bioinnovel Chapter 362 Tipping and Information
Chapter 362 Tipping and Information
Chapter 362 Tipping and Information
Hogwarts spent the entire day in an eerie calm.
The professors each performed their duties, cooperating with the Ministry of Magic to search the castle, examining each room from the towers to the dungeons.
However, Igor Karkaroff was not at Hogwarts at all, so how could the Ministry of Magic possibly find him in the castle?
The same was true for the large ships anchored on the shore of Black Lake; Durmstrang's students were very cooperative, especially at Viktor.
Krum led the team, and together with the Ministry of Magic, they turned the ship's cabin upside down.
Of course, the Ministry of Magic also searched Hogsmeade, and most of the shopkeepers and villagers were extremely cooperative, except for the waiter at the Hog's Head pub.
Although Aberforth allowed the Ministry of Magic to enter the pub to search, he was impatient with the searchers' numerous questions.
The two sides eventually got into a heated verbal argument.
Then, Aberforth roughly drove the Ministry of Magic personnel out of the pub and forbade them from coming any closer.
These events happening inside the castle and outside the school were unknown to the students trapped in the common room, who, like caged birds, longed for the sky.
They were restricted to staying in the common room and were not allowed to leave it at all; all activities had to be conducted in the common room.
After the initial outlandish speculations, everyone quickly lost interest and busied themselves with their own activities; some were reading.
Some people are doing their homework, while others are laughing and playing around.
However, as time went on, the students trapped in the common room felt increasingly bored and couldn't muster any enthusiasm for anything they did.
Some people became even more dazed and confused, with dull eyes and lifeless gazes, like walking corpses.
Surrounded by the walking dead, the scarred, brute Harry remained lucid, gradually forming his own guesses about the changes taking place at the school.
In the morning, Cornelius Fudge arrived at the school with a group of Ministry of Magic officials, indicating that something had indeed happened at Hogwarts.
Not long after, Fudge left in a hurry, but the Ministry of Magic officials did not leave with him.
Then, Mrs. Maxime left Beauxbatons' carriage and, accompanied by Hagrid, hurriedly entered the castle.
Subsequently, Viktor Krum and two Durmstrang students also arrived at the castle.
After some time, Mrs. Maxim and Krum and others left together.
Harry, who was in the common room, witnessed all of this through the tower window. He, Hermione, and Ron sat together for an afternoon discussing it before finally arriving at their guess.
Something has indeed happened at Hogwarts, and it's quite serious. It may even involve the Triwizard Tournament.
Igor Karkarov's name was naturally the first one that came to mind. Ever since he was beaten up by Belvina, he had been bedridden and fainted in front of everyone yesterday.
Did Karkaroff really die of illness at Hogwarts?
But Harry quickly dismissed this idea, as he noticed that Barty Crouch had not left.
Harry knew long ago that there was something wrong with this year's Triwizard Tournament, and he also knew that Barty Crouch had been secretly plotting something, and that his target was himself.
At this crucial moment when something big was about to happen at Hogwarts, Barty Crouch, contrary to his usual behavior, delayed leaving the school.
Harry felt a sense of unease; he suspected that Crouch was probably involved.
After an afternoon of discussion, Harry, Meghan, and Karkaroff all agreed that Karkaroff's serious illness was merely a contributing factor, while Barty Crouch, who had not left, was the key and the decisive factor in the current state of Hogwarts.
Although they were close to the truth, Harry, Meghan, and Harry knew very little and could not make any further inferences, nor did they know that Barty Crouch was temporarily being held in the West Tower.
And what is Barty Crouch doing now?
He had been sitting idly in his room in the West Tower for almost the entire day.
Since the house-elf who cleaned the room left, Barty Crouch hasn't moved from his spot.
He sat there, mostly like a wooden or clay sculpture, except for taking a sip from the flat flask in his pocket every now and then.
Before we knew it, night fell and darkness enveloped the earth.
After sitting still all day, Barty Crouch finally made some other movements. He first shook his numb and sore arms, and then slowly stood up.
After standing still for a while, Barty Crouch began to walk slowly around the small room, walking very slowly and even with a limp.
The sky had completely darkened, and the grounds around the castle were pitch black. The Forbidden Forest in the distance also appeared dark and eerie.
Barty Crouch's steps returned to normal, and he took another sip from his flask. The silver flask was getting lighter and lighter, and the compound potion inside would last until tomorrow morning at most.
Anxious, uneasy, impatient—all these similar words can be used to describe Barty Crouch at this moment.
His own secrets, Voldemort's plans, Dumbledore's schemes—all of these transformed into the thick darkness of night, tightly enveloping Barty Crouch.
It was an indescribable feeling of oppression and suffocation; even with the heart pounding wildly in the chest, it was difficult to deliver blood and oxygen to every part of the body.
The night outside the window grew even darker, a thick cloud obscured the moonlight, and the rooms in the west tower were pitch black; even the silver wine jugs appeared dull and lifeless.
Just then, a knock on the door suddenly rang out.
The sound was very soft and only rang once; Barty Crouch thought he had misheard.
But the next second, Barty Crouch felt something enter the room, somewhere he couldn't see.
Immediately afterwards, a dark green, dimly glowing, misty object suddenly appeared, floating lightly and slowly before Barty Crouch's eyes.
"Barty Crouch Jr., you're actually still alive."
The wisp of light, neither light nor mist, slowly transformed into individual letters, piecing together a line of text.
Barty Crouch was startled. Was this a test from Dumbledore and Belvina, or someone else? And who was this person, friend or foe?
"You don't need to know who I am, I'm just here to tell you some things."
The letters, emitting a dark green glow, slowly deformed and recombine, and another line of text reappeared.
Barty Crouch's expression was grave. How could he not care who the other person was? The other person's identity was crucial, as it would directly determine the person's credibility.
"In the afternoon, the enforcement team searched your residence and took away your house-elf."
As the third line of text appeared, Barty Crouch's breath hitched. Although everything in the house had been moved, the house-elves might be the key to their escape.
Out of extreme loyalty to their owners, house-elves will strictly keep their owners' secrets, but what if they are given a truth serum?
Once Sparky is given the truth serum, can it still keep its owner's secret? Can the Crouch family's secret still be kept?
Expecting the Ministry of Magic to treat house-elves humanely is less desirable than expecting pure-blood wizards not to look down on Muggles.
Wait a moment.
Barty Crouch realized something was wrong.
If Gilgamesh was really taken away, why hasn't the Ministry of Magic taken any action yet?
The night was deep outside the window, and a long time had passed since the afternoon. It was impossible for Shan Shan to keep the secret.
"The Ministry of Magic searched Hogsmeade and the surrounding area, but found nothing."
As the fourth line of text appeared, Barty Crouch's heart sank even further, chilling him to the bone. It was a chill that even a Muggle's electric hand warmer couldn't warm him up. If what this man said was true, it meant Karkaroff was well hidden and unlikely to be found anytime soon.
If the Ministry of Magic cannot find Karkaroff, it means that Barty Crouch cannot leave Hogwarts openly.
And what about the house-elf Sparky? Who has it now? Is it one of Black's people, one of Burns' people, or one of their own?
Barty Crouch realized that if he didn't want to be left to die, he had to move as fast as he could and escape Hogwarts as inconspicuously as possible.
Then, the fifth line of text appeared.
"Kakalov fled because of the Mark, you know that."
Barty Crouch instinctively raised his hand and gently touched his left arm, where the Dark Mark was located.
As Voldemort grew stronger each day, the Dark Mark on the Death Eater's left arm became increasingly clear, and it wasn't just Karkaroff...
Many Death Eaters noticed this.
In the dark and gloomy Azkaban, in Malfoy's lavish manor, and in the corrupt and incompetent Ministry of Magic, these wizards who had once followed Voldemort gradually realized that their master was growing stronger.
Could the person who chose to deliver the message late at night be Severus Snape?
Barty Crouch first thought of Snape, but then realized it was impossible.
When the Ministry of Magic tried the Death Eaters, Dumbledore personally testified before the committee that Snape was no longer a Death Eater.
According to Dumbledore, Snape had joined him long ago, lurking undercover within Voldemort's inner circle, secretly passing information to Dumbledore.
But if it wasn't Snape, who else could it be? Who else would risk passing on a message and tipping someone off?
Just as Barty Crouch was lost in thought, the luminous yet misty mass coalesced into the final line of text before vanishing into the night.
The last line reads: "I've already planned my next step, what about you?"