Harry Potter and the Secret Treasures

“And that pair of wings, a bit like an Augurey.” Evan said uncertainly.

“You two helped me a lot!” The big wizard thankfully said, “You’ve saved me the trouble of determining its specific species.”

He took a small notebook from his robe and wrote down all the words Sirius and Evan had just said.

Evan saw that the notebook was full of strange sketches of animals, with annotations below, like the study notes of the evillest wizard.

Above the strange creature of the cat and the Crup was a pattern of rooster that seemed to be singing, but flames burst out of its mouth.

“What will you do with this animal?” Evan asked curiously.

“The first is to identify its specific species, and then try to recover the state of one of them. If it is really not possible, it will be registered as a new species, and then sent to a special place for breeding.” The pale young wizard answered, bending down and looking at Evan earnestly. “Listen, kid, if you graduate in the future, remember, never work in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures! It’s a nightmare, dealing with strange and difficult animals and pests all day long! It’s like a garbage can, where all the monsters that can’t be dealt with are thrown in, and the office stinky and animal screams…”

“Thank you for telling me, I will keep that in mind!” Evan nodded.

The pale wizard seemed to have put up with it to the limit, but it sounded like Hagrid would like this place.

They were not talking. The lift was jangling and clattering up, and ascended quickly, chains rattling all the while.

Besides the bearded wizard and the pale young wizard who were worrying about the content of the tin box, others were looking at Evan and Sirius curiously.

“Level seven, Department of Magical Games and Sports, incorporating the British and Irish Quidditch League Headquarters, Official Gobstones Club, and Ludicrous Patents Office.” A cool female voice rang out in the lift.

The lift doors opened; Evan glimpsed an untidy-looking corridor, with various posters of Quidditch teams tacked lopsidedly on the walls.

“In a few months, the UK will host the Quidditch World Cup finals.” Mr. Weasley said happily, “If you two are interested, you can go with us. I got more than ten tickets; one of the perks of working in the Ministry! Of course, Harry and Hermione can also be invited along with others.”

“Thank you, Arthur!” Sirius said with a low voice, “Evan and I are going to make an extra trip with Dumbledore. If we can make it, we’ll go. I want to ask you to take care of Harry while I’m not here. You know…”

Suddenly he stopped and looked warily at the wizard standing by eavesdropping on his words.

He quickly looked away and pretended to hear nothing.

“I see. Come to my office!” Mr. Weasley nodded.

The doors closed; the lift juddered upward again. After a while, the woman’s voice said, “Level six, Department of Magical Transport, incorporating the Floo Network Authority, Broom Regulatory Control, Portkey Office, and Apparation Test Center.”

Once again, the lift doors opened, and under Sirius’s glare, the wizard who had just listened to him hurried down; at the same time, several paper airplanes swooped into the lift.

Evan stared up at them as they flapped idly around above his head; they were a pale violet colour and he could see MINISTRY OF MAGIC stamped along the edges of their wings.

“Just Interdepartmental memos,” Mr. Weasley muttered to him. “We used to use owls, but the mess was unbelievable … droppings all over the desks …”

“Yeah, and in the end, the responsibility of taking care of these owls falls on us, feeding them, treating them, cleaning them!” The pale young wizard once again complained, “Once, there were thousands of owls, but there were only five people on hand in the Department. They were all young wizards like me who have just graduated. It was very strenuous work; another nightmare! Thank goodness, I don’t have to worry about those damn owls anymore!”

“All right, Angus, don’t always say these disappointing words in front of children!” Mr. Weasley said dissatisfied, “Say something pleasant.”

“I don’t see any pleasure in it. I’ll have this mixture of cats and dogs waiting for me to deal with in a moment.” Angus whispered, “That’s what the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures does, all the trouble…”

He stopped immediately and the lift doors opened again.

“Level five, Department of International Magical Cooperation, incorporating the International Magical Trading Standards Body, the International Magical Office of Law, and the International Confederation of Wizards, British Seats.”

Mr. Barty Crouch, with a serious face and no smile, stood at the lift’s entrance.

He was wearing the neatest wizard’s robe Evan had ever seen until today; he had short grey hair with a neat parting that was almost unnaturally straight.

Angus was so frightened to see him that he was speechless.

He shut his mouth in a hurry and swallowed the second half of the complaint.

“Good morning, Barty!” Mr. Weasley greeted happily.

But he ignored him. Mr. Crouch glanced at Evan and then stared closely at Sirius, with no expression on his face.

Sirius also looked back at him, his eyes full of hostility.

It was like they were ready for a duel, and the oppressive atmosphere spread through the lift.

Evan knew that Mr. Crouch was the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He put Sirius into Azkaban without trial, and it was then that the enmity between the two sides began.

Mr. Crouch did not come in at last, and the lift doors shut yet again.

It was quiet, and only the memos flapped around the swaying lamp in the lift’s ceiling.

“It’s terrible, isn’t it?” Angus lowered his head and said, “Mr. Crouch is a real power figure in the Ministry. I heard that even the Minister is afraid of him…”

In fact, when Voldemort led the Death Eaters, Barty Crouch won the trust of ordinary people for publicly advocating the use of tough means to fight back.

His reputation was unparalleled for a while, and he was considered to be the most popular candidate for the next Minister of Magic.

But after the war, it was suddenly discovered that his son, Barty Crouch Jr., was also a Death Eater, and he finally put him in the Wizard Prison himself.

However, after the incident was revealed, his voice continued to decline, and people thought that his approach was too cruel and too ruthless.

He was eventually transferred to the Department of International Magical Cooperation, and the more moderate Cornelius Fudge succeeded in becoming Minister.

That was something that everyone knew, and Evan also knew some unknown secrets.

Subsequently, at the request of his wife, he entered Azkaban and used the Polyjuice Potion to switch Barty Jr. and Mrs. Crouch for death.

Then, he used his curse to control his Death Eater son to keep him at home for many years, and even used Memory Charm on those who discovered the truth.

However, he was finally killed by his mad son a few months later.

Evan had a headache when he thought of that Barty Crouch Jr. Today’s meeting made him suddenly realize that he should take some action.

Now that the future had changed radically, there was no need to keep Barty Crouch Jr.

He should find an opportunity to remind other people and let them keep an eye on the movements of Mr. Crouch’s family.