Chapter 15: Cody's Task
Cody did not run into any students on the way to Hagrid's hut, for which he was very glad. He didn't think he could take explaining to anyone what had happened. He knocked on Hagrid's door, but got no answer; Hagrid must still be helping the other teachers, or still dealing with the creatures that had been in the maze. He was kind of glad, he didn't want to explain to him just yet why he was digging up his front lawn.
It did not take long for Cody to find what he was looking for. Though it was buried fairly deeply, the newly dug earth where the nifflers had searched for gold was not a very large area. Cody nearly cried out in revulsion when his fingers brushed the hard surface of the bone. It was not a huge bone, perhaps the size of a small adult's forearm. Cody stared at it for a good long while, realizing that this bone was someone's body. That it had been the body of someone he had met before, had listened talk to Mr. Weasley about flying carpets...
Cody closed his eyes tightly and tried very hard to think of anything else but that, else he would never get up the courage to touch the thing. He clenched his teeth and grabbed the bone before he lost his nerve, and ran full tilt towards the castle.
When he burst into Moody's office, he stopped short, for a startled Professor McGonagall spun toward the door, and Cody found himself facing the business end of her wand. And that was an intimidating sight. His eyes widened and he stopped in his tracks, highly relieved when she took a big breath and lowered it. "You surprised me, Mr. DeDannan," she said quietly.
"S-sorry," said Cody, walking into the room. Shivering a bit, he put the bone he held down on Moody's desk and walked away from it. "I didn't wanna hold it longer than I had to."
"I understand." McGonagall had gone back to holding her wand on the dazed Barty Crouch.
"Is Harry gonna be okay?" Cody asked.
McGonagall sighed. "He's been through a trying ordeal. He saw another student killed. He saw...He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named come back. That's going to affect him. But he's a strong boy, and I think that he will be okay."
"I hope so. All this bad stuff always happens to him, then people are mean to him, too! That is really unfair."
"It is," said McGonagall quietly. "Unfortunately it is difficult sometimes to make things fair in life."
"I know." Cody looked at her for a moment and smiled. "Thanks for letting me stay an' help."
"You're welcome. Professor Snape seems to have faith in your ability to handle things, and I trust his judgment, even if perhaps we don't see eye to eye on many things."
Cody was quiet then, thinking about this. Did she really trust Snape? Even though he was a jerk? He wondered that while maybe Snape would not lie to a teacher, or a Slytherin, if he would lie to someone else. It was hard to know who was okay to trust and who was not sometimes.
Feeling suddenly restless, Cody began brushing off the dirt and he had gotten all over his robes and his hands. And then he paced the room, glancing at Barty Crouch every once in a while. This of a man who had probably killed many people, and who was responsible for everything that had happened that night. He stuck his tongue out at him, then looked down at the wooden leg and magical eyeball that sat on the floor nearby. "Did they get the real Moody out?" he asked.
"Yes, Madame Pomfrey came and got him up to hospital wing."
false "That's good, I bet that was horrible, being in there all year." Cody could not imagine lying in a trunk for months on end. He looked down at the leg and picked it up, also setting it on Moody's desk, figuring he might as well put all the stuff together that might be needed. But when he picked up the magical eye, it spun around in his hand, making him yell in surprise and drop it, backing away a step. Professor McGonagall actually smiled a bit at the look on Cody's face. "It moved!"
"It is magical, and it moves on its own."
"Y-yeah..." He had noticed this fact! He took a big breath and moved forward, picking it up again, but keeping a tighter grip on it. It was warm and solid, and felt a little like living glass. "Creepy." He set the eyeball on the desk as well, where it turned around to peer at him. "I wonder if he can see through this eyeball if he's not wearing it."
"I don't believe so," said McGonagall. "It would have to be -"
But she did not get a chance to finish her sentence. The door opened then, and Cornelius Fudge stepped in, but that was not all. Cody let out a scream and backed away, running into the corner of the room and gaping in horror, for Fudge had with him a dementor of Azkaban. McGonagall seemed to be quite at a loss for words at first, as the dementor glided in, dousing the room in a horrible cold as it bent low over Barty Crouch, and lowered its hood...
Cody didn't want to see. Whimpering, he shut his eyes and pulled the hood of his school robes over his head, as he crouched behind Moody's trunk. He had an idea of what was happening, and after a few moments, heard McGonagall yelling at Fudge at the top of her voice. He thought he heard Snape's voice among the angry shrieks, but he was not sure. He did not look up until he felt the soul-numbing cold leave. Only then did he peer above the chest to see that the dementor had been sent off, and McGonagall was reading out Fudge in spades.
Finally, Fudge puffed up and declared that he would see the headmaster now, and headed out of the room. McGonagall, seething, followed.
Professor Snape was indeed there, and was looking after Fudge with an expression of dislike, then he shook his head and looked at Cody. "Well, come on, if you're going to accompany us," he said. "That addle-brained fool."
Trying not to look as scared as he felt, Cody left his hiding place and followed Snape out of the room. Fudge and McGonagall were not difficult to follow; their voices were both loud and angry as they argued, all the way up to the hospital wing.
"Regrettable," Fudge was saying as he and McGonagall stepped into the hospital wing. "But all the same, Minerva -"
"You should never have brought it inside the castle! When Dumbledore finds out!" She had completely lost her temper, and it was not something Cody was accustomed to seeing. Normally, no matter what happened, McGonagall was very calm and in control. But then she did not normally encounter such blatant displays of cowardice and stupidity from grown men, either!
Harry Potter was sitting up in bed, putting on his glasses, and Ron, Hermione and Bill Weasley were standing there. Not caring that he was in a hospital wing, Fudge demanded loudly to be told where Dumbledore was. Snape entered the room looking grim, and Cody came in behind him.
"He's not here!" said Mrs. Weasley. She looked almost as angry as Professor McGonagall did. "This is a hospital wing, Minister, don't you think you'd do better to -"
"What has happened?" came a stern sounding voice, and everyone turned to see Dumbledore walking in, with his usual sense of impeccable timing. "Why are you disturbing these people? Minerva, I'm surprised at you. I asked you to stand guard over Barty Crouch."
"There is no need to stand guard over him anymore, Dumbledore! The Minister has seen to that!"
"H-he brought a dementor," Cody said.
Dumbledore frowned at this information, and Snape spoke up. "When we told Mr. Fudge that we had caught the Death Eater responsible for tonight's events, he seemed to feel his personal safety was in question. He insisted on summoning a dementor to accompany him into the castle. He brought it up to the office where Barty Crouch -"
"I told him you would not agree, Dumbledore!" said McGonagall. "I told him you would never allow dementors to set foot inside the castle, but -"
"My dear woman!" Fudge sputtered. "As Minister of Magic, it is my decision whether I wish to bring protection with me when interviewing a possibly dangerous -"
But McGonagall was not listening, and simply talked angrily above him. "The moment that - that thing entered the room, it swooped down on Crouch, and - and -" Cody was shaking as he thought of what it had done, and how glad he was he had closed his eyes. How horrible could it be to have one's very soul removed, what made a person what they were... He clenched his teeth to keep them from chattering.
"By all accounts, he is no loss!" said Fudge. And while that might be true, it seemed fairly cold-hearted to speak so about death (or worse), no matter who it was. "It seems he has been responsible for several deaths!"
Dumbledore looked Fudge in the eye, and spoke quietly. "But he cannot now give testimony, Cornelius. He cannot give evidence about why he killed those people."
"Why he killed them? Well that's no mystery, is it? He was a raving lunatic! From what Minerva and Severus have told me, he seems to have thought he was doing it all on You-Know-Who's instructions!" Cody rather thought that the Minister of Magic should not be afraid to say someone's name, but wisely kept quiet.
Dumbledore's answer nearly made Fudge faint. "Lord Voldemort was giving him instructions, Cornelius. Those people's deaths were mere by-products of a plan to restore Voldemort to full strength again. The plan succeeded. Voldemort has been returned to his body."
Fudge was silent for several moments. And then: "You-Know-Who...returned? Preposterous. Come now, Dumbledore."
Dumbledore told him that they had heard Barty Crouch confess under Veritaserum, but Fudge was in no mood to listen. Said that perhaps Crouch believed he was taking the instructions of You-Know-Who... He had a strange little smile on his face as if Dumbledore were playing a grand joke on him. Dumbledore said that Harry Potter had seen it for himself, but that Fudge could not question him just yet.
Fudge was still smirking. "You are...er...prepared to take Harry's word on this are you, Dumbledore?"
Sirius (still in dog form) all but snarled at Fudge, and Cody scowled. Dumbledore, ever calm, said he did indeed believe Harry, and that his story explained everything that had happened since Bertha Jorkins disappeared over the summer. But Fudge did not seem to be listening. "You are prepared to believe that Lord Voldemort" (at least he said the name) "has returned on the word of a lunatic murderer and a boy who...well..."
From behind them all came Harry's quiet voice. "You've been reading Rita Skeeter, Mr. Fudge."
"And if I have?" came the defensive retort. Fudge's face was a bit red, but his stubbornness could have easily rivaled Cody's at his worst, and that was saying something. "If I have discovered that you've been keeping certain facts about the boy very quiet? A Parselmouth, eh?"
"That doesn't mean -!" Cody began, but Snape's hand clamping on his shoulder caused him to break off into a frustrated growl.
Fudge seemed not to have heard, anyway. "And having funny turns all over the place?" Dumbledore asked if he referred to the pain in Harry's head where the lightning-shaped scar was. And Fudge seemed to think that this perhaps caused him to have nightmares or hallucinations.
"Listen to me, Cornelius," said Dumbledore, stepping forward, and Cody edged towards Harry's bed. He didn't like when Dumbledore looked like that at all. "Harry is as sane as you or I. That scar upon his forehead has not addled his brains. I believe it hurts him when Lord Voldemort is close by, or feeling particularly murderous.
"You'll forgive me, Dumbledore, but I've never heard of a curse scar acting as an alarm bell before."
"Look, I saw Voldemort come back!" said Harry angrily from his bed, where Mrs. Weasley was trying to prevent him from getting up. "I saw the Death Eaters! I can give you their names! Lucius Malfoy!"
"Malfoy was cleared!" said Fudge. "A very old family - donations to excellent causes -" Cody let a very audible snort.
"Macnair!"
"Also cleared, now working for the Ministry!"
"Avery - Nott - Crabbe - Goyle!" Cody recognized most these surnames as belonging to kids in his House.
It was then that Cody truly disliked Cornelius Fudge. "You are merely repeating names of those who were acquitted of being Death Eaters thirteen years ago! You could have found those names in old reports of the trials! For heaven's sake, Dumbledore - the boy was full of some crackpot story at the end of last year, too! His tales are getting taller, and you're still swallowing them. The boy can talk to snakes, Dumbledore, and you still think he's trustworthy!"
Cody clenched his fists angrily. This jerk was refusing to believe the truth just because he was too stupid to listen to reason!
"You fool!" said McGonagall. "Cedric Diggory! Mr. Crouch! These deaths were not the random work of a lunatic!"
"I see no evidence to the contrary! It seems to me that you are all determined to start a panic that will destabilize everything we have worked for these last thirteen years!"
"Harry's not a liar," said Cody. "How come you won't believe him? Are you that scared?"
"You cannot possibly know what you're talking about, child. You are far too young!"
"But I know what truth is!"
"Voldemort has returned," said Dumbledore. He told Fudge that if he would accept this, that they could take measures to save the situation. Such as removing the dementors from Azkaban. Fudge seemed to think this the most ludicrous thing he had ever heard, said that "half of us" slept soundly only because the dementors were there. And Dumbledore said the rest of them slept less soundly knowing that Azkaban was in the control of creatures who were loyal to Voldemort. As Fudge sputtered, Dumbledore said to him that they must send envoys to the giants...before Voldemort did.
Fudge was beside himself. "If the magical community got wind that I approached the giants...people hate them, Dumbledore! End of my career!"
Dumbledore's voice was strong and sure, but Cody had the idea it didn't really matter. "You are blinded by the love of the office you hold, Cornelius!" said the headmaster. "You place too much importance, and you always have done, on the so-called purity of blood!" He said that the dementor had destroyed the last member of a pure-blood family, and look at the path he had chosen... Said that if Fudge took the precautions Dumbledore suggested and he would be known as the greatest minister England ever had. Or he could step aside and be known as the man who let Voldemort return. "If your determination to shut your eyes will carry you as far as this, Cornelius, we have reached a parting of the ways."
Cody shivered; there was something so final, and frightening about those words. Everyone there knew that this moment, at this place, was the beginning of something big. It all started here.
Dumbledore went on. "You must act as you see fit. And I - I shall act as I see fit."
"Now see here..."said Fudge, waggling a finger as is Dumbledore were a wayward child. "I've given you free reign, always. I've had a lot of respect for you. I might not have agreed with some of your decisions, but I've kept quiet. There aren't many wizards who'd have let you hire werewolves, or keep Hagrid, or decide what to teach your students without reference to the Ministry. But if you're going to work against me -"
"The only one against whom I intend to work is Lord Voldemort. If you are against him, then we remain, Cornelius, on the same side."
There was a shocked silence for a very long time, before Fudge said plaintively, "He can't be back, Dumbledore, he just can't be..."
Disgusted, Snape strode forward and thrust his arm forward, pulling up the sleeve of his robe. Cody's eyes widened as he looked at the black mark on Snape's skin there, like a tattoo, or a brand. It was the same mark that had been shot into the sky at the World Cup. He peered at it in morbid fascination as Snape spoke. "There. There. The Dark Mark. It is not as clear as it was about an hour ago, when it burned black, but you can still see it. Every Death Eater had the sign burned into him by the Dark Lord. It was a means of distinguishing one another, and his means of summoning us to him. When he touched the Mark of any Death Eater, we were to Disapparate and Apparate instantly at his side. This Mark has been growing clearer all year. Karkaroff's too. Why do you think Karkaroff fled tonight? We both felt the Mark burn. We both knew he had returned. Karkaroff fears the Dark Lord's vengeance. He betrayed too many of his fellow Death Eaters to be sure of a welcome back into the fold."
Fudge looked like a horrified child as he backed away. Told Dumbledore that he didn't know what he and his staff were playing at, but Fudge had had enough. And that he would be in touch with Dumbledore the next day to discuss the running of Hogwarts. Then, quite unceremoniously, he dropped the bag of Galleons on Harry's desk that he had won from the Tournament and left.
"There is work to be done," said Dumbledore once Fudge had left. Cody again got the shaky, excited feeling that he was truly watching the beginning... "Am I right in thinking that I can count on you and Arthur?" he asked Mrs. Weasley.
"Of course you can. We know what Fudge is."
"Yeah, a prat," Cody said quietly. He wasn't sure if anyone heard, but if they did, they didn't argue.
Mrs. Weasley continued. "It's Arthur's fondness for Muggles that has held him back at the Ministry all these years. Fudge thinks he lacks proper wizarding pride."
"Then I need to send a message to Arthur," said Dumbledore. "All those that we can persuade of the truth must be notified immediately, and he is well placed to contact those at the Ministry who are not as shortsighted as Cornelius."
"I'll go to Dad," said Bill. "I'll go now."
"Excellent. Tell him what has happened. Tell him I will be in direct contact with him shortly. He will need to be discreet, however. If Fudge thinks I am interfering at the Ministry..."
"Leave it to me." Bill pulled on his cloak and clapped Harry on the shoulder. He kissed Mrs. Weasley on the cheek, and gave Cody a brief hug, then hurried out of the room.
"Bye..." said Cody a little forlornly.
Dumbledore sent McGonagall to go get Hagrid, and Madame Maxime if she would come, and have them meet Dumbledore in his office. He asked Madame Pomfrey to go and get Winky from Moody's office and see what she could do for her, and take her back to the kitchens. "But first, if you could get a little chocolate out for Mr. DeDannan?"
Cody went a little red in the face as Madame Pomfrey nodded her head and got a slab of chocolate out from her office, and handed it to Cody. He thanked her and took a bite, and felt a shot of warmth go through his body. He had forgotten how much chocolate helped after one had encountered a dementor. He wondered, vaguely, why he never got embarrassed when he called attention to himself on purpose, but got all shy when someone else did.
He yawned, and was a little startled when Mrs. Weasley picked him up and set him on the bed next to Harry's. He rubbed his eyes. "You look very pale," said Mrs. Weasley quietly." Are you okay?"
Cody nodded. "Y-yeah...I'm okay. Just...I don't like...dementors."
Mrs. Weasley smoothed back his sweaty, tousled hair, and he smiled at her while he ate his chocolate.
Dumbledore, meanwhile, had firmly shut the door and looked to those who remained. He said that it was time for two of their number to recognize each other, and asked Sirius to resume his normal form. And he did.
Mrs. Weasley screamed and leapt back. "Sirius Black!" she cried.
"Mum, shut up, it's okay!" Ron said.
Eyes wide, Cody looked back and forth between those present, and was actually frightened of the look on Snape's face. It was ugly. "Him!" Snape growled. "What's he doing here?"
Dumbledore gave them a stern look. "He is here at my invitation, as are you, Severus. I trust you both. It is time for you to lay aside your differences and trust each other." As Snape and Sirius were glaring evil daggers at each other, Cody didn't think that would happen any time soon. Dumbledore showed the smallest bit of exasperation then. "I will settle, in the short term, for a lack of open hostility. You will shake hands. You are on the same side now. Time is short, and unless the few of us who know the truth stand united, there is no hope for any of us."
Another chill went down Cody's spine, but that was okay. He really felt like he was a part of something, something important. He watched Snape and Sirius shake hands, and let go quickly, as if each thought the other might have cooties. The idea of Snape being afraid of cooties made Cody want to giggle, and it was only with great effort that he did not.
Dumbledore was satisfied, and told each he had a job for them. "Sirius, I need you to set off at once. You are to alert Remus Lupin, Arabella Figg, Mundungus Fletcher - the old crowd. Lie low at Lupin's for a while; I will contact you there."
Harry did not seem to want Sirius to go. "But -"
Sirius promised that Harry would see him soon, and said that he had to do what he could. And Harry said he understood.
Dumbledore turned to Sirius and said that he knew what he must ask him to do. "If you are ready...if you are prepared."
"I am," said Snape. Cody looked at him very closely, and thought that he just might be scared. It was a strange thing to see.
"Then good luck."
Snape nodded, and turned briefly to Cody before leaving. "You did well tonight, DeDannan," he said, and strode out.
Cody blinked and was silent for several moments as he watched the door close. "Thanks..." he finally said in a dazed sort of voice. It was not often that he got a compliment from Snape; even among his own House he did not often hand them out. Cody had the clear intuition that Snape at least understood him a bit now, and no longer thought Cody a traitor.
At least he hoped so.
Finally, Dumbledore said that he had to leave, and told Harry to take the rest of his potion.
When the headmaster left, Mrs. Weasley fussed over Harry a bit, urging him to take his potion and to think what he would do with his winnings. "I don't want that gold," said Harry, and he looked like he was about to cry. "You can have it. Anyone can have it. I shouldn't have won it. It should've been Cedric's."
Cody bit his lip and felt himself begin to cry, himself, but he didn't really care who saw it. Seeing others cry usually did that to him.
"It wasn't your fault," said Mrs. Weasley.
"I told him to take the Cup with me..."
Mrs. Weasley finally held Harry to her and Harry let her. Cody was glad. It wasn't like Harry had a mom to hold him when he needed it; all he had were those horrible jerks that he had to live with. He rubbed his eyes, and looked around to where Hermione had gotten to, but a loud slam made him jump violently and very nearly fall off the bed. Had Ron not caught hold of him, he would have. Eyes wide, his breathing a bit accelerated, Cody spun around to stare at Hermione. "Sorry," she said softly. Her fist was closed, as if she'd just caught something small. Cody took a big breath and began looking around on the floor for his heart, because he was sure it had fallen out.
Mrs. Weasley gave Harry the rest of his potion then, and Cody watched him drift off. He was not finished yet with his chocolate, and turned to look at Hermione. "What's that?" he asked in a whisper, pointing to her hand.
"I'll tell everyone later," she whispered. "Once I'm sure of it."
Puzzled, Cody shrugged, and finished his chocolate. He was too tired to argue, and after a moment, he curled up under the covers and closed his eyes. He could go back to the dorms tomorrow.