Chapter 465： Very different attitude

A violent inhalation sounded in the conference room. The wizard who had just asked his granddaughter about discounts on new products slid directly from his chair to the floor. He stood up cursingly, but no one cared about him. The room was like a vegetable market. Even Professor Marcheban looked at Dumbledore in surprise.

"Are you sure he's really back? Dumbledore, I mean...really back?" Amelia Burns said solemnly on the face under the monocle.

Dumbledore shook his head slightly, Ms. Bones's stiff body relaxed, and her thick eyebrows returned to their proper positions.

"That said, we still have time to prepare." She was greatly relieved.

"The premise is that we can't ignore it and pretend that nothing happened."

"Enough, Dumbledore!" Fudge yelled. His face rose to purple, and the stars spattered, but he didn't seem to notice it at all. "Stop promoting the atmosphere of horror! There is no evidence that he really came back. ...Or there are signs of coming back!"

"The evidence is already under your nose, Fudge, you just need to lower your head and examine it calmly for a few seconds," Dumbledore said.

"Where?"

"Barty Crouch"

"Aha! I knew you were going to say this!" Fudge pulled at the neckline roughly, his face and neck were discolored from anger, he stood up, and the bowler hat in his hand was squashed by him. He waved his arms excitedly. "Gentlemen and ladies, let me talk about this so-called evidence, you will know how ridiculous it is."

The members of Wisengamo stared, watching Fudge walking around in the conference room, talking loudly.

"Barty Crouch! I didn't want to say that it was involved in a scandal, but the former director of the International Magic Exchange and Cooperation Department committed a serious crime of malfeasance twelve years ago and took his **** Death Eater. The son was fished out of the prison and kept everyone away! Barty Crouch used the compound decoction to exchange his wife and son, but the Dementor could not find out... I admit that Azkaban has a loophole. We are considering adding an anti-thief waterfall to wash away all the spells and the effect of the compound decoction"

Fudge stopped suddenly. Holding his dome hat tightly with one hand and putting one on the chair, he said loudly: "Think about how crazy his behavior is. He committed murder more than ten years ago. So... evil! Not much better than those Death Eaters."

"Connelly," Amelia frowned, "Barty did something wrong, but according to his testimony, his wife was already dying, and Barty couldn't bear his wife's last plea."

"More than that!" Fudge interrupted her, "Barty Crouch has committed more than this crime. He also drove his son crazy with his own hands!"

In the meeting room was quiet, only Fudge himself gasped heavily. He was like a dangerous gladiator. They weren’t in the Ministry of Magic’s room, but the ancient arena. The risers are fighting.

He greeted his opponent. Dumbledore put his hands on the table, looked at Fudge with interest, and said softly, "A strange point of view! Fudge, I am more and more interested in the ideas in your head. I listen with great respect."

Fudge seemed to be annoyed by Dumbledore's calm expression, and then his voice grew louder, as if he had used an amplification spell.

"I also have proof, Dumbledore. If you choose to believe Barty Crouch, you have to believe all of him. Isn't that?" Fudge showed a weird smile on his face, and he did a lot for this day. Preparation, speaking very smoothly at this moment.

His small eyes were fixed on Dumbledore, and Dumbledore stared at him without shy. Dumbledore's body seemed to exude an indescribable force, and Fudge took the initiative to look away.

"The Imperius Curse...Yes, guys, have you ever thought about how Barty Crouch controls his son? In order not to expose the crime and continue to climb up the Ministry of Magic, he personally imposes the Imperius curse. Little Crouch was confined under the invisibility cloak for twelve years!"

"He deserves his sin, that little Death Eater!" Professor Macchiban exclaimed. "He was involved in torturing the Longbottoms, and it was a terrible crime if it weren't Felix," she glanced quickly at the side. "That poor couple Still alive in St. Mungo's muddle-headedly."

"I know." Fudge said impatiently, "I assure you that I have no sympathy for that Death Eater. My uncle died in the war, and I hate them as much as you! I just want to tell you, Barty K. Rauch is crazy. He is crazy long ago. He is different from what you think. What will happen to his heart who has used the Unforgivable Curse for twelve years in a row? Huh?"

Felix glanced at Fudge in surprise. He could think of this breakthrough. As for the effect, looking at the shocked wizards, it became clear that Barty Crouch's reputation was completely over, and no one would sympathize with him in the future. .

But thinking that Dumbledore found him yesterday, he knew that Dumbledore was also prepared.

"So you ask me what happened? This is a tragedy," Fudge said with a grim expression. "Father used power for personal gain, and for his own rights used the Imperius Curse to control his son. Finally, his son went crazy under the spell. He was crazy enough, he fancied another voice in his mind, imagining that the mysterious man was not dead, but anyway, he got rid of the control of the spell, on the contrary, he controlled his father!"

"The spell messed up little Crouch's mind. In the past six months, he pretended that he had accepted the command of the mysterious man, pretended that he was still serving the mysterious man, sneaked into Hogwarts, and tortured his father. He imagined it."

Felix breathed a long sigh of relief. He had a new understanding of Fudge's character, and Fudge's stubbornness and stubbornness opened his eyes. Fudge’s strategy is also very convincing. First, it exposes Crouch’s crimes, turns Crouch into a de facto dangerous criminal, and finds a basis for the rationality of Little Crouch’s behavior, although there are still many. A flaw, but it’s already a qualified story. If he guessed correctly, Fudge will destroy all of Crouch’s testimony next.

"Batti Crouch is crazy!" Fudge said loudly. "He was severely tortured when he appeared again, mentally and physically!" He looked at Amelia Bones, "You know This, right?"

"Batti Crouch did suffer inhuman torture, but" Ms. Bones said cautiously.

"St. Mungo's people also confirmed his condition!" Fudge immediately looked at Dorothea Boham. "Your... that therapist, he personally admitted that Barty Crouch was seriously affected. Confusion spell and memory tampering!"

Ms. Boham nodded slowly. Many members of Wiesengamao were persuaded, with a sorrowful expression on their faces.

"This is the truth of the matter!" Fudge waved his hat. "There are no mysterious people! There is no war!" He put his hat on his head, smiled on his face, and looked at Dumbledore.

Dumbledore was also smiling, he even slapped a few chins, "Fudge, your story is based on imagination..."

"So, do you have evidence?" Fudge asked impatiently.

Dumbledore said calmly, "If the evidence you are expecting is seeing Voldemort standing in front of you," Fudge couldn't help but wince when he heard the name. Dumbledore continued, "Then I really don't have one, but I I am happy to share some facts and my own speculations based on these facts."

"So are you going to make up stories too, Dumbledore? I'm very busy and I'm not interested in listening to this."

"I'm afraid not," Dumbledore said.

"What's wrong?" Fudge took a breath, as if Dumbledore was not talking, but threatening him with his wand.

"Fudge, please forgive me. I am the chief mage of Wizengamore. Although you are the Minister of Magic, according to the procedure, you are only a member of Wizengamore. You must listen to me to finish." Dumbledore said. Fudge stared, as if being lashed.

Felix sat quietly in his chair and thought. If Dumbledore were going to reveal all the secrets about Voldemort, he wouldn't believe it. He was more inclined to Dumbledore's intention to make a reminder, the question is, to what extent.

"Where do you start?" Dumbledore said softly. "On that night fourteen years ago, with the help of a traitor, Voldemort walked into the Potters safe house and killed the Potters. He missed in front of Harry Potter, who was still a baby, and his life-killing curse bounced on him, and he lost his power ever since."

"He's dead," Fudge said stiffly.

"Where is the corpse?" Dumbledore asked rhetorically.

"No one cares, Dumbledore!" Fudge said impatiently. "He's dead! Maybe it's turned to ashes, or the body was taken away."

"This is just a good hope," Dumbledore shook his head and said, "I realized at the time that this possibility exists. Voldemort is still surviving in a corner of the world, surviving... but people are too eager to hear good news. I’m so eager to restore order and embrace peace."

"What about the evidence, Dumbledore? What about the evidence?" Fudge said.

"Why can't you listen to him to finish?" Professor Macchiban exclaimed, "He is not so rude when you speak!"

Fudge glared at her severely and muttered, "Well, I want to hear...what proof..."

"Thank you, Gusrda," Dumbledore smiled and thanked Professor Marcheban, and he continued: "I didn't tell my guess. Maybe, as Fudge said, he really turned to ashes and died. Yes. Although according to what I know about him, this possibility is very low."

"One of the evidence is the Cursed Dark Arts Defense class entrenched above Hogwarts. It was still working in the second year of Voldemort's death. My heart was even more disturbed. I took the initiative to collect evidence that he was still alive and pay attention to the unusual. The knowledge and legends..."

"After a few years, I finally found a suspicious point in a Muggle newspaper." Dumbledore said, "Yes, I developed the habit of reading Muggle newspapers in those years, and I still keep it. I especially like the Sudoku game above. According to Muggles, it can prevent Alzheimer’s."

Fudge looked at him with a dull expression, as if he had signs of old age.

"Closer to home, I saw news about an expedition in the newspaper. They heard about the horrific legend of the Albanian forest. Some small animals and domestic animals died without warning. The behavior before death was very abnormal. An eight-year-old boy He vowed to say that he saw a snake reading a newspaper, and the photos in that newspaper would still move."

"We all know what this means?" Dumbledore said, looking at the crowd.

In the crowd, Tiberus Ogden said dissatisfied: "Which foolish wizard littered after reading the newspaper?"

"It doesn't say anything..." Fudge said stiffly. "It may be an Animagus from another country. He happens to be a snake."

"I checked, they are possessed." Dumbledore said.

"What is it?"

"Being possessed," Dumbledore repeated, "This doesn’t mean anything. Maybe some evil spirit is at work, but in the same way, I need to remind you, it may be someone who has lost power. I continue to be Investigating in the forest... I found a big pit filled with animal corpses, mostly rats and snakes. Of course, the number of snakes is the most. I tried to solve this secret, and at one time thought I saw a familiar figure. He was dilapidated and turned into a ghost, flashing in front of me, but I never saw him again afterwards."

"You mean that thing... is he hiding from you?" Amelia Burns asked seriously.

"I think so," Dumbledore nodded slightly. "I persuaded the nearby families to move away, and asked the owner of the local wizard tavern to pay attention to the movement of the ghosts. It took more than ten years. I got it. With more information, the inner guess is firmer."

"But if it's really that person, why didn't he come out, and instead wandered in the Albanian forest for more than ten years?" Amelia Bones asked.

"Yes! I want to know this too"

"I'm afraid I can only give some guesses," Dumbledore said.

"Your guess is very useful." Ms. Bones said. Some wizards in the conference room nodded in agreement, while others kept shaking their heads.

"I think before I make any guesses, I need to remind you that Voldemort has lost his power. He is weaker than ever, and even more limited than the ghost can do," Dumbledore said. "One of his flaws is that he cannot grow. Time suppresses the thoughts of fierce resistance against him, so he is more inclined to possess simple-minded animals, especially snakes. He has a special influence on snakes."

"Snakeman," Ms. Bones said with a sullen face.

"Yes, maybe in the first few years when he lost his power, he still hoped that Death Eaters would find him and help him regain his power... but he was disappointed, and maintained his rule with fear, and was doomed to nothing after his failure," Dumbledore He whispered, "Of course, the few people who were loyal to him were imprisoned in Azkaban."

"Barty Crouch, Lestranges!" said Ms. Bones.

Felix's heart moved, and he was touched again. The first time he was talking to Neville, he thought of Azkaban and the Dementors, but didn't realize the problem, but he ignored a key point. , Azkaban is a prison with all kinds of criminals.

He leaned back in his chair, looked up at the ceiling, thinking hard. Dumbledore’s voice became the background sound, providing inspiration for him

"Almost four years ago, Voldemort was attached to a professor at Hogwarts and sneaked into the school to get the Philosopher's Stone hidden in it... Finally Harry Potter and his friends stopped him... The Philosopher's Stone It was also destroyed."

"More than a year ago, Peter Pettigrew, a war hero thought to be dead, appeared again. He and a Death Eater were later proved to be Little Crouch. They were ordered to sneak into the school, but before they could start the conspiracy, Harry · Potter and his friends discovered that the fighting broke out on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Fortunately, Sirius Black, who was slandered as Voldemort's loyal servant, and two school professors were rescued in time, and they survived..."

"Unfortunately, these people almost died in the hands of the out-of-control dementors." Dumbledore said sternly, Fudge winced, and Umbridge hid his head behind the file. "Peter Pettigrew died that night. It was a kiss from the Dementor... Before he died, he suddenly repented and admitted that he was the traitor who had betrayed the Potters. He also said a word."

The meeting room was quiet, everyone held their breath and looked at Dumbledore.

Dumbledore repeated softly: "He said: He is coming back. The man who can't even mention his name is coming back. I did something wrong, forgive me."

"What!" Ms. Burns took a breath, and she glared at Fudge in disbelief. "No one has told me about it! You gave me the password?"

Fudge stubbornly kept wiping his sweat, and at last he simply yelled, "What do you want me to do? Complete martial law based on a word I don't know? Let the peace we have worked so hard to build over the years be ruined?"

"Peace is not in disguise." Felix smiled and said, he finally figured it out.

Azkaban, the dark wizard, the Death Eaters...Voldemort, the resurrection...and Dumbledore should be added.

All this put together a guess. If Dumbledore had suffered fatal wounds to Voldemort many times, if Voldemort had been extremely weak and had to rely on the help of others, his options would be extremely limited.

This person must be a Death Eater, passionately loyal to Voldemort, and agree with his ideas. Only in this way can he gain Voldemort's limited trust and be awarded the honor of helping the "Great Dark Lord" deal with his injuries and even hold a resurrection ceremony.

If such a person is at large after the war, it is impossible for him to do nothing for more than ten years, so he must be imprisoned in Azkaban.

Will he know more things, such as Horcruxes?

Of course, of course, Voldemort is extremely selfish, and it is impossible to tolerate the secrets of Horcrux being known, even if it is a faithful servant who can give his life to him. He may have used some kind of spell to keep secrets, forgetting spells or obfuscating spells can achieve the goal...

Fudge glared at Felix, the expression on his face still stubborn.

"By this year, the omen was more obvious," Dumbledore said. "There have been several disappearances. Bertha Jorkins disappeared without a trace in Voldemort's last hiding place, and then it was a Muggle who disappeared. His name is Frank Bryce and he lives in the village where Voldemort’s father was born I read it in the newspaper, remember? I read the Muggle newspaper...and Crouch If it weren’t for being rescued, it might be another disappearance case.”

"Dumbledore, these few things you said are also speculations, maybe just coincidence!"

"I have a witness," Dumbledore said in a deep voice.

Fudge looked at him quickly, almost sprained his neck, and the others looked at Dumbledore. Fudge mumbled, "You don't want to say it's Barty Crouch. His testimony is not acceptable. letter"

"What about his house elf?" Dumbledore asked politely, while waving his wand, Shining and Dobby appeared abruptly in the office.

Shining's expression is still a bit dazed, but Dobby is better at adapting to this kind of scene. He took Shining's hand, and the two bowed deeply, and said sharply, "Mr. Wizards, how are you."

Everyone stared at them not because of Dumbledore's magic, but because they both wore delicate little clothes. What this means, they couldn't be clearer:

These are two free elves.