Harry Potter and the Obscurus

Chapter 127 Seeking Allies

"A pile of junk..."

As Harry spoke, he tossed aside magazines that were concerned with the outcome of the Triwizard Tournament rather than the disappearance of Bertha Jorkins.

More than half a month has passed since he sent Rita Skeeter's press release to the Daily Prophet. During this time, a small number of voices in the wizarding world have condemned Ludo Bagman's involvement in gambling, but ironically, compared to the "marketing" news that Rita had previously reported, most readers, whose tastes have become much more extreme, didn't find Bagman's gambling matter particularly important.

"What's gambling? Who hasn't gambled? Since the Ministry of Magic hasn't arrested him yet, it means there's no problem! Instead of worrying about this trivial matter, you should spend more time finding out where that half-giant's mother from Hogwarts is."

This is what a Ministry of Magic employee who declined to be named said.

"That Bertha Jorkins is mentally unstable. She's been transferred from one department to another countless times. She's always causing trouble, has no sense of time, and often disappears for weeks only to come back later."

......

“Actually, you can use my information to attract attention. If the Ministry of Magic believes that Bertha Jorkins was captured by Sirius Black, then Fudge should send the Aurors to do something.”

Sirius's suggestion was immediately rejected by Harry, who said seriously:

“Absolutely not! Fudge isn’t a decent person by nature. He’s only willing to make decisions that highlight his achievements in safe and peaceful times, but he won’t risk his life to confront real enemies. If he could, he would rather pin all the blame on you, including the Quidditch World Cup riots.”

"Then what should we do now?"

Ron and Hermione asked in unison.

They are too young and don't understand the dark days of Voldemort's era like Harry does, so it's difficult for them to offer constructive opinions on this topic.

Seeing Ron and Hermione's concerned expressions, Sirius stroked his stubble and came up with a solution.

"Harry, you absolutely trust Ron and Hermione, right?"

"Of course!"

"You must have other close friends at school, right?"

"Yes, like Neville, Seamus, Dean, Fred, and George, they are all..."

Harry mumbled his friends' names, slowly understanding the meaning behind Sirius's words, and asked:

"You mean to use the process of elimination to select the people I trust and don't trust from top to bottom, right?"

"Yes."

Sirius said:

"This year, Hogwarts hosted hundreds of foreign guests for the Triwizard Tournament. If I were Barty Crouch Jr., I would definitely try my best to avoid Dumbledore and the school's formidable professors. At that time, Beauxbatons' carriage and Durmstrang's ship would have been the ideal hiding places."

"But what does this have to do with who I trust or don't trust?"

Seeing Harry's confusion, Sirius explained earnestly:

“Harry, even the most capable person can’t do everything by themselves, not even Dumbledore. If you want to find out if there are any suspicious people among the Durmstrang students, you need to find Durmstrang people you trust to help you. Similarly, the same applies to the Ministry of Magic and Beauxbatons; you must carefully choose allies you can trust.”

"I think I understand what you mean..."

Harry said thoughtfully:

“Death Eaters with a criminal record like Karkaroff, whether or not they are suspected, cannot participate in our operations. Since he can be a fence-sitter once, he is very likely to betray us a second and a third time. However, I don’t know many Durmstrang students, except for that Viktor Krum.”

Do you think he is trustworthy?

"He's at least a bit better than Ludo Bagman. He doesn't have the Dark Mark on his arm, and he's not particularly close to their headmaster. More importantly, he spoke to me first, gave Draco some flying lessons at school, and he even has a crush on Hermione..."

"puff!"

Suddenly amused by Harry's last remark, Ron sprayed out the drink he had bought from Honeydukes. This earned him a punch from Hermione, which eased the tension among the four of them a bit.

"Okay, that certainly seems like how a young person should act. So, what about Beauxbatons? You only know Fleur too?"

Sirius smiled and took a bite of the chicken leg that the three giants had brought from school, then asked...

"I'm even less familiar with her."

Harry glanced at Hermione furtively and said:

“But she brought her younger sister with her. Unless both of them have something wrong, the sisters would have noticed something was off long ago.”

"I agree with Harry."

Ron nodded in agreement:

"During the second project, everyone could see how much she cared for her sister. And there's a detail you might have noticed: Fleur had marks on her waist and thighs from Grindelwald's suction tentacles, while her sister's clothes showed no signs of struggle. This shows that even underwater, Fleur was protecting Gabrielle."

"Good lad! You've got a really sharp eye!"

Sirius praised her without reservation.

For a moment, he seemed to have returned to more than 20 years ago.

Back then, Moonface, Wormtail, Bigfoot, and Prongs hadn't yet been separated by death and gone their separate ways. Back then, they were still the happiest, most carefree, and most spirited teenagers at Hogwarts.

Hermione was initially somewhat disdainful of Ron's attention to Hibiscus's skin, but Sirius's sudden absent-mindedness made her swallow back the words that were about to come out.

"Hmm... Oh right, Harry, what about the Ministry of Magic? What are you planning to do? You said you don't trust Ludo Bagman, and Barty Crouch is Barty's father, so there's a possibility of favoritism. Maybe we could ask Percy for help?"

"Percy?"

Sirius asked with great curiosity:

"Is that Ron's brother? He works at the Ministry of Magic?"

"Um... that's not wrong."

Ron answered honestly:

"Percy started his internship at the Department of International Magical Exchange and Cooperation last summer before the start of the semester. The problem is, all he seems to care about is whether the cauldron is leaking or not, and all he talks about is praising and flattering his superiors. I don't think he's going to be of much use..."

"There's such a thing?"

Sirius scratched his head upon hearing this and said:

"If that's the case, then let Harry talk to Barty Crouch. Dumbledore wrote to me before and said some things about him, including how Harry found out about him and how he confessed. I thought he was an extreme egoist who only cared about reputation and position, but now it seems that even the most stern and impartial person may have a soft side deep down."

"Isn't this a bad thing? Because you have a soft heart?"

Ron was a little confused.

“Sometimes, if we want to understand a person’s character, we should pay attention to how he handles his private affairs and how he treats his subordinates. Anyone can put on a show, even Cornelius Fudge. But think about it the other way around: if someone doesn’t even care about the life of his only son, and doesn’t care if he’s arrested and thrown into Azkaban, doesn’t that mean that deep down he only has a thirst for power?”

Ron and Hermione remained silent. Being young and having not personally experienced the darkest era of the wizarding world, their minds were filled with only the simplest notions of right and wrong. Sirius's words would take them time to process.

Harry had received "adult education" from Moran since he was a child, so he was able to talk to his godfather on the same wavelength.

"Could you tell us more about Batty Crouch and his son from your perspective?"

"I'll give it a try."

Sirius Black stood up from the ground, looking at the dilapidated yet familiar walls of the Screaming Shack, and slowly recalled:

“Barty Crouch rose to power during the era when Voldemort’s influence was at its peak. In that time of frequent bad news, people needed a leader with a tough stance, which is the main reason why he was able to rise through the ranks. Unlike the Aurors you know now, the Aurors of a decade or so ago had the right to kill. They didn’t need to bring suspects to court for trial. Those who died were dead, and those who were still alive would be sent directly to Azkaban.”

At this point, Sirius let out a wry smile.

"Ha, you might not believe it, but many noble families who usually present a tolerant image have become Crouch's supporters. On the contrary, among those who usually deal with dark wizards and criminals, there are a very small number who oppose him, such as Mad-Eye Moody, the current Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts."

"Moody?"

Ron called out.

"Yes, it's Moody. Don't let his usual distrustful attitude fool you; when it comes to capturing dark wizards, he always maintains a fair and impartial approach, capturing them alive for interrogation, and never indiscriminately killing innocent people. And Rufus Scrimgeour, he also spoke up for me back then, but at that time... well, never mind..."

Hearing Rufus Scrimgeour's name, Harry suddenly recalled the summer before the start of his third year. Rufus Scrimgeour was among those who came to clean up the mess after the Dementor attack, but since Fudge also showed up later, he had somewhat forgotten about this Auror office owner.

"Not long after I was imprisoned in Azkaban, Bati the Younger was exposed by Karkarov."

Sirius continued:

“The Dementors threw him into the cell next to mine, and for the first few nights I could hear him screaming and howling. But then he gradually fell silent, and apart from occasionally calling for his mother in his sleep, he was as if he were dead. About a year later, Barty Crouch’s dying mother came to see him, and Barty Crouch personally helped his wife walk past my cell.”

"Wait, he walked past your cell?"

Harry suddenly interrupted Sirius:

"Then why don't I see you in his memory?"

"He probably didn't even notice me."

Sirius replied:

“The Pensieve cannot recreate things that are not in your memory. You know, at that time, Barty Crouch was actually helping Barty Jr. escape from prison with his wife. It’s normal that he couldn’t see me hiding in the corner covered in filth because he was so focused on his wife and son.”

"All right......"

Harry pursed his lips, accepting the explanation. He knew Sirius had a point, but like Mo Ran who had just reminded him in his mind, they both felt like they had missed some details.

"You all know the rest of the story. Barty Crouch replaced his son in prison with his dying wife. Deeply affected, he lost the motivation to continue climbing the political ladder. After Fudge became Minister of Magic, he became a completely marginalized figure, far removed from the center of power."

At this point, Sirius couldn't help but sigh:

"Well, that's why sometimes what people see is often one-sided. What is the truth? What are we just taking for granted based on our own subjective opinions? Only through personal experience can we truly understand. Like Peter and me, Barty Crouch isn't the cold-faced politician who only wants the Minister of Magic position. If he really wanted to climb the ladder, he should have used his act of sacrificing his own family to demonstrate his impartiality and selflessness. Even if he didn't become Minister, he would never have submitted to Fudge."

A moment of silence fell between the three leaders.

A short while later, Harry stood up, walked over to Sirius Black, and spoke first:

“I will make a deal with Barty Crouch: he will become our helper on the condition that Barty Jr. doesn’t die. Whether it’s out of paternal love or his wife’s dying wish, all he has left is this one son. But Barty Jr. was involved in torturing Neville’s parents, and that’s not something that can be easily forgiven. If we can bring him to justice, I will not make an exception for anyone because of their reasons.”

"Good lad! Well done, Harry!"

Sirius said reassuringly, his expression more serious than when he had praised Ron before.

“You are far more outstanding than your father and me. Not only do you possess formidable magical power at such a young age, but you also use all your intelligence for good! If Jaime and Lily could see that they have such an excellent son…”

"I know, I know..."

Harry and Sirius hugged each other, patting each other hard on the back.

The sounds of banging echoed and subsided from the screaming shed. Both Ron and Hermione were deeply moved by the sight before them.

Where are you going next?

"Pig Head Bar"

Sirius Black truthfully stated:

"Dumbledore wants me to go there, saying that the place is safe and you don't need to worry."

Harry and his friends hadn't been to the Hog's Head yet, but based on Hagrid's description, he knew it was a filthy place filled with all sorts of shady characters. It was there that Quirrell, disguised as a foreign wizard, had "lost" the dragon egg to Hagrid.

After saying goodbye to Sirius, Harry and his friends returned to Hogwarts through the secret passage.

During dinner, Hermione received a barrage of yelling and threatening letters. Since her status as "Harry Potter's darling" was confirmed in the second project, the idiots and villains who had previously learned about her from Rita Skeeter's articles all felt she had toyed with the hearts of two excellent men.

In an instant, the dining table was covered in ashes. Not only were there unopened shouting letters, but some fanatical fans even sent undiluted Baboon tuber concentrate, hoping to inflict real harm on Hermione.

"Oh no! Get out of the way!"

"Protego!" (Protego armor)

"what!"

Several simultaneous sounds masked the "sizzle" coming from the table.

After repeatedly and carefully confirming that Hermione was not injured, Harry angrily picked up the letter that had just sprayed out the contents and wrote:

"Harry Potter deserves a girl a hundred times better than you...you should be boiled in algae...who the hell wrote this? Where's the signature?"

The angry shouting attracted students from other houses, and as more and more people began to look toward the Gryffindor long table, Hermione quickly and calmly took Harry's hand.

She whispered:

"Stop shouting, Harry. These people won't put their names on the signature. I'm not hurt, am I? Sit down."

"Tergeo!" (Sweeped away in a whirlwind)

"Reparo!" (Restored to its original state)

With Hermione's two spells, the table, stained by the Howl Letter and other harmful traps, returned to its original state. Harry, furious beyond belief, remained silent, staring at Hermione for a long time before finally calming down under the little witch's gentle gaze.

"I read about your stories of toying with men's feelings in the Daily Prophet and Wizarding Weekly. How can a teenage girl be so vicious? Harry Potter has suffered so much, how could you bear to lie to him? Just you wait, you bitch, next time I'll find a big enough envelope and put a curse inside you!"

“Viktor Krum is the hope of Bulgarian Quidditch, and you, Hermione Granger, you’re just a worthless Mudblood! You’re not worthy to be with Viktor. Go to the toilet with your filthy brown hair and be a mop!”

"Die! Die! Die! I hope you are tortured to death by the Cruciatus Curse!"

......

"Stop reading, we're going to burn them all later."

Seeing Harry searching letter after letter for any possible clues about the writer, Hermione suppressed her anger at being insulted and advised him:

“These people are brainless, and besides, writing letters isn’t illegal. If there’s a reason for this, it’s because they read Rita Skeeter’s articles that they did these things.”

Harry's eyes lit up when Hermione reminded him.

Yes!

Rita Skeeter is still in their hands, isn't she?