Of course, the problem with confronting someone with a magical eye was that he saw them coming.
Marina's stomach clenched with every step they got closer, and she couldn't pinpoint which one of her damned gifts was warning her. Either way, there was trouble ahead.
She better be right about this.
David POV
"What is she doing?" Elias mumbled next to him, an arm around his little sister. Maybe he should be more upset about that, but he couldn't think of anyone but his best friend who'd ever be good enough for Carmen.
David followed their gaze and saw Marina leave the room with Sirius and Remus.
"That can't be good," Carmen muttered and stood as well.
The three of them followed the trio ahead and David could tell something was wrong. Marina looked almost reluctant to go wherever it was they were headed.
"The teachers' common room is that way," Elias realised first – and suddenly David had a good idea what was going on.
"This could get ugly real fast," he said quietly and drew his wand. "If she's right at least."
Something's off about Mad-Eye, she had said on his birthday. He's acting more crazy than usual. And he barely ever lectures me at all.
Since Moody had made it his life mission to keep Marina up to par, the latter was the worrisome information.
David himself had found it odd that their mentor had not been berating her for celebrating her win instead of working.
Sirius knocked at the door resolutely, the sound echoing through the hallway. Some students even stopped to gawk – especially given the drawn wands.
The door opened and McGonagall appeared, actually looking startled at who was disturbing their evening.
"Black? Remus, what-?"
She didn't get further than that.
Elias pushed Carmen behind him when they saw a spell-flash inside the room – shooting straight past McGonagall and towards Marina. But she had been prepared.
In a move that Moody had undoubtedly taught her himself, Marina swung her wand in a complicated pattern and rebuffed the spell, protecting her and the men at her side at the same time.
"I really hate it when I'm right," she grumbled under her breath and tossed her hair out of her face.
The commotion inside the room was no surprise at all as the other teachers had joined in and had descended on the attacker.
"Easy, Dad," Marina cautioned a visibly furious Sirius. "It was a large-scale memory charm. It would have messed with everybody's heads in the near vicinity – but it wasn't lethal."
Not that she was any less angry, from the way she was clutching her wand.
It reminded him of their visit to Fudge...
18 months earlier
"... is unprecedented, so their really is no protocol...," Fudge was going on nervously.
Personally, David thought the Minister was trying to cover his arse from the potential disaster that could come out of this.
"I would hope there was no precedent-," Marina replied dryly, "-,as that would mean the Ministry makes it a habit to lock up innocent people. My father is innocent, Minister, and if he'd received the trial he had every right to, everyone would know that already."
To any observer, she seemed perfectly calm and composed, even in the face of her own father's torture – because that was what Azkaban really was.
But David knew better. Her eyes were hard as granite – which looked just plain wrong in eyes that usually expressed so much – and her voice cold as ice, not calm. Plus, she was clutching her robes as if her life depended on it. Or Sirius'...
"Ms Black, you have to understand-"
"I understand that this wasn't done under your tenure, Minister," she actually cut the man off, her knuckles turning white from the force she was fisting fabric with. "And I am sure the wizarding community would realise such as well."
Fudge puffed up behind his desk as if she'd pumped air into a balloon. It was magnificently done from a fourteen year-old.
Marina shot him a look, most likely sensing his pride, and rolled her eyes. She'd never had any patience for these kinds of games.
"It will take time," Fudge sighed, giving up. "An official inquiry will have to be launched, the Wizengamot convened..."
"I realise that," Marina nodded before Andromeda could so much as take a breath. "But at the same time let's not forget that my father has been suffering the dementors for over a decade now."
Fudge flinched as if she'd punched him. Damn, the girl was good.
"I will order them to steer clear of Mr Black's cell until this is settled."
From where he stood, David saw Marina's jaw clench; she was literally biting her tongue at the implication that Sirius' reprieve would be only temporary.
She cleared her throat.
"At this point I should inform you, Minister, that I told Harry everything," she informed the politician matter-of-factly.
"You... you did what?"
"Dad is Harry's godfather, so the subject was bound to come up sometime in Hogwarts. I don't ever want him to believe the nonsense about Dad betraying James and Lily. Plus, he has a right to know, period."
"But surely Harry didn't need to know yet? He's only twelve years old-"
"And has already faced and conquered more than most wizards in their whole lives," Marina deadpanned. "After facing Voldemort twice, I'm fairly certain there is almost nothing my brother can't handle."
David blinked when yet another spell-flash yanked him back to the present.
Professor Vector came tumbling out of the room, obviously after being hit with whatever hex it had been.
Elias and Carmen immediately got busy tending to the witch, while David joined the Blacks up front. What he saw made his stomach clench.
Alastor Moody, the best auror the Ministry had ever had, was fighting his fellow professors. Even McGonagall, Sprout and Flitwick combined barely stood a chance.
"What in Merlin's name is wrong with Mad-Eye?" he wondered out loud, already working off a mental list. The Imperius seemed most likely.
"That's not Mad-Eye," Marina snapped, watching the fight.
"What do you mean it's not him?"
"Just what I said. I don't know who that is, but it's not Moody."
"And how would you know?" Snape's cold voice sounded and David had to remind himself that he was an auror now. Aurors didn't hex teachers.
"No one's talking to you!" Marina bit out, her face red with anger. The image of Snape smiling at the Dementor that had tried to Kiss Sirius reminded David why she'd given up on all pretence of politeness and civility.
Remus had to actively hold Sirius back.
"Black, how do you know?" Professor Babbling asked calmly, ignoring the outraged look Snape shot her.
"Because the bastard is too busy fighting to shield his emotions right now. It's the first time all year that I'm getting a clear read. And that is not Mad-Eye."
As if her words of doom had triggered something, the next hex hit Sprout full-on and the Herbology professor crumbled with a groan.
Marina looked at him and David nodded. It was time to end this.
In unison, they both cast their hexes, drawing attention away from the professors.
The imposter – because if Marina said it wasn't Moody then it wasn't Moody – somehow managed to deflect both spells, but at least now McGonagall and Flitwick were free to tend to Sprout.
Proving that they'd been trained by the same man, Marina cast a large shield that would still let hexes and curses out and David sent three of those their opponents way. Marina's shield rebuffed the counter-curse aimed at them.
"I knew I should have gotten rid of you," fake Moody snarled as he sent a Cutting Curse her way. It was the same curse that had scared her.
"Where is he?" Marina demanded, not even responding to the taunt. "Where is the real Moody?"
To keep using Polyjuice Potion he would need the real Mad-Eye alive. And to keep making it, he'd have to be close by...
"You'll never find him," the moron responded gleefully, laughing.
"We'll see about that," Marina countered grimly, dropping the shield to send a spell of her own.
David had seen the movements before but hadn't attempted it yet himself. It was above N.E.W.T level and very dangerous if done wrong.
Sirius attempted a step forward, to stop her, but Remus pulled him back. Just at Dumbledore was arriving on scene – with half the school in tow as spectators – Marina unleashed her spell.
There was a shield against it, but the still chuckling imposter had obviously not expected her to actually pull it off, so he hadn't cast it.
The spell reversed the effects of Polyjuice Potion, forcing the target back into his own body. It packed one hell of a magical punch.
Fake Moody screamed, in shock or pain he couldn't tell, and almost dropped his wand.
And then he started to morph back into himself – which presented a problem given Mad-Eye's eye.
So, naturally, he ripped it out.
Behind him, someone made disgusted noises and David had to agree. It looked awful.
"Please tell me someone has Veritaserum," Marina said as they watched her spell do its work.
"Always do," Elias spoke up and stepped up next to them.
"How's Vector?" David asked quietly but never took his eyes off their target.
"It'll take a few days to shake off the effects," Carmen replied grimly. "Pomfrey is sending her to St. Mungo's."
"Did he really just battle five teachers... and win?" Susan asked dumbfounded.
"Yes, he did. And you're not supposed to be here," Marina added, exasperated. "You're supposed to be celebrating upstairs."
"Hard to do with the guest of honour down here," Ron said and David could all but see the shrug.
"So how about next time you talk him out of following us?"
"Tried and failed," Hermione announced. "You know how he is."
"I'm right here," Harry cut in dryly. "And you looked worried."
"I can take them back upstairs," Elvira Rookwood offered, her Prefect-voice on full.
"No, it's okay," Marina sighed. "If he'd wanted Harry dead, he had plenty of chances. Besides-," she added darkly, "-, I'd like to see him try get past all of us."
Just then, the reversal was done – and most people present gasped.
David felt his heart stop for a second. He knew that face.
Marina stared at the Death Eater for a second, then she called every curse under the moon down on herself.
"I am so bloody stupid!" she finished her rant at herself. Meanwhile, Elias had disarmed the man.
"Why, Kitten?" Remus asked carefully while she was still breathing heavily.
"After Harry's and my names came out of the Goblet, in the chamber behind the high table – his father was there. I sensed a huge amount of hatred – more than my own, I mean. Dammit, I should have known!"
Marina always did that. She tended to expect more of herself than anyone else ever would, and she always blamed herself for not being omniscient.
When her wand started shooting sparks though, he worried.
"Look at him," Carmen told him quietly. David took a breath and complied.
Barty Crouch Jr hadn't aged as much as you'd expect after twelve years in Azkaban. He still looked like the man in David's nightmares. He could still hear Frank and Alice screaming sometimes.
But the nervous tick the lunatic had always had was worse now: his head was twitching ever so often and he licked his lip nervously – he'd been doing it the whole school year and everyone, himself included, had missed it.
Then David looked back at Marina and froze: her head was twitching too. The empathy was pulling her in too deep.
"Get her out of here," Carmen suggested, still quietly, as to not set her best friend off.
"She won't leave until we find Mad-Eye," he shook his head.
"Well, then let's do that," Sirius said, after blatantly eavesdropping, and took the Veritaserum to force it down Crouch's throat.
Of course, the Death Eater would really rather not comply and in absence of a wand, he tried to punch Sirius instead. Someone should have told him that Marina's father knew how to fight like a muggle.
Sirius simply ducked the punch and kicked Crouch's legs out from under him. The coward had barely hit the ground when Sirius forced his jaw open and dumped the entire vial of potion into his throat. Even if he started spitting, the requisite three drops would make it into his system.
With Remus and Elias both aiming their wands at Crouch, David lowered his and stepped closer to Marina.
Her eyes flashed, irritated, before she closed them and took a breath.
"I'm okay," she said quietly and when she looked at him again, she just seemed tired. "The residue emotion will pass. It always does."
"It's not always a maniac's emotion," David argued and cupped her nape with his free hand, pressing into the knots that seemed to have taken permanent residence.
"I survived Bellatrix, I'll survive Crouch," Marina shrugged – but didn't step out of his reach even though they had quite an audience. That alone spoke volumes.
"You fought a dragon today," David said, stuffing down his own lingering emotion of the fear he'd experienced watching that fight. "You shouldn't have to deal with a crazy Death Eater on top of it."
Instead of her trademark reply that she could handle it, she looked up sharply.
"I forgot to ask – the eggs?" she questioned. "Please tell me I didn't kill a bunch of dragonlings."
"You didn't," Charlie answered her instead and they both turned to look behind them.
The redhead was standing there with an arm around a blonde witch who was wearing the same uniform as him.
"We got to them in time," the woman said with a very thick Russian accent but impeccable English.
"Thank Merlin," Marina sighed. "I swear the Black understood what I was doing when I lit that fire."
"She most likely did," Charlie agreed – David noticed that he'd positioned himself a few inches before the woman; shielding her from Crouch probably.
"Fascinating creatures," Ron imitated Hagrid pretty well, causing everyone to huff a laugh.
"Where is Alastor Moody?" Sirius suddenly demanded sternly, and everybody focused back on the matter at hand.
"Trunk," Crouch spit out, obviously attempting to fight the truth potion.
Marina reached down and took his hand – he hadn't even noticed he'd clenched it.
"His... Moody's office," Harry supplied. "He took me there to... … There is a trunk there. And while I was there it... oh hell."
"What?" Marina asked him – and David marvelled at how much her tone changed when talking to her brother. She could be spitting furious but she'd never talked to Harry in anything but a calm and collected tone.
"It trembled. Like something... or someone was trying to get out," Harry admitted sheepishly.
"You couldn't have known," Hermione, Ron and Susan told him in stereo – apparently expecting him to follow his sister's example and blame himself.
"And the real Mad-Eye did have a lower level Death Eater locked in that trunk once," Marina added casually. "Until he gave up some others. It was creepy when the thing rattled during practice."
The kids grinned, obviously thinking that she was joking but Marina was serious. Moody had done just that, more than once.
"Did you put Harry Potter's name into the Goblet of Fire?" Sirius asked – through clenched teeth.
"Yes," Crouch spat, still fighting.
"Did you put Marina Black's name in into the Goblet?" Carmen demanded just as sharply.
"Yes."
"Why did you put their names into the Goblet?" Remus asked, the only voice of reason left.
"Because my master ordered it," Crouch answered – this time proudly and almost gleefully.
Every student that could hear the answer gasped in horror. But they'd expected that already and showed no visible reaction.
"What does he want with Marina Black?" Marina asked calmly. David noted how Charlie was staring at her, gobsmacked at how relaxed she was faced with this piece of information.
He figured she'd take it out during her next sparring duel and pitied her opponent.
"Witness... ritual...," Crouch gasped, while visibly trying to keep the truth in – before he seemingly found a way out. "He promised Black to Bellatrix, as a reward."
This time, not even Marina could suppress her reaction.
Sirius barely had time to turn his head before she paled and swayed where she stood, clutching his hand like a lifeline. David stepped closer and hugged her to him with one arm.
There could only be one reason why Bellatrix would want her and it wasn't to kill her.
Or not just to kill her.
Carmen hurried to Marina's other side, taking her hand and Remus put his hands on her shoulders in silent support.
While everybody was concerned about this turn of events, there was one person who kept his focus on task.
"What ritual does Voldemort want Ms Black to witness?" Dumbledore asked.
"Return...," Crouch choked.
It was actually impressive how much he was able to fight the potion.
"Where is he?" Marina asked, her voice flat. "Where is your master?"
Crouch convulsed violently, looking like he was having a seizure.
"Fidelius," Sirius announced grimly. "Not even Veritaserum can pry it from him."
"Then it's time to floo or patronus your boss," Carmen said. It was the first time he'd ever seen his sister so indifferent to a person's suffering.
"Better yet," Marina said. "Send an owl to Azkaban. They've been missing him anyway."
How did you react when you heard your insane cousin had asked her psychopath of a master to keep you as a bloody present?
Not at all, that's how. Otherwise she'd have to curl up and bawl.
It made her all the more grateful she'd never told her Dad that she'd asked David to show her his memories of the night the Longbottoms had been attacked.
Something he most likely regretted doing right about now.
They'd have to talk later.
For now, she would herd everybody to bed – or send them home – and try to get some sleep.
Tomorrow they could worry about how to prevent Voldemort from coming back and using Harry to do it... Because she knew what he needed her brother for.
Not if I have anything to do with it.