Late at night, a dark figure appeared out of thin air in a remote, filthy alley. He furtively looked around, then quickly disappeared into the depths of the alley after confirming that no one was nearby.
The male wizard stopped before an old house. As he raised his hand to knock on the wooden door, he nervously scanned his surroundings. When the door opened with a creak, he slipped inside.
After entering, the wizard seemed to relax. He glanced at the middle-aged man beside him who had opened the door, then walked toward the roaring fireplace. Half-crouching beside an armchair, he said to the infant reclining in it, "Master, I've returned."
Voldemort opened his scarlet eyes and asked hoarsely, "Did you contact him?"
"I did."
As he spoke, Peter Pettigrew reached into his robe pocket, took out a letter, and opened it, preparing to read it aloud to Voldemort. Noticing there were others in the hall, Peter drew his wand and waved it at the wizard, sending him elsewhere.
Barty Crouch Jr.'s letter was filled with miscellaneous matters, seemingly all mundane details of daily life, but Peter was able to pick out words from it and form a message.
To prevent Dumbledore from secretly inspecting their letters, they were now using the most primitive form of encryption.
Yes, entirely by hand, without any magic.
Though the possibility was slim, if Dumbledore truly did that, no matter how sophisticated the magic was, it would be difficult to hide it from his eyes.
"Barty Crouch Jr. hasn't been discovered yet, but Dumbledore already knows he's still alive and believes he may be hiding in Hogwarts School." Peter spent several minutes reading out the first passage he had just deciphered from the parchment. He secretly glanced at Voldemort before continuing, "He also mentioned