The Lonely Dragon of Hogwarts

The hallway was obviously not a good place for conversation.

Therefore, although John was shocked when he heard this, he used [Occlumency] to forcibly suppress his desire to ask questions.

He and Snape looked at each other.

The two then headed to the Potions office.

It wasn't until the door was completely closed that John asked at a very fast speed:

"When did she die? Where did she die?"

Snape sat at the workbench and said:

"The editor of the Daily Prophet discovered Rita Skeeter's body when she went to her home this morning to press for an article. Later, the Aurors went over to conduct an investigation. The result was that Rita Skeeter was dead and there were at least more than one person. It’s been weeks. John…”

Snape paused and asked solemnly:

"Is the water you gave Rita Skeeter really water to drink?"

John said equally seriously:

"Yes, I can swear it!"

Snape took a deep breath, stood up and paced back and forth in the office.

After a while, he said again:

"I believe you, John. But we must keep this matter secret. The Aurors are investigating the death of Rita Skeeter. If you are targeted by them, you will be in trouble."

Snape then went on to tell John a lot of things, and then he invited John out of the office.

John could clearly feel that because he wanted to conceal the dark history, Snape did not want John to be involved in the attack on Karkaroff.

At the same time, Snape did not take Rita Skeeter's death seriously.

Snape wouldn't have even mentioned it to John if the fire hadn't nearly burned him.

After all, Rita Skeeter had been hacked, and there were too many people who had grudges against her.

Even Dumbledore had the motive to kill Rita Skeeter.

Therefore, including Snape and the Aurors, everyone probably didn't take Rita Skeeter's death seriously.

This is just an annoying guy.

But John didn't think so.

Because he knew that Rita Skeeter had been quietly investigating Crouch during this time.

To say that Rita Skeeter's sudden death had nothing to do with Crouch, John didn't believe it!

John frowned and looked at the closed door of the Potions office.

Now he continues to learn more about Crouch's secrets.

Since Snape was unwilling to reveal anything to him, he had no choice but to ask others.

Shaking his head, John went directly to the principal's office on the eighth floor.

Since there was no password, he planned to ask the monster statue guarding the door to inform him first.

But what surprised John was that he had just stood in front of the passage, and before he even said a word, the monster stone statue automatically moved out of the way.

It was as if Dumbledore had known he would come, so he had specifically given instructions to the monster statue.

After looking at the monster stone statue carefully for a while, John finally entered the office.

Contrary to what he expected, Dumbledore obviously did not expect that he would visit at this time.

Because he was talking to Moody at the moment.

Seeing John suddenly appear, a trace of surprise flashed across both of their faces.

The surprise on Dumbledore's face quickly disappeared and turned into a warm smile.

Moody narrowed his eyes and asked warily:

"Do you have an appointment?"

Dumbledore's eyes stayed on John for a while, and then he said:

"Yes, Moody."

"Then it looks like I came at the wrong time!"

Moody spoke and slowly exited the principal's office.

He moved very carefully, always keeping a safe distance from John, and at the same time, his right hand secretly grasped the wand hidden in his arms.

John also frowned and watched him leave.

Until the passage closed again, Dumbledore explained with a smile:

"Don't worry about it, John. The previous attack by 'Townley' obviously aggravated his condition. Now he doesn't believe anyone, and he is wary even of me. As far as I know, he even used black magic The Defense Department office has been renovated even more excessively than during the fake Moody period. So...his attitude towards you is actually quite friendly."

While talking, Dumbledore had used magic to brew a pot of black tea, placed some refreshments on the coffee table, and motioned for John to sit down and enjoy.

John was not interested in tea and said directly:

"Professor, I have some questions that I need you to answer for me."

"Is it about Karkaroff and Severus?" Dumbledore poured two cups of black tea and said, "With your intelligence, it is impossible not to discover that Snape is trying to hide these things.

In fact, I had already guessed that you would come to me to ask about this matter, so I gave you direct permission to place it in the principal's office.

But in the end, you delayed it for so long...

Of course, that's not a bad thing.

In fact, this just proves that you and Severus have a very good relationship. You trust each other. Even though you knew that the other party was hiding something from you, you still did not choose to launch an investigation immediately based on trust.

I'm so relieved that you're really great, John.

On the contrary, Snape did something wrong in this matter.

He cares too much about the past.

Those things...have been tormenting him, this is his fatal weakness.

You are his pride, the one who has truly entered his heart in the past ten years.

It is precisely because of this that he is afraid that you will change your view of him or even stop respecting him because you know these things.

But in fact, he was overthinking it.

I don't think it's possible for you to..."

"Professor Dumbledore,"

John interrupted, "Actually, these things are not secrets, I already know them.

Professors including Karkaroff and Snape were Death Eaters.

But during the Ministry of Magic's purge of Death Eaters, Karkaroff relied on betraying his associates and making a deal with Crouch, successfully escaping trial.

And Professor Snape was saved by you.

At the same time, I also knew that Barty Crouch Sr.’s son, Barty Jr., was also a fanatical Death Eater.

He preferred death to surrender and was eventually imprisoned in Azkaban, where he later died.

Because of this incident, Crouch also lost to Fudge in the election that year and failed to become Minister of Magic. "

Hearing this, Dumbledore was stunned for a moment, and then a happy smile appeared on his face again.

"I was right about you, John, you are a good boy." Dumbledore said, "But now that you know everything, what else do you want to ask?"

John leaned forward and said seriously:

"I want to know if Barty Crouch Sr. might betray the Ministry of Magic, become a Death Eater, or become a lackey of other forces!"

"Do you suspect that he is related to the attack on Karkaroff?" Dumbledore almost immediately understood what John meant and said solemnly, "But this is impossible, Crouch cannot betray the Ministry of Magic. "

John shrugged his shoulders and said:

"Hate will change a person."

"I know you are referring to the matter of Barty Crouch Jr., and I also know that there are indeed many dirty and shameful conspiracies within the Ministry of Magic." Dumbledore said, "But I have always been concerned about this matter at the beginning. They are all paying attention, and I believe that, at least during that period, no one dared to have these twisted thoughts under my nose.

Barty Crouch Jr. was sent to Azkaban by Barty Crouch Sr. personally.

He clearly could have let his son go just like he did with Karkaroff or Malfoy, but he didn't do that.

At that time, many people felt that he wanted to use this method to prove his innocence to ensure the success rate of the subsequent ministerial election.

But in the end, he failed.

And he was also given the name of being ruthless.

Fudge did not liquidate him after he came to power.

He was just transferred to the International Magical Cooperation Department, a not too important but busy department.

Even when his son was seriously ill and about to die, he and his wife went to check on him personally.

He didn't find anything unusual, and he admitted personally that little Barty simply couldn't bear the intrusion of the dementors.

Therefore, Barty Crouch Sr. has no reason to betray the Ministry of Magic! "

"call--"

John exhaled heavily and said, "I understand, Professor Dumbledore."

He trusted that Dumbledore would not lie to him.

But Dumbledore's words undoubtedly pushed the matter to another unexplainable abyss.

If the death of Rita Skeeter and the attack on Karkaroff really had nothing to do with Crouch, then who did it?

John said goodbye to Dumbledore and prepared to leave the headmaster's office.

"John."

Dumbledore also stood up and called out again, "Tomorrow is June 6th. I wish you good luck in the third project."