I do not own Bleach or Harry Potter the both belong respectively to Tite Kubo and J.K. Rowling
As they entered March the weather became drier, but cruel winds skinned their hands and faces every time they went out onto the grounds.
Friday morning, a brown owl delivered a letter from Sirius and Remus, with half its feathers blown off from the violent winds. The second, Harry removed the letter from its leg, the owl took off, clearly afraid it was going to be sent outside again.
The letter was oddly short:
Be at stile at end of road out of Hogsmeade (past Dervish and Banges) at two o'clock on Saturday afternoon…. Oh and bring food! ("Sirius!")
"Think they finished with their investigation?" asked Ginny.
"But why don't they want to meet at the Three Broomsticks or something?" Hermione questioned.
"Sirius probably doesn't want to cause a scene" said Harry. Since his release, Sirius' presence had been known to cause a stir with the wizarding public. It was the reason they lived in muggle London, so as to allow them some peace and quiet at home.
Still for the first time in his life, Harry was feeling something akin to homesickness. He really loved living with Sirius and Remus and had come to miss their company, when not distracted by his Soul Reaper duties or the tournament.
So he therefore approached the final lesson of the afternoon, double Potions, feeling considerably more cheerful than he usually did when descending the steps to the dungeons.
Unfortunately, Snape was determined to change that. While having the Potions professor glaring hatefully at him wasn't anything new, Harry had honestly gotten used to Snape leaving him alone for the most part, after he blasted him with a kidō.
But today it seemed Snape's had grown tired of not being allowed to demean Harry in class, as he made his way over to his, Ron, and Hermione's desk.
"Hmm, best split you three up" he sneered, offering no explanation other than to satisfy his whim. "Weasley, you stay here. Ms. Granger, over there, beside Miss Parkinson. Potter, that table in front of my desk. Move. Now."
Furious, Harry threw his ingredients and his bag into his cauldron and dragged it up to the front of the dungeon to the empty table. Snape followed, sat down at his desk and watched Harry unload his cauldron. Determined not to look at Snape, Harry resumed the mashing of his scarab beetles, imagining each one to have Snape's face.
"Don't think for a second that I'll tolerate your continued disrespect" Snape said quietly, so low that no one else could hear.
Harry could just make out what sounded like snickering from Malfoy and Parkinson. Obviously this was Snape's attempt at revenge for his humiliation at Harry's hands.
"Dumbledore may let you believe the delusion that the entire wizarding world is impressed with you" he went on, "but I don't care. To me, Potter you are nothing but a nasty little boy who considers rules to be beneath him."
Harry continued to work on his potion, pouring his now thoroughly powdered beetles into his cauldron. His hand's shaking with rage, as he worked on cutting up his ginger roots, all the while keeping his eyes down lest he lose his temper.
"So I give you fair warning, Potter," Snape continued in a softer and more dangerous voice, "pint-sized celebrity or not; if I catch you breaking into my office one more time."
"I haven't been anywhere near your office!" said Harry angrily, his eyes once again slowly taking on Hollow like characteristics.
"Don't lie to me," the Potions professor hissed. "Boom-slang skin. Gillyweed. Both come from my private stores, and I know who stole them."
In truth, Harry hadn't stolen either of these things from Snape. Hermione had taken the boom-slang skin back in their second year; they had needed it for the Polyjuice Potion, and while Snape had suspected Harry at the time, he had never been able to prove it. Dobby, of course, had stolen the gillyweed.
"I don't know what you're talking about" Harry lied coldly, his eyes returning to normal, as he regained control of his anger.
Snape's eyes flashed. He plunged a hand into the inside of his black robes. For one wild moment, Harry thought Snape was about to pull out his wand and curse him. Instead he pulled out a small crystal bottle, containing a completely clear potion.
"Do you know what this is, Potter?" he asked, eyes glittering dangerously.
"No."
"This is Veritaserum, a Truth Potion so powerful that three drops would have you spilling your innermost secrets for this entire class to hear," Snape said viciously. "Now, the use of this potion is controlled by very strict Ministry guidelines. But unless you watch your step, you might just find that my hand slips" he shook the bottle slightly, "right over your evening pumpkin juice. And then, Potter…then we'll find out whether you've been in my office or not.
Refusing to show fear, Harry simply went about his business. Though if he were honest with himself, he didn't like the sound of that truth potion at all, nor would he put it past Snape to slip him some. A lot of people would be in trouble, Hermione and Dobby to start; there was also his Soul Reaper work to consider, Harry knew the Gotei 13 didn't interfere directly with matters of the World of the Living, so he didn't want to know what they'd do if Snape learned about them,
It wasn't so much what the Soul Reapers would do to Snape but rather what they'd do to him. What if they fired him? Harry had found a sense of pride and purpose in his work as a Substitute Soul Reaper, it was a choice he made and was proud of. He didn't want to risk having that taken away.
Suddenly Harry was jolted from his thoughts, as someone knocked on the dungeon door.
"Enter" said Snape in his usual voice.
The class watched as the door opened, revealing Karkaroff. The Durmstrang Headmaster walked up to Snape's desk, twisting his fingers nervously around his goatee.
"We need to talk" he said abruptly, keeping his voice low.
"I'll talk to you after my lesson, Karkaroff…" Snape muttered.
"I want to talk now, while you can't slip off, Severus" Karkaroff interrupted. "You've been avoiding me."
"After the lesson," Snape snapped.
Under the pretext of holding up a measuring cup to see if he'd poured out enough armadillo bile, Harry sneaked a sidelong glance at the pair of them. Karkaroff looked extremely worried, and Snape looked angry.
But that wasn't all, Harry could now confirm what Yoruichi told him. At the time he had been so distracted by his own issues, he hadn't noticed before, but it was unmistakable, both Snape and Karkaroff were giving off very weak traces of a Hollow's spiritual pressure.
Karkaroff hovered behind Snape's desk for the rest of the double period. He seemed intent on preventing Snape from slipping away at the end of class. Keen to hear what Karkaroff wanted to say, Harry deliberately knocked over his bottle of armadillo bile with two minutes to go to the bell, giving himself an excuse to duck down behind his cauldron and mop up while the rest of the class moved noisily toward the door.
"What's so urgent?" he heard Snape hiss at Karkaroff.
"This," said Karkaroff, and Harry, peering around the edge of his cauldron, saw Karkaroff pull up the left-hand sleeve of his robe and show Snape something on his inner forearm. "Do you see? It's never been this clear, never since…"
"Put it away!" the potions master snarled, his black eyes sweeping the classroom.
"But you must have noticed…"
"We can talk later, Karkaroff!" Snape spat. "Potter! What're you doing?"
"Cleaning up my armadillo bile, Professor" Harry said innocently, showing Snape the soiled rag he'd been using.
Karkaroff turned on his heel and strode out of the dungeon, looking both worried and angry. Not wanting to remain alone with an exceptionally angry Snape, Harry threw his books and ingredients back into his bag and left at top speed to tell his friends what he'd heard.
The next day Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione left for Hogsmeade. Their first stop was Glad Rags' Wizard Wear to buy a present for Dobby. They had fun selecting the most vibrant socks they could find, including a pair patterned with flashing gold and silver stars, and another that screamed loudly when they became too smelly. Then, at half past one, they made their way up the High Street, past Dervish and Banges, the winding lane was leading them out into the wild countryside around Hogsmeade.
The cottages grew fewer here, and their gardens larger, as they approached the foot of the mountain in whose shadow Hogsmeade lay. At the end of the lane there was a stile, where waiting for them, its front paws on the topmost bar, was a very large, shaggy black dog.
"Hey, Sirius" Harry grinned.
The Sirius sniffed at Harry's bag, containing the food he'd asked them to bring, before taking off towards the rocky foot of the mountain, Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione following closely behind him.
Sirius led them to an old worn out looking cottage, similar to the Shrieking Shack back in Hogsmeade. Inside they found Remus sitting at a table reading a copy of the Daily Prophet.
"Hey kids" Remus smiled. Both he and Sirius looked tired and ragged, a testament to how time consuming their investigation has been.
"It's good to see you, Prof. Lupin" said Hermione.
"So why are you guys here?" asked Ron.
"I'm fulfilling my duties as a godfather" said Sirius, now in his human form, grinning at all of them. "And I thought it'd be fun to bring Moony, along for the ride. Is that from the Three Broomsticks?"
Remus sighed as Sirius accepted the meal from Harry's bag. It wasn't as if they couldn't just grab something themselves before coming to the meeting. Still Remus could understand that after being written off as a traitor and left to rot in Azkaban for twelve years, Sirius was warry of the wizarding public.
Ron nudged Harry and passed him the Daily Prophets. There were two: The first bore the headline Mystery Illness of Bartemius Crouch, the second, Ministry Witch Still Missing — Minister of Magic Now Personally Involved.
Phrases jumped out at Harry, as he skimmed through the story about Crouch.: hasn't been seen in public since November…. house appears deserted …...St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries decline comment…. Ministry refuses to confirm rumors of critical illness….
"They're making it sound like he's dying," said Harry slowly. "But he can't be that ill if he managed to get up here."
"My brother's Crouch's personal assistant," Ron informed Sirius. "He says Crouch is suffering from overwork."
"Mind you, he did look ill, last time I saw him up close," said Harry slowly, still reading the story. "The night my name came out of the goblet."
"Getting his comeuppance for sacking Winky, isn't he?" said Hermione, an edge to her voice. "I bet he wishes he hadn't done it now. Bet he feels the difference now she's not there to look after him."
"Hermione's added house-elves to her crusade" Ginny explained, Remus and Sirius both looked interested but for different reasons.
"Oh the S.O.M.E. group" said Remus, much to the children's surprise.
"You've heard of it?" Hermione asked excitedly.
"You've been making some noise" he smiled. "There's been some complaint about 'uppity mud-bloods' from the darker families."
Harry, Ron, and Ginny looked to Hermione in awe, who was wearing a proud smile on her face. They knew that the S.O.M.E. group had cut down on a lot of attempts at ganging up on and bullying muggleborns but none of them thought about those same bullies complaining to their parents.
Still this was a victory for Hermione who was already imaging what could happen if they got the muggleborn graduates to take a more active role in fighting against blood purity.
"Did you guys finding anything?" asked Harry, getting to the subject of Sirius and Remus' investigation on the Death Eaters.
"Not much" Remus sighed. "We did some digging around both in England and Albania. We didn't run into anything pointing to Voldemort's location but there's definitely something that's been getting the Death Eaters attention."
"Yeah Karkaroff's been acting jumpy lately and keeps trying to show Snape something. Plus, they've been giving off some weak traces of a Hollow's spiritual pressure."
"Maybe the Death Eaters have anything to do with the increase in Hollows" said Ron.
"There's been an increase in Hollows?" asked Sirius, turning to Harry for answers. "Why didn't you tell us?"
"Yeah Yoruichi told us there's been an increase lately all over Europe." said Harry "And I didn't think to tell you guys since well…"
"Yeah ok I get it." Sirius didn't like it but it wasn't like he or Remus could do anything against Hollows. Sometimes it bothered him that all that time around Lily did nothing more than give him the ability to see the spiritual beings yet still remain powerless to do anything about them. "So who's Yoruichi?"
"A Soul Reaper that's been helping Harry manage the extra load" said Ginny. "She's also the one that strung up, Rita Skeeter."
This got a laugh from Sirius and Remus as the story reminded them of something they would've pulled in their old marauder days.
"Anyway I doubt the Death Eaters could have anything to do with Hollows" said Sirius. "It's probably just left over from an attack or something. Like what Lily said about Fullbringers."
"But what we do know is that the Death Eaters started getting antsy after the Dark Mark appeared at the Cup" said Remus.
"Did they ever figure out who cast the mark?" asked Hermione.
"No after you lot brought down Malfoy; Fudge get involved and pinned everything on Crouch's elf."
"It was probably Lucius Malfoy" said Ron. "He must've stole Harry's wand and gave it to Winky, after using it to cast the mark."
"Except we already captured him before the mark was cast" Hermione reminded him.
"Was there anyone else by you at the Cup, that could've stolen your wand?" asked Sirius.
"There was Ludo Bagman" said Ginny. "And he's been taking a real interest in Harry."
"I don't know anything about Bagman except that he used to be Beater for the Wimbourne Wasps. What do you mean, he's taken an interest in Harry?"
"He offered to help me with the first task" said Harry. "And he seemed really relieved that I made it to the second task in time."
Sirius adopted a thoughtful look as started pacing the room. "When the Dark Mark had been conjured, and the elf had been discovered holding Harry's wand, what did Crouch do?"
Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione all traded looks wondering if anyone of them had actually seen the department head's reaction.
"Actually" Ginny finally spoke up. "I think I remember him looking around a bit when, Mr. Diggory called him over. But there wasn't anyone else there."
"Of course," Sirius muttered., "He'd want to pin it on anyone but his own elf . . . and then he sacked her?"
"Yes," said Hermione in a heatedly. "He sacked her, just because she hadn't stayed in her tent and let herself get trampled!"
By now Harry, Ron, and Ginny knew better than to say anything about Hermione's continued efforts to improve house-elf rights.
"Sounds like you've got a good measure of the kind of man Crouch is" said Sirius. "Let this be a lesson: If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals."
"Wow, Pad foot, never thought I'd see you teach anything" Remus commented.
"Shut up, Moony."
"Do you know, Crouch?" asked Harry.
"Oh I know Crouch all right" Sirius said darkly, surprising his godson with his obvious hatred. "He was the one who gave the order for me to be sent to Azkaban, without a trial."
"What?!" They certainly didn't expect that.
"Crouch used to be Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement" Remus explained, as Sirius took a few calming breaths.
"He was tipped for the next Minister of Magic," Sirius took over, now slightly calmer. "He's a great wizard, Barty Crouch, magically powerful — and power-hungry. Oh never a Voldemort supporter," he said, reading the look on Harry's face. "No, Barty Crouch was always very outspoken against the Dark Side."
"Maybe even too outspoken" said Remus.
"What do you mean?" asked Harry.
"Imagine that Voldemort's powerful now. You don't know who his supporters are, you don't know who's working for him and who isn't; you know he can control people so that they do terrible things without being able to stop themselves. You're scared for yourself, and your family, and your friends. Every week, news comes of more deaths, more disappearances, more torturing . . . the Ministry of Magic's in disarray, they don't know what to do, they're trying to keep everything hidden from the Muggles, but meanwhile, Muggles are dying too. Terror everywhere . . . panic . . . confusion . . . that's how it used to be."
For a brief moment Sirius felt guilty as he remembered the Order had suspected Remus of being a traitor due to being a werewolf.
"Times like that bring out the best in some people and the worst in others." Remus continued. "I would say Crouch was the latter. You see Crouch rose quickly through the Ministry and started ordering harsh measures against Voldemort's supporters, even authorizing Auror use of the Unforgivable Curses against suspects. Now Crouch had his supporters and when Voldemort disappeared, it looked like he'd take over as Minister of Magic…."
"But then something rather unfortunate happened" Sirius interjected, smiling grimly.
"Yes I was getting to that" said Remus, glaring lightly at his friend for the interruption. "You see Crouch's son was caught with a group of Death Eaters who'd managed to talk their way out of Azkaban. Apparently they were trying to find Voldemort and return him to power."
"his son" Ginny gasped.
"Did Crouch try and get his son off?" Hermione asked quietly.
Sirius let out a bark like laugh.
"Crouch let his son off? I thought you had the measure of him, Hermione! Anything that threatened to tarnish his reputation had to go; he had dedicated his whole life to becoming Minister of Magic. You saw him dismiss a devoted house-elf because she associated him with the Dark Mark again, doesn't that tell you what he's like?
Crouch's fatherly affection stretched just far enough to give his son a trial, and by all accounts, it wasn't much more than an excuse for Crouch to show how much he hated the boy . . . then he sent him straight to Azkaban."
"He gave his own son to the Dementors?" asked Harry quietly.
"That's right," said Sirius, and he didn't look remotely amused now. "I saw the Dementors bringing him in, watched them through the bars in my cell door. He can't have been more than nineteen. They took him into a cell near mine. He was screaming for his mother by nightfall. He went quiet after a few days, though…. they all went quiet in the end…. except when they shrieked in their sleep. . .."
For a moment, the deadened look in Sirius's eyes became more pronounced than ever, as though shutters had closed behind them. It was becoming less frequent but sometimes Sirius fell into flashbacks of his time in Azkaban. Harry and Remus have found that it was best not to draw attention to these attacks and let Sirius return on his own.
"So he's still in Azkaban?" said Harry.
"No" said Sirius dully. "No, he's not in there anymore. He died about a year after they brought him in."
"He died?"
"He wasn't the only one. Most go mad in there, and plenty stop eating in the end. They lose the will to live. You could always tell when a death was coming, because the Dementors could sense it, they got excited. That boy looked pretty sickly when he arrived. Crouch being an important Ministry member, he and his wife were allowed a deathbed visit. That was the last time I saw Barty Crouch, half carrying his wife past my cell. She died herself, apparently, shortly afterward. Grief. Wasted away just like the boy. Crouch never came for his son's body. The Dementors buried him outside the fortress; I watched them do it."
Sirius took a swig of the butter beer Harry had packed for him.
"So old Crouch lost it all, just when he thought he had it made," he continued, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "One moment, a hero, poised to become Minister of Magic . . . next, his son dead, his wife dead, the family name dishonored, and a big drop in popularity.
Once the boy had died, people started feeling a bit more sympathetic toward the son and started asking how a nice young lad from a good family had gone so badly astray. The conclusion was that his father never cared much for him. So Cornelius Fudge got the top job, and Crouch was shunted sideways into the Department of International Magical Cooperation."
A tense silence filled the room as Sirius finished his meal. Harry thought this explained Crouch's extreme reaction to Winky being found beneath the Dark Mark. It must've brought back memories of his son, and his fall from grace at the Ministry.
"Wonder if Percy knows all that stuff about Crouch?" said Ron, as they walked up to the castle. "But maybe he doesn't care . . . it'd probably just make him admire Crouch even more. Yeah, Percy loves rules. He'd just say Crouch was refusing to break them for his own son."
"Percy would never throw any of his family to the Dementors," said Hermione harshly.
"I don't know" said Ginny. "He's always been a really serious about rules."
"Still we should ask him, if he's seen Crouch lately" said Harry.
"Why?" asked Ron. He really didn't want to hear about his brother's obsession with Crouch.
"I was thinking maybe he's looking into Bertha Jenkins. Sirius and Remus told me that's where she disappeared."
"And if Crouch is as obsessed with Dark Wizards as he sounds, he'd know about the rumors saying Voldemort was in Albania" said Hermione, catching on to what Harry thinking.
"Um, guys" said Ginny. "I don't think that'll be necessary."
The Weasley girl pointed to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, where a man came staggering out. For a moment Harry didn't recognize him…then he realized it was Mr. Crouch.
He looked as though he had been traveling for days. The knees of his robes were ripped and bloody, his face scratched; he was unshaven and gray with exhaustion. His neat hair and mustache were both in need of a wash and a trim. His strange appearance, however, was nothing to the way he was behaving, muttering to himself as if talking to someone only he could see.
Cautiously they approached Crouch, who was occupied having a discussion with a nearby tree.
"….and when you've done that, Weatherby, send an owl to Dumbledore confirming the number of Durmstrang students who will be attending the tournament, Karkaroff has just sent word there will be twelve…."
"Mr. Crouch?" Harry said carefully.
"….and then send another owl to Madame Maxime, because she might want to up the number of students she's bringing, now Karkaroff's made it a round dozen . . . do that, Weatherby, will you? Will you? Will…"
"Mr. Crouch" Harry said loudly. "Are you alright?"
"He looks far from alright, mate" Ron commented.
None of them could disagree, the man was clearly unbalanced. The man's eyes bulged, his insanity clear for all to see. Muttering silently at the tree, Crouch suddenly fell to his knees.
"Maybe we should get some help?" Hermione suggested.
"Dumbledore!" Crouch gasped suddenly, grabbing desperately at Harry's robes. "I need…see…Dumbledore…"
"Ok" Harry said carefully. "If you get up, Mr. Crouch, we can go see…"
"I've done…stupid…thing…" the crazed man breathed, every word taking a terrible effort. "Must…tell…Dumbledore…"
"Mr. Crouch, you need to let Harry go now" Ginny said softly.
"Weatherby?" said Crouch, naming Ginny for her red hair.
"Yes, it's Weatherby and I'll get Dumbledore for you, sir. I just need you to relax."
"Thank you, Weatherby, and when you have done that, I would like a cup of tea. My wife and son will be arriving shortly, we are attending a concert tonight with Mr. and Mrs. Fudge."
Crouch was now talking to a tree again, seemingly forgetting Harry was even there.
"I'd hate to say it, but we should get Dumbledore" said Harry. "You guys stay here I'll go…ugh"
Harry suddenly fell to the ground unconscious, falling victim to a stunner. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all turned to face the attacker, wands at the ready. But before they could even utter a spell they too were knocked unconscious.
"I understand the day was nice by Hogwarts standards. But is it customary for students to sleep outside?" a voice asked teasingly.
"Ugh" Harry blinked open his eyes, surprised to see Fleur smiling down at him. "What's going on?"
"You tell me" said Fleur. "I was just returning to the carriage and I find you and your friends sleeping on the grass."
Harry certainly didn't expect that. The last thing he remembered was meeting with Sirius and Remus; judging from the sun which he could see was setting that was hours ago.
"Are you alright?" Fleur asked, as Ron, Hermione, and Ginny woke up.
"Yeah I think so" said Hermione, just as confused as Harry.
Try as they might none of them could remember why they had fallen asleep out by the edge of the forest. Concerned Fleur had the four go see Madam Pomfrey, who while not finding anything wrong with them insisted she keep them overnight.
