"He's my son, Barty Junior. This picture was taken last year, but I don't think it's changed much," Crouch said ruefully.
"Thank you, Mr. Crouch. I'm sure your information will be helpful." Yvonne examined the photograph for a moment, then put it away.
Crouch shook his head and smiled ruefully. "No, I'm the one who's causing you trouble!" he said. He then turned to Yvonne and, after a moment's hesitation, spoke again.
"If you don't mind my asking, why are you so intent on finding my son, Barty Junior?"
Crouch was suspicious of this.
He wasn't trying to absolve Barty Junior of his crimes by asking this question. On the contrary, he wanted to see his son caught so that he could make up for his past misdeeds.
However, Crouch felt that such matters should be left to the headmistress and staff, and that children of Yvonne's age should concentrate on their studies and lives.
What's more, Ivan was a Hogwarts Warrior and had just won his second match, so he was supposed to be celebrating with his friends.
"Mr. Crouch, Harry is my best friend, and now that he's in danger, I can't leave him alone…" Ivan explained.
There was also an important reason that Ivan did not reveal, which was that Barty Crouch Junior intended to send Harry to Lord Voldemort so that the Dark Lord could be reborn.
In order to survive for a few more years, Ivan felt that it would be better to spoil Voldemort's plan for resurrection, which was why he was so concerned.
Is it for a friend and a sense of justice? Crouch looked at Ivan with a troubled expression. Once upon a time, he had a similar idea…
Crouch patted Ivan on the shoulder with a sigh, said a few words of encouragement, and left.
Yvonne had a new lead, so she left Crouch alone and headed downstairs to the Great Hall.
When they entered the entrance hall, Ivan found that he was a little late. The long tables of the four houses were already full, but fortunately, Harry, Ron, and Hermione had left him an empty seat.
"Ivan, where have you been? George and the others had a party in the lounge this afternoon and you never came," Harry asked curiously.
"I found an empty classroom to practise my magic in… you know, I've never been much of a fan of celebrations. I'd rather read two books if I had the time," Ivan said vaguely. He tapped his wand on the empty plate in front of him and a savoury steak appeared.
"You should have told me in advance. I wouldn't have gone if I'd known," sighed Harry, wishing he could hide in a hole when he thought about the "warm" Gryffindors that afternoon.
Due to Ivan's absence, most of the cubs turned their attention to him, constantly asking him to recount the dangers of the lake.
George and Fred made a love story out of his rescue of Ginny, teasing her by calling her his most beloved love…
Harry ranted on about George and Fred's practical jokes, but Ivan did not hear him, his attention fixed on the sweets-loving wizards.
However, Ivan looked around and soon realised that it would be extremely difficult to find Barty Crouch Jr. based on his sweet tooth.
This was because most young witches and wizards had a particular preference for sweets. How long would it take to investigate them one by one?
Ivan frowned, disappointed. He had thought he had a crucial clue that would lead him to Barty Junior, but it seemed to be of limited use.
Clank ~
Ivan was lost in thought when a loud noise from the entrance hall interrupted his thoughts.
Ivan turned his head to look in the direction of the noise, and saw that it was Neville who had accidentally knocked into Moody, who was leaving the Great Hall.
"I'm…I'm sorry, Professor Moody…I didn't mean to do that!" Neville stumbled and fell on his butt. When he looked up, he saw Moody's scarred face and his words tumbled out.
"Pay more attention next time, boy!" Moody snapped as he pulled Neville to his feet, then used a Cleaning Charm on him to clear the broken plates and pastries into a bin bag.
"Is Professor Moody always like this?" Yvonne asked suddenly, watching from a distance.
"Of course, Professor Moody was just a bit fierce-looking, but he was actually quite nice." Harry nodded, his impression of Moody growing over the course of the first half of the term.
While Moody was usually very strict in class, there was always plenty of new information to be learned in his Defence Against the Dark Arts classes.
"Yeah, it would be nice if Professor Moody could be a little more normal and stop suspecting people of trying to murder him!" Ron complained.
"I'm not asking you that." Yvonne rolled her eyes. "I'm asking if you've noticed Professor Moody's preference for dessert."
Harry and Ron looked at each other, then shook their heads. Who cared about that?
Ivan sighed, understanding that he couldn't count on them, and began to think back. He vaguely remembered seeing Moody picking up after-dinner treats like doughnuts, although he wasn't sure if this was common.
"Professor Moody does have a habit of eating dessert…Why? Why do you ask?" Hermione asked suddenly.
"Are you sure?" Yvonne asked eagerly, placing her hand on Hermione's shoulder.
"I heard from the house-elves in the kitchen that Professor Moody sometimes went to the kitchen in the middle of the night to get them to prepare supper," Hermione said, pouting unhappily.
"Those house-elves are pitiful enough. They have to clean the castle during the day and prepare food for us. At night, they should be resting, but someone keeps disturbing them in the middle of the night!"
Hermione then glanced at Ivan, who, according to what she had been told, occasionally went into the kitchen in the middle of the night to force the house-elves to cook.