In the office, Aiden leaned comfortably against the sofa.
Fawkes came over to nuzzle him affectionately, and Aiden reached out to smooth its brilliant feathers.
"Aiden, what's going on?" Harry asked with obvious curiosity.
While walking toward the sofa, he reached out, wanting to grab some sherbet lemons.
"I suggest you better not grab those things; they bite," Aiden warned casually.
Harry's hand froze, stopping just outside the bowl.
"Come on, Dumbledore wants you to see what happened fifteen years ago."
Aiden patted Fawkes gently, and after it flew away, he stood up with purpose.
Raising his wand, the cabinet beside them opened, and a Pensieve slowly extended from inside.
"What is that?" Harry asked with puzzlement.
"A Pensieve, an alchemical tool used to view others' memories. Having to use tools just to watch a memory..." Aiden muttered with mild disdain.
"What?" Harry didn't hear Aiden's latter comment clearly.
"Nothing, let's begin."
Aiden pulled Harry to the front of the Pensieve, taking out a glass bottle from his robes.
Pouring the memory into the Pensieve, Aiden pulled Harry and dived in together.
"Ah!" Harry felt a sensation of falling, and soon he dropped onto a wooden chair.
Around them was a circular courtroom, and Dumbledore was currently sitting beside them.
"Professor?" Harry reached out, wanting to speak to Dumbledore.
But his outstretched hand actually passed through Dumbledore completely.
"This is just a memory; we can't change anything," Aiden said, sitting behind Harry.
Old Barty Crouch sat in the centre, striking his gavel authoritatively. "Quiet!"
The noisy scene quickly quieted down, and Moody also squeezed into the judges' seat, sitting behind Dumbledore.
Two Dementors dragged Karkaroff in with obvious menace.
They threw him onto the chair, which automatically extended golden chains to bind him.
"Igor Karkaroff, you request temporary leave from Azkaban to submit evidence to this court. If this evidence is indeed useful, the committee may consider releasing you immediately!"
Old Barty flipped over a page of the documents and continued with an official tone.
"Before that, your status remains that of a Death Eater in custody. Can you accept these terms?"
Old Barty read the preamble, then everyone's attention focused on Karkaroff.
"I accept; I can provide names!" Karkaroff hurriedly confessed. "Uh, Rosier, Evan Rosier."
Old Barty took the materials from beside him and said flatly, "Dead."
Moody nearby was gossiping with Dumbledore. "Before he died, he took something from me too, haha."
"Well, if your evidence is only this, then I'll..." Barty prepared to end the proceedings.
"No, no, there's also Rookwood, he's a spy."
Karkaroff excitedly straightened up but was pulled back by the chains.
"Augustus Rookwood? The one from the Department of Mysteries?" Old Barty asked with interest.
"!!??" This time question marks appeared over Aiden's head.
"He gathered intelligence within the Ministry of Magic and provided information to the Dark Lord," Karkaroff revealed desperately.
"How did he bypass the Unspeakable contract?" Aiden asked in confusion.
Unfortunately, the people in the memory didn't answer him, and Harry just looked at Aiden strangely.
"If you only have this information, then this court..." Barty was about to strike the gavel again.
"Wait, there's also Severus Snape! He's also a Death Eater!" Karkaroff desperately confessed.
But Dumbledore stood up to testify for Snape.
"Lies, Snape is still loyal to the Dark Lord!" Karkaroff roared with fury.
"Quiet! If you cannot provide other names, this court is adjourned," Old Barty struck the gavel.
"Oh really, I have one last person I can provide, Barty Crouch... the Second," Karkaroff said with a malicious smile.
Barty Jr in the judges' seat had just stood up but, hearing Karkaroff expose him, immediately drew his wand to eliminate the traitor.
But Moody was faster and struck him down first.
The surrounding people rushed up to confiscate Barty's wand and tie him up securely.
"Father, it's not my fault, don't listen to those villains," Barty Jr pleaded desperately.
"You are not my child," Old Barty said with cold emptiness.
Then, Harry witnessed Barty Jr's trial and the trial of the three Lestrange siblings.
When Bellatrix was being escorted to Azkaban, she was still shouting that the Dark Lord would definitely return.
A flash of light, and Harry and Aiden returned to the headmaster's office again.
"You'd better tell me your memory has problems, otherwise there's going to be big trouble soon," Aiden said, leaning on the sofa.
Dumbledore beside them put his hand to his ear, acting like he didn't understand what Aiden was saying.
"Someone in the Department of Mysteries has defected. How was this accomplished?" Aiden inquired seriously.
"That's their secret, you'll have to ask them yourself," Dumbledore said with mysterious evasion.
Aiden gave Dumbledore an annoyed look, then left the office.
Dumbledore began explaining to Harry about Barty Jr's affairs from ten years ago.
On the other side, within the Ministry of Magic, Umbridge returned to the Ministry with her people.
Fudge's possibility of failure in this election was extremely high. However, before that, he and his followers still retained extremely deep influence within the Ministry of Magic.
"Umbridge, what did Dumbledore say?" In the Minister's office, Fudge looked anxiously at his assistant.
"Oh, sir, he strongly demanded stopping the Triwizard Tournament, but I refused," Umbridge said, pushing her glasses.
Although the election had begun, Fudge's term hadn't ended yet.
Whether it was the World Cup or the Triwizard Tournament, these were all Fudge's political achievements, means to raise his approval ratings.
And now, Dumbledore's idea was to destroy Fudge's hope for re-election.
This caused Fudge great resistance and paranoia.
At the same time, on the ninth floor of the Ministry of Magic, in the Department of Mysteries.
Butterflies gathered in the circular hall, and Aiden appeared with his usual dramatic flair.
"Dragon, did you come to play with me?" The Director instantly appeared behind Aiden.
"I have serious business with you both," Aiden said.
"Us?" The Director asked, tilting his head.
The elevator beside them started operating, and a distinguished lady rode the elevator downstairs.
"So, what matter makes you urgently seek us out?" Amelia Bones asked, stepping out of the elevator.
"If Fudge's failure comes, who do you think has a chance of being elected next year?" Aiden asked, looking at the two people before him.
Amelia Bones raised her head, showing a knowing smile.
"Yes, so with the election approaching, I'm worried that Fudge's faction might take desperate measures," Aiden said, narrowing his eyes.
"You mean, assassination?" Amelia Bones reacted with sharp understanding.
"Right, so you need some protection," Aiden said, his mouth curving into a smile.
After some detailed discussion, Bones left with the protection plan.
"So, what business do you have with me?" The Director asked, raising an eyebrow.
"What's the deal with Augustus Rookwood? What connection does Voldemort have with the Deep Realm?" Aiden didn't bother with pleasantries and went straight to the point.
"This is quite a long story," The Director said, leading Aiden toward his office.