Ron's doubts were met with silence for a few moments.

Sirius, who finally fell into memory, said, "Let me tell you, Ron, the Dark Mark is the symbol of the Mystery!" ”

"Yes, we haven't seen it in thirteen years," Mr. Wesley whispered, "so it's understandable to be nervous, for it's like seeing a mysterious man again." ”

He saw that Ron was still a little puzzled, so he explained.

"Ron, every time the Mystic Man and his followers kill someone, they have to show the Dark Mark in the air." Mr. Wesley said, "The fear it brings...... You can't understand it yet. Imagine coming home and finding the Dark Mark hovering over your house, and you know what you're going to see when you go in......"

Mr. Wesley shuddered.

"I had nightmares every night when I saw this thing hovering over the Burrow, and your mother and your brother...... This is the most feared ...... for everyone The most feared ......"

Mr. Wesley could not speak, and the entire tent fell silent until Clark spoke.

"But fear didn't defeat you, did it?"

He smiled and looked at Mr. Wesley, "Mysteries use death to sow fear, fear to gain submission. However, he will never understand that there are many things in this world that are more precious than life! ”

Sirius laughed, "That's right, Clarke is right, for the sake of friendship and justice, we are not even afraid of death, and how can we be afraid of a dark mark that I don't know who conjured up." ”

The oppressive atmosphere in the room was swept away, and Bill gloated a little, "Whoever made this mark, those Death Eaters were scared anyway." ”

Charlie laughed too, "yes, those Death Eaters reacted more violently when they saw it than when they saw the Aurors of the Ministry of Magic, and even if they were tied up, they struggled on the ground, begging the Aurors to take them away quickly. ”

"Death Eaters?" Harry asked, "What is a Death Eater?" ”

"That's what the Mystic Followers call themselves," Bill said, "and these people tonight are the remnants of it—they somehow escaped without being imprisoned in Azkaban." ”

"But they weren't so lucky this time," Percy said, "and I saw several guys in there, wizards with names and surnames, and now they're afraid they'll have to go to Azkaban." ”

"Is there Lucius Malfoy among those guys?" Harry asked curiously.

"Yes, is there him?" Ron followed suit, "Dad, we met Draco Malfoy in the woods, and he actually pretty much told us that his dad was one of those masked lunatics!" We all know that the Malfoys used to have a good relationship with the mysterious man! ”

"Lucius Malfoy?" Percy recalled, shaking his head, "Then I really didn't see him, maybe he escaped early." ”

Harry and Ron sighed in disappointment.

"What are you two thinking, how can a cunning guy like Malfoy come forward in such a situation," Hermione said slowly, "but what is the man who conjured the Dark Mark for?" ”

"Was he showing his support for the Death Eaters, or was he trying to scare them away?"

"We don't know, Hermione," Sirius said, "but I'll tell you...... Only the Death Eaters knew how to conjure up that mark. ”

"Yes," Mr. Wesley nodded, "I'm sure the person who conjured the mark was a Death Eater before, though not now......"

As he spoke, he looked at his watch again, "Listen, it's getting late, and if your mom hears about this, she'll be terribly worried." So we took the time to get a few hours of sleep, then got the key early and got out of here. ”

Harry and the others climbed into bed at Mr. Wesley's urging, and Clark reopened his suitcase and conjured out of the cabin.

Before they could get inside, Percy slipped out of Wesley's tent.

"Dad, I'll sleep with Clark, Ron snores at night, I might have to go to work in the ministry tomorrow."

He shouted into the tent, then took Clark by the shoulders and walked into the cabin with Hermione, Ginny, and Neville.

Clark gave Hermione a look, and the girl cleverly dragged Ginny back to the room, as did Neville, leaving Clark and Percy in the small living room.

"About the house-elves of Mr. Crouch's house-elves......"

Percy asked impatiently, but before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by Clark, "Your leader does have a problem, but now is not the time. ”

"Don't worry, I can afford to wait."

Percy smiled, and then said very firmly, "But I also think there is something wrong with Crouch, I have been to their house a few times before under the pretext of delivering papers, but Mr. Crouch never invites me into the house, and always greets me outside the door." ”

"It seems that there must be some ulterior secret hidden in the family of this Mr. Director." Clark teased.

"When the house-elf was found tonight, I could tell that he was very nervous, but this nervousness was not because the house-elf was discovered, but because he was afraid of something else......"

"So there must be something else at the scene of the accident." Percy guessed that he was very close to the truth of the matter.

Clark then guided him, "Maybe that's the real culprit who cast the Dark Mark of the Dark Magic, Elf Sparkle just helped him take the blame, and Crouch must know that person and have a very close relationship." ”

At this time, Percy thought of something else, "You say, whether Bertha Jorkins has something to do with this secret, as far as I know, she became disillusioned after she became an assistant to Mr. Crouch, which is very much like the after-effects of the Forgetting Charm." ”

"And her missing ......"

"You're not scared, are you?" Clark looked at him suddenly, a narrow smile on his face.

"When you first graduated, you took the initiative to ask me for my opinion and asked me how I could get a foothold in the Ministry of Magic faster.

Joining Crouch is your best chance, you see, isn't that coming? ”

"Of course not!" Percy said with a firm face, "Since I have chosen this step, I will naturally not be afraid of any danger. ”

"But...... I thought Mr. Crouch was just a little bit of a problem, and you wanted me to use his tricks to take it a step further. ”

"But looking at what you mean, it seems that you want me to report and expose him," he said, and he hesitated a little again, "Isn't this kind of betrayal of reporting your boss and getting a promotion a taboo in the workplace?" If I do this, which boss will dare to accept me in the future? ”

Clark looked at his expression, which lasted only three seconds before falling into a tangle, and shook his head helplessly.

But this is normal, after all, with his age, he is just a high school graduate who has just graduated from the Muggle world.

If Percy was now calmly discussing with him how to get his boss out of power, then he would really have to worry about whether his cousin had fallen under the Imperius curse?

"You, you, how can you call this betrayal?"

Clark smiled and pointed out Percy's mistake.

"In a system of power and politics, in order to protect their own interests and ensure the stability of their position, those in power often feel very disgusted by those who are at the bottom but expect to climb up by pulling and framing their superiors.

Even if these people did make achievements, they suppressed him and ignored him.

This is because this kind of method of 'subduing the top' is extremely dangerous for a political group.

After all, there is no shortage of ambitious people in this world, and once one person succeeds, then the entire political group will fall into a crisis of whistleblowing.

The boss will be wary of the subordinate, and the subordinate will keep an eye on the boss, and people will be keen on infighting, and the work will not be carried out. ”

Percy nodded at Clarke's description, then asked, "In that case, you still told me to do such a thing?" ”

"But you're different," Clark reassured, "people are different, some were born in Rome, and some were born mules and horses. ”

"Again, this unscrupulous means are different.

Some people do this kind of thing, it is unscrupulous, they will be excluded by others, and they will gossip behind people's backs.

Some people do this kind of thing, but they are not afraid of power, withstand pressure, expose the truth, and uphold justice. ”

As he spoke, Clarke patted Percy on the shoulder, "If it's just you, of course I wouldn't recommend you do it." But there's another person behind you. ”

Clark's finger pointed at the sky.

"Crouch's son was a Death Eater and couldn't get him out of power, but now it's just possible that he has something to do with a Death Eater, and what can he do.

So the crux of the matter is not that Crouch did anything wrong, but that in the political struggle, the big boss of the Ministry of Magic is ready to him.

In this case, your unscrupulous means are not only for your own selfish interests, but for the interests of a higher level. ”

"Higher? You mean—Minister Fudge! ”

Clark smiled but didn't say a word.

Percy then asked, "Didn't Minister Fudge have already succeeded in attacking Mr. Crouch's prestige in the previous Sirius matter, so why should he continue to work hard?" ”

"Percy, calm down and think about your words, naïve?" Clark sneered, "What do you mean by being forced to be bitter? In political struggles, there has always been only one way to fight a snake and not die but to be bitten. ”

"The incident with Sirius, the eucalyptus was more than ten years ago, what impact can it have on Crouch today.

It just hurt his face and hit his prestige.

Have you ever seen half of his current position change? ”

Percy shook his head.

"Isn't that, not only that, but in the next year, and even in the next few years, his position as Crouch will make a difference."

Clarke's words sent Percy deep in thought, "You mean...... Triwizard Tournament? ”

"It's not just that." Tired of standing, Clark sat down on the couch, "You're still a low-level staff member of the Ministry of Magic, so you have limited vision, and you can't see a lot of things. ”

"But in this position, if you want to climb up, learn a lot, broaden your horizons, and have a keen insight, you are indispensable.

Nowadays, with the development of the Muggle world and the ease of transportation and communication, the once huge earth has become a small village.

In this context, the communication between wizards from all over the world has also become frequent.

Especially with the rise of the Magical Congress of the United States, the old European ministries of magic such as Britain, France, and Germany have felt great pressure, and naturally they have begun to seek cooperation and exchanges have become much closer.

The Triwizard Tournament is just a microcosm of this situation, and it can be regarded as an attempt by the European wizarding community. ”

With Clark's suggestion, Percy also understood a lot at once.

"In this case, it means that the Department of International Magical Exchange and Cooperation, a previously weak department, will gain greater power in the future with the communication between the ministries of magic of various countries?

So Secretary Fudge is worried that Mr. Crouch will turn over again for this reason? ”

"That's right, if Crouch really has something to do with the Death Eaters, or even plans some evil conspiracy, then you who expose this conspiracy will become a hero with the support of Minister Fudge!"

Clarke's words made Percy's breathing a little shorter, and his childlike hole widened, and the hesitation in his eyes was swept away like autumn leaves.

However, he was not completely disillusioned by Clark's words.

"Don't tempt me with these pies, Minister Fudge must at least give me some advantage in this matter!

At the very least, he had to help me solve the problem of recruiting interns first. ”

Percy made his own request to Clark, "Also, if this thing finally succeeds, I can't stay in the Department of International Magical Exchange and Cooperation, and Mr. Crouch runs this department like a subway barrel, and I want to change positions." ”

"Impossible!"

Clarke refuses decisively, which makes Percy's face ugly.

"Crouch and Secretary Fudge are at a time when they don't like each other, and in this case he helps you turn around?

Not to mention that it is unreasonable for the minister to interfere in the matter of interns becoming regulars, even if it is okay, you let Crouch think of you. ”

Percy thought about it, but it was the same thing, "But ......"

"Don't worry, don't worry about this matter, I don't need Fudge to open his mouth, I have already solved it for you."

Clark remembered the seed of Psychic Suggestion that he had just planted in Crouch's heart, and yes, he had implanted his affection for Percy in Crouch's consciousness.

"As long as you dangle in front of Crouch a little longer, he will definitely reuse you."

Since Clark had said so, Percy didn't go any further, he had complete trust in his brilliant cousin.