Author's Note:
Reviews and Comments: To minderdude: Thank you! It was ugly and I wanted Ron to be the good guy there for a minute and stop Hermione from seeing it, especially because he was such a jerk to her! To WarMunger98: Thank you! As to the Bolton reference, very true, but I think Ramsey might have been kinder LOL. Harry is a bit confused because he definitely is starting to see Ginny in a different light and he doesn't know what to do about it. Thank you! To iKingAnomalyII: Thank you for mentioning it now! I like to think that the Daily Prophet would be kept on a better leash so to speak because there's no way that Sirius is going to take that lying down. He wants to do what is needed to protect not only Harry, but himself and his family. Harry has noticed Ginny, but he's a little slow and a bit in denial about his feelings. Thank you! To scrappy8: Thank you! To LifeonEarth: Yes, blame it on the formal wear, Harry LOL. Anyone that knows me, I am a HUGE Joss Whedon fan, especially Buffy the Vampire Slayer and there's an episode in season three where Xander and Willow kiss and they joke that it's because of the formal wear — I was thinking along the same lines here. Thank you!
To Guest: Thank you for saying this is the best story ever! To Chthonian: Thank you! To Wolf's scream: That is most likely while Zee told Sirius not to help LOL. Yes, don't mess with Remus. He is a Marauder after all. Thank you! To EnchantedLynx: Yes, Harry is a bit thick and it will take a bit. As I said, it will be a slow burn. Thank you! To Leaf Ranger: Thank you! Yes, Harry does want her badly. He just doesn't quite know it. To speedsONEandONLY: Where did I get that gruesome scene? From the disturbing depths of my imagination; seriously sometimes my mind goes to a dark place and you don't want to be in there lol. I just thought that I would try to imagine the worst way someone could be tortured and well, i.e. the end of chapter 167 was the result of it. I love that Luna is a sunflower all the time, it is a very apt description for her! I do have pictures of the dresses! Thank you!
To coloredwords: It did change the mood a bit. As to the sound Ron and Hermione heard, it was a spell locking the upside down body into place in the archway with a loud bang. Harry is so jealous and he doesn't realize it. Sirius will definitely lose it when he finds out what happened. Thank you! To ninaz08: I'm glad you enjoyed jealous Harry and Ron and yes, Ron definitely needed to apologize right away. I'm so glad he did. You think Bagman is the one helping Abraxas? We shall see! Thank you! I had fun designing their outfits! To Guest: Thank you! Luna was a great date! Yes, Death Eater activities will be much more gruesome then in canon. Thank you! To JustAnotherGirl: Thank you! I do have pictures of the dresses, but I don't really know where to show them. Maybe I will post them on my tumblr, but no one really goes there. Thank you! To alix33: Happy Remus' snowball made you laugh. Harry and Ron are blunt with each other, for the most part. Thank you!
To trekkifulron: Thank you for enjoying Harry having fun with Luna and Ron apologizing. To purplevictory: Thank you! I'm trying to keep you on your toes for sure! To wheezing-reader: Thank you! Hinny will get together before year six, but yes, it is a slow burn! Thanks for enjoying the attention I give to other characters as well! It's fun to delve into their POVs. Thank you! To Keyblade: Yes, it was dark. And it will probably get darker as the story goes on. Well, it will, no probably about it. Thank you for the slight notice of my LGBT representation. I just want to subtly show that love is love and it doesn't matter. I really love writing Theo and Seamus stuff too, especially Theo. As to the seating order, I don't think so? Thank you! To Steelcode: Yes, they are creative. Ron was definitely being a nice guy in making sure Hermione didn't see it. I hope there is a lot of things in this story that you never see in real life, but that last scene, most definitely hope not for many, many reasons! Thank you!
To akshutalankar: Sirius and Harry did destroy the Cup. After they talked to the Grangers and watched the memories. It was the Horcrux in Bellatrix's vault. Thank you! To Moony The Sheep: Thank you for saying you are amazed by my details. Crouch, I really hope no one saw that coming! You think it's Bagman who put Harry's name in the goblet? We'll have to see. Thank you for saying you like my version between than the movie or the book! Thank you! To nesciamema: Harry and Ginny are a slow burn and are still a ways off. Thank you! To xXMizz Alec VolturiXx: Yes, with Crouch's death so public, Fudge definitely won't be able to ignore that. Thank you! To Lost: Nope, it's not time for Tonks to be pregnant yet. Thank you! To Guest: Thank you, but I am not a fan of a soul bond Hinny fics, so no, I will not be writing one. To Guest: Thank you! To HGRHfan35: Harry was just slapped by the reality that his first and best friend is a knock out beauty and he doesn't know what to do about it. Ro definitely stuck his foot in it! Thank you for saying I painted that horrible image well. Thank you!
To midnitewanderer: Very dark, yes. Sorry to keep the memory seared into your brain. Harry is definitely going to be too afraid to ruin their friendship, classic Harry. I'm glad you're excited about the slow burn despite not usually liking them. Thank you! To Thorthemighty: Yes, yes it did. Thank you. To RedheadLover: Yes, so it does begin. Thank you! You think when Ginny finds out she will either hex him or kiss him? We'll see. Thank you! To Jmcglynn522: I am sorry that I have spoiled anyone's ability to eat a hotdog or a sausage for a while, sorry-not-sorry, but it was unintentional. Yes, the Yule Ball was lovely. Ron and Harry didn't spend the whole evening acting like dicks. I love Harry stopping Ron from ruining the evening but it was still ruined. You think Abraxas or Thaddeus did something to Theo's date? Nah, he just really had to go home. Thank you! To Soveliss: Thank you! You think it's Bagman? We'll have to see. To Bigmike33321: You think Crouch Jr did that to Crouch? We'll see.
To Toghgal: I know you are not caught up to this chapter yet, but the review left on chapter 141: "Holy good god almighty! What is happening! I feel like you're standing in the background going, 'are you not entertained!?'" — this just made my entire day HAHA so, thank you!
Thanks to Moony the Sheep for a little help here!
Thank you to my Beta — SilverStarwolfe!
My posting schedule: Once a week and sometimes on weekends.
As always, thank you very much for reading and please, please review!
Your reviews give me life! They give me inspiration! And they make me want to keep writing for more than just myself! Thank you for all of your continued support!
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-EIGHT:
The One Where Mr Weasley Thinks 'Oh, Bloody Hell!'
Harry watched Ron hurry out of the castle and he shook his head. He wanted to let them work it out themselves, but he also was worried that Ron might mess it up. He had warned him earlier that he needed to think before he spoke aloud. As much as he loved his best mate, he knew how easily said best mate often stuck his foot in his mouth around Hermione.
He turned to head back into the Great Hall to let Luna know what had happened and to tell Lavender where her own date had disappeared too, but it was Viktor who blocked his path.
"Viktor, hi," Harry said.
Viktor only stared at him. "Vhere is Her-mio-nee?"
"She's outside with Ron. They got into a bit of an argument so, they're working that out, but I'm sure that they'll be right back."
Viktor only nodded. "Va redhead voo is mad at her vor coming vith me?"
Harry hesitated and then nodded. "Yes."
He didn't look very happy about this, but he didn't say anything. He turned when someone called his name and he nodded at the blond man who rushed over.
"Viktor! Come on, so many girls to dance vith!" he said with a smirk. "Anyanka and Daniella are vaiting!"
Viktor smiled. "I have a girl to dance vith. I vait vor her. You dance vith vem. Harry, you remember Dimo Radkov, Dimo, Harry Potter."
Dimo extended his hand with a grin. "Zdraveĭte! Enjoying yourself?"
"I am, yes," Harry said with a grin. "You?"
Dimo nodded. "Da, it is very vunderful." He turned back to Viktor. "Andrei and I have been looking vor you. Vhere has your beautiful date disappeared to?"
"She vill be back," Viktor said tersely. He said something in Bulgarian that had Dimo raising his eyebrow.
"Da?"
Viktor nodded.
Harry only glanced between the two, curiously. He was going to ask what they were saying, but he was distracted by the image of Hermione running into the entranceway, her eyes wide.
"Harry!"
He ran to her. "Hey, what is it? Ron didn't say something even stupider, did he?"
She shook her head. "He didn't let me see… but there's something bad… Harry, I think … I think that someone's dead. We need Dumbledore."
"Moyata brilyantna zhena, dobre li si?" Viktor shook his head and repeated his question in English. "Are you all vight?"
Hermione turned and ran into Viktor's arms, sighing when his strong arms came around her and he kissed her cheek. "I'm okay. I promise." She kissed his cheek in turn and smiled at Dimo. "Dimo, zdraveĭte!"
"You are learning vell, Her-mi-onee."
"Blagodarya," she said, carefully and not very well, making Viktor smile.
Harry nodded at them, a little impressed that his friend was making an effort to learn a few Bulgarian words. "Hermione, get Dumbledore and whoever he's with. I'm going to find Ron."
He turned and hurried outside into the courtyard before anyone could stop him. He could see his friend staring in horror at the entrance to the bridge which was now covered with a large wooden wall.
"Mate?"
Ron only shook his head. He was deathly pale making every freckle seem to stand out bold against his pale skin. "I used that wall charm that George showed me to block…"
"What is it, Ron?"
"I — I think it's Mr Crouch," he whispered, his blue eyes wide.
"You think?"
Ron let out a slow breath. He was doing his best not to vomit, but the coppery smell of blood was still in the air around them and knowing that the mutilated body lay just beyond the wall made it hard for him to think straight. "I — I think that I recognized part of his moustache, but I'm... I'm not sure," he admitted, swallowing slowly. "He's dead, Harry."
Harry put his hand on his friend's shoulder and squeezed gently. "I'm sorry that you had to find him."
"So am I."
They both turned at the sound of Snape's oily voice. "Potter, Weasley! What's the meaning of that wall blocking the entrance to the bridge?"
Harry kept his hand on his friend's shoulder in support as Snape and Dumbledore stopped in front of them.
"Mr Weasley?" Dumbledore said quietly, ignoring Snape's demands. "You wished to see me?"
The sound of the headmaster's voice seemed to be what he was waiting for. Ron whirled around, his eyes on the two professors before he promptly vomited on Snape's shoes.
"Weasley!" Snape bellowed in rage.
Ron wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "I... I think it's Mr Crouch, Sir." Snape raised an eyebrow as Ron pointed his wand at the wall that he had erected and said, "Finite Incantatem."
His wall went down and the figure appeared again making Dumbledore gasp as Snape merely stared ahead, his eyes carefully blank as they looked up on the spread-eagled corpse hanging upside down within the archway.
Harry's eyes fell on the body and his own gut churned. How could anyone do that to another human being? This was torture unlike anything that he could ever have imagined. He tried to look away, but his eyes only stared on and when he saw what was between Crouch's legs, he too bent over and vomited all over the ground. He was grateful to his friend when Ron put an arm around his waist and turned him away from the horrific image before him.
Dumbledore immediately erected a privacy charm around the entire courtyard, locking the doors to the Castle. "Both of you wait over there please," Dumbledore said, quietly.
Harry only nodded, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as he and Ron moved away and Snape and Dumbledore approached the body. The fiery message was still glowing on the cobblestones. Harry watched as Snape erected a barrier around himself and Dumbledore and they couldn't see them anymore.
Harry let out a slow breath. "Well."
Ron only nodded, wiping his own mouth. "Harry... he was alive when they did that to him."
Harry nodded, his eyes dark. "I know."
"What did that message mean? 'He is only the beginning. The Dark Lord will rise again. And he will bring an end to all who do not stand with him.' We know that he's not back yet, right?"
"Right," he said, reassuring his friend as much as himself. "He needs me for that. Or he wants me for that."
Ron only nodded. "Right."
Neither of them found that very assuring.
"It wasn't Voldemort who did this. He couldn't have, not yet. What could Crouch have done to warrant that from Voldemort? I know that he put a lot of Death Eaters away in Azkaban years ago but… that was beyond personal. Someone hated him, Ron."
Ron nodded, his blue eyes extra bright against his pale skin. "I'll say. If someone had done that to me… I would have told them anything that they needed to know."
Harry stared at his friend for a moment. "I don't know if I could have withstood that either," he said honestly, remembering the torture that Pettigrew had been subjected to before he had agreed to becoming a Death Eater.
They both turned their attention to where Snape and Dumbledore were both examining the body and speaking quietly.
Dumbledore stared at the mangled corpse of the man before him. He had been a good man, he thought. He had his ups and downs and like any other man he had made his fair share of mistakes, but he most certainly hadn't deserved this, he thought, sadly. He sent a Patronus to Sirius, asking him to come to the bridge quietly, immediately, and alone.
Snape only raised an eyebrow at his message. "Why Black? He's not an Auror."
"No, he's not, but he is aware of what's happening. Severus, you came to me many years ago and asked for my help, for my protection against Voldemort. You became my spy then."
"I remember," he said bitterly. "You still think that I'm your spy as you have me watching Karkaroff."
"And he has done a few suspicious things, has he not?"
Snape shrugged. "He's slippery and he wants his champion to win, but if you're asking me if he did this, I can guarantee you that he did not. He would never have had the stomach for it. This took days, if not weeks. Whoever did this... they kept him alive… intentionally. I'm guessing that he knew something or they thought that he knew something. I only knew one person who liked this kind of torture and he's dead. He died in Azkaban years ago. I don't know who could have done this, but this wasn't Karkaroff."
Dumbledore nodded, his blue eyes full of steel. "No, this wasn't Igor."
"You've started the Order again," Snape said, quietly. "You know that he's close to returning and you want to be prepared."
"Let's just say that this time around we're going to be ready for him. Can I depend on you, Severus? When he calls you to him, whose side will you truly be on?"
Snape's eyes flashed in anger. "You know that I'm on your side, Albus. I could never return to him after he… I know that I made mistakes."
Dumbledore nodded. He stared at Snape for a long moment as if he was contemplating something before he spoke. "Tell Sirius what happened here and then bring him down to your office. It's time for the two of you to make amends. He knows about your past, Severus, and you know what he lost. Work it out. I think that it's time for the Phoenix to rise again and this time, I want to line up all of the willing soldiers that I can find, but I need them to trust each other. Harry and Ron will be waiting for you both as well. Find out what they know. I'm going to get Amelia and Auror Tonks to deal with this… atrocity."
Snape watched Dumbledore go around the wards that he had erected to approach Harry and Ron just as he saw Sirius Apparate onto the bridge and make his way onto the Hogwarts grounds. He tried not to snarl as Sirius approached and he watched Black's eyes narrow and widen at the sight before him.
"Holy flying fuck!" he exclaimed, eyes wide.
Snape only nodded. "Potter and Weasley discovered the body. It's Barty Crouch."
Sirius swallowed and his eyes narrowed slightly. "Of course they were the ones to bloody well find him. Are they all right?"
"Seem to be. Dumbledore was bringing them down to my office to wait for us."
Sirius' eyes met his. "Why your office? Where is Dumbledore?"
"He's getting Amelia Bones and Auror Tonks to deal with this mess since they are the only members of the DMLE in attendance at the ball tonight."
Sirius nodded, his eyes moving to the fiery message and the Dark Mark carved into his chest. "This is incredibly violent. This isn't just a warning about Voldemort's inevitable return, this was personal to Crouch."
"I'll say," Snape said carefully. "They shoved his own balls down his throat."
Sirius visibly winced and his gaze fell to look between his legs and he paled at what he saw there, covering his own crotch with his hand. "Merciful Zeus! They split his…"
Snape only nodded, his own face pale. "Yes."
Sirius closed his eyes as if he was trying not to see it. When he looked over at Snape, the man was staring at him. "Why did Dumbledore ask you to wait for me? Why are the boys going to your office? Has Arthur been called?"
"I honestly couldn't say. But Dumbledore asked me to wait for you because he thinks that we need to work together and as much as I hate the idea and would rather stick burning hot pokers in my eyes —"
"— That can be arranged," Sirius interjected.
Snape ignored him and kept talking, "— I think Dumbledore has a point. This is a warning about the Dark Lord's imminent return, but there have been signs over the last year that things are coming into play. Obviously Dumbledore trusts you and you obviously know more than you've let on. What do you know about the Dark Lord's return?"
Sirius merely raised an eyebrow, turning to look at Snape in curiosity. "And I should tell the former Death Eater, who is the main reason why my best friends are dead, this because…?"
Snape pushed up the left sleeve of his dress robes. "Because for months now this has been steadily turning darker."
Sirius' eyes locked onto the Dark Mark tattoo on Snape's forearm. It looked like a burn with blackened edges and it seemed to shimmer before him. Remus had told him that Snape had approached him about the tattoo and he knew that his friend was leaning towards trusting Snape. But that didn't mean that he had to be on the same page.
"Is that supposed to mean something to me?"
"When he fell that night at the Potter's, my entire tattoo turned pale pink," Snape said quietly. "Since about this time last year, it has started to tingle and to occasionally hurt on a regular basis for the first time in thirteen years. He's getting stronger, Black, and I want to know what you know about it."
"And why should I tell anyone who bears that mark anything that I might know? You were his bloody servant! You're the reason that James and Lily Potter are dead; the reason that he went after them and after Harry to begin with!"
Snape simply pursed his lips and closed his eyes. "Because Merlin help me, Black, you need a spy on the inside and we both know that I'm all you've bloody well got."
Sirius only stared at him for a long moment. The fact that his words rang true didn't make him feel any better. Snape had proved himself slightly over the last few years, he'd admit to that. Signing the petition for Remus had been a huge step up the ladder for him. They both knew what he had done during the war; who he had hurt and how he had tried to make amends. After he had learned how Snape had turned spy because of the prophecy he had been angry, but he had also come to realize that Snape regretted his choices. Remus trusted him and Sirius trusted Remus, but that didn't mean that he had to like it.
The fact that he did trust the git standing before him made him feel a little uneasy and the fact that he was right, only made him feel more so. They did need a spy on the inside, especially if they were going to find out what the Horcrux inside of Hogwarts was.
Sirius let out a slow sigh. "And you're standing here, telling me that you are willing to risk your life to play spy to both sides again? Why?"
"Yes. I know that I made mistakes and I regret them every day," Snape said carefully. "I know what role I played in the Dark Lord targeting the Potters. I know her blood is on my hands and if you think that I don't regret that every single day of my life… if this is the only way that I can truly attempt to make amends for what I did to… to help protect her son against the dark wizard who took her life… then yes, I am willing to play spy to both sides again."
Sirius stared at him in surprise and he snorted. "Regret is good, Snape, but we both know that the only reason you are not locked away in Azkaban right now is because Dumbledore has kept your secret for thirteen years."
"You need me, Black, and Dumbledore knows it or he wouldn't have asked me to talk to you nor would he have kept my secret all these years. If I was truly a danger, he would not be letting me teach at this school. You need my help. Admit it."
Sirius only stared at him. "First, I want to see my son."
Snape looked like he was going to protest, but he nodded and turned, his robes bat-like as they billowed out behind him and he led Sirius down to the dungeons, neither of them speaking another word to the other.
~ ASC ~
Hermione let Viktor steer her away from the crowd and into an empty classroom. She was a little appalled to find herself trembling and she turned gratefully into his strong arms. He held her close, his chin resting on the top of her head as she snuggled against his breast.
"Thank you."
He kissed the top of her head. "Vas it bad? Do you vant vu valk about it?"
She shook her head. "I—I didn't really see it. Ron… he… he moved in front of me and he's so tall… he didn't let me see it, but Viktor… I could smell it…"
"Shhh," he whispered, holding her closer and kissing her forehead. "I am sorry you had vu see such verrible vings."
"Terrible things," she said softly and he chuckled, the sound rumbling against her cheek.
"Terr-ible th-ings," he repeated, smiling at her.
Hermione tilted her head up to look at him. "I should go find Ron and Harry and make sure that they're okay."
Viktor shook his head, lowering his face down to kiss her softly. "Vey have each other. Vey are vine. Va—the redhead, the von voo found the body… he made you cry, da?"
Hermione snuggled back into his arms. "He apologized. He said that by being with you I was fraternizing with the enemy; that I wasn't being supportive of Harry and when Harry set him straight, he realized that he was being a prat and he apologized."
Viktor frowned. "I'm the enemy?"
"No," she said. "You're not. Ron was a git."
"Hmph," Viktor said in response.
"What does that mean?"
"Nothing," Viktor said, kissing her softly again. He had seen the way the redhead's eyes had been on them all night. Her friend may have been acting on a jealous impulse and he couldn't say that he blamed him. He knew exactly how lucky he was. "I have gift for you."
Hermione looked up at him in surprise. "What? Viktor, you didn't have to —?"
He placed a finger over her lips and smiled when she kissed the finger. "Da, I did. You are very bee-u-tee-ful and I am vankvul you are my girlfriend. I am lucky man."
Hermione blushed. "I'm your girlfriend?"
He grinned and glanced at her quizzically. "Da. Do you not vant to be?"
"No! No, I do," she said, grinning widely. "We just… we haven't really… I didn't know and —"
He kissed her to stop her from talking. "I am fool for not saying so. I vant you to be my girlfriend, Her-mio-nee. I vant it very much. Da?"
"Da," she said as wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him deeply. She lost herself in the feel of his soft lips, in the rough stubble against her cheek and the smell of him, pine and leather and mint. "It's me who's the lucky one."
Viktor smiled and kissed her cheek. "Vesela Koleda, vat is, Merry Christmas."
He handed her a small square box wrapped in a bright red ribbon and she grinned at him as she carefully untied it. Inside was a thin gold chain with a small golden key pendant.
"It is to vell you vat you have the key to my heart," he said, smiling at her. "I like you very much, Her-mio-nee."
Hermione smiled down at the necklace in awe. It was the sweetest gift that she could ever imagine getting and she grinned widely at him when he carefully took it out of the box and fumbled with the clasp as he clipped it around her neck.
"It's beautiful," she said honestly, staring down at the small golden pendant that nestled itself just above her breasts. "Blagodarya."
"Molya," he responded with a grin.
"How do you say, 'Merry Christmas' again?"
"Vesela Koleda."
Hermione grinned up at him. "Vesela Koleda, Viktor."
She kissed him again, sighing when he deepened the kiss, his hands on her face, his other on her waist as his tongue met hers for long strokes that left her feeling breathless and aroused. When he finally pulled away, they were both of out of breath.
"I have something for you too," she admitted, her cheeks flushing. "But it's upstairs in my trunk. Will you walk with me?"
He nodded and took her arm as they walked up the many stairs to Gryffindor Tower. He kissed her hand as she rushed into the common room, promising him one minute and hurried up to her room. She grabbed his gift from inside of her trunk and hurried back out into the hall. He was leaning against the stone, nodding at the seventh year Gryffindor girl who was shamelessly flirting with him. He saw her and immediately walked away from the girl. Hermione couldn't help, but grin when she saw the girl looked annoyed that he had left her so quickly.
Hermione handed him the gift that she had wrapped with a smile. "It's nothing as beautiful as this necklace," she told him. "But I hope you like it."
Viktor grinned widely. He looked like a little boy on Christmas morning as he ripped open the paper and the bow to reveal a book. He read the title and smiled. "It is va—the book you love?"
She nodded. "We were discussing it in Hogsmeade last week and I found a copy in that little book shop we visited. I've always loved the bravery and the passion that Alcott writes for Rosamond's character and well, I thought maybe that you'd like to read it. Maybe we can read it together if the English is too difficult that is. I should have found it in Bulgarian."
Viktor grinned and kissed her to stop her rambling. "No, the English von is good. It vill help me, da? I vould very much like vu—to read it vith you."
Hermione beamed at him. "Vesela Koleda, Viktor."
"Vesela Koleda, moyata kafyava krasavitsa."
And then he was kissing her again, long and lingering and when his lips left hers, she sighed.
"I had a really wonderful time tonight. Thank you for being with me after everything… I feel like it's wrong for me to feel so happy."
Viktor smiled and kissed the palm of her hand. "It is never vrong to veel—feel happy. Goodnight, Her-mio-nee."
"Goodnight," she whispered as he kissed her palm once more before he walked her back over to the portrait hole and made sure that she went through it.
When the portrait closed behind her, she let out a slow sigh, a big grin on her face. Despite the darkness that had struck her evening, it had been one of the best nights of her life, she thought, her fingers playing with the small golden key around her neck.
She couldn't stop the grin from plastering itself to her face as she made her way upstairs. She had never felt happier or more special and as she placed a finger to her lips, she could still feel Viktor's lips on hers and she went to bed that night with a smile on her face.
~ ASC ~
Harry and Ron stood in Snape's office as they waited for their professor. Dumbledore had ordered them down there when Lady Bones and Tonks had gone over to examine the body. They had only waited a few minutes before the door opened and Snape stormed inside, closely followed by Sirius. Sirius immediately went to Harry and Ron, putting a hand on both of their shoulders.
"You boys all right?"
Harry nodded. "We're fine, Uncle Siri."
He hugged Harry to him, placing a hand on Ron's shoulder. "And you, Ron?"
"It is Mr Crouch, then?" Ron asked, his blue eyes wide as they met Sirius'.
"Yes," Snape said curtly from behind them. "The castle itself was sealed which is why Dumbledore thinks that they chose the entranceway. Not to mention that if Weasley hadn't found the body first, our international guests would have stumbled upon it when they left the ball."
Sirius nodded. "But there was no sign of who specifically left the body."
Snape shook his head. "No. But hopefully the Aurors will learn that."
"Ron, has anyone contacted your parents?" Sirius asked.
The fireplace lit up behind Snape again and Mr Weasley stepped out, answering Sirius' question. He moved towards his son, squeezing his shoulder.
"Ron, are you all right?"
Ron nodded, but let his father wrap his arms around him in a tight hug and he held on. Mr Weasley kissed his son's forehead before his eyes found Sirius'.
"What's going on? Minerva sent a Patronus saying that Ron had been the one to find a body? You found a body?"
"It was Mr Crouch, Dad," Ron said, quietly.
Mr Weasley pursed his lips. "What happened?"
Snape quickly explained the state of the body and that Ron and Harry had been the ones to find it and Mr Weasley paled.
"Merlin's beard!" He pulled Ron closer to him, holding onto his son tightly and kissing his hair. "No one should ever have to lay eyes on something like that! Ron, are you sure that you're all right?"
Ron nodded. "I'm fine, Dad. It's not an image that's going to leave my mind anytime soon, but I'm fine. I'm not hurt or anything."
"The message said that the Dark Lord will be rising again," Snape said, carefully. "I want to know why those words did not seem to alarm either Potter or Weasley."
Sirius scoffed at him. "Do you really not think that I haven't kept my son informed that that dickwad might return someday? He's well aware of the trouble that Voldemort will bring forth. With Pettigrew and Lestrange escaping last year — he's been prepared!"
Mr Weasley was staring at Sirius, his eyes carefully guarded before his gaze moved to his son. "If you boys are okay, why don't you head on up to your dormitories to try to get some sleep? Unless you'd like to come home with me now, Ron? You don't have to stay tonight if you don't want to?"
Ron shook his head. "I'm okay. I'll see you tomorrow."
Harry only looked from Sirius to Snape, but his father only shook his head at him. He moved to the door with Ron and they left the adults alone in the dungeons.
The moment the door closed behind them, Mr Weasley pursed his lips.
"Sirius, I think that it's about high time you tell me how much of this you've shared with my son. He just found the dead and tortured body of Barty Crouch and you're standing there telling me that you've been preparing your son for You Know Who's return for at least a year — by the sounds of it? I think that I deserve some answers here."
Sirius sighed and took a seat in the wooden chair behind Snape's desk, earning a scowl from the Potions Professor that he promptly ignored. He leaned forward, his elbows resting on the desk as he spoke carefully.
"Ron has been through a lot with Harry."
Mr Weasley scoffed at that, taking a seat in one of the visitor chairs. "Of that I'm well aware. When they went after the Philosopher's Stone in their first year, I thought that was intense enough for him, but then he flew my car to school and ended up in the Forbidden Forest against an army of Acromantulas and helped rescue my daughter from a shade of You Know Who inside of the mythical Chamber of Secrets. And don't even get me started on how he broke his leg last year running after an escaped Death Eater. I know exactly what kind of trouble my son has found himself in alongside of Harry, Sirius."
Sirius nodded. "He's brave, Arthur. You have very brave children who you should be very proud of."
"I am," Mr Weasley said, carefully. "But being brave and being proud of my children does not warrant how I currently feel knowing that my son just discovered the dead and tortured body of a high ranking official within the Ministry of Magic! I want to know what the bloody hell is going on!"
Snape was staring at Sirius now, his dark eyes carefully narrowed. "You and Dumbledore have been strangely close-mouthed for a while now, after what happened at the World Cup, and now this... has Dumbledore restarted the Order?"
Sirius carefully examined his fingernails, his elbows still on Snape's desk. "With your past, why would that matter to you?"
Snape eyes narrowed. "My past mistakes are none of your concern! You know my role and you know what I want and listening to you try to drag it out is not going to help matters!"
"They are actually," Sirius said, crossing his arms in front of his chest and leaning back a bit in the chair. "When Voldemort returns, Snape, who's side are you going to be on?
Mr Weasley was staring between the two of them, his eyes wide. When neither of them spoke, he cleared his throat.
"During the war, Molly and I were young and busy raising our boys when Dumbledore started the Order of the Phoenix. We denied joining when Fabian and Gideon asked us simply because we were raising a family. We already had five boys to take care of. But my children are older now and if the Order is back in existence, I'd like to join. I won't let my son continue to find dead bodies. If a war is coming, I want to fight. I won't stand back and watch my children fight this war in my place. I want to join."
Snape sat down in the second chair next to Mr Weasley. "So do I."
Sirius looked between the two of them. The Order of the Phoenix was Dumbledore's baby and he had no intention of pulling people into this war, but they did need help. He knew Remus was right and that Snape could potentially be very helpful, but it was a matter of trust. Could they truly believe that he had turned his back on Voldemort? Knowing Dumbledore trusted him was one thing, but there was a lot of bad history between the two of them and he knew that that was going to make it harder for them to get along. But he did trust him and that alarmed him just as much.
And as for Arthur Weasley… he had been wondering how much longer he would be able to keep the Weasleys in the dark. Bill was a great asset to FUVP and he knew that the two youngest members of the family knew just as much about the operation as their older brother did. Having Arthur Weasley on board would be beneficial. He had watched him at the World Cup. The man hadn't hesitated and his normally warm brown eyes had been dark and heated. He would have done whatever necessary to save those Muggles from harm. They needed that kind of mentality from people if they were going to win this war.
Sirius let out a slow sigh, his gaze moving between Snape and Arthur Weasley. "Do you know what took place at the World Cup?"
"I know enough," Snape admitted. "After what happened with Nott in October, I spoke with Theo. I know that Thaddeus Nott was involved in the riots at the World Cup and that he assaulted and attempted to rape two Muggle women and convince his son and his friends to join in before another Death Eater killed the women in front of them. I believe that I know who some of the men were behind the masks."
Sirius nodded. "You say that you know that he's getting stronger, when the tattoo becomes completely inked over, does that mean that he's at full power?"
"Yes," Snape said, carefully. "It would mean that he's back. What do you know, Black?"
"Wait," Mr Weasley said, holding his hands up. "Am I understanding this right… you were a Death Eater?"
Snape nodded, his face carefully masked. "Was being the correct term."
"He turned coat before Voldemort fell and fought for our side," Sirius said, his eyes on Snape. "Or so Dumbledore says."
Mr Weasley nodded. "Albus Dumbledore is an extremely honourable man. If he trusts Snape, I do too. He wouldn't allow him to teach in this school if he thought he was dangerous."
Sirius snorted. "Dumbledore is an honourable man, yes, but he's made mistakes, Arthur. Quirrell? Lockhart?"
"I'm not saying that he hasn't, but they each barely lasted the school year. Snape has been teaching here for almost fifteen years. Dumbledore trusts him."
Sirius sighed. He knew that, but it still goaded him to admit it because it was Snape. "Remus tells me that you have Harry's best interest at heart. You saved his life in his first year when Quirrell was jinxing his broom. Harry told me himself that you have remembered that he is Lily's son as much as his father's and that he doesn't deserve to have the darkest wizard who ever lived hunting him down for simply being born. Are they wrong?"
Snape stood up and walked over to the cupboard. He removed a bottle of Firewhiskey along with three glasses and poured the three of them each a glass. He took a long sip before he spoke.
"We don't have to like each other, Black, but we do have to trust each other. Weasley is right about Dumbledore trusting me. He's not a stupid man. He wouldn't have lived as long as he has if he hasn't learned how to make wise decisions and wise choices. He's not perfect. None of us are. But he knows how dangerous the Dark Lord can be. He knew it then and despite his warnings, he was too late to stop it from happening. He asked us to get along. To put aside our differences and to work together. Are you refusing to be man enough to do that, Black?"
Mr Weasley sipped his own whiskey, his eyes moving between the two men. "I think that Sirius is wondering whether or not to trust you himself. For the record, Sirius, if Dumbledore trusts him, so do I."
Snape nodded at him before turning his gaze back on Sirius. "I made the wrong choice all those years ago, Black, and that was on me. The crimes that I committed after that, I can put the blame on him, sure. He forced me to do it, he drove my hand — and he did. I didn't have to do the things I did, but if I hadn't, he would have tortured me. I didn't have to make the choices I did, he didn't force me to say yes, but I knew that if I said no, that I might have been killed. I can put the blame on him easily, but they are still on me. I chose life over death, over torture, and because I chose my life, I did many things that I'm not proud of. I know how lucky I am that Dumbledore took me in and that he allowed me to spy for him. I owe him," he said, taking another long sip of his whiskey.
Snape let out a slow breath, letting the whiskey burn down his throat before he spoke again. "I know that I should be in Azkaban for the crimes that I've committed while under his command. I don't want to see the Dark Lord return any more than you do, probably a great deal less than you do because if I don't return to his side when he calls me, he will kill me — and I have no desire to return to his side; to that life. And no, Black, I don't want to see him hurt Potter or anyone else for that matter. If he returns — when he returns — I will go to him when he calls for me and I will play my role as spy once more; do my best to convince him that I have never left his service. I can already see the struggles with some of my students whose parents were Death Eaters in the past and I don't want to see them fall down the same path that I did. If you're helping reorganize the Order, I want in."
Sirius stared at him for a long moment before he drank the Firewhiskey, the heat of it burning his throat and heating his belly. "He's in the body of a child. His followers took the child from the mother's womb and he possessed it. He's working on a ritual and a potion to restore his body. We're working on figuring out the ingredients to this potion. All we know about it so far is that he wants Harry for it, most likely his blood, and that it contains a sacrifice of some kind from a loyal follower. Can you figure out the other ingredients?"
Snape looked thoughtful. "Possibly. A resurrection restoration like that would take months to organize and he would have to be sustaining himself on more than just a soul possession of a child to be stable enough for it to even potentially work?"
"Snake venom and unicorn blood," Sirius said. "I'm sure that there's more, but that's all that I've been made aware of."
Snape nodded. "I will try to piece this together to the best of my knowledge. I can even reach out... make it known that I feel him getting stronger, see if he needs my... help," he added, looking pale at the thought.
Sirius nodded. "If you think that it would help, I say do it. But anything you can tell me about it would be appreciated, but first, I have one question for you, and you better give me a straight answer."
"I give you my word."
"I don't trust your fucking word. I want you to swear to me that you will tell me the truth, swear on the life of Lily's son; on the life of the child of the woman whom you once claimed to love. I want you to swear to protect him with your life, if necessary."
Snape's eyes flashed. "I already swore as such to Dumbledore a long time ago. My past actions have reflected as such if you remember Potter's broom fiasco in first year. I will not intentionally let harm befall him."
Something in his expression surprised Sirius, but he knew at that moment that Snape was telling the truth. And having an extra guard on Harry made him feel better as well. He took a deep breath and then asked the question that had been burning him ever since he had found out that Snape had been a Death Eater.
"Did you know that Peter was the spy?"
Snape hesitated. "Yes, and no." He held his hand up when Sirius made to protest. "I knew that there was a spy within the Order. I knew that it was a he and I knew that he had access to Potter. I actually thought that it was Lupin. I had heard rumours that Greyback had the ability to control the minds of those he turned and I thought that he might be controlling Lupin in order to make him the spy. I learned that Greyback does in fact have this ability, but like the Imperius Curse, if the wizard is strong enough he can fight it off and Greyback was quite livid when he learned that he couldn't control Lupin — that he in fact had no control over anything that Lupin said or did. But in all honesty, I did not know that it was Pettigrew until the Dark Lord let it be known that he knew where the Potters were. I alerted Dumbledore immediately but... it was too late."
Sirius nodded. He knew that Snape had just told him the truth and it hurt him a bit to realize that even Snape would have sold out Pettigrew if he had known. He had wanted Lily to be safe. He didn't like the man, but he respected the fact that he would have done what he could to protect Lily. He knew that it had only been for Lily and not for James and Harry, but he trusted him to keep Harry safe now. He closed his eyes as he thought about what he wanted to say.
"Snape, would you be willing to take Pettigrew on?"
"What do you mean?"
"If you claimed that you had been keeping him prisoner since last year in an attempt to learn about Voldemort and where he was, would Voldemort believe you?"
Snape looked thoughtful for a moment. "Depends on Pettigrew. We know that he's a good liar obviously, since he played double agent himself, didn't he?"
Sirius looked livid at his words. The fact that Peter had fooled them all was something that he was never going to get over. "Yeah, he did. But he's also a bloody coward and only looks out for himself and everyone else be damned! But you might be able to get more out of him."
"How do you propose that I get a hold of him without letting on to my own plans to be a spy for both sides?"
Sirius looked thoughtful for a moment. "I'll let him go. I'll tell my elf to bring him somewhere to set him free and you scoop him up, kidnap him, whatever?"
Snape looked thoughtful. "That could work... he might be able to help me with this potion that the Dark Lord is putting together. All right, give me a few days to figure things out. I still have my parents' old house in Spinner's End."
"By the Evans' old place in Cokeworth?"
Snape nodded. "Yes. But I could keep him there. I have a house elf that could help to keep an eye on him… yes, this could work to our advantage."
Sirius stared at him for a moment. "Do you really think that you can figure out this potion?"
"I honestly don't know, but I sure as hell am going to try," Snape told him, honestly.
Mr Weasley was looking between the two of them, his eyes wide. "Wait! So you were a Death Eater and are still going to be one?"
"Was being the correct term," Snape repeated oily. "As Sirius told you, I turned spy for the Order before the Dark Lord fell and I plan on playing that role once more."
"And you know that he's already been moved into the form a child?"
Sirius nodded, his eyes on him. "Yes."
"How? When?" Mr Weasley exclaimed, his eyes wide in horror and confusion.
"When Pettigrew kidnapped Hermione and Ron last year, we caught Pettigrew and have been keeping him hostage trying to glean information from him. We knew that if we turned him over to the DMLE they would simply let the Dementors Kiss him and we knew that he had information that we needed," Sirius explained.
Mr Weasley nodded, his eyes wide. "And Harry knows… all of this?"
"Most of it," Sirius told him. "I wish that I could keep it all from him, Arthur, but Voldemort has made it his mission to come after my son and I won't leave him clueless and defenceless against the darkest wizard to ever have lived."
"So Ron…"
Sirius nodded. "Ron and Ginny are amazing friends, Arthur. Harry opened up to them and yes, they know everything, as does Hermione, Neville, and Luna."
Mr Weasley was pale as he closed his eyes. Sirius could see that he was angry and doing his best to hide it.
"Arthur, I know that you're angry and you have every right to be. They're young, and me telling Harry is one thing, but your children knowing is another — and I get that. But, when I was a kid, I came from a shitty home and my friends were the thing that kept me together. Trusting them and having them trust me back meant the world to me and I told my son that if he felt like he needed to tell his friends, to tell them, because they would always be there to support him no matter what," Sirius told him. "And they have been. I know that they're young, but so is Harry and he's fought Voldemort three times in his life and survived. Your daughter fought a part of him once and survived. These kids, these young adults, are growing up to be amazing men and women and we have to trust them."
Mr Weasley nodded. "I'm not going to tell Molly how much Ron and Ginny know. It will only worry her, but after the holiday, I'd like to talk about this again. I want to help, Sirius. I may not be able to be a double agent, but I'm sure that there's something that I can do to help out."
Sirius smiled at him. "I'm sure there is. I'll talk to Dumbledore and we'll see what he wants to do. But I for one, would definitely like to reform the Order of the Phoenix and it would be great to have both of you on board."
"Good," Mr Weasley said. "In the meantime, I will try to help my son deal with the horror that he just had to witness. But if You Know Who really is coming back, I won't stand by and do nothing. I won't watch him destroy anyone else that I love."
Sirius nodded as Mr Weasley said his goodbyes and stepped into the fireplace, disappearing in the green smoke before he turned to Snape. "There's something that I have to deal with if Crouch is dead. You'll get back to me about Pettigrew?"
Snape nodded. "I will. And Black?" When Sirius looked at him, he scowled. "Get your arse out of my chair."
Sirius simply grinned. "Git."
And then he hurried out of Snape's office and made his way upstairs to see Dumbledore about Crouch.
~ ASC ~
Harry and Ron were both still pale as they stepped into their dormitory after leaving Snape's office. The room was empty, though Seamus' bed curtains were closed up tightly. Harry suspected that Will might still be in the bed with him, but since his friend had used a silencing charm, he didn't particularly care.
Harry took a seat on his own bed and ran his hands through his hair, smiling when Ron sat next to him.
"Well, that wasn't how I planned on ending my evening. I didn't even say goodnight to Luna."
Ron let out a slow breath as he loosened a few buttons on the top of his shirt. "Yeah, I didn't say goodnight to Lavender either. Was Hermione okay?"
"Yeah," Harry told him. "She said that you stopped her from seeing anything and Viktor was holding her when I left."
Ron scowled slightly.
Harry snuck a glance over at his best friend cautiously. "Are you and her good now?"
"I think so," he admitted, running his fingers over his eyes. "I was a prat. I know that. I said some terrible things to her."
"You like her," Harry said, quietly.
Ron opened his mouth to protest this and then he nodded.
Harry smiled at him. "It's okay with me, you know, if that was part of the reason why you were pretending that you didn't. I don't like Hermione that way. She's like a sister to me."
Ron stared down at his hands. "It doesn't matter anyway, she's with Viktor Krum. He's an international Quidditch star, there's no way that I could ever compete with that."
"Ron —"
"— No," Ron interrupted. "Theo told me in the summer that if I didn't make a move, I would lose my chance with her and he was right. Stupid, bloody Slytherin."
Harry chuckled. "She's not marrying him, Ron. He's a nice bloke and he clearly adores her, but he lives in Bulgaria. He's three years older than her. I mean, I'm not saying that they're breaking up, but, you know, we are only in fourth year."
Ron smiled at him. "I know." He stood up, stretching his arms up over his head. "She needs someone more intelligent anyway. Someone to keep up with that big beautiful brain of hers. She's my friend and that's all that I need from her. I know that I'm not good enough for her."
He headed over to his own bed as Harry frowned at him. He felt bad for Ron, but Hermione was happy with Viktor for the moment and despite Ron's words, Harry knew that anyone would be lucky to have Ron in their life and he most definitely was good enough, he thought. He undressed and crawled into his own bed, thinking that his friends' lives were incredibly complicated.
But his mind kept drifting back to the mutilated body of Crouch, making it hard for him to sleep.
Who could have done it and why? What had Crouch done that had warranted that level of violence and rage? It must have taken weeks to do that kind of damage and he wondered how Crouch had been able to withstand the pain. The thought of what had been left between his legs… he placed his hand over his crotch sympathetically. If that was what his Death Eaters were capable of, Harry wondered how bad Voldemort would be. He knew what the dark wizard was adept at. He had seen it at Peter's trial. He had witnessed it in the Chamber of Secrets.
But this… it was beyond anything that he had been capable of imagining. And to think that he had been busy worrying about Ginny.
Ginny, he thought, unable to stop the smile from crossing his lips..
She'd looked so incredible tonight and she'd been kissing Michael Bloody Corner. He scowled and punched his pillow. He had no idea what she saw in him. He'd always thought that he was a git. True, he hadn't actually ever said more than two words to the bloke, but the git part was obvious.
And he was her boyfriend!
He was being stupid, he thought. Ginny was his friend. He wasn't jealous. He didn't like her that way. It was just the formal wear, it had taken him by surprise. That was the real reason that he was so shocked. Anyone could see that. Him fancying Ginny was just ridiculous. Ludicrous even.
He nodded to himself as if his talk had helped him. He was already feeling better about it, he told himself as he closed his eyes. But all he saw was Crouch again. He wasn't sure how long he lied there, eyes wide open, unable to sleep, but Dean and Neville had come up to bed and everyone was sleeping by the time he silenced his bed and reached for his mirror. He held it up to his mouth and said: 'Sirius'.
It was almost thirty seconds before a face filled the mirror and his eyes widened in surprise to see Zee.
"Er, hi," he said, awkwardly.
She smiled warmly at him. "Hi, Harry. Sirius is still out dealing with tonight and he forgot to take his mirror. Are you all right, sweetie? Do you need to talk?"
He shook his head. "No, I…"
Zee offered him a small smile. "I'm not Sirius, I know."
"No, I didn't mean… I don't know what I want to say," he admitted. "I can't sleep. I keep seeing… his body."
Zee's eyebrow rose. "What body?"
Harry hesitated before he spoke. "Did Uncle Siri not tell you?"
She shook her head. "He hasn't come back yet since Dumbledore called for him. What happened, Harry? Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. I just… it was after midnight at the ball and Ron and Hermione were arguing outside and Ron found the body. Someone killed Mr Crouch, Zee. They tortured him and they killed him and left his body displayed in the entrance way to the castle from the bridge to Hogsmeade."
Zee gasped. "Merlin! And you saw this?"
He nodded. "Ron and I both did… it was… it was awful."
"How's Ron doing?"
Harry shrugged. "All right, I guess. He's sleeping."
"Everyone deals with events like this differently. Did you have a nightmare?"
He shook his head. "No, I just… I can't shut my brain off. Zee, who would do something like that? Who would… I didn't like him much, but still."
"It sounds rather gruesome, it's true. And how you felt about him means nothing in terms of how he was treated. I know that it was horrible, baby, and I am so sorry that you had to see that. You'll be home with us tomorrow and we'll try to enjoy Christmas together and put it behind us. Or if you want to talk about it, we can do that too. Whatever, you want."
He smiled at her, feeling a little better. "Thanks. I'll um, I'll let you get back to bed. I'm sorry that I woke you."
Zee smiled warmly at him. "Never be sorry for that. I am always here when you need me. We can talk some more if you're not ready to close your eyes?"
He nodded, his heart swelling a bit. He didn't want to close his eyes. He didn't want to be alone and seeing her smiling face made him feel so much better. "You don't mind?"
"Of course not," she said, her brown eyes twinkling at him. "How was the Yule Ball? Did you dance?"
He smiled. "Yeah, Luna was great. I danced with Hermione too and Ginny and a few other girls who asked me. Everyone looked great and Ginny looked… I mean, everyone looked beautiful."
Zee nodded, her eyebrow rising. She had begun to wonder if maybe she had imagined Harry's reaction to Ginny at the World Cup. His eyes had been on her instead of the Veela and she had found that very interesting, especially because she knew that Harry hadn't made the connection. But she had. The way his focus on the Veela had shut off completely the moment Ginny had spoken to him had been incredible and she knew that Harry hadn't noticed it.
"Ginny attended with Neville, did she not?"
"Yeah, but only as a friend. She's… actually, she's dating Michael Corner! I can't even believe it! He's such a prat! He plays Chaser for the Ravenclaw Team."
Zee tried not to grin at him as she listened to him rant about Corner and how he didn't understand what Ginny could possibly see in him. She listened to him tell her about how great Ginny looked, with little tidbits on Hermione and Ron's argument, and how Hermione had been secretly dating Viktor Krum for over a month. He told her all about the Weird Sisters performing and how excited Tonks was to see them.
He talked to her for almost an hour and she just smiled as she listened. When he started to yawn, she smiled at him.
"I think your exciting evening is catching up with you."
"Yeah, maybe. I think that I could sleep now," he said, stifling another yawn.
Zee smiled at him from the mirror. "Goodnight, Harry. I'll see you tomorrow when you come home. I love you."
He grinned at her. "Thanks Zee, I love you too."
When the mirror went dark in his hand, he tucked it under his pillow and yawned hugely before he closed his eyes and was asleep before he had even settled himself back into bed.
~ ASC ~
When Sirius left Hogwarts that night, he headed straight to Number Twelve. He had spent over an hour talking to Dumbledore after Madam Bones and Tonks had left with Crouch's body. Tonks had taken photos of the crime scene and of the body before the Auror Inquisitors had arrived to collect evidence. Despite Dumbledore's attempt to keep it a secret, the entire Yule Ball soon learned that Mr Crouch had been found murdered.
Dumbledore gave rooms to the dignitaries staying overnight before leading Sirius up to his office. "You spoke to Severus?"
Sirius nodded and relayed the conversation in Snape's office. "And Arthur Weasley would also like in. To be honest, with as much information as three of his children know, I'm shocked that it took him this long. I've kept him in the dark on things his children know and he's angry about that and he has every right to be. He wants in and I think that we should let him. Reforming the Order of the Phoenix is a good idea, Albus."
"It's your operation, Sirius, not mine."
Sirius shook his head. "No. I think that we should keep FUVP as an operation the way it is, but I do think that we should reform the Order of the Phoenix as well. Operation FUVP can be a need-to-know mission within the Order, but the rest of the Order can help with everything else. We can place people we trust around the Ministry; to try to keep our eyes open to any signs of what may be coming. I don't trust Fudge, Albus. He said that he was going to do something to Umbitch for her falsifying claims against Remus, yet he didn't. She received nothing more than a slap on the wrist. He ordered Dementors to a school. I was Kissed because of him and… I think that we need to keep our eyes and ears open."
"I agree," Dumbledore said calmly. "I don't think Fudge is untrustworthy so to speak, but he is a coward, and that can be just as dangerous. And you spoke to Severus about Pettigrew?"
Sirius nodded. "It was just a thought. If we could work it out right, Snape can maybe use Pettigrew to his advantage, and maybe even get more knowledge on this potion that Voldemort is brewing."
"I like it, Sirius. I think that it's a wise plan as it would also help to bring Severus back into Voldemort's good graces. We need to use his skills and knowledge to the best that we can."
They spoke a little more about Crouch and Sirius learned that he had been kept alive as long as possible. The coroner had determined cause of death to be asphyxiation. He had survived weeks of endless torture only to choke to death on his own bloody testicles. Sirius had hated the man, but he had definitely not deserved to go out like that.
He left Dumbledore just after two in the morning and made his way to Number Twelve. He wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed with Zee, but he had to tell Winky about Crouch. He knew that the elf was going to be devastated and he didn't want her to find out in some other way.
He found Kreacher and Winky both in the kitchen talking, despite the rather late hour.
"Happy Christmas Eve, Kreacher, Winky."
"Happy Christmas Eve, Master Sirius!" Kreacher exclaimed.
Winky nodded politely at him. "Hello, Sir."
Sirius took a seat at the table. "Would you sit and talk with me for a bit, Winky?"
Winky hesitated a moment before she sat across from him. "You is a nice master, Sir."
Sirius smiled. "Thank you, Winky. You've been here for five months now. You've been helping Kreacher, I know that, and I appreciate the hard work that you've been helping him do. I can see that you're a good elf, a hard worker, and appreciative of what life can give you."
"I is, yes, Sir."
"I would be honoured for you to come and work for me and for the House of Black. As my elf you would be in charge of keeping all of the Black properties up to date and cleaned and helping my other family members when needed, all except one. I would order you to never help or speak to one Bellatrix Lestrange as she is very evil and insane."
Winky stared at him. "You is still wanting me, Sir, after my master gives Winky her freedom?"
"Yes."
Winky blinked slowly. "What if my master sees he did Winky wrong and wants Winky to go back, Sir?"
Sirius sighed. "I'm afraid that won't happen, Winky. I am very sorry to tell you, but Mr Crouch was found dead this evening. Someone tortured and killed him."
"No!" Winky shrieked in horror, her hands covering her mouth.
He nodded. "He was murdered, Winky. He was murdered by someone who obviously hated him or wished him a great deal of harm. He was tortured very badly, Winky." Sirius was watching her big eyes as he spoke. He was beginning to think that Zee had been right. Winky knew something and it was the real reason why Crouch had sent her packing so quickly. "He was flayed alive," he said and watched her eyes widen even more.
"F-f-flayed, Sir? Like one is doing with fish?"
"Exactly like that," Sirius told her.
"But the young master Barty —" she threw her hands over her lips in horror.
Sirius merely raised an eyebrow. "Died in Azkaban, did he not?" When Winky only continued to look horror-struck he sighed. "Your loyalty is great, Winky, but if you know something to help us find out who hurt Mr Crouch, I think that you should tell me now."
"He's a bad boy!" Winky exclaimed suddenly. "I is taking care of him for Master ever since he snuck him out of prison!"
Sirius' eyes widened as Winky poured out the whole story: How Crouch's wife had begged her husband, how they drank Polyjuice and snuck the young Crouch out of prison disguised as his wife, how Mrs Crouch had died in Azkaban under the guise of Polyjuice Potion, and how Crouch had kept his son a prisoner in their own home. Winky told him about how much Crouch Jr had worshipped the Dark Lord, how he used to tell her how he would kill Crouch if he ever escaped, and how Crouch started keeping him under the Imperius Curse just to keep him in line.
It had been Crouch Jr who was sitting invisible up at the World Cup and Crouch Jr who had made the Dark Mark at the World Cup, and by the sounds of if, Crouch Jr who had savagely tortured and murdered his own father only to hang his mangled and bloody body at the front entrance of Hogwarts during the Yule Ball to honour the tournament that his father had worked so hard to put together. It was the ultimate fuck you to the father who he had obviously hated.
"Winky, thank you for telling me this. We need to try to find Crouch Jr to try to bring him to justice for his father and before he finds Voldemort."
"It is too late for that, Sir."
Sirius raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that, Winky?"
"The Dark Lord came to the house already. He was disguised as a baby and the man carrying him told Master Barty where to go." Her large eyes were wide in manic glee now. "And now that I know that my poor master has been taken care of, I can find young master Barty and help him! I can tell him that his Dark Master isn't safe, Sir. I can tell him what you know, Sir. I can —"
Winky shrieked as Kreacher's tiny body tackled her to the ground and a loud snapping sound had Sirius' eyes widening.
Winky's head lay at an odd angle on the floor of the kitchen.
"Kreacher couldn't let her go, Sir! Kreacher had to stop her! She would have ruined it! She would have made Master Regulus' sacrifice for naught! Kreacher had to snap her neck, Master Sirius! Kreacher had to protect his masters!"
Sirius stared at Kreacher, shocked that the elf would jump in to protect him like that and shocked that he hadn't seen it coming. Winky had still been loyal to the Crouches; had still been loyal this whole time and he had foolishly brought her directly into the headquarters of FUVP.
"Master Sirius?"
Sirius cursed himself for his stupidity as he shook his head and offered a small smile to his elf. "Thank you, Kreacher. I owe you my life. If the wrong people found out what we are doing here… You are an extraordinary elf."
Kreacher beamed.
"Kreacher," he began slowly. He was almost afraid to ask and to find out the answer. "I need to know... was Winky still communicating with her masters while she was here?"
"No, Sir."
"Are you sure?"
"I know it, Master Sirius. I put the Black House tracker on her the first day. She only left the house once and she went to Hogwarts to see Dobby. I know, Sir, because I followed her. I is not trusting free elves, Sir."
Sirius laughed. He couldn't help it. Never in a million years would he have imagined that the mad old elf who had been his mother's eyes and ears would defend him in this way. Never in a million years.
"Kreacher, thank you. You have proven yourself to be above and beyond anything that I ever could have asked of you. I will deal with Winky."
Kreacher nodded. "Yes, Sir." He turned to head into the boiler room before he stopped and looked back at him. "Master Sirius?"
"Yes, Kreacher?"
"I is wanting you to know that I is hurting anyone who tried to hurt you or Master Harry or your lady Zee, Sir. I is keeping you safe, Sir."
Sirius' eyes widened in surprise. "Thank you, Kreacher. That means a lot to me. You are a wonderful house elf and I'm honoured to have you serve the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black."
Kreacher nodded, smiling brightly as he left Sirius alone in the kitchen and Sirius ran his hands over his face. The fact that Kreacher had become so loyal to him touched him. The elf had surprisingly become very helpful over the last few years, ever since Sirius had told him that he wouldn't let Regulus death have been in vain. Ever since he had destroyed the locket. Now he owed the elf his life. As grateful as he was to Kreacher for stopping Winky from spilling the secrets of Operation FUVP, he still had one problem: What the fuck was he going to do with the dead house elf?
Sirius left Winky where she was and he sent a Patronus to Zee. She showed up a few minutes later, entering the house wearing one of his black silk shirts and black tights under her red cloak and knee high white heeled boots. Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun and her eyes were still tired. He knew that he must have woken her up.
"Sirius?"
He smiled at her, bending his head to kiss her softly. "I love how sexy those boots make you look."
She grinned at him. He had given them to her as an early Christmas present that evening. He had seen her eyeing them when they had been Christmas shopping and had gone back to get them for her. She had been incredibly impressed by the sweetness of it. The cloak was also a gift from him.
"Thanks. Flattery is always appreciated. You know I have a weakness for shoes."
"As I expanded our closet for that reason, yes."
She grinned. "Which I greatly appreciate, but why did you wake me up in the middle of the night? What's going on? You said that Dumbledore had called you to Hogwarts. Crouch is dead?"
"Yeah, he… how do you know?"
"Harry called. You forgot the mirror on the night table."
Sirius nodded. "He said that he was all right. Does he need me?"
She shook her head. "He was just having trouble going to sleep after what he saw, which is understandable. I talked to him and he's okay. It will be good to have him home later today. It will be good for him to come home for a bit and to be with his family."
"Yeah, yeah it will be. Did he say anything else?"
"Nothing important," she said with a smile, thinking about how jealous he had sounded over Ginny. She had found that rather interesting and she wanted to wait and see if that meant anything before she shared it with Sirius. "So, Crouch was murdered, what does that have to do with Operation FUVP?"
Sirius sighed. "Quite a lot apparently. We have a bit of a problem."
He quickly explained everything that had happened that night culminating in Kreacher snapping Winky's neck.
Zee gasped, pushing her way past him into the kitchen to see Winky's body. "Sirius!"
"Don't give me that look, Zahira, I didn't bloody kill her! And Kreacher saved our lives! If she told anyone about any of this… if this information about Horcruxes and about Voldemort's life got into the wrong hands…"
She looked taken aback by this. "She was spying on us?"
Sirius shrugged. "I don't know. She seemed loyal to Crouch, but even more so to Barty Crouch Jr, who side note — is supposed to be dead by the way."
Zee stared at him. "How is he alive then?"
"I remember Crouch and his wife coming to Azkaban to visit him," he told her. "I'd only been there about two years. He had come a month or so after me and he cried all of the time; screaming and crying and begging that he was innocent. He was wasting away and the Dementors were slowly sucking the life of out him. When his family came to see him, he died less than week later. But according to Winky, it was actually Mrs Crouch, Polyjuiced as her son, who died in Azkaban. Crouch helped his own son escape Azkaban after he was the one who sent him there in the first place."
"What did he go to prison for? Was he innocent?"
"He was caught with the Lestranges for torturing Frank and Alice Longbottom into insanity."
Zee's eyes widened. "Merlin! Was he guilty?"
"He claimed that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but Crouch claimed that he was guilty and sent his only son to prison. Unlike with me, he gave him a trial, but from what I've heard, it wasn't much of one," he said honestly. "I don't know if he was guilty or not, but it sure sounds like it. I don't understand why he would have been at the Longbottom residence if he wasn't torturing them. It's not like he was friends with Frank or Alice. Crouch was known to spend all of his time at the office and away from his family. It's not actually that surprising that his son fell into the wrong crowd and if Crouch is the one who sent him to prison, only to help him escape and keep him imprisoned in his own home and under the Imperius Curse on top of it… someone can't have been too happy with daddy."
Zee nodded. "And Winky has been the main caretaker of the son, keeping him imprisoned all this time… she probably helped raise him as well, thought of him as her own."
"I think so," Sirius said. "That's why she was so adamant to return to him and to tell him all about what we know. Kreacher stopped her."
Zee let out a slow breath. "He saved your life and I am grateful for that. But what are we going to do about her now?"
"I was kind of hoping that you'd have the answer to that. I mean, I know that if a house elf kills a witch or wizard they can be executed for it, but if it's another house elf… I mean, not to sound crass, but does the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures really even care?"
Zee shook her head. "Sadly, no. The only law pertaining to violence of magical creatures is Law 15B which states that, 'any attack by a magical creature who is deemed to have near-human intelligence and therefore responsible for its actions can be sentenced by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement if the Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures deems it justified.' Basically, unless the elf belonged to someone and they themselves demanded justice, her death would be considered lawful. And if Kreacher snapped her neck in order to stop her from attacking you, he served you well above and beyond his station as your house elf — and you in fact could argue self-defence if this went to a trial. Which it won't. Winky was a free elf. She had no masters and no job or no home. Did she even have any family to protest her death?"
Sirius shrugged. "I don't think so. Kreacher did mention that she was friends with Dobby. That mad elf that Harry freed two years ago. He's working at Hogwarts now."
"Well, he definitely needs to be informed," Zee said, sadly. "We can have a small memorial service for her if he wishes. If he wants justice for her, Sirius… we will have to allow Kreacher to be spoken to."
Sirius nodded. He knew that she was right about that and he knew that he would defend Kreacher to the best of his abilities. The elf had surprised him in more ways than one tonight. "I never saw it coming, Zee."
She reached over to take his hand, squeezing lightly. "You can't blame yourself. It was my idea to bring her here."
"You didn't know… she was going to tell Crouch Jr everything that we knew about Voldemort and about the Horcruxes. She was planning on selling us out. She had no intention of ever giving me a chance. I never thought that I'd say this, but thank Merlin Kreacher is such a paranoid SOB! He tracked her and he kept watch on her and… when she threatened our operation and indirectly threatened Harry and I, he killed her without hesitation."
Zee sighed. "Let's move her into the study and cover her up. We can talk to Dobby in the morning and see what he wants to do."
"What if he insists that Kreacher be punished? It would be in his right to do so," Sirius said. "I won't see him executed for this."
"One step at a time, Sirius," she said, moving into his arms and standing on her toes to kiss him softly.
He nodded and kissed her again. "All right. Go on back home. I'll move Winky into the study. This wasn't exactly how I planned on spending our Christmas Eve morning together."
She smiled as she hugged him. "It's still Christmas Eve no matter how we spend it and tonight we're going to spend it with Harry. Let's just enjoy that."
He kissed her again. "We will. Go on, I'll be home soon."
Zee smacked his butt lightly as she turned around. "Don't be too long. I might get cold waiting around naked for you."
His eyebrow rose and he gave her a wicked grin. "Naked where?"
She smirked as she put her hand on the front door. "Wouldn't you like to know. Don't be long. I wanted to wake you this morning with my mouth wrapped around your cock."
Sirius grinned widely, the words making him harden instantly. "Oh, yeah?"
Zee pressed her lips together and smiled. "Hurry home, babe. Oh and Sirius?"
When he looked back at her, she grinned. "I'll still have my new boots on."
He watched her leave with a grin on his face.
He definitely would be hurrying home.
End Author's Notes:
As to the wall spell, I just had the idea that Fred and George use a spell to make a wall in their room to hide their joke products from their mother, kind of like a secret room sort of thing. I thought that Ron could use the spell there to block the body.
(Bulgarian) Zdraveĭte = hello
(Bulgarian) moyata brilyantna zhena = my brilliant woman
(Bulgarian) Blagodarya = thanks
(Bulgarian) dobre li si = are you all right?
(Bulgarian) Molya = you're welcome
(Bulgarian) Vesela Koleda = Merry Christmas
(Bulgarian) moyata kafyava krasavitsa = my dark-haired beauty
And for anyone interested, the book is "A Long Fatal Love Chase" by Louisa May Alcott.
Thank you for reading and please review!