Hogwarts Raven's Claw

Chapter 315 Sudden Death

Dumbledore was very surprised to see Krum say this.

His eyes flickered back and forth between Krum and Mike's faces, as if trying to see through their lies.

Being stared at by a master of Legilimency made Mike feel very stressed, and he unconsciously cast a brain-blocking spell.

However, Dumbledore did not seem to intend to use Legilimency on the two students. After looking at them, Dumbledore smiled and said:

"I'm glad you can make friends at Hogwarts. This is exactly why I reinstated the Triwizard Tournament. Then Mike, you should stay with Krum. Also, I'm sorry that Hagrid offended your headmaster just now. He didn't mean to. He was just a little reckless."

Hearing this, Krum still nodded expressionlessly.

While Mike breathed a sigh of relief, he also looked at Krum deeply.

Judging from Krum's attitude when Karkaroff was beaten by Hagrid just now, the relationship between him and Karkaroff is not as good as others think.

At least, Krum didn't have much respect for Karkaroff.

This is not surprising. First of all, Karkaroff's identity as a coward and traitor is basically known to everyone. It is really difficult to respect such a person.

Secondly, Karkaroff and Krum have different values.

Although Krum is a pure-blood, he does not have the idea of ​​pure-blood supremacy, otherwise he would not have fallen in love with Hermione.

But Karkaroff is different. Although he has now gotten rid of his identity as a Death Eater, he is still a purist at heart, and the most stubborn one.

Mike would never believe that the relationship between these two people could be that good.

Perhaps the reason why Karkaroff was so nice to Krum was simply because Krum's identity as a Quidditch star could help him gain some popularity.

Just as Dumbledore was talking to Mike and others, Karkaroff, who was at the foot of the wall, saw Hagrid leave the ward and stood up.

"Dumbledore! That damn half-giant! You must expel him. How dare he attack the headmaster of a magic school!"

"I'm sorry, Hagrid is indeed too impulsive, but I don't think it's necessary to fire him yet."

"What did you say? You must expel him. Didn't you see him attacking me just now? I swear, he has a tendency to violence! It is irresponsible to let such a person stay in Hogwarts!" Karkaroff roared with a red face, "If you don't expel him, I will complain to the Ministry of Magic and ask them to put that damn half-giant in Azkaban!"

Hearing this, Mike's mouth curled up into a sarcastic smile.

Karkaroff just said that the Ministry of Magic is full of corruption and shady dealings. Now he has to rely on the Ministry of Magic to defend his rights?
Since you think law enforcement and the government are a bunch of idiots, why don't you take matters into your own hands?
As Mike thought about this, the sarcasm on his face became even stronger.

Facing Karkaroff's unreasonable demands, Dumbledore was speechless. He frowned and said impatiently:
"Maybe you should talk to Hagrid in person about this matter. How about this, I'll call Hagrid over now. He should be very interested in discussing this matter with you."

"No! Don't ask him to come over! I don't want to see that guy again in my life!"

This time Mike laughed out loud. Karkaroff looked really funny now.

Dumbledore also shook his head and turned to continue asking Krum about the situation at that time, but at this moment, a shrill scream came from the corridor outside the ward.

"Oh no! Mr. Crouch is dead!"

This was Bagman's voice, and everyone in the ward changed their expressions when they heard it, even Karkaroff was no exception.

The referee and contestant of the Triwizard Tournament died after a fight, and even though Karkaroff was not very smart, he realized the seriousness of the matter.

Not to mention that in addition to being the referee of the Triwizard Tournament, Crouch also had another identity, that is, a powerful official in the Ministry of Magic. The sudden death of such a person would shock the entire Ministry of Magic of Ying Kingdom.

"Victor! Are you sure he attacked you first?"

Facing Karkaroff's anxious question, Krum answered without hesitation:

"Of course, I only used a suit of armor to protect myself the whole time!"

"Can you promise?"

"I swear on my wand!"

"Phew! That's all right!" Kakalo breathed a sigh of relief. "This is all that guy's own fault. Don't worry, Victor. I will take care of it!"

After Karkaroff finished speaking, he was about to continue discussing this matter with Dumbledore, but when he turned around, he found that Michael and Dumbledore had already left the ward.

The special ward not far away was already full of people. Everyone gathered around a clean white bed, and lying on the bed was Crouch.

Crouch looked really bad at the moment. He looked like he had been wandering outside for many days. The knees of his robe were torn and bloodstained, his face was covered with scars, his beard was untidy, and his complexion was gray.

Mrs. Pomfret had not given up on rescuing Crouch. She and several students used all kinds of spells and strange potions on Crouch. Not far away, Dumbledore and others were watching all this nervously.

"Hopeless."

As the sweaty Madam Pomfret uttered these three words, Dumbledore's brows furrowed even tighter, and his eyes narrowed, looking particularly terrifying.

Bagman beside him had a gleam in his eyes and an unconscious smile of joy appeared on his face.

He quickly suppressed the joy on his face and replaced it with an exaggerated expression of grief.

Although it was only a brief moment, Mike saw the entire scene.

"Ludo, what's going on?"

"Oh, I don't know. I had just come in when Mr. Crouch started talking nonsense," Bagman wailed. "Then he suddenly screamed and died! Oh! My poor fellow! How did you die like this?"

Dumbledore looked at Madam Pomfret with a questioning look, and she nodded, proving that Bagman had not spoken.

"What is he yelling about?"

"Mr. Crouch kept saying he wanted to see you, and that he was sorry for you, for a person named Bertha and his son. In the end, he also said...he also said that the mysterious man was coming back!" A short girl covered her chest and said in shock, "He must be talking nonsense, right, Principal? Didn't the mysterious man die a long time ago?"

"You don't need to be afraid, dear." Dumbledore comforted, "I will protect you even if he comes back." Dumbledore's comfort obviously did not have the desired effect. The girl just nodded and lowered her head without saying anything, with fear still on her face.

Dumbledore sighed secretly upon seeing this. The damage Voldemort had caused to the wizarding world in Britain was so great that even after more than a decade, people were still deeply afraid of him.

At this time, Mike next to him was thinking about something else.

In the original book, Mr. Crouch also had an accident, but unlike now, Mr. Crouch did not lose, but went crazy.

The one who caused Mr. Crouch to go crazy was his filial son, Barty Crouch Jr.

Perhaps Mr. Crouch discovered Bartlett's undercover identity, or perhaps Bartlett could not bear the hatred towards his old father, so he captured Crouch and tortured him severely.

But Mr. Crouch finally escaped and traveled across mountains and rivers to Hogwarts to report the news.

Mike has reason to believe that what happened to Mr. Crouch this time was still done by Barty Jr., but the person Barty Jr. pretended to be was not Moody. Mike has been looking for Barty Jr. for a long time, and combined with Ludo Bagman's smile just now, it is very likely that Ludo Bagman was pretended to be Barty Jr.

Thinking of this, Mike's eyes became sharp. He looked at Dumbledore and said in a loud voice:

"Professor Dumbledore, I believe that Mr. Crouch's death was not an accident, and the person who killed him was Ludo Bagman!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the ward showed a look of surprise, and Bagman even shouted.

"It's not me! Don't frame a good person, okay?"

Bagman was about to say something else, but Dumbledore waved him off.

"Why do you think so?" said Dumbledore.

"Just now, when Madam Pomfret announced Mr. Crouch's death, I noticed that Mr. Bagman smiled!" Mike said firmly, "And Mr. Crouch went crazy right after Mr. Bagman entered his room, and he died in the end. Don't you think this is a strange coincidence?"

Hearing this, the looks of everyone in the ward towards Bagman changed. The girls who were originally standing next to Bagman screamed and ran away from Bagman.

Bagman stood at a loss in the large space that had suddenly become empty. He opened his mouth to explain something, but nothing came out.

"Is that so, Bagman?"

Dumbledore took a step forward with his eyes narrowed. From the changes in his address, it was clear that he was really angry at the moment.

"I definitely didn't laugh! I didn't know anything about Mr. Crouch's death! It must be this fellow Townley who is slandering..."

"You are lying!"

Bagman was interrupted by Mike before he could finish his words.

"Principal Dumbledore, I know you are a master of Legilimency. I can let you check my memory. I did see a smile on Bagman's face just now!"

Now the way people around looked at Mike changed, and some people who originally didn't quite believe what Mike said now believed it completely.

You know, no one wants others to look through their memory at will. Since Mike said such a thing, he couldn't be lying.

"You don't need to prove yourself with such behavior, Mike. I believe in you."

Dumbledore said to Mike kindly, then turned around and said to Bagman with a serious expression:

"Come on, Bagman, what's going on?"

Bagman looked around, and saw suspicious eyes everywhere. Seeing this, Bagman's face suddenly became gloomy. After a while, he took a breath and said helplessly:

"Okay, I admit that I did laugh just now, but I definitely didn't kill Mr. Crouch!"

"Then why are you laughing?"

Facing Dumbledore's questioning, Bagman hesitated and finally said:
"Because I owed him a large sum of money. It was during the Quidditch World Cup, and I was the banker and opened a special bet, but Krum actually lost the game, which resulted in me owing a lot of money at the time, and Crouch was one of my creditors.

You can ask the Weasley brothers about this matter, they are also my creditors.

He placed a huge bet at that time, and I couldn't afford his winnings at all. During that time, I was hiding from these creditors, but in the end they found me. Fortunately, we finally negotiated for me to pay in installments, otherwise you might not see me now.

Now that Crouch is dead, his wife and children have also died long ago, and there is no one left at home, so naturally I don't have to pay back the money I owe him.

Tell me, how can I not laugh when encountering such a thing? "

The people around nodded in unison. It was indeed worth being happy to encounter such a thing, but the way they looked at Bagman became more contemptuous.

Because people like Bagman who take pleasure in other people's misfortune are just as bad.

Mike frowned. He was almost certain that Bagman was Barty Crouch Jr., but now the reason Bagman gave was reasonable, which made him doubt his guess again.

"Can you trust me now, Dumbledore?"

"I'm sorry, Bagman." Dumbledore said expressionlessly, "The truth of what you said remains to be verified, and it can't explain why Crouch died as soon as you entered the ward. So I must temporarily restrict your freedom. Please cooperate with me and the Ministry of Magic in the investigation."

Bagman's face turned dark and blue, but he finally lowered his head and said:
"Well then! You have the final say!"

Dumbledore nodded, turned to the rest of the people in the ward and said:
"Everyone, go away. I have already notified the Ministry of Magic to deal with this matter. I believe they will be here soon, so you don't have to worry too much. Mike, you can go first as well. Of course, if you want to see Krum, you can go and stay with him for a while."

Mike didn't have time to accompany Krum, so he agreed and followed the group without looking back.

Just as Mike walked into the auditorium, a group of Aurors in uniforms came out of the entrance hall.

The students in the auditorium who didn't know what was going on all stared at the Aurors curiously, but the Aurors ignored them and went straight to the infirmary.

The ignored students looked at each other, and everyone's eyes were full of curiosity.

(End of this chapter)