Chapter 390: The strange illness, drinking compound decoction for half a year
Outside Hogsmeade, the four saw a familiar ill omen: a large Black dog.
"Hello, Sirius," Harry greeted.
The Black dog eagerly walked up to Harry, its nose constantly sniffing his backpack, and its tail gradually began to wag.
"Huh! It's starving!"
The Black dog nodded slightly, not denying it.
A murderer's life on the run was not easy. Hiding elsewhere was fine; though tough, he could manage.
But Hogsmeade was a Wizarding village, and his wanted poster had been up for a long time. Most people recognized him, so he didn't even dare to enter the village to avoid drawing attention.
This meant he had almost no food source, living hand to mouth every day.
The Black dog turned around, about to lead them to his hiding place.
"No need for that," Aaron said, handing him the Invisibility Cloak directly. "Change back first; it'll be easier to eat."
The Black dog ducked into the Invisibility Cloak, and in a moment, transformed back into his human form, with only one hand exposed to take Harry's backpack.
Chewing sounds came from beside them. Sirius ate as he spoke, "I'm starving. I've been living off rats these past few days."
"At least you're not dead," Aaron said. "There are plenty of stray dogs that have starved to death."
"Let's not make jokes like that," Sirius said, exasperated. "I came back specifically because things are getting more and more complicated, and I wouldn't feel at ease if I didn't come myself."
"Look at this."
He threw out two copies of The Daily Prophet, and the four immediately gathered to look.
One headline read, "Barty Crouch's Peculiar Illness," and the other, "Ministry of Magic Witch Still Missing."
"Is there a connection?" Hermione asked.
"Crouch is sick; that's common knowledge," Ron said. "Percyis doing a lot of his work now; he's Barty Crouch's personal assistant."
"With all due respect, I don't see any problem," Aaron frowned. "Isn't it normal for a public official to take sick leave?"
"That's true for others," Sirius said, taking a big gulp of pumpkin juice. "But Barty Crouch is different. He's never taken a day off for illness.
But this time, he not only took leave but has been off for a month or so."
"If you put it that way... there does seem to be a bit of a problem."
"The problem isn't just that. Bertha Jorkins still hasn't been found. She's Crouch's subordinate and was aware of the Triwizard Tournament information."
"Crouch also fired Winky," Hermione said indignantly. "She was his House-elf, and now Winky works at Hogwarts."
"Barty Crouch's wife and son died long ago; he's all alone.
But now he hasn't been seen for a long time, no one knows about his illness, his subordinate has been missing for a long time, and his servant was fired. Coincidentally, they all knew about the Triwizard Tournament."
"You mean..." Harry's expression changed slightly. "Lord Voldemort..."
"Don't say his name!" Ron quickly interjected.
"Alright! You-Know-Who learned about the Triwizard Tournament from Crouch or someone connected to him, and then secretly arranged for someone to put my name into the Goblet of Fire."
"That's very possible," Sirius said. "But we need to confirm it.
Ron, your brother is Crouch's personal assistant. Please ask him if he's seen Crouch recently."
"I'll try!" Ron scratched his head. "Percy respects Crouch too much."
"So, it might not have been Karkaroff who put my name into the Goblet of Fire," Harry frowned. "He's one of the three Principals, so he would definitely know about the Goblet of Fire in advance."
"That's why the situation is complicated. Karkaroff used to be a Death Eater. Although he avoided Azkaban by betraying his comrades, it's not impossible that he wants to return to You-Know-Who's side.
He might be acting on his own, wanting to offer your life as a gift, or it could be You-Know-Who's arrangement for him to atone for his past actions.
But it's also possible that You-Know-Who arranged for someone else to throw your name into the Goblet of Fire."
"It makes no difference; they all want to kill me," Harry said with a self-deprecating laugh, then seemed to think of something and whispered, "Perhaps it's Snape."
"Impossible," Aaron retorted unceremoniously. "Although Professor Snape's attitude towards you is... unique, he would absolutely never harm you."
"Exactly," Hermione agreed. "Dumbledore trusts Snape. If he wanted to harm you, he's had many opportunities over the past few years..."
"There was no Dark Mark in the past few years!" Harryinterrupted her helplessly. "He didn't harm me before, possibly because You-Know-Who was out of power, and he couldn't act easily under Dumbledore's nose, so he could only find ways to make things difficult for me.
But now the Dark Mark has appeared, so perhaps the time is ripe for him, who knows.
Most importantly... Karkaroff and Snape are old acquaintances. Aaron and I saw them arguing about something when we went to his private storeroom."
"How interesting," Aaron sneered. "You suspect Professor Snape just because of that?
Harry Potter, how many times have you suspected Professor Snape of trying to harm you?"
Harry was speechless for a moment. It seemed that every time something happened, he would suspect Snape, but it was never him.
"Uh... I don't think Snape put your name into the Goblet of Fire," Sirius said, pondering. "His acquaintance with Karkaroff might just be a coincidence. If he truly served You-Know-Who, Dumbledore would never let him teach at Hogwarts."
"Hear that?" Aaron rolled his eyes at Harry. "Even if you don't trust Professor Snape, you should at least trust Dumbledore!"
"Mr. Black, do you have anything else to tell us?" Hermioneasked.
"That's all for now. Find Barty Crouch; he might know something.
Also, if you need to write, just send it here to me. It's convenient for me to keep track of any unusual situations, but you mustn't leave Hogwarts to see me. It would be too dangerous if someone tried to harm Harry."
"Dangerous?" Harry gave a wry smile. "What could be more dangerous than Dragons and Grindylows?"
"The third task," Sirius reminded him solemnly. "The first two tasks didn't take your life, so the third task is the last chance.
The third task will be very dangerous; you must not be careless."
"Understood," Harry nodded seriously.
"At least you're safe until the third task begins," Aaron teased. "You have over three months in between, which is plenty of time to rest."
Hearing this, a hint of embarrassment appeared on Harry's face.
That's what he said, but he didn't dare to think that way.
The idea of ample time was all an illusion; the second task had already taught him enough of a lesson.
If he hadn't prepared in advance, the third task might truly take his life. He wouldn't be naive enough to think Dobbycould help him again.
"Alright, you should head back to school.
If you guys talk about me, just call me'Snuffles.'"
As he finished speaking, the backpack was shoved into Harry's arms, but the food inside had been completely devoured, leaving only a few bones and two empty bottles.
Sirius transformed back into the Black dog, Harry picked up the Invisibility Cloak from the ground, waved to the Blackdog, and turned to return to Hogwarts Castle... the Divine Sound Palace.
Aaron shared his memories with the thought-form.
"It can't be Professor Snape, and it can't be Karkaroff," the thought-form said with certainty. "If nothing unexpected happens, Lord Voldemort must have sent someone to infiltrate Hogwarts."
"So certain?"
"Remember Professor Snape said the African tree snake skin and lacewing flies were missing? It seems someone really is brewing Polyjuice Potion."
"Your deductive reasoning is improving!"
The thought-form rolled its eyes, exasperated, and complained, "Besides attending two elective courses, I'm just practicing magic in the Divine Sound Palace. If it were you, you'd inevitably think about other things too."
Aaron gave an awkward laugh and immediately changed the subject: "The question is, who is this person?"
"I don't know," the thought-form spread its hands, helpless. "We don't have any suspects right now. This person is very clever and cautious, leaving no flaws.
He must have imprisoned someone and is continuously making Polyjuice Potion using that person's hair or fingernails, perfectly infiltrating Hogwarts."
"A ruthless individual!" Aaron exclaimed. "This person probably integrated into the school before the Goblet of Fire. Assuming it was on the first day of school... My goodness, he's been drinking Polyjuice Potion for half a year."
"This period will continue to extend. He shouldn't appear before the third task."
Aaron was noncommittal. The other party had put Harry Potter's name into the Goblet of Fire, clearly intending to kill him through the Triwizard Tournament.
The first two tasks had unexpected turns: once ProfessorMoody reminded Harry to use his broomstick, and another time Dobby stole the Gillyweed. But in the third task, the other party would definitely not hold back. If it failed again, he might even intervene personally.
"Poor Harry Potter, so miserable every year."
"We should be thankful he's still alive. Without this shield, we might be experiencing similar treatment."
"That's true. His bad luck is his problem, not mine," Aaron said, but a wry smile soon appeared on his face. "According to Adriaan's request, I have to escort the other champions in the final task, which means I have to protect Harry Potter."
The thought-form shrugged, "Even without Big Sister's request, he can't be allowed to die."
"I know, but I'm inexplicably annoyed," Aaron said, both angry and helpless. "And this means we might have to confront the person who put Harry's name into the Goblet of Fire directly."
"That's fine too," the thought-form said, its tone softening. "As long as it's not a direct confrontation with Lord Voldemort, there's nothing to fear. His Death Eaters won't be a match for us."