Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world

Chapter 79: Corrosion of Black Magic
Vaughn patted him on the shoulder and the young wizard turned around, but all he saw was a pair of eyes gleaming with magic.

A month later, Vaughn had invested all his reputation points into Legilimency, and now, at level 3, he no longer needed to cast spells.

The young wizard's eyes were glazed over as he heard a familiar, friendly voice ask him, "Sir, do you know where Barty Crouch lives?"

This voice... is my loved one, my dearest friend...

Strong thoughts surged through the young wizard's mind, and he immediately trusted the voice and answered cheerfully, "He has two residences. One is the Crouch family's ancestral home, and the other is a house he bought in recent years in the Muggle community. Which one do you want to know?"

"It would be best if you could tell me everything."

"No problem, I'm happy to help you..."

The young wizard happily shared the information he knew, then bid the voice a warm farewell.

A few seconds later, he suddenly shuddered and stared blankly at the night sky which had already entered the early morning.

"Uh...why am I just sitting here in a daze?"

He scratched his head in confusion, and his memory clearly told him that he had suddenly lost his concentration and stood there like a fool for about a minute.

He didn't notice anything unusual and quickly put it out of his mind because of his anxiety about rushing to take over the night shift.

Before entering the public restroom, he saw a young man in a purple robe raising his wand at a nearby intersection.

Soon, a double-decker bus, invisible to Muggles, came rushing over. From a distance, the receptionist's warm greeting could be heard: "Welcome to the Knight Bus, dear. Where are you going?"

The boy gave an address.

The young wizard heard it from afar and laughed at the coincidence. "You actually live in the same Muggle community as Mr. Crouch? Hmm, those are Wizengamot robes. Maybe he's visiting?"

After thinking for a while, he suddenly shuddered again, not knowing what triggered it.

Then, the young man in the purple robe completely faded from his memory...

……

A secluded Muggle community in the suburbs of London.

Barty Crouch walked out of the fireplace with a stern face. The lights in the living room were not on. He frowned slightly, "Winky, where are you?"

Crack!

There was a slight noise, and a house-elf wearing a tea towel, who looked like a robe because of his small stature, Apparated in front of Crouch and screamed, "Master, Winky is here, Winky is taking care of the young master."

Being a female, her voice was shrill and gave Crouch a headache.

But he held back, frowned, and asked sternly, "Did you let him out?"

"No, Master," Twinkle said fearfully, tears welling up in her large, dark brown eyes. "You told me to lock him up, and I didn't dare, but...but, the young master hasn't been out in the sun for a long time, and he's infested with bugs. He's feeling very uncomfortable."

"..."

After a moment of silence, Crouch sighed.

He felt very tired. Since 10 years ago, regret, guilt, hatred and grief have been tormenting him like maggots on his tarsal bones.

In recent years, with the death of his wife and his own crossing of the line to abuse his power for personal gain to rescue his son, the increasingly complex sense of guilt has been gnawing at his heart all the time, especially now that he is living in hiding.

He didn't even dare to go back to his ancestral home. There were too many familiar people and wizards living nearby. Now he didn't dare to reveal any mistakes, otherwise, his wife's life would be meaningless.

Only the Muggle community can help him relax his tense nerves a little.

After thinking for a moment, Crouch sighed and said, "In two days, after the meeting is over, I will give myself a day off and then accompany him out to bask in the sun."

Shanshan cried with joy and thanked his master for his kindness.

This struck Crouch as darkly humorous and a bit pathetic.

The son who should have been held in his arms and inherited everything from him is now imprisoned by his father. Even letting him go for a walk would make a house-elf grateful.

After sending Winky away, the tired Crouch sat on the sofa for a while, and somehow he thought of tonight's meeting.

And there was Vaughn Weasley at the meeting who seemed to want to drag him into this.

An ambitious guy!

Crouch could hear the other party's subtext. The so-called cooperation between the Werewolf Affairs Committee and the Department of International Magical Cooperation was actually Vaughan Weasley trying to completely get rid of the Ministry of Magic and even split it.

After all, the other party has stated that the Werewolf Affairs Committee does not accept donations or grants and will not accept any constraints.

If it is finally established, it will inevitably lead to sharp confrontation with the Ministry of Magic, so the other party tried to find support for itself within the Ministry of Magic.

He couldn't help but think that if it were 10 years ago, he would have been happy to participate in such a collaboration.

It is very beneficial to establish friendly relations with an emerging force and increase political bargaining chips. Unfortunately, he no longer has the energy to consider those issues.

Crouch was silent for a moment, he shook his head and forced himself to forget all the disturbances.

He got up and prepared to go to the kitchen to make himself dinner.

However, before he left the living room, the doorbell rang.

Crouch was not overly sensitive. In order to connect the fireplace to the Floo network and facilitate commuting, he did not hide his address. It was normal for him to occasionally receive guests.

He just subconsciously glanced at the basement. It had been sealed long ago using Muggle cement and spells. No one could open it.

Normally, he relies on Shanshan's Apparition to get in and out.

After making sure there was nothing wrong with the basement, Crouch thought for a moment and asked, "Who's outside?"

Unexpectedly, he heard a childish voice that was very familiar to him today: "Hello, Mr. Crouch, I'm Vaughan Weasley. I'm sorry to bother you, but can we chat?"

"..."

Crouch frowned and refused without hesitation: "I'm sorry, Mr. Weasley, it's very late and I need to rest. Let's discuss it at the meeting tomorrow."

But Vaughn Weasley outside the door didn't seem to be giving up.

Crouch heard him laugh, as if he was talking about the weather, and said lightly:
"Are you sure? I thought that locking your son in the basement would make you patient enough to talk to me..."

At that moment, Barty Crouch felt the blood rushing into his brain, his ears ringing, his eyes dizzy, and his mind was suddenly blanked by the words whose tone was calm but whose content made him terrified.

Only one thought remained clear: I couldn't let him go! I couldn't let him tell anyone!

He grabbed the wand with his sweaty hands and swung it hard, and the door of the room suddenly opened under the silent unlocking spell.

The moment the wind outside blew into the room, Crouch cast two consecutive spells.

"Except your weapons!"

"Collapse!"

In the wizarding world, so-called wisdom and strategy, the things that Muggles pursue, are secondary.

In the world of magic, the standards for measuring things or judging people are sometimes very complicated and sometimes very simple - strength!
Or rather, magic!
If the wolfsbane potion incident had not been successful and the monthly fame points had not skyrocketed, Vaughn would not have appeared outside Barty Crouch's house today.

He will wait patiently for a few more months or even a year.

Because he knew that when he exposed Crouch's deepest secret, the terrified Crouch would definitely resist!
The door opened under a silent spell.

The wind he inhaled made Vaughan's robe flutter. He saw a little light come on in the dim living room and heard Crouch's spell.

In the wind, in the murderous intent that was blowing in his face, an armor spell appeared around Vaughn, and the disarming spell and the stunning spell hit him almost the moment it was formed.

The light flashed as the spells collided with each other!
The next moment, Vaughan heard a crackling sound.

He flicked his wand downward, his body grew light, and then—

boom--

A violent invisible explosion instantly tore the door apart, and immediately afterwards, a fire dragon suddenly expanded in front and came towards it with a ferocious bite.

When you face a wizard who once fought on the front lines, and hear him chanting a spell, you'd better be on guard, because behind the spell he chants, there may be more sinister means hidden.

Vaughn was well prepared. When the Fire Dragon bit him, his body became light and was blown away by the shock wave of the explosion like a leaf, floating in the air.

The purple-red robe fluttered in the violent shock wave, like a raging fire. Vaughn remained calm, and before his floating figure landed, he lightly tapped his wand downwards.

Several pieces of collapsed walls and ruins were immediately controlled by his spell and then deformed.

In a flash, they were transformed into several thick spears shining with cold light. As Vaughn waved his wand, under the huge power provided by the flying spell, they blasted into the small building in front of him like cannonballs.

boom!
boom!
The roaring fire dragon made of flames was torn apart by the terrifying kinetic energy of the spears. Every time the spear penetrated, the ground trembled, and the small building wailed and was on the verge of collapse.

At this time, Vaughn's wand, which had fallen to the ground, continued to tap lightly.

Fragments of doors and walls, large pieces of earth, stones, branches... everything around him was used by him, and under his wand, they turned into several strange animals.

At the same time, Crouch, who was supposed to be in the house, heard a hoarse cry from behind Vaughn:
"The soul is out of body!"

Unforgivable Curse!
The Shield Spell was one of the few spells that couldn't be defended against, but Vaughn, who knew the Shield Spell's weaknesses, was already prepared.

He reacted quickly, throwing several transformed animals behind him, then turned quickly, and a red light lit up at the tip of his staff.

injection!

The red light released by the disarming spell, which was as thick as an adult's arm, illuminated the dark night sky, allowing both combatants to notice that the animal Vaughn transformed into perfectly blocked the Imperius Curse.

Crouch, who had appeared out of nowhere, had a ferocious expression and a hint of surprise.

The power of Vaughan's magic, especially the Disarming Charm, was clearly beyond his comprehension, but not enough for him to sit idly by and wait for death.

The experienced old wizard had already used the Apparition technique again the moment Vaughn turned around. Space twisted around him, and when the red light hit him, he had already disappeared in the violent distortion and reappeared more than ten meters away.

But this time, he paid the price for his inability to understand.

The disarming spell that had struck him a second earlier exploded like fireworks—

Countless tiny spells, like little red snakes, slithered and leaped, covering an area of ​​more than 20 meters in radius. Crouch, who had reappeared, almost crashed headfirst into two of the disarming spells that had split off from it.

Such an unexpected event didn't even allow him to summon his armor. He was suddenly stiffened by the power of the spell and fell backwards. His wand flew up and landed in Vaughn's hand.

Crouch still wanted to struggle.

But Vaughan's wand turned quickly a few times, and a few fallen leaves turned into a rope, which flexibly tied up Crouch.

Even at this moment, the dust and wind waves stirred up by the shock wave of the previous explosion had not dissipated, and Vaughn's purple-red robe fluttered in the turbulent airflow.

A few Muggle households nearby had just turned on their lights, as if they were preparing to come out to see what was happening.

This was a battle of ups and downs, which was also the standard fighting style of wizards.

The competition is about spell proficiency, reaction ability, and adaptability.

Vaughan breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he was good at everything!

But there was no time for him to reflect on the past. He glanced at the Muggle houses with lights on in the distance, raised his hand slightly, and the bound Crouch floated to his side.

Then he chanted the spell:

"Recover as before!"

With his magic power now close to that of an adult wizard, the repair spell was enough to cover the entire battlefield, and soon, everything seemed to be played in reverse.

The crooked and collapsed houses stood upright again, and the countless fragments of the blown-out doors rolled back and reassembled...

All traces were smoothed and restored by the power of the spell, so when the Muggles with flashlights came to this area a few minutes later.

All they saw was a small building standing alone under the night sky, peaceful and quiet, as usual.

……

"Do you want to call the police?"

"Why, are you still counting on those idiots from Scotland Yard? Maybe some kids are secretly setting off fireworks again. Go away, go back to bed."

The Muggles outside gradually dispersed.

Vaughan lowered a corner of the curtain and waved his wand towards the fireplace. A flame started to burn, providing a faint light.

Facing the fireplace, Crouch sat stiffly on the sofa, and Vaughan sat opposite him.

Looking at his cold expression, Vaughan smiled: "Hello again, Mr. Crouch."

Crouch twitched a cheek muscle, his eyes fixed on Vaughan, his mouth tight.

"I know exactly how you feel right now—you're sitting at home, peacefully, and suddenly someone comes up and reveals the secret you've been hiding for years. You're furious and terrified, and you rush into action only to find you're no match for that person. You must be filled with frustration and fear..."

Vaughn shook his head. “But like I said, why don’t you try to communicate with me?”

Crouch's eyes, reflecting a faint light and fire, were stained deep and dark by the darkness. After a moment of silence, he closed his eyes and said in a hoarse voice, "There's nothing to say. Don't try to threaten me with my secret!"

"Huh? When did I ever say I wanted to coerce you?"

Crouch was unmoved.

Then, he heard Vaughn chuckle across from him: "I just want to cooperate with you, Mr. Crouch. Do you want your son back?"

Barty Crouch doesn't know if he's getting old, as he's been having frequent dreams over the past few years.

There was nothing magnificent or mysterious about the dream, it was just dim and filled with warm sunshine, as if it were long forgotten memories.

In that nostalgic dream, his life was peaceful and his family still lived in their ancestral home, which had a huge garden that connected to the nearby mountains.

There was laughter in the garden every day. His son ran in the mountain forest with swaying tree shadows. His wife and he sat in the flowerbed full of forget-me-nots, watching with a smile. Next to them was a sharp, shimmering voice that suddenly no longer annoyed him.

Then wake up...

Many nights, he touched the wet and cold pillow, recalling his dreams, and the coldness and pain of reality hurt his heart even more.

Of course he regretted that he had been obsessed with power, buried himself in work, and neglected his son's education.

He also hated Voldemort for bewitching his son.

But as time went on, he realized that regret, anger, and resentment could not solve what had happened. The reality was that his wife was dead and his son had become a loyal Death Eater.

The child who used to call him dad with a smile, run in the woods, and curl up in his arms and cry after falling down has turned into a villain, a murderer, a madman who enjoys torturing others!
As he thought about it, Crouch felt as if his heart was being gripped by an invisible hand.

He didn't want to show his pain, didn't want others to see his weakness, but the grief was too intense. It had been pent up in his heart for the past few years. He had no one to talk to, and he didn't even dare to show any abnormality.

Vaughn had broken the spell at some point.

He didn't care. He hunched over and tried to hold back his tears, which began to roll down his cheeks.

His hoarse voice trembled: "My son died a long time ago..."

It was not the physical death that died, but the kind and smiling child in his memory.

Across from him, Vaughn looked at him gently. "What if I tell him I can get him back? Maybe you don't know, but my memory magic skills are actually quite good."

As he spoke, he snapped his fingers.

Crouch subconsciously looked at Vaughan, and then he was attracted by the star-like eyes on the handsome face of the child in front of him. When he came to his senses again, he was already standing in an unfamiliar place.

Before my eyes was a huge, magnificent hall, at least dozens of feet high. Light coming from nowhere illuminated the hall, and I could see that its walls were inlaid with densely packed shelves, extending all the way to the vaulted dome.

The shelves were again filled with books, and several spiral staircases moved up and down automatically. Vaughn was standing on one of them, pulling out a book.

"here it is……"

"Welcome, this is my memory archive."

Vaughn, flipping through the book in his hand, smiled at Crouch, then waved his hand, and the book in his hand immediately disappeared.

The next moment, Crouch felt his hand sink, and the book fell into his arms.

Crouch saw that the cover of the book was himself. He opened it and found that every page recorded the scene of Vaughn meeting him. There was him sitting in the Wizengamot, his battle with Vaughn, and also... him sitting on the sofa like a puppet, looking into Vaughn's eyes.

He suddenly realized: "Is this your memory of me?"

He looked at the countless bookshelves around him and the countless books: "They..."

Vaughn had come up to him at some point, and together they looked up at the surroundings. He said with emotion, "Yes, the Memory Archives. As the name suggests, the books on these walls are all my memories, from my childhood until now."

As he said this, he looked at Crouch and asked with a smile: "Are you wondering why I arranged it like this?"

Before Crouch, still in shock, could respond, Vaughn spoke up, "As my mastery of memory magic deepens, I increasingly feel that human memory mechanisms are too abstract and inefficient. Of course, it's also possible that natural evolution can only achieve that level. After all, nature is always imperfect..."

"So I created this huge archive, reorganizing and planning my memories, abandoning the original mechanisms and imitating the computers of libraries and Muggles to classify them, create catalogs, and search by keywords..."

Crouch listened intently.

This was a direction he had never thought about before - the combination of magic and Muggle knowledge.

After listening for a while, he suddenly asked, "You want to use memory magic to reshape my son's personality by changing his memory?"

He sighed and shook his head. "It's useless. I also know some memory magic and consulted Dumbledore a few years ago. Barty Jr. has been completely corrupted by the Dark Arts. Cruelty and violence have penetrated his soul."

"I've tried memory modification, but it's useless. The result is always the same because of his evil instincts. The modified memories will always be distorted and corrupted again, unless they are completely erased, but that will cause serious damage to his mind!"

As a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Magic, Crouch had many channels to access cutting-edge magic.

In order to redeem his son, he had considered many methods over the years, including memory magic, but they were ultimately proven to be unfeasible.

He was a little disappointed. He had originally had some hope after seeing Vaughn's magical prowess and novel ideas.

Vaughn didn't care about Crouch's disappointment. Instead, he was more interested in what he said, that he had tried memory magic but was ultimately twisted and corrupted by "evil".

In Vaughan's view, this is a very interesting phenomenon, and it is also a problem he encountered when studying magic - why can't the modification of memory have a long-term and continuous impact?

They will eventually be discovered by the person's own consciousness, and then corrected or forgotten (forgetting is actually a blurring process). This was the problem he discovered when he was experimenting on Harry a month ago.

It's as if there's an original backup of a person's memory somewhere, a core database, which can only be completely destroyed by using methods like the Forgetfulness Spell to clear all data (memories).

But as Crouch says, erasing memories can cause irreversible damage.

Vaughn hasn't found the reason yet, but he suspects it's related to the soul and personality. Many problems on the spiritual level can ultimately be attributed to these two.

His method actually does not require considering this problem.

Facing Crouch's gloomy expression due to disappointment, Vaughan snapped his fingers again, and the magnificent memory archive collapsed like a sand castle with this snap.

Crouch was stunned.

Changes at the spiritual level are all meaningful. Everything before his eyes means that Vaughn is destroying his own memory.

"You're crazy..."

As soon as he said that, Crouch saw that Vaughan's body suddenly turned into a gray human-shaped mist.

As the Memory Archives collapsed, the humanoid fog also disintegrated. When everything was engulfed by darkness, the fog completely disintegrated into shapeless mist and dissipated.

At the same time, new fog spread out from the depths of the boundless darkness, wriggling and combining, and a brand new human-shaped fog ball was being assembled.

At the same time, the outline of the Memory Archives was once again outlined in the dark void. The foundation stone, floor, walls... the magnificent building rose from the ground before his eyes at an extremely fast speed.

Perhaps it was only more than ten seconds before Crouch found himself standing in the hall again, surrounded by towering walls still piled with books.

He watched it all in disbelief, the destruction and rebirth were beyond his understanding of memory magic.

He heard Vaughn, who had recovered from the humanoid fog, say in a cheerful tone:
"That's right, Mr. Crouch. I haven't been able to solve the problem of dark magic corrupting memory and mind yet. But if I put on a set of clothes and destroyed them once corruption occurred, could I circumvent this problem?"

"This is the 'Personality Suit Alpha 0.3 Version' I developed!"

(End of this chapter)