Old Batty already had a decision in his mind.
At this time, he didn't know that Barty Jr.'s memory had also been modified by Sherlin. Barty Jr. thought he had killed his damn father and had relaxed his vigilance. In addition to the injuries he had suffered in the previous battle, he was still serving. After taking the medicine, he fell into a deep sleep. Fortunately, the polyjuice potion he took was not the version prepared by Hermione in her second year, but a version modified by Voldemort himself. The effect could last for eight hours, which was enough for him to maintain his transformed state until he woke up.
Therefore, even though this is Hogwarts with Dumbledore in charge, Old Barty still cannot feel at ease.
He didn't know how little Barty sneaked into Hogwarts, nor did he know how little Barty accurately intercepted and killed him in the Forbidden Forest. He just had a feeling that he was still not out of danger.
So he arranged his clothes, took his wand, and left the school hospital secretly. Madam Pomfrey was attracted by his movements and was about to check what was going on, but he sent a forgetting spell. In this way, no one except Dumbledore and Sherrin knew about his time at Hogwarts. According to his speculation, although little Barty knew that he was not dead, he was attacked while unconscious and would most likely have fled in the opposite direction to Hogwarts. It was unlikely that he would have guessed that he was still there. Hogwarts.
Gryffindor common room.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat in a remote corner with solemn faces, talking in low voices.
"So," Hermione said, rubbing her forehead, "there was a mysterious figure who took advantage of the dark environment to attack you, Malfoy, and Mr. Crouch, and then let you go safely, and was finally repelled by Malfoy. And Mr. Crouch is missing?”
"I'm not sure," Harry said, shaking his head, "but Professor Dumbledore cast a strange magic. He used his wand to spray out a large amount of golden powder to try to deduce what happened at that time... …”
"That's a tracking spell!" Hermione said sharply, "It can detect traces of magic that have occurred in that place within a certain time range, including the footprints of wizards and magical animals, as well as the magic that has been performed there. The spell is a trace. Reveal..."
"Yes! It's this magic. I remember that Professor Dumbledore recited this spell at that time," Harry continued. "Professor Dumbledore deduced from the golden powder that besides Malfoy and Crouch, There are also the footprints of an adult wizard, and then there are traces of the Whirlpool Curse and the Death Curse... According to him, the Death Curse obviously missed its target, and Malfoy also successfully fought off the attacker."
"Korean Curse?" Hermione and Ron exclaimed in unison. They had only listened to Harry's brief description before, and had no idea that such a dangerous curse as the Death Curse was involved. Only then did they realize that the actual situation was probably much more dangerous than they had imagined.
"Harry," Hermione stared into Harry's eyes and said in a very serious tone: "Why did you go to the Forbidden Forest alone with Malfoy? What on earth did he say to you?"
Harry remembered the topic about Zhang Qiu and was hesitant to speak. Ron raised his eyebrows in realization, while Hermione continued to look suspicious.
"Malfoy asked you to go there, and everything happened in that place," Ron said lightly, "I think this is a bit suspicious, it's too much of a coincidence."
Hermione raised her eyebrows and said coldly: "Ron, do you mean that there is something wrong with Sherlin?"
Ron's pupils quickly flashed with an unnoticed pain and resentment——
Hermione was still the same. She may be a smart and knowledgeable little witch, but she is definitely not a great liar. Ron just hinted lightly, and Hermione couldn't help but directly reveal her inner thoughts——
Hermione, do you know that just now, you inadvertently said the name "Shellin" instead of calling him "Malfoy" like us.
Harry, a straight boy, was completely unaware of the rich inner drama of his two friends and said to himself: "What Ron said is not unreasonable. Malfoy suddenly called me to such a remote and uninhabited corner. I originally thought there were some important private topics, but what he wanted to talk to me about——" His face turned red, and he quickly said the next words in rapid succession, "It turned out to be unimportant and irrelevant topics. Topic, as if...he had already anticipated what would happen there..."
"Aha! Could it be like this," Ron said excitedly, as if he had just grasped an important inspiration, "This was all directed and acted by Malfoy. In fact, he was the one who attacked Harry and Crouch! "
"He was next to Harry at the time, how could he attack himself?" Hermione said coldly.
"Malfoy knows so much dark magic, what's so surprising about knowing a magic that can split himself in two?" Ron retorted not to be outdone.
"Then tell me, what's his purpose for doing this?" Hermione said angrily, "Is it just to scare Harry?"
The corners of Ron's mouth raised slightly, and he tilted his head forward to bring himself closer to Harry and Hermione, and then said in a low voice: "In order to create a witness - Harry is his witness. And Gram Mr. Rauch was his target."
He lowered his voice again, with a hint of forlornness in his tone, "He first created a situation where someone wanted to kill Crouch, with Harry as a witness, and then he tried to find a way to get rid of Harry. It was only after Leigh left the scene that he struck Crouch."
Harry nodded repeatedly. Ron's reasoning was thorough and reasonable, otherwise it would really be impossible to explain why Xie Lin asked him to go to the Forbidden Forest alone to talk about Zhang Qiu.
Hermione was a little unconvinced. She wanted to refute, but she couldn't find any flaw in Ron's reasoning. After a long time, she said: "If something like this happens, even if Schelling doesn't go to Professor Dumbledore, do you think Professor Dumbledore won't go to him? If Schelling really kills Mr. Crouch..."
Hermione couldn't help but shudder at her conjecture. She was still an innocent little witch who had never seen death. She could not accept the conjecture that Xelling committed murder, even if it was just a conjecture.
She continued: "If that's the case, do you think Professor Dumbledore can't see it? I don't believe that Schelling, a fourth-year student, can kill an adult wizard without a wand, and then act as if nothing happened. The most powerful wizard recognized in this century has been completely concealed. If even Dumbledore thinks there is nothing wrong with him..."
(Note: Hermione said not using a wand because the wand can use the flashback spell to view the magic that has been cast)
"I agree with what you said. If Malfoy killed someone, it is indeed impossible to hide it from Professor Dumbledore, but -" Ron's eyes flashed with a shrewd light, and he said coldly: "Malfoy This guy is more cunning than his Death Eater father and brother... He is not a Death Eater. Killing indiscriminately is not his style. It should be said that for a utilitarian person like him, everything that harms others is not beneficial to himself. Everything will never be his style..."
"Attacking Crouch and killing Crouch are things that only Death Eaters would do..." Ron narrowed his eyes slightly, a look of confidence flashing through the gaps between his eyelids, "Crouch is Who is he? He is the head of a department in the Ministry of Magic and holds a high position of power. Sirius also said that he once ran for Minister of Magic, which shows that he also has a strong prestige and circle of supporters in the Ministry of Magic."
"If I were Malfoy, killing him would undoubtedly be the stupidest decision... Only by controlling him and letting him be used by me can I maximize the benefits of the whole thing..."
Hermione's face turned pale. She looked at Ron's familiar face in disbelief. She couldn't believe that these words came from Ron's mouth. She suddenly felt that Ron had become a little strange.
Harry didn't think so much. He thought for a while, frowned, and said, "Are you talking about the Imperius Curse that Professor Moody said? Malfoy is just a fourth-year student like us. He has the ability." Can he cast this magic? Even if he really has this ability, Crouch is not an ordinary person. He works at the Ministry of Magic and often has to meet many powerful wizards. When he shows up again, Malfoy's curse Is it possible not to be seen through by others?"
"The Imperius Curse is just one of the possibilities. There are thousands of magics in this world, and there are always some that even Dumbledore has never been exposed to..." Ron said quickly.
"Wait a minute," just when Ron was about to go on to describe the various unpopular black magic he had heard from his father and other relatives and elders, he was forcefully interrupted by Hermione.
Hermione took a deep breath, and her voice began to have a chill, "Okay, you two have come to a conclusion so quickly, as if Xie Lin is really the villain you said. ...haven't you ever considered that it's the preconceived prejudices you all have against him that prevent you from making an objective and accurate judgment on the matter?"
Hearing the dissatisfaction in Hermione's tone, Ron's body seemed to tremble slightly. He knew that he had touched Hermione's bottom line. He did not dare to look at Hermione anymore, but looked away, looked at the ground, and said softly: "These are just inferences. Hermione, you are too serious."
Hermione snorted and ended the conversation. The three of them went back to their dormitory rooms, with a rather unhappy atmosphere.
The next day was Tuesday. At dawn, Harry, Ron and Hermione slipped out of the dormitory early in the morning and hurried to the Owlery to send a message to Sirius. Now they stood looking out over the foggy grounds, all three with puffy eyelids and pale faces from having stayed up late the night discussing Mr. Crouch's affairs.
There they encountered the Weasley twins who were arguing. The Weasley twins appear to be arguing about sending a letter, which seems likely to involve blackmail.
Ron's face looked very pale. During the days when he and Harry were having a cold war, he almost always hung out with the Weasley twins. He knew very well that the twins were thinking about making money this semester because they wanted to open a joke shop. Originally, when the twins proposed this idea during the summer vacation, the whole family thought they were just saying it to make their mother angry, but they didn't expect that they were serious.
Opening a store requires funds, and Mr. Weasley obviously can't help them, so they are desperate for money. Ron was worried that they would take risks and do illegal things just to make money.
