#835 - The Secret of Old Batty

Crouch's expression froze, and his face turned black in an instant. "How can you blame this on me? She's your person!"

"Are you saying you have nothing to do with it?" Bagman pouted like a rogue. "The day she went to you to get a signature, she came back looking like this. I say it's your fault."

Crouch was momentarily speechless, but after thinking for a while, he came up with a reason to argue, and then added, "When Bertha left my house, she accidentally bumped into the eucalyptus tree in the yard. I'd say her brain was damaged then, just like this time!"

Anduin couldn't help but frown slightly. Was Minister Crouch's reaction a little too extreme?

Besides, the reason that her brain was damaged from a fall sounded unreliable.

After all, Anduin knew best that Bertha fainting was just something he made up. He never expected Minister Crouch to use that as an excuse. It sounded like he was making it up on the spot.

However, Bagman didn't really want to blame Crouch for Bertha's condition. He was mostly venting his dissatisfaction, so he didn't pursue the matter further.

When Crouch saw this, he actually looked relieved, which made Anduin even more suspicious. Could it be that Bertha's condition really had something to do with Minister Crouch?

Crouch seemed to notice Anduin staring at him, so he made a few excuses and left the scene guiltily, looking like he was running away.

"Don't mind that old Crouch. Ever since his wife and son passed away, old Barty has become increasingly strange, and he always gets angry over trivial things."

Bagman shrugged indifferently as he watched Crouch's departing figure, then smiled and moved closer to Anduin.

"Let's talk about something more important. The dungeon project you mentioned to me earlier has been approved for commercialization. I'm also very interested in it." Of course, Bagman was lying. He didn't know what a dungeon was. He was just interested in Anduin and Silver Gleam.

"However, the committee still has some concerns about safety, so they plan to organize an investigation team next semester to visit Hogwarts for a few days to investigate the overall operation of the dungeon project on site."

Then Bagman, seemingly worried that what he said would upset Anduin, quickly explained, "Of course, everyone has a lot of confidence in what you create."

"This so-called investigation is just a formality. As long as there are no major accidents, there will be no problems. After all, everyone has never heard of your newly launched dungeon project, right?"

"No problem, you can visit the dungeons in Hogwarts at any time, without even notifying me in advance."

Anduin replied calmly.

When Bagman saw how confident Anduin was, his tense heart gradually relaxed. This big shot was the Ministry of Magic's cash cow, and every department wanted to get involved with him.

So, in the two years since the Department of Magical Games and Sports started collaborating with Silver Gleam, Bagman had been very proactive.

However, Anduin's attention seemed to be focused elsewhere. When he looked at Bagman again, he asked about Crouch.

"You just said that Minister Crouch's wife and son are gone? When did that happen?"

"About eight or nine years ago..."

Although he didn't know why Anduin was interested in this, Bagman answered truthfully.

"If I remember correctly, it was two years after Barty Crouch Jr. was sentenced. First, Barty Crouch Jr. was found dead in his cell due to weakness, and then shortly after, old Crouch announced that his wife had also passed away due to grief."

"Ah..." Bagman sighed. "I wasn't the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports at that time. I had just retired from the Wimbourne Wasps not long before and was working in the Quidditch League Headquarters under the Department of Sports."

"During that time, old Crouch looked listless every day, with a preoccupied look on his face. He probably hadn't recovered from the grief of his wife's death."

"Oh? Couldn't he be grieving for his son's death?" Anduin raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Him? Don't count on it..." Bagman scoffed. "That guy has no feelings for Barty Jr. Did you forget how he disowned his own son back then? During Barty Jr.'s trial, he didn't even listen to his son's defense and hastily sentenced him to the maximum penalty. It was more like venting his anger than a trial."

"I see..." Anduin nodded knowingly. "In that case, Minister Crouch probably didn't visit him in Azkaban after Barty Jr. was imprisoned."

"That's right..." Bagman shook his head. "Although old Barty was very disappointed in his son, his wife still loved the child very much. Old Barty often took his wife to Azkaban to visit Barty Jr."

Anduin fell silent, and it wasn't until Bagman and the others left the meeting room that he quietly raised his head.

"There's definitely something wrong with Minister Crouch," Anduin muttered with a solemn expression. "He definitely knew something about Bertha when he mentioned her. His expression didn't lie."

"But could he be a Death Eater remnant? Doesn't seem like it..."

Anduin recalled the excitement and joy Crouch had shown last year when he confirmed the news of Voldemort's capture. That emotion couldn't be faked either.

"So... the things Minister Crouch is hiding are probably related to his wife and son..." Anduin guessed secretly.

From the information he had just learned, Barty Jr.'s sudden death seemed very suspicious. He had seen the man himself. He had personally subdued him in the courtroom back then.

How could such a strong and vigorous young wizard suddenly die in Azkaban after only a year or two? It seemed a little unreasonable.

After all, Sirius Black, who was determined to die back then, was able to persevere for so long in Azkaban. There was no reason why Barty Jr. couldn't.

To be honest, I've been using the Wild Fruit Reading app to read and keep up with updates recently. It has source switching, multiple reading tones, and is available for both Android and Apple devices."

"Could it be?"

A bold guess suddenly popped into Anduin's mind, but such a baseless conjecture couldn't support him questioning a Minister.

"I need more evidence. I'll start with Bertha first."

With that thought, Anduin quickly left the Ministry of Magic. When night fell, he quietly broke into Bertha Jorkins's house and used Legilimency on her while she was asleep.

After a careful examination, Anduin discovered that Bertha's memory space had been severely damaged.

The deleted memory was exactly the time Bertha went to Crouch's house to handle official business.

This memory was erased very cleanly, leaving no room for recovery, which even affected Bertha's entire thinking.

"As expected, the memory was destroyed after the fact. Minister Crouch is very suspicious of being able to do this... What exactly is he trying to hide?"

Anduin muttered to himself, then left Bertha Jorkins's residence and headed towards Crouch's house.

However, when he arrived at Crouch's residence, he found that the house was still lit. Anduin could only cast various invisibility and silencing charms on himself before finding a way to sneak in.

Inside the old house, besides old Barty Crouch, there was also a timid-looking house-elf.

Old Barty was sitting at his desk in the study, handling official business. It was clear that he was very conscientious in whatever department he was in.

After a while, the house-elf suddenly appeared in front of old Barty's desk and respectfully advised, "Master, it's very late. You should get some rest."

"Soon! Since foreign trade has increased in the past two years, the department has had a lot more to worry about, not to mention the Quidditch World Cup and the Triwizard Tournament..."

Old Barty replied perfunctorily, then suddenly raised his head. "Winky, how is Barty Jr.? Has he fallen asleep yet?"

"Master, young master is resting. He was very good today and didn't cause any trouble," Winky said with joy in her voice.

Then Winky hesitated for a moment, as if she had made up her mind, and took the initiative to persuade Crouch, "Master, young master has been behaving so well all these years. Can you give him a little reward? Even if it's just to absorb some fresh air in the garden, young master is very unhappy being cooped up at home every day."

"Hmph... Did he ask you to persuade me?" Crouch glanced at Winky with a stern face. "Tell him not to be delusional. Don't forget that he's still a prisoner. It's already an act of grace to let him spend the rest of his sentence at home."

Speaking of this, Crouch suddenly remembered the topic Bagman and Anduin had discussed during the meeting in the daytime, and quickly looked at Winky with sharp eyes. "Also, be more careful when taking care of Barty Jr. than usual. Don't always chat with him."

"The last time Bertha found out, do you know how much trouble it caused? If you don't want people to find out about this place, be careful!"

"Yes, Master!" Winky bowed humbly, then slowly backed out of the room.

Crouch in the study was also very depressed by the topic he had raised, and sat at the table sighing.

As for Anduin, who had already slipped into the room, he heard everything they said.

"As expected," Anduin nodded inwardly. "Old Barty has helped his son Barty Jr. escape from Azkaban. The method he used might have been to have his wife use Polyjuice Potion to switch places. The guards in Azkaban shouldn't suspect Crouch's identity."

As for Barty Crouch Jr...

Anduin was very interested in this former Death Eater, so he silently used the Disillusionment Charm to exit the room. The preoccupied old Barty didn't notice anything.

Soon, Anduin found Barty Crouch Jr. in a bedroom in the basement. He was immersed in his dreams. A high-quality Invisibility Cloak was placed on the bedside table.

After approaching Barty Jr., Anduin immediately felt a strong aura of dark magic. After careful identification, he confirmed it was the Imperius Curse.

"Using the Imperius Curse to restrict Barty Jr.'s freedom and then letting Winky take care of his daily life?"

Anduin shook his head slightly. He was speechless at old Barty's complex emotions. As a parent, he didn't want his child to suffer in Azkaban.

But as the Minister of the Ministry of Magic, he didn't want to see Barty Jr., this criminal, go unpunished. In the end, it could only be described as conflicted...

"It can be seen that Minister Crouch is still very upright, but Barty Jr., this former Death Eater, must not be spared. Doesn't he know that the Imperius Curse is permanent and the subject will gradually develop resistance?"

After sighing, Anduin drew his wand and pointed it at the sleeping Barty Crouch Jr., preparing to eliminate him in one fell swoop.

But soon, Anduin changed his mind. "Wouldn't it be a waste to kill him like this? This guy is still loyal to Voldemort after so many years. He must be one of his favorite generals. It would be a waste not to use such a good material..."

After thinking about it for a while, Anduin finally made up his mind. Then he put away his wand and took out a metal ball that was no bigger than a grain of rice, and slowly placed it on Barty Jr.'s philtrum.

Before long, the small metal ball emitted several more dense, hair-like metal threads, and dragged the metal ball's body along Barty Jr.'s nostrils into his body.

Soon, the sleeping Barty Jr. felt discomfort. He wanted to raise his arm to scratch his nose, but his whole body seemed to be branded in a piece of amber.

The Imperius Curse on Barty Jr. not only controlled his daily actions, but also restricted every movement he made. He couldn't even open his eyes, let alone raise his hand to scratch an itch.

Fortunately, after a while, the itchy feeling slowly faded away, and Barty Jr. continued to immerse himself in his dream of conquering the world with his master Voldemort.

"That should be about right," Anduin nodded secretly, then silently exited the Crouch house. Even now, the family hadn't realized that someone had broken into their house.

Back at headquarters, Anduin began to take stock of the gains he had made in recent days.

"Voldemort's side is gradually getting on track, and there's been an unexpected discovery today. This Barty Jr. might have unexpected effects."

Anduin slumped on the sofa in a good mood, looking at the distant void with a smile on his face.

"Finally, I have to see how Lockhart is doing in Azkaban. If he can handle things well, it will save me a lot of effort."

First release latest.