"Mr. Potter, the person who subverted the Goblet of Fire is a criminal. Before I became the head of the International Cooperation, I spent decades putting criminals into Azkaban. If I knew any enchanters who operated illegally, they'd be rotting in a cell by now." Crouch's bold statements were rather odd to Harry. They were more than just truthful statements, he could feel that Crouch firmly believed in catching and punishing the criminals- but why did the last sentence feel completely different?
"Could any of them have escaped?"
"Nobody can escape Azkaban... oh, right, Sirius Black," Crouch corrected himself. "I can assure you, Mr. Potter, that Black was no enchanter. He was little more than a loose cannon. Good with his wand, but too undisciplined to ever try learning something that took as much time and patience as enchanting." Harry was getting frustrated. The first sentence was a lie- even before Crouch made the excuse of Sirius. He was covering something up, but what was it? Harry was almost tempted to just let loose and tear his way through Crouch's mind to find his answers, but with Aurors and the Minister of Magic himself present, that would be worse than foolish.
While trying to think of his next question, he was distracted by roars of laughter behind him. He spun around to see Ron Weasley at the door, with one of the first-year Gryffindor girls, who was wearing her standard school robes. She obviously hadn't planned on coming to the ball. He was wearing one of the ugliest robes Harry had ever seen. He didn't think it was possible to have the colours clash that badly- the tailor must have been colourblind or else had done it deliberately. It was striped purple and red- mostly. The collar and cuffs were lined with frilly green lace, and the buttons were a shiny, bright blue. It was topped off with an orange cravat. Ron was wearing proper black shoes, but with the suit, he may as well have worn red slippers and it wouldn't have made it any worse. The sight of it made Harry lose track of what he was going to say to Crouch next.
Ron looked immediately to the officials' and VIP table, searching for his idol amongst the dinner guests. He made a beeline for Harry when he couldn't see the Chudley Cannons star, leaving his "date" standing at the entrance of the Great Hall. "Harry! Have you seen Tavin Macalister tonight? I heard he was supposed to be here!"
"What? Why would he be here? This is a Triwizard event, not some kind of Quidditch party, you know."
"Shows how much you know, eh?" Ron said smugly. "How's it feel to be left out of the loop, Harry? Don't worry, I forgive you. I'll get you an autograph too once I find him." He found his next target, Krum, thinking that would lead him to his prize.
Fred, George, and Ginny hauled Harry away from Crouch, laughing like mad. "I can't believe he actually went through with it!" Fred said, wiping a tear from his face.
"That girl over there is probably the bravest firstie I've ever seen. She does Gryffindor proud," George said.
"That doesn't stop her from being scared to death with none of her friends around. That poor girl! And she has nobody to dance with!" Hermione said as she approached them.
"I'll keep her company," Ginny said. "It seems Dean is more interested in the food than in me." Harry looked around for his roommate, and spotted him chatting with some other Gryffindors, still snacking on food at the table. He didn't seem all that concerned about Ginny.
"So any bets on how long it'll take Ronnie to figure it out?" Fred asked as he watched Ron approach Krum with a parchment and quill in hand. He appeared to be interrupting a private moment between Dominique and Krum, who seemed to be hitting it off.
"Oi! That little French one's feisty!" George exclaimed as the parchment went up in flames. Krum's date followed up by dousing the flames with her drink, leaving Ron sopping wet. Even Krum seemed to be surprised by her outburst.
"I wonder if he'll still fawn over Vicky Krum after that," Fred laughed.
"Will you two stop laughing at your brother and give us a little attention?" Angelina had crept up behind them, giving Fred a hard pinch on his neck. Katie was right behind her, equally annoyed. The two girls dragged the twins off into the crowd.
Finally alone, Hermione pulled Harry to a quieter corner of the hall, asking him, "Did you find out anything about Crouch?"
"He's not the one who put my name in, but he's hiding something. I couldn't figure out any more without accusing him of casting the Imperius on Moody in front of everyone."
"What do you mean, he's hiding something?"
"I think he knows who it is, but he doesn't want to admit it? I think it has to be an escaped convict. I got the most conflicted feelings from him when I asked about criminals who were enchanters."
"But Sirius is the only one who's ever escaped from Azkaban," Hermione said, puzzled. "I mean, if anyone else did then it would be all over the papers again."
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