Warning: The saying "the path to hell is paved with good intentions," will apply to Dumbles in every possible way.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter; do not sue me.
Pairings: Still haven't decided.
"Talking"
'Thinking'
"Parseltongue"
Harry Writing
Tom Writing
SOUND EFFECTS
Salazar knew exactly when Hadrian left Hogwarts. He could feel the wards bending around the portkey to let it through. He set down his glass, watching as the red liquid shimmered inside. Then he lifted his hand and wandlessly summoned a scroll from the top of the bookshelf.
Opening it, he hissed, "Reveal the secret."
On the parchment, the words for the horcrux potion shimmered and then changed, twisting and moving to reveal a different arrangement of letters.
There was much work to be done if he wanted to follow through with his plans. Amber eyes moved over the parchment, skimming the words until he found the ones he wanted:
"Mending Another's Soul"
Voldemort screamed, enraged as the spell hurtled towards his horcrux.
"Protego!"
The spell bounced off of the shield and shattered a headstone as the book slid to a stop at his feet. He knew this was his first horcrux, he could feel the familiar magic, his soul reaching out to him, even from the distance that Potter had held it hostage. Voldemort summoned the book to his hand. A breath left his lipless mouth as a jolt ran through his body at the feeling of his horcrux so close to him. He placed the book in an inner pocket of his robes. He never noticed the magic in the diary awaken, nor did he notice the soul in the diary stirring as it came so close to its original soul, the closest it had ever been in nearly half a century.
What he did notice, was the clarity he felt penetrating his mind, clearing away the rage he felt and making way for the calculating calm to settle in. He decided that for now, he would keep the diary close to him. He did not trust it with any of his followers and he would check up on his other horcruxes. The Diadem was lost to him, but the others he could protect better. Loath as he was to admit it, Potter's knowledge of them had shaken him. How much did the boy know? There was much work to be done.
"Welcome to the TriWizard Tournament: Hogwarts Ceremony!" Bagman announced as everyone had finally gathered in the Great Hall. The four long tables were filled with more students than ever, as the three schools gathered to celebrate the end of a dangerous tournament with, thankfully, no casualties. An addition had been made to the hall, with the usual five tables; a round table had been added in the space between the House tables and the Professors' table just to the side, where the four champions now sat. The Professors' table had also been lengthened to accommodate the Heads of the foreign schools, as well as the judges for the third task, and the Minister of Magic.
"Before we announce our winners, even though we all know who it is," Bagman paused as cheers erupted from all of the Hogwarts students and even a few of the teachers were clapping; he grinned and waited for the cheers to die down, "Minister Fudge, would like to say a few words."
Fudge stood from the Professors' table in all his bowler-hatted glory and made his way to the front; he cleared his throat, before puffing out his chest and beginning: "Yes, yes, thank you Mr. Bagman. Though this tournament hasn't been exactly traditional, the British Ministry is pleased to note that there have been no casualties due to the precautions that have been taken by the British Ministry of Magic and we are all glad that all our champions are safe and sound. Furthermore…" Fudge said, his eyes glancing over the students of all three schools.
Harry sat with the other champions, pretending to pay attention as the Minister droned on about what part the Ministry had in the tournament, but his attention was solely upon the fake Moody, trying to assess his reaction at both Harry and Cedric's arrival outside the maze, still alive and not shouting that Voldemort was back.
After Harry had talked to Cedric and secured his cooperation, Harry had seen the fake Moody trying to get to them, but had been unsuccessful due to the hoard of ecstatic Gryffindor and Hufflepuff students at their victory. As of yet, nothing had happened. He seemed angry, but that could have easily been mistaken for his annoyance at Fudge.
Harry's lips quirked, while fake Moody had been unsuccessful in getting through the throng of students, Madam Pomfrey however, had been more than successful in parting the seas. The circular table was there – put in by Dumbledore – so she could hover around the champions and check them for damage attained during the maze while loudly complaining to the Minister that he should really wait until at the very least tomorrow so that she could keep all the champions under observation at the Hospital Wing. The Minister had simply smiled and said it was just best to be done now, seeing as the students wouldn't be sleeping anyways.
Madam Pomfrey had frowned and tried to convince the Minister to no avail as she continued checking over him and Cedric. While this was going on, the other professors had brought in Fleur and Viktor, who had been unconscious inside the maze. They had been revived and checked over, given a few potions, and when Madam Pomfrey had finally been satisfied (as much as she could, given the circumstances), the Hogwarts Ceremony had begun an hour later.
Yes, the Hogwarts Ceremony had begun, meaning they would have another official ceremony in public, with all the parents, reporters and annoyances there to ogle and take pictures. Harry gave a mental sigh and glanced at Cedric, only to blink in surprise as he saw that the older boy was trembling slightly, his right hand pressing hard against his mouth. Harry subtly moved his hand to grip Cedric's left forearm under the table, trying to ground him. Cedric glanced at him, it took a few seconds, but he calmed down, taking his hand away from his mouth.
Harry's own Occlumency was at full force, keeping him from thinking about all the information he had learned in the graveyard. It wouldn't do to fall into a rage right now. His emerald eyes glinted under his bangs, he needed to be alone when he broke everything around him, it wouldn't do to alert the school to his rage and make people leery.
To say Cedric was scared, was an understatement. He was downright terrified. Voldemort was back; and if that wasn't enough, he'd witnessed Harry blackmail the Dark Lord. He hadn't had time to panic before but now that he was out of danger and his adrenaline had drained out of him, the events in the graveyard had slowly sunk in. Cedric slid his hand over his mouth to try and muffle his panicked breaths. What was that boy playing at?Cedric shut his eyes, trying to calm down.
He didn't remember much from when the Dark Lord still roamed free, he was only four after all, but he'd heard the horror stories, and what he did remember from that time was the constant air of fear around him. Everyone was terrified, and him being so little, didn't understand it. All the people who were bigger than him, stronger than him, they were all scared. They were all scared of the monster in the shadows.
Cedric clenched his hand as he felt that fear come back, but this time it brought with it the face of the snake-like demon that he'd encountered in the graveyard and the feeling of dark magic encompassing him, suppressing him from all sides. Cedric had never been very sensitive to magic, no more than the average wizard, but the Dark Lord's magic… Cedric felt sick. His head hurt and he couldn't think. He couldn't think. He couldn't breathe.
Cedric was brought out of his panicking thoughts by a strong grip on his forearm, slamming his mind back to the ground and in to reality. He glanced at Harry, startled.
Harry.
Harry: the one who defeated the Dark Lord when he was only a year and a half old.
Harry: the one who blackmailed the Dark Lord and lived.
Harry: the one who had saved his life.
Harry: the one who was sitting here calmly beside him, grounding him.
Cedric mentally shook his head. Harry should be the one freaking out; after all, it was Harry the Dark Lord was after. Not him. Not Cedric. And here he was, freaking out like a child who was afraid of the monsters under his bed. He felt the pressure lessen on his arm to pull away; he immediately grabbed Harry's hand, startling Harry, who looked at him curiously.
Cedric didn't like it, but he knew he needed something to hold, to remind him that he wasn't alone in what he'd been through. To remind him that someone had it worse. No matter how terrible that sounded of him.
Harry seemed to understand this and let his hand remain in Cedric's own, squeezing it to reassure him. Cedric gave a small grateful smile.
Harry was startled when a gasp effectively interrupted the Minister's speech, carrying throughout the hall, every head turned to look at the student, who simply pointed at Moody.
Heads snapped towards the ex-Auror, who was shaking violently in his seat. Everyone watched in stunned silence as dark grey hair turned sandy blond; the scarred face morphing in to one that was quite young and scar less. As the transformation was coming to an end, Moody's magical eye popped out, landing on the teacher's table, waking the teachers from their shocked states. Immediately, seven stunners slammed in to the fake Moody, everyone looked to see Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Flitwick, Sprout, Vector, and Babbling, all holding out wands pointed to the now fully transformed young man, who was definitely not Alastor Moody.
Stunned silence spread throughout the hall as the imposter was revealed.
Fudge sputtered as one name was heard throughout the hall, "C-Crouch Jr.?"
"Wh-what is he doing here?! He's supposed to be dead!" Fudge exploded, sending the students in to hushed whispers, each trying to find out what was happening. Dumbledore held up a hand and silence ensued immediately; no one wanted to interrupt him, as they were all curious to what was happening.
Harry's attention was pulled from the revealed Barty to Cedric who had yet to let go of him, his grip only tightening.
Dumbledore beckoned all the adults to him, after a few words, Snape left the Great Hall through the door behind the teachers' table and McGonagall turned to the seated students, immediately catching their attention.
"Prefects, escort your houses to their common rooms," She started to say, but immediately, the students began to shout in protest.
"We should be able to stay!" A student yelled.
"That man was impersonating a teacher and teaching us all year, we deserve to know what's going on!" another student shouted, followed by a roar of agreements.
"That's quite enough," Dumbledore said, turning away from his conversation with the Minister and silencing the hall with a stern look, "You will go to your dorms and if there is anything that you must be aware of, you will find out. Now, Heads of Houses, please escort your houses to their common rooms. Professor Sinistra, if you would take Slytherin, and Professor Vector, if you would take back Gryffindor that would be great. Madam Pomfrey, if you would take our champions to the Hospital Wing, that would also be much appreciated."
Everyone understood that this was not a suggestion and the teachers hurried to comply, gathering the students and leading them out of the Great Hall.
Madame Maxine ushered her students to their carriages with a simple gesture, while Karkaroff's voice boomed out over the students, "Durmstrang students! Return to the ship!"
"Harry!" Cedric hissed.
Harry turned his head, "What?"
Cedric gestured with his hands towards the teachers, whom were now levitating an unconscious Barty Crouch Jr. to the Headmaster's office. Harry looked at them and looked back at Cedric, raising an eyebrow.
"Graveyard?" Cedric looked annoyed now.
"Oh yeah, that," Harry said, as if just remembering.
"Yes, that," Cedric said, his tone definitely more annoyed than before. Which was much better in Harry's opinion. If Cedric was annoyed, then he wasn't freaking out…much.
"You really wanna do this with the Minister here?" Harry asked, his eyebrow rose questioningly.
"This is kind of important," Cedric said, definitely annoyed now by how nonchalant Harry was.
"Fine, fine, let's go," said Harry, finally standing up from his seat.
"And just where do you think you're going young man?" Madam Pomfrey asked from behind him.
Harry plastered on an innocent smile before turning around and facing the school's very own Dragon Lady, "To the headmaster's office?"
"Oh, and why is that?"
"Um, Cedric has something he wants to tell the Headmaster," Harry said quickly turning to Cedric.
Cedric gave Harry a dirty look as Madam Pomfrey was turning to look at him, Harry smiled innocently back, "Mr. Diggory?" she said in a questioning tone as she crossed her arms and waited for his reply.
"I…have to…tell him about the Sphinx," Cedric said slowly.
Madam Pomfrey blinked, clearly she was not expecting that, "What about the Sphinx?"
Harry raised an eyebrow, where was Cedric going with this?
"Yes, Harry and I met the Sphinx at the same time and we solved the riddle but she wouldn't let both of us pass unless we agreed to a favor and we need to be in Professor Dumbledore's office to carry out the favor in 10 minutes," Cedric said, "So, uh, we have to go," Cedric finished. He grabbed Harry and sprinted to the door where the teachers had exited, not giving Madam Pomfrey a chance to respond.
"We'll be back! Don't wor-" Harry called, but was cut off by the door closing behind him.
Cedric sighed as the door closed, then turned and glared at Harry, "Thanks for putting me on the spot."
Harry grinned and started walking, "You're welcome, but don't relax yet, she isn't one to give up."
Cedric raised an eyebrow as the door rattled behind him, "I'm not an idiot."
Harry was surprised, "When did you-"
Cedric snorted, twirling his wand in his fingers, "Please Harry, give me some credit. I was chosen to be a Hogwarts Champion for a reason."
Harry smiled sheepishly as they walked towards the Headmaster's office. Harry paused as he felt the cage in his pocket, a memory running through his head, of the Minister not believing him about Sirius the first time. It would be better if he could have the head of the DMLE there. Sirius had mentioned her previously as a fair person. Her name was Amelia Bones if he wasn't mistaken.
Cedric looked back at Harry as he noticed that the younger boy had stopped walking, "What's wrong?"
"Amelia Bones is the head of the DMLE, right?"
Cedric nodded, "Yea, so?"
Harry simply lifted his wand, "Expecto Patronum!"
A silvery stag burst from his wand and cantered around for a few seconds before coming to stand in front of Harry.
Harry coaxed the stag's mouth open and touched the tip of his wand to the stag's tongue and spoke, "Find: Amelia Bones. Tell her that a convicted Death Eater was impersonating Alastor Moody and to floo to the Headmaster's Office straight away," Harry said.
As soon as Harry pulled his wand away, the stag transformed in to a small ball of light and disappeared through the wall. Harry turned back to see Cedric with a stunned expression.
"Shall we go?" Harry asked, breaking Cedric out of his daze.
Cedric shook his head as they resumed walking, "I heard rumors that you were able to produce a corporeal patronus, but I never thought," Cedric shook his head, "I don't know why I'm so surprised, after I literally watched you blackmail the Dark Lord."
Harry stopped again, this time looking around and was relieved to find them in a corridor with no portraits. He took out his wand and put up a silencing charm, just to be safe.
"Listen, Cedric, about that, you can't tell anyone," Harry stressed, "I could get into a lot of trouble and I have my hands full with one madman after my life, I don't need to have it complicated any further."
"But shouldn't Dumbledore know about this?" Cedric asked, "And if we don't tell them, how do we explain our escape?"
"Don't worry about that, just let me do the talking. All I need you to do, is back me up."
Cedric frowned, "But, whatever you have over the Dark Lord, could help defeat him, shouldn't you tell Dumbledore, at the very least?"
"No!" Harry shook his head.
Cedric was surprised at Harry's almost panicked tone.
"Why not? Whatever you have over him could help save a lot of lives!" Cedric argued, crossing his arms.
Harry blew out a breath, calming himself down, and mirrored Cedric's stance, "It could," Harry agreed, "But it could also ruin a lot of lives. You have no idea the amount of damage this information can do. Cedric, the world isn't black and white. There is a reason that Voldemort fears this information getting out. And for that matter, so do I. You can't tell anyone. Not Dumbledore, not the Minister, no one."
"If no one knows about this, then how are we going to take down Voldemort," Cedric asked, a challenge in his eyes.
Harry's brow arched, "'we'? I don't think so. I'm taking care of it. I've-"
"You're taking care of it?" Cedric interrupted, incredulous, "You're 14! No matter how talented you are; you're going to need help!"
"Cedric, you don't have all the facts! Just trust me, please. Will you back me up or not?" Harry asked, a firm set to his mouth.
Cedric pursed his lips, "Fine, but I want answers after this, and I mean I want to know everything, not just a cursory explanation."
Harry bit his lip, "It'll be dangerous, you realize this, right? Only a select few people know."
Cedric nodded.
Harry sighed and nodded, "Alright, I suppose it's only fair since I did drag you into this. One more thing," Harry said, stopping Cedric from resuming his walk to the Headmaster's Office.
"What?"
"Don't look Dumbledore in the eye," Harry said, making sure his tone conveyed how serious he was.
Cedric blinked, "What? Why?"
"Dumbledore is a Legilimens," Harry said.
Cedric raised an eyebrow, "Harry, that doesn't mean that he's going to read his students' minds. There is a law against using legilimency on minors. He could get in big trouble. Also, despite your mistrust of the Headmaster, which I assume you'll be explaining to me later, he does have morals. He wouldn't violate someone's privacy, much less a minor's."
Harry sighed and shook his head, "Cedric, we need to get going and I'm not about to stand here and argue with you over this. Just don't look him in the eyes, ok?"
Cedric rolled his eyes, but agreed anyway as they resumed walking towards Dumbledore's office.
His head was pounding. What had happened? He groaned, had his father put him back under the imperious? No, that couldn't be it. He wouldn't feel so sore if that were true. He tried to move his hands, but found that he couldn't. He felt ropes binding him to a hard surface, a chair? He felt liquid on his tongue and reflexively swallowed. There was a strange calm that suddenly settled over his mind, his headache had mysteriously vanished.
"Can you hear me?"
Barty struggled to open his eyes; he knew that voice, where had he heard it before? Finally forcing his eyelids open, he was blinded by a silvery beard.
"Ah, awake I see, how are you feeling?"
An unintelligible grumble made its way out of his throat. The man smiled at the response and continued, "What is your name?"
Barty blinked, his name? His name… His name… the fog that permeated his mind was making it hard to think… His name was… suddenly, memories rushed in to his head. The Dark Lord. Potter. Diggory. Moody.
He was… Alastor Moody.
No, no. Right now… right now, he was…
"Barty C-Crouch Jr." The words made him frown as they forced their way out of his mouth, that wasn't who he was supposed to be. The unsettling calm was still blanketing his mind, making it hard to think.
"It seems the Veritaserum is working," Dumbledore announced needlessly.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door and everyone turned around, ready to see who had interrupted. Just as Dumbledore nodded to Severus to open the door, the fireplace in the office flared to life, and outstepped Amelia Bones. Her stern gaze sweeping around the room, taking in all the details, and landing on the nervous Minister, her gaze narrowing, "Minister, I hope you were not about to interrogate a suspect without informing me."
"A-Amelia, w-what are you doing here?"
The fireplace flared up again and this time an Auror stepped through and quickly made room once more as the fireplace roared with emerald flames and another Auror followed through.
"Kingsley! Dawlish! What are you two doing here?" The Minister asked, his nervousness now under control.
Severus didn't bother to listen to the Minister as he turned and opened the door, only to see Cedric Diggory and Harry Potter standing before him.
"Why am I not surprised?" Severus drawled as he ushered the two in.
"Mr. Potter, Mr. Diggory, I thought I told you to go to the Infirmary," Dumbledore said sternly.
"Well, I thought that since I was the one to call Madam Bones here, it was only right that I be here as well. Cedric is here as a witness to a few things that happened during the third task that ties into this," Harry explained smoothly, "I do not exactly trust the Minister to deal with these things with a level head. After all, we all know what happened at the end of last year when two of my friends and I tried to tell him the truth about Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. The man simply cannot admit he was wrong."
The Minister spluttered and glared at Harry, "I am the Minister of Magic and I will not tolerate any disrespect, boy! You may be the Boy-Who-Lived, but you will show the Minister of Magic proper respect! You have no idea what you are talking about! You were confused and clearly under Black's spell!"
Harry ignored him and turned to Amelia Bones, who was scrutinizing him, "Would you mind proving that the message sent to me was from you?"
Harry shook his head and recited the spell once more and a silver stag burst forth from his wand, galloping towards the woman and dissipating just as it reached her.
Amelia nodded, "I thank you for notifying me Mr. Potter, and I shall find time for us to talk about Sirius Black, as it seems that there were certain things that I was not informed of, but now," she turned away from him to address the hippogriff in the room, "I believe that you were going to start interrogating Mr. Crouch, here. As the head of the DMLE is here and two Aurors are present as well, this will be an official interrogation," she began, pulling out a small clear sphere. She set it on the desk and with a series of taps from her wand, activated the sphere.
She turned to the other teachers in the room who had come up after settling the students in their dorms, "Everyone except Supreme Mugwump Dumbledore, Minister Fudge, Witnesses Potter and Diggory, please exit the office at once. Headmistress Maxine, Headmaster Karkaroff, you must also exit. This has become an official Ministry investigation. If there is any danger to you or any information that applies to you, you will be notified."
There were several protests, but Amelia held up a hand, silencing them immediately, "You all have students to tend to and I'm sure the Headmaster will be willing to give you any information that pertains to you after the interrogation is over. As for Ludo and Mr. Weasley, you are still needed at the Ministry, I suggest you get going."
Bagman sulked, but nonetheless moved to the fireplace to use the floo, Percy following him in a slight daze.
Madame Maxine and Karkaroff nodded once to the Head of the DMLE, Minister Fudge, and Dumbledore then turned and headed out of the office, back to their students.
Harry glanced at Severus, grabbing his attention, "Do you know the animagus reversal spell?"
Severus raised an eyebrow but nodded.
"Madam Bones," Harry called as the teachers filed out one by one, when he saw that he had her attention, he continued, "I would like for you to allow Professor Snape to be here, he's needed for an explanation about what happened during the third task."
Amelia considered him for a moment, and then gave a sharp nod, "Very well. Kingsley, I want you to ask the questions. I assume he has already taken Veritaserum?"
"Yes, but considering how long it has been due to the continued distractions, we may need to re-administer it, while the effects will not fade completely without the antidote, they can weaken if left for too long," Snape explained, "Especially if the target is well-versed in Occlumency."
Amelia nodded, "Better safe than sorry. If you will then."
Snape stepped forward and forced open the clenching mouth and dropped three more drops down the bound man's throat.
"The formal interrogation of the Death Eater impersonating Alastor Moody will now begin," Amelia nodded to Kingsley and he stepped forward.
"What is your name?"
"Barty Crouch Jr."
"How did you escape from Azkaban?" Kingsley asked.
"My mother, she loved me and convinced my father to have her take my place. She was dying and wanted me to live. My father could not ignore my mother's last wish and agreed. Using Polyjuice, he snuck me out on his last visit to Azkaban and my mother was careful to continue taking Polyjuice until the very end."
"Why were you impersonating Alastor Moody?"
"I was to deliver Potter to the Dark Lord," a crazed smile graced the otherwise blank expression, "I put his name in the Goblet of Fire and made sure he was the one to get to the cup by eliminating the competition!"
Eyes widened as they listened to the man spilling the Dark Lord's plan. Transporting Potter to the graveyard and using a ritual to bring back the Dark Lord's body with the help of another Death Eater.
Finally, it seemed that Minister Fudge had had enough, "The Dark Lord is dead! Clearly, the man is delusional!"
Before anyone could say anything, Harry stepped forward, "Not quite, and this is the reason that I wanted Madam Bones here."
"What are you talking about, boy?" the Minister spat out. He would've gone on, but Amelia cut him off, "Care to explain Mr. Potter?"
"Cedric and I reached the TriWizard Cup at the same time and decided to take it together. Imagine our surprise when instead of appearing at the outside of the maze, we were transported to a graveyard where Cedric was stunned and I was bound to a tombstone by Pettigrew, who was there to-"
"LIES!" the Minister shouted, "You-Know-Who is dead! And so is Pettigrew! I will put a stop to this nonsense at once. This man will be sentenced to the kiss immediately!"
"Now, now Cornelius," Dumbledore tried to calm the man, but the Minister simply ignored him, continuing his rant, "No Dumbledore! These lies have gone on far enough. Just because this Death Eater believes what he says is the truth, does not make it so! I will put a stop to this nonsense!"
Amelia shook her head and frowned at the Minister.
Harry sighed as the Minister raged on. How to convince the idiot without tipping his hand too soon? He looked around the room and a silvery glow caught his eye. A slow smile began to form on his face as he drew his wand, "Accio Pensieve!"
Everyone quieted as the aforementioned object flew over their heads to land in Harry's hands, "Professor, I hope you won't mind our use of your pensieve to view my memories?"
Dumbledore shook his head, "By all means, my boy."
Harry placed the pensieve on the desk and touched his wand to his temple and thought of how much he wanted to show everyone. He decided he'd show them from the time he was stuck to the tombstone until Voldemort had tried to cause him pain by touching him. That would be sufficient evidence of his return and wouldn't reveal much of Harry's abilities.
After he put the memory in the pensieve, Harry turned to look at Fudge; "It seems Minister, that you won't believe me until I show you irrevocable proof, but believe me," Harry's voice turned cold, the anger he felt for the Minister leaking in to his tone, "If I have to drag you kicking and screaming to the truth, I will."
The Minister gaped, furious at the audacity of the boy before him, but before he could say anything, Amelia Bones spoke up, "Dawlish, Kingsley, stay here with the prisoner, find out where Alastor is being held and contact someone to go and get him, once you have found his whereabouts, follow protocol and take the prisoner to the holding cells where he will await a second trial. Misters Potter and Diggory, you will accompany everyone else in to the memory," Amelia Bones ordered.
Fudge narrowed his eyes and walked over to the desk and waited for all the others to gather around so that they could begin viewing the memories.
As soon as everyone was gathered, they each put a finger in to the swirling memories; with a tug, all the bodies surrounding the pensive were sucked in to the basin, leaving only Kingsley and Dawlish.
Kingsley sighed and turned back to the bound man, "What have you done with Alastor Moody?"
The five people landed gently on their feet as the memory began to play out.
Amelia gasped, as her eyes landed on the short balding man levitating a struggling Harry Potter to the tombstone.
"Is that…?"
"Peter Pettigrew," Harry answered, nodding. Harry looked at the Minister who was watching with wide eyes as Pettigrew began the ritual, putting Babymort in to the bubbling cauldron, and then moving to summon the ingredient needed, dropping it in to the cauldron. Harry's eyes glanced at Cedric, wanting to make sure the boy wouldn't have another panic attack, but he seemed to be holding up well, if not slightly pale.
They watched in horrified silence as Pettigrew chopped off his own arm, dropping it in to the cauldron, and then watched as he approached the struggling and bound Potter.
"Blood of the enemy, forcibly ta-"
"I WILLINGLY GIVE MY BLOOD!" Harry shouted.
Wormtail stopped, but then continued, "t-taken. The Dark Lord shall rise again!"
Wormtail let the blood drop from the blade and in to the cauldron. The cauldron shook as it started to bubble and suddenly, flames erupted from the cauldron, leaving nothing but a snake like creature.
Horrified gasps were heard from the four people observing the memory, Harry looked at the others' ashen faces, the Minister was whimpering, his eyes unable to look away from the terrifying creature and Cedric had clenched his hands in to fists.
"Merlin," Amelia Bones breathed out as she took in the sight of the demon in front of her, for it could not have ever been human.
Voldemort grinned, showing white teeth, he held his hands out, "My wand, Wormtail," he commanded.
The rat inched forward, and placed the bone white wand in to his master's hand. Voldemort waved the wand and black robes appeared on his thin body.
"Ah, much better," his gaze turned to Harry and a cruel smile appeared on his lips, "'I willingly give my blood'? Silly, silly boy, there's no 'willing' when you are trapped," Voldemort hissed as he laughed. He turned away, "Wormtail! Your arm."
Sniveling, Wormtail held out his right hand, "Th-thank you master!"
"Not that one, you fool! Your other arm!" Voldemort sneered.
"Not so fast!" Harry shouted.
"Harry, Harry, wait your turn," Voldemort crooned, as he grabbed Wormtail's left arm.
Voldemort moved his wand to press against the dark mark adorning Wormtail's arm, Wormtail screamed.
Black smoke swirled in a circle around Voldemort. One by one, Death Eaters appeared, Voldemort waited as they all gathered around him.
Amelia Bones narrowed her eyes as she recognized many of the Death Eaters appearing before their master. She conjured a piece of parchment and noted down names, she would investigate them later.
"I-I returned, M-master," Wormtail said, not moving from his spot.
"Out of fear! Not loyalty," Voldemort said, "However, even in your fear, you did me a great service, and so you shall be rewarded."
Voldemort swished his wand and created a silver hand out of thin air for Wormtail.
"Thank you, master, oh, thank you!" Wormtail sniveled.
Voldemort's attention turned to Cedric.
"DON'T TOUCH HIM!" Harry screamed.
The scream brought the attention of the five viewers to memory Harry, who was struggling to get out of his bonds.
"Ah, Harry," Voldemort said, pulling his foot back before it could touch Cedric's still warm face.
"Shall I tell you what really happened that night?" Voldemort asked, "How I was supposedly defeated by a mere child? You see, when sweet Lily Potter, sacrificed herself, she invoked an ancient magic. She died in the attempt to save her beloved son — and unwittingly provided him with a protection, I admit I had not foreseen... I could not touch the boy. This is old magic, I should have remembered it, and I was foolish to overlook it... but no matter," Voldemort's lips bulled back in a cruel grin, "Now! I can touch him!" and he pressed a bony finger to Harry's scar.
The five viewers were ejected out of the memory. Silence reigned around the now empty office.
"I cannot show you further because after that, it's simply a haze of pain and adrenaline, I hope this is enough proof," Harry finally spoke, breaking the silence, "Cedric was mostly unconscious but when he came to, he's the one that got the portkey and made our escape possible."
Cedric blinked and nodded when Madam Bones looked at him for confirmation, "Pettigrew threw the Killing Curse at me, but Harry's Stupefy reached me first and I dropped to the ground just in time to avoid the curse."
Harry nodded, "Voldemort and I dueled, somewhere in the middle of it, I must've sent an Enervate at Cedric. He reached me just in time with the portkey. I don't know how he got passed all the Death Eaters, though."
"Everyone was focused on your duel, no one paid me any attention, I silenced my shoes and put a notice-me-not charm on myself. I made my way over to the portkey, and then grabbed Harry just as the portkey started to glow," Cedric shrugged.
Harry gave a snort, "Grabbed? More like tackled."
Cedric rolled his eyes, "I got us out of there, isn't that enough?"
"All I'm saying is that you could've been more gentle. I think the cup's handle bruised my ribs," Harry grimaced, rubbing a spot on his left side for show.
"Oh, I'm sorry, next time I'll transfigure the portkey into a pillow before saving your life," Cedric said, sarcasm dripping from his every word.
Harry opened his mouth-
"Enough," Madam Bones interrupted before the argument could progress any further, "Thank you Mr. Potter for sharing this with us, and Mr. Diggory for giving us your account. Not that I had any doubt after that memory."
"I- He could've been faking the memory!" Minister Fudge said, rather desperately.
Harry shook his head, but was surprised when Snape stepped forward, "I am a Master Occlumens and I can say with complete confidence that there was no sign of memory tampering, and the Headmaster can also confirm this."
Dumbledore nodded, "Indeed."
Harry didn't know whether Dumbledore was agreeing that he was also an Occlumens and so knew that the memory had not been tampered with, or that he knew Snape was an Occlumens and thus, trusted his judgment.
Minister Fudge swayed and finally sat down on the chair beside the pensieve. His face completely drained of color.
"Also," Harry spoke, drawing the room's attention to him once again, "I have further proof that the Dark Lord has returned. While he was giving his speech, I had just enough time to make a trap using a Notice-me-not charm. Thankfully, my reflexes were fast enough that it allowed me to grab this just as Cedric tackled me."
Cedric rolled his eyes at the jab.
Harry reached in to his pocket and brought out a fiery runic cage, holding a small rat inside. With a tap of his wand, the cage enlarged. Harry turned to Snape, "Professor, the animagus reversal spell, please. On three."
Snape nodded and Harry counted down, as he reached three, a blue light shot out of their wands, surrounding the rat inside the cage. Six pairs of eyes watched as the rat was slowly forced from animal to human, eyes wide in terror.
"I present to you Peter Pettigrew," Harry announced, "The Death Eater responsible for bringing back Voldemort, the secret keeper that betrayed my parents' location to said Dark Lord, and the one who framed Sirius Black for the murder of 13 muggles."
Pettigrew opened his mouth, frantically shaking his head, but nothing came out.
"Silenced, of course," Harry finished.
Amelia was at a loss for words, her thoughts turned to how the Ministry would be punished dearly for the Minister's mistakes, just thinking about the field day the papers would have when all of this came out, and she couldn't even start to think about the amount of paperwork that would come of this.
"Merlin's saggy balls," Amelia cursed, barely managing to keep the whimper out of her voice. The same could not be said of Fudge, who was thinking about how this would end his political career and let out a moan of despair.
Amelia looked up from the trapped animagus just in time to see Harry's sympathetic smile. The smile did nothing to reassure Amelia at the slightest, in fact, she could distinctly see the glint of mischief in his emerald eyes, but his next words almost made Amelia moan in despair.
"Did you know, Madam Bones, that Sirius Black, my godfather, never got a trial?" Harry asked innocently.
Just then, the door was opened and voices came floating in, "I told ya! I want ta talk to Dumbledore!"
"I'm taking you to him!" Kingsley growled, stumbling in with a man heavily weighing on his shoulders, the man with a missing eye and leg, could only be Alastor Moody.
Kingsley stopped as he surveyed the people in the office and then his gaze landed on the caged Pettigrew.
"Shit!"
Sirius mentally prepared himself as he stood on the doorstep of 12 Grimmauld Place. He knew he shouldn't have put it off for too long, but the thought of going back to his childhood home made him cringe. It dragged up too many bad memories. However, today was the day of the third task and Sirius needed something to keep his mind off of the danger his godson was facing. He didn't need to take away Harry's concentration by making Harry worry about him, so Sirius had decided that he'd get the locket today.
The door opened with an eerie whine, Sirius shuddered as the sound went through him.
"Well, here goes nothing," he muttered and took the first step inside; another shudder ran through his form, this time bringing with it the feel of dark magic. He took a slow deep breath as he felt his own magic reach out to the magic in the house.
No matter how much he pretended to be light, he knew, that dark magic would always draw him in. He grew up here, the magic in this house was a part of him, from the very first breath he took until the very last one, more than 20 years ago, when he ran away from home.
No matter the memories, the magic was always comforting to him. He mentally shook his head; taking a deep breath, he stepped inside the house, finally taking in the interior. It hadn't changed much, except perhaps it had gotten dirtier. He moved from the entrance hall to go to the kitchen, but his eyes caught on to something hanging further down the hall. He walked over to it and realized that the moth-eaten curtains hid something behind them. As his hands reached out to pull the curtains aside, the curtains flew open, and immediately, Sirius stepped back as he was confronted with a life size image of his mother.
"Mother," Sirius said, even in his surprise, he couldn't hide the resentment he felt for her.
"Finally back, are we?" Walburga sneered at her wayward heir.
Sirius narrowed his eyes, "No. I'm not. I'm only here to retrieve something."
"Must you be a disgrace to the House of Black? Why can't you walk the path that is right? The Dark Lord will be victorious and he will make you rue the day that you turned your back on our honor, our family, and our proud traditions. My Lord will make you regret running off to fight with those filthy muggle-lovers!"
Sirius growled and made to retort, when he paused. He was about to get into an argument with the portrait of his dead mother. Perhaps if he hadn't spent the last few months at Potter Manor, having the elves take care of him and stuffing various healing potions down his throat, he would've been screaming abuse at her right now.
He pursed his lips, he wanted to turn away, he should turn away, but he couldn't help but say this, "Did you know mother, that I am the only Black in name left alive currently? The Dark Lord has been vanquished, most of the Death Eaters have been sent to prison or been kissed, and all of your numbers have been dwindled down to one. The only other Blacks by birth that are still alive are Andromeda, Narcissa, and Bellatrix. Andromeda was disowned, Narcissa's a stuck up Malfoy, and the last one is rotting in a cell in Azkaban. So tell me, what family are you talking about? While the Black name does carry weight in our society, the only thing it is good for is scorn and known as the family of Death Eaters. What honor do you speak of, mother? Look around you, at our once prestigious home, now reduced to this dirty and unkempt state. Is this the legacy that you speak so highly of?" Sirius questioned, not once raising his voice.
Turning his back on his speechless mother, he flicked his wand and sealed the curtains shut, then made his way to the drawing room.
"Accio Slytherin's locket!" Sirius intoned once he was inside. When nothing happened, he frowned. Perhaps he'd have to search the house manually after all. Or… He wondered if the old house elf that had been bonded to his mother was still alive.
"Kreacher!" Sirius shouted.
A pop sounded in front of him and Sirius nearly gasped as he laid eyes on the dirty and insane looking elf before him.
"Has no good, muggle-lover Master Sirius returned?" Kreacher asked.
Sirius scowled, "No, Kreacher. I'm here to find something."
Kreacher scowled back, "What does blood-traitor Master hope to find here?"
Sirius contained a growl and continued as if he hadn't heard the elf, "Kreacher, I order you to bring me all the necklaces and lockets in the house and lay them out in rows before me."
Kreacher struggled, but he could not disobey a direct order from the Master of the House. With a pop he disappeared, a moment later he reappeared, bringing with him heaps of jewelry. With a snap of his fingers, each necklace was laid out in rows in front of Sirius, followed by some lockets that were not attached to any chains.
Sirius's eyes roved the jewelry, before he finally found the one he was looking for. It was rather hard to miss with the big emerald 'S' on the front. He quickly levitated the necklace, but was surprised as Kreacher grabbed on to it.
"NO! BAD MASTER WILL NOT TAKE MASTER REGULUS'S LOCKET!" Kreacher screeched, tugging on the locket hanging in the air, "KREACHER MUST CARRY OUT HIS ORDERS! KREACHER MU-"
"QUIET!" Sirius roared, surprised at the reaction, "Kreacher, I order you to stand still in front of me and tell me what Regulus had to do with this locket."
Kreacher silently sobbed, "No, Kreacher mustn't! K-Kreacher promised M-master R-Regulus to never t-tell," he wailed.
Sirius rubbed his temple; he wondered what Regulus had gotten into. Keeping Harry's warning in mind, Sirius brought out the warded black jewelry box he had brought from Potter Manor and opened the lid, gently levitating the necklace in fully, before closing the box and casting the finishing ward on it to seal the box shut.
Sirius was surprised as he felt the magic immediately lighten around him. He looked back to the warded box, that necklace was not something to be played with if it affected the ambient magic of the house that much. He wondered what Harry, and now Regulus, wanted with the locket.
After he'd put the box in an inner robe pocket, he turned back to the still sobbing elf. He pushed down his first response of hate and disgust, and rearranged his features into something neutral.
"Kreacher," Sirius waited for the elf to look up, "Tell me what Regulus wanted to do with the locket and I promise to try and carry out his wishes."
Kreacher looked at him with wide eyes.
"Very nicely done in there," Harry said once the pair had gained some distance between them and the Headmaster's Office, "I never would've guessed you had it in you."
Cedric chuckled, "There's a lot you don't know about me, Harry. Although, I'm beginning to realize that I don't know all that much about you, either, except that chaos follows in your footsteps, because I've never seen the Minister and Madam Bones just about ready to cry."
Harry huffed, "Ok, that is not my fault. If the Ministry just did their job correctly, they wouldn't be crying now! And chaos does not follow me!"
"Oh please, we've all heard rumors about your first year," Cedric said, "Not to mention second year, and from what I heard in there about your third year? If not chaos, then adventure definitely follows in your footsteps."
Harry opened his mouth to argue, but then closed it and shook his head, "Alright, alright, no need to rub it in," he was not pouting.
Cedric's lips quirked at Harry's expression, but he frowned as he realized that they were going in the direction of the Hospital Wing, "Wait, why are we going to the Hospital Wing?"
Harry stopped and turned to face Cedric, "Cedric, this… discussion is going to take a long time. It's been a long day and I'm exhausted."
"Are you telling me what I think you're telling me?" asked Cedric, his eyes narrowed.
Harry ran a hand through his hair, "Look, Cedric, I," he hesitated, but then decided to go on, after all, he had to tell Cedric something, "I'm using all of my skills in Occlumency to keep from thinking about what happened at the graveyard, and I need to work through everything I've found out alone," Harry said, the strain showing on his face, "I-"
Harry was cut off as Cedric grabbed his hand and led him through the school.
"Where are we going?" Harry asked as he jogged to keep up with the taller boy's longer strides.
"I can't understand what you're going through," Cedric began, not answering the question, "I know you're very angry right now," Cedric glanced at Harry's surprised face and continued, "I saw your expression after You-Know-Who mentioned a prophecy. I may have been freaked out, but I wasn't completely out of it. But, I saw you blackmail the Dark Lord and capture one of his Death Eaters and now I need some answers," Cedric saw that Harry was opening his mouth to argue, but he continued, not letting him get a word in, "I know you need to work out your frustrations and I'm going to let you do that, but after that, we are going to talk."
Harry sighed.
"Are you sure we can't talk about this in the morning?" Harry tried one last time to convince the older boy.
"As sure as I am of the fact that you'll never have a normal school year."
Harry gaped, "It could happen!"
Cedric's smirk said it all.
Harry scowled all the way up to the seventh floor. Harry paused as he realized they were outside one of the exits to the Chamber of Secrets. Uneasy, Harry looked around and realized Cedric was standing in front of the blank stretch of the wall opposite the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. Harry was at a loss as Cedric started to pace back and forth in front of the blank space, "Er, what are you doing?" Harry asked after the third time he turned, but his eyes widened as he saw a door appear out of nowhere on the wall.
Cedric pulled the door open and waved the younger boy inside, "After you."
Harry hesitantly entered the room, his eyes widened at what lay before him. The room was as big as the Defense classroom with training dummies situated in a half circle with one-foot gaps between each dummy. Around and in between each dummy, Harry could see vases, statues, and even crystal balls suspended in mid air or standing on pillars. Black and gold cushions were put in opposite the dummies, making a barrier that divided the room in half. On the other side of the room were two comfortable-looking black armchairs facing each other with a small glass coffee table in the middle.
"I've never seen this room," Harry commented looking back at Cedric as he was closing the door.
"It's called the Room of Requirement, it turns in to whatever you need it to be," Cedric replied, "Say you're looking for a place to hide, it might become an empty classroom, or if you need a bathroom, it becomes one. If you want something special, you do have to be very specific; otherwise, it'll turn in to something generic, sort of like this. I asked for a place to talk," Cedric said, gesturing to the armchairs, "And a place for you to vent," Cedric finished.
Harry looked around the room with new eyes as all the new possibilities came to mind, "Wicked."
Harry and Cedric stood in front of the door, not speaking, letting an awkward silence fill the room.
"Well, get to venting and stuff," Cedric said, breaking the awkward silence.
"Er… Nothing personal, Cedric, but when I vent, I like to be alone," Harry hinted.
Cedric rolled his eyes and pushed the younger boy towards the "venting area", once Harry was past the cushions, a rumble swept through the room and a stone wall rose up to the ceiling, blocking off Cedric and the other half of the room. Harry's eyebrows rose as a door appeared in the wall. Cedric poked his head in through the door, "I'll be in here whenever you're ready."
Harry shook his head as Cedric disappeared just as quickly as he'd appeared. He turned from the now closed door and looked around the room. He sighed and walked towards the side of the room adjacent to the dummies and slid down the wall to the floor. Closing his eyes, he let his head fall back with a thump against the hard wall behind him. He felt his mind clearing from the pain in his skull; unfortunately, his stress only rose.
What was he going to do? He couldn't tell Cedric. What would Cedric think? Harry knew that what he was doing wasn't strictly light. Merlin, he doubted it was even grey at this point! How was he going to tell the heir of a light magic family about soul magic, about the Chamber of Secrets, about Salazar? His head dropped in to his arms, why hadn't he just left Cedric? He would've been far safer in the maze! He knew the answer to that, but he didn't want to acknowledge it. He didn't want to be that person that put his friends in danger because it was beneficial. Beneficial to him, to have a witness, lending credibility to his statements, no matter the danger.
What had he been thinking!? Harry felt guilt well up inside him, Cedric had nearly died, and for what? So that Harry could have a witness to confirm that he was telling the truth? In the end, he hadn't really even needed Cedric to confirm his story. Sure, Harry had kept Cedric from dying, but what about the next time?
If Cedric got involved, he would be in a lot more danger than just dodging one Avada; the Death Eaters would do something much worse to him next time. Next time, Cedric may not make it out alive. And it would be Harry's fault. Cedric had more to lose than Harry did. Cedric had a family, friends, people who cared about him, people who relied on him. Harry couldn't do that to Cedric, to anyone. Harry had the means to destroy Voldemort, and he had help from a founder, a potions genius, and his godfather. Harry would get by.
A plan started forming in his head. He would not involve Cedric any further, and to protect him, he needed Cedric to do one last thing.
Cedric paced on his side of the wall as he waited for Harry.
He sort of regretted not holding off on this discussion until the morning now, but he just knew that if they had waited until morning, then Harry would change his mind and find some way to back out of it, and that was the last thing he wanted.
Cedric sighed as he flopped down on the armchair facing the door to Harry's side of the room. He needed something to occupy his mind to keep from thinking about all that he had learned. His body had already been pumped full of adrenaline, then he'd gone into shock, he'd had his panic attack in the Great Hall, and now he was on his way to accepting what had happened. As unbelievable as it sounded, he'd actually survived meeting Voldemort, not that it was of his own volition. He was alive because of Harry.
He knew that Harry didn't want to admit it, but he saw the loneliness in those emerald eyes. He'd noticed for months now, that Harry had locked himself away. Sure, on the outside, there was nothing wrong, Harry laughed and hung out with his friends, but Cedric was no stranger to keeping secrets, and Harry had a lot of them. Cedric saw what those secrets were doing to him, their burden was slowly pulling Harry down and Cedric was afraid that if he didn't help Harry, the boy was going to drown.
He was sure that Granger had noticed how much Harry had withdrawn from everyone besides her and Lovegood, but their relationship had yet to change in any way. Harry and Granger weren't any closer or further apart than they were before, so he knew that Harry hadn't told his friends what he was doing. Perhaps Granger had decided to wait for Harry to come to her. Cedric might have done the same, however, he didn't have the advantage of knowing and having Harry's trust since first year.
Harry was stubborn; Cedric knew that if he didn't force the boy into letting him help, then Harry would never ask, and Cedric would probably fade away from Harry's life. His lips quirked as he ran a hand through his hair, he didn't know when he'd started paying so much attention to the younger boy.
Cedric's lips twisted in to a full smile, he had to admit to one thing, though: Harry had played the Minister beautifully. It was surprisingly thrilling seeing those emerald eyes darken in fury as he knocked down the Minister of Magic a peg or two. Even Amelia Bones had gone deathly pale after hearing Harry's "innocent" comment about Black not receiving a trial, and, unlike the Minister, she had kept herself fairly under control while watching the memory of Voldemort's return.
By the time they had left the Headmaster's Office to return to the Hospital Wing, Harry had successfully convinced the stubborn Minister that Voldemort was back, arranged a trial for Sirius Black and Pettigrew, and made sure that the Ministry would be in complete chaos for the next couple of weeks all in less than an hour.
Cedric looked up as he heard a door opening and saw Harry coming out of the venting area. He couldn't see in to the room, as Harry was blocking his sight. Cedric noted that Harry's clothes were rumpled, more than before, and his hair was even messier than when he went in to the room.
Cedric didn't say anything as Harry closed the door and walked over to him and sat down on the armchair facing him.
"I know you want to know what's going on, and I will tell you," Harry added as Cedric opened his mouth, "but first I need you to do something for me."
Emerald: AND done! Wow, this chapter was hard to write. I'm so sorry guys, this was supposed to be out during Christmas, but my holidays were even more hectic than during the semester, and I'm only now getting around to completing this. I know it's slightly shorter than my other chapters, but this was the best place to stop without going on for 10 more pages.
Anyway, thank you everyone for your reviews, favs, and alerts. It makes me so happy to see that you guys like it!
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