Barty Crouch Investigation Concludes

Barty Crouch?

Kyle felt like he hadn't heard that name in over six months.

Shortly after the start of the school year, Sirius was acquitted, and Barty Crouch was heavily criticized for not putting Azkaban Sirius.

Actually, there was nothing wrong with this at the time, and even Sirius himself thought so... Kyle remembers that he even had a good opinion of Crouch.

Even before Voldemort fell from power, Crouch advocated for some tough measures to grant the Auror new rights.

They were no longer just allowed to capture, but had the right to kill, and were permitted to use the Unforgivable Curses on Death Eaters... Sirius was not the first person to be handed over to Dementor without trial.

This approach of responding to violence with violence, which turned Auror into ruthless and cold-blooded Death Eaters, may not sound like the truth now, but in that chaotic era, it genuinely allowed many people to survive.

And it was precisely because of this that the Ministry of Magic was able to hold its own against the Death Eaters for several years.

Ultimately, if it weren't for his son, Barty Crouch Jr.., being proven to be Death Eaters, Fudge wouldn't be the current Minister for Magic.

Therefore, Sirius didn't actually hold a grudge against Crouch that much; he just wanted to regain his freedom so he could take care of Harry, rather than trying to find out who was responsible.

Even so, Crouch was investigated for this mistake, on suspicion of intentionally helping Peter Pettigrew cover up his crimes and damaging the reputation of the Ministry of Magic.

Moreover, this investigation lasted for six months.

Kyle looked at the photos in the newspaper.

In just six months, Barty Crouch was like a completely different person. His once neatly trimmed beard became messy, and he looked extremely listless.

In stark contrast to him, Fudge in the photo looks smug and self-satisfied.

"He's probably very happy now, no one can compete with him for the ministerial position..." Kyle thought to himself.

But Kyle didn't care about any of that.

He continued reading the newspaper.

The investigation into Crouch yielded no substantial evidence to prove his connection to the Death Eaters.

Therefore, even after the investigation concluded, he was still able to continue working at the Ministry of Magic and retain his position as Director.

The only difference was that he was transferred from the Department of International Magical Cooperation to the Department of Magical Transportation.

This is probably the most peripheral department of the Ministry of Magic, only slightly better than the Department of Magical Games and Sports.

Of course, it's not that the Department of Magical Transportation isn't important; it just depends on who you compare it to.

If given the same position, and asked to choose between the Department of International Magical Cooperation and the Department of Magical Transportation, absolutely no one would choose the latter.

In addition to Crouch, all the other people investigated were also removed from their original positions and reassigned to more peripheral departments, such as the Department of Magical Games and Sports.

Ludo Bagman should be very happy, after all, it's the first time so many people have been assigned to his department.

However, the Ministry of Magic didn't seem to want to publicize this matter. Logically, such important news should have been on the front page, but this time it only appeared on the back of the newspaper, in an inconspicuous corner, and the content was mostly mentioned in passing, with only one result.

"It must have been Fudge."

During the first Defence Against the Dark Arts in the morning, Sirius stood next to Kyle and said in a low voice.

Perhaps because of Crouch's situation, Professor Moody took leave, so before he returned, the fifth-year Defence Against the Dark Arts was also handed over to Sirius.

He asked the students to review the Shield Charm they had learned before, while he went over to Kyle and started talking about the contents of the newspaper.

"It must be Fudge, I guarantee it," Sirius continued. "He's an extremely power-hungry man, and he's just using this opportunity to remove those who support Crouch from their important positions."

"I don't know if you've noticed, but almost all of those being investigated this time are from the Department of International Magical Cooperation and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

While there were many others in the other sections who were involved in the matter and firmly supported Crouch, they were completely unaffected.

"Is that even a question?" Kyle said. "Apart from the Minister for Magic, no one else could mobilize so many people at once, even with a valid reason."

"I don't like Fudge." Sirius looked around, then lowered his voice again. "Even though I regained my freedom because of him, I just don't like him. He's too obsessed with power."

"Moreover, he hinted more than once that he wanted me to give more interviews to the Daily Prophet, emphasizing how I was acquitted."

"Clearly, he wanted to project an image of fairness and seriousness," Kyle said. "Fudge was the interrogator in the retrial, and you can't avoid mentioning him once you bring up that retrial."

"That's right, that's exactly it."

Sirius said somewhat irritably, "I've already been interviewed three times, but he keeps sending me messages by owl... it's like he wants me to recount my experiences in the Daily Prophet every day."

"Who told you to be portrayed as a tragic hero back then?" Kyle said with a laugh. "Of course he wanted to use that opportunity to promote himself."

"Who says otherwise?" Sirius shook his head. "I really didn't want to keep repeating those same things over and over again, so I just wanted to find some excuse to hide away, and that's how I ended up at Hogwarts."

"I never expected Dumbledore to agree to let me become a professor at Hogwarts... To be honest, I also have to thank Fudge; it was because he was so annoying that I had the opportunity to teach Harry myself."

Kyle looked at the cheerful Sirius and suddenly didn't know what to say. How to put it? He felt that Dumbledore was the one who should be most Fudge.

Dumbledore's biggest problem every year was finding a new Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, and when someone offered themselves up, he certainly couldn't refuse.

But judging from Sirius's expression, he didn't seem to care about that.

To avoid attracting too much attention, Sirius quickly went elsewhere to instruct those who had not yet completed the Shield Charm.

After months of not practicing, some people have almost forgotten the spell.

Sirius circled around for a while, and only came back to Kyle's side when class was almost over.

"I wonder what the Ministry of Magic will become," Sirius said, looking out the window. "Fudge's methods are very clever, but his personality... well, never mind, I only regained my freedom because of him."

He suddenly sighed. "In short, without Crouch's restraint, Fudge will never have to worry about anyone threatening his position as minister again. To be honest, this is not a good thing for the Ministry of Magic."

"Isn't there the Headmaster?" Kanna said from the side. "People say he trusts Professor Dumbledore, and every year when he encounters a problem, he comes to Hogwarts to ask the Headmaster for his opinion."

"Yes...and Dumbledore here," Sirius said, but his tone was somewhat forced.

He didn't know what had happened in previous years, but this year, since he became a professor, Fudge hadn't come to see Dumbledore even once.