Book 2: Astoria Greengrass and the Haunt of Azkaban
Song rec: "Youth" by Daughter
If Astoria had known Rhiannon was going to make the band attend the Quidditch match the day after the concert, she would have slept in much longer. The match did not end until after dark, and after having spoken about Pariah with multitudes of students, she was ready to collapse. Walking back to the school, she fell behind the overjoyed Slytherins, who were cheering all sorts of things about how Gryffindor lost to Hufflepuff. The rest of the band, who somehow had enough energy to still be accepting little interviews from fans, walked far ahead of her. She wished she would have picked up her pace, though, for she fell back too far and ended up next to Draco.
"Why are you walking so slowly?" he asked with all of the empty harshness he could muster.
"I'm barely able to walk anymore. Why are you walking so slowly? Shouldn't you be up there with the crowd celebrating Gryffindor's defeat?"
"I was celebrating it in my own way," Draco said pompously. "I stayed behind to catch the faces of the Gryffindor team as they left the pitch. It was great, really. Do you know that we can win the Quidditch Cup now?"
"I've heard that, yes."
"It shouldn't be too hard for me," he continued arrogantly.
"Unless you mess up," Astoria said, trying to bring him back down to Earth.
"You mean like you did at the concert?" Draco laughed. "At the beginning — you weren't even going to sing! Ha! Your face was better than those Weasleys' were today."
"That was intentional, Draco," she asserted.
"That's what the rest of them think," he said, "but they don't know you. I know you."
"Well, I'm terribly sorry the concert was ruined for you because of the alternating vocals," huffed Astoria, determined to conceal the mistake from him.
"When did I say it was ruined?"
"You are acting like you paid more attention to the mistakes than to the music," she said, urgently trying to sound like she did not care.
"It was difficult to pay attention when Pansy kept saying she wanted to leave early. I think she started pointing out non-existent mistakes, actually… You know, she really does not like you, Astoria."
"I didn't do anything to that girl."
Astoria heard her voice echo now that they were in the castle and felt rather embarrassed as a few students looked back at her.
"You made her go bald at the start of December," Draco corrected.
"I certainly did once she called my friends fat and stupid."
"Yet one of the first things you said to her was 'You're a bitch' or something."
"She tripped me on the train for no reason and said my family was bad at magic!"
"She was just joking around," Draco said.
"…You didn't believe her when she said she was joking back then," said Astoria sadly.
Draco chose to look at the ceiling of the dungeons rather than continue the argument he was clearly losing. They were the last two to enter the common room, which was in the midst of an uproar. Astoria saw Rhiannon sitting on the floor by the bulletin board with her head in her hands, surrounded by sympathetic people who never would have been there before she started Pariah. Hestia was pushing past them to get to her, saying unintelligible words to the nearby Flora and Montel. Most people in the room looked angry, but Parkinson ran to her boyfriend with a coiled smile on her face.
"You're over, Greengrass," she giggled as she tugged Draco toward her possessively as if he were her favourite toy. "Go — go have a look! It's right on the bulletin!"
Rhiannon's swearing became louder as Astoria inched closer to the board. She saw why Parkinson was so delighted.
— BY ORDER OF —
The High Inquisitor of Hogwarts
Any teacher, prefect, or staff member has the right and duty to confiscate pieces of art, music, writing, or any so-called creative works which are profane, defamatory, or particularly detrimental to the advancement of students' education.
Therefore, all students are hereby banned from possessing any work created by the band Pariah or any of its members. Students are hereby banned from possessing works by Cannibal Coven and Undead Toys and any of their members.
Students are thus banned from attending any Pariah, Cannibal Coven, or Undead Toys concert or any concert which includes these bands or any of their members.
Students are further banned from listening to any wireless material created by or regarding the aforementioned bands or any of their members.
The above is in accordance with the Second Amendment to Educational Decree Number Twelve.
Signed:
Dolores Jane Umbridge
HIGH INQUISITOR
Parkinson, who had left the common room briefly whilst Astoria stared at the bulletin in shock, returned with her dorm key hanging from her wrist. In her hand were three copies of Fed Lines; by the way the girls reacted, the albums belonged to Tracey, Daphne, and Heather Thatcham.
"Well, you all read the decree! There's no use fussing about it. Pariah will be splitting soon."
Then, with a smile on her face, Parkinson walked across the room with her roommates' albums and tossed them into the fireplace. Tracey shouted as she ran over and watched her cassette melt away. She could get another one at home, but that wasn't the point. Daphne and Heather stood together, dumbfounded at their friend's behaviour. Anyone in the room who had not gasped had become silenced in their surprise. Flora stormed to the dormitory. Rhiannon clung to Hestia and did not move, and for a time, no one else did either. Astoria looked away from Rhiannon to see Draco standing motionlessly, staring at his girlfriend until she brushed past several groups of people to retreat to her dorm. Draco then looked at Astoria without having a thing to say.
"You need to stop fooling yourself about her, Draco," Astoria said to him through her teeth.
The students were all very grateful that neither Umbridge nor Parkinson had any authority to search the dormitories for musical contraband, for they all resolved to simply not let the albums leave their rooms lest they get thrown into the fire. By morning, the event had become something of a joke, and Astoria peeked over Alexa Crover's shoulder to find an artistic rendition of Parkinson in an Umbridge costume floating over a flaming pit. One student whom Astoria did not know approached her on her way to breakfast and told her that he would still go to their concerts in the summer if they weren't going to disband. Astoria did not catch his name, but he had made her day.
Things with the band would no longer be easy. One Hufflepuff student had her wireless playing during lunchtime. Through no fault of her own, the hosts on the show chose to discuss the recent Pariah concert. All at once, Umbridge sprang from her seat to confiscate the wireless and returned to her little sandwich a happy woman. Astoria, having seen the series of events, decided to reimburse the Hufflepuff with a Galleon with which she could buy a new wireless. The girl was overjoyed and told her friends what had happened even though they had been right there to see it. Astoria felt particularly good about herself after that. She paid back Heather Thatcham for her lost album immediately afterward; Tracey could easily get another from her father, and Daphne could come by another one similarly.
"I see… we will have to win our publicity with acts of kindness instead of the usual advertising," Flora examined. "And nothing is preventing people outside the school from buying our next album."
"Most of our fan base is from Hogwarts," Rhiannon said bleakly.
"Nothing is preventing the students from buying our album over the summer," Flora replied steadfastly.
"Don't speak too loud or the pink one will mandate something new," scowled Rhiannon.
"Why do you think she mandated this in the first place?" Hestia wondered quietly.
"The Pink Floyd cover," replied Rhiannon.
"I still think it was worth it," Astoria considered.
"You would," Rhiannon said drily. "But we could lose this job."
It was Monday morning. The enchanted ceiling was cast in a ghostly grey, and wispy streams of soundless wind swirled the floating fog into all sorts of shapes that real clouds didn't make. Outside, the sun made some effort to show itself, for creamy beams of light delicately tumbled down from the windows and fell atop the students' heads. Commotion came from the Gryffindor table that morning, but that wasn't anything new. Astoria heard Umbridge's voice in the background and cast it aside. Astoria was so sad she did not even remember to complain about going to Herbology. The strange and languorous Luna Lovegood approached the foursome as they were each trying different methods to render the hellebore plant non-toxic.
"Try sweep, swish, flicker, and another swish," Luna advised, enunciating each word with the beat of a waltz.
Hestia and Rhiannon immediately obeyed, but Astoria thought it would be best to wait until Luna left to try it, lest she mess it up and embarrass herself. Flora acted as though she had not heard the girl and waited until Professor Sprout told her to do exactly the same thing.
"Would any of you like to purchase…" Luna asked later as she reached into her shoulder bag. "…March's issue of The Quibbler?"
"Psh," Flora said into her hellebore.
Astoria considered buying it only to make Luna happy until Luna added a better reason.
"It includes an interview with Harry Potter and revolutionary research about Crumple-Horned Snorkacks!"
Crumple-Horned Snorkacks aside, Astoria thought it would be interesting to read an interview with the Boy Whom Draco Hated. She purchased a copy whilst Rhiannon looked on curiously.
"That magazine's full of rubbish, Astoria," Rhiannon noted once Luna pranced away.
"I did see Harry Potter with a copy earlier, so at least the interview must be legitimate," Hestia recognised.
"Huh. Well, we'll all have to read it later then," nodded Rhiannon.
"Huh," Rhiannon said after class as the girls passed a massive sign with Umbridge's signature that declared that any student with The Quibbler would be expelled. "Must've just put these up, unless Loony's out to get us."
"I'm sure the former is true," Astoria said. "It's the same as our album — we simply must keep the magazine hidden. We'll read it in the dormitory."
"And as an added safety measure…" Flora said, aiming her wand down Astoria's satchel and wiping the magazine blank, "We'll keep it this way until we read it."
Everybody else was either tremendously less nervous about the decree or slightly sneakier than the four girls, for they had already read enough of the interview to be talking about it in the halls that afternoon. The bits of conversation that Astoria was able to hear surprised her, for they spoke of such things as an illegal Portkey, a Triwizard Tournament judge who went insane, and a Death Eater in the school.
"Death Eaters in Hogwarts!" Astoria exclaimed before taking her seat in double Charms. "Where did that idea come from?"
"The story's true," Rhiannon said curiously.
"You mean to tell me you already know it all?" Astoria asked.
"No — oh, no. Couldn't tell you a thing about Cedric or nothing."
"What? Then how do you mean it's true?" Flora required, twirling the feather of her quill in the air in anticipation.
"I can't explain it here."
Rhiannon's roll of parchment wouldn't flatten, and she gave up after two tries. Hestia used a smart little spell to help her out, but Rhiannon had already slipped deep into thought. Astoria's brain went haywire. Did this have anything to do with Rhiannon's reluctance to talk about the magic that broke out of them that one night?
"Then may I ask how you found it out before this interview? Or why you didn't tell us?" Flora said in haste, for Professor Flitwick was about to start class.
"I only found out a bit of it. Just a bit, mind, not anything like this interview. What I know is different from what Harry knows. And I wouldn't've known at all, except… oh, it was a regular mess. I was told not to tell or else people would be sacked."
Class began, and Astoria was forced to remain uninformed until that evening. What was to come she could have never imagined.
HARRY POTTER SPEAKS OUT AT LAST:
THE TRUTH ABOUT HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED
AND THE NIGHT I SAW HIM RETURN
Exclusive Report by Rita Skeeter
The twins were crowded on Astoria's bed whilst Rhiannon lay in her own with a blanket tucked under one arm.
"I wanna ask you an enormous favour," she said, staring at the ceiling with glassy eyes.
"What's that, Rhi?" Hestia asked.
"Read it through, the whole thing. Don't stop to comment or panic. Read the whole story first. We already know the ending of it — You-Know-Who is back. You could go your whole lives without knowing the beginnings and the middles. So just read the whole story and wait till it's finished to start commenting."
"What? But—" Flora started.
"Please."
"Very well," Astoria agreed before narrating the introduction to the article.
"'What's in a name? Honour, fame, status… notoriety. Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, knows them all, and most recently has been trying to cope with things his name brings to mind. He is not a liar, he says. He is here to tell the truth. In an exclusive, exhilarating interview, Harry Potter, now 15, reveals all the shocking details about the mysterious events of last year's Triwizard Tournament — and how he saw with his very eyes the return of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.'"
Next to the introduction was an uncomfortably large picture of Harry Potter, blinking in an unprepared manner as the camera lights flashed in his round glasses. Astoria chose not to read aloud the caption beneath the photograph which read, "Harry Potter, the disturbed teenage survivor of You-Know -Who's attacks." She turned the page and found a subtitle — "The Murder of Cedric Diggory." In a text inset was a poignant portrait of the victim, posed and smiling. Astoria held the magazine so that the other girls could see it. Flora and Hestia nodded solemnly. Rhiannon was still staring at the ceiling. Astoria continued.
"'It was the twenty-fourth of June. Harry Potter had been miraculously chosen to be the fourth Triwizard Champion the previous October, along with Miss Fleur Delacour of Beauxbatons, Viktor Krum of Durmstrang, and the late Cedric Diggory. The third and final Task of the competition would decide the winner and forever change the lives of all who were involved. Harry Potter recalls in this interview all the painful, traumatic events which unfolded.
"'Rita Skeeter (RS): How was the Third Task set up?
"'Harry Potter (HP): We were all going into a maze that had been created on the [Hogwarts] Quidditch pitch. Four teachers were outside the maze, and in case of emergencies, we would send red sparks in the air. Whoever got to the Triwizard Cup first would win the Task.
"'RS: Did you have a chance to send red sparks to announce Cedric was in danger?
"'HP: No. Cedric and I weren't anywhere near Hogwarts when it happened.
"'RS: You left the maze?
"'HP: We were transported out of the maze. We were transported to Little Hangleton.
"'RS: You mean the place where You-Know-Who's family hailed?
"'HP: Yes.
"'RS: What do you remember about the task?
"'HP: Well, we were in the maze and had all separated. We were trying to find the Cup. It was really easy to get lost. There were challenges within the maze… boggarts and a sphinx and a lot of other things… I heard Fleur get hurt, but I couldn't see anything. I met up with Cedric in the maze, and we said we had both heard her. I kept running, but I ran back into Cedric again. He was with Krum. Krum attacked Cedric with the Cruciatus Curse.
"'RS: Viktor Krum! He did?
"'HP: No, that's not what I'm getting at. I found out later that Krum was under the Imperius Curse when he did that. Krum is innocent. He's completely innocent.
"'RS: How was it permitted to put the Champions under the Imperius Curse and to make them use the Cruciatus Curse? Whoever sanctioned that should be imprisoned, correct?
"'HP: That's what I was wondering. But it wasn't anyone involved with the Tournament. It was a Death Eater.
"'RS: So this is when strange things started happening.
"'HP: Right. We knocked out Krum and sent red sparks so someone could pick him up. We went on separately again, met up… Then Cedric and I were attacked by an Acromantula. We could see the Cup from where we were, and I told him to take it since I had a bleeding wound. But he didn't because I had saved him a couple of times in the Tasks. I wouldn't take it because he had saved me, too.
"'Harry Potter became extremely saddened as he relived that fateful night, and had to be supported by his friends, who were present as he continued the tragic tale.
"'HP: We made a deal to take the Cup at the same time, to win for Hogwarts. To tie. Cedric dragged me up to where the Cup was and we both took it on either side. It was a Portkey. We didn't know. It wasn't supposed to be.
"'RS: This Portkey was what took you out of the maze? And to Little Hangleton?
"'Harry Potter answered with a quiet nod and took a slow drink.
"'HP: We were in a graveyard. We had no idea what was happening. We saw something coming toward us, holding something small and deformed. I was in pain, and I heard this awful voice — it said 'Kill the spare.' 'Kill the spare,' it said. I saw the green light of the Killing Curse and I saw that Cedric had been murdered right next to me.
"'RS: Such a tragedy. Who had cast the curse?
"'Harry Potter, eyes glinting with tears and glowing with fury, said it was Peter Pettigrew.
"'HARRY POTTER SEES SLAIN MAN LIVING. ACCUSES PETTIGREW AS TRUE BETRAYER OF PARENTS, MASS MURDERER, AND KILLER OF CEDRIC DIGGORY.
"'Harry Potter has released astounding information regarding the 1981 massacre of twelve Muggles. What the public remembers about it, he says, is the opposite of reality. Upon extensive questioning, Potter revealed crucial information about what he says happened between Peter Pettigrew and convicted criminal Sirius Black. According to Harry Potter, here is what the public needs to know:
X "'You-Know-Who wished to kill the Potter family after hearing that they were a threat to them. Harry Potter's slain parents, James and Lily Potter, knew this, and went into hiding. Only their trusted friends knew their location. One was Sirius Black, the other, Peter Pettigrew.
X "'Peter Pettigrew, not Sirius Black, soon betrayed James and Lily Potter by revealing their location to You-Know-Who. Harry Potter said that Pettigrew did this out of cowardice once You-Know-Who had come to him for information.
X "'You-Know-Who then attacked and killed Mr and Mrs Potter. He attempted to kill the infant Harry, but instead was inexplicably destroyed. Harry Potter survived the Killing Curse.
X "'Sirius Black subsequently found out about Pettigrew's betrayal and tracked him down. He found him amongst Muggles. Pettigrew made his famous announcement that Black was the betrayer during this confrontation.
X "'Pettigrew was the first to draw his wand as he tried to make an escape and frame Black. He used the Blasting Curse to destroy the area behind him, making it look like Black had been the one to strike. The blast resulted in the death of twelve innocent Muggle bystanders.
X "'Black then drew his wand. Pettigrew moved swiftly and cut off his own finger to make it look like he had been killed in the blast.
X "'Pettigrew, an unregistered Animagus, took the form of a rat and made his escape, leaving Black to be arrested and charged with all of Pettigrew's crimes.
X "'Pettigrew remained in Animagus form for twelve years and disguised himself as a Hogwarts pet. He was just like a normal rat apart from the fact that his life span was unusually long.
X "'In early June of 1994, Pettigrew had become exposed as an Animagus — living and guilty. His story was revealed as he was trying to flee from Hogsmeade after he had been forced out of Animagus form and discovered. Eyewitnesses include students Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, and instructors Remus Lupin and Severus Snape.
X "'Pettigrew escaped and returned to You-Know-Who as a Death Eater. Peter Pettigrew was the first Death Eater that Potter saw in Little Hangleton. He approached the boys and, under You-Know-Who's orders, murdered 17-year-old Cedric Diggory.'"
Astoria drew in a long breath. With her mind numbing and her throat drying, she took a break to get a drink of water. None of the other girls made for the magazine. Flora and Hestia were quiet. Rhiannon rolled on her side to face Astoria. Astoria lifted the magazine to the light again, but after seeing a few horrifying phrases in the upcoming paragraphs, she decided to pass it on to someone else to read. Flora was the one to take it, and continued from where Astoria had stopped.
"'Potter was eager to answer some obvious questions about his highly controversial statements.
"'RS: Do you really believe that Black is innocent of the conspiracy to kill your parents?
"'HP: Yes. He is innocent. Pettigrew was the one who let [You-Know-Who] kill my parents. He admitted it himself. Pettigrew was the one who killed twelve Muggles. Not Sirius.
"'RS: You are aware that Black is at large and is being hunted for as one of the most dangerous criminals of the Wizarding community? Even Muggles have been informed of him.
"'HP: Yes. They should be searching for Pettigrew instead.
"'RS: Do you know anything about your godfather's whereabouts?
"'HP: No, I don't.
"'RS: Is there a chance that you could have been Confunded, or attacked with a False Memory Charm?
"'HP: No. There are four other people who know this happened.
"'RS: Do you think the public will accept this story about Black and Pettigrew?
"'HP: If they're willing to accept the truth.
"'THE TERRIFYING RETURN
OF HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED
"'Harry Potter began to understand his situation after seeing his schoolmate killed. Pettigrew had taken Potter, shocked and wounded, to the gravestone of Tom Riddle Sr, You-Know-Who's Muggle father, and had bound him to it. A massive cauldron appeared before him, lit with fire underneath.
"'RS: What was in the cauldron?
"'HP: Lava. Or something like fire. The liquid inside was smoking and sparking and crystallising. Then Pettigrew took the bundle he carried and removed the covers. It was like a … child made of raw meat. It was scaly and wet and had red eyes, and I've never seen anything more horrifying. And I've, er, seen some things.
"'RS: What was this creature?
"'HP: It was [You-Know-Who]. He had not had a body in about fourteen years. And Wormtail dropped the thing into the cauldron.
"'RS: Who is Wormtail?
"'HP: That's Pettigrew. [You-Know-Who] and the Death Eaters were calling him that because of his Animagus form. He had that nickname in school.
"'RS: I see. What happened to the creature after it was put in the cauldron?
"'HP: There was some sort of a ritual. Wormtail unearthed bone particles from the ground beneath me. He said something about using the 'bone of the father' to put in the cauldron. Then the stuff in the cauldron turned blue, and Wormtail cut off his whole right hand. I heard him scream, and the hand fell into the cauldron. The mixture turned red and lit up the whole area. And then Wormtail came at me with a dagger and sliced me in the bend of my arm. He took my blood. I'll never forget what he said. It was, 'Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken, you will resurrect your foe.' I was scared out of my mind and bleeding all over. And then… I saw… it was [You-Know-Who] coming out of the cauldron.
"'RS: The ritual was prepared by Pettigrew to raise him? He brought you there for your blood?
"'HP: Yes, and there was a Death Eater involved with the Portkey.
"'RS: Who was the other?
"'HP: If I tell you now, it won't make sense. It has to be done chronologically.
"'Harry Potter wiped sweat from his forehead and slouched, recalling the unworldly imagery of the night of You-Know-Who's return that could not be put into words.'"
"Rhiannon, you can leave if you must," Flora said, breaking away from the report.
Astoria did not want to move in fear that she might exacerbate her nausea, but she glanced toward Rhiannon, who was trembling horribly as she lay on her bed. Her face was red; her eyes were shut.
"You can't have expected the resurrection of You-Know-Who to have been pretty," Flora said matter-of-factly. "Personally, I'm surprised it didn't involve more blood."
"Flora, shut it," Hestia scolded.
"Go on with the article. I'm just being stupid," uttered Rhiannon, and before Astoria and Hestia could assure her that she was not stupid, Flora continued reading.
"'HARRY POTTER HEARS YOU-KNOW-WHO'S FIRST ADDRESS,
ACCUSES DEATH EATERS PRESENT AT GRAVEYARD
"'HP: [You-Know-Who] was walking in front of me. He took Wormtail by the arm and touched his Dark Mark to summon all the Death Eaters.
"'RS: Did the Dark Mark appear in the sky like it did during the Quidditch World Cup?
"'HP: No, but he said the Death Eaters would be able to feel it on their arms when he touched Wormtail's. He was walking around and waiting for the Death Eaters, and he told me that he had killed his own father, and that I was sitting on that man's grave. He didn't talk to Wormtail very much, but he was talking to me a lot.
"'RS: A frightening experience in itself, I'm sure. What did he say to you?
"'HP: He told me his mother fell in love with a Muggle, but the Muggle abandoned her when he found out she was a witch. [You-Know-Who] said she named him after his father and died after his birth. He said he wanted to kill his father for a long time and just talked about that for a bit.
"'RS: So his memories immediately came back to him upon his revival?
"'HP: Well, I don't think they ever left him. He could talk without a full body. He talked to his servants and gave them orders, so his mind must have been there all this time somehow.
"'RS: And now his body is, too.
"'HP: Yes. The Death Eaters showed up soon after. They arranged themselves in a particular order… I don't think it was alphabetical. Then Voldemort used some sort of a spell to give Wormtail a magical new hand. It's silver, or at least it's silver-coloured.
"'RS: The Death Eaters that showed up are obviously not those incarcerated. Are you saying that there are Death Eaters who roam free?
"'HP: Yeah, there were about thirty of them there, plus Wormtail. [You-Know-Who] said there were others who weren't in prison and weren't there. Like they avoided the call.
"'RS: Can you name all of those who were present?
"'HP: I couldn't see them because of their masks, and most didn't speak, so I can only name six of them. There was Walden Macnair, a man named Avery, Edgar Crabbe and Samuel Goyle, a man named Nott, and Lucius Malfoy.
"'RS: Walden Macnair and Lucius Malfoy are with the Ministry, Mr Potter!
"'HP: Yeah, they're also with [You-Know-Who].
"'RS: Are you sure of this?
"'HP: Yes. [You-Know-Who] said their names aloud, and I could recognise their voices.
"'RS: What happened next?
"'HP: Well, [You-Know-Who] yelled at them for a while for not seeking him out. He gave a pretty long speech about… well, he said he was incorporeal for a long time and settled in a forest for a Death Eater to help him. He told the Death Eaters that Quirinus Quirrell had brought him back to Great Britain, and that Wormtail came to help him restore his powers. He said they went to hide in an Albanian forest in 1994. Wormtail abducted Bertha Jorkins there.
"'RS: You said Quirinus Quirrell, who used to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts?
"'HP: Yes.
"'RS: And Bertha Jorkins, the Ministry worker who went missing?
"'HP: Exactly. They tortured information out of her.
"'RS: What information?
"'HP: She told them all about the Triwizard Tournament, and she told them that she knew there was still another Death Eater out there who would help him. Then they killed her. He told the Death Eaters about how they planned to make the potion that would bring him back. He made up… er, a less than succinct plan… He wanted to make me touch a Portkey that would bring me to where his father was buried so they would have all the ingredients.
"'RS: And what was the plan?
"'HP: To put my name into the Goblet of Fire and make sure I grabbed the Cup.
"'RS: You never put your name in?
"'HP: No, and it wasn't an accident, either. [You-Know-Who] wanted it to happen. And he wanted to kill me afterward.
"'POTTER'S FIGHT AGAINST DEATH:
FACE-TO-FACE WITH YOU-KNOW-WHO AGAIN!
"''It's hard to remember everything about the battle,' says Harry Potter as he sips timorously from his drink. 'I was just fighting for my life. It wasn't quick, but everything went by quickly, I guess.'
"'RS: Did he start attacking you?
"'HP: Actually, he made me formally duel him. He hit me with the Cruciatus Curse before the duel, and first thing during the duel…
"'RS: You were still bleeding in the arm and leg, correct?
"'HP: Yeah, this wasn't an easy thing.
"'RS: What next?
"'HP: He kept trying to toy with my mind, and he put me under the Imperius Curse. I fought that off. I jumped away from him to hide behind a gravestone. He found me and shouted the Killing Curse when I said the Disarming Charm.
"'RS: You Disarmed You-Know-Who?
"'HP: No. What happened was something with the Priori Incantatem. The spells were hitting against each other rather than the targets. Our wands have the same core from the same animal.
"'RS: You can't be serious!'"
Flora stopped reading inopportunely, for Astoria was on the edge of her seat. The twins looked at each other grimly, but Flora managed to continue:-
"'HP: I am, but I didn't know what it was at first or why it was happening. I heard all sorts of sounds … I saw figures start emerging from [You-Know-Who's] wand. They were like ghosts, but more solid. Wormtail's old, severed hand started crawling around. Then I saw Cedric.
"'RS: You saw Cedric's ghost emerge from the wand!
"'HP: Not the real ghost of Cedric. It was like Cedric's will and image. This happened because the Priori Incantatem reveals what the wand did previously. So I saw quite a lot of people who were murdered by [You-Know-Who]. I saw Cedric, and an old man, and Bertha Jorkins… They were all talking to me…
"'Harry Potter's tears finally began to fall as he continued with his incredible story. Tragic and ever-poignant, Potter gathered his bearing and continued…
"'HP: I saw my mother, and she told me I would see Dad soon. I saw him, and he told me that all of these people would fade but that I would have a small amount of time to get back to the Portkey. Cedric told me to grab his body on the way and take it back to his mum and dad. Dad told me when to break away, and I did. I ran … toward Cedric's body and had to get away from all the Death Eaters who were trying to attack me. I got Cedric; I couldn't reach the Portkey, and [You-Know-Who] was going to kill me… I Summoned the cup to me and we were transported back to the Quidditch pitch.'"
"Merlin, this is sad," Flora paused again, holding a hand to her mouth. "…And really long."
"How much is there left?" asked Rhiannon quietly.
"Too much for me," Flora said.
"Erm, do you want to read it, Rhi?" Hestia asked.
Rhiannon sat up. Her lips parted. Then she lay back down.
"…Bad idea."
"I guess it's my turn, then," Hestia said to herself and picked up the magazine. She did not read as clearly as the other girls had.
"'THE INFILTRATOR OF HOGWARTS
WORKED TO BRING BACK YOU-KNOW-WHO
WHILST SCHOOL REMAINED UNAWARE.
"''I want to make sure you know that when I say Moody, I don't mean the real Alastor Moody until I tell you that I do,' Harry Potter said mysteriously as he continued with his interview. 'The real Alastor Moody never taught us that year even though he was hired to. We all saw an imposter using the Polyjuice Potion.''"
"This kid doesn't stop!" Hestia exclaimed, interrupting herself.
"Rhiannon asked us not to say anything until the end of the article," Astoria reminded Hestia, now more eager than ever to hear the story. Polyjuice Potion… Could that be the person who took her hair?
"Oh, r-right! I'm sorry," Hestia blubbered before returning to her narration.
"'RS: How did you find this out?
"'HP: Well, I was lying on the Quidditch pitch after we got back. I could hardly move. Professor Dumbledore came over with the Minister and saw that Cedric was dead. I tried to tell them [You-Know-Who] was back. There was a lot going on. I was taken away from the scene by Moody — not the actual Moody.
"'RS: When did you find out it wasn't the real Alastor Moody?
"'HP: I didn't know for a while… He was acting so weird. He asked me all about [You-Know-Who's] rebirth and then told me he had put my name in the Goblet of Fire. He said he resented the Death Eaters who didn't help [You-Know-Who] after the war. He said that he had been helping him this whole time to get me to the graveyard. He said he paved the way for my victory in the Tournament so that I'd get the Cup. He said he was the one who Stunned Fleur in the maze and Imperiused Krum. He told me he was going to kill me to outshine all the Death Eaters and become a son to [You-Know-Who].
"'RS: You thought this was Alastor Moody all that time?
"'HP: I swear he never acted that way all year. Everyone was fooled. Even Moody's friends thought it was really Moody. I still thought it was the real Moody. I thought he was a Death Eater.
"'RS: But it really was a Death Eater disguised as Alastor Moody, you say?
"'HP: Right.
"'RS: And this wizard was going to kill you.
"'HP: Yes. But Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape came to save me and Stunned him. They saw that this man had started to act strange. Professor Dumbledore told the others to get Veritaserum and a house-elf.
"'RS: A house-elf, you say?
"'HP: It was the Death Eater's old house-elf. Professor Dumbledore took keys from Moody's coat and unlocked a massive trunk — it had six or seven Extended parts to it — and the real Moody was in the last one. He had been Imperiused. His hair was missing because it was put into the Polyjuice Potion. His glass eye and leg were on the Death Eater. And the fake Moody's Polyjuice Potion was wearing off.
"'THE FAKING OF A DEATH, THE MURDER OF A FATHER.
THE IMPOSTER'S IDENTITY REVEALED.'"
"Oh, there's a picture," Hestia said and held up the magazine for all to see.
Astoria saw the mug shot of a young wizard about twenty years old. It, like the other photographs, was in vibrant, lifelike colour. He had flaxen hair, which was messed up considerably, and a heavily freckled face. He was gulping but was not blinking — not once did he blink. He was staring inscrutably with irises of liquid, of black ink, and Astoria had to look away from his gaze after only a moment. She gasped heavily as she moved her eyes away from the picture and met the very same stare from her other side, coming from Rhiannon. Rhiannon heard the noise and blinked. Astoria was getting chilled. She looked at the page once more to read the caption, and it made it all worse.
Bartemius Jonah Crouch, Jr, 3 December 1981. Convicted of the torture and permanent incapacitation of Frank and Alice Longbottom.
Astoria heard Hestia turning the page, and out of a painful impulse, told the girl to give her a moment before reading more. Rhiannon fell back on her tear-stained pillow. Astoria jumped from the bed in a torrent of bewilderment. Her hands were at the sides of her head and she began to walk round the little room, trying to slow her thoughts… trying not to remember the things that would piece together a puzzle… a puzzle that Astoria did not want put together…
December… December… There was something about that month and that person, and Astoria knew it — at least she knew it now.
"Hestia, keep reading," Astoria said, changing her mind. If she was listening to Harry Potter, she couldn't be listening to herself. Why had a Death Eater taken her form, too? Why had he taken her form to talk to Professor Sinistra?
"'RS: Who compromised Hogwarts?
"'HP: It was Barty Crouch Jr.
"'RS: Crouch Jr is dead, boy!
"'HP: He wasn't. Snape pointed him out when he and Professor McGonagall came back. The house-elf said his name immediately. The Ministry covered this all up, if you haven't noticed.
"'RS: Do tell me how you saw this dead man living.
"'HP: Well, Snape gave Crouch Veritaserum, and the headmaster asked him questions. Crouch told us how he faked his death. After his father convicted him, his mother pleaded to have him released. She said she would take Crouch Jr's place since she was already critically ill. They both used Polyjuice Potions. She looked like her son, and he looked like her. The dementors didn't catch on. Mrs Crouch died under the Polyjuice Potion's effects, and they buried her thinking she was her son. Crouch Sr took his son home and faked his wife's death, since Crouch Jr still looked like her. He told us his father put him under the Imperius Curse, hid him under an Invisibility Cloak, and made the house-elf take care of him. The house-elf wanted to take him to the Quidditch World Cup. Crouch Sr agreed as long as he would still be Imperiused and hidden. But the riots happened, and Crouch Jr got a chance to break free when he was hit with a spell by Ministry workers. He was the one who cast the Dark Mark in the sky. Crouch Sr got rid of the house-elf. Crouch Jr was the Death Eater that Bertha Jorkins told [You-Know-Who] about. She had accidentally come across him whilst at the Crouch house. [You-Know-Who] came to get him shortly after the World Cup and had him attack Alastor Moody along with Wormtail. Crouch Jr took a Polyjuice Potion to become Moody and get me to the graveyard.
"'RS: What happened to Mr Crouch from the Ministry? He was in charge of the Triwizard Tournament. Did he know about his son?
"'HP: He knew his son got away from him, yeah. He didn't know he was impersonating Moody or corrupting the Tournament. Crouch Jr said [You-Know-Who] put the Imperius Curse on his father, so Crouch Sr didn't show up for the Second or Third Tasks. Crouch Sr broke free from it in May and ran to Hogwarts to confess what had happened, but Crouch Jr intercepted him.
"'RS: And he caught his father?
"'HP: He killed his father and transfigured the body into a bone. He buried it on the grounds. That was the end of his confession.
"'RS: Was he arrested after that?
"'HP: No. Professor Dumbledore sent Snape to get Madam Pomfrey and Fudge, told Professor McGonagall to guard Crouch, and took me to his office to talk about [You-Know-Who's] return. Then I went to the Hospital Wing and fell asleep.
"'RS: The day was finally over.
"'HP: No. I was stirred by yelling. It was Professor McGonagall and Fudge. She was yelling at him for bringing a dementor into the school.
"'RS: A government dementor?
"'HP: Exactly. A government dementor, which are all trained to Kiss anyone who escapes Azkaban. Crouch got Kissed immediately, so he couldn't testify. Fudge didn't care because he was going to cover everything up anyway.
"'RS: None have ever heard of anything in your interview because of that supposed cover-up, I assume?
"'HP: Right; of everyone in the Hospital Wing that night, only Fudge did not believe that [You-Know-Who] was back. And because he's the Minister, the general population doesn't believe it now. But it happened. He's back. He let the Death Eaters out of Azkaban.
"'Harry Potter sighed deeply in his frustration — he is a boy who knows it all but has not been regarded. With a furrow in his brow, he relived the horrifying tale of You-Know-Who's return to power. 'That is the whole story,' he said with certainty, and ended his shocking interview.'" x
"Pheeew," Hestia exhaled and shut the magazine. "That was possibly the most confusing thing I have ever read in my life."
"You haven't read law," said Flora.
"Do you think Alecto and Amycus were with that lot in the graveyard?" Hestia asked her sister determinedly.
"They had to have been, or they would've been dead by now," Flora said. "Probably went out for milkshakes after."
"That's too bad," growled Hestia.
The twins continued chatting all about the interview and their thoughts on it. They shared stories about their second year, when Sirius Black had first escaped… how they were not sure to believe the bit about Peter Pettigrew… how they were not sure if they could believe any of it…
Rhiannon had taken out her scrapbook.
"Give me the magazine, please, if you don't want to keep it," she whispered to Astoria, who slipped it away from Hestia's knee and passed it over.
Rhiannon was barely able to fit it in one of the plastic sleeves. She then turned the bulky book over and opened the back cover. The twins kept talking; she flinched at some of their words. She placed a hand atop a makeshift box that had been attached to the back cover of the scrapbook. Something made Astoria feel like she did not want to see what was inside, but Rhiannon pulled it right out. Whatever it was, it was broken. Rhiannon held it by a jagged edge. It was metallic and glinted in the light. Rhiannon lifted it up and waited for the twins to notice. They knew what it was before Astoria did.
"Rhiannon, that's a Death Eater's mask!" Hestia exclaimed.
"I figured that bit out, thanks," Rhiannon said. "And the story is true. I know a good part of it to be true, so I'm assuming the rest is, too. Dunno about the 'tears glinting' drama, but the interview is true."
"Yeah, yeah, okay, Rhiannon, but how in the world did you come across that?" Flora demanded.
"You seem to be forgetting that I had detention with Crouch all June. I thought he was Moody. After the disaster of the Third Task, I went to the room again. It was being cleared out. Moody's things were in one group, and Crouch's were in the other. This mask… broke. I took it as proof."
"Oh, yeah…" said Hestia. "We found you in the room again when you went missing. You were… not doing well. I'm sorry, Rhiannon… We didn't know."
"I… yeah… Thanks."
"Rhiannon," Astoria broke in as her unwanted thoughts began to flood her skull again.
She jumped to the other bed as if she was going to be able to escape something. She did not know what she expected Rhiannon to do, but Rhiannon was the only other one who might have been thinking along her lines.
"You're shaking," Rhiannon noticed and wrapped the blanket she had been holding over Astoria's shoulders.
"It wasn't Moody," Astoria said, hoping that Rhiannon would read her mind, would say it for her so that she wouldn't have to.
Rhiannon wasn't a very good mind reader.
"Rhi, Rhi. The classroom. We weren't the only ones to get you."
"…What are you talking about?"
Astoria was going into mental shock as she remembered things from the previous year, remembered things from only a month ago. They were all put into context now. She couldn't stop them no matter how hard she tried.
"Rhiannon, the morning after the breakout…"
Rhiannon's body swayed back a little. She was getting it. Why wasn't she saying anything?
"The house-elf with chocolate… Rhi! The house-elf! With chocolate! Asking where—!"
"I know, Astoria, they…" Rhiannon said, her voice trailing off mid-sentence.
"Should we leave?" Flora interrupted, put off by Astoria's sudden hysteria.
"Yes, you should probably leave right now," Rhiannon replied a little harshly.
"But—" Hestia protested.
"You shouldn't need to see her break down, Hestia," Flora simmered, and prodded her sister out of the room.
"You know it!" Astoria cried and fell onto Rhiannon's gross, already teary pillow. "Why aren't you saying it, Rhiannon?"
She rolled over wildly and looked up at the ceiling. There were no star charts above Rhiannon's bed. It was all bare stone. Astoria looked into nothingness and screeched in her emotion. What simply couldn't be true before had to be true now. The puzzle was put together. That so-called relative that Sinistra was visiting in Azkaban was Crouch Jr, the Death Eater. Professor Sinistra loved Bartemius Crouch Jr so much that she wouldn't even leave his split body and soul alone in Azkaban.
"Rhiannon, that Death Eater took my hair and went right up to Professor Sinistra and cried all over her! That Death Eater danced with her at the Yule Ball as Moody!"
"…You think so?" Rhiannon scratched her ear.
"Rhiannon, you know it's true!"
The dates were matching up now, too. Faraway dates that Astoria would have forgotten if it hadn't been for the interview started to write themselves on a mental calendar. Professor Sinistra had started the previous year contently enough, but in the autumn she had developed a hostile air. There was someone there whom she would not have wanted to see, Bartemius Crouch Sr. But, as the interview said, he was gone before the Second Task. Professor Sinistra was happy in winter. Some said she could be heard complaining with Moody about potatoes of all things at the Yule Ball…
She couldn't have known, Astoria begged. She didn't know until afterward.
"How did you know last month?" Astoria asked Rhiannon.
"Well," Rhiannon said, "it was when Sinistra was going through everything and sorting his items from the real Moody's. I… I sorta knew Moody, I thought, so when she told me he was in the Hospital Wing, I was gonna go there and visit him. That's when she told me what happened, since Moody wouldn't know who I was. As in, he would never know who I was, 'cause we'd never met."
No. No. Professor Sinistra had nothing to do with these plans. She wasn't involved. Please tell me she wasn't involved, Astoria thought as Rhiannon kept talking.
"I got this mask of his when she flung it across the room and broke it. She was crying a lot. She could barely tell me what happened. I don't think she wanted to believe it. I wouldn't, either."
"You mean she was upset when she found out? She didn't know?" Astoria pleaded. "She didn't know it wasn't me when he took my hair? She didn't know it wasn't the real Moody?"
"Hell no, she didn't know!" Rhiannon said, taken aback. "She must've sputtered on about this for an hour, Astoria. She looked like she belonged in St Mungo's, not in Hogwarts clearin' out the man's effects. But she was the only one who'd be able to pick out whose things was whose besides Moody. Blimey, Astoria, why do you think she battled those Death Eaters in the prison? She hates 'em all. They committed the same crime he supposedly did — I researched this whole case in the library, I did. You know she calls You-Know-Who by his name‽"
Astoria sighed with relief and chastised herself for jumping to conclusions. It had always been a bad habit of hers, but she had been scared mindless from the notion that her favourite professor had helped bring You-Know-Who back…
"Lot of things would've made sense earlier if I'd known where it was she was going," Rhiannon mumbled. "But I didn't know till the paper said so. I really thought she had cancer, too."
"But you knew she loved him after she was trying to cast a Patronus in the Hospiral Wing?"
"I didn't know; I just kinda figured."
"Why didn't you tell me? I've been mad over this Polyjuice thing."
"I couldn't. How was I s'posed to explain everything like that magazine did? I didn't even know what the plans about Harry were. All I knew's what Sinistra told me, and all of that was about Crouch."
"She told you because you were going to see Moody in the Hospital Wing, right? Do you think she told anyone else who might have visited him?"
"I don't think anybody else did. They always thought he was a scary old geezer. Plus she feared she'd get sacked if everyone knew about her and Crouch."
"So we're the only ones who know about that bit?"
"Student-wise, probably. We're the only ones who pay attention to her enough. I'm sure the teachers know, though. I know Snape knows. He was going through his papers with her. And probably her friend Glenda Chittock. And probably anyone who was alive at that time… Wow… Y'know she's seen him die twice now, if you think about it…"
Astoria recalled the professor chanting the Patronus Charm and understood that she had seen much worse than Crouch's death. Harry Potter had said that Professor McGonagall had been in charge of watching Crouch on the night that You-Know-Who returned. Astoria wondered if Professor Sinistra could forgive Professor McGonagall for being too weakened by the dementor to stop it from Kissing Crouch. She wondered if Professor Sinistra had forgiven Crouch for two of the worst crimes of the century.
Astoria readjusted the blanket around her and began to think. Of all the people Astoria knew, Professor Sinistra was one of the noblest. Yet she loved someone so low, so abhorrent — a Death Eater, and more. She loved a fanatical Death Eater who had actually wished to be considered a son of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Was this always his ambition? Did Professor Sinistra know him before he was like that?
"It seems so strange…" Astoria said dazedly, "…that Professor Sinistra would still go visit him… all hollow… Especially after knowing what he did."
Rhiannon said candidly, "She loves him. They must have been together before all this."
"But… all day, Rhiannon," Astoria said in distress. "Dementors everywhere! And she still went every single day and night to see… this soulless body…"
"I don't think that was it," Rhiannon said darkly. "I read about how dementors are used in Azkaban. She wouldn't've been nearly as ill if she was sittin' by his empty body instead of sittin' by the door of the hospice ward. She didn't go there to visit a vegetable, Astoria, she went there to visit his soul. And when his soul finally passed on, that's why you weren't Confunded anymore."
Astoria's stomach lurched. She put her cold hands on her cheeks and tried to ease her strain.
"She sat next to the dementor that Fudge sent after him," Astoria groaned. "Oh, God, Rhiannon — why? Why all of this for a Death Eater‽"
"She loves him," Rhiannon said again, indecently calm.
"A Death Eater!" Astoria wept. "She isn't anything like a Death Eater!"
"Neither was he," said Rhiannon steadily.
"What are you on about, Rhi?" Astoria said angrily.
"People become Death Eaters because of their belief system or their fear. Crouch became a Death Eater because he wanted to be with You-Know-Who as a family. It's weird, but I don't think he fitted in with those Death Eaters at all. He told Harry he hated them because they weren't really in it for You-Know-Who. Crouch probably thought about blood-purity as much as Sinistra does. What he wanted was a father."
"Nonsense!" Astoria expelled.
"I'm serious, Astoria. He told me his father neglected him. 'Course, I was left thinking Alastor Moody's father was a horrible person. I told him about my parents, too. We talked a lot about life… it was weird. It all was kind of weird. Detention ended up not being detention after a week. He was nice to me. Then he was gone. I went to the classroom again because I was so stunned. Sinistra was there, a proper mess. She told me he was Barty Crouch Jr — seemed to have trouble calling him that, she did, for some reason. I guess she had called him by his middle name when she knew him. He probably hated having his dad's name. Well, she told me I deserved to know the story because…"
Rhiannon trailed off and her face went blank. Astoria was too exhausted to ask her to continue, but she did muster the power to keep listening.
"Because he probably would've wanted me to know," Rhiannon continued mournfully.
Astoria let out a stream of breath. How could she believe that? Rhiannon was a Muggle-born. This was the man who helped bring back the evil thing that wanted to massacre her kind! Rhiannon was taking these words from Professor Sinistra, who, at the moment, was not a very credible source at all in Astoria's opinion. Rhiannon could have been in much more danger than she thought she had been. Astoria couldn't have her grieving over this Death Eater. Look at where that put Professor Sinistra.
"Rhiannon, I don't think—" she started to say, but the other girl cut her off.
"I told him I wanted to play Quidditch," Rhiannon said, making desperate hand gestures. "I told him I didn't have a broom. Guess what Sinistra got me, a broom. We related on some level!"
"Rhiannon, that's too weird—"
"Professor Sinistra must have had some chance to talk to him before he got Kissed. That's how she saw the dementor attack him."
"All right, but—"
"He was delusional, and he thought he could save me, Astoria."
"I'll say he was delusional! Rhiannon, listen, I'm upset at… Well, I'm upset at Professor Sinistra, okay? This isn't really about you. I'm sorry that you had to go through this pain. I feel betrayed! She's my favourite teacher. That's all. I didn't mean to make you upset."
"You shouldn't be upset at her is what I'm trying to tell you," Rhiannon said, calming down. "Whoever he was before he was a Death Eater was who she loved. It's pretty clear to me that she was betrayed by him. He went to You-Know-Who first when he was freed from his father, not her."
Rhiannon put her hands to her face and took a deep breath.
"He put me under the Imperius Curse to keep me away from the Third Task," she whispered. "He made me splash my drink on Malfoy so I'd get in trouble. So I'd be in the castle, safe. I'm Muggle-born, Astoria. I'm Muggle-born. That's the magic that left me that night his soul finally passed on, the kind of magic that'd keep me out of danger without me even knowing. Now I'm not safe no more."
Astoria's mouth was dry again, but she was too depressed to lift her drink to her face. She remembered the man's blank stare from the picture, but she also remembered it on Alastor Moody's phizog — when the magical eye didn't move and he was telling Astoria to look after Rhiannon. Their fathers never looked after them.
Astoria did not want to feel sad about Barty Crouch Jr, and she didn't. But she knew that something must have gone horribly, horribly wrong with the man whom Professor Sinistra loved. That love continued, however damaged it might have been on its shell. Rhiannon was right; it wasn't the professor's fault for still caring about him, just as it wasn't her fault that he became a Death Eater. Professor Sinistra didn't love the Death Eater. She loved the person she knew he used to be. Astoria could barely fathom what it must have been like for the young professor to find out what he truly was. Professor Sinistra might have even wished she didn't love him anymore, but love was a painfully powerful thing.