HP: It's a snake, not a badger.

Chapter 122 Investigation

After talking with Loyna, Dumbledore did realize that he had those subtle defensive movements. He began to consciously control his behavior, as Gellert would be sad if he found out. However, he was a little puzzled as to why Gellert kept making eye contact with him these past few days.

The only good thing was that Little Barty had regained consciousness, and the long-stalled plan could be started again. The three of them sat in the room where he was being held, wanting to resolve the matter as soon as possible to avoid any unforeseen complications.

"Are you willing to tell us what happened? Of course, it's okay if you're not. We have plenty of Truth Potion for you to drink." Gellert waved the potion bottle in his hand at Barty.

Barty didn't speak. He sat up straight and looked at Dumbledore, his meaning clear: he wanted to see what Dumbledore was thinking.

"Speak, they are the witnesses."

"Give me a drop of truth serum. You must have brought a recording crystal ball, right? Record it, including me drinking the truth serum. Only then will others believe it." His hoarse voice was filled with determination. He wanted everyone to know what kind of person his father was, and he wanted to clear his name of all these years of injustice.

"Your wish will be granted."

Gellert took out a crystal ball and aimed it at the person on the bed. Only then, within the recording range, did he open the bottle of truth serum and pour a drop of the potion onto Barty.

"Who was it that tormented the Longbottoms in the first place?"

Bellatrix Lestrange.

"So what role did you play in this?"

"Bystander".

"Then why were you able to leave Azkaban?"

"It was my mother who died there in my place." Little Barty's eyes were red, and large tears slid down his cheeks, hitting the blanket and quickly soaking a large part of it.

"Why do you work for Voldemort?"

"Because I want my father's approval, and I want him to be proud of me."

This was an unexpected answer, and all three people in the room fell silent, because this answer connected everything, and they finally understood everything.

"What did Old Barty do to you?"

"He used a mind control spell on me every day, locking me in a closed room and only allowing the house-elves to come in once a day to bring me food."

After roughly figuring things out, Gellert felt there was no point in asking any more questions, so he packed up his things and prepared to leave the room.

"You get some rest, we're leaving now," Dumbledore said to Barty. He felt sorry for the boy; Barty had suffered so much over the years.

"Gail, you stay home. I'm going to the Ministry of Magic. Remember to bring Barty lunch later; the boy is too thin, make sure he eats more." At some point, Dumbledore developed the same habit as Emeric: everyone had to eat their fill on time.

He planned to have Barty examined by Severus when he returned in a few days, and give him some potions to heal his body, which had been depleted for so many years. It would take him a long time to recover on his own, but potions would be much faster.

After Dumbledore left, Gellert returned to his study to continue working. The saints' activities had spread quite widely these past few days, with many traveling from Germany to Russia, which had increased the amount of work he had to handle each day.

After finishing a batch of documents, Gellert was a little hungry. When he saw that it was almost one o'clock, he hurriedly went to the kitchen and found some leftover sandwiches from the morning. He quickly heated them up and took them to Barty's room.

He didn't have Dumbledore's good temper. He pushed open the door, casually tossed the food onto the coffee table beside the bed, and left before Barty could react. Whether Barty ate it or not was none of his business.

Little Barty looked puzzled. He felt he had never offended this dark wizard, and they had only met a few times. Why was he being treated this way? But when you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. He didn't show any doubt and obediently finished his meal.

Before going to bed, Dumbledore finally returned, looking exhausted and slumped on the sofa. He had spent most of the day arguing with Fudge, and in the end, he used the entire Hogwarts to exert pressure and finally got a harsher sentence.

Why is this happening?

Dumbledore was utterly bewildered. He couldn't understand how the man who had so confidently promised to uphold justice had turned out this way. But at least the outcome was good; no matter how many methods were used, at least a retrial was possible.

He rallied his spirits and stood up to share the good news with Little Barty, knowing that he could clear his name and reappear in the crowd once the second trial was over.

Dumbledore was furious as soon as he opened the door. Barty sat on the bed looking at him pitifully, his stomach rumbling with hunger. He suppressed his anger and asked...

"Haven't you had dinner yet?"

"Hmm... that gentleman seemed a bit angry when he delivered lunch... I didn't dare..."

"Wait a moment, eat this first to fill your stomach, I'll ask the little elf to cook."

Behind Dumbledore, Barty looked thoughtfully at his retreating figure. His act of feigning helplessness had actually worked; Dumbledore genuinely felt sorry for him. This discovery thrilled him, his eyes gleaming with eager anticipation.

Dumbledore left the room and rushed to the bedroom. He wanted to ask Gellert if it was intentional. Barty had suffered so much, finally escaping that awful place only to be left hungry.

Upon entering the bedroom and seeing Gellert's relaxed demeanor, Dumbledore became even angrier. He first summoned the elves to cook, then stood with his hands on his hips, glaring at the person on the bed, looking furious.

Gellert tilted his head and thought for a long time, but still couldn't figure out why Dumbledore was angry, so he looked back at him with a straight face, which made Dumbledore even angrier.

"Did you forget to bring Little Barty his dinner? He's a human being just like you, and he needs to eat three meals a day!!!"

Upon hearing this, Gellert instantly lost his composure. No wonder he felt like he had forgotten something; it turned out he had forgotten to bring food to that brat. Why didn't he come out to eat by himself when he could get out of bed?

"Gail, perhaps you remember that we locked him up in there?" Dumbledore knew what Gellert was thinking just by looking at his expression.

"Alright, it was indeed my oversight." He didn't want to argue with Dumbledore over this, so he apologized readily. After all, Emerick always told him that when arguing with your lover, you should apologize first and not try to reason with them—everyone understands that.

Soon, a steaming plate of pasta appeared in the bedroom. Dumbledore, too lazy to argue with Gellert, picked up the plate and headed towards Barty's room. There was no point in arguing with Gellert now, given his slippery, uncooperative state; he might as well save his energy.

"Eat quickly. The trial will resume next week, and then your innocence will be cleared."

"Thank you for doing all this for me. My father doesn't believe me at all." Little Barty lowered his eyes, his words filled with desolation.

"Good boy, there's a long road ahead." Dumbledore didn't know how to comfort him, so he could only urge him to look to the future.