The Return to Hogwarts

"Regarding Gilgamesh, Headmaster Dumbledore—"

At Barty Crouch's house, Amosta offers to return Sparkle to the Crouch family, but this is actually a casual test to confirm his suspicion that the person standing in front of him is not Barty Crouch.

If it were the real Barty Crouch, he would certainly not allow the elf he personally banished to return. Of course, even if it were a fake Barty Crouch, he most likely wouldn't allow an elf who knew everything about his disguise to return to his side; that would only cause him trouble.

At the time, Amosta only hoped to have more conversations with the person in front of him and verify his guesses from the clues. But to his surprise, the imposter in front of him became emotionally turbulent after hearing him mention the little elf, and eventually accepted his suggestion.

This immediately made Amosta realize that the imposter in front of him had a close relationship with the Crouch family.

However, this put Amosta in a bit of a dilemma.

“I understand your concerns, Amosta, but since you’ve made a promise, let the poor little elf return to House Crouch. I think that’s what it wants too—”

Dumbledore said calmly,

"From what I know of Tom, he wouldn't even notice such a poor little creature. It was probably this little elf that took care of Barty Crouch Jr. during his fourteen years of unauthorized imprisonment. He had a deep affection for this little elf. Perhaps, in the end, it was this elf that saved Barty Crouch Sr. and Barty Crouch Jr., this pitiful father and son."

Amosta raised an eyebrow, then nodded thoughtfully.

"Sparkling--"

After Amosta's slightly mellow voice rang out, a little sprite appeared in the principal's office with a bang.

Compared to two weeks ago, the little elf, so loyal to the Crouch family, looked much more haggard. Its blouse and skirt were covered in soup stains and dirt, and were also tattered from being burned by flames, making it look like a scavenger living in a garbage dump.

What's both infuriating and hilarious is that Sparkle has picked up a bad habit. It's holding a nearly empty bottle of butterbeer, and reeks of alcohol; clearly, this isn't its first time drinking.

It took about ten seconds for Flashy to realize where it was. It had appeared before the two highest decision-makers at Hogwarts, still clutching a bottle of wine. Instinctively, it stood up, trying to find a place to hide the bottle, but where could it possibly hide it in front of the two most outstanding wizards of the time? Besides, the alcohol it had ingested had left it dizzy and unable to stand steadily.

So, after struggling to its feet for a moment, it crashed to the ground with a thud, the bottle slipping from its grasp and rolling away with a gurgling sound. The remaining wine trickled down the office carpet, forming a noticeable stain.

"The great Mr. Dumbledore, Mr. Blaine, glitter, glitter!"

Sparkle was terrified, its dirty face filled with fear. No matter how much it missed Mr. Crouch, it now belonged to Hogwarts, and to be found dead drunk when its master summoned it was completely at odds with its image of a house-elf!

"Sparkling—Sparkling has finished her work—"

Flash blinked hard, but tears of fear still streamed down its face from the corners of its eyes, which were covered in small brown lumps.

"Sparkling can clean it up, Mr. Dumbledore, Mr. Blaine, please don't—don't take Sparkling—"

For a house-elf, being dismissed by its owner once is shameful enough, but if it is dismissed twice in a row, then it can be said that it is a house-elf with serious problems, and no wizard will ever want to use it again.

What purpose is there for house-elves who are not used by wizards?

Fear made Shanshan's lips turn blue and its whole body tremble uncontrollably. In an attempt to atone for its sins, it instinctively reached out to wipe the wine stains off the carpet!

"Never mind that, Sparkle—"

Amosta left his seat, pulled up Sparkle who was crawling on the floor wiping away wine stains, and then squatted down, looking directly into Sparkle's eyes. The flowing purple light in his eyes made the little elf momentarily lose his composure, even forgetting his fear of being kicked out again.

"I have good news for you, Sparkle,"

Amosta said with a smile

"You can go home now--"

Chapter 698 Induction

2024-01-17

"go home--"

His tennis ball-sized eyes, brimming with fearful tears, blinked, unable to understand what Mr. Blaine meant.

"Is that so, Sparkle--"

Amosta had no intention of teasing a little elf; he merely moved the corner of his lips.

"During the few days I was away from school, I visited Barty Crouch—"

Sparkle's excited reaction showed just how loyal it was to Old Buddy. The moment it heard Buddy's name, Sparkle tensed up with excitement, even forgetting to maintain its respectful demeanor. It stared intently at Amosta's face, its voice trembling as it asked...

"You met Mr. Crouch, Mr. Blaine. How is he? Is Mr. Crouch alright?"

"To be honest, it's good, but not particularly good—"

Amosta patiently explained,

"You may not know, but for the first project of the Triwizard Tournament, he personally went to inspect several fire dragon nature reserves. He had an accident in Hungary and was injured. His colleagues in the department advised him to go to St. Mungo for a period of recuperation, but he was unwilling to put down his work and delay the best time for treatment. Now, he has to rest at home."

"Oh, my poor Mr. Crouch!"

Tears immediately streamed down her glistening cheeks.

“My poor Mr. Crouch, he is sick, but what will he do without Sparkle’s help? He needs me, he needs my help. I have been taking care of the Crouch family since I was born!”

"Just as you said, Sparkle--"

Amosta said in a low voice,

"When I visited him, Barty wasn't doing too well. His cold house didn't even have a fireplace, and he was living on Muggle fast food. Of course, as a busy Ministry of Magic official, his lack of life skills is understandable, but this can't go on; he's getting sick."

Before Flash could burst into tears, Amosta quickly said,

"So I suggested to him that he find someone to take care of his life. Considering that Batty certainly wouldn't want a stranger to appear in his house and walk around in front of him, I recommended you to him."

As if a pause button had been pressed, Sparkle's sorrowful weeping was abruptly cut off. Tears were still rolling down its cheeks, but its big eyes were no longer brimming with tears. Sparkle stared wide-eyed at Mr. Blaine, two snot dripping from its bulbous nose, almost falling into its wide-open mouth.

"Although Barty hesitated with my proposal, thankfully I managed to persuade him, so--"

Amostella smiled and patted Sparkle on the shoulder. "You can go back to Barty's side and continue taking care of him, Sparkle, if you'd like. I mean, I don't know if you mind that Barty fired you—"

"Back to Mr. Crouch's side—"

Sparkle didn't really hear Amosta's words. All it heard was that it could return to the Crouch family and had been accepted back by Mr. Crouch!

Shanshan's body trembled slightly, and she had a dreamlike expression on her face.

"Mr. Crouch wants Sparkle to go back--"

Sparkle murmured, its body trembling more and more violently. Suddenly, it collapsed to the ground, pounding its fists and crying out in anguish, "Mr. Crouch has forgiven Sparkle! Oh, my great master! He's actually willing to forgive Sparkle for committing such a terrible mistake! What a kind wizard he is! Waaah!"

Seeing the little house-elf so emotionally charged that he couldn't contain himself, simply because Barty Crouch, who had once kicked him out, had taken him back, Dumbledore and Amosta felt a little heavy-hearted. He had no idea what awaited him!

"And you, the great Mr. Blaine!"

Suddenly, Flash darted to Amosta's feet, respectfully cupped a corner of Amosta's robe, and covered his tear-streaked face.

"You're the one who got Mr. Crouch to accept Sparkle. You're amazing, Mr. Blaine. You're a truly remarkable and kind wizard. Sparkle will always remember your help, and Sparkle will definitely repay you!"

A House-Elf's Repayment--

Amostah pursed his lips, a hint of hesitation flashing in his eyes, but then the light in his eyes steadied.

“Old Barty is my friend, Sparkle, how can I stand by and watch him in this helpless situation?”

Amosta pulled on the sparkly neighbor and lifted it up.

"Some people in the wizarding world have prejudices against Barty, but most agree that he is a respectable Ministry of Magic official who has worked diligently for the Ministry since joining. Honestly, at his age, he should take a break, enjoy life, enjoy his freedom, and find a like-minded lady to spend the rest of his life with—"

Judging from Flash's expression, it has already regarded Amosta as a close friend.

“Oh, Shining thinks so too, Mr. Blaine!”

Shining, sniffling, said with a mixture of pride and melancholy.

"But Mr. Crouch loves his work at the Ministry of Magic and doesn't want to spend his time on entertainment and pleasure. Sparkle has also advised Mr. Crouch to find another wife, but since the lady of the house passed away, he has refused to get close to any other lady!"

"Admirable--"

Amosta exclaimed in admiration.

"He was dedicated to his career and incredibly loyal in love. I heard that Batistuta's wife died of illness?"

Sparkle was basking in the joy of returning to House Crouch and the pride it felt for Mr. Crouch himself when it suddenly heard Amosta's question. Its previously calm body trembled slightly, and its expression became somewhat unnatural.

“You’re right, Mr. Blaine. The mistress’s health has been poor. Perhaps you’ve heard about Master Barty—”

Amosta nodded, casting an encouraging glance at Sparkle, while Dumbledore, who was quietly watching everything, involuntarily leaned forward.

"After that incident, the mistress suffered a great blow, and her health never recovered. Although Mr. Crouch tried his best to help her recover, unfortunately—"

The sadness in Shanshan's voice was genuine and heartfelt.

“I dare say that the blow that Bati suffered was no less than that of his wife, and he also had to bear the grief of his wife’s death and the shame of his son being imprisoned in Azkaban. Has he forgiven him, shimmer? I mean, does old Bati still not forgive his son for the mistakes he made? Has he visited him all these years?”

Amosta said worriedly.

A flicker of unease crossed Flashy's face again. It instinctively lowered its head to avoid Amosta's gaze, feeling both fearful and guilty.

Because there are some truths it cannot tell Mr. Blaine, it can only lie, lie to its master's friend, lie to a wizard who has been kind to it.

"Oh, no, sir—"

Shining said in a low voice,

"Before the mistress passed away, Mr. Crouch accompanied her to see Master Barty once, and since then, Mr. Crouch has never visited Master Barty again--"

"Oh, old Barty shouldn't have let his wife go to Azkaban—"

Amosta narrowed his eyes.

"Dementors can steal people's joy and hope. Perhaps it was because of the influence of these awful creatures that Barty's wife couldn't hold on any longer."

“You’re right, Mr. Blaine—”