bioinnovel Chapter 269 Extremely Outrageous
Chapter 269 Extremely Outrageous
Chapter 269 Extremely Outrageous
The following morning, the thunderstorm subsided, but dark clouds still shrouded the campus.
Inside the auditorium, thick clouds rolled and hung low. The students sat listlessly at the long tables, eating and studying their timetables at the same time.
Another group, their passion still burning, whispered among themselves about how to make themselves look older, how to deceive the fair selectors, and how to sneak into the final three.
As Belvina passed by the college's long table, she kept shaking her head, deeply feeling that the students were still too young and too naive.
They assumed the "fair selector" was human and could get away with it by being clever, but in reality it was a very ancient magical artifact—the Goblet of Fire. In addition to the Goblet of Fire selection, Dumbledore would also set an age limit as a precaution to prevent ineligible students from casting their names into the Goblet of Fire.
Deceiving the ancient magical artifact, the Goblet of Fire, while simultaneously guarding against the greatest wizard of our time, is an almost impossible task for any student.
Therefore, there is no need to worry about the students' little tricks. They are nothing more than aging drugs, confusion spells, or having someone else administer them. At most, they might concoct compound decoctions, provided that they don't poison themselves.
Belvina tilted her head back and looked at the ceiling, where dark clouds were churning and flowing above her head, as if silently hinting at something.
After a while, countless owls flapped their wings and flew into the auditorium, dropping letters and packages.
A brown owl flapped its wings and landed on the table in front of Belvina, a newspaper in its beak and a small leather pouch on one of its legs.
Belvina counted out five copper coins, stuffed them into the small leather pouch on the owl's leg, and then picked up the Daily Prophet.
As she spread out the newspaper, she crumbled pieces of bread and fed them to the owl that was lingering on the table.
Very good, excellent. The Daily Prophet did not report anything related to Alastor Moody, nor did it report on the mass exodus of the Office of Abuse of Magic yesterday.
However, when Belvina returned the newspaper to the front page, she suddenly discovered that the Ministry of Magic was still on the front page today.
The front-page headline read: "Batty Crouch, Hero or Thug?" The writer, of course, was the 43-year-old unscrupulous journalist Rita Skeeter.
In this front-page report, Rita Skeeter seems to be rehashing old news, bringing up Barty Crouch's past.
She first highly praised Barty Crouch's bravery during the war, and then praised Crouch's capture and trial of the Death Eaters after the war.
However, it was impossible to get Rita Skeeter to say anything positive. In the following article, she abruptly shifted her tone and began to criticize Barty Crouch. She knew how to use a strategy of praising before criticizing.
Skeeter not only mentioned Sirius Black's wrongful conviction, but also Crouch's attempt to send Ludo Bagman to Azkaban, almost making Bagman a second Sirius Black.
In addition, the report also mentioned Crouch's Death Eater son, Barty Crouch Jr.
This is what she wrote:
"He was a poor boy, only about seventeen or eighteen years old. He looked completely terrified, trembling all over, his straw-colored hair obscuring his handsome, pale face."
He pleaded with his father: Father—please, I didn't, don't send me there—
He swore to his father: I didn't, Father, I swear, I swear I didn't do anything, don't send me back. The boy's mother, Crouch, was a delicate and fragile woman. She covered her face with a handkerchief, sobbing and choking, not daring to disobey her husband's decision.
The boy's father, Mr. Crouch, was cold-blooded and ruthless, cruelly declaring his son guilty and even saying, "You are not my son."
I don't have a son.
Because the boy's behavior was disgraceful to the family and a disgrace to the clan, Mr. Crouch imprisoned his poor son in Azkaban, leaving the poor boy to rot into bones.
Although it's a rehash of old stories, Rita Skeeter maintains her consistent writing style, attempting to create an immersive experience for every reader.
In Skeeter's writing, Barty Crouch Jr., a Death Eater, is a pitiful boy, while Barty Crouch Jr., who betrays his own family for the greater good, is a representative of cold-blooded ruthlessness.
In the following description, Crouch the Elder becomes the source of all evil, as if he were the one who caused Crouch the Younger to become a Death Eater.
Leaving aside the mess between Crouch and his son, Belvina was made very uncomfortable by the way Rita Skeeter described young Crouch.
Seeing Belvina squirming in her seat as if her bottom was on fire, Bassheda asked with concern, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Belvina gestured with her chin, indicating that Bassheda should look at the newspaper.
"It's Crouch's business again. How many times has this been brought up?" Bassheda picked up the newspaper. "Didn't they have a big fuss about this back then? Crouch was hated by everyone back then."
When people first started talking about Crouch and his son, Barty's reputation plummeted from its peak to its lowest point. The former war hero became a pariah. Just when people had finally forgotten about it, the election for Minister of Magic was approaching, and someone with ulterior motives brought up Crouch and his son a second time, forcing Barty to voluntarily withdraw from the ministerial race.
Why is Rita Skeeter bringing up these old stories again?
"If Crouch is pitiful, what about the victims?" Bassheda shook her head, displeased. "He's a Death Eater, how is he pitiful!"
Yes, Barty Crouch Jr. is a Death Eater, a murderer, arsonist, and criminal. How can such a person be pitied?
However, people in the wizarding community felt sorry for Barty Crouch Jr., especially after his death in Azkaban, which garnered him even more sympathy from the general public.
These people believe that Barty Crouch Jr. became a Death Eater and met such a tragic end because his father never truly cared about him; it was all Barty Crouch's fault.
“I think so too. If Crouch is pitiful—” Belvina lowered her voice, “what about the Longbottoms? Aren’t they pitiful?”
"It's such a pity about Crouch, though. Such a talented person becoming a Death Eater is such a shame," Bassheda said regretfully. "I remember he passed all twelve O.WLs exams when he was in school, right?"
Belvina thought for a moment and nodded, saying, "It seems that's true. His NEWT test scores are all excellent, just like Percy Weasley's. Barty Crouch Jr. is also a top student at Hogwarts, the kind of child parents always talk about."
His privileged background and outstanding academic achievements may be one of the reasons why the public sympathizes with him.
After all, Barty Crouch Jr. is so outstanding that it's hard to blame him.
"Look here," Bassheda said, pointing to a line of words. "Skeet describes old Crouch as 'a man who would do anything for his own position.'"
"I think that assessment is fairly accurate," Belvina said. "The Crouch family has always been like this; profit comes above all else."
"And what about your family?"
"Forever pure?"
Blake was once "pure," the kind of "purity" that pure-blood families needed.
But Black is far from "pure" now. Sirius has long since clearly taken sides, and Belvina has openly shown her affinity for Muggles.
If the Black family hadn't still held power and influence, they would probably have been equated with the Weasley family long ago and considered blood traitors.
"Young Crouch died in Azkaban, and old Crouch isn't young anymore. Are there any other family members left?" Bassheda asked.
Belvina thought for a moment and said, "There probably aren't any left. It's just old Crouch all by himself. After he passes away, the entire Crouch paternal line will be wiped out."
At this point, Belvina suddenly chuckled, as if she had suddenly remembered something funny.
She whispered in Bassheda's ear, "Do you think it's possible that the Dark Lord doesn't want to eliminate Muggles and Muggle-born wizards, but rather pure-bloods?"
Upon hearing this, Bassheda looked at Belvina with a puzzled expression, her eyes seeming to say: Are you crazy?!
Bassheda reached out and touched Belvina's forehead, saying in confusion, "You don't have a fever or you're sick, so why are you talking nonsense?"
"Look, Crouch Jr. died in Azkaban, and the Crouch family line is extinct," Belvina said, counting on her fingers.
Basilda nodded. Crouch Jr.'s imprisonment and death were precisely because he was a Death Eater.
"And Lestrange, those two are both stuck in Azkaban," Belvina continued. "If nothing unexpected happens, they'll never get out. Isn't that practically the same as having no descendants?"
Bassheda nodded again. With no hope of the Lestrange brothers being released from prison, the paternal lineage could naturally be considered severed.
"And Rozier, Evan Rozier, who was killed while fighting the Aurors," Belvina continued. "And Travers, as Belvina pressed down her fingers one by one, Voldemort's 'glorious achievements' were revealed one by one."
Then, Belvina whispered in Bassheda's ear again, "And those who escaped punishment by using the Imperius Curse..."
If you include them, Azkaban might as well change its name.
If we include Lucius Malfoy and others, and if they all receive their due punishment, nearly half of the pure-blood House Twenty-Eight will be stuck in Azkaban until they die.
If all these pure-blood Death Eaters were to die in Azkaban, how many pure-blood wizarding families would be wiped out?
It can be said that Voldemort made a great contribution to the elimination of the Twenty-Eight Pureblood Families.
"Now that you mention it, it really makes sense," Bassheda said, suddenly realizing. "But your assumption still sounds incredibly absurd, utterly absurd!"
Who would believe that Voldemort, who champions pure-blood ideology, is actually a leading figure against it?
Anyway, Bassheda didn't believe it, and even Belvina herself didn't believe it.