"Uh… well… this…"
Facing Harry's green eyes, Lupin was momentarily at a loss for how to explain.
"Hey, Harry, Wade!"
A cheerful voice interrupted Lupin—Michael was standing not far away, holding a container full of water. "You finally came… wait a sec, I'll put this down and be right back!"
Michael hurried off, and thanks to the interruption, Lupin had time to think of an excuse.
"That man was Barty Crouch… I think you might remember that name."
Harry thought for a moment, then frowned. "The guy who sent Sirius to prison without a trial."
"Yes." Lupin patted him on the shoulder and said, "So you can understand—he doesn't want to see us, and Sirius and I don't want to see him either."
Harry nodded grimly.
Although Harry knew that Sirius bore a large part of the responsibility for ending up in Azkaban for over a decade, that didn't stop him from resenting other Ministry officials who had failed in their duties.
Lupin let out a quiet sigh of relief. He looked down at Harry's expression and felt a bit guilty—but he was also filled with concern and confusion.
After Sirius brought back some secretly overheard intelligence, they had investigated the Crouch family's graves. What they found was startling: in the grave of Barty Crouch's wife lay the remains of a young male, while the grave of Barty Crouch Jr. was empty.
This seemed to confirm their suspicions—
Barty Crouch Jr. had not died and was now serving Voldemort.
The truth was this: years ago, Barty Crouch's wife drank Polyjuice Potion, took on her son's appearance, and died in Azkaban in his place—thus securing her son's secret escape from prison.
If that were the case, then Barty Crouch Sr. had to be complicit, perhaps even the orchestrator.
That man who was once hailed as a staunch opponent of the Dark Arts, a symbol of resistance, suddenly became a figure of moral ambiguity.
But after much investigation and probing, Dumbledore came to a different conclusion: even if Barty Crouch Sr. had once softened and secretly released his son, he had not truly joined Voldemort's side.
In fact, the man had lately been mentally and physically exhausted. Many people believed his behavior had grown erratic, as if he were searching for something. Some speculated that he'd simply given up after realizing his political career was going nowhere.
Of course, Lupin and Sirius didn't care about Barty Crouch Sr.'s allegiances—they only cared about Harry, who was once again being targeted by Voldemort.
Compared to James Potter and his family—who had once been marked in the same way—the Order of the Phoenix's current protection for Harry was woefully lacking.
No concealment, no Fidelius Charm, and they weren't even allowed to tell Harry the truth. Instead, he was made to attend the Quidditch World Cup—an event packed with people, bustling with chaos.
Sure, one could argue this was all to ensure Harry grew up healthy and normal… and Voldemort, after all, only had a couple of people left under his command—not like the heyday of the Death Eaters.
But Lupin still felt something was wrong.
All they could do was stay extra vigilant, always at Harry's side, hoping he wouldn't be snatched away in a careless moment and be turned into Voldemort's resurrection sacrifice.
Soon, Michael returned empty-handed and began showing Wade and the others around.
"Sure, we came for the World Cup," he grinned, "but who actually just watches the matches?"
Michael said with an incredulous expression, "Guys, have you ever seen so many wizards from different countries gathered in one place? Don't you think these people are more interesting than the Quidditch match itself?"
Harry didn't feel the same way at first, but as Michael led them around the area, his thoughts began to waver without him realizing it.
They saw the Irish national team's mascot, a wizard who could suddenly transform into a cheetah, and even an Eastern wizard walking with a stunning phoenix-like bird.
"Look, I'm guessing they're students from Castelobruxo."
Michael pointed from afar at a group of underage wizards gathered together. They all had brown skin, most had curly hair. They wore flax-colored robes, and open-toed sandals.
"Castelobruxo?" Harry asked, confused.
"I've heard it's a magic school in Brazil," Wade said. "They say the castle is built from golden stone and looks like a temple."
Unfortunately, the students hadn't brought their castle with them, so Wade and the others only looked on curiously for a while before moving on.
After weaving through layer after layer of tents, they came across another group of young people wearing matching uniforms.
"That's Beauxbatons' school robes!" Michael gasped, inhaling sharply. "Merlin! How did I not see them earlier?!"
Wade and Harry looked over and immediately understood why Michael looked like he was about to drool.
A few girls in silk robes were sitting on the grass chatting. Though each one looked as if she'd stepped out of a painting, one of them was overwhelmingly beautiful.
The girl had cascading silver hair that shone like a waterfall, porcelain-white skin that glowed with a pearly sheen, a graceful figure, and flawless features. When she smiled slightly, her charm was breathtaking.
Unable to help himself, Michael started walking toward her, only to be yanked back by the collar by Wade.
"What are you doing?" Wade asked.
"I… I'm going to introduce myself," Michael said with a goofy smile, reaching up to smooth his hair. "You want to talk to her too, don't you? But I gotta say, Wade—this is one area where you definitely can't compare to me."
"Alright, go ahead," Wade said. "But just a heads-up—if a girl that beautiful doesn't already have suitors swarming around her, there's probably a reason."
"I know, most people would feel too inferior just seeing her—but I'm different."
As Michael spoke, he actually pulled out a small mirror from his pocket and carefully fixed his wind-tousled hair and checked to make sure his face was clean. Then he tucked the mirror away and walked confidently toward the group of girls.
"Do you think Michael will actually pull it off?" Harry asked curiously.
He had also been stunned by the girl's beauty, but at the moment his heart was full of Cho Chang, so he wasn't nearly as flustered as Michael.
"Who knows?" Wade said. "I'd like to know too."
The two of them watched as Michael approached, getting closer and closer until the girls took notice of him.
They smiled sweetly at him, said nothing, and didn't send him away—like they were waiting to watch a good show.
Michael nervously tugged at his sleeve, cleared his throat, and was just about to speak—when he suddenly sensed something was off.
A massive shadow loomed over him from behind, radiating a heavy pressure like a thundercloud descending.
Michael slowly turned his head and saw a woman nearly as tall as Hagrid standing behind him. She looked down at him with icy eyes and asked in a deep, cold voice:
"Boy, are you lost?"
Michael: "..."
…
When Michael came back with his head hanging low, Wade and Harry were blushing from holding in their laughter, and their shoulders were trembling uncontrollably.
"Sigh, go ahead and laugh if you want," Michael said, pretending not to care. "At least I tried."
The two of them burst into unrestrained laughter. Michael, who had been glaring at them with his hands on his hips, eventually couldn't help but laugh along as well.
"By the way, I know where the Bulgarian national team is staying," Michael said. "Want to go see Krum? You know, the famous Seeker—some say he might be the best in the world!"
"Of course!" Harry's eyes lit up immediately, and he agreed without hesitation.
Wade was just about to speak when he suddenly noticed someone not far away leaning against a gray tent, signaling to him.
His smile faltered slightly, but then he grinned again and said, "You guys go ahead. I'm going to the bathroom."
After watching them walk off, Wade made his way toward the gray tent. The wizard with long curly hair saw him coming and greeted him with a bright, sunny smile.
"It's been about half a year, hasn't it, Wade?" the wizard said with a laugh. "You never answer my calls—I thought you'd forgotten about us!"
"Well, you're always interrupting me during class," Wade replied, glancing at the tent behind him. Then he asked, "Antoine, is Mr. Grindelwald here to watch the match too?"
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⭐Harry Potter: Becoming a Study God (HP:BSG)- 200+ Chapters
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