0633 The Crouch Family

Words : 1465 Updated : Apr 18th, 2026

Chapter 632 of "Harry Potter: The Golden Viper" unveils: 0633 The Crouch Family After uncovering the truth behind the infamous "Dark Mark Incident" that on... Continue the story!

0633 The Crouch Family After uncovering the truth behind the infamous "Dark Mark Incident" that on night of the Quidditch finals, Dumbledore and Bryan fell into an uncomfortable period of heavy silence. The human heart is truly a strange and enigmatic thing; even the most skilled Legilimens can never really see through the complex web of a person's innermost thoughts and desires hidden deep within his heart. The mind seemed to be a puzzle wrapped in a riddle. Bartemius "Barty" Crouch Sr. had always been known throughout the British wizarding world for his notoriously tough stance on crime and the Dark Arts. During the brutal war against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his fanatical followers, Crouch was the first to controversially yet forcefully propose fighting fire with fire against the murderous Death Eaters. He advocated granting the brave but harassed Aurors expanded rights to use lethal, fatal force and kill without prior Ministerial approval under certain extreme circumstances in the fights. It was a desperate measure for a desperate time. Crouch's desire for greater power was strong, and he never bothered to conceal or cloak his ambitions to one day ascend to the top and become the Minister of Magic himself. Many believed that if it weren't for that scandal that erupted around him back then, the politically opportunistic Cornelius Fudge would never have had a clear path to seize the Minister position for himself. But for such a cold-blooded, ruthlessly calculating power-seeker like Crouch to suddenly risk everything, even his own freedom and reputation, to save his convicted Death Eater son? It seemed inconceivable to those who thought they knew the man. With a wave of his wand, Dumbledore activated his shimmering Pensieve and showed Bryan the memory of when young Barty Crouch Jr.'s identity as a Death Eater was exposed in front of the entire Wizengamot. The subsequent trial was a sensation throughout wizarding Britain. The depth of Senior Barty's deep-seated, seemingly genuine hatred and utter indifference of his unrepentant Death Eater son on display in the courtroom was seared into public memory. But who could have ever imagined that Crouch Sr. would dare to do such an unthinkable, daring thing in secret— even risking the eternal condemnation and wrath of the entire wizarding world if his act was ever discovered? "How do you think Barty Crouch Sr. managed to rescue young Barty Crouch from Azkaban, Bryan?" Dumbledore asked slowly as he gazed up at the chandelier hanging from the ceiling above, pondering the question for a long time. This was indeed a good question! "It's hard to say with any certainty, Headmaster—" Bryan replied pensively, rubbing his haggard face with his palms, looking quite weary. He continued: "From the moment Barty Crouch Jr.'s true identity as a Death Eater was publicly exposed, to when the Wizengamot finally completed his trial, I don't believe Barty Crouch Sr. would have had any real chance to secretly act to save him. Although I wasn't there to personally witness it, I imagine there must have been countless watchful eyes observing and scrutinizing Barty Crouch Sr.'s every move during that time. The Ministry would never let him out of their sight. He simply had no opportunity to swap his son out of their custody during the proceedings. Also let's not forget that Barty personally presided over his own son's trial. He himself announced the Wizengamot's unanimous judgment that young Barty Crouch was to be imprisoned in the depths of Azkaban for the rest of his life. According to official Wizengamot procedure, after the trial concludes, the sentenced is handed over into the custody of a hand-picked escort of the Ministry's best Aurors. It is they who take the prisoner and transport them via top-secret Portkey through the Department of Mysteries, directly to Azkaban to begin their life sentence. Unless Barty somehow managed to sway those Aurors to go along with his scheme, which I find highly doubtful, I believe the only possible opportunity to make the switch would be to secretly act after young Barty Crouch was officially handled and imprisoned within Azkaban." Dumbledore listened intently in silence for a moment, then nodded slowly in agreement. His face was etched with deep lines of contemplation. "I agree with your thoughtful view and reasoning, Bryan," he finally said, stroking his long, silver beard. "Barty probably took advantage of his own personal visitation rights at Azkaban to gain access to his son. After all, no one would think to stop a totally disgraced Ministry official who had lost any eligibility to further vie for the position of Minister of Magic from going to visit the fallen child he had once taken such pride in before everything went wrong..." What was simultaneously most infuriating and disgustingly laughable was that at some point during its intense depression, Winky had actually developed a very bad new habit most inappropriate for a house-elf. It actually clutched a nearly empty green bottle of cheap butterbeer in its hand, and the pungent stench of the alcohol was wafting off it. Just from the distraught house-elf's blank, bloodshot eyes and drunken swaying, it was obviously clear to the stunned Bryan that this was not the first bottle of butterbeer it had downed this night. It took a dozen or so long seconds for intoxicated Winky to finally realize exactly where it had clumsily Apparated itself to in its drunken blankness. The house-elf's tennis ball sized bloodshot eyes nearly bulged out of its skull even further when it finally realized that it now swayed unsteadily before the hawk-like gazes of the two highest ranking and most powerful decision makers at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And here Winky was, standing before them while still grasping a tall bottle of liquor in its dirty, shaking hands like a common gutter alcoholic! Winky subconsciously tried to drag itself up to its unsteady feet in order to find a place to hide the bottle from view. But in front of two of the most powerful wizards of the age, where oh where could this already half-drunk house-elf possibly hope to conceal it in time? It was futile. Moreover, all the butterbeer Winky had already rashly consumed was making the room spin and its knees buckle, it was completely unable to stand firmly or balance for more than a moment. And so, few seconds after Winky struggled drunkenly to its feet, it abruptly crashed to the floor again with a muffled thud. The half-empty butterbeer bottle slipped from its grasp, rolling away across the stone floor as the remaining trickle of liquor inside spilled out onto the office carpet, forming a dark, wet stain that spread across the carpet's fabric. "Professor Dumbledore, Watson, Sir, Winky...Winky..." Winky was terrified, its dirty face was filled with dread. No matter how much it missed Mr. Crouch, it belonged to Hogwarts now. But here it was, dead drunk when summoned by its master. This was completely at odds with the house-elf image in its heart! "Winky— Winky finished work—" Winky blinked hard, but fearful tears still fell from the corners of its eyes with their many brown lumps. "Winky can clean it up, Mr. Dumbledore, Mr. Watson. Please don't— don't make Winky—" For a house-elf, being dismissed just once by its master was shameful and humiliating enough. But to be dismissed by two masters in a row? it would utterly destroy Winky's reputation - such an elf would be seen by wizarding society as damaged goods, a house-elf with serious deficiencies or something wrong deep within it. After that, no self-respecting witch or wizard would ever consent to stoop so low as to willingly use it ever again. Winky would be forever untouchable, an outcast among its own kind! And what meaning or purpose was there for a young, healthy house-elf to even continue its existence if it wasn't faithfully working under the oppression of a wizarding family anyway? What place was there in the wizarding world for such a misfit then? None. Fear made Winky's lips turn cyan as its whole body trembled nonstop. To beg forgiveness, its subconscious reaction was to go wipe up the liquor stain on the carpet! "Don't bother with that, Winky—" Bryan left his seat and pulled Winky, who was wiping the stain while lying on the ground, to its feet. He then crouched down, looking Winky straight in the eyes. The seemingly flowing violet in his eyes made the house-elf go blank for a moment, even forgetting its dread of being kicked out again. "I have some good news for you, Winky," Bryan said with a smile. "You can go home—" ******************************* For More /FicFrenzy

0633 The Crouch Family

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