Crouch Gone Mad

After leaving Professor Flitwick's office, William ran into Hagrid at the entrance to the Great Hall.

Hagrid's hesitant expression resembled that of someone constipated.

After his conversation with Professor Flitwick, William understood and quickly said, "I've chosen to take the Care of Magical Creatures next year."

Hagrid took a breath and tried to pat William on the shoulder, but William dodged it.

If you don't dodge when that slap comes down, you'll definitely be kneeling on the ground.

"Not bad, at least you have some conscience," Hagrid said angrily. "This year, neither George nor Fred chose my class."

"Those two rascals, I've been so good to them for nothing! If they ever sneak into the Forbidden Forest at night again, I'll definitely deduct points from their licenses."

William smiled helplessly.

Cedric, however, chose Hagrid's class.

Of course, he should choose that. To make a wand, he needs to have a good understanding of Fantastic Beasts.

Hagrid always brings dangerous Magical Creatures, and he gets... very happy with them!

"Will Qiu take my class in sixth grade?"

When Hagrid asked some awkward questions, William could only vaguely reply, "I don't know, she didn't tell me."

Qiu definitely didn't choose it, need I say more? She'd had enough of the Blast-Ended Skrewt and decided to drop the course.

She used to really enjoy the course, but Hagrid had a very effective way of discouraging her from taking it.

But since it wasn't easy to say it outright, he could only avoid Hagrid for the rest of the fall semester.

Not just Autumn, Marietta... many students decided not to choose. They were truly terrified of Hagrid.

Seeing Hagrid's expression, William changed the subject and whispered:

"How are things between you and Madame Maxime?"

"Don't mention her!" Hagrid said angrily, clenching his fists. "I never want to see her again. Not in my life."

Goodness, William is just... goodness.

Who was it that said they wanted to see Madame Maxime, the kind of person who wants to see her for a lifetime?

Now they're disappearing again?

Hopefully, Hagrid will stand up for himself and won't embarrass himself in the future.

"Come on, I'll take you to see some amazing treasures, but don't tell anyone."

Hagrid, looking rather furtive, pulled William outside.

They walked along the lawn to the Quidditch Pitch, then entered the pitch through a gap between the stands.

The Quidditch Pitch is no longer flat and smooth; it seems as if someone has built countless long, low walls on it.

These low walls are intricate and meander, stretching out in all directions.

Hagrid clapped his hands triumphantly, pointed to his masterpiece, and asked, "I think you can probably guess what's going to happen here, right?"

William surveyed the intricate network of low walls and guessed, "A maze?"

"Yes, a brilliant idea." Hagrid pulled William closer.

"The Third Task is very simple. The Triwizard Tournament Cup is located in the center of the maze. Champion is the first to find it will get full marks."

"It can't be just a maze, can it?" William quickly memorized the paths.

If it were just a maze, the Champion could easily obtain a map of it beforehand. That would make it far too easy.

"There will still be many obstacles." Hagrid's mood improved, and he said cheerfully, "I will provide a whole bunch of little cuties—very docile Magical Creatures."

There are still some spells that need to be removed...

A very docile Magical Creatures... If someone else had said that, William would have pictured an animal like Unicorn.

Since it was Hagrid who said it, images of fire-breathing dragons and Blast-Ended Skrewt appeared in his mind...

Hagrid will certainly do everything in his power to make this maze less "dangerous".

Hagrid led William around the maze for a while longer before leaving the playground.

Hagrid went inside the castle, while William sat alone by the Black Lake.

He waved his wand, conjuring a quill and parchment, and quickly drew the maze's path based on his memory.

A soft footstep sounded, and William caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of his eye, a smile playing on his lips.

Hermione quietly walked over and stood behind him without saying a word.

She bent down, rested her head on his shoulder, and watched him scribble and draw.

Hermione blinked and asked softly, "Is this the Third Task? It looks like a maze."

"Yes, Hagrid just told me. To set up a maze in the Quidditch arena, you need to memorize the routes."

Hermione watched for a while, then jokingly said, "I've finally discovered what you're not good at."

Well, it is indeed crooked and distorted; William could be considered a truly terrible artist.

He stopped writing, hugged Hermione, and turned to look at the Black Lake, saying:

"Anne should draw it; she's better at this."

"You can learn too, so you can draw my portrait in the future."

Hermione looked up, resting her head on his chin, and said matter-of-factly.

That makes sense!

William really should learn to paint; he could paint Hermione's portrait.

It's the kind of drawing Jack did for Rose in Titanic!

William's lips curled into a smile as he reached out to stroke Hermione's chin, remaining silent with a knowing grin.

After a long pause, the girl angrily shouted, "Where are you touching!"

William looked down in surprise and sheepishly withdrew his paw.

It turned out that I had accidentally touched a small hill.

Hermione's face was flushed, she was biting her lip, and panting heavily.

Just then, footsteps sounded behind him again. William turned around and frowned.

Krum slowly walked towards the two of them along the Black Lake.

"Miss Granger, may I speak to you?" Krum asked in broken English.

Hermione peeked out from William's arms, slightly surprised.

"Sure, no problem."

"Can you come over there with me?"

Krum clearly didn't want William to hear it.

Hermione shook her head immediately and said, "No need, let's just talk here."

"Oh, okay..." Krum hesitated, staring at William with a gloomy expression.

William smiled and nuzzled Hermione's hair with his chin.

Krum was gathering his emotions. He hesitated for a long time, and just as he was about to speak, an unusual commotion came from the reeds not far away.

William stood up, and Hermione did the same, immediately drawing their wands and looking ahead warily.

A man suddenly stumbled out of the reeds.

William squinted.

--Barty Crouch

He looked like he had been wandering for many days; the knees of his robe were torn and Scabbers with blood, his face was covered with wounds, his beard was unshaven, and his complexion was ashen and haggard.

His appearance was peculiar, but his behavior was the strangest.

Mr. Crouch seemed to be talking to someone, someone only he could see. He was muttering to himself and gesturing.

William and Hermione exchanged a glance, both carrying their wands, and cautiously approached Crouch.

"Mr. Crouch, weren't you going to see Ludo?" William asked. "How did it turn out like this?"

Mr. Crouch didn't look at him, but kept talking to the reeds beside him.

"... Weatherby, after you've finished this, send an owl to Dumbledore to confirm the number of Durmstrang students participating in the Triwizard Tournament. Karkaroff sent word that they want to increase the number of students..."

"Then send an owl to Madame Maxime; she might also be increasing the number of students, since Karkaroff's numbers have increased..."

"What's wrong with him?" Hermione asked warily. "He seems to be talking to Percy."

During the summer vacation, Crouch kept calling Percy Weatherby, and the twins even used that name to tease Percy.

Mr. Crouch's eyes bulged out like a mental patient's, staring straight ahead while muttering to himself.

Then, he staggered a few steps to the side and fell to his knees with a thud.

"Isn't that the referee? What's wrong with him?" Krum also came over, looking down at Crouch in alarm.

"Dumbledore!" Mr. Crouch gasped for breath.

He lunged forward and grabbed William's robe, but his eyes were fixed on the top of William's head.

"I want to see... Dumbledore..."

"Okay." William nodded. "I'll take you to him now. What happened? Who attacked you?"

"I did... something... stupid..." Crouch said, panting.

He looked completely insane, his eyes bulging out and rolling around, drool dripping from his chin.

"You must... tell... Dumbledore!"

"Tell him what?" Hermione asked.

But Crouch went into a frenzy again, continuing to mutter to himself:

"Thank you, Weatherby. I'd like to have a cup of tea after you've taken care of that. My wife and son will be here soon; we're going to a concert with the Fudge tonight."

Crouch seemed to have gotten the time wrong, mentioning his wife and son as if he had traveled back decades.

"Some of you go find Professor Dumbledore and bring him here. I'll keep watch here."

Krum looked terrified.

William and Hermione rolled their eyes simultaneously.

Leaving now to call for help would be foolish.

Crouch's behavior is unusual; he must know something.

After he leaves, Crouch might be killed.

Besides, why would you need to personally call someone... Are you some kind of wizard?!

William waved his wand, and a silver eagle emerged from the tip.

It spread its wings and flew in a circle before heading towards the Headmaster's Office.

William picked up the Safety Watch, intending to find some Calming Draught to give Crouch.

A green light suddenly shot out sinisterly from the reeds.

(Please vote with your recommendation tickets and monthly passes, everyone!)