A/n: so this is the end of the first mystery (the second one is already in work if you've been paying close attention).

this is also the end of book 4, an era and so much more. 300k and counting...

Kurt and Harry were kneeling on the floor of Professor Moody's office when the door flew off its hinges and landed with a loud thud, Kurt wiped the tears from his face and schooled his features. Professor McGonagall entered with her wand at the ready, she was flanked by the headmaster and Professor Snape, "Are you two alright?"

"Yeah," Harry shrugged, "as much as we can be." He tilted his head in the direction of Barty Crouch Jr's bound body, "Kurt took care of it."

Professor Snape moved swiftly, he lifted the man into the office chair and tilted his head back, pouring a small vial of liquid down his throat. Professor Dumbledore spoke once he was satisfied that Barty Crouch Jr had swallowed all of the potion, "how are you here?"

"My dying mother came to visit me," the young man gave a malevolent smile, "we traded places and she died in Azkaban in my place, my father kept me under lock and key till the Dark Lord came to help set me free from the imperious curse my father had me under so I could do his bidding at the World Cup Final." He let out a manic cackle, "In return for my freedom my ever generous master asked me to deliver Harry Potter to him. After learning that Alastor Moody would be taking the position of Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts position, I attacked him and took his place."

"Did you put my name into the cup?" Harry snapped angrily.

"Yes," he grinned, "I also made your dragon more aggressive so you would seek my council, I never considered that your friend would play such an active role."

"Is that why you've been tarnishing Kurt's record with the staff?" Professor Snape spoke in a clipped tone that was almost defensive of Kurt.

"Yes," the man grinned, "among other reasons."

"Where is the real Professor Moody?" Kurt interjected before the man could say anymore.

"In the chest," Barty Crouch twitched, "I would have loved to have killed him but I needed fresh specimens for the potion." He grinned, "I made the best of a bad situation. He deserved everything he got, it was because of him that I was imprisoned in Azkaban; he's the one who captured us and brought us in."

Professor Snape turned to the chest that Barty Crouch Jr had pointed out, with a flick of his wand the lid of the chest flew off and revealed a deeper interior than the exterior led one to believe; the work of an undetectable extension charm. At the very bottom of the chest, in his stained unisuit was Professor Moody. Professor Snape made quick work of helping the man out of the chest.

"Professor McGonagall," the headmaster spoke, "send an owl to Azkaban, they'll be glad to hear we've located an escapee."

"I'm not going back to Azkaban," the man shook his head, "I came into this operation with an exit strategy. As I said before, it was among other reasons and wouldn't you love to hear the main reason for my deformation of the character of Kurt Elizabeth Hummel?" He cackled loudly once more, "I'd like to tell you all a little story;

...

Bellatrix kicked over the dining room table and let loose a mad cackle, "Word around town is that you've been flapping your lips and handing out prophecies, we find that odd because we also hear you denied the Dark Lord's invitation to give him a prophecy."

"How's it going Professor Mopsus?" her brother-in-law gave the man a sinister smile, "remember me?"

"You fool," her husband looked embarrassed by his brother's behaviour, "he's blind, he can't see you, if you want him to remember who you are then you should give him a clue but I'm sure your stupidity will suffice."

"You know Ruddy, you're very rude and some of the things you say are hurtful," Rebastan crossed his arms in a mock sulk.

"If you two are quite done," their young apprentice rolled his eyes, "We have work to do."

"Bartemius, is that you?" The man spoke, on his knees before the group, "Since when do you keep the company of the LeStrange family?" The man sniffed the air like a blood hound, "And which one is smoking in my house?"

"Told you he'd remember me," Rebastan exclaimed gleefully, "Time to pay for giving me a 'dreadful' on my OWL."

"You only got a dreadful," Bellatrix raised a curious brow, "he was more generous with you than I would have been."

"I was a lot more generous then I should have been," The man agreed.

"Tell us, Mopsus," Bella let out a small giggle, "can I call you Argyris? I'll call you Argyris."

Their young apprentice was fuming, "Does it really matter what you call him? So long as we get the Dark Lord's work done."

"Come here," Rudolphus pulled the young boy aside, "You speak to my wife like that again and I'll break every bone in your body, I'll leave you within an inch of your life and when you recover I'll start all over again." The tall imposing man slung his arm over the younger man's slender frame and put his cigarette out in the side of his apprentice's neck, "I get that you're new at this but if you're going to be in the business of Death Eating with us then you're going to need a little style."

Bellatrix watched gleefully as her husband turned and kicked Mopsus square in the stomach, a wild cackle escaped her as her excitement grew, "Now, Argyris, tell us about the seer who is set to replace you at Hogwarts because my inner eye is telling me you won't be making it back."

"Her words will be truer than you can imagine," the man spluttered, between coughs of blood.

"Crucio," Bellatrix smiled as she watched the man writher at her hand, she leaned in close to his aged face, "that's not the answer we're looking for." She turned to her apprentice, "be a honey and get me a knife from the kitchen, doesn't have to be sharp. I'd actually prefer a blunt one."

"Can I have a small prophecy? Will I ever find a wife?" Rebastan pushed the man onto his front and dislocated his right shoulder, the man cried out loudly, "tell us what we ask and we'll kill you painlessly."

"I've lived a full life," the man spat blood onto the carpet, "I'll die with my honour, thank you very much."

"Silly man," Rebastan smiled broadly, "we're not letting you die with your teeth, what makes you think we'll let you off with you honour?"

Their young accomplice handed Bellatrix a large chef's knife, she gave him a sinister smile. She fell to her knees beside the splayed man, gripping his wrist firmly between her knees, "Now, Argyris, get ready for the fun to begin." She smiled broadly as she began to etch the letter 'B' into the tender flesh of blind seer's forearm, her penmanship was skewed by his wrinkles but she thought the general idea was getting through.

"What should I do Madam LeStrange?" the young man asked as he watched Rudolphus rolling up the sleeves of his white oxford shirt.

"Do what comes naturally," Bellatrix looked up only for a moment before diving back to her letter carving, "but be sure to keep in step with the rest, nothing is worse than when somebody ends a torture early."

The man's screams filled the entire room and reverberated off the walls, they knew nobody would come to his aid and Rebastan didn't skip a beat- taunting the man to the inevitability of the situation, "scream louder Professor Mopsus, nobody will dare come. Crucio."

"Nobody is foolish enough to stand up against us," Rudolphus taunted as he tried to get good footing atop the man's back, "and those who do shall perish." He bent over and grabbed the man's ankle and with great force pulled the old brittle bones out of their socket, "that sound of breaking bones, it never gets old."

Bellatrix held up the arm, showing all her handy work, "if his skin wasn't a disgusting pile of phlegm then my lettering would be better."

"What does it say?" Rudolphus tilted his head and squinted as he tried to decipher the lettering.

"Boob baitor," Rebastan exclaimed.

"Blood traitor," Bellatrix rolled her eye, "Fool, but then again, reading was never one of your strong points."

"Sometimes I wish you'd gotten a better wife," Rebastan turned to his brother angrily, "one who would know to hold her tongue in the presence of a man."

"But her tongue is one of my favourite parts of her," Rudolphus wagged a suggestive brow, "especially in the presence of her man."

Bellatrix gave her husband a suggestive grin and growl, "crucio."

"Especially on her knees," he purred in response.

"Is now really the time?" the young man looked up from where he was breaking and mending fingers, "kind of in the middle of a torture."

Rudolphus grabbed the man by the chin, "Speak, then die."

Argyris Mopsus reached out a hand and placed it on Bellatrix's belly, "That which shall most shame you festers inside you, Bellatrix LeStrange."

There was silence for a moment then the couple broke out into mad fits of laughter, "somebody is going to have gas at tomorrow's meeting."

"Maybe you're going to take a mega-dump in a public restroom and it won't flush," Rebastan chuckled.

"Foolish man," Bellatrix shook her head in disbelief, "Avada Kadavra."

Three months later…

"Bella," her fair haired sister smiled at her, "to what do I owe this pleasure."

"I have news Cissy," Bellatrix peered nervously around the great room, "are we alone?"

"Yes," Narcissa smiled broadly and more genuinely, "I have some news of my own, why must we be alone?"

"My news is not good," she fell into the couch, twiddling her thumbs nervously, "it's not good at all Cissy."

Narcissa fell down into the seat beside her and clutched her hand tightly, "Are you unwell?"

"In a sense, yes," Bellatrix took a deep breath, "I'm with child."

Narcissa gasped joyously, "Oh Bella, I too am with child."

"This is not a moment for rejoicing," Bellatrix snapped and Narcissa shrank where she sat, "You don't understand. For you, this is one of the greatest moments of your life, but this means nothing but trouble for me."

Narcissa dropped her voice to a whisper, "did you stray?"

"What?" understanding dawned on Bellatrix, "No, the child is Rudolphus's, obviously."

"Right," Narcissa nodded then stopped and gave her sister a quizzical glance, "then why… all of this?"

"You will think me a fool but," Bellatrix took a deep breath, "I have reason to believe the worst of this child."

"You and Rudolphus are both descendants of Sacred Twenty-Eight families," Narcissa's eyes were open wide as she eyed her sister, "what would make you think the worst."

"The seer," Bellatrix shrank in a way Narcissa had never seen her do before, "Argyris Mopsus."

"The one you… worked on," Bellatrix snorted at how her sister feigned ignorance, "what does he have to do with the price of eggs?"

"Just before dying, he grabbed my belly and said that which most would shame me festered inside me," Bellatrix nervously tugged at her hair, "don't you see it, he has looked into my future and seen me bare a squib."

"I refuse to believe it," Narcissa shook her head, "what makes you think it so?"

"Those were his chosen last words," Bellatrix explained, "the legacy he leaves for those who caused him unknown pain."

Narcissa raised a curious brow, "Then why not take the potion? You know-"

"I know the one," Bellatrix snapped angrily, "I'm too far along, I've taken it three times and it doesn't work when you're more than three months along."

"Go into hiding," Narcissa suggested, "I shall keep your secret till after your return."

"Keep my secret…" Bellatrix mulled this over in her mind for a moment before shooting to her feet triumphantly, "You shall be my secret keeper."

"The Fidelius charm?" Narcissa shook her head, "that's only for locations, how would that help us now?"

"A uterus is a location," Bellatrix shrugged, "where's my foetus?"

"In your uterus," Narcissa smiled her understanding.

"The Dark Lord is too dependent on me, I cannot simply disappear," Bellatrix drummed her fingers together sinisterly, "this way nobody will know unless they are told, nobody will recognise this for what it truly is unless they know."

"Then what of the child when we've hidden the pregnancy," Narcissa raised a questioning brow, "what becomes of him?"

"We'll dispose of it," Bellatrix waved a dismissive hand at her sister, "it's brilliant."

"Are you sure I shouldn't just push you down a flight of stairs?" Narcissa sneered at her sister.

"And what if I break my neck?" Bellatrix raised an accusatory brow, "don't you think I'd thought of that one?"

"Wow," Narcissa chuckled, "you definitely are not the maternal sort."

"Where would I have learnt it with a mother as cold as ours?" Bellatrix chuckled for a moment before schooling her features, "we'll have to send an owl out and get the existing witnesses in on the plan."

"Existing witnesses?" Narcissa quirked quizzical brow.

"Yes," Bellatrix spoke as scribbled on Narcissa's personalised stationary, "Rudolphus, Rebastan and Bartemius were all there when that accursed man spewed his venom."

27th May 1980…

The cold words had been spoken and they would never again discuss this day with anyone but those who'd been present, Narcissa had one last task to complete, "Kreacher."

"Yes Mistress," Kreacher bowed before a heavily pregnant Narcissa.

"I need for you to dispose of this," Narcissa handed the sleeping bundle over, "discreetly."

"Kreacher lives to serve the Noble and Most Ancient House Black," the wrinkled house elf dissapparited and it was over.

…You see," the man licked his lips, "I made the unbreakable vow that I would never tell anyone outside that room that Bellatrix and Rudolphus LeStrange had a son, and that son is standing in this Room, a son who goes by Kurt Elizabeth Hummel."

The man's breath caught, his eyes bulged out and he scratched at his throat as if trying to force a breath, he managed to scratch the skin raw until he seemed to have no more energy and he slumped in his seat- dead. Kurt turned away, that was the second dead body of the day and the second Barty Crouch in as many weeks.

~0~

Kurt sat in one of three occupied beds in the Hospital Wing, the others were fill by Harry Potter and the real Alastor Moody- Kurt wasn't sure whether it was proper to call the man Professor when he'd never taught a single class. Kurt was propping up a sobbing Finn whilst he was being administer fluids; officially, for dehydration but unofficially, for blood loss. The taller, larger teen was sobbing heavily into the shoulder of Kurt's cashmere cardigan and had been doing so for an hour. Kurt was watching tentatively as Harry retold the story of the third task and skirmish at the graveyard; first to Professor Dumbledore, then Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge, Head of the Auror Office Investigation Department Hau Xun, and finally to Mrs Weasley.

Cornelius Fudge stood up and replaced his bowler hat, after having heard the story four times, "I've heard enough." Kurt sat upright as a shaggy black dog entered the Hospital wing and sat at the foot of Harry's bed, "I best be returning to the Ministry, the matter will be investigated."

Kurt let out a tired scoff, "And you expect us to just wait to die whilst you do what? Wait for report that might take years to assemble? The Dark Lord's return is an imminent threat."

"You best check your tone when speaking to me," Cornelius Fudge crossed his arms, "I am the Minister for Magic."

"Yes, and as such you serve at the pleasure of the people," Kurt spoke firmly whilst soothing Finn, "We are the people and we're telling you that the most dangerous wizard in recorded history is once more at large. You need to take immediate action."

"You say this because Mr Potter says so," the man scoffed.

"I say this because one of his followers posed as a Hogwarts teacher for the entire academic year. I say so because one of my friends had his arm sliced open as part of some dark ritual," Kurt took a deep breath, "I say so because people have started disappearing like they did before, and I say so because he's been back less than twenty-four hours and somebody is already dead."

"Minister Fudge," Harry pleaded, "please listen to reason."

"As I've said, I must be off," He turned to Professor Dumbledore, "please don't startle the student with unsubstantiated rumours."

"Minister," Hermione spoke for the first time when the man reached the door, "you can gag the headmaster and the staff but that doesn't change what we know and it doesn't make it any less true. We lost a friend today, somebody we loved and you can't stop us from telling people how we lost somebody who meant the world to us." Hermione's calm demeanour made her words so much more impactful, "People need to know what happened to Cedric Diggory, people need to know that they are in danger of the same fate, and you can't stop us from telling people."

"He was one of my best friends," Finn sobbed, "to deny the way he died is to deny everything he was when he was alive."

The man did not speak but simply vibrated as he exited the room. Kurt clasped Hermione's hands between his own and smiled appreciatively, he then turned to Professor Dumbledore, "what's happening?"

"Times have changed," Professor Dumbledore shrugged.

"Is this really the time?" Kurt quirked a brow, "What about Rita Skeeter? She seems to permanently have her ear to the ground."

"What's going on?" Finn looked around groggily, "Do I need a consent form for this?"

"No Finn," Hermione shook her head. She got to her feet, grabbing her purse and throwing it into the adjoining bathroom, "there, now it's a safe space."

"Rita Skeeter is in your backpack?" Finn furrowed his brow.

"Yes," Hermione smirked. Hermione gave a gentle smile and laid a hand on the boy's broad shoulders, "I'm going to need you to be calm and not freak out." She turned to Mrs Weasley and Bill, who had been joined by Mr Weasley, "I'm going to need you to listen to reason."

Kurt looked on appreciatively; Professor Dumbledore lacked the timing that this delicate situation required, Harry was too impassioned on the matter, and Ron lacked the eloquence to complete the task; without Hermione, the onus would fall on Kurt. she spoke in a controlled and level voice, designed to curb panic, "For so long, what we've known of the events leading up to the deaths of Lily and James Potter has been incorrect. When the couple and their young son went into hiding, they used the fidelius charm to hide their location and entrusted on of their friends as the secret keeper."

"Sirius Black," Mrs Weasley scoffed.

"So most people believed," Hermione continued, "based on the testimony of those who witnessed his murder of Peter Pettigrew. The little known truth is that Pettigrew was the real secret keeper and as such the real betrayer." Hermione paused for effect, letting everyone process what she was saying, "Pettigrew was an unregistered animagus and, after killing those twelve muggles in the explosion meant to fake his death, went into hiding as a rat."

"Scabbers," Ron added, "Sirius broke out of Azkaban after seeing him in that picture of us in Egypt. He's never been after Harry, we've been helping him evade capture because there wasn't enough evidence for an acquittal." Kurt turned and gaped at his friend who looked down at his hands guiltily, "by we, I mean Kurt. we've mostly been undoing his hard headedness."

"What a… woah," Mrs Weasley would have taken a seat if she weren't already sitting down.

"Why are you telling us this?" Mr Weasley had his usual grin on his face, "not that this isn't a fun story, learning one of your children and their friends are accessories to a crime is always interesting."

"They're telling 'us' this because Sirius Black is in this room," Finn wiped his face, "He's the big black dog." When Sirius turned from dog to man; Mr Weasley chuckled, Mrs Weasley gasped, Bill had a dizzy spell and Finn turned to Kurt, "I think I'm all cried out, I'm going to go rehydrate."

"Sure baby," Kurt smiled, "maybe have a sandwich too." Kurt watched his brother leave and turned to Professor Dumbledore with an expectant brow raised, "please explain why we're risking prison."

"The times are about to change as they did before," Professor Dumbledore shook his head tiredly, "I have tasked Sirius with holding down fort for a task that, when the time is right, you will all be called upon to participate in."

"I also wanted to see my God-son," Sirius added, "I heard he was used as an ingredient in a stew."

"Being in the stew was the easy part," Harry chuckled, the blood loss was a bitch."

Kurt shook his head, "Keeping us in the dark doesn't help anyone." He took a deep breath and tucked his knees into himself as he folded himself, "if there's a plan we need to know what it is and we need to be a part of it."

"But you're only children," protested Mrs Weasley.

"It won't stop Voldemort from killing us," Kurt scoffed, "do you think he checked Cedric's ID before having him killed?" Mrs Weasley was silent, "with all due respect, and I can only speak for myself here, we can be a part of the adult plan or we can make our own which will be much more dangerous."

Mrs Weasley gaped at Kurt, then she turned to Professor Dumbledore, "Albus, tell them."

"Molly," Sirius tried to intervene, "it's a delicate situation."

"You don't have eight kids looking to you for protection and guidance," Mrs Weasley's presence became too large for the room, "I will school you on the delicacy of situations."

"It's alright," Professor Dumbledore raised a hand to silence the man, "Molly, Kurt, I have tasked Sirius with manning Order of the Phoenix headquarters. I have further tasked; Alastor with gathering members from the Aurors office, Remus with gathering old members, Hagrid and Madame Maxime will try to rally the giants, and I have intentions of asking Charlie to be our presence on the international stage."

"That wasn't so hard," Kurt chuckled. He spotted Finn in the doorway with Neville, Luna and the remaining Weasleys in tow, "Can we have the room? I'd like to discuss somethings with my friends and my dehydration is keeping me put and so is Harry's blood loss."

As soon as the room was clear, Harry gave him a queer look, "they told us their plan, why do we need the room?"

"Because we're obviously going to have to do our own thing," Hermione smiled warmly, "I'm just not sure what yet."

"This… this war," Luna shuddered, "will inform the rest of our lives, it will set the tone for our futures regardless of whether we live to see the other side or not."

"What Luna means," Hermione's voice was low yet firm, "is that there needs to be an independent youth proponent because the rest of our lives is theoretically so much longer than theirs."

"I just wanted to make sure that we were all on the same page," there were nods of affirmation, "you need to encourage your friends to keep the same mentality."

~0~

Kurt sat on the bench that overlooked the whomping willow, he took long deep drags of his cigarette and let the smoke escape in small plumes of grey fluff. It felt right to be sitting on this bench, it was the spot where the last era of his life had begun; this was the spot where Cedric had first kissed him. This bench overlooking the whomping willow was where Kurt had first realised that his feelings for Cedric were more than a passing crush and today marked the day when he had to accept that Cedric was now only part of his past.

Kurt had discussed today's memorial with Cedric's parents and was ready to say goodbye for the last time, just as they had at the funeral; Kurt had known that day that he couldn't say goodbye, not until he'd said his piece today. He had to hold on to the boy and the grief because he needed both for maximum impact.

"Kurt," Hermione's voice was small, cautious. She'd been treating him like an egg since he broke down in tears at Cedric's funeral, "we're ready for you."

Kurt incinerated the cigarette bud, when there was nothing left but ash in the palm of his hand he let the wind carry it away. Kurt got to his feet and turned to Hermione who was dressed in a black A-line dress with a Peter pan collar, he frowned as he looked her up and down, "Oh Hermione, you're wearing flat shoes like my boyfriend isn't dead." Kurt shook his head and smoothed his suit, "How do I look?"

Hermione didn't answer, she just grabbed his hand. They walked hand in hand to up the slope to the castle, navigating the corridors in silence till they came to the great hall entrance. The great hall was decorated for the final feast but instead of a winning house's banners hanging from the ceiling, plain black banners with the Hogwarts monogram replaced them. The hall was dead silent as Kurt and Hermione walked down the centre aisle, when they reached the front Hermione kissed Kurt on the cheek as if giving him away at his wedding; Kurt felt like that was right, he was essentially marrying himself to the cause.

Kurt stood behind the podium and the owl opened its great wings. Kurt took a moment to breath, thinking about what he was about to say and what it would mean.

"Cedric Diggory was an upstanding young man; he was honest, loyal, friendly, caring and hard working. If you knew him then you know the grace and determination with which he approached life. I had the privilege of loving and being loved by a young wizard who thought of others before himself.

"The world will mourn this loss. The world will forever remember that day in June when it lost Cedric Diggory but that is not the only reason why that day will be remembered. That day when I lost the boy I loved will forever be remembered as a marker for the beginning of an era. You see, as we're gathered here to memorialise Cedric we need to remember this feeling because this is only the first in a string of wakes, funerals and memorial services. Cedric was amongst the first to die because the fear that was once known by all, the fear that has taken from all of us before, the fear most will not speak of, the fear we thought gone has returned.

"Lord Voldemort has returned and it is because of him that Cedric is dead. Nobody else will tell you the truth, the ministry has forbidden those of us who know the truth from speaking but I think that lying about Cedric's murder disservices him in death and all of you in life. Now more than ever, we need to be vigilant, transparent and decisive of which side of history we're going to stand on.

"Most of you are children now but by the time this war is over you will all have grown; you will have done things you never believed yourself capable of, seen people you care about die or- like Cedric- died o protect someone. When Cedric stood between the Dark Lord's will and Harry Potter, he died for each of us in spirit; Cedric didn't know Harry particularly well but his conscious wouldn't let him stand by and allow evil to run rampant.

"I loved Cedric so much, so quickly and without any plan to do so, I was very fortunate that he loved me just as much as I loved him. I was privileged to have gotten to know the intimate details of that boy's life. In much the same way, you are all fortunate to be part of his legacy. To know that when the Dark Lord returned, a boy who was no different from you- other than his strong moral conviction and dedication to all he did- laid his life down for righteousness.

"If Cedric could speak to you now, what he'd say is that he lived a good life," Kurt took a deep breath, "and he died unafraid. Take those words home with you this summer."

So, thank you to all the readers and a special thanks to those who follow, favourite and review; you keep this story alive. You've kept it alive for 300k words, and across 4 books and 48 chapters. Let's keep it up for another four books...

-Argyris Mopsus is based on JK's original concept for the divination teacher, she 86ed it because a competent teacher would be boring and I since made him trelawney's predecessor.