They did go together. In fact, from that moment on the pair were almost inseparable. Because of this, Ali became even more giggly and chirpy, and Frank became far less shy. He was still quiet, that was who he was, but he felt more comfortable around new people. Another result of their new relationship was that the bullying of Frank had come to a halt. Due to the large amount of time he spent with Ali he had gotten to know her friends a lot better, and a social bond to the likes of James Potter and Sirius Black would certainly be enough to scare away any perspective bullies. Add to that the fact that people now bothered to actually get to know Frank, something people had never bothered to do before, and if you actually tried hard enough you could see what I likeable person he really was.
So, for a while – apart from the usual squabblings and detentions, break-ups and spells-gone-wrong – all was quiet at Hogwarts. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the outside world. For a while their had been talk of dark magic in far way countries; a Lord of Darkness, described as neither human, nor beast. Bodies were beginning to be found, people were starting to go missing. It wasn't long before the black letters started arriving to students, bringing news of dead relatives and families ripped a sunder. It wasn't long before the whole school began to dread the morning arrival of owls.
At first people were able to write off the threat, dismissing it first as rumours, then when it became quite clear it was true, as 'not their concern'. How, people asked themselves, could some far away Lord affect the peaceful world of Hogwarts? The problem was, that it wasn't this 'Dark Lord' that was scaring people. While it was easy to have nightmares about some mystical power, some shadowy creature, it was the thought of his followers that really terrified people. These self-named 'Death Eaters' were not so easy to forget about. They hit far to close to home for comfort. The thing that haunted people most was the idea that while the Dark Lord himself was said to look like a monster, these Death Eaters were just ordinary people. They could be that man you saw in Hogsmead, that woman in the paper, your parents next-door neighbour, your best friend. There was no way of telling. No way at all. It was the talk of the school for weeks when the news reached them that a young man of twenty had brutally killed a family of five muggles, two of them children, under the Dark Lords orders.
He'd been head boy when he was at Hogwarts.
It was things like that that haunt deep.
Ali had always been a good judge of character, so was Frank. It was an ability that became crucial to them in their later career choice. Despite being very trusting, and friendly to all, she knew when she should be wary of someone, and it was while she was still in Hogwarts that she met such a person.
Bartemius Crouch was the son of a high-ranking member of the Ministry. Tipped to be the next Minster of Magic, Crouch senior had very little time for his family, leaving his only son basically fatherless. To the school at large Barty Crouch seemed a respectable student. He was quiet, good at lessons and a reasonable quidditch player. No one special, but no one to worry about.
How very wrong they were.
From the moment Ali first laid eyes upon Crouch she hated him. He was a four years younger than her and she had first seen him as he walked forward to place the sorting hat on his head at the start of term feast. She had a split second glimpse of his cold, blue, eyes before the hat dropped over his face. It was enough to send a shiver hurtling straight down her spine. He was evil and she knew it. She had no idea how or why she knew it, but she did, and she couldn't forget about it. From then on she kept an eye on Crouch. She was sure at some point he'd slip up; show the world what he was really like; and she was prepared to wait until he did. She did try once to convince her friends of her feelings on the matter, but they just laughed and told her not to worry about it. They, like the rest of the world, saw nothing threatening about some everyday, run-of-the-mill, fair-haired lad. If only they had believed her, as Barty Crouch Junior was one of the four Death Eaters that ultimately put an end to the Longbottom's real existence. If only they'd stopped him then, maybe it would never have happened?
Maybe, just maybe?
As it turned out, there was only one person who ever believed her.About four months after she first started dating Frank, Ali was to be found lying on the soft grass beside the lake. To passers by it looked as if she was studying, but in actuality she was doing nothing of the sort. Barty Crouch and a group of his Slytherin friends were mucking about on the opposite side of the lake and Ali was taking careful note of what they were doing. It was by watching him whenever she had a spare minute that she hoped to catch him out. It was a bit of a rubbish plan, but what else could she do by herself?
Frank, who was crossing the grounds on his way back from Herbology, spotted her. He stood still for a moment, wondering whether to go over and talk to her – as he had a Transfiguration lesson starting in less than three minutes – when he noticed the way her eyes were looking not at the book she had in front of her, but at a group of 3rd years by the waters edge. Abandoning the thoughts of his lesson, he walked over and sat down beside her.
"What are you looking at?" he enquired in mild interest.
"Him," answered Ali, nodding towards Crouch.
"Who?" asked Frank, unsure who he was meant to be looking at.
"Him. The one standing on the rock,"
Frank narrowed his eyes against the bright spring sunlight until he could make out a face.
"What, that Crouch boy?"
"Yep," she said, scribbling something down in the notebook she had with her.
"This might be a stupid question," Frank said, his head on one side, staring at his girlfriend, "But, why are you looking at him."
"Because he's up to something, I can tell," answered Ali with certainty in her voice.
"What?" laughed Frank, "What do you mean 'Up to something'?"
"I don't know," she said truthfully, trying to explain, "I just, know it's something bad. He's evil, I'm sure of it. I have been since the very first time I saw him!"
Frank thought about this for a moment.
"When you say he's up to something, do you mean like what's been happening outside school. With that Dark Lord person?"
"I don't know," she said again, "But it's something. Here, look," she showed him the notebook which was full of hastily written notes about Crouch's movements, "I'm sure if I watch him close enough I'll pick up on what he's doing. Then I can catch him out."
Frank closed the notebook and handed it back. He then said as gently as he could,
"Um…Ali, if you've never actually seen him do anything wrong, how can you be sure he's doing something wrong?
Ali sighed,
"Because I can, it's that look he has in his eyes. Why can't anyone else see it? Here, look at him, really look, can't you see it."
He stared as hard as he could at Crouch's face, he did, he tried, but there was nothing there.
"I don't see anything."
Ali groaned and dropped her notebook and pen to the floor. She rolled onto her back and covered her face with her hands.
"Great, another person who doesn't believe me."
"Ali," said Frank softly, giving the top of her forehead a kiss, "I said I couldn't see anything, not that I didn't believe you. I do believe you, if you say he's evil then he is. That's the truth."
Slowly, Ali removed her hands from her face, there was a small smile playing on her lips,
"I knew there was a reason I loved you."
From that moment on, Ali was no longer alone in her quest to find out the truth about Bartemius Crouch. It was no longer just one pair of eyes on the look out for any slip up, any kind of sign he might be involved with what was happening in the real world. It was also now possible to use 'spying' methods that would never had been possible with just one look out. Frank was still unable to see any kind of evil in Crouch's eyes, but he trusted Ali, and Ali trusted her instincts. Together the pair worked with a determination that they knew would pay of eventually, and they were right, sort of. You see, it was there quest to catch him out and prove his involvement with dark magic that led to their first meeting with the Dark Lord himself.
Time had flown at Hogwarts. The 7th years had had their final end of term feast and caught the Hogwarts express for the very last time. Ali had had a tearful goodbye on the platform as they set off to start their lives in the real world, while she still had another year of schooling to put up with. As that next year began Ali found herself slightly at a loss. She had friends in her year of course, but it wasn't the same, and losing nearly all ones best friends in one foul swoop does tend to depress you slightly. Because of this she found herself spending a lot more time with Frank, making them even closer. This was evidently useful in their later married life. This separation from her friends was not the only thing to change for her at Hogwarts. She and Frank were both scheduled to sit their N.E.W.T.'s at the end of that year and they needed top marks to make it into the Ministry auror training as they both so wished to. Add to this the news they received in the letters towards the end of the summer holidays. Both had previously been prefects, but no doubt due to their excellent marks and good-ish behaviour, they had been chosen to be the new head boy and girl – taking over from Lily Evans and James Potter. But still, despite all this revision and new responsibility, they still kept a wary eye on Crouch. Though as the months went by it seemed their task was fruitless. The pair didn't doubt he was up to something, but he seemed far to good at hiding it for them to ever catch him out. He never made a mistake or said something out of the ordinary while with his friends, there were the usual mudblood comments, but with a group of stuck-up Slytherins what do you expect? It was only in the early evening of a sunny day in June that he made his first real mistake.
The N.E.W.T's and O.W.L's had seen sat by fifth and seventh years alike. The last exam had ended earlier that day and the castle was in uproar with near-holiday spirit. The grounds were full of lazing students soaking up the last rays of the day's sun; and there was at least one party going on in each of the common rooms. The pair were sitting in the Gryffindor common room, surrounded by their classmates and eating food cleverly stolen from the kitchens (Both had laid aside their headship qualities for the afternoon and were carefully ignoring all the rule breaking going on around them.)
"Did you see Victoria Simmons face at the end of the History of Magic exam?" asked Mitzie to the group at large, grinning as she popped at a violet cream chocolate into her mouth.
"Yes, she looked liked she'd been flying through a windstorm for the last hour, completely shell shocked," Ali laughed as she reached towards the bowl beside her. "Oh no."
"What?" enquired Emily as everyone leant in closer to see what was happening.
"Its, its," she said in a hushed voice, "We're out of ice-cream!"
Everyone groaned and leant back in their chairs.
"Oh Ali, we thought it was something important."
"It is important!" said Ali indignantly, "There is none left, not even the tiniest morsel of cookie dough of chocolate at the bottom of the container."
"But there was a full box an hour ago," said Mitzie in disbelief, "You really shouldn't eat so much of that stuff, you'll get brain freeze."
"I like ice-cream," replied Ali, narrowing her eyes. She made to get up, "I'm going to the kitchens to get some more."
"No it's alright, I'll go," put in Frank, getting up instead, "Your still banned from the kitchens, remember, the whole'wouldn't it be fun if we threw a dung bomb in the stew'incident?"
"Oh yeah," replied Ali vaguely, "Ok then, you go, but be quick!" She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and he set off rolling his eyes ever so slightly.
Frank knew his way to the kitchens perfectly – what seventh year doesn't? – But he just happened to glance through one of the windows lining an outer corridor of the castle as he hurried past, and something caught his eye. Someone was coming out of the castle doors, but their manner was completely different from that of the others littering the grounds. The figure had somewhere to go, something to do. Frank recognised the mop of fair hair in an instant. Without hesitation, he ran as quickly as he could towards the entrance hall. He flew down the main staircase; jumping completely the last ten or so steps, and pushed open the heavy wooden doors. Once outside he stared all around for a sigh of Crouch, spotting him after a few moments. He was quite a way away by then, just on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Making sure to stay at least twenty metres behind his quarry, Frank followed silently.
As they entered the cool shelter of the trees Frank grew nervous. It was far easier to be unnoticed when your footstep fall upon the soft grass, much harder when the ground is littered with stray pinecones and broken twigs. At least three times the weight of his step made a crack or rustling noise loud enough for Crouch to turn round suspiciously; but by using the trees as cover, Frank managed to stay hidden.
After ten or so minutes Crouch came to a sudden halt. The place was silent. No birds were singing or animals scurrying. The thick trees blocked out all light except a thin dappling that managed to penetrate the green gauge. It cast an unhealthy light upon Crouch's face.
There was a noise behind crouch and he whipped round. Another figure dressed in long black robes was emerging through the trees in the opposite direction to where Frank was hiding. Crouch stood still as the black figure approached him. Neither spoke until the pair were facing. As Frank watched, his mouth dry, the figure reached up and pulled down their hood, revealing the face underneath. He almost gasped aloud in shock as thick black hair and large, hooded eyes came into view. The person under the cloak was an ex-pupil of the school, one who had left only last year. None other than Rodolphus Lestrange.
"Crouch," he said nodding.
"Lestrange," replied Barty, nodding too.
"I brought the news," said Rodolphus in his harsh voice, looking around, "Are you sure no ones listening?"
"Quite sure," answered Crouch curtly, "What are His orders?"
Still regarding the other with suspicion, Rodolphus reached into his cloak and pulled out a single sheet of writing. He handed it to crouch saying,
"There. Read it and burn it." He nodded once more, then, replacing his hood, disappeared back into the trees.
Crouch stood still a while longer, his eyes travelling down the grubby piece of parchment. When he'd reached the bottom he screwed it up and started walking back towards the castle. He threw the crumpled ball over his shoulder as he did, muttering with a laugh,
"Like anyone's ever gonna come in here."
Frank waited until Crouch's footsteps had faded to nothing before stepping forward and retrieving the parchment from a mess of tangled thorns. His face darkened as he read over the words.
Ten minutes later Frank almost fell through the portrait hall. His face was drenched in sweat and exhausted and there were twigs and leaves sticking out of his hair. Ali was still sitting in the same armchair and she looked up as he entered.
"You took your time," she said scowling. Her eyes opened wide in shock as she realised he was carrying nothing, "You haven't brought any ice-cream!"
"Ali, I need to talk to you," said Frank quickly.
"About the lack of ice-cream I hope," replied Ali hotly. But she followed him out of the room and into an empty classroom a little down the corridor.
"I just saw Crouch talking to Rodolphus Lestrange. He gave him this, here read." He thrust it at her and she scanned over the words. Her jaw dropped further with every sentence she saw.
The Dark Lord has called a meeting. On the 10th of June he will appear at Mestan Point. The time will be 9.30 in the evening exactly. He will relay orders of our new tactics. His word is to be obeyed. Word of the meeting must be kept secret from all outsiders. All Death Eaters must attend. Those who do not come will be killed. Those who warn others outside the Dark Lord's circle of the meeting will be killed. Traitors and spies will be punished as the Dark Lord sees fit.
"So he is one of them," said Ali in a hushed voice, "One of those…Death Eaters."
Frank nodded,
"I think so. You were right about him. I saw that look, that one in his eyes. I saw it when he read that note. It made me feel-" he shivered and broke off, "He is evil."
Ali felt relief in the pit of the stomach that she finally had proof she wasn't making it up. This temporary relief didn't last long however, it was quickly stifled by a mixture of fear, and excitement.
"So what do we do?" she asked Frank, handing him back the paper.
"I don't know. What do you reckon?" he replied biting his lip.
"Well, we only really have one option. Go to this meeting and see what's going on."
"You sure," asked Frank doubtfully, "We could quite easily get ourselves killed doing that. These people aren't exactly afraid of murder."
"Yeah, I know," said Ali. There were Goosebumps up and down her arms, but the light of adventure was alive in her eyes. "You think too morbidly Frankie."
"Ali, this idea is very dangerous not to mention down right idiotic. Are you sure we haven't got any other options?"
"Quite sure," she replied, grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the door. "Come on, to the library, we've got plans to make."
Ali, could she be any cooler?
More soon...