Soon it was time for the final exams. The grounds had never looked more inviting, but Emile stayed in the library, studying. She only allowed herself free time after dinner, she was determined to pass every single one of her NEWT classes with an E.
The third task was to take place immediately following the exams. George told her that Ron heard from Harry it was to be a Maze, and the triwizard cup was to be hidden in the center of it.
"So, more sitting around and waiting for us?" Emile had said, causing Fred to spit out his pumpkin juice and groan.
"Anticlimactic," Angelina had grumbled, her arms crossed.
"How did it go?" George's voice interrupted Emile's thoughts, bringing her back to the common room..
"Fine, I think. I messed up in identifying one of the traits of Amorentia. I didn't identify the smell correctly." Emile sighed as fell back onto the sofa. "Instead of writing that its smell is whatever each individual person is attracted to I wrote what I smelled."
"What do you smell?" He asked mischievously as he sat down next to her.
"Sage, Lemongrass, and Foxcrest scented Old Spice."
George pulled something out of his pocket. "So the scent you got me?"
"I said you would smell good, didn't I?" Emile sat up and winked at George as Fred walked over.
"Well if you two need privacy then don't let me interrupt!" He cried out, turning around and walking in the opposite direction.
"Miss Gorska!" Emile jumped up at the sound of Professor McGonagall's voice.
"Miss Gorska, I am to inform you that tomorrow after breakfast the Champions families will be gathering in the side chamber by the Great Hall. Seeing that you are finished with your exams and related to Mr. Diggory you may join."
Professor McGonagall left as quickly as she appeared.
"Might as well go," Emile shrugged before heading to bed for the night.
The next day she was waiting in the side chamber with Mr. and Mrs. Diggory when Mrs. Weasley and Bill came into the room.
"Emile!" Mrs. Weasley ran over and enveloped her in a hug. "Are you doing alright, dear?"
"I've been alright," Emile gave a small smile as Mrs. Weasley let go.
Bill gave her a small side hug before letting go. At that moment Cedric, Fleur, and Krum came into the room.
"Cedric my boy!" Mr. Diggory boomed, patting his son on the back. Mrs. Diggory didn't say anything, just embraced her son tightly.
"Emile, I haven't seen you in so long!" Cedric cried dramatically, embracing her tightly.
"It's been way too long!" She said as she squeezed him back.
"Where's Harry?" Mrs. Weasley said, looking around.
"Probably in the hall, he didn't think anyone would visit him," Emile said with a smile as Cedric went to fetch the fourth year.
When Harry came in Emile's attention was drawn to Fluer. Fleur was jabbering away in French to her mother. Fleur's little sister, Gabrielle, was holding her mother's hand. She waved at Harry, who waved back, grinning.
As Harry walked over to the two Weasleys Mrs. Weasley beamed at him.
"Surprise!" Mrs. Weasley said excitedly as he smiled broadly and walked over to them. "Thought we'd come and watch you, Harry!" She bent down and kissed him on the cheek.
"You all right?" said Bill, grinning at Harry and shaking his hand. "Charlie wanted to come, but he couldn't get time off. He said you were incredible against the Horntail."
Fleur Delacour, Emile noticed, kept eyeing Bill with great interest over her mother's shoulder. Emile tried to hide the smile growing on her face as Bill eyed her back.
Emile returned to her family members, listening to her Uncle boast about his son and give advice about the upcoming task.
"There you are, are you?" he said, looking Harry up and down as he passed them with the Weasley's.
"Bet you're not feeling quite as full of yourself now Cedric's caught you up on points, are you?"
"What?" said Harry.
"Ignore him," said Cedric in a low voice to Harry, frowning after his father. "He's been
angry ever since Rita Skeeter's article about the Triwizard Tournament — you know, when she made out you were the only Hogwarts champion."
"Didn't bother to correct her, though, did he?" said Amos Diggory, loudly enough for Harry to hear as he started to walk out of the door with Mrs. Weasley and Bill. "Still . . . you'll show him, Ced. Beaten him once before, haven't you?"
"Rita Skeeter goes out of her way to cause trouble, Amos!" Mrs. Weasley said angrily. "I would have thought you'd know that, working at the Ministry!"
Mr. Diggory looked as though he was going to say something angry, but his wife laid a hand on his arm, and he merely shrugged and turned away. Emile smiled apologetically at Harry and Mrs. Weasley as they left the room.
At lunchtime Emile sat With Harry, Ron, Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Fred, George, and Ginny. They were having a good time until Hermione joined the group.
"Hello, Hermione," said Mrs. Weasley, much more stiffly than usual.
"Hello," said Hermione, her smile faltering at the cold expression on Mrs. Weasley's face.
Harry looked at the two of them before tentatively saying "Mrs. Weasley, you didn't believe that rubbish Rita Skeeter wrote in Witch Weekly, did you? Because Hermione's not my girlfriend."
"Oh!" said Mrs. Weasley. "No — of course I didn't!" But she became considerably warmer toward Hermione after that.
"Your mother reads Witch Weekly?" Emile asked George as they followed Harry and Mrs. Weasley out of the Great Hall. He rolled his eyes in response.
The feast that night was worth the several hour wait. Ludo Bagman and Cornelius Fudge had joined the staff table now. Bagman looked quite cheerful, but Cornelius Fudge, who was sitting next to Madame Maxime, looked stern and was not talking. Madame Maxime was concentrating on her plate, and Emile thought her eyes looked red. Hagrid kept glancing along the table at her.
There was more courses than usual. Emile stuffed herself with cornish pastie, escargot, and Tarator, which was a cold Bulgarian soup. For dessert there were eclairs, cakes, and piles of pumpkin pasties.
As the enchanted ceiling overhead began to fade from blue to a dusky purple, Dumbledore rose to his feet at the staff table, and silence fell.
"Ladies and gentlemen, in five minutes' time, I will be asking you to make your way down to the Quidditch field for the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament. Will the champions please follow Mr. Bagman down to the stadium now."
Harry got up. The Gryffindors all along the table were applauding him; the Weasleys and Hermione all wished him good luck, and he headed off out of the Great Hall with Cedric, Fleur, and Viktor.
Emile ran up to her cousin, giving him a hug. "Don't die, okay?"
"A bit of faith in me would be nice," He teased as she let go. Emile gave a weak smile as she watched him turn the corner before returning to the dinner table.
"He'll be fine," Mrs. Weasley kept saying as they themselves headed down to the field several minutes later. Emile sat behind her and Bill near the front. Angelina was on her right and George was on her left.
The stands had begun to fill; the air was full of excited voices and the rumbling of feet as the hundreds of students filed into their seats. The sky was a deep, clear blue now, and the first stars were starting to appear. Hagrid, Professor Moody, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Flitwick came walking into the stadium and approached Bagman and the champions. They were wearing large, red, luminous stars on their hats, all except Hagrid, who had his on the back of his moleskin vest.
"We are going to be patrolling the outside of the maze," said Professor McGonagall to the champions. "If you get into difficulty, and wish to be rescued, send red sparks into the air, and one of us will come and get you, do you understand?"
The champions nodded.
Bagman now pointed his wand at his throat, muttered, "Sonorus," and his magically magnified voice echoed into the stands.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin! Let me remind you how the points currently stand! Tied in first place, with eighty-five points each — Mr. Cedric Diggory and Mr. Harry Potter, both of Hogwarts School!" The cheers and applause sent birds from the Forbidden Forest fluttering into the darkening sky. "In second place, with eighty points — Mr. Viktor Krum, of Durmstrang Institute!" More applause. "And in third place — Miss Fleur Delacour, of Beauxbatons Academy!"
"So . . . on my whistle, Harry and Cedric!" said Bagman. "Three — two — one —" He gave a short blast on his whistle, and Harry and Cedric hurried forward into the maze.
The crowd cheered as the Hogwarts champions disappeared into the darkness, soon followed by Krum and then Fleur. Soon there was nothing they could do but sit and wait.
"Want some?" George mumbled around a mouthful of popcorn as he passed the bag down to Emile and Angelina.
"How do you still have room?" Emile asked as Angelina pushed the bag back.
"I'm a growing boy, Em. I can't help what my body want's."
At that moment an ear splitting scream sounded from inside the maze, causing Emile and a majority of the audience to jump. She felt her scar burn again, she was so angry, it hadn't worked. Potter just couldn't stay out of the way, self righteous people were horrible.
"It's alright, that sounded like Fleur. Harry's fine," the sound of Hermione soothing Mrs. Weasley brought Emile back to the present.
Not ten minutes later red sparks were seen flying up from the maze, hovering in the air above wherever the Champion who sent them up was.
"It's anticlimactic, but the suspense is killing me," Angelina said jokingly beside Emile.
"I bet something a lot worst then suspense is doing some killing about now," Fred muttered from the other side of George.
Emile shivered as she stared at the hedge, her body rigid as a statue. She wished she had Mad Eye Moody's magical eye; no doubt he was tracking the champions moves through the hedge.
It could have been days. It could have been mere seconds. But it was no more than an hour later that the famous Harry Potter came stumbling out of the maze with Cedric, clutching the triwizard cup. Fleur and Krum, who had been rescued by teachers earlier, clapped from the sideline along with the rest of the crowd.
Fleur let out a sudden scream as Cedric and Harry lay unmoving on the ground.
"Get me down there-out of my way- CEDRIC!" Emile's Uncle was pushing his way through the crowded stands to where the two bodies were lying on the ground. Madame Pomfrey had rushed forward along with Professor Moody and Professor Dumbledore.
"Let me through!" Emile stood up and began to push through the crowd along with her Uncle.
"Emile, don't!" George tried to grab her, but the flood of people in between them was growing larger.
"He's dead!" "He's dead!" "Cedric Diggory! Dead!"
Emile was sobbing now as she helped Mrs. Diggory through the crowd after her husband.
"He's not dead!" She said through tears. "He isn't dead, he can't be dead."
He was dead. Amos Diggory was crying as he cradled his son's body, soon joined by his wife. Emile was sitting a few feet away, sobbing. Several people stepped on her and kicked her as the crowd surged around them like a confused swarm of bee's. Emile was vaguely aware of someone calling her name, but she couldn't respond. Her entire body was shaking with every sob leaving her as she stared at her cousin's body.
"You can't leave me too! You said you couldn't die! You can't leave me too!" Emile was yelling at Cedric, as she grabbed his arm and shook it.
"Emile, Emile dear come with me," Madame Pomfrey was soothing her as she led her towards Mrs. Weasley, who was standing at the edge of the crowd. The older woman wrapped her arms around Emile as she sobbed into her shoulder.
"Take her to the infirmary."
Emile was vaguely aware of Madame Pomfrey's demand as Mrs. Weasley wrapped her arm around Emile and gently guided her towards the castle.
"There you go dear, now climb these stairs here. Blast my memory, I don't know where the infirmary is," Mrs. Weasley was muttering as she led Emile into the castle.
"G-go up the m-m-main stairwell-l," Emile spluttered, happy when Mrs. Weasley remembered where to go from there.
Emile lay down on one of the infirmary beds by the window, staring out across the black lake as her crying slowed to a stop.
"Are you feeling better?" Mrs. Weasley asked gently, wrapping Emile in a blanket.
"No," Emile whispered, her eyes beginning to tear up again. Silent tears slid down her cheeks until she eventually fell into a dreamless sleep.
Emile woke with a start as her scar began to pulse with pain.
"Help!" She cried out, writhing in her bed.
If anyone came to her aid she didn't know; she had been transported into the mind of her captor.
"I don't want to talk!" Emile was vaguely aware of herself yelling as she saw through another person's eyes, heard through another person's ears.
"Can you hear me?" Dumbledore asked quietly, mere inches away from her face.
Yes," She muttered.
"I would like you to tell us," said Dumbledore softly, "how you came to be here. How did you escape from Azkaban?"
"My mother saved me. She knew she was dying. She persuaded my father to rescue me as a last favor to her. He loved her as he had never loved me. He agreed. They came to visit me. They gave me a draft of Polyjuice Potion containing one of my mother's hairs. She took a draft of Polyjuice Potion containing one of my hairs. We took on each other's appearance."
Winky was shaking her head, trembling.
"Say no more, Master Barty, say no more, you is getting your father into trouble!"
"The dementors are blind. They sensed one healthy, one dying person entering Azkaban. They sensed one healthy, one dying person leaving it. My father smuggled me out, disguised as my mother, in case any prisoners were watching through their doors.
"My mother died a short while afterward in Azkaban. She was careful to drink Polyjuice Potion until the end. She was buried under my name and bearing my appearance. Everyone believed her to be me."
"And what did your father do with you, when he had got you home?" said Dumbledore quietly.
"Staged my mother's death. A quiet, private funeral. That grave is empty. The house-elf nursed me back to health. Then I had to be concealed. I had to be controlled. My father had to use a number of spells to subdue me. When I had recovered my strength, I thought only of finding my master . . . of returning to his service."
"How did your father subdue you?" said Dumbledore.
"The Imperius Curse," Emile whispered. "I was under my father's control. I was forced to wear an Invisibility Cloak day and night. I was always with the house-elf. She was my keeper and caretaker. She pitied me. She persuaded my father to give me occasional treats. Rewards for my good behavior."
"Master Barty, Master Barty," sobbed Winky through her hands. "You isn't ought to tell them, we is getting in trouble. . . ."
"Did anybody ever discover that you were still alive?" said Dumbledore softly. "Did anyone know except your father and the house-elf?"
"Yes," said Emile, her eyelids flickering. "A witch in my father's office. Bertha Jorkins. She came to the house with papers for my father's signature. He was not at home. Winky showed her inside and returned to the kitchen, to me. But Bertha Jorkins heard Winky talking to me. She came to investigate. She heard enough to guess who was hiding under the Invisibility Cloak. My father arrived home. She confronted him. He put a very powerful Memory Charm on her to make her forget what she'd found out. Too powerful. He said it damaged her memory permanently."
"Why is she coming to nose into my master's private business?" sobbed Winky. "Why isn't she leaving us be?"
"Tell me about the Quidditch World Cup," said Dumbledore.
"Winky talked my father into it," said Crouch, still in the same monotonous voice. "She spent months persuading him. I had not left the house for years. I had loved Quidditch. Let him go, she said. He will be in his Invisibility Cloak. He can watch. Let him smell fresh air for once. She said my mother would have wanted it. She told my father that my mother had died to give me freedom. She had not saved me for a life of imprisonment. He agreed in the end."
"It was carefully planned. My father led me and Winky up to the Top Box early in the day. Winky was to say that she was saving a seat for my father. I was to sit there, invisible. When everyone had left the box, we would emerge. Winky would appear to be alone. Nobody would ever know."
"But Winky didn't know that I was growing stronger. I was starting to fight my father's Imperius Curse. There were times when I was almost myself again. There were brief periods when I seemed outside his control. It happened, there, in the Top Box. It was like waking from a deep sleep. I found myself out in public, in the middle of the match, and I saw, in front of me, a wand sticking out of a boy's pocket. I had not been allowed a wand since before Azkaban. I stole it. Winky didn't know. Winky is frightened of heights. She had her face hidden."
"Master Barty, you bad boy!" whispered Winky, tears trickling between her fingers.
"So you took the wand," said Dumbledore, "and what did you do with it?"
"We went back to the tent," said Crouch. "Then we heard them. We heard the Death Eaters. The ones who had never been to Azkaban. The ones who had never suffered for my master. They had turned their backs on him. They were not enslaved, as I was. They were free to seek him, but they did not. They were merely making sport of Muggles. The sound of their voices awoke me. My mind was clearer than it had been in years. I was angry. I had the wand. I wanted to attack them for their disloyalty to my master. My father had left the tent; he had gone to free the Muggles. Winky was afraid to see me so angry. She used her own brand of magic to bind me to her. She pulled me from the tent, pulled me into the forest, away from the Death Eaters. I tried to hold her back. I wanted to return to the campsite. I wanted to show those Death Eaters what loyalty to the Dark Lord meant, and to punish them for their lack of it. I used the stolen wand to cast the Dark Mark into the sky."
"Ministry wizards arrived. They shot Stunning Spells everywhere. One of the spells came through the trees where Winky and I stood. The bond connecting us was broken. We were both Stunned." Emile let out somewhat of a laugh.
"When Winky was discovered, my father knew I must be nearby. He searched the bushes where she had been found and felt me lying there. He waited until the other Ministry members had left the forest. He put me back under the Imperius Curse and took me home. He dismissed Winky. She had failed him. She had let me acquire a wand. She had almost let me escape."
Winky let out a wail of despair.
"Now it was just Father and I, alone in the house. And then . . . and then . . ." Emile's head rolled on her neck, and an insane grin spread across her face. "My master came for me. "He arrived at our house late one night in the arms of his servant Wormtail. My master had found out that I was still alive. He had captured Bertha Jorkins in Albania. He had tortured her. She told him a great deal. She told him about the Triwizard Tournament. She told him the old Auror, Moody, was going to teach at Hogwarts. He tortured her until he broke through the Memory Charm my father had placed upon her. She told him I had escaped from Azkaban. She told him my father kept me imprisoned to prevent me from seeking my master. And so my master knew that I was still his faithful servant — perhaps the most faithful of all. My master conceived a plan, based upon the information Bertha had given him. He needed me. He arrived at our house near midnight. My father answered the door."
"It was very quick. My father was placed under the Imperius Curse by my master. Now my father was the one imprisoned, controlled. My master forced him to go about his business as usual, to act as though nothing was wrong. And I was released. I awoke. I was myself again, alive as I hadn't been in years."
"And what did Lord Voldemort ask you to do?" said Dumbledore.
"He asked me whether I was ready to risk everything for him. I was ready. It was my dream, my greatest ambition, to serve him, to prove myself to him. He told me he needed to place a faithful servant at Hogwarts. A servant who would guide Harry Potter through the Triwizard Tournament without appearing to do so. A servant who would watch over Harry Potter. Ensure he reached the Triwizard Cup. Turn the cup into a Portkey, which would take the first person to touch it to my master. But first —"
"You needed Alastor Moody," said Dumbledore. His blue eyes were blazing, though his voice remained calm.
"Wormtail and I did it. We had prepared the Polyjuice Potion beforehand. We journeyed to his house. Moody put up a struggle. There was a commotion. We managed to subdue him just in time. Forced him into a compartment of his own magical trunk. Took some of his hair and added it to the potion. I drank it; I became Moody's double. I took his leg and his eye. I was ready to face Arthur Weasley when he arrived to sort out the Muggles who had heard a disturbance. I made the dustbins move around the yard. I told Arthur Weasley I had heard intruders in my yard, who had set off the dustbins. Then I packed up Moody's clothes and Dark detectors, put them in the trunk with Moody, and set off for Hogwarts. I kept him alive, under the Imperius Curse. I wanted to be able to question him. To find out about his past, learn his habits, so that I could fool even Dumbledore. I also needed his hair to make the Polyjuice Potion. The other ingredients were easy. I stole boomslang skin from the dungeons. When the Potions master found me in his office, I said I was under orders to search it."
"And what became of Wormtail after you attacked Moody?" said Dumbledore.
"Wormtail returned to care for my master, in my father's house, and to keep watch over my father."
"But your father escaped," said Dumbledore.
"Yes. After a while he began to fight the Imperius Curse just as I had done. There were periods when he knew what was happening. My master decided it was no longer safe for my father to leave the house. He forced him to send letters to the Ministry instead. He made him write and say he was ill. But Wormtail neglected his duty. He was not watchful enough. My father escaped. My master guessed that he was heading for Hogwarts. My father was going to tell Dumbledore everything, to confess. He was going to admit that he had smuggled me from Azkaban."
"My master sent me word of my father's escape. He told me to stop him at all costs. So I waited and watched. I used the map I had taken from Harry Potter. The map that had almost ruined everything."
"Map?" said Dumbledore quickly. "What map is this?"
"Potter's map of Hogwarts. Potter saw me on it. Potter saw me stealing more ingredients for the Polyjuice Potion from Snape's office one night. He thought I was my father. We have the same first name. I took the map from Potter that night. I told him my father hated Dark wizards. Potter believed my father was after Snape.
"For a week I waited for my father to arrive at Hogwarts. At last, one evening, the map showed my father entering the grounds. I pulled on my Invisibility Cloak and went down to meet him. He was walking around the edge of the forest. Then Potter came, and Krum. I waited. I could not hurt Potter; my master needed him. Potter ran to get Dumbledore. I Stunned Krum. I killed my father."
"Noooo!" wailed Winky. "Master Barty, Master Barty, what is you saying?"
"You killed your father," Dumbledore said, in the same soft voice. "What did you do with the body?"
"Carried it into the forest. Covered it with the Invisibility Cloak. I had the map with me. I watched Potter run into the castle. He met Snape. Dumbledore joined them. I watched Potter bringing Dumbledore out of the castle. I walked back out of the forest, doubled around behind them, went to meet them. I told Dumbledore Snape had told me where to come."
"Dumbledore told me to go and look for my father. I went back to my father's body. Watched the map. When everyone was gone, I Transfigured my father's body. He became a bone . . . I buried it, while wearing the Invisibility Cloak, in the freshly dug earth in front of Hagrid's cabin."
There was complete silence now, except for Winky's continued sobs. Then Dumbledore said, "And tonight . . ."
"I offered to carry the Triwizard Cup into the maze before dinner," whispered Emile. "Turned it into a Portkey. My master's plan worked. He is returned to power and I will be honored by him beyond the dreams of wizards."
"EMILE!" An extremely bright light was shining into her eyes. Emile sat up with a start, waving her hands through the air.
"Someone hold her down!" That was Madame Pomfrey.
"I'm very sorry about this," Bill's voice sounded in her ear as he pinned her to the ground until she stopped trying to escape.
"Emile, are you back?" Mrs. Weasley asked somewhat hesitantly.
"Back from where? I've been here the whole time, haven't I?" Emile felt another tear slide down her face."Oh no, it happened again!"
"What did?" Madame Pomfrey asked, bewildered as Emile began to sob again.
At that moment, Severus Snape came into the room.
"Madame Pomfrey, if you aren't too busy the headmaster needs you to go to the Defense Against the Dark Arts room with me to fetch an injured personnel," he said looking around the room.
Emile momentarily made eye contact with the potions master through her tears, but looked away quickly.
"Severus, you're more knowledgeable of the dark arts then I am, perhaps you could take a look at Miss Gorska while I leave for a moment?" Madame Pomfrey didn't wait for a response, she was already out the door of the hospital wing.
"As much as I would love to help I'm afraid the headmaster asked me to fetch the Minister of Magic from the grounds," Professor Snape sniffed.
"I can fetch him, you can take a quick look to see if it's something you know about," Bill stood up and left the room as quickly as Madame Pomfrey.
"Seeing as though I have no choice," Snape let out a sigh and put his head in his hands. "What seems to be the problem?"
"We aren't sure exactly," Mrs. Weasley said cautiously as Snape walked over to Emile.
"Well, I can't diagnose something if you don't know anything about it," he seethed, crouching down next to where Emile was drying her tears.
"It's that scar of hers," George's voice sounded behind Snape as he came into the room, followed by Fred.
"We've been listening for a few minutes," Fred said, sitting down next to his mother.
"What scar?" Snape asked dryly.
"This scar?" Emile pulled down the scarf around her neck to reveal the pink zigzag going down on one side of her neck.
"Emile how many other scars have you gotten recently?" Fred attempted to lighten the mood but received an angry pinch from his mother.
"A cursed scar," Snape said thoughtfully. "Tell me, Miss Gorska, did you receive this at the Quidditch World Cup?"
"Unfortunately," Emile sniffed and wiped her nose.
"Do you remember anything about the death eater who did this?"
Emile frowned as she thought back to nine months ago. "I don't, I mean, I'm trying to. But it's like the memories blocked out, every time I think about it, it hurts."
"The scar?" Snape was frowning at her.
"No, my toenails. Of course the scar!" Emile seethed and grabbed her neck as a flash of pain came from it.
"I've brought the minister!" Bill ran into the room with Cornelius Fudge.
"Out of my way!" Madame Pomfrey yelled behind them as she came in with Mad Eye Moody floating on a stretcher behind her.
"I'll be back later," Snape turned away and left the room, beckoning for the Minister to follow him.
Mrs. Weasley helped Emile into a hospital bed and left her with Fred and George as she went to talk to Ron and Hermione, who had just ran into the room. Madame Pomfrey was looking after Professor Moody, who was in a terrible state for someone whom had looked fine less than an hour ago.
As soon as the nurse had finished what she was doing, drawing the curtains around Mad Eye Moody, the Weasley family was on her, demanding to know where Harry was. At that moment, Professor Dumbledore strode in with the young champion and triwizard tournament winner and a large black dog.
Mrs. Weasley let out a kind of muffled scream. "Harry! Oh Harry!"
She started to hurry toward him, but Dumbledore moved between them.
"Molly," he said, holding up a hand, "please listen to me for a moment. Harry has been through a terrible ordeal tonight. He has just had to relive it for me. What he needs now is sleep, and peace, and quiet. If he would like you all to stay with him," he added, looking around at Ron, Hermione, and Bill too, "you may do so. But I do not want you questioning him until he is ready to answer, and certainly not this evening."
Mrs. Weasley nodded. She was very white. She rounded on Ron, Hermione, and Bill as though they were being noisy, and hissed, "Did you hear? He needs quiet!"
"Headmaster," said Madam Pomfrey, staring at the great black dog, "may I ask what — ?"
"This dog will be remaining with Harry for a while," said Dumbledore simply. "I assure you, he is extremely well trained. Harry — I will wait while you get into bed."
"I will be back to see you as soon as I have met with Fudge, Harry," said Dumbledore. "I would like you to remain here tomorrow until I have spoken to the school." He left.
"Is he okay?" Harry asked as he passed Mad Eye Moody.
"He'll be fine," said Madam Pomfrey, giving Harry some pajamas and pulling screens around him.
As Harry fell asleep a few beds down, Emile did the same, holding George's hand.
She woke half an hour later with a start. Her scar was burning.
"Can't breathe," she whispered as she felt the warmth draining out of her.
What was that thing? It looked an awful lot like a Dementor, but it's hood was lowered. It had a terrible gaping black hole for a mouth. Emile could see something silver being sucked into it.
I can sense you poking around in my head.
Wow, who is this?
Bartemius Crouch Junior.
Are you the one who's been poking around my head all school year?
Emile, it's you who've been poking around mine.
How do you know my name?
I've been teaching you all school year, disguised as that nutty auror Mad Eye Moody.
Oh. I remember now, so I wasn't hallucinating when you confessed to Dumbledore?
I took a page out of my master's book and created a Horcrux, now I can't die.
I don't know why you're telling me this.
You're bright, figure it out on your own. This dementor is sucking my soul out of my body, soon most of my conscious self will be gone, except for the bit I've hidden inside you.
You're insane.
I just want to please someone in life. If my father wouldn't appreciate me then I'd go to someone who would. It'll be nice talking to you over the course of your entire life,or until I get set free.
Or killed.
In order to kill me, you'd have to kill yourself. I can see inside your mind, Emile Victoria Gorska. I can see that the one thing you would never be able to do, is kill yourself.