Chapter 16: Barty Crouch Junior
So, who do you think is screaming?" Draco asked.
"Ten galleons it's Susan." Harry smirked. "Girl's got lungs."
"I'd take you up on that bet." Astoria smirked.
The young girl was not going to the ball, mostly because she preferred to read and eat ice cream. Astoria sparkled, just sparkled through life. She gave no damn about her actions, as long as she was happy. She was a Slytherin, but could have been a Gryffindor.
Finally the boys went up and got ready for the Yule Ball. Harry donned black robes with emerald green trimming that matched his eyes, and allowed Draco to attempt something on his hair. The blonde boy quit after five minutes, deciding that Harry's hair was impossible.
"Ready?" Blaise asked, in midnight blue robes.
"One minute!" Draco called, still brushing his locks.
"Merlin mate, you take forever." Dean groaned, already holding Seamus' hand.
"I do not!" Draco shouted indignantly, abandoning the comb and walking down the stairs behind Fred.
Fred, George, Lee, Harry, Draco, Blaise, Dean, and Seamus all descended the stairs before waiting for Susan, Hannah, Luna, Lyra, Ginny, and Daphne. Astoria, Colin, and Dennis were not attending.
The girl's descended the stairs, and Harry's breath caught in his throat as he stared at Lyra. She was a ghost. A floating wisp of shadow in a flowing layered dress of black and white. Her hair had grown to its original length thanks to a potion or charm or something, and was in a long fancy braid over her shoulder that was braided with flowers. Her eyelids shimmered silver like her eyes, and her lips were a darker red than Harry had ever seen them.
"Are you going to say anything?" she asked him.
"Words can't express your beauty." he said finally.
She blushed lightly, before laughing. "Charmer. Come on, the others are coming."
Susan was fire. She was bright and flaming, a badger in lion's clothing. She was in in a red piece with a poofy skirt that left her shoulders bare, and highlighted the redness of her own red hair, which was in a fancy bun. Her lips were red like fire, and her lids golden like a Gryffindor.
Daphne was darkness and mystery, someone with secrets. Daphne had on a black dress that faded to blue with one diamond encrusted shoulder strap, leaving the other bare. Except for a braid across her head, her blonde hair had been curled and left loose. Her makeup was dramatic and bold.
Ginny was a princess. The usual tomboy looked like a queen, where the high necked torso of her dress was covered in an intricate pattern of gems, leaving a peach colored silk skirt plain. Her red hair was loose, with nothing in it. She wore no makeup except for something on her lips.
Hannah, Hannah was a Hufflepuff. She looked radiant and fair in a light pink dress that poofed at the skirt, and the top had a silver and black gem pattern. Her hair was in a braid where every strand was bigger than usual, but Harry wasn't sure what it was called. She had pink shimmer on her eyelids and some shiny item on her lips.
Luna, well, Luna was an ice queen. Harry wasn't sure what they had done to her, but her dress was pale blue with a sheer outer shell that flowed behind her like she was Elsa from Frozen, with bare shoulders. Her hair was in an Elsa style braid too, and her lids purple, lips pink.
He sighed. "Whose idea was it to make Luna look like Elsa?" he asked.
"Mine." Colin smirked. "I had to. The dress was perfect."
"So you dressed her up as a Disney Princess." Harry scoffed, though a smile was twitching at his lips.
"She looks really pretty." Draco shrugged.
Harry grinned at Draco, remembering the big brother talk he had given the blonde. It had involved some very painful groin related curses he had researched, and leaving him in the Forbidden Forest.
"Ready to go?" Fred asked, taking Susan's hand.
"Let's show them." Hannah laughed, and they all exited to the dance.
Harry wished to preserve the schools' shocked faces when they entered the dance. He could already see Weasley muttering mutinously about the fact that he was with a Slytherin. Cedric was with a Ravenclaw named Cho Chang. According to Luna Cho had never really intereacted with her. Viktor was, to his utmost surprise, with Granger, who had cleaned up nicely and wore a periwinkle dress.
Fleur was with a Ravenclaw named Roger Davies, who was staring infatuatedly at her. She had on a silver dress. He sat at the head table with Cedric and Cho at a table meant for four.
How were they supposed to order food though?
He looked and saw Dumbledore look at the menu and say "Pork Chops" clearly, and pork chops appeared on his plate.
He shrugged and turned to his own plate, thinking before stating, "Tomato Soup and ham."
Lyra was eating Tuna with potatoes.
"So, How is Ravenclaw?" Harry asked Cho, grinning at Lyra while she talked with Cedric about the semantics of the stunning spell.
"Nice." the Asian fifth year told him. "A lot of the kids still hate you, but after the Chamber incident I thought it was stupid."
The conversation continued, turning to spells to dragon training. Zarco had grown bigger, and was now unable to fit in Hogwarts. He stayed in the Chamber, and the House Elves were carving a tunnel to the Forbidden Forest for him. Soon dinner was over and they were getting ready to dance.
"My lady." Harry bowed, holding his hand out to Lyra.
She took it and they went to the dance floor. A waltzing tune started up, and they swept across the dance floor, in sync thanks to Susan's dance lessons. Lyra, with her wide dress, looked for the world like an ancient princess of shadows.
"This is nice." Lyra smiled as he twirled her.
"Yeah." he replied, grinning.
The song ended and the Weird Sisters, the band, struck up a more lively tune. Harry laughed as he and Lyra pulled themselves along the dance floor, twirling around. Lyra's dress, when she twirled, made a huge radius around her.
After a third song they stopped for a drink.
"I'm gonna go dance with the others. After all, we all agreed that everyone would dance together."
Harry danced with all the other girls while Lyra danced with the other guys as friends. The Hall was beautiful, with icy decorations, fairy lights, and evergreen everywhere. He had been unable to withhold his snicker when Luna had gotten too into character for Elsa and frozen Weasley's eyebrows for insulting her.
Soon people began trickling out of the dance, and Harry and Lyra were left dancing to a slow tune.
"This is nice." she breathed in his ear.
"Yeah." Harry whispered. "Wanna go outside?"
The two of them walked outside, stopping in a patch of flowery trees.
"My lady." Harry bowed, holding out his hand and smirking slightly when Lyra took it.
There was no music, but it was nice. Harry looked down and thought about what it would feel like to kiss her. He gulped slightly. He could see many ways for that to go wrong.
"Harry?" Lyra murmured, looking up slightly.
"Yeah?" he whispered, acutely aware of the fact that she was getting closer and closer and
They were kissing now, lightly. It was nothing more than a sprinkle of stardust, skin, and flowers under the moon, but it was so much.
They pulled apart and Harry's lips curled up in a smile. Lyra smiled back at him.
There was nothing to be said
"So, I've been scoping the Forbidden Forest when taking Zarco for practice rides." Harry said, leaning against the tree. "The way I see it, the biggest threats are the centaurs and acromantulas. I've also been doing research, and the centaurs would never cooperate with humans. They look down on us."
"Centaurs are pretty against human interaction." Draco nodded. "They sometimes interact with animagi that gain their trust, but other than that they seclude themselves."
"Did you ever figure out your animagus?" Lyra asked.
Harry grinned. "I've been meditating, and I finally found it. I'm a thunder wolf."
"Nice." Draco grinned.
"I've done research, and magical animagi are really common, since we are magical people. It's more uncommon for people to turn into something without magic." Lyra said.
"Really?" Harry asked. "What's McGonagall then?"
"She's a Kneazle. Sirius Black was a Grim, and your father was a stag that followed Cernunnos, a celtic god with antlers. Pettigrew was a magically bred rat, which meant he had tracking skills."
"Do you know any non-magical animagi?" Harry asked.
"There are very few, but I believe Arcturus Black was an eagle, and Dorea Potter was a lion."
"No, she was a nemean lion." Draco corrected, "but her great aunt Cedrella Black was a tigress."
"There was a Japanese Wizard a while back who was a house cat, and another Indian witch who was a cobra." Lyra said.
"Do you know yours?" Harry asked.
"I'm a runespoor." Lyra shrugged.
"I'm an albino peacock." Draco replied, scowling slightly at Harry's laughter. "They're magical creatures, since they don't appear in the muggle world."
"A Cheshire Cat." Luna said. "And before you bring up that stupid muggle cartoon, they based it on us. A Cheshire Cat is actually a multicolored cat with the ability to apparate even in animal form, though it takes more time and ends in the smile disappearing. They are generally used as spies."
"Only you Luna." Harry laughed.
"The next step is to work on the actual transformation." Lyra said.
"Then let's do it!" Harry cheered.
"Bring me some chocolate frogs." Astoria told them before they went out the Hogsmeade.
Daphne laughed at her little sister before waving goodbye and going off. Ginny was staying for a game of quidditch with Harry, Fred, George, Lee, Susan, Lyra, and Draco. If they could, they would make their own quidditch team next year. Draco, Ginny, and Lyra were amazing chasers. Susan was a keeper, Fred and George were beaters, and Harry was a seeker.
He flipped around and ducked under a bludger, thinking about the race. He had been flying Zarco every available day, training to be faster. Zarco refused a saddle, so Harry had learned to hold on with his hands and arms. When he wanted to go somewhere, he tilted that way and yelled the direction in Zarco's ear.
The day of the task was coming up, and Harry was working on acromantula repellants like crazy. He had already gotten a bezoar from Snape, in case he was poisoned, and had finally perfected the fiendfyre spell, and its countercurse. As acromantulas could best be repelled by fire, he had also worked on smaller fire spells, and fireballs.
"Ready?" Lyra asked, conjuring a swarm of spiders.
Harry grinned, and she enlarged them. He immediately shot out with the fiendfyre curse, thankful for the protections on the Chamber Walls. "Maledictus ignis!" he shouted, watching as the flames spewed from his wand.
"Finis Enim." he said again, watching as the flames stopped and the ashes of the charred spiders floated to the ground.
"Beautiful, really." Lyra whispered, taking his hand from next to him.
Harry smiled softly and turned around to kiss her.
"So, what are we?" Lyra asked.
"Happy."
"That's so cheesy!" Draco groaned from the side.
"Ready?" Blaise asked him grimly. Harry was in front of the Forbidden Forest with Zarco, who was chowing down on some pork.
Stands had been levitated into the air and shielded from any damage. Students were flying up on carriages and taking their seats. He looked around, fidgeting slightly in his black and purple robes, the colors of House Hedwig. Fleur Delacour was in blue, and Krum in red. Both were talking to friends.
"Where's Lyra?" Harry asked Draco.
"I dunno. She was called up to the office last night and I never saw her return."
"They said that they've taken what I'll sorely miss." Harry mused.
"You don't think…" Draco paled.
Luna walked up and looked at Harry, her gaze blank. "Beware betrayal of the black and red!" She told him, her eyes unfocused. "Help can be found with the halves."
She walked off, still slightly out of it.
"They took Lyra, didn't they." Harry whispered to Draco.
"If they did this will be harder. She would never be tied up in an Acromantula Nest willingly, so they have to have her restrained somehow, or under a magical coma."
Harry ground his teeth, hating the idea of Lyra at the mercy of acromantulas.
"IS EVERYONE READY?" Ludo Bagman shouted, on a hovering platform with Dumbledore, Maxine, Karkaroff, and Crouch.
Harry took a deep breath and mounted Zarco, noticing the other Champions do the same. Krum's Horntail was the biggest by far, and Fleur's Hebridean Black the smallest, however, Ridgebacks were some of the fastest dragons alive.
"THREE, TWO, ONE, GOO!" Bagman bellowed, and Zarco was off like a shot.
They raced into the forest, staying high above the trees as the trees were obstacles. From his escapades into the forest he already knew where the nest was, and he went straight in that direction. Looking around, he saw Fleur and Krum following him, and he cursed.
Of course they would, he was a Hogwarts student and knew the layout. Then again, the message said they had to work together…
He sighed and continued, glad that Zarco's training meant the Norwegian Ridgeback already knew the path to the lair. Soon they reached it, and Harry was glad to know he still had 45 minutes to retrieve Lyra. He hopped of Zarco and lit the end of his wand, looking around for the champions.
Finally, he found the hostages, all in a spider web. Surprisingly, they were all wrapped from head to toe, just like in the muggle trilogy Lord of the Rings.
"Damn." he cursed under breath, rushing forward. As he couldn't tell whose hostage was whose, he cut all three of them loose and yanked the spider webs off of their faces.
Granger, a small blonde girl, and Lyra were there. He picked Lyra up and put her on Zarco's back, but before he could continue an acromantula dropped from the tree. He couldn't tell what it was trying to say, but the menacing way it was advancing on him made its intent clear.
"Incendio!" he bellowed, catching the spider off guards and burning it up.
More spiders dropped from the trees and Harry's heart dropped,
Betrayal. This was what Luna had meant.
Viktor and Fleur came next to him, the three dragons surrounding them. All the hostages were draped on the dragons, but the spells the judges had put on them were strong.
"Fire." was the only thing Harry said, before he struck out with fiendfyre.
It took all of Harry's strength to control the cursed fire, and he kept it in a protective circle around the three, while Fleur and Viktor slowly took down the spiders. Any spider that was foolish enough to come near the fiendfyre would be consumed, and even the dragons were helping with fire from above.
"The trees!" Fleur screamed, and Harry whipped around to see a tree falling, its branches all burning.
In his distraction a spider had pounced on him, and Harry yelled in pain as it bit into his arm. He pulled out the bezoar and downed it, letting off fire spells rapidly.
"Dragons!" Viktor bellowed, and they all ran to their dragons as quick as they could.
Zarco shielded Harry with fire as he climbed onto the dragon, and holding Lyra tight he shot off, leaving the burning forest behind him. They all reached the edge of the castle quickly and dismounted.
"AND A THREE WAY TIE BETWEEN POTTER, DELACOUR, AND KRUM!" Bagman bellowed.
"HOLD IT!" Harry bellowed, jumping of Zarco and walking forward. Draco and the others were helping Lyra out, but Harry had one goal.
"What the hell was that?" he demanded. "The acromantulas tried to kill us all, including the hostages. Now half the forest is burning down."
"My boy, we were sure no harm would come to any of you."
"I highly doubt that Dumbledore." Lucius Malfoy sneered, walking up. "Why was I not informed that my daughter was to be used as a hostage in the tournament?"
The crowd quieted.
"Dumblydore?" Maxine asked. "I informed Mrs. Delacour."
"And I to Miss Granger." Karkaroff growled.
"I was unaware we were supposed to, we never discussed it." Dumbledore defended himself.
"It's common sense!" Narcissa scoffed. "You kidnapped my daughter and put her at risk!"
"I assure you, I had no idea it would be taken this way." Dumbledore attempted to reassure them.
"This isn't over." Lucius sneered.
It was clear a few days later what Lucius had meant. Thanks to the kidnapping, the Malfoys were filing a lawsuit against Dumbledore for harassment and kidnapping. Lyra had been called up to talk the Dumbledore, but she refused to budge on the matter.
Harry's duelling lessons had escalated, and he was now practicing duelling Flitwick and Snape together, since Snape was helping out. He hoped to add Tonks to the mix, since she was guarding Hogwarts during the tournament. He had also started a more consistent dialogue with Sirius.
Dear Sirius,
The tournament has gone well. I'm dating Lyra now, just so you know. How are you? Please stay safe, and do your best to stay fed. If you aren't, I can have Dobby bring food over to your location. I'll just need a vial of blood so Dobby can link to your location.
Love,
Harry
()()()
Dear Harry,
Life is good. I am on a tropical island, and it's warm, but the food is scarce. Your offer sounds great. How is the rest of Hogwarts? Stay safe pup, and hopefully I'll be free soon.
Love,
Padfoot
Harry wandered around, before deciding to go to the kitchen.
"Hey guys!" He said brightly, grinning at the elves. He made his usual rounds and picked up a cookie before noticing an elf in the corner, crying and clutching a bottle of butterbeer. "Who's that?"
"That is Winky Master Harry sir." Dobby replied. "She was fired by her master so she is pining."
Harry felt horrible for the small elf, who was clearly in bad condition based on her bloodshot eyes and stained clothes. He walked forward, crouching slightly to be at her level.
"Hey Winky." he said gently. "I'm Harry."
"Hello Mr. Harry." Winky said quietly, hiccupping.
"Why are you so sad? Your master abandoned you, shouldn't you try to help Hogwarts?"
"Mr. Crouch is a good master!" she shrilled.
Harry sighed and walked away.
"She is dying Master Harry." Dobby whispered. "She is needing a master."
"Would I be able to do it?" Harry asked.
"She is not in her right mind, she is still clinging to her master." Dobby said.
"But then wouldn't that be without consent?" Harry asked.
"No!" Dobby replied, shaking his head so vigorously his large ears flapped. "Winky is needing it."
Half an hour later Harry was the owner of the now sane Winky the House Elf, and she was working with Dobby on improving the Chamber even more. They had found another room emerging from the columns that led to the main chamber, and they were thinking of turning it into a duelling chamber and making the common room in the Chamber.
The girls wanted to add better showers, because currently they were small and old fashioned, though the elves were trying to improve it.
Harry had also given Winky the duty of bringing food to Sirius every day and every meal, and he was improving a lot, according to his letters. Sirius was now coming closer to Hogwarts, and using his animagus form to stay hidden.
The workload was mounting higher as the Easter Holidays came up, and Harry was eager to visit the Burrow again, though not as Ron's friend, but with Fred, George, and Ginny. Lee was also staying at the Burrow that break.
Break finally came and Harry boarded the train with his friends, passing time by engaging in a riveting round of exploding snap and wizarding poker. It was just like muggle poker, except the chips were enchanted and had galleon, sickle, and knut values. The cards were also different, with Merlin, Morgana, Arthur, and Mordred instead of King, Queen, Jack, and Ace.
They reached the stop and Mrs. Weasley came to pick them up, smiling at them all affectionately and taking them to the Burrow, though Ron glared at him the entire time.
"Food's amazing like always Mrs. Weasley." Harry grinned at dinnertime.
She smiled. "And how have you been Harry dear? I know you spent the summer with Malfoys," at this her nose wrinkled, "but you are always welcome here."
"I know." Harry nodded, "It's like my house, but Draco and Lyra are my friends."
"Just be happy Harry." Mrs. Weasley smiled affectionately.
"You're alright with this?" Ron scoffed. "The Malfoys are horrible!"
"They're good people if you got to know them." Harry replied.
"Yeah." Fred grinned.
"Lyra's the only person who dodges our pranks most of the time." George finished.
Mrs. Weasley sighed, before looking at all of them. "Harry, I'm not going to pretend and say that I enjoy your interactions with the Malfoys - The Malfoy and Weasley feud has been racing for generations; however, if you enjoy your time with them, and you are happy, I will not object. You are practically my son."
Harry got rather misty eyed and hugged her.
Ron glared. "He doesn't even approve of Dumbledore!"
The Weasley matriarch sighed again. "I will not say that I approve of Dumbledore or Harry's actions, but I will not get in the middle. I am there for you Harry, but I will not abandon Dumbledore."
"Like always Mrs. W." Lee laughed, shaking his dark dreadlocks.
Harry just grinned. He had been scared she would hate him, but she didn't. She just didn't want to pick a side- she was there for everyone.
Easter went by quickly, in a blur of quidditch games, exploding snap, pranks, gobstones, chess, poker, and food. Harry walked away from the entire debacle with ten galleons, courtesy of Fred and George, who he beat at Poker.
Finally they came back to Hogwarts, and Harry was immersed in classes, duelling with Flitwick, Snape, and Tonks, and practice for the tournament. Harry had long ago gone beyond NEWT level duelling with charms and spells, though his Transfiguration work could still be worked on. He was getting better though.
One evening he was called to the Quidditch Pitch, and he walked down, saying bye to the rest of his friends.
"What have they done?" he asked himself in horror, staring at the pitch.
The Quidditch field was no longer smooth and flat. It looked as though somebody had been building long, low walls all over it that twisted and crisscrossed in every direction.
"They're hedges!" said Harry, bending to examine the nearest one.
"Hello there!" called a cheery voice. Ludo Bagman walked onto the pitch with Fleur and Viktor, the latter looking just as horrified at the desecration of the quidditch pitch.
"You have desecrated the pitch." Viktor said, his voice deep.
"Well, what d'you think?" said Bagman happily as Harry climbed over the last hedge he had explored. "Growing nicely, aren't they? Give them a month and Hagrid'll have them twenty feet high. Don't worry," he added, grinning, spotting the less-than-happy expressions on Harry's face, "you'll have your Quidditch field back to normal once the task is over! Now, I imagine you can guess what we're making here?"
No one spoke for a moment. Then -
"Maze," grunted Krum.
"That's right!" said Bagman. "A maze. The third task's really very straightforward. The Triwizard Cup will be placed in the center of the maze. The first champion to touch it will receive full marks. "
"We seemply 'ave to get through the maze?" said Fleur.
"There will be obstacles," said Bagman happily, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Hagrid is providing a number of creatures. . . then there will be spells that must be broken. . . all that sort of thing, you know. Now, the champion who is leading on points will get a head start into the maze. " Bagman grinned at Harry. "Then Mr. Krum will enter. . . then Miss Delacour. But you'll all be in with a fighting chance, depending how well you get past the obstacles. Should be fun, eh?"
Harry, who knew only too well the kind of creatures that Hagrid was likely to provide for an event like this, thought it was unlikely to be any fun at all. However, he nodded politely like the other champions.
"Very well. . . if you haven't got any questions, we'll go back up to the castle, shall we, it's a bit chilly. . . "
Harry nodded and started ambling back to the castle, only to be interrupted by Barty Crouch. He looked as though he had been traveling for days. The knees of his robes were ripped and bloody, his face scratched; he was unshaven and gray with exhaustion. His neat hair and mustache were both in need of a wash and a trim. His strange appearance, however, was nothing to the way he was behaving. Muttering and gesticulating, Mr. Crouch appeared to be talking to someone that he alone could see. He reminded Harry vividly of an old tramp he had seen once when out shopping with the Dursleys. That man too had been conversing wildly with thin air; Aunt Petunia had seized Dudley's hand and pulled him across the road to avoid him; Uncle Vernon had then treated the family to a long rant about what he would like to do with beggars and vagrants.
"Mr. Crouch?" Harry asked, inching forward.
"I've done. . . stupid. . . thing. . . " Mr. Crouch breathed. He looked utterly mad. His eyes were rolling and bulging, and a trickle of spittle was sliding down his chin. Every word he spoke seemed to cost him a terrible effort. "Must. . . tell. . . Dumbledore. . . "
"Get up, Mr. Crouch," said Harry loudly and clearly. "Get up, I'll take you to Dumbledore!"
Mr. , Crouch's eyes rolled forward onto Harry.
"Who. . . you?" he whispered.
"I'm a student at the school," said Harry. "You want to tell me what happened?"
Crouch was pulling him closer; Harry tried to loosen Crouch's grip on his robes, but it was too powerful.
"Warn. . . Dumbledore. . . "
"I'll get Dumbledore if you let go of me," said Harry. "Just let go, Mr. Crouch, and I'll get him. . . . "
Harry sighed slightly and conjured his wolf patronus, sending the message to Dumbledore saying "I have Crouch, he looks mad, you are needed."
Harry stayed by the old man, tuning out his nonsensical babbling and keeping a lookout. He heard a twig crack behind him and he spun around, only to see no one there.
His eyes narrowed, and he waved his wand in a wide arc, letting out a stream of paint. He snarled when he saw a person outlined by the colorful purple paint and he let off a barrage of spells that caught the intruder off guard, because he had paint in his eyes. The intruder let loose some spells, but Harry dodged them.
Immediately he stunned and bound the intruder, wiping paint and the disillusionment charm off. He realized that it was silent, and he turned around to see Crouch lying on the ground, a bloody gash in his stomach.
"Shit." Harry gasped, skidding down and attempting some crude healing charms.
It was too late.
Crouch let out a last bloody gurgle and whispered in a hoarse voice, "The Dark Lord. My son. I made a mistake."
Harry hissed in sadness as Crouch died. He barely heard Dumbledore and Snape walked up, only to find Harry with a bound intruder and a dead Bartemius Crouch.
"I was too late." Harry stated, his voice dead. "I stopped the intruder, but one of the spells that I dodged caught him, and I wasn't able to save him."
"Let us see who the intruder is." Dumbledore said, casting a number of revealing charms. "It's Moody!"
"Polyjuice." Snape stated, sniffing the flask at his waist. "We will have to wait for him to transform."
Right as if on cue, the intruder started shuddering, his body changing. The fake eye popped out, his wrinkles receded, a real leg replaced the fake, and he became taller. Snape hissed when he saw the person.
"Barty Crouch Junior." Dumbledore announced gravely. "Shall we take this to my office?"
They hiked up in silence, Crouch suspended behind them like a grotesque marionette. His straw blonde hair was floppy, and his eyes a murky entered the office and fed Crouch Veritaserum.
"What is your name?" Dumbledore asked.
"Bartemius Crouch Junior."
"Parents?" he asked again.
"Bartemius Horace Crouch and Melania Dahlia Crouch nee Stretton."
"How did you escape from Azkaban?"
"My mother was dying, and my father would do anything to help her. They used Polyjuice on her, making her look like me, and I got out. My father put me under the Imperius curse to keep me under control, but Winky was kind, and let me out sometimes. My mother died after a while."
"What other actions have you taken for the Dark Lord?"
"Winky had taken me to the Quidditch World Cup, and I found a wand lying around in the chaos. I picked it up and cast the Dark Mark. I also put Harry Potter's name in the Goblet of Fire, so that the Dark Lord could use his blood to resurrect himself." the man gave a maniacal grin. "The Dark Lord will rise again."
Harry growled and stunned the man silently, basking in the silence that had overtaken the room.
"We need to take him to the Ministry." he stated calmly after a while. "I can take him."
"Harry I don't think you should be leaving the school." Dumbledore reprimanded him.
"I have better relations with the Minister than you." Harry replied, knowing that the Minister thought Dumbledore interfered too much.
Dumbledore sighed, knowing what Harry said was true, and gave a nod. Harry grinned and dived into the floo, yelling, "Ministry of Magic!"
He spun through the floo and landed in the atrium. Pausing to admire the huge statue in the middle, one with wizards, goblins, elves, and centaurs all equal, he walked to the Minister's office. Not paying attention, he bumped into a person and groaned as she fell to the floor.
"Are you alright? He asked.
"Wotcher Harry!" she greeted cheerfully, her bubblegum pink hair turning the same shade of green as his eyes.
Harry laughed. "Hey Tonks." he greeted. "I'm up to the Minister's office. Wanna come with?"
"Why?" she asked as they walked to his office.
"We found Barty Crouch Junior alive." Harry shrugged.
Tonks choked on air and stumbled over her own feet, catapulting in front before righting herself. "Seriously?" she turned her head to look at him.
"Yeah." he nodded as they reached the office. He turned open the knob after knocking and entered, smiling softly at the Minister.
"Harry!" Cornelius Fudge boomed, adjusting his green bowler hat. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Minister." Harry said evenly, taking a seat next to Tonks on a cushy seat. "If you are the understand the gravity of the situation I am about the describe, you must keep an open mind. Can you do that?"
Fudge's smile faded, but he sat down and sighed. "Tell me."
And so Harry did. He related everything, from his encounter with Voldemort in his first year, to his murder of the basilisk and second encounter with Tom Riddle, or Voldemort. He talked about how Barty Crouch Junior had showed up, and everything he has said.
At the end of it all, Fudge gave a tremulous laugh, wiping his brow with an embroidered handkerchief. "You are joking Harry, please?"
Harry shook his head grimly. "Minister, I beg you to take action. Voldemort will rise, and when he does we will need to be prepared. Minister, if we unite we can fight him. You can be the brave Minister who fought during the second war, and helped us to victory."
Fudge looked at him, before nodding assent. "You-Know-Who will return, but I cannot announce it without proof."
"Bolster the auror forces." Tonks piped up. "We barely get any funds, with with some money we could afford better gear and more training equipment."
"I'd been willing to donate." Harry offered.
"Tell Amelia." Tonks said again.
"Lucius Malfoy, Amelia Bones, and Rufus Scrimgeour." Harry said.
"Very well Harry." Fudge said. "I hope that this risk will reap rewards. Now you said that Barty Crouch Junior was in Dumbledore's office?"
"Yeah." he replied. "He's subdued, but we need to find the real Moody. Snape and Dumbledore said they'd do that while I told you about the situation."
They walked to the DMLE and got Amelia Bones, then flooed to the Headmaster's office. Dumbledore and Snape were still there, only Madame Pomfrey was also present.
"Good." she huffed once they were all in. Fudge opened his mouth and she glared at him until he shut it with an audible click. "Mad Eye Moody was found in a chest in his quarters, under the Imperius Curse and with his hair missing. He will be good to teach again by next year, but he will be in recovery for several months."
"This is disturbing." Bones said, eyeing Crouch Junior. "I will take him to the DMLE holding cells."
After that the entire incident was wrapped up, and it was told that Tonks would be taking over the DADA class since she was already positioned at Hogwarts half the time as a guard.
"Well that's over." Tonks grinned, ambling with him to the duelling chamber.
He had given the password to her, Flitwick, and Snape so they could properly duel in the Chamber.
"Ready?" he asked, facing all three of them, his wand out and ready.
Without warning Snape let off an array of spells and Harry shielded them all, unleashing a fog smokescreen and disillusioning himself. They wiped the fog away but Harry was already behind them, and took Flitwick out before he could notice.
Flipping around he dodged a blood-boiler from Snape and a heart-attack from Tonks, sending them both a knife shower that they dodged. He flipped and screamed, "Serpensortia!", before watching about a dozen snakes appear.
Incapacitate. He hissed, and the snakes went for the other two.
They took Tonks down, but Snape burnt all of the snakes going for him, and Harry was left with one opponent. This was easier for Harry, and he let off a wave of spells that were all harmless before unleashing the Demon's Fist from above on Snape, knocking him sideways.
Harry stood, panting, before letting out a grin of elation and a whoop. This was the first time he had beaten all three of them! He quickly revived and untied them.
"Good job Harry." Professor Flitwick grinned. "If you can repeat this we can start on more opponents."
"Acceptable." Snape stated, emotionless as always.
"Awesome Harry!" Tonks cheered, her hair bright pink again. "Good use of snakes!"
Harry pet Zarco idly, wondering what would happen during the third task. The maze was there, yes, and growing, but when Harry had tried to fly over it and get a layout he realized that the maze changed shape every day, making it impossible for him to memorize it.
He instead concentrated on studying the weaknesses of magical animals, since Dean had told him that Hagrid was in charge of lots of different creatures for the task.
Harry,
Are you safe? I was so worried when I heard you confronted Barty Crouch Junior. He was an new death eater back in the day, but with insanity to rival that of Bellatrix Lestrange's.
Stay Safe,
Sirius