had just entered society, while Schelling was a scheming old fellow, "If I didn't even think of this, wouldn't my own value be significantly reduced in Malfoy's eyes?" Thinking of this, even the old Barty, who was accustomed to wind and rain, couldn't help but feel a chill.
Old Batty gathered himself together, and came to the entrance of the Slytherin common room without a sound.
Sure enough, he had just arrived at a distance of about ten steps from the entrance, and the stone wall at the entrance to the Slytherin common room was automatically opened from the inside.
The one standing at the door was none other than the platinum blonde boy, Sherin Malfoy.There was a calm and peaceful smile on his face, as if he had expected the arrival of old Batty.
Schelling naturally knew the purpose of old Batty's visit.
The brand-new memory that popped up in old Batty's mind is his masterpiece. Not only that, he also used absolute dominance to rewrite old Batty's inner personality, and his ambitions and desires that had been buried in the past were excavated again and sprouted through the impact of extreme disappointment in family relationships.
In fact, part of what Ron deduced last night was correct. Although the attacker was not directed and acted by Schelling, the reason why Schelling caused so much trouble was naturally not because he was full and had nothing to do. His goal was just as Ron speculated——
It's Barty Crouch Sr.
Old Batty is a man who is resourceful, ambitious, resourceful, courageous, shrewd but also courageous to make decisions, and he is a usable talent.Judging from his ability to resist the Imperius Curse planted by Voldemort himself, and the Oblivion Curse he cast on Bertha Jorkins, his magic level is not low, and he also has quite strong personality.This is what Schelling values most about him—talent. In comparison, his status as the head of the pure-blood family and his position as the director of the International Cooperation Department are just icing on the cake.
Xie Lin looked at the alchemy watch on his wrist. After being improved by him, many functions were added to it.
On the dial of the watch, there were originally twelve pointers and various stars rotating along the edge of the dial.Xie Lin just swept his fingers across the watch mirror lightly, but he did not see any magic, and the picture on the dial suddenly changed——
There are still twelve pointers, but each pointer is engraved with a name——
Daphne Greengrass, Maury McDougal, Astoria Greengrass, Luna Lovegood, Cho Chang, Susan Bones, Draco Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa Malfoy, Dobby, Silver Fang, Barty Crouch Jr.
The edges of the dial are no longer various stars, but descriptions of different states or behaviors.
At this moment, most of the pointers are pointing to the state of "sleeping", including Barty Crouch Jr.That's why Schelling looked at his watch.
After defeating and capturing Barty Jr. with a stun spell in the Forbidden Forest, Schelling first modified Barty Jr.'s memory, and then buried the "suppression" command in his spirit, which would make him feel very tired and drowsy, and then put him back to continue to serve as his Defense Against the Dark Arts professor avatar.According to Schelling's prediction, at this point in time, the instructions in Barty Jr.'s brain should have been activated, and logically speaking, he should have fallen into a deep sleep.
But Schelling, who was cautious by nature, never did anything uncertain. He knew that Barty Jr. had a Marauder's Map, and most of the secret passages at Hogwarts, including the secret passage on the fifth floor, could not be hidden from him.So he had to make sure that Little Barty was really asleep at this moment.
Almost all pointers pointed as he expected, which made him feel relieved. There were only two people who surprised him——
Luna and Susan's pointers are pointing to the item "Practice magic".Still practicing magic after 12 midnight?What an effort!
Regardless of why Luna and Susan work so hard, let's focus on the meeting between Schelling and old Batty!
Schelling put his finger on his lips and made a silent gesture. Although all the humans in Hogwarts have fallen asleep, it doesn't mean that the meeting between the two of them is absolutely secret.The portraits, statues, armor, and ghosts in the castle may become Dumbledore's eyeliner.
Xie Lin first put a layer of invisible phantom spell and silent spell on the two of them, and then directed old Batty and him in a low voice to walk slowly to the mirror tunnel on the fifth floor.The two walked through the mirror and walked all the way to the secret room in the basement of Miracle Alchemy Workshop, only then did they unlock the magic of invisibility.
"Sir, have you made a decision?" Xie Lin sacrificed his sleep time at night, but he didn't want to waste too much time here, so he went straight to the point.
Old Batty fully understood what Schelling meant. He was asking himself whether he would represent all the forces of the Crouch family, join the camp that Schelling belonged to, and follow his lead.Since he had already made a decision when he was in the school hospital, he would not regret it now. He nodded and said, "I have one condition..."
"You want me to kill your son?" It was not difficult for Xie Lin to guess what he meant.
Old Batty frowned first. To be honest, he was a little palpitated by Schelling's ability to read people's hearts. This boy really didn't look like a boy. In a certain way, he was more like the Dark Lord who was good at manipulating people's hearts.But then he quickly loosened his frowning brows. The stronger Xie Lin was, the more beneficial he would bet on this time. At this moment, he was more determined to follow Xie Lin.
"Yes," he said in a deep voice, without any emotion in his tone, as if he was discussing not killing his son, but a livestock. "As long as I can kill him and erase my secret from the world, I would like to swear allegiance to you on behalf of the Crouch family and all the affiliated families, even by signing a magic contract."
"Yes." Schelling readily agreed, "Then what are your plans now? The mysterious man is still in the Crouch Mansion, right? It's not safe for you to go back."
Old Batty thought for a while, and asked, "Is this your safe house?"
"No, this is one of my peripheral strongholds. It is specially used for the students who follow me to gather here and practice magic. It is mainly for the convenience of this place. Because of the existence of secret passages, forces inside and outside the school can contact here, but in fact it is a stronghold that can be abandoned at any time. If you want to stay here, I have to cast a shielding spell on your name, lest others find you with owls."
Xie Lin thought for a while, "I have a real safe house outside the school. You can hide there. The highest level of defensive magic has been cast there, and even mysterious people can't find you."
What Schelling was thinking about was the Ella hut he inherited from his grandmother, where he had cast the most complete "Loyalty Curse". If old Batty wanted to hide there, no one would be able to find him.
Old Batty pondered for a while. If he were replaced by the timid Karkaroff at this moment, he would rush to agree without even thinking about it, for fear that Schelling would suddenly go back on his word.However, Old Batty didn't think so——
Although Batty Sr. lost his ambitions after experiencing the pain of losing his wife.But he didn't just slump. It can be seen from the fact that he still holds the power of the head of the first department and his attitude towards work is too serious. Deep in his heart, he still has an inseparable attachment to power and cause.
When he was working in the Ministry of Magic, he wasn't just dawdling around, but he had a clear view of everything around him. At that time, he was disheartened about chasing power, but he just felt that all these things were no longer important to him. Since the matter had nothing to do with him, he didn't bother to pay attention to it.
Last summer, on the day Schelling was awarded the Order of Merlin in the Wizengamot, Fudge's prestige was greatly affected by the Black escape incident, so Fudge tried to win Schelling to get closer to the Ministry of Magic and improve the image of the Ministry of Magic in the eyes of the public, just like the way he pulled the banner of Dumbledore and finally elected the Minister of Magic.Old Batty knew about this.
Later, Schelling took this opportunity to visit the Ministry of Magic from time to time, talking and asking questions to the staff of each department. On the surface, he was learning and understanding the operation of the Ministry of Magic, but in fact, he used Amelia Bones and Rufus Scoringer as a bridge to build contacts in the Ministry of Magic. He built a close and broad alliance of interests by various means of coercion and lure.
That kid Fudge probably doesn't know what kind of existence he has introduced to the Ministry of Magic, and he is still there foolishly joking around to improve his image!
On the contrary, the old Barty, who was far away from the center of power and watched coldly, managed to see clearly.He watched Schelling's infiltration of one department after another. Several departments suddenly had small but frequent personnel changes. First, the captain of the law enforcement reconnaissance team suddenly changed, and then the intelligence chief of the Auror logistics force, and then the two directors of the animal division and the alien division of the Biological Management and Control Division...
He knew that there was more than just a Malfoy family standing behind Xie Lin.
According to what he observed in the Ministry of Magic, he was more than [-]% sure that the Burns family, the Wankanda family, the Osbert family, the Runcorn family, and the McLaggan family had already stood behind Schelling.This is not counting those high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Magic whose families are unknown but who hold real power, such as Rufus Scollinger, Arnold Peasegood, Bernie Pillsworth, Bertie Higgs and so on.
As for the forces outside the Ministry of Magic, he is also the head of one of the 28 holy pureblood families and has his own intelligence network.Although he wasn't keen on hanging out with those pure-blood supremacists, it didn't mean he had no connection with them at all.
He had heard for a long time that the Greengrass family and the Nott family had an extraordinary relationship with Schelling.He can also be sure that these two families are definitely not the only ones who secretly made friends with Xie Lin.
It can be seen that there is no shortage of allies and followers under Schelling.What he lacks, what he longs for, is just——
Talent.
Excellent people.
People who can work for him.
It's not just mediocre people who make up for the sake of momentum.
Old Batty can be sure that if he agrees to the suggestion of hiding in the safe house so easily, then his evaluation in Schelling's heart will most likely drop by at least one rating, or worse, he will directly lose the value of being recruited by him.
(End of this chapter)
