"Dumbledore, I did... a stupid thing."
Barty Crouch Sr., lying on the hospital bed, struggled to open his eyes. The first thing he said upon seeing Headmaster Dumbledore was this sentence.
"We already know, Crouch. We have already arranged for this matter, so do not worry. What you need to do now is get some good rest."
Barty Crouch Sr. looked at Headmaster Dumbledore, stunned for a moment, and then slowly nodded. "Good... I should... go to Azkaban."
As he spoke, he slowly closed his eyes, and a trail of clear tears slid from the corner of his eye. His son had ultimately chosen Voldemort over his family.
"I think it's not necessary, at least for the time being, Crouch," Headmaster Dumbledore looked down at him, a blue light quickly flashing across his glasses, "and I don't think it will be necessary later, either."
Barty Crouch Sr. opened his eyes again and looked at Headmaster Dumbledore in confusion. Having swapped someone out of Azkaban to help them escape, he couldn't think of a reason why he wouldn't be imprisoned there himself.
"There are always some special circumstances, aren't there?" Headmaster Dumbledore spread his hands. "Two of my students need some help from you, so they won't let you enter Azkaban."
"Students? Help?"
Barty Crouch Sr. didn't quite understand what Headmaster Dumbledore meant. What could he help two students with? He didn't know how to teach classes.
"I believe you've already met Miss Granger and Miss Amanda," Headmaster Dumbledore said with a smile. "They are the ones who need help."
Thinking of those two girls, Barty Crouch Sr.'s heart jolted. He felt he understood why they wanted to seek his help.
Smiling and shaking his head, Barty Crouch Sr. looked steadily at Headmaster Dumbledore. "Is this also your intention? Dumbledore."
Headmaster Dumbledore stroked his white beard, neither confirming nor denying it. "The future always belongs to the young. Since the young are already prepared and can shoulder the heavy responsibilities of the era alone, why can't we let go a bit earlier? We're both old and have lost our drive, Crouch."
"Yes, old." Barty Crouch Sr. closed his eyes and nodded. He himself was so old that he desired the warmth of a family more than he wanted to fight for power; otherwise, he wouldn't have done the thing where he swapped someone out of Azkaban.
"I will support them, Dumbledore. They truly allow me to see a very beautiful future."
Barty Crouch Sr. opened his eyes again to look at Headmaster Dumbledore. Although he had his own selfish motives, more than anything, he still hoped that the British Wizarding World would get better and better.
However, the reality was that in the hands of old fellows like them, the Wizarding World had stagnated, and one could even say it was going downhill.
In that case, they might as well truly hand everything over to the young earlier, protect them, and watch them carve out a brand-new future.
"Thank you for your understanding, Crouch," Headmaster Dumbledore stood up from the chair by the bed with a smile. "Miss Granger and Miss Amanda will appreciate your help."
"I'll come to see you again in a few days." As he spoke, he was about to turn and walk out of the ward, but Barty Crouch Sr. called out to him.
"Dumbledore," Barty Crouch Sr. paused after calling out to Headmaster Dumbledore, "once you've finished what you want to do and your arrangements are complete, give my son a quick end."
Compared to letting his son receive the Dementor's Kiss, as a father who forgave him, he preferred that his son die directly without pain.
That way... it could also prevent some accidents from happening.
"Very well, as you wish, Crouch. Get some good rest."
Headmaster Dumbledore nodded solemnly and stepped out of the ward at St Mungos Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.
The Christmas holidays passed, and the Young Wizards of Hogwarts once again welcomed the start of their classes.
Exactly as it had been in the past three years, Ravenclaw House's house points were far in the lead, and Amanda's performance continued to make every Professor full of praise for her.
Even Professor Moody, disguised by Barty Crouch Jr., had to award her points in class for her performance.
The gems in the Ravenclaw point hourglass increased every day, and in large quantities, and Amanda's overly brilliant performance made it difficult for the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang to ignore her.
The students who had already known her from the Quidditch World Cup Final simply marveled at how excellent she was, while those who hadn't seen the Quidditch World Cup Final were shocked that she was only a fourth-year Young Wizard.
With such performance... the British Wizarding World's leading position in the Western Wizarding World would likely remain difficult to shake in the future.
Amanda was unaware of the reactions of the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students, or rather, even if she knew, she wouldn't care much. She was now fully devoted to reading the books in the Restricted Section.
And to her surprise, just this morning, a few books she hadn't read before suddenly appeared on a shelf in the Restricted Section where she had previously read.
And the one she was holding in her hand right now was one of them, titled "advanced dark magic revealed".
"Amanda, what book are you reading?" Hermione walked into the Library carrying her books. After placing them on the table, she hugged Amanda's arm and looked over her shoulder at the book in her hand.
"A book that suddenly appeared on the shelf, one that wasn't in the Restricted Section before." Amanda showed the book in her hand to Hermione and then quickly pulled it back. The illustrations and explanations in this book were a bit too frightening; she wasn't sure if Hermione would be scared.
"A book that suddenly appeared."
Hermione frowned. Although the moment Amanda showed it was very short, she still saw the contents of the book.
That illustration was a bit too terrifying. "Could there be something wrong with this book?"
She looked at Amanda with some concern; she didn't want anything to happen to this person she held dear.
"No," Amanda shook her head decisively. "If there were a problem, the mothers would have appeared to stop me."
"Besides, this is the Hogwarts Library, which is protected by Hogwarts' magic. It's not a place where just anyone can cause trouble if they want to."
"According to analysis, the most logical explanation is that this book was originally in the Restricted Section of the Hogwarts Library, but was later taken away by Headmaster Dumbledore for some reason."
"And now, because he wants me to read it, he put the book back in the Restricted Section."
"Headmaster Dumbledore took the book before, but now wants you to read it," Hermione repeated softly, then shook her head. Forget it, she wouldn't think about it anymore.
Just as Amanda said, if this book were truly harmful to her, Lady Ravenclaw and Lady Hufflepuff would have stepped forward to stop her long ago.
And since they hadn't, it proved that the book was harmless to Amanda. Since it was harmless, then let Amanda read it. Moreover, if this was truly Headmaster Dumbledore's doing, then there was even less of a problem.
They could always trust their Headmaster.
"Tomorrow is when Harry has to do the second task. I feel like it hasn't even been a few days of classes since Christmas ended."
Hermione reached for her homework, spreading out the parchment as she spoke.
"But in fact, several weeks have already passed," Amanda added with a calm expression. "Time spent studying always goes by very quickly."
"That's true," Hermione responded. "I just wonder what the so-called most precious thing they're making Harry and the others find tomorrow actually is."
"Could it be the most valuable thing they have on them?" Hermione whispered to Amanda while doing her homework.
"No, no, no," she shook her head and negated her own words as soon as she said them. "That would be too vulgar, and it would be hard to truly stimulate the champions."
After all, money can be lost and then regained. What is there that, once lost, can never be regained... Hermione pondered slowly, and soon a possibility appeared in her mind.
The quill in her hand slowly stopped, and a look of disbelief appeared on her face.
Seeing the expression on Hermione's face, Amanda knew she had guessed it and smiled with a bit of pride.
Amanda curled her lips and shook her head. "No one will really be in danger."
With that one short sentence that had almost no clues, she completely validated Hermione's conjecture and dispelled her worries.
Hermione clicked her tongue and nodded, lowering her head to continue her homework as she said, "The person who came up with this competition content truly understands the human heart well enough."
The competition content involved the people the champions cherished most, which would make it impossible for the champions to stay calm and think seriously in the moment before the race.
It would also prompt them to compete with all their might. What a clever calculation.
Amanda blinked her eyes and lowered her head to continue reading the advanced dark magic revealed in her hand. These three competition events were, after all, devised by the Y Country Ministry of Magic, French Ministry of Magic, and German Ministry of Magic together over an entire summer vacation.
They must have some substance; otherwise, it would really make these three Ministries of magic look too incompetent and useless.
As the next morning arrived, Amanda, Hermione, Cho Chang, Marietta Eckmore, and Penelope sat on the stands early, overlooking the Black Lake below.
"So..." Hermione, who had waited until the competition was about to start without seeing Ron arrive, raised an eyebrow. "Harry's treasure is Ron?"
"Yeah, it should be like that." Amanda nodded without any expression on her face.
Ron hadn't come even now; the only possible explanation was that he had already been placed in the Merperson settlement at the bottom of the Black Lake as a treasure.
"I just don't know who the other champions' treasures are."
Marietta Eckmore added a sentence from the side. She, Cho Chang, and Penelope had also long ago guessed that the "treasure" for the second task would be a person.
After all, to be honest, as long as one carefully contemplates the human heart, it's quite easy to guess.
And having been with Amanda for four years, these girls often heard her analyze the human heart. Even if they hadn't learned too much, they had all picked up a bit of it.
As the whistle for the start of the competition sounded, the champions jumped into the Black Lake one by one. At the same time, in the air above the stands, four magical projections respectively displayed images of the four champions.
After advancing for a while, Fleur was eliminated because she encountered Grindylows. When she was pulled ashore by the rescue personnel, the Veela-blood girl was already crying heart-wrenchingly.
Her treasure was her sister, who was still staying in the Merperson settlement.
"Panic made her lose sufficient judgment." Amanda shook her head expressionlessly. Sitting next to her, Penelope smiled and reached out to rub her fluffy little head.
"Well, people always find it hard to avoid panicking when the person they cherish most is threatened. Just think, if it were Hermione who was restricted like that at the bottom of the Black Lake..."
Penelope didn't finish her sentence, only raising an eyebrow to give Amanda room to imagine.
Sitting next to her, Hermione couldn't help but blush as she listened to Penelope's words, lowering her head slightly. The person she cherishes most, Amanda's most cherished person is me~
"I won't let Hermione encounter such a thing." Amanda frowned. Just thinking about such a situation made her feel a sense of irritability and anger in her heart.
"No one can take Hermione away without me noticing."
Amanda added once more, looking back at the Black Lake. She continued, "And in the same situation, I currently have at least three methods to drain all the water from the Black Lake without harming the treasure."
She wouldn't let Hermione be threatened, and if an extreme situation arose where Hermione was threatened,
then she would unhesitatingly use every method she could to eliminate that threat.
Slowly leaning her head on Amanda's shoulder, the corners of Hermione's mouth curled higher and higher. Amanda didn't deny that she was her most precious treasure and the person she cherished most.
Moreover, Amanda's protectiveness over her was still so intense. It really... she raised a hand to cover her chest, warmed the heart.
"Amanda." Hermione slowly sat up straight, turned around, and placed both hands on Amanda's shoulders, calling softly.
"Hmm? What's wrong, Hermione?"
Amanda responded and turned her head to look at Hermione, somewhat puzzled by the faint blush spreading across her face.
With a light laugh, Hermione unhesitatingly leaned forward and kissed Amanda forcefully.
"Wow..."
Seeing Hermione kiss Amanda live once again, the three Ravenclaw seniors made small sounds of exclamation and then watched this aesthetically pleasing scene with great interest.
Hermione's kissing skills had significantly improved compared to the time of the Christmas Ball. Who knows where she learned it from, but now she could ensure that she could catch her breath while kissing Amanda, and also not give Amanda a chance to catch hers.
After kissing for nearly a minute and a half, Hermione finally let go of Amanda with a wicked smile. She looked with a bit of craftiness and mischief at the person who usually kept a cold and solemn face at all times, who was now blushing, with swollen pink lips, nestling in her arms and panting.
Amanda breathed in fresh air in large gulps. Just now, when Hermione kissed her, she was always able to interrupt her whenever she wanted to breathe.
Making her only able to accept the breath she passed over. That breath... was truly sweet.
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