“Little Sirius, are you sure you haven't forgotten the place?”
The gloomy sky makes it difficult to tell whether it's day or night at this moment. Although the surroundings cannot be said to be desolate, the sparse pedestrians on the streets and the buildings dating back half a century make the few people who have come here for the first time feel a little uneasy.
Especially Ron, who is accustomed to the magical world, rarely wanders around in the Muggle world. In his daily travels, he would only briefly appear at a few specific locations, and this seems to be the first time he has lingered in Muggle territory.
Looking at the old bus slowly disappearing at the corner of the street, Ron made a face and muttered with an incomprehensible expression.
Although he also couldn't stand the wild speed of the Knight bus, if Muggles have to rely on such slow transportation for their daily commute, how much time would they spend on the road every day?
"Or should we just go back, Sirius?"
Hermione spoke nervously.
The unexpected remark Harry made after seeing Regulus' room last night opened up a new topic.
To be honest, both Remus and Sirius were aware of Voldemort's approaching footsteps, but they hadn't anticipated how quickly they would become so clear.
As an Auror, Igor Kakarov personally told Snape that the Dark Lord had grown stronger, which made Remus and Sirius both feel a strong sense of unease.
especially when Hermione began to analyze from the first time she and Harry eavesdropped on Snape's conversation with Kakarov, who had taken the initiative to put an end to her warrior identity.
"Let me sort this out!"
Sirius's bedroom was filled with warm light in the room.
Harry, Hermione, and Ron all sat on the edge of Sirius's carved bed. Remus leaned against a faded Gryffindor flag, arms crossed, no longer speaking of overtime.
Sirius walked briskly around his house, analyzing the clues they now had.
"--It was on the night of the Quidditch World Cup final, after everyone had left the venue. The Black Mark appeared in Shining's box, and then people arrived at the Ministry led by Barty Crouch Jr. They searched the box themselves, but all they found was an explanation given by Shining's Ministry, which we all know is just a cover-up for the public. The truth about this matter has yet to be revealed!"
Later, Hermione was selected as a Hogwarts Warrior in the Warrior Selection. It was unclear who did it, but almost at the same time, Amos sent me a letter asking me to keep an eye on Barty Crouch Jr.'s movements at the Ministry, but not to get too close to him.
Harry and Hermione learned from eavesdropping on the conversation between the Snatcher and Kakalov that someone at Hogwarts was secretly brewing Polyjuice Potion.
By the way, both Amos and Dumbledore seemingly approved of Hermione being chosen for this matter. They didn't conduct a thorough investigation, at least not as I know Amos. He wasn't like that before, and I understand that he wouldn't allow any troublemaking under his nose."
Gurgle——
Ron swallowed, his heart rising to his throat.
Sirius paused for a moment, then continued,
"After I wrote to Amos, telling him that Barty had called in sick, Amos immediately came to visit me. I don't think Amos and Barty have such a good relationship. Barty Crouch Jr. is not the type of person who would be friends with anyone."
But after that, Amos and Dumbledore called all of you into the office and began to inquire about the situation in the box that night when the Black Mark appeared. They paid particular attention to the little elf called Shining, as well as whether Barty was in the box that night, and also to the empty seat occupied by the little elf."
"Sirius——"
Seeing Sirius standing there with his steps stopping, looking fierce, Remus couldn't help but speak up.
"Do you know what you're suspecting?" Remus straightened his posture.
"You're suspecting that Barty Crouch Jr. conspired to plot the Black Mark incident and make Hermione a Warrior, suspecting a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Magic who is strict in dealing with evil, if this gets out, people would think you're crazy."
"Since Peter's incident——" Sirius smiled coldly, "I have realized that no one is beyond suspicion."
"But that doesn't make sense, does it?"
Ron couldn't help but butt in. He had heard his dad talking about many upright events about Barty Crouch Jr. when he was at home. If Barty Crouch Jr. was truly as his dad described, Ron couldn't believe that he would harm Hermione in any way.
Seeing everyone's attention on him, Ron subconsciously shrugged his neck. He panted and said,
"I mean, on the night of the Black Mark, he didn't have time; he only got to the venue later."
"Hermione's Warrior, the Warrior Selection only took one day. If I'm not mistaken, Barty Crouch Jr. didn't get to Hogwarts until the day after the selection, and he didn't have time either."
"Sounds good, Ron——"
Sirius nodded approvingly.
"So, I tend to agree with Hermione's guess. Barty Crouch Jr. has a Death Eater accomplice who created the Black Mark and got into Hogwarts in advance to secure Hermione's status as a Warrior."
A silence fell, Harry recalled the few times he had close encounters with Barty Crouch Jr., and after a long time, he asked with difficulty,
"Who could have infiltrated Hogwarts? Professor Moody?!"
"Not necessarily, Harry——"
Remus gently shook his head.
"You forgot about Polyjuice Potion, didn't you? Anyone could be involved, including Kakalov who might not be innocent either. Sevros seems fine for now; otherwise, he wouldn't have exposed the Polyjuice Potion incident on his own. But Mrs. Miller, the headmistress of Beauxbatons, Ludo Bagman, Alastor... in short, anyone who was in that room behind the Great Hall that night could be involved. I mean, if everything goes as we expect, they all could be in cahoots with Barty Crouch."
"And Professor Breach? And Dumbledore Professor?"
Hermione furrowed her brow. Whatever the case, she couldn't bring herself to suspect either of them.
"Oh, Death Eaters wouldn't impersonate them——"
Sirius smiled and said,
"If I wanted to impersonate someone with Polyjuice Potion, I would make sure that person never appeared in public again. Do you think there's a Death Eater who could take out Amos and Dumbledore, Hermione?"
"Yes, it is like that. Hermione's mood lightened a bit. However, when she thought about the possibility that their guess was correct, they always had a Death Eater lurking around them."
"But why?" Ron still couldn't accept it. "Why would Barty Crouch Jr. do this? My dad said... he said that Crouch treated crime——"
"You're right, Ron," Sirius interrupted, as he thought aloud.
"This is indeed very hard to believe. Why would Barty Crouch Jr. do all of this, and it would do him no good, unless——"
"Voldemort?!"
Harry blurted out.
"I won't forget, Sirius. Barty Crouch Jr. used to——" Remus spoke with a serious tone.
"I certainly remember, Remus, but Crouch is a power-hungry creature. He has dreamed his whole life of becoming the Minister of Magic, so that's why he was so decisive about sending his son to Azkaban. That's another story, Harry. We can come back to it later."
Sirius anticipated the surprise of Harry and the others upon hearing his words, and he spoke quickly,
"Barty Crouch Jr. was more desperate than anything to become the Minister of Magic. However, after Fudge, Amos actually supported Amelia Bones. Everyone in the Ministry knew that. If Barty Crouch Jr. went mad and even threw himself into Voldemort's arms just to achieve his desire, it wouldn't be out of the question..."
"So, who do you think that person is?" Remus did not agree with Sirius's assessment. He changed the subject, "The one we're assuming is Barty Crouch Jr.'s accomplice?"
"That is indeed a difficult question to answer."
Most of Voldemort's followers were in Azkaban, but there were still many who were free. They speculated about many people, but there was still a lack of solid evidence.
"Why don't we just ask Amos? Since both he and Dumbledore are already aware that Barty is suspicious, they might have already investigated this matter!"
Looking out the transparent glass window at the desolate city beyond, Sirius suddenly brightened his expression and turned to the somber group, saying.
(End of Chapter)
