The Hogwarts Emerald

Chapter 436: The Magical Use of the Marauder's Map

Dumbledore's instructions left Ada confused. It was clearly a matter between Moody and Barty Crouch, father and son, so how did Snape get involved?
Not understanding, Dumbledore had no intention of explaining, so Ada could only remember this sentence and think that Dumbledore had other arrangements.

Otherwise, what else can we do?
You have to ask until you get to the bottom of something. That's because the other person was planning to tell you, but he was still hesitating, so your follow-up questions will help you get the answer from him.

If the other party has no intention of telling you, it will be useless even if you break a dozen crucibles, and the other party still won't reveal a word.

Confused, Ada had to return to the common room and vaguely recalled all the details of what Dumbledore said, trying to figure out something. But in the end, she got nothing and couldn't guess what kind of grand plan Dumbledore had come up with.

If Dumbledore doesn't want you to see something, he always does it well.

The next morning, Ada caught Harry in an empty classroom, along with Hermione and Ron.

When Ada arrived, they were discussing what happened in the Forbidden Forest last night and how Barty Crouch disappeared right under everyone's noses.

"So," said Hermione, rubbing her forehead, "either Crouch attacked Viktor, or someone attacked them both when Viktor wasn't paying attention."

"That had to be Crouch," said Ron quickly. "That's why he was gone by the time Harry and Ada got there. That's pretty quick of him."

"I think not," said Harry, shaking his head. "He looks quite weak... I don't think he can Apparate or anything."

At this moment, Ada knocked on the classroom door, drawing the attention of the three people. Plotting out loud and planning in public was an old skill of Gryffindor.

"There are anti-Apparition measures on the grounds of Hogwarts. Even a healthy Crouch cannot Apparite within the school." Ada corrected, "This is mentioned repeatedly in "Hogwarts, A History of the School."

No one can Apparate in Hogwarts, not even Ada, but she can use Blink as an alternative.

Hermione gritted her teeth and said, "Don't even mention the book. I've told them countless times, but they never remember it! Not even once!"

Harry and Ron looked at each other, their confused eyes were exactly the same, they asked each other: Can't Apparate at Hogwarts? When did Hermione say this?
"Then... maybe only if they see the contents of the book with their own eyes, or if they perform Apparation themselves in school, the two of them might remember this."

Ada smiled and said that sometimes she really admired Harry and Ron, the two fools. They were so confused but they could always turn danger into safety. Their luck was beyond words.

Compared to the two fools Harry and Ron, Ada admired Hermione even more. If she were in Hermione's place, she would have been furious and might even strangle them both to death with one hand.

"Harry, what did Barty Crouch say to you last night before you ran out of the Forbidden Forest?" Ada asked.

"He was talking incoherently, and he looked mentally disturbed and in poor physical condition," Harry said as he recalled. "He said he wanted to warn Dumbledore that he had done something stupid, and he also mentioned his son."

That's right, when a person's mind is not normal, everyone will treat his words as crazy talk. However, people ignore the incredible truth hidden in these crazy words.

Barty Crouch wants to give Dumbledore a heads-up and mentions his son, which once again proves that Barty Jr. is indeed still alive. The only people in the world who know that Barty Jr. is still alive are Crouch himself and perhaps Winky the house-elf.

Ada continued, "Anything else?"

"Yes, and he also mentioned the missing Bertha Jorkins," said Harry. "He seemed to be convinced that Bertha Jorkins was dead, and he also thought that Bertha's death was his fault."

Of course it was Crouch who caused it, and Ada's previous guess was once again confirmed.

Previously, Ada had believed that Bertha Jorkins’ disappearance was not as simple as the Ministry of Magic thought. It was very likely that Bertha knew some secrets that she shouldn’t know, so she was made to disappear deliberately.

Crouch, who is now in an abnormal state, "confessed" and took the blame on himself. Doesn't this prove that Ada's idea is right? Bertha Jokin once visited Barty Crouch for work or other reasons. She accidentally discovered the secret of her boss. She found that Barty, who was supposed to be dead, was still alive.

Bertha Jorkins was then transferred from the International Cooperation Department. She never told anyone about the secrets she had seen, probably because she had "forgotten".

In the magical world, memory is a very unreliable thing. It can be forgotten or modified.

As for Bertha Jorkins' disappearance and even her death, Ada still couldn't figure out who was responsible.

After thinking for a while, Ada asked again: "Harry, where is your map? Do you still have the Marauder's Map?"

"You... do you want to use it?" Harry was a little embarrassed because the map was no longer in his hands. "For some reason, the Marauder's Map was discovered by Professor Moody, and then he confiscated it."

So that's why. No wonder Moody at school last night was able to do everything in a short time and make Barty Crouch look like he had disappeared from the face of the earth.

Ada had reason to suspect that Moody had been monitoring the school's movements through maps during this period of time.

Last night, he was the first one to spot Crouch on the map, so he immediately went to the Forbidden Forest, trying to dissuade or control Crouch.

But Moody was still late, and Crouch met Harry and Krum who were chatting alone first.

Perhaps because there were too many people to attack, or perhaps for some other reason, Moody did not take action until Harry left, when he knocked Krum unconscious and controlled the mad Crouch.

But Moody probably didn't expect that Harry would come back so soon, and bring someone else with him.

In order not to expose himself, Moody had to deal with the scene hastily, then hurried back to the castle, pretending to meet Snape by chance, giving himself a sufficient alibi.

This is what Ada has never figured out: why Moody acted so quickly and was always one step ahead of others; how he met Snape in the castle so accurately that he not only gave himself an alibi but also allowed him to return to the Forbidden Forest in time to clean up the mess.

With the live map, these problems are easily solved.

Moody could see everyone's movements in advance, cleverly avoid everyone, and then have a beautiful encounter with Snape.

"Ada, what do you think about this?" Hermione asked, "Mr. Crouch can't have evaporated! There is no trace left."

After thinking for a while, Ada felt that she should pick out some things to say, because some people were too impulsive and their acting was too poor. She replied: "Crouch certainly won't evaporate, he just disappeared, maybe like Bertha Jorkins."

"Like Bertha Jorkins..." Hermione repeated herself, then she subconsciously covered her mouth to stop herself from making any sound. She already understood what Ada meant.

Although it took a few seconds longer, Harry and Ron soon figured it out. Harry couldn't help but say, "Why is this happening..."

"Humans are always curious about secrets, but those who know too many secrets often put themselves in danger," Ada said, "especially when these secrets are related to another huge conspiracy."

Hermione thought for a moment and asked uncertainly, "Ada, are you saying that Mr. Crouch's disappearance is related to that person?"

Ada was very pleased to see Hermione use "that person" instead of saying "Voldemort" directly.

Ada nodded to confirm Hermione's suspicion, and then asked Harry: "Harry, can you tell me in detail about your dream during the summer vacation?"

(End of this chapter)