"The quickest way to verify our suspicions is right in front of us—something they handed to us themselves!"
"You mean…"
"Exactly!"
Dudley smiled slightly and clapped his hands twice, calling out, "Winky! Dobby!"
With two soft pops, the two small house-elves appeared in Dudley's bedroom.
"Little Master, how may we serve you?" they chimed in unison, bowing deeply to Dudley.
"Tell us, what secrets did your previous masters have about Voldemort and the Death Eaters?" Dudley asked sternly, his expression serious.
"Huh? This… Dobby knows, but Dobby cannot say! Dobby's previous master ordered Dobby not to speak of it!" Dobby's long ears drooped, his face a mix of guilt and distress. "Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby! Dobby must punish himself!"
Dobby dropped to his knees and began banging his head against the floor with loud thuds.
"Enough! Stop hitting your head and stand still!" Dudley couldn't bear to watch and commanded.
Dobby immediately stood up, tears of self-reproach streaming down his face.
Although Dobby hadn't outright betrayed Lucius Malfoy, his reaction was enough to confirm that the Malfoy family had something to hide.
Meanwhile, Winky spoke up: "No, Little Master. The Crouch family I served was very upright. They had no connection to You-Know-Who or the Death Eaters."
She thought for a long time but couldn't recall anything related to the topic.
"It seems the problem lies with Lucius, not Barty!" Dumbledore's eyes gleamed as he thought he had uncovered the truth.
"No, Dumbledore, you're thinking too narrowly. Barty Crouch's suspicion cannot be ruled out!" Dudley stated bluntly.
"Oh? But…" Dumbledore began, then stopped as he realized the flaw in his reasoning.
Dudley continued questioning Winky: "You took a long time to think just now. Barty Crouch is a high-ranking Ministry official. He probably doesn't spend much time at home, does he?"
"That's correct, Little Master. Mr. Crouch comes home very late," Winky replied.
"Then, over the past ten years, who have you primarily served during the day? Was it Barty Crouch's wife, or his… son?" Dudley pressed further.
"Mr. Crouch's wife passed away nearly nine years ago. His son was sent to Azkaban. For the past ten years, I've mainly served… served…"
Winky hesitated, realizing that her memories of the past ten years were incredibly hazy, with large chunks completely blank.
Strangely, she remembered everything clearly about Barty Crouch Jr.'s life before he was imprisoned.
"I've forgotten! Winky couldn't answer the Little Master's question! Winky has failed the Little Master! Waaah—"
Winky broke down into loud sobs, distraught at her inability to answer Dudley's question.
"Enough, stop crying. I've already learned what I needed to know. You may go now and help my parents with the housework," Dudley said, waving Winky away.
He then turned to Dumbledore. "It seems Mr. Barty Crouch's Memory Charm isn't as flawless as he thought."
"Brilliant deduction, Dudley! I hadn't considered that both Lucius and Barty might be hiding something. But how do we uncover their secrets?
House-elves' memories are resistant to Legilimency unless their masters revoke their orders. Forcing the issue could turn Dobby into a babbling fool. As for Winky, her memories have already been erased."
Dumbledore frowned, feeling the situation was becoming more complicated. A pure-blood aristocrat and a high-ranking Ministry official—this would require careful handling.
"It's not that difficult, Dumbledore. Given the current state of the magical world, you hold the upper hand, while Voldemort is lying low.
These two men are powerful and influential. The secrets they're hiding from you are most likely one of three things:
First, they're safeguarding a Horcrux for Voldemort. Second, they're harboring unpunished Death Eaters. Third, they're sheltering Voldemort's main soul, which is on the run."
Dudley dismissed Dobby as well and continued his analysis. "So, which of these scenarios do you think applies to Lucius and Barty?"
Dumbledore paced back and forth, deep in thought. "Lucius fears Voldemort. If Voldemort's main soul showed up and pressured him, he'd likely comply with all three scenarios.
But if Voldemort's main soul had approached him recently, both Voldemort and Lucius would want to stay hidden, keeping a low profile in the magical world. They wouldn't actively seek me out to gift a house-elf.
Therefore, Voldemort's main soul probably hasn't approached Lucius. The secret Lucius is hiding is most likely the first scenario—Voldemort entrusted him with a Horcrux during his rise to power!
This would be an extremely well-hidden secret, which is why Lucius felt confident enough to approach me with a gift.
As for Barty, the first and third scenarios are unlikely. He publicly opposed Voldemort and helped arrest and prosecute many Death Eaters. He wouldn't switch sides now.
He doesn't seem to be under the Imperius Curse, and considering he erased Winky's memories of the past ten years, the most plausible answer is… Barty Crouch Jr. isn't dead!
Barty faked his son's death to get him out of Azkaban! He's been keeping him imprisoned at home all these years, with Winky as his caretaker!"
Dumbledore's reasoning was spot-on. Ever since Dudley had pointed out Peter Pettigrew's faked death, Dumbledore had become more alert to such possibilities. Whenever someone died under suspicious circumstances, he now considered the possibility of it being a ruse.
Fortunately, this time he was right.
"Dumbledore, your reasoning is as brilliant as mine," Dudley praised, clapping his hands.
"But there's one thing I don't understand. If Barty sold Winky to me, who's taking care of his son now? Unless… his son has escaped?"
Dumbledore suddenly speculated.
Dudley's expression grew serious. That was a possibility. In the original timeline, Barty Crouch Jr. wouldn't escape for another three years, but the story had already changed dramatically.
It was entirely possible he had escaped earlier!
"That's a possibility, Dumbledore.
What I can think of is either Winky was too soft-hearted and could be manipulated by Barty Jr., so Barty Sr. sold her to cut off his son's chances of escape while also currying favor with you to secure his position.
Or, as you said, Barty Jr. has already escaped!" Dudley analyzed.
"So, what do we do now?" Dumbledore asked, already accustomed to Dudley's strategic thinking.