Chapter 249: A series of actions against Crouch

In the next four or five days, in addition to summarizing the new progress reports from all parties, Yang Tian spent the rest of his time torturing Voldemort's soul.

Unfortunately, despite great efforts, the results were extremely disappointing. Yang Tian still failed to obtain any valuable information or clues from the other party.

Fortunately, good news came from Sally: the tracking of old Barty Crouch had finally achieved substantial results: all his travel trajectories and travel patterns were under control!

It turns out that this old Barty, who seems to be ready to retire in the International Magic Exchange and Cooperation Department, actually still maintains a high level of professionalism. His daily life is extremely regular and unchanging, which can be said to be a typical "9 to 5" work and rest pattern; not only that, he is also a typical workaholic. You may often see him actively working overtime, but you will never see him leaving early.

Wow, it’s certainly not difficult to track down such a person!

At the same time, Sally also described in detail the residence of Barty Crouch Sr. It was a two-story building in the Bloomsbury area of ​​London, with a quiet environment and few pedestrians. During the period of surveillance, apart from him, only his house elf Winky often appeared in the residence...

Yang Tian, ​​who was familiar with the original work, was almost instantly certain that the Barty Crouch Jr. he had been thinking about was in this house! Without any hesitation, he immediately summoned Xia Lao and his subordinates, as well as some of Sally's men to gather.

At nine o'clock the next morning, a group of "black-robed thugs" rushed into the two-story building in Bloomsbury. Just as the house-elf Winky was stunned and at a loss, one of the people in the crowd suddenly cast a spell and petrified him completely.

The "black robe thugs" then conducted a carpet search of the entire house and soon found their target, Barty Crouch Jr., in a room on the right side of the second floor.

Barty Crouch Jr. seemed a little dumbfounded at this moment, and in his confusion, he actually turned a blind eye to the "thugs" that broke in. How could the experienced old Xia miss such an easy chance to win? After knocking the opponent unconscious with a spell, he immediately took Barty Crouch Jr. and Winky into his own pagoda...

The entire attack lasted only three minutes, and all the "black-robed thugs" disappeared. What was left was perhaps only the mess on the floor and the empty room...

At seven o'clock in the evening, after a day's work, old Barty Crouch returned home exhausted. But the moment he opened the door, the messy scene in front of him made his heart beat wildly!

"Winky, where are you?" old Barty Crouch shouted in a deep voice.

The empty room was dead silent, and no one responded to his calls.

Thinking about the secrets hidden in this house, an inexplicable fear surged in his heart. Barty Crouch Sr. lost his composure, shouting out Winky's name while staggering towards the room where Barty Crouch Jr. was imprisoned.

After pushing open the door, he was devastated. Sure enough, the damned Barty Crouch Jr., who was under his Imperius Curse and should have stayed quietly in the room, was gone! Thinking about the disgrace and public criticism he might face, he seemed to have his soul sucked out of him, and sat on the cold ground in a daze.

After a long time, Barty Crouch Sr. managed to calm down his panic. He stood up with difficulty and slowly sat back on the sofa in the living room...

At nine o'clock in the evening, there was a gentle knock on the Crouch family's door, and a soft question was also heard outside the door: "Excuse me, is Mr. Barty Crouch at home?"

Barty Crouch was awakened by the sudden noise. At this moment, he even felt that a disaster was imminent. However, as an excellent politician, he suppressed his fear and immediately put on a stern face. He calmly opened the door and asked, "Hello, I am Barty Crouch, but I don't know who you are and why you are looking for me?"

The visitor bowed slightly and replied politely, "Hello, Mr. Barty Crouch. I am Liam White, Mrs. Zabini's butler. On Mrs. Zabini's orders, I have come to invite you to a gathering at Zabini Manor."

Barty Crouch Sr. frowned when he heard this. But as the saying goes, don't hit a smiling person, so he could only respond casually: "I don't seem to have any personal relationship with the Madam Zabini you mentioned? Isn't this late-night invitation a bit abrupt?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but Madam said that this matter is extremely important and concerns the truth behind the death of Mr. Barty Crouch Jr. It seems inappropriate to discuss such a private topic during the day when there are so many people around." The butler replied neither humbly nor arrogantly.

Hearing this, Old Batty's face instantly darkened, with endless anger flashing in his eyes. He deeply suspected that his son was abducted or killed by these people!

With this thought in mind, he stared even more closely at the butler in front of him, as if he was going to tear him to pieces in the next moment.

However, facing the old Batty's angry glare, the butler seemed unusually calm. He continued, "Please don't misunderstand, Mr. Crouch. The meeting that Madam invited is purely for friendly purposes. The purpose is to discuss some problems together and seek solutions. You should know that any behavior that may cause unnecessary conflicts and misunderstandings is unwise. So, please put aside your concerns and go with peace of mind."

Old Batty suppressed his anger and asked through gritted teeth, "Are you sure this is a friendly invitation?"

The butler nodded without hesitation and responded, "Of course, Mr. Crouch. Madam specifically asked me to tell you that as a veteran politician, resolving crises is the most basic operation; but how to find opportunities in danger and ultimately achieve a win-win situation for both parties is the most direct criterion for measuring whether a politician is excellent. Believe me, Mr. Crouch, Madam has no ill intentions, she just hopes to have a frank talk with you."

To be honest, Old Barty didn't believe a word of what the butler said. But what could he do? He was at the mercy of others. Now he could only accept it with a pinch of his nose: "Well, since Mrs. Zabini is so sincere, I can't be rude. Please wait here for me for a while, I need to tidy up my clothes."

"Okay, Mr. Crouch." The butler remained gentle and polite.

When old Batty returned to the room, his face was full of ferociousness. He kept stuffing various alchemical equipment into his magic robe and carefully wiped his wand. Only after carefully tidying up the wizard robe did he calmly walk towards the living room.

Then, he and the butler quickly disappeared into the darkness...