Chapter 267 Dancing Tonight

"Do you want to know about Mr. Crouch?" Percy was stunned.

"That's right." Dracula nodded and said straight to the point, "Let's talk about Crouch's family first. How did his wife and son die?"

"Ah, isn't this bad?" Percy hesitated.

He always felt that it was not appropriate to directly tell others about his boss's family situation, but the person who asked this question was a professor he respected and feared, so Percy was too embarrassed to refuse.

"Why, as a personal assistant, don't you understand the specific situation of your boss?" Dracula saw Percy's hesitation, so he added fuel to the fire, "You're not very good at this job. Come here, Wes, and go out later. Don’t say you are my student.”

"How is that possible?" Percy said loudly, "I asked many colleagues at the Ministry of Magic, did sufficient research, and carefully understood Mr. Crouch's situation! I can definitely become a qualified assistant. !”

Sure enough, Percy took the bait right away. In order to prove his ability to work, he told the outside world about Crouch's situation like pouring beans.

Harry was a little embarrassed next to him, feeling that this newcomer to the Ministry of Magic, who thought he was very capable, was completely manipulated by Professor Dracula.

"Mr. Crouch is actually quite pitiful," Percy sighed and told Dracula: "During the Wizarding War against the mysterious man, he may have been busy with work and neglected to teach his son. …”

"Later, Barty Crouch Jr. became a Death Eater..."

"This is the first time I have heard of this," Dracula said with a look in his eyes. "Since his son is a Death Eater, is it possible that Crouch himself was also bewitched and became Voldemort's secret pawn?"

"This is absolutely impossible!" Percy categorically denied, "Anyone in the Ministry of Magic may be a Death Eater, but Mr. Crouch absolutely cannot be!"

He explained: "Professor Dracula, you may not know... After the mysterious man left, Mr. Crouch personally tried his son, ignored Barty Jr.'s sophistry, and imprisoned him personally. Azkaban."

"Is that so?" Dracula said thoughtfully, "So... he is a just person who kills relatives for the sake of justice?"

"There is no more just person in the Ministry of Magic than Mr. Crouch." Percy said seriously with an expression of admiration in his eyes, "Mr. Crouch was the director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the time. He took many tough measures. They have essentially provided a lot of help to the Ministry of Magic in fighting the Death Eaters..."

"For example, Aurors are allowed to use the Unforgivable Curse on Death Eaters, and Death Eaters caught with solid evidence can be directly imprisoned in Azkaban..."

"But his actions are not necessarily correct," Dracula shook his head. "Sirius Black was misunderstood by wizards for more than ten years because he was imprisoned in Azkaban without interrogation. time?"

Harry, who was listening to their conversation with great interest, suddenly changed his expression when he heard about Sirius, and his mood became quite gloomy.

Just because of this incident, he could not express his appreciation for the high-ranking official of the Ministry of Magic.

"That...that's just an example." Percy said stiffly, "Those measures are generally beneficial, which can be seen from the fact that Mr. Crouch has gained a lot of prestige through those measures."

"So why didn't he become Minister for Magic?" Dracula asked. "Because his son was a Death Eater?"

"Professor, this is actually a big stain." Percy shook his head helplessly, "That's why Minister Fudge later performed outstandingly and was elected as this term's Minister of Magic."

"There's no need to be so tactful, Wes." Dracula sneered. "How could Fudge have any outstanding performance? He just took the opportunity to unite with other staff to exclude Crouch, and then wrote to Dumbledore every day. , using Dumbledore’s reputation as the ‘pillar of the wizarding world’ to create a humble and steady persona for himself?”

"Ha, now that my position is almost secure, I want to get rid of Dumbledore's influence."

Dracula did not restrain his contempt for people like Fudge at all.

"Ah, you can't say that..." Cold sweat fell from Percy's face, and he picked up the napkin by the table and kept wiping his forehead.

"But it's understandable. After all, in political matters, it's no big deal to use dirty methods." Dracula changed the topic.

"Crouch is not necessarily a selfless and good person. He put his son in Azkaban, probably just to fight for his hope of becoming a minister."

"Professor, you may have some misunderstanding about Mr. Crouch..." Percy wiped his sweat more frequently.

From time to time, he would guiltily turn his head to glance at Bagman, the Director of the Department of Magical Sports, hoping that the other Ministry of Magic official present had not noticed.

He was overthinking it, as Bagman was happily chatting with Krum and trying to draw his fellow Quidditch professional player into his bet.

"You are still too young, Wes." Dracula chuckled, "Many things are not as simple as you think, nor are they as upright as they appear on the surface."

Seeing that Percy still looked a little unconvinced, he shook his head, "Forget it, you may not have fully integrated into their politicians. You will understand when you see them more."

"Now tell me something else. What happened to Crouch's wife?"

Seeing that Professor Dracula did not press forward, Percy relaxed a little.

"This matter is actually known to everyone," he said. "Mrs. Crouch was not in good health a long time ago. When she learned that Barty Crouch Jr. had become a Death Eater, she was killed by Mr. Crouch himself. After being imprisoned for life in Azkaban, her physical condition worsened."

"Later, for unknown reasons, Barty Crouch Jr. died in Azkaban. Mrs. Crouch could not bear the impact of the news and left immediately afterwards."

"Wait a minute," Dracula suddenly frowned, "You said Barty Crouch Jr. and Mrs. Crouch died at about the same time, right?"

"Yes, Mrs. Crouch can't bear the pain of losing her son. Is this normal?" Percy asked doubtfully.

"Maybe." Dracula didn't say anything more, just nodded slightly.

Percy and the dull officials in the Ministry of Magic may not realize what the problem is, but Dracula is different. He looks at things from the standpoint of doubting Crouch.

It may be normal to single out the fact that Mrs. Crouch was too sad and died of a serious illness, but why did Barty Crouch Jr. die in Azkaban?

It can be learned from many places that Barty Jr. is a young man who joined the Death Eaters not long after graduation. His body will never be so weak that he cannot withstand the torture of Dementors in just a few months - Sirius But he was tortured for thirteen years!

Not only that, since Barty Jr. chose to quibble during the trial, it shows that he has no intention to die, which can also rule out the possibility of suicide.

So the question is, why did an excellent, young wizard who had no intention of committing suicide die in Azkaban for no reason?

Dracula plans to take another trip to Azkaban to see if he can find other evidence...

Unknowingly, everyone present was full and full, and the banquet came to an end.

Dumbledore stood up first and looked at the laughing little wizards with a smile.

"It seems that everyone has almost eaten," he said with a smile, "Then, now comes the part we are most looking forward to - the dance!"

"All rise!"

The students stood up excitedly and carefully arranged the clothes and hairstyles that they had messed up at the banquet. The witches hurriedly took out their small mirrors to touch up their makeup.

After Dumbledore saw everyone standing up from their chairs, he raised his hand and waved his wand——

All the tables flew to the wall with a whoosh and were arranged neatly against the wall, leaving a large open space in the center of the auditorium.

Immediately afterwards, he created a high stage, attached to the right wall, with a drum set, several guitars, a lute, a cello and several organs on it.

At this time, the top performers in the wizarding entertainment world, members of the Weird Sisters Wizard Band, rushed onto the stage while screaming, and the audience suddenly burst into thunderous applause.

Most of the members of this group are witches. They have long, particularly thick hair, wear deliberately torn black robes, and pick up their own musical instruments.

"Oh, that's their lead singer, Myron Wagtail!" Ginny looked at the band on the stage and patted Harry's back excitedly, "Mum usually likes to listen to her singing on the magic radio. !”

"There is also Donahan Temlett. He is the only wizard among the Weird Sisters. He serves as the bass player. I heard that his playing ability is too good, so he was invited in by the band as an exception..."

Obviously, Ginny loves this magical band very much and can name every wizard in the band.

Harry was also watching the band on the stage with interest, almost forgetting what he was going to do next.

At this moment, he suddenly found that the lanterns on the other tables were extinguished, and several other warriors and their dance partners stood up.

"Harry, Ginny, hurry up!" Hermione walked over and reminded her kindly, "You should start dancing too!"

After saying this, she blushed and handed her hand to Krum, who looked at her expectantly.

Harry quickly stood up and walked onto the brightly lit dance floor with Ginny, carefully avoiding the eyes of his friends - he could see Seamus and Dean waving at him, secretly teasing him about the stiffness of his movements.

Then, Ginny took the initiative to grab both of his hands, put one of his hands on her waist, and squeezed the other tightly in her hand.

This was the first time that Harry held a girl's hand. He felt a heat in his heart go straight to his forehead, and his palms suddenly became sweaty. It was as if half of his body had lost its strength. He couldn't remember the dance moves taught to him by Professor McGonagall.

He accidentally stepped on Ginny's toes.

"I'm sorry, I..." Harry apologized quickly and looked into Ginny's eyes guiltily, only to find that her eyes were full of smiles and she was smiling infatuatedly. There was no intention of blaming him.

Harry's mood slowly relaxed.

In a slow, gentle tune played by the Weird Sisters, Harry's performance was not as bad as originally expected.

While slowly spinning in circles under Ginny's guidance, he silently recited the pace and frequency taught to him by Professor McGonagall. The two people's cooperation became more and more tacit, and the appreciation of the dance gradually became better.

Gradually, Harry had enough energy to look at the other bystanders who had not yet started dancing. They were watching the warriors leading the dance with envy, amazement, or appreciation.

He was very fortunate that he once again passed a test without making a fool of himself in public.

Soon, many people entered the dance hall one after another, and the warrior was no longer the center of everyone's attention——

Neville and Hannah Abbott were dancing nearby. Hannah frequently frowned and dodged because Neville stepped on her foot awkwardly. Fortunately, Hannah was very considerate and deliberately slowed down her pace and kept comforting her. hold him;

Dumbledore was waltzing with Ms. Maxim. Compared with Ms. Maxim, Dumbledore, who was originally very tall, was almost a dwarf. The top of his pointed hat just touched her chin.

However, for such a large woman, her dance steps were very graceful, and she didn't look at all clumsy like Hagrid;

On the other side, Professor McGonagall invited Professor Dracula to dance on the dance floor.

Needless to say, Professor McGonagall's dancing skills are, after all, the "dance teacher" who personally teaches the warriors to dance before the Yule Ball, and has professional-level dancing standards.

But to the surprise of all the little wizards, Professor Dracula, who had always been secretive, actually had a good level of dancing. He worked surprisingly well with Professor McGonagall, a professional level, and almost took over the dance. Most of the limelight.

"I just said Professor Dracula can dance!" When the Weird Sisters switched songs, Harry heard Fred showing off with his dance partner Angelina,

"I knew when he let us experience the Imperius Curse. He could control George and I to do such difficult movements. Professor Dracula must have done special research on dancing!"

Soon, the second song started playing, and the rhythm was much more cheerful than before.

Fred and Angelina immediately started jumping up and down——

Fred tried to recall his perfect dancing under the control of Professor Dracula's Imperius Curse, but to outsiders it looked like a mess, as if he was dragging Angelina along with him to learn how to play ball with the Chinese Fireball Dragon...

Harry and Ginny looked at his performance in amusement, then looked at each other and laughed easily.

"Want another dance?" Harry asked, his face rosy.

Ginny nodded vigorously.

…

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