Became good friends with the Boy Who Lived

Chapter 121 Barty Crouch Jr.

The big black hound picked up several copies of the Daily Prophet on the ground and walked towards the outside of Hogsmeade village, motioning for Aeris and Harry to follow.

Led by the big black hound, the four companions climbed up a small hill. On the hillside there was an inconspicuous cave, which seemed to be where Sirius was hiding.

The big black hound's eyes suddenly focused, and then it rushed out like a black lightning, dragging the screaming Draco out from behind a big rock.

"Sirius! Don't..." Harry quickly stopped him.

The big black hound dragged Draco to Aeris and Harry, and then suddenly transformed into a dusty Sirius who appeared in front of everyone.

"Malfoy boy," Sirius said hoarsely, "what is your purpose in following Harry and the others?"

Aeris helped Draco up. Draco smiled awkwardly and said, "Hello, Uncle Black... I mean no harm, it's just that Potter and the others are always so secretive and always exclude me. I'm a little curious..."

Sirius took out his wand, "Now you know of my existence, Malfoy boy, I need to use the Oblivion Charm to make you forget everything..." Sirius said.

"No need, Sirius," said Harry, "This may seem incredible to you, but Draco is our friend. He won't tell this secret to anyone, right? Draco..." Harry looked at Draco with a smile, and Draco glared at Harry.

"Yes..." Draco said through gritted teeth.

"How did you get together with the Malfoy boys?" Sirius asked. "Did you bring any food?"

Aeris handed the small handbag containing food to Sirius. Sirius first took a look inside, then smiled with satisfaction, took out a roast chicken from it, and started to eat it.

"We've been friends with Draco for several years now," Hermione said. "He's not as difficult to get along with as he first seemed, and we've had some...adventures together."

"Would the Malfoys put themselves in danger?" Sirius said nonchalantly while chewing chicken. "It's really strange. Why did you come in the morning? Didn't I tell you to come in the afternoon? If I hadn't suddenly wanted to find a newspaper to read, I would have missed you."

"I'm really worried about you, Sirius," Harry said somewhat dissatisfiedly, "The Black House is very safe, you shouldn't come out, and now you are in danger of being arrested and sent to Azkaban..."

"I was worried about you, too," said Sirius, who had finished a roast chicken, breaking up the less-tough bones, and took a long sip from a jug of pumpkin juice before continuing:

"You are still in danger. How can I hide in the Black mansion with peace of mind? Don't let your guard down just because you have solved two tasks in the Triwizard Tournament, Harry. The third task is usually the most difficult in the Triwizard Tournament. Most accidents involving the warriors are concentrated in the third task. This is a rule in previous Triwizard Tournaments..."

Sirius started to gnaw on a baguette again. "I'll be careful," said Harry. "So, can you please go back? I can't concentrate on the game if I'm worried about you..."

"I can't, kid," said Sirius. "I always have to do something to keep myself from getting depressed. I'm not someone you need to worry about, am I? I'll pretend to be a harmless stray dog ​​and try to get some information. Except for the difficulty in getting food, everything else is fine..."

Sirius began to stuff some fruit into his mouth. He continued, "Stop talking about me. How are you doing? Harry, is there anything strange going on at school?"

"Everything is normal," Harry said thoughtfully, "Except for the time I saw the name Barty Crouch on the Hogwarts Marauder's Map. Mr. Crouch didn't come to the second task of the Triwizard Tournament. Instead, his assistant, Percy, came..."

"It's just one of my brothers..." Ron interrupted.

"Crouch?" Sirius took a bite of ham and said while chewing, "In my opinion, Crouch is an inhuman person. He sent his own son, Barty Crouch Jr., to Azkaban. When the boy entered Azkaban, he was not much older than Regulus when he died. Believe me, living in Azkaban is more painful than death..."

Seeing Sirius's frightened expression, Harry asked, "But why did Mr. Crouch do that?"

"Hmph..." Sirius sneered disdainfully, "That boy was bewitched by Voldemort, just like Regulus at that time. But Regulus at least had his own sense of good and evil and bottom line, but that couldn't be said for young Barty. Old Barty was preparing to run for Minister of Magic at that time, and he couldn't allow his son to have such a stain. But even if old Barty sacrificed his own son for the sake of justice, he was still outshined by Fudge, which made old Barty hate his son even more."

"Is Barty Crouch Jr. still in Azkaban?" Aris asked.

"Gone," Sirius seemed to have eaten his fill. He breathed a sigh of relief and said heavily, "There are very few people who can remain sane like me after being in there for more than ten years. Barty Jr. went crazy a few years after entering Azkaban and eventually died in his cell."

Everyone was silent for a moment.

"Okay," Sirius said finally, "I'll go with you to Hogsmeade. It's okay. Don't look at me like that. I'm just a harmless stray dog. What does being a wanted criminal in Azkaban have to do with me?"

Sirius turned around and turned into a big black hound again. Harry hung the small handbag of food on the big black hound's neck with a rope.

The five people and a hound wandered around Hogsmeade village throughout the afternoon. Harry bought a lot of candy at Honeydukes's and stuffed them into the small handbag around the big black hound's neck. He also bought a lot of drinks at the Three Broomsticks Bar and gave them to the big black hound.

This strange combination did attract a lot of attention, but when people saw the big black hound wagging its tail, which was not much smarter than the Husky, they just smiled and didn't pay much attention.

The big black hound would occasionally catch a mouse or two, which he would also stuff into his small handbag, which made Ron smack his lips.

It was not until the evening when everyone was preparing to return to Hogwarts that the big black hound rubbed its head against Harry affectionately, then walked away reluctantly.

After returning to Hogwarts, it was almost dinner time. Several people came to the Great Hall. Ron took a deep breath of the smell of food in the air and said with a sigh:

"Just think about it, Harry, how much Cold loves you, eating mice to fill your stomach..."

"Perhaps he just wanted to test the odds," Aeris said, "to see if the mouse he killed was Wormtail..."

The other companions looked at Aeris in a strange way.