Barty Crouch Jr. Crouch. then decisively committed suicide.
The method wasn't hard to guess: he activated a spell that had long been buried within his body.
Silence fell over the crowd as they stared at the corpse lying on the ground.
A concrete representation of death can always instill fear.
The sight of a living person ending their life in front of them is undoubtedly shocking, even if that person is a Death Eaters.
Phoebe took a step behind Madame Maxime, Madame Maxime gently patted her on the back.
Fred and George looked at Dumbledore with pale faces and unease.
Morris fell into deep thought.
Barty Crouch Jr..'s suicide undoubtedly signifies one thing: what he did must never be known to Dumbledore.
Considering his identity Death Eaters... could it be related to the resurrection of Voldemort?
Of course, this is just his irresponsible speculation.
"What should we do now?" Morris asked Dumbledore.
In fact, everyone present hoped that Dumbledore would speak as soon as possible, since he was the one in charge here.
Dumbledore remained calm as he observed Barty Crouch Jr..'s condition.
He said, "I want to see what he did before, Morris. Is his wand with you?"
Morris tossed Barty Crouch Jr.'s wand to Dumbledore, who caught it with the agility of Krum catching the Golden Snitch.
Then he took out his wand, aimed it at it, and began to cast the Prior Incantato —a spell that allows the wand to display recently cast spells.
The first one to appear was the Killing Curse.
When the alarming green light appeared in the haze of light created by the Prior Incantato, everyone instinctively held their breath.
Dumbledore waved his wand again. " Evanesco."
The light and mist dissipated.
"How did you survive this curse?" Fred asked Morris cautiously.
"Be prepared," Morris said calmly. "I dodged it."
George's forehead was now covered in cold sweat. He patted Morris on the shoulder without saying a word. Then, Morris walked up to Phoebe and sincerely apologized, " Phoebe, the ball—"
"It's alright," Phoebe interrupted him, her voice very soft, "This isn't the time to talk about this."
Her gaze passed over Morris, landed on the motionless corpse on the stone pillar, and then quickly moved away.
Why was Morris so calm after all that?
At that moment, the shadows cast by the Yanhua dissipated, and Barty Crouch Jr.'s body lost its support and fell to the ground.
Suddenly remembering something, Morris turned to Dumbledore and asked, " Professor Dumbledore, if this Moody is a fake, then what about the real one?"
Surely he can't be dead?
Dumbledore didn't answer; he simply crouched down and began searching Barty Crouch Jr..'s body.
A few seconds later, he pulled out a large bunch of keys.
He stood up, looked around at the people, and quickly made arrangements.
" Madame Maxime, take Miss Delacour back to the Great Hall. This matter will be resolved quickly, so there's no need to worry too much. I will contact the Ministry of Magic afterward to issue a statement."
Madame Maxime nodded, her large hand gently embracing Phoebe's shoulder.
Phoebe glanced at Morris with concern, then left the scene with Madame Maxime.
" Fred, George," Dumbledore turned to the twins, "Go find Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape, and have them go to Moody's office now, without alerting anyone else."
He paused, then added, "If you see Madam Pomfrey, please ask her to come over as well."
"Alright, Professor." Fred and George exchanged a glance, then turned and hurried into the castle.
The courtyard fell silent.
"What should we do with this body?" Morris asked.
"Let it stay here for a while," Dumbledore said, raising his wand toward the corpse.
The next second, the corpse began to blur, and eventually disappeared completely; it had vanished.
"Professionals will come to examine it in a while," Dumbledore said. "Now, come with me."
He led Morris all the way to Moody's office.
The door was locked.
" The Alohomora."
1
Dumbledore waved his wand and attempted to use a common unlocking charm on the door.
But the door didn't respond—it was protected by special magic.
Dumbledore, did not chant a spell, and with a flick of his wrist, a blinding silver light struck the door.
"Boom!"
The door didn't open; instead, it shattered into several pieces and crashed to the ground.
Morris's lips twitched slightly.
Although he didn't show it, he could sense that the current principal was very angry.
And he's very irritable.
The two stepped over the shards on the ground and entered the office.
Almost simultaneously, their eyes fell on a large box in the corner.
"Right there," Morris said.
This box is the only place here where someone can hide.
Dumbledore didn't need any prompting; he quickly stepped forward, knelt down, and tried to open the box with the set of keys he had just found.
The amazing thing is that every key on the keychain corresponds to a specific key.
Different items will be revealed inside when the box is opened with different keys.
Books, Sneakoscope, a quill pen, and various other odds and ends...
After trying several keys, finally, something unusual appeared inside the box: a dark hole.
The space below was quite large; in the dim light, one could barely make out a person's shadow.
Dumbledore waved his wand, and the man slowly floated up from the darkness.
This is the real Alastor Moody.
His face looked thin, as if he were malnourished; part of his hair had been cut off, and his signature prosthetic eye was gone, replaced by an empty eye socket.
" Barty Crouch Jr. probably didn't feed him much," Dumbledore, visibly relieved. "But he's alive."
Morris nodded and asked, "So when was Professor Moody replaced?"
"I think it was from the beginning," Dumbledore replied, looking at Moody's hair.
Morris didn't know what to say.
After all that, the real Moody's never actually got the job.
Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps came from outside the door.
Professor McGonagall, Snape, Madam Pomfrey, and the Weasley Twins all rushed into the room.
Dumbledore said, " Madam Pomfrey, Alastor is in your care. He's been hit by the Stunning Spell and the Imperius Curse, and he might be a little chilly."
" The Imperius Curse!?"
Madam Pomfrey exclaimed in surprise and rushed over, quickly beginning to check on Moody's condition.
Professor McGonagall stood in the center of the room, glanced back at the shattered door, and asked, " Albus, what happened here?"
Dumbledore glanced at Morris.
The meaning is clear: You explain.
So Morris immediately recounted in detail what had just happened.