Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, I am writing this fanfiction for my own amusement and make no profit, all recognizable characters in this story are the property of J.K Rowling, Scholastic, Warner Brothers, etc.
AN: This is a pretty heavy chapter and the point where the story takes a hard right from canon. After this chapter, the story should lighten up considerably.
AN: I didn't change as much of this chapter as I thought I would have to, mostly I just changed the method of Barty's escape (which I already rewrote once).
Defence Professor's Quarters, Hogwarts, 11/27/1997, 19:29
Barty Crouch Jr was hastily packing his things, the foe glass on the wall was already quite clear so he had a feeling that his cover had been blown. He knew the current mission had gone tits up but he could still accomplish his objective.
Barty had just shrunk down his trunk, leaving Moody's seven-compartment trunk (with the man himself locked inside of it) at the foot of the bed. Once he was satisfied he had everything he wanted to take with him, he made his way to his office and stepped inside.
Wandering over to his desk he opened the top drawer and placed the ritual knife from his pocket in the drawer and waited patiently for his student to arrive.
Moody grinned when he heard a knock on his door at exactly a quarter til' eight.
"Come in, Potter," Moody called as he readied his wand under the desk.
"You wished to see me, sir?" William Potter asked as he stepped into the room and shut the door behind him.
"Aye, take a seat, lad," Moody said gesturing to the seat on the other side of his desk.
"What's this about, professor?" Will asked when he took the offered seat.
"Expelliarmus," Barty exclaimed catching the boy by surprise as his wand was ripped out of his robe pocket.
Barty stood up and directed his wand at the boy's chest with a vicious grin on his lips.
"What the-
"Incarcerous," Moody snapped cutting Will off as ropes flew from the end of his wand tying him to the chair.
"I have to make this quick, the aurors are onto me and I can't go back to that damn prison," Moody said as he drew the dagger from his open desk drawer.
"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?" Will demanded as he tried to desperately fight the binds holding him to the chair.
'SMACK'
Moody had rared back and slapped him so hard he saw stars and felt his lip bust against his teeth.
"Shut up boy!" Moody snapped as he took the dagger and slid the blade across Will's forearm making him cry out in pain as blood gushed from the wound.p
'SMACK'
"I said shut up, Potter," Moody said as he smacked him across the face again.
Will watched in a daze as Moody brought an empty vial to the gash in his arm and let the blood flow in it until the vial was full.
"Blood of the enemy forcefully taken, you will resurrect your foe," Moody whispered as he corked the vial of blood and cast a stasis charm on it before slipping it into his pocket.
"There, now originally I was supposed to get you to my master. Unfortunately, that is no longer an option so I will have to collect the necessary ingredient and let my master decide how he wishes to proceed," Barty grunted as he pointed his wand at Will.
"Have you lost your fucking mind?" Will demanded, his voice coming out in a very high pitch.
"According to the ministry mind healers I'm nuttier than squirrel shit," Moody chuckled.
"Let me go?!" Willed exclaimed his voice filled with terror as he saw the tip of Moody's want inches from his face.
"Oh calm yourself, Potter. The dark lord has already you are not to be harmed by any hand but his," Moody soothed as he lowered his wand.
"Winky," Moody called into the room.
'Pop'
"Is that you master Barty?" The little elf asked in confusion.
"It is Winky," Moody said in a tone of amusement.
"What can Winky be doing for you, master Barty?" Winky asked eagerly.
"Can you apparate me through the Hogwarts wards?" Moody asked.
"Yes Master Barty, the Hogwarts wards be's strong but Winky can take you's by elf travel," Winky said with a wide grin on her tiny face.
"Excellent, just let me deal with him and then we can leave," Barty said happily before pointing his wand at Will again and shouting, "OBLIVIATE!"
"Winky, take me to the Little Hangleton graveyard," Barty ordered and took hold of the tiny elf's hand.
"Yes Master Barty," The elf replied as she closed her eyes and turned on the spot, taking her and her master away with a loud 'Pop.'
Will blinked in confusion as a loud popping noise seemed to pull him out of the daze he was in. He had no idea why he was here or why he was tied to a chair.
The last thing he remembered was going to dinner so this was very disorienting for him. Even worse was that his face ached and he could feel a stinging pain in his left forearm.
Will tried his best to wiggle out of his bindings but they were extremely tight, so tight that his hands and feet were starting to fall asleep. Will hoped someone would find him soon, he was pretty sure he was in Moody's office judging by all of the dark detectors on the wall behind the desk.
Will sat there for what felt like hours before his scar began to twinge painfully. All of a sudden the pain in his scar exploded and he let out an agonized scream as the scar on his forehead felt like it was going to burst open.
Will's eyes roll in his head for a moment before his muscles seemed to lock up and he began thrashing against his bindings and began screaming even louder. The pain suddenly spiked and everything went black before he was pulled into one of those visions he had become so familiar with.
'Will was in a desolate graveyard and saw everything from a strange perspective as if he were laying on his stomach. In front of him was a fire casting the area in light though the light looked distorted and had a bluish hue to it as if he were seeing things through a different colour spectrum.
"Wormtail, begin," a high-pitched voice commanded in a tone colder than ice.
Will watched as a short chubby man he had only seen in newsprint and old photos of his dad. Wormtail bent down and scooped something off of the ground, whatever it was he picked up appeared to be shaped like a baby swaddled in blankets but Will highly doubted that as the cold voice had issued from that bundle of blankets.
Wormtail carried the bundle over to a massive cauldron that Will had just noticed was positioned over the fire and gently unwrapped the blankets.
Will felt revulsion as the contents of the blankets was revealed, the thing Wormtail had been carrying had the shape of a crouched two-year-old and looked to weigh maybe twenty pounds. It was completely hairless and its skin was a dark, raw, reddish-black colour. The thing's skin was grotesque and scaly-looking, almost like a snake that had rotted on asphalt in the sun. Its arms and legs were thin and feeble and didn't seem strong enough to support the weight of the thing. Its face was the most horrifying part, it was flat and snake-like, with gleaming red eyes that Will had seen in his nightmares, the eyes of his father's murderer.
The thing was fucking disgusting, Will couldn't blame Wormtail for the look of revulsion that he had as he touched the thing with his bare hands as he gently lowered it into the cauldron.
Wormtail drew his wand after the thing had disappeared in the cauldron and summoned a bone from a grave marked Tom Riddle.
"Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son!" Wormtail exclaimed in a nasally voice as he directed the bone into the cauldron.
Will couldn't see inside the cauldron from his place on the ground but he could make out poisonous blue sparks shooting out of the top as the potion inside hissed ominously.
Wormtail removed a knife from the inner pocket of his black robes and seemed to be trying to build himself up for something. He gripped the knife tightly in his left hand and spoke in a shaky voice.
"F-flesh of the s-servant, willingly sacrificed, you will r-revive your m-master!"
Wormtail swung the knife down hard, the blade cutting through his left wrist unnaturally ease, causing Wormtail's right hand to plop into the potion. As soon as his hand hit the liquid in the cauldron, Will heard a sizzle before bright red sparks began shooting into the sky, illuminating the headstones all around them.
"Ahhhhhhhhhghhh!"
The sound Wormtail made as he severed his hand sent a chill down Will's spine.
Wormtail swayed on his feet before he collapsed to the ground cradling the stub of his right arm against his chest as he began to sob.
Will moved without conscious volition, his head moving from side to side as he got closer to the downed man, his instincts telling him that this man was prey.
Will came to a stop as another man's voice broke through the night. This other man was pale with straw-coloured hair and he spoke in a manic joyous tone, practically singing his words.
"Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken, you will resurrect your foe!"
Will watched as he poured the vial of blood into the cauldron and there was a blinding explosion of white light before the cauldron was obscured in dense white mist
Through the mist that hid the cauldron, he could see the distorted flame that seemed to illuminate the fog. Will could make out the outline of a human-shaped figure, tall and skeletally thin, rising slowly from inside the cauldron.
The mist began to dissipate and Will could see saw red eyes looking down at him, "Robe me, Barty."
Will snapped awake screaming his lungs out as some force seemed to push him back to the present. His legs and wrists were in agony and his face was drenched in a sheen of cold sweat.
He was still tied to the chair and from the light coming in from the window, Will knew it was still nighttime. Will felt a trickle of warm blood running down his face as his scar gave another painful throb.
'This is going to be a really long night,' Will thought as he leaned his head back and tried to relax his breathing and fell back into a restless sleep.
Great Hall, Hogwarts, 11/28/1997, 07:48
Harry groaned as he took a seat at the Hufflepuff table, he had been up late into the night discussing what Sirius had learned about the tournament investigation from his girlfriend.
Harry had learned that Ludo Bagman was one corrupt bastard and had planned on using William to get himself out of his gambling debts. Harry had not been surprised by this news nor the news that Ludo Bagman was the one who proposed the dragons for the first task. The ministry was making moves to put all of the blame for the first task on Bagman's shoulders.
Harry didn't think that it would matter to the Bulgarians whose fault it was. They were out for blood after the death of Viktor Krum one lousy scapegoat would not be enough to appease them.
Sirius had also revealed that Crouch was due for interrogation yesterday afternoon. Unfortunately, Amelia had to work late last night, so Sirius had no idea about the outcome of the interrogation.
If things kept up the way they were, there would be a serious overhaul at the ministry soon, starting at the top.
Harry knew that Crouch's corruption was only the tip of the iceberg, considering the 'acquitted' death eater Lucius Malfoy was Fudge's primary political advisor and financial backer. Malfoy had been influencing the laws, policies, and budgeting in the ministry since Fudge had taken the post of minister of magic.
"Morning mate, pull an all-nighter or something?" Cedric asked as he sat down across from him.
"No I passed out a little after three," Harry admitted.
"What were you doing up that late?" Cedric asked fixing himself a cup of coffee.
"I called Sirius to ask him what's going on with the tournament organizers," Harry shrugged before taking a deep drink of coffee.
"Anything interesting?" Cedric asked as he loaded his plate with food.
"As a matter of fact, there was. Ludo Bagman has been placed under arrest, according to Sirius he will be going away for a very long time," Harry said as more people began to file into the hall.
"So he was the one responsible for the dragons?" Cedric asked curiously.
"That and rigging sporting events for the last five years," Harry added making Cedric do a double-take.
"That would explain the Tornadoes' winning streak," Cedric said thoughtfully.
"I guess so, they used to really suck," Harry agreed
"I wonder what they will find out about Crouch," Cedric said as a series of loud bangs filled the hall.
Harry looked around and noticed the shutters on all of the massive diamond-paned windows running down each side of the hall slamming shut almost simultaneously.
Not ten seconds later the great hall double doors were thrown open with a loud 'Bang!' as the doors slammed into the wall.
A team of aurors marched into the room approaching the head table with their wands drawn.
"All students on the floor, by order of the ministry of magic!" One of the aurors called out.
The red-robbed men fanned out across the Hall walking down the aisles between the house tables, the aurors came to a stop about three-quarters of the way across the hall forming a skirmish line of sorts with the students behind them, they were scanning over the students as if they were looking for someone.
It took about three minutes for every student in the hall to get on the floor before each of the aurors yelled, "clear!"
"Alright, Proudfoot, Savage, and Tonks stay in the hall, no one comes in and no one goes out. The rest of you, with me," Kingsley ordered.
Harry watched as more than a dozen aurors left the hall before the doors slammed shut and loud locks clicked into place as the aurors sealed the room.
"Auror Tonks, what is the meaning of this?" Dumbledore asked and Harry noticed there was an edge to his voice Harry had never heard before.
"Sorry Headmaster Dumbledore, we have a warrant to apprehend a class five fugitive and had to seal the students in the Hall," Tonks said from her place beside the door
"And who is it you are looking for?" McGonagall asked irritably.
"I am not at liberty to say, ma'am," Tonks answered.
"Are the students at least allowed off of the floor?" McGonagall demanded.
"Yes ma'am, they may retake their seats," the woman on the other side of the door said
Harry scrambled off of the floor and got back into his seat before looking around the hall as students retook their seats.
"Hey mate, what the hell is going on?" Cedric muttered from his left.
"They're looking for someone," Harry shrugged as he scanned the Gryffindor table.
"Who, everyone but Moody is in the hall?" Cedric exclaimed.
"Have you seen my brother?" Harry asked when he didn't see him at the Gryffindor table.
"No, I haven't seen him since dinner last night," Cedric said after a moment's thought.
"He was with me after dinner but he said he had to meet with Professor Moody before curfew," Susan spoke up.
"Fucking hell!" Harry exclaimed as he jumped to his feet intending to walk to the head table and let McGonagall know about this.
"Potter, what are you doing? Get back in your seat!" Tonks snapped.
"My brother is not in here, he was last seen with Professor Moody yesterday evening," Harry said loudly so the teachers and aurors could both hear him.
"You're sure about this?!" Tonks asked urgently, her hair shifting to a mousy brown colour.
"That's what little Bones just told me," Harry replied.
"He didn't come back to the tower last night," Hermione Granger added, sounding very worried.
"Fuck!" Tonks exclaimed before casting a patronus charm and sending it through the door.
"We'll get your brother but I need you to return to your seat, sir," The male auror said in an authoritative tone.
"Fine, but if my brother gets caught in the middle of whatever the hell this is, there will be problems," Harry said a slight edge to his voice.
"He'll be fine, Harry. We won't let anything happen to him," Tonks assured him from her place by the door.
"You'd better not," Harry sighed as he retook his seat beside Cedric.
"It'll be okay, Harry," Cedric said sounding unusually serious.
"'Will, for the love of god don't be involved in this!' Harry thought desperately.
Defence Classroom, Hogwarts, 11/28/1997, 07:56
Will jerked awake as the office door exploded inward, the force of the explosion pelting him with splinters of wood and he had no means to protect himself. Will cried out in agony as a piece of the door about two feet in length impaled him through the stomach.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
"Aurors, drop your wands!" A deep male voice bellowed before three men in auror robes entered with their wands drawn.
"Clear, we need a healer in here!" Someone called out before Will felt his bindings release and he groaned as the movement intensified the pain in his stomach.
"Are you okay, Mr Potter?" One of the aurors asked, sounding concerned.
"No, my stomach," Will gasped, feeling more pain shoot through him just from talking.
"Do you know where Alastor Moody is?" A tall dark-skinned auror asked gently.
"No, I've been tied to this bloody chair since last night," Will answered weakly.
Will felt his vision start to fade and he saw the room as if from the other end of a long tunnel before everything went black and he lost consciousness, slumping back into the chair
Great Hall, Hogwarts, 11/28/1997, 08:06
Harry sat there anxiously tapping his foot as time seemed to tick by at a snail's pace.
"Chill out mate, I'm sure he's fine," Cedric said encouragingly.
"You obviously don't know my brother," Harry snorted as a lynx patronus entered the hall and ran up to the male auror.
"Tonks, Savage unseal the doors," the man Harry assumed was Proudfoot, barked before running up to the head table and whispering something to Madam Pomfrey.
Pomfrey jumped to her feet and practically ran across the hall as the doors were thrown open.
"What do you think that was about?" Cedric muttered as they watched Proudfoot talking with Dumbledore.
"Going by the grim look on that Bloke's face, things didn't go as planned," Harry replied as he watched Dumbledore say something to the auror before standing up and clearing his throat.
"Attention, classes will be cancelled this morning and most likely, this afternoon as well. You are free to leave the hall but please steer clear of the defence corridor as the aurors are in the midst of processing a crime scene, thank you," Dumbledore said before leaving the head table.
Harry was not as surprised as he thought he should be when Dumbledore made his way to the Hufflepuff table.
Harry stood when it was obvious Dumbledore was heading for him and spoke before the headmaster had a chance.
"What happened to Will?"
"Young William was injured when the aurors made entry into the defence professor's office, he has been taken to the hospital wing," Dumbledore said as quietly as possible.
"Is he okay?" Harry demanded.
"Yes, according to Auror Proudfoot he was injured by a piece of debris from the door when they made entry but their field medic stabilised him and I have the utmost confidence that Poppy will have him good as new in no time," Dumbledore assured him.
All around him students were leaving the hall and the noise level was quickly rising as students were discussing Dumbledore's announcement amongst themselves.
"Thank you, headmaster. I'll head that way," Harry said and received a nod from Dumbledore.
"Tell William that I will be to see him soon," Dumbledore said before he turned and walked back to the head table.
"I was right, Will got caught up in the middle of it," Harry muttered to himself before walking out of the hall.
Harry began walking towards the infirmary mulling over what could have transpired in the last ten minutes. Harry was still completely at a loss for what had happened but it was fairly obvious Alastor Moody was the man the aurors were looking for as he was the only adult not in the great hall.
There had to be something major going on here, those two auror teams were the best the ministry had and were usually only sent to apprehend the worst of the worst.
Then there was the matter of Will being caught in the middle of the confrontation, why was Will with Moody to begin with? Harry was already becoming suspicious of Moody after the advice he gave Will during the first task.
'Something bigger is at play here,' Harry thought as he headed down the first-floor corridor.
Harry arrived at the infirmary quicker than he expected and quietly stepped through the door. He found his brother laying on a bed towards the end of the row closest to the door. Harry could make out a thick layer of bandages wrapped around his brother's stomach and his forearm was wrapped in gauze.
Will's two friends were seated in chairs on either side of his bed. They were talking amongst themselves while Will lay there looking dazed. Granger and Weasley stopped talking when they saw him approaching.
"How did you two get here so fast?" Harry asked looking between the two of them.
Will looked over at him and visibly winced as the movement must have pulled the wound under the many layers of bandages.
"McGonagall brought us here as soon as they unsealed the great hall," Hermione said softly.
"Are you okay?" Harry asked as he took a seat on the bed beside Will's.
"Voldemort's back! Harry. We need to tell Dumbledore!" Will said his voice coming out rather hoarse as he looked Harry in the eyes as if trying to convey how serious he was.
"Your sure?" Harry asked as he hopped up and moved to stand beside Will.
"I had a vision, I saw him get a new b-body," Will said as he sat up, wincing as he pulled the muscles around the wound in his stomach.
"Weasley, go get the headmaster," Harry said looking at his brother in concern.
"But I can-
"Don't argue with me! Go get Professor Dumbledore, Now," Harry repeated in a forced calm cutting off the boy's protests.
"Right," Weasley said before he ran from the infirmary.
"Just chill out for a minute Will," Harry said as he began to pace the area near Will's bed thinking furiously.
Poppy seemed to appear out of nowhere and gently pushed Will back onto the bed and vanished his bandages.
This wasn't the first time Will had a vision from Voldemort, just this summer he had woken up describing a vision he had about Wormtail and Voldemort. They were discussing a plan to get to William and kill him, Voldemort had then killed an old man before Will had woken up screaming.
Harry did not doubt what Will saw, they lived in a world where things thought impossible happened on a daily basis so the idea his brother could see through the eyes of another was not as far-fetched as it may seem.
"Right back at you, brother," Will chuckled as Poppy began running her wand over the oval shaped gash just to the left of his naval.
Will hissed as the spell closed the wound, the pain seemed to be calming him down a bit, though he still looked very pale.
"Are you okay William?" Hermione asked worriedly from his right side as Poppy cast a spell covering the wound in fresh bandages.
"I guess but it has been a rough night," Will chuckled closing his eyes for a minute.
"Tell me about it, you scared the shit out of me, honestly can't you stay out of trouble?" Harry chuckled as he retook his seat on the empty bed beside Will's.
"Ah, I knew you cared, don't worry Harry I'll be just fine," Will smirked.
"Have you called my mum yet?" Harry asked Madam Pomfrey when she finished patching Will up, ignoring his brother's narcissistic ravings.
"Yes, she is on her way," Poppy said distractedly as she summoned a blood replenisher potion and stood there watching Will drink it all down.
"Good, she needs to hear what Will saw," Harry said as Hermione came to sit beside him on the bed, her leg pressing into his.
"Yes, I do! What the hell is going on in this infernal school!" Lily Potter demanded as she barged into the infirmary.
"I was attacked by Mad-Eye Moody, or at least what I think happened, I can't remember anything since dinner last night..." Will trailed off before shaking his head. "After that, I had another vision, and Harry is taking Hermione to the Yule Ball," Will finished, smirking at Harry and Hermione.
Harry rolled his eyes at his brother's attempt to embarrass him but Hermione's cheeks turned bright pink.
"You can be such a wan-
"Harry, watch your language," Lily said though from her tone it sounded like it was more out of habit than anything else.
"How is he, Poppy?" Lily asked as she looked at the school matron.
"Well he was impaled with a piece of oak that punctured his spleen, there is a laceration from a cursed blade on his left forearm, and he was recently obliviated," Poppy listed off.
"Will he be okay?" Lily asked worriedly, causing Will to roll his eyes.
"Yes, he should be completely healed by this time tomorrow," Poppy assured her.
Harry listened intently and breathed a sigh of relief, Will's stomach had looked pretty bad but Poppy was a miracle worker. Harry had a suspicion that his worst injury was caused by the aurors blasting their way into Moody's office.
Harry was pulled from his thoughts as the door of the infirmary was thrown open once more causing everyone to turn in that direction as Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Ron entered the infirmary.
"What is the emergency, Mr Potter?" McGonagall asked looking in Harry's direction and raising her eyebrow slightly when she saw how close he and Hermione were sitting on the hospital bed.
"William had a vision just like he did this summer. He says that Voldemort is back," Harry said looking between his mum and McGonagall.
"Is this true William?" Dumbledore asked looking in Will's direction, causing his mother to scowl at the headmaster.
Ever since the invisibility cloak incident during Harry's third year, his mother had strongly disliked the headmaster.
Harry wasn't clear on the exact details, but from what he had gathered, back in nineteen eighty-three, Dumbledore had borrowed the Potter family's invisibility from his dad. Lily had not known what had become of the cloak after the attack on their home in Godrics Hollow until the Christmas morning of nineteen ninety-four.
They had been sitting around the tree opening presents as a family, which had always been a tradition in the Potter household. Will had opened a lumpy present that contained a silvery cloak and a letter that caught their mother's attention.
After his mum had inspected the cloak for a minute before she realized it was the Potter family's invisibility cloak, and that's when she read the letter written in a familiar looping cursive writing.
His mother had been apoplectic when she realized what this meant, she had called Sirius over to the house to watch them while she made a trip to Hogwarts.
From what Harry had pieced together, she had stormed into the great hall and berated the headmaster in front of the few students and staff still at the castle. She had then demanded to know why Dumbledore had held onto a Potter family heirloom for over a decade without having the decency to return it to its rightful owners.
According to Cedric, she had also bitch-smacked Dumbledore before storming out of the hall but he wasn't sure if that was true or not.
Will speaking pulled him back to the present, and Harry listened with rapt attention as his brother described what his brother had seen in the vision.
Will described a ritual being performed in a forlorn graveyard, he claimed that he saw it from the perspective of a large snake. Will described seeing Peter Pettigrew lighting a fire underneath a massive cauldron.
He then described Wormtail placing an ugly baby-looking thing with crimson red eyes into the cauldron full of clear boiling liquid.
Next, Wormtail summoned a bone from a grave marked Tom Riddle and placed that into the cauldron changing the colour to a poisonous blue.
Then it got gross, according to Will Wormtail cut off his right hand and dropped it into the cauldron turning the potion a burning red before Pettigrew collapsed to the ground cradling his stub of an arm.
Finally, a pale blond-haired man stepped forward and poured a vial of blood into the cauldron, the cauldron exploded outward in a blinding flash of white light.
The last thing Will described was a deathly pale skeletally thin man standing up and looking at the snake with glowing red eyes, no nose, and a sinister grin playing on his lips.
"This can't have really happened!" Hermione exclaimed looking stricken.
Sometime during the story she had grabbed Harry's hand in her own and was gripping it tightly, Harry had to admit he liked the way her skin felt against his and he didn't comment, inany event there were more important things to worry about right now.
"Unfortunately, I believe it did happen. I have already seen evidence that Voldemort has returned," Dumbledore sighed looking rather worried.
"How can Will see this, there is no seer blood in the Potter line and this is not the first time this has happened?" Harry asked looking at the headmaster.
"I am afraid I do not know for certain," Dumbledore admitted.
"Then take a guess, Albus," Lily said testily.
"Very well, I believe when James Potter gave his life to protect William he invoked an ancient magic of sorts. His sacrifice protected young William from the killing curse and rebounded it on its caster. I believe when the curse struck Voldemort some of his essence latched on to young William. This is the reason for the connection between them and also the reason he can speak parseltongue," Dumbledore explained calmly though Harry had a feeling the headmaster knew more than he was letting on.
"Not exactly," Lily said from her seat on the edge of Williams's bed.
"Excuse me?" Dumbledore asked in confusion.
"Both of my sons can speak parseltongue, so can I for that matter," Lily said matter of factly.
"I see," Dumbledore said looking flabbergasted.
"I must admit I am surprised to hear this" McGonagall said looking at Lily curiously.
"It's not exactly something I want to advertise, especially with the attitude most wizards have towards the language," Lily shrugged.
"How is that possible, you're a muggle-born aren't you?" Hermione asked looking at Lily like a puzzle she wished to solve.
"Yes I am, there is a theory that is not very popular amongst the radical purebloods that I believe explains the muggle-born phenomenon. I believe all muggle-borns are descended from squibs that were cast out of the magical world and assimilated into the muggle world. Over time the magic from the squib's line becomes active once more, usually three or more generations later and presto you have a muggle-born."
"I won't go into the whole theory but suffice it to say there was a squib that married into the Evans family in the mid-eighteen hundreds and I believe that is the reason I was born a witch," Lily said looking at the girl, then raising her eyebrow at Harry when she noticed their joined hands.
"Do you know the name of this squib?" Dumbledore asked interestedly.
"Malantha Gaunt, she married my three times great grandfather," Lily said with a shrug.
"Interesting, though my theory still holds true for the connection between William and Voldemort," Dumbledore said though he looked intrigued by the information Lily had shared.
"Should we start sending word to the order?" Minerva asked looking worried.
"Yes, I will have to find us a place to meet," Dumbledore said thoughtfully.
"What should I do?" Will asked warily, having been quiet since retelling what he had seen in his vision.
"Nothing, for now, test up and prepare yourself for the Yule Ball," Dumbledore said distractedly.
"I will have to return to the great hall, the place was a madhouse when I left," McGonagall said after a moment.
"Very well, please tell Severus I wish to speak with him immediately," Dumbledore instructed.
"I will," Minerva said before she left the infirmary at a brisk pace.
"If that bastard is coming here I'm leaving. William, whatever you do, don't go anywhere alone," Lily said in a deadly serious voice.
"I won't mum," Will said, the fourth-year wilting a bit under her stare.
"Harry, keep an eye on him, please," Lily said, giving her oldest son a pleading look.
"I always do, mum," Harry assured her.
"I love you both," Lily said as she gave them each a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"Lily, will you be joining the order again?" Dumbledore asked after she had hugged both of her sons.
"Absolutely not! More than half of us died the last time around, two of my best friends were killed, and the other is a drooling vegetable! I lost my parents, and my husband and what did I have to show for it? All those death eaters we captured avoided prison because they had enough money to bribe their way out. No Albus, I will not join your little bird club until you take the kid gloves off and fight these monsters for real!" Lily exclaimed angrily before she stormed out of the infirmary.
"I believe I will leave you four in peace, try and get some rest William," Dumbledore said in a forced cheerful tone before he too left the ward.
"And that right there is why I will never date a redhead," Harry said making William snort in amusement.
"Will doesn't seem to have any trouble with it," Ron said, pointedly looking over his and Hermione's head.
"Bones is not as volatile as mum is, she's always so been so nice," Will argued back.
"Oh brother are you in for a surprise," Harry chuckled.
"What do you mean?" Will asked warily.
"Trust me little Bones has a hell of a temper," Harry said completely serious.
"So does Hermione," Ron pointed out.
"I do not, I just have little patience for stupidity," Hermione shot back as she released Harry's hand and jumped to her feet so she could put her hands on her hips and glare at Ron
"Are they always like this?" Harry asked when Hermione and Ron started bickering.
"Yes, Susan believes it's pent-up sexual tension," Will smirked.
"Huh, well on that happy note I am going to go check out the great hall. Try not to get into any more trouble, eh," Harry said knowing it was a tall order.
"I try to avoid it but it usually finds me all the same," Will snorted
"Whatever just stay here, I'll be by later hopefully their little argument will be finished by then," Harry smirked before making his way out of the infirmary.
Harry was still not sure he believed Voldemort had returned but he would take Will's word on this.
Harry didn't know what they could do about Voldemort, if what he had always heard was true, then Voldemort was on the same level as Dumbledore. Harry knew that Will would be the first target on his list and that was a very troubling thought.
Harry wasn't a slouch with a wand. He and will both had an intuitive grasp of defensive magic and both were at the top of their year (well during years with a competent instructor). Still, Harry would not delude himself into thinking either one of them was a match for the death eaters much less Voldemort himself.
The biggest problem was that Hogwarts did not train students to combat another wizard. There had never been a duelling club unless you counted that disaster in the fourth year where Lockhart tried to teach them (and Harry didn't count this).
Defence against the dark arts was as the name suggested, it was all about defending yourself and getting away from an attacker. The only strictly offensive spell they had learned was the stunner which was useless when fighting more than one opponent as they could be awakened with a flick of a wand.
Harry entered the great hall to find everything was back to normal, the aurors were no longer there but most of the students were sitting at their house tables.
Harry found Cedric sitting in their usual spot, he was turned in his seat talking to Kenneth Towler at the Gryffindor table most likely about something to do with girls.
"Hello gents," Harry said as he plopped down beside Cedric.
"Potter, I heard you're taking our bookworm to the ball," Towler said by way of greeting.
"If you mean Hermione then yeah I am. Have either of you lined up dates yet?" Harry grinned.
"Yep," Cedric beamed.
"Not yet," Kenneth admitted.
"So who are you taking then?" Harry asked Cedric.
"Katie Bell," Cedric beamed, clearly very pleased with himself.
"I'm impressed," Harry admitted, Katie was a very good-looking girl.
"The wanker beat me to it, I was minutes away from making my move," Towler said matter of factly.
"Sure you were," Harry snorted knowing how shy Towler was with girls.
"You could always ask one of the French students," Cedric pointed out.
"I pity whatever Roger Davies he has to escort Delacour," Harry chuckled.
"Why, she's bloody gorgeous?" Cedric asked incredulously.
"She also seems to turn a bloke into a stuttering drooling moron," Harry countered.
"But I saw you with her at the Three Broomsticks and you seemed fine," Towler pointed out a tone of envy in his voice.
"Because I am a cut above the rest of you lot, no mere veela has that effect on me," Harry smirked while Cedric snorted derisively.
"Non, you can just resist my allure. You are still a moron, Monsieur Potter," Fleur's voice came from his right making Cedric grin widely and Towler turn bright red in the face.
"Ugh, do you just wait until someone says your name and then swoop in?" Harry asked looking to his right where Fleur was standing on the other side of the table with her arms crossed under her sizeable chest looking down at him imperiously.
"Non, I was coming over here to see if the rumour that you 'ave stolen your brozzers girlfriend was true," Fleur said a smirk playing on her lips.
"It is," Cedric answered gleefully as Harry shot him an annoyed look.
"I have not stolen anything," Harry scowled at the both of them.
"Of course not," Fleur said disbelievingly as she took a seat across from him and Cedric
Harry turned to face her seeing as how Towler was just staring in Fleur's direction with a slack-jawed look on his face, there would be no speaking with him for a while.
"So what do you really want?" Harry asked looking into her blue eyes.
"Fine spoil my fun, I also wanted to know if ze little boy was alright," Fleur answered as of trying to sound casual.
"Yeah, he's fine. Just a nasty gash and some blood loss, he should be out of the infirmary by breakfast tomorrow," Harry shrugged.
"Do you know what happened?" Fleur asked.
"I have no idea" Harry admitted having stopped thinking about it after Will had his vision.
Now that he thought about it, something didn't add up. Moody was the most decorated auror to serve in the auror corp in the last century.
Then there was the thing with the injury from a cursed ritual blade, there had to be a reason for that. Didn't Will say he saw a man pour a vial of blood into the cauldron? There were too many unknowns to take a guess at anything just yet though.
Though he was starting to believe that it was not Alastor Moody that the aurors were looking for.
That would mean someone was probably impersonating Mad-Eye Moody, but if that was the case, how long had this person been pretending to be the veteran auror?
Deciding he would bring his up with Sirius on the mirror later tonight he tuned back into the conversation with Fleur and Cedric though he didn't contribute very much as he still kept thinking over all that had happened this morning.
AN: I realize why I always avoid writing the graveyard scene in my other stories, it is nerve-wracking to try and rewrite a masterpiece. I was tempted to take the lazy way out and just copy and paste it from the book but I couldn't do that as I absolutely detest reading a fic that was copied from the original books.