"Three, two, one-a new day. Merry Christmas!" In the Chamber of Secrets, Brian clinked glasses with his clone, completing their little ritual to celebrate the arrival of the holidays.
"Once everything's over, we'll have to make up for this with a Christmas Feast with all the drinks we want," Brian's Clone said with a sigh. "Damn Voldemort, insisting on stirring up trouble right before Christmas."
"Yeah, damn Voldemort-but there will be a Christmas Feast, and we'll get each other Christmas presents too. I'm rather looking forward to that part this year. All these years, I've always struggled and worried over choosing presents for myself. If it were you, what would you get me for Christmas?" Brian asked curiously.
"That's a question worth thinking about. I'm already struggling. Maybe a bottle of wine,
"or some bizarre stuffed insect. Hmm-what would you get me? Anyway, I strongly suspect we'll give each other the same thing. People always fall back on something familiar when they can't decide." Brian's Clone spread his hands. "Just like the people at the Ministry of Magic have once again decided Barty Crouch is the best person to stand against Voldemort."
"But I have to say, Barty Crouch might really be a good choice. If his son weren't a Death Eater,
"his chances of losing the election back then would probably have been only ten percent. Sirius told me that himself, and he has no fondness whatsoever for Crouch. That was the man who sent him to Azkaban without a trial," Brian said fairly. "I mean, if Barty Crouch still has the resolve he had when he sent his own son to prison, he'll definitely do better than Scrimgeour."
Brian had already learned about the unrest at the Ministry of Magic and Voldemort gathering the Death Eaters from Dumbledore