"Who was it? Who let him publicly reveal Barty Crouch Jr.'s identity in that situation!"
"Sherlock didn't know that person was young Crouch at the time, so he had no idea this would cause such a huge impact..."
"Even if he didn't know that person was young Crouch, there was no need to do that publicly! The Director of Magical Law Enforcement harboring his criminal son—once this gets out, do you know how much damage it will cause the Ministry? Arthur, surely you understand?"
"I do, but Barty was wrong to begin with. He's been hiding this from us for so many years..."
"Arthur, are you still a Ministry man or not? Even if Barty was wrong, it's an internal Ministry matter! It's not for a bunch of outsiders to point fingers! And certainly not for a child who isn't even fifteen yet to lecture us!"
Arthur Weasley suddenly felt very tired. When Sherlock had used the theft of Harry's wand as a thread to uncover Barty Crouch Jr., who should have been dead, he was naturally very surprised at first. But after the surprise came great joy.
Knowing the full story of the feud between Barty Crouch and his son, he almost instantly guessed what had happened. He was also a father and could understand everything Barty Crouch had done for his son. But understanding was one thing—he didn't agree with it.
What young Barty Crouch had done back then was too excessive! He deserved to be sent to Azkaban! Moreover, this judgment had been Barty Crouch's own decision at the time. You righteously sacrificed your own kin back then, but then you did this afterwards—how could that convince anyone?
So, Sherlock revealing the truth and restoring the facts was a good thing from every perspective. But Cornelius Fudge's attitude toward this matter greatly surprised him.
Although at first, Fudge had strongly condemned Barty Crouch's vile behavior, he immediately turned his criticism toward Sherlock.
Arthur didn't understand at first and defended Sherlock a few times, but as he listened, he gradually caught on. Fudge wasn't angry about Barty Crouch bringing a criminal out of Azkaban and hiding it for over a decade. He was angry that Crouch Sr. had done this without telling him!
From Fudge's tone, it seemed that if Crouch Sr. had told him about this in advance, then what he did would have been acceptable. Instead, it was Sherlock publicly exposing the Ministry's scandal in a public setting that he truly couldn't accept.
Such absurdity—it was simply unbearable!
"In any case, this matter cannot be made public!"
"What?" Mr. Weasley was immediately stunned. He blurted out instinctively, "Cover it up again?"
"Again?" Fudge said with a cold laugh. "It's all that arrogant brat's fault! If it weren't for him acting on his own, how would we be in such a passive position? Arthur, you should know very well how important the event about to be held at Hogwarts is. We absolutely cannot have problems at this critical juncture!
Don't forget, Barty is the Director of International Magical Cooperation, and this entire thing has been handled by him from start to finish! If he has problems at a time like this, what will others think of us? Right now, stability is most important. Everything else can be put off!"
Mr. Weasley was speechless. He knew Fudge's character all too well.
When the Sirius Black matter had just come to light, although he didn't have the qualifications to attend the meeting, he later learned what happened from colleagues and Hogwarts professors. Even that kind of matter was going to be covered up, let alone this current situation.
However, Mr. Weasley wasn't ready to give up. He took a deep breath, planning to make one final reasoned argument: "But young Crouch stole Harry's wand! I think he must have been planning to use it for something dangerous..."
"What dangerous thing could he do?" Fudge waved dismissively. "The Ministry's people have already examined him. Young Crouch shows signs of long-term Imperius Curse control..."
"Imperius Curse!" Arthur couldn't help but exclaim. "He actually used the Imperius Curse on his own son!"
"Arthur, why are you so surprised? Have you forgotten that during the Wizarding War, he supported Aurors using Unforgivable Curses! Facing a Death Eater son, using the Imperius Curse is perfectly normal. I think young Crouch taking the wand was more of a subconscious reaction. What's dangerous about that? Instead, that student called Holmes..."
Fudge narrowed his eyes slightly. "It seems this isn't the first time he's caused me trouble. Such a self-righteous fellow—it's all his fault this time! However... I hear Dumbledore is quite fond of him? In that case, for Dumbledore's sake, I won't punish him this time. But I've already written to have Dumbledore come over. It's necessary to let him know how important this matter is!"
Arthur was dumbfounded. This—this was turning black into white!
He took a deep breath, forcibly swallowing back the curse that had risen to his lips, then asked, "What does Barty say?"
"He's confessed!" Fudge smiled, his face practically overflowing with satisfaction. "He told me everything: Young Crouch's condition was very poor at the time. If he'd stayed in Azkaban, he wouldn't have lasted much longer. Mrs. Crouch happened to know she was dying, so she begged Barty to rescue their son as one last thing for her. You know old Barty loved her very much, so he agreed. When the couple went to visit young Crouch together, they gave him a dose of Polyjuice Potion with Mrs. Crouch's hair. Mrs. Crouch drank Polyjuice Potion with young Crouch's hair, and mother and son exchanged appearances, completing the substitution."
Hearing this, Mr. Weasley understood. He said slowly, "Because Dementors are blind, they could only sense a healthy person and a dying person entering Azkaban, and a healthy person and a dying person leaving Azkaban. They had no idea these two people had switched roles. With Barty's help, he successfully brought out young Crouch."
"Exactly. A year after this happened, Mrs. Crouch died of illness. Because she kept drinking Polyjuice Potion, she maintained young Crouch's appearance even at death and was buried. Everyone thought young Crouch had died at that time, even I was fooled."
At this point, Fudge snorted with some displeasure, seemingly unhappy that Barty had kept this from him.
"Later, Barty pretended his wife had died and held a funeral. The tomb was actually empty. That house-elf was responsible for nursing young Crouch back to health. To control his son, poor Barty had no choice but to use the Imperius Curse.
Because young Crouch hadn't left the house for over ten years, and this time happened to coincide with the Quidditch Cup final, Barty brought him out. Who would have thought that Holmes would discover them..."
Fudge frowned at Mr. Weasley. "Arthur, not many people know about this matter. Ludo is still with Barty. I've already spoken with Lucius, and he guarantees he won't say anything. As for your children, and Harry Potter and his friends, they're in your hands."
Having said this, Fudge finally smiled for the first time: "Barty has begged me not to make this public. His thinking is the same as mine—once there's trouble at this critical moment, the upcoming event will definitely be affected. Once this year is over, he promises to let me deal with him as I see fit—what a good man, thinking only of the Ministry!"
Mr. Weasley was completely speechless. He knew Barty Crouch's character all too well. This was a man who valued his career far more than his family. What he told Fudge was very likely sincere. He truly didn't want the upcoming event to be affected.
As for Fudge, part of his reasoning was the same as Barty's—not wanting this grand event to be affected. But more of it was about maintaining his and the Ministry's dignity. The previous matter with Sirius and Pettigrew had already fully proven that for him, face was more important than truth.
Besides this, Weasley vaguely sensed that Fudge seemed happy about being able to control Barty. Because Fudge had only become Minister of Magic by picking up the pieces. That position should rightfully have been old Barty's.
All these years, although Barty had been transferred laterally to another department, he had never really respected Fudge as Minister. Who would have thought that now this crucial leverage had fallen into Fudge's hands, making this once unruly man bow his noble head.
Was power... really that important?
At that moment, his son's face suddenly flashed through Arthur's mind, and alarm bells rang in his heart. He absolutely couldn't let Percy become like this!
He quickly asked, "What about young Crouch? Send him back to Azkaban?"
"No, I promised Barty to let him continue staying outside in his Invisibility Cloak, but we'll send people to watch him."
Are you kidding? Mr. Weasley's eyes nearly popped out. Which clever person came up with this brilliant idea!
"I don't think that's a good idea, Cornelius."
Just then, a gentle voice spoke Mr. Weasley's thoughts aloud. With the characteristic sound of Apparition, several people appeared beside Fudge and Mr. Weasley. The one who had just spoken was Dumbledore, leading the group.
Fudge looked in surprise at Dumbledore and Sirius, who had suddenly appeared before him. Not just Dumbledore and Sirius—they had also brought two boys, precisely Harry and Sherlock who had just been mentioned.
"Dumbledore, you—how did you suddenly arrive..."
"Cornelius, is your memory becoming like this old man's who's approaching the end?" Dumbledore's gaze swept over Mr. Weasley, nodding slightly to him, then turned to Fudge. "You wrote asking me to come. Have you forgotten so quickly?"
"I did..." Fudge was stunned, then realized it really was he who had written asking Dumbledore to come. But when he wrote that letter, he had emphasized how Sherlock had acted on his own without respecting authority, with a rather critical tone. Asking Dumbledore to come was merely symbolic.
Over the years, similar situations weren't rare, and Dumbledore had refused every time. He hadn't expected Dumbledore to actually come this time, and so quickly.
He steadied himself, then asked, "Dumbledore, what did you mean by what you just said?"
"Literally what I said, Cornelius," Dumbledore stared at Fudge, his wise gaze making him feel somewhat insecure. "I don't think letting young Crouch return to his father's side is a good idea."
"Why?"
"Because young Crouch may already have the ability to resist the Imperius Curse," Dumbledore said without hesitation. "The reason he stole Harry's wand was to use it for something dangerous."
Fudge was stunned at first, then laughed. "Dumbledore, don't joke! Resist the Imperius Curse, one cast by Barty himself? I'm not sure even I could do that."
Sherlock and Harry exchanged glances, both showing embarrassed but polite smiles. This Minister seemed to lack proper self-awareness of his abilities!
"I'm not joking, Cornelius," Dumbledore said seriously. "People who are frequently cursed naturally develop resistance to it—Unforgivable Curses are no exception."
"Fine, fine, even if it's as you say, so what? Even if he can resist the Imperius Curse, a wizard without a wand would be no match for his father, right?" Fudge glanced at Sherlock. "I saw it very clearly just now. His body is weak—even a boy not yet fifteen could knock him down with one punch."
"Sherlock is no ordinary fifteen-year-old boy," Sirius, who hadn't wanted to engage with Fudge, said bluntly. "If he gave you a punch, you probably couldn't take it either."
"Mr. Black, I know he's good friends with Harry, but you don't need to praise him like that."
Barty Crouch's submission seemed to have given Fudge confidence, making him no longer as warm and courteous toward Sirius as before.
Sirius wasn't about to humor him. He pushed Sherlock forward directly: "Go on, Sherlock, give him a punch!"
"All right," Sherlock smiled slightly, then took a step forward.
Seeing Sherlock's extremely professional stance, Fudge couldn't help but take half a step back, his face showing terror: "I came here for a meeting. What are you trying to do?"
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