Harry Potter: Charlie's Candy Factory

Chapter 138
"Hi! Mr. Crouch."

"Director Crouch, good morning!"

"You came here so early today."

………………

As the burning flames in the fireplace of the Ministry of Magic rose into a green vortex as tall as a person, Barty Crouch stepped out of the vortex.

The civil servants of the Ministry of Magic who had passed by also stopped for him one after another, with reverent expressions and sincere greetings to him.

It can be seen that Barty Crouch's prestige in the Ministry of Magic is astonishingly high, with a momentum that is completely beyond what his position should have, faintly even surpassing Fudge Connelly as a minister.

However, this is not something that should be surprising...

After all, a few years ago, he was still the Minister of Magic Enforcement, and he could be said to be the person who was closest to the position of Minister of Magic.

Whether it was his tough attitude against Voldemort, or his wise decision-making and superb skills, the wizards in the British wizarding world felt a kind of peace of mind and reliability they had never had before in that frightening war era. …

If it wasn't for that accident—Barty Crouch Jr. was personally exposed and put on trial as a Death Eater, then the mediocre and cowardly Fudge would never have had the chance to see that extraordinary death eater. high.Even thinking about it, I dare not have the slightest idea.

However, history is such an irony... Merlin's soul hovering in the sky did not protect the well-deserved stalwart this time, but gave the great opportunity to the lucky one.

In the end, Barty Crouch personally pronounced his son's crimes in anger and pain, and imprisoned him in the cell of Azkaban like other Death Eaters, and became food for the dementors... and His reputation has also plummeted in the magic world so far, and he completely missed that position. He didn't even keep the seat of the head of the Magic Executive Department. He was transferred to the International Magic Exchange and Cooperation Department and became a diplomat.

Perhaps in the eyes of others, it is just an ordinary transfer at the same level, but Barty Crouch, who has seen too many intrigues and political struggles, clearly understands that this is the weakening of Fudge's fear of his rights, and will His original power was wiped out, and he was moved to this idle position that had no room for development.

Minister of International Magic Exchange and Cooperation... At the very beginning, every time Barty Crouch heard about his new position, he almost felt a great insult and ridicule.

He was obviously a warrior, a warrior who dared to fight Voldemort without fear of life and death, a hero who was tough, stabilized the political situation, and eased turmoil... In the end, he became a diplomat, dealing with trivial matters in the magic world of other countries work.

Barty Crouch pursed his mouth, facing the young man who greeted him in front of him, and only nodded expressionlessly.

And the eyes in the deep eye sockets have not changed since the beginning, staring sharply at the road ahead.

He strode across the lobby on the first floor of the Ministry of Magic, and walked straight from the crowd to one of the elevators.

This time, he did not come to the office of his International Magic Exchange and Cooperation Department as usual to start the day's work.

He presented the elevator, without the slightest hesitation, raised his finger and pressed the button leading to the highest level of the Ministry of Magic, which was the office of the Minister of Magic.

.......................................

"Ding Dong"

Without making him wait for too long, the elevator went all the way up to the top floor.

"Dong Dong Dong!!!"

After getting off the elevator and coming to the only wooden door, Barty Crouch knocked on Fudge's office door.

"Which one?!"

In the office, Fudge subconsciously put down the teacup and newspaper in his hand, raised his head and looked towards the door, his tone was still somewhat dissatisfied, as if he did not expect that someone would dare to knock on his door early in the morning.

Because according to his usual habits, this point should be the time for him to enjoy life.A cup of delicious hot tea, an interesting newspaper, half an hour before the start of work is used to fish at public expense, enough to put Fudge in a good mood, so as to resist the boredom of the rest of the day in the office.

And it's not a secret... Even some other directors and ministers tacitly wouldn't visit Fudge's office during this time to disturb his peace.

After all, who made him the minister of the Ministry of Magic? Even if he was dissatisfied, there was nothing he could do about such trivial matters...

"it's me!"

After hearing Fudge's voice, Barty Crouch stopped knocking on the door and said frankly.

As the sound came into the office, Fudge's expression froze slightly.Immediately afterwards, he made a quick move, picked up a stack of "spare" documents that were placed next to him, and pressed them on the newspaper, while continuing to ask outside the door.

"What do you have to do with me?"

However, this time, there was no dissatisfaction in the voice at the beginning, but surprise.

You must know that even though he has been a boss for several years, he still feels jealous of Barty Crouch, but he can clearly feel the other party's temper.

Fudge knew that that guy didn't think much of him.It can even be said that he scoffed at his leader... The pride in his heart made him never visit the door in person.

Except for a very few jobs that need to be handed over in person, he rarely appears in this place... This office should originally belong to Barty Crouch.

"I have something to ask you."

Barty Crouch's tone remained the same, decisively and directly explaining his reason for coming.

"...well, come in, Minister Crouch."

Although Barty Crouch's unexpected visit made Fudge somewhat inexplicable, but he still chose to make an exception and opened the door of his office to the other party at this time.

With a sound of "Peng", under Fudge's gaze, the door of the office was pushed aside.

Crouch stood at the door, his eyes met Fudge's.

The visitor was not polite, without saying anything, stepped into the office majestically, took a few steps forward, and finally stopped in front of Fudge's desk.

He didn't explain why he came here for the first time, but lowered his head and looked at the stacked documents on Fudge's desk.

"Minister Crouch, you better have something important."

Fudge narrowed his eyes, watched the other party's presumptuous behavior quietly, and said in a deep voice.

Crouch still didn't speak, and ignored the obvious dissatisfaction in Fudge's tone, but still looked at the pile of documents.

Suddenly, he started to move, with sharp eyes and quick hands. Before Fudge could react, with a "swish", he pulled out a slightly crumpled newspaper from the bottom.

The handwriting of "Quibbler" is clearly visible at the top of the newspaper.

"Humph……"

Crouch's face finally changed, and a bit of sarcasm appeared for a while.

Although he didn't say anything, he just snorted, but the meaning he wanted to express was self-evident...

"Barty Crouch!!"

Fudge's brows were raised suddenly, and he stood up abruptly from his seat, staring at the other party angrily.

Although he does not have the slightest advantage in terms of height or physique, at least in this office, Fudge is the absolute king, and no one can disobey him.

"........."

Crouch was silent for a while, but in the end he did not further intensify the conflict with Fudge, and chose to give in.

He took out the newspaper from the pocket of his coat that he had just finished reading on the sofa at home, and threw it out, just enough to cover "The Quibbler", floating in front of Fudge .

"I guess, you haven't read today's "Daily Prophet", have you?"

Barty Crouch said calmly

"Humph……"

Fudge's raised eyebrows lowered a little, he snorted coldly, and didn't pursue anything further, but chose to follow the compromise Barty Crouch gave, and quietly sat back in his seat.

He supported the armrest of the chair, and after moving it a bit, he chose a comfortable posture, then picked up the newspaper that the other party had placed on the desk, and read it unhurriedly.

Soon, his attention was also attracted by the huge words of Charlie Black on the front page of the newspaper, and he continued to read, carefully looking at the two attached photos.

The further down he looked, the bigger Fudge's eyes became, and his expression became dignified and serious.

The hand that was holding the newspaper casually also used a little strength, causing the positions on both sides of the "Daily Prophet" to become wrinkled with a slight "crash".

And all of this was naturally seen by Barty Crouch.He remained silent and continued to look at the other party while waiting for him to finish reading the article.

At this moment, while reading the above text, while looking at the "recruitment notice" next to it, Fudge felt an inexplicable feeling in his heart.

It was extremely complicated, like two diametrically opposed thoughts popping into my head at the same time.On the one hand, he still clearly remembered yesterday, when he had a happy conversation with Charlie Black in the office, and finally agreed on this matter together.

On the other hand, a sense of discomfort and panic came from nowhere, lingering in my thoughts, which could not be eliminated.

Finally... When the last line of writing came into view, Fudge slowly put down the newspaper in his hand, laid him flat on the table, and raised his head again to look at Barty Crouch.

However, this time, the complexity in his mind has dissipated.Satisfaction and understanding were revealed from his eyes, representing the most real thoughts in his heart at the moment.

"I thought it would take a few days for him to release the news...Charlie, the efficiency is really frightening."

It seems that they have forgotten that the two of them were still at war with each other not long ago.

Fudge's voice was gentle, and there was even a slight smile on the corner of his mouth, and he shook his head teasingly.

"How much did he pay you?"

Crouch raised his brows, with a look of undisguised scrutiny in his eyes, and asked directly.

"what?"

Fudge froze for a moment, the satisfaction and understanding in his eyes turned into bewilderment and doubt.

"Stop pretending...Fudge, you old fox." The corner of Crouch's mouth hooked up, his scrutiny still undiminished.

"Based on what I know about you, it is absolutely impossible for you to make such a radical decision...Only that kid, that crazy guy, has the courage to do this kind of thing."

His tone paused, and the expression on his face seemed to know everything that happened.

Stretching out his hand and tugging at his collar, Crouch continued
"So, don't pretend to be confused... How much money is it for you to agree to such a condition?"

However, what Crouch didn't expect was that, after hearing his words that should have hit the nail on the head and hit the sore spot directly, Fudge's face not only did not show the panic he imagined, but instead changed from panic to anger, he narrowed his eyes. The eyes and the smile on the face became brighter.

"Crouch..."

Fudge opened his mouth, raised his head, and looked at the annoying face that he didn't even want to see. For some reason, he suddenly felt that this face was extraordinarily ridiculous at this moment.

"You think you can see through me all the time, you think you know Cornelius Fudge better than me..."

As he spoke, he picked up the newspaper that had just been placed on the table. His chubby hands deftly manipulated his round fingers, and he folded the unfolded newspaper little by little, until finally it reached the size of a palm. size.

"But unfortunately, it seems that you are not as knowledgeable as you imagined. And I am not as dull as you imagined."

Fudge stood up, bent over, leaned his upper body slightly forward, stretched out his arms, and gently stuffed the "Daily Prophet" folded into the size of a palm into the pocket of Barty Crouch's coat.

"This time, not only did I not accept any money, but Charlie Black's idea of ​​recruiting Muggles and Squibs to expand the factory's business was also instructed by me."

He looked into Crouch's eyes just like before, but this time, as he read the words from his mouth word by word, Crouch's eyes began to change, surprised, questioning, puzzled ...Many emotions flashed through it, but it was the only thing that didn't have the clearness at the beginning and the arrogance that saw through everything.

This is the first time!This was the first time he saw Barty Crouch look like this.For a moment, a great sense of satisfaction welled up from his chest and enveloped his whole body.

"Okay, if you came to me this time just because of this small matter...then I can only ask you to leave."

Fudge raised his chin and sat back on his seat. Although his heart was already comfortable and fascinating, he remained calm on the surface, and said with a calm and gentle smile

"Because I have important things to do next... At least it's more important than hearing you come to trouble me like a child."

After finishing speaking, he ignored Barty Crouch and continued to read the unfinished "The Quibbler".

(End of this chapter)