bioinnovel Chapter 366 Awakening
Chapter 366 Awakening
Chapter 366 Awakening
After a long time, or perhaps no time at all, Barty Crouch Jr. slowly awoke.
He realized he was not dead; the killing curse had not ended his existence, and his thoughts were still trapped inside his body.
Because he could clearly feel that he was sitting on an object, that the object beneath him was real, and that the dull pain in his chest was also real.
Realizing this, Barty Crouch Jr. tried to open his eyes.
The ceiling was a bare stone wall, without any decoration. The light coming from somewhere was gray and dull, and tiny particles floated in the air.
West Tower. Little Barty realized almost immediately where he was—in the West Tower room where he was being held.
Next, Barty Crouch Jr. tried to move his hands and feet, and he found that he could move them, but they were bound.
The sensations coming from his wrists and ankles told him that the objects binding his hands and feet were metal shackles, which felt cold and had a faint smell of rust.
"Oh, you're awake!"
Little Barty heard a very familiar female voice, its tone icy, every syllable filled with anger.
It was Belvina Black. Barty Crouch Jr. immediately realized that he couldn't possibly be mistaken for that voice; that damned woman had repeatedly ruined his plans.
Little Barty opened his mouth, only to find that he could only make incomprehensible guttural sounds; his tongue seemed to be stuck to his palate and he couldn't move it.
Tongue-locking curse. This curse was very popular at Hogwarts a decade or two ago, and students often had their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.
"You can't move your tongue, right? Sorry, it's just a little trick to prevent you from biting your tongue and committing suicide."
Barty Crouch Jr. looked over at the sound and saw Belvina sitting opposite him, her pretty face as cold as ice, her whole being like a block of ice radiating chilling coldness.
Little Barty also noticed that Belvina had a glittering gold necklace wrapped around her left hand, with an hourglass-shaped object attached to the bottom of the necklace.
"You're looking at this?" Belvina raised her left hand, stretched out her arm, and her fingers almost touched Little Barty's face.
She continued, "You should be very familiar with this little thing; you must have used it when you were in school."
Little Barty, of course, knew what this little thing was; it was a time converter that allowed people to travel through short periods of time.
The time frame for backtracking is usually limited to five hours.
"The Time-Turner, that's the little thing I used to stop you from committing suicide," Belvina continued. "However, it's hard to say whether it was me who stopped you or Dumbledore; he acted so quickly."
Barty Crouch Jr. was unaware of what had happened, but Belvina did.
At that moment, Belvina understood for the first time why people said Dumbledore was the wizard Voldemort feared most, Albus Dumbledore. Not only was he extremely fast, but more importantly, he seemed to have anticipated Barty's choice and had made two preparations in advance.
As Barty Jr. recited the Killing Curse, the restriction left by Dumbledore beforehand took effect, and a very faint silver light appeared on Barty Jr.'s wrist.
At the same time, Dumbledore, who had anticipated this, acted in advance. Although it was a hasty attack, Dumbledore was very fast. His spell hit Barty's chest, breaking several of Barty's ribs.
Almost simultaneously, a dazzling red light that pierced the field struck Barty's wand precisely, successfully disarming him.
This was a spell cast by Belvina, who used the Time-Turner. She knew that a disarming spell would appear at this time, so she acted decisively without any hesitation.
Although Barty Crouch Jr. recited the incantation before falling unconscious, he was unable to continue channeling the magic due to the dual restrictions of the Restraint and the Stunning Charm.
Meanwhile, Barty's wand was also disarmed by the Disarming Curse, so the Killing Curse could not be activated.
Thus, with three obstacles in place, Barty's suicide attempt completely failed, and his plan to take everything upon himself also came to an end.
At that moment, Belvina suddenly stood up and rushed to Barty's side.
She leaned down, staring intently into Little Barty's eyes, her hands pressing down on Little Barty's arms, which were bound to the armrests of the chair.
At this moment, the two were very close, almost touching. They could clearly see the pores on each other's faces and feel each other's breath.
"You bastard! Do you know how many times I've turned the converter since last night? Do you know how much damage that does to a woman nearing thirty! You bastard!"
Barty Crouch Jr., unable to speak, was greeted by a fragrant aroma, followed by a blur before his eyes.
Then, Little Barty felt a stinging sensation in his nose, and something warm flowed out of his nostrils, and tears welled up in his eyes.
To prevent any unforeseen problems, Belvina wrote to Thor Crocker of the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic beforehand, borrowing a Time-Turner from him.
It's Saul Crocker, the Silencer from the Department of Mysteries, who provided the special swimming goggles and positioning watch for the second project.
Since last night, there have been at least two Belvinas operating simultaneously in Hogwarts Castle: one keeping a close eye on the Marauder's Map, and the other running around checking for any omissions or gaps.
"And didn't you notice that no one from the Ministry of Magic was there?" Belvina continued. "With such a commotion, it's strange that Hogsmeade, which is so close to the school, didn't even notice?"
Compared to the silence of Hogsmeade, Barty Crouch Jr. was more eager to wipe the blood from his nose; the itchy feeling was really uncomfortable.
"That's right, it's the Time-Turner again. I stopped the Aurors and the others who were stationed in the village," Belvina said. "Scrimgeour, Delilah, I stopped them all in the village."
His suicide attempt failed, and his plan to take over everything fell apart, but Barty Crouch Jr. showed no sign of frustration.
He appeared very calm, so calm that no one wanted to talk to him.
Belvina turned and walked back, sat down in a chair, and put away the time converter.
She said, "Barty, I have to admit I underestimated you. I thought you would be as afraid of death as Voldemort."
Belvina readily admitted that she had miscalculated. She had never anticipated Barty Jr.'s choice, nor that Barty Jr. would use his death to cover up Voldemort's true intentions.
In front of everyone at Hogwarts, Barty Crouch Jr. took full responsibility for everything that had happened over the past six months, in order to conceal Voldemort's whereabouts and prevent him from being exposed to the Ministry of Magic prematurely.
In this way, Voldemort could continue to hide in the shadows, continue to carry out his plans in secret, and make a comeback.
Another point is that with Barty Crouch Jr. making a public appearance, Dumbledore couldn't cover it up. Even if the professors could keep quiet, could the students?
If news of Barty Crouch Jr.'s involvement in Hogwarts or his death were to spread, Voldemort would become alert and act more discreetly, making him difficult to detect.
Although Belvina stopped Scrimgeour's men stationed in Hogsmeade, Barty Crouch Jr.'s plan was still half successful.
Fortunately, Barty Crouch Jr.'s plan was only half successful; he was still in control and had a chance to find out Voldemort's whereabouts.
"Wait a moment, I will remove the tongue-binding spell from you, and then I will ask you a few questions," Belvina said. "I hope you will cooperate with me and not try to commit suicide again."
Belvina drew her wand and continued, "If you don't cooperate, or try to bite your tongue and commit suicide, I'll let you know..."
The scariest thing in the world is never death.
Barty Crouch Jr. nodded in agreement, a level of cooperation that was quite surprising.
"How could I forget this!" Belvina slapped her forehead. "You should have realized this more than a decade ago. You are the one who kidnapped and tortured the Longbottoms."
Freed from the tongue-locking spell, Barty's tongue finally broke free of his palate.
He moved his tongue slightly, then said slowly and clearly, "I did not torment the Longbottoms, never."
)