At least half of the Dementors instantly drifted towards Barty Crouch Jr., while the other half seemed to realize they couldn't compete with their brethren, causing only a slight commotion.
The Ministry of Magic's Aurors didn't pay much attention to these large, shadowy figures, as merely being near them could cause sorrow and pain, so the Aurors kept their distance.
He glanced over, saw that the Dementors hadn't strayed beyond the designated area, and then resumed looking down at a palm-sized Streaming Mirror in his hand.
With no one else around, the Auror confidently turned up the volume on the Streaming Mirror, a silly smile on his face, as he watched a blonde witch in the mirror awkwardly wave her Wand, and sparks "crackled" out of a basin in front of her.
"What are you doing?" the witch's companion shrieked in exasperation. "We're supposed to be casting a Disillusionment Charm, not an Explosion Charm!"
"You idiot!" the blonde witch screamed back. "This isn't an explosion at all, it's fireworks!"
"We need to be invisible! Invisible! And you're setting off fireworks! Are you trying to make sure Filch finds us?"
The Auror watched the video and burst into laughter.
This was a sitcom filmed by Wizards themselves; although the actors' performances weren't top-notch, the genuine Magical Power and various botched Spells made the show hilarious.
As the Auror chuckled foolishly at the video, the Dementors had already formed a circle. They hadn't immediately lunged to drain him only because they sensed powerful Magical Power emanating from this Wizard.
"Wait! Wait!" Barty Crouch Jr. said, making a blocking gesture with his Wand. "Who's your leader? I've got a deal!"
The Dementors didn't seem to understand, still approaching, but suddenly, they stopped.
In Barty Crouch Jr.'s empty hand, a transparent spherical crystal bottle appeared, with silvery-white things swirling and shining inside. From the outside, it looked as if he had bottled the Milky Way.
Barty Crouch Jr. raised the bottle slightly, ensuring all the surrounding Dementors saw it, then slowly lowered it, finally placing the bottle on the ground.
The man stepped back two paces and said, "This is my sincerity—the happiest memories from twelve Muggles' lives."
Memories extracted by Wizards with Magical Power were infinitely better than the free-floating emotions in the air. The Dementors' greed and desire instantly peaked, but they didn't act rashly.
One creature, looking not much different from the others but with a blacker cloak and a more ethereal form, emerged from the group. It extended a long, slender, rotting hand, and the bottle on the ground flew "whoosh" into its grasp.
Barty Crouch Jr. couldn't help but recoil two steps, trying hard not to show any expression of disgust or fear.
He had spent about a year in Azkaban and had personally experienced the terror of these monsters. He absolutely did not want to relive the torment of all painful memories assailing him at once.
He couldn't cast a Patronus Charm, but fortunately, Voldemort had taught him a Dark Magic Spell related to the soul, which reduced the Dementors' influence on him to a very weak degree.
Barty Crouch Jr. lowered his gaze and saw a dim light flickering on the Dementor's hand—it had a silver ring, but the band was deeply embedded in the flesh, almost fused with it.
The creature under the cloak felt his gaze, and its hand instantly retracted into the cloak. The stopper flew out, and the Dementor took a slow, deep, lingering breath. The silvery memories in the bottle flew towards it, drilling into a deep, dark hole.
That was the Dementor's mouth.
Above the mouth, it was all scabbed, gray skin, with no eyes, nose, or ears visible, just a terrifying head that looked like something out of a nightmare.
Then, the silvery light of the memories quickly disappeared into the Dementor's mouth. The creature let out a long sigh, as if satisfied, yet also as if asking for more.
"I think you've seen it now," Barty Crouch Jr. said, forcing himself to remain calm. "My master—the Dark Lord's approach is different from Dumbledore's and the current Ministry of Magic's."
"As long as you're willing to pledge allegiance, he can allow you to freely consume happiness... even using souls for dinner isn't impossible!"
"So? Willing to make a deal?" Barty Crouch Jr. asked with a smile. "Or do the scraps provided by the Ministry of Magic truly satisfy you? They don't even allow you to reproduce, do they?"
After a long time, the Dementor extended a finger, and black mist formed a string of slender characters in the air.
[Is Voldemort still alive?]
...
Carlyle's departure didn't cause much of a stir. Students discussed it briefly for a few days, then quickly moved their attention to other matters.
Because the Ministry of Magic didn't want more people to know, Carlyle had died a year ago due to using a Time-Turner to change his mother's fated death. Thus, his crimes and his death became an unstated secret.
The news students heard was that Carlyle had withdrawn from Hogwarts for certain family reasons and had even left Britain.
This hasty departure caused some classmates and friends to feel anger and disappointment at being abandoned, but soon, increasingly heavy coursework made the students forget those sensitive teenage troubles.
Final exams were approaching.
Even Easter offered no respite; professors for every subject assigned more homework. Even the usually lively Weasley Twins had to study diligently because they were taking their Ordinary Wizarding Level (OWL) Exams.
Time was like a girl running with her skirt held high; before those left behind could pick up her glass slipper, her graceful figure had vanished from sight, and the gloomy exam week descended.
Wade received an unusual timetable. For example, on the first day at nine in the morning, he had to take both Arithmancy and Transfiguration Class exams simultaneously. At one in the afternoon, he had Spell and Ancient Runes exams.
Fortunately for Wade, dealing with exams was never difficult. Of course, now, the exact score didn't matter as much to him.
The last exam was Divination Class and Muggle Studies. Although the two exams were held concurrently, even without a Time-Turner, it didn't prevent students from attending on time.
Since Divination Class exams were taken one by one, Wade first went to the Muggle Studies classroom.
The exam content was very simple: a test paper mostly consisting of multiple-choice questions, followed by identifying the names and uses of several Muggle items like mobile phones, power strips, and desk lamps. Finally, they had to put together a normal outfit for Muggle society.
In Wade's opinion, this exam wasn't even a freebie; a trained monkey could easily complete it.
But when he saw one of his classmates pair a flannel nightgown with green leather pants, he realized he had thought it too simple.
"Pointless, isn't it?" Hermione, who had also come to take the exam, said to Wade after leaving the classroom. "While Muggle society is quite interesting from a Wizard's perspective, for you and me, it's a complete waste of time."
"Didn't you already drop this class?" Wade asked casually.
"Yes, I've already spoken to Professor Burbage and haven't attended recently," Hermione said. "But after studying it for half a year, I still wanted to see the course through to the end."
Wade was still looking back at the classmate who had created the bizarre outfit. The guy's brain seemed to tell him it was fine, but his eyes were screaming that it was a big problem.
So the classmate hesitated, then found a wide-brimmed ladies' hat adorned with long, slender feathers and tentatively tried placing it on the dummy's head.
Wade looked at Hermione, incredulous. "Even if he'd never seen a Muggle before, doesn't he have any normal sense of aesthetics?"
"Maybe he has too much 'aesthetics'," Hermione said, stifling a laugh. "He probably wanted to get a higher score by dressing fashionably."
Wade frowned, puzzled. "Fashion?"
"Haven't you seen fashion shows on TV, Wade?" Hermione gestured. "You know... those creative fashion shows."
Wade suddenly understood.
When they reached the second floor, he turned towards the North Tower where the Divination classroom was, but Hermione headed towards the Library.
"Not taking the Divination exam?" Wade asked.
"I absolutely do not want to see Trelawney," Hermione said with disdain. "She's a complete fraud."
Wade raised an eyebrow. "What about your commitment to seeing things through?"
"Divination doesn't count," Hermione said, waving her hand as she walked backward towards the other end, spreading her hands. "Honestly, Wade, you don't need to put up with her nonsense just for twelve O.W.L.s."
"Alright... but for me, Divination is still pretty interesting."
Wade waved goodbye to Hermione and walked up the spiral staircase. Several students were still queuing outside the Divination classroom, with Ron and Harry at the very end of the line.
They pulled aside a student coming down the stairs and whispered, "How was the exam?"
"Professor Trelawney won't let us say. But..." Padma leaned in closer and whispered, "Crystal ball divination."
"Are you crazy!" Lisa tugged Padma, saying fearfully, "Didn't the professor say that anyone who reveals the exam content will face something terrible?"
"Oh, come on, don't be like my sister," Padma said carelessly. "I don't believe anything dangerous will happen just because of this... unless Professor Trelawney herself curses me—Hi, Wade!"
She happily greeted Wade, then walked downstairs with Lisa. Wade overheard them discussing what to buy and take home during the last Hogsmeade Weekend.
"Crystal ball divination!" Ron's face was grim. "I couldn't see anything in it!"
"Me neither," Harry encouraged him. "Use your imagination, Ron! Didn't you say last time you saw a special image in the crystal ball?"
"Yeah," Ron said. "I saw an eight-eyed spider in a tug-of-war with a Chocolate Frog. I don't think Professor Trelawney liked that explanation very much."
Lavender, who was ahead in line, let out a giggle and turned around curiously. "And then? What did you say?"
"I said I saw myself being chased by a giant spider," Ron said, looking pale. "Professor Trelawney gave me an 'Outstanding' for the first time."
Harry happily patted his shoulder, saying, "See? It's not difficult to make things up, is it?"
Ron sighed with an inexpressible look.
Harry had rarely been pursued by Trelawney with various death predictions this year, especially in the second semester. His Divination Class became as normal as everyone else's, which made Harry's impression of the subject quite good.
Compared to Hermione's classes, which required extensive memorization and calculation, Harry found Divination Class, where homework could be completed just by making things up, very friendly. He turned around and asked, "Wade, what can you see in the crystal ball?"
Wade was silent for a moment, then said, "Pretty much like Ron, observe the shape of the mist, imagine a similar object—mostly animals, sometimes daily objects—then expand on it using the interpretations from the textbook."
"Oh... interpretations..."
Harry looked thoughtful, then pulled Unfogging the Future from his bag, cramming for the exam. Ron quickly leaned in.
Wade smiled, looking up at the Trapdoor of the Divination classroom.
Student after student finished their exams and left, some full of confidence, others very dejected.
When Ron came down, he said, "I don't know if she believed me... but maybe I'll pass. I'll be satisfied just to pass..."
Then it was Harry's turn.
Wade stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall, wondering what Harry would hear when he went up.
In the original plot, Harry would hear a real prophecy during this exam—the unreliable Professor Trelawney would prophesy the reunion of Voldemort and Wormtail, predicting that the Dark Lord would rise again.
But now, the "Wormtail" operating outside was a Magic Golem sent by Wade, and it would probably be a long time before Voldemort could be resurrected.
Wade didn't try to eavesdrop. Even if Trelawney did make an unusual prophecy, Harry wouldn't hide it from them.
Nearly half an hour passed before Wade saw Harry come down the stairs, looking dazed.
"Harry?" Wade asked. "What's wrong with you?"
"The loyal servant helps the Dark Lord rise again... darkness and mist will cover the land..." Harry murmured, repeating the words, then looked up at Wade and asked, "What does that mean?"
"Professor Trelawney said that?" Wade straightened up a bit and asked, "She made a real prophecy?"
"I think so," Harry said. "She... she seemed a bit unusual just now... I don't think she was messing around..."
"Wade Grey?" Professor Trelawney's voice came from above. "It's your turn."
"Don't worry, what's meant to happen will happen," Wade patted Harry and said, "Tell Dumbledore the prophecy you heard in full. If it's really happening, he'll definitely have a plan. As for anything else... there's nothing we can do to change it."
Then, Wade walked past Harry and headed upstairs.
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