Padfoot Returns
One great thing about the aftermath of the second task was that everyone was keen to hear about what happened down in the lake.
This allowed for both Arthur and David to explain.
David's side of the story was that Dumbledore put the hostages into a bewitched sleep in McGonagall's office, first assuring them that they'd be safe and would awake when they were back above the water.
Of course, Arthur told his side of the story and everyone was intrigued, especially about the selkies.
Chrys, meanwhile, was being teased a lot for being the thing that Krum would miss the most to the point that she became rather cranky and snapped at anyone who'd tease her.
As they entered March, the weather was getting drier, yet had cruel winds that skinned their hands and faces every time they'd go out onto the grounds. The winds resulted in the post being delayed since owls kept being blown off course.
The eagle owl that Arthur sent to Sirius with the dates of the Hogsmeade weekend turned up during breakfast on Friday morning with half of its feathers sticking up the wrong way. Arthur tore Sirius' reply off immediately, worrying it would be sent outside again.
His letter was a bit longer than the previous one.
Be at stile at end of road of Hogsmeade (past Dervish and Banges) at two o'clock on Saturday afternoon. Bring as much food as you can.
"He's actually coming to Hogsmeade?" David questioned.
"Looks like it." Chrys said.
"Well, he hasn't been caught by the Dementors yet, and Hogsmeade is free of them, so it won't be a problem." Arthur told them as he folded the letter up.
The trio approached their final lesson of the afternoon - double Potions - feeling more cheerful than normal, especially Arthur as they descended the steps to the dungeons.
Draco, Crabbe and Goyle all stood in a huddle outside of the classroom door with Pansy Parkinson's gang of Slytherin girls. They all looked at something Arthur couldn't see and sniggered, which made him dread what it was, most likely Skeeter's latest article.
Pansy's pug-like face then peered excitedly around Goyle's broad back as the trio approached.
"There they are, there they are!" She giggled, and the Slytherin's all broke apart.
Arthur could now see that Pansy had a magazine in her hands - Witch Weekly. The moving picture on the cover showed a curly haired witch that smiled toothily, pointing at a large sponge cake with her wand.
"You might find something to interest you in there, Ranger!" Pansy said loudly, throwing the magazine to Chrys, who caught it, taken aback. And at that moment, the dungeon door opened up and Snape beckoned everyone inside.
The trio all headed for a table in the back of the dungeon as usual and when Snape had his back turned on them to write the ingredients of today's potion on the blackboard, Chrys looked through the magazin under the desk.
She eventually found what they were looking for and the two boys leaned in closer, seeing a colour photograph of Arthur heading a short piece entitled:
ARTHUR PENDERGAST'S SECRET HEARTACHE
A boy like no other, perhaps - yet a boy suffering all the usual pangs of adolescence, writes Rita Skeeter. Deprived of love since the tragic demise of his parents, fourteen year old Arthur Pendergast thought he had found solace in his steady girlfriend at Hogwarts, Muggle-Born Chrysanthemum Ranger. Little did he know that he would shortly be suffering yet another emotional blow in a life already littered with personal loss.
Miss Ranger, a plain but ambitious girl, seems to have a taste for famous wizards that Arthur alone cannot satisfy. Since the arrival of Viktor Krum, Bulgaria Seeker and hero of the last Quidditch World Cup, Miss Ranger has been toying with both boys' affections. Krum, who is openly smitten with the devious Miss Ranger, has already invited her to visit him in Bulgaria over the summer holidays, and insists that he has 'never felt this way about any other girl'.
However, it might not be Miss Ranger's doubtful natural charms which have captured these unfortunate boys' interest.
"She's really ugly…" says Pansy Parkinson, a pretty and vivacious fourth year student. "...but she'd be well up to making a Love Potion, she's quite brainy. I think that's how she's doing it."
Love Potions are of course banned at Hogwarts, and no doubt Albus Dumbledore will want to investigate these claims. In the meantime, Arthur Pendergast's well wishers must hope that, next time, he bestows his heart upon a worthier candidate.
The three all looked at each other in shock and fury, wordlessly agreeing to talk about it after the lesson was over. Chrys put the magazine in her bag and continued on with the lesson, though with a look from David that said 'told you so' with his warning from back in January.
If only Arthur grabbed Skeeter when she was in Chrys' hair.
Halfway through, as Snape walked around and checked everyone's progress with their potions, he stopped in front of the trio and looked menacingly at Arthur.
"I am about to give you a warning, Pendergast." Snape said quietly. "If I catch you breaking into my office one more time -"
"I have never been anywhere near your office!" Arthur cut him off angrily as he tipped the powdered beetles into his cauldron and started cutting up his ginger roots.
"Don't lie to me." Snape hissed, his black eyes boring into Arthur's. "Boomslang skin. Gillyweed. Both come from my private stores, and I know who stole them."
Arthur glared back at Snape, not even blinking. He didn't steal either. The former was from the fake Moody, and Chrys did something similar during second year. And the latter was stolen by Dobby.
"You'll just make up any excuse to get me into trouble." Arthur coolly replied.
"I do not! You were out of bed on the night my office was broken into!" Snape hissed at him. "I know it, Pendergast! I will not tolerate your behaviour! One more night time stroll into my office, Pendergast, and you will pay!"
"You technically have no evidence it was me. So don't embarrass yourself a second time like you did in front of the Minister last year." Arthur coolly said as he turned back to his ginger roots.
Snape's eyes flashed as he plunged a hand into the inside of his black robes. He pulled out a small crystal bottle of a completely clear potion.
"Do you know what this is, Pendergast?" Snape asked, his eyes glittering dangerously.
"I don't." Arthur said as there wasn't a label.
"It 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 my hand slips -" He shook the crystal bottle slightly. " - right over your evening pumpkin juice. And then, Pendergast… then we'll find out whether you've been in my office or not."
Arthur didn't reply, though he knew Snape would be disappointed if that did happen, and just turned back to his ginger roots again, picking up his knife and sliced them again. He was sure that such an act, though, of using that Truth Potion was illegal.
Of course, there were some things he did conceal that he didn't want anyone to know, especially with the secret that he's gay and has a crush on Mike. And of course there's Sirius.
He just might end up drinking from his own hip flask just to ensure Snape doesn't slip the Veritaserum into any of his drinks.
Then a knock was heard on the dungeon door.
"Enter." Snape said in his usual voice.
The whole class looked as the door opened. Karkaroff entered and everyone watched as he walked up to Snape's desk. He twisted his fingers around his goatee again, looking agitated.
"We need to talk." He said abruptly upon reaching Snape. He also seemed very determined to have no one hear what he was saying as his lips were barely opened. Arthur listened as he kept his eyes on his ginger roots.
"I'll talk to you after my lesson, Karkaroff -" Snape muttered, only for Karkaroff to cut him off.
"I want to talk now, while you can't slip off, Severus. You've been avoiding me."
"After the lesson." Snape snapped at him.
Deciding to be under the pretext of holding up a measuring cup to see if he'd poured out enough armadillo bile, Arthur sneaked a glance at them and saw that Karkaroff looked extremely worried while Snape looked angry.
Karkaroff would hover behind Snape's desk for the rest of the double period, clearly to ensure that Snape didn't slip away at the end of class.
Arthur was very keen to hear what they had to say so he deliberately knocked over his bottle of armadillo bile with two minutes to go to the bell, which would give him an excuse to duck down behind his cauldron and mop up as the rest of the class moved towards the door.
"What's so urgent?" He heard Snape hiss at Karkaroff.
"This." Karkaroff replied, and Arthur peered around the edge of his cauldron to see Karkaroff had pulled up the left hand sleeve of his robe, showing Snape something on his inner forearm.
"Well?" Karkaroff said, making every effort to still not move his lips. "Do you see? It's never been this clear, never since -"
"Put it away!" Snape snarled, his black eyes sweeping the classroom.
"But you must have noticed -" Karkaroff said in an agitated tone.
"We can talk later, Karkaroff!" Snape spat. "Pendergast! What are you doing?"
"Just cleaning up my armadillo bile, Professor." Arthur replied coldly, straightening up and showing him the sodden rag he held.
Karkaroff turned on his heel and strode out of the dungeon. He looked worried and angry.
Since he didn't want to remain with an already angered Snape, Arthur threw his books and ingredients back into his bag and left at top speed to join back up with David and Chrys.
Later, they talked about Skeeter's written piece, Arthur pointing out how the beetle in Chrys' hair after the second task was Skeeter, leaving Chrys very enraged.
Chrys then noted that what Skeeter wrote about Krum asking Chrys to come to Bulgaria during the summer was true, along with how he felt towards her, which irked David so much.
They then universally agreed that they'll all find her in her beetle form and keep her locked up in something with an Unbreakable Charm so that she won't transform and write anymore articles.
The trio left the castle at noon the following day to find a weak silver sun shining down on the grounds. The weather was also milder than it has been all year.
By the time they arrived in Hogsmeade, all three took off their cloaks and threw them over their shoulders.
The food that Sirius had told them to bring was in Arthur's bag; they snuck a dozen chicken legs, a loaf of bread and a flask of pumpkin juice from the lunch table.
The three first went to Gladrags Wizardwear to buy a present for Dobby, where they had some fun selecting the most lurid socks they could find, including a pair that was patterned with flashing gold and silver stars, as well as another that screamed loudly when they became too smelly.
At half past one, they made their way up the High Street, past Dervish and Banges and towards the edge of the village.
Arthur had never been to this part of the village before. The winding lane led them out into the wild countryside around Hogsmeade. There were fewer cottages and their gardens were much larger. They also walked towards the foot of the mountain in whose shadow was Hogsmeade.
The trio then turned a corner and saw a stile at the end of the lane and waiting for them, with its front paws on the topmost bar, was a very large and shaggy black dog, which carried newspapers in its mouth, looking very familiar….
"Hi, Padfoot." Arthur greeted him with a smile when they reached him, scratching his ears.
Sirius then sniffed Arthur's bag eagerly, his tail wagging once before trotting away from them across the scrubby patch of ground that rose to meet the rocky foot of the mountain.
The trio then climbed over the stile and followed after him.
Sirius led them to the very foot of the mountain, where the ground was covered with boulders and rocks. Arthur turned in his lion form to make it easier for him to move around, like Sirius, whereas David and Chrys were soon out of breath.
They followed Sirius higher up to the mountain itself and for nearly half an hour, they climbed up a steep, winding and stony path, following Sirius' wagging tail. David and Chrys were sweating in the sun.
At long last, Sirius slipped out of sight and upon reaching where he vanished, the trio saw a narrow fissure in the rock.
Arthur turned back to his human form and they all squeezed into it, finding themselves in a cool and dimly lit cave. Tethered at the end of it, one end of his rope around a large rock, was Buckbeak the Hippogriff.
Half grey horse, half giant eagle, Buckbeak's fierce orange eye flashed upon seeing them. All three bowed low to him and Buckbeak bent his scaly front knees, allowing Chrys to rush forward and stroke his feathery neck.
Arthur, meanwhile, looked at the black dog, who had just turned into his godfather.
Sirius wore ragged grey robes; the very same he wore when he left Azkaban. His black hair was still as short as it was when Arthur saw his head in the fire in November, clearly cutting it to maintain this. And he looked very thin.
"You looked just like your dad in your Animagus form." Sirius said hoarsely, yet proudly and fondly, making Arthur swell with pride, as he removed the old Daily Prophets from his mouth and threw them onto the cave floor.
Arthur then pulled open his bag and handed the bundle of chicken legs and bread to Sirius.
"Thanks." He said, opening it and grabbed a drumstick, sitting on the cave floor and tore a large chunk off with his teeth. "I've been living off rats mostly. Can't steal too much food from Hogsmeade; I'd draw attention to myself."
"So how have you been doing here?" Arthur asked with a grin that he shared with Sirius.
"I'm pretending to be a loveable stray, so I'm fine." Sirius replied as he gnawed on the chicken bone, very much like a dog.
Sirius' face then turned serious as he said "I want to be on the spot. Your last letter… well, let's just say things are getting fishier. I've been stealing the paper every time someone throws one out, and by the looks of things, I'm not the only one who's getting worried."
He nodded over at the yellowing Daily Prophets on the cave floor and Dravid picked them up, unfolding them.
Arthur looked and saw the first Prophet's headline: Mystery Illness of Bartemius Crouch. The second and last one read Ministry Witch Still Missing - Minister for Magic Now Personally Involved.
Arthur looked at the story about Crouch, with certain phrases popping out at him: hasn't been seen in public since November… house appears deserted… St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies decline comment… Ministry refuses to confirm rumours of critical illness….
"They make it seem like he's dying." Arthur said.
"Sam's Crouch's personal assistant, remember?" David pointed out to Sirius. "Apparently he's suffering from overwork."
"He did look ill when I last saw him up close on the night my name came out of the Goblet of Fire." Arthur added.
"I wouldn't be surprised if it was partly because he sacked Winky, now that she isn't there to look after him." Chrys coolly replied as she stroked Buckbeak, who crunched up Sirius' chicken bones.
"She's been curious about house elves." David told Sirius, who looked very interested.
"Crouch sacked his house elf?"
"At the Quidditch World Cup." Arthru said before launching into the story of the Dark Mark's appearance, Winky being found with Arthur's wand and Crouch's fury.
As he told the story, he realised that his theory of Winky being with someone under an Invisibility Cloak can hold up with his theory of who the fake Moody was. It helps explain how she moved when the trio first saw her in the forest, why Crouch went and searched the area where Winky was found. He was checking on his son that had the same name.
When he was finished with the story, Sirius got on his feet, pacing up and down the cave. As he brandished a chicken leg, he said "So you first saw the elf in the Top Box. She was saving Crouch a seat, right?"
"Or more like sitting with his son under an Invisibility Cloak and taking my wand." Arthur replied, shocking everyone.
He told them all about his theories about what happened and his reasoning behind them, even stressing what he saw on the map.
"Of course." Sirius muttered, pacing up and down the cave again. "He'd want to pin the Dark Mark on Winky and not his son."
"Just how well do you know Crouch?" Arthur asked, making his godfather's face darken, looking as menacing as the night Arthur first properly met him in the Shrieking Shack.
"I know Crouch alright." He said quietly. "He was the one who gave the order for me to be sent to Azkaban, without a trial."
"WHAT?" David and Chrys gasped.
"Are you serious?" Arthur asked in disbelief.
"No, I'm not." Sirius said, taking another bite of chicken. "Crouch used to be Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, didn't you know?"
The trio all shook their heads.
"He was tipped as the next Minister for Magic. He's a great wizard, Barty Crouch, powerfully magical, and power hungry. Oh, never a Voldemort supporter. No, Barty Crouch was always very outspoken against the dark side. But then a lot of people who were against the dark side… well, you wouldn't understand… you're too young…."
"Try us." David said, sounding irritated, making Sirius form a grin on his thin face.
"Alright, I'll try you…." He said, walking back and forth in the cave. "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. Well, times like that bring out the best in some people, and the worst in others. Crouch's principles might've been good in the beginning, I wouldn't know. He rose quickly through the Ministry, and he started ordering very harsh measures against Voldemort's supporters. The Aurors were given new powers - powers to kill rather than capture, for instance. And I wasn't the only one handed straight to the Dementors without trial. Crouch fough violence with violence, and authorised the use of the Unforgivable Curses against suspects. I would say he became as ruthless and cruel as many on the dark side. He had his supporters, mind you, plenty of people thought he was going about things the right way, and there were a lot of witches and wizards clamouring for him to take over as Minister for Magic. When Voldemort disappeared, it looked like only a matter of time until Crouch got the top job. But then something rather unfortunate happened…." Sirius made a grim smile. "Crouch's own son, Barty Crouch Jr, 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."
This further confirmed what Arthur suspected.
"His own son was caught." Chrys said, noting the irony of it all.
"Yep." Sirius said, throwing his chicken bone to Buckbeak and sat back down on the ground beside the loaf of bread, tearing it in half. "Nasty little shock for old Barty, I'd imagine. Should have spent a bit more time at home with his family, shouldn't he? Ought to have left the office early once in a while… got to know his own son."
He then started wolfing down large pieces of bread.
"Then if my theory is correct, his son's a Death Eater." Arthur said.
"Perhaps…." Sirius said, still stuffing down bread. "I was in Azkaban myself when he was brought in. This is mostly stuff I've found out since I got out. The boy was definitely caught in the company of people I'd bet my life were Death Eaters, but he might have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, just like the house elf."
"Yeah, but we know that some Death Eaters avoided going to Azkaban by acting like they were under the Imperius Curse, like Lucius Malfoy." Arthur retorted. "Crouch Jr, if he's as faithful to Voldemort as he himself said, he'd act his ass off to come across as innocent, but his father wouldn't believe it for even a second, even if it were his own family."
"Fair enough." Sirius shrugged. "Anything that threatened to tarnish his reputation had to go, he had dedicated his whole life to becoming Minister for Magic. He dismissed a devoted house elf because she associated him with the Dark Mark again, that alone should 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, regardless of whether he was guilty or not… then he sent him straight to Azkaban."
"And so he gave his own son to the Dementors." Chrys said, adding a point.
"That's right." Sirius said, not even close to 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, Arthur saw the deadened look in Sirius' eyes becoming more pronounced than ever, like shutters closed behind them.
"And then what?" Arthur asked.
"Well, I believed he had died a year after he was brought in, but with what you saw on the map, that no longer seems to be the case."
"Then how would his son have broken out of Azkaban?" David questioned, being the only thing that Arthur hadn't thought of yet.
Arthur paced back and forth in the cave himself, thinking about possible ways to get past the Dementors in particular, but then he remembered Polyjuice Potion and things were making sense with that.
"Did Crouch ever visit Azkaban after his son was imprisoned?" Arthur asked his godfather, whose eyes widened.
"Yes he did. He and his wife were allowed a deathbed visit, being an important Ministry member, he was allowed to do that. Of course, he half carried his wife, who apparently died shortly after from grief, wasted away like the boy."
"How was his son while at Azkaban?" Arthur then asked.
"He looked pretty sickly. Most go mad in there, and plenty stop eating in the end. They lose the will to live. The Dementors could sense it, they'd get excited." Sirius replied bitterly.
"Then that's it. Crouch must've loved his wife so much. A wife who thought their son was innocent. So she had to have demanded to get their son out. And if she was dying already, then she and their son could just swap with some Polyjuice Potion so that the Dementors didn't know a swap was made as someone dying was entering and leaving the prison. And Crouch just covered his wife's absence with a fake funeral, while she actually died at Azkaban." Arthur theorised.
"It makes sense. If you die while having the Potion, you die as the person you're pretending to be." Chrys noted.
"And I watched the Dementors bury who I thought was his son outside the fortress." Sirius said as he threw the bread aside and picked up the flask of pumpkin juice and drained it.
"So on the surface, old Crouch lost it all, just when he thought he had it made. One moment, a hero, poised to become Minister for Magic… next, his son 'dead', his wife dead, the family name dishonoured, and, so I've heard since I escaped, a big drop in popularity. Once the boy had 'died', people started feeling a bit more sympathetic towards him, 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 as much for him. So Cornelius Fudge got the top job, and Crouch was shunted sideways into the Department of International Magical Cooperation."
There was a long silence.
"Crouch is also supposed to be obsessed with catching dark wizards." Arthur brought up.
"Yeah, I've heard it's become a bit of a mania with him." Sirius nodded. "If you ask me, he still thinks he can bring back the old popularity by catching one more Death Eater."
"And he's most likely unaware that his son, a Death Eater, is disguised as an ex-Auror. And sneaked into Snape's office to get some ingredients for Polyjuice Potion to keep up his disguise." Arthur said, frowning at the fact that Crouch Jr is helping Arthur try to win the Triwizard Tournament, meaning that something big will happen, but what?
"Funny you bring up Snape." Sirius said. "Ever since I found out Snape was teaching here, I've wondered why Dumbledore hired him. Snape's always been fascinated by the Dark Arts, he was famous for it at school. Slimy, oily greasy haired kid, he was. Snape knew more curses when he arrived at school than half the kids in seventh year and he was part of a gang of Slytherins who nearly all turned out to be Death Eaters."
Sirius then held up his fingers, ticking off names. "Rosier and Wilkes, they were killed by Aurors the year before Voldemort fell. The Lestranges - they're a married couple - they're in Azkaban. Avery - from what I've heard he wormed his way out of trouble by saying he'd been acting under the Imperius Curse - he's still at large. But as far as I know, Snape was never even accused of being a Death Eater - not that that means much. Plenty of them were never caught. And Snape's certainly clever and cunning enough to keep himself out of trouble."
"Well, Snape and Karkaroff know each other well enough, though he wants to keep that quiet." David noted.
"Yeah, the way Snape's face looked when Karkaroff entered Potions yesterday." Arthur said. "Karkaroff wanted to talk to him, that Snape's been avoiding him. Karkaroff seemed worried. He then showed Snape something on his arm, though I couldn't see what it was."
Sirius stared at the cave wall with a grimace of frustration.
"There's still the fact that Dumbledore trusts Snape, and I know Dumbledore trusts where a lot of other people wouldn't, but I just can't see him letting Snape teach at Hogwarts if he'd ever worked for Voldemort."
"But the big question is why would Crouch seem ill, if it ain't because of the lack of a house elf to care for him?" Arthur asked, trying to think of an answer himself.
"You say your brother's Crouch's personal assistant?" Sirius asked David. "Any chance you could ask him if he's seen Crouch lately?"
"I will." David nodded.
Sirius then heaved an enormous sigh, rubbing his shadowed eyes.
"What's the time?"
Arthur looked at Chrys as his own watch still didn't work since the second task.
"It's half past three."
"You'd better get back to school." Sirius said, getting to his feet. "Now, listen…" He looked particularly hard at Arthur. "...I don't want you lot sneaking out of school to see me, alright? Just send notes to me here. I still want to hear about anything odd. But you're not to go leaving Hogwarts without permission, it would be an ideal opportunity for someone to attack you."
"I don't think Crouch Jr wants to attack me. It's like he's saving me for something." Arthur told him.
Sirius scowled at him. "It doesn't matter… I'll breathe freely again when this Tournament's over, and that's not until June. And don't forget, if you're talking about me among yourselves, call me Snuffles, okay?"
He then handed Arthur the empty napkin and flask and went to pat Buckbeak goodbye. "I'll walk to the edge of the village with you, see if I can scrounge another paper."
He then transformed into the great black dog before they all left the cave and walked back down the mountainside, across the boulder strewn ground and back to the stile.
There, he allowed each of the trio to pat him on the head before turning and setting off at a run around the outskirts of the village.
The trio made their way through Hogsmeade and back to Hogwarts.
"I know for sure that if Sam learned of what Crouch did to his son, regardless if he was a Death Eater, he'd lose any and all respect for Crouch that he had." David said. "He may be ambitious, but not so ambitious to throw any of us to the Dementors."
They walked in silence all the way up to them walking up the stone steps into the Entrance Hall, where the smell of dinner wafted towards them from the Great Hall.
"I feel bad for Snuffles. Living off of rats… he must really care for you that much, Arthur." David said.
So Arthur has become a regular Sherlock Holmes with his deduction and guesswork with this chapter, figuring out for certain about Crouch Jr.
