Chapter 649
The Golden Cup
Chapter 649 The Golden Cup
"Dumbledore..."
Lucius struggled to keep his bloated stomach from bursting, his face paling for a moment before a deep resentment appeared in his eyes.
"Then I have to start with what happened on the night of the World Cup final... Dumbledore, you'd never guess who I ran into..."
He said with a slightly distorted expression, “Barty Crouch Jr.—you must remember that man—he’s still alive! He’s the one who cast this curse on me.”
Dumbledore was not surprised by this, but he still leaned forward slightly, looking quite interested.
Lucius gripped his left arm tightly, his knuckles turning white, and said in a sharp voice, "I never imagined that the Dark Lord would abandon even that madwoman Bellatrix back then, but keep little Barty by his side, and even... even actually intend to hand over his position to him!"
Dumbledore was genuinely surprised. He raised an eyebrow, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes.
It wasn't that I suspected Lucius Malfoy was lying, but rather that I suspected the man in front of me had probably received the wrong information—
How could someone like Voldemort possibly prepare an heir for himself? Even in his final moments, he would cling to power and never relinquish it.
Lucius Malfoy, however, was convinced of his conclusion. In the months since his transformation, the only thing he could do besides trying to survive was to think.
That night, Barty's expression, tone, and the spells he used kept replaying in Lucius's mind. As the images became more and more vivid, he also began to think more and more.
He even rolled up his sleeves, pointed to the Dark Mark on it, and began his narration from over a year ago—
“At that time, the Dark Lord’s mark became clearer and clearer, and we all noticed it… Everyone felt that the Dark Lord was coming back.”
"In order to test this, and also... in order to demonstrate our loyalty when he returns, we decided to make a commotion at the World Cup camp."
Seeing Dumbledore's expression suddenly turn cold, Lucius Malfoy quickly added:
"We didn't cause the anomalies in the forest or the mascot; we haven't made that kind of decision yet. At most... we just want to find a few Muggles... this..."
Under the old headmaster's cold, disgusted gaze, Lucius quickly abandoned any attempt to explain and sped up his recounting of the experience, including being chased by Sirius, seeing Sirius turn into a squirrel, and subsequently suffering the transformation curse himself.
Next came the results of his thinking during this period.
"You don't understand, Dumbledore!"
Lucius Malfoy couldn't help but stand up and pace back and forth in his office, a sickly flush rising on his pale face.
"The way he corrupted countless trees in the forest, the way he drove those goblins and Veelas mad, and the way he forcibly turned me into a toad... Crouch, that bastard, never had this level of magic before! It must have been a technique personally taught to him by the Dark Lord!"
Dumbledore sat in his chair, his fingers interlaced, his gaze behind his half-moon spectacles unwavering, only occasionally flashing a light in his eyes indicating that he was thinking.
On the branch, Fox, who had been sleeping, was startled awake and trembled its tail feathers uneasily.
"Dumbledore, did Snape tell you that at that time, the Dark Mark on our arms became very dim? Even less than..."
He suddenly choked up, his Adam's apple bobbing for a moment, but he still didn't have the courage to say Voldemort's name.
"Not as good as... not as good as when that person lost power last time!" Back then, because of Harry Potter, the whole world thought Voldemort was dead, and the Dark Mark hadn't dissipated to that extent.
"At first I thought... I thought it was because of the Transfiguration spell, but then... I don't know how much time had passed... one day the Dark Mark suddenly became clear again! It even started to get hot!"
Lucius's pupils contracted sharply. He sat down, panting, staring at the swaying teacup on the table as if it held some terrible answer.
Dumbledore had already learned of this change from Snape, and even knew the exact timing. He also knew that although the mark was burning hot, it had not yet reached the point where the Dark Lord would personally summon it.
Snape thought that the Dark Lord was rapidly recovering once again.
As for why it's "again"... and why it dimmed last time...
The bewildered Potions professor was unaware that he might have been suspected by Voldemort and excluded from the inner circle of Death Eaters.
Perhaps one day, when Voldemort summons him again, Snape will teleport there and find himself in an execution ground prepared for him by the Death Eaters.
Dumbledore and the Potions Professor even discussed and debated this speculation.
At this moment, Dumbledore heard another version of events from Lucius Malfoy—
"This must be an inheritance! A complete and utter inheritance!"
Malfoy stared at the dark mark on his arm, its color deepening once more, his eyes filled with complex emotions: hatred, resentment, jealousy, doubt...
He closed his eyes to calm himself before continuing, "The mysterious man taught Barty Crouch Jr. powerful magic that only he could master, and gave him the power to punish me at will. Even the golden ring that almost locked me up was made by that man himself..."
His face twitched slightly, and a faint sound of grinding teeth could be heard.
"Although I find it hard to believe, that man handed over the power to control the Death Eaters, and everything he had... to Barty Crouch Jr.!"
"Actually, if you think about it carefully, there were signs of this. Back then, Barty Crouch Jr. regarded that man as his father, the Dark Lord... I mean, the Mysterio. He was also very close to and trusted Barty Jr., and even called him 'my child'."
—At the time, I thought it was just rhetoric to win people over, but it turns out it was actually true?
“Dumbledore, you should have heard that Grindelwald groomed an heir for himself… Perhaps inspired by that, that’s why he considered making Barty Crouch Jr. his successor… After all, his condition is probably worse than anyone imagined!”
Dumbledore's eyes twitched slightly, and without making a sound, he pushed the teacup towards Malfoy again.
"Thanks……"
This small gesture shattered Malfoy's carefully constructed facade of composure. His eyes reddened as he picked up his teacup and took a sip.
Hot chocolate slides down your throat, bringing warmth and sweetness.
Lucius Malfoy made up his mind and raised his head:
“I have another secret to tell you, Dumbledore—do you know about Hufflepuff’s golden cup?”
(End of this chapter)