Rest had nothing to do with Mr. Weasley. After downing a glass of whisky and wolfing down two sandwiches, he left The Burrow despite Mrs. Weasley's protests.
Percy eagerly followed him.
Su Er guessed that he wanted to distinguish himself during this period, hoping to win his superiors' favor and climb the ranks.
After breakfast, they rested briefly until noon. That afternoon, at Fred and George's suggestion, they played a game of Quidditch in the garden, mainly targeting the gnomes scurrying through the grass and batting them back and forth through the air with sticks.
It was nearly midnight that day when Su Er finally heard rustling downstairs from his room. Mr. Weasley had returned, and he listened intently for quite a while.
He caught snatches of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's conversation.
"Barty, he..."
"Take the blame..."
"Resign... might face imprisonment..."
"Dumbledore..."
He could not make out what followed. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had probably gone back to their bedroom and shut the door.
The next day, the latest Daily Prophet arrived. The page featured a large picture of Barty Crouch bowing at a lectern, along with an oversized, bold headline-"Barty Crouch resigns to take responsibility."
As expected, Fudge was clearly not going to make his own trusted subordinate take the blame. His only choice was Barty Crouch Sr.
The second page carried Fudge's speech. He presented the Dark Mark incident as a wizard dressing up as a Death Eater in an attempt to attract attention at the Quidditch World Cup, offered apologies for the distress caused to the public, and so on...
The turmoil surrounding the World Cup final seemed to have subsided just like that, but how many undercurrents were surging beneath the surface?
Su Er did not know, nor was he interested. After resting at The Burrow