bioinnovel Chapter 364 The Confession
Chapter 364 The Confession
Chapter 364 The Confession
Soon, the group of professors who had run out of the castle surrounded Barty Crouch Jr.
Seeing that the encirclement was complete, Professor Flitwick, who seemed to be holding back, lowered his wand and looked at Barty with a complicated expression.
The current Bati is vastly different from his student days. The once carefree boy is gone, replaced by a middle-aged man with wrinkles around his eyes.
His skin was an unhealthy pale, as if he hadn't seen the sun in a long time, and his body was extremely thin, not even as heavy as a good dog.
"Good heavens!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed, staring intently at Barty the Younger.
Despite already knowing that Barty Crouch's identity was questionable, and despite Barty Crouch Jr.'s recent revelation of his identity, Professor McGonagall was still shocked.
Professor McGonagall was astonished, let alone the other professors who were completely unaware of the situation. They stood there dumbfounded, staring at Barty Crouch Jr. in disbelief.
A person who had long been imprisoned in Azkaban, a person who had long been dead, suddenly appeared at Hogwarts, standing alive and well before everyone's eyes. Anyone would find it unbelievable and hard to believe.
Amidst the astonished gazes of the professors, Barty Crouch Jr. sat down on the ground without showing the slightest thought of running away.
Although he looked somewhat disheveled at that moment, he still had a smile on his lips, a smile that reached his eyes, as if he had just encountered something very gratifying.
However, Barty Jr.'s current situation is already as bad as it gets; even if he had wings, he couldn't escape the encirclement formed by the professors.
Even so, Little Barty was still smiling, as if nothing or no one in the world could frighten him.
"Seeing your reactions, I know some of you still remember me," Barty Crouch Jr. said happily. "That's right, I didn't die in that godforsaken place, Azkaban."
Without the amplification spell, Little Bati's volume returned to normal, no longer disturbing people or making their blood boil.
"Barty Crouch Jr." Belvina stepped forward, her voice sounding cold and devoid of emotion.
"Belvina Black, did you never imagine we'd meet face-to-face again like this?" Barty Jr. said with a laugh. "Where are those two old guys, Dumbledore and Moody?"
At this moment, Barty Crouch Jr. showed no awareness of his status as a serious criminal, as if he were simply chatting casually with Belvina.
"Alastor's legs aren't very good, so he might be a little slow to get here," Belvina said, her tone still icy. "As for Dumbledore, I don't know."
"That's a real shame." Barty Crouch Jr. shrugged regretfully. "But it's alright, having you guys here is enough." Belvina raised her wand and pointed it at Barty Crouch Jr., who was sitting on the ground.
Almost at the same time, Barty Crouch Jr. also raised his wand, but the tip of the wand was pressed against his own neck.
He said, "How about we have a race to see who's faster, your Disarm Curse or my Killing Curse?"
With unexpected actions and unexpected words, Barty Crouch Jr. actually threatened others with his own life.
To threaten Belvina Black.
But despite such unexpected and outrageous behavior, Barty Jr. actually succeeded.
Belvina slowly lowered her wand, as did the others.
The living Barty Crouch is far more important than the dead Barty Crouch; the dead cannot reveal secrets.
"That's more like it." Barty's wand was still pressed against his neck. "Wouldn't it be better if we all sat down and had a calm chat? There's no need for this fighting. I'm not planning on running away!"
"In that case, would you be willing to tell us how you escaped from Azkaban?"
Before he arrived, his voice preceded his arrival; Dumbledore's voice clearly reached Barty Crouch Jr.'s ears.
Then Dumbledore came over, accompanied by Professor Moody, who was limping.
"Very old, and walks a bit slowly," Dumbledore continued. "Barty, would you like to talk about your experiences over the years?"
"I also think you're too old, Dumbledore, your thinking is outdated," Barty Jr. said with a laugh. "And you, Moody, you're here too."
Alastor Moody remained silent, his eyes fixed on Barty Jr.
"How I escaped Azkaban—my mother saved me." Little Barty's smile vanished, replaced by a look of sorrow for the first time.
He took a deep breath, his voice trembling, and then began to speak in a calm tone.
"My mother knew she was going to die, so she begged Barty Crouch, begged Barty Crouch to get me out, as if it were the last thing she could do for her."
Through Barty Crouch Jr.'s account, everyone finally learned how he escaped from Azkaban.
Barty Crouch took his terminally ill wife, Mrs. Crouch, to Azkaban.
During their visit to Barty Crouch Jr., the mother and son each took a Polyjuice Potion, switching identities and appearances.
Then, the father and son left together. Little Barty had already taken on the appearance of Mrs. Crouch, while the real Mrs. Crouch remained forever in Azkaban.
As he spoke, Barty Crouch Jr.'s eyelids began to twitch uncontrollably.
He may have been thinking of Azkaban's tragic fate, or he may have been thinking of his poor mother.
Poor Mrs. Crouch, even though she was afflicted with illness, did not forget to take her Polyjuice Potion, and died looking just like Barty.
"Neither you nor your son are any good!" Belvina spat out.
"Ha!" Little Barty chuckled. "I think you're right, Blake, neither he nor I—neither of us are good people."
He took another deep breath and continued, "After leaving Azkaban, Batty Crouch used the Imperius Curse to control me, and then held a funeral for my mother. Of course, the grave is empty."
Mrs. Crouch died in Azkaban, and after her death, Buddy Crouch did not claim her body, but instead allowed the Dementors to bury her in Azkaban.
As Barty Crouch Jr. recounted his story, the professors present felt increasingly uneasy.
Whether it was Barty Crouch the Elder's act of sacrificing his own family for the greater good or Barty Crouch the Younger's stubbornness, it only made people feel more sorry for the poor Mrs. Crouch.
After leaving Azkaban, Barty Jr. gradually regained his strength under the careful care of the house-elf Sparky, but he was still thinking about the defeated and fallen Voldemort and did not consider his mother at all.
"Has anyone discovered you're still alive?" Dumbledore stepped forward and asked. "Besides Barty the Elder and Gilgamesh, does anyone else know your secret?"
"Yes, Bertha Jorkins, that meddlesome woman, found out I'm still alive."
Instantly, the professors present all showed expressions of surprise.
Belvina and Dumbledore exchanged a glance, which matched their previous guesses.
"That woman was incredibly stupid. After discovering I was still alive, she didn't choose to leave, but stayed to wait for Barty Crouch to return!"
As Barty spoke, an incredulous expression crossed his face. To this day, Barty still can't understand how someone as stupid as Bertha Jorkins could exist in the world.
Although Belvina had suspected it all along, she was still speechless when the truth came out of Barty Crouch's mouth. Bertha Jorkins's stupidity was truly astonishing.
As expected, Bertha Jorkins, unaware of the danger, found herself in peril as Barty Crouch cast a forgetting spell on her, a powerful curse that caused irreparable damage to her memory.
In the following time, Dumbledore asked questions, and Barty Crouch Jr. answered.
The two of them quickly resolved everyone's doubts through a question-and-answer session.
"To be honest, I have to thank you all. Without you..."
I have no way to break free from the Soul-Stealing Curse.
"Thank you so much," Barty said with a smile.
Just last year, Sirius Black was exonerated, while Peter Pettigrew was imprisoned.
Barty Crouch, who was in charge of Sirius Black's trial, was once again stigmatized for his trial that resulted in an innocent man being wrongly imprisoned for twelve years.
In this situation, Barty Crouch was inevitably affected, and his control over Barty Jr. weakened accordingly.
Barty Crouch Jr., having developed a tolerance to the Imperius Curse after a decade of suffering, managed to escape.
"I've broken free of the Imperius Curse and am no longer under Barty Crouch's control!" Barty exclaimed excitedly. "I can finally do what I've always wanted to do!"
"What have you done?" Dumbledore asked.
"Of course, I'm going to find my master, the great Voldemort!" Barty shouted.
Instantly, a strange chorus of sounds erupted across the field; even the Hogwarts professors couldn't bear to hear Voldemort's name.
"You've found him," Dumbledore said. He believed that Barty Jr. must have found Voldemort, which led to the Quidditch World Cup and the Triwizard Tournament.
"I haven't found him," Barty said calmly. "Dumbledore, you've been looking for him for so many years, and you still haven't found him, have you?"
Dumbledore and Belvina exchanged glances again. How could Barty Crouch Jr. not have found Voldemort? He was lying!
If Barty Jr. hadn't found Voldemort, how would you explain Harry's incredibly vivid dream?
You see, Harry doesn't know Barty Crouch Jr., so how could he dream about someone he doesn't know, especially someone who happens to be a Death Eater?
"You're lying, Barty," Belvina said. "You're trying to take all the blame for yourself."
"I've already told you how I escaped Azkaban, why would I need to lie?" Little Barty said, feeling wronged. "If you don't believe me, bring me the truth serum!"
As he spoke, Barty the Younger accurately located Snape in the crowd, knowing that Snape must have the Truth Potion.
"Stop joking, Barty, we all know truth serum isn't reliable," Belvina said.