Part I: Reticent
Chapter V: In Which Corinna has the Worst Birthday
Corinna was very close to completing her fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. By now, she should be fully aware of how gossip and rumors go around faster than a virus. But she did not expect the entire school to know about what happened with her father before the owl post even arrived.
As the girl who tried to blend into the crowd, Corinna certainly didn't like the fact that people were pointing and whispering at her whenever she walked down the hallway, or sat down at the Gryffindor table to pretend to eat her food. It used to be, whenever someone mentioned her, the typical response would be: "Corinna Crouch who?" Instead it is now: "Oh, the one with the crazy father who attacked Viktor Krum?"
Even Terry broke the silence as he approached Corinna while she was waiting to enter the greenhouses for Herbology. "Are you okay?" he asked gently.
"No," she admitted softly as she picked at her cuticle until it started to bleed. "Through all this, I don't know who's taking care of my brother."
"Why don't you ask? I'm sure they sent him to St. Mungo's or something."
"Yeah, maybe," Corinna mumbled, almost glad that he had to rush with the other students back inside the castle.
It also seemed that the Aurors could not find anything. There were no leads as to where Mr. Crouch could have gone. It was as if he had disappeared off the face of the earth.
Corinna's birthday was usually marked the end of exams. This year, it seemed, was going to be the worse day of her life.
She was surprised to find a package for her as she sat for a meager breakfast, worrying more about her exams that day than the fact that she was celebrating her fifteenth birthday alone. She unwrapped the brown package that was addressed from no one. She supposed she should be concerned about that, but curiosity got the best of her. Inside was a necklace with an onyx colored stone in a gold setting. In the middle of the stone was some odd crest made from gold that Corinna could not place. The only other thing in the package besides the velvet box with the necklace was a note in meticulous penmanship. "I should have given this to you years ago," it said simply with no signature or any indication on who could have sent it. She doubted it was her brother. Most days, he could not even hold a quill, and when he did manage to, it looked like a little kid had written it.
Not trusting to put the piece around her neck in fear that it might somehow be cursed, she shoved the velvet box and note into her bag to be forgotten in light of her exams and the final task that would occur that evening.
It was easy to turn it off and focus on her exams. She went from class to class numbly. A few people wished her a happy birthday, but people mostly left her alone.
Dinner was a grand affair as it marked the end of exams and people could focus all their attention on watching the third task. With the two Hogwarts champions tied for first, the excitement (and bets) were running high. Even Corinna could not help but get swept up in the moment as she accepted a small flag from one of the Creevey brothers in support of Harry Potter.
At dusk, they had all walked out to the quidditch pitch that had been transformed into a vast maze. If the late-night training sessions Harry had with Ron and Hermione were any indication, he was going to do well against whatever was waiting for the champions among the hedges.
Corinna sat with the other Gryffindors, taking up much of the top rows to get the best view of the maze. She sat behind Ron and Hermione who did not seem as jovial as the rest of them. She did not understand what they were worried about with all the practice they had done. And it was Harry Potter. He has faced more danger in his first few years in Hogwarts than most wizards would deal with in their entire lifetime.
But maybe that was why there was an edge to them. Even if Harry had managed to get himself out of all those situations before, it did not guarantee anything now.
With the sound of the cannon, Harry and Diggory went into the maze first, both with their wands out in preparation for whatever was to come. Corinna tried to focus on the excitement around her, even if the worry coming from his friends were palpable.
She also noticed how antsy Moody seemed to be. He kept glancing at his pocket watch and over to where Corinna guessed the cup was hidden for the champions to find. She hadn't dealt with the man since he gave her that cryptic message beyond what was necessary for classes. During her defense practical, when she was able to shake off his Imperius curse, she swore he seemed to be proud of her, something he hadn't shown the other students, even those who did it faster than she had. She would not even get the honor of being the most improved student. That honor had gone to Neville Longbottom.
As the time ticked by, both Fleur Delacour and Viktor Krum were taken out of the maze, leaving only the Hogwarts champions. It seemed like hours before both Harry and Diggory appeared in the center of the pitch with the cup. Everyone from Hogwarts leapt up with excitement as it meant that both their champions seemed to have won (something Corinna very much doubted anyone had bet would happen), when the cheers seemed to have died away as quickly as they had come. Harry was being pulled away from Diggory by Moody, his voice barely heard this far up. And as Diggory laid unmoving, a hush greater than the one during the reaping fell over everyone. A silencing charm could not have done the same amount of damage as saying one of their peers dead.
Corinna could hear Cho's sharp sobs from where she sat with the other Diggory supporters, and Amos Diggory had pushed his way onto the pitch, begging for his son. A lump formed in her throat as she barely heard McGonagall calling for the students in her house to follow her back to the castle. It seemed that everyone was eager to leave and head back to their dorms. She saw Ron and Hermione break away, probably to look for Harry, but they had whisked him away from the scene, which was perfectly understandable.
Corinna had never seen so many people sitting around the common room in silence since her second year when Hermione Granger and Penelope Clearwater were found petrified and the curfews became much, much stricter from then on. Corinna had thought of sneaking up to her dorm room, but she stayed down and sat with some of her follow fourth years. Even Ron and Hermione were there, as it seemed they could not find Harry. Knowing how Dumbledore was, he was probably hiding Harry away from everyone else to protect him from the vulture-like students who would bug him about what exactly happened in that cursed maze.
When McGonagall came back into the dorm, everyone looked over at her expecting some sort of news or explanation, but she made a beeline to where the fourth years were sitting. "Miss Crouch," she said, and Corinna did not like how shaken the unflappable Minerva McGonagall usually was. "If you would come with me please."
"Why me?" Corinna asked. She was not used to being pulled away like this.
McGonagall's lips were a thin, straight line as she shook her head. "Not here," she whispered. "Just come with me."
Corinna glanced over at Ron and Hermione, as they were easier to look at than everyone else. As a friend of Harry Potter's they were used to things like this since he always got himself into some sort of trouble. Hermione just gave her a reassuring nod as Corinna finally stood and woodenly followed McGonagall out.
She expected to go to Dumbledore's office, but the continued down and made their way to where Moody's office was. McGonagall barged in and Corinna followed her in, baffled by the scene in front of her. Harry sat in the corner, shaken and pale to the point that his bloody injuries looked black against his skin. Dumbledore had his wand trained on a man in much too large robes and bound to a chair. It took Corinna's mind much, much too long to process who exactly was sitting in that chair. His long, mousey hair hid his face.
"Barty," she said. She made to rush over to him, but McGonagall grabbed her arm.
"Thank you for bringing Corinna here, Minerva," Dumbledore said calmly. "Severus should be back in a moment, then we can get this underway."
Corinna's breath hitched as she stared at her brother. All year, she had been worried about him, but now that he was sitting here, bound and knocked out, she did not know what to think. She wanted to beg someone, anyone for answers, but she found herself as mute as Harry as he struggled to keep his head up.
Snape appeared behind them, carrying a clear vial with him. Behind him walked a dazed Winky, and Corinna felt McGonagall's grip on her tighten as she saw her old house elf for the first time since that shameful night. But, again, she was at a loss for words. Snape handed the vial off to Dumbledore and crossed his arms as he stared at Barty, looking almost bored. Corinna still did not understand as Dumbledore tipped the vial into Barty's mouth and used the Ennervate charm to bring him back from being stunned.
"Can you hear me?" Dumbledore asked as Barty seemed to slowly wake. After a moment, he nodded. "I would like you to tell us," he continued softly, "how you came to be here. How did you escape from Azkaban?"
"Azkaban?" Corinna could not help but say when she heard that question. "He's never been to Azkaban."
Barty's eyes darted over to Corinna as he gave her an unreadable expression. "My mother saved me," he said in an emotionless manner, ignoring Corinna's outburst. "She knew she was dying. She persuaded my father to rescue me as a last favor to her. He loved her as he had never loved me. He agreed. They came to visit me. They gave me a draft of Polyjuice Potion containing one of my mother's hairs. She took a draft of Polyjuice Potion containing one of my hairs. We took on each other's appearance."
Corinna did not like the sound of Barty's voice. Even on his good days, he was still shaky and easily lost focus on what he was saying. Hearing him like this, like someone who was reading a boring passage from a book aloud, made her nerves feel like they were on fire.
Winky trembled at what Barty was saying, begging him to say no more of the matter. But, that was the thing about truth serum: you didn't have much of a choice.
"The dementors are blind. They sensed one healthy, one dying person entering Azkaban. They sensed one healthy, one dying person leaving it. My father smuggled me out, disguised as my mother, in case any prisoners were watching through their door.
"My mother died a short while afterward in Azkaban. She was careful to drink Polyjuice Potion until the end. She was buried under my name and bearing my appearance. Everyone believed her to be me.
Corinna felt like her knees were going to collapse from under her. McGonagall conjured a stool next to Harry's and forced Corinna to sit down. Now McGonagall stood between the two of them, as if she alone could shield them from the horrors in front of them.
"What did your father do with you, when he had got you home?" Dumbledore asked, continuing with the interrogation.
"Staged my mother's death. A quiet, private funeral. That grave is empty. The house elf nursed me back to health. Then I had to be concealed. I had to be controlled. My father had to use a number of spells to subdue me. When I had recovered my strength, I thought only of finding my master. Of returning to his service.
All this time, she thought her brother had been sick. Turns out, he was under her father's spell. As it turned out, he was using the imperious curse on his own son and Corinna was none the wiser to what was really going on inside the place she had called home.
"I was forced to stay in my room, under an invisibility cloak. I was always with the house elf. But she pitied me, along with Corinna." McGonagall squeezed Corinna's shoulder so hard, she thought it would bruise. "They would persuade my father to give me occasional treats. Rewards for my good behavior."
"Master Barty, Master Barty!" Corinna winced as Winky begged Barty to not say anymore of the subject. Corinna herself even felt like bolting, not wanting to hear anymore of how messed up her family really was.
"Did anybody ever discover that you were still alive? Did anyone know except your father, your sister, and the house elf?"
"Yes," said Barty, looking back at Corinna again with a wild, murderous look. It seemed he was struggling to hold something back. She had to look away, opting to stare down at her trainers instead. "A witch in my father's office. Bertha Jorkins. She came to the house with papers for my father's signature. He was not at home. Winky showed her inside and returned to the kitchen, to me. But Bertha Jorkins heard Winky talking to me. She came to investigate. She heard enough to guess who was hiding under the Invisibility Cloak. My father arrived home. She confronted him. He put a very powerful Memory Charm on her to make her forget what she'd found out. Too powerful. He said it damaged her memory permanently."
It must have occurred while Corinna was at Hogwarts. She was not there for that incident. She would have remembered. Or, she hoped she would have. It terrified her to know that her father was good at memory charms.
"Tell me about the Quidditch World Cup."
"Corinna talked my father into it," Barty continued. Despite everything that Corinna was thinking and feeling, she noticed how Barty had said my father instead of our father. She then thought it was a rather silly thing for her brain to focus on, but maybe that was her way of dealing with this whole thing. Focus on the vernacular instead of the meaning behind it. "She thought I was sick and that he was ashamed of me for it. She knew that I liked to listen to quidditch matches and wanted me to experience a match for myself. She reassured him that she and Winky will be there, that I'll be under the invisibility cloak. He agreed in the end."
"It was carefully planned. My father led me, Winky, and Corinna up to the Top Box early in the day. Winky was to say that she was saving a seat for my father while they sat with me, invisible. When everyone lef the box, we would emerge. Winky and Corinna would appear to be alone. Nobody would ever know."
"But they didn't know I was growing stronger. I was starting to fight my father's Imperius Curse. There were times when I was almost myself again. There were brief periods when I seemed outside his control. It happened, there, in the Top Box. It was like waking from a deep sleep. I found myself out in public, in the middle of the match, and I saw, in front of me, a wand sticking out of a boy's pocket. I had not been allowed a wand since before Azkaban. Even Corinna was instructed not to have hers with her whenever she came to sit with me. I stole it. Winky and Corinna didn't know. Winky is frightened of heights. She had her face hidden. And Corinna was absorbed in the game.
"You took the wand. What did you do with it?"
"We went back to the tent. Corinna snuck out to be with her friends, so it was just me and Winky. Then we heard them. We heard the Death Eaters. The ones who had never been to Azkaban. The ones who never suffered for my master. They had turned their backs on him. They were not enslaved, as I was. They were free to seek him, but they did not. They were merely making sport of Muggles. The sound of their voices awoke me. My mind was clearer than it had been in years. I was angry. I had the wand. I wanted to attack them for their disloyalty to my master. Winky was afraid to see me so angry. She used her own brand of magic to bind me to her. She pulled me from the tent, pulled me into the forest, away from the Death Eaters. I tried to hold her back. I wanted to return to the campsite. I wanted to show those Death Eaters what loyalty to the Dark Lord meant, and to punish them for their lack of it. I used the stolen wand to cast the Dark Mark into the sky.
Corinna was transported back to that night. Her brother was there under the mark, just like her instincts had told her. But she remembered Terry holding her back. Why did he hold her back? Why did he make her stay with his family when she needed to go find her brother? She felt like she should know the answer, but it was just out of her grasp.
"Ministry wizards arrived," Barty continued, dragging Corinna back to reality. "They shot Stunning Spells everywhere. One of the spells came through the trees where Winky and I stood. They bond connecting us was broken. We were both stunned. When Winky was discovered, my father knew I must be nearby. He searched the bushes where she had been found and felt me lying there. He waiting until the other Ministry members had left the forest. He put me back under the Imperius curse and took me back to the tent. He dismissed Winky and blamed Corinna when she came back after running from the Death Eaters. They had let me acquire a wand. They had almost let me escape."
"Now it was just Father, Corinna, and I, alone in the house. But, soon, it would be just Father and I since she was going back to Hogwarts. And then…and then…" A wicked grin spread across Barty's face, and Corinna felt bile burn her throat. "My master came for me."
"He arrived at our house late one night in the arms of his servant, Wormtail. My master had found out that I was still alive. He had captured Bertha Jorkins in Albania. He had tortured her. She told him a great deal. She told him about the Triwizard Tournament. She told him the old Auror, Moody, was going to teach at Hogwarts. He tortured her until he broke through the memory charm my father had placed upon her. She told him I had escaped from Azkaban. She told him my father kept me imprisoned to prevent me from seeking my master. And so my master knew I was still his faithful servant—perhaps the most faithful of all. My master conceived a plan, based upon the information Bertha had given him. He needed me. He arrived at our house near midnight. My father answered the door."
"It was very quick. My father was placed under the Imperius curse by my master. Now my father was the one imprisoned, controlled. My master forced him to go about his business as usual, to act as though nothing was wrong. And I was released. I awoke. I was myself again, alive as I hadn't been in years. There was only one loose end." Barty looked back over at Corinna. "My master knew it would look suspicious if she did not return to Hogwarts, so I obliviated her memory of that night. With Father being controlled, we made it seem like he had me locked in my room and forbade her to go in there. Besides, she was leaving soon anyway. We thought it would be an unnecessary risk to do anything else to her. And I…I didn't want to." It was odd to hear about something that had happened to Corinna but she had no recollection of it. But, it had to be true. Snape wouldn't make a faulty truth serum.
"What did Lord Voldemort ask you to do?"
Corinna automatically hissed at hearing the name. It was something that children born to wizard parents would hear only once and then never again. People feared that saying the name would evoke him. Everyone ignored her was Barty gladly answered Dumbledore's question.
"He asked me whether I was ready to risk everything for him. I was ready. It was my dream. My greatest ambition. To serve him. To prove myself to him. He told me he needed to place a faithful servant at Hogwarts. A servant who would guide Harry Potter through the Triwizard Tournament without appearing to do so. A servant who would watch over Harry Potter. Ensure he reached the Triwizard Cup. Turn the cup into a Portkey, which would take the first person to touch it to my master. But first—"
"You needed Alastor Moody."
"Wormtail and I did it. We had prepared the Polyjuice Potion beforehand. We journeyed to his house. Moody put up a struggle. There was a commotion. We managed to subdue him just in time. Forced him into a compartment of his own magical trunk. Took some of his hair and added it to the potion. I drank it. I became Moody's double. I took his leg and his eye. I was ready to face Arthur Weasley when he arrived to sort out the Muggles who had heard a disturbance. I made the dustbins move around the yard. I told Arthur Weasley I had heard intruders in my yard, who had set off the dustbins. Then I packed up Moody's clothes and dark detectors, put them in the trunk with Moody, and set off for Hogwarts. I kept him alive, under the Imperius curse. I wanted to be able to question him. To find out about his past, learn his habits, so that I could food even Dumbledore. I also needed his hair to make the Polyjuice Potion. The other ingredients were easy. I stole boom-slang skin from the dungeons. When the potions master found me in his office, I said I was under orders to search it."
"And what became of Wormtail after you attacked Moody?"
"Wormtail returned to care for my master, in my father's house, and to keep watch over my father."
"But your father escaped."
"Yes. After a while, he began to fight the Imperius curse, just as I had done. There were periods when he knew what was happening. My master decided it was no longer safe for my father to leave the house. He forced him to send letters to the Ministry instead. He made his write and say he was ill. I even did what I could to keep Corinna here. Persuading that Terrance Boot to muster up the courage to ask her to the Yule Ball so she had a reason to stay. But Wormtail neglected his duty. He was not watchful enough. My father escaped. My master guessed that he was heading for Hogwarts. My father was going to tell Dumbledore everything, to confess. He was going to admit that he had smuggled me from Azkaban.
"My master sent me word of my father's escape. He told me to stop him at all costs. So I waited and watched. I used the map I had taken from Harry Potter. The map that had almost ruined everything.
"Map?" asked Dumbledore, mirroring Corinna's confusion. "What map is this?"
"Potter's map of Hogwarts. Potter saw me on it. Potter saw me stealing more ingredients for the Polyjuice Potion from Snape's office one night. He thought I was my father. We have the same first name. I took the map from Potter that night. I told him my father hated dark wizards. Potter believed my father was after Snape.
"For a week I waited for my father to arrive at Hogwarts. At least, one evening, the map showed my father entering the grounds. I pulled on my invisibility cloak and went down to meet him. He was walking around the edge of the forest. Then Potter came, and Krum. I waited. I could not hurt Potter. My master needed him. Potter ran to get Dumbledore. I stunned Krum. I killed my father."
A knife to her gut would have had the same effect as Corinna heard those words, said in an almost bored voice. It was one thing to know he was missing. There was still hope that someone would find him or that he would turn up. With him missing, there was hope. Now, now there was nothing. In just those four words, Corinna Crouch became an orphan.
Tears swam in Corinna's eyes as she tried to make sense of everything that was going on. She wanted to run, to scream, to cry, to die. But she just sat there, rooted to the stool as if it had sprouted arms to hold her there. Without realizing it, Harry, who was silent and unmoving throughout the entire interrogation, shifted his hand to take his grungy one in hers. It just felt cold and clammy in hers, not bringing her comfort like she would have hoped.
"What did you do with the body?"
"Carried it into the forest. Covered it with the invisibility cloak. I had the map with me. I watched Potter run into the castle. He met Snape. Dumbledore joined them. I watched Potter bringing Dumbledore out of the castle. I walked back out of the forest, doubled around behind them, went to meet them. I told Dumbledore Snape had told me where to come.
"Dumbledore told me to go and look for my father. I went back to my father's body. Watched the map. When everyone was gone, I transfigured my father's body. He became a bone…I buried it, while wearing the invisibility cloak, in the freshly dug earth in front of Hagrid's cabin.
"And tonight?" Dumbledore implored.
"I offered to carry the Triwizard Cup into the maze before dinner. Turned it into a Portkey. My master's plan worked. He is returned to power and I will be honored by him beyond the dreams of wizards."
"You monster!" Corinna cried out, breaking apart from Harry and McGonagall. She stood just a couple of meters from Barty, but it felt like there was an entire chasm between them. Now, when she looked at the man, she no longer saw her brother. She saw a monster with a wicked, hungry grin. "How…how could you do that to our father?"
"Our father?" Barty spit out. It was the first time he showed anger instead of indifference or glee. "What do you mean our father?"
The anger Corinna felt burst through her chest died out quickly by those words. "What do you mean?" she asked, her voice sounding more like she had just turned five instead of fifteen.
"He's not your father. I am."
The blow would have knocked her on her feet if Snape had not stepped forward to grab her arm.
"That was another one of my mother's dying wishes," Barty continued, each word feeling like a punch to the gut. "Father used his influence before he was disgraced to take in a ward of the Ministry. A child of two death eaters that were sent to Azkaban after my master fell. Except the wife was unfaithful. You were the spitting image of my mother, so there was no denying who the true father really was. She was also one of my master's greatest servant. What better pair to birth a child who could one day serve alongside us."
Blood rushed to Corinna's ears as the silence came over the group. McGonagall looked like she wanted nothing more than to whisk Corinna and Harry away from this awful, awful man, but Dumbledore kept a hand up to reassure her that this needed to be done. Corinna felt like she needed to ask, but she felt like she was going to throw up if she opened her mouth. With mixed feelings about him doing so, Dumbledore finally asked when Corinna couldn't: "Who is her mother?"
"Bellatrix Lestrange."
Corinna just stood there. She had never heard that name before, but it seemed that everyone else in the room knew exactly who she was. Even Harry seemed to react, giving Corinna a pitying look that she absolutely loathed.
She heard nothing else as Dumbledore jumped into action. He told McGonagall and Snape what to do, and it seemed that Snape was about to take Corinna away when she shifted her arm away from him. "No," she said. "I want to stay here."
"It's alright, Corinna," Dumbledore said in a kind voice. "Madam Pomfrey will be able to give you something so you can rest. Tonight has been very taxing."
Corinna swallowed thickly. As much as she wanted to be far, far away from this man, she also knew what she needed to do for herself and for her father. Of, grandfather, rather. "I need to make sure that the monster who has inflicted so much pain gets what he deserves."
"I'll watch her, Albus," McGonagall promised, but she was less than thrilled about it. "I'll get her to the hospital wing once the Minister gets up here. You have other matters to tend to." She motioned towards Harry who looked like he was about to pass out from standing on his injured leg.
With the assignments passed out and everyone else gone, McGonagall added a few more ropes around Crouch, making sure they were extra tight. "Can you make them tighter?" Corinna asked in an impossibly small voice.
"It won't change anything," McGonagall said stiffly as she kept her wand pointed at Crouch. "Just as it won't change finding out who your parents are. You are still the same person you were an hour ago."
Corinna wished more than anything to believe McGonagall, but she could not bring herself to. She was still Corinna Crouch, but the meaning of it completely changed.
She sat on the stool as the minutes ticked by. Crouch stared down at the ground, remaining silent now that no one was asking him any questions. The cold crept up inside Corinna, feeling like she was suffocating in her own misery. Little did she realize that there was an outside influence to all this.
"What is that thing doing inside the castle?" McGonagall demanded as she stepped in front of Corinna, readying her wand. "What is the meaning of this, Minister?"
"You are dismissed, Professor," Fudge said as he stood behind what looked like a floating cloak of smoke. Corinna remembered the feeling that the dementors inflicted wherever they went from last year. She had already felt like she was never going to be happy, but now she felt like that was all too true. "I need to interrogate Crouch myself."
"But you—" McGonagall froze when the dementor immediately rushed passed them and it took all of Corinna's strength not to fall over and lose consciousness. The dementor gripped onto Crouch and he began to scream, sounding less like the monster that he was and more like a terrified man who was about to come face-to-face with his own mortality. McGonagall had dived to hide Corinna's face from witnessing something worse than a person dying. The dementor had administered the fatal kiss—the kiss that would suck the very soul out of Crouch and leaving him worse than dead.