A Competent Sparring Partner, Crouch Might Be Dead

After confirming Crouch's disappearance, Dumbledore notified the Ministry of Magic, and Fudge immediately dispatched people to investigate.

Harry received Sirius Black's letter, in which he criticized him, accusing him of not being able to meet with Krum alone outside Hogwarts Castle, and instructing him to practice some useful spells for the Third Task.

Not only did his teacher say so, but Moody also gave similar advice. He could only selectively forget about Crouch's disappearance, since he had no way to get involved even if he wanted to.

Hermione and Ron became great teammates, taking him to the library every day to look for spells that might be useful, and then finding empty classrooms to practice.

During the Divination, Aaron sat next to Harry and Ron.

Looking at their exhausted appearance, he couldn't help but ask curiously, "What happened to you two? You look much more haggard than usual!"

"Ask him." Ron pointed at Harry, his eyes full of helplessness.

"I've been practicing spells a lot lately, so I'm a little tired."

"You're tired? I'm the one who's tired," Ron said irritably. "I'm the only one willing to be your sparring partner. I get hit by the Stunning Spell more than ten times a day, and my whole body aches from all the falls."

"Hiss!"

Aaron couldn't help but gasp, his gaze towards Ron filled with admiration mixed with a hint of concern for the idiot.

Using a live person as a sparring partner requires a very strong heart.

If Harry accidentally casts the Smash Stunning Spell Shattering Charm, Ron might have to spend the entire School Hospital holiday.

"Aaron, could we borrow Abei for a while?"

What do you want to do?

"Find Harry the perfect sparring partner!" Ron said matter-of-factly. "He's a dragon, so he has high magic resistance and agility, right?"

Moreover, they have thick skin and don't feel much pain when hit by the curse.

"Heh!" Aaron sneered. "You're not it, how do you know it won't hurt when you're hit by a curse!"

Abei nodded seriously. It wasn't even in its adolescence yet. Although its magic resistance was maxed out, it still felt pain.

"Just say you want to kill me," Harry said, exasperated. "What if you piss Abei off and he swats at you with his claws?"

"This..."

Ron looked at the harmless-looking Abei, and his lips twitched involuntarily.

His understanding of Abei was still at the level of 16, but even so, a single swipe of its paw was more than Harry's small frame could withstand.

Never mind what I said.

The school bell rang, and Professor Trelawney came down the stairs.

The fire in the stove was particularly strong today, and the incense she wore quickly filled the classroom, making everyone's heads throb.

"Harry," Ron pursed his lips, "Why don't we open the window?"

Harry nodded, opened the window a crack, and felt a little more comfortable as the cool breeze blew in.

"Darling," Professor Trelawney said mysteriously, "We've almost finished talking about planetary Divination, but today is a great time to study the role of Mars, because it's currently in a very interesting position."

Please look this way, I'm turning off the lights.

Professor Trelawney waved his Wand, and all the lights went out, leaving the fireplace as the only source of light.

She took out a miniature model of the Sun, with the nine planets and their moons twinkling in their respective positions, and Mars forming a peculiar angle with the other planets...

Just as everyone was admiring the view of the planets in motion, Harry suddenly let out a scream.

He covered his face, the scar on his forehead gleaming faintly red in the dim light of the professor's office, tears streaming down his face.

"Harry, Harry..." Ron quickly helped him up, asking with a worried expression, "Are you alright?"

"Of course he has something to do..." Professor Trelawney seemed extremely excited, but was interrupted by Aaron before he could say something.

"Professor, I think we should take him to the hospital for a checkup first."

"Gaius," Professor Trelawney said somewhat reluctantly, "Is clearly affected by the extrasensory perception in the classroom. If he misses this opportunity..."

"I just want to know how to stop the pain," Harry said hastily.

"Professor, I'll take him to see Madam Pomfrey. I'm afraid I'll have to ask for leave from this class." Aaron said, helping Harry out of the classroom, leaving Trelawney looking dejected and a group of students who were confused.

The two left through the Trapdoor via the stairs and went down to the next floor. Only then did Aaron look at him seriously and ask, "What were you dreaming about?"

"Voldemort." Harry gasped nervously. "He's with Peter Pettigrew and a giant snake."

What did they say?

I need Voldemort's exact words, not your paraphrasing.

Harry for a moment, then tried to mimic a cold, shrill voice, "Wormtail, you're very lucky. Your mistake didn't ruin things. He's dead."

Nagini, uh... that must be the name of that giant serpent.

"That's exactly what he said," Aaron reminded him.

"Nagini, you're out of luck. I'm not going to feed you with the Wormtail, but it's okay, there's still Harry Potter."

"It seems Voldemort plans to kill you and then feed you to the snakes."

Harry shuddered in panic, "This joke isn't funny at all."

"Your dream... confirms my previous guess."

Crouch was most likely controlled by Voldemort, but Wormtail's momentary lapse in attention allowed him to escape Hogwarts.

"So that means Mr. Crouch has already..."

"He's dead." Aaron took a deep breath and said, "Voldemort must have had other servants. He was hiding in Hogwarts. That night, while you were looking for Dumbledore, he knocked out Krum and killed Crouch."

As for how the body was disposed of, I don't know, but there are too many ways to make it impossible for us to find him.

"Karkaroff or Snape?" Harry asked, frowning.

"I'm warning you one last time, don't doubt Professor Snape," Aaron said irritably. "Although his attitude towards you hasn't been good these past few years, he's protected you more than once or twice, otherwise you would have fallen off your Flying Broomstick when you were a freshman."

It might not necessarily be Karkaroff. You overheard his conversation with Professor Snape that day; that headmaster is all bark and no bite, otherwise Professor Snape wouldn't have advised him to run away.

"It's not this one, it's not that one, so who could it be?" Harry was flustered and at a loss for what to do. After a while, he calmed down and said, "Let's go to the Headmaster's Office. I have to tell Dumbledore."

Aaron did not object. This had already resulted in a death, which showed that people in the Tibetan school would stop at nothing to achieve their goals, and he would never mind killing someone.

The two hurried toward the Headmaster's Office, but the dripping stone sculpture at the door wouldn't let them pass easily.

"I don't know the password," Aaron said without hesitation.

"Iced Lemon Juice," Harry tentatively suggested, the statue remaining motionless. "Pear Drops, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Cracker Frog..."

A string of snack names popped out of his mouth, dozens of them, each different.

Aaron was dumbfounded; he couldn't believe that this dish-reciting technique hadn't been practiced.

"I need to see him, it's urgent." Harry angrily kicked the statue, then sat down, clutching his right leg in pain.

"Why don't you take a break?" Aaron handed over a bottle of water. "Get some rest and keep trying. I'm sure you can move this stone statue."

Harry took a sip, then continued, "Bubble Gum, Sugar Quill, Cockroach Cluster..."

Click!

The stone statue moved, slowly rising to reveal a spiral staircase.

"Cockroach Cluster," Aaron said speechlessly. "What the hell is this password?!"

"I made this up myself." Harry's expression was also somewhat unnatural.

"Never mind that, let's go inside!"

The two walked up the stairs and came to an oak door.

"We must take action, Fudge."

"I cannot act rashly. At times like these, the Magic World needs a strong leadership team, Dumbledore."

"Then let them down."

"But I didn't find any signs of the murderer, not at all. Bertha's trail and Barty's trail are completely unrelated."

Therefore, the Triwizard Tournament will absolutely not be canceled; I cannot be seen as a coward.

"A truly wise and decisive leader doesn't care what others think."

"I don't quite agree with that," Aaron said in a low voice. "Personally, I think that wise leaders need to consider the people's opinions more."

"Excuse me, gentlemen," Moody's voice came through, "It seems your conversation has lost all privacy."

As soon as he finished speaking, the oak door slowly opened.

Aaron immediately took a few steps back and stood behind Harry Potter.

"Harry." Fudge smiled kindly. "It's nice to see you again."

And Aaron, give my regards to your sister.

"Yes," Aaron replied with a smile. "Professor Dumbledore, we'd like to have a word with you."

Dumbledore moment, then turned to look at Fudge and Moody. "You might have to wait a while. We need to check out the venue for the third event."

Aaron raised an eyebrow and exchanged a glance with Abei in his arms, suppressing his excitement. "No, the Triwizard Tournament is more important. You guys take your time watching, we're not in a hurry."

The three exchanged a glance, then silently left Aaron and Harry's side, closing the door behind them.

As the footsteps faded into the distance, Aaron immediately gave Abei a wink.

Holy Dragon instantly understood, jumped off Aaron's arms and onto the ground, his clear eyes fixed intently on the Fawkes the Phoenix on the golden perch, and then, unable to resist, drooled.

Fawkes shuddered and let out an unnatural whistling sound.

But Dumbledore had already left, and the Headmaster's Office door was closed, leaving it in a completely helpless situation.

"What is it trying to do?" Harry looked at Abei with some nervousness. Despite its harmless appearance, it made him feel inexplicably uneasy.