Penny stared out the darkness that encircled the maze. Too long, she thought as she watched both student and teachers alike pacing below her, it's been too long. There had been nothing more since Krum had been pulled from the maze, and that was over an hour ago. There had been no sign of Cedric or Harry since, and there were rumours running around they were no longer in the maze at all. At first Penny hadn't taken these whispers seriously, but as she watched Dumbledore and Moody circle in agitation, she knew something was very wrong.
Suddenly a strange wind, followed by a loud thud was met by a split second of eerie silence of the gathered crowd. Penny stared down at the shape that had just appeared, as Dumbledore ran to its side. She could see the cup gleaming in Harry's hand, and in the other, a large motionless figure. Seconds later the screams began.
"He's dead! Cedric Diggory! Dead!" She heard screamed into the night as she paled. What about Harry? She thought, relieved to see Dumbledore raise the boy to his feet, where he swayed uneasily. She rushed down the stairs two at a time, but by the time she made it into the crowd, she could see Dumbledore comforting a sobbing figure by the edge of the stands but Harry was nowhere to be seen. Her stomach dropped as she scanned the area around her. Even without knowing just what was happening, Cedric's death and Harry's unexplained disappearance made her gut flood with anxiety.
"Harry!" She shouted as the crowd around her blocked her view, the whole place was in chaos. "Where's Harry?" She shouted again in vain, whirling round as the pulsing emotions of the crowd made her head spin. Pushing her way back out the hordes, she squinted as she spotted two vague figures in the distance, making their way to the castle. "Harry" Penny whispered. Who was with him? She wondered, a stab of anger that someone had been stupid enough to remove him from Dumbledore's sight, given the chaotic events of the evening, how could they guarantee he would be safe?
Perhaps that's the point. The thought came unbidden but made her draw a sharp breath as she stared after him.
Looking around her, she stared imploringly at Dumbledore and Snape for a couple moments, before she glanced back up the hill to see the figures had vanished from sight. Cursing, she pulled away from the crowd and broke into a run, racing up the path past the lake and up the steps into the Entrance Hall. "Harry!" She shouted again the second she regained her breath, unsure where he had gone. Closing her eyes she lowered her Occlumency shields, reaching out with her mind trying hard to pick out any presence. Met with nothing, she retracted with a grunt. Worth a shot, she thought to herself as she drew out her wand. She could cast Homo Revelio, she considered. But a person can feel that, she thought hesitating. Would that put Harry in more danger? She wondered. Tonks had mentioned during her Stealth and Tracking there was a sub spell, but it only showed the direction they headed, rather than location. That might have to do.
"Homo revelio via" She muttered, a small purple vapour poured from her wand tip, the wisp of colour floated soundlessly up the Grand Staircase before fading into nothing as it hit the second floor. It's a start, Penny decided, running up the Grand Staircase. Reaching the second floor she paused listening hard, a faint sound coming from down the corridor.
Clunk clunk clunk
Moody. She realised. Moody has Harry, she concluded, an uneasy shiver running down her spine as she continued down the Defence Against the Dark Arts corridor. She rubbed her stinging side distractedly as she trotted down the corridor thinking fast. What was going on? She thought, what had happened in the maze? What happened to Cedric? Why was Harry so badly hurt? Why had Moody dragged him away from the safety of the other Professors? These thoughts spun round her head as she made her way to his office, her wand in her hand. She didn't trust the scarred Professor, but would he really harm Harry? Could his years building such a formidable Auror reputation really all be a farce? It made no sense. Before she reached the door to his office, it opened revealing Moody stood there. He had a strange smile on his face as he watched her. It made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.
"Ah dear Persephone you are here. Excellent. Come in." He said ushering for the confused girl to come in. When she didn't move he grabbed a handful of her robes and with a rush of strength thrust her into the office, causing her to stagger against the wall. Pointing her wand defensively at his still smiling face, a slight groan caused her to look away, spotting Harry slumped in a chair, blood oozing gently from a deep gash in his leg.
"Harry!" She exclaimed, going to him and crouching at his side, concerned by his weak state. Faintly she heard a click of a lock behind her, making her hackles rise even further, her heart thumping loudly. She stood cautiously, her eyes locking onto the scarred Professor as he drew the bar back across the door, his wand drawn. "What's going on?" She asked her eyes darting to the blocked exit and back to his face, her wand raised towards him as he virtually leered at her. A nauseous taste filled Persephone's mouth as she recalled the last time she had been trapped with a large man blocking her escape.
"The Dark Lord has returned." He said as Harry swayed unsteadily behind Penny, who had gone even whiter than him. "You said the Death Eaters returned Harry?" He asked as Harry mumbled a yes, apparent to Penny he still had misplaced trust in Moody. Only Death Eaters called him the Dark Lord, Penny knew. "How did he treat them? Did he forgive them?" He pressed. Harry suddenly tried to stand, saying there was a Death Eater at Hogwarts, making Penny almost chuckle hysterically at his naivety. Penny's suspicions were confirmed as Moody admitted it was he who had put Harry's name in the Goblet, and he who had been pulling the strings to ensure Harry got to the Cup first. Harry had feebly protested the truth whilst Penny felt sick to her stomach as pieces fell into place. How had she missed all the signs? She scolded herself uselessly.
"Tell me he hurt them Harry" Moody whispered, a sadistic smile on his face as Penny felt herself shake, her trembling wand trained on his face, but she did not strike, as if horror had frozen her in place. "It has not been easy, Harry, to guide you through these Tasks unnoticed. You potentially had a great helper" His eyes moved to Penny who stood like a statue, fear and dread running through her system. Her father was back, and she was trapped with a lunatic that leered at her like a piece of meat. "But I could not risk trying to feed you information through that channel. You see, decent people are so easy to manipulate." He went on, his eyes locked on Penny with a look of fascination. "But dear Persephone, she did not trust me from the start. Too smart, too perceptive" He said in a sickly flattering voice. "Manipulators are the best at spotting other manipulators. She wouldn't have taken me at my word." He said, his scarred face contorting into a smile as Penny watched him in disgust, anger at his words twisting into the fear in her gut. "It took all the cunning I possess to get you to the Dark Lord." He added with a self-satisfied smile.
"Why?" Penny asked quietly, the one question she could not see an answer to. Moody smiled widely, showing a row of missing teeth.
"Why?" He repeated with a laugh. "Oh my dear Persephone, when you meet the Dark Lord, you will understand. My Master" He said with such devoted affection it made Penny cringe. "He is an incredible man, a true visionary and a genius. He understands how this world is too soft. It suppresses the strong and the pure, those who by right should have freedom and control, because it fears them and their power. Instead it allows vermin to thrive, the impure, the stupid and the weak." Penny listened, watching with appalled fascination as he went on.
"He plans to set the world right. When you meet him, you will understand how he and his cause are worth risking it all for." He finished as he stared at Penny almost hungrily as she took in his words. He was quite mad, she decided, though this thought did not comfort her in the slightest.
"The Dark Lord yearns to meet the young sorceress I informed him of." He continued "Imagine how he shall reward me" He said, his face alit with fanatical glee. "I delivered him the boy to resurrect himself, then I killed him for him, and brought him his daughter. The three things he desires most" He said standing, his wand raised, his eyes popping in his head. This movement startled Penny out of her shock.
"You have only succeeded at one of those." Penny countered, moving in front of Harry, her wand pointing at Moody's face. The look of glee was instantly replaced with one of rage at her defiance.
"Don't be a fool" Moody spat at her. "You belong at the Dark Lord's side." He snarled as Penny stood firm. "He will come for you, and you will give in to the darkness I have seen within you, it is pointless to resist it" He said pointing his wand at her heart.
"You don't know anything!" Penny denied, even as her mind flashed through images against her will. Moody merely laughed at her bitterly.
"One day you will get a taste for the beauty of the Dark Arts, and you will stop fighting your true nature." He asserted. "Only then will you realise your true power. Now stand aside!" He barked, sending a curse at the young witch when she didn't move. Deflecting it, the Foe Glass smashed as it struck it.
"Get down!" Penny shouted, shoving an unresisting Harry off the chair onto the floor as she dodged the next curse, hearing Harry's wand fly across the floor as he landed roughly. "Stupefy!" She shouted, Moody sweeping it aside where it blasted a large hole in the wall. Slashing her wand, blood splattered from Moody's already scarred face, causing him to howl in pain. Coming back at her, Penny barely withstood the volley of hexes sent her way, her Shield Charm shattering on the last blow. Jutting her wand upwards Moody was thrown backwards, staggering as he hit the opposite wall. Before he could raise his arm again, Penny twisted her wand, forcing Moody's wrist to bend unnaturally backwards. Grunting with pain he struggled hard to retain his grip on his wand, Penny applying more and more pressure until a horrifying crack told her his wrist had snapped. Howling once more he released his wand, which feel to the floor with a clatter. Summoning it to her Penny stood over the crippled man, anger and disgust on her face.
"Got Snape to thank for that one." Penny commented more to herself than Moody. Despite his laboured breath the man's face cracked into a smile and he began laughing hysterically as he looked at the wand pointing at his heart.
"You see! You feel it don't you?" He whispered as he watched her face. "That feeling of power, of control. That rush that comes with knowing you could end it with a single curse." He went on making Penny sick with every poisonous word, even as her heart beat faster at the implications. "Do it!" He commanded with glee as Penny felt the adrenaline pump in her veins. It would only take a single curse, the blazing eyes told her.
"Penny?" Came a small voice behind her, startling her so much she almost dropped her wand.
"Do it!" Moody practically screamed at her.
"STUPEFY!" A voice roared outside the office, the force of the spell taking the whole of the door and bar off its frame. With a yelp Penny felt herself and Moody flung into the air, the latter crashing head first into the opposite wall where he slid to the floor unconscious. Penny landed heavily on the floor, heaving but conscious, seeing a dark pair of shoes appear before a hand lifted her by the scruff of her neck. The world shifted in and out of focus for a few seconds as stars appeared in her vision. Blinking she saw a large hooked nose inches from her face as dark eyes bore into her. He had a calculating expression on his face but didn't speak a word as he released her collar. Looking round Penny saw McGonagall lifting Harry and Dumbledore stood over Moody, his wand outstretched. Watching the Headmaster with wide eyes, Penny could feel the air pulse with electricity as his power almost radiated off him. He was, she knew, supposed to be the most powerful wizard alive, but until that moment Penny had never really understood what that really meant.
Watching him now, she felt rather grateful not to be the one his wand was currently pointing at.