Fudge left. He had arrived fuming, but departed in high spirits.
Barty Crouch, however, was rather displeased—he had been the previous head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and he had handled Sirius's case jointly with the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes.
The head of the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes back then had been Fudge. He certainly would not take the blame himself, which meant Barty would most likely become the scapegoat.
Will has really screwed me over, Barty Crouch thought glumly. Perhaps Will was too young to know about all this. Otherwise, with the shrewdness the young man had displayed, he would never have raised the matter to their faces.
But he was mistaken. It was not that Will knew nothing about it—who would care about a department head who was about to lose his position?
It was 1994, the year the Goblet of Fire tournament would begin. In the second half of the year, Barty Crouch would fall under the control of his own son, Barty Crouch Jr., through the Imperius Curse.
Fudge's party did not return directly to the Ministry of Magic. Instead, they went to Hogsmeade, where Fudge first paid a visit to the Aurors stationed there, telling them to stay alert, step up their patrols, and keep Hogwarts safe.
Then he went to The Three Broomsticks to give Rosmerta some business. Naturally, only he, Barty, and Scrimgeour could have a drink in the spirit of critical appraisal. The Aurors had to remain at their posts.
Christmas had just passed, and it was not yet a Hogsmeade weekend for the students. The Three Broomsticks did little business in January.
"Rosmerta, my dear, a Firewhisky on the rocks," Fudge called to the graceful, shapely landlady.
There was no longer any trace of agitation