Chapter 274: Missing Crouch

Bartemius Crouch looked like he had been wandering outside for many days.

His robes were torn at the knees, stained with blood, his face marked with bruises, and his unkempt beard and hair desperately needed grooming.

His appearance was peculiar, but what was even stranger was his behavior. Mr. Crouch seemed to be talking to someone only he could see, muttering incessantly and making gestures.

"Isn't he a judge?" Fleur asked, staring at Crouch. "Isn't he from your Ministry of Magic?"

Alaric nodded and approached Crouch.

Crouch didn't acknowledge him, continuing to speak to an unseen entity beside him.

"... Weatherby, after you finish that, send an owl to Dumbledore to confirm the number of Durmstrang students participating in the Triwizard Tournament. Karkaroff sent word that there are twelve..."

"Mr. Crouch?" Alaric called out.

"... and then send another owl to Madame Maxime, she may also need to increase her student count now that Karkaroff's count has increased to twelve... Yes, Weatherby, understand? Understand? Under..."

Mr. Crouch's eyes bulged. He stood there, staring fixedly at the tree, silently murmuring. T

hen, he stumbled a few steps to the side and collapsed.

"Mr. Crouch?" Alaric called out loudly. "Are you alright?"

Hermione and Fleur followed him into the bushes, looking anxiously at Mr. Crouch.

"What's wrong with him?"

"I don't know," Alaric whispered.

"Their mental state seems abnormal, probably some magical effect. We need to examine it closely to understand what's going on."

"Dumbledore!" Mr. Crouch gasped.

He lunged forward, grabbing Alaric's robe and pulling him close, but his eyes were fixed above Harry's head. "I need to... see... Dumbledore..."

"Alright," Alaric said calmly. "Mr. Crouch, I'll take you to..."

"I did... something... foolish..." Crouch gasped.

He looked completely deranged, his eyes bulging and darting around, saliva dripping down his chin.

"You must... tell... Dumbledore!"

With a snap of his fingers, Alaric levitated Crouch as if he were weightless.

At first, Crouch seemed bewildered, but soon he began to frolic in the air as if he had found a delightful toy.

Ignoring his antics, Alaric led him towards the castle.

On their way, they encountered Professor Snape.

"What are you secretly discussing here? Planning the next match?" Snape's words were as cutting as ever.

Then, he noticed the person floating beside Alaric.

"I haven't heard that the famous genius Alaric enjoys using levitation charms to joke around with people," Snape squinted.

"Who is that? Which fool has gotten himself tangled up with you?"

"This is Mr. Bartemius Crouch, Severus," Alaric reminded him.

"He appeared deranged in the Forbidden Forest. I'm taking him to Dumbledore."

"Bartemius Crouch!" Snape was astonished.

Bartemius Crouch was a former opponent of Voldemort and a Death Eater, and had his son not become a Death Eater, he might have become Minister of Magic.

What could have happened to make such a man lose his sanity?

Recalling what Karkaroff had mentioned earlier, Snape immediately sensed that something was amiss.

At this moment, he wanted to interrogate Crouch and find out what had happened.

"Why don't you hand him over to me?" Snape suggested.

"I believe handling such matters should be a teacher's responsibility."

"Good idea," Alaric shrugged indifferently. He was glad to pass on this responsibility.

"Then he's yours."

As if thrown there, Bartemius Crouch was thrust onto Snape's shoulder.

Snape nearly stumbled under Crouch's weight and struggled to steady himself.

Then, supporting Crouch, Snape slowly walked towards the castle.

"Well, as planned, let's head to the Forbidden Forest," Alaric cheerfully turned back to the two girls, suggesting to them.

However, early the next morning, Snape was found unconscious next to the Quidditch pitch—now a giant maze.

Though no one knew what had happened, Gryffindors rejoiced at his misfortune."

They speculated widely on who could have done it.

"I think it was Alaric," Harry speculated in the Gryffindor common room discussion.

"Yesterday, Bagman introduced the final event at the Quidditch pitch, and Alaric, along with Fleur and Hermione, went towards the Forbidden Forest.

Snape's collapse must have occurred shortly after.

We all know Alaric's magical prowess surpasses many adult wizards.

Besides the other professors, he's the most likely one to have done this."

"But what would his motive be?"

Dean Thomas asked curiously. "He couldn't have just attacked a professor for no reason."

"I think it's because Snape wanted to explore something in the maze," Harry said maliciously.

"Alaric is the judge and one of the designers and creators of the maze.

If it was him who did this, Alaric had every reason to knock him out there."

Soon, Harry's words spread.

Most young wizards felt his analysis was reasonable, and news of Snape's nocturnal exploration of the maze being sanctioned by Alaric quickly spread.

However, Snape obviously had no time or energy to manage these rumors.

Currently, he was trying his best to find the person who had attacked him at Hogwarts and retrieve Bartemius Crouch to extract the information he wanted from him.

"I assure you, Crouch was right beside me at the time," he complained to Dumbledore in the Headmaster's office.

"I was supporting him towards the castle gates, when I was ambushed by a curse from who knows where. I distinctly remember it was a stunning spell."

"And then when you woke up, Mr. Crouch was no longer by your side?" Dumbledore looked at him, asking seriously.

"Exactly! Damn attacker. If I catch him, I'll make him swallow a whole bottle of Veritaserum," Snape said fiercely.

"Obviously, this attacker is a dangerous individual, and he must have something to do with Crouch.

He didn't want us to get any information from Crouch."

"What do you think this dangerous information might be?"

"About... about Voldemort. Crouch mentioned it on the way. If it weren't for his distraction, I wouldn't have..."

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