"Barty Crouch Jr.?"
Fudge's eyes widened in shock.
He did not know whether he ought to be pleased or furious, but the moment he realized the Death Eater causing trouble might be his political enemy's son, he could not stop the smile from spreading across his face.
Harry and the others, however, along with Karkaroff and Madame Maxime, who were watching from the sidelines, were completely confused.
They had not witnessed the trial back then, nor had they ever worked with Barty Jr., so of course they had no way of recognizing him.
"He's Mr. Barty Crouch's son. He was sent to Azkaban as a Death Eater back then," Tver explained briefly.
Dumbledore, too, was stirred by old memories, overlaying the gaunt young man before him with the figure from the past.
"So you are Barty's son, Barty Crouch Jr.?" he asked in a certain tone.
Under the effects of Veritaserum, Barty Jr.'s gaze was vacant, but a trace of contempt appeared on his face.
"I am not anyone's son. I am only myself, Barty Crouch Jr.!"
"As far as I know, you were supposed to have died in Azkaban. Why are you here?" Dumbledore asked slowly.
A flicker of emotion crossed Barty Jr.'s face, but it quickly flattened into a blank, mechanical look, and when he spoke, his voice was dry and empty.
"My mother saved me..."
"Before she died, she begged my father to save me. My father loved her very much, so even though he hated me, he agreed."
"So they went to Azkaban together to visit me. My mother and I drank Polyjuice Potion and exchanged appearances."
"The one who went in was a dying person, and the one who came out was also a dying person, so the Dementors could not tell the difference."
"So I was brought out, and my mother..." He sniffed. "She died in Azkaban in my place."
The smile on Fudge's face froze.
Just a moment ago, he had been thrilled to have found evidence of a crime connected to his political enemy. Now a blatant flaw in Azkaban had been laid right in front of him.
I need to find a way to deal with that problem. Of course, dealing with Barty is even more important, he calculated inwardly.
He had finally found a chance to win back some ground. There was no way he was letting it go easily.
What he did not realize was that Tver saw all of it.
"And after that? You went back home. What did your father do?" Dumbledore continued.
"He held a funeral for my mother, then used the Imperius Curse on me and made me live under an Invisibility Cloak. I lived like someone who did not exist!" Barty Jr. snarled.
"And no one noticed?"
"Hah. Of course someone did." He let out a cold laugh.
"When Bertha Jorkins came to our house, she heard me, under the Invisibility Cloak, talking to Winky. My father wanted to deal with her, but then a woman..."
"Ahem." Tver coughed loudly at once.
Dumbledore immediately understood.
"All right. Tell us about the Quidditch World Cup."
"That was originally my master's perfect plan. After learning about me, he came to our house under cover of night."
"And this time, the one under control became my stupid, arrogant father!"
"We used the chaos at the match to take Potter out of Tver Fawley's sight!"
"But at the critical moment, we were stopped by a..."
"Ahem, ahem." Tver coughed urgently again, nearly choking on his own saliva.
Dumbledore shot him a displeased glance. Even a fool would be able to tell there was something odd going on.
"There is really no need to continue with that. Tell us about tonight, and about your father."
Only Fudge thought Barty Jr. was about to expose something embarrassing about him, so he hurried to cover for Tver.
At the mention of the most crucial matter, Harry and the others instantly grew serious, staring at Dumbledore and Barty Jr. with full attention.
"All right." Dumbledore thought for a moment.
"Tell us your plan concerning the Triwizard Tournament, including how you impersonated Alastor."
Barty Jr. seemed to think of something, and a smile suddenly appeared on his face, though under the Veritaserum it looked somewhat vacant.
"My master's resurrection plan required Harry Potter, so we took advantage of the news that Moody was about to become a Hogwarts professor and captured him."
"Then we used his hair to make Polyjuice Potion, and I successfully deceived even you, Dumbledore!"
Dumbledore ignored his smugness and frowned instead.
"Then where is Alastor now? You had better make sure he is still alive."
"Of course. Polyjuice Potion requires him to stay alive, so he is being kept quite well in my office," Barty Jr. said.
"So during the Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts, you entered Harry's name into the Goblet of Fire and made him a Champion? And then tonight, working from both inside and out, you sent Harry and the others away?!" Dumbledore pressed.
"Exactly!" The more Barty Jr. thought about it, the more delighted he became, and his expression looked increasingly vacant because of it.
"My original plan was to use the Triwizard Cup as a Portkey and help Potter win the championship, so that only he would be transported away!"
"But that Fawley was like a stick stirring filth. For no reason at all, he ended up becoming a Champion too!"
"Forget Potter. Even if I had gone in myself, there was no way I could have won the championship!"
At this point, Barty Jr. seemed to remember how that unexpected development had left him frantic and utterly lost, and a miserable look appeared on his face.
"To complete the Dark Lord's task, I had no choice but to rack my brains for another method."
"Luckily, Goyle and Crabbe reminded me!"
"The first time they served detention, the two of them used an unbelievably brilliant Shield Charm to slow down my spell!"
"So I discovered the secret of the badges they were wearing..."
"So on one side, I hid in my office studying that badge, trying to find a way to conceal a Portkey spell inside it, one that would activate when its magic was exhausted."
"And on the other side, I took advantage of your desire to make trouble for Tver and got you to agree to distribute the badges to the four Champions!"
"Unfortunately, the badge turned out to be even harder to deal with than I expected. I ruined several in a row. I even caused a small explosion while experimenting on Crabbe!"
"But fortunately, the Dark Lord was favored by fate. Before the final task began, I finally managed to transport myself out of Hogwarts successfully!"
"And I also succeeded in getting you to agree to change the original rules and let the Champions wear the badges I had altered!"
"Thanks to you, Dumbledore, otherwise the plan would never have gone so smoothly..."
"Smoothly enough to bring the Dark Lord back to life!"
Under the influence of Veritaserum, Barty Jr. clearly meant every word sincerely, which also made it cut that much deeper.
"Tremble, all of you! The Dark Lord will soon return with overwhelming power..."
"Just a reminder. Voldemort is the only one left now. Also, although he did come back, he ran off with his tail between his legs tonight," Tver said suddenly, cutting him off.
"..."