Hogwarts: This holy light is righteously evil

He stared intently at the flickering flames, his teeth grinding together: "A bunch of damned bastards! It's all the fault of those Death Eaters! If it weren't for them, my son wouldn't have gone astray, and I wouldn't be in this state!"

The only sounds in the office were the crackling of the flames and Barty Crouch's heavy, rapid breathing.

He leaned back in his chair, his chest heaving, and the anger on his face was gradually replaced by exhaustion.

He knew that those who attacked him were not necessarily Death Eaters, but they were definitely people who wanted to prevent him from being elected minister, and his son's mistakes were their sharpest weapon, making it impossible for him to defend himself and refute them.

......

The Room of Requirement has long since shed its former cluttered appearance, transforming into a quiet and tidy Transfiguration spell study room.

In the center of the room stood a large oak table covered with smooth parchment. Several heavy volumes of transmutation spells lay scattered around it. The ink bottle was full of ink, and a quill leaned against its side. The air was filled with the scent of ink and the aroma of old books.

Puni was sitting at the table, writing his homework on parchment while occasionally glancing up at the two-way mirror in his hand that was gleaming faintly.

"Regulus, I know you've been targeting Barty Crouch, but lately you've been acting too hastily. Even we Hogwarts students can tell at a glance that those newspaper reports are deliberately targeting him, let alone the wizards in the magical world."

Regulus's figure was clearly visible in the two-way mirror. He was in a dark and secluded environment with smooth walls and no superfluous decorations. It was obviously a carefully arranged secret room.

Puni knew that Regulus had always been very cautious. He had never revealed the two-way mirror to his wife and children, and even their phone calls were always held in the most secluded places to avoid leaking any information.

Upon hearing Puni's words, Regulus frowned slightly and explained truthfully, "This was not my idea; it was Lucius's suggestion, and the other pure-blood families also agreed."

He paused, his eyes instantly turning icy, filled with contempt and disgust. "That pure-blood traitor, Barty Crouch, has his hands stained with the blood of us pure-blood wizards. How can we possibly stand by and watch him become Minister for Magic?"

Puni looked at Regulus's cold expression in the mirror and understood.

Even though Regulus cleverly escaped his identity as a Death Eater and even became a recognized hero in the wizarding world with the help of secret agents, his deep-rooted belief in pure-blood ideology never changed.

However, his pure-blood ideology was not as extreme and cruel as that of the Dark Lord. He would not indiscriminately kill innocent people or harm Muggle-born wizards in order to maintain the purity of pure blood. He simply firmly believed that pure-blood wizards should have a higher status and should not be superior to Muggle-born wizards.

Puni also knew that the Crouch family was one of the 28 holy pure-blood families in the wizarding world, with a long history and profound heritage. In fact, several generations ago, a female member of the Black family married into the Crouch family, so the two families were related by marriage. Logically speaking, Regulus should not be so hostile to Barty Crouch.

Penny knew the reason perfectly well. After Voldemort's downfall, the Ministry of Magic conducted a large-scale trial of the Death Eaters. Barty Crouch, as the key figure in the trial, always adhered to the principle of strictness and severity, showing no mercy to any pure-blood wizards involved, even if they were pure-blood nobles related to him by marriage, or even his own son, Barty Crouch Jr. He still handled matters impartially and without any favoritism.

Most of the pure-blood nobles who had escaped trial and were not imprisoned in Azkaban had been severely punished by Barty Crouch during the trial, either by being stripped of their family property or having their magical rights restricted. They had long harbored resentment towards Barty Crouch.

Now that Barty Crouch has the opportunity to run for Minister of Magic, the surviving pure-blood nobles are naturally not going to let him off easy. They have joined forces and, on Lucius's suggestion, have begun to launch a massive attack on Barty Crouch through newspapers and other channels, trying to ruin his reputation and prevent him from being elected minister.

Puni picked up his quill again and continued writing on the parchment, adding calmly, "I understand your thoughts, but being too hasty will only expose your weaknesses. If it is discovered that you secretly manipulated these reports, not only will you fail to stop Barty Crouch, but you will also implicate yourselves, which would be a loss."

Regulus in the mirror was silent for a moment, but remained resolute: "I know the risks involved, but we have no way out. Once Barty Crouch is elected minister, he will only continue to suppress our pure-blood families. We must strike first, even if it means taking some risks, we must not let him succeed."

Puni didn't refute further, but simply shook his head slightly.

Regulus is the type of person who, once he makes up his mind, will not easily change it, especially with the support of other pure-blood families.

"Recently, there's been a constant stream of negative news about Barty Crouch Jr., with attacks everywhere. Haven't you considered that this approach is too deliberate and could easily create hidden problems?"

He looked away and lowered his head again: "I'm not saying it's wrong for you to target him, it's just that your methods were too direct and too hasty."

"In this way, with a little guidance from someone, Barty Crouch could easily throw all this dirty water of accusation at Cornell Fudge, and conversely create the image of himself as incorruptible and selfless, yet being maliciously slandered by petty people."

"At that point, your attacks will not only be ineffective, but will also help him gain sympathy and indirectly benefit him. Isn't that the outcome you want?"

Puni saw through him perfectly. Barty Crouch had been in the Ministry of Magic for many years and was already a seasoned veteran of political maneuvering. He would never lack people around him to offer advice and strategies.

Moreover, his image of upholding justice in his daily life is deeply ingrained in people's hearts, and he must have a group of people who genuinely trust him and are willing to serve him.

With a little maneuvering, those people could turn this attack on him into an opportunity to improve his reputation, and Regulus and his group would only suffer losses in the end.

Regulus, on the other side of the two-way mirror, fell into deep thought upon hearing Puni's words.

He frowned, carefully considering Puni's words. The more he thought about it, the more sense it made. Barty Crouch was a very politically astute man. Even if he himself disdained to use such underhanded tactics, the people around him would never sit idly by and watch him be attacked without cause. They would definitely try to turn the situation around.