Snape, the Sunshine of Hogwarts

"The fourth Minister for Magic, Aldridge Diggory, was the first minister to actually set foot on Azkaban. It was after seeing this cemetery that he had the idea of ​​canceling the use of Azkaban as a prison and having the Dementors serve as jailers."

“Do you think this is too inhumane?” Severus followed him through the archway and into the cemetery filled with tombstones.

"Yes, he felt that using Dementors to torture prisoners was too cruel."

“I think it’s not just that. Putting a group of vicious criminals here and then torturing them all day long with a group of monsters who live on hope will only produce a group of madmen to survive.”

As they talked, they also began to search separately in the vast cemetery.

Before the entire island of Azkaban was completely shrouded in night and so thick with fog that one could not see their own hand in front of their face, Kingsley finally made a discovery.

"At this!"

He called out loudly, and Severus hurried toward him, where he indeed saw a tombstone with a name engraved on it.

[Barty Crouch, 1962–1984]

Upon seeing the name, Severus's lips curled into a mocking smile.

"To be honest, although I only had nodding acquaintances with Barty before, he was one of the few Death Eaters who did not discriminate against me because of my mixed blood."

"Does this make you feel uncomfortable about digging up his grave?" Kingsley's voice was tense; he was uneasy about the truth beneath the grave.

"obstacle?"

Severus chuckled and raised his wand.

"Thunderbolt explosion!"

Chapter 87 The First Criminal to Escape from Azkaban

With a deafening roar, the tomb was completely blown open.

A decaying coffin was also completely blown apart, revealing a white skull inside!

Kingsley held his breath, waved his wand a few times, and simply cleared away the surrounding dirt, exposing the skeleton completely to the air.

As a seasoned professional Auror, he didn't look anywhere else; his gaze was fixed intently on the skull's pelvic area.

This location provides the most direct evidence of whether the skeleton was male or female in life.

Kingsley felt dizzy after just one glance at that pelvic bone!

He staggered and almost fell backward!

Even though he had subconsciously believed Severus's words before he arrived, Kingsley still felt a sense of panic and shock when he actually saw the evidence in front of him.

It's actually true!

The Death Eater Barty Crouch Jr., who should have died in Azkaban long ago, was actually his mother in disguise!

As an Auror, Kingsley was fully aware of the enormous impact this would have if it were made public!

Since its establishment, no prisoner in Azkaban has ever managed to escape.

For over two hundred years, almost all Ministers of Magic have regarded this place as a forbidden island, and the wizarding community has believed that it is absolutely safe to imprison the most heinous criminals here.

However, this place, which was considered an absolute shackle, has already been broken!

Barty Crouch Jr. is the first confirmed prisoner in magical history to have escaped from Azkaban!

Especially considering his special status, his ability to escape from prison suggests he was a top official in the Ministry of Magic, and his father, Barty Crouch Sr., was abusing his power and helping him escape!

"Is this enough evidence, Kingsley?"

Severus simply stared into Kingsley's eyes. He was clearly not surprised by the outcome. The reason he had brought Kingsley to Azkaban was simply to prepare for the cleanup of the operation.

Kingsley was pale and it took him a long time to recover from the shock.

He gripped his wand tightly and said in a cold voice.

"He did something that insults his past! If he really couldn't bear to part with his son, why did he personally conduct that trial in the first place!"

"He may be able to make some tough decisions from a father's perspective, but as a husband, he cannot refuse his seriously ill and dying wife."

Severus said calmly.

"Sometimes that's just how it is; almost every moment, some people have to face the most difficult choices."

After taking a few deep breaths, Kingsley finally calmed himself down.

He turned his head and looked at Severus with a firm gaze.

"Are we going to go there now and expose what they've done?"

"As long as you are determined and don't care if people criticize you for making the decision to arrest your boss's boss without authorization, we can come over anytime."

Upon hearing Severus's words, Kingsley did not hesitate. He picked up the lantern, turned around, and walked back the way he came.

"I don't care about those things!"

The Isle of Man.

This is an island located between England and Ireland, and in some contexts it is referred to as the British Isles along with Great Britain and Ireland.

In the northernmost part of this island, near the shore of the North Strait, lies a place that has remained untouched by Muggles for over two decades.

Originally, this was a private man-made forest, but in the 70s, after a man feared by all wizards in the magical world landed on the island, the man-made forest completely disappeared from the Muggle boundaries and became a secret stronghold belonging to an organization.

Using the door key, Greyback led the werewolves, panting, to this place.

He was furious, his mind filled with hatred for Severus, and he even forgot that there was actually an acquaintance of his with that traitor.

"Damn it!! The Dark Lord won't let him get away with this! That damned traitor!!"

The other werewolves also looked like they had just escaped death, their faces filled with lingering fear, especially the werewolf whose arm had been cut off by a spell; he was lying on the ground howling in pain.

Lupin, who had arrived earlier under the watchful eyes of three werewolves, stood in front of the children and simply watched Graybury quietly.

"Who did you run into?" he asked.

“Severus Snape!” Greyback roared.

Today, for what felt like the umpteenth time he'd heard that name, Lu Ping, who had thought he was numb to it all, was momentarily taken aback.

Even Harry, who was behind him, instinctively peeked over, but quickly realized what was happening and pulled his head back in.

"I thought everything he said at the Ministry of Magic trial was an act! All lies! Turns out he really became an Auror's lackey!"

Greyback was panting heavily, his face contorted in a grimace, but he quickly regained his composure and finally let out a cold laugh.

"But he's probably still in the dark! He doesn't even know about the Dark Lord. Does Snape really think he can rest easy from now on? He's dreaming!"

"Pierre, you stay here with four men, the rest of you come with me!"

Lupin quickly came to his senses and looked at Graybury, who seemed to be about to leave again. He wanted to ask them what they were going to do.

But as if he had guessed what was on his mind, before leaving, Graybury suddenly turned and looked at him.

"Remus, don't you think things are a bit too coincidental? How did Snape find our seaside outpost?"

At this moment, all of Lu Ping's muscles tensed up, and his back was already soaked with sweat!

However, he maintained his usual composure and calmness.

"You're doubting someone who doesn't even have a magic wand?"

Greyback just stared at him, his eyes fixed on him.

"I've already told you, you're different from other werewolves. Who knows what you're capable of without a wand? This is just a final warning: if the Aurors or Snape manage to get here, regardless of whether you did it or not, I'll make you suffer first!"

"Go! Those who stay behind, keep a close eye on your wands!"

After uttering his final warning, Greyback didn't linger. He and the werewolves following him vanished from the spot using Apparition.

Having received his warning, the remaining werewolves all turned and looked at Lupin with ill intent.

Lupin ignored their stares. He simply sat down quietly, helped Jimmy, the child who still had a low-grade fever, wrap his clothes around him, and then spoke to the children in a relaxed tone.

"It seems we won't be getting roast beef for lunch."

Chapter 88, take a look! This is my father!

Crouch's house, at some point, began to resemble a cave by the water.

It was cold and eerie, giving one only a chill to the bone.

Old Barty dragged his weary body home from the Ministry of Magic as the night wind blew through the birch grove beside him.

Or rather, he didn't even go inside the house.

He has become reluctant to go home ever since he did that thing five years ago.

In other words, it's a resistance to seeing that person at home.

He unbuttoned his robe, leaned against a tree in front of his house, took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and stared blankly at the old house that resembled a prison.

From what day did this family begin to turn out like this?

Old Barty recalled.

It was in the winter of 1982 that he was shocked to discover that his son, whom he had once been so proud of, was actually a despicable Death Eater.

Back in the winter of 1984, his wife was diagnosed by St. Mungo that she had lost all hope of treatment and could only wait to die at home.

Or perhaps in the spring of the same year, he released that beast from prison, only to find that even though his mother had given her life and his father had ruined his reputation, he could not bring him back. He could only use the Soul-Stealing Curse to keep him at home.

Five years may not be a long time for a wizard, but for old Barty, it was a period so difficult that he could no longer recall those years.

Since what happened to Severus Snape, he's been coming home later and later lately.

The Ministry of Magic had a lot of work to do as its director, although Barty knew very well that he hadn't actually done much of a job and was mostly just playing the role of a fixer.

He patched up some of the messes that happened in the wizarding world, used political means to play the peacemaker between the various parties, and salvaged his already dwindling reputation to shield the Minister of Magic from blame.

In addition, many recent events have left Old Barty feeling extremely exhausted.

He stubbed out his cigarette, his mind drifting back to the last time he used the Soul-Stealing Curse was two weeks ago.

At that time, he was still entangled in the potion poisoning case, and the Slytherin headmaster of Hogwarts had not yet become involved in the matter.

At that time, he saw that the beast was being tortured by the curse to the point of being unrecognizable, trembling on the ground and calling for his mother. Shan Shan was also kowtowing to him, saying that he really couldn't take it anymore.

He was still thinking that he should give him a week off for now, since Shan Shan was watching over him anyway.

As a result, Snape got involved in that matter, which made the entire Department of Magical Law Enforcement very busy, and he didn't even know what time he got home every day.

Occasionally, I would think of renewing the Soul-Stealing Curse, but each time I would find that the beast had already fallen asleep.

And so it's been postponed until now.

Old Barty has recently begun to suspect that the leak of information within the Auror organization is very likely related to that beast.

He had a lot of orders and materials from Scrimgeour in his study at home, which made it easy to determine their direction of action.

Today is the day he can no longer delay.

After gathering his robes, Old Barty no longer hesitated and turned to walk into the house.

However, as soon as he stepped into the foyer, he inexplicably felt that something seemed off about the house!

Old Barty stopped in his tracks, slowly pulled his wand from his sleeve, and looked at the wide-open window.

The night wind howled through the room, causing the curtains to sway wildly.

"Blink!" he cried.

Normally, the house-elves would appear immediately if their names were called, but this time they did not.

The entire room was completely silent, as if there wasn't a single living person inside.

An ominous premonition washed over Old Barty. His body tensed, his right hand gripped his wand tightly, held it upright in front of him, cast an Ironclad Charm on himself, and then slowly groped his way into the inner room.

The living room was dark. The usually hardworking house-elf had encountered something terrible. The house was a mess, as if it had been ransacked by robbers!

Just as Old Barty was walking up the stairs to the second floor, a gust of wind suddenly blew in through the window, knocking over the clothes rack that was placed in the corner.

The sudden noise made Old Batty turn around abruptly!

he shouted.

"I knew it was you! Batty!"

His voice faded, but the room remained quiet, as if he were truly the only person in the room, with no one else present.