In the dim office, Dumbledore calmly looked at Barty Crouch Jr., who had collapsed into a chair, and asked in a steady voice, "You are clear-headed now, correct? Tell me your name."
Barty Jr.'s face twitched twice, as if he were trying to resist the effects of the Veritaserum, but he failed.
His facial muscles spasmed violently for a while before finally settling down. In a low voice, he said, "Yes. I am Barty Crouch Jr."
"I want you to tell us everything." There was not a trace of emotion in Dumbledore's eyes as he went straight to the heart of the matter. "Weren't you dead? Why are you here? How did you escape from Azkaban?"
Barty Jr. took a deep breath, as if savoring the fading taste of freedom, though it seemed even more like he had resigned himself to the control of the Veritaserum. After exhaling, he answered Dumbledore's questions mechanically, like a puppet on strings.
"I didn't die. My mother did."
"Back then, after I entered Azkaban, her health deteriorated day by day. When she realized she was about to die, she was still thinking of me, so she begged my father to save me from Azkaban."
"My father loved her very much, so he agreed to her request."
"They entered Azkaban under the pretext of visiting me and gave me Polyjuice Potion containing my mother's hair. I took on my mother's appearance, while my mother took on mine."
"Because my mother was gravely ill, she died not long after staying in Azkaban. She had been drinking Polyjuice Potion the entire time, and when she died, she still looked like me. So everyone thought I was dead."
Barty Crouch Jr. was indeed a villain.
And his evil was known to all.
Neville Longbottom's parents had been tortured into insanity by him using the Cruciatus Curse.
But after he calmly described the entire process of his escape from Azkaban, many of the professors gathered around him still let out quiet sighs. They were not sighing over how poorly guarded Azkaban apparently was, but over the greatness of a mother's love.
Barty Jr.'s mother was still thinking of her son before her death, and she was willing to die in a foreign place for his sake.
That really was—
"And then?"
"After bringing you home, how did your father settle you?"
"What have you done all these years?"
Dumbledore showed little emotion. He continued asking the questions in his mind.
Under the control of the Veritaserum, Barty Jr. continued describing what had happened to him over the years—or rather, the evil he had committed.
"After we returned home, my father hid me away. He used the Imperius Curse to control me."
"Winky is a very kind house-elf. She sympathized with what had happened to me. So when she learned that the Quidditch World Cup was about to be held, she told my father she wanted to take me out for some air and swore that she would keep an eye on me."
"During that time, Bertha Jorkins came to my house looking for my father and discovered me. Because of that, my father used an extremely powerful Memory Charm on her, powerful enough to leave her muddled and deranged. Then she was captured by my master."
"I cast the Dark Mark at the Quidditch World Cup. I stole Harry's wand because I found that there were many Death Eaters at the World Cup, but all they knew how to do was cause some low-level destruction. They had no intention of searching for my master's whereabouts."
"All of those people deserved to die!"
"Bertha Jorkins had been captured by my master, my master brought Wormtail to find me. My master freed me from my father's control. I was grateful to him. Then my master told me that he wanted me to replace Mad-Eye Moody and teach at Hogwarts. I gladly accepted the mission. After that—"
"I succeeded!"
"I completed every task my master gave me perfectly. I will receive a reward beyond the dreams of all wizards!"
Although Barty Jr.'s expression was dull at the moment, and he was only answering Dumbledore's questions mechanically, perhaps his worship of Voldemort truly came from the heart.
When he mentioned Voldemort and spoke of the plan's success, a sinister smile appeared on his stupid-looking face.
That crazed, perverted look disgusted the professors present.
But it made the audience in front of the screen cheer again and again.
"Oh!!! This part is way too faithful to the original!!!"
"The actor playing Barty Crouch Jr. is amazing!!!"
"Watching it once is nowhere near enough! You'd have to watch this movie several times to fully sort out the story. And just watching the second part alone won't work either! Goblet of Fire has to be watched as Part One and Part Two together for it to be fun!"
"So why doesn't Warner Bros. re-release Goblet of Fire: Part One? Can't they do a back-to-back screening?"
"I hope they do a double feature too! But unfortunately, that's impossible! Because Goblet of Fire Parts One and Two combined are over three hundred minutes long. No cinema would accept that kind of screening time!"
"Exactly! And there are also many people in this world who can't handle a viewing length of over three hundred minutes! Over three hundred minutes means more than five hours. Even if you start watching after lunch, it'll already be dinner time when you finish. If you start watching after dinner, it'll already be past midnight. Hardcore fans might be able to go five hours without eating or drinking, but they can't possibly avoid going to the bathroom!"
"OMG—so if we want to watch them back-to-back, we can only buy the discs?"
"I think so! So when are the discs coming out?"
"Hey! Hey! Hey! I don't think now is the time to talk about the discs. There's still one of the most important scenes in Goblet of Fire that hasn't appeared yet. So can we finish watching first? Although I know you're excited, because I'm excited too!"
"Oh! Okay! I am so sorry!"
At that moment, it was one o'clock in the afternoon on December 16, 2006, London time.
Twenty-four hours had already passed since the official premiere of Goblet of Fire: Part Two.
As usual, as the birthplace of Harry Potter, all cinemas in Britain began holding preview screenings for Goblet of Fire: Part Two the day after the premiere, which was also the weekend.
And, still as usual, even though the outdoor temperature was far from pleasant, and even though winter in Britain did not truly bring daylight until eight or nine in the morning, when cinemas across the country opened their doors at ten—
The blazing excitement that rushed toward them made everyone who faced it feel as if spring had arrived early.
As the film reels of Goblet of Fire: Part Two in each cinema moved together with time, the flickering images on the screen became the firewood, oxygen, and alcohol needed to keep a fireplace burning.
Every time a spectacular shot appeared, it was like adding more accelerant to a roaring flame.
The thunderous cheers were enough to trigger an earthquake!
The joy soaring into the sky could overturn everything!
Everyone who walked into the cinema at that moment felt that Goblet of Fire: Part Two was incredibly cool!
There was no helping it. The dragon battle in the first task was just that damn awesome.
The underwater rescue scene in the second task was not stunning, but that did not matter.
Because in the novel, the second task did not have much presence either.
Or rather, the greatest purpose of the second task in the Triwizard Tournament was to make Harry play detective and solve a case.
Chris Columbus brought the step-by-step unraveling of a detective-style drama to the screen, the entire storyline was filmed perfectly.
Then, the third task's maze was also reproduced very well.
However, everyone felt that the best-filmed part was actually the duel between Harry and Voldemort.
Harry defeating Voldemort was the most important plot point in Goblet of Fire.
This scene absolutely could not be ruined.
And how was it presented on screen?
Wow.
It was simply perfect!
It was precisely because Goblet of Fire: Part Two satisfied the expectations of the vast majority of fans that, as the movie played, waves of New Year-like cheers erupted again and again from screening halls across Britain.
But!!!!!
Even though Barty Crouch Jr. had confessed everything just like in the original work, the Harry Potter fans watching the movie still had no intention of relaxing.
The reason was simple.
Because the key focus of the entire Harry Potter saga was the conversation between Dumbledore and Harry after Barty revealed everything in Goblet of Fire, as well as Minister for Magic Fudge rushing to Hogwarts after hearing the news of Voldemort's resurrection.
The former was—
"Harry, you're saying that he used your blood when he was resurrected?"
After instructing everyone to keep watch over Barty Jr., Dumbledore called Harry into his office.
When he learned that Voldemort had used Harry's blood during his resurrection, a flash of joy instantly passed through his eyes.
Harry nodded and said, "Yes. He said my blood worked better than anyone else's because it could remove the power my mother left inside me. After he was resurrected, he felt nothing when he touched me."
"He wasn't hurt like before."
The latter was—
"Cornelius! What are you doing?"
One second, Minister for Magic Fudge had just arrived with a Dementor and met everyone. The next, the Dementor beside him lunged at Barty Crouch Jr. Almost instantly, it drained Barty completely.
The sight made Professor McGonagall scream and demand to know what he was doing. Fudge, however, said with a righteous expression, "What am I doing? I am, of course, punishing the true culprit behind this incident!"
"Barty Jr.'s escape from prison caused the deaths of several people, so—"
Looking at the desiccated corpse lying on the floor, dead beyond any doubt, a flash of fear passed across Fudge's face.
But his tone remained forceful. He said disdainfully, "He got what he deserved!"
"But now, he can no longer testify."
Dumbledore said coldly, "Cornelius, now that Barty Jr. is dead, no one can prove that Voldemort has returned."
"Does such an impossible thing even need disproving?"
Fudge was like a mouse whose tail had been stepped on by a cat. With a sly smile, he looked around, spread his hands, and said, "You-Know-Who has been dead for so many years. How could he possibly return? Would anyone believe such a thing?"
"Peace in the wizarding world was not easy to achieve! So I ask all of you not to spread rumors recklessly!"
"Thank you!"
Without giving anyone a chance to speak, Fudge cut off the topic.
"Your prize money, Mr. Potter."
He took a large bag of gold coins from his pocket and threw it hard in Harry's direction.
Then he left Hogwarts without looking back.
The sight of the Minister for Magic walking farther and farther away, while the Headmaster of Hogwarts stood motionless in place, divided everyone into two clearly opposed camps.
When the film reached its end, the Golden Trio watched the sunset together as they said goodbye to the teachers and students of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, who were preparing to leave.
The beautiful scenery made Harry somewhat emotional. "Everything is going to change."
As soon as he said this, Hermione and Ron immediately nodded.
The three of them looked a little sad on screen.
But inside the theater, the audience members who understood exactly what Harry's words meant burst into celebratory whistles!
"Oooooh—it's about to start, it's about to start, it's about to start—"
"This part was filmed so well. It's even more poetic than the ending of the original novel. It feels like reading a Shakespearean poem."
"Honestly! Before today, no matter how much I liked the HP movies, I still firmly believed that even the best director in the world could never reproduce the essence of the HP novels. But now I think I was wrong! Ridiculously wrong! Because these two Goblet of Fire movies are insanely good! Everything J.K. Rowling wanted to say, Chris Columbus filmed it! Even the things J.K. Rowling didn't say out loud, Chris Columbus filmed those too! Like this sunset! Wow~ the calm before the war~ it's so beautiful!"
"Yes! Yes!! Yes!!! I genuinely feel now that the HP film adaptations are clearer than the novels! Does anyone still remember the beginning of Prisoner of Azkaban? In the movie, Ron's father, Mr. Weasley, tells Harry that the Ministry of Magic seems to want to use Harry as bait. At that time, Harry had already seen the cruelty of the Ministry of Magic. So now, when Minister for Magic Fudge wants to cover up the news that Voldemort has returned, there is no surprise on Harry's face at all! This really is—oh—so this is the rigor that comes from having the same director and the same crew?"
"Hey! I noticed what you're talking about too! That detail was handled incredibly well!"
"Exactly! Harry has already been completely hurt by the Ministry of Magic! That's why, at the end, he says that everything has changed!
These adaptations and details will make their confrontation in the next movie feel much more reasonable!"
"OMG—I really can't believe it. There have already been five HP movies. By normal logic, it should be going downhill by now, but so far, every new movie has managed to give me a different kind of surprise. This is genuinely so rare!!!"
Yes.
Adapting the novel Goblet of Fire into a movie was actually extremely difficult.
If the appearance of Prisoner of Azkaban meant that the HP story had moved away from its possible childishness and toward maturity, then the appearance of Goblet of Fire meant that HP had officially shed its fairy-tale exterior and was about to step into the real world.
This was not because J.K. Rowling displayed her mystery-writing skills in Goblet of Fire.
It was because J.K. Rowling displayed the most realistic side of human nature in Goblet of Fire.
At the end of the story, why did Minister for Magic Fudge want to cover up the news that Voldemort had returned?
Wasn't it because he was greedy for power and wanted to keep his position?
After Voldemort returned, Dumbledore hoped that the Ministry of Magic would immediately take action, unite every force it could, and find a way to resist Voldemort's invasion. But Fudge's abilities were mediocre. He knew that he could not defeat Voldemort, and he also knew that everyone in the wizarding world believed only Dumbledore could stand against him.
So as long as he admitted that Voldemort had returned, he would have to hand over all the power in his hands to Dumbledore, because letting Dumbledore design the plan and formulate the process for resisting Voldemort was what the vast majority of decent people in the wizarding world wanted.
Voldemort's return could allow Dumbledore to rise above everything, Fudge, unwilling to step down as minister and still desperate to cling to power, decisively began to resist. He became the British wizarding world's Sir Humphrey:
In the first stage, he would declare that nothing had happened.
In the second stage, he would say that perhaps something had happened, but we should not take action.
In the third stage, he would say that perhaps we should take action, but there was nothing we could do.
In the fourth stage, he would regretfully say that perhaps we could have done something back then, but now it was already too late.
In Fudge's view, Sir Humphrey's four-stage routine was the best way to handle the current situation!
This was not to say that Voldemort would be defeated by Sir Humphrey's four-stage routine.
Rather, Dumbledore was kindhearted. When disaster struck, he would not stand by and do nothing. He would take the initiative to fight Voldemort!
So when Dumbledore actively fought Voldemort while the Ministry of Magic declared that Voldemort had not returned, wouldn't all of Dumbledore's actions effectively amount to him avoiding the Ministry's power, leaving Fudge's authority untouched, and still serving as Fudge's hired muscle?
This was also where Goblet of Fire's reputation as the greatest turning point in the entire HP story came from!
Before this, even if conspiracies existed around Harry, the world was still peaceful.
In Isabella's previous life, the reason the HP movies got worse and worse was that Warner Bros. ruined the fourth movie, Goblet of Fire!
Warner Bros. cut out all the story turning points that absolutely had to be filmed!
This caused the stories of Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix to fail to connect at all!
In the previous movie, at the end of Goblet of Fire, the Golden Trio were still harmoniously watching the sunset.
In the next movie, at the beginning of Order of the Phoenix, Dementors suddenly attacked Harry?
What the hell was that?
When Warner Bros. rejected Chris Columbus's proposal to split the film and failed to establish the opposition between the Ministry of Magic represented by Fudge and Hogwarts represented by Dumbledore, the Ministry's control over Hogwarts became completely inexplicable!
But in Isabella's current life—
Everything that had to be kept, she had Chris Columbus keep.
Moreover, in order to strengthen Fudge's traits of lusting for power, fearing death, and acting brainlessly, Isabella even added a plot to the Prisoner of Azkaban movie in which Harry felt that Fudge was absolute trash. In her version of Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry learned through Mr. Weasley that Fudge wanted to use him to capture Sirius.
When all the plotlines were coherent!
When all the conflicts were obvious!
When every revelation was broken apart, kneaded into pieces, and crazily stuffed into the audience's mouths—
On the first day of previews, Goblet of Fire: Part Two earned £10.13 million at the box office across the British Isles!
On the second day of previews, it took in another £9.97 million!
The two-day figure of £20.10 million was not the limit of Harry Potter!
It was the limit of British cinemas!
Because attendance was already full. If it went any higher, they would have to sell standing tickets!
And with a runtime of 187 minutes, one screen could only schedule three showings of Goblet of Fire: Part Two per day!
If the runtime had been even a little shorter, the figures would not have looked like this!
However, even though the HP film series still had room to grow at the British box office, at that moment, no one was paying attention to that.
Because Goblet of Fire: Part Two had already become the first movie in Britain's preview-screening history to earn £20 million during previews. Or rather, before Goblet of Fire: Part Two reached £20 million, no one had even dared to imagine such a record.
Then, when Goblet of Fire: Part Two was officially released—
Friday, December 22, 2006, its first day of release: North American box office revenue came in at $69.30 million, while global revenue reached $149 million.
Saturday, December 23, 2006, its second day of release: North American box office revenue came in at $65.11 million, while global revenue reached $141 million.
Sunday, December 24, 2006, its third day of release: North American box office revenue came in at $56.27 million, while global revenue reached $103 million.
Monday, December 25, 2006, its fourth day of release: North American box office revenue came in at $51.08 million, while global revenue reached $86.24 million.
Over the four Christmas days, global revenue totaled $479.24 million.
Because the exchange rate at the time was £1 to $1.8942, after adding the two days of British preview results, Goblet of Fire: Part Two had already broken past the $500 million mark before the New Year had even arrived.
Even after deducting taxes, marketing and distribution expenses, and the theaters' cut, Goblet of Fire: Part Two had already made a profit through box office revenue alone.
To the general public, the performance of Goblet of Fire: Part Two was normal.
Even though Goblet of Fire: Part Two had set another record.
Ever since HP became a film series, every installment had achieved completely unsurprising success upon release.
But for Marvel chairman Isaac Perlmutter—
At that moment, Isaac Perlmutter was browsing the internet.
One comment on MSNBC attracted all of his attention:
[The success of Goblet of Fire: Parts One and Two is not only the success of Harry Potter, but also the success of Isabella Haywood, because earlier reports already stated that splitting the film into two parts was her idea.]