Writer's Block, plus the starting of grade eleven, the hardest of my schooling years. Don't ask anymore.
The reviewers: IloveallAnime15, Spider's Thread, Furionknight, StrawberriesAndCinnamonJAM, The Liar Of Truth, The Shadow Moon, wunsleh, Sleepyreader319, Kyuubi No Tenshi, WinxPossible, tenshi-no-akuma-81, missie.1998, ladyyuuki16, ShadowsBloodPain, Frostfire613, nightliliesu, The Awesome God Apollo, HinataWeasley789, CalcBoy91, CATSthewriter, ChelseaAnonymous, poprockwitch, verohey5, magicrazy101, 2amBer and Flower in the River
A part of a reason why it took so long to update was because of grek's review. No, it wasn't a flame. But he/she said the truth to my face, and though it wasn't pleasant, I had to admit that it was true. But this admission simply made me go, "Oh my Kami, there really is no point to this story," so I just had to overcome that little fact before writing again.
Chapter Twenty Five: The Beast Within
Come on, Shikamaru thought frantically, come on, faster!
Though he was body-flickering, he had absolutely no idea where the hell Harry and Moody were. The logical explanation was the Hospital Wing, Gryffindor Tower, or Moody's own office. The last two, he didn't know why they would be there, but his gut told him…
He, Gaara and Kiba raced along hallway after hallway, following the light traces of chakra that Moody and Harry left behind.
Come on…
Kiba paused and sniffed the air, Akamaru doing the same beside him. The dog whined, and Kiba nodded.
"This way," Kiba said, jerking his head, and they sped off. Time had never moved slower; every second felt like a minute, every minute felt like an hour. It was as if they were running in water; their footsteps pounded the marble floors, but it was as if they hadn't moved a centimetre.
Kiba led them past the empty Great Hall, down numerous corridors, with only the sound of panicked breaths and the clicking of animal nails on the ground. Kiba slid to a halt, his head cocked, and after a moment of indecision, headed right.
"Here?" Gaara whispered. Kiba nodded, and Shikamaru agreed; he could feel two faint magical signatures nearby.
They stood in front of a door, one they recognised as the one to Moody's office. It was closed, naturally, and they could barely pick out the murmur of a voice on the other side. Shikamaru's ears pricked; for some strange reason, the voice sounded malicious, and the amount of killing intent oozing from underneath the door alerted him to the fact that they were facing an enemy.
Gaara's sand reared its head quietly, and Kiba and Shikamaru watched stonily as it rose up like a wave, and crashed down against the door. The impact almost splintered the fragile piece of wood, and when it fell down, the three ninja saw a very odd sight indeed.
They saw Moody bending over Harry, who looked frozen in his chair. His wand was pointed to Harry's throat, a snarl marring his face. The ninja took all this in, in the space of a second, and, realising that their charge was in danger, bounded forwards, and in the next second, Moody was wrapped in Gaara's sand, Kiba's kunai to his throat, and Shikamaru held his wand.
"Care to explain what's happening, Moody-san?" Shikamaru said coolly. He held the wand as if it was a rotting animal, and he eyed it with distaste.
"Let me go!" Moody roared. "Let me go! I'll kill you straight after I kill Potter!"
"You will, will you?" said Gaara in bemusement. "I wonder why."
None of the ninja seemed remotely concerned that the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher was threatening murder.
"Yo, Harry. You alright?" Shikamaru asked. The boy nodded shakily, his face still white.
"I – I don't understand," he stuttered. "Professor Moody – he wouldn't –"
"He would, actually," said Kiba. "He's been acting weirdly all year."
"Though we can't really make judgements," Shikamaru shrugged. "We barely know him."
There was a thundering of footsteps, and Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape burst in. It took only a moment for the headmaster to assess the situation, and once he did, he calmly waved his wand and ropes flew out. Gaara let Moody go after he was bounded.
It was at this present time that the ninja really saw why Dumbledore seemed to powerful, why the wizards of the Dark side seemed to fear him. His eyes, normally a kind, twinkling blue, was blazing with such ferocity that even the shinobi felt wary. His figure towered over everyone else, his frame quivering with rage.
McGonagall hurried over to Harry, and whispered, "Let's go, Potter. We have to –"
"No," said Dumbledore sharply. McGonagall jerked, as if she had been electrocuted.
"But –"
"He needs to understand," said Dumbledore. His eyes – burning, terrible eyes – flickered over to Snape, silently giving him instructions. Snape held his gaze for a few seconds, before striding over to Moody and forcing the wizard's mouth open. Moody yelled and struggled, but Snape managed to trickle in the Truth Potion that he held in his hands.
"Polyjuice Potion," said Gaara quietly, as he splashed the potion all over the ground.
"Miss Granger has taught you well," said Dumbledore.
Nothing more was said; the three teachers stood in silence, as did the shinobi. Harry fixed unblinking green eyes on 'Moody'. Though only a few seconds passed, it felt like years, as Dumbledore debated with himself on what to ask. Finally –
"Who are you?" Dumbledore asked, starting the first question.
The interrogation began.
Neji woke up, trying to breathe, but to his horror, found that he could, but only barely. It was a frightening experience, certainly, when one wakes up only to find oneself almost dying from lack of air.
"Neji, Neji, calm down," said a soothing voice.
"S-Sakura?" he choked.
"It's okay, you've just – your lungs were crushed," said Sakura. Her face swam into view; it was streaked with sweat, worry, and obvious relief.
"Neji!"
Tenten, Neji thought drowsily. He felt a gentle grasping on his hands, immediately recognising them as Tenten's.
"Neji! Are you okay?"
He tried to tell her that he was fine, but his vision blurred again, and his tongue felt heavy and useless.
"Neji!"
"Tenten, it's okay. He just has to rest."
There was a dry sob.
Tenten doesn't cry, Neji said, dimly thinking that this was strange. Tenten doesn't cry… why would she be crying…?
Sasuke seethed, pacing up and down the Hospital Wing, trying to abate his anger. He had heard what Moody – or rather, Barty Crouch Junior – had confessed once Dumbledore had asked his questions.
FLASHBACK
"My father only accepted the Mini-Task because I made him," Barty Crouch whispered. "He was under the Imperius Curse, placed by me. I wanted to finish off the champions during that task, make it seem like the ninja's fault, that's why I had placed the Imperius Curse on Krum. He broke away from the others; it clearly wasn't the plan; I could see the panic in their eyes."
END FLASHBACK
Harry had been taken up to Dumbledore office straight afterwards, and Sasuke was left pondering the "why?"
"In the graveyard," said Harry, "I heard – I thought I heard the voices of my parents."
Dumbledore and Sirius looked at him sharply, Dumbledore with expectation, Sirius with shock.
"That is… strange," Dumbledore admitted. "But not in the way you think. You see, Priori Incantatem usually makes one wand force the other to regurgitate the spells it performed – in reverse. Normally, you would have actually seen the shadows of your parents come out."
"But – but I only heard them," said Harry in confusion.
"Yes," said Dumbledore, closing his eyes. "You said that Mr Uzumaki was there… that he had something that looked like orange bubbles?"
"Yes."
"Ah."
"What –"
"Mr Uzumaki's transformation hindered that. His chakra would have interfered with the effects," said Dumbledore.
"Transformation?" Sirius asked. Dumbledore shook his head, signalling that it wasn't his secret to share.
"I see," Dumbledore said quietly. "This changes everything."
"Kiba," Ino whispered. Kiba staggered into the Hospital Wing, his face very white and his limbs shaking. Akamaru slunk in after him, his ears flat on his head.
"Dementors," Kiba groaned, collapsing on a chair.
Sakura was monitoring Neji's condition, with Hinata and Tenten next to him. Sasuke was leaning against the window, onyx eyes darkened with anger. Gaara and Shikamaru sat near their blonde captain, and Ino was just putting some supplies away when Kiba entered; he had been assigned the task of guarding Barty Crouch. A few moments later, they heard the furious voices of McGonagall and Cornelius Fudge.
"Regrettable, but all the same, Minerva –" Fudge was saying loudly.
"You should never have brought that thing inside the castle!" yelled McGonagall. "When Dumbledore finds out –"
The Hospital doors burst open, and as Ino eased Kiba out of the chair, the two shouting adults entered. Snape was behind the pair, his face stony.
"Where's Dumbledore? Where –"
"Shut up," Sasuke snarled, poison filling his voice. "We have no need of your idiocy here."
"Mr Fudge, please," said Mrs Weasley, a tad coldly, "there are patients in here. They need rest."
There was a second set of footsteps, and Dumbledore himself entered, looking irritated.
"Cornelius," said Dumbledore steadily. "What is the meaning of this?"
"He – he," McGonagall said, pointing a trembling finger at the Minister. "This man –"
"Mr Fudge, once finding out that Barty Crouch Junior was in the castle, felt that his personal safety was in danger. He childishly thought that bringing in a Dementor would help him, and when he did –"
"That – that monster," McGonagall spluttered, "swooped down on Crouch, and – and administered the Dementor's Kiss on him!"
"It's not as if anyone would miss him!" Fudge blustered. "It wasn't a loss! It wasn't as if anyone wanted him around!"
"But it was still a human life that you thought was worthless, and immediately rendered him into a state worse than death," Sasuke spat.
"Ha! As if you savages have any right to say that! You kill everyday!"
"But we recognise that fact, and we recognise that we are nothing more than tools for murder," said Sasuke, "while you think that just because you are the fucking Minister for Magic, you can do whatever you want, and still deny the fact that it was murder."
"Stop," said Dumbledore, and Sasuke snapped his mouth shut, glaring venomously at the Minister, who was turning a curious shade of purple. "Cornelius, this will be sudden and abrupt, but let me make this loud and clear. Mr Barty Crouch Junior was acting under the orders of Lord Voldemort, and now his state means that he cannot give testimony."
A silence shrouded the Hospital Wing. Then, a small, curious smile spread across Fudge's face.
"And – er – where exactly did you hear this from?"
"Harry witnessed the rebirth of Voldemort," said Dumbledore evenly. Then, oddly enough, Fudge started laughing. It was edged with hysteria, and it echoed crazily along the room.
"And you believe him?" Fudge said, toning down his chuckles. There was a mad glint in his eyes. "You believe that this boy, one who is a Parselmouth, has a fit every other minute, and has a scar that has more than likely addled his brain?"
Dangerous killing intent poured into the room as the eight conscious ninja made their feelings about the Minister very, very clear.
Gaara took a step forward, his eyes blazing. Shikamaru barked out a sharp command, and Gaara halted, though his furious eyes never left Fudge's face.
"Preposterous," Fudge whispered.
"If you do not believe me, then fine," said Dumbledore. "But if that is your answer, then I believe we have met a parting of ways. Since you do not intend to do anything, you shall act as you see fit, and I – I shall act as I see fit."
There was no threat in Dumbledore's voice, merely a controlled coolness, but Fudge looked as if his hackles had been raised.
Bill shifted in his seat, Ron and Hermione glanced at him, and they followed his gaze. Harry was awake, and his eyes were staring in grim determination at the Minister. Mrs Weasley and Madam Pomfrey stood with their hands over their mouths, while McGonagall and Snape stood in hard silence.
"Now, see here, Dumbledore," said Fudge, waving a threatening finger – as if that made him any more scary, "If you're going to work against me, by jolly, I will –"
"You will what?" Shikamaru asked with an unusual amount of maliciousness. "Fire him? Put him in Azkaban?"
"I bloody would!" Fudge shouted. Shikamaru merely snickered, as if he found this funny.
"The only one against whom I intend to work," said Dumbledore, ignoring the argument, "is Lord Voldemort. If you are against him, then we remain, Cornelius, on the same side."
Fudge opened and closed his mouth like an ugly goldfish, before turning suddenly and striding down the room, past McGonagall and Snape and towards the door. He stopped at Harry's bed, dropped a sack of gold, and said shortly, "Your winnings."
Then he turned and walked again, reaching the exit, and placed on hand on the handle.
"I will be back tomorrow to discuss some things with you, Dumbledore," said Fudge in a cool, quiet voice. It was a little eerie. "Good night to you."
He disappeared into the shadows beyond.
Once he had left, Dumbledore jumped straight into action. His orders were brisk and soft, but soon enough, the Hospital Wing was empty, save for the ninja, Mrs Weasley, Ron, Hermione and Harry. Even Dumbledore had gone to prepare something.
"Take the potion, Harry," murmured Mrs Weasley. "Try and think about something else for a while. Think about… think about what you're going to buy with your winnings!"
"I don't want it," said Harry. His voice held no emotion. "I don't want it. You can have it. Take it. I don't want it."
The beast inside Harry, the one which had been writhing and yowling painfully to be let out, reached the peak of its strength. Harry had fought against it, both directly after the Portkey had taken them back, and when he was talking in Dumbledore's office. But now, with Mrs Weasley's scared, but still warm, kindly face trained on him, Harry felt his restraints shatter and break. Finally, that beast wriggled free, and Harry felt a prickling feeling in his eyes.
A quiet sob escaped his throat, barely audible, but Mrs Weasley heard it. She moved forwards, engulfing Harry in a hug that simply made the tears come out faster.
"It wasn't your fault," Mrs Weasley whispered.
"I told him – I told him to take the bloody Cup with me," Harry croaked. "I'm such an idiot... because I told him to take that stupid Cup."
She tightened her grip, and Harry leaned on her shoulder. He had no memory of ever been embraced like this. It was as if… it was like a hug of a mother. The beast inside him howled in misery, shrieking and crying, cry, crying with grief.
I skipped over a lot of parts, but I figured you guys have already read it before, and I didn't want to bore you guys.
Next chapter should be the last. I'm not sure how long it'll take; probably not long at all, considering it's the final one.
It's been fun ^^ Reviews are welcome, but if you guys don't have anything pleasant to say, please don't say it. Depending on my mood, I'll probably PM you back with major bitching. But if it's constructive critisism, then go ahead and click the button.