Chapter 455 - Chapter 455

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After the revelation that Barty Junior had killed his father, I continued to watch this memory, trying to see if he would say any more information that could be useful to me.

However, Barty Junior didn't say anything else and just got up from the trunk where he was sitting, and soon after I saw him drink some of the Polyjuice potion that was in his hip flask.

His appearance then began to change, and after a few moments he was standing in the middle of the office with his face and body exactly the same as Moody's.

After Barty Junior transformed into Moody he put the hip flask back in his pocket. He then went to the office door, and after adjusting his magical eye and his coat he left the room, and that was how this memory ended.

But I knew that this was just one of the many memories that Nyx had from the days when she spied on Barty Júnior, and so I continued to search her mind.

And I searched through her memories, analyzing them all with efficiency and speed, but even after viewing more than 30 memories I could not find any more information that would help me.

Almost every time Nyx was watching Barty Junior he just kept up the appearance of Moody, acting like the old paranoid ex-Auror when someone was around.

And when he was alone he still acted like a normal DADA teacher, correcting students' homework or planning the next lessons.

Sure, there were moments where he talked to Moody in the trunk, but it was mostly him mocking the old man while bragging about how he managed to kidnap him.

And other times he would be muttering things to himself, but from what I could hear they were just the ravings of a mad man.

'Sigh, I wasn't expecting him to tell me all his plans, but at least I thought he would say or do something that would give me some clue about what he was planning' I thought, leaving Nyx's memories and taking my hand off her head, thus canceling the connection.

'Well, I couldn't figure out what Barty Junior was planning or how he was going to involve me in this, but at least I figured out that now I won't have to worry about Crouch Senior anymore.'

And thinking about this I leaned back against the headboard of my bed, with Nyx coming and laying on my lap as I petted her.

'However I'm still a little surprised by this information... I wasn't expecting that Barty Junior had already killed his father' I frowned.

From what I remembered, in canon the Crouch Senior would have managed to get out of the Imperius curse and would escape from the place where he was trapped, and after that he would come to the castle grounds where all that confusion in the forbidden forest with Harry and Krum would happen.

And after that his son would capture him again, and only then would Crouch Senior be killed by him.

But something must have changed, since the Death Eater decided to kill him sooner than expected.

'Well, I won't think about it too much,' I thought with a sigh, 'His death happening so soon is unexpected, but it's not that important.'

I didn't feel any sadness over Crouch's death, as he was an arrogant and close-minded person who made many mistakes, and some of those mistakes even brought suffering to other people, with one of them being Sirius and consequently Harry.

And besides, his death can also be considered karma, since he, who should have been fair and serious, took his own son out of prison illegally, and then this son ended up becoming his murderer.

'Heh, they say karma is a bitch, but there's no denying that sometimes it's fair... and a little ironic' I snorted as I shook my head.

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-A few days later-

It was 2pm on a Friday, and usually at this time I would be training, studying, or finishing one of my projects.

But today I wasn't doing any of those things.

Actually, at this moment I was in Professor McGonagall's office, sitting across from the feline woman while drinking tea and eating some cookies.

The reason I was in Professor McGonagall's office was because she had sent me a letter at breakfast, and in this letter she invited me to have tea with her in the afternoon, saying that it had been some time since we had spent time together.

And I even thought about declining this invitation, but when I read the last part of the letter I realized that I had really been neglecting and ignoring Professor McGonagall this year.

And so I decided I would take a little break to spend some time with my favorite teacher who was almost like a grandmother.

And now at this moment Professor McGonagall was telling me about the lessons she was teaching her sixth and seventh year students who were preparing for their NEWTs.

But even though I tried, I couldn't pay much attention to what she was saying, because my mind was full of thoughts, something that had been happening quite frequently in the last few days.

'Tsk, it's been almost a week and I still haven't figured out Barty Junior's plan, which is definitely something evil and bad' I thought, looking at the cup of tea I had in my hands with a frown.

'Of course, I might just be being very paranoid, but my instincts are telling me he's up to something, and my senses never failed.'

'He seemed very interested in my training and whether I was ready for the third task, and if it were any other Hogwarts teacher I wouldn't find it suspicious, even if it were Snape'

'But in this case I'm talking about an infiltrated Death Eater, who hates Muggles and Muggleborns with all his being'

And knowing this, several possibilities and scenarios crossed my mind.

'Hmm, maybe he'll try to put me under the Imperius Curse like he did to Krum in canon, and then he'll be able to use me to disrupt and attack the other champions, clearing Harry's path to the cup' I mused.

But then I shook my head, 'No, that's probably not it' I thought, dismissing that assumption, 'Barty Junior knows I'm quite resistant to the Imperius Curse, so he won't try that knowing how risky it is if it goes wrong'

"...th..."

'But even so, I think it's better for me to stay alert, since there's nothing stopping him from using another spell on me.'

"..than"

'And besides, I also have to keep an eye on Fleur, since he might end up doing something to her' I narrowed my eyes.

"Ethan..."

'Actually, I think it would be better if I--'

"Ethan!" and I couldn't complete my thought, because Professor McGonagall called me, practically shouting my name.

And hearing her sudden shout I jumped in my seat in fright, quickly turning to her, "Huh?!" I looked at her in confusion.

"Finally. I thought I would have to cast a spell on you to make you look at me," Professor McGonagall said, looking at me with a frown.

"Uh... Oh, sorry," I said, rubbing the back of my head as I had an embarrassed expression on my face, "I was a little lost in my thoughts, so I didn't hear you calling me."

"I noticed," she said with a snort.

She then started looking at my face intently, and I looked at her confusedly without understanding what she was doing staring at me.

"You know Ethan, I noticed you seem a little stressed these past few days," Professor McGonagall said, which made me blink.

"Really?" I asked, touching my face.

"Yes," she nodded, pursing her lips, "And I wasn't the only one who noticed, Mrs. Flamel and even Filius noticed it."

Professor McGonagall then leaned forward a little, so she could look at me more closely.

"Does this have anything to do with the Tri-Wizard Tournament?" she asked me, I could feel her concern.

And feeling her care for me I smiled slightly, "Don't worry Professor McGonagall, I'm fine."

However, this answer didn't seem to convince her, as the worried look remained on her face, "Are you sure?" she continued asking, "You know you can always tell me if you're in trouble, right?"

"I know Minnie," I said, calling her by the affectionate nickname she allowed only Cele and I to use, "But I'm really not having any problems with the tournament."

And hearing this, Professor McGonagall looked at me with narrowed eyes, trying to see from my expression if I was telling the truth.

And after a few seconds of staring at me she didn't find any sign that I was lying, and so she nodded, "Hmm... I see" she said, but there was still a certain doubt in her tone.

And realizing that she wouldn't insist on the subject any further, I sighed in relief.

'I know she would do anything to help me if I was dealing with a problem, but Barty Junior is a problem I can't involve her in' I thought.

But even though she couldn't help me I was still quite touched by her concern and her offer of help, even though she knew it was against the tournament rules for a teacher to help a champion.

And the fact that Professor McGonagall offered to go against the rules for me meant that I really was someone special to her, which made me happy.

End.

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