The old man pursed his lips very restrainedly, while Aini laughed without any scruples.
He was afraid that if he didn't make himself happy, he would push Fudge into the vase next to him and plant a pig tail. Some of that guy's thoughts were really unbearable.
After laughing for a while, Fudge suddenly covered his mouth.
God, what did he just do?
Drops of cold sweat gathered and slid down his spine, and Fudge felt inexplicably frightened.
It comes, it comes again, that feeling of uncontrollable thinking comes again.
After becoming the Minister of Magic, Fudge found that he occasionally had unconventional ideas, which were completely contrary to his past rules of conduct.
"Quiet, gentlemen, this is St. Mungo's."
A lady with a wreath on her head walked in after hearing the sound, not caring about the identities of the people at all, and said angrily.
"Sorry, Meliam, we will pay attention."
Dumbledore was the first to speak, and after Ani and Fudge also gave their assurances, the lady gave a few more instructions before turning and leaving.
"Well, isn't Ms. Straw the one in charge of long-term residence? Why..."
After being temporarily offline, Fudge regained his qualities as the chief officer of the British Ministry of Magic, and looked suspiciously at Crouch, who was still lying on the bed motionless.
"It's the Imperius Curse. Barty's spirit has been greatly traumatized and there is no sign of waking up."
Dumbledore knew what he wanted to ask and told Fudge the situation.
Aini was very aware of what happened, but he didn't talk to her. Instead, he looked at himself carefully.
Not only Fudge, after the laughter stopped, Aini also felt that his state was different just now, as if he was affected by an unknown influence. However, after turning on the Eye of True Sight and checking inside and outside, he found nothing.
Something is wrong.
Then Aini set his sights on Fudge. For this character who was firmly nailed to the pillar of shame in the original trajectory, he enjoyed the treatment of an imaginary enemy when he first came into contact with him. After awakening the Eye of True Sight, he inspected him even more.
More than once.
However, after repeated inspections, Aini could not find any doubts in Fudge's body, but he was very sure that the previous inner restlessness was anything but ordinary.
Fudge was still dragging Dumbledore to discuss the attack on Crouch, and he seemed to have no intention of stopping for a while.
Ani has no interest in this at all. In the basement, there is a seriously injured house elf named Winky, a comatose old Crouch, and no one else. Do you have to guess who did it?
What's more, he is not an audience, but a silent and dedicated behind-the-scenes worker.
Of course, he only did some trivial things, such as making Crouch Sr. think that he had applied the Imperius Curse to Crouch Sr. before leaving home...
…
The man wrapped tightly in a cloak swayed through the shadows. Under the lowered hood, there was a pale and thin face.
His unfocused eyes wandered around on the ground, but what appeared in front of his eyes was not the stone pavement under his feet, but the newspaper pages he happened to see when he left the house.
[...Hogwarts claimed to have driven away the mysterious man who appeared again, and speculated that he might have hid in the Albanian forest...]
If the news is true or false, where will he go?
Little Crouch was filled with confusion. He once thought he was loyal to Voldemort, extremely loyal.
In order to find Voldemort, several young men brazenly attacked the Longbottoms. At that time, he thought he was strong and fearless.
It wasn't until he found out that he was really going to be sent to Azkaban that he truly felt the cowardice surrounding courage.
The previous glory became the thing he wanted to get rid of most at that time.
It would be nice if I didn't join the Death Eaters...
It would have been nice if I hadn't gone to the Longbottoms...
If that man...
Thinking of Old Crouch's determination at that time, and of the days that followed for many years with the Imperius Curse, the man's panicked heart suddenly became firm.
Go ahead, go to Albania, he can only go down this road.
…
"The Imperius Curse?"
Fudge wiped his fat face and put the half-wet handkerchief into his pocket.
As far as the magic world has always known, the killing power of the Death Curse undoubtedly ranks first among the three unforgivable curses. In comparison, the Cruciatus Curse is far behind. The focus is on "persuasion".
In terms of direct damage, the Imperius Curse... shouldn't be mentioned.
This spell focuses on control. Not to mention a bunch of examples of people jumping around before and after the Imperius Curse is lifted. Just take out Little Crouch——
That is the control of the Imperius Curse that has been under control for more than ten years. What should I do after it is lifted?
Having experienced the era of snake spirits, Fudge had seen more than one or two people controlled by the Imperius Curse. This was the first time he had seen someone as serious as Crouch, so he was naturally a little confused.
"Theoretically, the purpose of the Imperius Curse is to control it. It is not a harmful spell. If the subject is determined, he or she can resist the power of the spell and get rid of the control by relying solely on his or her own mental will."
As Fudge's biggest "backstage" when he came to power, Dumbledore could easily tell what he was thinking and slowly explained.
"And we all know that Batty is a strong person and never compromises to the darkness. Perhaps it is because he has never given up resistance, so..."
Dumbledore looked at Crouch who was lying on the bed, spread his hands and did not continue.
Fudge then looked at his old enemy, his eyes complicated but with a bit of admiration. In a different place, he thought he couldn't be like the old Crouch.
He has been a very ambitious person since he was a child, but his seven years at Hogwarts clearly revealed that Fudge's magical talent was far from catching up with his ambition.
So after graduation, he entered the Ministry of Magic, hoping to reach the top of his life through another path.
In order to achieve his goal, Fudge will do whatever he can to achieve his goal.
He succeeded and succeeded in ousting Crouch and becoming Minister of Magic.
But apart from Fudge's own efforts, it was mostly due to problems on Crouch's side.
In fact, from the beginning, Fudge was a little afraid of Crouch because he was too ruthless and decisive.
When he mercilessly sent Crouch Jr. to Azkaban, Fudge felt even more chilled, fearing that Crouch Sr. would use some radical off-board tactics as his reputation plummeted.
During that time, Old Crouch's serious face almost became a special-effect potion to drive away Fudge. Once the former appeared, the latter would find an excuse to escape as quickly as possible.
Even now, the shadow of that year has completely dissipated.
"Bang~"
The illusory phoenix penetrated the wall, dispersed into a cloud of smoke in front of Dumbledore, and then quickly poured in along the wrinkles between his eyebrows.
Seeing the change in the old man's face and the look in his eyes at Crouch, Aini probably guessed the content of the message, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.