Hogwarts: Undercover Death Eater Replaces the Dark Lord

It wasn't until they accidentally looked out the window at the green sky in the east that they finally realized what Lycos meant by "making a big mess"...

"No way..." Harry opened his mouth wide, "What on earth did Lekos do?"

……

On the other side, after several apparitions, Lycos and Dobby appeared together inside Malfoy Manor.

Malfoy Manor is located in Wiltshire, England, almost in the southernmost part of England.

Therefore, even with the house-elves' ability to Apparate, they still needed to bring Lycos to his destination in batches and after multiple rests and adjustments.

"Actually, there's no need to be so forced. We can just go buy a portkey..." Lycos said softly, looking at the panting Dobby.

"It's okay, Dobby. Dobby must bring Mr. Hayden home as quickly as possible!" Although Dobby was exhausted, he patted his chest and said loudly, "Dobby knows that Mr. Hayden's time is precious!"

Lycos shook his head helplessly and began to look around.

This is a very dignified and luxurious manor. The flower beds and grass are carefully designed and trimmed. There is also a beautiful magic fountain in the center of the garden, and several beautiful peacocks are strolling beside the fountain.

In the distance, the walls of the manor were painted white, and the wrought iron gate was filled with smoke, making people feel like they were in a fairyland.

"Dobby, why are you back?" A wizard's voice came from a building inside the manor. "Hayden doesn't need you anymore?"

A wizard with long, light blond hair sauntered out and glanced at Dobby.

The next moment, he immediately changed his expression, straightened his robe and hair, and walked quickly to Lycos.

"Mr. Hayden, I didn't expect you to come in person. You really brighten up this humble place." Lucius extended an arm in an invitation. "Mr. Hayden, would you mind coming to the living room?"

Lycos looked at Lucius with interest and walked towards the living room without any hesitation.

It has to be said that the reason why Lucius Malfoy was able to thrive in the Ministry of Magic and even among the Death Eaters was probably not just because of his identity as the patriarch of the Malfoy family.

The fact that he could be so respectful to a school-age wizard at least showed that he had some sense and knew who to please and who not to offend...

The living room of Malfoy Manor was extremely luxurious, with luxurious sofas, marble fireplaces, gilded mirrors, and various extravagant decorations of a quality that Lycos could not recognize.

The living room walls are covered with portraits, and the stone floor tiles are almost entirely covered with a gorgeous carpet.

It’s just a pity that such a large living room was not even lit, and the surroundings were pitch black, which was a waste of the green chandelier on the ceiling that looked very valuable.

"Mr. Hayden, would you like a cup of tea?" Lucius signaled Dobby with his eyes. "The tea here comes from the distant magical world of the East. It tastes very delicious. Okay..."

"No need for tea, my time is limited." Lycos sat on the soft sofa and raised his hand to interrupt Lucius's polite words. "I came here today for only one purpose -"

"Barty Crouch, I need to know where his house is."

……

Chapter 218 Bertha Jorkins

"Barty Crouch?" Lucius was stunned. "Mr. Hayden, could it be that... Crouch has ever offended you?"

"No, I have nothing to do with Crouch. I just want to find his house." Lycos sneered and pulled the corner of his mouth. "I want to find some evidence in Crouch's house..."

"If it was just this matter, there's no need for Mr. Hayden to come all the way to the manor in person, right?" Lucius pulled out a chair and sat down across from Lex. "The Crouch family manor is no secret; many people know its location."

"That's right." Lycos smiled, "I still need you to do me a favor——"

He tapped his fingertips on the Malfoys' luxurious table and looked up at Lucius.

"Use your connections at the Ministry of Magic and arrange for one of Crouch's men to take the documents to Crouch Manor and ask him to sign them... This person must be completely trustworthy, meticulous, and not timid, because I still need him to help me do something."

"Also, please help me borrow a camera from the Daily Prophet. I need to bring a camera with me to collect evidence..."

Lucius rubbed his forehead and seemed to have a headache.

"A camera is easy to get. There's no need to borrow one from the Daily Prophet. We already have one stored in the warehouse downstairs," he said. "But arranging Crouch's men might be a bit troublesome..."

"Can't you do it?" Lycos asked.

"It's not impossible, but it's not easy to find someone who is completely trustworthy, thoughtful, and not timid..." Lucius frowned and thought.

"If I really can't find one, I can lower my requirements a bit." Lycos frowned. "It has to be someone who is irreconcilable with the Death Eaters. It's best if he has had a head-on conflict with Barty Crouch Jr. before."

Having had a head-on conflict with Barty Crouch Jr. meant that it would be easy for him to recognize his voice, and he would not tolerate a criminal living in Crouch's house.

Lycos needs to find someone to take the blame for the Dark Mark. Little Barty is obviously a good choice, or almost the only choice Lycos can think of.

"Irreconcilable with the Death Eaters? Why do you think I... would be familiar with such people?" Lucius looked helpless. "And didn't Barty Crouch Jr. die a long time ago? Why would I conflict with him..."

"How come you can't find anyone?" Lycos leaned back in his chair and looked at him with squinted eyes. "How have you, the head of the Malfoy family, survived all these years?"

Lucius was speechless.

It can only be said that Lycos's arrival this time was too sudden, and it was indeed difficult for him to find a suitable candidate in a short period of time... and Lucius also had his own little plans.

He had no idea what Lecos's purpose was, but because he lost Voldemort's diary, he had to obey the arrangements of Lecos, the "Dark Lord's confidant", otherwise he would most likely be completely hated after Voldemort returned.

According to Lecos, the two of them are now tied to the same rope, and only by cooperating can they have a chance of survival.

However, Lucius was used to being a fence-sitter, and he couldn't help but want to find a way out for himself... For example, if something unexpected happened to Lycos during some operation, could he put the blame for the lost diary on him?

"What are you thinking about?" Lycos glanced at Lucius and could guess what he was thinking.

It's nothing more than a small calculation. He doesn't want to put in too much effort and wants to leave a way out for himself.

Lecos was not surprised by this idea. After all, he knew what kind of person Lucius Malfoy was from the beginning, and he did not expect this fence-sitter to help him wholeheartedly.

Therefore, the requests he made earlier were just a prelude, and the real purpose was actually the last request -

"Never mind. I'll lower my standards a bit." Lycos looked at Lucius with a half-smile. "I need someone who's very gossipy and meddlesome. A little stupid is fine."

This requirement is obviously not high.

And Crouch has such a subordinate, and Lecos's request is almost like naming that person.

But Lucius pretended to hesitate for a long time before he acted as if he suddenly understood.

"If that's all you need, I do have a candidate..." Lucius said, "Bertha Jorkins."

……

After Lycos left Malfoy Manor, Lucius used the Malfoy family's connections to submit an agreement to the Department of International Magical Cooperation of the Ministry of Magic.

This is a trade document of the Malfoy family overseas. The circulation of certain commodities needs to be approved by the Ministry of Magic... After all, Lucius has been the head of the family for so many years, and he can always find some suitable motives.

Because of Lecos's request, Lucius directly put pressure on the Department of International Magical Cooperation in the capacity of the Malfoy family, urging them to sign the agreement in the shortest possible time on the grounds that the business opportunity could not be missed.

The Ministry member in charge of this task was Bertha Jorkins.

Bertha Jorkins is a very gossipy and nosy witch. She has never been very smart since she was a child, and she was able to enter the Ministry of Magic because of her family connections.

In the original novel, Bertha Jorkins's stupidity is reflected to a considerable extent.

Because she had a document to sign, she went to Crouch Manor without reporting anything, and as a result, she discovered that Barty Crouch Jr. was still alive and hiding in the Crouch family.

As a result, after discovering this shocking secret, instead of carefully reporting it to the Ministry of Magic, she waited for old Crouch to return home at Crouch Manor and confronted him boldly.

Barty Crouch had been the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement for many years, and even during the Wizarding War, he had led the passage of the law allowing Aurors to use the Unforgivable Curses...

Such a powerful official is obviously not someone who is easy to deal with.

If the fact that Barty Crouch Jr., the elder Crouch's son, became a Death Eater was the biggest stain on his tenure at the Ministry of Magic, it also to some extent hindered his election as the next Minister for Magic, and he was transferred, in fact, demoted, to the Department of International Magical Cooperation.

Then the fact that old Crouch allowed his wife to drink Polyjuice Potion and transform into Barty Crouch Jr. to swap him out of Azkaban was a secret that old Crouch buried deep in his heart and never allowed others to know.

This would deal a devastating blow to his lifelong reputation and honor, and would also cause the son whom his wife risked her life to save to be imprisoned in Azkaban again.

There was no way Barty Crouch Sr. would accept such an outcome.

So, in the original book, the former Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, now Director of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, cast a very powerful Oblivion Charm on Bertha Jorkins, completely erasing the memory of little Barty from her mind.

But this was not the only manifestation of Bertha Jorkins's folly.

After all, old Barty still had a conscience and would not disregard the lives of his subordinates. Therefore, although the forgetfulness spell caused some side effects, it did not have much impact on Bertha Jorkins' life.

However, Bertha Jorkins survived and later met Peter Pettigrew, who had escaped from Sirius, in Albania...

She didn't even question why Peter Pettigrew was still alive, but easily trusted this so-called First Class Order of Merlin winner and fell into Peter's trap.

For this reason, Bertha Jorkins eventually fell into the clutches of Voldemort and lost her life...

The person Lycos wanted Lucius to find was Bertha Jorkins.

Because she was too nosy to keep the fact to herself after discovering that Barty Crouch Jr. was still alive.

As for whether Bertha Jorkins would still be waiting at Crouch Manor, ready to confront old Crouch, as she did in the original book... Lekos was not worried about it.

He would drink the Polyjuice Potion, disguise himself as the manager of a Malfoy family business, and go to Crouch with Bertha Jorkins from the Department of International Magical Exchange and Cooperation to get his signature, in order to ensure that she would find any trace of Barty Crouch Jr.

……

The headquarters of the Ministry of Magic are located in the HM Treasury building and underground in Whitehall.

The drawing room at Malfoy Manor features a magnificent fireplace, which can be Flooed directly to the central hall of the Ministry of Magic.

At this time, Lycos, who had drunk the polyjuice potion and changed into an adult wizard's magic robe, was standing in the magnificent hall, looking around curiously.

This was Lycos's first time at the Ministry of Magic.

He had just emerged from the fireplace and was now standing at one end of a long, ornate hall with a polished dark wooden floor and a peacock-blue ceiling inlaid with many glittering golden symbols that moved and changed constantly, like a giant screen.

On both sides of the long hall, the walls were paneled with strips of shiny, reflective dark wood and were decorated with gilded fireplaces.

Every few seconds, a wizard would come out of the fireplace behind Lycos, making the soft "whooshing" sound unique to Floo powder; on the side facing Lycos, there were some wizards queuing in front of each fireplace, waiting to leave.

"Are you the Malfoy family's overseas trade manager?" A woman's voice came from not far away.

Lycos turned around and saw a witch who was about forty years old. She was holding a photo in her hand. She raised it very rudely next to Lycos' face which had been transformed by Polyjuice Potion. She moved her eyes left and right, comparing them repeatedly.

"Yes, it's me." Lycos nodded. "Are you Ms. Jorkins?"

"It's obvious." Bertha Jorkins put the photo away and waved her hand impatiently, motioning for Lycos to follow. "Why are you rushing me so much this time? You're just adding to my workload!"

"After all, this is a rare business opportunity. If we don't seize it in time, we will regret it." Lycos chuckled softly and quickly stepped into the role of manager. "If this has caused you any trouble, I hope you will forgive me..."

"After all, the Malfoy family has always maintained a friendly and cooperative relationship with the Ministry of Magic. We can make more money, and the Ministry of Magic can also get more donations!"

Lycos followed Bertha Jorkins's steps and looked at the gossipy, nosy witch calmly.

Bertha Jorkins looked like a common middle-aged gossip woman, with many wrinkles on her face and a somewhat mean expression. She walked very fast along the way, and her high heels made a "clang clang clang" sound on the wooden floor.

"What does the amount of donations the Ministry of Magic gets have to do with me?" Bertha Jorkins seemed very impatient with Lekos's reasoning. "They won't increase my salary..."

After saying this, she began to complain to Lycos about the treatment at the Ministry of Magic, how much work she had to do, and how annoying it was to deal with foreign guests...