Chapter 380: Bertha Jorkins and Ivan's Plan

There was a moment of silence. The atmosphere in the hallway was somewhat delicate, filled with a strong aroma of wine.

Moody's drink was very spicy and strong. It was uncomfortable just to smell it.

"I'll pay attention to Barty Crouch!" Moody put away the flask and said to Evan, "Remember, always stay alert and trust no one."

He waved his black cloak and headed for the elevator.

As he walked away, the sound of his cane hitting the floor became more distant.

Before it disappeared completely, no one moved, and Ivan could be sure that Moody was watching the three of them with that false eye.

Ivan didn't know how he was going to pay attention to Barty Crouch. He just hoped that this would give him a wake-up call and that he wouldn't be easily taken down and locked up by Barty Crouch Jr.

"He's always been just as mad, I hope he doesn't do anything foolish!" Mr. Weasley sighed and explained to Ivan, "He's Mad-Eye Moody, the best Auror in the history of the Ministry of Magic, a powerful force, a master at catching dark wizards."

"Just like you, he's suspicious of everything, trusts no one!" Sirius lowered his voice and said, "But he's trustworthy, he's Order of the Phoenix, right now those words he heard don't matter, we'd have to use the Dememorizing Charm."

"Since he retired, his suspicions grew stronger and stronger. He distrusts everyone and is always suspicious of any attack. He even used spells against Muggles, and our department had to go after him to solve the problems." Mr. Weasley commented.

"You can't blame him for that. He caught a lot of dark wizards when he was an Auror. Half the prisoners in Azkaban were arrested because of him. It offended a lot of people." Sirius said, "Those people want him dead. He needs to be careful."

"Yes, yes, it's never wrong to be careful, but we shouldn't have unfounded doubts..." Mr. Weasley stared at Ivan and said uneasily, "Well, we've been on our feet long enough. Let's go in and have a cup of tea."

No one mentioned anything about Barty Crouch, as if nothing had happened.

They crossed the narrow hallway, turned a corner, and walked through a pair of heavy oak doors.

They emerged into a cluttered, open area, divided into cubicles, which were filled with chatter and laughter.

Memos zoomed in and out of the cubicles like miniature rockets.

"This is the Wizengamot Administration Service office." Mr. Weasley said, and every now and then, he stopped to greet a few people and introduce Sirius and Ivan.

In a small compartment, they walked through the second elm door.

The three people entered another passage, turned left, marched down another corridor, turned right into a dimly lit and clearly ramshackle hallway, and finally came to a dead end.

A door on the left was ajar, revealing a broom closet, and a door on the right bore a tarnished brass plaque: IMPROPER USE OF MUGGLES DEVICES.

Mr. Weasley's dingy office appeared to be a bit smaller than the broom closet.

Two desks were crammed inside and there was barely room to move around it due to the overflowing filing cabinets that lined the walls, on top of which were stacks of wobbly files.

What little wall space was available bore witness to Mr. Weasley's obsessions; there were several posters of automobiles, including one of a disassembled engine, two illustrations of mailboxes that he seemed to have cut out of Muggle children's books, and a diagram showing how to wire a plug.

On top of Mr. Weasley's tray was an old toaster that was hiccuping uncontrollably and a pair of empty leather gloves twiddling its thumbs.

Next to the tray were some photographs of the Weasley family, one of which had been taken in Egypt last year. Ron had shown it to everyone. However, the `Peter Pettigrew' rat had disappeared from above and should have been erased with magic.

"We don't have a window." Mr. Weasley apologized. "We've asked for it before, but they don't seem to think we need it. Sit down, I'll get you some water."

Ivan and Sirius squeezed into the two chairs behind the desk. What they could tell by the surroundings of the office, Mr. Weasley's department was not taken seriously.

"You can write a letter to your parents here, I'll find an owl to post it." Mr. Weasley pulled two cups of tea closer.

He pulled some blank parchments out of the blue and handed them to Ivan. Several report type papers fell out.

Ivan read, "It is reported that the incident of sewage backflow from the toilets at Wimbledon was investigated to be..."

"A regurgitating toilet?" said Ivan, surprised.

"Pranksters versus Muggles," Mr. Weasley said, frowning. "This is the first time it's happened. It's very bad by nature. The Muggles are pulling the chain and instead of everything disappearing.... well, you can imagine. The poor people keep calling those.... those photons, I think they're called...you know, the ones that fix the pipes and stuff..."

"Plumbers?" said Ivan.

"Exactly, yes, but of course, they're baffled. I just hope we can catch whoever did it," said Mr. Weasley.

"Will it be the Aurors who catch them?" asked Ivan.

"Oh no, this is too trivial for the Aurors, it will be the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol that will handle it.", said Mr. Weasley.

"This report is about Bertha Jorkins; what did she do?!" Sirius said with interest, picking up a report. "Cactus plants she bought from a Muggle store grow wild and with a giant mouth. Two Muggle witnesses..."

Ivan had a flash in his mind. Wasn't Bertha Jorkins the woman in Barty Crouch's apartment?

She discovered the truth of the whole incident in the original story, and Crouch used the Dismemorizing Charm on her.

He then went on vacation to Albania.

At the height of the Ministry of Magic's activity, she disappeared for several months and was captured by Voldemort.

Voldemort broke Bertha's Dememorizing charm and learned much from her, including the news that her most loyal servant, Barty Crouch Jr. was still alive. He rescued him, then planned a series of schemes in the Goblet of Fire to return successfully.

If he could find it, it would prove in advance that everything he said was true.

By then, they would have enough evidence to expose Barty Crouch's true face to the world and recapture Barty Crouch Jr.

Ivan excitedly thought it was an opportunity.

Ever since he had failed to persuade Sirius and Mr. Weasley, Ivan had been thinking about it.

He looked at the circular snake bracelet on his wrist and wondered if it had been chosen by Voldemort.

Whether or not others believed it or not, to prevent it, he was determined to take a more proactive approach to stopping Voldemort.

Ivan had a whole new idea, why should he follow the original book? With the emergence of the secret treasure of the Four Founders and the horrible evil gods, the world had already become totally different. Perhaps it was because he had crossed over to this world the greater evil was approaching.

Before that, he must first find a way to eliminate Voldemort.

He knew the location of all the Horcruxes, and provided there was enough time, he could destroy them in turn.

He would try to delay Voldemort's return, and when all the Horcruxes were destroyed, he would have nothing to fear.

At that time, as the prophecy said, he would not gain unimaginable power with their help.

Ivan planned it, but would everything turn out as well as he thought it would?