The crowd in the council chamber gradually dispersed, and Crouch wiped the sweat from his head, and the speech was a manual task.

Just took a hurried sip of water, and then he took the initiative to stop Dumbledore, who was about to leave:

"Mr. Dumbledore, can you come to the office and have a chat?"

Dumbledore paused, his gaze resting on Barty Crouch's somewhat tired face and the sincerity in his eyes.

"Absolutely." Dumbledore said with a smile.

"That's good—" Crouch let out a soft sigh and held out his hand in a gesture of please.

Dumbledore looked at the office of the Minister of Magic, which had been there many times in the last year or two.

Compared to the Fudge era, Crouch's office has changed and not changed.

What didn't change was that Crouch, who was not cleaned up by the expensive paraphernalia, as a wealthy pure-blood family.

These things weren't a luxury for Crouch, maybe he was just using them as normal office supplies.

What had changed was that there were a lot more things on the table, piles of papers, random inkwells and pens.

Half of the parchment was written, and the seal was crooked aside

It's a busy minister.

Crouch casually cleaned up:

"Sorry, I've been too busy lately, there's so much to attend to from my tenure until now, Fuji-alas-"

Crouch wanted to complain about the mess left by his predecessor, but in the end he held back, only to sigh.

"That's to be expected, Batty, your work has been very effective, and now the public is very recognizable about you.

I'm also glad that the Ministry of Magic is finally on track again. ”

Dumbledore smiled faintly, and it was natural for him to evaluate the Minister of Magic as the chief of the Wizengamot, but he didn't say it before but didn't want to say it.

The only real move was to get Fudge to step down directly, which is why Fudge had to strip Dumbledore of his position in the first place.

"Don't talk about this, I've been busy lately, and I don't want to say anything about the previous term."

Crouch shook his head and said simply:

"Dumbledore, there's something I'd like you to help with."

"Oh? Let's talk about it, if I can really help, an old man. ”

Barty Crouch laughed:

"Dumbledore, don't make this joke, let's get down to business, about the Goblet of Fire."

He became serious, and folded his hands on the table:

"Dumbledore, my name and the Ministry of Magic alone can't fully advance the global Goblet of Fire.

So I implore you, for the sake of the future of wizarding worlds, to advance this event, Dumbledore, as I said, we've been in decline.

It can't be like this anymore, the Dark Wizards are getting stronger all the time relying on killing and dark magic, the Muggles are developing, it's just us - look, what have we done?

The dark wizards that the Aurors had captured at the expense of their lives and deaths had all run away in the blink of an eye! ”

Crouch angrily slammed the table: "Have they been punished?" Have they been atoned for? Not at all!

Damn it."

Although it was quiet, Dumbledore could faintly hear what was behind - 'Fudge'.

"Ahem, it's too far away—but Dumbledore, you know what I mean, you can't go on like this."

Crouch waved his hand, and his old-fashioned face regained its composure.

Dumbledore was silent for a moment, then nodded slowly, "I'll think about it." ”

Privet Road was still so quiet, it was June, and the grass on the lawn was hanging with the dew that had just been watered, and it looked verdant.

There are very few pedestrians on the road, and there is the occasional leisurely walk with a dog on a leash, and the evening sun shines on the road and dyes everything golden.

Harry had never looked closely at the place he'd lived in for so long, and he didn't know how, he just wanted to take a good look at it today.

Look at this place that you call 'home'.

Penny was so unskilled at reversing that she had to redrive the car again and again, trying to reverse into the garage.

In the end, she simply parked the car on the side of the road.

Unable to use magic, the huge trunk was no easy task for Harry.

Even though Penny seemed intent on helping, Harry didn't dare let her reach out because Penny looked like she was going to collapse at any moment.

After a long time to get the suitcase off, Harry gasped and looked at Number 4 Privet Road.

What was once a well-built lawn had become a clutter, with the always polished lawn mower lying aside, covered in dust.

Harry's mood suddenly fell, and he pushed the cart behind Penny, and silently walked into the familiar room.

As soon as he opened the door, an indescribable strange smell poured out of the door.

"Vomit—" Harry retched, and hurriedly covered his mouth, looking at Aunt Petunia carefully.

But I saw Penny turn on the light in the living room without realizing it, as if she hadn't heard anything.

"This is Privet Road No. 4?" Harry covered his mouth and stared at the cluttered living room.

The neat sofa was littered with garbage, and the wooden floor was stained with stains.

A pile of wine bottles was scattered on the floor, and the kitchen sink was littered with dirty plates

In his impression, No. 4 Privet Road had always been so neat, and Aunt Petunia seemed to have inexhaustible strength.

Her eyes were like the best radar, able to spot the slightest stain, and then she would scold Harry for not cleaning properly.

If the only thing clean in the house is the large wedding photo of Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon leaning on the couch.

Harry opened his mouth to say something, but when he actually said it, it became:

"Where's Dudley?"

"There are activities at school, and you need to live on campus for a month."

Penny said dryly, she looked at the living room in front of her, suddenly covered her face as if she didn't want to face all this, and squeezed out a sentence from her throat:

"I'm Dudley back tonight for me. I'm going to buy something to eat."

After saying that, he hurriedly turned around and ran away, as if he was running away.

I don't know if it's an illusion, but Harry always felt that he heard a subtle choking sound that made his heart twitch.

The sound of a car starting could be heard outside the door.

Harry put down his hand against the smell, pinched his waist and looked at Hedwig in the cage, and muttered:

"Okay, Hedwig, I think we need to clean up."

Hedwig tilted her head, her golden eyes staring at him.

Harry rolled up his sleeves and said confidently:

"Actually. I'm pretty good at it, too! ”

——————————————————

1. Commuter pass 2. Recommended ticket

(End of chapter)