Bellatrix Lestrange frowned as the smoke screen rose again.
"How does he still have that thing?" She snapped her wand like a whip. "Confringo! Skin-Splitting Curse! Serpensortia!"
"Salvio Hexia!" Barty Crouch Jr. raised his wand and circled it around his body, immediately shrouding the interrogation room in a field of magical energy.
"Now that's better..." he said unhurriedly. "Although I don't think he'll escape, it's still necessary to take precautions..."
"Bella, don't be so ruthless..." He looked at Bellatrix Lestrange as she cast spell after spell. "At least don't kill them yet."
"Since there's a second intruder, it means they've discovered that those two Aurors are missing. There will definitely be a third, a fourth... perhaps even more intruders."
"The Ministry of Magic thinks it has every advantage right now, so it'll definitely press its victory. It'll be hard for us to capture any more people who know something. We still need to find out the Dark Lord's whereabou—"
He suddenly raised his wand and drew a "1" in the air before him. "Protego!"
Bellatrix Lestrange asked, "Did you hear that rat casting a spell?"
"While you were attacking, he kept resisting with the Shield Charm." Barty Crouch Jr.'s tone carried some confusion as well. "Strange... Why would he use the Confundus Charm?"
Bellatrix Lestrange said impatiently, "Then once we catch that rat, we'll make him explain himself properly!"
"He shouldn't be able to produce another smoke screen." Barty Crouch Jr. said, "Based on what happened before, it should be time for him to renew it, but he hasn't..."
Just as he spoke, footsteps suddenly rang out.
Barty Crouch Jr. stared intently toward the smoke screen. Torchlight flickered uneasily, tearing the silhouette behind the smoke into a wavering shape.
The footsteps grew faster and closer. Neville burst out of the