"Harry, what's the matter?"
Harry made a shushing gesture and stared at the spot where the noise had been.
He reached into his robe and fumbled for his wand. He was sure someone was there!
Someone was following them. Who could it be?
There was an eerie silence in the woods, except for the sound of the night wind.
"Good heavens, look over there!" shouted Ron suddenly, pointing in the opposite direction.
Harry and Hermione looked back and saw a man stumbling out from behind a tall oak tree.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione didn't recognize him for a moment.
Then they realized that it was Mr. Crouch.
He looked like he had been wandering outside for many days. The knees of his robe were torn and stained with blood. His face was also full of scars. His beard was unshaven, and his face was pale and haggard. His originally neat hair and beard needed to be cleaned and trimmed.
His appearance was strange, but the strangest thing was his behavior.
Mr. Crouch seemed to be talking to someone that only he could see.
He was muttering and gesticulating.
As soon as Harry saw him, he remembered an old tramp he had once met when he and the Dursleys had gone shopping.
The man had been talking to the air in the same crazy way. Aunt Petunia had grabbed Dudley's hand and pulled him across the road to avoid the madman. Uncle Vernon had taken the opportunity to talk to the family about how they were going to deal with beggars and tramps.
"Good heavens, it's Mr. Crouch. What's going on?" said Hermione, panic-stricken.
"He seems crazy!" said Ron, looking at him with the same horror.
"Watch out!" shouted Harry, pointing his wand at Crouch.
He had no time to wonder why the voice he had just heard had come from the opposite direction from which Crouch had come. He only felt an inexplicable sense of danger.
He hesitated for a moment, then slowly walked towards Mr. Crouch.
Mr. Crouch did not look at him, but kept talking to a nearby tree.
"Weatherby, after you're done with this, send an owl to Dumbledore to confirm the number of Durmstrang students participating in the tournament. Kakarov said that there are twelve …"
"Mr Crouch?" said Harry cautiously.
"And then send an owl with a message to Madame Maxim, that she too may wish to increase the number of pupils, and since Kakarov's number has been increased to twelve, let's do that, Weatherby, shall we? Would that work? Sure … "
Mr. Crouch's eyes bulged. He stood there, his eyes fixed on the tree, his mouth muttering soundlessly.
Then, he staggered a few steps to the side and fell to his knees.
"Mr. Crouch!"
"Mr. Crouch, are you alright?" shouted Harry.
Crouch's eyes rolled upwards, looking at the three of them with a frightening gaze.
"Guys, we'd better hurry and call for help!" said Ron, looking at Crouch in horror.
"Dumbledore!" Mr. Crouch said, gasping for breath. He suddenly lunged forward and grabbed Harry's robe, pulling him to his side, but his eyes were fixed on the top of Harry's head. "I, I want to see Deng, Dumbledore …"
"Alright!" said Harry, "As long as you get up, Mr. Crouch, we'll go find …"
"I've done something stupid …" said Crouch, panting. He looked completely crazy, his eyes bulging out, rolling around, drool dripping down his chin. "You must tell Dumbledore, you must tell him!"
Mr. Crouch's eyes turned and stared at Harry.
"Who, who are you?" he whispered, his tone cautious. "I think I've seen you before?"
"I'm a student at Hogwarts School of Magic and Magic," said Harry, turning his head to look at Hermione and Ron.
"Mr. Crouch, he's Harry Potter, I'm …" Hermione came over to support Crouch.
"Harry Potter!" Asked Crouch softly. "You're that kid, this is Hogwarts, you're Dumbledore's man, go and warn him …"
Crouch pulled him closer. Harry tried to loosen Crouch's grip on his robe, but his grip was too tight.
"Warn, warn Dumbledore, tell him …"
"If you let go of me, I'll go find Dumbledore," said Harry. "Let go of me, Mr. Crouch, I'll go find him!"
"Thank you, Weatherby. I'd like a cup of tea after you're done with that. My wife and son will be here soon, and we're going to a concert with Mr. and Mrs. Foggy tonight. "
Crouch suddenly let go of Harry and Hermione, and started talking to a tree.
He seemed to have forgotten them all at once, and entered a strange state of madness.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other uneasily, astonished. There was only the sound of heavy footsteps in the woods.
"Yes, my son has recently passed the twelve Ordinary Wizard Level Exams, and the results are very satisfactory. Thank you, yes, I'm really proud of him. Well, if you can get me the memo from the Andorran Ministry of Magic, I'll probably have time to draft a reply … "
"He's crazy!" said Ron, looking down at Crouch.
Crouch was still talking to the tree, as if convinced that it was Percy or someone else.
"That's right!" Harry quickly made up his mind. "Wait for him here, I'll go get Dumbledore!"
Harry was about to get up and leave, but his movement seemed to agitate Mr. Crouch, who suddenly changed his position.
He grabbed Harry's knee and dragged him to the ground again.
"Don't leave me, Harry Potter!" He whispered, his eyes bulging again. "I escaped, their guards suddenly relaxed, and I took the opportunity to escape. I have to warn, I have to tell … I want to see Dumbledore, it's all my fault, my son … it's all my fault, hurry up and tell Dumbledore, Harry Potter, that the Dark Demon has become strong! Hurry up, Harry Potter … "
"The Dark Demon?!" Harry was stunned. "If you let me go, I'll go find Dumbledore, Mr. Crouch!"
With the help of Ron and Hermione, he struggled to break free from Crouch.
"You keep him here," said Harry quickly. "I'll bring Dumbledore back."
"You better hurry up!" shouted Ron. "We can't hold on for long."
Ron looked at Crouch anxiously, who was once again in a state of madness.
Harry ran as fast as he could out of the forest and across the dark field.
The sky was completely dark, and the field was empty.
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