"We are ending the fourth Triwizard task," Madam Sprottle said, and Molly thought the response from the stands was unreasonably shocked; it was painfully obvious that something was unfolding:
Cedric Diggory's unexpected appearance with the Cup had triggered… something. Albus had not been still since he returned, and was sending people off every which-way; when Remus and Sirius had appeared with Albus at the judging table, followed shortly by Severus, and then Dora had left Stella with Molly, and then taken Bill, Hagrid, and a newly arrived Mad-Eye down to find out what was going on.
Albus had since sent Dora and Bill into the maze, Hagrid had accompanied the Beauxbatons headmistress in separately, and Albus had sent Severus and Mad-Eye away again, and Remus and Sirius too - Merlin only knew where - with Sirius as a dog.
"It has become an unacceptable safety hazard," Sprottle continued, "and we are working to remove the remaining Champions safely from the maze. In the meantime, we ask that you remain in your seats so as not to get in the way of any Ministry or Hogwarts officials. We will let you know if and when that instruction changes. Lastly, could Cedric Diggory please present himself to myself, Headmaster Dumbledore, or the Minister immediately."
"Cedric's missing?" George asked, looking up from beside Luna. "He was there just a few minutes ago."
"Well, he's not down there now," Ron said, lowering his omnioculars.
"But what does Cedric have to do with anything?" Ginny asked.
"I don't know, dear," Molly said, worriedly. She bounced little Stella on her lap. "I'm sure-"
"Ginny, he arrived by portkey," Hermione said. "On the Hogwarts grounds. It's not meant to be possible."
"No one made a fuss when he arrived, though," Ron said.
"Maybe no one thought of it right away," Hermione replied.
"You did," Ron said. "It was the first thing out of your mouth."
"Yes," Hermione said smartly, "but we've been expecting something to go wrong."
"Good for you," Fred said, "but what now?" And he looked to them, to Ron and Hermione like they'd have an answer. And neither Ron or Hermione looked taken aback, or lost, just exchanged a look with Draco. When had this happened, Molly wondered. When had her twins started looking to Ron for genuine advice? Arthur had mentioned the easy if rather disconcerting authority Harry had had at the World Cup, and Molly had seen glimpses of that herself from Harry, but not from Ron. He was a fifteen year old boy, not an Auror, or a Professor, or even a member of the Order.
"We go and find out," Ron said, and Draco and Hermione rose-
"Absolutely not," Molly said. Hermione's forehead creased, Draco sat down again immediately, then looked mad with himself, but Ron lifted his chin. "Don't look at me like that, Ronald Bilius," she said warningly. "What exactly do you think you're going to do other than get in the way? The Ministry's asking people to stay seated and wait-"
"Harry hasn't been seen for ages, and now Cedric's suddenly missing- something's happening."
"Of course it is," she said, catching Stella as she almost wriggled off. "But it's not your place to help-"
"I've been helping Harry all year," Ron said, and then waved a hand behind him. "All of us have. This is exactly our place-"
"You've been helping him with my permission," Molly said. "And you don't have it right now. Sit down and wait with the rest of us." She held her hand out to him, but he didn't take it, didn't squeeze it. "The others are looking for Harry - they'll find him. And Cedric, too-"
"Actually, I've just found Cedric," Luna said, and pushed the map they'd been studying earlier over to Ron. Molly would be having words with Sirius and Remus about it once all this was over; the map explained a lot about the twins' early years at Hogwarts. "He's over by the storage shed. That's a bit strange, isn't it?"
"Very strange," Molly said, lifting Stella so she could lean forward and see it herself. Sure enough, Cedric Diggory's dot had broken away from the writhing mass of jumbled, overlapping, illegible names that was the Quidditch pitch. "It looks like he's by himself… Though I suppose it could be wrong-"
"The Map's never wrong," Fred, George, and Ron said in unison.
"It doesn't show the maze, does it?" Molly said, lifting her eyebrows. All three pulled identical faces, but Molly mostly watched Ron, then softened. "If you're determined to help, Ron, you can take that down to Dumbledore." Molly nodded at the Map. "He can send someone to fetch Cedric - and you're not to go with them," she added sternly. "You're to come right back."
"What if Dumbledore needs something?" Ron asked, even as he folded away the other parts of the map, keeping only the part with the pitch and Cedric's name visible.
"Then he can take it up with me," Molly said sternly.
"Fine, I- Oh." And then Ron swore and shoved the map back at Hermione, Draco, and Ginny.
"Ron-"
"Mum, look," he said, and suddenly shoved the map under her nose. Making its way toward the storage shed after Cedric's was another name; Bartemius Crouch Junior.
That changed things.
Molly slowly pushed the map away, took a deep breath, and drew her wand.
"Take Stella, dear," she said, and passed her over to Ron without waiting for a response. She stood and smoothed her robes, looking at the baby with a pang; Dora had entrusted her to Molly when she left with Bill, and now Molly was passing her off onto Ron. "Ginny, you'll have to go to Dumbledore instead, or you, Luna."
"I can't take her, Mum," Ron said, trying to pass Stella back. "I've got to-"
"Well, I can't very well take her with me to stop Crouch, can I?" Molly snapped. Ron's mouth dropped open and Stella cackled and patted his chin. "And far better that it's me that goes than you three." She gave Ron, Hermione, and Draco - the latter two having sprang to their feet the moment Ron showed them the map - a disapproving look.
"Better three of us than one of you," Ron retorted. "We've been practicing all year-"
Arthur hadn't been able to get away from work, and nor had Percy, or Charlie. Bill, Sirius, Remus, and Dora had already gone to do their part, and there weren't any other Order members in sight. Molly could conjure a patronus but she had trouble making it corporeal enough to carry messages, and if Crouch was after Cedric and no one else could do anything else about it, then she wasn't going to waste time trying to find someone else to send in her place.
"I'm a member of the Order," she said. And a decent witch, if she said so herself, though duelling wasn't as much her strength as household magic was (that much had become rather clear in Mad-Eye's Order training sessions) and her defensive repertoire was mostly limited to spells she'd needed to use to protect her children (mostly from themselves or each other) in their early years. "And-" Molly's heart twisted. "-I won't be going alone."
Fred and George were of age now. They'd joined the Order in April, which she wasn't happy about, even now, but she hadn't been able to talk them out of it. With Bill, Charlie, and Percy all having joined before them - as well as herself and Arthur - she hadn't had grounds to forbid them, though she especially hated the thought of the twins signing up to fight the same fight that had claimed a different set of twins fifteen years earlier; her brothers, Gideon and Fabian.
"You will not do a thing I don't tell you to," Molly said, pointing at Fred and George, who were exchanging disbelieving looks. "If I tell you to leave, you will leave. Do you understand?"
"We'll come too," Ron said, as Fred and George nodded; for once they were not smiling or joking, and she was relieved they understood the seriousness of the situation.
"You'll stay here with Stella," Molly said. It wasn't right, leaving Ron and the others with that responsibility, of having to care for a child when they were only children themselves, but what choice did she have? She gestured for Fred and George. "And you'll watch us on the map. Ginny, alert Dumbledore."
She, Fred, George, and Ginny hurried out of the stands - mercifully, the stairwell was empty because everyone else had obeyed Sprottle's instruction to stay put. Ginny peeled off from them, running straight for Albus, and Molly led her boys out of the stadium and across the damp grass towards the storage shed, wand clenched in her hand.
It was dark behind the pitch, but she didn't light her wand, and instead focused on the faint wandlight spilling from beneath the storage shed's door.
"Only one door," Fred murmured behind her - more to George than her, she thought.
"Mmm. Not great for an ambush."
"We could try the windows?"
"We'll go in together," Molly said. "I'll get the door, and the pair of you can Stun Crouch. And maybe Cedric too, until we know what's going on." She looked at each twin and they nodded, eyes on the door. "Ready?"
Fred lifted three fingers.
He put one down, then the second.
Molly took a deep breath and Fred put his final finger down.
"Aperio!" Molly said, and as the door flew open, Fred and George fired off identical Stunners; Cedric was standing inside with Pemberley, the pair deep in conversation; Crouch, Molly knew.
George's Stunner caught Cedric in the shoulder and he toppled - Molly couldn't help her wince - but Fred's missed; it collided with a crate of quaffles instead of Crouch, cracking it and sending the heavy balls tumbling over Crouch and onto Cedric.
"Expelliarmus!" Molly said, stepping properly inside as Crouch raised his wand. It went soaring out of his hand, clattering to the floor of the shed.
"Nice one, Mum," Fred said. "Stupefy!" Crouch threw himself to the ground to avoid it.
"Stop," he said, from behind a bench. "Stop."
Crouch reappeared, one hand fisted in Cedric's hair to keep his head upright, the other tucked under one of Cedric's arms, using him as a shield. In that hand, resting against Cedric's throat, were a set of rusty broom clippers. They weren't large - perhaps only two or so inches long, but they were sharp enough to do damage that would be beyond Molly's healing ability.
"Accio," she said, and the clippers jerked in his hand, but didn't come to her. Several of the old brooms pulled free from the walls and started to hit Crouch - and Cedric. Fred or George, she was sure. "Accio clippers," she said again, more forcefully, and saw Crouch's knuckles go white as he struggled to keep a grip on the clippers, while ducking his head behind Cedric to shield himself.
"No!" Crouch said, and jerked his arm back. A thin line of red appeared on Cedric's throat, and Molly gasped and released her spell, holding out a hand to Fred and George. The brooms stilled. "No," Crouch said again.
"Let Cedric go," Molly said sternly.
"Give me my wand." Crouch nodded at it.
Peripherally, she saw Fred's hand twitch, and then Cedric began to stir.
Crouch released him and before Molly really knew what was happening, Cedric had kicked the bench into her and the boys. It pushed her back into the wall-
And then seemed to shake itself, and went charging toward Cedric and Crouch. Cedric leapt over it, to retrieve Crouch and toss it to him. Crouch reduced the bench to splintery dust that he then sent shooting toward Molly, Fred, George.
There was no blocking it; it was in her eyes stinging and making them water, and in her mouth. She could hear the boys crying out as it got them too.
"Quickly!" she heard Crouch snarl, and heard movement, then an actual snarl, a cry of surprise, a loud thud and the fizzling of spells. Bright blue light shone through her closed, watering eyes, and then there was silence.
"Are you- oh," said a familiar voice. "Lacrima." Molly's eyes began to stream. "Sorry," Remus said. There was a warm hand on her shoulder. "It's an awful jinx, but I think it's probably the best thing for you." Eventually, Molly's eyes cleared enough for her to see. Fred and George were in a similar predicament, blinking and crying, and Crouch was gone. Sirius - as a dog - was standing on top of Cedric, teeth bared and an inch from Cedric's face.
"How are you here?" Remus asked.
"The Map," Fred said. Remus nodded slowly, flicking his wand.
"He's unarmed." Sirius stepped off of Cedric and straightened back into a man in the same instant, flicking his wand to summon a large, silvery dog.
"Got Cedric - alive but possibly compromised. Crouch portkeyed out - send Trace Readers to the storage shed by the Quidditch pitch."
"Are you all right?" Molly asked, gathering Fred and George up into a tight hug. Both had bloodshot eyes and wet cheeks, and George was coughing a little, but neither looked properly injured.
"Fine, Mum," Fred said. "Georgie?" George scrubbed at his eyes and nodded, but he was watching Sirius:
He'd knelt and pulled Cedric up into a sitting position.
"Are you working with Crouch?" he asked. Cedric gave him a blank look. "Where's Harry?" Sirius' voice cracked, and Molly swallowed.
"I saw him in the maze," Cedric said. "Not long ago."
"Where is he now?" Sirius asked. "Is he hurt?"
"Right where I left him," Cedric said. "And yes, his leg, and his arm-"
"Hurt how?" Sirius asked sharply.
"His leg was… he said it was a spider. And his arm-" Cedric seemed to struggle with himself, then clamped his jaw shut. "He cut it."
Remus and Sirius exchanged a look that Molly couldn't begin to decipher. Remus' nostrils were flaring.
"Cut it how?" Sirius asked.
"Cut it- He was cut," he blurted. "Cut, Potter's hurt, he needs help-" Cedric shuddered, then went blank again.
"Finite," Sirius said slowly.
Cedric sagged like a puppet whose strings had been cut, and then lurched forward to seize Sirius' robes. Rather than Stun him, as Molly would have, Sirius put his hands on Cedric's shoulders, steadying him, keeping him upright.
"Potter's in the graveyard," Cedric said, sounding choked and frantic, and gripping Sirius' hands just as tightly. "The Cup was a portkey. Pettigrew was there, and- and Him. They bound us and Disarmed us, and there was a cauldron, and he came back, and Harry- there was so much blood, but Harry made him let me go. I couldn't help, I didn't have a wand, and Harry said to run, so I ran." Cedric shuddered. "I got to the Cup, and Pemberley- I couldn't- I couldn't fight it- I couldn't tell anyone, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry-"
Sirius pulled him into a hug, rubbing his back, and Cedric clung to him, trembling. Remus lowered his wand. Molly's mind raced, trying to make sense of his garbled explanation, even as cold fear settled over her, for Harry first and foremost, but also for the rest of them because if You-Know-Who was back-
"Where was the graveyard?" Sirius asked, voice sounding rough.
"I don't know," Cedric said. "He- You Know Who's dad was buried there, I think, because Pettigrew… He used his bones to-" Cedric shuddered in Sirius' grip. "I don't know where-"
"And Harry?" Sirius said, voice catching again. "Cedric, was he- when you left, was he still-"
"Yes," Cedric said. "Yes, but-" All of them spun at the sound of voices, but it was only Aurors; Remus immediately directed them to the place where Crouch must have vanished, and Sirius gently disentangled himself from Cedric, but kept a hand on his shoulder.
"Molly…?" Sirius said helplessly, restlessly. Molly looked at her boys, thought of Ron and Ginny in the stands, and Bill in the maze, and of Harry, who was Merlin-knew where and needed Sirius more than any of Molly's children needed her right then.
"The Diggorys are here, somewhere," she said, even as she moved forward to take Sirius' place beside Cedric. Fred and George understood at once, and backed out of the shed.
Fleur leapt around the corner of the maze, wand raised, only to have Dora Lupin Disarm her. Startled, Fleur took in the scene before her:
The crest - this one the Hogwarts one, and the reason she'd come to this part of the maze at all - rested on the stone plinth in the middle of a small, cleared section of the maze. Dora was standing beside it, wand drawn - and an attractive red-headed man in an official vest who was maybe a few years older than Fleur herself knelt beside it, tracing his wand in complicated patterns.
"Task's over, Fleur," Dora said, and tossed Fleur's wand back to her. Fleur caught it reflexively.
"Over?" Fleur asked, a little angry, a little disbelieving, and a little worried. "Why? 'as something happened?"
"We're not really sure," Dora said, and Fleur opened her mouth, but then Dora continued: "Cedric got out with the Cup-" That explained why the maze's central podium had been empty when Fleur finally found it, but Fleur was still disappointed to hear it. "-and Dumbledore's asked us to remove the enchantments on the maze."
"You should get her out," the man said, tracing a rune into the dirt, then scrubbing it out to re-write it. He looked at Fleur for a moment, then back to Dora. She wasn't sure what to make of it; it wasn't dismissive or disinterested, but his gaze didn't linger, either. He had just... looked at her, with interest but no expectation, without ogling, and yet without his eyes skirting nervously over her, past her, either. She gave him a curious look back, but he was too busy watching Dora to see it.
"And leave you here alone to deal with another- whatever that was?" Dora asked incredulously. "I don't think so."
"No complaints here," the man said, mouth twitching. "But at the very least, you should let Dumbledore know we've got her with us-"
But Dora was already conjuring an enormous silver wolf:
"Bill and I have Fleur. We'll keep her safe with us while we take down the enchantments." The wolf stretched and trotted through the nearest section of maze.
"Bill Weasley," Bill said, nodding at Fleur. She nodded - she could see the resemblance with the red hair, obviously, but the brown eyes were just like Ginny's, and his face was an older, more handsome version of Ron's. She didn't bother to introduce herself; she was sure he already knew who she was, and she was angry; not at him or Dora, but angry that the task was over, when she was not nearly finished with it yet.
"Don't suppose you've seen Harry?" Dora's voice was calm, casual, and yet obviously anxious. Fleur's frowned.
"Oui," she said uncertainly. "Maybe twenty minutes ago?" Dora's expression lightened. "He had just escaped a duel with Krum, near the centre." Dora's hair went from lime to navy, then she shook herself and, with visible effort, turned it its usual pink. "Is he all right?" Dora smiled weakly.
"We haven't heard," she said. "No one on the outside's seen him for a while." Her voice was still light, as if she wasn't tying herself in knots thinking about him.
Fleur remembered how worried Harry had been, how he'd warned them all to stay safe right before the task began.
"He will be fine," Fleur said, and rather than projecting her beauty, she projected her confidence. It wasn't all genuine, but some of it was; Harry had made it this far despite the odds. The maze was not going to be what undid him. Dora's weak smile didn't change much, though it softened, and Bill didn't seem to notice at all. This time, though, it was because he was concentrating:
A moment later, there was a ripple of slate blue magic, and then it somehow brightened - though the colour was darker - to navy and silver, with an oddly sandy texture. Bill pushed himself to his feet.
"One down," he said, looking at Dora.
"Stay here," Sirius said to Remus.
Remus glanced at Sirius, then back at Molly and Cedric, and at the Aurors trying to read the trace Crouch might have left when he portkeyed away. He shook his head.
"Sirius-"
"Stay, Moony." Sirius' voice cracked a little, and Remus noticed; Sirius could tell by the slight tilt of his head, and the way his expression softened.
"Padfoot-"
"Please." Remus opened his mouth, then closed it and inclined his head. Sirius swept out without another word, because he thought he might fall apart if he stayed a moment longer.
It was cool out on the grounds, and quiet, though Sirius' heart was racing and he felt sick to his stomach, felt dread and fear pulling him down.
His ears echoed with Snape's words, with Cedric's; Voldemort was back, Harry was in a graveyard Merlin knew where, and had been alive but hurt, had been alive but-
Sirius forced himself to breathe slow and deep, tried to use the time alone to pull himself together, to push it all down so that he could focus, and do what needed to be done, as he had for Cedric.
He hated himself for it a bit. Hated himself for letting Harry wait, for not going after him himself and for going after Cedric instead, but had he not, Cedric would have died or been taken away with Crouch, and Molly and the twins might have been hurt worse than temporarily blinded. He hated Dumbledore a little for asking that of him, but more than that, hated that it had been the right thing to do.
It had gone against everything to go after Cedric, and yet, Sirius could not deny it had been the best thing he could have done, especially since Cedric had said Harry was no longer on the grounds.
Sirius had been afraid for Harry before - when Harry didn't accompany Gryffindor downstairs when the school was evacuated in his second year, when Harry'd gone alone after Peter last year. This was different. Voldemort was there, Voldemort was restored, and Harry- last Cedric had seen - Harry had been bound and begging for Cedric to be freed.
Sirius had been afraid for him, had been scared to lose him, had been scared that he might be hurt or killed.
But Sirius had never actually believed he might be dead. This time-
This time he was perilously close to thinking so.
Sirius had not coped with losing Lily and James, not at all, but he had survived it. He wasn't sure that he could survive losing Harry.
You haven't lost him yet, Sirius told himself. He's- he's missing but he's not gone.
Harry had faced terrible odds before and made it through. Harry had been training all year for the Tournament. Harry had had James' wand on him, not just his own.
But Harry had never faced a Voldemort who was at full strength. Harry had never been so completely out of their reach, so alone. And for all his training, Harry was still only a fourteen year old boy. Sirius had never been not trying to get to him, not been trying to help him and protect him, with the exception of Harry's first year, where Sirius had been near dead himself and not even known about the danger to Harry until Harry was safe again.
But tonight Sirius was helpless, and Harry was-
He didn't know.
But he was going to find out. Dumbledore might know where Voldemort's father had been buried, or at the very least, might know how to find out in a reasonable timeframe. Or, perhaps the Trace Readers would be able to track the portkey Crouch had used to escape the storage shed, but even that, Sirius wasn't hopeful of; they'd had no luck tracking the portkey that had taken Eric the wandchecker to his death.
Breathe, Sirius told himself as he reached the edge of the stands. He had to compose himself, lest Dumbledore take one look at him and ask him to sit out. He needed to be present, competent.
He needed to not look like he was a liability.
He's alive until he's not.
Harry hadn't had a destination in mind when he jumped through the gap in the wards around the graveyard. He knew better than to try Hogwarts or Grimmauld, or even the Ministry or St Mungo's; their own wards were comprehensive enough to stop him from entering - since he couldn't look for holes mid-apparition - or to splinch him horribly, or maybe even push him back to the graveyard.
Maybe all of those.
Hogsmeade wouldn't be much good; he wasn't sure he was up to a walk back to the school, but more than that, he wasn't sure if it was safe.
He didn't dare try Moony's garden or the Burrow's yard, mainly because he didn't want to risk being traced there by Voldemort or any Death Eaters that tried to follow him; that would put Moony and Dora and Stella and the Weasleys in even more danger than they were already going to be in, now that Voldemort was back.
He'd simply known he had to take the chance his parents had given him to get away, to get somewhere safe, and where he wouldn't immediately be endangering anyone else.
He materialised with a messily loud CRACK onto rough carpet.
It was quiet, and dark but for a few muggle-repelling wards, general preservation spells, and the bright streaks and lines the graveyard had left on his vision. Though it was somewhat familiar, he couldn't place the scent of wherever he was; it didn't smell like anyone had been there for a while.
Years, at least.
Harry could smell blood though, and his hand felt wrong, numb - he couldn't feel his fingers, but he could feel heat - blood - running down his arm, and a strange ache that then began to really, really hurt, so much that he could feel it over his ribs, his leg, his scar, and all the other injuries he'd accumulated that night.
Splinched, he thought grimly. He was in so much pain, was so exhausted, and the relief at no longer being in immediate danger was making him drowsy and sluggish. He was cold, too - freezing in fact, though wasn't sure if that was what was making him shiver, or if it was the after-effects of the Cruciatus that was doing it - and yet, he was oddly unbothered by it. If he shut his eyes, he was sure he could sleep.
Harry just wasn't sure he'd wake up.
He could smell a lot of blood now, and thought that was a bad thing, so he braced himself to move.
I haven't survived everything else tonight just to die here, he thought. Wherever here is. He shoved himself upright, but overbalanced and landed on his cheek; his hand hadn't moved the way he'd expected it to, and pain exploded in his wrist when he tried to put weight on it.
He retched, trembling, and his head spun.
Blackness was pressing in around him, unconsciousness pulling him under, whether Harry wanted it or not.
He managed one weak, croaked word:
"Kreacher."
