Hogwarts, Saturday morning.

Compared to the rising storm in the wizarding world, the atmosphere within the castle was particularly peaceful and relaxed.

Just as Aileen and others had predicted, Voldemort's return had no impact on the school's daily routine.

With the Hogwarts professors teaching classes and assigning homework as usual, the young wizards quickly put the incomprehensible chaos behind them—Voldemort's resurrection and invasion of the Ministry of Magic were not as nerve-wracking as the upcoming Gryffindor versus Slytherin Quidditch match.

Of course, the carefree optimism was limited to the students; the teachers were still following up on the situation by reading the newspapers as soon as possible.

Whether it was news about Professor Dumbledore or the Ministry of Magic or the Dark Lord, it was all of concern to the professors.

At the staff table, Sirius and Lupin were enjoying breakfast while flipping through the newspapers and whispering to each other.

"The Ministry has put together a team," Sirius said. "But we haven't been notified. Don't you find that a little strange?"

"Indeed," Lupin said, slowly cutting his fried egg, his face pale and weary. "It is a bit odd, but even stranger is that Professor Dumbledore isn't the commander. From the descriptions, it seems to be someone else… I really don't know who would be qualified to command the professors."

"Who else could it be?" Sirius sneered, disdainfully. "Of course, it's the Ministry officials. I know them too well—"

"Cornelius Fudge? No way. If it were them, the newspaper would say so directly," Lupin said.

Sirius shrugged, not caring. "Perhaps they also think their names are not suitable to appear, Remus."

"If the wizarding world hopes to defeat Voldemort, they will eventually have to listen to Professor Dumbledore—no one understands how to deal with Voldemort better than Dumbledore. Only someone of equal standing is qualified to stand alongside Dumbledore, and the Ministry bureaucrats are clearly far from it."

"Compared to that, I'm more curious about what happened to Barty Crouch…"

He stroked the short, stiff stubble on his chin, reading a brief news item in the corner of the newspaper with interest.

"Barty Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, is temporarily resting due to illness. This is much more interesting than what's happening with Professor Dumbledore."

"This morning he was still a hero in the first line of defense against the Death Eaters, and in the afternoon he immediately took sick leave… This doesn't fit Crouch's character. If he had ever taken a day off due to illness before, I would chew up this entire table with the utensils on it."

"So… I still don't understand what's so 'interesting' about it."

Lupin quickly flipped through the newspaper, his gaze unintentionally stopping on one of the pages.

It was an article by Rita Skeeter, the star reporter for the *Daily Prophet*, who had written the report on Lockhart some time ago.

"Someone within the Ministry of Magic is suspected of colluding with dark wizards, and the Aurors have successfully identified the suspect… What, do you suspect it's Crouch?"

"Obviously, Crouch is probably under house arrest—"

Sirius said with a strange expression, seemingly gloating but also confused.

"However, there must be something abnormal about this. That guy Barty Crouch would never side with Voldemort."

"Hmm, why? Do you know Crouch?"

Just then, a curious, gentle voice sounded beside them.

Lupin and Sirius turned their heads and saw Professor Sprout smiling at them apologetically.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop on your conversation—I'm just a little curious… uh… Crouch and I were in the same year."

Professor Sprout's seat was right next to Lupin, so it was hard for her not to hear their conversation.

And on the other hand, as the head of Hufflepuff House, it was sometimes difficult to control the badgers' "gossip nature."

"Oh, of course I know Barty Crouch."

Sirius's expression dimmed. He suddenly looked a little scary and said softly.

"In fact, he was the one who ordered me to Azkaban—even the trial process was skipped."

"What? You didn't have a trial back then?!" Professor Sprout said in surprise.

"Not Professor Dumbledore?" Lupin was also a little surprised.

They had mostly heard about Sirius Black's case from newspapers and friends.

For a long time, they had thought that he had been tried by the Wizengamot court and personally sent to Azkaban by Dumbledore.

This was also an old story that the professors and members of the Order of the Phoenix had tacitly avoided.

…Whether before or after Sirius's escape from prison.

"Yes, no trial."

Sirius said frankly, adding a large spoonful of beef to his plate.

"Crouch was the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement back then. You should still remember that, right?"

"Of course, I remember everyone predicted that he might be elected the next Minister of Magic."

Professor Sprout nodded, frowning as she recalled the past, slowly saying thoughtfully.

"He was a very remarkable wizard, Barty Crouch. He was excellent at school, with great magical power, very opinionated and courageous. In our final year, he and I were the male and female Head Boy and Girl respectively. Although he graduated from Slytherin, he was always firmly against the Dark Arts. But I think Dorine deserves at least half the credit. Crouch knew a lot of dark magic, but he never used it to bully the weak."

"Dorine?" Lupin asked curiously in a soft voice.

"Oh, Dorine Ayber, she and Crouch were desk mates for seven years, and later became Mrs. Crouch."

Professor Sprout's expression darkened, she explained simply, and quickly turned the topic back to Barty Crouch.

"In times like that, good people always show their best qualities, and bad people reveal their worst nature. Although I didn't agree with some of Crouch's later measures, he certainly couldn't have become a Death Eater—perhaps Dumbledore is the wizard the Death Eaters fear the most, but Barty Crouch is definitely the one they hate the most. Sometimes, I even think he became as ruthless as many people on the dark side…"

Professor Sprout sighed softly, without commenting too much on Barty Crouch's past.

And Lupin and Sirius also had the same complex expressions. Everyone looked at the headlines in the newspaper and fell silent.

"Yeah, that's why I hate him, but that doesn't stop me from thinking he's amazing—"

Sirius also sighed, closed the newspaper, and stirred the beef in his plate absentmindedly.

"When Voldemort's forces were strong, you didn't know who was his supporter and who wasn't, didn't know who was working for him and who wasn't."

"People only knew that Voldemort could control people firmly, making them do some terrible things involuntarily. Everyone was afraid for themselves, their families, and their friends. Bad news came every week, someone died, someone disappeared, someone was being tortured…"

"The Ministry of Magic was in chaos, they didn't know what to do, everywhere was full of terror… tension… chaos…"

"However, with Crouch becoming the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, the Ministry of Magic finally had some counter-attacking power against the Dark Lord's forces."

"The Aurors gained a lot of new powers—for example, they had the right to kill, not just arrest. Crouch used violence against violence, he allowed the use of Unforgivable Curses against suspects. It wasn't just me who was directly handed over to the Dementors without trial. Of course, many people thought Crouch's handling was right. After Voldemort disappeared, it seemed to be only a matter of time before Crouch became Minister of Magic. Until later…"

Sirius looked back on the past, revealing a cold, sarcastic expression. "Crouch's own son was caught, he was with a group of Death Eaters who escaped prison with flowery words. I remember they were looking for Voldemort at the time, wanting to bring Voldemort back to life."

"He should have spent more time with his family, left work earlier from time to time… and learned more about his son."

Professor Sprout shook her head and said softly with a sigh, "Dorine spoiled that child too much…"

As a good friend who slept in the next bed in those years, Professor Sprout knew her best friend's personality very well.

"So his son later became a Death Eater?" Lupin asked.

"Not sure. But probably—" Sirius shrugged, "When he was imprisoned in Azkaban, I was there myself. The people he was with when the boy was arrested were all Death Eaters—" A flash of coldness passed through his eyes, and he pointed his chin at the Gryffindor table not far away.

"—You know what they were arrested for, the Longbottoms. I don't think he was innocent."

"So Crouch personally sent him to Azkaban—Dorine fainted directly in the courtroom."

Professor Sprout sighed deeply. She later took a special leave to visit that mother.

"Yeah, very pitiful. His mother must have been very good to him."

Sirius said, now his face was not at all amused.

"I saw the Dementors bring him in, I watched them through the iron bars of the cell door. He was at most nineteen years old. They threw him into a cell next to mine. In the evening, he screamed for his mother. But after a few days, he was silent…"

"They all became silent in the end… only occasionally screaming in their sleep…"

For a moment, the depressed look in Sirius's eyes became particularly heavy, as if the blinds behind his eyes had suddenly closed.

"So, that kid is still in Azkaban?" Lupin asked.

Unlike most wizards, after Voldemort's downfall, as a werewolf, he rarely had time to learn about these stories.

The downfall of the Dark Lord's forces did not make people forget the horror of werewolves. The Ministry of Magic's persecution and surveillance of werewolves was stricter year by year. He had never heard Sirius mention these things—for Remus Lupin, just surviving was already difficult enough.

"Not anymore," Sirius said lightly, "He's not there anymore. He died a year after they brought him in."

"He died?"

"He's not the only one who died," Sirius said painfully, "Most people there went crazy, and many eventually starved themselves to death."

"They lost the desire to live. You can know when someone is going to die, because the Dementors can feel it, and they get excited every time. That boy was sickly when he came. Crouch was an important official in the Ministry of Magic, and he and his wife were allowed to visit their dying son. That was the last time I saw Barty Crouch, he half-supported his wife as they walked past my cell."

"Obviously, his wife died soon after—overcome with grief—and died as emaciated as that boy."

"Crouch didn't come to claim his son's body, and the Dementors buried him outside the fortress. I watched them do it—"

Sirius released the knife in his hand and grabbed the pumpkin juice next to him, drinking it all in one breath.

"So to speak…"

"Barty Crouch couldn't have sided with Voldemort, he has a blood feud with those guys—on both sides."

"…I understand what you mean. If Crouch is under house arrest…"

Lupin was silent for a few seconds, then reopened the *Daily Prophet* and said softly.

"Either there's a problem with the Ministry of Magic, or Voldemort offered a price that even Crouch couldn't refuse…"

"Either way, it's not good news for the wizarding world—Dumbledore should know about this, otherwise he wouldn't be so anxious."

"Yeah, but relatively speaking… I'd rather there was a problem with the Ministry of Magic."

Sirius said softly, shaking the empty cup in his hand.

"After all…"

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Hooray! Last update of 2021!

Happy New Year!