Hogwarts: Even Voldemort Can't Stop Me From Studying-Chapter 632 - 23: Crouch and Bertha

As the only heir of the Black Family, Sirius was young, wealthy, handsome, and highly skilled, loyal, and brave. Despite the constant impatient expression on his face, people couldn’t help but flock to disturb him.

Vid and Harry quickly had lunch and left the tent, with Lupin immediately following behind.

"Where are you headed, boys?" Lupin asked.

"Going to chat with Michael," Harry said. "I remember Michael’s family also came, right?"

He looked at Vid and asked.

"Right," Vid said. "He told me their tent is in the northwest corner, near the water source."

"I know that place," Lupin said with a smile. "I’ll accompany you so you don’t get lost."

This was, of course, just an excuse, because plenty of young children at the camp were running around, and their parents were quite at ease, knowing that even if they got lost momentarily, magic would quickly reunite them.

Harry felt that perhaps Lupin didn’t want to be a display next to Sirius, thus using them as an excuse to leave.

He kindly didn’t expose Lupin’s thoughts, pretending he was a child who still needed an elder’s supervision, and said with a smile, "Great, saves me from having to fetch a map."

Vid glanced up just in time to see Lupin and Sirius exchange a look, then nodded slightly.

He understood, knowing the two were aware that Harry was again targeted by Voldemort, and so were uneasy about him moving outside of adult supervision.

The three headed toward the water source, where Vid saw many wizards carrying kettles and buckets, with even a queue forming beside a faucet.

Clearly, a simple Aguamenti spell could solve the water issue, but many wizards seemed engrossed in this "role-playing" game, eagerly joining the line.

Yet their acting wasn’t complete, as Vid saw many discreetly using Levioso after filling their buckets to lighten their load before briskly carrying them back.

Even near the water source in the northwest corner, tents stretched endlessly; the three slowly navigated through them, searching for familiar faces.

Vid didn’t find Michael, but he did see Cho Chang with her parents, a family of typical Eastern appearance; gentle, elegant, and uniquely charming.

Vid couldn’t resist looking twice, and when he shifted his gaze, he noticed Harry’s face flushing with an involuntary silly grin.

"Ahem!" Vid cleared his throat with a fist.

Harry, startled, nearly stumbled. He awkwardly scratched his head and adjusted his tie, hastily trying to cover his gaffe: "You... you were looking at Cho Chang... do you like her?"

"No," Vid casually made up a reason. "I actually wanted to ask her if she knew which direction Michael’s tent was. Then I thought it’d be inconvenient to bother her."

As Harry relaxed, Vid added, "Besides, it seems Cho Chang has a boyfriend."

"What? How could that be? Really?" Harry fired off a trio of questions, then shifted his gaze, brushing his nose awkwardly, "I... didn’t mean anything by it... I just wanted to ask..."

"Heard it’s Hufflepuff’s Cedric," Vid said.

He generally wasn’t gossip-focused, but had a gossip-loving friend who was quite close to the girls. Plus, Cho Chang was pretty, gentle, and a notable Ravenclaw figure; her relationship changes quickly become college news.

Hearing Cedric’s name made Harry’s heart sink suddenly.

Thinking of that tall, handsome figure, who could gain Gryffindor girls’ favor just by his looks, Harry felt weighed down with a heart heavy as lead, unwilling to speak.

Vid shrugged, turning back, and Lupin helplessly smiled and shook his head.

"Mr. Crouch, the Egyptian Ministry of Magic has arrived; Minister Fudge asks if you could help translate!"

A young voice called not far away, and Lupin paused slightly. Before his brain comprehended, he had already pushed Vid and Harry to a nearby blue-green tent.

Harry’s surprised voice never emerged, as Lupin covered his mouth. Then, indicating with his index finger for silence, the two boys nodded.

Several people passed by the tent, and Vid blinked, looking toward them.

Barty Crouch, in a suit, had somewhat disheveled hair, with deep circles under his eyes, appearing quite exhausted.

The speaker was a young Ministry employee in glasses, looking somewhat anxious.

Beside him was a round-faced girl with a distant expression, large blue eyes confused but wearing a Ministry uniform.

"The Egyptian Ministry of Magic?" Crouch asked, "Aren’t they supposed to arrive tomorrow?"

"No, it’s today, Mr. Crouch," the bespectacled staff said, surprised. "You confirmed with me about it yesterday; did you forget?"

"Oh... right... right, that’s the case," Crouch showed a hint of embarrassment, "I’ve been too busy lately and forgot—where are they?"

The bespectacled staff directed Barty Crouch, watching him hurry away, and when he was out of sight, shook his head in exasperation:

"Mr. Crouch can speak over 200 languages, but age still makes him forgetful! Bertha, have you passed on your absentmindedness to him?"

He made a rather unfunny joke, and the round-faced girl beside him only reacted with: "... Huh?"

"Forget it, I still need to register wizards using portkeys; you just wander the camp and stop anyone misusing magic—be strict, got it?"

"Oh, okay," Bertha nodded hastily, randomly picking a direction to wander off.

The bespectacled staff sighed in exasperation, "Why are all my colleagues like this? Even reliable Mr. Crouch is slipping..."

After they walked away, Lupin and the two others emerged from the corner.

Vid looked in the direction Bertha left, seeing the girl quickly forget her mission; upon spotting a child’s toy broom stuck in a tree, she flicked her wand to help, earning herself a sloppy kiss in gratitude from the child.

"So forgetful... she’s likely the first victim in Voldemort’s revival..." Vid thought, watching the girl drifting aimlessly, as if witnessing a small fate shift under his butterfly effect.

"Who were those people?" Harry curiously asked Lupin, "Why did we avoid them?"