CH 17
Harry - James - Potter - Harry - James - Potter
Harry finally made it to the centre of the hedge maze. The Hufflepuff wasn't that far behind him. He took a few moments to breathe, which allowed the old youth to pass him. He ran after the taller student and hoped to catch up, when a leaping shadow caught his attention. "Cedric," he yelled. "Look out!"
Cedric ducked so quickly that he lost his wand in the process. He found himself facing a huge spider.
Harry cursed at himself for having forgotten about Hagrid's fondness for the giant arachnids. He saw the other boy take out the sword he'd been carrying, but it was painfully obvious that the teen wasn't practised in the use of it. 'All show,' he thought. 'They were all with other weapons to show off or maybe intimidate the others, only Fleur used hers that I know of and Viktor didn't have his mace with him when we last saw him either.'
(…Immobulus, shrink, jar, store…) He hissed the words in rapid succession. His magical intent was carried out. The over-sized bug froze in place, shrank in size, a lidded jar appeared to have been conjured, the tiny spider floated into it, the cap with holes in the top was twisted onto the jar and the jar was put away in one of the pouches at Harry's belt.
"Thanks," Cedric said. "That was brilliant. What was that spell?"
"I don't know," Harry said with a shrug. "A magical bug catcher or something," he took his floating map in hand and hissed (…Chart topographical centre maze coordinates…) The map was stamped the longitude and latitude coordinates for the centre of the hedge maze. He then looked up and saw that the older teen hadn't taken the cup, yet. "Why didn't you take it?"
Cedric huffed and said, "I was getting my wand." He held it up and waved it. "Besides you deserve the cup."
"Deserve has nothing to do with it," Harry said and approached the cup. The Hufflefpuff copied his approach. "You'd have been within your rights to take it, you were here first."
"I couldn't do that," Cedric argued. "You saved my life and deserve the cup." The argument had just begun and it carried on for a bit until the Gryffindor had an idea.
"How about we both take it," he suggested. "It'll still be a win for Hogwarts."
Cedric liked the idea and said, "On three." He received a nod. "All right then, one…two…three…"
As soon as both teens had barely touched the cup, they were whisked away from the school grounds to a distant location. They'd experienced this sensation at the end of summer when they were ported out to the Quidditch World Cup grounds. This time they were taken to a more sinister location.
Harry was quick witted about it, recalling the Prophesies, he knew he should to stay behind to see what this was all about. But he had to get rid of any collateral damage and believed that he really didn't want to stay here either.
"Sorry," he said to the older teen and stupefied him with the same spell that he'd used on Krum. (…Accio cup, reverso portus, twenty-second activation…) He put the cup in the older boy's hands and looked around to see if anything was missing. He was about to touch the cup when he heard.
"Immobulus," a voice said.
Harry was stuck in a reaching down position. He watched the older boy's body get ported away twenty seconds after the cup was in his hands. The Boy-Who-Lived immediately undid the charm that held him with a hiss (…Finite…) He fell to the ground and then heard.
"We need him alive Pettigrew," the voice said.
Harry tried to look around, but he'd accidentally Finited his bubble light too. He was stupefied in his sudden blindness and the pressing pain that was growing in his head made it difficult for him to concentrate. When he came to, he cursed his stupidity. He was tied to the headstone of some grave.
Looking around he noticed that he was in a graveyard quite like the one he'd seen in his dream when he'd witnessed the death of the old muggle man. He pulled up all the Occlumency ability he could to drive the pain from his thoughts.
"You," he hissed in recognition of the man that was putting together a vile looking concoction in the biggest cauldron that he'd ever seen. The pain in his head increased again, but he strengthened his shields to push the pressure away. "You moron what are you doing?"
"You'll see," Pettigrew said. He then performed the ritual of resurrection, using the bone of the father, blood of the enemy and a sacrifice of the willing.
Harry was horrified by everything that he was seeing. The Dark Lord's resurrection was nothing that he'd ever have wanted to witness, but he observed everything, much in the way that the portraits had taught him. It wasn't time to play the innocent schoolboy. He needed to remain alive in order to see that the evil coming back before his eyes was vanquished quickly.
However he was stuck in place as the snivelling rodent, robed a man-like creature that rose from the liquid in the cauldron. He looked around and noticed that they hadn't even taken his swords from his. He looked at them and knew that he'd use them when he had the chance. 'At least my map has the coordinates to the maze,' he thought. 'But I have to be able to pull it out and use it.' He looked at Pettigrew and knew that he'd do his best to capture that man in order to free his godfather. 'I have to,' he thought. 'I need him to be free.'
Harry half paid attention to how the Dark Lord summoned his followers. He was disgusted with the level of humiliation that prominent magical Families were putting up with, debasing themselves before a creature that could not even be called a man.
He watched, putting his horrified emotions away, as the Dark Idiot rambled and then used the Cruciatus Curse on his followers just because he was displeased. He watched at the Dark Idiot made a completely silver hand for the follower that had aided in his resurrection. He knew then that the short, fat man would use that on his one time friend, Remus Lupin.
The rat snivelled and scurried after the bottom of his Master's robes, exclaiming, "Thanks", and "Thank you Master."
The Dark Idiot then revealed and named his followers, Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, MacNair, he named the Lestranges that were still in prison. He told the Death Eaters the story of his attempts to regain his power and he crucioed Harry, as the boy was still tied to the tombstone.
"Untie him," the Dark Lord said. "We shall see who is truly more powerful," he said. "Just a little longer Nagini," he said to his snake. "Give him back his wand."
Harry was only slumped on the stone marker. He glared at the rat-man and when he was free to speak he said, "You'll die tonight as you should have died all those years ago."
"Don't think you're better than me," Wormtail said. "Your father was always Lording his status. He picked on those weaker than him, did you know that. He was a cowardly bully hiding behind some Gryffindor ideology. Always poked fun at the wrong times, humiliation was the always result. I picked the winning side this time." He spat on the boy, who only looked furious.
Harry had his wand in hand now and allowed the Dark Lord to mock him. Make him play the puppet for a sham show of power to his Death Eaters. 'Pathetic much,' he thought in the slang of his Canyon School chums. 'He's going down and he doesn't even know it yet.'
He was crucioed again and this time the Dark Lord used the Imperio Curse to bend the boy to his will. "Do you want me to do it again?"
"You can do what you like, you pathetic piece of scum," Harry retorted, not having been affected by the Imperio Curse at all.
He dove out of the way, in the direction of the hissing that he'd heard. He conjured his favourite wand movement, practicing tool and directed his magic at the metal and sharpened device. He coated it in a poison that he'd created with basilisk venom. He directed it with a low hiss that even the Dark Lord didn't catch because the man was too busy speaking loudly to his followers. Then he turned his attention to the Dark Lord, as he let his magic seek out the snake to kill her.
Harry was more than ready now. He rolled out of the way and heard the Death Eaters laugh when the Dark Lord said, "We're not playing hide and seek boy!" He steps indicated that he was approaching. "Come out, come out wherever you are. You know it won't be painful, but then again I wouldn't know since I never died. I am immortal!"
The Boy-Who-Lived tracked Pettigrew and hissed softly (…Stupefy…) He gained the wand of the rat and watch the man fall to the ground behind the other Death Eaters. He was ready now. He stood tall from behind the gravestone. "No more need to avoid you," Harry said. "My marks are made and you will fail like you always do, Tom Marvolo Riddle!"
"Avada Kadavra," the Dark Lord shouted in his rage, that his true name was told to all of the Death Eaters present.
"Expelliarmus," Harry shouted at the same time. He cried out in pain as the metal wand, pierced the snake through its eye and into the brain, killing it instantly. The Dark Lord did not notice the demise of his pet snake, yet, only that the boy was in pain.
A strange thing then occurred as the magic of the two wands met. Their bodies were raised from their position among the graves only to be transported into the clearing where Harry and Cedric had arrived. A beam of light connected the two wands. The light was not the colour of their spells, but gold and the magic vibrated in the air.
A cage of golden light formed around the two of them, as the Death Eaters panicked and circled golden cage. "DO NOTHING," the Dark Lord screamed at them. They noticed that their leader was not in a good position. "Do nothing, obey me at once."
Harry concentrated and followed his instinct. 'Don't break the connection,' he thought. 'I will not break the connection.'
Horror upon horrors, the light in the middle was being pushed to his wand. 'Oh no you don't,' Harry thought. He pushed against the power of the Dark Lord and eventually he won. The light went back into the creature's wand and he noticed something coming from the tip of the Dark Lord's wand. The head and chest of the old man came out, followed by a witch, whom Harry assumed had been Bertha Jorkins.
Another man came out and he knew this man only from dreams. "Hold on son," the man said. "Your mother is coming, she wants to see you."
Not long after a woman came out and Harry was confused. His father had been killed before his mother, hadn't he? Then he thought of Pettigrew and wondered, 'How did the Dark Idiot get his wand back so quickly?' The implications of that were nearly too much, but he held on.
"Oh Harry, we saw everything," the young woman said. "I approve of all of it, but…"
"Son," the ghost of his father said. "Where's the portkey?"
"I sent it away," Harry said. "I have another method of travel ready. Just tell me what to do?"
"You do," his mother said. "Oh, you clever boy."
"Well, well," his father said with a proud grin on his face. "Be ready then." The boy could only nod as sweat poured down from his efforts to maintain the light. He noticed how the ghosts harassed the snake-face looking man. He couldn't help the smirk that appeared on his face. He concentrated on holding their connected wands, while his other hand sought something in one of the pouches at his waist.
"Be ready," his father said. "Do it…"
"Do it now," his mother yelled. "NOW!"
Harry wrenched his wand up and snapped the connection. (…Accio Pettigrew's Body…) The rat-man's unconscious form zipped towards him, banging against a few headstones, as he ran to escape the Death Eater's sudden attacks. As soon as the man's body was within reach, he pounce on it, and activated the Fast-Travel ability that he'd gained this past summer by clenching the map he'd made in his fist. He focussed on the last coordinates that he'd seen and was whisked back to the centre of the hedge maze.
Harry rolled up in a crouched position, but there was only himself and the banged up body of Peter Pettigrew. Multiple voices sounded and feet hurried in his direction. (…Sonorus…) He hissed and then said, "Stay back. I need the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement here right now."
He cancelled the increased voice charm and waited for the person in charge. Dumbledore didn't stay back and neither did the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge. Amelia Bones and a half dozen Aurors came as well, since the Boy-Who-Lived had asked for them.
"What do you need young man," she asked.
"Are you in charge of Magical Law," he asked and received a positive response. "Identify this man," he pointed to the bleeding body of an obvious Death Eater based on his exposed arm, from when the Dark Lord hand used it to summon his followers. "Please ma'am," he asked politely. "It's important to me."
"All right," she said. "Cognoscerus sit," she said. Many gasped as the name appeared for all to see.
…Peter Pettigrew…
"But," Madam Bones then shook her head and said, "Take this man into custody. Obviously something is wrong here."
"Beware," Harry said. "He's an unregistered Animagus, a Rat actually and he was the true Secret Keeper of my parents' hideout."
Madam Bones said, "But Sirius confessed."
Harry shook his head and said, "Sirius never had a trial."
"Well," she said in tone that indicated she was furious. "We'll just see about that." She nodded to her trusted Aurors and they left with the man. "He will be interrogated thoroughly and if that is the case, then the orders against Sirius Black will be revoked. He will have to come in for a true trial though, if it's been proved that he was sent to prison without one."
"Yes ma'am," Harry said. He watched as she walked away and he had hope. Slim hope, but hope anyway that something good would come of the events of this night.
"What happened young Harry," Cornelius asked.
"The Dark Lord resurrected himself with the aid of Pettigrew and someone here at the school," Harry said. "Someone he claimed that had returned to his fold, during the summer and proved his worthiness by placing me in a position to bring that Dark Idiot back." He glared at basically everyone because he was overwhelmed and pissed off.
"You're tired, you should rest," Cornelius said in a panicky tone. He hoped to defuse the information right away. "This adventure might have been too much for you, you should get medially checked out."
"Do not treat me like a child," Harry said. "You made me participate in this tournament with adults and therefore you deemed me to be adult enough to participate. Do not make me out to be insane either Minister Fudge! I'm quite willing to take Veritaserum in order to defend my honour. Do you hear me? I watched that thing get resurrected and I will not have you declaring otherwise or a duel of honour will be required to settle the matter."
"Really Harry," Dumbledore said. "That's quite enough. Moody why don't you take him, back to the castle?"
"No thanks," Harry said. "I'll go sit with Remus and watch the closing ceremony. Diggory came back right? He won, right?"
"Yes, Cedric did come back and he did win," the Headmaster said, as though he'd been hoping that Harry had actually been the winner. "He's with his father at the moment. We'll call the Champions to the podiums soon."
"Ah good," Harry said. "I'm so glad that it wasn't me." He started to walk over to the stands where he saw his adopted Father, but his arm was tugged. His Defence Professor pulled him in the direction of the school. "Sir?" He asked. "What is it?"
"Dumbledore wants me to take your statement," the man said, as he dragged the boy away.
Harry sent a confused look to his father, Remus, and motioned his head in such a way that the werewolf stood up from the stands and followed them. The Boy-Who-Lived had long since learned his lesson about Defence Professors. Right now he didn't trust the fact that Professor Moody was taking him away from where he wanted to be, but he was curious about why there was such a rush for a debrief of this nature when it could have waited.
The young Gryffindor knew when to act panicky and confused. It wasn't that difficult when he'd seen the ghosts of his parents emerge from the wand of his enemy. A cool drink was push into his hand and he sipped the cooling liquid.
Questions were asked, which he answered almost without control. He frowned at that and thought, 'Why'd Prof. Moody drug me.' He shrugged and answered a few more questions, but he slipped his hand in one of his pouches, pulled out a tiny vial of liquid and sipped it at the same time he took another sip of the liquid.
He'd already found an antidote to truth serums, since his Professor Snape had threatened him with something like it earlier in the year. 'Enough of this,' he thought. 'I know that Moony is recording all of the questions since I can smell that he's nearby.'
"And the Death Eaters," Moody asked. "Did they return?"
"Yes," Harry replied.
"How did he treat them?" Moody asked. "Did he forgive them?"
Harry frowned and then asked a question of his own. "Why do you want to know this? I'd like to return to the ceremony."
"I'm sorry, but you can't do that," Moody said.
"Why not," Harry said. He stood up to go and said, "I have to warn Dumbledore."
"What about," Moody asked.
"There's a Death Eater in the school," Harry said. Since he took the antidote, he figured there was no use in pretending to be answering the crazy man's questions.
"I asked you, did the Dark Lord forgive them," the old man said. "Did he forgive those that had remained out of the prison?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Harry said. He remained standing and watched the old man pace in the room.
"Don't you," Moody said. "I suppose you don't." He noticed the boy edging away from him and towards the door. "Don't think that anyone will come to save you." He shut and locked the door. Then he pointed his wand at Harry and explained that he'd been the one to put his name in the Goblet of Fire. That he'd been the one to guide the boy through his tasks and to nudge Hagrid into revealing the dragons to him. "I did all of that to help you, in order to get you into position for the Dark Lord to take his rightful place back in the world, by getting rid of you."
"Well, obviously he couldn't," Harry spat out the words. His wand was out too and he had one of his swords in his other hand. "He was too overconfident and failed."
"The Dark Lord is a superior Wizard," Moody sputtered in rage.
"He's a snake-faced son of muggle," Harry spat out. "He's only pitiful half-blood with delusions of being more than he is."
"YOU LIE," Moody yelled, casting several harmful curses at the boy, who just dodged them and cast several of his own, destroying the man's roving eye with a hissed Bombarda, along with setting the wooden leg on fire with his flare spell.
Harry dodged again, this time moving in and thrusting his sword forward to knock the man's wand out of his hands. Luckily for the two of them they were on the far side of the room when the door was blasted open. The boy lunged and stabbed the man in his hand, making him drop his wand and then he shoved him with his arm against the man's neck, into the brick wall with such force that the man was knock out. He used his sword to flick the flask at the man's side into the direction of the Potions Master.
Severus Snape wasn't alone at the door. Behind him were the Headmaster, the Gryffindor Head of House Professor McGonagall, Remus Lupin and a few other officials in red Auror battle robes.
Harry put his sword away, as he was enveloped in the arms of his new father. He shuddered at the thought of everything that he'd experienced. His body still shuddered through everything, as the situation was explained with a strong truth potion administered to his attacker.
"Polyjuice Potion," Dumbledore said. "The sheer audacity and genius of it." They listened as the whole story unfolded.
Barty Crouch Junior was revealed and he told his tale, in front of the hysterical house-elf Winky, who was mortified that her young Master had killed his own father. It was very much a sordid tale of pain, deception and horror. The poor creature was devastated that her previous masters had acted in such a way.
Harry remained in the arms of his father, as they were guided to the Headmaster's Office. Apparently, Sirius was waiting for them there, since it wouldn't do for the man to be found too quickly. The Aurors still had to interrogate Pettigrew, but two remained to guard the body of the young Crouch.
Sirius stood from his chair, walked over and hugged his godson. "Harry you did well," he said. "I'm proud of you."
"I have things to tell you," Harry whispered. "Later please," he begged.
"Harry we need to know what happened out there," Dumbledore said. "I know that you stated that Voldemort had returned, but we need to know what else you saw and if you know where you were Portkeyed to?"
Harry talked a long while, telling them his impressions and whatever information he could, including the names that Voldemort, himself had stated were important to him. "I was able to escape because our wands acted funny when they connected," he explained. "I had to hold on for as long as I could and then when I was released, I summoned Pettigrew's body in order to bring him back with me. Do you think that there's a chance that Sirius will be pardoned now?"
"Amelia Bones is very good at her job," the Headmaster said in a vague tone.
He smiled in a grandfatherly way, fuming that he couldn't have gotten rid of the rat in time, but whatever. He still had some say in what happened, despite the fact that there was a very good chance that young Harry would be under the guardianship of his godfather after this day. He had other plans in the works and sometimes a little bit of hope was just enough to add emotional decimation, should anything happen to that important person. 'I can wait,' the old man thought. 'There are other things to be done now. I can't reveal too much too soon, better I let the events play out for themselves at this point in time.'
"I'm sure that we should see something concluded sometime during the summer," Dumbledore said. He felt good handing them that glimmer of hope for a happy family situation. "Now do you know where you were sent?"
"No, sir," Harry replied politely. "I'm sorry! All I know is that is was some graveyard."
"What happened with the wands," Sirius asked.
"Priori Incantatem," Dumbledore said. He wished that he could have seen that effect. It was something that he'd only read about in books of theoretical magic.
"Reverse spell-effect," Remus said. "Why would they do that?"
"The wands contain the same core," the Headmaster explained. "They both have a phoenix feather at their core, which from the same phoenix. Ollivander told me about your wand when he'd sold it to you."
"Why would he do that," Harry asked.
"Fawkes was the one to donate his feathers," the old man explained.
Harry stood up, walked to the bird and bowed. "Thank you Fawkes," he said. The phoenix was pleased to be acknowledged and trilled his happiness. "You've saved me a few times." He whispered softly, "If you ever need anything and it's within my power," he stroked the bird gently. "I'll return that favour."
The bird trilled again with positive notes, as the boy returned to his seat under the amused glances of the adults and some of the portraits in the room.
The situation was explained and gone through a few times, until Harry's yawn alerted them all to the time. "Of course," Dumbledore said. "Harry you may return to your dorm, Remus will accompany you."
Harry nodded and was guided through the castle to his dorm. "You need to protect Crouch Junior," he said to Remus. "The Minister doesn't like the idea of someone declaring the return of the Dark Lord. The man is going to do something stupid, like he did last year when me and Hermione had to us the time-turner to rescue Sirius."
"You can say his name," Remus said.
"Not really," Harry said. "There's a reason behind the fear, but until I find out what it is, he'll either be Riddle, Tom, or the Dark Idiot to me."
"All right," he said. "I'll go help Minerva keep that Death Eater alive, as much as I can."
"He should testify and then receive the Dementor's Kiss," Harry said. "Not the other way around. It's bad business that."
"Now you're not making any sense," Remus chuckled. "Off to bed with you. I'll Owl you soon about the Trials."
"Night," Harry mumbled and ambled up the stairs to his closet and tent. His dorm-mates were used to him not sleeping in their dorm, since he'd done it most of the year. They assumed he was with his girlfriend, but try telling them that he wasn't involved with anyone and he got the 'Me thinks he doth protest too much,' quote.
Remus returned in time to chase away the Dementor with a very well placed Patronus Charm. 'Harry was right about Fudge,' he thought as the man glared in his direction. 'I have to use caution here.'
"I'm sorry," Remus said. "I thought that those creatures were not permitted within the school without the Headmaster being notified of their presence."
"Ah quite," Cornelius said. "I quite forgot that rule. But you really should have just let him finish the job."
"I can't let that happen," Remus said. "I was once a Professor of this school and the Regulations and Charter of Hogwarts are quite clear. How about you wait here, I'm sure the Headmaster will be back shortly, right Minerva?"
"That's right," she smiled sweetly. "If you'd care to wait…"
"No," Cornelius said. "I have a few things that need to be taken care of at the Ministry and I'll make to take the Dementor with me." The man left quickly and wondered if he could arrive early enough in the morning to have a Dementor give the Kiss of Death to Barty Crouch Junior. 'I can't let the public know about the Dark Lord,' he thought, as he stormed away from the school. 'The public would not like to know that anything of this nature has happened. Besides, what does a boy know anyway? He didn't even win the tournament, so how are we supposed to take him seriously.'
Harry - James - Potter - Harry - James - Potter
TBC…