Chapter 30: The Crouch Family's Dark Mark Mark

Towards the end of May, Ms. Millisenbagno, the current Minister of the Ministry of Magic, finally announced that she was officially retiring.

This lady, who was born in Ravenclaw, reigned for ten years.

Although her appearance as the head of the British wizarding world, the Minister of Magic, was mediocre and did not bring much improvement to the lives of wizards, her dedication to her work, her insistence on justice, and her fair and just attitude towards every wizard were unanimously appreciated by the wizarding community.

The Daily Prophet devotes two pages to a long story to praise this respectable lady.

But despite the grand treatment, everyone still couldn't control their eyes on another, more fiery issue.

That is: who is the next Minister of Magic?

It is known that before her retirement, Ms. Mirison Bagno submitted a list of three candidates to the Ministry of Magic.

They are: Albus Dumbledore, the current Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Barty Crouch, Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and Cornelius Fudge, Deputy Minister for Magic.

In order to elect the top leaders of the wizarding world, the three of them have a week to prepare, and for the next ten days, they will hold various speeches, banquets, and other public events to explain their 'governing philosophy' in public.

In the end, everyone votes for the winner. [Note 1]

The reporter of the Daily Prophet went out of his way to interview each of the candidates.

Among them, Cornelius Fudge's answer is still impartial, neutral and mediocre, and it is difficult to see his position;

In contrast, Barty Crouch, a wizard from the Crouch family, who is ranked as the Twenty-Eighth Sacred Family in the Pure-Blood List, is 'extremely anti-pure-blood'.

His political views were very extreme, he was committed to 'wizard equality', opposed 'blood discrimination', and openly shouted the slogan 'There is no nobility in wizarding'.

These two very different expressions have undoubtedly attracted the attention of the vast majority of the public.

However, the most surprising candidate is the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Albus Dumbledore.

Before that, when the other two candidates were busy giving speeches and holding events, he kept a low profile as if he didn't exist.

Until one day, he was finally blocked by reporters in front of the candy store of Duke Honey in Hogsmeade Village, and he was even holding a lemon ice cream in his hand......

"If you are elected Minister of Magic, what is your philosophy for the future?"

"Are you aware of the various recent active moves by Director Crouch and Deputy Secretary Fudge? Do you have any thoughts on this? ”

"Do you have any plans for future campaigns?"

"You haven't made any moves lately, are you confident that you will be elected as a minister?"

The journalist of the Daily Prophet asked a series of questions.

However, the headmaster, who was very popular among the people, did not show any gaffe as he expected, but only showed a faint and very graceful smile.

Then, he handed Mr. Reporter a toffee finger cake and asked gently, "Do you want to taste it?" A new addition to Duke Honey. ”

After Mr. Reporter's awkward refusal, he calmly answered the question:

"It is an honour to be valued by Minister Bagno. But don't forget about it, my main job is principal, and I love my life with children. In fact, I have written to Minister Bagno to reject the nomination. So, I'm sorry about that. ”

This answer was so unexpected that the reporter was stunned on the spot.

As a result, he missed the next opportunity to ask questions.

The headmaster bowed politely at him, and then seized the time and calmly took the opportunity to leave.

But despite the brief nature of the conversation, and similar headlines, the Daily Prophet earned huge sales.

As the time approached June, the whole incident was like the hot weather, and the whole incident was in an uproar.

Fudge is still tepid, but most wizards feel that he is just 'powerless to resist'.

There are even some impulsive Gryffindors who openly make insulting remarks such as 'Fudge is like a weak, and if the Ministry of Magic is handed over to him, there will be no future for the wizarding world in Britain', and 'Fudge should go home and take care of the children instead of being a minister'.

At the same time, because of Dumbledore's withdrawal, Barty Crouch's approval rating reached a new high.

After all, compared to Fudge's mediocre appearance, an iron-blooded, resolutely anti-aristocratic fighter type wizard is more in line with Gryffindor's yearning for 'hero'.

Therefore, most wizards from Gran Cents feel that 'since there is no Dumbledore, it is also a good choice to support Barty Crouch'.

But there are also some gentle-tempered Gryffindors, and wizards from neutral Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, who feel that although Barty's political opinions are correct, his personality is too extreme.

The way to try to wipe out the Slytherin nobility is a bit scary.

The Slytherin-born nobles have always kept their calm and restrained attitude towards these lively scenes, and they have a look of 'waiting to see what happens'.

Of course, to use the irony of Gram Centeno, 'Who knows what bad those vipers are holding back?' "Maybe they're just hiding in the shadows and waiting for time, and they don't know when they're going to show their poisonous fangs."

The people who know you best are sometimes not your friends, but your enemies.

Indeed it is.

On the last day of the first week of June, in a small lecture held by the Ministry of Magic, these nobles, who had always been 'indifferent', finally quietly delivered a fatal blow to Barty Crouch.

At that time, Barty Crouch was dressed in a spirited manner, with a gray and old-fashioned wizard's robe, his hair combed and his facial expression like a mask.

He stood on the podium, condescendingly looking down at the wizards, and said, "We should take all kinds of measures against the narrow-minded pure-blood nobles. Despite the disappearance of the mysterious men, the once vicious Death Eaters lurk among them. They claim to have been caught in the Imperius Curse......

His remarks immediately caused a small noise among the wizards in the audience.

The brutal rule of the mysterious man has caused great harm to everyone in the wizarding world, and to this day, people still dare not call that person by name, and rarely talk about it in public.

It is precisely because of this that Barty Crouch's indifferent approach to mentioning the other party makes most of the public think he is very brave.

But in the eyes of the Slytherin nobles, this guy who 'talked nonsense' on the podium has become a popular joke in everyone's hearts.

Think about it, what kind of fool would make such a 'different movements, all kinds of measures, just to strongly oppose his own class and group'?

'Has he forgotten that he is also a pure-blood nobleman?' The patriarch of the House of Parkinson once sneered and said, 'The most important thing he should do to outlaw the pure-blood nobles is to destroy himself.' ’

Even some of the Gryffindors who supported him often joked.

For example, at an alumni reunion, they would greet Elder Barty Crouch, who was standing out of place on the Slytherin side, and point to the Gryffindor seat next to them and say, "Hi, Comeandsitoverthere." [Note 2]

But none of these gossips defeated this stubborn male witch.

He used his strength and courage to continue his 'political opinions', just like today, his every word was sonorous and powerful, every word was extremely clear, his eyes were sharp like falcons, staring at the group of nobles with indifferent expressions, as if there was a battlefield in front of him, and he was openly declaring war on the enemy.

The indifference on the outside, and the wildness on the inside, make him full of a unique personality charm.

You can dislike him, but you have to admire him.

In contrast, Fudge, who was standing on the side, felt like a grain of rice.

Until a loud explosion suddenly sounded.

"Merlin!" A high-pitched cry from one of the witches in the audience turned to look into the air in horror.

The huge skeleton was slowly rising, and a python emerged from the skeleton's mouth, and the green light illuminated the place like a bright neon sign.

"The Dark Mark is the Mark of the Dark Devil!"

Countless wizards shouted in horror, their faces turned pale, and they hurriedly stood up, not bothering to pay attention to this campaign, and rushed out one after another.

"Merlin, that's Director Barty Crouch's house."

At this moment, a short male wizard suddenly shouted.

Barty Crouch's always cold face turned white in an instant, his expression distorted, and a look of horror bordering on despair in his eyes.