Ryan's eyes flickered open.
"You!" snapped Jeff.
"Yes?" said Ryan. His voice was almost robotic; his usual smirk was missing from his face.
"Why did you come to Hogwarts?"
"I was sent by my master, the Dark Lord," he replied.
"I know that, you idiot!" spat Jeff. The fact that Ryan was behaving more civilized at the moment did not make Jeff forget that he served Voldemort.
"Six years ago, when Lord Voldemort--"
"Yeah, yeah. Why did he need you at the school?"
"We were to keep an eye on Harry Potter. He had Professor Quirrel, but he also needed students. Professor Quirrel did not attend every lesson. Professor Quirrel did not 'get to know' Harry. He needed a student in every house."
"Who was the student in Gryffindor?"
"We were not told the students in the other houses."
"Oh, that's convenient," snorted Jeff.
"We have outlived our usefulness, however. Now that Voldemort has returned to complete power, he does not need spies within the school."
"What about that letter? Jacob saw you writing a letter to him in secret."
"We do not need to watch Harry Potter. We now devote ourselves to keeping an eye out for other suspicious activity in the Castle."
"What does my club have to do with that filth?!"
"You are awfully brave to call him that. . ."
"You're filth too! Now answer the question!"
"Your plot to one day overthrow the Dark Lord concerns him. Not that you would be able too."
"I've had enough of this! You obviously have no useful information for me, or you're too stupid to know what I'm asking for! I'm going to erase your memory now. But one last question--how did you know about our plot to overthrow you?"
"I heard you whispering in the halls. I learned many other things this way also. Now are you done questioning me?"
"I suppose. Unless I can think of any last minute questions."
"Well, hurry up!" snarled Ryan. "I tire of this!" He was no longer speaking in his robot voice. He was also getting more like his old self and less like the tamed, willing person the Veritaserum had turned him into.
"The Veritaserum is apparently wearing off," commented Jeff.
"I've noticed!" said Ryan, standing up and pulling out his bandaged dragon heartstring.
"Expelliarmus!" cried Jeff, also standing up and pointing his wand at Ryan. Ryan's dragon heartstring slipped through his fingers and flew at Jeff. Jeff caught it.
"This you may have back after I've erased your memory!" he snarled.
"Oh, no you don't!" cried Ryan, leaping forward.
"Control yourself," said Jeff calmly, stepping backward. "It'll be over in a minute—Impedimenta!" he shouted as Ryan leaped at him again.
"Why don't we just kill him?" said Tim, stepping forward next to Jeff.
"Use your brain, Tim--I know you have one! If Voldemort lost contact with one of his servants, don't you think he'd realize? And it would probably be in the papers, too--!" He was cut off as Ryan suddenly grabbed his neck and started to squeeze.
"Ex--Ex--" he gasped, trying to perform a Disarming Charm.
"Get your filthy hands off!" snarled Tim, just as Jeff was about to faint from lack of oxygen. "Reducto!" Ryan was hit in the stomach and thrown backward onto the floor. It was his turn to gasp for breath.
"Well, this is fair," said Ryan softly. "Two against one, and the latter doesn't even have a wand." Jeff considered himself (relatively) honorable; he tossed the bandaged heartstring back to Ryan and even tossed him the wood for the wand.
"Reparo!" muttered Ryan, and the pieces of wood came together around the heartstring, whose bandages were now lying on the floor in front of him. He lifted the wand.
"Now, you die!" he said.
"I doubt it," said Jeff. "Obliviate!" Ryan's eyes suddenly gained a glazed look. He almost dropped his wand.
"What time is it?" he said. He looked down at his wrist. "Huh? What are you all doing up at midnight?" He said suspiciously. "Wait a second. . .this might be the chance I've been waiting for. . ."
"Not this again!" groaned Tim. "Why didn't you make him forget about us?"
"If he was in contact with Voldemort, and he told Voldemort about something, and Voldemort mentioned it but Coff didn't know what he was talking about, don't you think Voldemort would be suspicious?"
"Oh yeah."
"Avada Ka--" Ryan began, but Tim was quicker.
"Stupefy!" Ryan collapsed on the floor immediately.
"Good," said Jeff. "You guys go back to bed. I'll handle him." The others glanced at each other. Tim shrugged and started to walk away, and the others followed.
"As for you," muttered Jeff under his breath, "Obliviate!" Ryan didn't move a muscle. Jeff walked until he was almost out of the door before whispering "Mobilicorpus!" Ryan lifted up into the air like a floating mummy. He floated after Jeff as he walked up the stairs, and Jeff made him fall into his bed before lifting the spell. Everyone in the AC was sitting up in bed waiting for an explanation.
"When he wakes up, he'll still know what he did before tonight, but he won't remember tonight at all," whispered Jeff.
"Good," said Jacob. Everyone lie back down and fell asleep.
The next morning, Jeff observed Ryan Coff carefully. He noticed that Ryan got an owl in the morning at breakfast.
He took the letter from the owl and looked at it. He was not smiling. He looked at it for a long time. Then, his face got a grim expression on it. He suddenly shot a look of loathing straight at Jeff. Jeff looked away quickly, hoping he hadn't noticed him watching.
After breakfast, Ryan approached Jeff in the hall. "Come with me. I have to show you something." Jeff looked at Tim, who was standing next to him, and made a motion with his head that clearly said "come".
Jeff put his hands in his pockets in a pretense of casualness, curling his fingers around his wand and opening his mouth so as to be as prepared as possible to defend himself.
When they arrived at Ravenclaw tower, Ryan said the password distractedly. As they walked inside, Ryan suddenly whirled around and aimed his wand at Jeff.
"Stupefy!" shouted Jeff, yanking his wand out of his pocket before Ryan could do anything. He went right back out of Ravenclaw tower and headed toward the library. On his way, he saw a rat running along the floor. It saw Jeff and squeaked, scampering even faster. Jeff followed it up to Ravenclaw tower. It paused for a second, then kept walking the other way. Now Jeff was sure something was up. He went into Ravenclaw tower and walked over to the statue in the boys' dormitory.
"I need to speak to Jacob," he said, picking it up. Immediately, a revolving, translucent figure of Jacob's head burst from the top. The head was moving slowly up and down as if its owner were walking. Jeff knew that Jacob had seen Jeff's head appear in front of him in midair, although no one else could see it.
The head turned to the side and said to the air, "One second," before turning to Jeff and saying, "What is it?"
"I need to borrow your invisibility cloak. Quickly!"
"Oh," said Jacob. "I have it here. . .hold on." After a second, in which Jacob's head looked down and muttered "portus", Jacob's head was sucked back into the statue, and Jacob himself appeared standing nest to Jeff.
"Here," he said, shoving the cloak into Jeff's hands. "I made it a Portkey so I could get it to you quicker. Bye!" And he strode out of the dormitory and out of the tower.
Jeff put the shiny cloak around him and looked down. Where his legs should've been, there appeared to be nothing. Good. Jeff ran out of the tower in pursuit of the strange rat he had seen, whom he was sure now was Wormtail, a servant of Voldemort (yes, he knew about Wormtail too.) On his way out, he saw a short, sweating middle-aged man walking in and looking about. Aha! So he was correct. He wriggled back in before the door closed. Wormtail seemed to sense that someone was there; he looked about nervously before jumping at the sight on the floor. Ryan, of course, was still lying there.
"En--Ennervate!" squeaked Wormtail, pulling out a wand. Jeff noticed that his right hand was shiny silver. Ryan rolled over and opened his eyes.
"Ah!" he said at the sight of Wormtail, jumping up and running backward. "You! II thought--"
"Is he dead?" said Wormtail nervously. "They, I mean."
"Well, er, actually, I, uh. . .oh no. . ." his voice trailed off and he had a horrible look on his face. A look of absolute terror.
"Shall I tell Him that you did?" squeaked Wormtail, looking about nervously as if expecting someone to be spying on him.
Suddenly, the fir in the fireplace turned green, and out climbed who could only be one person. Lord Voldemort was inside Hogwarts.
His face and hands were completely white. His nose was flat and his eyes were red. His robes were pure black.
"Do you attempt to protect your friend, Wormtail? By lying to me? He had a task presented to him, and he did not complete that task. He will be fittingly punished. He did not kill those he was charged with killing; therefore, he will be killed himself. I have no use for a servant who disobeys me. And Wormtail!" He turned sharply to Wormtail and continued in a bare whisper. "You wish to lie to me? To protect your worthless friend?"
"My Lord!" squeaked a terrified Wormtail. "I--I--"
"Crucio!" laughed Voldemort, lifting his wand. Wormtail fell to the ground, writhing and screaming.
"And you," said Voldemort softly, turning to Coff and ignoring Wormtail's screams. "You are given orders, and choose not to carry them out?"
"No, My Lord!" shrieked Coff, just as terrified as Wormtail now, backing away. "I will do it! I will kill them! I don't know what happened! Last night--I know I was going to get up and kill them at midnight! I put a spell on myself so I would sleep just the right amount of time! And--I--I can't remember what happened. I know I got up. But I can't remember anything else."
"Is that so?" asked Voldemort softly, finally lifting his wand. Wormtail slumped to the floor. Voldemort took no notice. He suddenly hissed, "I smell trickery! There is someone in this room!" He sniffed the air and suddenly looked straight at the spot where Jeff was standing. Jeff froze. "Show yourself!" cried Voldemort.
Jeff suddenly dived for the fireplace, throwing the cloak onto the floor and grabbing a tin of Floo powder. He tossed the whole tin into the fire, which suddenly turned green, and shouted "Home!" He jumped in as Voldemort stared.
Jeff climbed out of the fireplace at his house. His Muggle parents were sitting and talking and Jeff said "Sorry!" as they stared at him. He tossed some Floo powder that he had at home into the fireplace, this time heading for Professor Dumbledore's office.
When he got out on the other side, Professor Dumbledore was not in his office. The door to the office opened and Jeff said, "Professor Dumbledore, Vol--" but it was not Professor Dumbledore who had entered. It was Professor Snape.
"Where is the headmaster?" said Snape coldly. "And what are you doing in his office? You're the American boy, are you not?" he added, squinting at me.
"Yes, sir," I answered. "I don't know where Professor Dumbledore is; I was looking for him."
"Hasn't anyone taught you manners?" snarled Snape. "You knock before you enter. Or perhaps that custom isn't observed in the U.S.?"
"No, sir, it's just that--"
"Silence! 10 points from Ravenclaw for a lack of respect. Wait here, and I shall get the headmaster." With a swish of his cloak, he was out the door.
"Wait, sir! It's urgent!"
"What is it now?" said Snape, turning back around, his face livid.
"Voldemort! He's in the castle!"
"What is this nonsense?" shouted Snape furiously. "Detention, and another 10 points from Ravenclaw for lying! And refer to him as You-Know-Who."
"Yes, sir," replied Jeff sullenly, not planning to obey the command about Voldemort's proper name at all. As Snape turned around to leave Dumbledore's office, Dumbledore himself walked in.
"Is there a problem, Severus?" he asked calmly.
"This boy--"
"Professor, Voldemort's--"
"SILENCE!" raged Snape. "I am speaking; you do not interrupt!"
"Severus, calm yourself!" said Professor Dumbledore sternly. Then, turning to Jeff, "You were saying something about the Dark Lord?"
"Yes, sir, he's in the castle! In Ravenclaw tower!"
"Indeed?" said Dumbledore, standing up abruptly.
"It is clearly nonsense!" yelled Snape. "Do you really think that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has gained entry to the school grounds, Dumbledore?"
"Anything is possible, Severus. You say he is in the tower?"
"Yes, he has spies in all of the houses, the one in Ravenclaw is Ryan Coff. One of my friends caught him writing to Voldemort--"
"It could be a silly child's trick! Writing fake letters to the Dark Lord?" said Professor Snape.
"Severus, if you cannot restrain yourself, I must ask you to leave my office," said Dumbledore in his always-calm voice. "Please lead the way to Ravenclaw tower," he said, turning back to Jeff.
"You are a fool, Dumbledore! You trust everyone! He is wasting valuable time--" Snape stopped at the look on Dumbledore's face. His eyes were blazing, and he was standing up and staring in what was unmistakably hatred at Snape.
"Bartemius Crouch, Jr." said Dumbledore simply. Jeff was confused.
"Crouch has had his soul sucked out through his mouth in front of witnesses!" said Snape. "Be realistic!"
"Oh, I'm being realistic," said Dumbledore.
"Do you not realize--" BANG. A long, thin rope shot out of Dumbledore's now-raised wand and curled itself around Snape, tightening until Snape's (or Crouch's) eyes were bulging.
"Come, Praevalens," said Dumbledore. (In case you're wondering, that's not my real last name, although Jeff is my real first name and I've based the character on my own personality. If you'll click on the URL that I've provided in the previous chapter and search (CTRL+F) for Praevalens, you'll find out what it means.)
"Do I have to?" asked Jeff.
"You may wait outside, but be sure that no harm will befall a student in this school while they are in my presence," replied Dumbledore, and he set off toward Ravenclaw tower with Jeff trailing along behind.
When they arrived there, Dumbledore turned to Jeff. "If you do not wish to come with me into Ravenclaw tower, you may go into Professor Snape's office and find the real Professor Snape." Jeff set a course for Snape's office.
"And before you go!" said Dumbledore, eyes twinkling. "20 points to Ravenclaw, for the points that Mr. Crouch took away."
"Thank you, sir," said Jeff, and he went on his way. When he arrived in Snape's office, he didn't see anyone.
"Professor Snape?" he called.
"What are you doing in Professor Snape's office?" snarled a passing Slytherin Jeff recognized as Draco Malfoy.
"Professor Dumbledore sent me," said Jeff, ignoring the boy as he called him a liar and said that he had seen Professor Snape go into the headmaster's office, so how could he be here? He looked around and called again. There was a banging noise, and suddenly Professor Snape's desk exploded; Snape himself emerged from inside, his robes very dusty and wrinkled.
"You, boy, what do you want?"
"Professor Dumbledore sent me to find you."
"Where is the headmaster?" asked Snape.
"In Ravenclaw tower, fighting Voldemort," answered Jeff truthfully.
"Is that so? Well, then, take me there! I need to tell the headmaster something." Jeff shrugged and started to walk out of the office.
"Don't you shrug at me, boy! 20 points from Ravenclaw. Now take me to Ravenclaw tower." Jeff once again set out for Ravenclaw tower, this time with Snape trailing along behind.
When they arrived, Snape turned to Jeff and said "Well?"
"I don't want to go in there, sir, Voldemort's there. . ."
"Is that so? Well, tell me the password and I'll go in."
"Fiddle sticks."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Fiddle sticks! That's the password." The door to the tower opened, and Professor Snape entered a completely Voldemort-free room.
"Idiot boy, jabbering on about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, when there's no one in there! Ten points from Ravenclaw."
"I'm afraid I must ask you to give those points back, Severus," said Dumbledore's calm voice as Dumbledore himself stepped into view. "Why are you so dusty?"
"Excuse me, headmaster, but Barty Crouch is alive!"
"Ah, yes. I in fact saw him myself in disguise as you, trying to stall me from getting to Ravenclaw tower in time to catch Voldemort."
"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was here?" said Snape, his nostrils flaring.
"It is so. He fled at the sight of me, however, taking his servants with him. Now, the points?"
"Very well," grumbled Snape. "Ten points to Ravenclaw."
"And fifty more, I think, would be appropriate, considering the immediate danger the school would have been in had young Praevalens not alerted me off about Voldemort's presence."
"I don't think Voldemort would have done anything except kill his servant, I'll explain in a second, and then leave."
"Nevertheless, I'm afraid I cannot allow the Dark Lord to enter the school. And now would you explain what you meant about killing his servant? Come, come, let us talk in my office. Severus, please accompany us, I want a word with you anyway."
Jeff and Snape followed Dumbledore into his office, where Barty Crouch was still tied up. Jeff told Dumbledore about realizing that Coff was a spy, and their midnight battle, being careful to leave out the part about the secret AC.
Something in the way that Dumbledore asked "Is that all?" made Jeff feel that Dumbledore knew something; nevertheless, Jeff told him that it was.
"Now, I believe that it is time to question Crouch?" said Dumbledore, still staring at Jeff piercingly. He finally looked away and forced three drops of Veritaserum into Barty Crouch's mouth, although he struggled. He then untied Crouch and began his questioning.