Chapter 380 Bertha Jorkins And Evan's Plan
There was a moment of silence. The atmosphere in the hallway was somewhat delicate, permeated with a strong scent of wine.
Moody's drink was very pungent and potent. It was uncomfortable to even catch a whiff of it.
"I will keep an eye on Barty Crouch!" Moody stashed the flask away and told Evan, "Remember, always stay vigilant and trust no one."
He swirled his black cloak and headed towards the elevator.
As he moved away, the sound of his cane striking the floor faded into the distance.
Before he vanished completely, no one stirred, and Evan could be certain that Moody was watching them with that false eye.
Evan didn't know how he was going to monitor Barty Crouch. He just hoped this would serve as a wake-up call and that he wouldn't be easily overthrown and imprisoned by Barty Crouch Jr.
"He's always been so reckless. I hope he doesn't do anything foolish!" Mr. Weasley sighed and explained to Evan, "He is Alastor Moody, the finest Auror in the history of the Ministry of Magic, a formidable force, the master in apprehending Dark Wizards."
"Just like you, he distrusts everything, trusts no one!" Sirius lowered his voice and said, "But he is reliable, being part of the Order of the Phoenix, what you just heard is nothing, or else we would have to resort to Memory Charms!"
"Since he retired, his suspicions have only grown stronger. He distrusts everyone, always on guard against being attacked. He even used spells on Muggles, and our Department had to clean up after him!" Mr. Weasley said.
"He can't be blamed for that. He captured many Dark Wizards during his time as an Auror. Half of the prisoners in Azkaban were apprehended by him. This offended a lot of people," Sirius said, "Those people want to see him dead. He has to be cautious."
"Yes, yes, it's never wrong to be prudent, but we really shouldn't harbor unfounded doubts..." Mr. Weasley looked significantly at Evan and said with concern, "Well, we have been standing around long enough. Let's go in and have a cup of tea."
Not a word was mentioned about Barty Crouch, as if nothing had occurred.
They crossed the narrow hallway, turned a corner, and passed through a pair of heavy oak doors.
They emerged into a cluttered and open area divided into cubicles, filled with chatter and laughter.
Memos zoomed back and forth across the cubicles like tiny rockets.
"This is the Wizengamot Administration Services office," Mr. Weasley said, pausing occasionally to greet some people and introduce Sirius and Evan.
In a small compartment, they went through the second elm door.
The three entered another hallway, turned left, proceeded down another corridor, turned right into a dimly lit and clearly dilapidated passage, and finally reached a dead end.
A door to the left was slightly ajar, revealing a broom cupboard, and a door to the right had a tarnished brass plate that read: IMPROPER USE OF MUGGLE ARTIFACTS.
Mr. Weasley's dismal office seemed slightly smaller than the broom cupboard.
They had squeezed two desks inside and there was barely any room to move around due to all the overflowing filing cabinets lining the walls, on top of which stood teetering stacks of files.
The limited wall space testified to Mr. Weasley's obsessions; there were various car posters, including one of a disassembled engine, two illustrations of mailboxes that seemed to have been cut out of Muggle children's books, and a diagram showing how to wire a plug.
Above Mr. Weasley's overflowing inbox tray was an old toaster that was hiccuping forlornly and a pair of empty leather gloves that were fidgeting with their thumbs.
Next to the inbox, there were some photographs of the Weasley family, one of which had been taken in Egypt last year. Ron had shown it to everyone. However, the rat 'Peter Pettigrew' had disappeared from it and should have been magically erased.
"Mr. Weasley said apologetically, 'We don't have a window. We've asked, but it seems they don't think we need one. Please have a seat; I'll bring you some water.'"
Evan and Sirius squeezed into the two chairs behind the desk. From the office surroundings visible, Mr. Weasley's Department was not taken seriously.
"You can write a letter to your parents here; I'll find an owl to send it for you," Mr. Weasley suggested as he brought two cups of tea.
He pulled out some blank parchments from the desk and handed them to Evan. Several loose-leaf papers fell to the floor.
Evan read: "It is reported that the backflow incident of toilet sewage in Wimbledon was investigated as...".
"A regurgitating toilet?"
"Anti-Muggle jinxes," Mr. Weasley said, frowning. "It's the first time it has happened. It's very serious. Muggles flush the toilet, and instead of everything disappearing... well, you can imagine. The poor things call those... those pumbles, I think they're called... you know, those who fix pipes and such..."
"Plumbers?"
"Exactly, yes, but of course, they are puzzled. I just hope we can catch whoever did it."
"Will it be the Aurors who catch them?"
"Oh no, this is too trivial for the Aurors; it will be the Ordinary Wizarding Level Enforcement Patrol that will handle it."
"This report is about Bertha Jorkins; what did she do?!" Sirius asked with interest, holding up a report. "The cactus plants she bought at a Muggle Store grew uncontrollably and developed a massive mouth. Two Muggle witnesses...".
A spark flashed in Evan's mind. Wasn't Bertha Jorkins the woman from Barty Crouch's Department?
He unraveled the truth behind the entire incident in the original story, and Crouch used the Memory Charm on her.
Then she went on vacation to Albania.
At the busiest moment of the Ministry of Magic, she disappeared for several months and was captured by Voldemort.
Voldemort broke the Memory Charm on Bertha and learned a lot from her, including the news that his most loyal servant, Barty Crouch Jr., was still alive. He rescued him and then plotted a series of intrigues in the Triwizard Tournament for a successful return.
If he could find her, he would demonstrate in advance that everything he said was true.
By then, they would have enough evidence to expose Barty Crouch's true face to the world and recapture Barty Crouch Jr.
Excitedly, Evan thought it was an opportunity.
Since he failed to persuade Sirius and Mr. Weasley, Evan had been pondering it.
He looked at the circular snake bracelet on his wrist and wondered if he had been chosen by Voldemort.
Regardless of whether others believed it or not, to prevent it, he was determined to take a more proactive approach to stop Voldemort.
Evan had a completely new idea. Why should he follow the original book? With the emergence of the Four Founders' secret treasure and the horrifying evil spirits, the world had already become completely different. Perhaps it was because he had crossed into this world that an even greater evil was looming.
Before that, he needed to find a way to eliminate Voldemort.
He knew the locations of all the Horcruxes, and as long as he had enough time, he could destroy them one by one.
He would try to delay Voldemort's return, and when all the Horcruxes were destroyed, he would have nothing to fear.
At that moment, he would not gain, as the prophecy stated, unimaginable power with his help.
Evan planned this way, but would everything really turn out as well as he thought?
