But... how is that possible?
Even if Vid is outstanding, he is still just a fourteen-year-old boy.
Oh... On the night of the World Cup final, he had only been in contact with magic for three years, at the most. Even if he's very talented... there should still be a limit, right?
Saying that Vid killed Voldemort with a single spell is as absurd as saying Harry defeated Voldemort and Barty Crouch Jr. together head-on, making one want to laugh.
But Sirius couldn't laugh.
His eyes flickered violently, reason telling him it was impossible, but intuition clamored for belief.
However, the reactions of the people didn't interrupt Barty Crouch Jr.'s narrative or cause any change in Dumbledore's unwavering expression.
The headmaster's reaction made a few people suddenly realize—
What Barty Crouch Jr. said was likely true, and... Dumbledore must have already known about it.
"It took a long ti to find my master again. He had beco weaker, and for a ti even creating a temporary corporeal host was difficult, forcing him to possess animals…"
Barty Crouch Jr. continued his narration in a half-dead tone:
"Fortunately, at that ti we rembered a legend—it's said that the magic wand used by Salazar Slytherin himself is buried outside Ilvermorny, with a Snake Wood tree growing above the burial site, whose leaves have powerful healing effects…"
"I brought my master to Ilvermorny, and there we did find the Snake Wood. The master used Parseltongue to awaken Slytherin's magic wand and stayed at Ilvermorny to regain strength."
"Voldemort is still at Ilvermorny?" Dumbledore asked.
"… I don't know."
Barty Crouch Jr. said dryly: "The master asked if I was willing to take any risk for him... Of course, of course I was willing... I would do anything to serve him, to prove my loyalty to him... It's my dream, my biggest wish..."
"The master told he needed to place a confidant at Hogwarts, needed... needed to deliver Harry Potter to him when he was ready…"
"And I... the most loyal servant among the Death Eaters, took on this arduous task…"
"Why did you choose Filch?" Vid asked: "He shouldn't have been your first choice, right?"
Barty Crouch Jr. paused for a mont, his mouth turned down at the corners, saying with irritation: "I originally thought the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was the best target, but... when I returned to the United Kingdom from Ilvermorny, Moody was already at Hogwarts…"
"Professors rarely leave the school, and even when they go to Hogsade, they go in groups of two or three... I didn't find an opportunity to act. But Filch... he spent his days watching the secret passageways in school, wanting to catch students breaking rules... and I just knew about two passageways…"
The unlucky caretaker thus beca the target.
"But to disguise as Filch, I needed to do more preparation. Because African Tree Snake Skin is hard to obtain, and the Transfiguration is unstable... for my master, I decided... I could make any sacrifice, including completely altering my face…"
"So you went to a Muggle hospital to get plastic surgery?" Sirius sneered: "Does Voldemort know what you're doing?"
"The master isn't as pedantic as others think… so at all costs, I must complete the task he assigned to …"
"What about the doctors and nurses who operated on you?" Vid asked: "Weren't they surprised that you wanted to beco an old man?"
"I used Forgetfulness Spell and Confundus Charm every day to make them forget the incongruity of this matter." Barty Crouch Jr. comnted: "Not easy, because I had to stay conscious during the operation…"
"What happened after the surgery was completed?" Vid pressed: "Did you make those dical staff completely forget about this matter?"
Repeated use of Forgetfulness Spell, causing severe damage to the brain and mory, might make them appear muddled regularly... Those people probably couldn't stay at the hospital, perhaps they've beco holess by now.
"Oh, they're all dead."
Barty Crouch Jr. said simply, his hoarse voice echoing in the room: "I set a fire."
Vid's eyebrow twitched slightly, he looked at Barty Crouch Jr. and didn't speak for a long ti.
Originally, Sirius was holding his chin up, looking at Barty Crouch Jr. with disdain. Hearing this part, he was stunned for a mont, suddenly erupted from his seat, grabbed Barty Crouch Jr.'s collar, and roared:
"You filthy bastard! Why did you do that? They were all living people... you could have just used the Forgetfulness Spell!"
Barty Crouch Jr. swayed back and forth from his pull, a gleam of clarity and resistance seed to flash through his confused eyes.
The glass windows of the office buzzed with Sirius' roar, and Dumbledore had to reach out and press his shoulder.
"Calm down, Black, don't bark like a mad dog." Snape raised his eyelids, said coldly: "Don't wake him from this state."
"Shut up, Snape!" Sirius snapped: "At least I won't be indifferent to this guy killing innocent people like you! You're indeed corroded and moldy from Dark Magic..."
"Sirius!" Dumbledore intensified the pressure of his hand, a trace of fatigue flashing in his eyes, said in a deep voice: "Control your emotions, we must continue the interrogation."
Sirius glared at Snape through the headmaster, then viciously glanced at Barty Crouch Jr., his chest heaving violently, as if he would pounce and bite soone's throat the next second.
But in the end, he just forced a cold laugh through his teeth.
"After this is over, I'm personally taking this guy to Azkaban! I want to watch the Dentor suck out his filthy soul!"
He suddenly turned around, striding towards the door.
"Black!" Moody called out.
But Sirius didn't turn around, only slamd the door shut with a "bang," shaking dust off the ceiling.
The room fell into a brief silence, with only the faint "popping" of the candle wicks burning.
Barty Crouch Jr. blinked slowly, his eyes rolling, seemingly recognizing his surroundings.
Dumbledore frowned, said softly: "Severus."
Snape's sallow face seed frozen, every muscle taut, his pitch-black eyes deeper than usual, even Moody unconsciously avoided eting his gaze.
Hearing Dumbledore's voice, Snape paused slightly.
He turned, walking toward Barty Crouch Jr.
The young Death Eater's pupils slightly contracted, his consciousness struggled to surface, instinctively tilting his head back, trying to avoid Snape's approaching hand.
But the next mont, the Professor of Potions already grabbed his jaw, squeezing with such force it seed he might crush the bones, while the other hand brought the Veritaserum's bottle to his teeth, dripping two more drops inside.
"No more Veritaserum can be fed," Snape released his grip, said mockingly: "Otherwise he'll beco a complete idiot."
Barty Crouch Jr. made a gurgling sound in his throat, his eyes once again unfocused.
Just then, the door was forcefully pushed open again, with a full-bodied angry Sirius appearing at the doorway, and everyone turned to look as Professor McGonagall instinctively blocked, saying: "Sirius…"
But this ti, Sirius wasn't coming for the prisoner, his gaze swept past everyone, landing on Vid, his voice carrying an undeniable force: "Co with , kid!"
Vid appeared sowhat surprised, hesitated for a mont, instinctively looking towards Dumbledore.
Then, without waiting for the headmaster to give instructions, Vid stood up, gestured to the professors, and walked towards Sirius at the door.
The man grabbed his arm, decisively pulling Vid away. As the wooden door closed again, they vaguely heard Sirius's voice from outside: "You're still young, no need to be so premature..."
"Bang!"
The door fully closed, the atmosphere in the room inexplicably becoming stagnant.
"Continue."
Dumbledore let out a subtle sigh, looking again at the slumped Barty Crouch Jr. in the chair, he said softly: "And then? What else did you do?"
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