By the end of breakfast on Saturday morning, Anthony had managed to persuade Flitwick to let them use an empty Charms classroom for their 'study group' provided that they all gave their assurances that they wouldn't cheat on essays or help Calla to cheat in the Tournament, which they all promised quickly. "Not like I can cheat when I don't even know what I might have to do," Calla muttered over breakfast, looking along the table at Fleur, who was talking rather dejectedly to her Beauxbatons friends. None of the champions had had any more information about the Third Task.

"Thought you would have Seen it, Potter," Lisa said, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah, well, it doesn't seem to be as convenient as that unfortunately." She ate her toast with a scowl, and was glad when Daphne and Padma decided they ought to get on their way to Hogsmeade.

It was still cold outside, no matter how the sun tried to peak through the clouds, and Calla had a Ravenclaw bobble hat pulled firmly over her ears as they set off. She had arranged to meet Harry, Remus and Sirius outside the Three Broomsticks later in the afternoon, but beforehand she and Padma had grudgingly agreed to go with Daphne to Madam Pudifoot's tea shop - they had invited Isobel along too, but she had flat out refused, on the grounds that it was far too girly.

"Isn't this a spot for couples?" Calla asked as they stood outside, thinking of seeing Zach in there with another girl. It was stupid to be upset about in the circumstances, but she still really didn't want to see anything of the sort.

"No," Daphne said rather defensively, "Astoria said it's cute and does good hot chocolate."

Calla sighed as they went in, though she couldn't deny the shop looked nice, if in a rather overbearing way. The walls were all a pretty shade of soft pink, some with little white flowers painted on, and there were soft cushions over cozy-looking armchairs. But there were an awful lot of couples. She and Padma both exchanged rather uncomfortable glances. This was not the best location for the three of them, even if Daphne didn't know why.

"I'll get the hot chocolate," Daphne said, immediately going to join the line at the counter. "You two find a table."

"This is..." Padma said, looking around as they sat down.

"Cute," Calla said, and Padma giggled tightly.

"That's one way of saying it. I'm surprised Parvati isn't in here."

"You never know," Calla said, and shrugged. "I just hope the hot chocolate is as good as Daphne says it's meant to be."

"It better be," Padma said, and looked around with an exaggerated shudder. "I'm not sacrificing my eyes for second rate hot chocolate."

"The waitress says she'll be round in ten minutes, they're really busy." Daphne dropped into the seat next to Calla. "So, what do you think? It's nice, isn't it? A bit extreme, but it is nice. It's good to be somewhere that isn't the common room, anyway." She shuddered. "Did you see the pigeon?"

"The what?" Calla asked, bewildered.

"Last night, when the pigeon came in. It got its dropping all over Lisa's homework, didn't you hear her moaning about it."

In truth, Calla had been with Dumbledore most of the night before, honing her mental walls and Occlumency, and while last night's vision had been far more mundane - simple foray through the woods where she had encountered some centaurs - she'd still been exhausted when she got back to her dormitory and hadn't really paid attention. "Why was there a pigeon?"

"One of the sixth years brought it in to see if it would deliver her mail because her owl was ill," Padma explained. "I think it might have been Clarissa Rund. It didn't work, anyway. Then one of the second years tried to turn it into an owl, which is well beyond second year capability, and... well, I'm not sure quite what he did..."

"He had to go to the Hospital Wing, anyway," Daphne said, and Calla stared.

"How come all the exciting stuff happens when I'm away?"

Daphne scoffed. "Like your lessons with Dumbledore aren't exciting."

"Well, they're not, really," Calla said quietly. "And keep your voice down, not everyone needs to know about it."

"Why? There's nothing wrong with it. It's cool."

"Yes, but I'd just rather it was kept on the down low," Calla said, cheeks prickling uncomfortably. Sometimes Daphne's pushing really got to her, especially on things she wasn't willing to give. But in the light of everything that had happened recently, she was hardly going to argue with her about any of it.

"Alright then," Daphne said with a shrug, and gave Padma a look which Padma did not, to Calla's relief, reciprocate. "But anyway, Lisa's now writing a petition to Flitwick to get birds banned from the main school building. I don't think it'll work, but I suppose she's doing her best."

"I think this is the last straw," Padma said, "she's been bothered by your owl for years, but now she can take action."

"Well, she can't get rid of Moony," Calla said determinedly. "He's mine, and he won't listen to instructions not to come into the castle anyway. She'll just have to deal with it."

"Well said." Daphne grinned. "Now, I was talking to Isobel, right, and she was telling me Terry said he thinks Michael Corner might be talking to Ginny Weasley."

Calla looked at her blankly. "Well, yeah. Why wouldn't they talk?"

"You knew?"

"I mean, I didn't know," Calla said, very confused, "but... why wouldn't they speak? They're friends."

"Not like that," Daphne said, exasperatedly, as their three hot chocolates arrived. "They're talking talking." Calla stared at her. "Courting. Flirting."

"Oh," Calla said as it dawned on her. "Well that wasn't very obvious."

"Merlin," Daphne muttered, smiling as she shook her head, "Izzy was right, you can be so oblivious at times."

"Oblivious?"

Daphne waved a hand. "If you know, you know. Anyway, do you think it's true?"

"What do you mean I'm oblivious?"

"I can't tell you! You have to work it out for yourself!"

"But I'm... I'm not oblivious." She turned to Padma, who just shrugged.

"I don't know what she's talking about either," she said, and Daphne huffed. "You're quite oblivious too, Daphne."

It hit Calla immediately what she was alluding to and she had to take a quick, scalding sip of hot chocolate to avoid laughing. "What about?" Daphne demanded.

"If you know, you know," Padma quipped, and Calla snorted, accidentally inhaling some of her drink. She promptly started choking, her eyes streaming, as Daphne thumped her on the back and Padma giggled.

"Merlin, Calla, calm down! You can't drown now!"

That only made her start laughing, which made her choke more, and it took several minutes to fully recover even though it hadn't really been all that funny. It was nice, Calla thought, as the three of them settled into cheerful gossip about their fellow students and debate about their class work, to just be a normal student for a little while. By the time two o'clock came around, she had a rather heavy heart as she left them - they promised to get her plenty of sugar quills when they met Isobel, Terry and Anthony in Honeydukes - to wait outside the Three Broomsticks for Harry, Remus and Sirius.

Remus and Sirius were already there when she arrived, and she hugged them both quickly. "That was very well done at the Second Task, from what my sources tell me," said Remus with a grin. "I take it the potion worked?"

"Yeah," Calla said, beaming at the praise, "I had to have a few attempts, like I told you in my letters, but it worked out in the end, and it was better than I'd hoped."

"Good, good," Sirius said briskly. "Seen your brother anywhere?"

"He's probably running late," Calla said, rolling her eyes. "Did you know he was very nearly late for the Second Task? I think he must have stayed up all night studying, which he's very obviously never done before." She shook her head. "He left it all to the last minute, as usual, but he managed to get some Gillyweed and it must have been effective because he managed to stay down there ages past the time limit."

"Ah, yes," Sirius said, smiling, "we heard about that. It was a bit foolish to hang about, but-"

"He was making sure Gabrielle was safe," Calla said sternly, and Sirius blinked at her in surprise before he grinned.

"Oh, I know, I know. Moral fibre."

"Yes," Calla said primly. "He did well." She squinted along the street. "See, here he comes now."

Ron and Hermione were with him, each holding bags. "You took your time," Calla muttered to Harry as he arrived.

"Yeah, I know. We were getting socks."

"Socks?" Calla stared at him. "Really?"

"For Dobby," Harry said, and then lowered his voice, "for helping me with the Second Task."

"What d'you mean?" she whispered back as the group of them set off towards the outskirts of the village, where it was quieter. "You didn't say he helped you."

"Yeah," Harry said, looking away awkwardly. "Well, I was struggling a bit the night before-"

"Because you kept putting it off?"

"And - and Dobby appeared and woke me up when I was almost late and he - he gave me the Gillyweed."

"He did?" Calla asked, rather louder than intended. Harry shushed her hastily, as Remus and Sirius looked round confusedly. "But that's - Harry, that's cheating!"

"Would you rather I'd drowned, Calla?"

"Well, no, obviously not," she hissed back, prodding him in the side. "But you should have been on top of it! You should have done it yourself! I can't believe you!"

"It's done now," her brother muttered as they turned the corner out of the village, "it doesn't matter, does it?"

"Of course it matters!" Calla whispered. "I was working on that potion for months, Harry, months! And you just have a house elf turn up ten minutes before the task and suddenly you've got all the answers and you score higher than me without even putting in any work!"

"I don't ask for Dobby to-" Harry started, but Calla had already stormed on ahead to join Remus and Sirius, who looked at her curiously. Her cheeks were flushed with anger.

"Everything alright?" Remus asked her concernedly, looking between Calla and Harry, who was muttering to Ron and Hermione some way behind her. Ron was shaking his head, but Hermione at least looked a little disagreeable.

"Harry's an idiot," she muttered by way of reply, "but I knew that already."

"Whatever he's done," Remus said with a sigh, "I'm sure he didn't mean to-"

"No," Calla said, "he didn't mean to do anything. It just happens and everything falls into his lap and it's all so easy!" She crossed her arms angrily and despite Remus and Sirius' looks, and the others' hushed whisperings behind her, didn't say anything else until they reached a small, secluded spot by some trees and Hermione laid down a very large picnic blanket.

"So what brings the two of you here?" Harry asked once they'd settled down.

"Well, we wanted to speak to you after the Second Task, of course," said Sirius. "But especially after your last letter, Harry. And while we're no closer to finding Peter, things are... getting fishier. You've been reading the Daily Prophet?"

"A little," Calla said, nodding. "Daphne has a subscription."

Sirius nodded at her. "Good. You ought to be staying on top of the news. Here." He brought from his pocket a few folded up, yellowing copies of the paper from the last few months. "I don't think we're the only ones who're worried."

Calla combed the headlines; two she'd read, one she hadn't. Mystery Illness of Bartemius Crouch; Ministry Witch Still Missing, Minister for Magic Now Personally Involved; The Fruitless Hunt for Peter Pettigrew; Fudge on the Outs?

"They're making it sound like he's dying," Harry said as he read the article about Crouch. "But he can't be that ill if he managed to make it up here."

"My brother Percy's Crouch's personal assistant, remember," Ron said to Remus and Sirius, "he says he's suffering from overwork."

"Mind you, he did look ill the last time I saw him, up close," Harry said, looking at Calla, "remember, when our names came out of the goblet?"

"I think I was too preoccupied to notice," Calla muttered, thinking back to her terror that night.

"Getting his comeuppance for sacking Winky, isn't he?" Hermione said coldly. "Bet he feels the difference now she isn't there to look after him."

"Hermione's obsessed with House-Elves now," Ron informed Remus and Sirius now.

"Crouch sacked his house elf?"

"Remember, we told you," Calla said, glancing between Remus and Sirius, "the night at the Quidditch World Cup when... you know..."

"Of course," Remus said, frowning. "This is the elf that stole Harry's wand?"

"Winky didn't steal that wand!" Hermione interjected shrilly.

"The elf that was accused of stealing Harry's wand," Remus corrected himself gently, with a nod at Hermione.

"The elf wasn't the only one around, after all," Sirius said. "You said you'd seen her in the Top Box, Yes?"

"She was saving Crouch a seat," Harry said.

"Only he didn't show up."

"Which, if you ask me, is a terrible way to treat an elf who was so terrified of heights!"

"There were loads of people in the Top Box, though," Calla pointed out, frowning. "Anyone could have taken Harry's wand, couldn't they?"

"Yeah," Harry said, "there were the Bulgarian Ministers... and Fudge... and the Malfoys..."

"I'll bet it was the Malfoys!" Ron cried enthusiastically. "I bet it was Lucius Malfoy!"

"Anyone else?" asked Sirius, frowning at this detail.

"No," Harry said.

"There was Bagman," Calla corrected, a little harsher than perhaps she had ought to.

"Ludo Bagman?" Remus asked, and she nodded. "Well, all I know about him is he used to play Beater for the Wimborne Wasps. Always seemed like a good man."

"He's alright," Harry said. "He keeps offering to help me with the Tournament."

"Does he now?" Sirius asked, frowning further. "Why would he do that?"

"Beats me," Calla muttered. "He's hardly so much as looked at me."

She didn't miss Ron and Hermione exchange a look. "He says he's taken a liking to me," Harry said shortly. "I don't know."

"We did see him in the forest," Hermione said, "just before the Dark Mark was conjured."

"Yeah, but he left, didn't he?" Calla said. "The second we told him about the riot, he Apparated away to go and help at the campsite."

"How d'you know?" Hermione shot back at her, and Calla startled a little. "How d'you know where he Disapparated to?"

"Well, I don't, but I don't think he conjured the Dark Mark. It wasn't even his voice."

"I think it was more likely to be him than it was Winky. And why else would he be helping Harry?"

"Well, I'm not going to know, am I?" She frowned, and saw Harry give her a critical look, which she furiously ignored.

"Told you she's obsessed with house elves," Ron muttered, and Hermione looked like she was going to retort before Remus held up a hand and Sirius spoke.

"And when the Mark was conjured and Winky was found holding Harry's wand, what did Crouch do?"

"Went to look in the bushes," Harry said, "but there wasn't anyone there."

"Course... Of course, he'd want to blame it on anyone but his own elf... But then he sacked her?"

They all nodded. "Yes," Hermione said in a heated voice. "He sacked her because she hadn't stayed in her tent and let herself get trampled!"

"Hermione, will you give it a rest with the elf!"

"She's right though," Calla muttered. "It wasn't very fair, was it?"

Sirius shook his head. "Hermione's got the measure of Crouch better than you have, Ron. If you want to know what a man's like, take a look at how he treats his inferiors rather than his equals... All these unexplained absences of Crouch's, they're very odd. Asks his house elf to save him a seat at the Quidditch Cup then doesn't show up at the match, goes to all the trouble organising the Triwizard Tournament but then stops coming to that as well... It's not like Crouch. If he's ever taken a day off work before this because of illness, I'll eat Buckbeak."

"Do you know Crouch, then?"

"He used to be Head of Magical Law Enforcement for a time," said Remus, "during the war. He..."

"He sent me to Azkaban without a trial," Sirius finished for him, and Calla withheld a gasp. That was why she recognised the name. And now he was one of the wizards in charge of looking for Pettigrew, but hadn't gotten anywhere... And his house elf had been involved at the cup, and with everything that was going on... It was all starting to sound very suspicious. Of course, if he had given Sirius a trial everyone would have known the identity of Voldemort's spy... She furrowed her brow, thinking. Could Crouch be up to something? Maybe he wasn't investigating Snape because he thought he was using dark magic... maybe he was trying to use it himself, and didn't want anyone to know.

"He was tipped as Minister for Magic for a time," Sirius was continuing on, though Calla hardly hear him, "he's a great wizard, Barty Crouch, magically powerful but very power hungry. Oh, never a Voldemort supporter," he added hastily, glancing between Harry and Calla, who flushed. "No, Barty Crouch was always very outspoken against the Dark Arts. But then a lot of people who were against the Dark side in those days... well, you wouldn't understand... you're too young..."

"That's what my dad said at the World Cup," said Ron, bristling. "Try us, why don't you?"

A grin flashed across Sirius' face but Remus gave him a careful look. "Are you-"

"Alright," Sirius said, cutting him off, "I'll try you, then... Imagine this. It's the war again. Voldemort's powerful now. You don't know who his supporters are, you don't know who is working for him and who isn't, you know he can make people do things without them ever knowing that they've done them or being able to stop themselves. You're scared for yourself, your family, your friends..."

"Sirius," Remus said.

"Every week, more news comes in, more deaths, more disappearances, more torturing... The Ministry Of Magic's in disarray, they don't know what to do, they're trying to keep everything from the Muggles, and meanwhile they're the ones dying without a clue why. Terror, everywhere... panic... confusion... That's how it used to be.

"Well, times like that bring out the best in some people and the worst in others. Crouch's principles might've been good in the beginning - I wouldn't know. He rose quickly through the Ministry, and he started ordering very harsh measures against Voldemort's supporters. The Aurors were given new powers - powers to kill rather than capture, for instance." He and Remus exchanged a significant glance. Remus sighed as Sirius went on. "And I wasn't the only one who was handed straight to the dementors without trial. Crouch thought the best way forward was to fight violence with violence; he authorized the use of the Unforgivable Curses against suspects. I would say he became as ruthless and cruel as many on the Dark Side.

"He had his supporters, mind you - plenty of people thought he was going about things the right way, and there were a lot of witches and wizards who wanted him to take over as Minister of Magic. When Voldemort disappeared, it looked like only a matter of time until Crouch got the top job. But then something rather unfortunate happened..." Sirius smiled grimly. Calla frowned, waiting for his next words.

"Crouch's own son was caught with a group of Death Eaters who'd managed to talk their way out of Azkaban. Apparently they were trying to find Voldemort and return him to power."

"Crouch's son was captured?" Hermione asked, looking disbelieving.

"Yep." Sirius nodded.

"But that's terrible. What - what did he do?"

"Sent him to Azkaban of course."

"His own son?" Hermione spluttered. "No!"

"Was he really a Death Eater?"

"I don't know," Sirius said. "I was in Azkaban myself when he was brought in..."

He glanced at Remus, who nodded. "Not everyone agreed on the matter at the time, of course. But Crouch - well, no one, really - could deny that the company he was found in were most likely Death Eaters. And Crouch, well..."

"Didn't he try and get his son off?" Hermione asked.

Sirius laughed harshly. "Crouch, try and get his son off? Oh, no, no. It had all tarnished his reputation enough already. It had to go; anything that got in his way of becoming Minister for Magic-"

"Even if it was wrong?" Calla asked with an angry edge to her voice. "Did he even give him a trial?"

"Yes," Sirius said, somewhat bitterly, "yes, his fatherly affections stretched just far enough for that. But by all accounts, it wasn't much more than an excuse for Crouch to show just how much he hated the boy. Then he sent him straight to Azkaban."

"But that's horrid," Calla said with a shudder. "To think..." To think what? Barty Crouch's son could well have been a Death Eater, and if he had been trying to bring Voldemort to life, it was a good thing he was locked up. And he was at least treated somewhat fairer than Sirius, who was innocent and had had no trial.

"He gave his own son to the Dementors," Hermione said quietly.

"That's right," said Sirius. "I saw the Dementors bringing him in, watched through the bars in my cell door. He couldn't have been more than nineteen." There was something funny in his voice.

Remus said quietly, "Sirius," but Sirius shook his head determinedly.

"No, no, Remus." He took a breath again. "They took him into a cell near mine. He was screaming for his mother by nightfall. He went quiet after a few days, though... They all went quiet after a while... Apart from when they were shrieking in their sleep..."

Calla shuddered as Sirius trailed off. Even the memory of the Dementors last year was enough to make her nauseous. "So he's still in Azkaban?" Harry asked.

"No, no," Sirius said quietly, "he died about a year after they brought him in."

"He died?"

"Most do. They stop eating by the end, driven mad. They lose the will to live. You can always tell when a death is coming, the Dementors get all excited." That was horrid, Calla thought, wrapping her coat tighter around her shoulders and shivering slightly. "The boy was already sickly when he arrived. Crouch being a high-ranking Ministry member, he and his wife were allowed to visit the boy towards the end. That was the last time I saw Barty Crouch, carrying his wife past my cell. She died herself, apparently, shortly after." He looked to Remus as if for confirmation; Remus nodded. "Grief. Wasted away just like that. Crouch never came for his son's body. I watched the Dementors bury him outside."

The thought made Calla feel sick. She took a sip from one of the bottles of lemonade by her, shivering. Remus gave her a worried look, but she smiled tersely back at him. "So old Crouch lost it all," Sirius said, "just when he thought he had it made. One moment a hero, poised to become Minister for Magic, the next, his wife dead, his son dead and the family name disgraced. And, according to Remus, a big dip in popularity. Once the boy had died, people started feeling more sympathetic towards him. Started asking how a young lad from such a good family had gone so badly astray. The conclusion was the the father had never cared for him much. Cornelius Fudge got the top job, and Crouch got shunted sideways into International Magical Co-Operation."

"But Fudge is under pressure now, isn't he?" Calla said quietly, deliberating. "The job might not be filled for much longer."

"What are you saying?" Harry asked, frowning. "You think Crouch is going to go for the job again?"

"Maybe. I mean, he's organised the Cup and the Tournament, but..." She trailed off, not really sure where she was going with this. "I mean, they have all gone wrong, haven't they? He might be trying to, I don't know, pin it on Fudge? Move himself into position."

"I don't think so," Remus said quietly, "not if he's behaving like this. He would be out there, rallying support, not avoiding public and work at every opportunity."

"I suppose," Calla admitted, frowning.

"Moody says Crouch is obsessed with finding Dark wizards," Harry said.

"Yeah, I've heard it's become something of a mania with him," Sirius said, nodding grimly. "But if you ask me, I think Calla might be onto something. He might be hoping to try and bring a bit of the old popularity back by catching one more Dark wizard."

"And he snuck up here to investigate Snape's office!" Ron said triumphantly, looking at Hermione and Calla.

"Yeah, and that doesn't make sense at all," said Sirius, frowning.

"Yeah it does!" Ron protested.

"No," Remus said, also frowning, "think about it, Ron. If Crouch wanted to keep an eye on Snape, then why wouldn't he come to the Tournament? It would be the perfect opportunity, wouldn't it?"

"So do you two think Snape's up to something, too?" Harry asked quickly.

"Look, I don't care what you say," Hermione broke in, "Dumbledore trusts Snape!"

"Oh, come off it, Hermione," Ron scoffed. "Yeah, Dumbledore's brilliant and everything, but that doesn't mean a powerful enough Dark wizard couldn't fool him."

"Well, then why did Snape save Harry's life in first year rather than let him die? And then why's he let Calla use his classroom to brew when he could just let her fail?"

"I dunno - maybe he thought Dumbledore would find him out."

"He did say he was only helping me because Dumbledore said the teachers had to support the champions."

"Whose side are you on?" Hermione demanded, and Calla shrugged innocently.

"I'm just laying out the facts."

"What d'you think, Remus? Sirius?" Harry asked loudly, giving Calla and Hermione sharp looks.

"I think they've both got a point," said Sirius. "Ever since I found out Snape was teaching here, I wondered why Dumbledore would hire him. He was always mixed up in the Dark Arts, even when we were at Hogwarts. He was famous for it at school. Slimy, oily, greasy-haired-"

"Sirius..."

"That's what he was, Remus. You know the sort of company he kept. And he knew more curses when he arrived at school than half the seventh years put together, and he was a part of a gang of Slytherins that nearly all turned out to be Death Eaters.

"Rosier and Wilkes - they were killed the year before Voldemort fell. The Lestranges, they're a married couple, both locked up in Azkaban." Calla recognised that name; she frowned at Remus, trying to recall it. "Avery - from what I hear, he wormed his way out of trouble by claiming he was under and Imperius Curse. But as far as I know, Snape was never even accused of being a Death Eater, not that that means much. Plenty of them were never caught. And Snape's certainly clever and cunning enough to keep himself out of trouble."

"Snape knows Karkaroff pretty well, but he wants to cover that up," Ron said.

"Yeah," Harry said, starting to speak very quickly, "you should have seen his face when Karkaroff turned up in Potions yesterday!"

"He what?" Calla asked sharply. "You didn't say anything about that!"

"Karkaroff wanted to talk to Snape," Harry explained, "he said there was something Snape needed to see. He says Snape's been avoiding him, he looked really worried. He showed Snape something on his arm, but I couldn't get a good look at what it was."

"On his arm?" Sirius asked, frowning. "Well, I can't think what that might be... But if Karkaroff's genuinely worried, and he's going to Snape for answers..."

"Daphne said," Calla started quietly, and everyone looked at her, "that the Dark Mark - you know, his mark - that some of the Death Eaters, the closest of them, some of them... Had it on their arms."

"What?" Harry spluttered.

"Well, that just proves it!"

"Not if it was only on Karkaroff's arm," Calla said, frowning. "Wasn't it?"

"I - I don't know," Harry said blankly. "But I wouldn't be surprised if Snape has it too, though."

Remus looked up to the sky. "Dumbledore still trusts Snape. That counts for a lot."

"I know Dumbledore trusts a lot of people others wouldn't," Sirius said, "but I just can't see him letting Snape teach at Hogwarts if he'd once worked for Voldemort."

"Why are Moody and Crouch so keen to get into his classroom then?" Ron asked stubbornly.

"Well," Sirius said slowly, "I wouldn't have put it past Mad-Eye Moody to have searched every teacher's office when he first got to Hogwarts. He takes his Defense Against the Dark Arts very seriously, does Moody. I'm not sure he trusts anyone at all, and after the things he's seen I can't say I'm surprised. I'll say this for Moody though, he never killed anyone if he could help it. Always brought people in alive where possible. He was tough, but he never descended to the level of the Death Eaters. Crouch, now, he's a different matter... is he really ill? If he is, then why make the effort to drag himself up to Snape's office? And if not, then what's he up to? What was he doing at the World Cup that was so important he couldn't turn up to the Top Box? And what's he been doing when he should have been judging the Tournament?"

He lapsed into a silence and Remus took over. "And you're certain it was Crouch in Snape's office?"

"I saw it on the map," Harry said, "and like you said, the map's never wrong."

Remus nodded grimly. "Any chance we could have a look?"

"No," Calla muttered, and he turned to her, surprised, "Harry gave it away to Moody."

"You did what?" Sirius asked, looking aghast. "Harry, why would you let that thing out of your sight?"

"Well, he - he'd just saved me from Snape and Filch," Harry protested. "And he asked me for it, I couldn't say no. He said it'd be useful and if he can work out what's up, then maybe it's for the better?"

"It is mine, though," Calla said quietly, and Remus shook his head.

"I told you to be careful with the map," Remus told Harry sternly. "You kept your cloak though, yes?"

"Of course he did," Calla muttered, and though Harry gave her a reproachful look, he didn't say anything before Sirius spoke.

"Ron, you said your brother Percy's Crouch's personal assistant, yes? Any chance you could write to him, ask if he's seen Crouch lately?"

"I can try," Ron said, looking rather doubtful. "Better not make it sound like I think Crouch is up to anything, though. Percy loves Crouch."

"And you might try and find out if they've got any leads on Bertha Jorkins or Peter, while you're at it."

"Bagman told me they hadn't heard about Bertha," Harry said.

"And they must have told us if they'd got a lead on Pettigrew," Calla said. "Right?"

The look on Remus and Sirius' faces didn't quite assure her. "Bagman's quoted in one of these articles here," Sirius said. "Blustering on about how bad Bertha's memory is. Well, her memory wasn't that bad when I knew her. Quite the reverse. She was a bit dim, but she had a memory for the gossip. It used to get her into a lot of trouble, she never knew when to keep her mouth shut. I can see her being a bit of a liability with the Ministry of Magic. Perhaps that's why Bagman put off finding her for so long..."

He let out a long sigh and shook his head. "It must be about time for the four of you to head back to school," Remus said gently. "What time is it?"

"Half past three," Hermione said promptly.

"Alright." Remus stood up and the others followed suit, watching as he and Sirius packed everything up. "Now listen. You two are to keep working hard not just for the Tournament, but for all of your classes. And that includes Divination," he added to Calla, "and your lessons with Dumbledore. And anything funny happens, anything that worries you, you write to us as soon as you can, alright?"

"We will," Calla assured him.

"And I don't want you lot sneaking out of school, either," Sirius said. "We'll see you at the Third Task, if not before, but you're not to leave the school grounds without permission. Especially when you don't have the map."

Calla reckoned she could get around just fine without the map, to be honest, but she didn't like being out here in the open as it was, not with that sense of unease that had been growing around her for so long. While Sirius bounded ahead with the others on the way back to the village, she hung back with her own godfather. "I can tell there's some tension in the air," he said easily, nodding to where Harry was listening to Sirius' tales about a prank they'd played at school. "Care to tell me about it?"

"It's nothing," she muttered. "It's just... It sounds stupid, and it is stupid, but sometimes it just feels like Harry has everything so easy. He doesn't study that hard but he still gets good grades, and magic especially comes easily to him. I still haven't gotten my Patronus charm, and then, in this Tournament, it feels like everyone wants to help him and the answers just fall into his lap. But he'll listen to everyone except me! I figured out that egg way before him, but he told me he had it worked out, and then he hadn't but Cedric Diggory told him how to hear it! And Dobby - the house elf - gave him the Gillyweed! He didn't have to do anything!"

"He saved two people," Remus pointed out."

"Yes, but we all had to save someone! And he didn't have to think about it and put in the work, and it - it isn't fair!" She knew she probably sounded like a child, but Remus' questions had caused bitter resentment to bubble up in her chest. "He didn't figure the dragons out on his own either, but he didn't listen when I told him, only when he saw them for himself, because he doesn't trust my visions!"

"I'm sure that isn't the case, Calla," Remus said gently. "Your brother trusts you more than he trusts anyone in the world. And he loves you. You know that."

"Of course I do," Calla muttered. "But that doesn't mean he isn't annoying and stupid and inconsiderate." She wasn't sure why everything was spilling out of her so suddenly. "I just wish none of this was happening."

Remus sighed and put a comforting arm around her shoulder. "I'll let you in on a secret, Calla. Most everyone wishes their life were different at some point, and it's clear you've been dealt a bit of a rotten lot, especially at the moment. But you have to handle what is happening. And you have to trust yourself, too." He winced in sympathy.

"I just don't know what I'm meant to do."

"You'll figure it out," he told her. "I know you will." With a smile, Remus added, "I'm proud of you no matter what."

"That's what people say when they think someone's going to fail."

"I don't think you're going to fail. I don't see how you can, when you do your best-"

"Remus?"

"Yes?"

Calla sighed. "Can we stop talking about the Tournament now?"

He looked surprised, but laughed. "Why, is there something else going on?"

"No. Well. Just standard teenage drama."

"Standard teenage drama is the best kind."

With a snort, she said, "It's not even that big of a deal, probably. But I fell out with Zach after the ball, and he asked me out and I said no, and now he doesn't talk to me, and I want to be his friend but I don't think I can be."

Pursing his lips, Remus looked away, eyes lingering on the group of four in front of them. "I'm afraid I'm not much good at handling relationships, Calla."

"You're saying I got this from you?"

He cracked a grin. "If this boy hurt you, you've no obligation to immediately forgive him. But if he's your friend, you should talk to him. Sometimes that's all you need, it's just that a lot of the time, we're too scared to speak."

She smiled faintly. It made sense, and honestly, she was glad that it was Remus giving her this advice. It made it all the more reliable. They caught up with the others briefly before Remus and Sirius went off the other way out of the village to Apparate, while the four students headed back to school together. "Just a minute," Calla said as they passed the post office, "I need to check something."

She ducked in quickly, the others waiting outside. There were few people inside, though there were a loud of very loud owls. "Hello," she said, going to the bored, tired-looking witch who was in charge of the Muggle Communications Desk. There was a very thin stack of letters that had come in there. The witch startled, smiling in surprise.

"Ah, hello. What can I do for you?"

"Is there a letter for Calla Potter? It should come from somewhere in Surrey?"

The witch behind the desk looked mildly startled by Calla's name, but she flipped quickly through her small stack and picked up one crisp white envelope and handed it over. "Just come through from Inverban." She recognised Mairi's handwriting immediately.

"Thank you," Calla said cheerfully as she handed over her two knuts' fee. Normally letters would be brought up to the castle soon enough, but collecting them here worked too. She slipped the letter into her bag and went to join the others to set off back towards school.

They were all still talking about Crouch, conspiring together, but Calla was mostly just aware of the letter in her bag.

She was relieved when she found the Ravenclaw dormitory empty, and could open it in peace.

To Calla,

Your dress for the school dance looked so pretty! I loved it, and was that the girls Padma and Daphne in the photo with you? I'll have to meet them at some point. I wish you'd written earlier, but I'm glad your triathlon went well. I'm rubbish at swimming, Andrew's brilliant and it's always annoyed me.

Not much is new here, the neighbours are boring, but it's only a few months until Summer at least. School keeps piling on the homework as if we've got exams this year instead of next, are you the same? It's so annoying and I've had hardly any time recently, ever since we got back from the Christmas holidays it's just been ridiculous. Are you doing your standard grades this year or next year, I couldn't remember and Mum's asking because she seems to think you're interesting. Probably cause you're school's all posh and weird.

Anyway, I want more details about this Zach boy, he sounds like a prick. You're better off tossing him, Calla, boys are just annoying anyway, especially ones like that.

Please write back soon, your last letter took ages! Also, will you be back for Easter at all? It'd be great to see you.

Mairi Baird

Calla smiled and laid the letter out carefully on her bed, feeling a warmth in her chest at the thought of Mairi, hundreds of miles away, thinking of her. She bit her lip as she penned a reply, telling Mairi all the woes of friendships and relationships, detailing all the recent drama and her success in the 'swimming portion of the inter-school triathlon'. It was oddly relaxing, and when Calla attached the thick letter with Moony to be taken to the post office, she felt rather satisfied with herself. That still didn't stop her frustration with her brother, or her nerves about the Tournament, but just like talking to Remus, it did comfort her a little. She just had to find a way to get around her other problems.