Far Too Difficult

Rita Skeeter has been in a bad mood lately, as she has been temporarily suspended by The Daily Prophet.

As one of the chief editors of the Daily Prophet, a guaranteed source of the newspaper's bestsellers, Barnabas Cuffe's actions were quite foolish.

A warning from the Ministry of Magic?

What does it matter to Rita Skeeter? Since she became a journalist, the Ministry of Magic has warned her 49 times, but they still can't do anything about it.

"Speak, what do you want?" Rita Skeeter asked calmly, looking at the old acquaintance in front of her.

"Because of you, our relationship with the American Ministry of Magic has become quite strained."

Bertha Jorkins, an employee in Bartie Crouch's office, was also frustrated; she had absolutely no desire to deal with Rita Skeeter.

However, having just been transferred from the Department of Magical Transportation to the Department of International Magical Cooperation at the British Ministry of Magic, she was sent by her superior to deal with acquaintances in an attempt to find out what was going on.

Because of the previous report, coupled with the overreaction of some wizards, the relationship between the British Ministry of Magic and the American Ministry of Magic has become quite strained.

"I was just reporting the facts, Jorkins."

When questioned by an acquaintance, Rita Skeeter remained calm, saying, "That's exactly what Mr. Anderson said when I interviewed him; I was just conveying his meaning."

Of course, Rita Skeeter wouldn't dare put all the blame on Albert, otherwise she probably would really be in Azkaban.

Within the Ministry of Magic, a number of people had long wanted to throw her in jail. This was because Rita Skeeter enjoyed writing sensational, fabricated stories about prominent figures in the wizarding world, which had offended many.

"So, all of this is real?"

Bertha Joggins clearly didn't believe Rita Skeeter's nonsense; she had worked for the Daily Prophet for a time and knew the woman in front of her very well.

"Of course, that's the truth."

Rita Skeeter was getting impatient and wanted to end this damned conversation as soon as possible; she felt she should tell others what the Ministry of Magic was really like.

"You should know that this kind of explanation won't get rid of Mr. Crouch," Bertha Jorkins said irritably. "She really doesn't want to mess things up again. She's been in the Ministry of Magic for years and has already worked in several departments."

"That's the truth. You don't understand United States, do you? Why don't you do some research yourself?"

"I heard you've been suspended."

"Don't worry about that, I'll be back at work soon."

Rita Skeeter wasn't worried at all about being suspended, since her job wasn't just writing articles for the Daily Prophet.

Writing articles for The Witch Weekly is also part of her job.

Rita Skeeter felt she should write an article about the American magical world to explain what the Department of International Magical Cooperation in the Britain was doing.

As a result, the Department of International Magical Cooperation received a large number of letters from owls, with many wizards considering Bartie Crouch's compromise a sign of weakness.

Bertha Jorkins, who submitted the report, naturally suffered the consequences. She was scolded by Bartie Crouch and then sent to burn the letters.

Many wizards added something to the letters; heaven knows what will happen when they're burned.

Jorgins was also helpless, but he still carefully sorted out the matter and resubmitted a report.

According to her research, the actual situation was indeed very similar to what Rita Skeeter described.

In particular, the description of the American magical world in The Witch Weekly, even if somewhat exaggerated, was not too far off.

It's truly unbelievable that this would happen to Rita Skeeter, who is known for her love of telling tall tales.

Perhaps reality has already become so exaggerated that there's no need for that woman to continue exaggerating.

After Bertha Jorkins finished organizing the documents, she took them to the Director's office, but Mr. Crouch. Bartie Crouch seemed to be absent.

"I wonder if he'll even read it carefully." Bertha Jorkins expressed her doubts, as Bartie Crouch hoped to restore friendly relations with the American magical world.

"Jorgins," Ludo Bagman asked, "Is Bartie there?"

"The Director is not here."

"This is terrible, I have a document here that needs his signature," Ludo Bagman said with a sigh. "When Bartie gets back, remember to remind him to sign it; we need it tomorrow."

"OK."

Bertha Jorkins immediately agreed, as it was part of her job to work in Bartie Crouch's office.

However, since Bartie Crouch was not present after work, Bertha Jorkins had no choice but to take the documents to her boss Bartie, Mr. Crouch's, home for his signature.

The Crouch was a famous wizarding family, and when Bertha went there, her boss, Mr. Crouch. Bartie Crouch, was not at home.

The House-elf tells Bertha that her master, Bartie Crouch, will be back soon and asks her to wait in the hall for a moment.

Bertha Jorkins agreed, feeling it would be best to hand the document to her personally, watch her sign it, and then send it to Ludo Bagman.

Bertha placed the document on the table and took a sip of the tea served by her House-elf.

Just as she was looking at the furnishings in her boss's office, she suddenly heard hushed conversations, as if someone was talking.

Bertha stood up in confusion and walked towards the kitchen, following the direction of the sound, which grew clearer. Inside the kitchen, the House-elf seemed to be talking to a man, but there was no one there.

Is someone hiding inside Invisibility Cloak?

"The House-elf called that man 'young master'?" Bertha Jorkins immediately realized something. Could it be Old Barty Crouch Jr., Little Barty Crouch's son?

However, Bartie Crouch's son had already died in Azkaban Prison.

"Could it be..."

Bertha Jorkins found it hard to believe that Barty Crouch Old Barty. would do such a thing.

How did you get here?

The House-elf noticed someone behind her, turned around abruptly, and stared nervously at Bertha Jorkins.

"Who were you talking to just now? Little Barty Crouch., right?" Bertha Jorkins stepped forward.

"I don't know what you're talking about?" The House-elf was nervous and tried to stop the other from stepping forward and removing the Invisibility Cloak.

"Jorgins, what are you doing here?" Bartie Crouch appeared behind Bertha Jorgins without warning.

"Mr. Crouch. Bartie Crouch, you rescued your son from Azkaban?" Bertha Jorkins looked at her superior in disbelief. In her memory, Bartie Crouch was a man who hated evil and had even almost become Minister of Magic, only to miss the opportunity because his son was Death Eater.

"Jorgins, you shouldn't have meddled. It was a terrible mistake. I'm sorry." Bartie Crouch sighed, raised his wand and pointed it at the witch in front of him, preparing to make her forget this memory.

However, if the secret is to be kept completely, a powerful Memory Charm must be used to make her completely forget what happened today.

Bertha Joggins, under the Memory Charm, was completely dumbfounded.

"Master, she'll forget what just happened, right?" The House-elf was trembling all over.

"Yes, it will." Bartie Crouch looked at the woman in front of him and shook his head helplessly. "I used a very strong Memory Charm, but it is very likely to cause permanent damage to her memory. But there is nothing I can do about it. It's just that she likes to meddle in other people's business."