Part 1

Voldemort scratched his head in thought. He looked at Crouch trying to figure out the best course of action. On the one hand, Crouch was likely his best field agent. On the other hand, him being at large would reveal Azkaban's compromise.

Any known escapes would almost certainly lead to an investigation and the truth being revealed, but with Crouch it would be a certainty. Lucius Malfoy was almost as capable, but he wasn't sure the coward could be trusted with such a sensitive assignment.

But perhaps there was someone else. Voldemort still didn't trust Grindelwald, but considering the circumstances, that likely didn't matter. The old wizard still hated that wizards were forced into hiding. Perhaps he could be convinced to expose the wizarding world.

No one would bother looking for death eaters if they were too busy trying to wipe the minds of several hundred muggles to maintain their world's secrecy. Perhaps there would even be a chance to pick off a few major threats while the world was in chaos. The only question was how. Crouch had suggested killing several high ranking members of muggle governments with very similar curses, very visible curses.

Voldemort disagreed with this plan, not for its effectiveness, but he needed something that would maintain Grindelwald as an ally. Besides, Grindlewald's allies knew the muggle governments better than anyone else in the wizarding world. Such a capable wizard was very useful to have on his side, even if he insisted on stopping the dementors from feasting on the Azkaban guards and new prisoners the death eaters managed to capture.

Then an idea popped into Voldemort's head. The imperious curse. It was so simple, why hadn't he seen it before? Take control of specific targets and that would do it. Actually the old geezer might object to that too, but he'd almost certainly be on board with a confundus charm. It wasn't like he had to follow that fool's ideals, once he had the information he needed he could do whatever he wanted. Though he had to admit, a confundus charm might actually be the most effective. An imperius curse required concentration to keep up, but a confundus charm could be made more or less permanent if it wasn't undone.

Ironically the weak choice might just be the most effective. Perhaps there was some strength in those fools of the Order of the Phoenix. Voldemort chuckled. "Crouch, I want you to deliver a message to our ally in the Americas."

Part 2

After Harry's kidnapping, the Order of the Phoenix had been called to a meeting to discuss preventing that scenario in the future. Moody had been able to tell someone's true identity when using a poly juice potion, and he'd been showing several members how to use the technique.

Crouch was in custody, Grindelwald didn't seem very active in Europe, and

There were still issues. For one, Voldemort had gotten his hands on his prophecy. It wasn't out of the question that the Dark Lord would be able to find a better strategy for going after Harry. Harry was supposedly the only person who could take Voldemort down. With how close Voldemort had gotten to killing him this time, there was not telling what he would pull off next.

If it hadn't been for Dumbledore, Harry and Sirius would likely be dead. For that matter, Mcgonnagle had almost been killed as well. Even despite that intervention, Sirius was hospitalized indefinitely. The minister of magic had acknowledged the threat of attack, but for some reason he hadn't come out and confirmed Voldemort's return. He hadn't denied it, but it was still a little concerning.

The members of the Order had decided to meet at the Burrow in light of Crouch having been in Grimmauld place for a while and not knowing if he'd laid any traps there. When Dumbledore entered the kitchen where the meeting would take place, he noticed Arthur had lost a bit of weight.

Lupin and Tonks had been talking with Mcgonnagall and Turner about a wizard by the name of Dulles. Dumbledore recognized the name, a man who'd worked for Grindelwald had that name. Though from what he remembered, that Yurick Dulles had been eaten by a sphinx. The man's son was likely still alive, but he'd had asked Dumbledore to kill Grindelwald for the incident, so he likely wouldn't be siding with Grindelwald now.

Dumbledore sat down next to Mcgonnagall as the last few members of the Order arrived. Moody and Percy Weasley sat down at the table and the meeting began. Kingsley was not at the meeting, since he and Dumbledore agreed it was best to have one of the Order members seem unaffiliated with the group. Severus was absent for similar reasons. Moody talked about concerns over some recent actions done by Fudge in recent weeks. Apparently he'd begun a process to push a bill through the British Wizzengamot to enforce martial law in some areas believed to contain dark wizard activity.

Dumbledore appreciated that Fudge was taking action to combat dark wizards, but such drastic action was concerning. Fudge didn't have any reason to think people in those areas were in immediate danger. Even if the minister of magic was going through the proper channels, it didn't change the situation.

After a few minutes of discussion, a few members of the Order actually seemed to agree with this step. Lupin and Mcgonnagall both argued that since the act would only last for 2 weeks, it might be worth it. Mcgonagall also argued that lives were directly at risk in those areas, stating that waiting to see the result of the first area. Percy added that the Wizzengamot might not even pass the bill.

Within a few minutes everyone had agreed to wait and see what impact martial law had, before acting. There was talk about some dark wizard activity in the Americas, likely involving Grindelwald. Lupin had convinced a few wizards from Mexico to join the Order. They'd been looking into the issue, but hadn't come up with any concrete leads yet.

The meeting ended with talks about recruiting members of other sentient species. Hagrid was already working on recruiting some giants from his birth clan. Centaurs and merfolk were brought up, in the hopes they'd be opposed to dark magic. There were also mentions of a few house elves who might side with the order considering Voldemort's actions against them in the past. Apparently Moody and Kreecher had become friends, so that was a potential option.

After the meeting was over, Percy asked to speak with Dumbledore in private. The two returned to Hogwarts and met in the headmaster's office. Dumbeldore called for a few cups of tea as the two sat down near the fireplace.

"Headmaster. I have to ask. How did you know that Mcgonnagle was in trouble? Even the ministry didn't know anything, at least to the best of my knowledge. Yet you knew exactly where and when the ambush would happen. You even know the counter spell to their trap. That's impressive even for you."

"Ah, that." Dumbledore took a sip of tea. "Well, to be honest. I kind of got lucky." He laughed to himself. "The spell was one that Grindelwald used against me in my youth. As for the other part. It turns out that Crouch fellow is quite willing to give up valuable information when he thinks no one is listening. Quite a risky move for a spy, wouldn't you agree?"

Percy shuffled uncomfortably for a moment, then stopped as something crossed his mind. He raised an eyebrow. "A-are you implying that you bugged Grimmauld place. I seriously hope you're not spying on members of the order."

"Not on purpose." Dumbledore winked.

Percy squinted, trying to keep from throwing his hands up. "What is that supposed to mean!?"

Part 3

Cheers and roars filled the stands as the first quidditch game of the season was about to start, Hufflepuff and Gryffindor students waved flags with lions and badgers, chanting in the cool fall air. Madame Hooch called the captains to the center of the field. Harry Potter and Cedric Diggory looked at each other smirking. "Congrats on becoming captain Harry, but you're going down today."

Harry laughed. "That's big talk after last time."

"True, but I think I've closed the gap between us. You'll see just how much my flying skills have improved."

"Didn't realize you had time to practice outside your experiments. Are you saying you're better than me now?"

"I guess we'll see soon enough." Cedric and Harry shook hands and returned to their sides of the field.

After a few minutes all the players were in the air ready to start. Madame Hooch threw the quaffle into the air and brooms shot through the air. Fred and George Weasley were smacking bludgers around, O'Flannery was racing toward the Gryffindor hoops with the quaffle, and Harry was trying to find the snitch before Cedric.

Before Harry had even seen it, Hufflepuff had scored 20 points. The Hufflepuff section erupted in cheers. The announcer yelled out. "And Hufflepuff takes the lead!"

Gryffindor was going the other way with the quaffle, but suddenly Cedric Diggory dropped down on the chaser. He snatched the quaffle and kept falling. On closer inspection, he wasn't on a broom. O'Flannery flew under him, dropping a broom. Cedric tossed the quaffle to O'Flannery and landed on his still falling broomstick. The broom kept falling and Cedric stopped centimeters before hitting the ground.

Harry blinked at Cedric, barely dodging a bludger in time. The announcement started yelling again. "I don't believe it! The quaffle was stolen by the Hufflepuff seeker, who wasn't even on a broom! Folks, I've never seen anything like this!" The announcer hadn't even finished ranting before Hufflepuff had scored again.

This Ginny Weasley had the quaffle, and was managing to get pretty far thanks to Fred and George distracting the Hufflepuff chasers. Harry scanned the area for any signs of the snitch, and finally found something to follow. Cedric must've seen him, because he was heading in the same direction. They raised up, way above the stands, going up into the clouds. Harry felt a chill as he and Cedric flew higher and higher. The air thinned and Harry had to gasp for breath. Cedric seemed to be affected the same way. The two knocked into each other reaching for the winged ball of gold.

Harry's range of vision began to shrink as he kept flying higher. Then the snitch stopped, slamming into his hand so hard he couldn't catch it. As he slowed down, Harry realized Cedric was no longer next to him. The Hufflepuff captain was already racing toward the ground and the snitch.

Harry dove, letting gravity increase his speed. Soon he noticed the vibration in the broom as he kept going faster and faster. Harry passed Cedric, but he was starting to lose control of his firebolt. Then he saw the ground, realizing why he'd passed Cedric so quickly. Harry slowed down, but not enough. He crashed into the grass with his legs. He felt something break in his ankle and yelped. His broom went flying and Harry held his foot. He struggled to his feet, limping over to his broom. He just had to get on, even with a leg down, he could still fly.

He fought through the pain, mourning his broom, when he heard the announcer yelling. "Cedric Diggory has caught the snitch. Hufflepuff wins!"

Harry sighed. His mistake had cost Gryffindor the game. Harry grabbed his broom and limped toward the edge of the field.

Ginny Weasley flew down to him. "Harry, are you all right?"

"Yeah." Harry grimaced.

"Sure." She slid her shoulder under Harry's arm pit. "But, you can still accept some help." Ginny helped Harry get to the locker rooms.

Harry sat down on a bench and untied his boots. He tried taking his right boot off, but pain shot through his foot. The scream came out before he could stop it.

Ginny grimaced. "I'll get my mom." She ran off, leaving Harry alone in the locker room before he could protest.

Harry facepalmed, knowing Hermionie could fix something as minor as a broken bone. Then he shrugged, it wasn't like he could go anywhere. Harry began whistling to himself as the other Gryffindor players came rushing into the locker room asking if he was alright.

He kept insisting he was fine, despite the bruise forming on his ankle. Fred and George proceeded to pick Harry up and carry him toward the hospital wing while chanting a song about spatulas.

A/N:

For future note. I'll be responding to future comments on year 1 in year 2. So expect expect to see those responses in this story instead of the previous.

Comment Responses

Riing-Di-Glow: Thanks for the feedback, glad you're enjoying the story. I could definitely see Voldemort torturing Pettigrew, he does seem like the kind of villian who gets a sick pleasure out of it. Plus fear is a tactic he uses to keep others in line. That said, I don't think Voldemort was strong enough at the moment to pull it off. He was still in the body of an infant. If anything he'd have Crouch do it.