days at Hogwarts

Chapter 519 You can spit on his grave

A swift wave of magic passed through the gardens of Hampstead in the suburbs of London, passed through the wizarding village in Wiltshire, England, passed through the low woods near the lake to the west of the village, and finally stopped at a deserted castle that had been closed for a long time. in front of the door.

Crisp air bursts sounded in the open grassland, and the calm space suddenly expanded and bloomed. A passage like a hole suddenly appeared in the air. The twisted passage in the space suddenly expanded and contracted, and the figures of Loren, Wheat, and Shining suddenly appeared.

Following closely behind was Hermione who was still a little confused.

Hermione was still a little confused, and her thoughts were still immersed in the memory of ten minutes ago. After breakfast, she broke into someone's bedroom as usual, but was accidentally caught by a wizard and two house elves, and then was inexplicably caught. After being fed a second luxurious breakfast, we were taken to the castle.

"This...is Mr. Crouch's residence?"

Hermione blinked and whispered in Loren's ear, "Loren, why do you come all the way here?"

"In order for Twinkle to bid farewell to the past and welcome a new life." Loren himself probably found this argument unconvincing. He coughed and whispered, "Voldemort may have been hiding here for a while, and he came to find out if there is anything about the soul. Clues about the device..."

From the first grade to the present, he and Dumbledore have found five of the seven Horcruxes, including Ravenclaw's diadem, Tom Riddle's diary, Gaunt's ring, and Hufflepuff's golden cup. There is Harry, and Slytherin's locket has also been revealed.

But the Blood Curse Python was an exception. Before Nagini was made into a living Horcrux, Dumbledore led him to find her in the Albanian forest, which created a vacancy.

Rather than reducing the number of Horcruxes by one, he was more inclined to think that Voldemort would make a new Horcrux, a Horcrux that he didn't know about...

Winky didn't hear the whispers between the two. Looking at the seal on the door and the notice from the Ministry of Magic, tears filled her eyes again. Her voice was high-pitched and sad: "Yes, this is Crouch's old house, Winky's mother." She has worked here all her life, and Shining’s mother’s mother was even buried with the honor of Mr. Crouch, whom she worked for... But when she arrived at Shining’s place, everything changed, and Shining was ashamed of them..."

Hermione had learned of her current attitude while eating breakfast, and she gently whispered: "Hogwarts is also a good place, isn't it? Maybe in the future your children will take you as a role model, even if they don't work at Hogwarts."

Twinkle shook her head, tears dripping down her pointed nose.

Loren looked around the surroundings, and what he saw was a simple and mysterious castle.

It is said that this is a wizard village where pure-blood families live together. Many families of the twenty-eight sacred pure-blood families have their own mansions here, watching and helping each other, and jointly maintaining the glory of pure blood.

The Crouch Mansion is located to the west of the village. The surrounding environment is quiet, with a slowly flowing creek, not-so-dense groves of lush green, and towering exterior walls and towers that isolate the castle from the outside world. The vast area In the green space, a straight stone road leads to the main gate of the main castle, giving an overall sense of tranquility.

If guests who are not so close come to visit, standing in front of this tall door will easily give rise to a vague sense of distance. You may ask yourself in your heart whether your relationship with the owner of the castle is close enough and whether this visit is appropriate. .

After looking around in a circle and taking a general look at the surrounding environment, Loren withdrew his gaze and focused on Shining. Although the house elf still cried after expressing his wish to stay at Hogwarts, he did not behave in any other unreasonable manner.

Loren knew that she was used to the life of Hogwarts with a salary and holidays, but the long-term concept of serving the Crouch family since her grandmother's generation still partly remained in her mind. Crouch's death only prompted her to give up completely. opportunity.

He thought for a moment, squatted down, and looked into the twinkling eyes: "You only know the news about Barty Crouch's death, but you don't know the inside story, right?"

Winky immediately stood up straight and screamed: "Mr. Crouch will never be a Death Eater. He has always completed the work of the Ministry of Magic wholeheartedly. Winky can guarantee that!"

"What about Barty Crouch Jr.?"

Loren saw the pupils in the other person's huge eyes suddenly shrink, and the confident expression was frozen on the elf's face. He shook his head and continued: "You should be fully aware of how Mr. and Mrs. Crouch concealed the truth. , replacing the son of a Death Eater serving time in Azkaban, and you also witnessed with your own eyes Barty Crouch Jr. took advantage of the chaos on the night of the Quidditch final to seize the wand and release the Dark Mark, Winky, after all, you were there because of your care Something went wrong and I was expelled..."

Shining's breathing became difficult, and she almost didn't dare to breathe under the gaze of those black eyes.

Loren did not continue to torture the Crouches and her faults. She just raised her head and glanced at the sealed door and said in a calm tone: "But you also have many things that you don't know."

Hermione also followed his gaze as she looked around the entire castle, her eyes flashing with a complicated glint. She seemed confused and her expression was blank.

"On the night you were expelled by Crouch, Barty Jr. got rid of the control and restraint that Crouch had exerted on him for a long time, but he did not choose to fly away, but returned to the Crouch mansion..."

Loren glanced at Winky, stood up, took Hermione's hand and walked forward. With a tap of the wand, the seal fell off completely and naturally, falling lightly to the ground, and the door opened with a sound.

"He found the master he longed for, attacked Crouch with Voldemort, and made his biological father into a container for Voldemort's ghost...until the resurrection ceremony was successfully held, and Crouch's flesh and magic turned into Voldemort's new body nourishment, and then abandoned in the wilderness.”

"Master Batty, Master Batty..."

Winky shook her head, trembling all over, and staggered into the castle after the two of them. Wheat fell at the back, and his fist-sized eyes were shining with thought.

When Loren and Hermione arrived inside the castle, a thin layer of dust fell on the furniture and floors they saw. Exquisite crystal lamps hung from the high hanging ceilings. There were no lampshades, and the lamp oil in the lamps was turbid. The ropes The core burned down to a small, dark remnant, and the ashes were mixed in the hearth.

"It seems that no one has lived here for a long time. Counting it all, since the Triwizard Tournament, Crowe...Voldemort has never come back." Hermione looked around, sorting out the information revealed by these traces, "It seems that in the end Once someone entered, it was an employee of the Ministry of Magic who came to seize the castle..."

There is a series of fresh footprints on the floor leading to other rooms, stretching all the way up the steps. The footprints are neat and straight, with a clear purpose.

"should be……"

Loren's eyes moved between the remaining lamp oil in the lampshade and the ashes in the fireplace. He noticed that there were still obscure sitting marks on the sofa. He tried to restore the movements of the castle residents in his mind during the last period, but he could not find anything related to Voldemort. relevant information.

Unfortunately, too much time has passed and there is no residual magic information. However, many magic items have been found, but none of them have anything to do with Horcruxes, not even black magic items.

"Twinkle...Twinkle has never made the Crouch family's castle so dusty."

Twinkle sobbed, stretched out her hand and snapped her fingers, and a dry, brand-new rag suddenly appeared in the air, looking like she was about to have a big fight. "Don't do unnecessary things." Loren shook his head, held her wrist, and advised unhurriedly, "According to normal procedures, the Ministry of Magic should summon you for questioning when reviewing the case of Crouch and his son, but Someone was in a hurry to conclude the case, so they didn't notice you, the key witness... You have spent some time in the interrogation room of the Ministry of Magic, do you want to experience it again? "

Shining wiped his face, his eyes sparkling: "If I can get Mr. Crouch's reputation back..."

"You think too much."

Loren interrupted the house elf's fantasy: "The reason why Barty Crouch was identified as a Death Eater was not because no one stood up to prove his reputation, but because someone wanted him to be a Death Eater. ”

Listening to Loren's straightforward and cruel words, Hermione's eyes showed a little unbearable, and she squeezed his hand gently.

Just when Shining was suffering internally, a voice full of doubts came from behind:
"Who are you and what are you doing here?"

The witch who was no longer young but still lively ran over quickly, holding a handful of poppies tightly in her hand. Her blond hair behind her swayed from side to side with a very unladylike pace. This female employee of the Ministry of Magic who was disliked by everyone was curious. And he came over boldly: "Are you also here to pay homage to Mr. Crouch?"

Both Hermione and Winky recognized this Ms. Bertha Jorkins, but the starting points of their memories were different. One was at the Quidditch World Cup camp 10 months ago, and the other was at this castle several years ago.

Loren observed her condition carefully, and it was easy to see from her questions and expressions that Miss Jorkins had completely forgotten her memory about them.

"Miss Jorkins?" Winky looked at the poppy in her hand and murmured in a daze.

"Do you know me?" Bertha Jorkins's eyes sparkled with surprise, and then she sighed in frustration and complained to herself, "It seems that you all know me, but I don't remember who you are... It's really Sorry, my brainlessness is famous in the Ministry of Magic. My second cousin told me that it may be a symptom of early Alzheimer's disease."

She rambled on for a long time before slowing down and nodding apologetically to a few people: "Can you please introduce yourselves again? I will try my best to remember it this time!"

Hermione recalled the speculation Loren had said in her mind, and pursed her lips: "I am Hermione Granger, and this is Loren Morgan. We met in the camp and box at the Quidditch World Cup... …”

"Quidditch World Cup..." Jorkins first made an expression as if he was trying to remember. After realizing that it had no effect, he began to stare at the two people's faces and recited their names silently. After a long time, he finally nodded vigorously, "I remember. Come on, Hermione Granger, Loren Granger, let’s go pay homage to Mr. Crouch!”

Loren and Hermione looked at each other, their thoughts going up and down.

An astonishing brilliance bloomed in his sparkling eyes: "Pay homage? Is Mr. Crouch buried? Where is he buried?"

"I still remember this! He was buried under the apple tree next to the creek..."

Bertha Jorkins' tone was quite self-satisfied, and she pulled Hermione towards the woods beside the stream on the right side of the castle. "I asked several people and repeated it many times. They became impatient in the end, and it was still Wei. Mr. Sly was willing to repeat it until I had it down.

"Mr. Rufus Scrimgeour - our head of the Auror Office ordered him to be buried there. He said he hoped that the running water would wash away the filth on his body. In fact, many people suggested that he be buried directly in Little Hangleton. …”

The group of people followed her to the cemetery. The lawn had not been taken care of for a long time, and the wild grass and wild flowers were particularly lush. Jorkins seemed to like the soft touch of the soles of his feet on the lawn, and even hummed an off-key funeral march.

So much so that Hermione wondered if she had forgotten what death meant.

Loren looked at Jorkins' back with a complicated expression.

Shining's expression became more complicated. She opened her mouth and said softly: "Miss Jorkins... why are you willing to come to pay homage to Mr. Crouch?"

"Because he is very good to me!" Jorkins blurted out without thinking, "My memory is too bad, I always miss things, and my abilities are not good. I have been rotated in all departments of the Ministry of Magic, but I have no boss. Only Mr. Crouch is willing to have subordinates like me who always encourage me and are willing to persuade them to let me stay in the Ministry of Magic..."

Her memorial process was as simple and straightforward as her memory. She placed a messy poppy bouquet in front of the tombstone and whispered a few words, "I will miss you, Mr. Crouch, if I remember..."

Winky sat slumped in front of the tombstone, wailing "Mr. Crouch" and "Master Barty", crying until he couldn't breathe.

Standing side by side with Loren on the bank of the creek, Hermione looked at the simple tombstone from a distance. She knew very well that in the new grave was buried a hard-working and conscientious employee of the Ministry of Magic. The hero who launched iron-blooded measures to punish the villains and protect the people under pressure was buried with a father who was murdered by his son and a dark wizard...

But looking at the back of Bertha Jorkins, I could not feel any admiration or pity in my heart.

She should spit on his grave.

"Miss Jorkins, please come here and take a look at this place..."

Jorkins walked over without knowing why, and followed Loren's guidance to look at the flowing stream. The not-so-calm water surface barely reflected her shadow, and the light and shadow were floating and slightly blurred.

The boy was clearly standing next to him, but his voice seemed to come from a very far away place. It was vague but could reach the depths of his mind: "Memory is like a flowing stream. When one section is blocked, the source becomes... There is a pool of stagnant water, which will be blocked later, so you need to clear the blockage bit by bit. "

"What?" Jorkins asked subconsciously.

The voice smiled softly: "You will have nightmares in the next period of time, please don't be afraid."

Stones hit the stream.

The sound of water is crisp.

(End of this chapter)