I do not own…

Chapter Fifty-Three: A glance to the Past

A few months have passed since the second task and it was near summer term. Not much happened besides Hermione getting herself, Harry and Ron ban from the kitchen because of her preaching for house-elves. Then she gets a lot of hate mail the next day thanks to the article in Witch Weekly. Then on Easter day Ron got a letter from Percy but it was useless as his brother believed Mr. Crouch was taking a well-deserved break. Then on the last week of May, Professor McGonagall told Harry and Vanessa to go to the Quidditch field at 9 pm and Professor Snape told Hunter the same. Bagman was going to be there to tell the champions about the third task. So half past eight that night, Harry, Vanessa and Hunter met up in the entrance hall to head out to the field.

"What d'you reckon it's going to be?" Hunter asked

"Fleur keeps going on about underground tunnels; she reckons we've got to find treasure." Vanessa said

"You two seem to get along now." Hunter joked

"She stopped being snotty after I saved her from the Kelpie." Vanessa said, shrugged.

"That wouldn't be too bad." Harry said

They walked down the dark lawn to the Quidditch stadium and when they got to the field Vanessa and Harry were modified.

"What've they done to it?" Harry said

The Quidditch field was no longer smooth and flat. It looked as though somebody had been building low walls all over it that twisted and crisscrossed in every direction.

"They're hedges!" Hunter said

Ludo Bagman waved at them as he was standing in the middle of the field with Krum and Fleur. Harry, Vanessa and Hunter made their way towards them.

"Well, what d'you think?" Bagman said happily. "Growing nicely, aren't they? Give them a month and Hagrid'll have them twenty feet high. Don't worry 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 but Krum said anything.

"Maze." Krum grunted

"That's right!" Bagman said "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?" Fleur said

"There will be obstacles." Bagman said. "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." He looked at Vanessa and Hunter. "Then Mr. Potter will enter. After him will be Krum…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?

Harry wasn't so sure about that. He looked over at Vanessa and knew she would be able to handle any creature Hagrid would provide. However, he nodded politely like the other champions.

"Very well..if you haven't got any questions, we'll go back up to the castle, shall we, it's a bit chilly…" Bagman asked

After he dismissed everyone he had tried to talk to Harry again but Krum tapped Harry on the shoulder.

"Could I haff a vord?"

"Yeah, all right." Harry said in surprise.

"Vill you valk vith me?" Krum asked

"Okay." Harry said curiously.

Bagman frowned but said that he'll wait for him but Harry said he'll find the castle on his own.

"Are you worried?" Hunter asked Vanessa as they headed back to the castle.

"About the task, nan, this will be a piece of cake." She said

"I ment Harry being alone with Krum." He said

"Oh, not really. Krum has seen me when I'm angry. And knows what will happen if he tries to harm my cousin." She said

Hunter couldn't help but nod at that. Vanessa was very lethal and can be scary when she wants to.

Harry didn't come back till an hour later. He told her what happened after his talk with Krum. Turns out Mr. Crouch appeared and he wasn't acting like himself. He left him with Krum and went to get Dumbledore but was a bit side tracked because of Snape. When he showed Dumbledore where they were Mr. Crouch wasn't around and Krum was knocked out. When Krum was awakened he informed them that Mr. Crouch attacked him from behind. Professor Moody was on the case but he couldn't find him at all. The next day Sirius had sent Harry a letter, lecturing him about walking off with Krum at night when someone is obviously trying to kill him. He wanted Harry to write back giving him his word that he won't stray out-of-bounds again. He also wanted Vanessa to do the same as her name was placed in the Goblet. Vanessa was annoyed but it was mostly towards Harry as he was still in denial that someone was trying to kill him. Hermione and Vanessa were able to get him to agree with Sirius and no longer went out alone.

For the next few weeks all the champions were training for the final task. Mal, Maggie, Axel and Marius help Hunter in the Room of Requirement as they fight with difficult spells, hexes and jinxes. Ron and Hermione help Harry research all different hex and jinxes and practice using them. Rain, Artism, and Maclome helped Vanessa outside as she used a barrier to shield them, mostly to keep from prying eyes as they used some magical creatures that Artism kept. They all stopped when classes started. Vanessa had her lesson with Dumbledore so she was heading towards his office when she ran into Harry.

"Don't you have Divination?" She asked

"I have to see Professor Dumbledore. My scar hurt again and I saw something." He said

"Alright, come on." She said

They walked up towards the stone gargoyle guarding the entrance to Dumbledore's office.

"Cockroach Cluster." She said

"Really? Cockroach Cluster?" Harry gagged

"The man loves his sweets. No matter how weird they are." She shrugged

They hurried through the gap in the walls and stepped onto the foot of a spiral stone staircase. When they reached up the door they stopped when they heard voices from inside.

"Dumbledore, I'm afraid I don't see the connection, don't see it at all!" They heard Cornelius Fudge's voice. "Ludo says Bertha's perfectly capable of getting herself lost. I agree we would have expected to have found her by now, but all the same, we're no evidence of foul play, Dumbledore, none at all. As for her disappearance being linked with Barty Crouch's!"

"And what do you think's happened to Barty Crouch, Minister?" Moody growled

"I see two possibilities, Alastor." Fudge said "Either Crouch has finally cracked — more than likely, I'm sure you'll agree, given his personal history — lost his mind, and gone wandering off somewhere —"

"He wandered extremely quickly, if that is the case, Cornelius." Dumbledore said calmly.

"Or else – well…" Fudge sounded embarrassed. "Well I'll reserve judgment until after I've seen the place where he was found, but you say it was just past the Beauxbatons carriage? Dumbledore, you know what that woman is?"

Vanessa mently growled at what he was applying.

"I consider her to be a very able headmistress – and an excellent dancer." Dumbledore said

"Dumbledore, come!" Fudge said angrily. "Don't you think you might be prejudiced in her favor because of Hagrid? They don't all turn out harmless if indeed, you can call Hagrid harmless, with that monster fixation he's got –"

"I no more suspect Madame Maxime than Hagrid." Dumbledore said calmly. "I think it possible that it is you who are prejudiced, Cornelius."

"Can we wrap up this discussion?" Moody growled

"Yes, yes let's go down to the grounds, then." Fudge said impatiently.

"No, it's not that." Moody said "It's just that the Potters want a word with you, Dumbledore. They're just outside the door."

The door of the office opened.

Vanessa and Harry walked inside and saw Cornelius Fudge standing beside Dumbledore's desk.

"Harry! Vanessa!" Fudge said "How are you?"

"Fine." They lied

"We were just talking about the night when Mr. Crouch turned up on the grounds." Fudge said "It was you who found him, was it not, Harry?"

"Yes." Harry said "I didn't see Madame Maxime anywhere, though, and she'd have a job hiding, wouldn't she?"

Dumbledore and Vanessa smiled at Harry.

"Yes, well." Fudge said, looking embarrassed. "We're about to go for a short walk on the grounds, Harry, if you'll excuse us…perhaps if you two just go back to your classes."

"We both have something to talk to you, Professor." Vanessa said

"Wait here for me, you two." Dumbledore said "Our examination of the grounds will not take long."

They left them alone in the office. Vanessa had walked over towards Fawkes and started stroking his head. Harry just looked around the room and noticed a patch of silvery light, dancing and shimmering on a glass case. He looked around for the source of the light and saw a sliver or silver-white shining brightly from within a black cabinet behind him. The door was not closed properly.

"What's that?" He asked

Vanessa looked where he was pointing at and saw it was Dumbledores' Pensieve. She saw it last year and asked Dumbledore about it.

"It's a Pensive. Dumbledore uses it to store important memories of his."

He was about to close the cabinet but a part of him wanted to look inside.

"Have you ever seen what's inside?" He asked

"Harry." She said, knowing what he was thinking.

It was too late. He got his head too close towards the pensieve and was getting sucked in. Vanessa grabbed ahold of his arm to try and pull him out but she also got sucked inside. They ended up in some kind of stone courtroom with a lot of people inside and right next to him was a few years younger Albus Dumbledore.

"Professor! Harry said in a whisper. "I'm sorry – I didn't mean to – I was just looking at that basin in your cabinet – I – where are we?"

"He can't hear you, Harry." Vanessa said "I told you the pensieve is a place where he places his memories. So this has to be one of his memories."

Suddenly the door in the corner of the dungeon opened and three people entered. Well one human that was brought in by two dementors. Vanessa saw how tense Harry got. She knew he still had a fear towards them. They looked down at the man and saw that it was Karkaroff. A much younger Karkaroff that was thin and wore ragged robes. He was being led to a chair that glowed when he sat on it and chained wrapped around him, binding him there.

"Igor Karkaroff."

They looked up and saw that it was Mr. Crouch standing up in the middle of the bench beside him.

"You have been brought from Azkaban to present evidence to the Ministry of Magic. You have given us to understand that you have important information for us."

"I have, sir." Karkaroff said "I wish to be of use to the Ministry. I wish to help. I – I know that the Ministry is trying to – to round up the last of the Dark Lord's supporters. I am eager to assist in any way I can…"

People on the benches murmur among each other.

"Filth."

The two turned around and saw that it was Mad-Eye Moody. Only…there was only one very noticeable difference in his appearance. He has two normal eyes instead of his magical eye.

"Crouch is going to let him out." Moody said quietly to Dumbledore. "He's done a deal with him. Took me six months to track him down, and Crouch is going to let him go if he's got enough new names. Let's hear his information, I say, and throw him straight back to the dementors."

Dumbledore made a small noise of dissent through his nose.

"Ah, I was forgetting…you don't like the dementors, do you, Albus?" Moody said

"No." Dumbledore said calmly. "I'm afraid I don't. I have long felt the Ministry is wrong to ally itself with such creatures."

"But for filth like this…" Moody said softly

"You say you have names for us, Karkaroff." Mr. Crouch said "Let us hear them, please."

"You must understand." Karkaroff said "That He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named operated always in the greatest secrecy… He preferred that we – I mean to say, his supporters – and I regret now, very deeply, that I ever counted myself among them –"

"Get on with it." Moody sneered

" – we never knew the names of every one of our fellows – He alone knew exactly who we all were –" Karkaroff said

"Which was a wise move, wasn't it, as it prevented someone like you. Karkaroff, from turning all of them in." Moody muttered

"Yet you say you have some names for us?" Mr. Crouch said

"I – I do." Karkaroff said breathlessly. "And these were important supporters, mark you. People I saw with my own eyes doing his bidding. I give this information as a sign that I fully and totally renounce him, and am filled with a remorse so deep I can barely –"

"These names are?" Mr. Crouch said sharply.

""There was Antonin Dolohov." He said "I – I saw him torture countless Muggles and – and non-supporters of the Dark Lord."

"And helped him do it." Moody murmured.

"We have already apprehended Dolohov." Crouch said "He was caught shortly after yourself."

"Indeed?" Karkaroff said, his eyes widening. "I – I am delighted to hear it!"

He didn't looked it. Vanessa could see that he was worried because one of his names was worthless.

"Any others?" Crouch said coldly.

"Why, yes…there was Rosier." Karkaroff said "Evan Rosier."

"Rosier is dead." Crouch said "He was caught shortly after you were too. He preferred to fight rather than come quietly and was killed in the struggle."

"Took a bit of me with him, though." Moody whispered, pointing to his nose where there was a large chuck cut off.

"No – no more than Rosier deserved!" Karkaroff said with panic in his voice.

"Any more?" Crouch asked

Karkaroff mentioned a few more names that didn't work. Then he got really desperate and blurted out Severus Snape's name. This led for Dumbledore getting up from his seat.

"I have given evidence already on this matter." He said "Severus Snape was indeed a Death Eater. However, he rejoined our side before Lord Voldemort's downfall and turned spy for us, at great personal risk. He is now no more a Death Eater than I am."

"Very well, Karkaroff." Crouch said coldly. "You have been of assistance. I shall review your case. You will return to Azkaban in the meantime…"

After that everything started to fade and then within seconds they were now on the left side of Mr. Crouch. The atmosphere in the room is different from the first one. It was more relaxed and somehow cheerful. To their surprise this court trial is for Ludo Bagman and they saw that Rita Skeeter was there taking notes. Turns out that he was unknowingly giving information to the Death Eaters. He wasn't sentenced as no one in court raised their hand as they were all fans of his. Only Mr. Crouch raised his hand. Seeing that he was out number Bagman was set free.

The scene changed again and the courtroom was back to being dreadful and quiet. They were still sitting next to Mr. Crouch and on the right side of him was a frail, wispy-looking witch crying in her handkerchief. The two looked at Mr. Crouch and saw that he looked worse than ever.

"Bring them in." He said

The door in the corner opened and six dementors entered with four people. The dementors placed each of the four people in the four chairs with chained arms that now stood in the court floor. There was a thickset man who stared blankly up at Crouch; a thinner and more nervous-looking man, whose eyes were darting around the crowd; a woman with thick, shining dark hair and heavily hooded eyes, who was sitting in the chained chair as though it were a throne; and a boy in his late teens, who looked nothing short of petrified. He was shivering, his straw-colored hair all over his face, his freckled skin milk-white. Crouch stood up and looked down upon the four prisoners in front of him with pure hatred on his face.

"You have been brought here before the Council of Magical Law." He said "So that we may pass judgment on you, for a crime so heinous –"

"Father!" The boy with straw-colored hair said "Father…please…"

" – that we have rarely heard the like of it within this court." Crouch said loudly. "We have heard the evidence against you. The four of you stand accused of capturing an Auror – Frank Longbottom – and subjecting him to the Cruciatus Curse, believing him to have knowledge of the present whereabouts of your exiled master, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named –"

"Father, I didn't!" The boy shouted "I didn't, I swear it, Father, don't send me back to the dementors –"

"You are further accused." Crouch bellowed "Of using the Cruciatus Curse on Frank Longbottom's wife, when he would not give you information. You planned to restore He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to power, and to resume the lives if violence you presumably led while he was strong. I now ask the jury –"

"Mother!" The boy screamed

The sobbing witch cried even more and started rocking backward and forward in her seat.

"Mother, stop him, Mother, I didn't do it, it wasn't me!" He cried

"I now ask the jury." Crouch shouted "To raise their hands if they believe, as I do, that these crimes deserve a life sentence in Azkaban!"

Every witch and wizard in the room raised their right hand in the air. The boy screamed again to his mother.

"No! Mother, no! I didn't do it, I didn't do it, I didn't know! Don't send me there, don't let him!"

The dementors came back in and gathered the four prisoners. When they were unchained they all stood up but the woman looked up at Crouch with heavy-lidded eyes.

"The Dark Lord will rise again, Crouch! Throw us into Azkaban; we will wait! He will rise again and will come for us, he will reward us beyond any of his other supporters! We alone were faithful! We alone tried to find him!"

The dementors grabbed hold of them and started leading them out. The straw-hair boy did his best to get out of their grip but they were clearly draining him.

"I'm your son!" He screamed at Crouch. "I'm your son!"

"You are no son of mine!" Crouch bellowed "I have no son!"

This made the crying witch gasp and fainted in her seat.

"Take them away!" Crouch roared at the dementors. "Take them away, and may they rot there!"

"Father! Father, I wasn't involved! No! No! Father, please!"

"I think it is time to return to my office, Harry and Vanessa." A voice said

They turned around and saw that it was the real Dumblefore.

"Come." He said

Dumbledore placed a hand on both Harry's and Vanessa's elbows and they felt themselves rising in the air. It wasn't long till they landed flat on their feet and landed in Dumbledore's office.

"Sorry, Professor…but someone was too curious as always." Vanessa said, glaring at Harry.

"I'm sorry, Professore. I know I shouldn't've – I didn't mean – the cabinet door was sort of open and –" Harry said

"It's okay, you too. I quite understand." Dumbledore said

He lifted the basin, carried it over to his desk, placed it upon the polished top, and sat down in the chair behind it. He motioned for Vanessa and Harry to sit down opposite him.

"Vanessa said that this is a Pensieve. That you store your memories inside it." Harry said

"Yes. I sometimes find, and I am sure you know the feeling, that I simply have too many thoughts and memories crammed into my mind." Dumbledore said "At these times, I use the Pensieve. One simply siphons the excess thoughts from one's mind, pours them into the basin, and examines them at one's leisure. It becomes easier to spot patterns and links, you understand, when they are in this form."

Dumbledore took out his wand and placed the tip to his head. He drew out a silver-white substance and placed it in the Pensieve. Then he placed his hands on either side of the Pensieve and swirled it for a bit before Snape's face appeared.

"It's coming back…Karkaroff's too…stronger and clearer than ever…"

"A connection I could have made without assistance." Dumbledore sighed "But never mind." Then he looked at Harry's stun face and Vanessa unexpressial face. "I was using the Pensieve when Mr. Fudge arrived for our meeting and put it away rather hastily. Undoubtedly I did not fasten the cabinet door properly. Naturally, it would have attracted your attention."

"I'm sorry." Harry mumbled.

"Curiosity is not a sin." Dumbledore said. "But we should exercise caution with our curiosity… yes indeed."

Dumbledore had shown them one more thought and this one was of a student Bertha Jorkins. She made some kind of rumor about Snape and he ended up hexing her. After that Dumbledore asked why Harry had come to see him. Harry remembered what he wanted to tell Dumbledore and explained what happened in Divination. He told him how Voldemort got a letter from an owl, Wormtail's blunder had been repaired. Said that someone was dead and that wormtail wouldn't be fed to Voldemort's snake and that he'll be feeding Harry to it instead.

"And that's when my scar hurt." Harry said "It woke me up, it hurt so badly."

Dumbledore nodded after asking him if his scar hurt any other time this year, except that one time in the summer. Harry shook his head no and this made Dumbledore pace back and forth, placing some more thoughts in the Pensieve.

"Professor?" Vanessa said

This got Dumbledore to stop in his pacing and looked back at them.

"My apologies." He said before sitting down back at his desk.

"D'You – d'you know why my scar's hurting me?" Harry asked

"I have a theory, no more than that… It is my belief that your scar hurts both when Lord Voldemort is near you, and when he is feeling a particularly strong surge of hatred." Dumbledore said

"But..why?" Harry asked

"Because you and he are connected by the curse that failed." Dumbledore said "That is no ordinary scar."

"So you think…his dreams…are really happening?" Vanessa asked

"It is possible." Dumbledore said "I would say – probable. Harry – did you see Voldemort?"

"No," Harry said "Just the back of his chair. But – there wouldn't have been anything to see, would there? I mean, he hasn't got a body, has he? But… but then how could he have held the wand?" Harry said slowly.

"How indeed?" Dumbledore muttered. "How indeed…"

It was quiet for a few minutes before Harry spoke again.

"Professor," Harry said, "Do you think he's getting stronger?"

"Voldemort?" Dumbledore said "Once again, Harry, I can only give you my suspicions. The years of Voldemort's accent to power were marked with disappearances. Bertha Jorkins has vanished without a trace in the place where Voldemort was certainly known to be last. Mr. Crouch too has disappeared…within these very grounds. And there was a third disappearance, one which the Ministry, I regret to say, do not consider of any importance, for it concerns a Muggle. His name was Frank Bryce, he lived in the village where Voldemort's father grew up, and he has not been seen since last August. You see, I read the Muggle newspapers, unlike most of my Ministry friends."

He looked at the Potter siblings with a very serious stare.

"These disappearances seem to me to be linked. The Ministry disagrees – as you may have heard, while waiting outside my office."

Vanessa and Harry nodded.

Harry felt that he should go now but there was something else he wanted to ask. It was something else he heard from the last court memory.

"Professor?" Harry asked "Er…could I ask you about…that court thing we were in?"

"You could." Dumbledore said

"You know — you know the trial you found us in? The one with Crouch's son? Well…were they talking about Neville's parents?" Harry asked

Dumbledore gave him a very sharp look.

"Has Neville never told you why he has been brought up by his grandmother?" He asked

Harry and Vanessa shook their heads no.

"Yes, they were talking about Neville's parents. His father, Frank, was an Auror just like Professor Moody. He and his wife were tortured for information about Voldemort's whereabouts after he lost his powers, as you heard." Dumbledore said

"What happened to them?" Vanessa asked "They were tortured with the Cruciatus Curse, right?"

"They went insane. They are both in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. I believe Neville visits them, with his grandmother, during the holidays. They do not recognize him." Dumbledore said "The Longbottoms were very popular. The attacks on them came after Voldemort's fall from power, just when everyone thought they were safe. Those attacks cause a wave of fury such as I have never known. The Ministry was under great pressure to catch those who had done it. Unfortunately, the Longbottom's evidence was – given their condition – none too reliable."

"Then Mr. Crouch's son might not have been involved?" Harry said

Dumbledore had no idea.

Harry then asked if Bagman was ever a Dark Eater and Dumbledore didn't believe he was. The old wizard said the same thing about Snape and this nearly made Harry snap. He was about to say something but Vanessa cleared her throat.

"I believe that's enough questions for now, Harry." She said

"She is right, Harry. You should get going." Dumbledore said

Seeing that he meant it he nodded and was about to leave but Dumbledore stopped him for a bit.

"Harry, please do not speak about Neville's parents to anybody else. He has the right to let people know, when he is ready."

"Yes, Professor." Harry said and left.