The clamour in the stands continued.
In the box, Mr. Weasley was explaining the characteristics of Veela to Ron and the others, while Hermione looked at Ron with disdain. Harry, being the most composed among the children, was adding details that Mr. Weasley had missed.
The Veela's dance on the field had ended, and the Leprechaun mascots from the Irish team were flying across the pitch, scattering countless gold coins into the stands.
Sherlock, however, seemed oblivious to all of this. He wasn't looking anywhere, his head bowed, his brows tightly furrowed, his Control Magic intently focused in one direction.
In the empty seat next to Winky, the House-elf with acrophobia, sat a person.
He was wearing an invisibility cloak, making him invisible to outsiders, but under Sherlock's Control Magic, his face was clearly visible.
Although his appearance had changed considerably compared to seventeen years ago, that familiar face allowed Sherlock to recognise him at a glance.
Barty Crouch Jr.!
The son of Barty Crouch Sr., the current Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, a rising star in the Auror Office seventeen years ago, and discovered to be a follower of Lord Voldemort, a Death Eater, thirteen years ago!(TN: This should be interesting now that he knows.)
According to the history known to the public, he should have been dead by now, having fallen ill and died in Azkaban not long after his father, Old Barty, had him imprisoned there.
Yet, in Sherlock's vision, he was still sitting there calmly, his face extremely pale, his gaze blankly fixed on the stadium, making it impossible to tell whether he was watching the Irish Leprechauns or something else.
Hilke noticed his abnormality.
"What's wrong?"
Sherlock merely shook his head, not revealing his discovery.
Then he looked up again, pretending nothing was amiss, and explained to Ron and the Weasley twins, who were scrambling for the Leprechaun gold coins on the ground.
"These gold coins aren't real gold. Not only does Gringotts not accept them, but if you try to spend them and get caught, you'll be considered a swindler. However, they're good to keep as souvenirs."
Ron, George, and Fred's faces were filled with disappointment, but they still put the coins in their pockets.
The mascots of both finalist teams had left the field, and Bagman, the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, was giving a speech before the official start of the match.
Sherlock didn't listen to what Bagman was saying, but his thoughts had shifted to Barty.
This Death Eater spy, who had once been unrivalled in the Auror Office, had not actually died in Azkaban.
And regardless of whether his escape from that island prison in the north had been his own plan, Old Barty must have known about it.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have had his House-elf, Winky, secretly arrange for this person, who was supposedly ill and deceased in Azkaban, to be here under the guise of helping him reserve a seat in advance.
He couldn't figure out why Old Barty would do this.
This box contained not only many high-ranking Ministry of Magic officials but also the two highest heads of magical government, including the current Minister for Magic of the British Ministry of Magic.
Old Barty was once the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Even if he hadn't personally commanded any Auror operations, who among those who could reach such a high position was a fool?
By placing Barty here, he was taking an incredibly huge risk.
If anyone in this box discovered that Barty was still alive, Old Barty losing his position would be the least of his worries.
More seriously, the reputation he had painstakingly maintained his entire life would be ruined, and he would likely be imprisoned in that dreaded prison for the rest of his life, never to get out.
The Crouch family, an ancient pure-blood family with a long history, would be completely extinguished.
So, did he have his son, who had escaped from prison using some unknown method, come here under an invisibility cloak, risking everything, just to watch a Quidditch match?
Under the scrutiny of Sherlock's Control Magic, he could clearly 'see' Barty's numb and gloomy face.
For some reason, Barty stared silently at the Quidditch pitch, his entire being exuding a greyish stillness, yet Sherlock inexplicably sensed a fervent intensity in his gaze that seemed capable of burning everything away.
That emotion, so different from his current demeanour, made Sherlock feel uneasy.
Without a doubt, Sherlock held a great grudge against Barty, who, seventeen years ago, was a spy hidden within the Ministry of Magic and led Death Eaters into the Department of Mysteries.
Although it was because of him that Sherlock heard about Horcruxes from the Lestrange brothers, and also because of him that Sherlock, when pushed to the brink, eventually found a way to return to the present.
But these were not Barty's intentions, and Sherlock would not consider these 'aids' in the slightest.
When the time came to act, Sherlock would not hesitate for a moment.
Just as Bagman, the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, announced the official start of the World Cup final, and the stands erupted in cheers, he quietly stood up from his seat.
Practically everyone in the box was focused on the centre of the stadium; only Hilke noticed Sherlock's movement and looked up at him in confusion.
Sherlock gently shook his head at her, signalling her not to worry about him.
He left the box, found an unnoticed corner, used Apparition to leave, and then reappeared a few minutes later with another Apparition.
This back and forth seemed to leave him unchanged, but in fact, there was now a shrivelled arm in his pocket.
Sherlock returned to the box. The Quidditch final had already begun, and right from the start, the Wizards in the stands became fervent. Driven by the commentator's excitement, every goal scored by either the Irish team or the Bulgarian team would trigger a sky-piercing cheer.
Back in his seat, Sherlock and Hilke exchanged glances, then quietly took out the shrivelled arm he had brought back from Knockturn Alley.
Hilke, with her extensive knowledge from the German Ministry of Magic, immediately recognised this famous Dark Arts alchemical object—the Hand of Glory.
This was a Dark Arts item made from a real human hand, imbued with powerful tracking magic.
Any Wizard targeted by this hand, no matter where they hid, could be located unless they were concealed by the Fidelius Charm.
The Hand of Glory was, of course, something Sherlock had obtained from the Lestrange family.
It could come in handy at this moment.
The complexity of this arm lay in its method of creation; using it, however, was not difficult.
Whispering a spell, an invisible thread appeared between the Hand of Glory and Barty, hidden beneath the invisibility cloak.(TN: That is smart now. Suggest names to change the hand of glory because it doesn't work like this. )