Chapter Sixteen
Switzerland
:.:.:
"Laĭna! Az ne go vyarvam!" Grigor shouted. (Shit! I do not believe it)
He and Draco had just finished a rather heated game of Exploding Snap on the ship, and when I say "heated," I don't mean that it was intense...Grigor was just getting really pissed at it... Although, considering a card had just exploded and singed off one of Grigor's eyebrows, I'd say it was also quite heated in that sense as well.
"Kak da poddŭrzham gubi?"
Draco looked to me for a translation.
"He said 'How do I keep losing?'" I told him.
Grigor then proceeded to say some rather vulgar things, not necessarily at Draco, just out of frustration.
"I'm not repeating that," I said to Draco when he looked to me for another translation.
He chuckled. "Sorry, mate, I've been playing since I was pretty young."
"As have I!" Grigor grumbled.
The lunch bell rang out across the grounds.
"Cheer up, Grigs," Finn encouraged, patting him on the back. "When we get back, we'll play something else. You any good at Wizard's Chess?"
"I am all right," he admitted, sadly.
"Well I'm complete rubbish so go easy on me," Finn told him. Grigor appeared to perk up a bit as we began walking off the ship.
"Draco," I said, hanging back a bit behind Grigor, Finn, and Viktor. "Can I ask you something?"
"Yeah, what's up?" he said casually.
"Be honest, all right?" I told him.
That was when he grew rather serious. "Of course," he said.
"Did you know about...my parents?"
Before he even gave a reply, I knew his answer. The way he'd faltered with his next step told me everything. And though we'd already been a good distance behind the other blokes, he hung back a bit more; I followed suit.
"It wasn't my place to tell you, Dem," he now spoke gravely and rather softly. "My father only told me because he didn't want me poking into the matter. He convinced me that it was a matter of yours and your grandfather's safety."
"I understand," I told him honestly. "I was just curious."
"I'm sorry," he said sincerely.
I simply gave him a small smile in return, and he mirrored it though his was...sort of grim...as though he still felt horribly for keeping it from me. But he was right, I s'pose: it wasn't his place to tell me.
"Oi, try to keep up!" Finn called out to us. They were waiting at the Great Hall entrance and Draco and I rushed over. "If either of you have any Wizard's Chess expertise, I'd really appreciate some pointers."
"I thought the whole point of playing was so Grigor could win?" I asked.
"Well, it was but...I'm even more of a sore loser than he is."
When lunch had ended, I told the blokes I'd meet them back on the ship and that I just had to return the clothes I'd borrowed from George. That was also why I told them I'd brought a knapsack to lunch in the first place. The real reason was that I was going to see Sirius.
Once the blokes had walked off, I collected some of the extra food in my bag before making my way to the statue of Gunhilda of Gorsemoor on the third floor. I tapped the one-eyed witch's hump with my wand and gave the password, "Dissendium," revealing the secret passage which I followed all the way to the basement of Honeydukes, just as Ginny and I had done...just as I'd done when I went to meet my grandad...
I still wasn't even sure how I felt about that... Of course I understood why he did what he did, but to lie to me about it? He would've never told me the truth if I hadn't asked for it! He was the only family I had left and he betrayed me . . . for my safety . . . but I was still angry with him . . . though surely, I couldn't just cut him out of my life . . .
This internal struggle continued as I traveled the familiar path through Hogsmeade and then around the village's edge. Once I arrived at the stile, I hoped Sirius would be waiting, though I knew that wouldn't be the case. Regardless, I pressed on, climbing the mountain as I had just the day before. Though this time, I was much more conscience of the wound on my left side. But, luckily, it didn't give me much trouble, and I arrived at the cave's opening without reopening any stitches...though I was rather out of breath. Merlin, even Viktor's intense Quidditch workouts couldn't prepare me for that mountain climb.
"Demetria," came Sirius, appearing before me, rather surprised. He looked as though he was just about to leave.
"I know you said not to come see you but you were really only looking at the other three when you said that, and you said not to go sneaking out of school but I didn't because I don't even go to Hogwarts..." I rushed out to defend myself; Sirius smirked.
"I was hoping you'd catch on to that," he told me. "Come on in."
I followed Sirius as he retreated back into the cave. After greeting Buckbeak with the same bow as I had yesterday, he allowed me to stroke his feathery neck just as he'd done with Hermione, but before doing so, I tossed Sirius the bag of food I'd brought.
"Thanks, I really appreciate it," he said.
"So you knew I'd come back?"
"More so hoping," he admitted. "After all, there are some matters we need to discuss."
My heart sank a bit. "What sort of matters?" Death Eater matters?
"Well, for starters, I thought you'd like to hear a bit about your parents."
I mirrored the grin he was wearing, but only for a brief moment. "Yeah, Granda — Carlisle never spoke about them." My smile snapped back into a hard line, like a rubber band.
"Oh, I know," Sirius told me, bitterly. "He made it very clear to Remus and I that we were not to interfere in your life. We knew all about the lies he was telling you."
"And that was it? You just did as he said?" I asked, crestfallen.
"Dumbledore assured us it was what was best at the time," he explained, though seemingly just as disappointed. "But I take it he's finally told you the truth?"
"Only because I asked him about it," I spat. "If I hadn't, he admitted he wouldn't've ever told me. I know he's the only family I've got left but I don't reckon I can forgive him for that."
"I was on my own too when I was around your age," Sirius shared. "My family was still alive but... Well, I was always the black sheep. I'm sure you've heard about us — it wasn't a secret that the Blacks supported Voldemort. My parents favored my younger brother, Regulus...he ended up joining the Death Eaters... Anyway, my point is that when I was sixteen, I ran away and moved in with my best friend, Harry's dad, James. The Potters were more of a family to me than my own had ever been. Family isn't always about blood. As long as you've got people who care about you, that's all that matters."
"That's true, I do sort of have three brothers," I told him, thinking fondly of Viktor, Grigor, and Finn. I'd always considered Vik and Grig to be family for years, and though I'd really only just met Finn, he was growing to be a brother to me as well.
"There you go!" he said, fervently. "And you've got me and Remus too."
"You two were good friends with my parents?" I asked, quoting what Sirius had said yesterday.
"I was, we all were," he told me. "Me, Remus, James, Harry's mum Lily... Aiden and Lucy were close with everyone in our little group. Lucy and Lily were practically as close as James and I were... Y'know, I can't help but feel guilty..."
"Why's that?" I inquired.
"I got to spend so much time with them . . . for years . . . I got to really know them and . . . you didn't get any time at all," was his grave reply. "Same with Harry's parents..."
"Well, now you can tell me everything," I said in hopes of brightening his expression; it worked.
And Sirius did tell me everything, at least everything he knew. I heard about how they all met, how they acted, pranks they pulled, trouble they got into, other people they'd dated... It was wonderful. And though I'd just learned so much about them, I still didn't feel like I knew them... Probably because I never had the chance to find out those things for myself... Nevertheless, it was still wonderful to actually know something about my parents other than how they looked on their wedding day.
I didn't stay too much longer; I didn't want the blokes worrying about me, after all. But I told Sirius I'd be back the next day after Karkaroff's class.
Oh, right, forgot to mention Karkaroff begun giving short lessons on various subjects since we were missing an entire year's worth of classes at school. I suggested we just sit in on some of the classes at Hogwarts but Karkaroff insisted they couldn't match our curriculum.
Anyway... So the following day I made the hike back to Sirius's cave. He was happy to have some company other than Buckbeak (and some food other than rats), and I was certainly happy to talk about my parents, his time at Hogwarts, the First Wizarding War, the Order of the Phoenix, anything really. Pretty soon, visiting Sirius had become sort of a daily pastime. No one knew about it though, not even Harry. The blokes always thought I was with Cedric and Cedric always thought I was with the blokes. I just figured it would be better that way rather than saying I was visiting a long-lost family member and escaped criminal who was residing in the mountains.
By the last week of May, I had quite an enjoyable little schedule for myself. I didn't even mind the addition of Karkaroff's lessons, because I actually did like to learn and Karkaroff was always rather entertaining. I was also glad he never asked me about what Snape had brought up in his office...I suppose he didn't really have to. But just when I'd practically forgotten all about the very thing that brought me to Hogwarts in the first place, that was when it reared its ugly head: the tournament. Karkaroff approached me just before I could exit the Great Hall after lunch, that day.
"Demetria, I have just been informed that you are to go down to the Quidditch field tonight at nine o'clock," he told me rather fervently. "Mr. Bagman will be there to tell the champions about the third task."
"Ace, I'll be there, Professor," I assured him before making my way to the secret passage to Honeydukes.
–
I spent another afternoon with Sirius until the sun began to tuck itself away.
"Y'know, I really don't like you coming all the way out here by yourself," he said, gravely.
"You say that every time, but I can take care of myself," I insisted. "It's not exactly a rough neighborhood or anything."
He chuckled. It was only Hogsmeade.
"Alright, safe travels."
We hugged and he transformed into Snuffles, the shaggy black dog, walking me to the stile. That was where we parted ways, as usual, but this time I guess he really didn't want me walking alone because I swore I could hear footsteps trotting along other than my own. Every time, I turned and called out to him (by Snuffles, of course, not Sirius), but there was never a reply or any sign of him, or anyone. I continued down the path until I was just outside of Hogsmeade, and then I heard the footsteps again.
"Snuff —"
Darkness.
–
Fire — that was the first thing I noticed when I woke up. I couldn't even seem to remember what had happened... I was walking along, and then I turned because I thought I'd heard Sirius, but...someone had knocked me out...
I found myself sitting in an armchair in front of a blazing fireplace, and though there was nothing physically restraining me, I couldn't move, which was probably the work of the Full Body-Bind Curse. I s'pose Hogsmeade wasn't all too safe after all...
"Ah, the guest of honor is finally awake."
Though I could see nothing but the flames in front of me, I knew exactly who was speaking and exactly who'd kidnapped me — Dolohov. If I'd been able to move my mouth, I would've spat out his name. He moved into my line of sight, though only out of the corner of my eye, and sat on the chair's arm.
"We have some unfinished business, Harris," he said, wickedly. "Now, I do apologize for the Body-Bind Curse, but there are some things you need to hear and I know how much you love running that ickle mouth of yours and interrupting people."
Even if I could've expressed any sign of irritation, I didn't, didn't even roll my eyes, although I could've done that. He wasn't going to get any sort of reaction out of me.
"I must say, I rather enjoy this Harris," Dolohov continued to speak silkily, as some people would've described it. I, however, knew better. I knew his tone was really just honey poured over shards of ice. "She's far more...obedient." He placed his hand on my shoulder and took his time running it down the length of my arm.
He snickered, suddenly grabbing hold of my wrist and turning my left arm so my inner forearm faced upwards. "I never did tell the Dark Lord about your little screw up, and don't worry, you can thank me for that later. But if I were you, Harris, I wouldn't let it happen again. Behavior like that simply cannot be tolerated... Besides, what sort of message does it send?"
Dolohov had retrieved his wand and began pressing the tip into my forearm. "I'll tell you what — treachery. Disloyalty. Betrayal. See, 'cause I'm beginning to think you, Daddy dearest, and good old Grandad are just playing us all for fools."
I was suddenly very thankful that he'd placed the Body-Bind Curse on me, because I knew that if I had control over my body, something in my stoic facial expression was sure to've slipped.
"Alright, now comes the fun part," he continued, removing his wand from my arm and getting up from the chair. He was standing right in front of me, now. "We're going to see who's side you're on, and if you make the right decision . . . you and Grandad live to see another day..."
Grandad? Did he have him paralyzed somewhere too? Was he in danger? Well, of course he was! I was too!
"So, little Harris . . . are you with us?" said Dolohov, moving his wand right back to the undoubted mark he must've left on my left forearm. "Blink once for yes and twice for no."
I knew what I had to choose... I didn't want to, Merlin knows, but...Grandad was right — it would be stubborn and selfish to refuse . . . So I knew I had to take what I'd told him was the coward's way out...
My eyes being the only part of my body that I was able to move, I shut them for a significant amount of time in order to distinguish between a regular blink and a blink that would essentially change my life... When I opened my eyes, Dolohov continued to stare at me, possibly waiting for me to shut my eyes once again. And although I longed to, I didn't. After a moment, he twisted his mouth up into a sinister grin.
"Excellent choice," he said, very obviously pleased. "Then I trust you will not do anything stupid if I do this..."
He lifted the curse; I slumped into the armchair. Again, he watched me, but I didn't make any moves. This brought another smirk to his face.
"I see you've decided to wise up since we last met," he cynically cooed. "Now then, there's still the matter of a proper initiation but it wouldn't hurt to make it official, eh?"
I glanced over to where his wand was poking into my forearm, the forearm that would no longer be a clean slate... From that day on, it would bear the Mark, hold home to Darkness — Unless...
The corners of my lips flicked upward to form my own small smirk. Dolohov took that to mean I was on board.
"See how much easier things are when you cooperate?" he patronized.
Looking to my arm again, Dolohov's wand was still pressed to it, only now there was, what looked like, black ink feathering out from it. It started to burn and sting, but in an instant, my forearm began to glow and then returned to being a clean slate, just like what happened with Mum.
Dolohov's smirk slowly sunk, and when he looked to me, I made sure I was left with no trace of a smirk either.
"Did you do that?" he asked, slowly and menacingly.
I shook my head rapidly, feigning fear.
"Son of a bitch," he cursed, the smirk back again. "You are your mother's daughter."
He knows about that? Relax, Dem, I'm sure they all bloody know about it... it doesn't mean Dolohov's the one who did it...
"Antonin —" someone came casually strolling into the room: Benjamin. "— Demetria," he caught sight of me and then turned back to Dolohov, angry. "What in Salazar's name are you doing?"
Dolohov began chuckling, darkly. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing," he assured Benjamin before turning back to me. "Don't get too comfortable in Switzerland, Harris. You can't remain neutral forever."
He then retrieved a goblet from the fireplace mantel and tossed it into my lap. "See you soon, Harris."
Before I'd even had the chance to say goodbye to Benjamin, or say anything, really, I'd picked up the goblet and felt as though I was being pulled to my destination. The goblet turned out to be a Portkey which brought me back to Hogsmeade, right where I last remembered being.
I'd made it back to Hogwarts at around half past eight, and figured that was as good a time as any to head down to the Quidditch pitch. On the way down one of the staircases, I crossed paths with Harry, and once we'd crossed the entrance hall, Cedric came up from the Hufflepuff common room.
"What d'you reckon it's going to be?" he asked us, the three of us walking together down the stone steps, out into the cloudy night. I was rather exhausted from all of the walking I'd done that day already, but I did my best not to show it. "Fleur keeps going on about underground tunnels; she reckons we've got to find treasure."
"That wouldn't be too bad," said Harry thoughtfully.
"Are you kidding?" I asked, incredulously. "With the way these tasks have gone so far, I reckon it's got to be something far worse than what we've already faced."
We walked down the dark lawn to the Quidditch stadium, turned through a gap in the stands, and walked out onto the field.
"What've they done to it?" Cedric said indignantly, stopping dead.
I'd only been to this school's Quidditch pitch once before, but even I could tell it looked absolutely nothing like it had before. The field was no longer smooth and flat. It looked as though somebody had been building long, low walls all over it that twisted and crisscrossed in every direction.
"They're hedges!" said Harry, bending to examine the nearest one.
"Hello there!" called a cheery voice.
Ludo Bagman was standing in the middle of the field with Fleur. Harry, Cedric, and I made our way toward them, climbing over the hedges. Fleur beamed at Harry as he came nearer. I reckoned that was on account of Harry "rescuing" Fleur's sister from the lake. Her attitude toward him seemed to've completely changed, and speaking of, she gave me a polite smile upon catching my eye. It was about time Phlegm quit being a thorn in my side.
"Well, what d'you think?" said Bagman happily as the three of us climbed over the last hedge. "Growing nicely, aren't they? Give them a month and Hagrid'll have them twenty feet high. Don't worry," he added, grinning, spotting the less-than-happy expressions on both Harry and Cedric's faces. "you'll have your Quidditch field back to normal once the task is over! Now, I imagine you can guess what we're making here?"
No one spoke for a moment, and I wasn't sure if they simply didn't want to or if they truly didn't know.
"It's a maze," I said airily.
"That's right!" said Bagman. "A maze. The third task's really very straightforward. The Triwizard Cup will be placed in the center of the maze. The first champion to touch it will receive full marks."
"We seemply 'ave to get through the maze?" said Fleur.
"There will be obstacles," said Bagman gleefully, bouncing on the balls of his feet.
Of course, there's always a catch, I groaned internally.
"Hagrid is providing a number of creatures . . . then there will be spells that must be broken . . . all that sort of thing, you know. Now, the champions who are leading on points will get a head start into the maze." Bagman grinned at Harry and I. "Then Mr. Diggory will enter . . . then Miss Delacour. But you'll all be in with a fighting chance, depending how well you get past the obstacles. Should be fun, eh?"
I wasn't entirely sure what creatures we'd be up against, but as long they weren't hiding any merpeople in that maze, I wasn't too worried. And breaking spells? That sounded like fun on its own. I always rather enjoyed puzzles; Curse Breaker was one of the careers Grandad had tried to talk me into pursuing rather than professional Quidditch player. Thinking of Grandad automatically brought my mind racing back to what had just happened with Dolohov not too long ago. Thankfully, Bagman pulled me from my thoughts.
"Very well . . . if you haven't got any questions, we'll go back up to the castle, shall we, it's a bit chilly. . ."
As we all began to wend our way out of the growing maze, Harry appeared right alongside me.
"So has Viktor been bad-mouthing me all over the ship?" he asked, seemingly only half-joking.
"What?" I actually gave a laugh. "No, why would he do that?"
"You haven't seen Rita Skeeter's article in Witch Weekly?" he asked rather sheepishly.
I shook my head. "I wouldn't've even seen the article she wrote about me if it hadn't been for George," I told him. "Why?"
"I'll wait for you, Harry, shall I?" came Bagman, looking slightly perturbed.
"No, it's okay, Mr. Bagman," said Harry. "I think I can find the castle on my own, thanks."
With that, Bagman continued on for the castle while Harry and I walked out of the stadium and toward the forest.
"Wow, he really does want you to win, doesn't he?" I said, amused. Harry rolled his eyes. "So what was this article about?"
"You mean he hasn't even mentioned it?" he inquired, surprised.
"No, what'd it say?" I asked, somewhat impatiently.
"Nothing true," Harry grunted. "Well, except the part about Viktor asking Hermione to visit him over the summer. Hermione said he'd asked her that when no one else was around though, so I dunno how Rita found out."
"Y'know, I didn't tell her anything she wrote in that article about me," I said. "I told Cedric all of that when no one was around..."
"Really? Well, Hermione's determined to find out how she's getting all of this information," Harry told me as we reached a quiet stretch of ground a short way from the Beauxbatons horses' paddock. "Because of that article, Hermione's been getting all sorts of threatening letters from mental fan girls."
I was about to ask why, but Harry continued.
"Rita said there was a love triangle going on between Hermione, Viktor, and I," he explained. "I know Viktor really likes her and I just wanted to make sure he knew Hermione and I are just friends."
I thought back to when Viktor was telling me that Hermione and Ron were meant to be together...
"Oh, trust me, he knows," I assured Harry.
He seemed to physically relax upon hearing that. "I'm glad to hear it," he said. "I wouldn't want Viktor to hate m —"
Suddenly, something caught Harry's eye from behind me and he immediately grabbed my arm and pulled me around him.
"What is it?" I asked urgently.
Harry shook his head, staring dead ahead into the forest. I stared too and didn't see anything . . . but then I did. A man staggered out from behind a tall oak. For a moment, I wasn't sure who it was, but then I recognized him — 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 trim. His strange appearance, however, was nothing to the way he was behaving. Muttering and gesticulating, Mr. Crouch appeared to be talking to someone that he alone could see.
Harry and I exchanged a brief glance before walking slowly toward Mr. Crouch, who did not look at either of us, but continued to talk to 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...?" said Harry cautiously.
"...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's eyes were bulding. He stood staring at the tree, muttering soundlessly at it. Then he staggered sideways and fell to his knees.
"Mr. Crouch?" I spoke loudly. "Are you all right?"
Crouch's eyes were rolling in his head; Harry looked to me again.
"Demetria, you'd better go and get someone —"
"Dumbledore!" gasped Mr. Crouch. He reached out and seized a handful of Harry's robes, dragging him closer, though his eyes were staring over Harry's head. "I need . . . see . . . Dumbledore. . ."
"Okay," said Harry calmly. "if you get up, Mr. Crouch, we can go up to the —"
"I've done . . . stupid . . . thing . . ." Crouch breathed. He looked utterly mad. His eyes were rolling and bulging, a trickle of spittle sliding down his chin. Every word he spoke seemed to cost him a terrible effort. "Must . . . tell . . . Dumbledore. . ."
"Mr. Crouch, you've got to get up," I told him loudly and clearly.
"Yes, get up and we'll take you to Dumbledore!"
Crouch's eyes finally rolled forward onto Harry and I.
"Who . . . you?" he whispered.
"We're students," Harry told him.
"You're not...his?" whispered Crouch, his mouth sagging.
Harry and I shared the same confused expression.
"No," Harry told Crouch anyway.
"Dumbledore's?"
"That's right."
What the sodding hell is he on about?
Crouch was pulling Harry closer; I could see Harry struggling to loosen Crouch's grip on his robes, but he was unsuccessful.
"Warn...Dumbledore..."
"Mr. Crouch, if you let go, we can get Dumbledore for you," I tried to reason with him; he released Harry.
"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 fluently to a tree again, and seemed completely unaware that Harry and I were there.
"Yes, my son has recently gained twelve O.W.L.s, most satisfactory, yes, thank you, yes, very proud indeed. Now, if you could bring me that memo from the Andorran Minister of Magic, I think I will have time to draft a response..."
"You stay here with him!" Harry instructed me. "I'll get Dumbledore, I dunno if you know where his office is —"
"I'll be fine, Harry, go," I assured him.
I did know where Dumbledore's office was but it wouldn't help anyone to stand around and argue over which of us got to leave and which had to stay with the madman.
Harry started to leave, but his movement seemed to trigger another abrupt change in Mr. Crouch, who seized him hard around the knees and pulled Harry to the ground.
"Don't . . . leave . . . me!" he whispered, his eyes bulging again. "I . . . escaped . . . must warn . . . must tell . . . see Dumbledore . . . my fault . . . all my fault . . . Bertha . . . dead . . . all my fault . . . my son . . . my fault . . . tell Dumbledore . . . Harry Potter . . . the Dark Lord . . . stronger . . . Harry Potter . . ."
"I'll get Dumbledore if you let me go, Mr. Crouch!" said Harry.
"Mr. Crouch, you've got to let go," I said, squatting down next to Crouch. "I'll stay here with you and he'll go get Dumbledore."
Mr. Crouch didn't look at me, but he apparently was listening because he released his grip on Harry.
"Hurry," I told Harry; he nodded before breaking into a sprint away from us.
"Dumbledore . . . must tell Dumbledore . . ." Crouch continued to mutter. "my son . . . my son . . ."
"You saved your son." I stated it matter-of-factly, and it got his attention. Crouch finally looked to me.
"My son . . . I saved . . . I . . . Imperius Curse . . . Invisibility Cloak . . ."
"I know, I know," I told him, calmly. "You did what you thought was best. You wanted to keep him safe."
Crouch actually looked as though he understood. His eyes were still bulging but what I was saying was clicking in his mind, I could see that in his eyes as well.
"But Bertha . . ." he continued. "Bertha came . . . Bertha knew . . . Memory Charm . . ."
Something clicked in my own head then, as well.
"Bertha found out about Barty and you placed a Memory Charm on her," I discovered. "Then she ran into Wormtail..." And was killed...
Just then, I thought I heard someone, but everything that happened next occured far too fast for me to react or defend myself. I had been looking at Crouch who was nodding rapidly, but suddenly someone came up from behind me, and the next thing I knew, I was unconscious...again.
—
When I woke up, I half-expected to be back in that armchair in front of a fireplace with Dolohov... Luckily, I wasn't, and I also wasn't in the Full Body-Bind Curse. I was laying on the forest floor, and I saw Dumbledore hovering over me. When I tried to sit up, he put a hand on my shoulder.
"Lie still for a moment, Demetria," he said; I did.
The sound of thunderous footfalls reached us, then, and though I couldn't see who it was, I assumed it was either Madame Maxime or Hagrid...and I was really hoping it was the latter.
"Professor Dumbledore!" It was Hagrid, and it sounded as though he had a dog with him. "Harry — what the — ?"
"Hagrid, I need you to fetch Professor Karkaroff," said Dumbledore. "His student has been attacked. When you've done that, kindly alert Professor Moody —"
"No need, Dumbledore," came a wheezy growl. "I'm here. Damn leg. Would've been here quicker . . . what's happened? Snape said something about Crouch —"
"Crouch?" said Hagrid blankly.
"Karkaroff please, Hagrid!" said Dumbledore sharply.
"Oh yeah . . . right y'are, Professor . . ." said Hagrid, the sound of his footsteps growing more faint as he presumably disappeared.
"I don't know where Barty Crouch is," Dumbledore told Moody. "but it is essential that we find him."
"I'm onto it," Moody growled. I could detect the sound of his own disappearing footsteps as well.
Nobody spoke again until we heard the unmistakable sounds of Hagrid and his dog returning. Karkaroff was immediately at my side.
"What is this?" he cried. "What is going on?"
"Demetria was Stunned by Mr. Crouch —" Dumbledore explained.
"Crouch?" Karkaroff parroted, irate. "The Triwizard judge?"
"Igor," Dumbledore began, but Karkaroff had drawn himself up, clutching his sleek silver furs around him, looking livid.
"Treachery!" he bellowed, pointing at Dumbledore. "It is a plot! You and your Ministry of —"
"It wasn't Crouch!" I said, finally able to sit up. Everyone looked to me in surprise, as though they'd forgotten I was there. "I was looking right at him when it happened. Someone else came up from behind me."
"You're certain of this?" Dumbledore asked me.
"One hundred percent, sir," I said.
"An accomplice, then!" Karkaroff continued. I rolled my eyes; he was always one for theatrics. "Someone wished to take out my champion because she is tied for first place! First they sneak Potter into the tournament, though he is underage! Now this?!"
"Professor, I was Stunned, their aim clearly wasn't to take me out," I insisted, getting up from the ground. "But you know who I bet they were after...?"
"Crouch?" said Harry. "But who'd want to take out Crouch?"
Once again, the wheels in my brain clicked. My eyes grew wide as I looked to Dumbledore, his blue eyes already twinkling in my direction.
"Kindly escort Harry back up to the castle, Hagrid," said Dumbledore sharply. "Take him right up to Gryffindor Tower. And Harry — I want you to stay there. Anything you might want to do — any owls you might want to send — they can wait until morning, do you understand me?"
"Er — yes," said Harry. He was probably just thinking about sending a letter to Sirius about what just happened...
"Alright then, c'mon, Harry," Hagrid said, his dog following as he and Harry marched off. When they were seemingly out of earshot, Dumbledore looked to me again.
"Demetria, you have an idea of who would wish to cause harm to Barty Crouch?" he asked me urgently.
Karkaroff and I exchanged a glance before I answered; it was clear he didn't want me to tell, what with the way his eyes were practically bulging from their sockets.
"His son," I told Dumbledore.
"Demetria, that is preposterous!" Karkaroff immediately insisted.
"Igor, perhaps you could give Demetria and I a moment?" Dumbledore said, still sounding a bit on-edge. "You have my word that no more harm will come to her this evening. I will bring her back to the ship, myself."
Karkaroff obviously didn't want to leave, but he also didn't want to argue, so he reluctantly agreed and began walking away.
"Barty Crouch Jr. died in Azkaban shortly after 1981," said Dumbledore, although he didn't seem to think what I'd just said was preposterous...but I did.
Bloody hell, what was wrong with me? I didn't mention a word of this to Sirius and the Golden Trio back in the cave the other day, but now there I was, ready to confess my secret Death Eater knowledge to Albus Dumbledore. Although...this was different... After all, this wasn't just about giving answers to some meddlesome group of teenagers. Telling Dumbledore would ensure everyone's safety at Hogwarts, and considering Grindelwald-only-knows what just happened to Crouch Sr., I thought it would be best if someone finally knew.
"Someone who looked an awful lot like Barty Crouch Jr. died in Azkaban shortly after 1981," I said.
Dumbledore took a glance around before saying, "Perhaps we should take a walk?" We began making our way toward the stadium and I didn't wait for Dumbledore to make any inquiries, I simply answered his unasked questions.
I told him everything I knew — Well, not everything — but I did tell him about Barty Crouch Sr. sneaking his son out, replacing him with his wife under the Polyjuice Potion, keeping him under the Imperius Curse and the Invisibility Cloak, and also — because he wanted to confess it to Dumbledore, anyway — that he placed a Memory Charm on Bertha Jorkins when she discovered the truth about Barty Jr.
Dumbledore just looked at me, thoughtfully, for a moment. I'd told him just enough so that he knew to be on the lookout for Barty, but I couldn't help feeling that maybe he knew there were parts I'd left out . . . like how I'd "forgot" to mention Barty Jr. was at the Quidditch World Cup and cast the Dark Mark...or that I knew how and why Bertha died... I hated to admit it, but Dolohov was right about one thing: I was Switzerland — playing both sides for as long as I possibly could, but walking behind enemy lines.
"Where did you — ?"
"I'm sorry, sir, but I'd rather not say how I know this," I politely told him.
"I understand, and I trust your sources are reliable."
I wasn't sure what it was, perhaps just the way he was looking at me or even his tone, but I was almost positive he knew exactly who my source was... I seemed to recall him knowing a thing or two about Grandad, anyway. And if he knew about Snape, he must've also known about me... Did that mean he knew about Karkaroff too?
"We will not draw any outside attention to this," he told me cautiously. Oh, he definitely knew about me, and was helping me so I wouldn't be punished for being the rat that let the Barty Crouch Jr. secret slip. "but all Hogwarts staff will be notified, students' curfews strictly enforced, and certainly no wandering the grounds unsupervised... We will take the necessary precautions without alerting anyone. Barty Crouch Jr. is in the area."
"You believe me, then, sir?" I asked because I was genuinely sort of taken aback.
"I see no reason for you to lie about something of this severity, and I am aware of how great the risk is for you to have told me in the first place," he explained before cracking a small smile. "You needn't worry, Demetria, I have a fairly good idea of who I can and cannot trust."
"Well you trust Snape, so..." So perhaps Severus Snape was another one of us who joined the Dark side against their wishes... "Sorry, sir, never mind."
"No harm done," he assured me, eyes twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles. "Now then, I promised Karkaroff the safe return of his champion. Shall we?"
Dumbledore walked me back to the ship where Karkaroff had been anxiously awaiting my return. He remained calm until Dumbledore had left us and I'd climbed aboard the ship. Karkaroff, then, immediately grabbed me by the shoulders.
"Demetria, what did you tell him?" he asked urgently.
"Nothing, I swear, I said I didn't know his son was dead," I made up.
Karkaroff relaxed. "Do not scare me like that again," he said. "Now, this attack, are you hurt?"
"No," I said, but he continued to stare, worried. "Honestly, Professor, I'm all right."
"Good, good," he calmed down even more. "Well, you have had an eventful night. Best to get some rest, eh? God natt, champion."
"God natt, sir."
Karkaroff retired to his cabin and I descended below the ship's deck. A few blokes were sleeping, but most were awake, lights were all out though. When I made it to the bunk I shared with Viktor, though, I found someone was already in my top bunk.
"Finn?" I guessed in the darkness.
"Guess again," they said.
I laughed. "Cedric, what're you doing here?"
"I've been waiting for you," he said. "I was hoping to catch you when we were leaving the stadium, but you walked off with Harry."
"Oh, I'm sorry," I said sincerely. "I didn't even know..."
"It's alright," he assured me, climbing down from my bunk. "Come with me."
I followed him back up on to the deck.
"Is everything okay, though? You took a long time..."
"Yeah, Harry just wanted to talk about something," I told him. Honestly, I really didn't want to go into recounting the Crouch story.
Cedric started making his way off the ship.
"Where're you going?" I asked.
"You mean, where're we going," he corrected with a grin.
"It's way past curfew, you shouldn't even be here," I reminded him, smirking.
He chuckled. "Come on, I promise it'll be worth it."
I followed Cedric as we moved soundlessly through the castle, and finally arrived at a part of the castle I'd yet to see — the Astronomy Tower.
"Professor Sinistra usually teaches Astronomy here at midnight, but there's no class tonight," Cedric explained, leading me through the threshold. "The tower is technically out-of-bounds right now."
"Wow, you're just breaking all the rules for me, aren't you?" I teased.
"Don't worry, I'm handing in my prefect badge first thing tomorrow," he told me in jest; I giggled and followed him as he placed a rather fluffy blanket down just in front of the balcony's parapet. Laying down on it, I actually couldn't feel the hard ground that was beneath us.
"You were right," I said, staring up at the countless stars in the sky. "this was worth it."
"The view's only part of it," he told me, looking into my eyes rather intensely. "There was actually something I wanted to talk about."
I sat up and faced him. "What's up?" I matched his seriousness.
"It's nothing bad...I hope..." he cracked a smile; I did too. "Well, three months ago, you were rather worried about where we'd be four months from then... And, I know we've still got that one month left," I laughed again. "and I dunno about you, but...I know now...I want to make it work. Yeah, Norway's far, but I've learned Apparation this year and —"
I kissed him for a long time, until I finally couldn't contain my smile, and he matched it, breaking away.
"There was one other thing I wanted to mention," he said softly.
"Oh no, is it bad news...?" I asked. "Did you just tell me the good news first so I wouldn't —"
"Demetria," he said, still grinning. "I love you," My heart skipped. "I hope that's also good news..."
"That's even better news," I said through a breath of laughter. I couldn't stop smiling. "I love you too."
He gently cupped my face in his hands and placed his lips back on mine. We moved to lay down together, still wrapped up in one another, and... Well, he was right, it was certainly worth it...