The-Error-They-Made (V) [Chapter 161]

The first thing Harry wanted to know was how Crouch Jr. was still alive. It took him a bit to find the memories he was looking for as Crouch Jr. wasn’t completely sane, so his Mind was a bit of a mess, but as soon as he started to view the memories, he felt his temper flare as he finally realized what truly transpired during his escape.

Apparently, Crouch Jr. was a crybaby who ended up begging for his mother to save him from his father when he was being sentenced to Azkaban for life in front of the Wizengamot. Lidia Crouch wasn’t able to handle that and then she begged Crouch Sr. to save him as her last wish. Then one day, Crouch Sr. arrived at Azkaban along with his sick wife to visit their son and using his influence, he switched his son with his sick wife using Polyjuice.

Lidia Crouch died within a few hours and she was buried at the burial grounds of Azkaban while Crouch Jr. was placed under the Imperius Curse by his own father for the next thirteen years. Unfortunately, for Crouch Sr., his son managed to break free during the Quidditch World Cup and stole Ronald Weasley’s Wand, which he later used to cast the Dark Mark at the Quidditch World Cup.

Then by some luck, Crouch Jr. was knocked out when he was struck by a Stunning Charm when he tried to escape through the forest, but later he was discovered by his father and once again, he was put under the Imperius Curse by his own father. Then sometime later, Peter Pettigrew arrived at his house with an ugly baby like thing and ambushed his father, breaking him from the Imperius Curse.

Harry almost burst out laughing when he realized that the baby like thing was none other than Voldemort… After that, Crouch Sr. was put under an Imperius Curse by Crouch Jr. before Voldemort finally revealed his grand plan to use the Triwizard Tournament to bring Harry Potter back to Britain and later kidnap him for some sort of Ritual.

Now, the Ritual was something Harry was really interested in, but unfortunately for him, Crouch Jr. didn’t know anything about the Ritual…

Though he was certain that there was a person who knew everything about the Ritual. So, Harry decided to see where Voldemort was staying for the time being, but unfortunately for him, that particular piece of knowledge was being protected by some sort of Oath. Harry was certain that Crouch Jr. knew where his Master was staying, but it was simply impossible for him to divulge that information to anyone else.

Voldemort had opted to play it safe, just in case Crouch Jr. was captured and interrogated…

Either way, Harry had to admit, it was a really nice plan and anyone in his place would have fallen into the trap without even realizing what was truly happening… Crouch Jr. was given the responsibility to make sure that his name came out of the Goblet and he managed to carry out his task somewhat seamlessly by masquerading as Argus Filch, the caretaker of Hogwarts.

Currently, the real Argus Filch was stowed away inside a secret room Voldemort told him about and Crouch Jr. was also using the room to brew the Polyjuice Potion. Then there was something else Harry was curious about… He wondered how Crouch Jr. was able to fool Mrs Norris. It was something necessary, but he still wanted to know, just to sate his curiosity.

Harry discovered that he was right… Mrs Norris was way more smarter than a normal cat should be and he was sure that Mrs Norris wasn’t a kneazle. Alas, Crouch Jr. also discovered that he decided to use real Argus Filch to keep the cat in line as Crouch Jr. discovered that there was a special bond between the cat and the Hogwarts’ caretaker.

Now that all of his curiosities were sated, he decided to retreat from Crouch Jr.'s mind… Moments later, he pulled out Lucius’ Wand and pointed it at Crouch Jr. “Imperio” Harry said and Crouch Jr.’s eyes glazed over as the Spell settled on him. After that, Harry raised his head to look at Nigel. “Let him speak” Harry ordered and Nigel simply removed the gag from Crouch Jr.’s mouth.

“Summon your house elf” Harry ordered.

“Winky” Crouch Jr. called out without missing a beat and moments later, the said creature arrived with a small pop beside Crouch Jr.

“Avada Kedavra” Harry muttered while pointing Lucius’ Wand at the house elf. The green beam struck the creature and the house elf slumped down on the floor, completely lifeless before she could even realize what was happening around her. Winky was extremely loyal to Crouch Jr., which made her an extremely dangerous threat in Harry’s eyes, but he didn’t want to cause her any unnecessary pain, so he decided to send her away as painlessly as he could.

“What did you learn?” Gellert asked, looking completely relaxed while Narcissa was trembling at the sight of someone getting killed by the Killing Curse right in front of her. Yes, it was a house elf, but it was still a living breathing creature and the boy killed her just like that…

Meanwhile, Lucius was also terrified out of his Mind. He had grown up hearing stories of Gellert Grindelwald, the man who brought Europe to its knees, was sitting right there, looking exactly like he looked decades ago… He didn’t know what to think. He knew he was fucked. He never thought that Harry Potter could be so strong, anyone in his place would have thought the same… Alas, now, he was regretting his foolish actions.

“Quite a bit” Harry answered mysteriously before returning to the couch. “Gag him back” Harry ordered and Nigel followed the order without any hesitation. Then Harry turned toward Lucius and the man simply averted his gaze in fear… “Lucius, come here” Harry ordered, but Lucius simply whimpered and refused to move. Kenta, who was standing near Lucius kicked Lucius on the butt as hard as he could, making the man stumble forward.

Harry gave Kenta a grateful look before pointing the Wand in his hand toward Lucius and a stream of lightning came out from the tip of the Wand and struck Lucius. The man dropped to the ground while spasming violently… Lucius gritted his teeth as he started to feel his Mind blanking out as the lightning coursed through his body, but before he could completely black out, the pain stopped.

“I hope you have learned your lesson” Harry said in an amused tone before removing the man’s left sleeve with a flick of his empty hand, revealing the Dark Mark for everyone to see. “Lucius, looks like your Master is returning, how does that make you feel?” Harry asked, looking amused. The way his eyes grew wide at the revelation was a sight. Then he turned toward Narcissa. “What about you, Narcissa?” Harry asked.

“...He is not my Master” Narcissa answered after hesitating for a bit.

“Good for you” Harry said with a nod of his nod. “If you were, then I would have to kill you” Harry stated, looking like he was stating facts. Narcissa felt relieved at the revelation and Harry decided to come back to her after he finished dealing with Lucius. “Lucius, I am not going to lie to you, I am going to kill you… From now on, I am going to make your life as miserable as possible, but the survival of your Family Legacy will depend on the way you behave” Harry revealed with a grin.

Lucius was in so much pain that he could barely look upward… His whole body was screaming in pain and he was so tired that he could just fall asleep, but the pain was preventing him from doing that… The words barely registered in his Mind before he hissed in pain when Harry grabbed his left arm and pulled at it. He screamed when he felt a searing sensation in his arm. He felt like his arm was being burned and after what felt like minutes, Harry finally released his arm.

Lucius stared at the spot where his Dark Mark used to be and he was horrified to find that his Dark Mark was replaced by another Mark… “Now, you won’t be able to run off to Voldemort to save your ass” Harry said in an amused tone and those were the last things he heard before he finally passed out.

Then Harry’s gaze finally shifted toward Narcissa, who was watching everything with a look of apprehension on her face… “Step forward, Narcissa” Harry called out softly and Narcissa felt her stomach drop at his words. She didn’t want to be treated as Lucius so she stood up even though it was reluctant on her part. Her knees were shaking like thin twigs and her face was completely pale. She somehow managed to step forward and the dam finally broke down as tears started to roll down her cheeks.

“Harry, please…” Narcissa begged, but Harry simply gestured her to remain silent. He stood up and gently grabbed her left arm.

“There are two mistakes you made…” Harry said softly as he placed the tip of his Wand on her wrist, making her whimper fearfully. “First of all, I don’t trust you” Harry said before the polite look on his face disappeared, only to be replaced by a look of fury. “And then your biggest mistake, you called my mother a ‘Mudblood’” Harry hissed furiously and Narcissa squealed in pain as she felt herself getting branded like a common animal.

This was the biggest humiliation for her… The pain finally disappeared and Narcissa stared at her arm, which was now marred by a brand and she almost lost her footing as her head started to spin. Though, Harry didn’t allow her to fall and he helped her to one of the couches… It took her minutes to finally calm down and Harry decided to give her all the time she needed to regain her bearings.

“Narcissa” Harry called, making her fearfully look at him. “There are a few things I cannot forgive and someone calling my mother a ‘Mudblood’ is one of them. You will be treated with utmost respect and now that you carry my Mark, you are one of my own, so I hope that there won’t be a repeat of this incident” Harry explained calmly while looking straight into Narcissa’s eyes. “Do you understand?” Harry asked and Narcissa frantically nodded her head.

“Good” Harry nodded his head in satisfaction.

‘Boss, we have him’ Harry received a message and it made him grin. He located his followers through the Mark and opened a portal for them, only for them to step through the portal with Crouch Sr. floating behind them.

“Place him beside him” Harry ordered and the group who went to kidnap Crouch Sr. quickly followed the order. Now, he could finally punish the Crouch duo, but before that, he needed to invite one more person to the show. So with a vicious grin on his face, he pulled out the Resurrection Stone from his robes…