Year Four: The Goblet of Fire
The three magical schools of Europe compete for eternal glory in the form of the Triwizard Tournament. Death Eaters are rising, gathering followers to join Voldemort. Dark times are approaching, threatening everything Marie loves. It's time for bravery. To be the light in terrible darkness...
Chapter Twenty-One-Barty Crouch Jr.
It had all happened so fast, Harry could barely distinguish one moment from the next. One second he was breaking the golden connection with Voldemort's wand, then somehow, Marie had managed to get free and was running hard beside him. He recalled the texture of her robes as he grabbed her tightly before he Summoned the Triwizard Cup. There was the shock of a spell hitting his back and the world went black just as he touched the Portkey.
Everything was gone. Voldemort, the Death Eaters, everything. It was as if his mind was wrapped by a thick blanket, smothering the rest of the world. It was almost comforting-
"HARRY!"
Marie's voice pierced the darkness of his state of mind. As if she had gripped him by his core and swiftly ripped him from his unconscious state, throwing him back into reality.
Harry gasped loudly as his eyes opened, senses slowly recognizing the area. He could see the starry sky overhead and he then noticed the teachers surrounding him. Dumbledore was bent over the Gryffindor, just drawing his wand that was now unneeded as he woke up of his own accord.
"Voldemort-He's back," stammered Harry, trying to string his thoughts into coherent sentences to tell the headmaster what had happened. "Voldemort's back!" His head was still throbbing from his lightning bolt scar and he squeezed his eyes tightly to try to regain control or at least stop the images from fading out of focus.
"He'll need to go to the Hospital Wing!" declared Fudge, sounding quite alarmed. "He's ill, he's injured..."
"No, Voldemort's back!" insisted the boy, opening his eyes once more. He looked around, the noise of the loud crowd was making it difficult to concentrate. He could see teachers around him but he couldn't find Marie. My sister... his memory reminded him. The word resounded in his head, repeating itself over and over.
"Where's Marie?" he asked thickly, pressing his hand to his head.
"Come now, we must get him to the Hospital Wing-"
"Marie!" he called out as his voice cracked, unable to see her. Dumbledore rose to his feet and searched the immediate area only to find that Marie was no where to be seen and neither was Professor Moody.
Marie could hardly see where she was going through her blurred vision as the teacher pulled her away from the distressed crowd and still body of her brother. She struggled weakly against his hold in attempt to return to his side, but she was physically drained.
"No, I need to stay...Harry..." she pleaded. She couldn't leave him there, he needed her. She had to get to him...
"It's all right, I've got you...come on now...to the Hospital Wing..." came the growl of Alastor Moody. She became aware of the rough ground changing to smooth stone under her feet as he pulled her along, taking her farther away from everything. His staff struck the floor hard as he huffed, his false leg making the trademark clunk.
Clunk. Clunk. Clunk. They were going up the stairs now.
"What happened, Marie?"
"The Cup was a Portkey," she answered automatically. "It took us away from the school...Peter Pettigrew was there...he killed two Muggles..."
"What else?" he encouraged.
Flashes of the night flickered through her memory. The large cauldron and the skeletal figure rising from the contents made her stomach clench in recollection.
"H-he brought Voldemort back! There was some sort of potion or spell-I need to tell Dumbledore!" she tried to pull away again but Moody gave a hard yank and forced her to keep pace with him.
"The Dark Lord got his body back? He's returned?"
"It was terrible and-and revolting...He then summoned the Death Eaters to him...they all Apparated when he called..." she recalled. There was the sound of a large door opening and slamming shut behind them. Moody forced her down into a chair, hard, and her arm rang out in pain as she was jostled. It took her a moment for her bleary gaze to focus on her surroundings.
She was in Professor Moody's office, not the Hospital Wing. His office was cluttered with unusual objects, most she didn't know the names of, such as the large, cracked mirror on the opposite wall that didn't reflect the room, instead it held shadowy figures that moved within it. Then she looked to the professor and he was white as a sheet, eyes focused on her, the magical one included.
"Voldemort's back, Marie? You're certain? You need to tell me exactly what happened," Moody instructed. Marie nodded and she could distantly hear the sound of the students outside through his open window.
"He took things from his father's grave, Peter Pettigrew, Harry, and myself in order to use some sort of spell," she explained as best as she could.
"What did the Dark Lord take from you?" he asked.
"T-tears...Wormtail stabbed me and took my tears," she said, gesturing to her bloodied shoulder.
Moody let out a slow breath as he recited, "Tears of the protector..."
"Yes, and-" Marie suddenly stopped talking when his words registered to her brain.
"Go on, what about the Death Eaters, did they return? Did the Dark Lord forgive them?" he questioned, pacing the width of his office.
The Slytherin could only stare up at her teacher with wide eyes. How did he know the line of the incantation? Her mind was starting to whirl as she remembered that Voldemort had been boasting about his faithful servant that was inside Hogwarts. Her first thought had been Karkaroff due to his previous history, and yet...but it couldn't be...he was one of the best Aurors of the Ministry...
"I-I need to tell Dumbledore," she said, starting to get up from the chair. He grabbed her bad shoulder and pushed her back down, ignoring her yelp of pain.
"I asked you a question. Did the Dark Lord forgive them? The Death Eaters who returned to the graveyard?" he asked again. The remaining color left the girl's face as she stared up at the restless professor.
"I didn't...I didn't say anything about a graveyard..." she whispered.
Moody stopped his pacing and slowly turned to look at her, his mouth lifting up in a twisted and scarred smile. He reached into his robe and pulled out his wand, pointing it right her. A soft laugh bubbled up from within him as she stared at the wand, barely breathing.
"How annoyingly perceptive you are, Marie Rogue," he tutted. "Very smart, but you never suspected that I was the one who put your name in the Goblet of Fire."
"Y-you?" she managed.
"M-me," he mocked her stammer. "I got your name and Harry's into the goblet. Harry's name was going to be called no matter the outcome, but yours...yours was simply my good fortune."
"Why would you-why would you put my name in the goblet?"
"To kill you." Marie's mouth dropped open in surprise and he smirked at her shock. "Initially, I was going to kill you once I was sent word of your connection to Harry, but you don't go down without a fight, do you, Marie?"
She couldn't answer him even if she wanted to.
"There was the dragon and I figured that Potter would tell you about the task, but I had assumed that you were far too bookish to actually apply your skills in the field. You certainly proved me wrong then," he gave a short laugh. "So I had to try a different approach for the second task. They originally wanted your hostage to be Draco Malfoy, but I convinced them that the Flint troll would be far more important to you. I thought that you would drown due to the troll's weight, but, alas, you actually managed to surface first."
His magical eye swiveled toward the door to make sure no one was outside before it focused on the Slytherin once more.
"Then I received a message about a change of plan, that you needed to be alive for the Dark Lord. It turned out that you were actually useful after all." Marie remained silent, her throat dry as parchment. She was vaguely aware of the figures in the cracked mirror sharpening.
"It wasn't difficult to insure that you and Harry survived the maze tonight. As I patrolled the outside, I could see through the hedges," he continued, pointing to his magical blue eye. "It was simple enough to curse plenty of obstacles out of your way. I Stunned Fleur Delacour as she passed. I put the Imperius Curse on Krum to lead him toward obstacles I couldn't remove and then had him Stun himself. Your path to the Cup was clear and it was only a matter of how to get you and Harry there to it at the same time. So, I directed the Acromantula toward the Cup since Harry had gotten through first and he needed to wait for you."
"H-how did you know I wouldn't go to the Cup first and leave Harry behind?" she asked hoarsely. His smirk stretched further as he looked down at her, his wand level with her heart.
"Do try to give me some credit for my work," he reprimanded. "I knew very well that you wouldn't leave him to face the monster alone. You are so driven by your sisterly love that it makes you predictable, Marie. I saw it in the beginning of the year when you warned him of Malfoy's spell. It's written so plainly over you, your devotion to your role as the protective sibling."
"You're mad..." she croaked as the mirror's fog sharpened further into three figures. "You're out of your mind..."
"Out of my mind?" he laughed, voice becoming loud. "We'll see who's mad as the Dark Lord has returned, with me at his side! He is back and although he didn't manage to kill Harry Potter, I will certainly destroy you- the boy's final defense!"
He raised his wand and Marie numbly threw herself out of the chair, blindly searching for her own wand as she fell.
"Avada K-!"
"Stupefy!" There was a blinding flash of red light and great crash as the door was blown off its hinges and the bolt of magic slammed into the professor. Marie barely looked up from her spot on the floor to see Professor Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape barge into the room. She had landed on her bad arm, but she was only dimly aware of the pain as she felt fear wash over her as she saw the look of cold fury across Dumbledore's face.
In that instant, she understood good and well why Albus Dumbledore was the only wizard Voldemort truly feared. Power beyond her comprehension was radiating from him as if he was constructed of burning heat.
The three teachers moved past her as they surrounded Moody, using a foot to turn him over as he was unconscious. Marie heard another person breathing hard and she looked back at the door to see Harry leaning against the door frame, ashy from the pain of his leg. He didn't say anything as he moved toward her and she reached out a dirty hand to him. He grabbed her without a moment's hesitation. Harry helped her to her feet and she pulled him to her tightly, finally remembering how to breathe. She shifted her shoulder under his arm so he could take some weight off his bad leg. Green eyes met but neither one said anything.
McGonagall turned toward the two fourth years wearing an expression so very upset, as if she was close to crying as she looked at them both, filthy, bloody and battered. "Come along, you two...Hospital Wing..."
"No," said Dumbledore sharply. The three of them looked to the Headmaster in confusion.
"Dumbledore, they ought to-look at them-they've been through enough tonight-"
"They will stay, Minerva, because they need to understand," he explained shortly. "Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery. They both need to know who has put them through the ordeal they have suffered tonight, and why."
"Moody," said Harry, shock obvious. "How could it have been Moody?"
"This is not Alastor Moody," Dumbledore said quietly. "Neither of you have never properly known him- Marie may have heard stories but that would be all. The real Moody wouldn't have taken Marie from my sight after what happened tonight. The moment he took her, I knew-and I followed." The silver haired wizard reached into not-Moody's robe and drew out a hip flask and a set of keys.
"Severus, please fetch me the strongest Truth Potion you possess, and then go down to the kitchens and bring up the house-elf called Winky. Minerva, kindly go down to Hagrid's house, where you will find a large black dog sitting in the pumpkin patch. Take the dog up to my office, tell him I will be with him shortly, then come back here."
The teachers said nothing as they turned sharply and left the room. Marie's good hand kept a tight hold on Harry's robes as she helped him remain standing. It was quiet as they stood off to the side as Dumbledore moved Moody's body to a chair so that he would be upright.
Marie turned toward Harry and gave a soft whisper. "All right?"
"All right," he whispered back, looking at her. His green eyes studied her, taking in everything he could at that moment. It felt as if he was finally seeing her, despite the blood and dirt, he was seeing her for the first time. Not as a Slytherin or some fellow fourth year. He was really looking at her. For who she was, not the perfected story that was created for her.
Finally...at long last, he could see her...
Dumbledore then took the key ring and began to open the large trunk that was secured by seven different locks. He put the first key in and opened the trunk, revealing an assortment of spell books. Closing the lid, he used the second key and it revealed several broken Sneakoscopes, parchment and quills, and what looked like a silvery Invisibility Cloak. The two students watched in awe as he used the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth key, each one opening a new layer of the trunk and miscellaneous objects. Finally, he used the seventh, and last, key and threw the lid wide open. They were looking down into some kind of pit or underground room that stretched ten feet below them. At the bottom was a curled up figure who looked thin and starved.
"The real Alastor Moody-Stunned-controlled by the Imperius Curse-very weak," explained Dumbledore, as he brought the unconscious man out of the trunk with magic and placed him in the spare chair. He took the cloak from the impostor and covered the man. "Of course, they would have needed to keep him alive. Madame Pomfrey will need to see him, but he seems to be in no immediate danger."
He then unscrewed the cap of the flask and poured its contents onto the table. A thick grey potion splattered against the surface. "Polyjuice Potion," clarified Dumbledore. "You see the simplicity of it, and the brilliance. For Moody never does drink except from his hip flask, he's well known for it. The impostor needed, of course, to keep the real Moody nearby, so that he could continue making the potion. You see his hair?" The two nodded as they saw the chunks of unevenly cut hair on the man's head.
"The impostor has been cutting it off all year. But I think, in the excitement of tonight, our fake Moody might have forgotten to take it as frequently as he should have done...every hour...on the hour...We shall see..."
As soon as the words were spoken, Marie gave a sharp gasp as the fake Moody's body began to morph. The disfiguring scars were melting away, leaving behind smooth skin, and the shaggy grey hair was receding into his head and turning a straw colored blonde. He shrunk in size, not as built as the Auror and the clothes were too large for him. The false leg fell the ground and the magical eye popped out of its socket, still moving on its own. Dumbledore quickly retrieved the items and placed them carefully on a desk while the the impostor's proper limb and eye restored themselves.
There was the sound of their professors returning quickly, the house-elf on their heels.
"Crouch!" declared Snape, coming to a standstill in his surprise. "Barty Crouch!"
"Barty Crouch?" repeated Marie, looking back at the fair haired man. He looked nothing like the Triwizard judge and he was far too young.
"Barty Crouch Junior," answered Harry. "Crouch sent his son to Azkaban years ago-"
Winky, a disheveled house-elf, let out a shriek when she saw the man.
"Master Barty, Master Barty, what is you doing here?" She ran forward and threw herself at his legs, sobbing loudly.
"You is killed him! You is killed him! You is killed Master's son!"
"He is simply Stunned, Winky," Dumbledore explained calmly. "Please, step aside. Severus, do you have the potion?"
Marie's Head of House stepped forward and handed the Headmaster a small bottle of perfectly clear liquid. Veritaserum was a potion that would force the drinker to confess the absolutely truth, no matter the secret. Dumbledore forced the man's mouth open and poured three drops of the liquid down his throat. Securing the bottle and returning it to Severus, he pointed his wand and muttered, "Rennervate."
Barty Crouch Jr. opened his eyes as his head lolled, face slack. Dumbledore stood directly in front of him so to be the sole object of focus for the dazed Death Eater.
"Can you hear me?" he asked.
He blinked a few times before managing an answer. "Yes..."
"I would like you to tell us how you escaped Azkaban."
Crouch took a deep breath before he started to answer, his voice flat. "My mother saved me. She knew she was dying. She persuaded my father to rescue me as a last favor to her. He loved her as he had never loved me. He agreed. They came to visit me. They gave me a draught of Polyjuice Potion containing one of my mother's hairs. She took a draught containing one of my hairs. We took on each other's appearance..."
Winky was shaking her head, over size ears shaking. "Say no more, Master Barty, say no more, you is getting your father into trouble!"
But Crouch continued on. "The dementors are blind. They sensed one healthy, one dying person entering Azkaban. They sensed one healthy, one dying person leaving it. My father smuggled me out, disguised as my mother, in case any prisoners were watching through their doors. My mother died a short while afterward in Azkaban. She was careful to drink Polyjuice Potion until the end. She was buried under my name and bearing my appearance. Everyone believed her to be me."
Dumbledore questioned him further and Crouch went on to explain how his father staged his mother's death and kept him under the Imperius Curse and hidden with the Invisibility Cloak. Winky was assigned as his caretaker and was with him every moment of the day. All he cared about was returning to Voldemort, his master, and he fought the curse whenever he had the strength. He then spoke of the Quidditch World Cup and that Winky had persuaded his father into letting him go and see the match. That his mother wouldn't want her son to live as a prisoner in his own home.
Winky sobbed harder. "Master Barty, Master Barty...you isn't ought to tell them, we is getting in trouble..."
Crouch told them of how Winky managed to convince his father after months of negotiating. He would be under the Invisibility Cloak and with her, he would enjoy the match and to feel fresh air. But he was growing stronger and he managed to throw off the curse during the match and he saw a wand sticking out of a boy's pocket (Harry shifted at that moment) and he stole it. Winky never saw him take it as she had her face covered because she was terrified of heights.
He had cast the Dark Mark into the sky when the other Death Eaters caused the riot at the camp grounds. He was furious with the followers of the Dark Lord who weren't as loyal as he was, who didn't suffer Azkaban. Once his father, Barty Crouch Senior, discovered Winky beneath the Mark, he had to dismiss her in a public manner for the other Ministry authorities to see. He knew his son was nearby and dragged him back home under the Imperius curse. It was after that night when Voldemort came for him.
The Dark Lord had learned of his existence through Bertha Jorkins who had discovered Crouch's hidden son as she heard both of them talking when she was snooping where she shouldn't have been. Crouch Senior had put a block on her memory but Voldemort found her and broke the barrier, siphoning her for every ounce of information she was worth before killing her. She told him of the Triwizard Tournament, that Alastor Moody was coming out of retirement to teach at Hogwarts, everything she knew. His father was then captured and put under the Imperius curse, just like he had done to his son and they overpowered Moody and the Death Eater took his place.
"But your father escaped," stated Dumbledore.
"Yes. After awhile he started to fight the curse, just like I did," answered Crouch. "He had to write letters from home and say he was sick, but it wasn't enough. He was going to confess to sneaking me out of Azkaban. Wormtail wasn't watchful enough and my father escaped. My master guessed that he was heading for Hogwarts and he told me to stop him at all costs. So I waited and I watched. I used the map I had taken from Harry Potter. The map that had almost ruined everything."
"Map?" said Dumbledore quickly, pausing his story. "What map is this?"
Marie looked up at Harry to see that he was very pale in realization. She had a sense of dread as she could only think of one magical map that she had only read about from Tess' notes. The Marauder's Map.
"Potter's map of Hogwarts. Potter saw me on it. Potter saw me stealing ingredients for the Polyjuice Potion from Snape's office one night. He thought I was my father. We have the same first name. I took the map from Potter that night. I told him my father hated Dark Wizards. Potter believed my father was after Snape." Marie could feel herself bristling as the man painted a target on her professor.
"For a week I waited for my father to arrive at Hogwarts. At last, one evening, the map showed my father entering the grounds. I pulled on the Invisibility Cloak and went down to meet him. He was walking around the edge of the forest. Then Potter, Rogue, and Krum came. I waited. I couldn't hurt Potter and I had just received orders to keep Rogue alive as well. Then Potter ran to get Dumbledore. Rogue heard me moving and I had to Stun her and Krum sooner rather than later. I killed my father."
"Noooo!" wailed Winky. "Master Barty, Master Barty, what is you saying?"
"You killed your father," said Dumbledore, his voice still soft. "What did you do with the body?"
"Carried it into the forest. Covered it with the Invisibility Cloak. I doubled back around when I saw that Potter had met Dumbledore and Snape on the map. Potter's voice carried across the grounds and I pretended that I had heard him in the castle. Rogue was the only one who questioned me and insisted that there was a second person besides my father. Karkaroff didn't believe her and caused a stir, and her opinion was forgotten," he continued. "Dumbledore told me to go and look for my father. I went back to his body and Transfigured him into a bone. I buried it while wearing the Invisibility Cloak, in the freshly dug earth in front of Hagrid's cabin."
It was quiet with the exception of Winky's continued crying. Marie could barely breathe as she started to tremble under the added weight of her brother, her body starting to waver from the shock of it all.
"And tonight..."
"I offered to carry the Triwizard Cup into the maze before dinner," he whispered. "Turned it into a Portkey. Took down Krum and Delacour. Cleared the way for Potter and Rogue. I delivered them to my master and he has risen. He's returned to power and I will be honored by him beyond the dreams of wizards." Winky's sobbing continued as the crazed smile lit up his features, eyes falling on the two champions as his head rolled to the side.
Dumbledore looked down at the man with an expression of disgust. With a swift movement of his wand, ropes appeared and bound the grinning criminal to the chair. He then turned to Professor McGonagall.
"Minerva, could I ask you to stand guard here while I take Harry and Marie upstairs?"
"Of course," she answered. Her mouth was a firm line and her hand was steady as she pointed her wand at the man.
"Severus," he said, turning to the Potions master, "please tell Madame Pomfrey to come down here; we need to get Alastor Moody into the Hospital Wing. Then go down to the grounds, find Cornelius Fudge, and bring him up to this office. He will undoubtedly want to question Crouch himself. Tell him I will be in the Hospital Wing in half an hour's time if he needs me."
Snape nodded silently, sparring Marie a glance before he left the room.
"Harry, Marie, I would like you both to come up to my office," he said with a great sigh. "I believe we have much to discuss."
REVIEW! I know it's a lot of information we already know but it needed to be done for our poor confused little dears. Whew! The Death Eater is revealed just in time to spare Marie the Killing Curse, and the bond between Harry and Marie is out in the open! Much to discuss with Dumbledore, that's for certain...
Your thoughts would be lovely as always my readers! (We are so freakin' close to the end, I almost can't stand it! Yikes!)
Next time: It's time to reveal the truth and connection between Harry and Marie, for better or worse...Marie becomes a new pawn in Dumbledore's vast plan...
Hope you enjoyed! (And hope you all had a lovely Valentine's Day, this is from my heart to yours!)