After Bertha Jorkins' disappearance, Voldemort—now accompanied by Peter Pettigrew—began making his way toward Britain.
One had to admit, this was a perfect case of mutual pursuit between Barty Crouch Jr. and Voldemort.
As for the unfortunate Bertha Jorkins—
Let this be a lesson: never go near Albania, that ill-oned land. Nothing good ever cos of it.
...
By the ti the wizarding campsite had been burned nearly to ashes, Fudge finally arrived—bringing the Aurors with him.
The mont they entered the area, they didn't bother asking questions. Any place where soone was standing was t with several volleys of Stupefy.
Fortunately, by that point, the campsite was mostly empty—aside from Barty Crouch Jr., who had collapsed from exhaustion after casting the Dark Mark.
An Auror stepped forward to check him over. When he rolled Barty onto his back, the Dark Mark on Barty's arm was clearly visible.
"Minister Fudge," the Auror reported, "we've captured a Death Eater."
Only after confirming the area was secure did Fudge approach.
The mont he saw Barty Crouch Jr.'s face, his expression stiffened.
The Crouch family had once been deeply intertwined with the Ministry of Magic. Before Barty Jr.'s identity as a Death Eater was exposed, Barty Crouch Sr. had been Head of the Departnt of Magical Law Enforcent—once even considered a strong candidate for Minister.
After his son's cris ca to light, Crouch Sr.'s reputation plumted. He was reassigned to head the Departnt of International Magical Cooperation.
Both positions carried the title of "Head," but the difference in influence—and benefits—was enormous.
Magical Law Enforcent held real power. International cooperation, especially after the enforcent of the International Statute of Secrecy, had far fewer opportunities.
Fudge and Crouch Sr. had once been rivals during the Ministerial race, but they weren't enemies. In the Ministry, everyone eventually crossed paths—no one truly wanted to burn bridges.
Yet now, a man who had supposedly died years ago had reappeared.
For the first ti, Fudge didn't know how to handle the situation.
Just as he was pondering what to do, Harry stirred awake.
He was still groggy.
When he noticed an Auror holding his wand, he spoke instinctively.
"Um… sir? Could I have my wand back?"
That single sentence instantly exposed Harry and Snape's position.
(To save space beneath the Invisibility Cloak, Lily had already hidden herself again.)
"Who's there?!" Fudge exclaid.
The Aurors imdiately raised their wands, aiming toward the sound.
With a resigned sigh, Snape lowered the Invisibility Cloak, privately thinking that this was probably what Arthur ant by a pig teammate.
"Snape? And… Harry Potter?" Fudge asked sharply. "What are you doing here?"
"Obviously," Snape replied flatly, "we ca to watch the Quidditch World Cup."
Snape's mood was far from pleasant. As a forr double agent, anything involving Death Eaters was a minefield for him.
Originally, he'd planned to wait until the Aurors left, then quietly take Harry away.
Harry's sudden outburst had ruined that plan.
Fudge, knowing Snape's past as a Death Eater, regarded him with suspicion.
Snape noticed—and this was precisely why he hated dealing with the Ministry.
Fudge took Harry's wand from the Auror and turned to him.
"Harry, you say this is your wand. Then can you tell why it was found in the hands of that Death Eater?"
Compared to Snape, who had a history, Harry was far easier to question—and control.
"Death Eater?" Harry repeated, confused.
"Yes. A Death Eater. One of his followers."
"Voldemort's followers?"
"—You know the na. No need to say it out loud."
"I… don't know."
"Then do you know where the other Death Eaters went?"
"I don't know that either. Maybe you should ask Professor Snape."
Harry didn't understand why Snape had been with him, but after learning about Snape's past with his mother, Harry was certain of one thing—
Snape would never harm him.
Fudge sighed. He'd hoped to extract sothing useful from Harry, but got nothing.
"Very well," he said. "Professor Snape, could you briefly explain what happened?"
"The Death Eaters attacked the campsite," Snape replied. "Potter was trampled during the panic and lost consciousness. His wand fell then. That man picked it up."
Snape gestured toward Barty.
Fudge's mouth twitched.
He'd asked for a brief explanation—but Snape had condensed the entire incident into two sentences.
"And what were you doing at the ti?" Fudge pressed. "Why didn't you stop them?"
"They were too many," Snape said coolly. "And my primary duty, as a teacher, is to protect my student."
Two sentences again.
Before Fudge could ask more, Snape spoke first.
"Any other questions? If not, I'll be taking my student away. He's been through quite a shock."
Seeing Snape's attitude, Fudge knew pressing further would be pointless.
"One last question," Fudge said. "Which direction did the Death Eaters flee?"
"Over there."
Snape pointed casually.
In truth, the Death Eaters had scattered in all directions. Snape simply indicated the direction with the most movent.
Even then, it was unlikely the Aurors would catch anyone—most of them had already Apparated away.
Fudge knew this too. He just needed a reason to leave.
After returning Harry's wand, Fudge led the Aurors away.
As for the ruins of the campsite—another departnt could clean that up later.
At least the companies selling family tents would be making a fortune.
Naturally, Fudge didn't forget to take Barty Crouch Jr. with him.
He decided to hand Barty over to Crouch Sr. himself.
Crouch Sr. was Head of International Magical Cooperation—aning the diplomatic fallout of this incident could conveniently be dumped on him as well.
Foreign wizards had been attacked on British soil. Soone had to take responsibility.
That soone would certainly not be Cornelius Fudge.
His reputation had already taken a hit after the break-ins at both the Ministry and Gringotts two months earlier.
If he took responsibility for this disaster as well, his term as Minister would be over.
So he chose the easier path.
If things went well—if the culprits were caught—Fudge would share the credit.
If things went badly, Crouch Sr. would be the scapegoat.
Either way, Fudge would co out ahead.
...
After Fudge left, Harry turned to Snape.
"Thank you, Professor Snape."
Knowing Snape had stayed with him the entire ti he was unconscious genuinely moved him.
Snape waved it off.
"Pure coincidence," he said. "If Arthur hadn't asked to return this cloak to you, I wouldn't have been here."
He handed Harry the Invisibility Cloak.
Harry accepted it—but his thoughts raced.
Why today of all days?
Snape never liked Quidditch. At Hogwarts, he barely attended matches unless Slytherin was playing.
Why would he co all the way to the World Cup?
While Fudge and Snape had been talking, Harry had been communicating silently with Lily in their unique way.
She'd told him everything that happened while he was unconscious.
Snape had appeared almost imdiately.
Which ant—he'd been watching Harry all along.
It reminded Harry of first year.
Snape's sharp words… and hidden protection.
Back then, Harry had misunderstood him completely.
Holding the cloak, Harry said nothing more—but etched the truth into his heart.
At that mont, Arthur returned with Ron.
When Arthur realized Harry was missing, he'd wanted to search imdiately—but he had to secure his other children first.
Only after ensuring their safety did he co back.
Ron, worried sick about Harry, had followed him.
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