Conundrum Stratagem

Grimacing, Neona stuck her forefinger in her ear as she attempted to remove the droplets of water blocking her hearing, sighing in frustration when the water refused to budge. She shuddered when a pair of hands enclosed around her shoulders, her entire body jolting in response to the sudden feeling of warmth floating around her. "You were fantastic out there, brilliant, truly."

Neona tried to not wince at the sound of Cedric's voice, he hadn't gotten the hint of her wanting to issue some distance between them. "Well, it was either that or let my grandfather succumb to the clutches of the Merpeople... I figured the former was more of a priority." She spoke sourly, rolling her eyes as if the answer was evidently plain to see.

"I wasn't talking about that," Cedric slung his arm over her shoulders lazily, sending her a lop-sided grin as he did so. "You saved Harry; you were utterly brilliant."

It wasn't like she had much choice in the matter though was it? That's what happens when you take an Unbreakable Vow; you give your life to the person you've sworn to protect, not matter the consequences. "No one else was going to do it, were they?" She hadn't meant for it to come out as bitterly as it did but Harry could have died in that lake, the tasks were ludicrous and just plain mad.

"Are you all right?" Cedric pressed, his eyes narrowing as he came to a sudden halt, making her turn to face him fully. "You're acting strangely, did something..."

She'd never felt so relieved when Cedric was interrupted by the velvety voice which she was grateful to know belonged to Professor Snape. His presence brought with him relief of being saved from a conversation she desperately wanted to avoid. She knew if they hadn't been interrupted, Cedric would have goaded her into resuming the trial of a relationship he wanted to administer; something she desperately wanted to avoid. "Lupin."

Turning to face him immediately, Neona mouthed a quick 'thank you' in his direction, noticing the slight smirk crawling onto his lips as she did so. "Professor..." She looked back at Cedric and winced, shrugging softly. "I'll catch up with you later, Cedric, all right?"

She could see the reluctance on his face, evident as disappointment soon followed, his arm falling from her shoulders in defeat. "Yeah, sure. Sure. See you later then." The last part came out in a mutter as he strode away from them, briefly sending Snape a glance before continuing along his way to catch up with the drifting crowds.

"Thank you." Neona breathed once he was out of earshot.

His eyes narrowing, Snape tilted his head at her. "For?"

"Rescuing me."

He stared at her for a mere moment before allowing a deep chuckle to pass his lips. A grim smile crossed his face. "Your performance was magnificent today. Well done." He was against his better (and preferred) judgement to compliment a Gryffindor but she had done remarkably well. His smile vanished when he saw the pale look befalling her face, a sudden odd sensation growing within him. "Are you all right, Lupin?" He grabbed her arm to steady her.

Neona contemplated brushing him off as she blatantly stumbled along, but she viewed the argument as rather pointless. "No, not really... It's just a slight dizziness is all, nothing to worry about." She let out irritably, shaking her arm free of his grasp. "It's not going to stop happening, it reminds me my time's almost up."

Snape glowered at the news, "And Baines has no intention of doing anything yet? Have you told him?" He reeled off, slighting overbearing as she stared at him in disbelief. "Does your grandfather know abo..." He trailed off when he realised he was being far too overly concerned and expressive towards her growing predicament, and that he needed to retain control over his emotions, especially with Voldemort gaining power again.

Neona sighed, tucking a strand of wet hair behind her hair as she openly allowed Snape to support her as they walked. "You don't need to worry. You can't stop it from happening, you can't prevent it." She spoke in amusement, a soft smile playing upon her lips as she looked to see him frowning in thought, obviously believing there to be an alternative. "Go on, blow me away with your brilliance..."

"But as a Potion's Master, I have the ability to soothe."

Neona rolled her eyes playfully at his words, not realising that Severus Snape possessed such a kind side to him as he was displaying to her in that moment, and she found it oddly admirable for him to show such concern when she was accustomed to his berating of students. "Honestly, you don't have to- I can manage." She knew despite her insisting on him not to do so, he would continue to provide her with help.

"I want... I..." He detested himself for struggling to find the words to express himself appropriately. "It would settle my mind, although me to retain my sanity for your disregard for your own life."

Neona smiled at his reply, squeezing his shoulder slightly. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Snape's lips twitched upwards, evidently pleased with himself. "When is your father arriving?" He also realised that he would be seeing Lupin senior a lot sooner than he expected, and they'd never saw eye-to-eye with one another.

"In a few weeks I should imagine."

Although, she had initially protested to Snape playing nurse, she found herself standing rather awkwardly in the Potion's classroom, muttering several warming charms to put a stop to her shivering. Wrapping her arms around herself, she sighed. "Have you conducted anymore bets?" She called out, hearing soft clanks and the rattling of bottles.

"Unfortunately, no." He quipped from a cupboard.

Neona frowned and scratched the back of her neck, feeling her a sudden burning sensation crawl over her shoulders from the middle of her back. She shuddered. "You're sure this will work?" She saw no point in disguising her worry; Wolfsbane was poisonous to her kind if ingested incorrectly. Anything could go wrong if that happened to be the case. She hoped for an alternative.

"Undoubtedly," Snape soon emerged from the cupboard, carrying several large vials in his hands. He sent her a look of amusement before reaching for a goblet to pour some of the contents into. "You don't need to worry about the means of brewing; I'm perfectly skilled to adequately produce the potion to its desired state." He uncorked the vial and poured it into the goblet, watching as the contents spilled out before giving it to Neona to drink. When she hesitated, he gave a deep sigh. "Go on."

Nodding, she brought it to her lips and inhaled, creasing her nose up at the smell before tipping her head back. Placing the goblet back on the table, she waited a few moments before she felt her throat beginning to burn at the sensation of the potion, she spluttered and coughed, doubling over to aid in her breathing as she pressed a hand to her throat. She heard him moved but she shook her head, and whilst coughing, managed a reply. "... It's- it's fine, just... g- give me a moment." She swallowed and breathed, standing straight as the burning sensation began to subside and retreat. Her shoulders visibly relaxed.

Snape was watching her closely, fearing the worst. "Well?" He pressed, raising an eyebrow at her in question.

Frowning for a moment, she rolled her neck as she realised the aching had seized. A soft sigh passed her lips. "I could kiss you right now." She answered with a smile, trying to ignore the aftertaste.

Snape watched her carefully, his eyes narrowing still. "I would prefer it if you refrained from doing so." He warned respectively, raising his hands to her. He wasn't completely certain if she was being serious or not, or whether it was a jest to catch him off guard. If it was a Muggle term, he wasn't familiar with it.

Neona laughed, "It was a figure of speech for my appreciation." She clarified, reaching for her sleeve to check the veins that had begun to turn black. No change. She frowned, disappointed that the potion would prevent any other side effects of the reminder that she would ultimately have to die. "If only that could be altered..."

Clearing his throat uncomfortably, Snape clasped his hands together in front of him. "Right, well, uh... You best be returning to Gryffindor Tower to rest."

Neona smiled. "Right. Thanks again." She said, genuinely grateful as she gestured to the potion vial on the desk.

"Don't ask anything else of me."

As she neared the door, he swore he could see the grin on her face. "I can't promise that, Professor." She sung, exiting the room without another word.

Harry had walked right past the stone gargoyle that stood guarding the entrance to Dumbledore's office without even noticing at first. He momentarily froze, blinking before looked around and retracing his steps to come to a stop right before it. Staring up at the statue, he frowned. "Sherbet lemon?" He attempted, sighing when the gargoyle didn't budge.

"Right," Harry glared at it, frowning at the statue. "Pear drop? Licorice Wand... Fizzing Whizbee? Bertie Bott's... No, he doesn't like them. Stupid, stupid..." He grumbled under his breath, angry. "I need to see him! It's urgent, please!"

The gargoyle didn't move.

Harry kicked it, achieving nothing but an excruciating pain to his foot. "Chocolate Frog!" Harry yelled angrily, glowering darkly at the stone statue with everything he had, willing it to move. "Sugar Quill!"

"You know, kicking stone objects won't win you any battles..." Harry jolted in surprise and turned to see Neona watching him with faint interest, a small smile pulling at her lips. She folded her arms and tilted her head. "What's the rush?"

Harry sighed, "I have to see Dumbledore immediately!"

Neona's brow furrowed in intrigue. "Why?"

Harry looked towards the statue in longing before he turned to look back at Neona desperately. "Because... Because Mr Crouch is in Forbidden Forest - he's gone mad! Completely mad, I left Krum with him to go and get Dumbledore." When he finished, Neona's eyes widened in surprise and he wondered what she was thinking as her arms fell and she started forward.

Neona strode past him, "Give cockroach cluster a shot." She called over her shoulder, not liking the nature of the predicament that had caused Harry to go into such a severe panic. She feared the worst.

Harry stared at the statue, watching as it shifted at her words, his mouth falling open. He turned back to look at her as she gained distance from him. "Where are you going? It's not safe out there..."

Neona turned and sent him a soft nod, "That maybe be true, but you left Crouch out there with a student who doesn't know the castle grounds, get my drift?" In all truth, Neona didn't trust Krum for his intentions, much like Karkaroff, were hard to determine. "I'll be waiting for you."

"Right, right."

"Lumos."

Kneeling beside Krum, Neona checked his vitals briefly, finding his breathing to be shallower than normal. She frowned as she glanced around, her wand glowing to reveal the surrounding area of the forest she was in to be deserted. Crouch was nowhere in sight, absolutely nowhere. She was certain Harry had said he'd left Krum with him. She'd found Krum lying unconscious but Crouch was gone.

Looking around, she sighed and made the decision to venture into the darkness to see if Crouch was lurking somewhere in the shadows. Harry had claimed the man was maddened; that he was crazed for some reason - she couldn't understand why he hadn't taken Crouch back with him in the first place, surely that would have made the most sense. It wold have been safer for Crouch, and evidently safe from Krum. Besides, Crouch didn't seem like to type of person to recline into madness, he was far to aware and alert for that.

She chose against calling out his name, wondering if anything hostile was lurking in the forest, and if there was she didn't wish to antagonize it. She confessed to herself that she was confused; she didn't understand why they had all been wondering through the forest by themselves, and neither did she believe that Crouch attacked Krum. Neona couldn't pin it on an attack by a creature either; Centaurs wouldn't harm them and neither would Unicorns or Thestrals. She did have one theory floating around her head, but she knew voicing it would bring trouble and further conflict.

"... He's not acting normally," Harry said, hurrying along beside Dumbledore as they ascended into the forest, Snape's robes billowing after them as he followed. "He doesn't seem to know where he is. He kept talking like he thought Percy Weasley's there, and then he changed, and said he needed to see you... I left him with Viktor Krum. Neona went out there to handle things until I spoke to you."

"She's in no state to be out there, Albus." Snape hissed, hurrying after them.

"You did?" said Dumbledore sharply, ignoring Snape to glance briefly at Harry, take long strides, so that Harry was running to keep up. "Do you know if anybody else saw Mr. Crouch?"

"No," Harry shook his head. "Krum and I were talking, Mr. Bagman had just finished telling us about the third task, we stayed behind, and then we saw Mr. Crouch coming out of the forest -"

"I don't see them." Snape spoke, his voice floating into the air, causing Dumbledore's brow to furrow in worry.

"Where are they?" Dumbledore breathed, fearing the worst.

"Over here," said Harry, moving in front of Dumbledore, leading the way through the trees. He frowned. He couldn't hear Crouch's voice anymore, but he knew where he was going; it hadn't been much past that big oak... somewhere around there... "Viktor?" Harry shouted. "Ne!"

No one answered.

"They were here," Harry turned to Dumbledore, his face alarmed and panicked. "They were definitely somewhere around here..."

"Lumos," Dumbledore called, lighting his wand and holding it up. Its narrow beam travelled from trunk to trunk, illuminating the ground until it eventually fell upon a pair of feet.

They all hurried forward. Krum was sprawled on the forest floor, appearing to be unconscious. There was no sign at all of Mr. Crouch or Neona. Snape bent over Krum and gently lifted one of his eyelids, frowning. "Stunned," he announced softly, looking back at Dumbledore to see the older wizard peering around at the surrounding trees.

"Should I go and get someone?" Harry glanced between the pair of them. "Madam Pomfrey?"

"No," said Dumbledore swiftly, his eyes catching something silvery streak through the trees like a ghost. "Stay here." Dumbledore bent over Krum, pointed his wand at him, and softly muttered, "Ennervate."

Krum opened his eyes, dazed as he glanced around until his eyes fell upon Dumbledore. He moved to try and sit up, but Dumbledore put a hand on his shoulder to make him lie still. "He attacked me!" Krum muttered, putting a hand up to his head. "That old madman attacked me! I 'vos looking around to see vare Potter had gone and 'e attacked me ven I vosn't looking!"

Dumbledore frowned, "Lie still for a moment."

"Crouch is gone."

Dumbledore glanced up to see two golden eyes glowing within the darkness as she came into view, her wand drawn in caution. "Oh, Neona..." He breathed, noticing her weary behaviour as she came closer, her eyes trailing around them. "You've checked the surrounding area?"

"Nothing, absolutely nothing. Nowhere." Neona tucked away her wand, and folded her arms across his chest, noticing Krum. "I sent a patronus to- "

The sound of thunderous footfalls reached them, and Hagrid came panting into sight with Fang at his heels, his crossbow in his hand. "Neona! Professor Dumbledore!" he said, his eyes widening. "Harry - what the -?"

"Hagrid, I need you to fetch Professor Karkaroff," Dumbledore ordered despite having not requested Hagrid to join them. "His student has been attacked. When you've done that, kindly alert Professor Moody -"

"No need, Dumbledore," A wheezy growl emerged to greet them, causing all their heads to turn. "I'm here." Moody was limping toward them, leaning on his staff, his wand lively lit. "Damn leg," he said furiously. "Would've been here quicker... what's happened?"

"Neona said in her patronus that it was something about Crouch." Hagrid interjected.

"Karkaroff, please, Hagrid!" Dumbledore sharply reminded.

"Oh yeah... right, Professor..." said Hagrid, and he turned and disappeared into the dark trees, Fang trotting after him.

"I don't know where Barty Crouch is," Dumbledore told Moody, his eyes flickering to Neona who was watching Moody silently. "but it is essential that we find him."

"I'm onto it," growled Moody, and he pulled out his wand and limped off into the forest.

Neona bristled visibly, eyeing Moody's magical eye as it stared right through her. "If I can't locate Crouch, I doubt an ex-auror will be able to do so." She didn't miss Snape's smirk as she sent Moody a look of annoyance.

Baring his teeth, Moody growled at her. "You better watch your tongue- "

"Alastor!" Dumbledore cautioned, watching as the ex-auror hobbled away from them. Once he was gone, he turned to Neona who was still frowning. "You say you checked everywhere?"

Neona nodded, "If Crouch was in this forest, I would be able to feel his presence. When you entered, I felt your heartbeats... There was nothing out there." She confirmed, fearing that if Crouch was out there, than he was more than likely dead. "Enhanced senses and all..."

Snape watched her carefully, "So, you're saying that Crouch is dead?"

Harry blinked. "What?"

Neona sighed, "Krum was attacked, so who's to say that Crouch wasn't either?" She knew something was definitely going on and she needed to find out, especially if it jeopardise Harry in anyway.

Neither of them spoke again until they heard the unmistakable sounds of Hagrid and Fang returning from the distance. Karkaroff was hurrying along behind them, draped in his sleek silver furs, and he looked pale and agitated. "What is this?" he cried out when he saw Krum on the ground with Dumbledore, Snape, Harry and Neona stood around him. "What's going on?"

"I vos attacked!" Krum accused, sitting up and rubbing his head. "Mr. Crouch or votever his name -"

"Crouch attacked you? Crouch attacked you?"

"Igor," Dumbledore began, but Karkaroff had drawn himself up, clutching his furs around him, looking lividly around at them all.

"Treachery!" he bellowed, pointing accusingly at Dumbledore. "It is a plot! You and your Ministry of Magic have lured me here under false pretenses, Dumbledore! This is not an equal competition! First you sneak Potter into the tournament, though he is underage! Now one of your Ministry friends attempts to put my champion out of action! Another one of your students just happens to be here! I smell corruption in this whole affair, and you, Dumbledore, you, with your talk of closer international wizarding links, of rebuilding and forgetting old differences - here's what I think of you!" Karkaroff spat onto the ground at Dumbledore's feet.

Neona's eyes darkened as she went to step forward, a hand seized her wrist to pull her back. She looked and saw Snape had moved to her side, looking down at her disapprovingly. "Don't..." His voice met her ears and she gave a sigh.

However in one swift movement, Hagrid seized the front of Karkaroff's furs, and slammed him against a nearby tree. "Apologise!" Hagrid snarled as Karkaroff gasped for breath, Hagrid's massive fist at his throat, his feet dangling as his hands clawed at his throat.

"Hagrid, no!" Dumbledore shouted, his eyes flashing.

Scoffing, Neona stepped forward and pulled Hagrid off of Karkaroff remarkably simply which stunned Harry. "The pair of you stop! A man is missing and you're squabbling as though you've been married for twenty years! A man is missing, and no one seems to know where he is." She paused, looking to Hagrid sadly, knowing and respecting his fierce loyalty to Dumbledore. "Hagrid, you need to calm down." Turning around, she watched as Karkaroff slid all the way down the trunk and slumped in a huddled at its roots. "And you need to remember how fortunate you are, and think of where you could be." She reiterated, Karkaroff's gaze not leaving hers as she warned him.

"Kindly escort Harry back up to the castle, Hagrid," Dumbledore instructed sharply.

Breathing heavily, Hagrid gave Karkaroff a glowering look. "Maybe I'd better stay here. Headmaster..." He trailed off when he felt Neona's hand on his arm.

"We'll be perfectly fine, won't we Igor? You will take Harry back to school, Hagrid," Dumbledore repeated firmly, watching as Neona stepped away and bowed her head. "Take him to Gryffindor Tower. And Harry - I want you to stay there. Anything you might want to do can wait until morning, do you understand me?"

"Er - yes," said Harry, staring at him. Wondering how Dumbledore knew he was itching to tell Sirius about everything that had happened, how he knew he couldn't fathom.

"C'mon, Harry."

Nodding to Krum, Dumbledore addressed Karkaroff. "Igor, see to your pupil." After, he turned to face Neona who looked deep in thought, almost troubled. "Neona, what do you think happened here tonight?" He wondered as she looked up to meet his gaze.

"Krum's evidently confused..." She began in thought, gesturing to Viktor as Karkaroff was helping him to his feet. "I would say he was stunned, and obviously his memory has been altered somewhat. He was stunned so whoever did it was able to take out Crouch without any interruptions." Neona explained, not bothering to hide her true thoughts of the matter, knowing something ill had definitely occurred.

"Foul play?" Snape asked.

Neona frowned. "Crouch wasn't mad., paranoid at most but not mad."

Dumbledore nodded eagerly, "And?" He gestured for her to continue.

"I have a theory but it's... It's ridiculously far-fetched."

"We're all ears." Dumbledore told her softly, finding himself interested with what she was to say, knowing she could provide great insight.

Looking to Snape, she narrowed her gaze decisively. "Sir, you've been interrogating students; myself and Harry, for having stolen ingredients from your private stores, no?" She pressed, noticing how he spared a glance at Dumbledore before choosing to answer.

"You'd be correct... You're point being?"

Neona folded her hands together. "What if it isn't a student but a member of staff? Someone who wouldn't raise suspicions..."

Dumbledore stepped towards, his half-moon spectacles shifting on his nose. "My dear, what are you saying?" He prompted coolly.

Taking a deep breath, Neona sighed and nodded in agreement with herself. "I'm saying that someone has been brewing Polyjuice potion to pose as a certain professor here. From witnessing certain odd behaviour, I don't think Alastor Moody is Alastor Moody." She paused, folding her arms again as she thought about it. "It comes down to this," said Neona, rubbing her forehead. "Either Crouch attacked Krum, or somebody else attacked both of them when Krum wasn't paying attention."

Both wizards looked at one another before facing the witch before them. Dumbledore shuddered at how plausible a thing was that she had spoken of. "Neona, I want you to approach Harry about, prompt him to give up anything he knows and inform me of anything worthy of my attention." He requested, ignoring Snape's incredulous stare.

She nodded. "All right."

Dumbledore smiled sadly, knowing it was probably the last thing she wished to do but he admired that she outright gave her complete trust to him without question. "Don't think of it as spying, think of it as unearthing the truth." A true Gryffindor.

The fire crackled and spat as she handed him a glass of Pumpkin Juice before she joined him on the sofa which was sat in front of the blazing fire, knowing Harry's mind was probably running away in fear and confusion. "Just go through it, Harry," said Neona. "What did Mr. Crouch actually say?"

"He wasn't making much sense," Harry took a sip of his drink. "He said he wanted to warn Dumbledore about something. He definitely mentioned Bertha Jorkins, and he seemed to think she was dead. He kept saying stuff was his fault... He mentioned his son."

"Well, that was his fault," Neona commented irritably, staring at the body of the fire as it flared with life.

"He was out of his mind," Harry implored. "Most of the time he seemed to think his wife and son were still alive, and he kept talking to Percy about work and giving him instructions."

"And... what did he say about You-Know-Who?" Neona asked, sparing him a glance.

"He said he's getting stronger."

Neona frowned, taking a deep sip of her drink. "And how did he seem when he spoke about him?"

"He was sanest when he was trying to talk about Voldemort," Harry explained, and Neona nodded in understanding, but still finding it slightly odd. "He was having trouble stringing two words together, but that was when he seemed to know where he was, and know what he wanted to do. He just kept saying he had to see Dumbledore."

Harry turned away from her and looked to the fire miserably. "If Snape hadn't held us up," Harry said bitterly, "we might've got there in time. 'Potter... what's your hurry this evening? Why do you need to see Dumbledore? He's busy...' Why does he always have to interfere?"

Neona sighed, knowing that either way, he wouldn't have been able to change anything. "Harry, he wasn't there when I got there. Krum was lying on the ground unconscious and Crouch was gone."

"D'you reckon Moody found Crouch?" Harry asked as Neona frowned before shaking her head. "If he had the Marauder's Map on him, it would've been easy," said Harry, but he noted that she still look unconvinced. "Unless Crouch was already outside the grounds, because it only shows up to the boundaries, doesn't -"

"You can't Disapparate within the grounds of Hogwarts, Harry and I doubt he was kidnapped either." Neona offered with a small smile, before squeezing his shoulder. "Just concentrate on the third task, all right?" Harry nodded, and what felt like a weight off her shoulders, made her only more anxious. Rising to her feet, she made to move towards the spiral stairs ascending to the dormitories but Harry stopped her once more.

"Ne?"

She glanced back at him with a smile, "Yeah?"

Harry sighed, watching as she walked back towards him. "What do you think happened tonight?" He wasn't stupid; he knew she knew something had happened that he couldn't explain, and he needed to know he wasn't the only one.

"Foul play from someone else involved." She answered to Harry's internal relief.

"Look," said Harry impatiently, "let's say you're right, and someone did stun Krum to kidnap Crouch. Well, they would've been in the trees near us, wouldn't they? But they waited 'till I was out of the way until they acted, didn't they? So it doesn't look like I'm their target, does it?"

"They couldn't have made it look like an accident if they'd murdered you in the forest, Harry." Neona informed him dully, wanting to provide him with some closure. "But if you die during a task-"

"They didn't care about attacking Krum, did they?" Harry pressed irritably, "Why didn't they just polish me off at the same time?"

"That question remains to be answered, " Neona bit the inside of her cheek, and turned away once more. "Get some rest, Harry."

A/N: Sorry for the long awaited update. So much has happened, but I hope to do so more regularly now! Happy New Year everyone!
Ezeiel