"British Minister for Magic Travels to Poland for Exchange"
Barty Crouch Sr. travelled to the Polish Ministry of Magic.
He chose to openly enter the place where his subordinates had disappeared one after another.
The Polish Minister for Magic, Inge Griffiths, welcomed him, and the Polish people greeted him with great enthusiasm.
Barty Crouch Sr. entered Poland once again. Looking at the smiles on the faces of the Polish wizards now, he fell silent.
"Can one person really change?" he asked Pierce beside him.
Pierce shook his head and said, "Minister, they are merely embers before they go out."
Yes. So what if they were fanatical?
Fanaticism could not change the current situation. Hunger and poverty still surrounded this place.
Although it had not reached the point where people starved to death, days without any visible future were even more despairing.
Pierce was a realist, so he felt no sense of kinship with these dreamers.
Barty Crouch Sr. glanced at the collapsed building.
He walked over and lifted a stone slab.
The corpse inside had already been moved away.
"Welcome to Poland." Starr Rosier brought people over to greet them.
He glanced at the ruins and said calmly, "There are always people who wish to harm our saviour."
Hearing this, Barty Crouch Sr. paused, then said without changing expression, "I hope this exchange with your Ministry will go smoothly."
"Naturally," Starr said with a smile. "We will ensure your safety."
Barty Crouch Sr. nodded and went to the Ministry of Magic.
Inside the Ministry.
The Polish Minister for Magic casually raised the corpse with his wand and asked lightly, "Dead?"
Barty Crouch Sr. walked in. When he saw the floating corpse, his pupils contracted.
"Ah, Minister Crouch."
Griffiths turned around and said, "I am very pleased to welcome you. I hope you will find your time here satisfactory."
Barty Crouch Sr.'s eyes were fixed on the corpse behind Griffiths, and for a moment, he did not even respond.
Seeing this, Pierce took over and said, "My apologies. Our Minister is exhausted from the journey."
"It was my oversight." Griffiths was not angered. Instead, he nodded with great elegance and courtesy.
"I believe my office can allow Minister Crouch to rest." He looked around and said apologetically, "I am very sorry. Our Ministry of Magic suffered an invasion not long ago."
"The intruder's corpse is here."
Griffiths stepped aside, revealing the corpse.
Burns and bloodstains covered the body.
Barty Crouch Sr. walked forward and looked at the corpse.
"Lippi."
He took a deep breath.
Yes, it was her.
His missing subordinate.
Her body had been burned by fire, and the crushing weight had almost disfigured her.
But he recognised those clothes. They were Lippi's.
Barty Crouch Sr. turned back to look at the smiling Griffiths and said, "If you don't mind, I would like to discuss more matters concerning your Ministry."
"Of course." Griffiths nodded.
Starr, who had followed them in, walked over and waved his wand. Lippi's body floated up and followed him out.
Barty Crouch Sr. looked back. Lippi had died just like that, nameless and unknown.
"Pierce," Barty Crouch Sr. called.
Pierce understood and smiled at Griffiths. "Minister Griffiths, I would like to take a look around the Ministry."
"Please do." Griffiths did not seem afraid.
Pierce walked into the Ministry, looked at the lift that had been damaged by the explosion, and said, "What a pity."
Barty Crouch Sr., meanwhile, was invited to the Minister's office.
The moment he entered the office, Barty Crouch Sr. glanced at the windmill painting on the wall.
"Apologies. Because of Grindelwald, quite a few people have wanted to attack me," Griffiths said apologetically. "Sometimes, I have no choice but to remain vigilant."
"I understand."
When Barty Crouch Sr. came in, he saw guards standing nearby on standby. His heart was filled with grief, but he needed to calm himself and face this unfathomable Minister Griffiths.
"Speaking of which, I should be the one apologising," Barty Crouch Sr. said. "Some time ago, because of Grindelwald, the International Confederation of Wizards once provided support to your Ministry. But what happened afterward was too sudden, and some personnel did not complete their return home to report on their duties."
"Oh?" Griffiths said in surprise. "In that case, there are still some people here?"
"I believe so," Barty Crouch Sr. said in a deep voice. "Six Aurors in total. I hope they have not caused you any trouble, Minister Griffiths."
"No. It's just that I don't know where those six people are either." Griffiths smiled. "The 'remnants of Grindelwald' that have appeared these days have left the Ministry utterly overwhelmed."
Remnants of Grindelwald?
They were probably the British Ministry's Aurors.
Barty Crouch Sr. knew that he was in the wrong in this matter. He also knew that without benefits, the other party would not loosen his grip.
And the corpse that the other party had deliberately displayed today was clearly meant to show Barty Crouch Sr. his bargaining chip.
"I saw the damaged areas of your Ministry," Barty Crouch Sr. said. "I know a generous friend who owns Silver Hand Style Construction. I believe they could be of help to you, Minister Griffiths."
He was willing to make a concession. Staring at Griffiths, he said, "As the Minister for Magic, I imagine Minister Griffiths should have some information about my subordinates."
"I just remembered," Griffiths said after thinking for a moment. "In one place, it seems someone discovered a few strangers."
"A few?"
"Five."
Griffiths smiled. "Five strangers. They should still be there now."
Barty Crouch Sr. took a deep breath and said, "The sixth..."
"Sorry, but I believe my subordinates were not mistaken."
Griffiths interrupted Barty Crouch Sr.
There was no noise in this confrontation. From beginning to end, both sides remained pleasant.
Barty Crouch Sr. looked deeply at Griffiths and said, "I think my subordinates may have encountered some 'remnants of Grindelwald.'"
He left the Ministry of Magic and went to the place Griffiths had mentioned.
There, he found the Aurors whose memories had been erased.
All five Aurors had no memories whatsoever.
It was as if they had been here from the moment they arrived in Poland.
Barty Crouch Sr.'s visit to Poland did not last long.
Pierce came out of the Ministry of Magic and shook his head. "Nothing."
Barty Crouch Sr.'s expression darkened. Had Lippi sacrificed herself for nothing?
"But there is one thing," Pierce said. "I'm certain Lippi discovered something."
"I asked a few people. They said something fell from Lippi's pocket, and she risked being caught to pick it up."
That thing must have been very important. Otherwise, Lippi would not have risked going back for it when she had almost been caught.
But Pierce had examined Lippi's body and had not seen anything unusual.
According to witnesses, that thing seemed to be a ring.
Barty Crouch Sr. understood. Lippi's death had been because of that ring.
Was the ring gone because it had been taken, or because Lippi had hidden it?
Griffiths's mysterious smile appeared in Barty Crouch Sr.'s mind, and he knew that he could not continue letting his subordinates take risks.
"I can only ask someone else for help."
He thought of John. Apart from this second king, no one could help him.
That Griffiths was clearly not simple. The fact that he could easily subdue five Aurors proved that he possessed an even greater power.
Since Barty Crouch Sr. could not openly mobilise the Aurors, he could only place his hopes on John.
"Griffiths hasn't found it. Otherwise, he wouldn't still be guarding the body."
Barty Crouch Sr. had a premonition that this object was also of vital importance to Griffiths.
Just what unspeakable secrets did this hero who had killed Grindelwald have hidden behind his back?
...
On the streets of a Polish wizarding settlement, a hooded figure arrived at the site of the collapsed building.
He raised his head and glanced around. Those wary gazes fell upon him.
He had no choice but to leave first.
Seeing him leave, the owner of those gazes said faintly, "Keep searching. That woman must have hidden the thing somewhere."
At those words, the surrounding people all began to move.
But the person who had left was silently watching everything from a corner.
____
o(*￣▽￣*)ブSupport and Read 12 Chapters ahead: Patreon/Dragonel