Hearing Snape speak of his opinion of Wizet Lovegood, Barty Crouch Jr. could not help feeling surprised.
Earlier, he had been ordered to have Snape audience with the Dark Lord, which counted as their first formal encounter, and he had witnessed Snape's true strength firsthand.
Combined with what he had learned about Snape from other Death Eaters more than a decade ago, as well as the intelligence he had obtained by interrogating Igor Karkaroff, he had come to understand Snape better.
And precisely because he understood him, he had never expected Snape to give Wizet Lovegood such high praise.
Alongside his surprise, a trace of indignation rose in his heart.
To him, Snape elevating someone as treacherous and shortsighted as Wizet Lovegood was practically an act of contempt toward the Dark Lord.
The Dark Lord was the truly brilliant and resourceful great wizard. For Snape to use so many flattering words to describe Wizet before the Dark Lord was simply an insult!
Barty Crouch Jr.'s father had been a department head at the Ministry of Magic. He had seen plenty of cases where an incapable person was put out front while those with real ability operated behind the scenes.
In his view, Wizet Lovegood was playing precisely that role—a puppet Dumbledore had placed before the public, while the truly treacherous and shortsighted Dumbledore pulled the strings from behind.
That was why the overwhelming wave of reports about Wizet Lovegood had died down so quickly some time ago.
"Master, everything I could think of..." Snape said in a hoarse voice, "I have already said."
If this had been after the start of term, every time he said something like that, he would have deducted five points from Ravenclaw to remind Wizet not to become arrogant or complacent.
But it was summer