Justice on Their Lips, Business on Their Minds

William appeared in a special room.

The room was dimly lit, with no windows and only torches mounted on wall supports.

Rows of wizards sat on tiered benches around the perimeter, while an empty chair stood in the center of the room, its armrests bound with chains.

Two Professor Dumbledore sat side by side next to him.

One of Dumbledore's didn't move or speak, but stared at the corner of the room in the distance, where there was a door.

Another person noticed William, turned his head slightly, and quickly caught sight of Harry had suddenly appeared.

Dumbledore narrowed his eyes and looked at William with a questioning gaze.

"Harry's scar suddenly hurts." William also glanced towards the door.

This is clearly a trial conducted by the Ministry of Magic, and the memories come from Dumbledore himself.

Speaking of this, we must mention Professor Dumbledore's three new hobbies:

Disciplining the Boy Who Lived, watching porn, and searching for a new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor.

William accompanied the principal to see the environment for watching adult films many times.

Like William, who collected hair, Dumbledore collected many memories. When he had nothing else to do, he would listen to these "CDs" of the past.

This memory is at least ten years old. Because Crouch, standing to one side, is actually on trial.

Crouch was marginalized long ago, especially after Fudge came to power. Since he was able to conduct the trial, it was naturally based on memories from a long time ago.

Upon hearing William's words, Dumbledore's sharp eyes turned to Harry, staring at the scars.

"Where am I?" Harry was startled to see two Dumbledore.

He looked at Dumbledore, puzzled, then at the silent crowd waiting, and then at William.

"This is my memory, Harry," Dumbledore said calmly.

Crouch suddenly spoke, his face grim, a vein throbbing at his temple.

"Bring him in." His voice echoed in the silent dungeon.

The door in the corner of the room opened, and six Dementor led four people in.

Many people turned to look at Mr. Crouch, and a few whispered among themselves.

The Dementor placed the four wizards into four chained chairs in the center of the dungeon.

One of the shorter, stout men stared blankly at Crouch; the other, thinner man, seemed more nervous, his eyes darting towards the audience.

A woman with thick, glossy black hair and long eyelashes, looking as if she were sitting on a throne.

There was also a boy who looked about seventeen or eighteen years old, and he seemed completely terrified, trembling all over.

Crouch stood up, looking down at the four men with extreme hatred on his face.

"You are brought before the Wizengamot to await sentencing," he said clearly, "Your crimes are so heinous!"

"Father," said the straw-haired boy, "Father... please..."

William was stunned for a moment; he knew what kind of trial this was.

During the summer vacation, Crouch contacted him and Hermione because of the Albania situation.

At that time, William had investigated Crouch himself.

Crouch's past wasn't exactly a secret; older wizards knew about it, so it was easy to investigate.

His life can be roughly divided into two phases.

His first half of life was naturally smooth sailing; he was a winner in life.

Born into Pure-blood families, he excelled academically in school... and served as Prefect and student council president.

After graduating and joining the Ministry of Magic, he rose through the ranks, eventually competing for the Minister for Magic, and at one point even surpassed his rival Fudge in popularity.

But one event changed the rest of his life, dividing it into two phases.

After Voldemort's downfall, his son Barty Crouch Jr. Crouch Jr. was accused of being Death Eaters.

Barty Crouch Jr.. is best known for kidnapping the Longbottoms with the Lestrange Brothers and Bellatrix, and then using the Cruciatus Curse on them.

It was after this incident that Crouch's reputation was completely ruined, and he lost out to Fudge.

This was precisely the moment of that trial.

"Father, I didn't!" young Barty Crouch Jr. screamed. "I didn't, I swear—Father! I'm not Death Eaters!"

"Mother!" he cried again, "Mother, stop him! Mother, I didn't do those things, it wasn't me!"

Barty Crouch Jr.'s mother began to sob, her body swaying back and forth.

Crouch ignored him and coldly announced that the four men would be sentenced to life imprisonment.

The Dementor slowly walked in and led them away.

"I am your son!" Barty Crouch Jr.. shouted at Crouch, "Your son!"

"You're not my son!" Crouch roared, his eyes suddenly bulging outwards. "I have no son!"

Memories may change, it's still the same dungeon, but the trial is over.

The crowd slowly left the dungeon, but no one left immediately; instead, they all secretly looked behind them.

Crouch's wife—the frail witch—was frantically pounding her husband's chest and biting his arm.

You are murdering my son! You are ruining him!

"He's not our son, he's nothing."

Crouch hugged his wife tightly and replied, "He was just a Death Eaters. Sending him to Azkaban was a good thing!"

"No!" the witch cried, her voice breaking. "That's our son."

He's still a child!

What kind of person would send their son to Azkaban when they could easily get him out of prison?

"Barty, I beg you, let him out! I beg you!"

"You know nothing!" Crouch shouted, his voice filled with anguish.

Soon, the crowd disappeared, another memory appeared, and the scene slowly changed.

The dungeon transformed into a long, black metal corridor, at the very end of which was a pure white cell.

At the end of the corridor, there were two Dementor guarding that cell.

In the distance stood three wizards: Crouch and his wife, and a bald, middle-aged wizard.

Although Crouch was still exceptionally clean-cut, his temples were now streaked with gray compared to the last trial.

His wife aged even more rapidly, becoming so thin she was just skin and bones, and seemed to be dying.

The voice was clear and distinct—very harsh, like an argument; it was the voice of a middle-aged wizard.

"Yes, yes, you've come all this way," he said, "But without the Minister for Magic's signature, entry is prohibited."

The ministry stipulates that there are no exceptions.

After the fall of the Ministry of Magic, Azkaban imprisoned a large number of wizards.

The number of Dementor is severely insufficient.

The Ministry of Magic, also worried about Death Eaters breakout, sent a group of wizards to work with the Dementor to keep watch over the prison.

The middle-aged wizard was the warden of Azkaban.

Crouch asked coldly, "Is he being treated well?"

"That's good enough, a single room. Two meals a day," the warden said. "This isn't the Leaky Cauldron."

Is my son safe?

"Safe? He's a Death Eaters." The warden said dismissively, "To be honest, those Dementor love people like him."

Young, with fond memories, very fresh... Your son howls almost every night.

In this respect, he's far inferior to Sirius Black.

The witch gripped Crouch's arm tightly, her face growing even paler.

The warden lowered his voice and said, "To be honest, your son might not last much longer."

"I demand that he be treated by a healer from St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries." Crouch stared at the middle-aged wizard.

"Don't be ridiculous, he's just a Death Eaters," the warden scoffed.

"However, it might still be approved; we have a separate system so no one will know."

Although official document approvals can take one or two weeks... or even a month... to review...

What are you looking at?

"Oh," the warden quickly said, "The conditions here are terrible."

He paused for a moment. "Sometimes, when relevant parties, such as yourself, make donations to Azkaban staff, it can speed up our process."

Crouch remained silent.

"Mr. Crouch," the warden lowered his voice and continued, "For a family like yours, Galleon is not a problem; there's always a way."

I know people in the ministry. Although you have been transferred from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and are no longer the director, you still have connections.

"If you and I work together, let alone a therapist, maybe we can even get your son out of here..."

Crouch stared wide-eyed.

"Seriously, look at those officials in the Ministry of Magic these days. They talk about justice all the time, but all they care about is business."

Of course, I'm not referring to you.

The warden said with a fawning expression, "Let's not talk about anything else, just take Malfoy for example."

Who doesn't know he's Death Eaters? But how many Galleon did he send, and how many connections did he cultivate?

They're not "on our side" yet, they're just "controlled by the Imperius Curse"... that's all!

Crouch's face grew increasingly grim.

The warden continued, "If all the fees are in place, and your son also says he's being held captive..."

Crouch responded coldly, "Your suggestion is illegal, and I can't let him out, especially not in this kind of situation."

And what you just said...

"Once you step out that door, I won't acknowledge you," the warden sneered. "You expect those two Dementor to testify for you?"

"Don't you feel guilty earning these Galleon?" Crouch stared at the middle-aged wizard.

The warden pulled out two Galleon and scoffed, "Which of these two Galleon is noble, and which is despicable?"

"And you'd rather leave him here? Let me tell you, your son won't last more than two months."

"I want to talk to him, right now!"

"As I said, we have regulations. Your son cannot see you without the minister's signature... unless you are willing to discuss certain issues."

A cold silence followed for a moment, then Crouch said in a gentler tone, "Let us see him first, then we'll talk about what happens next."

I don't want to be disturbed in any way.

The warden hesitated for a moment, but then let Crouch and his wife in.

The door slammed shut.

The warden stood far from the door, because there were two Dementor guarding it.

He felt very uncomfortable standing there.

With Dementor guarding the prison, Crouch couldn't possibly break out of the prison.

Half an hour later,

Crouch and his wife came out. Crouch grew increasingly cold, pulling his wife along.

His wife seemed frightened by their son and moved quickly, as if trying to escape the prison.

The warden left with the two men.

Just as they were about to leave the corridor, two Dementor entered the room, took Barty Crouch Jr. out, and prepared to send him back to his cell.

"We should go back." Dumbledore stood up.

William stood up and reached out to support Harry's elbow.

The three slowly rose into the air, Azkaban dissipated, and in the blink of an eye, only darkness remained.

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