Under Her Spell - Book Four - Edward Masen in: Defending Our Love

by Bubbleybear

The adults in our lives were supposed to protect us. Who knew they'd be the biggest threat to our bond? And make us Defend Our Love.

23. Chapter Twenty-Two - After the Graveyard

Hello everyone! I cannot believe we are almost done. This is the second to last chapter - only one more to go.

For those of you not in the group, I am donating a piece to the Fandoms 4 Relief - Australia. This piece will be Alice's Lesson. It's an outtake from the first Under Her Spell book, when Alice had to change how she viewed her visions. I hope that you will all consider donating to support a cause very near and dear to me. I live in Australia, and the devastation has been ... well there are no words. If you donate you will receive the compilation, and be some of the first to view this outtake.

My thanks go to Pienuniek and Sally Hopkinson. I wouldn't be where I am today without either of them. You girls rock!

Twilight and Harry Potter belong to Stephanie Meyer and JK Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended.

See you at the bottom.

---

Chapter Twenty-Two ~ After the Graveyard

I had landings from wrestling matches with my brothers softer than what Harry and I experienced when we landed back at Hogwarts. There was no build up, no feeling of dropping, when we reappeared at the beginning of the maze. That might have been because I never actually let go of the portkey. But it felt like we were forcefully thrown from the space we were travelling through.

I was tossed onto my back, landing with a thump that shook the ground beneath us, and Harry landed on my chest, getting winded in the process. I groaned at the impact, causing Harry to sit up and reach for my face.

"Edward! You're alive? Does that mean Bella's not going to kill me?"

I couldn't help but let out a breathless chuckle at Harry's last question. "No, Harry. She's not going to kill you."

Celebratory music was blaring from all around us and everyone was in a good mood. At least, until they realized that something was wrong. Then the music cut off mid note, leaving a sour sound floating on the breeze. The cheers were silenced almost immediately, and the talking dropped off into nothing. The shock that floated around the stadium was almost as deafening as the sound they were making just seconds ago.

"Edward!" Bella screamed from the seats they had taken, renting the air. The sound was jarring to so many. I picked up Bella's thoughts as the spectators started to whisper. I know you're okay. You promised me you would be okay. But this would be expected from me. I could hear her jump from the seat, over the bannister, and land on the grass before she streaked over to where I was. She dropped to her knees at the top of my head, leaning down to shield me from the world with her hair as she kissed me as deeply as she could. "You are okay, right?"

I kissed her again, and again, just because I could, as I wrapped my arms around her head and shoulders. "I'm fine, sweet girl. You played your part well, and your vest worked just as it was supposed to. I didn't feel a thing."

"Thank Merlin." She sighed, sagging against me before she smirked. "Your friend found me."

It was at this time that Dumbledore, Esme, and Carlisle reached us. It was Professor Dumbledore who spoke first. "Mr. Masen? Mr. Potter? What's going on?"

"He's back!" Harry cried, standing up, all but collapsing into Shane's arms as he and Sirius reached us as well. "Voldemort is back."

I stood slowly once Bella let me up and held her tightly in my arms as I looked around at the crowd. Obviously, they had been listening as there were shocked faces staring back at me. It was on my second look around that I saw something I missed the first time. Over near the entrance to the castle, I saw Emmett and Jasper with Junior being held between them. Emmett and Jasper were both restraining him by holding an arm each. They weren't letting him go any time soon. But it was the other trio who really captured my attention. Alice and Rosalie stood on either side of the real Alistair Moody. While he was missing his eye, it was the leg that caught my attention. Earlier in the year, I had Kreacher deliver an item to Moody in the bottom of his trunk. It had come from our good friend Opi. That item was a new leg. This one had an articulated foot that enabled Moody to move around with greater mobility, and he wouldn't have to limp anymore, meaning that it was possible he might be able to sneak up on someone once more.

Bella must have followed where my gaze had gone, and she filled me in through her thoughts. Your new friend, Salem, found me not long after you sent him to me. I knew from your short patronus and from his appearance that something was wrong. Granted, we'd already known it was going to go bad. I spoke to Emmett, Jasper, Rose, and Alice, and we decided that if we didn't get Junior now, he'd try to either get Harry or make a get-a-way.

"Nobody's noticed them?" I whispered at vampire pitch.

No, Bella thought as our siblings all shook their heads. They are just out of sight there.

"What do you mean, Harry?" Professor Dumbledore asked, alarmed. He hadn't expected anything else could go wrong.

"What's going on?" Cornelius Fudge's face appeared from over Dumbledore's shoulder. "Why aren't we celebrating?"

I couldn't stand this man, and I had a feeling, an inkling, that he was going to bury his head in the sand. Instead of making Harry repeat himself since he seemed to be on the edge of passing out, I continued, "The cup was a portkey …"

"Yes, it was supposed to be!" Fudge interrupted. "It brought you back here."

I snorted. This man was dense, and he was going to hate what I was about to say. "No. It first took us to a graveyard … in Little Hangleton … next to a large manor … where we watched as Voldemort was brought back from near death."

Fudge's face paled, and his head started to shake left and right, as if in denial. I wasn't sure it was even voluntary. His thoughts however … Not possible. It can't be possible.

But what I wanted to achieve had happened. Whispers of "he's back" and "Voldemort! How did that happen?" started up. Fudge's face went from pale to downright panic.

"We need to get everyone away from here," Fudge said, his voice abnormally high. "We can discuss it after we get the children back in the castle." With that, he spun around and started to direct the teachers. He didn't want any witnesses to the coming conversation.

Professor Dumbledore watched him go, nodding at the professors who looked to him for conformation. Poor Harry was just about sobbing in Shane's arms—he was so exhausted from his fight. He truly had fought for his life tonight. I stood quietly with Bella in my arms but dropped one to run it over Salem's head and along his body as he made his way to me and wrapped himself around me before he sat next to us.

Bella giggled and leaned down to give him a head scratch of her own. "Are we keeping him?"

Yes … yes, you are. Salem purred under her ministrations. He may be my cat, but he would never turn down a scratch from my mate. I couldn't wait to see if he behaved like other cats and put his ass in Emmett's face.

"I believe I may be just as adept at collecting pets as you are, Bella. He's planning on living with us, yes."

Bella giggled at my wording. But Esme and Carlisle rolled their eyes. They couldn't believe that we'd gone eighty years without ever accumulating any pets, but within years of living in the magical world, we had three unicorns, a hippogriff, three flying dogs, and now a kneazle.

"Any more and we can open our own zoo," Carlisle said as he and Esme walked over to us. Both of them pulling me into a hug to make sure I was okay.

"Don't think that Emmett hasn't thought of it," I warned, pulling Bella back into my arms.

Sirius and Shane continued to try to calm Harry down, even going so far as to find him some chocolate and giving him something warm to drink while we all waited quietly for the stadium seats to empty. I looked over to where our siblings had been, only to see that they were no longer there with Moody and Junior.

Don't worry, Edward, we're still here, Jasper thought. I can see you. We're under the stands. We all want to know what happened. You've got a smart one there in Bella.

I kissed the top of Bella's head at that thought, giving her a smile when she looked up at me because Jasper was right. It was a smart thing what Bella had done, getting Junior when she did. Something I should have thought of before going into that maze.

But we want to know everything. What the hell has been going on this year that you haven't told us? How are we supposed to prepare, and plan, for danger if you don't tell us these things? I nodded to Jasper's thoughts. I should have told them. I looked down at Bella—we should have told them. It's not just us at Hogwarts who were in danger.

"Come, come, sit." Professor Dumbledore guided us over to the bottom seats of the stadium once everyone had gone back into the castle. He looked over both of us as we sat down in front of him. Bella held my hand while Esme sat on my other side. Harry had been squished between Sirius and Shane. "It seems that a lot has happened this year. Want to fill me in?"

Bella and I started to tell our story, right from the word go. As we spoke, other adults, professors, judges, and family alike came to listen.

"Wait," Esme whispered early on in the retelling. "You're saying you discovered that one of your teachers wasn't who he was supposed to be, and you didn't tell anyone? Why not?"

"Would you have listened? We didn't exactly have any proof," I answered her. "Besides … when it happened the last time, I was told to watch, wait, and listen. To try to figure out what was going on."

Esme looked furious. "Who told you to do that?"

I smirked as Dumbledore shuffled a little. "Uh … Esme, dear, that would have been me. And Edward's right. I probably would have told him to do the same thing this time."

"What happened next?" Carlisle asked. I could see that Sirius was taking notes while Harry was resting against Shane with his eyes closed.

"We did just that. Bella and I listened, watched, and waited. Eventually, we discovered that while our teacher was not Alistair Moody, he was on school grounds. We just had to find him."

"Who was he?"

"At that point in time, we had no idea … eventually, we found the real Moody, so I met with him, and we devised a plan."

Bella and I talked all the way through until the night we met Ludo Bagman to show us the maze in the Quidditch stadium with little to no interruptions. We told just about every detail, except who the intruder pretending to be Moody was. Bella and I could see that we were getting under Professor Dumbledore's skin. The more we told, the angrier he became. By the time we got to this point in the story, we had been rejoined by several professors, Like McGonagall and Snape, as well as some of the other judges, such as Madame Maxime and Ludo Bagman himself. And last, but certainly not least, was our Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge.

"I remember that night," Professor Dumbledore said slowly. "That was the night Bartemius Crouch appeared on the grounds."

I nodded, looking at my hands. "That was the night Bartemius Crouch lost his life—the night that Bartemius Crouch Junior killed his father and hid the body."

I flinched at the gasps because I knew what was coming next.

"What do you mean?" Dumbledore asked quietly. "You said nothing happened!"

"And if what you say is true, where is Barty's body? We would have found it by now surely!" Fudge demanded.

"Oh!" Bella stood and pointed at the minister. "Like you did such a thorough job when your ministry explored all the information when it came to Buckbeak's trial? If you couldn't investigate that incident properly, why would we believe you could find an entire body?"

I snorted at the horrified look on Fudge's face. He never thought that a case involving a creature would be thrown back in his face like that.

"My girl never forgets anything, Minister, much like myself. It's the advantage we have over normal, everyday mortals." I turned to Dumbledore. "You're right. I did tell you that I saw nothing. But I did so on the advice of someone who has been unfailingly honest about everything. Who tells me all he knows, without prompting or hesitation."

I expected a reaction out of Dumbledore. He knew I was calling him out on the evasiveness of his actions, of the information he provided us, and I wasn't disappointed. His eyes narrowed, and his hands twitched. But still, he stubbornly held onto his thoughts. "And who might that be?" he asked.

"That would be me," Alistair said as he stepped forward between Alice and Rose. Bella and I had heard the squeak that Alistair's new leg made, and only the squeak, as he approached. So had Carlisle and Esme, but nobody else had. They spun around to see who had spoken. "I was the one to tell Edward not to tell anyone what had happened."

"Why would you do such a thing? Things could have been prevented!" Dumbledore argued.

Alistair pointed at Dumbledore, his good eye glaring at him. "That's why. It had to happen." Moody looked at Harry, still shuddering in Shane's arms, before looking back at me. "Edward, what did happen tonight?"

"Phew … where to begin?" I huffed a laugh.

"We saw some of what happened in the maze, Edward," Bella spoke softly from my side. "Professor McGonagall was able to set up a series of screens—holograms—that followed the champions through the maze. But I think we need to know what you experienced. Start from the beginning."

I scrubbed my hands over my face before looking around at everyone who had gathered. Esme was sitting next to me, rubbing my back. Bella was curled into my side, my arm around her shoulders. Carlisle was sitting behind Esme but closer to me. Shane and Sirius were still sitting to Bella's right with Harry in between. We were a close bunch, and I knew we would be looking after each other, a lot, in the days to come.

Rose and Alice were still with Moody, and Jasper and Emmett still had Junior under control under the bleachers. Everyone else was just standing around looking at me … at us.

"Professor Dumbledore was right," I said, dropping my hands, "The maze was … something else. And it messed with my head something shocking. Although, I'm not sure that was the maze. It may have been the fact that the imposter masquerading as Professor Moody was making sure Harry's way through the maze was as clear as possible."

I answered a few questions about the things that the others had seen via the holograms and while we hurtled through the maze.

"So, Viktor was being controlled by the Imperious Curse, and he took out Fleur?" Sirius asked, not out of shock but just as confirmation.

"Yeah. Are they okay?"

"They are, Edward." Bella looked up at me. "Both are up in the hospital wing, recovering from their ordeal. What happened next?"

"After Harry and I made it through the last couple of obstacles we both made a dash for the cup. I had to tell Harry that the things had to happen a certain way. He wasn't happy with me …"

I'm still not, Harry growled in his thoughts.

I sighed, knowing it was going to take time for Harry to forgive me … us. We had a lot of making up to do for everything we've kept to ourselves this year. And he was only just starting to realize how much we had kept him in the dark.

"We grabbed the cup together and ended up at the graveyard alongside Tom Riddle Senior's house in Little Hangleton. It was there that Voldemort collected certain … items … that he needed to regain his mortal body once again."

Alistair frowned. "What did he use?"

I opened my mouth to answer but another voice jumped in before I could. "'Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will resurrect your son,'" Harry recited verbatim."Voldemort held me hostage against the statue on his father's grave and had Wormtail take a bone from the casket." It seemed what Harry had experienced was going to stay with him, and I couldn't say I blamed him.

"'Flesh of the servant, willingly given, you will revive your master.' Without hesitation Wormtail gladly cut off his hand. 'Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken, you will resurrect your foe.'" Harry let his arm flop down onto his lap, face up. "Wormtail brought the same knife he had cut his hand off with, sliced my arm open, and collected my blood. All those things Wormtail put in a large cauldron filled with sparkling water. He then put in what looked like a baby-sized monster but was actually what was left of Voldemort. Everything reacted, and Voldemort stepped out of the cauldron, fully restored, if not entirely human looking."

I sighed as Harry finished. "And after he stepped out, a rather large group of death eaters made their way to his side. Including one executioner McNair"—my eyes slid to Fudge—"and one of the sacred twenty-eight families … Lucius Malfoy."

Fudge froze, hearing that name, and he started to panic. Malfoy was apparently a big supporter of his, and he had never believed the rumors of him being a death eater. In fact, he wasn't the only one who panicked at hearing that Voldemort was back and the death eaters responded to the call.

For several minutes, people panicked but remained quiet, locked in their thoughts.

Moody clapped his hands once, taking charge since it seemed Dumbledore wasn't sure what to do. "Right. We need to send some people to that graveyard, see if there's anybody left. Albus, will you do that?" At Dumbledore's nod, Moody continued. "Good. Severus, I need you to go and get me some Veritaserum because we have someone we need to interrogate. Ladies, would you mind getting a chair?"

Alice darted off to the side and brought a chair she had placed there earlier, not knowing what exactly it was for, while Snape made for the castle as fast as he could.

"Thank you, my dear. Emmett, Jasper, if you please?"

At Moody's words, my brothers frog-marched Junior out from under the bleachers and forced him into the chair. With a flick of Moody's wand, ropes sprung out from the end and tied Junior into place.

"Jasper, do you think you could retrieve my eye?"

Jasper smirked, sending a little bit of fear in Junior's direction, before he made his way over. Jasper stood behind Junior, leaned down, and breathed on his neck. "It would only take one small nick, one small bite on your neck here, and you would be dead in seconds." Jasper took a deep breath. "Mmmm, your blood smells so good. Do you think anyone would mind if I had a little sip?"

Snorts sounded from all around the stadium as the vampires listened to Jasper. Even Moody had a small smirk on his face.

Jasper let his hand fall onto Junior's shoulder, causing him to flinch, before Jasper reached for the strap that held Moody's eye to Junior's face. Once he had removed it, he leaned back down to Junior's ear. "You're really lucky that we want answers or I might have been severely tempted to … take … a … drink." With that, Jasper mashed his teeth together before laughing and walking away. Jasper held his arm out when he got close to Moody. "Here you go, sir."

"Thank you, Jasper," Moody said as he affixed his eye back into place, hiding the fact that part of his head was missing. It rolled around a few times before it settled into place, looking right at Junior. "Fantastic. That feels much better. Seeing out of one eye was uncomfortable. Before I ask this handsome man …" Moody paused, smiling as Bella, Alice, and Rose giggled at him "… any questions, why did Voldemort need Harry's blood and not just any old enemy?"

I looked up at Moody, who was studying both Harry and me. I waited, but it seemed Harry had done all the talking we were going to get out of him for now. "After a very long-winded history lesson from the man himself, at least his version of it, he told Harry it had to be him and nobody else. When Voldemort went after Harry, he had no beef with Lily. The reason the spell rebounded off of Harry was because Lily cast old protective magic when she took Harry's place at the end of Voldemort's wand. She sacrificed herself for Harry, and that meant …"

"Voldemort could no longer touch Harry at all," Dumbledore breathed.

"Yes, sir." I nodded. "And now that he used Harry's blood, he's able to touch him. It causes him a lot of pain, but he can touch him."

"Damn." Moody shook his head. "And tonight, he failed to kill him. So, he'll still believe that Harry will be his downfall, for real this time."

Once again, panic spread around the group. Many thoughts were fighting for control in my mind. In fact, they were all starting to give me a headache, so much so that I almost missed the thoughts that were cheering the fact that Voldemort could now touch Harry. How could someone—I was pretty sure who, even though it was hard to narrow down, considering the state of the thoughts floating around—be happy that one of the most feared dark wizards of all time could now touch the one person who may be able to end him? It struck me as odd, very odd.

Snape reappeared as Moody turned around to face Junior, who had been surprisingly quiet through all of this. What stood out, though, was the fact that he was smiling. It was crazy looking and made him look completely mad. Snape handed over the Veritaserum without a word, shuddering as he did so, and stepped backward.

"Thank you, Severus. Emmett, if you could open his mouth for me," Moody suggested with a wave of his hand toward Junior.

Emmett took a few steps forward and reached out to tilt Junior's head backward. But just as he made contact with his skin, it started to roll and bubble, like it was boiling from the inside out. Emmett cringed and stepped backward. "What the?"

"Ah, so that was who was stealing your stores, Severus," Dumbledore murmured quietly. "Polyjuice potion."

Snape frowned but gave a non-committal "hmm".

The man hiding in the Moody suit stretched and fought, groaned and cried out, all while his skin boiled and his bones broke and healed. Bella buried her head in my chest as his form truly became grotesque, switching between faces.

"Ewww. It wasn't that gross on Harry," Bella mumbled from my chest. I shuddered because she was right. It hadn't been that gross on Harry. But it was also like watching a train wreck—you couldn't keep your eyes off of it.

Moody's old leg fell with a thud to the dirt below as Junior's leg began to grown back in its place. With one last guttural scream the fake Moody shrank in body size, curled in on itself, and then shuddered, panting, with his eyes facing the floor. Emmett and Jasper took their places behind the chair, just in case, even though he was held in place by the ropes. I couldn't help myself. I had to know what he looked like. I leaned forward, Bella held securely in my arms, and peered up into the eyes of the man who hoodwinked most of Hogwarts all year.

His fair hair was matted and filthy, sticking to his scalp. The lines around his eyes were much more prominent than the youthful skin he had sported in the pensieve while he had been trying to convince his father, and the other wizards at the Wizengamot, that he was innocent. He was nothing like I imagined yet everything at the same time.

Junior was peering at me with a twisted, maniacal smile on his face. It was like he had anticipated that someone would do exactly that. The smile turned into more of a smirk as his tongue darted out—much like a snake would—before he tried to launch himself across the space between us. He didn't get far, due to the ropes around him and my brothers, but that didn't stop him from trying. He struggled for a few minutes, really trying to get out of his bonds, then he just flopped back into his seat.

"Barty Crouch Junior," Moody crooned. "How is it that you came to be outside of Azkaban?"

Instead of answering, Junior surveyed all those around him, that smirk still fixed on his face. That was until he got to Harry. I could see Junior's left arm roll beneath his sleeve the longer he stared in Harry's direction, and even more so when Harry turned to look at him.

"I'll show you mine, if you show me yours?" Junior taunted Harry.

"Pull up his sleeve, Em," I murmured.

Shane reached down for Harry's right arm as Em pulled up the sleeve of Junior's left. There, plain as day for anyone to see, was the evidence that Harry's story wasn't just that, a story. But what caught my attention was the tattoo on Junior's arm. Most tattoos of the dark mark that I had seen were soft, darkening, but soft around the edges. Junior's tattoo, though, was crisp. It was darker than any other tattoo I had ever seen.

I wondered just how long Bartemius Crouch Junior had had his tattoo. And if his tattoo was new, what did that mean?

There were more gasps from the peanut gallery as they all got a look at both of their arms. I could hear several swear words flow through the minds of my brothers. They knew, as did Dumbledore and Moody, what that one tattoo meant. Fudge though? I had a feeling he was going to be an issue. Because for as much as he didn't want to admit what was staring him in the face, he was loath to do that exact thing. He was not going to accept that Voldemort was back.

"He's back!" Junior hissed. "Voldemort's back!"

"Can you tell us where he is now?" Alistair asked but sighed when Junior's mouth snapped closed. Alistair waved his hand in Junior's direction. "Emmett, if you please?"

Emmett nodded and stepped forward. He gripped Junior just hard enough on the forehead and his jaw to make sure that he opened his mouth. Alistair stepped forward and poured the Veritaserum in Junior's mouth. He took a few steps backward and watched as Emmett held Junior's mouth closed until Junior had no choice but to swallow the potion.

"Now that's out of the way. Barty Junior, can you tell me where Voldemort is right now?" Alistair asked a second time.

A few of the teachers who had been watching made their way back into the castle as Junior struggled to not answer the question. The only teachers left watching were Dumbledore, Moody, and Snape. Shane, Sirius, and Harry were still here, as well as our family, Bella, and me. We weren't going anywhere. I was surprised Fudge was still here, and I wondered for how much longer.

"I have no idea!" Junior spat, pulling me from my thoughts. "The tattoo has stopped calling me, and until it starts again, I have no idea where he is."

That answered a question I had. It seemed that the tattoos did act like a homing beacon, calling the death eaters to their master.

Moody rolled his eyes. "When did you become a death eater?"

This time, Junior's answer was swifter. "After I entered Azkaban."

"That's not true!" Fudge shouted. "You were sent to Azkaban for your part in the capture and torture of Frank and Alice Longbottom!"

Junior snorted. "I was there—at their house—on orders of the Ministry of Magic and my father. We knew they were a target of Voldemort's. We knew he'd send someone after them. My father wanted to check on them as we hadn't heard from them in a few days, so he sent me. I just happened to show up just as the death eaters came out laughing and jeering. Simple matter of wrong place, wrong time. And then Karkaroff took advantage of that fact to escape his imprisonment at Azkaban. It was a mistake on behalf of the Ministry and my father."

Fudge scoffed and waved his hand at Junior. "We don't make mistakes at the ministry, and I don't have to listen to this." With that, Fudge turned and stormed toward the castle. He didn't want to hear anymore, but he didn't have a clear idea what he was going to do, except to go to Dumbledore's office.

Moody hummed, watching Fudge walk away. "So, you were innocent when you entered Azkaban? What happened to change you into a death eater?"

"Have you ever been in that place? The horrors that the prisoners are forced to live with?" Junior demanded, struggling against his ropes. The look on his face was haunted.

"No, I've never been there. Put plenty in there though. What is it like?" Moody asked, rubbing his chin.

I could see through Junior's mind what it was like living in Azkaban. I would compare it to the internment camps that were all over Germany during the Second World War.

"Torture. Those soul-sucking bastards tortured us. We were cold, barely fed, and slept on tiny, thin straw mattresses. We had a sheet to keep us warm. And every chance the dementors got, they sucked out a little more of us. We all went crazy!" Junior screamed out.

Oh, dear, Bella thought. Should prisoners be kept like that? That doesn't seem like ideal living conditions.

"It's not, not really. But how do you keep a witch or wizard imprisoned?" I said back to her. Bella just shrugged.

Junior panted. "Every one of us was going mad, locked up in those conditions. We barely ate, hardly slept, we weren't given much water. Worst of all, we never bathed. It was madness. Crazy … crazy … crazy!" Junior shook his head back and forth. Whether to shake the images rattling around in his brain—of him in his cell rocking to and fro, covering his head—or to try to gain control of his mouth, I couldn't tell. "It was there I pledged my loyalty to the dark lord. It was there I promised that if he could release me then I'd do anything I could for him. And he did! He made it happen. I got free!"

Moody started pacing around the clearing set between the seats and the entrance to the maze. His mind racing a mile a minute, remembering how Rabastan Lestrange escaped from Azkaban the year before. "And just how did you get free?"

"My mother …" Junior's voice shuttered. For all his faults, he had loved his mother, and telling this part of the story still affected him. "She knew she was dying, and she convinced my father to come see me so she could see me one last time. What he didn't know—at the time—was that she had brewed some polyjuice potion, for her and for me … and when he was distracted, we swapped places. By the time he figured it out, we were back home, and she had been killed by the dementors."

"My god …" Esme breathed. Although she could understand a mother's love that would do anything to save her son.

"What happened next?" Moody asked. He wanted to continue the interrogation before the Veritaserum wore off.

"I tried to escape my father, just once, when we returned home. After that, he kept me under the Imperious Curse."

Geez, this truth serum gets them to spill everything, doesn't it? Bella snorted, looking up at me. How are you feeling?

I kissed her gently on the mouth. "I'm fine, sweetheart. No lasting effects. Your vest did exactly what you designed it to. I didn't feel a thing."

I'm glad. Love you, Edward.

I kissed her again as I tuned back into what Junior was saying. "While I was under the curse, Winky was my keeper. She looked after me. Made sure I did everything I was told. Went where she did because my father had tethered us together. He kept me on a very short leash, and I was usually kept at home. That was until the day of the World Cup."

I listened halfheartedly as Junior told about that day from the start. I compared it to what Winky had told us when she came to confess all that she had seen when she was working for Crouch. His story followed the same events that Winky had told Bella and me.

"It was just good luck that the other death eaters attacked when they did. I was able to fight off the last of the Imperious Curse and force Winky to follow me into the woods. She fought, oh did she fight, but she was no match for me. It was there that I was able to get a hold of a wand from some redheaded boy …"

Ron's wand, Bella whispered in her thoughts as she looked up at me again, to which I nodded.

"My dear father was smart. He had placed an invisibility cloak over me so I could be hidden from everyone. Once I was deep enough in the woods, I slipped the cloak off my shoulders and used my stolen wand to cast the spell that would fire the dark mark into the sky. I had just pulled the cloak back over my head when both Winky and I were stunned."

I shook my head. "And that's when Senior dismissed Winky, blaming her for the whole incident when it was actually you." I pointed at Junior.

"Yes, yes!" he nodded enthusiastically. "He was even stricter with cursing me after that, but I found it easier and easier to slip out of it. It kept up like that until one day Bertha Jorkins came to visit. She saw me, so Dad made her forget. He blocked her memories of me. But one day … one day, the Dark Lord showed anyway, saying that Bertha had told him where to find me. He set me free for a second time. And I promised him my fealty, my loyalty. And he rewarded me with my first mission. To become the great, and feared, Alistair Moody and take his place at Hogwarts. I had to make sure that Harry Potter was entered into the tournament, and that he won. And I did. I shall be rewarded handsomely."

Mouths had dropped open at the telling of Junior's story. Things were a lot more involved that we thought, and Voldemort was a lot more informed. Did he still have someone on the inside?

Professor Dumbledore was the next to ask questions. "What happened to your father? Why did you have to kill him?"

Junior growled, actually growled, before he spat the words out. "Wormtail was supposed to be watching my father, keeping him under the same curse that he had kept me under. But he got careless, or reckless, hell even both probably. I received word that he had escaped. I knew he would come to you. The great and almighty Dumbledore."

Bella and I snickered quietly when we saw Dumbledore's face flush slightly, even though Junior hadn't meant it as a compliment.

"I just had to bide my time until he reached Hogwarts. It was fortuitous timing that he arrived when he did. I had been in the woods already, wandering and waiting. I had been watching the proceedings on the Quidditch pitch. I saw when Viktor and Harry were left alone, and when they were approached by my father. All I had to do was wait until Harry left, then I stunned Viktor and led my father into the woods where I killed him and covered him with an invisibility cloak."

Junior snickered before his tongue poked out of his mouth, something that had been happening a lot as he spoke. I almost expected it to be forked. "Then once you sent me back into the woods to 'find' him, I simply returned to his body, transfigured him into a bone, and buried him in the freshly dug earth behind Hagrid's cabin. As if that oaf would notice it had been dug up."

"You leave him alone!" Bella fumed, standing from her seat at my side. "Hagrid is ten times the man you will ever be!"

"Ten times the size of me," Junior snickered. Completely unrepentant for everything he had done.

Alistair turned to see who was left in the seating area. "Emmett, Jasper, can you and your lovely ladies please escort Barty Junior up to the highest tower where the cells are for safe keeping until we can transfer him back to Azkaban?"

Emmett and Jasper nodded. While Alice and Rose responded with a "sure".

"I'll be treated like a hero! Do you hear me? A hero!" Junior shouted over and over again as Emmett and Jasper hauled him out of his chair and started dragging him away. Before they made it too far, Jasper used his powers to send Junior to sleep.

"Pfft, like we ever have time for heroes," Alistair muttered. "Esme, can you please contact Azkaban and alert them to the fact that they are missing a prisoner?"

"Of course, Alistair," Esme replied. She kissed both Bella and me before she left to do as Moody had asked.

"And, Carlisle, can you head up to the hospital wing and help Madam Pomfrey prepare for some visitors."

Carlisle clapped me on the shoulder and kissed Bella on the top of the head before he stood. "Absolutely. We'll be ready by the time you get there."

"Bella, I think you need to head up to Gryffindor tower," Dumbledore said, looking directly at her.

"She's not leaving!" I fumed just as Bella vehemently stated, "I'm not going anywhere!"

I could hear the growl from her snow leopard building in her chest, and I knew she would shift if she was so much as pushed any more. I wrapped my arms around her and drew her back to my chest. "You don't have to go, Bella. No-one is going to make you."

"That's right," Alistair agreed, his eyes on Dumbledore. "Please sit back down. I only have a question or two more to ask before Edward and Harry go up to the hospital wing anyway."

"Good," she grumbled, sitting down as close as she could next to me. In fact, if she had been any closer, she would have been on my lap. "Harry needs to be looked at. Edward just needs to be away from everyone in Gryffindor tower."

Alistair breathed deeply, looking around at those who were left. "We need someone to go and dig up that bone from Hagrid's garden. But that can wait. What we need to know is what happened after Voldemort emerged from that cauldron."

Both Harry and I stayed quiet. I was waiting for him to tell what happened from his point of view. Harry didn't want to talk about it, even though I thought he should.

"Harry?" Shane asked.

Harry shook his head. "No. I'm not talking about it. You want what happened, ask Edward. He was there. And apparently, he was alive, awake, whatever through the whole thing."

I dropped my head as Bella sucked in a gasp. "Harry," she whispered.

"No, Bella. Just no. Edward wasn't the only one who kept things from me. Just, please, give me some time."

"Okay," Bella whispered again, curling into my side. I could tell she was upset about the fact that Harry was upset with us, but she couldn't really blame him either.

I'm sorry, Edward, Moody thought, looking at me. I shook my head, showing him that he wasn't to blame. We could have told him, and the others, at any time. We just chose not to.

Okay. Moody nodded back. "Edward, what happened?"

I sighed and looked over to Harry. "Voldemort had had this planned down to the smallest detail, except for me. After we arrived, we were confronted by Wormtail …" I explained everything that had happened before, and after, Voldemort stepped out of the cauldron. "Harry was brilliant. He truly held his own when Voldemort forced him into a duel. He withstood being tortured by the Cruciatus Curse; he battled with heart, even when he thought I was dead. I couldn't be prouder of him."

Harry scoffed internally but otherwise remained silent.

"They dueled for a few minutes, trading spells, all while Harry avoided Voldemort's. He dove behind a couple of gravestones, trying to take a breather, all the while Voldemort taunted him." I took a deep breath because this next part was something I didn't understand. "Harry was concerned; he knew he couldn't keep fighting; he knew he couldn't win against Voldemort, not yet. So, Harry determined that he was going to give one last good fight. He was going to give him everything he had. When Harry stood from his hiding place and faced Voldemort, they both fired a spell—Voldemort sent Avada Kedavra, Harry returned with Expelliarmus—but instead of the killing curse bowling through everything between it and Harry, it was stopped. The two spells connected in the middle of the two dueling wizards."

Moody had stopped pacing when I reached the pinnacle of the story, and Dumbledore's head snapped up to stare at me. Neither of their minds revealed what they were thinking however. Dumbledore still had his mind closed, and Moody's was flipping through things so fast that I couldn't keep up.

"What happened next?" Dumbledore demanded.

"When the death eaters started to step forward to … I don't know … stop whatever was happening, several golden threads flew out from where the spells connected and created a large dome around the pair of them. None of the death eaters could reach them. They tried, boy did they try, but the dome stopped every single one of them." I continued to explain about the golden thread that stayed connected and the balls that were floating along the thread. I also explained how the wands would vibrate if those balls came close, or connected, with them.

"Harry?" Dumbledore asked, kneeling down next to our friend. "Harry? You saw your mother, didn't you?"

One small short nod was all Dumbledore received so he turned back to me.

"Yeah," I breathed. "Lily, Frank Bryce, Bertha Jorkins, and several other 'people' came out of the end of Voldemort's wand."

Moody and Dumbledore looked at each other for a long second. There was a silent communication passing between them, but I wasn't privy to what they were saying. For some reason, Moody had slipped a cloak over his immediate thoughts. I could have gone around the cloak, but I knew that Moody would tell us eventually. Dumbledore shook his head, but Moody's eye narrowed.

"He needs to know. They all need to know," Moody growled.

"Why? What good will it possibly do?" Dumbledore asked, standing from his crouched position.

Moody just pointed at Harry. "Because at this point, I imagine that Harry wonders whether his mother can come back. That if she could come out of Voldemort's wand, whether we could bring her back from the dead, and are just not doing it."

"Oh, Harry, no," Shane breathed, pushing Harry away slightly to bring his face up to see him better. "You know that's not possible, right?"

Harry tensed. "But why? Edward got his parents back through the Mirror of Erised, as did Bella with her dad. Why can't my mum come back? What about me?"

Bella and I looked down guiltily. He was right; we did get our family back in some semblance. But … "That might be true, Harry, but we had to lose all of our family first. You still have some of your family," Bella pointed out quietly.

"And part of yours is still alive, too!" Harry shouted as he stood and pointed at Bella.

"Hey!" I growled instinctively. "Do not talk to my mate like that. You need to be respectful."

Bella placed her hand on my arm, gently pulling me down next to her. "It's okay, Edward. He has a right to be upset."

"This is why they need to know, Albus. Why Harry needs to know." Moody looked around at all of us. "What happened with Harry and Voldemort's wands is a phenomenon called Priori Incantatum. This phenomenon can only happen with 'brother wands'—wands that have the same inner core from the same donor. It's the reverse spell effect. In laymen's terms, one wand forces the other to regurgitate spells in reverse. For instance …"

"The last spell cast, which happened to be the killing curse," I finished for Moody. "And as such, all of the essence of the people killed recently were released from the wand. Does that mean they are now at rest?" I asked this for Harry because he was horrified at the thought that his mother had been trapped in Voldemort's wand for the last thirteen years.

Moody gave me a look. One that indicated that he knew the question wasn't for me, and that I should have let Harry ask his own question. "They always have been. The wand is much like the pictures that are taken. They move, they can interact, but they are not the real person. They are a snapshot, an image of that person when they were alive. Lily, and all of Voldemort's other victims, are at peace wherever they may be."

I nodded, and pulled Bella closer to me, nuzzling the top of her head and closing my eyes. She let out a breath and snuggled in closer, her thoughts running along a similar vein as mine. I couldn't imagine what it would have been like for me to see her likeness come out of the end of that vile man's wand. It would have just about killed me.

I was brought out of my morbid thoughts by Dumbledore. He had knelt down in front of Harry and placed a warm, careful hand on his injured arm. "You have been so brave, my boy. So, so brave. You faced your worst nightmare and lived through it a second time. Bravery doesn't even begin to cover what you have been through tonight." Dumbledore stood and looked down at Harry with what looked like genuine remorse. "I think it's time we all head up to the hospital wing for some well-earned rest." I opened my mouth, but Dumbledore beat me to it. "You too, Edward. I know you didn't actually die tonight, but I want you to rest, and if you go to the common room, that won't happen. Bella can come with you of course."

I nodded and picked up my sleepy girl. It was getting late and all the worry this tournament had caused her was starting to catch up. I followed Shane, Sirius, and Harry slowly up to the hospital wing because Harry was adamant about making his way up himself. Carlisle and Madam Pomfrey were waiting for us when we entered the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey showed Harry to a bed on one side of the wing while Carlisle directed Bella and me to another. This bed looked slightly different, and it took me a minute to realize that they had made it wider so Bella and I could lie on it comfortably.

"Thank you," I whispered to Carlisle as I placed Bella on the bed and covered her. She was already asleep.

"It was all Poppy's idea. She knew you wouldn't be far from each other tonight." Carlisle rested his hand upon my shoulder and looked me square in the eyes. "I want you to know that I wish I could give you what Poppy is about to give Harry, that you could sleep, without dreams, for a short while tonight. The sleeping draught is strong but not made for vampires …" Carlisle hesitated for a moment. "Maybe we could work on adjusting it together? To be able to sleep would be wonderful."

I nodded. I could see that Carlisle had really taken an interest in potion making. The kit that Bella had given him at Christmas last year was something he really enjoyed. He may not have any magical ability, but he was finding ways to make it work. "I think I'd like that, Dad. I have something that can test it safely for us too. Maybe we could get you one."

Carlisle beamed, pulling me into a rough hug. "Now, get to bed, young man."

I chuckled at Carlisle's mock stern tone and finger pointed at me as I climbed into bed. I was glad Carlisle and I had gotten some semblance of our former relationship back. We wouldn't be the same, but I was beginning to think we could be even better.

~*~UHS~*~

It was finally quiet in the hospital wing and the castle itself. All of the students had gone to bed, giving me a mental reprieve from all of their thoughts—there were only dreams floating around now. Carlisle—as well as Emmett, Rose, Alice, and Jasper—had gone home. Carlisle was eager to start research on the sleeping draught. Sirius and Shane had decided to stay and were getting some well-deserved sleep in the corner of the wing.

Shane and Sirius were not the only ones getting some shut eye here in the hospital wing. Dumbledore had also taken up a post in a dark, shadowy corner. His mind had finally relaxed enough to let him sleep, and in the process, the shield that covered his mind had slipped to the wayside. He was dreaming about what it was like the first time Voldemort had come into power. It wasn't something I wanted to see right now, so I decided to ignore his thoughts.

My gaze slid around the room, stopping on Esme for a brief moment. Esme decided to stay with Harry, Bella, and me in the hospital wing. She thought we could all use some mothering, and she wasn't wrong about that. She was currently sitting at Harry's bedside, keeping a constant vigil as he rested. Esme knew what that kind of trauma could do to someone's dreams. So, while he was silent and resting comfortably, Esme was reading some new teaching material that she wanted to talk to Dumbledore about introducing to her classes.

Harry had refused to drink the potion of Dreamless Sleep that was offered to him after his arm was healed by Madam Pomfrey. Thank goodness, though, he was able to slip quite easily into sleep. So far, his dreams had been quiet and happy. For that, I was grateful.

Bella's dreams were also quiet. Although, hers I was enjoying much more. She was dreaming of the future. One where she was grown up, where we both had graduated from Hogwarts and were living in a world that was safe, free, and beautiful. They floated from the both of us travelling the world, to working for the ministry, for Hogwarts, or in our own store, to both of us settling down and starting a family.

It was her last dream that spoke to me the most. In it, she was glowing, absolutely stunning, because she was beautifully round with our child. She was standing on the deck of our house, looking out on the back yard. I could see her standing there, a soft smile on her face, as she rubbed her rounded tummy and spoke to the child within her. She turned side on and looked back into the house, her smile widening as she did so because I stepped out of the door, smiling back at her. I stepped up to her side, giving her a soft kiss on the lips as my hand reached out to join hers on her stomach. If this was what our future held, I couldn't wait to join her in it.

Bella and Harry were rudely woken, and I was dragged kicking and screaming, from our dreams when loud, arguing voices were heard approaching the hospital wing. They were all talking over each other, so much so, that I could only clearly make out that it was Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, and Cornelius Fudge, and they were arguing about Bartemius Crouch Junior. That was until they stepped through the doors. Their voices got louder, so did their argument, and with that came even louder thoughts.

"Dear God," I whispered, "what has he done?"

What? Bella asked, silently eyeing the group warily.

I sighed. "Just …" I waved my hand in their direction, sighing again. "Wait."

"How could you do something so fundamentally stupid?" Professor McGonagall asked. "We needed him!"

"We did not. He had nothing to offer!" Fudge argued back. Snape just glowered, coming in behind them.

Professor McGonagall spun in a circle. "Where is Professor Dumbledore? I was sure he'd be here."

"I am, Minerva. What seems to be the problem?" Dumbledore replied, stepping out of the shadows where he had been resting.

"This man, and I use that term loosely, brought dementors onto the school grounds without anyone's knowledge and had them give the kiss to Bartemius Crouch Junior!" Professor McGonagall ranted, throwing her arms up in the air and letting them smack back down on her thighs.

Bella, Harry, and Esme—who was sitting with Harry while Shane and Sirius slept off to the side, although they were awake now—gasped at what McGonagall had said. All of us were in various states of shock.

"Why on earth would you do that, Cornelius?" Professor Dumbledore asked calmly, but the threat was implied in the tone of his voice.

"He was an escaped prisoner from Azkaban, and had he returned, he would have told them all about how it happened. I couldn't have that," Fudge replied indignantly.

Sure. Bella rolled her eyes. That excuse is flimsy at best.

I nodded. "Others agree with you," I whispered to her.

"I think," Dumbledore spoke carefully, quietly, "that the reason you did this behind everyone's back is because you didn't want him testifying about Voldemort's return. He was the one who had the most evidence."

At this comment, I snorted softly because Crouch wasn't the one with the most evidence—Harry and I were.

"There is absolutely no evidence that he-who-shall-not-be-named has returned. And I will not stand for anyone saying otherwise without the proof to back it up!" Fudge ranted.

"How about this?" Snape demanded, pulling up the sleeve of his robes roughly. "If the Dark Lord"—at this comment, Bella's and my eyebrows shot up—"… was truly still gone, this tattoo would not be this dark."

"And I think you're mad!" Fudge shouted. "Just as he was mad. He-who-shall-not-be-named cannot come back!"

Those not involved in the conversation—or in this case, shouting match—watched on while Fudge had an argument for every valid point that Dumbledore, McGonagall, and even Snape thought up to show that Voldemort had returned from the dead.

Until I heard more than I could stomach.

"Enough!" I growled loud enough that each of them stopped arguing and snapped their mouths closed. "First of all, this is a hospital, and we are supposed to be resting after our harrowing ordeal. Second of all, you are right, Professor Dumbledore." I didn't expand on that because I didn't want Fudge knowing my secret, but Dumbledore nodded, accepting my words. "Third, for argument's sake, Minister Fudge, Bartemius Crouch Junior wasn't the only one with proof. Would you like to see my memories of what happened tonight? Or would you prefer to continue to stick your head in the sand? And would you like to pretend that had I been a normal, mortal wizard, everyone would be mourning my death?"

Bella whimpered at my words so I pulled her closer. I knew that hearing those blunt words—especially from me—would affect her deeply. But Fudge had to hear them. He had to know that things could have turned out very differently.

Our illustrious minister blustered for a few minutes. He had absolutely no idea what to say. But really … what was there to say? We were right, and he did not want to accept that.

Eventually, Professor Dumbledore took pity on the minister. "For now, Cornelius, I think both you and the dementors need to get off school grounds. We don't have much left to discuss. What I do suggest you do, though, is send an envoy to the giants. If Voldemort has returned, they will be some of the first he approaches."

"I will not. There is nothing to be done because he. Has. Not. Come. Back!" With that, Minister Fudge stomped over to my bed. "Here." He dumped a bag on my nightstand. "And here," he said, dumping another on Harry's bed, "are your winnings. You two have inconvenienced the ministry highly by winning together. I thought you should share the prize, but apparently, the rest of the committee found it prudent to award the whole prize … to each of you." With that snipe, he spun and flounced out of the hospital wing.

"What's that?" Bella asked as Harry picked up his small sack. We both heard the metallic clinking before Harry gave his a good shake. He opened his sack and started counting.

"I'd say these are our winnings from the tournament. One thousand galleons each." I put my nose in the air, indignantly. "He could have at least said 'Congratulations on your win'."

Bella snorted at my sarcastic comment but picked up the bag to look inside. "What are you gonna do with yours?"

Fred and George could use it. Harry's voice caught my attention. I looked up to see that, while Harry was still upset with us, he was looking at me. As long as Molly doesn't find out it was us … we could give it to them to start their store.

I nodded while looking at him. "Sounds good, Harry. We'll do that, and we'll have to make sure Molly doesn't … ever … find out."

Bella giggled, figuring out what we were talking about and flopped back on the bed. The mirth seemed to fade, though, as Dumbledore turned to face those left in the room.

"Cornelius isn't going to do the right thing." He sighed. "Which means we're going to have to." Dumbledore carefully looked over those around him. "Shane, I need you to go to the ministry and fetch Arthur. Have him meet me in my office." Shane nodded and left the wing, giving Harry a rub on the head as he went past. "Minerva, can you head out to the grounds and have Madame Maxime and Hagrid meet me at the fountain in the garden. I must speak with them urgently."

"Certainly, Professor Dumbledore." Professor McGonagall rushed out of the hospital wing like the hounds of hell were after her.

"We're going to need the order, again, I fear," Professor Dumbledore murmured as he rubbed his forehead. "Who to send? Who to send?"

Is that a trick question? Bella thought as she sleepily looked at me. I shrugged. I wasn't sure; as usual, Dumbledore had his thoughts closed.

Things were quiet until Sirius spoke up from next to Harry's bed. "I'll go. I'll go round up Remus, and we can start covering ground."

"But …" Harry was going to argue. But Sirius shook his head.

"I can write from anywhere. But we do need to get the order together. Sooner rather than later. I'll head out now." Sirius turned to Harry. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

Harry just nodded. Everything that he had experienced tonight was starting to catch up with him. He wasn't going to be able to hold onto his emotions for much longer.

I heard a sigh from Dumbledore, which pulled my attention back to him. He was looking at Snape, and they seemed to be having a serious conversation without actually talking. "Severus, I hate to ask this of you." Dumbledore eventually spoke.

"I know. But you're going to ask it of me anyway."

Dumbledore nodded. "You need to go back."

"I must. The Dark Lord will expect his followers to come back."

I hissed quietly. Dumbledore was letting Snape go back. I wasn't even sure he had left in the first place!

"How will you explain your lateness?" Dumbledore asked quietly.

"That I had to wait until things calmed down around here before I could make my escape."

With not a word more said between them, Snape turned and marched out of the wing without a look back. His arrogance on display once more.

I opened my mouth to argue, but Dumbledore held up his hand to silence me. "I know you don't trust him, Edward. But I do, and right now, we have to. If he can keep us abreast of the goings on in Voldemort's inner circle then that's good. We need to know."

My mouth snapped closed because, as much as I wanted to argue the point, he was right. But I didn't believe, not for one second, that any of the information Snape would hand on would be useful. Not at all.

After a couple moments of silence, Dumbledore too left the wing, presumably to go and meet with Hagrid, Maxime, and Arthur.

Almost the second the doors closed, labored breathing drew my attention to Harry. It seemed the night's events had finally taken their toll. He was trying to hold it in. He didn't want to show any emotion, but it was dragging him under.

Instead of letting him suffer, Esme sat down on his bed next to him and pulled him into her arms. "Let it out, Harry. You're safe, here, now. Let it out."

It seemed that it was the permission he was waiting for because the sob that burst out of him was loud, wailing, and full of anguish. Instead of watching him and making him feel like a science experiment, I laid back on the bed, pulling a sniffling Bella into my arms. We were quiet as Harry cried himself out. By the time he did, Bella had fallen back asleep in my arms, and I was resting with my eyes closed.

"Here, Harry," Esme whispered. "I know you don't want to drink this, but you need your rest. Today is going to come quickly, and you need some rest. At least for tonight, sleep, and leave your dreams behind."

"Thank you, Esme." I could hear Harry swallow the potion.

"You're welcome, sweet boy." Esme stayed quiet while Harry drifted off to sleep. "He's going to need us, Edward. All of us."

"I know. And we will be there for him."

I could hear the determination in her voice as she replied with one word. "Good."

~*~UHS~*~

---

A lot of information in this one. And a betrayal from those in government (big surprise). Let me know what you think!

See you in a fortnight.