Dumbledore looked at him with a complicated expression.

He has been the headmaster for nearly sixty or seventy years. Apart from Harry's class, Barty Crouch Jr. is almost as outstanding as Cedric and Snape.

Whether it's magical talent or brains.

"I caught it." He sighed and said softly.

Harry shook his head: "But the situation may be worse than we thought."

He stretched out his hand, and like a wand, ropes spurted out, binding up one person and one family of elves, and hanging them up by the hand: "Let's go back to the castle first."

Dumbledore nodded, looked at the charred earth and the pointed seeds, and waved his wand.

The layer of burnt white soil was swept away.

The heavy snow over this area stopped, and a small rain cloud opened up, causing a drizzle to fall. Even the season seemed to have changed, becoming more vibrant like spring.

They turned and walked away, leaving Hagrid to comfort the frightened animals in the Forbidden Forest.

After locking Crouch and Kaka in an abandoned classroom and sealing it off with magic, Harry and Dumbledore called Snape and walked to the headmaster's office together.

"Crouch caught it." Snape's voice was indescribably light.

He looks haggard.

Since the curse on Lupin was lifted, he has become more and more like this. He was already thin, but now he is even thinner, his skin is getting darker. Professor Snape was scary, but now that he doesn't speak, he looks like a living skeleton, which makes him even scarier.

And now, hearing the sound of Crouch being caught, he thought that the land in the Forbidden Forest that had been burned by the Fiendfyre was finally showing some life.

"Yes." Harry nodded.

Snape was startled, frowned, and sat down with Dumbledore, waiting quietly for the next words.

Harry also sat down. "Crouch tampered with his brain, his memory was wiped, and no clues were found."

"I've read his existing memories and didn't find anything strange."

This is the most troublesome part.

Perhaps the clues were lying openly in Crouch's memory.

But... this kind of thing is hard to see.

Maybe the pumpkin juice on the corner of the table is a clue.

Maybe the food on the table is a clue.

Maybe... a painting, a scene.

Crouch didn't say anything, and Harry would find it difficult to analyze such a huge memory.

Snape took a deep breath: "Can't find the Dark Lord's Horcrux?"

Harry nodded. "He was very careful and seemed prepared to be caught by me."

"I'm afraid that every time he shows up, he will make such preparations."

"Crouch is a very smart and cautious man." Snape started to cough after a few words. "Even at Malfoy Manor, I rarely saw him."

Harry looked at Snape and said softly, "Professor Snape, I'm afraid..."

"I know." Snape interrupted him, "I will go to help Crouch. After all, I am his friend, and he is the only Death Eater left."

Harry shook his head, "I'm afraid not the only one."

Snape was startled and looked at Harry in disbelief.

Dumbledore was also a little surprised.

What are you talking about?

Wasn't Snape the only Death Eater besides Barty Crouch Jr?

"Potter, if I remember correctly, all the Death Eaters died in Malfoy Manor." Snape said sullenly, "You have confirmed that they are all dead. I have also confirmed that, except for Barty Crouch Jr., all the loyal lackeys of the Dark Lord are dead as well."

Harry nodded: "Professor Snape, I haven't forgotten."

“But that’s the way it is.”

"Little Barty Crouch was sent to the edge of the Forbidden Forest by a house-elf. After the house-elf went back, Crouch never met it again. But when he fought with me, he summoned the house-elf again."

"Its memory has been tampered with. It only has the memory of sending Crouch to the edge of the Forbidden Forest. It has no memory of anything else, including the memory of meeting Crouch."

They both understood Harry's meaning immediately.

Dumbledore said in a serious tone: "You mean... after Kaka returned, someone else helped to modify Kaka's memory?"

Harry nodded.

Dumbledore snapped his fingers.

A house elf appeared in front of him: "Noble Mr. Dumbledore, what can I do for Love?"

"Love would do anything for Mr. Dumbledore."

Dumbledore looked at it and asked, "Where did Kaka go today after leaving Hogwarts?"

The house elf named Love shook his ears: "Kaka didn't leave Hogwarts."

"Didn't leave?" Harry raised an eyebrow. "Then where did Kaka go in Hogwarts today?"

Love excitedly reported: "Kaka and we were collecting the dirty robes and clothes of the little wizards of Gryffindor at two o'clock this morning. After washing and drying the clothes, we sent them back, and then we started preparing breakfast!"

"After the little wizards get up and breakfast time is over, Kaka will go to Gryffindor Tower to clean the castle."

"Come back at noon and continue making lunch for the little wizards."

"Today's weather is not very good. The place that was just cleaned up in the morning has become dirty again. Kaka went to Gryffindor and the seventh and eighth floors of the castle to clean up."

"You never left?" Harry asked.

Love nodded and said in a serious tone: "Love did not lie, Kaka has never left that area."

Harry continued to ask, "Is there a secret room on the seventh or eighth floor, or in Gryffindor Tower? Or a secret passage?"

Without waiting for Love to answer.

Harry raised his hand and pointed to the working Marauder's Map hanging behind the headmaster's desk.

"Secret rooms and secret passages recorded outside this map."

Luo Fu stood on tiptoe and looked at it. After a long while, he shook his head in confusion: "Everything Luo Fu knows is on the map."

Harry frowned: "Look up at me."

Love obediently turned his head and looked Harry in the eye.

Capture the mind and thoughts.

After a moment, Harry lifted the magic effect and shook his head. "This is terrible news. These house-elves may have known something before, but their memories have been erased. There are secret chambers on the seventh and eighth floors, and near the Gryffindor Tower that we don't know about. Voldemort and another of his servants may be hiding there."

Just reading the memories of a house elf.

There was also a long-standing blank in its memory, as if something had been taken away.

"But apart from me, where are the other Death Eaters?" Snape had a cold face, and the trace of vitality that had just appeared in his eyes quietly dissipated.

Those who were truly loyal to Voldemort all died in Malfoy Manor. The only exception was Crouch, who has now been captured by Harry.

Those who were not loyal to Voldemort were killed by the Death Eaters in revenge after Voldemort was resurrected.

There are still some people left in the Ministry of Magic, but they are all fence-sitters. Each of them is thinking about how to protect their current comfortable positions and lives. It is even more impossible for them to help Voldemort and force themselves into a narrower dead end.

"Karkaroff." Harry spat out a name.

Snape was stunned for a long time, then hesitantly said, "I have never seen him."

"And he is a cowardly villain."

"Crouch would rather confide in me than trust Karkaroff."

"He keeps disappearing. No one can find him alive or dead." Harry waved his hand, letting the house-elf go away. "I can't think of anyone else except him."

“Maybe it’s not necessarily true trust.”

"The Imperius Curse, or Horcrux control, or even other methods, there are always many ways for dark magic to control a person, right?"

Dumbledore thought thoughtfully: "So our breakthrough point is still with Crouch?"

Harry nodded. "Yes."

He reached into the Sorting Hat, pulled out a bottle, and placed it on the table. "What's worse is that he not only modified his own and the house-elves' memories, I'm afraid he has already contacted the Wild Hunt."

"What is this?" Snape leaned over to look.

Dumbledore narrowed his eyes. "Is it the thing that appeared with the knights that day?"

"It's hoarfrost," said Harry quietly. "A magical natural phenomenon. I don't know what it is."

Snape counted on his fingers: "So I need to get information from Crouch."

"Where is the Chamber of Secrets in Hogwarts where they are hiding?"

"Where are the Dark Lord's remaining Horcruxes?"

"And how did they contact the knight called Wild Hunt?"

Harry nodded.

Hogwarts, in an abandoned classroom on the third floor.

Crouch was tied up and looked up at the ceiling.

He barely reached the threshold of being able to sense magic, and tried hard to analyze the magic that enveloped the room, but the dozens of complex spells woven together by Harry and Dumbledore's handiwork made it difficult for him to begin.

"Kaka?"

"Love?"

He opened his mouth and tried to pronounce the names of several house-elves, but there was no response.

Just then, there was a crash and the door was opened.

"Don't try. It's useless." Harry said, staring at Crouch. "Albus and I have terminated your contract with Hogwarts."

"You no longer have anything to do with this castle."

Crouch suddenly became numb, like a wooden sculpture, staring blankly at the blank, clean blackboard in the classroom.

"Tell us what happened now, and maybe you'll have a good ending." Harry said softly, waving towards the door.

Snape came in reluctantly.

Crouch looked at him and narrowed his eyes slightly.

Harry stared at his face and spoke meaningfully: "I know your hiding place in Hogwarts, in the Gryffindor Tower? The most dangerous place is the safest place. I have to admit that you are very brave."

"You and your accomplice, I mean."

"Karkaroff?"

He was watching carefully, but Crouch controlled his facial muscles and the most basic physiological reflex did not occur.

Not in Gryffindor Tower.

Maybe not Karkaroff either.

Harry made up his mind and waved to Snape without showing any fear in his words. "Think about it yourself. Albus asked Professor Snape to brew a carefully prepared potion for you."