As they walked along the path to Hogsmeade after the Second Task, Harry was telling his friends about what Snape said to him. Ben was the first to react by letting out a large puff of air.
"What's that for?" Harry asked.
"That is me trying to calm down before I go after Snape," Ben said.
"Professor Snape, Ben," Hermione corrected after a long-suffering sigh.
Ben glared darkly at her before replying. "He's even less a professor now than he previously was, in my mind. Much like Binns, you need to be able to teach to be a successful teacher, and neither is able to properly teach. I mean, look at Harry, he's good at potions whenever he's not in a room with Snape. Just think about how well he'd do under a proper teacher."
"Hermione, drop it," Ginny said as she opened her mouth to reply. "You know that with the way he teaches, very few know anything about potions. Ben's just expressing his opinion, even if it's shared by many people."
"So, we're going to see Sirius, today," Daphne said. "Does anyone know why he asked us to take some time out of our Hogsmeade visit?"
"Rita Skeeter may have tried to publish another article," Ben replied.
Hermione glowered. "She really needs to be stopped."
"Honesty," Harry said, "I wouldn't mind if she wasn't targeting me."
"I'm still curious as to how she's able to get her stories," Ben mentioned.
"Well, I asked Professor Moody if he's seen her under an invisibility cloak," Hermione said. "He hasn't seen her on the grounds for a while."
"She's not using a Disillusionment Charm either," Daphne added.
"A what?" Harry asked in confusion.
"A charm that makes you like a chameleon," Ben said. "It's not true invisibility as people can still see where you are by the distortions in the air."
"There are other ways of getting around unseen," Luna piped up. "We just need to think small to find them."
The group spent the rest of the time walking to the Three Broomsticks in silence as each tried to think of how Rita could be going around without being seen. Upon entering the establishment, they immediately spotted Sirius seated at the counter, joking with Madame Rosmerta. The group made its way up to the counter in order to get Sirius's attention. They managed to get up to the counter as Sirius and Rosmerta were laughing at his latest joke.
"Ah, hello everyone," Sirius said, spotting them first. "I've rented a private room for us in the back. Rosmerta, lovely to see you."
With a departing wave, Sirius led them into a room that was similar to the main room, if a bit smaller. When everyone had been seated, Sirius started, "So, how have you been?"
"Doing alright," Harry replied. "Could be better."
Sirius hummed in response. "Rita tried to publish an article going after you, Hermione. Saying that you used a love potion to make Harry and Victor Krum fall for you."
Hermione scoffed. "Who'd she interview, then? Malfoy's gang?"
"Them and a boy named Colin Creevey," Sirius replied, startling the group slightly. "She also had a quote about Victor Krum inviting you to Bulgaria."
Hermione was stunned. "How did she know that?"
"What's this?" Ron asked suspiciously.
Hermione colored slightly. "Victor invited me to visit him this summer after he pulled me out of the lake."
Harry, Ben, Daphne, and Ginny traded amused glances as Ron frowned. Harry, attempting to head off Ron's upcoming rant about Victor Krum and the restarting of the Rita Skeeter debate, asked Sirius, "Why are you here today, Sirius?"
"Fulfilling my duty as godfather," said Sirius. "I'm glad I'm free. I'd not be able to help you easily. Your last letter . . . well, let's just say things are getting fishier. I've been keeping an eye on the paper every day, and by the looks of things, I'm not the only one who's getting worried."
Ben frowned in thought. "Is this the news about Crouch?"
Harry remember the article about Crouch's sickness. It made it sound like he was dying.
"Personally," Ben continued, "I think it couldn't happen to a nicer man."
"Mind you, he did look ill, last time I saw him up close," said Harry slowly, thinking about the last time he saw him. "The night my name came out of the goblet. . . ."
"Getting his comeuppance for sacking Winky, isn't he?" said Hermione, an edge to her voice. "I bet he wishes he hadn't done it now — bet he feels the difference now she's not there to look after him."
Harry, Ben, Daphne, and Ginny sighed in slight exasperation as Ron cast Hermione a dark look. Sirius frowned in thought. "This was at the World Cup, right?"
The group nodded.
"I think I remember who was up there," Sirius said. "There was the Malfoys - "
"Bet Lucius Malfoy cast the Mark," Ron said grumpily.
" - Various department heads of our Ministry and the Bulgarian Ministry, including the Ministers, us, and Winky."
"Ludo Bagman was there as well," Hermione said.
"I know he doesn't act like it, but he is the head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports," Daphne responded.
"We saw him in the forest just before the Dark Mark appeared," Hermione told Sirius, ignoring Daphne for the moment. "Remember?" she said to Harry and Ron.
"Yeah, but he didn't stay in the forest, did he?" said Ron. "The moment we told him about the riot, he went off to the campsite."
"How d'you know?" Hermione shot back. "How d'you know where he Disapparated to?"
"Come off it," said Ron incredulously. "Are you saying you reckon Ludo Bagman conjured the Dark Mark?"
"It's more likely he did it than Winky," said Hermione stubbornly.
Ron rolled his eyes.
"When the Dark Mark had been conjured, and the elf had been discovered holding Harry's wand, what did Crouch do?"
"Went to look in the bushes," said Harry, "but there wasn't anyone else there."
"Of course," Sirius muttered, pacing up and down, "of course, he'd want to pin it on anyone but his own elf . . . and then he sacked her?"
"Yes," said Hermione in a heated voice, "he sacked her, just because she hadn't stayed in her tent and let herself get trampled - "
"Hermione, will you give it a rest with the elf!" said Ron.
Sirius shook his head and said, "She's got the measure of Crouch better than you have, Ron. If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.
"All these absences of Barty Crouch's . . . he goes to the trouble of making sure his house-elf saves him a seat at the Quidditch World Cup, but doesn't bother to turn up and watch. He works very hard to reinstate the Triwizard Tournament, and then stops coming to that too. . . . It's not like Crouch. If he's ever taken a day off work because of illness before this, I'll eat Moony."
Ben snorted in amusement, Daphne smiling faintly as well.
Harry had a spark in his memory. "Oh, right. Crouch was the one who threw you in Azkaban without a trial."
Sirius snorted darkly. "He was tipped for the next Minister of Magic. He's a great wizard, Barty Crouch, powerfully magical — and power-hungry. Oh never a Voldemort supporter," he said, reading the look on Harry's face. "No, Barty Crouch was always very outspoken against the Dark Side. But then a lot of people who were against the Dark Side . . . well, you wouldn't understand . . . you're too young. . . ."
"That's what my dad said at the World Cup," said Ron, with a bit of irritation in his voice. "Try us, why don't you?"
A grin flashed across Sirius's face.
"All right, I'll try you. . . ." He walked once up the cave, back again, and then said, "Imagine that Voldemort's powerful now. You don't know who his supporters are, you don't know who's working for him and who isn't; you know he can control people so that they do terrible things without being able to stop themselves. You're scared for yourself, and your family, and your friends. Every week, news comes of more deaths, more disappearances, more torturing . . . the Ministry of Magic's in disarray, they don't know what to do, they're trying to keep everything hidden from the Muggles, but meanwhile, Muggles are dying too. Terror everywhere . . . panic . . . confusion . . . that's how it used to be.
"Well, times like that bring out the best in some people and the worst in others. Crouch's principles might've been good in the beginning — I wouldn't know. He rose quickly through the Ministry, and he started ordering very harsh measures against Voldemort's supporters. The Aurors were given new powers — powers to kill rather than capture, for instance. And I wasn't the only one who was handed straight to the dementors without trial. Crouch fought violence with violence, and authorized the use of the Unforgivable Curses against suspects. I would say he became as ruthless and cruel as many on the Dark Side. He had his supporters, mind you — plenty of people thought he was going about things the right way, and there were a lot of witches and wizards clamoring for him to take over as Minister of Magic. When Voldemort disappeared, it looked like only a matter of time until Crouch got the top job. But then something rather unfortunate happened. . . ." Sirius smiled grimly. "Crouch's own son was caught with a group of Death Eaters who'd managed to talk their way out of Azkaban. Apparently they were trying to find Voldemort and return him to power."
"Crouch's son was caught?" gasped Hermione.
"Yep," said Sirius. "Nasty little shock for old Barty, I'd imagine. Should have spent a bit more time at home with his family, shouldn't he? Ought to have left the office early once in a while . . . gotten to know his own son."
Harry remembered Sirius telling Ben and himself about Barty Crouch Jr. one day when they were home.
Rest of the conversation goes more or less the same way as the book
AN: Sorry this chapter took so long, it just didn't want to cooperate.
Uploaded Nov. 13th, 2022