Veritaserum
Arthur felt himself slam right into the ground, his face pressed into the grass, the smell filling his nostrils.
He also closed his eyes as the Portkey transported him, and he still kept them closed. He didn't even move. It was like the breath was knocked out of him; his head swimming so much he felt like the ground was swaying as though he were on a ship out at sea.
He held himself steady by tightening his grip on the two things he still clutched onto - the smooth and cold handle of the Triwizard Cup and Cedric's lifeless body. He felt like would slide away into the blackness that was gathering the edges of his brain if he let them go.
The weight of what had happened now crashed down on him and he was now crying. Crying over the pain he endured, over seeing Voldemort come back, and witnessing the death of who he considered a friend and ally.
His scar was burning dully as a torrent of sound deafened and confused him. There were voices, footsteps and screams as he remained where he was, his face screwed up against all the noise, like it was a nightmare that didn't pass.
Then a pair of hands seized him and turned him over.
"Arthur! Arthur!"
Arthur finally opened his eyes to find himself looking up at the starry sky and Dumbledore, who was crouched over him. The dark shadows of a crowd full of people pressed in around them, pushing ever nearer.
He was back to the edge of the maze. He saw the stands rising above him, the shapes of people moving in them, the stars above.
Arthur let go of the Cup, but he still clutched onto Cedric much more tightly. He raised his free hand to seize Dumbledore's wrist as Dumbledore's face swam in and out of focus.
"Voldemort's back." He whispered. "I saw him."
"What's going on? What's happened?"
The face of Cornelius Fudge appeared upside down over Arthur, looking white and appalled.
"My God, Diggory!" He whispered. "Dumbledore, he's dead!"
The words repeated as the shadowy figures pressed in on them, gasping it to those around them, others even shouting and screeching it into the night.
"He's dead!"
"He's dead!"
"Cedric Diggory! Dead!"
"Arthur, let go of him." Fudge said, Arthur feeling fingers trying to prise him from Cedric's body, but he wouldn't let go.
But then Dumbledore's face, which was still blurred and misted, came closer. "Arthur, you can't help him now. It's over. Let go."
"He wanted me to bring his body back." Arthur said, fighting through the tears, needing to explain this. "Back to his parents."
"That's right, Arthur… just let go, now…."
Dumbledore bent down and, with quite extraordinary strength for someone so old and thin, raised Arthur from the ground and set him on his feet.
Arthur swayed as his head was pounding, breathing heavily.
The crowd around them jostled, fighting to get closer, pressing darkly in on him.
As this happened, Arthur heard a certain voice yell out, coming closer.
"Let me through!" Amos Diggory pushed through and upon seeing his son's lifeless body, he stopped.
"IT'S MY SON!" He cried out in the purest sorrow. "IT'S MY BOY!" He then fell to his knees and cried out still.
"He'll need to go to the hospital wing!" Fudge said loudly. "Arthur's ill, he's injured, Dumbledore."
"I'll take Arthur, Dumbledore, I'll take him -"
"No, I would prefer -"
Girls were now screaming, sobbing hysterically… the scene now flickering oddly.
"It's alright, son, I've got you… come on… hospital wing…."
"Dumbledore said stay." Arthur said thickly, the pounding from his scar making him feel like he'll throw up as his vision was now blurred worse than ever.
"You need to lie down… come on, now…."
Someone that was larger and stronger than Arthur half pulled, half carried him through the frightened crowd; Arthur heard them gasping, screaming and shouting as the person supporting him pushed a path through them, taking him back to the castle.
Across the lawn, past the lake and the Durmstrang ship; all Arthur could hear was the heavy breathing of the man that helped him walk.
"What happened, Arhur?" The man asked, helping Arthur up the stone steps.
When Arthur heard the clunk of metal on stone, he realised he was being helped by the disguised Crouch Jr, Voldemort's faithful Death Eater.
They then made their way up the marble stairs.
"The Dark Lord was there? What happened then?"
"He…" Arthur struggled, mainly because he was containing his newfound rage and fury at Crouch Jr. "He… killed Cedric…."
"And then?" Crouch Jr asked as they went along a corridor.
"Made a potion… got his body back…."
"The Dark Lord got his body back?" He's returned?"
"His Death Eaters came… we duelled…."
"You duelled with the Dark Lord?"
"Got away… our wands… connected… saw my parents… they came out of his wand…."
"In here, Arthur… in here, and sit down… you'll be alright now… drink this…."
Arthur heard a key scrape in a lock and felt a cup in his hands.
"Drink it… you'll feel better… come on, now, Arthur, I need to know exactly what happened…."
Crouch Jr helped tip the stuff down Arthur's throat, making him cough as a peppery taste burned his throat. He found himself in what's supposed to be Moody's office as his vision came back into focus. He then looked at Crouch Jr, whose eyes were fixed unblinkingly at Arthur, wanting to hear the details of his master's return.
"Voldemort's back, Arthur? You're sure he's back? How did he do it?"
"He took a bone from his father's grave, then Wormtail's whole hand and my blood." Arthur said, head head feeling clearer and his scar not hurting as badly as it did before; he was able to see the disguised Death Eater's face distinctly, even though he could still hear the distant screaming and shouting from the Quidditch pitch.
Arthur then raised his right arm to show his ripped sleeve where Wormtail's dagger tore it.
Crouch Jr then let out his breath in a long, low hiss in delight. "And the Death Eaters? They returned?"
"Not all, but yes." Arthur replied. "Loads of them…."
"How did he treat them?" Crouch Jr asked quietly. "Did he forgive them?"
Arthur glared at him, deciding to not give him the answers he craved.
"Just drop the act. I know who you really are… Barty." He spat.
A change in Crouch Jr's face was seen as he straightened up and made a creepy laugh. His magical eye was now fixed towards the door.
"It's funny. Karkaroff fled tonight, when he felt the Dark Mark burn upon his arm. He betrayed too many faithful supporters of the Dark Lord to wish to meet them… but I doubt he will get far. The Dark Lord has ways of tracking his enemies."
"Your precious master said he'd sort him out." Arthur growled as Crouch Jr pulled his wand out, pointing it at Arthur, who would've used his own wand to take him down.
"He forgave them, then? The Death Eaters who went free? The ones who escaped Azkaban?"
"Not exactly." Arthur replied with his glare still on his face.
"Those treacherous cowards. They didn't even go to look for him, who wouldn't even brave Azkaban for him. The faithless, worthless bits of filth who were brave enough to cavort in masks at the Quidditch World Cup, but fled at the sight of the Dark Mark when I fired it into the sky."
Crouch Jr was talking, as though to himself, before he focused back on Arthur.
"If there's one thing I hate more than any other, it's a Death Eater who walked free. They turned their backs on my master, when he needed them most. I expected him to punish them. I expected him to torture them. Tell me hurt them, Arthur…." His face was now lit with an insane smile. "Tell me he told them that I, I alone remained faithful… prepared to risk everything to deliver to him the one thing he wanted above all… you."
"He mentioned you." Arthur spat. "So you did whatever you could so that I could win the Tournament?"
"I did. I frightened off every person I thought might try to hurt you or prevent you winning the Tournament. I nudged Hagrid into showing you the dragons. I helped you see the only way you could beat the dragon."
His magical eye now left the door and now fixed on Arthur. His lopsided mouth now leered more widely than ever.
"It hasn't been easy Arthur, guiding you through these tasks without arousing suspicion. I have had to use every ounce of cunning I possess, so that my hand would not be detectable in your success. Dumbledore would have been very suspicious if you had managed everything too easily. As long as you got into that maze, preferably with a decent head start, then, I knew, I would have a chance of getting rid of the other champions, and leaving your way clear. But I also had to contend against your stupidity. The second task… that was when I was most afraid we would fail. I was keeping watch on you, Pendergast. I knew you hadn't worked out the egg's clue, so I had to give you another hint."
"You told Cedric to open it underwater." Arthur said, already knowing this.
"I did. I trusted that he would pass the information on to you. Decent people are so easy to manipulate, Pendergast. I was sure Cedric would want to repay you for telling him about the dragons, and so he did. But even then, Pendergast, even then you seemed likely to fail. I was watching all the time… all those hours in the library. Didn't you realise that the book you needed was in your dormitory all along? I planted it there early on, I gave it to the Longbottom boy, don't you remember? Magical Mediterranean Water Plants and Their Properties. It would have told you all you needed about Gillyweed. I expected you to ask everyone and anyone you could for help. Longbottom would have told you in that instant. But you did not… you did not… you have a streak of pride and independence that might have ruined all. So what could I do? Feed you information from another innocent source. You told me at the Yule Ball a house elf called Dobby had given you a Christmas present. I called the elf to the staff room to collect some robes for cleaning. I staged a loud conversation with Professor McGonagall about the hostages who had been taken, whether Pendergast would think to use Gillyweed. And your little elf friend ran straight to Snape's store cupboard and hurried to find you…."
His wand was still pointed directly at Arthur's heart. Over his shoulder, Arthur saw foggy shapes moving in the Foe Glass on the wall, meaning that help was coming. Dumbledore must've now realised that who he thought was Moody isn't really him.
"You were so long in that lake, Pendergast, I thought you had drowned. But luckily, Dumbledore took your idiocy for nobility, and marked you high for it. I breathed again. You had an easier time of it than you should have done in that maze tonight, of course. That was because I was patrolling around it, able to see through the outer hedges, able to curse many obstacles out of your way. I Stunned Fleur Delacour as she passed. I put the Imperius Curse on Krum, so that he would finish Diggory, and leave your path to the Cup clear."
Arthur breathed heavily and audibly through his nose, clenched throughout his body in rage as he stared at this despicable man.
The shapes in the Foe Glass now sharpened, becoming more distinct, the outlines of three people were visible over Crouch Jr's shoulder, moving closer and closer. Crouch Jr, however, didn't notice as his magical eye was still on Arthur.
"The Dark Lord didn't manage to kill you, Pendergast, and he so wanted to." He whispered. "Imagine how he will reward me, when he finds I have done it for him. I gave you to him, the thing he needed above all to regenerate, and then I killed you for him. I will be honoured beyond all other Death Eaters. I will be his dearest, his closest supporter… closer than a son…."
His normal eye was bulging, the magical eye still fixed upon Arthur. The door was barred and Arthur just waited for Dumbledore and whoever was with him to hurry up.
"The Dark Lord and I…" Crouch Jr said, looking completely insane now, towering over Arthur, leering down at him. "...have much in common. Both of us, for instance, had very disappointing fathers… very disappointing indeed. Both of us suffered the indignity, Arthur, of being named after those fathers. And both of us had the pleasure… the very great pleasure… of killing our fathers, to ensure the continued rise of the Dark Order!"
"YOU'RE JUST NOTHING BUT A PATHETIC MADMAN!" Arthur bellowed out at him.
"Am I?" Crouch Jr said, his voice now rising uncontrollably. "We'll see! We'll see now that the Dark Lord has returned, with me at his side! He is back, Arthur Pendergast, you did not conquer him, and now, I conquer you!"
Crouch Jr raised his wand and opened his mouth. Arthur reached for his wand -
"Stupefy!" A blinding flash of red light was seen before a great splintering and crashing came from the door of the office, which was blasted apart.
Crouch Jr got thrown backwards onto the office floor and Arthur watched as Dumbledore, Snape and McGonagall in the Foe Glass. He then looked and saw them standing in the doorway, Dumbledore being in the front, his wand outstretched.
And here was the first time that Arthur truly understood how and why Dumbledore was the only wizard that Voldemort ever feared, as he himself was scared just by looking at his face. It, as he stared down at the unconscious form of the disguised Crouch Jr, was more terrible than Arthur could ever imagine. There was no benign smile on his face, no twinkle in the eyes behind the spectacles. There was just pure cold fury in every line of Dumbledore's ancient face; a sense of power also radiated from him like he was emanating burning heat.
He entered the office, placed a foot beneath Crouch Jr's body and kicked him over onto his back, so that his face was visible. Snape followed him, looking into the Foe Glass, where his own face was still visible, glaring into the room.
McGonagall then went straight to Arthur.
"Come along, Pendergast." She whispered. The thin line of her mouth was twitching like she was holding back from crying. "Come along… hospital wing…."
"No." Dumbledore said sharply.
"Dumbledore, he ought to, look at him, he's been through enough tonight -"
"He will stay, Minerva, because he needs to understand." Dumbledore said curtly. "Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery. He needs to know who has put him through the ordeal he has suffered tonight, and why."
"I already knew." Arthur said. "I knew for some time that Moody is really Barty Crouch Jr."
All three adults looked at him with various expressions. McGonagall looked shocked, Snape looked in disbelief. And Dumbledore wasn't really surprised he knew already.
"If only you knew the real Alastor Moody. He would never have removed you from my sight after what happened tonight. The moment he took you, I knew, and I followed."
Dumbledore then bent down over Crouch Jr's limp body and reached into his robes. He pulled out Moody's hip flask and a set of keys on a ring. He then turned to McGonagall and Snape.
"Severus, please fetch me the strongest Truth Potion you possess, and then go down to the kitchens, and bring up the house elf called Winky. Minerva, kindly go down to Hagrid's house, where you will find a large black dog sitting in the pumpkin patch. Take the dog up to my office, tell him I will be with him shortly, then come back here."
If either of them found their instructions odd, they hid their confusion as they turned at once and left.
Dumbledore then walked over to the trunk with seven locks and fitted the first key in the lock, opening it. It contained a mass of spellbooks.
Dumbledore closed it and placed a second key in the second lock, opening the trunk again. The spellbooks vanished and now contained an assortment of broken Sneakoscopes, some parchment and quills, and a silvery Invisibility Cloak.
Arthur watched as Dumbledore placed the third, fourth, fifth and sixth keys in their respective locks, reopening the trunk and each time revealing different contents. Upon placing the seventh key in the lock and opening the lid, Arthur narrowed his eyes.
He looked down into a pit and lying on the floor, roughly ten feet below, fast asleep, thin and starved in appearance, was the actual Moody. His metal leg was gone and the socket where his magical eye would be held was empty beneath its lid, and chunks of his grizzled hair were missing.
Dumbledore climbed into the trunk, lowering himself and fell slightly onto the floor beside Moody. He bent over him.
"Stunned, controlled by the Imperius Curse, very weak." He said. "Of course, he would have needed to keep him alive. Arthur, throw down Crouch Jr's cloak, Alasto is freezing. Madam Pomfrey will need to see him, but he seems in no immediate danger."
Arthur did as he was told and Dumbledore covered Moody in the cloak, tucking him in it before clambering out of the trunk.
He then picked up the hip flask on the desk, unscrewed it and turned it over. A thick glutinous liquid splattered onto the office floor.
"I knew it was Polyjuice Potion, Professor." Arthur said. "Being Moody, no one would question him for drinking out of the flask, since he only drinks out of it. I saw him in Snape's office on the Marauder's Map, and Moody here in the office. I immediately knew."
"Of course. The simplicity of it." Dumbledore said. "Crouch Jr has been cutting off Moody's hair all year. But I think, in the excitement of tonight, our fake Moody might have forgotten to take it as frequently as he should have done… on the hour… every hour… we shall see."
Dumbledore pulled out the chair at the desk and sat down on it, his eyes fixed on Crouch Jr on the floor. Arthur stared at him as well.
Minutes passed in silence until, before Arthur's eyes, the face of the fake Moody on the floor started changing. The scars were all disappearing, the skin was becoming smooth and the mangled nose became whole and shrank. The mane of grizzled grey hair withdrew into the scalp and turned into the colour of straw. Then, with a loud clunk, the metal leg fell away when a normal leg regrew in its place; next, the magical eyeball popped out of Crouch Jr's face as a real eye replaced it; it rolled across the floor and swivelled in every direction.
Arthur now saw the actual Crouch Jr lying before him, pale skinned, slightly freckled and with a mop of fair hair. He looked a bit older than he did when Arthur saw him in the Pensieve. And he had lines around his eyes.
There were hurried footsteps outside in the classroom until Snape returned with Winky at his heels and McGonagall was right behind them.
"Crouch!" Snape said, stopping dead in the doorway, seeing that Arthur was right. "Barty Crouch!"
"Good heavens." McGonagall said, stopping dead and staring down at him.
Still filthy and dishevelled, Winky peered around Snape's legs and her mouth opened wide before letting out a piercing shriek. "Master Barty, Master Barty, what is you doing here?"
She then flung herself forwards onto the young man's chest. "You is killed him! You is killed him! You is killed master's son!"
"He is simply Stunned, Winky." Dumbledore told her. "Step aside, please. Severus, you have the Potion?"
Snape handed him a small glass bottle of clear liquid, that Arthur remembered being Veritaserum that Snape had threatened him with in class. Dumbledore got up and bent over Crouch Jr on the floor, pulling him into a sitting position against the wall beneath the Foe Glass, which still had the reflections of Dumbledore, Snape and McGonagall glare down at everyone. Winky remained on her knees, trembling with her hands over her face.
Dumbledore then forced Crouch Jr's mouth open and poured three drops inside it. He then pointed his wand at his chest and said "Rennervate."
Crouch Jr's eyes opened. His face was slack and his gaze was unfocused. Dumbledore knelt before him so that their faces were level with each other.
"Can you hear me?" He asked quietly.
Crouch Jr's eyelids flickered.
"Yes." He muttered.
"I would like you to tell us how you come to be here. How did you escape from Azkaban?" Dumbledore asked softly.
Arthur had his idea what happened, but here is the chance to have it be confirmed.
Crouch took a deep, shuddering breath before he spoke in a flat, expressionless voice. "My mother saved me. She knew she was dying. She persuaded my father to rescue me as a last favour to her. He loved her as he had never loved me. He agreed. They came to visit me. They gave me a draught of Polyjuice Potion, containing one of my mother's hairs. She took a draught of Polyjuice Potion, containing one of my hairs. We took on each other's appearance."
Winky now shook her head, trembling. "Say no more, Master Barty, say no more, you is getting your father into trouble!"
Crouch Jr just took another deep breath and continued on in the same flat voice. "The Dementors are blind. They sensed one healthy, one dying person entering Azkaban. They sensed one healthy, one dying person leaving it. My father smuggled me out, disguised as my mother, in case any prisoners were watching through their doors. My mother died a short while afterwards in Azkaban. She was careful to drink Polyjuice Potion until the end. She was buried under my name, and bearing my appearance. Everyone believed her to be me."
His eyelids flickered.
"And what did your father do with you, when he had got you home?" Dumbledore asked quietly.
"Staged my mother's death. A quiet, private funeral. That grave is empty. The house elf nursed me back to health. Then I had to be concealed. I had to be controlled. My father had to use a number of spells to subdue me. When I had recovered my strength, I thought only of finding my master… of returning to his service."
"How did your father subdue you?" Dumbledore asked.
"The Imperius Curse. I was under my father's control. I was forced to wear an Invisibility Cloak day and night. I was always with the house elf. She was my keeper and carer. She pitied me. She persuaded my father to give me occasional treats. Rewards for my good behaviour."
"Master Barty, Master Barty." Winky sobbed through her hands. "You isn't ought to tell them, we is getting in trouble…."
"Did Bertha Jorkins know you were still alive?" Arthur asked this time.
"Yes." Crouch Jr said, his eyelids flickering again. "She came to the house, with papers for my father's signature. He was not at home. Winky showed her inside and returned to the kitchen, to me. But Bertha Jorkins heard Winky talking to me. She came to investigate. She heard enough to guess who was hiding under the Invisibility Cloak. My father arrived home. She confronted him. He put a very powerful Memory Charm on her to make her forget what she'd found out. Too powerful. He said it damaged her memory permanently."
"Why is she coming to nose in my master's private business?" Winky sobbed. "Why isn't she leaving us be?"
"Tell me about the Quidditch World Cup?" Dumbledore demanded.
"Winky talked my father into it." Crouch Jr said, still in his monotone voice. "She spent months persuading him. I had not left the house for years. I had loved Quidditch. Let me go, she said. He will be in his Invisibility Cloak. He can watch. Let him smell fresh air for once. She said my mother would have wanted it. She told my father that my mother had died to give me freedom, She had not saved me for a life of imprisonment. He agreed in the end. It was carefully planned. My father led myself and Winky up to the Top Box early in the day. Winky was to say she was saving a seat for my father. I was to sit there, invisible. When everyone had left the box, we would emerge. Winky would appear to be alone. Nobody would ever know. But Winky didn't know that I was growing stronger. I was starting to fight my father's Imperius Curse. There were times when I was almost myself again. There were brief periods when I seemed outside his control. It happened, there, in the Top Box. It was like waking from a deep sleep. I found myself out in public, in the middle of the match, and I saw a wand sticking out of a boy's pocket in front of me. I had not been allowed a wand since before Azkaban. I stole it. Winky didn't know. Winky is frightened of heights. She had her face hidden."
"Master Barty, you bad boy!" Winky whispered, tears trickling down between her fingers.
"So you took Arthur's wand…" Dumbledore said, noticing Arthur's look of contempt. "...and what did you do with it?"
"We went back to the tent." Crouch Jr said. "Then we heard them. We heard the Death Eaters. The ones who had never been to Azkaban. The ones who had never suffered for my master. They had turned their backs on him. They were not enslaved, as I was. They were free to seek him, but they did not. They were merely making sport of Muggles. The sound of their voices awoke me. My mind was clearer than it had been in years. I was angry. I had the wand. I wanted to attack them for their disloyalty to my master. My father had left the tent, he had gone to free the Muggles. Winky was afraid to see me so angry. She used her own brand of magic to bind me to her. She pulled me from the tent, pulled me into the forest, away from the Death Eaters. I tried to hold her back. I wanted to return to the campsite. I wanted to show those Death Eaters what loyalty to the Dark Lord meant, and to punish them for their lack of it. I used the stolen wand to cast the Dark Mark into the sky. Ministry wizards arrived. They shot Stunning Spells everywhere. One of the Spells came through the trees where Winky and I stood. The bond connecting us was broken. We were both Stunned. When Winky was discovered, my father knew I must be nearby. He searched the bushes where she had been found, and felt me lying there. He waited until the other Ministry members had left the forest. He put me back under the Imperius Curse, and took me home. He dismissed Winky. She had failed him. She had let me acquire a wand. She had almost let me escape."
Winky let out a wail of despair.
"Now it was just father and I, alone in the house. And then… and then…." Crouch Jr's head rolled on his neck as an insane grin spread across his face. "My master came for me. He arrived at our house late one night, in the arms of his servant, Wormtail. My master had found out that I was still alive. He had captured Bertha Jorkins in Albania. He had tortured her. She told him a great deal. She told him about the Triwizard Tournament. She told him the old Auror, Moody, was going to teach at Hogwarts. He tortured her until he broke through the Memory Charm my father had placed upon her. She told him I had escaped from Azkaban. She told him my father kept me imprisoned to prevent me from seeking my master. And so my master knew that I was still his faithful servant, perhaps the most faithful of all. My master conceived a plan, based upon the information Bertha had given him. He needed me. He arrived at our house near midnight. My father answered the door."
The smile on his face spread wider, like he was recollecting the sweetest memory of his life. Winky's petrified brown eyes were visible through her fingers and was too appalled to speak.
"It was very quick. My father was placed under the Imperius Curse by my master. Now my father was the one imprisoned, controlled. My master forced him to go about his business as usual, to act as though nothing was wrong. And I was released. I awoke. I was myself again, alive as I hadn't been in years."
"And what did Lord Voldemort ask you to do?" Dumbledore asked.
"He asked me whether I was ready to risk everything for him. I was ready. It was my dream, my greatest ambition, to serve him, to prove myself to him. He told me he needed to place a faithful servant at Hogwarts. A servant who would guide Arthur Pendergast through the Triwizard Tournament without appearing to do so. A servant who would watch over Arthur Pendegast. Ensure he reached the Triwizard Cup. Turn the Cup into a Portkey, which would take the first person to touch it to my master. But first -"
"You needed Alastor Moody." Dumbledore said. His blue eyes were blazing, yet his voice remained calm.
"Wormtail and I did it. We had prepared the Polyjuice Potion beforehand. We journeyed to his house. Moody put up a struggle. There was a commotion. We managed to subdue him just in time. Forced him into a compartment of his own magical trunk. Took some of his hair and added it to the Potion. I drank it, I became Moody's double. I took his leg and his eye. I was ready to face Benjamin Merlon and Gideon Weasley when they arrived to sort out the Muggles who had heard a disturbance. I made the dustbins move around the yard. I told them I had heard intruders in my yard, who had set the dustbins off. Then I packed up Moody's clothes and dark detectors, put them in the trunk with Moody, and set off for Hogwarts. I kept him alive, under the Imperius Curse. I wanted to be able to question him. To find out about his past, learn his habits, so that I could fool even Dumbledore. I also needed his hair to make the Polyjuice Potion. The other ingredients were easy. I stole Boomslang skin from the dungeons. When the Potions master found me in his office, I said I was under orders to search it."
"And what became of Wormtail after you attacked Moody?" Dumbledore asked.
"Wormtail returned to care for my master, in my father's house, and to keep watch over my father."
"But your father escaped."
"Yes. After a while he began to fight the Imperius Curse just as I had done. There were periods where he knew what was happening. My master decided it was no longer safe for my father to leave the house. He forced him to send letters to the Ministry instead. He made him write and say he was ill. But Wormtail neglected his duty. He was not watchful enough. My father escaped. My master guessed that he was heading for Hogwarts. My father was going to tell Dumbledore everything, to confess. He was going to admit he had smuggled me from Azkaban. My master sent me word of my father's escape. He told me to stop him at all costs. So I watched and waited. I patrolled the Hogwarts grounds under my Invisibility Cloak and found him walking around the edge of the Forest. Then Pendergast came, and Krum. I waited. I could not hurt Pendergast, my master needed him. Pendergast ran to get Dumbledore. I Stunned Krum. I killed my father."
"Noooo!" Winky wailed. "Master Barty, Master Barty, what is you saying?"
"You killed your father." Dumbledore said, still in his soft voice. "What did you do with the body?"
"Carried it into the Forest. Covered it with the Invisibility Cloak. I waited until Pendergast brought Dumbledore out of the castle. I walked back out of the Forest, doubled round behind them, went to meet them. I told Dumbledore Snape had told me where to come. Dumbledore told me to go and look for my father. I went back to my father's body. When everyone was gone, I Transfigured my father's body. He became a bone… I buried it, while wearing the Invisibility Cloak, in the freshly dug earth in front of Hagrid's cabin."
There was now complete silence, excluding Winky's sobbing.
Then Dumbledore said "And tonight…."
"I offered to carry the Triwizard Cup into the maze before dinner." Crouch Jr whispered. "Turned it into a Portkey. My master's plan worked. He is returned to power and I will be honoured by him beyond the dreams of wizards."
His insane smile lit his features again, and his head drooped onto his shoulder as Winky wailed and sobbed at his side.
Such a sick and twisted man. One could argue that Crouch Jr was more faithful than Bellatrix, which says a lot.
