Chapter 21: Don't Fuck With The Potters

The water was cold.

Just … Merlin's balls, why did they have to bring the Triwizard tournament to Hogwarts and Scotland as opposed to Beauxbatons and France?

That'd be perfect actually, not only would it be warmer for the champions, Harry wouldn't even have been entered and his family and friends wouldn't have been dragged into this clusterfuck of a tournament.

Harry growled and clutched at his mouth, only for his fingers to make a plimp sound as they plucked at the surface of his Bubble-head Charm. He took several deep breaths and tried to find his bearings in the murky waters of the Black Lake.

Fleur broke the surface of the water and darted as fast as her legs could carry her towards a reed forest that led … north? South? Merlin only knew.

The champions had been led out to four diving boards and dived into the lake in order of their standing in the tournament, spells cast seconds after their cannon blasts. Fleur had come after him so if she was already in the water he'd spent far too long screwing around already.

Harry took a deep breath, comforted by the knowledge that he had a personal supply of oxygen, and broke into a front crawl to swim over the reeds Fleur had foolishly entered.

Magical creatures weren't his specialty but if he was gonna put an obstacle to trip up a frantic champion … he'd use somewhere with limited visibility which could be a prime spot for say … Grindylows?

Grindylows were nasty little bastards, they were a sickly green colour and tended to be about the size of a teenaged boy or short man when they'd grown to their full size. They had long but brittle fingers with which they grabbed their prey, which tended to be small fish, animals and other fresh water creatures, and strangled them. They'd even sometimes attack swimmers and drag them down to deeper water and drown their victims before eating them. Over weeks.

Thank you Hermione.

They were easy enough to deal with if you could keep a cool head and there weren't too many of them. The book Hermione had found him said that the Revulsion Jinx could help, as when used underwater, it shot bursts of boiling water from the wand. Failing that just break the thing's fingers and you'd get away easy enough. The trick was to not get overwhelmed by the little water demons.

Fleur though, well she was frantic and she wouldn't be watching for the little beasts. Whoever was down here for Fleur must be really bloody special to her … something that actually surprised him with how much it boggled him. Who could that ice bitch care so much for that she got rid of her common sense? The French witch didn't seem to give a damn about anyone but herself.

Yeah, cus it's not like you're self-centred like her, a snarky voice sounded out in his head.

He wasn't that bad, he shook his head, he gave a damn about a lot of people. Daphne's smiling face flickered across his mind and Harry's stomach dropped as he thought about her at the bottom of the lake … in danger cus of him. Again.

Just like every time she got tangled up in the madness that was his life. The fear in her eyes as he'd sunk into the Devil's Snare when they'd gone after the Philosopher's Stone still haunted him. He'd sworn to himself that if they got out of hunting down whoever was after the stone, Daphne would never be in harm's way again.

He'd managed it mostly, after first year at least. She'd forced her way through all the other obstacles between an intruder and the stone, only to be stopped at Snape's potions challenge. Though when she realised Harry would have to go through to face a grown wizard, probably a professor, on his own … she'd hugged him so tightly and begged him to turn away. Begged him.

She hadn't let go of him for a solid two hours afterwards and it had been heart-breaking to hear her sobbing into his chest and calling him every name that an eleven year old girl could ever think of.

Every other misadventure Harry had had at the end of the school year tended to be kept away from Daphne somehow. The only reason Harry hadn't gone into the Chamber of Secrets alone was because Neville had been with him when they'd heard someone had been taken down there.

No one had been with him when he'd captured Wormtail and smuggled him down to the Shrieking Shack, vengeance the single thing in his head and the only reason Harry hadn't avenged his mother was because Ron bloody Weasley had been shooting his mouth off about how Harry Potter had lost it and nicked his damn rat.

Neville had come rushing in and disarmed Harry before he could strike the killing blow to the waste of space that was responsible for Lily Potter never getting to see her son grow up.

Of course, Daphne always found out when he'd gone off and gotten in trouble. It had led to more than a couple telling offs and weeks of being watched like a hawk by all his friends.

No wonder everyone seemed to think Daphne was his girlfriend, the amount of time she spent practically glued to his side just to make sure he didn't get himself killed or something would have given even Crabbe and Goyle enough of a clue.

Harry pushed away images of Daphne's body floating limply in the water. He needed to keep calm and not got scared. He'd do something stupid then and that wouldn't do anyone any good. He took a slower pace to his swim and tried to scan the water for signs of any activity.

Reeds flew about in what could be just the current but from his higher viewpoint Harry could see Grindylows swarming in and out and while visibility underwater wasn't worth shit to a normal person, Harry's Bubble-head Charm had let him leave his glasses on as the bubble formed into a full face mask, so he could see exactly what the Grindylows were attacking.

Light came off her skin as she flailed about, her instinctual magic doing its best to ward off her attackers and call for help from anyone nearby. Harry'd be very surprised if the people on the surface couldn't see at least a glimmer from her right now.

Fleur's hair whipped around unnaturally and sickly green hands wrapped themselves around her arms, pulling down as other hands slowly pulled the girl out so she was spread eagled in their grasp, her light blue one piece torn where the Grindylows had tried to get a grip of her.

A single Grindylow ran its hands down her face, drawing blood and if Harry could see its face he'd expect the little bastard was grinning. Its hands started to wrap around Fleur's neck.

His wand was pointed at her before Harry could even think. His wrist buckled as he fired off the most powerful Banishment Hex he knew and was diving into the creatures' midst before they'd even let go of Fleur's limbs.

The creatures were too stunned, some were out cold, to stop Harry breaking their grips with his elbow and punch the one trying to strangle Fleur in the head as hard as he could. It careened away from Fleur and Harry wasted no time in pulling the girl up and out of the reeds.

Fleur was still groggy when Harry got her to a safe distance, his arms still wrapped around her middle. He let her go and pulled her chin up so her bleary eyes met his. She blinked repeatedly and with a shake of her head gathered herself back.

Her brows knitted in confusion and she hurriedly pointed at the reeds and between the two of them. Well at least she was vaguely aware of what had happened, he was worried she'd get more dizzied by his spell than he'd meant.

Harry nodded which was met with a look that clearly was meant to ask him why he'd helped her as opposed to just leaving her and taking the advantage.

Merlin, these people were freaking stupid. Why on Earth wouldn't he help someone whose life was in danger … just because of some stupid tournament? Her life was more important than points … scratch that, all of their lives were more important than points.

However he couldn't say that and he suspected from the look the part-Veela was giving him she assumed he only helped her because of her aura and wasn't sure whether she should be grateful or annoyed.

For his own part Harry knew it had nothing to do with her aura and would be beyond pissed off if that's what she thought but right at this second he couldn't give a damn since he had stopped acting his brain flooded him with images of Daphne's lifeless body again.

Harry gave Fleur a brief nod before swimming away from her as fast as he could and made for what he hoped was the centre of the lake. Any fallout from him saving Delacour could wait for later, if she even brought it up, because right now he couldn't care less if he fucking tried.

As he crested over an outcropping of underwater plants with particularly nasty looking barbs on them, Harry swore he could make out a faint voice. Unless there was another beast that could speak, and do it underwater, that had to be the Mermish village!

Harry turned in the water and made a beeline for the sound without a second thought. Daphne was still down here and the longer he spent fucking around the longer he was keeping her in danger. Images of pulling her dead body out of the lake in front of her parents and sister surged into his mind and if Harry could have … he'd have yelled.

'Come seek us where our voices sound, we cannot sing above the ground,' the eerie singing became clearer as Harry approached the village.

The first modest dwellings could be seen as Harry drew closer. Nothing particularly special, huts made out of splattered seaweed and other bits of plant and the occasional bit of driftwood … Merlin only knew how that had got there and Harry didn't really want to ask.

'And while you're searching ponder this, we've taken what you'll sorely miss.'

Some of the huts had Grindylows roped to poles in what Harry assumed were gardens made of long reeds and strange plants, probably the same ones made to make the huts. Some of the merpeople were standing in their doorways watching him as he swam amongst them. There were even some children trying to swim up to him only to be held back by shrieking parents.

Where the bloody hell were they keeping the hostages? Was he gonna have to find them even now he was in the village? This was just stupid. He grit his teeth and swam further into the village.

Screw this task, he'd get Daphne out of the lake and he would immediately start making jokes about how good she looked wet and Daphne would smack him on the arm while she blushed. Their parents would tell them how they'd captured the imposter and Alastor was safe and all was good and they could just freaking breathe for the first time since Harry's name came out of the Goblet of Fire.

Harry rounded the corner at the end of the row of huts and saw what had to be the warriors of the village floating in a circle around four people who were tied to rocks on the bottom of the lake floor.

Tied together and, he hoped to Merlin, still alive, were a small girl with the same blonde hair as Fleur's, Cho, Hermione and …

Harry's heart rose into his throat and he thought he might drown despite his Bubble-head Charm as he saw the lolling head of his oldest friend.

Neville, they'd taken Neville.

What. The. Fuck?!

For what must be the hundredth time since Harry dived into the Black Lake, James flashed a covert look at the mirror in his robe pocket.

Remus should have found Alastor by now. There should be a message, something must have gone wrong. Was Harry wrong on where Moody was being kept?

'James if you keep doing that everyone will know you're up to something,' Nick Greengrass murmured from next to him. 'I know you think you're being the Super Auror but there's one man out here who's watching you like a hawk right now. Relax already.'

He grunted and checked his mirror again. 'He doesn't know what I'm looking at and you relax, it's my kid down there. Least yours is safe and sound up here.'

Daphne was sat up in the stands with them like James had hoped. He had to admit that when Harry had said he was certain it was Daphne at the bottom of the lake James had been worried for the merpeople who got in his son's way. Harry was more than a little protective of the blonde girl and if a merperson had tried to stop Harry from saving her … well there'd probably be nothing Dumbledore could do to stop the massacre that would follow.

So when he'd come back to the stands after pushing Harry into the tent he'd been beyond relieved to see a frantic Daphne wedged between her parents. Dumbledore had finally started listening to James when it came to Harry and if it wasn't years too late James would be ecstatic with that.

His old headmaster had come to James and asked if he'd be willing to put himself there for his son to rescue. Apparently James was the best choice, despite the fact that as strong as Harry was getting, he wouldn't be able to pull James out of the lake just yet.

James had laughed in the man's face, as if he'd ever surrender his wand to anyone, and told him that unless he was going to duel him into submission James was doing no such thing.

Then the next supposedly logical person would be Daphne, James had to marvel at the interest Albus was taking in one student's social life, then again the kids were more or less inseparable. Ophelia wasn't the only person who thought they'd wind up together and James had to be honest, he couldn't think of anyone else who'd put up with Harry's crap and call him on it like Daphne.

In the end James had told Dumbledore in no uncertain terms that if he wanted to put someone at the bottom of the lake the only person worse than James to put in possibly mortal danger was Daphne and that he needed to pick someone that wouldn't result in an international incident between Britain and the merpeople.

The fact that he'd chosen Neville had almost impressed James at how diabolically manipulative it was. James had known it was him the second he'd seen Daphne. Granted, Hermione was missing too and James wouldn't be too surprised if Harry had more friends that he didn't know about but James wasn't an Auror for nothing. Neville was Harry's hostage. It fit in with Dumbledore's style of fixing problems too well not to be.

Everyone who knew the boys could tell something was wrong between Harry and Neville but if Neville was pulled out of the lake as the 'thing' Harry would miss most … well that'd go a long way towards bridging the gap between them that had been there since at least the first task.

James would feel bad about not questioning the fall out more but he'd had so many other things to fix since he found out and Neville and Harry's argument wasn't exactly high on his list of priorities so he'd trusted them to sort it out between themselves like they normally did.

But the look Daphne had given him the night in the Hospital Wing when he'd mention Neville's behaviour … that told him it was much more serious this time and James would wager everything he owned that it was to do with Neville saving Pettigrew from Harry at the beginning of last summer.

James had had mixed emotions about that, on the one hand he wanted Pettigrew dead and he'd have been more than happy to know Lily had been avenged … but he didn't want Harry to do it. Harry was already going to have to kill Voldemort, there was nothing that could be done about that, no matter how much James wished he could stop it, Harry would kill Voldemort and the damage that would do to his boy broke his heart.

So that Neville had kept more blood from being on Harry's hands than absolutely necessary was something of a relief for James, even if the rat had got away.

Daphne could probably tell him exactly what happened, Merlin knew the boys wouldn't tell him even if he ordered them, but as Nick wrapped an arm around Daphne's shoulders … James knew he never would.

She knew two of her friends were down there and a third could be too if the bile Skeeter was writing about Krum and Hermione was true.

James wouldn't torture a girl he still remembered dragging Harry to the dance floor by his cuffs because she wanted to dance at the first Lords and Ladies ball they'd been allowed to attend by asking stupid questions. Ophelia would kill him if he even tried. Nick would probably sue his corpse.

Daphne hadn't looked away from the lake from the first cannon. Her knuckles were white as she hugged herself and stared forward, willing the water to part and show Harry safe and sound with a cheeky grin plastered on his face.

Or maybe that's just what he wanted to see. Merlin he hated sitting around doing nothing. Where was Remus' bloody message?

James snuck a look over to where the Death Eater was still standing next to Dumbledore looking the picture of calm. Great, he had to be stood right next to the one person James wanted to keep out of his business more than anything.

The Marauders had questions for the bastard who was stumbling around as Alastor Moody and the wise and powerful Albus Dumbledore would likely not approve of the methods James planned to extract answers out of him.

It wasn't really Dumbledore's place to interfere with Auror business of course, but that wouldn't stop the Supreme Mugwump throwing his weight about where it wasn't wanted or needed.

A grinning Sirius nudged James with his shoulder and leaned in close, it'd look like he was telling a private joke to any onlookers who happened to glance there way.

'Prongs, he's not left Dumbledore's side all task, how the hell are we supposed to get him away once Moony has Mad Eye?' Sirius' smile stretched a little too wide, his grey eyes mirrored the waters of the Black Lake. 'Harry's already been down there fifteen minutes and if we're gonna keep to the plan we've gotta act soon.'

James pulled away with a nervous smile and tried to laugh but it came out as more of a gargle. 'I don't know Sirius, what do you think Nick?'

Nick clucked a little and darted a look over at the judges' table. Frown lines cut into his aristocratic features and he gave the barest of a shrug. 'If you reckon you can pull him away without giving out any clues to interested parties I think you'll manage it fine.'

James hissed out his frustration through his teeth. 'So I'd have to be quiet and calm as to not let Dumbledore and the Death Eater know I'm making a move but give a reasonable excuse for why I'm not playing the worried father praying his son comes back up?'

'Yup.' Nick tapped out a steady rhythm on his knee. 'If you really want to take him out, you can't do it obviously.'

'What if I just marched over and took him by force … think I'd get in much trouble for hexing Albus Dumbledore?' James' hand whitened around his wand. 'I could say he was interfering with Ministry business.'

Nick bobbed his head from side to side as he made a show of thinking. 'I could argue that but I don't think it'd hold much weight in front of the Wizenmagot James.'

'Fuck.'

Nick raised a thin honey blond eyebrow at him. 'Indeed.'

'No, not that,' James said. The mirror burned against his leg and James almost ripped it out of his pocket. 'Remus?'

Sirius leant forwards in his seat and whispered in the ear of the non-descript witch Tonks was pretending to be. She nodded slightly and patted Sirius' arm before walking out of the stands as unobtrusively as possible.

James tapped the giant R that took up the mirror and Remus' worried face replaced the R.

'James?' Remus' gasped as a slight flicker of a smile graced his ragged face. 'I've got Moody, he's in bad shape but he's alive.'

'Thank Merlin,' James muttered and shared a shaky smile with Nick and Sirius. 'Great work Remus, is he strong enough to Side-along Apparate once you get off the grounds?'

Remus' face disappeared briefly and his muffled voice could be just made out. The werewolf came back and shook his head. 'No James, he's too weak, we're gonna have to Floo him from somewhere.'

'Shit,' Sirius said. 'We can't take him through the Hospital Wing either, Madame Pomfrey would never allow it without telling Dumbledore first. How are we gonna get him out of here?'

'Aurora,' James said quickly.

'Now isn't the time to be thinking about your bed warmer Prongs, unless she's a Healer as well as an Astronomy whiz she can't help,' Sirius snapped.

'Shut it dog-breath.' James glared cutting curses at his moron of a friend. 'Aurora's got a private Floo, we can get him out from there. Do you need help with him Remus?'

'I could use an extra pair of hands, Moody might not have been eating much these past few months but he's still bloody heavy, send me the moron.' Remus scowled and his eyes flashed. 'We'll get him to the Astronomy Tower and I'll try and remember some of that first aid they taught me when I was working in that Muggle nursing home.'

'Good, Sirius go,' James ordered. 'I'll tell Aurora to meet you there and once you've got Moody to Johnson you get back here sharpish.'

Sirius hesitated for a second. 'Just you and Tonks against the Death Eater?'

'Yes. I'll be fine, go help Remus.'

Sirius gripped James' arm and nodded. 'Be careful.'

Sirius darted out of the stands much less inconspicuously than his cousin had and James had to resist the urge to groan. Now wasn't the time though, he needed to get to Aurora and tell her what was going on.

'James, we might have an opportunity.' Nick was holding up a piece of parchment with Ophelia's handwriting on it and staring after the imposter, who was hobbling his arse away from the judges table as fast as he could in the direction of the Forbidden Forest. 'You should capitalise on it. Ophelia is already taking care of Aurora.'

'Guess he figured out what was going on.' James grunted as the parchment burned into ashes between Nick's fingers. 'You ever going to tell me how you guys do that? It's damn useful.'

'Family secret, the fact that Daphne told Harry how to do it is bad enough.' Nick gave his silent daughter a mock glare, which was replaced with concern when she still didn't tear her eyes away from the lake. 'Now as your lawyer, I fully advise you to assault the escaping pretend cripple immediately.'

'Thanks Nick.' James hurried his way out of the stands without a second glance and once he was out of the stands he bolted after the Death Eater.

Neville's head lolled against his chin as Harry rushed forward to check his pulse.

'Merlin, please, please, please be okay,' Harry said to himself. 'You've gotta be okay.'

He couldn't lose Neville, not before he'd been given the opportunity to properly apologise and try and fix things between them. How'd he ever look Augusta in the eyes again or anyone else for that matter?

Of all the people they could have put here Neville had never occurred to him. He'd considered nearly every friend he had who they could have put here, even some who weren't actually his friends but were thought to be. Hell he would have been less surprised if Dumbledore had put Zoe down here for him.

But Neville … he wasn't afraid of losing Neville, he was already pretty sure he'd lost him by this point. They would never have the friendship they'd had before the very one sided duel in the fourth year boys' dorms. This made absolutely no fucking sense.

Once positive Neville was in fact alive, with shaky hands Harry checked the three girl's pulses as well. The little girl's was worryingly faint but Hermione, Cho and Neville's were all beating steadily.

He shot a quick look around to see if any of the other champions were coming but all he could see were the mermen and mermaids with their grey skin and their dark green weedy hair. Some had jewellery made out of fish teeth or sharp rocks.

Merlin, he was the only one here and the merpeople were probably only going to let him take Neville. That'd leave the other champions to deal with theirs and Harry could probably get back to the top and finish in first. That'd be a nice shock for the people who thought he was too young to take part in the tournament.

The looks on Karkaroff and Maxime's faces would be priceless.

But he couldn't do that. What if something went wrong and two of his friends and an innocent little girl died because he wanted to win?

He could always come back down for them if he left with Neville now, but that could still go badly and he didn't want to risk it. The merpeople were just staring at him with their creepy yellow eyes that made them look more like reptiles than fish people.

He swam up to one of the tallest looking ones and brought himself to eye-level with a female with a large headdress that looked kinda like a Native American headdress … only made from fish bones and weeds.

'So … I can only take one can't I?' His voice was muffled through the bubble but the mermaid seemed to understand him.

'Only yours.' Her voice was melodious under the water but there was a trace of a rasp that Harry associated with old women when they were annoyed. He had a good frame of reference with some of the Hogwarts professors. 'Other champions come for their friend.'

Fuck. He'd been afraid of that. Another look around, nobody to be seen yet again. Where the fuck were the others? If Delacour got herself trapped and killed by Grindylows again he'd scream.

'And what if they're all my friends and I try to take them?' Harry asked, his hand instinctively curling around his wand. 'You gonna try and stop me?'

Several of the merpeople around him, Merlin they were big buggers, shuffled conspicuously and Harry figured they were preparing to stab him with their vicious looking tridents if he tried anything.

'We will stop you.' The words were blunt and to the point but the mermaid's eyes had widened and there was a slight smirk for a second. 'Take your friend and leave Champion.'

'What if the other champions don't come for the others?' Harry didn't look away from the eerie eyes and tried not to focus on the hissing soldiers surrounding him.

'They will be lost.' The mermaid pointed a grey finger at the hostages.

Well that was all he needed to know. His teeth clenched and Harry scowled at the mermaid who seemed to be growing more and more amused as he glared at her.

'I will boil your lake if you don't return any lost hostages to the surface.' Harry glowered at her, never looking away. 'No one dies for this shit are we clear?'

'You threaten us boy?' A merman behind him hissed at Harry, his trident gripped in stark white knuckled hands which frankly looked creepy as shit.

'Got seaweed in your ears arsehole?' Harry snarled through the bubble but he never took his eyes off the mermaid who hadn't moved from her spot. 'The castle will eat seafood for a month when I'm done if anyone dies in this lake. I don't care what Dumbledore'll think. Clear?'

The collected merpeople hissed at him and some even lowered their tridents as if preparing to strike on command. They all looked to the immobile mermaid in front of Harry.

Well shit, he'd probably just threatened the Chieftainess or something. His dad would be so proud he was spreading his diplomatic skills to other nations.

The Chieftainess took a long slow blink at him and as if deciding on something she nodded once. 'Take your hostage Champion.'

Satisfied Harry dived down to the four hostages, seriously where the fuck were the other champions? He'd had time to save the French witch, get to the village and threaten the entire population and they still weren't here.

Honestly, so much for that leetle boy bollocks Delacour was spouting back on Halloween. He would so be rubbing the fact that he got here first in the stuck up bitch's face if she tried any of her crap.

As if summoning him via annoyance, Viktor Krum, the amazing Half-Shark appeared and shot towards the collected hostages.

Shark-Krum gnashed at Hermione's weed ropes before pulling back when he realised he might hurt the girl. That's what he got for not using his brain and thinking of something that didn't cut into his intelligence by making himself half fucking fish.

Harry grabbed his attention and Krum backed away from his hostage. Harry sent a precise cutter to the ropes around Hermione's wrists and she drifted upwards. The bonds hadn't even floated to the ground before Krum was off.

Well at least Hermione was safe, he'd have to leave Cho and the little girl to the others, the merpeople would deliver them if the others didn't show up. He needed to get Neville up to the surface, they might need his help with Moody.

'Where the fuck are you Cedric?' Harry hissed to himself. The Hufflepuff was nowhere to be seen and if he came last he was going to give him hell for it. All well and good being loyal and hardworking but if he didn't put that shit to good use when it was really needed what was the bloody point?

With one last check of Cho and the little girl's pulse, still faint damn, Harry cut Neville loose and with a sharp look at the nearest merperson Harry hefted Neville up by his waist and swam upwards as fast as he could.

Sirius and Tracey were going to bloody love this. The gay jokes the pair would come up with would be beyond count and probably get steadily worse the longer they went on. Hell, Tonks would probably chip in as well.

… That was a horrifying thought. Sirius had his moments and Tracey had a dagger quick wit when she wanted to but Tonks was a fucking master at piss taking … and she was here to help rescue Moody.

The groan he let loose had nothing to do with how Neville appeared to have been eating more over the winter period.

Oh well, as long as he got Neville out safe and everything was okay he'd suffer through the tirade of jokes he was going to get.

Harry ignored the angry stares from the merpeople below but he couldn't quite shake the feeling that he'd passed some kind of test with the Chieftainess, even if the others wanted to shish kabob him. He was pretty sure she approved of his methods of ensuring the others' survival.

Anyone who said he couldn't do diplomacy could kiss his arse.

He kicked harder and harder and the village below was a murky shadow as Harry hefted Neville into a more comfortable position.

Harry cast a quick look over the reed forest he'd rescued Fleur from earlier and didn't see anything. She could always be lying dead at the bottom or something but he doubted it. Cedric was probably knocking around somewhere as well.

Harry broke the surface of the water and his bubble popped as Neville roused.

'Nev?' Harry shouted over the cheering that greeted their rise to the top of the lake. 'Neville! You alright mate?'

'M'fine Harry,' Neville said groggily. He sent droplets of water flying from waterlogged hair as he shook his head. 'Where are we?'

Harry laughed coarsely. 'Just taking a dip in the Black Lake Nev, that's all.'

Neville let Harry drag him to the edge of the lake where some of their housemates and Hannah were waiting for him. Tonks too … that was weird. Was something wrong with the plan? Shit, there was something wrong, had he got Moody's location wrong?

'Wait,' Neville said as they nearly reached the side. 'I remember I was your hostage to be rescued wasn't I?'

'Er yeah,' Harry said. What was Nev gonna say to that? He half expected a well-deserved snarky comment.

'So I'm what you'd miss most?' Neville gave him a weird look. 'Yeah?'

'Yeah.' Harry took the outstretched arm from Tonks and helped Neville out of the water.

'You're so gay Potter,' Neville said with a shaky grin before Hannah enveloped him in a towel and a very tight hug.

Harry groaned as Tonks wrapped a towel of his own around him. 'I'm guessing I'll pay for that later huh Tonksie?'

'Yeah, you really will. But right now I need to get going, your dad's got the Death Eater and he might need my help.' Tonks muttered, giving his messy hair a quick drying off with the towel. 'Moody's okay as well by the way, so just stay here alright?'

Harry just nodded and stared after Tonks as she darted off, satisfied he'd be staying still. He'd have been right after her if a blonde missile hadn't dived around him just as he went to stand up.

'Oh no you don't Harry Potter,' Daphne all but screeched into his ear. 'You are staying right here where I can keep an eye on you and that's final.'

Harry just nodded again as Daphne quickly pulled Neville over to them and wrapped her arms around them both. 'Stupid bloody boys, you worried me half to death you know that right?'

Neville and Harry shared a grin and Harry suddenly felt a knot of tension loosen as Neville smiled at him.

Maybe he hadn't lost Neville after all.

The Death Eater had almost made it to the treeline of the Forbidden Forest before James got within firing distance.

He silently cast a Tripping Jinx and the Moody impersonator bowled over into a messy roll that left him scrambling to get back to his feet as James drew closer.

Moody himself would be yelling at James for not just Stunning the bastard while his back was turned and dragging him off to the interrogation cells in either Azkaban or the Auror Office but James had other ideas.

He didn't just want to capture the man, he wanted to destroy him in a duel so that when he dumped his battered and bloody body in one of the coldest and darkest cells of Azkaban, he'd be able to say they duelled and all the injuries he suffered would be justified.

'Going somewhere Alastor?' James spat as he closed in, his wand held low, the tip past his knee and glowing with James' next curse. 'Though considering I know where the real Alastor is, I suppose I shouldn't call you that. Do I get a name or can I call you bastard instead?'

Fake-Moody sneered and drew his wand. 'I had you fooled for a long time didn't I Potter?' He took a step to the left only for James to curse the ground where his feet would have been. 'The great and powerful Auror Potter, fooled by another Death Eater, you're making a habit of this.'

James fingers burned with magic as he calmed himself down, he would hurt whoever was hiding behind Moody's skin and he would do it slow, but if he got wound up by what he said it'd be over too quickly. He shot a precise cutter at Fake-Moody's face and blood flew as a gash opened across his cheek.

The imposter clutched at his fresh wound and fired back a quick curse causing James to pivot out of harm's way and belt out a couple of quick blasting hexes but they went wide as Fake-Moody hobbled to the right.

'Occillo,' James said as stabbed his wand at Moody's fake leg but it only glanced it so it didn't break into pieces only a couple slivers of wood flashed to the grass.

But it was enough for the imposter to fall and need to roll again, James would give the bastard his due, he was good at recovering from a fall, he'd probably had a few when he started his masquerade.

'Crucio!' The imposter hissed at James as a red bolt of magic screamed from his wand.

James summoned a sizeable chunk of earth up in front of him and was moving again before the mist that used to be grass and dirt settled back down to the floor.

The bastard was already breaking out the Unforgivables, well he'd have to end this faster than he'd planned then, he couldn't let it carry on too long in case Dumbledore came investigating or worse a stray spell could hit an innocent bystander … maybe a child.

Okay he'd end this quick and make up for it during the interrogation.

James sliced at the ground behind him and transfigured a six foot wall that stretched out ten feet wide.

The Death Eater snapped off a couple of quick curses and they took out clumps of dirt from James' hurried wall. 'Worried about me hurting the little children James?' The Death Eater goaded. 'That weakness will cost you when my master returns, I will enjoy telling him all about your many weaknesses.'

'Uh huh,' James said as he snapped off four bone breakers in quick succession at his opponent.

The Death Eater hastily deflected three of them but the fourth caught him in the elbow of his non-wand arm and he screeched as his elbow snapped.

'I'll kill you Potter!'

Ignoring the threat James threw what most Aurors affectionately called 'The Ankle Biter' at the Death Eater, making him jump over the sharp arc only to land clumsily and leave himself wide open.

'Repulso, repulso, repulso.' Three more curses hit the other man squarely in the chest and sent him flying towards the thick trunk of a tree.

He crashed into the tree with a sickening crack and James spelled the branches to wrap around the man's arms, legs and chest and hold him as James rushed to close the gap and properly capture the Death Eater.

The Death Eater managed to reach his wand and broke the branches' grip just as James was within spitting distance. The Death Eater levelled his wand at James' face.

'Avada Ke-'

James barrelled forward and rugby tackled the man right through the tree behind him, interrupting the Killing Curse before it could be cast. His arms around his opponent's waist James pulled the other man to the ground, using the Death Eater to cushion his fall.

'Blood traitor! You'd use Muggle barbarism to win a duel?' The Death Eater snarled in Moody's voice.

That coming from Moody, fake or otherwise, made James smirk. He took the downed man's wand arm and broke it in three places. It was a personal favourite of Moody's and he'd taught it to James within the first month of his training.

The imposter screamed in agony as James let him go, his arm flopping to the floor like a landed fish finally giving up on life. The imposter's grip on his wand was loose and easy for James to sweep off the ground as he stood up.

'You know, it doesn't matter that you won't tell me who you are, I'll find out soon.' James raised the captured wand to eye level and twirled it in his fingers. 'Or I could take this to Ollivander … well the pieces of it at least … and find out that way.'

The downed Death Eater kicked out at James. 'Bastard!'

James dodged the sloppy kick and brought his heel down on the Death Eater's knee, eliciting another agonised squeal from the man.

'Incarcerous,' James said calmly as cords of rope hogtied the defeated man. 'Now shut up, there will be plenty of time for that screaming bollocks later.'

Moody's face was a mask of hatred but the fear in his one good eye spoke volumes to James. 'You can't hurt me, you're an Auror,' Moody slurred.

James raised an eyebrow and smirked at him. 'Oh? You think I'm taking you straight to Azkaban?'

Fake-Moody's eye widened in horrific realisation and stared transfixed as James lifted the Death Eater's wand so its owner could watch as James snapped it in half with one hand and pocketed the pieces.

'Stupefy,' James muttered, his stunner hit the Death Eater in the head.

The Death Eater sufficiently knocked out James cast a levitation charm and hovered the body far enough into the Forbidden Forest to cross the anti-Apparation wards and with a pop they were both gone.

Blood dripped down from the Death Eater's wounds as he lolled in the chair, body arched forwards and still tightly wound up in the ropes.

James would normally be less than pleased with himself for how quickly he turned to causing pain and the fact that he was damn tempted to just torture the sick fucker until he woke up without receiving the counter spell … he didn't give a fuck.

The man he'd beaten and cursed into submission had spent the past few months impersonating Alastor Moody, still was as his Polyjuice Potion hadn't worn off yet, and while the crazy old bastard wasn't well loved in the general public's eyes, he was a treasured member of James' family. You didn't mess with James' family.

James had Apparated straight to the secret interrogation room from Hogwarts, safe in the knowledge that no one but he and Moody knew its exact location. James had kitted out a shack in the middle of the biggest wood in Staffordshire, Cannock Chase, with Moody back in the nastiest part of Voldemort's war for … less than legal interrogations.

Moody had never used the Unforgivables and neither had James, there were much more inventive ways to hurt someone that were harder to prove than spells, however most Aurors who'd lived through their first year understood that the law could sometimes get in the way of justice.

The shack was warded to the gills with all the charms and runes James and Moody knew put together, Muggle repellers as a matter of course, what they'd think of an empty shack if they could get into was anybody's guess but a squatter would be a pain if James or Moody needed to remove them.

They'd also made it Unplottable and done every secrecy spell they could think of except the Fidelus Charm. Moody didn't like or trust the Fidelus as much as most and James hadn't seen it worth arguing for.

James checked the Stunned Death Eater's pulse, then his watch and nodded. If he guessed right the hour long disguise would be coming to an end any minute and he wanted to wake the Death Eater up as he turned back into himself.

Polyjuice transformations could be painful, especially if you had to regrow limbs, and James didn't want the bastard to miss the fun.

He conjured a metal table to stand by the Death Eater and James emptied out a few … encouragements … from his cloak pockets to be used if the Death Eater had the bull-headed stupidity to think James wouldn't leave him for dead if he didn't talk.

If Harry's dreams were to be believed this piece of shit was working for Voldemort and James had plenty of questions for his prisoner and no was not going to be answer to a single one of them.

'Rennervate.' James jabbed his wand at the man's chest.

A red bolt of magic struck him in the chest and the Death Eater burst to life with a low groan.

'Come on,' James said calmly, crossing his arms and boring holes into the man's skull. 'Wake up or you'll miss the show.'

'What are you talking about?' The Death Eater said thickly. He tried to meet James' glare but even with Moody's mismatched eyes the Dark wizard failed miserably to match James'. 'Where have you taken me Potter?'

James punched the man in the mouth, grim satisfaction filled him as he bastard screamed. Magic enhanced punches were always something else.

Teeth made little thud noises as they landed on the earthy floor as the Death Eater's head snapped to the side.

'You don't ask the questions, I do. Is that understood?' James said. 'Now you've got a few minutes before the Polyjuice wears off, anything you want to tell me before then or shall I decide how we kill the time?'

'Fuck you,' the Death Eater lisped through a fat lip. He turned Moody's face towards him and glowered. 'You interrogate like a Mudblood you blood traitor.'

'Language.' James punched the man in the face again. Blood dribbled from his mouth and with a follow up slam of his fist into the man's forehead, a trickle from his brow joined the flow.

The Death Eater reared his head back round and kept his glare on James.

He wasn't going to get anything out of him by just beating him, no matter how cathartic it was to dole out blow after blow on the scumbag. Shame.

James' knuckled popped as he made contact with the bridge of the man's nose. There was an almighty crack and the chair beneath the now howling and huffing Death Eater wobbled back onto its four legs.

'Okay, we're gonna wait for your leg and eye to regrow and then we're gonna talk.' James stood before the man and took some Alastor's shaggy hair in his fist and pulled the face up to look at him. 'You will answer my questions.'

The Death Eater spat blood in James' face.

James didn't even blink, he just lifted his wand to his face and pointed. 'Scourgify.'

The magic washed over his face and the blood and spittle was gone.

With a backhanded smack the Death Eater's head jerked to the side and lolled as he breathed heavily.

'Do that again and once I've got my answers I will make it so you can never talk again.' James stepped away and conjured a chair to watch the coming transformation. 'Now kindly show me who I'll be leaving bloody and crying like a child in one of the darkest and Dementor infested cells in Azkaban.'

The Death Eater laughed darkly and a manic gleam entered Moody's eye. 'What? Again?'

James didn't say anything, he just grit his teeth and took a practiced relaxed position in his chair. Who the hell was this bastard? No one had ever broken out of Azkaban, the Marauders had theorised a bit about it but no one had ever actually managed it … so how could he have already thrown this Death Eater in already?

'I've been waiting to see the great James Potter learn how he was outwitted ever since my master came for me.' The gleam was sharper now and if it wasn't for the heavy lisp from his busted lips the Death Eater would probably be smiling. 'How the entire Ministry and your precious Auror Office has been tricked for years.'

James said nothing as the Death Eater low chuckles broke into grunting and snarling as the Polyjuice started to wear off. Moody's magic eye popped out first as a brown eye replaced the electric blue one just as the other eye changed back and then Moody's leg rattled loose of its catches and clunked onto the floor. With a scream of pain the Death Eater's own leg replaced the prosthetic. James could make out the grey grizzled hairs of Alastor lighten to straw blond but he still couldn't make out the Death Eater's face as he thrashed his bound body in his chair.

It was only when the spectacle was over and a much thinner man sat in place of Alastor, panting and wheezing in his much looser ropes that with his face towards the floor that James was snapped out of his fixation.

With a flick of his wand the ropes tightened around the man, making him lurch backwards revealing his real face to James properly.

'You.' James' blood ran cold and his grip tightened on his wand as he aimed it between the man's eyes. 'You're supposed to be dead.'

The milk white face of Barty Crouch Jr, his face relieved of all the wounds and blemished he'd suffered as Moody, stared back at James. A manic smirk broke loose on his face which quick broke into full hysterical laughter.

'Yes!' Crouch crowed. 'Yes Potter, I am! Oh your face is just as I've imagined it would be.'

What in Merlin's fucking name was going on? He'd arrested Crouch a decade ago and he was supposed to be dead in the Azkaban dirt for nearly as long. Crouch Senior hadn't even come for the body.

'How are you alive?' James asked before he could stop himself.

Crouch Jr cackled and rocked in his chair. 'You can thank my mother for my break out James. Father might have hated me but the old bastard loved my mother enough to do whatever she asked.'

'She wasn't well when you went in … she's the one who died in Azkaban.' James steadied himself from the shock as much he could but this was nearly too much. 'And you've been walking around ever since. How did your father manage to keep you from looking for Voldemort?'

'Don't you say his name you blood traitor filth!' Crouch hissed and tried to lurch forward in his chair.

James sent a precise cutter at Barty's face, blood globbed and then trickled down his cheek. 'I asked you a question Crouch.'

Crouch licked at the blood as it trickled down to his mouth. It made James' stomach churn.

'What are you going to do if I don't blood traitor?' He sneered. 'You can't kill me, you won't kill me. There'd be no defence like when you killed Rodolphus. Bella's sworn to kill you for that, shame I'll have to take that from her.'

James raised an eyebrow at the other man but gave no other sign he'd acknowledged anything Crouch had said. Bellatrix Lestrange and her brother-in-law had both sworn to avenge Rodolphus when James had taken the bastard's head off when James had found the Lestranges and Crouch Jr torturing the Longbottoms.

'I have no intention of killing you Crouch,' James said simply. 'I'm going to put you back in the cell you were taken from and I'm going to leave you there to rot.'

Crouch shrugged at the promise and smirked. 'My master will just break me out, along with all of my fellow Death Eaters and the first place we'll go is to your house and kill everyone you love. So hurry up and take me back Potter, see if I care.'

James gave Crouch a matching wound on the other side of his face and stood smoothly.

'If you come to my home Crouch, anyone but your racist master will be killed before you step over my threshold.' James picked up a knife from the table and tested the sharpness of the blade against his skin. 'And you're not going anywhere until you answer my questions.'

Crouch's manic eyes were fixed on the knife edge and James didn't need Legilimency to know the psychopath was thinking of sticking the blade in James' neck.

'You can't make me tell you anything Potter, you're too weak to use the Cruciatus and even if you could no one other than my master can hurt me with it.'

James frowned and twirled the knife in his hand as if Crouch hadn't spoken. 'You know, I always think that wizards and witches missed a trick on interrogation. The Muggles might not have access to magic but they've been able to get answers out of people all the same. It's also much easier to destroy the evidence of any torture, you can't check a knife for spells its cast and that's even if you ever find it.'

James pressed the knife against Barty's neck and locked his eyes on the other man's. 'Personally I'd have thought you lot would have taken some of their tricks into your twisted little repertoire or are you all just too stupid to be creative with your torture? The Unforgivables all you got or something?'

'You won't.' Barty's eyes were wide and fearful as they darted down to James' hand and back to his ice cold eyes. 'You'd be thrown in Azkaban just as quick as me and that'd leave little Harry open to my master's other servants.'

James whipped the knife up and sliced it down Barty's face, leaving a slice from by his eye to his jaw bone.

Barty screamed and arched away from James as blood furrowed down to his neck and stained his skin.

'Mention my son unless you have to again and I will take from you what you did Alastor.' James' voice was frosted metal. 'Say his name and I'll take your tongue too.'

Crouch stared wide-eyed and James slammed the hilt of the knife down on Crouch's fingers, breaking a couple of knuckles.

'Nod for me Crouch, or I'll take your eye on principle.'

Crouch nodded and swore furiously as James pushed the hilt down some more before removing it.

'Good, now let's get to my questions, what was Voldemort's plan involving the Triwizard Tournament? Was it you who entered him?'

'Yes,' Crouch spat. 'My lord wanted him in the tournament so I made it so. It was easy, I even had the fool Dumbledore tricked.'

The knife slashed again and took another slice out of Barty's face, shallower this time. James wasn't Dumbledore's biggest fan by any stretch but he wouldn't let this scum bad mouth the man.

'Mind your manners Barty, what would your father think?' James asked.

'I think he'd be more disappointed that the great James Potter sank to such things, you'd make a good Death Eater if you weren't such a Mudblood-loving blood traitor Potter,' Crouch spat as he spoke and then he howled as James sank the knife into the flesh of his inner thigh.

'Another rule Barty, every time you say Mudblood I'll do that again.' James picked up a new knife and twisted the one still in Crouch's leg. 'I don't like that word and I don't want to hear it pass your lips again.'

Crouch tried to look mutinous but he just looked pathetic as sweat beaded on his brow.

'Good, now, why did your Dark Lord want Harry in the tournament? For him to die?'

Crouch shook his head. 'No, not for him to die, he is needed for my master's other plans. The boy is a means to an end.'

'What plan Crouch?' James twisted the knife in Crouch's leg. 'Tell me.'

'No!' Crouch shouted through the pain. 'I won't betray my master to a filthy blood traitor!'

James stabbed another knife into Crouch's other leg just above knee. He grabbed both knives and twisted them deeper into Crouch's flesh.

Crouch howled again and started to sob as he tried to master the pain shooting through his knee.

'Fine Crouch, don't tell me, they'll get it out of you after the Dementors get you. Just one more question and we'll go pay them a visit.'

Crouch groaned as James released the knives and righted himself.

'Who are these other servants you mentioned? Who were you working with in the school?'

Something crossed Crouch's face, James wasn't sure what it was and despite wanting to know so badly he'd risk Dumbledore finding out where he'd gone … Moody and Harry could still be in danger.

'Who are you working with Crouch?'

Crouch slumped backward and smirked like a maniac. 'Pettigrew, he was the one who was with my lord when he rescued me from my father's Imperius.'

James growled low in his throat, the rat was working for Voldemort then. Harry's dreams were getting more and more unnerving, they'd have to talk to someone about Harry soon. This could be very bad.

'Wormtail, no one else?' James asked harshly. 'No more allies I need to have little chats with?'

Crouch smirked at him and Merlin was that beginning to get on his nerves. 'No one else was helping to get to your boy, no.'

'Good.' James nodded and let his wand fall into his hand. 'Next stop Azkaban then Barty, but you forgot something.'

Crouch watched him trying to sneer at James while he was bleeding heavily. 'What?'

'You mentioned Harry. Scalpere Inaeternum.' James wand sliced through the air and a guillotine of black light sliced off Crouch's leg from just above knee and cauterised the wound instantly.

Crouch's severed leg hit the earthy floor with a dull thud, the burnt flesh from where the Dark curse had sliced steaming at the wound but he couldn't focus on his sudden crippling as James picked up a knife from the table and buried it in the Death Eater's eye.

If the shack wasn't Silenced … Crouch could probably be heard screaming from miles away.