Ron's Deduction

Barty Crouch Sr. had already made up his mind. (Reading)

At this point, he was unaware that Barty Crouch Jr.'s memories had also been altered by Skylar. Barty Crouch Jr. believed he had killed his damned father and had lowered his guard. Coupled with the injuries he had sustained in the previous battle, he fell into a deep sleep after taking the potion. Fortunately, the Polyjuice Potion he took was not the version Hermione had prepared in their second year, but a version personally modified by Voldemort, whose effects lasted for eight hours, enough for him to remain in his transformed state until he woke up.

Therefore, even though Dumbledore was in charge of Hogwarts, Barty Crouch Sr. still couldn't feel at ease.

He didn't know how Barty Crouch Jr.. had infiltrated Hogwarts, nor how Barty Crouch Jr.. had managed to ambush him so precisely in the Forbidden Forest. He just had a feeling that he was still in grave danger.

So he straightened his clothes, grabbed his wand, and prepared to sneak away from the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey, drawn by his commotion, was about to investigate when he cast a Memory Charm on her. This way, apart from Dumbledore and Skylar, no one knew he was at Hogwarts. His deduction was that while Barty Crouch Jr. knew he wasn't dead, he had been attacked while in a state of confusion and would most likely have fled in the opposite direction from Hogwarts, making it unlikely he would have guessed he was still Hogwarts.

Gryffindor Common Room.

Harry, Ron, Hermione sat in a secluded corner, discussing amongst themselves with grave expressions.

"So," Hermione said, rubbing her forehead, "A mysterious figure used the darkness to attack you, Malfoy, and Mr. Crouch, then let you go unharmed, was eventually defeated by Malfoy, and Mr. Crouch has disappeared without a trace?"

"I'm not entirely sure either," Harry said, shaking his head. "But Professor Dumbledore used a strange spell; he sprayed a large cloud of golden powder from his wand in an attempt to deduce what had happened..."

"That's a tracking charm!" Hermione exclaimed sharply. "It can detect magical traces that occurred in a certain place within a certain time frame, including the footprints of wizards and Fantastic Beasts, as well as the spells that were cast there. The charm is 'Trace Revealing Charm'..."

"Yes! That's the spell. I remember Professor Dumbledore used this incantation," Harry continued. "Professor Dumbledore deduced from the golden powder that, besides Malfoy and Crouch, there was also the footprint of an adult wizard at the scene, and then there were traces of the Wind-Spinning Vortex Curse and the Killing Curse... According to him, the Killing Curse obviously missed its target, and Malfoy successfully repelled the attackers."

"The Killing Curse?" Hermione and Ron exclaimed in unison. They had only heard Harry's brief description and had no idea that such a dangerous curse as the Killing Curse was involved. They now realized that the actual situation was probably far more perilous than they had imagined.

"Harry," Hermione said, staring intently into Harry's eyes, her tone extremely serious, "Why did you go to the Forbidden Forest alone with Malfoy? What did he say to you?"

Harry remembered the topic about Cho Chang and suddenly stammered, unable to answer. Ron raised an eyebrow, seemingly understanding, while Hermione continued to look doubtful.

"Malfoy invited you there, and everything that followed just happened to happen in that place," Ron said casually. "I find that a bit suspicious; it's too much of a coincidence."

Hermione's eyebrows furrowed, and she said coldly, "Ron, you don't mean to say that Skylar has a problem?"

A fleeting, unnoticed pain and resentment flashed across Ron's pupils—

Hermione was still the same as always. She might be a clever, learned little witch, but she was definitely not a skilled con artist. Ron had only given a subtle hint, and Hermione couldn't help but reveal her true thoughts—

Hermione, do you know that just now, you inadvertently said "Skylar" instead of calling him "Malfoy" like we do?

Harry, completely oblivious to the complex inner monologues of his two friends, continued, "Ron isn't entirely wrong. Malfoy suddenly called me to such a secluded corner, and I thought we had some important, private conversation, but he just—" His face flushed, and he quickly rattled off the rest, "... all unimportant, nonsensical topics, as if... he already knew what was going to happen there..."

"Aha! Could it be that," Ron exclaimed excitedly, as if he had just grasped a crucial idea, "That this was all a staged event orchestrated by Malfoy himself, and that he was the one who attacked Harry and Crouch!"

"He was right next to Harry, how could he possibly attack himself?" Hermione said coldly.

"Malfoy knows so much Dark Arts, what's so surprising about him knowing a spell that can split himself in two?" Ron retorted, not to be outdone.

"Then tell me, what's his purpose in doing this?" Hermione said irritably. "Just to scare Harry?"

Ron's lips curled into a slight smile. He tilted his head forward, bringing himself closer to Harry and Hermione, and said in a deep voice, "To create a witness—Harry is his witness. And Mr. Crouch is his target."

He lowered his voice again, a chilling undertone in his tone, "He first created a scenario where someone wanted to kill Crouch, with Harry acting as a witness. Then he found a way to get Harry away, and only after Harry left the scene did he strike Crouch."

Harry listened, nodding repeatedly. Ron's reasoning was meticulous and logical; otherwise, it would be impossible to explain why Skylar would ask him to meet him alone in the Forbidden Forest to discuss those topics about Cho Chang.

Hermione was somewhat unconvinced. She wanted to refute him, but couldn't find any flaws in Ron's reasoning. After a long silence, she finally said, "Given what happened, even if Skylar didn't go to Professor Dumbledore, do you think Professor Dumbledore wouldn't have gone to him? If Skylar really did kill Mr. Crouch..."

Hermione couldn't help but shudder at her own conjecture. She was still an innocent little witch who had never seen death, and she couldn't accept the idea that Skylar had killed someone, even if it was just a conjecture.

She continued, "If that were the case, do you think Professor Dumbledore wouldn't have noticed? I simply don't believe that Skylar, a fourth-year student, could kill an adult wizard without a wand and then effortlessly deceive the most powerful wizard of the century. If even Dumbledore thought he was alright..."

(Note: Hermione said she didn't need a wand because a wand can be used with the Prior Incantato to see the spells that have been cast.)

"I agree with what you said. If Malfoy killed someone, it's indeed unlikely he could hide it from Professor Dumbledore, but—" A shrewd glint flashed in Ron's eyes as he said coldly, "Malfoy is more cunning than his Death Eaters father and his silly brother... He's not Death Eaters, indiscriminate killing is definitely not his style. In fact, for someone as pragmatic as him, anything that harms others without benefiting himself would never be his style..."

"Attacking Crouch, killing Crouch, that's something Death Eaters would do..." Ron narrowed his eyes slightly, a hint of confidence flashing between his eyelids. "Who is Crouch? He's the head of the Ministry of Magic, a very powerful and influential figure. And Sirius Black even said he ran for Minister for Magic, which shows he has considerable prestige and a large following within the Ministry of Magic."

"If I were Malfoy, killing him would undoubtedly be the most foolish decision... Only by controlling him and making him work for me can I maximize the effectiveness of the whole affair..."

Hermione's face turned deathly pale. She stared incredulously at Ron's familiar face, unable to believe these words were coming from Ron mouth. Suddenly, Ron seemed like a stranger to her.

Harry hadn't thought that far ahead. He pondered for a moment, then frowned and said, "You mean the Imperius Curse that Professor Moody mentioned? Malfoy is just a fourth-year student like us. Is he capable of casting that spell? Even if he is, Crouch isn't an ordinary person. He works at the Ministry of Magic and frequently meets with many powerful wizards. When he reappears, is it possible that Malfoy's spell won't be seen through by others?"

"The Imperius Curse is just one possibility. There are countless kinds of magic in this world, and there are always some that even Dumbledore has never encountered..." Ron said quickly.

"Wait a minute," Hermione interrupted Ron forcefully just as he was about to continue recounting the various obscure and rare Dark Arts he had heard about from his father and other relatives.

Hermione took a deep breath, her voice turning cold. "Fine, you two are jumping to conclusions so quickly, as if Skylar really is the kind of villain you're all talking about... Haven't you considered that your preconceived prejudices against him are preventing you from making an objective and accurate judgment?"

Sensing the displeasure in Hermione's tone, Ron's body seemed to tremble almost imperceptibly. He knew he had crossed Hermione's line. He dared not look at Hermione again, instead shifting his gaze to the ground, and said softly, "These are all just deductions. Hermione, you're taking it too seriously."

Hermione snorted and ended the conversation. The three of them returned to their respective dorm rooms, the atmosphere somewhat unpleasant as they parted.

The next day was Tuesday. As soon as it was light, Harry, Ron, and Hermione sneaked out of their dormitory and rushed to the Owlery to send a message to Sirius Black. Now they stood there gazing at the misty grounds, all three of them with puffy eyelids and pale faces, because they had been discussing Mr. Crouch's matter late into the night.

They ran into the Weasley Twins arguing there. The Weasley Twins seemed to be arguing about whether or not to send a letter that could potentially involve blackmail.

Ron looked very pale. During his cold war with Harry, he had spent almost all his time with the Weasley Twins. He knew very well that the twins had been thinking about making money all year, because they wanted to open a joke shop. When the twins first proposed the idea during the summer vacation, the whole family thought they were just saying it to make their mother angry, but they were serious.

Opening a shop requires capital, and Mr. Weasley clearly can't help them, so they're desperate for money. Ron worries they might take risks and do illegal things to make money.