The sound of advertisents played on the radio just as Scrimgeour entered Crouch's office.
Seeing him knock and walk in, Crouch casually turned off the radio and gestured for Scrimgeour to take a seat.
"Have Snape and the others been dealt with?"
Scrimgeour's expression had been grim since last night, and he gave a stiff nod.
"They've been temporarily held in the detention cells on the seventh floor."
"What about that Muggle nad Patty?" Crouch asked, eyeing Scrimgeour, "According to protocol, her mories should have been erased, and she should have been sent ho by now."
Hearing this, Scrimgeour's face darkened even further.
"That's how it should have been, but last night, that vampire proposed to her… and she accepted. Wizards don't have formal marriage certificates. As long as two people publicly declare themselves husband and wife, their union is legally recognized. Last night, rlin knows how many reporters captured that mont. Practically the entire wizarding population of Britain can testify to it!"
Crouch interlaced his fingers, his expression remaining largely unchanged.
"So, by the standards of the International Statute of Secrecy, she now qualifies as a wizard's family mber, granting her the right to knowledge of magic. Is that correct?"
"She's an adult capable of making her own decisions, so yes, that's the case." Scrimgeour confird.
He harbored biases against all forr Death Eaters, and he also looked down upon vampires and hags. They are dark creatures that were classified as humans under magical laws, but were discriminated against and looked down upon in many situations.
But Scrimgeour was rely rigid, prejudiced, and stubborn. When it ca to magical law, he respected it deeply.
"Moreover, there are many eyes watching how the Ministry will handle this situation. So have even written in demanding that Snape and the others' trial be made public, with journalists allowed to cover the entire process."
After hearing this, Crouch frowned slightly, his expression growing more serious.
"So, have you conducted preliminary interrogations with Snape and the others?"
"Last night, as soon as they were brought to the Ministry, I separated them and questioned them myself. But they all chose to remain silent, refusing to say a word until they're brought before the Wizengamot."
"And then there's the boy..." Scrimgeour hesitated.
This made Crouch look up.
"What about the boy?"
"That boy nad Dudley, last night, as soon as we separated him from Snape and the others at the Ministry, Dumbledore showed up and took him away. His reasoning was that a nine-year-old child shouldn't be held in Ministry custody, and Hogwarts would take care of him until the trial."
The office fell into a heavy silence, and Crouch wasn't sure what to say about Dumbledore's actions.
After a long pause, he finally spread his hands and said, "So, as it stands, there's nothing we can do?"
Scrimgeour opened his mouth, reluctant to admit it, but after Snape and the others had publicly surrendered their wands and turned themselves in, the matter was effectively out of the Auror Office's, or even the entire Departnt of Magical Law Enforcent's, hands.
At most, Crouch would participate in the trial as an interrogator when the court convened.
"The Aurors will hold Severus Snape accountable for obstructing our investigation!"
After a long struggle, Scrimgeour finally managed to spit out those words.
…
Harry opened his eyes and sat up from the large, soft four-poster bed in a daze.
His mind was a little confused as he had just woken up. After more than ten seconds of recollection, he finally rembered how he had ended up here.
Last night, after turning himself in with his teacher and being taken to the Ministry by the Aurors, they had assigned an Auror to search him before isolating him.
Harry had been terrified.
Severus had stressed to him that his true identity couldn't be revealed yet, otherwise, it would cause trouble for too many people.
But Harry, who was only 9 years old, could not resist in any way. He could only stall by repeatedly excusing himself to use the bathroom.
Just as he was about to claim, for the fourth ti, that he couldn't hold it any longer, an old man with a peculiar half-moon spectacles and a long white beard suddenly appeared.
The wizards around him treated the old man with great respect. The old man claid to be the Headmaster of the magic school and his na is Dumbledore. He invited Harry to stay at Hogwarts for a few days.
Harry didn't imdiately agree. He still rembered what Severus had said to him: "When dealing with Dumbledore in the future, you'd better keep an extra eye open."
But Harry also understood that this white-bearded old man clearly knew his true identity, and taking him away was likely a way to keep it hidden.
So, after hesitating for a mont, Harry followed him to this castle.
After bringing him here, the old man did not ask anything imdiately. Instead, he asked a creature called a house-elf, the sa as the one in Slughorn's house, to serve him dinner, and then showed him to a room to sleep.
Harry was indeed tired after working as a painter all day yesterday.
The mont he climbed into bed, he slept straight through till now.
As he sat up, the sa house-elf from last night suddenly appeared again, this ti delivering breakfast.
Harry tried to call out to it, but the creature seed very shy around strangers. After putting down breakfast, it vanished again.
Harry had no choice but to wash up first, finish his simple breakfast, and then cautiously pushed open the bedroom door and stepped out.
He wandered the vast castle, gazing around in wonder at everything.
"Weak little brat! Raise your lance! Be like Sir Cadogan!"
A moving portrait of a knight barked orders at Harry.
This made Harry subconsciously hunched his shoulders, keep muttering 'sorry, sorry', and quickly move away from this portrait that made him feel that there was sothing wrong with his brain.
Then, he stumbled upon two suits of armor. They seed to have just finished a fight and were constantly picking up fallen parts from the ground to reassemble themselves.
Like a thief, Harry didn't dare disturb them, tiptoeing past as quietly as possible.
With no real destination in mind, Harry andered through the castle until he encountered a scrawny, dull-furred cat. Just one look into its eyes, and Harry sohow knew this creature and he would not get along.
Not long after, a ghost with hollow eyes, a gaunt face, and silvery bloodstains on its robes drifted around a corner, startling Harry badly.
It was the first ti he saw a ghost with his own eyes, and such a terrifying one at that!
"Not a Hogwarts student?" The ghost spoke, his voice cold and empty.
Harry pressed himself against the wall, swallowing hard before stamring, "I-I'm Severus Snape's student!"
"Snape?" The ghost seed surprised to hear the na, but his voice beca noticeably softened, "Snape actually took on a child too young for school as his student?"
"You know my teacher?" Harry's nervousness dissipated a little.
"He is exceptional. Even looking back through history, Snape was one of the finest Heads of Slytherin we've had." The bloodstained ghost studied Harry, "Are you lost?"
"I want to go see Dumbledore." Harry admitted.
It was not known whether it was because out of respect for Snape or whether this ghost with a scary appearance was actually a kind-hearted ghost, he took the initiative to lead the way for Harry.
"Follow . I'll take you there."
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