At least half of the Dementors instantly floated toward Barty Crouch Jr., while the other half seemed to realize they couldn't compete with their peers, so there was only a slight commotion.
The Aurors from the Ministry of Magic paid no attention to these large, dark creatures—just being near them was enough to induce sorrow and pain, so the Aurors kept their distance.
One of them glanced over and, seeing that the Dementors hadn't strayed beyond the designated boundary, went back to watching a palm-sized streaming mirror in his hand.
There was no one else around, so the Auror turned the volume up with ease and wore a silly grin as he watched the blonde woman in the mirror clumsily wave her wand, causing the sparks in the bowl before her to crackle and pop.
"What are you doing?!" her companion shouted in frustration. "We're supposed to be casting an Invisibility Charm, not an Exploding Charm!"
"You idiot!" the blonde woman shrieked. "That wasn't an explosion, it was a firework!"
"We need invisibility! Invisibility! And you're setting off fireworks! Do you want Filch to find us?!"
The Auror laughed out loud as he watched the video.
It was a sitcom made by wizards themselves. Although the acting wasn't great, the genuine magic and botched spells made the show hilarious.
While the Auror was laughing at the video, the Dementors had already formed a circle around Barty Crouch Jr.. The only reason they hadn't rushed forward to drain him was the powerful magic radiating from his body.
"Wait! Wait!" Barty Crouch Jr. held up his wand in a gesture of peace and said, "Who's your leader? I've brought a deal!"
Whether the Dementors understood or not was unclear, but they continued to advance—until, suddenly, they stopped.
In Barty Crouch Jr.'s free hand appeared a transparent, spherical crystal bottle, inside which a silver-white substance swirled and shimmered. From the outside, it looked like he had captured the Milky Way in a jar.
Barty Crouch Jr. raised the bottle slightly, making sure all the Dementors could see it, then slowly lowered it and finally placed it on the ground.
He stepped back a couple of paces and said, "This is my offering—memories of the happiest moments in the lives of twelve Muggles."
These memories, magically extracted by a wizard, were vastly more potent than the ambient emotions in the air. The Dementors' greed and desire instantly peaked—but none of them moved without permission.
One of them stepped forward—it didn't look much different from the others, but its cloak was darker and its figure was more ethereal. It extended a long, decayed hand, and the bottle flew into its grasp with a whoosh.
Barty Crouch Jr. involuntarily stepped back again, trying hard not to show disgust or fear.
He had spent about a year in Azkaban and had experienced firsthand how terrifying these creatures were. He had no desire to relive the torment of being overwhelmed by every painful memory at once.
He couldn't cast a Patronus Charm, but fortunately, Voldemort had taught him a Dark Magic spell related to the soul that greatly diminished the Dementors' effect on him.
Barty Crouch Jr. lowered his gaze and noticed a faint, dull glimmer flickering on the Dementor's hand—it was wearing a silver ring. However, the band had sunk so deeply into its flesh that it was almost fused with the skin.
The creature under the cloak sensed his stare, and its hand instantly withdrew into the cloak.
The cork popped off the bottle, and the Dementor took a slow, deep breath. The silvery memories inside the bottle flew toward it and disappeared into a dark, gaping hole.
That was its mouth.
Above the mouth, all that could be seen was scabbed, gray skin—no eyes, no nose, no ears, just a terrifying head that belonged in a nightmare.
Soon, the silver light of the memories vanished into the Dementor's mouth. The creature let out a long sigh—part satisfaction, part hunger for more.
"I think you've seen it now," Barty Crouch Jr. said as he forced himself to stay calm. "My master—the Dark Lord—does things differently from Dumbledore and the current Ministry of Magic."
"If you're willing to join us, he will let you feast freely on happiness... Even souls for supper aren't out of the question!"
"So, what do you say? Interested in a deal?" Barty Crouch Jr. smiled. "Or do you really think the Ministry's scraps are enough to satisfy you? They don't even allow you to reproduce, do they?"
After a long silence, the Dementor stretched out a finger, and black mist formed a string of thin, elongated letters in the air:
[Voldemort is still alive?]
…
The news of Caryll's departure didn't stir much reaction. The students talked about it for only a few days before shifting their attention elsewhere.
The Ministry of Magic didn't want many people to know that Caryll had used a Time-Turner in an attempt to change his mother's fated death, which ultimately led to his own death a year earlier.
As a result, both his crimes and his death were kept as confidential secrets.
What the students were told was that Caryll had withdrawn from Hogwarts due to some family matters and had even left the UK.
His sudden departure caused anger and disappointment among a few of his friends and classmates, who felt abandoned. But the increasingly heavy workload soon made those adolescent grievances easy to forget.
After all, final exams were approaching.
Not even Easter offered a break—professors from every subject assigned more homework. Even the usually mischievous Weasley twins had no choice but to study hard for their Ordinary Wizarding Levels (O.W.L.s).
Time passed like a girl running with her skirts lifted—before the ones lagging behind could pick up the crystal slipper she left behind, that beautiful figure had already vanished, and exam week descended with a gloom.
Wade received an unusually harsh exam schedule. For example, on the first day at 9 a.m., he had to take Arithmancy and Transfiguration at the same time, and at 1 p.m., he had both Charms and Ancient Runes.
Luckily for Wade, exams were never a challenge. And by now, grades didn't matter much to him anymore.
The final exam was Divination and Muggle Studies. Though scheduled at the same time, students could attend both without a Time-Turner, because the Divination exam was conducted one-on-one.
So Wade went to the Muggle Studies classroom first.
The exam was very simple: mostly multiple-choice questions, followed by identifying the names and uses of various Muggle items—like a mobile phone, a power strip, or a desk lamp—and finally, assembling a suitable outfit for blending into Muggle society.
To Wade, it wasn't even a "giveaway" test—trained monkeys could ace it.
However, when he saw a classmate pair a flannel nightgown with bright green leather pants, he realized he might have been a bit too optimistic.
"Completely pointless, isn't it?" Hermione said to Wade as they walked out of the classroom after taking the exam. "Sure, Muggle society is kind of interesting from a wizard's perspective, but for you and me, it's a total waste of time."
"Didn't you drop this class already?" Wade asked casually.
"Yeah, I already told Professor Burbage and haven't been to class in a while," Hermione said. "But since I studied it for over half a year, I just wanted to see it through to the end."
Wade glanced back at the classmate who had put together the bizarre outfit. That guy's brain seemed to be saying, "Looks fine," but his eyes were clearly screaming, "Something's very wrong."
Then the student hesitated again, picked up a wide-brimmed woman's hat decorated with a long feather, and cautiously placed it on the mannequin's head.
Wade looked at Hermione in disbelief and said, "Even if he's never seen a Muggle, shouldn't he at least have some basic sense of style?"
"Maybe he has too much sense of style," Hermione said, trying not to laugh. "He's probably trying to score extra points by being 'fashionable.'"
Wade frowned, confused. "Fashionable?"
"You've never seen a fashion show on TV, Wade?" Hermione gestured with her hands. "Like... those creative runway shows?"
Wade suddenly understood.
When they reached the second floor, Wade turned toward the North Tower for his Divination exam, while Hermione headed off in the direction of the library.
"Not taking the Divination exam?" Wade asked.
"I have zero interest in seeing Trelawney," Hermione said with distaste. "She's a total fraud."
Wade raised an eyebrow. "What happened to your whole 'see things through to the end' idea?"
"Divination doesn't count," Hermione waved her hand and walked backwards to the other end, shrugging. "Honestly, Wade, you don't need to sit through her nonsense just to get twelve O.W.L.s."
"Well… I actually find Divination kind of fun."
Wade waved goodbye and headed up the spiral staircase. Outside the Divination classroom, a few students were still waiting in line—Ron and Harry were at the end.
They had stopped a student coming down the stairs and were whispering, "How was it?"
"Professor Trelawney said we're not allowed to say. But..." Padma leaned in and whispered, "crystal ball divination."
"You're crazy!" Lisa yanked Padma's sleeve, panicking. "Didn't the professor say anyone who reveals the exam details would meet some terrible fate?"
"Oh, please, don't sound like my sister," Padma said nonchalantly. "I don't believe that for a second—unless Professor Trelawney curses me personally. —Hey, Wade!"
She cheerfully greeted Wade, then walked downstairs with Lisa. Wade overheard them discussing what they wanted to buy on the final Hogsmeade weekend before heading home.
"Crystal ball divination!" Ron groaned. "I couldn't see anything in there!"
"Same here," said Harry, trying to encourage him. "Use your imagination, Ron! Didn't you say you saw some wild image in the crystal ball last time?"
"Yeah," Ron said. "I saw a spider with eight eyes playing tug-of-war with a Chocolate Frog. I don't think Professor Trelawney would like that answer very much."
The Ravenclaw girl at the front, Lavender, let out a giggle and turned her head curiously. "And then? What did you say?"
"I said I saw myself being chased by a giant spider," Ron said with a pale face. "It was the first time Professor Trelawney gave me an 'Exceeds Expectations.'"
Harry cheerfully patted him on the shoulder. "See? Making stuff up isn't that hard, is it?"
Ron sighed heavily, looking conflicted.
This year, Harry hadn't been bombarded with constant death predictions from Trelawney like before—especially in the second term, his Divination classes had become fairly normal, just like everyone else's.
Because of that, he had a relatively neutral opinion of the subject.
Compared to subjects like Hermione's, which required heavy memorization and complex calculations, Divination felt way more friendly to Harry—after all, as long as you could make things up, you could do the homework.
He turned to the back of the line and asked, "Wade, what can you see in the crystal ball?"
Wade was silent for a moment, then replied, "Pretty much the same as Ron. Just watch the mist patterns, imagine a vaguely similar object—mostly animals, sometimes household items—and then expand on it using the textbook interpretations."
"Oh... interpretations..."
Harry trailed off, then suddenly pulled Unfogging the Future from his bag to do some last-minute cramming. Ron quickly leaned over to study along with him.
Wade chuckled and looked up at the trapdoor to the Divination classroom.
Students came down one by one after finishing their turn—some looked confident, others clearly dejected.
When Ron came down, he said, "I don't know if she believed it or not… but maybe I'll pass. I'll be happy with just a pass…"
Then it was Harry's turn.
Wade crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, wondering what Harry would hear once he was up there.
In the original storyline, Harry received a real prophecy during this exam—Trelawney, normally seen as a fraud, had predicted Voldemort's return and Wormtail's reunion with him.
But now, the "Wormtail" wandering outside was actually a doll Wade had sent out. If Voldemort wanted to be resurrected, it would likely take much longer.
Wade made no attempt to eavesdrop. Even if Trelawney did make another strange prophecy, Harry wouldn't hide it from them.
Nearly half an hour passed before Wade saw Harry coming down the stairs, looking dazed.
"Harry?" Wade asked. "What's wrong?"
"A loyal servant will help the Dark Lord rise again… darkness and mist will cover the land…" Harry murmured, repeating the words, then looked up at Wade. "What does it mean?"
"Professor Trelawney said that?" Wade straightened up slightly. "Did she give a real prophecy?"
"I think so," Harry said. "She… she was different just now… It didn't feel like she was faking it…"
"Wade Grey?" Trelawney's voice called from above. "You're next."
"Don't worry. What's meant to happen will happen," Wade said, patting Harry on the shoulder. "Tell Dumbledore the entire prophecy word for word. If it's really coming true, he'll have a plan. As for the rest… there's not much we can change."
Then, Wade stepped past Harry and headed upstairs.
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