บท 673: You're Simply a Born Auror!
บรรณาธิการ: Atlas Studios
Seeing that they were about to quarrel, Ivan interrupted them.
"Gentlemen, please stop for a moment. This is not the time to hold someone accountable. The most important thing for us to do is to tell Professor Dumbledore exactly what happened. I'm sure he'll make a decision!"
"Well said, Harls," Moody said, pointing his wand at Crouch and looking at him with disdain. "Shall we go, Barty? Do you need me to help you?"
"I'll see to it myself!" Crouch snorted and left the room, heading for the Headmaster's office on the top floor.
Along the way, Ivan and Moody stood to either side of him, watching his every move so that he would not think of escaping.
Crouch, however, behaved himself throughout the journey and led the way to the Headmaster's office.
Moody gave the order to open the door and they all went up the spiral staircase.
Fortunately, Dumbledore happened to be in the Headmaster's office, and the trip was not in vain.
"Hars, Barty, Alastor… it seems you have something urgent to discuss with me?" Dumbledore's gaze swept over Ivan and the others, noting their expressions.
"Yes, Professor, a matter of great importance!" Yvonne nodded, then turned to Crouch. "But I think it would be better if Mr. Crouch did it himself."
Hearing this, Dumbledore fixed his gaze on Crouch's dispirited face.
Crouch sighed and didn't waste any more time. He started with how he had taken Barty Junior out of Azkaban in a moment of weakness more than a decade ago, and how he had let Barty slip through his fingers during the World Quidditch Cup.
Yvonne and Moody filled in the blanks, speaking as concisely as possible.
Dumbledore listened in silence, tapping the table with his long index finger, occasionally looking thoughtful and surprised.
When they had finished, Dumbledore's face grew serious, and he looked at Crouch with some disappointment. "I must say, this is far beyond my expectations, Barty… I would have thought you had a clear head."
"I'm sorry, Albus… but I'm going to turn myself in to the Ministry of Magic. I hope it's not too late. I don't want it to brew into a bigger mistake." Crouch looked desolate, as if he had aged in an instant.
"In the face of family, even the most brilliant of men can be slow-witted…" Dumbledore said wistfully, visibly moved, and then retorted, "In fact, I would not recommend turning yourself in at the Ministry, Barty, at least not now!"
"Why?" Crouch looked at Dumbledore in surprise, not quite understanding what he meant, and Moody anxiously tried to speak to him, but the Professor stopped him.
"Think about it. If word got out that you'd been tried by the Ministry of Magic, Barty Junior would realise that his escape had been completely exposed and would be hunted down by Aurors. He'd only go into hiding more carefully, possibly even doing things that none of us would want to see him do, such as taking it out on the innocent…"
"So we might as well keep it as it is until he lets his guard down."
"If Barty Junior chose to put Harry's name into the Goblet of Fire, there will be a follow-up operation, and we will have a chance of catching him," Dumbledore explained.
"It's too dangerous, Albus. What if Barty somehow managed to hide something and then relented and made a mistake? He's got a criminal record, you know!" Moody demanded.
"We need every available hand now, Alastor!" Dumbledore said firmly, turning back to Crouch.
"Will you help us catch your son, Barty? I'm afraid you know him best in the world. Only I need to warn you that there is no advantage or possibility of a reduced sentence, and you can think of it as…a penance!"
Crouch nodded without hesitation. "Of course! I can swear an oath as a restraint."
"That would be best, Barty! I'll have my eye on you all the time…" Moody grinned, glaring at Crouch.
Ivan was unable to get a word in edgewise, and could only stand idly and listen to their discussion.
Yvonne shared Moody's opinion on Crouch's handling of the matter and felt that it would be best to keep him in custody. After all, it was anybody's guess whether a father would be cruel to his errant son.
And the promise of magic was not universal.
While Ivan was lost in his thoughts, the chatter in the Headmaster's office suddenly stopped, and he looked up in surprise to find everyone staring at him.
"I've just heard from Alastor… You've done well this time, Hulse!" Dumbledore said, breaking the silence.
In his opinion, Ivan had a hard time getting the truth out of Crouch with the few clues he had gathered, as well as two reports in the Daily Prophet, especially since Crouch was only fourteen years old.
"I was only a little help, and it was thanks to Professor Moody that we caught Mr. Crouch…" Ivan replied modestly, his voice trailing off as he realised he was still in the picture.
Disregarding Crouch's opinion, Moody patted Ivan on the shoulder and grinned. "Don't be so modest, Hulse, you're a born Auror! Given your abilities, if you were to graduate and take up a post at the Ministry, it would only take you a few years at most to become an executive director, or even a minister."
Ivan shrugged. He had always believed that being born an Auror was not a compliment, as he had the impression that Aurors' duties were to wash up after a major battle, or serve as cannon fodder to accentuate the power of certain wizards.
"Hales, I hear you've had some trouble with your friends recently?" Dumbledore asked suddenly.
"Ah, not exactly a contradiction, is it?" Yvonne scratched her head, unsure whether Dumbledore was referring to Hermione or Ron, and even more confused as to why the old professor had suddenly changed the subject. Weren't they getting down to business?
Dumbledore inclined his head in acknowledgement of Ivan's statement and turned to the two men. "I may need to speak privately with Mr. Crouch for a moment. If you have nothing else to say, please consider the Great Hall and enjoy the evening meal…"
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