bioinnovel Chapter 359 The Old Artist Dumbledore
Chapter 359 The Old Artist Dumbledore
Chapter 359 The Old Artist Dumbledore
These words would soften even the hardest heart.
For a middle-aged person to lose their wife and children is considered a pitiful situation even among the most pitiful people.
In addition, Barty Crouch's career suffered a fatal blow, and his reputation plummeted.
If a soft-hearted person were standing in this office, they would probably shed a tear of sympathy for Crouch, this poor soul.
However, Belvina was clearly not among them. Although her heart was not made of stone, she had no sympathy for Barty Crouch and his son.
"Wow!" Belvina exclaimed, clapping her hands. "The Ministry of Magic should award you a Medal of Distinguished Service, Mr. Crouch, after you retire."
Whether on the surface or in reality, this statement doesn't sound like a nice thing to say; it's full of aggression and sarcasm.
Cornelius Fudge stood there stunned, forgetting even to pick up his top hat that had fallen to the ground.
Alastor Moody, who had just been furious, was also speechless. He hadn't expected Belvina to have such a vicious tongue.
Dumbledore lowered his head, a subtle, indescribable meaning flashing in his blue eyes.
Barty Crouch slowly turned his head to look at Belvina, who was clapping. Boundless anger burned in his eyes, and he wished he could burn Belvina to ashes immediately.
However, at this moment, Belvina seemed to have suddenly lost her senses and continued to bring up the very things she didn't want to talk about, deliberately stabbing Crouch in the back.
"It's such a pity about Barty Crouch Jr.," Belvina sighed. "How could someone as outstanding as him become a Death Eater? Why do you think that is?"
With a clear objective and decisive action, Belvina's goal was to provoke Barty Crouch and force him to make a mistake.
If Barty Crouch had remained rational and clear-headed, the next step of the plan would have been impossible. At that point, kidnapping Karkaroff would have become a complete joke.
Do not hate your enemies, as that will cloud your judgment.
Barty Crouch had clearly not heard this before; his hatred for Belvina now far exceeded that for the traitors and cowards among the Death Eaters.
Intense hatred can ignite uncontrollable rage. When both exist in a person, that person gradually loses their rationality and their behavior becomes highly uncontrollable.
"Miss Black, watch your words," Barty Crouch forced out through gritted teeth.
Despite his bloodshot eyes and his teeth practically grinding to powder, Crouch wasn't blinded by rage like Karkaroff. He struggled to stay rational and prevent his sanity from crumbling.
"Watch your words—alright then." Belvina stood up. "Then I'll get straight to the point."
She stepped past Fudge and Moody to stand in front of Crouch and said, "I suspect you kidnapped Igor Karkaroff."
"You conspired with others to kidnap Karkaroff from Hogwarts—"
"Impossible!" Cornelius Fudge exclaimed. "That's utter nonsense!"
Coming to his senses, the minister continued, "That's impossible. Barty has served the Ministry of Magic for many years. How could he possibly break the law? He even—"
"He even imprisoned his own son in Azkaban, completely ignoring his ailing wife's pleas." Buddy Crouch continued, his eyes flashing with increasing ferocity and his hidden killing intent growing stronger.
"No-no-yes, that's right!" Cornelius Fudge stammered. "How could Barty do such a thing? How could he kidnap Karkaroff!"
In the eyes of many, Barty Crouch was a man who disregarded everything for the sake of official position, even his own blood ties.
Even at the end of his political career, he could still find excuses to stay in the International Department of Magical Cooperation. How could such a person possibly circumvent the law and take action against Karkaroff?
"Perhaps, Director Crouch, nearing retirement, has suddenly realized the value of family ties?" Belvina remained unmoved, stubbornly insisting, "Or perhaps, he wants revenge on Igor Karkaroff?"
Revenge? What's the story behind this?!" Cornelius Fudge instinctively started to chuckle.
"You all should remember that Karkaroff was once a Death Eater. In exchange for his freedom, he betrayed many people to the Ministry of Magic," Belvina said calmly. "The most important person among them was Lukewood, August Lukewood."
It was Karkaroff's betrayal that led to Lukewood, the Death Eater, being arrested by the Ministry of Magic.
Just as digging up a radish brings up mud, with Lukewood's arrest, a group of spies he planted in the Ministry of Magic also surfaced, including the fool Ludo Bagman.
"After Lukewood's arrest, the Ministry of Magic began a massive internal investigation, and then—" Belvina paused deliberately, "and then it was discovered that Auror Frank Longbottom hadn't come to work."
Now that things have come to this point, Belvina's meaning is quite clear.
Karkaroff's betrayal led to Lukwood's arrest, which in turn led to an internal investigation, which in turn drew attention to Frank Longbottom.
Then, the Ministry of Magic located the Longbottoms, who had been driven mad by torture, and arrested Barty Crouch Jr. and others who had tortured them.
Therefore, it was Karkaroff who led to Barty Crouch Jr.'s arrest, and it was he who caused Barty Crouch Sr.'s lifelong misfortune.
Therefore, Barty Crouch had ample motive to retaliate against Igor Karkarov, because Karkarov had ruined his life.
At first glance, Belvina's series of deductions seem very reasonable, just like the Roman legitimacy in Tongliao, and they seem perfectly logical. However, in reality, there is no necessary connection between the two. Even if Karkaroff had not betrayed Lukwood, Barty and others would not have fared well.
Belvina's series of deductions were truly like drawing the bullseye from the bullet hole; it was a reverse deduction based on the result of Barty Jr.'s arrest by the Ministry of Magic, forcibly pinning the blame on Karkaroff.
But none of that matters. Belvina simply gave reasons for her suspicions about Barty Crouch, indicating that she was not making a fuss without reason, but had reasonable doubts.
The ultimate goal was to provoke Barty Crouch, drag him down, and make his situation even worse.
At this moment, the principal's office fell into complete silence; you could hear a pin drop.
Dumbledore was stunned. Young people really know how to play games; they can even pin this on Karkaroff.
Fudge and Moody were speechless. The two, who had just been hurling insults at each other, now looked at each other in disbelief at what they had just heard.
Even Buddy Crouch himself was stunned, his mouth agape but unable to utter a sound, his expression as if he were discovering evil in the world for the first time.
After a while, Dumbledore coughed lightly, a sound that snapped the three of them out of their daze.
"Our most important task right now is to find Karkaroff and make sure he's still alive," Dumbledore said. "Cornelly, right?"
"Yes—that's right—we need to find Karkaroff," Fudge said hastily. "We have to find him, we absolutely must find him."
"With a formidable enemy at hand, we should not harbor any secrets or doubt one another," Dumbledore said. "We should trust each other, unite as one, and overcome this challenge."
Connelly Fudge has once again grasped at a straw.
"That's right, we need to trust each other and stick together," Fudge said. "The most important thing is to find Karkaroff."
Belvina remained silent. She had already performed her part, and the rest was up to Dumbledore.
Barty Crouch closed his eyes, silently calming himself, repeatedly telling himself that the bigger picture was more important and that personal grudges could wait.
At that moment, Dumbledore suddenly changed the subject, saying, "Trust needs a reason, and distrust is the normal thing. In the current situation, I find it hard to trust either of you."
As he spoke, Dumbledore first looked at the silent Belvina, then at Barty Crouch, who was closing his eyes and gathering his strength.
Cornelius Fudge looked at Dumbledore in disbelief. He had thought Dumbledore was there to ease the tension, but it turned out that Dumbledore was the one who had been hiding the truth the most!
"Connelly, I have an idea," Dumbledore said to Fudge. "I think it would be better to temporarily relieve Black and Crouch of their duties. What do you think?"
Instantly, Barty Crouch opened his eyes.