Hello, everyone, and welcome to yet another chapter of HP: Path of Trials! Before anything else...
Disclaimer: No ownership of HP except for OCs.
Now, here's...
Chapter 30: The Vision
Happy Reading!
"It comes down to this," said Hermione, rubbing her forehead. "Either Mr. Crouch attacked Viktor, or somebody attacked them both of them when Viktor wasn't looking."
"It must've been Crouch," said Ron at once. "That's why he was gone when Harry and Dumbledore got there. He'd done a runner."
"I don't think so," said Harry, shaking his head. "He seemed really weak - I don't reckon he was up to Disapparating or anything."
"You can't Disapparate on the Hogwarts grounds, haven't Hermione and I told you guys enough times?" said an irritated Marcus.
"Okay...how's this for a theory," said Ron excitedly. "Krum attacked Crouch - no, wait for it - and then Stunned himself!"
"And Mr. Crouch evaporated, did he?" said Hermione coldly.
"Oh yeah..."
It was daybreak. Marcus, Harry, Ron, and Hermione had crept out of their dormitories very early and hurried up to the Owlery together to send a note to Sirius. Now they were standing looking out at the misty grounds. While Harry, Ron, and Hermione were puffy-eyed and pale due to talking late into the night about Mr. Crouch, Marcus was perfectly fine as he was used to not getting much sleep to begin with.
"Just go through it again, Harry," said Hermione. "What did Mr. Crouch actually say?"
"I've told you, he wasn't making much sense," said Harry. "He said he wanted to warn Dumbledore about something. He definitely mentioned Bertha Jorkins, and he seemed to think she was dead. He kept saying stuff was his fault...He mentioned his son."
"Well, that was his fault," said Hermione testily.
"He was out of his mind," said Harry. "Half the time he seemed to think his wife and son were still alive, and he kept talking to Percy about work and giving him instructions."
"And...remind me what he said about You-Know-Who?" said Ron tentatively.
"I've told you," Harry repeated dully. "He said he's getting stronger."
There was a pause. Then Ron said in a falsely confident voice, "But he was just out of his mind, like you said, so half of it was probably just raving..."
"He was sanest when he was trying to talk about Voldemort," said Harry, and Ron winced at the sound of the name. "He was having real trouble stringing two words together, but that was when he seemed to know where he was, and know what he wanted to do. He just kept saying he had to see Dumbledore."
As Harry turned away from the window and looked up into the rafters, he said bitterly, "If Snape hadn't held me up, we might've got there in time. 'The headmaster is busy, Potter...what's this rubbish, Potter?' Why couldn't he have just got out of the way?"
"Maybe he didn't want you to get there!" said Ron quickly. "Maybe - hang on - how fast d'you reckon he could've gotten down to the forest? D'you reckon he could've beaten you and Dumbledore there?"
"I highly doubt that, Ron," stated Marcus. "Not unless he could turn himself into a bat or something of the sort."
"Wouldn't put it past him," Ron muttered.
"We need to see Professor Moody," said Hermione. "We need to find out whether he found Mr. Crouch."
"If he had the Maruader's Map on him, it would've been easy," said Harry.
"Unless Crouch was already outside the grounds," said Ron, "because it only shows up to the boundaries, doesn't -"
"Shh!" said Hermione suddenly.
Somebody was climbing the steps up to the Owlery. Marcus could hear two voices arguing, coming closer and closer.
"-that's blackmail, that is, we could get into a lot of trouble for that -"
"-we've tried being polite; it's time to play dirty, like him. He wouldn't like the Ministry of Magic knowing what we did -"
"I'm telling you, if you put that in writing, it's blackmail!"
"Yeah, and you won't be complaining if we get a nice fat payoff, will you?"
The Owlery door banged open. Fred and George came over the threshold, then froze at the sight of Marcus, Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
"What're you doing here?" Ron and Fred said at the same time.
"Sending a letter," said Harry and George in unison.
"What, at this time?" said Hermione and Fred.
Fred grinned.
"Fine - we won't ask you what you're doing,if you don't ask us," he said.
He was holding a sealed envelope in his hands. Marcus looked at it, but Fred, whether on accident or on purpose, shifted his hand so that the name on it was covered.
"Well, don't let us hold you up," Fred said, making a mock bow and pointing at the door.
Ron didn't move. "Who're you blackmailing?" he said.
The grin vanished from Fred's face. Marcus saw George half glance at Fred before smiling at Ron.
"Don't be stupid, I was only joking," he said easily.
"Didn't sound like that," said Ron.
Fred and George looked at each other. Then Fred said abruptly, "I've told you before, Ron, keep your nose out if you like it the shape it is. Can't see why you would, but -"
"It's my business if you're blackmailing someone," said Ron. "George's right, you could end up in serious trouble for that."
"Told you, I was joking," said George. He walked over to Fred, pulled the letter out of his hands, and began attaching it to the leg of the nearest barn owl. "You're starting to sound a bit like our dear older brother, you are, Ron. Carry on like this and you'll be made a prefect."
"No, I won't!" said Ron hotly.
George carried the barn owl over to the window and it took off. George turned around and grinned at Ron.
"Well, stop telling people what to do then. See you later."
He and Fred left the Owlery. Marcus, Harry, Ron, and Hermione stared at one another.
"You don't think they know something about all this, do you?" Hermione whispered. "About Crouch and everything?"
"Definitely not," said Marcus. "If they knew something that serious, they'd tell someome, most likely Dumbledore."
Ron, however, was looking uncomfortable.
"What's the matter?" Hermione asked him.
"Well..." said Ron slowly. "I dunno if they would. They're...they're obssessed with making money lately, I noticed it when I was hanging around with them - when - you know -"
"We weren't talking." Harry finished the sentence for him. "Yeah, but blackmail..."
"It's this joke shop idea they've got," said Ron. "I thought they were only saying it to annoy Mum, but they really mean it, they want to start one. They've only got a year left at Hogwarts, they keep going on about how it's time to think about their future, and Dad can't help them, and they need gold to get started."
Hermione was looking uncomfortable now.
"Yes, but...they wouldn't do anything against the law to get gold."
"Wouldn't they?" said Ron, looking skeptical. "I dunno...they don't exactly mind breaking rules, do they?"
"Yes, but this is the law," said Hermione, looking scared. "This isn't some silly school rule...They'll get a lot more than detention for blackmail! Ron...maybe you'd better tell Percy..."
"Are you mad?" said Ron. "Tell Percy? He'd probably do a Crouch and turn them in." He started at the window through which Fred and George's owl had departed, then said," Come on, let's get breakfast."
"D'you think it's too early to go and see Professor Moody?" Hermione said as they went down the spiral staircase.
"Yes," said Harry. "He'd probably blast us through the door if we wake him at the crack of dawn; he'll think we're trying to attack him while he's asleep. Let's give it till break."
History of Magic had rarely gone so slowly. Marcus kept trying to see the time on Ron's watch, but his watch was moving so slowly that he thought it might have been broken. All four of them were so tired they could happily have put their heads down on the desks and slept; Not even Marcus and Hermione were taking their usual notes, but rather staring at Professor Binns with their eyes out of focus.
When the bell finally rang, they hurried out into the corridors toward the Dark Arts classroom and found Professor Moody leaving it. He looked as tired as they felt. They eyelid of his normal eye was drooping, giving his face an even more lopsided appearance than usual.
"Professor Moody?" Harry called as they made their way toward him through the crowd.
"Hello, Potter," growled Moody. His magical eye followed a couple of passing first years, who sped up, looking nervous; it rolled into the back of Moody's head and watched them around the corner before he spoke again.
"Come in here."
He stood back to let them into his empty classroom, limped in after them, and closed the door.
"Did you find him?" Harry asked without preamble. "Mr. Crouch?"
"No," said Moody. He moved over to his desk, sat down, stretched out his wooden leg with a slight groan, and pulled out his hip flask.
"Did you use the map?" Harry said.
"Of course," said Moody, taking a swig from his flask. "Took a leaf out of your book, Potter. Summoned it from my office into the forest. He wasn't anywhere on there."
"So he did Disapparate?" said Ron.
"You can't Disapparate on the grounds, Ron!" said Hermione. "There are other ways he could have disappeared, aren't there, Professor?"
Moody's magical eye quivered as it rested on Hermione. "You're another one who might think about a career as an Auror," he told her. "Mind works the right way, Granger."
Hermione flushed pink with pleasure.
"Well, he wasn't invisible," said Harry. "The map shows invisible people. He must've left the grounds, then."
"But under his own steam?" said Hermione eagerly, "or because someone made him?"
"Yeah, someone could've - could've pulled him onto a broom and flown off with him, couldn't they?" said Ron quickly, looking hopefully at Moody as if he too wanted to be told he had the makings of an Auror.
"We can't rule out kidnap," growled Moody.
"So," said Ron, "d'you reckon he's somewhere in Hogsmeade?"
"Could be anywhere," said Moody, shaking his head. "Only thing we know for sure is that he's not here." He looked at Marcus and said, "What do you think, Williams? You've been awful quiet this whole time."
Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at Marcus, who was hoping that he wouldn't have to say anything.
"And why would you want to know what I think?" said Marcus.
"With parents like yours and the way you act and behave, it wouldn't surprise me if you've already figured most of it out."
Marcus, feeling caught, said, "At this point, no one will find him...because he's dead."
"What?!" Harry, Ron, and Hermione said at the same time.
"How would that happen?!" Ron said exasperatingly. "No one but Crouch and Krum were there when Harry went to get Dumbledore!"
"At this point, it's not a matter of 'how', but 'why'," Marcus stated, his eyes closed and eyebrows furrowed. "Why would someone go out of their way to kill Mr. Crouch when he was in the irreversible state he was in? To that, I can only think of one reason...he had to be silenced."
"Silenced?" Hermione said. "I don't get it."
"Mr. Crouch, despite the condition he was in, had vital information," Marcus stated. "Information in which, if told to the right people, would crumble whatever plans have been set in motion already - plans in which involve making Voldemort stronger. Obviously, the ones behind Mr. Crouch's murder would allow no such event to transpire, not after all the work that has been poured into the plan."
"Chip off the old block, you are, Williams," said Moody.
"But, your theory has one flaw," Harry stated. "Who would carry out such a task?"
"That's the most horrendous part," Marcus said. "Whoever is part of Voldemort's plan to get stronger would be in no such position to go after Mr. Crouch. To do so would involve entering Hogwarts and getting noticed. So, someone that has already placed themself on Hogwarts ground did the deed, making it so that no excess suspicions would be raised."
"Someone in Hogwarts committed this act?!" Hermione said, sounding terrified.
"That's just my theory," Marcus said, not wanting them to worry. "There's no proof."
Professor Moody then yawned widely, so that his scars stretched, and his lopsided mouth revealed a number of missing teeth. Then he said, "Now, Dumbledore's told me you four fancy yourselves as investigators, but there's nothing you can do for Crouch. The Ministry'll be looking for him now, Dumbledore's notified them. Potter, Williams, you just keep your minds on the third task."
"What?" said Harry. "Oh yeah..."
"Of course," said Marcus with confidence.
"Should be right up your street, this one," said Moody, looking up at the two of them and scratching his scarred and stubbly chin. "From what Dumbledore's said, you've both managed to get through stuff like this plenty of times. Broke your way through a series of obstacles guarding the Sorcerer's Stone in your first year, didn't you?"
"We helped," Ron said quickly. "Me and Hermione helped."
Moody grinned.
"Well, help Harry practice for this one, and I'll be very surprised if they don't win," said Moody. "In the meantime...constant vigilance, boys. Constant vigilance."
"Wait, what about Marcus?" said Hermione, looking guilty. "We haven't helped him at all."
"I wouldn't worry about that," said Moody, giving another lopsided grin. "Williams has Cedric and Lorelei for help, don't you, boy?"
"That's right," stated Marcus, not even bothering to ask how he knew.
"Cedric Diggory?!" said Ron. "Really?!"
"That's why I'm confident I'm not going to lose," stated Marcus. "I'm going to take it all if you don't watch out, Harry."
"I wouldn't count me out of it just yet, Marcus," said Harry, giving him a grin.
Moody took another long draw from his hip flask, and his magical eye swiveled onto the window. The topmost sail of the Durmstrang ship was visible through it.
"You two," consuled Moody, his normal eye on Ron and Hermione, "you stick close to Potter and Williams as best as you can, all right? I'm keeping an eye on things, but all the same...you can never have too many eyes out."
Sirius sent their owl back the very next morning. It fluttered down beside Harry at the same moment that a tawny owl landed in front of Hermione, clutching a copy of the Daily Prophet in its beak. She took the newspaper, scanned the first few pages, said, "Ha! She hasn't got wind of Crouch!" then joined Marcus, Ron, and Harry in reading what Sirius had to say on the mysterious events of the night before last.
Harry - what do you think you are playing at, walking off into the forest with Viktor Krum? I want you to swear, by return owl, that you are not going to go walking with anyone else at night. There is somebody highly dangerous at Hogwarts. It is clear to me that they wanted to stop Crouch from seeing Dumbledore and you were probably feet away from them in the dark. You could have been killed.
Marcus - You have to stay focused. I know you want to solve the mysteries surrounding Crouch. You're a lot like your father in that regard. But, that's not your concern.
Your names didn't get into the Goblet of Fire by accident. If someone's trying to attack you both, they're on their last chance. Stay close to Ron and Hermione, do not leave Gryffindor Tower after hours, and arm yourselves for the third task. Practice Stunning and Disarming. A few hexes wouldn't go amiss either. There's nothing either of you can do for Crouch. Keep your heads down and look after yourselves. I'm waiting for you letter giving me your word, both of you, that you won't stray out-of-bounds again.
Sirius
"Who's he to lecture us about being out-of-bounds?" said Harry in mild indignation as he folded up Sirius's letter and put it inside his robes. "After all the stuff he did at school!"
"He didn't have godfather responsibilities back then, Harry," Marcus stated. "Things are different when you're trying to look after someone."
"That and he's worried about you two!" said Hermione sharply. "Just like Moody and Hagrid! So listen to them!"
"No one's tried to attack us all year," said Harry. "No one's done anything to us at all -"
"Yeah, speak for yourself," growled Marcus, still remembering the first two tasks.
"Except put your names in the Goblet of Fire," said Hermione. "And they must've done that for a reason, Harry. Snuffles is right. Maybe they've been biding their time. Maybe this is the task they're going to get both of you."
"Look," said Harry impatiently, "Let's say Sirius is right, and someone stunned Krum to kidnap Crouch. Well, they would've been in the trees near us, wouldn't they? But they waited till I was out of the way until they acted, didn't they? So it doesn't look like I'm their target, does it? Right, Marcus?"
"We're still targets, Harry," Marcus stated in a serious voice. "But, I don't think it involves killing us straightaway."
"Besides, they couldn't have made it look like an accident if they'd murdered you in the forest! said Hermione. "But if you die during a task -"
"They didn't care about attacking Krum, did they?" said Harry. "Why didn't they just polish me off at the same time? They could've made it look like Krum and i had a duel or something."
"Harry, I don't understand it either," said Hermione desperately. "I just know there are a lot of odd things going on, and I don't like it...Moody's right - Sirius is right - you've got to get in training for the third task, straight away. Marcus, you too. And you both make sure you write back to Sirius and promise him you're not going to go sneaking off alone again."
The Hogwarts ground have never been more inviting when Marcus had to stay indoors and do training. For the next few days, Marcus, Lorelei, and Cedric were training themselves to their limits in hopes that they can improve themselves drastically and help Marcus prepare for the Third Task.
"All right, that's a few more hexes down," said Lorelei, barely being able to stand. "What else do we have?"
"We have the Shield Charm and the Slow Time Jinx, after which we'll focus on the water spells," stated Cedric.
"Ugh, the Shield Charm," stated Marcus. "That's one of the few spells I haven't been able to master."
"Not surprising, considering your fighting style is offensive, not defensive," Cedric said. "We'll have to really work on that one before the Third Task gets too close."
"What about that book Professor Moody gave you, Marcus?" asked Lorelei. "The Complete Dark Arts Defense, was it not?"
Marcus blanched.
"I tried reading it," he said, looking a bit blue in the face. "Couldn't get past the first two pages."
"How come?"
"Let's just say it's pretty thorough," Marcus responded with a tone of finality.
"By the way, how's Fleur doing these days?" asked Cedric.
"I haven't been able to spend as much time with her as I'd like to lately," Marcus answered. "She's in the middle of her training, which is taking up a lot of her time. A shame, really. She's been wanting to spend more time with me and Twink."
At this, Marcus looked over to the room's lone table, where his Star Child was playing with a bouncy ball. When he noticed that Marcus was looking his way, he flew over to him and started pointing to himself.
"You're saying you want to help me train?" Marcus asked.
Twink started to glow yellow in response, flying around Marcus' head.
"I don't want to hurt you, Twink," Marcus said in worry.
To this, a barrier sphere suddenly formed around Twink.
"You can do that?" said a startled Marcus. "Well, if you insist, Twink, you can help me in our next training session."
As Twink simply glowed yellow with joy, Lorelei said, "You should get going, Marcus. By the time you shower up and get into your robes, you'll be cutting it close for your Divination class."
"Oh, crap, that's right," said Marcus. "Cedric, I hope you're not getting into trouble by helping me train."
"Don't worry about it," said Cedric. "I have a lot of free periods meant to study and train, so it's no problem."
"All right," said Marcus. "I have to go. Twink, let's go."
The two of them hurried back to Gryffindor Tower, where he showered and changed into his robes, making sure Twink stayed in his designated waiting spot before taking off for Divination, running into Harry and Ron upon arriving at the North Tower. Broad strips of dazzling gold sunlight fell across the corridor from the high windows. The sky outside was so brightly blue it looked as though it had been enameled.
"It's going to be boiling in Trelawney's room, she never puts out that fire," said Ron as they started up the staircase toward the silver ladder and the trapdoor.
He was quite right. The dimly lit room was swelteringly hot. The fumes from the perfumed fire were heavier than ever. Marcus' head felt like it was spinning on its shoulders as he made his way over to one of the curtained windows. While Professor Trelawney was looking the other way, disentangling her shawl from a lamp, he opened it an inch or so and settled back in his chintz armchair, so that a soft breeze played across his face. It was extremely comfortable.
"My dears," said Professor Trelawney, sitting down in her winged armchair in front of the class and peering around at them all with her strangely enlarged eyes, "we have almost finished our work on planetary divination. Today, however, will be an excellent opportunity to examine the effects of Mars, for he is placed most interestingly at the present time. If you will all look this way, I will dim the lights..."
She waved her wand and the lamps went out. The fire was the only source of light now. Professor Trelawney bent down and lifted, from under her chair, a miniature model of the solar system, contained within a glass dome. It was quite mesmerizing; each of the moons glimmered in place around the nine planets and the fiery sun, all of them hanging in thin air beneath the glass. Marcus watched lazily as Professor Trelawney began to point out the fascinating angle Mars was making to Neptune. The heavily perfumed fumes washed over him, and the breeze from the window played across his face. He could hear an insect humming gently somewhere behind the curtain. His eyelids began to droop...
He was flying side by side with Twink, soaring through the clear blue sky toward an old, ivy-covered house set high on a hillside. Lower and lower they flew, the wind blowing pleasantly in his face until they reached an area behind the house, a rather ominous looking graveyard that somehow looked very familiar. Upon landing on the ground of the graveyard, he noticed a figure wearing a black suit with a cloak over it, who he recognized as The Dark Prince.
He had a left finger over his right shoulder and, despite his lips not moving, he could hear his voice very clearly.
"The thing that matters is that he's been taken care of, so you should remain focus on your duties," The Dark Prince's voice was saying, "We only have less than a month until the plan comes to fruition, and I will not tolerate failure, and neither will the Dark Lord, understand?"
There was silence for a few seconds before he heard the Dark Prince's voice saying, "Oh, you say that Marcus Williams is onto you? Well, he is his father's son, it's only natural. I wouldn't let it get to you. Not even he can do anything about stopping our plans now. Still, if you feel that uneasy, perhaps I should ensure a smoother flow of progress is in order. I'll take action once I've ensured that we are ready on this end. Keep up the good work."
He then released his left finger from his right shoulder and said out loud, "Well, I should get back to the potion. It has been stewing long enough. Although..."
At that moment, Marcus heard a loud piercing scream, a scream that seemed to reverberating through the nearby house.
"Ah, and dear old Wormtail is receiving his due punishment," he stated with relish. "He's lucky he's only getting off with mere torture. Isn't that right, Marcus Williams?!"
He saw that The Dark Prince turned his way, somehow knowing that he was right there. Marcus prepped himself for battle when Twink, out of nowhere, scooped him up and blasted his way through the sky.
He found himself riding on Twink, who was somehow large enough to pull it off. However, what he was seeing before him terrified him.
He was not looking at a clear, blue sky, but rather a wierd tunnel of sorts. He saw all sorts of images flying along this tunnel, from underground cities to towering monuments. None of it made sense to him, and that was before he passed along seven figures of what Marcus could only describe as figures with immense, awe-inspiring power radiating from their being. He also saw two people that he had never seen before, but it was brief as Twink suddenly came to a halt.
He then noticed that he was on a field enclosed by walls all around him. He looked to see where Twink was, but he could not find him. He saw that he was all alone...or so he thought.
In front of him, around two hundred feet away, something dark, something foreboding came out of the ground, sucking the light out of the surrounding area. It formed into a figure that greatly resembled the Dark Prince, except that it was entirely cloaked in dark energy, save for two illuminating, yet terrifying pure red eyes. Merely standing in its presence, Marcus felt that his existence was going to disintegrate instantly.
"There you are," a distorted, demonic-like voice stated. "I've been waiting eons for you. Accept your fate here and now!"
Marcus suddenly was finding himself being swallowed into the darkness, where he felt himself being erased from existence...
"Harry! Marcus!"
Marcus opened his eyes. He was lying on the floor of Professor Trelawney's room with his hands over his face. He felt cold all over, yet he was profusely sweating. He lowered his hands to see that the whole class was standing over him and Harry, who was lying next to him, and Ron, who was kneeling next to both of them, looking terrified.
"You two all right?" he said.
"Of course they aren't," said Professor Trelawney, looking thoroughly excited. Her great eyes loomed over them, gazing at the two. "What was it, boys? A premonition? An apparition? What did you two see?"
"Nothing," they said at the same time. Marcus sat up, feeling himself shaking all over. Whatever he saw just now was not something he could even comprehend, let alone say it to anyone. It felt like such an ancient and terrifying power that he felt nothing more than an insect before it's presence...
"You were clutching your scar, Potter!" said Professor Trelawney. "Williams, you were grasping your hair, rolling on the floor! Come now, boys, I have experience in these matters!"
Marcus looked up at her.
"We need to go to the Hospital Wing," Marcus said, standing up before helping Harry on his feet. "Something's messing us up good."
"My dears, you were undoubtedly stimulated by the extraordinary clairvoyant vibrations of my room!" said Professor Trelawney. "If you two leave now, you may lose the opportunity to see further than you have ever -"
"I don't want to see anything except a headache cure," said Harry.
"So back off," growled Marcus, forcing the class to back away. They all looked unnerved.
"See you later," Marcus muttered to Ron, the two of them picking up their bags and heading for the trapdoor, ignoring Professor Trelawney, who was wearing an expression of great frustration, as though she had just been denied a real treat.
When the two of them reached the bottom, however, they looked straight at each other.
"You're thinking what I'm thinking, right?" Harry asked.
"Yep," Marcus responded. "Straight to Dumledore's office we go."
The two of them then marched down the corridors, straight to Dumbledore's office. Marcus kept seeing that vision playing vividly in front of him over and over again, each playthrough confusing him more and more, but he kept coming back to that ominous, terrifying figure at the end each time, making him wishing that he could banish what he saw. Nothing he'd ever gone against was as terrifying as that form...nothing...
The boys were so lost in thought that they ended up walking past the stone gargoyle guarding the entrance to Dumbledore's office without noticing. They blinked, looked around and realized what they had done before retracing their steps, stopping in front of it. Then, they remembered something.
"I don't know the password," Harry stated. "Do you, Marcus?"
"Not a clue," said Marcus. "It has to be candy-related, so let's start naming them off."
"Lemon Drop?" Harry tried tentatively.
The gargoyled did not respond.
"Didn't think it'd be that," Marcus said. "All right, then. Pear Drop. No? Er - Licorice Wand. Fizzing Whizbee."
"Drooble's Best Blowing Gum," Harry stated. "Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans -"
"That's not going to be the password!" Marcus said exasperatingly. "He doesn't like that candy!"
"Crap, you're right!" Harry stated. "Oh, just open, will you?" he said angrily to the statue. "We really need to see him, it's urgent!"
The gargoyle remained immovable.
Harry kicked it, then immediately grabbed his foot in what could only be from pain.
"Oh, yeah, like kicking the statue's going to work," Marcus said sarcastically.
"Shut it!" Harry said angrily. "Chocolate Frog!"
"Sugar Quill!" Marcus stated.
"Cockroach Cluster!"
The gargoyle sprang to life and jumped aside.
Both Marcus and Harry blinked.
"Did that seriously just work?" Marcus stated.
"Wow," Harry said, amazed. "Cockroach Cluster? I was only joking..."
"Joking or not, it worked! Let's hurry up and see Dumbledore!"
They hurried through the gap in the wall and stepped onto the foot of a spiral stone staircase, which moved slowly upward as the doors closed behind them, taking them up to a polished oak door with a brass door knocker.
They could hear voices from inside the office. They stepped off the moving staircase and hesitated, listening.
"Dumbledore, I'm afraid I don't see the connection, don't see it at all!" It was the voice of the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge. "Ludo says Bertha's perfectly capable of getting herself lost. I agree we would have expected to have found her by now, but all the same, we've no evidence of foul play, Dumbledore, none at all. As for her disappearance being linked with Barty Crouch's!"
"And what do you think happened to Barty Crouch, Minister?" said Moody's growling voice.
"I see two possibilities, Alastor," said Fudge. "Either Crouch has finally cracked - more than likely, I'm sure you'll agree, given his personal history - lost his mind, and gone wandering off somewhere -"
"He wandered extremely quickly, if that is the case, Cornelius," said Dumbledore calmly.
"Or else - well..." Fudge sounded embarrased. "Well, I'll reserve judgment until after I've seen the place where he was found, but you say it was just past the Beauxbatons carriage? Dumbledore, you know what that woman is?"
"I consider her to be a very able headmistress - and an excellent dancer," said Dumbledore quietly.
"Dumbledore, come!" said Fudge angrily. "Don't you think you might be prejudiced in her favor because of Hagrid? They don't all turn out harmless - if, indeed, you can call Hagrid harmless, with that monster fixation he's got -"
"I no more suspect Madame Maxime than Hagrid," said Dumbledore, just as calmly. "I think it is possible that it is you who are prejudiced, Cornelius."
"Can we wrap up this discussion?" growled Moody.
"Yes, yes, let's go down to the grounds, then," said Fudge impatiently. "Michael and Brynn should be finishing up their investigation."
"No, it's not that," said Moody, "it's just that Potter and Williams want a word with you, Dumbledore. They're just outside the door."
And that concludes this chapter of HP: Path of Trials! Please don't hesitate to leave a review as it'll help me become a better writer. Also, if you have any questions for me, feel free to leave me a PM and, I promise, I will answer your questions to the best of my ability! Otherwise, keep your eyes peeled for another chapter of HP: Path of Trials!
