The Sunshine of Hogwarts, Snape

As Kingsley had said, the Ministry of Magic couldn't hide what had happened from the public.

This wasn't just a simple Dark Mark appearing… it involved the mistake of a high-ranking official, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, the most powerful position among all department heads.

Along with this, a vicious Death Eater like Barty Crouch Jr. had escaped from Azkaban and had already gathered a group of followers.

They weren't just making empty claims, as the werewolves' actions proved they were already at work.

This outcome was what truly sent chills down everyone's spines.

The entire Ministry believed that the Dark Lord was truly dead, that he would never return, because the vast majority of the wizarding public believed the same.

But even if they believed it wholeheartedly, the resurgence of a group of Death Eaters during this time was something no one wanted to see.

The past should stay in the past, and those who shouldn't return should never reappear.

Fortunately, the werewolf child abduction case had been resolved perfectly, which allowed the Ministry of Magic to find a direction to guide public opinion and divert the attention of the wizarding public.

July 23, 1989.

That day's edition of The Daily Prophet was delivered to wizarding households across Britain first thing in the morning.

And every witch or wizard who subscribed to this newspaper would later claim it was one of the most worthwhile purchases they'd ever made… even comparable to that one issue of The Quibbler that came with the free magazine!

Because the sheer amount of information it contained was staggering.

A standard issue of The Daily Prophet had four main sections, with the most important headline usually dominating the front page, while other news stories were distributed across the remaining sections.

But today's Daily Prophet devoted the entire paper to a single event!

Its front-page headline was eye-catching: [The First Escapee in Azkaban's History!]

The second section's headline was no less shocking: [Handing Down the Sentence, Then Breaking Him Out-The Merits and Crimes of Barty Crouch Sr.!]

As for the other sections, they were densely packed with reports related to the Crouch Family… detailing the allies Barty Crouch Jr. had gathered, his recruitment of the werewolf, Fenrir Greyback and a pack of werewolves, and, most crucially, the events that had unfolded the previous night at the Crouch Family's residence!

If it had just been this one issue, it might not have been such a big deal.

But along with the paper, subscribers also received an extra edition… a special publication released between regular issues when the news couldn't wait for the next scheduled release.

And the headlines there were even more explosive!

The front page of the extra edition boldly proclaimed: [One Day After Apologizing in Court, He Saved Seven Families!]

Other sections of the extra edition carried equally attention-grabbing titles:

[Werewolves and Wolves—Humanity Hidden Among Beasts]

[A Muggle's Journey to Save His Daughter in the Wizarding World]

News of all kinds spread through the wizarding community like wildfire.

First and foremost was the revelation about the Crouch Family.

No one could have imagined that Barty Crouch Sr., the man who had personally presided over the Wizengamot trial that sentenced his own son to life in Azkaban, an act that had briefly salvaged his crumbling political credibility, would, six years later, be exposed for having secretly broken his son out of prison five years prior by swapping him with his dying wife.

The once-respected Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, already a man with no political future, had now completely destroyed his legacy, bringing an end to his career in disgrace.

And in three days, the Wizengamot would hold a trial to judge his crimes… the same institution where he had once sat in judgment over others.

The news left many witches and wizards who had once believed Barty Sr. would make an excellent Minister for Magic feeling deeply disillusioned.

But the escaped prisoner, Barty Crouch Jr., drew even more attention.

Thanks to the infamous trial where a father had condemned his own son, the name 'Barty Crouch Jr.' was already well-known to the wizarding public!

After that trial six years ago, nearly everyone had learned exactly what this young Death Eater had done! (A/N: Barty Crouch Jr. was born in 1962, sentenced to life in Azkaban in late 1981 at age 19, now 27)

Less than a year after graduating from Hogwarts, he had worked alongside the notorious Lestranges to torture Aurors Frank and Alice Longbottom with the Cruciatus Curse, driving them to insanity in an attempt to uncover the missing Dark Lord's whereabouts.

After Barty Sr. sentenced them to life in Azkaban, the Wizengamot had unanimously approved the verdict!

And now it was revealed that, five years ago, the father who had imprisoned him had switched him out, making him the first successful escapee in Azkaban's history.

Worse still, after escaping, he showed no remorse. Barty Sr. had been forced to keep him under the Imperius Curse to control him.

But when the Imperius Curse's hold weakened, Barty Jr. seized the opportunity to contact werewolves and other Death Eaters, even using the Imperius Curse to control several Aurors within the Ministry, orchestrating the werewolf abductions.

Not only that, he had then plotted revenge against his own father, torturing him with the Cruciatus Curse before attempting to kill him with the Killing Curse!

This utterly immoral, inhuman behavior ignited fury across the British Wizarding World.

And this was all tied to the case of Fenrir Greyback abducting children.

According to The Daily Prophet, the Ministry had previously withheld news of the werewolf abductions to avoid interfering with the Aurors' investigation and to prevent the werewolves from becoming desperate and harming the children.

It was only now, with all the children safely rescued and the long-wanted Fenrir Greyback finally captured, that the full details were revealed.

As for the details of the werewolf case, one had to turn to the extra edition.

A Hogwarts' professor who, just two days prior, had publicly declared his repentance and desire to change during a trial.

A Muggle dentist whose daughter had been accidentally abducted.

A werewolf father who was once a Ministry employee and a well-known expert on non-human spectral phenomena in earlier years.

These three had been involved in tracking and investigating the werewolves from start to finish. And it was that very Hogwarts' professor who had uncovered the crucial lead, leading a team to the Crouch Family's residence just in time to save Barty Crouch Sr.'s life… nearly capturing Barty Jr. and his entire gang in the process.

The wizarding public read through the extra edition's reports as if they were devouring a legendary tale.

If, after the trial, many had still harbored deep skepticism and distrust toward Severus Snape's public declaration of change-

Then just two days later, that skepticism had turned to shock.

Severus Snape was dead serious!

And among those shocked individuals was none other than Snape's former Slytherin senior, his once-close Death Eater ally, the elegant and aristocratic pure-blood wizard… Lucius Malfoy.

The moment Lucius finished reading The Daily Prophet, his first thought was:

'Severus is playing this big?'

But after quickly rereading the paper, he dismissed the idea.

Lucius might have his preconceptions about Severus, but that didn't mean he was a fool.

'If Severus had gone this far, it couldn't possibly be an act. If his goal had merely been to escape accountability, there'd have been no need to antagonize Barty Jr..'

As a former high-ranking Death Eater, Lucius knew that despite Barty Jr.'s youth, his standing within their ranks hadn't been insignificant.

The young man had possessed a fanatical, almost pathological loyalty to the Dark Lord, coupled with considerable talent… traits that had earned him Voldemort's trust.

Now that he'd escaped Azkaban, he'd undoubtedly be seeking out the Dark Lord.

As for whether the Dark Lord was alive or dead, Lucius privately leaned toward the latter, otherwise, he wouldn't have so casually handed off the diary Voldemort had given him to Ginny later on.

But even if their master was truly gone, hardliners like Barty Jr., who fervently believed he was merely missing, still remained.

'By acting as he had, Severus was effectively declaring war on these individuals. If this were all just an act, there'd have been no need for him to go this far!'

At this realization, Lucius grew uneasy.

He frowned and put down the newspaper in his hand, pondering how these events might impact someone like him.

Just as he sank into thought, the Malfoy Family's house-elf, Dobby, suddenly appeared beside him.

"M-Master, th-there's a guest at the door! He says he's a f-friend of yours!"

At Dobby's words, Lucius' expression darkened instantly.

"Did he give a name?"

"D-Dobby asked, b-but he wouldn't tell Dobby." Dobby stammered, shrinking back.

"What does he look like? How old?"

"H-He's covered head to toe, D-Dobby can't see what he looks like-"

Lucius's expression grew worse and worse, and he spoke in a hurried tone.

"Go back and tell him I'm in the middle of a highly complex and dangerous spell experiment… I have no time for visitors today!"

"Perhaps I could be of assistance?"

An unfamiliar voice cut in abruptly. Both Lucius and Dobby whipped their heads toward the drawing room's entrance, where a hooded figure in gray robes now stood.

Slowly, the man lowered his hood, revealing himself with a faint smile.

"It's been so long since we last met, and you're still as devoted to spellcraft as ever, Senior Malfoy."

There was no change in Lucius's expression. He just spoke coldly to Dobby beside him.

"Return to your filthy hovel and punish yourself… Until you pass out!"

Weeping, Dobby kowtowed several times before vanishing with a pop.

Then, as if flipping a switch, Lucius's expression transformed into one of genial warmth.

"Indeed, it has been far too long… Junior Crouch!"