Krum opened his eyes, his face blank. As soon as he saw Dumbledore, he struggled to his feet

"He hit me!" Krum muttered as he reached out to his head, "that old madman hit me! I was looking at where Potter had gone, and he was attacking me from behind!"

"You lie down quietly for a while. Dumbledore said kindly, not taking Crum's words.

"What's going on?" Professor McGonagall asked, wearing her tall pointed hat and dressed in an old, dull gray lady's robe, as she looked at Krum lying on the floor.

"Minerva, you go to Madam Pomfrey now and ask her to make some potions to relieve the stun effect of the Stuna Curse, and then go to Karkaroff and explain to him that his students may have been attacked, and I still need to check the clues here, and I can't get out. Dumbledore said solemnly.

"Okay. Professor McGonagall nodded, didn't ask any more questions, and quickly left, immediately realizing the gravity of the situation.

Karkarov hurriedly followed, wearing the glossy silver-white fur robe, his face pale and anxious.

"What's going on?" he exclaimed when he saw Krum lying on the ground with Dumbledore and Harry standing by him, "What's going on?"

"I've been beaten!" said Krum, as he slowly sat up and rubbed his head with his hands, "I heard that the man's name was Crouch—that was the ......."

"Crouch hit you? Crouch hit you? The triwizard referee hit you?"

"Igor—" Dumbledore tried to speak, but Karkaroff straightened up, tugging at his fur robe, his face grim.

"Madame Maxim, are you here too?" Karkaroff's voice was raised high, as if her arrival had made him feel more confident.

"Headmaster Dumbledore, I don't think it's just Mr. Karkaroff, I need a reasonable explanation as well. Madame Maxim shook the opal jewelry on her wrist and said aggressively.

Events seemed to spread faster than expected, and soon Beauxbatons' warrior, Fleur Delacul, arrived on the scene, even though she wasn't with her headmaster at the time.

As for Malfoy, he "didn't know" from what source he learned the news, and walked over slowly.

Dumbledore glanced in his direction, seemingly inadvertently, and then quickly straightened his eyes and made eye contact with the other two headmasters.

"Look, now that all the warriors are here, of course, only then can we outsiders be "qualified" to sing a diametrical show with you, right?" said Karkarov in a flamboyant voice.

"Calm down. Dumbledore said calmly.

"How do you want me to calm down!" Karkaroff said manically, few people noticed a hint of anxiety and fear in his tone, and he subconsciously grabbed one of his arms, as if something was unusual.

"I think it's likely that Mr. Potter isn't telling the truth, and we may need something else to find out. Snape suddenly appeared behind Dumbledore with his shiny black hair, like a black cloud, and his deep eyes constantly flashed with malice, staring at Harry so tightly that he couldn't help but get goosebumps.

Harry immediately thought of the "truth elixir" that Snape had threatened him in class

"Severus. Dumbledore coughed heavily, his blue eyes flickering, and Snape shut up in amusement.

Snape's silence seemed to be more effective than Dumbledore's own dissuasion, and seeing Snape stop, Karkaroff actually restrained his bad temper for the first time.

The group pestered here for a while, perhaps knowing that it was useless to stop here, and finally left, but while leaving, Karkaroff kept shouting that Dumbledore had to give him an explanation.

"Thank you, Alasto. As Moody and Dumbledore passed by, Dumbledore said in a very soft voice, as if talking to himself.

"It's a little, but it's totally acceptable. Moody replied, the MONOCULUS throbbing with delight, and he grinned contentedly.

Back in time to when the last holiday season had just begun.

"Albus, is there anything new, or is it ...... What else are you looking for from me?" Moody asked, pushing open the door to the principal's office.

Professor Dumbledore's phoenix Fawkes perched on a golden perch by the door, the size of a swan, with bright red and golden feathers. It shakes its long tail feathers

"Alasto, sit. Dumbledore pulled a chair from behind him and moved it in front of Moody.

It was a hot summer afternoon, and it was so hot outside that it was tiring, and even Moody, who had just come in through the door, still had a few drops of sweat on his forehead, and his trouser legs were covered with dust.

Moody threw his cane to the foot of the stool, made a rolling sound, and sat down in the chair.

The terrible MONOCULUS looked at Dumbledore indifferently, and Dumbledore got used to it, reached out and lifted a pot of tea from the table, poured a cup, and handed it to Moody.

"Thank you. Moody said, except that the old man didn't seem interested in such a thing as drinking tea, but only used him as a means to quench his thirst, pouring hot tea into his Adam's apple and rolling it a few times, and finally drinking it all.

"Well, can you tell me what's going on now?Dumbledore? If the communication between us wasn't very important, you usually used the Patronus to inform me, right?"

Moody put the teacup back in its place.

"That being the case. Something that requires you to interview me in person must be quite important. ”

Dumbledore groaned, his long silver-white beard dangling in front of the table, and he himself seemed to be in a state of hesitation, his fingertips pressed together on the table.

"That's not your style, Albus, and I think I have enough capital to gain your trust and enough to accomplish the tasks you've given me. ”

"I trust you more than the Ministry of Magic, and now I'm not affiliated with that bureaucratic, am I?"

Moody babbled.

"If you accept my commission, you may die. Dumbledore said with a blank face.

"Oh?" Moody's stunned expression lasted for a moment, and then his wrinkled face showed a wonderful expression, as if the magic eye was about to pop out of its sockets.

He suddenly began to clutch his stomach and laughed maniacally, revealing a row of crooked teeth, as if he had heard some ridiculous joke. Put one hand on the table and try to support yourself from falling off the chair.

After maintaining this state for a while, Moody raised his head, changed to a serious expression, and said:

"Albus, do you think I'm a person who will be afraid of death?

"I have never doubted your courage. Dumbledore stood up from his chair, his hands behind his back, his back to Moody, and stared at the photograph in front of him, which showed pictures of past Hogwarts Headmasters. They were all asleep, their chests gently heaving

"No one can easily decide whether a person lives or dies, not even himself. Dumbledore sighed slowly.

"I know, you know a lot of things I don't know, Albus, um... For example, let go of the deliberate little mouse, you have your own considerations, I will occasionally guess your thoughts, but I will not doubt your motives. ”

"Dying on the battlefield is the highest glory of an Auror. Moody's said.

"If it really goes according to my plan, an accident happens, and you may die a very humiliating death. Dumbledore took a deep breath.

"Humiliation is humiliation, as long as it works, I don't feel it anymore when I'm dead, do I?" Moody began to laugh again.

"Albus, I want you to trust me as much as I trust you. Moody's laughter gradually stopped, and the throbbing MONOCULUS returned to its composure in silence.

Dumbledore turned silently and walked to the wall behind the table, where a worn, patched Sorting Hat rested on a shelf, and in the lower right corner of the shelf lay a glass case, which was empty and empty, but reflected the silver brilliance, and on the opposite side of the glass case was an inconspicuous black cabinet, the door of which was hidden, and the light was revealed from it.

Dumbledore bent down, opened the cupboard, and took something out of it and placed it on the table.

This is a shallow stone basin, the mouth of the basin has strange carvings, the edge of the basin is carved with runi and symbols, it seems very mysterious, the basin shimmers with silver brilliance, the source of the light is like a bright piece of silver, but it is constantly flowing, like the water surface ripples in the breeze, and like clouds elegantly spread out, gently rotate. It's like light that turns into a liquid—like wind that condenses into solid.

Moody picked up his cane, stomped his wooden leg, and dragged himself to Dumbledore's side, surveying the object.

"I can't see through this. After scrutinizing it, Moody shook his head helplessly.

His magic eye seemed to fail in front of this thing, the flickering silver substance making him dizzy, and he tried his best to capture something deeper, but found it in vain.

"This silvery substance is thought, it is memory, Alasto. Dumbledore explained, and then he pulled out his wand and stirred it in the basin, the surface of the silver object spinning faster. It's spiraling.

"Put your head down in and see, Alasto. Dumbledore said, and Moody stuck his head in it, the glassy substance resting on the tip of his nose.

As soon as Moody stretched out his head again, he felt the sky spin around, falling in a cold, pitch-black substance, as if he had been sucked into a black vortex—

After a few moments, Moody's head slowly lifted from it.

There was no joy on his face, and he asked, "Is this your memory?"

He muttered to himself, "I still have a little impression of this trial, the father was a majestic and impartial Ministry of Magic, and the son took refuge in the notorious mysterious man, what a miracle, I heard that his son died in Azkaban? and then his wife seems to have died of grief, right?"

"It's pathetic. Moody shook his head ruefully, "That Crouch should be a boss for my appetite." ”

"What do you mean by showing me, Albus?"

"What would you think if I said that little Crouch wasn't dead?"

Whether it was the magic eye or the ordinary eyeball, they all immediately enlarged, and their brows immediately furrowed.

Dumbledore then said: "Everything you received just now is a memory in my mind, this is called a meditation basin, sometimes I feel that I have too many thoughts and memories in my head, so I will suck the excess thoughts out of my head, pour them into this basin, and take a good look at them when I have time." ”

"Fun stuff, the effect of getting the truth feels more effective than the truth elixir, and as for the Celestial Vision, only the caster can know about it, and if this song can be promoted during the witch trial, it must be very good, and the jury can use what they see as a yardstick. Professionalism made Moody's instantly make some "magical" analysis of the basin in front of him.

"Pumping out thoughts must be voluntary. Dumbledore's words dispelled Moody's thoughts.

He can't expect all criminals to repent from the bottom of their hearts, right?

Dumbledore drew his wand from his robes and slipped the tip of it into his silver hair, near his temple. When he pulled out his wand, there seemed to be some strands of hair stuck to the tip of the wand, which was actually a small wisp of silver-white substance like the one in the basin. Dumbledore added this new thought to the basin.

"That's the process of adding memories, Alasto. ”

"I'm not interested in any of that, let's get down to business, Albus, what do you want me to do? Arrest that little Crouch who didn't die? Since he didn't die, he definitely wouldn't be in Azkaban, probably found some other way to escape. Moody asked, his patience running out.

But impatiently, he had no doubts about Dumbledore's words.

"He escaped. Dumbledore nodded.

"Where is he, what's the clue?" Moody asked.

"You just have to wait at home. Dumbledore's eyes flickered.

"Will he turn himself in?" Moody asked in disbelief.

"Of course not? I've heard from some sources that he might attack you and then use the Imperius Charm to make you reveal a lot of things. ”

"Heh, I don't believe a little hairy kid can beat me. Moody dismissively said that in his opinion, it was not a threat.

"It's not impossible if it's a sneak attack, and he might have helpers. ”

"Not anymore, I'm already very alert and will be doubly careful all the time. Moody's said.

"But what I want you to do is not to capture him, but to ......" Dumbledore extended the subject, and with each word, Moody's expression became heavier and heavier, and the whirling magic eye fell silent and retracted into its sockets.

Moody groaned.

"If you're not Dumbledore, I really suspect you're a lunatic. ”

"But you're not a fake right now. Moody's index finger rubbed his brow, then slid down to the corner of his magic eye, massaging it around it.

"What am I going to do?" Moody asked, in a hoarse voice.

Dumbledore's blue eyes drifted to the meditation basin in front of him, and he kept looking.

"First of all, today's conversation, and the memories of some of the events before, you may have to leave it with me for a while, Alasto, as this can circumvent the Imperius Charm and set up superfluous information. ”

"Then, I'm going to hypnotize you, and the hypnotized person will be convinced that something is false, and before that, we just need to fool ourselves, and then we can fool the enemy. ”

"I studied some Muggle hypnosis and tested it to work, and it was so good that I couldn't even perceive my true thoughts in the mirror, because I convinced myself of myself, and at the time, I did. ”

"But there are still some uncontrollable risk factors. Dumbledore fell into complete silence as soon as he said this.

Obviously, he left the decision to Moody's.

"What's the point of hesitation?" Moody laughed, then immediately raised his wand and pointed it at his bulging temples, the tip of which brought out a long wisp of silver memory. It grew longer and longer, and finally broke, silver gleaming across the tip of the staff.

"Is that the first step?" said the man without hesitation.