Hogwarts: Don't call me Wandmaker

Chapter 419 Another Prison Break
"They were clearly eavesdropping, and you just let them leave like that?" Snape looked very unhappy as he watched the three figures disappear.

"And what do you mean, Severus?"

"Points deducted, solitary confinement!" Snape said coldly. "Those arrogant and conceited fellows need some punishment to learn what respect is."

Clearly, he still remembered what happened last night.

Now that the Weasleys have left Hogwarts, his pent-up anger has been directed at the other Gryffindors.

“But Severus, Gryffindor has no more points to deduct,” Dumbledore said calmly. “Besides, professors can only put students in solitary confinement before the year-end exams, and the exams ended yesterday.”

Hearing Dumbledore's words, Snape's face turned ashen, as if he had eaten a Flopp caterpillar.

“Come with me, Severus,” Dumbledore continued. “I’m afraid we have more important things to consider now.”

While the two were talking, the three of them, including Xilun, had already returned to the castle hall.

After being surrounded by onlookers again, Siron finally sat down at the Gryffindor table, grabbed a sandwich, and took a bite.

“I never expected Ron and the others to come home,” Harry said.

“I understand.” Hermione asked after sitting down, “Do you remember what Snape said just now?”

“Of course I remember,” Harry said. “He said we were acting suspiciously, definitely up to no good!”

"That's not it."

"He waited outside the Department of Magic all night?" Siron said.

“Yes, that’s it,” Hermione said in a deep voice. “Don’t forget, Mr. Weasley also works at the Ministry of Magic. Since Snape can’t get in, it means that the people inside can’t get out either.”

"If I'm not mistaken, Mr. Weasley and Percy should both be at the Ministry of Magic right now, and she must be very anxious."

“But what exactly happened?” Harry murmured. “Azkaban…it can’t be that another prisoner has escaped.”

At this point, he gave an unnatural twitch of his lips, then said as if joking, "It's definitely impossible, isn't it? After all, the Ministry of Magic wasn't this nervous when Sirius Black escaped last time, and he was the first wizard to successfully escape."

Siren and Hermione exchanged a glance but neither spoke.

"By the way, Sirius..." Hermione changed the subject, "You said yesterday you were going to write to someone who knew the inside story to ask, how did it go?"

"She hasn't replied yet."

“The owl that delivers the message is probably still on its way,” Harry said. “Maybe it will come in with the other messengers soon.”

"I hope so." Xilun glanced at the time.

Unless there is a particular emergency, most owls will fly into the auditorium at the same time at eight o'clock in the morning to deliver letters and packages to everyone.

There are still a few minutes left.

By the time Celen finished his second sandwich, the hall windows opened, and owls rushed in, raining packages and letters onto the long table.

Siren kept an eye on things, and while there were no owls delivering messages to him, he did receive a copy of the Daily Prophet.

“It might be a little later,” Hermione said absentmindedly. “Let’s check the newspapers first; I bet the front page will be about your victory.”

She's right. Photos of Siren, Fleur, and Krum standing on the podium took up almost half the front page, and the other half was filled with praise for his outstanding performance in the race.

Although Xilun had no interest in looking at these things, he had nothing else to do, so he just flipped through them casually.

However, after he turned the page, he saw a familiar name.

Rita Skeeter... she published an article, but because the Triwizard Tournament was so popular, it dominated the front page and pushed her article to the back.

Xilun continued reading.

Death Eaters Retrial? Barty Crouch's Wrong Judgment and Decision

Ever since the attack, Barty Crouch has been doing things that are completely unexpected. We initially thought he had been injured by dark magic, and that his unease stemmed from his misjudgment of Sirius Black years ago.

According to a source (I apologize, I cannot reveal his name lest he lose his job), due to Sirius's mistake, he has persuaded his colleagues at the Ministry of Magic to initiate a retrial of other Death Eaters, and yesterday evening they went to Azkaban and took away three Death Eaters, including Bellatrix Lestrange.

Note: Bellatrix Lestrange was the most fanatical worshipper of Mystic and tortured Frank Longbottom and Alice Longbottom with the Cruciatus Curse after Mystic's downfall.

Interestingly, Barty Crouch didn't seem to want anyone to know about this, because the small boat carrying the prisoners, along with the Dementors, didn't return to the Ministry of Magic, but instead went north of Azkaban, perhaps where a secret interrogation room existed.

How many times has Barty Crouch, once the nemesis of dark wizards, misjudged the situation? Is Sirius Black just an isolated case?
We will wait and see.

……

The article ended there. Siren quickly turned to the next page, only to find an advertisement for a Quidditch boutique.

Even the existing information is shocking enough.

Hermione quickly finished reading the article, then read it a second time, and a third time...

“How could this be?” She couldn’t believe what it contained. “I’ve read the Wizarding Act. All wizarding criminals should be tried at the Ministry of Magic. Barty Crouch can’t take those people anywhere else. That’s against the rules.”

“Hermione, I’m afraid this is no longer a matter of Wizarding Law,” Siron said quietly.

According to his previous speculation, Barty Crouch had already been replaced by Barty Crouch Jr. after the last attack.

But to Siren's surprise, Barty Crouch Jr.'s goal was not the Triwizard Tournament or Harry, but Azkaban.

As Barty Crouch, he went to Azkaban with documents from the Ministry of Magic to pick up the other three Death Eaters and help them escape.

Under these circumstances, how could they possibly return to the Ministry of Magic? They would have run away long ago.

I understand now. Everything that I couldn't figure out before is clear now.

No wonder Fudge was so flustered yesterday, because Barty Crouch Jr. took the signed documents to Azkaban and took away the Death Eaters.

And then there's Percy... At this point, no one knows that Buddy Crouch has been replaced; they only know that he released the prisoner. And then, Percy reveals his close relationship with Buddy Crouch.

Thinking about it this way, you really can't blame Scrimgeour, because at that point, anyone would probably have taken Percy away as an accomplice.

……

(End of this chapter)