Harry Potter and the Candy Factory

"Hello! Mr. Crouch."

"Director Crouch, good morning!"

"You're here so early today."

.........

As the burning flames in the Ministry of Magic's fireplace rose into a green vortex as tall as a person, Barty Crouch strode out of the vortex.

The Ministry of Magic civil servants who were passing by also stopped, looking at him with reverence and greeting him sincerely.

It could be seen that Barty Crouch's prestige in the Ministry of Magic was astonishingly high, with a momentum that completely exceeded what his position should have, and faintly even surpassed that of Fudge, the Minister.

However, this is not surprising...

After all, years ago, as the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, he could already be said to be the person closest to the position of Minister of Magic at the time.

Whether it was his firm stance against Voldemort, or the brilliant decisions and superb skills he demonstrated, they gave the wizards of the British magical world a sense of security and reliability that they had never felt before in that terrifying war era...

If it weren't for that accident—his own exposure and trial of his son Barty Crouch Jr. as a Death Eater—then the mediocre and cowardly Fudge would not have had any chance to even glimpse that extraordinary height. He wouldn't even have dared to think about it.

However, history is so ironic... Merlin's soul hovering in the sky did not bless the well-deserved great man this time, but instead gave the great opportunity to the lucky one.

In the end, Barty Crouch personally pronounced his son's guilt in anger and pain, and imprisoned him in Azkaban's prison like other Death Eaters, to become food for the Dementors... And his reputation plummeted in the magical world, completely losing the chance for that position, and even failing to keep the seat of Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, being transferred to the Department of International Magical Cooperation and becoming a diplomat.

Perhaps in the eyes of others, it was just an ordinary lateral transfer, but Barty Crouch, who had seen too much intrigue and political struggle, clearly understood that this was Fudge's weakening of his power due to jealousy, sweeping away his original power and moving him to this idle position where there was no room for development at all.

Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation... In the beginning, every time he heard his new position, Barty Crouch would feel a great sense of insult and ridicule.

Clearly, he was a warrior, a brave man who dared to fight Voldemort without fear of life and death, a hero with strong means, stabilizing the political situation and easing the turmoil... But in the end, he became a diplomat, doing the trivial work of dealing with the magical world of other countries.

Barty Crouch pursed his lips and nodded expressionlessly at the young man who greeted him.

And the gaze in his deep eye sockets had never changed from the beginning, sharply watching the road ahead.

He strode through the lobby on the first floor of the Ministry of Magic, walking straight towards one of the elevators in the crowd.

This time, he did not go to his office in the Department of International Magical Cooperation as usual to start the day's work.

He stepped into the elevator, without the slightest hesitation, raised his finger and pressed the button leading to the highest floor of the Ministry of Magic, which was the Minister of Magic's office.

.........

"Ding-dong."

Without letting him wait too long, the elevator went straight to the top floor.

"Knock knock knock!!!"

Walking out of the elevator and arriving in front of the only wooden door, Barty Crouch knocked on Fudge's office door.

"Who is it?!"

In the office, Fudge subconsciously put down the teacup and newspaper in his hand, raised his head and looked towards the door, his tone somewhat dissatisfied, as if he had not expected that someone would dare to knock on his door so early in the morning.

Because according to his usual habits, this was the time for him to enjoy life. A cup of delicious hot tea, an interesting newspaper, half an hour of paid time to slack off before starting work was enough to give Fudge a good mood to resist the boredom in the office for the rest of the day.

And this was no secret... Even some other directors and ministers tacitly did not visit Fudge's office during this time to disturb his peace.

After all, who made him the Minister of Magic? Even if they were dissatisfied, they could only be helpless in this trivial matter...

"It's me!"

After hearing Fudge's voice, Barty Crouch stopped knocking on the door and said frankly.

As the voice entered the office, Fudge's expression first froze slightly. Immediately afterwards, he quickly took action, while picking up a stack of "spare" documents placed next to him and pressing them on the newspaper, he continued to ask towards the door.

"What do you want from me?"

However, this time, there was no longer the initial dissatisfaction in his voice, but surprise.

You know, as a boss for several years, although he was still wary of Barty Crouch, he knew the other party's temper very well.

Fudge knew that that guy looked down on him. It could even be said that he sneered at his leadership... The pride in his heart made him never personally visit.

Except for a few jobs that needed to be handed over in person, he rarely appeared in this place... This office that should have belonged to Barty Crouch.

"I have some things to ask you."

Barty Crouch's tone remained the same, decisively and directly stating his intention.

"... Okay, come in, Director Crouch."

Although Barty Crouch's sudden visit made Fudge a little inexplicable, he still chose to make an exception and open the door of his office to the other party at this time.

With a "bang", under Fudge's gaze, the office door was pushed to the side.

Crouch stood at the door, his eyes meeting Fudge's.

The visitor was not polite, without saying much, he stepped into the office grandly, took a few steps forward, and finally stopped in front of Fudge's desk.

He did not explain why he had come immediately, but lowered his head and looked at the pile of documents stacked in front of Fudge's desk.

"Director Crouch, you better have something important."

Fudge narrowed his eyes, quietly watching the other party's presumptuous behavior, and said in a deep voice.

Crouch still did not speak, ignoring the obvious dissatisfaction in Fudge's tone, and continued to look at the pile of documents.

Suddenly, his hand moved, quickly and nimbly, before Fudge could react, with a "swish", he pulled out a newspaper from the bottom that was faintly wrinkled.

At the top of the newspaper, the words "The Quibbler" were clearly visible.

"Hmph…"

A change finally appeared on Crouch's face, a hint of mockery surfacing for a moment.

Although he didn't say anything, only grunted, the meaning he wanted to express was self-evident…

"Barty Crouch!!"

Fudge's eyebrows suddenly shot up, and he abruptly straightened up from his seat, glaring angrily at the other man.

Although he didn't have the slightest advantage in terms of height or physique, at least in this office, Fudge was the absolute king, and no one could defy his will.

"… … …"

Crouch was silent for a while, but in the end, he chose to back down, not wanting to further escalate the conflict with Fudge.

He took out the newspaper from his coat pocket, the one he had just finished reading on his sofa at home, and threw it out, covering "The Quibbler" perfectly, and fluttering into Fudge's view.

"I'm guessing you haven't read today's Daily Prophet yet, have you?"

Barty Crouch said calmly.

"Hmph…"

Fudge's raised eyebrows lowered slightly. He snorted coldly and didn't pursue the matter further, but instead accepted Barty Crouch's compromise, and slowly sat back in his seat.

He supported himself on the armrests of the chair, and after shifting around a bit, chose a comfortable position before picking up the newspaper that the other man had placed on the desk, and began to read it unhurriedly.

Soon, his attention was also drawn to the large words "Charlie Black" on the front page of the newspaper, and he continued reading, carefully looking at the two photos attached to the side.

The further down he read, the wider Fudge's eyes became, and his expression became solemn and serious.

The hand that had been casually holding the newspaper also tightened slightly, causing the sides of the Daily Prophet to wrinkle with a soft "rustling" sound.

And all of this was naturally taken in by Barty Crouch. He remained silent, continuing to watch the other man, while also waiting for him to finish reading the entire article.

At this moment, as he read the words above and looked at the "Job Advertisement" next to it, Fudge felt an unspeakable, inexplicable sensation in his heart.

It was extremely complex, as if two completely opposite thoughts were simultaneously flooding his mind. On the one hand, he still clearly remembered yesterday, when he was happily chatting with Charlie Black in the office, and finally agreeing on this matter together.

On the other hand, a sense of unease and panic, yet without knowing where it came from, lingered in his thoughts, unable to be dispelled.

Finally… when the last line of text entered his eyes, Fudge slowly put down the newspaper in his hand, flattened it on the table, and looked up again at Barty Crouch.

However, this time, the complexity in his mind had dissipated. An expression of satisfaction and understanding was revealed in his eyes, representing the most truthful thoughts in his heart at this moment.

"I thought he would wait a few more days before publishing this news… Charlie, that kid, is really scarily efficient."

It seemed that he had forgotten that not long ago, the two of them were still acting like they were about to draw swords.

Fudge's voice was gentle, and the corners of his mouth even carried a slight smile as he shook his head mockingly.

"How much did he give you?"

Crouch raised his eyebrows, his gaze carrying an undisguised look of scrutiny, and asked directly.

"What?"

Fudge was stunned for a moment, the satisfaction and understanding in his eyes turning into incomprehension and doubt.

"Don't pretend… Fudge, you old fox."

Crouch's lips curled upwards, his scrutinizing gaze still undiminished.

"Based on my understanding of you, you would never make such a radical decision… Only that kid, that crazy guy, would have the courage to do such a thing."

He paused, the expression on his face as if he was fully aware of everything that had happened.

Reaching out his hand and tugging at his collar, Crouch continued,

"So, stop pretending to be confused… Just how big of a sum of money was it that made you agree to such a condition?"

However, what Crouch didn't expect was that upon hearing his words, which should have hit the nail on the head and directly struck a nerve, Fudge's face not only didn't show the panic he had imagined, which would then turn from panic to anger, but instead he narrowed his eyes, and the smile on his face became even more radiant.

"Crouch…"

Fudge began to speak, tilting his head and looking at the other man's hateful face, which he originally didn't even want to see. For some reason, he suddenly felt that this face was particularly ridiculous at this moment.

"You thought you could always see through me, you thought you knew Cornelius Fudge better than I do…"

As he spoke, he picked up the newspaper that he had just placed on the table again, his chubby hands skillfully manipulating his round fingers, folding the unfolded newspaper little by little, until it was finally folded to the size of a palm.

"But unfortunately, it seems that you are not as all-knowing as you thought. And I am not as dull and incompetent as you imagined."

Fudge stood up, bent over, leaned his upper body slightly forward, stretched out his arm, and gently stuffed the Daily Prophet, folded to the size of a palm, into Barty Crouch's coat pocket.

"This time, not only did I not receive a single penny, but Charlie Black's idea of recruiting Muggles and Squibs to expand the factory's business was also done with my approval."

He looked into Crouch's eyes as he had just done, except that this time, as his words were spoken one by one, Crouch's eyes began to change, with surprise, doubt, and incomprehension… many emotions flashed through them, but there was only one thing missing: the initial sense of omniscience and the arrogance of seeing through everything.

This was the first time! This was the first time he had seen Barty Crouch with such an expression. In an instant, a great sense of satisfaction surged from his chest, enveloping his entire body.

"Alright, if you came to me this time just because of this little matter… then I can only ask you to leave."

Fudge raised his chin and sat back in his seat. Although his heart was already delightfully comfortable, he remained calm and composed on the surface, smiling gently.

"Because I have important things to do next… at least more important than listening to you come and bother me like a child."

After speaking, he ignored Barty Crouch and continued to read the unfinished Quibbler.