Chapter 33 - Escape
A familiar hand landed on his shoulder once again amidst the celebrating crowd and Harry looked up at Barty. For some reason, there was no twinkle in his eyes now, only a grimly-set mouth on a grave face. ''We have something to discuss,'' he said. Confused, Harry managed to loosen himself from the group of celebrating Gryffindors and followed Barty.
''Where are we going?''
''Back to the castle,'' the curt tone cut off all of Harry's further questions. Was anything wrong? Had he not done everything as he should have? He shivered as all his adrenaline left and he fully felt how cold the night air really was, especially when within the stone walls of Hogwarts. For that, he was glad when they reached Barty's office, the fireplace already crackling. ''I received word about two weeks ago from our Lord,'' the man said. ''Didn't want to worry you then so I'll have to tell you now. The curse on this position was stronger than I anticipated. It looks like it grew stronger over time, considering the extreme ways all teachers left in the past years. I fear that announcing my stay only for a single year was not enough. So, since I do not feel like dying and I only have a six days left before the school year officially ends, I needed to devise a more extreme exit before something happens to me that I didn't plan for. That time has come today. I've been slipping up, making stupid mistakes and no matter what I do to counter it or be careful, it keeps happening. Just a few minutes ago, I found out that my flask of Polyjuice was almost empty despite me being sure that I put enough in to still last another two hours. So, it's almost certain that I will do something to reveal myself no matter how much I fight it. Even now, my current disguise should last another twenty minutes at best.''
''So what do I do?'' Harry spoke, distressed.
''You already did enough following me here. Look.'' Barty pointed at his Foe-glass, the figures in it becoming larger and brighter every second. ''As your Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, it was not odd for us to meet up occasionally during the school year, certainly not with the tasks you had to face. Now, me stealing you away from your victory has finally alarmed the old man of something being wrong. He may not know that any time passed or that you met the Dark Lord -you have to tell me everything about your meeting next time we see each other-, but he'll know something is amiss with me for certain. I apologise in advance for pulling you into this, for I will have to be convincing.''
Harry didn't like the sound of that at all, yet agreed that anything was better than having Barty end up dead because of some stupid curse. ''And what is with the real Moody? He's been in the trunk all the times I visited.''
''As soon as I put your name in the cup and knew that we'd be discussing some troublesome things, I added some security measures. It is sound-proofed now, so when the lid wasn't open, he didn't notice a damned thing of what is going on around him.'' Harry took note of the use of past time and wondered where Moody was now. Reassured about their cover, Harry nodded and together they waited in silence, until Barty determined that it was time for whatever he was about to do and sprung up. ''Take out your wand.'' Harry didn't get much of a warning after that, not even able to cast a shield spell before Barty had slammed him in the wall, just in time for the door to open. Crying out convincingly, Harry shot out a stunner, making sure to aim it a bit too much to the right, shattering one of the instruments on the desk.
''You ruined everything! Oh, but how I will be rewarded when you end up dead instead!'' Barty roared, a crazed grin on his face that actually shocked Harry into silence by how real it looked. Now Harry did cry out in real pain, for the Death Eater completely ignored the group of people who stood frozen in the doorway and made a wide sweep with his wand, sending furniture tumbling through the air, the chair slamming into the teen. It was a clever way to get around Voldemort's defences, but had that really been necessary? Then, Dumbledore strode forwards, a look on his face unlike any Harry had seen before. For the very first time, he could understand why people imagined Dumbledore to be the only wizard that Voldemort ever feared: he was both determined and furious, no hesitation at all in his movements as he struck Barty down. It felt like Harry's heart had moved to his head, blood pumping fast as Dumbledore carelessly kicked against Barty's arm, sending the wand flying. It took all of his willpower not to rush forward to see if Barty was unhurt.
''Potter, are you okay?'' McGonagall's voice, Harry registered, turning to see her concerned face. ''I'll bring you to Madam Pomfrey.''
''I... I don't understand,'' Harry managed to bring out. ''What happened? Professor Moody... he just went crazy all of a sudden, spouting words about plans and...'' he trailed off, not entirely sure how much he could say. Barty's words had been pretty obvious in telling that he was acting on orders from Voldemort, in Harry's opinion. Still, he didn't wish to mess up anything by revealing too much himself. ''How could it have been Moody?'' he thus only said, upon which Dumbledore stepped forward again.
''I am afraid that you never met the real Alastor Moody. I have found his behaviour somewhat suspicious before, each time playing it off as the quirks of a paranoid man who has seen too much. Only this evening, I saw him for what he really was. Severus, bring me your strongest bottle of Veritaserum.'' Snape nodded and strode from the room again. Harry knew that they only had minutes now, for surely Barty would not be able to do anything about truth serum in his current state?''
''Albus, he really should go to the Hospital wing, the boy just fought off Acromantulas and was subjected to many unfamiliar spells!''
''No,'' the Headmaster commanded. ''Harry has a right to know who did this to him and why.''
Oh, so now Dumbledore was all for telling the truth? How convenient. His concern grew as time passed, certainly since Barty had said something about his Polyjuice running out. How much of those twenty minutes was left? Harry could imagine Barty to have underestimated Dumbledore. He must have had a plan... however, being unconscious sounded like it didn't fit into any good one. And Harry was helpless to watch, both Barty and Voldemort could be in even more danger if he'd carelessly tried to help them and got caught. Especially upon seeing just how easily Dumbledore had overwhelmed the Death Eater with a couple of quick spells as if he'd been a naughty child, Harry didn't think there was much that he really could do apart from crossing his fingers and hoping that Barty had prepared a good escape.
It took less than ten minutes for Barty's appearance to change, before even Snape was back with the truth serum. McGonagall gasped, a hand in front of her mouth. ''No, that... that cannot be. Albus, look!''
Dumbledore kneeled at Barty's side, his mouth a grim line as he turned the Death Eater's face to the light. ''Barty Crouch Junior,'' he breathed. ''No wonder that Bartemius has been missing. Most likely, we will not find him again. That does mean that he was right for convicting his son however...'' carefully, the Headmaster drew back Barty's sleeve, revealing the Dark Mark, even if it was still faded since Voldemort suppressed it. ''He really was a faithful Death Eater then. How he escaped Azkaban is a mystery that needs to be cleared up once Severus returns. Harry, this man is the one that I showed you the trial of, the boy who was convicted together with the Lestranges. He is responsible for many gruesome deeds indeed, it does not surprise me that he went after you. To think that even at such a young age he was already taken in with the Dark...
Not entirely sure if that was supposed to be a hint or not, Harry kept looking at Barty and stayed quiet as Dumbledore levitated the man onto a chair and bound him with ropes before casting an Ennervate.
''What an unpleasant expression to wake up to,'' Barty rasped, grinning madly. Harry hadn't even realised how much he'd missed seeing the man's real face. It was as if suddenly having his older brother back. ''I feel sorry for whoever ever shared your bed,'' he continued, cackling slightly.
Dumbledore did not take the bait, merely looking down upon the blond with a blank face. ''Soon, Severus will be here and we shall find out every single detail of your plans,'' he merely spoke. ''To think that you've been in this castle all along sickens me. No wonder you were so eager to teach the Unforgivables.''
''Come now, you thought it was a brilliant idea, don't play the saint now, Dumbledore!'' Now, anger did colour the other's features and he strode to Barty, towering over him.
''Save your twisted mind for your master,'' Dumbledore hissed. ''For one year, I wished for my students to be entirely safe, to let my old friend in this castle so he could protect all that I hold dear. And you, you ripped that away! Where is Alastor?'' Harry found it rather ironic that this was also the year where the Headmaster was apparently fine with reviving an ancient dangerous Tournament in which several students would most definitely not be safe.
''Headmaster,'' came Snape's voice from the doorway. ''There is no Veritaserum left. He must have destroyed it all prior to today. I did report him sneaking about my potion stocks before, I do hope that these complaints will be taken more seriously in the future. He must have anticipated being caught.''
''Severus, how are you friend?'' Barty spoke, grin showing far too many teeth. ''Hiding behind the robes of better magicians I see? I must wonder how you did not end up in Azkaban together with me after all that you have on your consciousness. Or do those you tortured not count because you showed remorse?''
''Silence!'' Dumbledore thundered. ''Then we'll have to find out the truth differently. Why did you put Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire?''
''That's everything?'' Barty asked, struggling against his ropes. ''So He can rise again of course! But no, Potter had to screw up everything by surviving yet again! He was supposed to be the ultimate sacrifice today and now... now...'' the man cried out in convincing rage. ''We will find a way! He'll be as glorious as before! You cannot protect Potter forever! Germinare.'' The room exploded with colour as the word rolled through the air. Barty kept laughing as the ground rose and fell, large fleshy plants sprouting from the floor and ceiling. The ropes burst and Barty sprung to his feet, using several conveniently placed objects to avoid sinking into the floor, which had turned into a swampy mud in which they were all sinking now. Then, with another shouted spell, he crashed through the window. Dumbledore freed himself a bit too late, wading to the window only half a minute after.
''He is gone... gone. The wards of Hogwarts should have stopped him from leaving. Minerva! Inform all teachers, we're combing every inch of the castle and the grounds! Severus, try to keep all our guests calm and tell Cornelius of what happened. He won't like it, but we will need added security for tomorrow. Harry, I'm truly sorry for not being able to let you process what you heard for long, but we need to act now. There is a crazed Death Eater on the loose trying to revive his master.'' Too elated about Barty's sudden escape to protest, Harry didn't even mind Dumbledore's hand on his shoulder as he was guided outside as the other teachers each went a different way. ''Sirius is waiting for you in my office,'' the man murmured. ''Perhaps you will feel safer there, the password is Honeycomb Harpies. I will join you there as soon as I have sorted out organising a search party.''
Nodding, Harry wordlessly turned and ran, figuring that he wouldn't be expected to say much more about the whole ordeal. He was just happy about Barty having gotten away for now. He wished he could have given the man the Marauder's map, that certainly would have helped. Not able to do much else and really looking forward to seeing Sirius again, he went straight for the Headmaster's office, hoping that Dumbledore or another teacher would alert Ron and Hermione of why he was absent so they wouldn't worry.
The instant he walked through the door of Dumbledore's office, he was met with a crushing hug from Sirius. ''Harry,'' he man muttered. ''Thank Merlin you're here. Come, sit down. Dumbledore just informed me of what happened through one of the portraits. Death Eaters in Hogwarts again, unbelievable, this place needs to increase its security. And to think that it was Moody! Or well, an impostor Moody! Where do you think he is now? And the real Moody?''
''Sirius, not so fast,'' Harry groaned to stop the waterfall of words. He once more briefly hugged his godfather, then looked up to the portraits and at Fawkes. This wasn't exactly the ideal place to discuss anything. Following his gaze, Sirius caught on, for he raised a wand and cast several spells that Harry had come to recognise as silencing barriers and other privacy wards.
The man gave him a penetrating look, sitting down as well and positioning the chair so that they sat directly opposite each other. ''You don't seem as shocked as you ought to be with the news of a Death Eater being at Hogwarts to kill you.''
''Not as if it's the first time,'' Harry shrugged, making the other narrow his eyes.
''You knew.''
Running a hand through his messy hair, Harry sighed. ''If it makes you feel better, I wasn't in any real danger. He just wanted to divert any suspicion from me and thus said something about killing me in front of Dumbledore. I'm sorry for worrying you, I had no idea that he was even planning on leaving in the first place, it looks like he didn't want to risk anything worse happening because of the curse on the position of DADA teacher. There are only a couple of days left in the year and apparently, he noticed himself slipping up in ways that weren't normal.''
''But Barty Crouch Junior?'' Sirius hissed. ''He tortured the Longbottoms to insanity together with the Lestranges!''
''If anything, he tried to stop the others from going too far because he knew that Voldemort wouldn't agree,'' Harry defended the man. ''But as a relatively new Death Eater they didn't listen to him at all.''
''Because Voldemort wouldn't agree?'' Sirius repeated disbelievingly. ''Harry, Voldemort is the one they got the idea from in the first place! He thrives on pain of others!''
Frustrated because he knew that he'd never be able to get his points across, Harry merely shook his head, not wanting to fight Sirius. Certainly not here and now. ''Look, we're not going to agree on this, but Barty helped me a great deal. And before you ask, yes he did put me in the Tournament so we do not have to search for any other culprit who wants me dead. He also taught me everything I needed to survive it, so there's that. He wanted to make me stronger with it.'' Which wasn't even a lie at all.
''Dumbledore said something about Crouch saying there was a plan for you to die tonight to revive Voldemort.''
''Obviously there wasn't otherwise I would be dead. Surely the Dark Lord wouldn't be dependent on a teenager to revive if he really wants to.''
''The Dark Lord... only Death Eaters call him that,'' Sirius spoke a tad sour. It looked like his worry had turned to irritation after finding out it hadn't been necessary.
''He is a Dark Lord,'' Harry pointed out.
''Fine! Fine... So if I understand you correctly, Barty Crouch Junior was your source all along and you are in no danger at all. If he has been acting as Moody all year though, he's a damned good actor. During my last visit he was more than happy to take the moral high ground and rub my crimes and failures in my face. Which also doesn't exactly make sense, for he was quite adamant about me not giving you those illegal books.''
''Well, he captured you since he didn't know of your intentions or the influence you have on me. Barty can be... pretty protective. It would then have been very suspicious if a paranoid ex-Auror would have had no problems with you trying to smuggle in illegal stuff to me. He is a good actor. Had to be, otherwise Dumbledore would have caught on far earlier.''
''What was he doing in Hogwarts in the first place?''
''Mainly making sure that the Tournament went as he intended, training me and figuring out what Dumbledore is up to,'' Harry shrugged. None of that was extraordinary or useful information so he didn't care about telling Sirius about it. The next question was harder to answer:
''Surely he didn't act on his own. You've told me before that Voldemort isn't exactly dead, and Crouch does seem to think it is feasible for Voldemort to revive in some way. Considering that that evil bastard has ways of communicating with people, I highly doubt that Crouch was not here on Voldemort's orders. How much do you know of that? And how can you be so sure that this really wasn't set up as a trap for you? If Dumbledore hadn't followed you...''
''Barty and I were sitting in his office, chatting and waiting for the teachers to arrive,'' Harry said, rolling his eyes, not giving an answer to any of the other questions. ''If they hadn't come, nothing at all would have happened. And anything more I cannot say,'' he added, earning him another groan.
''You're making it damned difficult for me to cover for you Harry. There is no way that Dumbledore will not use this incident to fully revive the Order this summer as you said he would soon. I'll have to come up with a good excuse to not have you at Grimmauld place, for I am still a member of the Order and do not wish to put their plans in jeopardy. On the other hand, I also wish to protect you and would hate not to have you close. Plus, even if I manage to convince Dumbledore that you shouldn't be in my home somehow, he'll just send you to the Dursleys which is also a bad idea with how they treat you.'' Desperation grew on Sirius' face.
''Convincing Dumbledore won't be difficult, he'll insist on me going to the Dursleys in the first place,'' Harry predicted. After all, the Headmaster still believed in those wards. ''And I already have a backup plan of how to escape from there. Still need to work out the... rough details, but my cover is that I'm going out of the country. My only problem is that up until now, Dumbledore made it seem as if he has legal say in where I go during summer... I'm not entirely sure how much influence he actually has. He couldn't force me back last year since he couldn't find me but...''
Sirius frowned. ''I'd need to look that up. Since you stay with Muggles, you are supposed to have a magical guardian too. That would normally be me as your godfather, but since I was imprisoned, my guardianship must have been transferred to someone else. If Dumbledore says that he can determine where you stay during your holidays, I assume that it transferred to him.''
''What exactly does this guardianship entail?'' Harry asked, not having heard of this before, sitting at the edge of his seat.''
''Not much. Basically, a magical guardian is responsible for you whenever you are not in the care of your Muggle guardians. Since you stay at Hogwarts whenever not at the Dursleys, that would give Dumbledore the exact same responsibilities as he has with other students if he truly has been appointed as your guardian after me. The only exceptions are that both he and the Dursleys can decide legal actions for you and he would indeed be responsible for your transfer from the magical to the Muggle world, allowing him to deny you to spend your summer somewhere else than where he wants. Other than that, he only manages your finances, keeping your vault key or precious possessions safe for example.''
''That would make sense,'' Harry spoke, ''Hagrid gave me my key when I turned eleven, and Dumbledore sent me dad's invisibility cloak. Hey, technically speaking, could he use my money?''
''Technically, yes. You might want to check with the goblins. They could also give you more information about the whole legal processes in general, for while we're assuming now that Dumbledore took up your guardianship and he acts like it, we cannot be completely sure. Even when you're at the Dursleys, no-one can forbid you trips to Diagon as long as you do not spend the night somewhere else than at their home. The bank is of course not the only place where something like that is recorded, but in my opinion it is better to deal with grumpy, discreet goblins, than with gossiping Ministry employees.''
''Hold on, would this mean that Dumbledore would have been able to sign my Hogsmeade permission slip himself?'' Harry asked.
Sirius gave him a disbelieving look, then threw his head back and laughed. ''That is one of your main concerns here? Oh kiddo, your priorities...'' he wiped away a few stray tears, still a slight smirk on his face as he continued. ''Probably not due to conflicting interests with him being Headmaster. That would have had to be signed by the Dursleys. Well, and it also looks like he still does recognise my position as your godfather since he did accept my signature for it right?''
Before Harry could answer, the doors opened again and a very annoyed Dumbledore strode in with brisk paces. ''That fool!'' he cursed, then halted, looking almost surprised to find Sirius and Harry sitting in his office. His eyes drifted through the air afterwards. ''Privacy wards?'' he questioned though it did not sound judging.
Sirius quickly lifted them and grinned apologetically, pointing at himself. ''Still a wanted man, Albus. With the Minister prowling the grounds here personally...''
''Oh, not anymore,'' the man sighed. ''Cornelius is being... difficult. He does not wish to have his precious world destroyed by the mere thought of another Death Eater appearing, not after barely managing to cover up the incident at the World Cup. He's left Hogwarts for now, seething in anger since I am apparently 'seeing things' and 'growing senile'.'' the Headmaster shook his head, his long silvery beard shimmering as he did so. ''If Cornelius doesn't face the facts soon, we will all have a much larger problem on our hands.''
''And what are those facts exactly?'' Sirius asked, shifting in his seat to face the other. Dumbledore took a moment to answer, sitting down in his chair and folding his hands.
''Voldemort will return soon, I am certain of it,'' the man spoke softly. ''The Dark Mark appeared last summer, multiple people have been missing and found murdered throughout the year, and we've had a Death Eater under our noses all this time, one who manipulated the Triwizard tournament. That he did not succeed in his plan is a miracle that I am unbelievably thankful for, yet we cannot hope to rest. With the Ministry being this in denial, they will also not react to the threat, meaning that tomorrow I will have to start pulling the old group together. I apologise for infringing on your privacy already, Sirius, but we will need the protection of your house.''
''I already told you before that you can use it,'' Harry's godfather shrugged. ''I only, perhaps selfishly, ask that you do not involve Harry in all of this yet. He's had a rough enough year and doesn't need the additional stress during his holidays. I know that we could protect him there of course but-''
''Naturally, Harry will stay with his family,'' Dumbledore decided before Sirius even had a chance to finish his argumentation. ''I must say that it is rather a mature decision of you, I'm glad to hear that you know what is best for Harry. Privet Drive is the safest place Harry can be if Voldemort becomes a threat again.''
''But...'' Harry threw in, knowing it would be strange not to protest. ''I'm not safe from them! I wish to fight too! I also haven't spent nearly enough time with Sirius!''
Dumbledore pursed his lips while Harry could see from the corner of his eyes that Sirius was struggling not to look confused. ''Harry, I thought we talked about this,'' his godfather said, looking at him with a questioning gaze.
''I suppose,'' the Headmaster spoke up, ''That after a few weeks at the Dursleys, when things have settled down a bit with our organisation, you could come too, although I am not going to let you fight. Say, the last two weeks of August? Then you have enough time to get your school supplies with the Weasleys as well.'' Harry gave Dumbledore an almost shocked look, not having expected the man to actually agree to his plea, and so quickly too. This would throw Voldemort's plans possibly into array, but Harry couldn't feel anything apart from happiness. No matter what, he did love spending time with Sirius and seeing all of the Weasleys again was great too. Also, if he annoyed Voldemort too much and was thrown out, he still wouldn't be stuck with the Dursleys.
''Thank you!'' he thus exclaimed, smiling brightly. As much as he disliked Dumbledore, the wizard had just redeemed himself a tiny bit in Harry's opinion.
He received a wavering smile in return. ''I realise that too much has been demanded of you already and I... I made mistakes too in judging both you and Sirius,'' he admitted, causing Harry to stare at him. Who was this man and what had he done to Dumbledore? ''To think that I judged you for learning magic that ensured your survival while I failed to properly look at my own staff is... unforgivable. I must ask however... I have seen and heard that Crouch tried to become close to you during the school year, checking up on you after the previous tasks and giving you extra lessons and talks. Has he let anything slip, anything at all that could be useful? Did he try to influence you in any way?''
Harry frowned. The Sorting Hat might think that he belonged in Slytherin, Harry himself found it rather hard to use his supposed Slytherin traits, having difficulty coming up with the right things to say. ''Not that I know of. Well, whatever he taught us in class was a lot darker than anything previous teachers did in retrospect. He also was always pretty interested in whatever I was doing for the Tournament. I mean,'' Harry stuttered when seeing Dumbledore's frown, ''He told me that it was unfair to not help, even as a teacher, since the Champions of the other school also got aid from their Headmasters. He didn't outright tell me anything though, not sure what his aim was... I have no idea how the real Moody would have acted.''
''Alastor... Crouch played the part very convincingly, I can imagine that the real one also would have found a way to aid you, so it could have been part of his cover,'' Dumbledore mused. ''We still have to find him, but I suspect Alastor is in the castle. Such a convincing disguise could only have been achieved with Polyjuice potion, very clever since Alastor is known for always only drinking from his own flask in fear of being poisoned. Polyjuice means that a fresh supply of the real person needed to have been readily available.''
''Why?'' Harry asked. It was actually something he hadn't thought of before, but having used Polyjuice himself once before and knowing the brewing process, it seemed rather strange. ''Couldn't he have just killed Moody and shaven off his hair? Or have him imprisoned somewhere else and do the same? Polyjuice just needs a piece of a person, but not necessarily fresh right? Wouldn't a year-old hair work just as well? It's not as if hair is alive in the first place.''
''While not alive, all parts of a person are still connected to their magic,'' Dumbledore explained. ''Hair just as much as anything else. Should Moody have died, his hair would not have worked anymore. And since it looks, until now, that Crouch was mainly working alone, it would have been too risky for him to not take Alastor with him. Therefore, I am positive that my theory has some merit. I'll prioritise finding him as soon as we have more news on Crouch.''
''No sign of him yet?'' Sirius asked, all tense. Whether he wanted for Barty to be caught or not, Harry wasn't certain. Was it odd to trust someone so much who was actually fighting for the other side and not planning to change that?
''None at all. Hogwarts is large, who knows where he might be hiding,'' Dumbledore sighed. ''I fear that he may just slip through the cracks. Even my own searching spells didn't show anything.'' Sirius cursed under his breath, giving Harry a weird coiling feel of worry in his stomach. He was longing to be somewhere else right now and not in a room with two people who wanted to put one of his best friends in Azkaban. ''For the time being, we have sent all students to their dorms. Harry, you should go there as well now you have put Sirius' worries about you to rest. Being around your friends may grant you some rest. No matter the outcome of today's search, with Cornelius not wanting to face the facts, the award ceremony will most likely still take place tomorrow. Since Miss Delacour's passionate speech, all of Hogwarts is looking forward to how that will turn out so you'll have to be at least awake for it.'' Harry gave a nod and stood, only taking the time to give Sirius another hug and bid the Headmaster goodnight before leaving. His head swam with thoughts as he descended the spiral staircase and, being on the seventh floor already, there was not nearly enough time to get all of his thoughts in order before reaching the Gryffindor common room.
What would happen tomorrow indeed with the declared shared victory? What were Viktor's and Cedric's thoughts on all of it? Had Fleur been able to deliver the envelopes to them and if so, had they kept it to themselves? None of those answers came to him that evening, being confined in Gryffindor tower with his worried friends, who grew even more anxious when he told them a shortened version of what had happened. He did try to downplay Barty's 'attack' since there had been no danger. Still, the fact that there had been a Death Eater in Hogwarts sent all of those he told in a state of panic once he confirmed their worst fears. In addition to Ron and Hermione, he also included both Neville and Ginny, considering that they'd helped him so much during the year, even both times that Ron had been... a less than ideal friend. Afterwards, he didn't know whether that had been a good idea since Ginny, quite unexpectedly, instantly told her two favourite brothers. Considering that she was usually rather good with secrets, he felt rather betrayed.
''Ginny!'' he hissed, pulling her aside in the common room. He'd told them all before in the empty boy's dorms, but they'd since headed back down again where Hermione had informed him of Ginny's words to the Twins. ''What the hell, this is not information that should get out everywhere, you know how they can gossip!'' he said, looking around to ensure no-one was watching them. Thankfully, most people had already headed to bed by now or were huddled in groups, scared after the message they'd received from their teachers.
The girl pressed her lips together, looking rather pale. ''Look Harry, I'm sorry,'' she finally said. ''I should have asked you but there were some... some details in your story that I felt they had to know. I cannot... really tell you.''
''Like how you actually couldn't tell anyone else about death eaters being after me?'' he countered.
Ginny looked away, though her stance was still stubborn. ''It's... difficult. You should maybe talk to them yourself,'' she whispered. ''I'm sure that Fred and George aren't asleep right now. Please believe me when I say that I didn't mean any harm and this is definitely not something they will spread.''
Exhaling slowly, Harry tried to calm down. This whole Tournament was weighing on him, he found, for it was getting harder to control his own emotions, anger especially. Whether it was because he used more dark magic or because he was reaching full puberty, he could only speculate about. ''Fine,'' he muttered, taking a step back. ''Just be careful with such sensitive topics, I don't want to have the whole school up in arms again blaming me for this like in second year... or hell, the start of this one with the Goblet of Fire spitting out my name.'' Without waiting for an answer, he turned and went to search out the Twins. Odd, somehow he'd never really visited one of the boy's dorms of other years than his own. Even the few times he'd hung out with people from different years, they either met in the common room or came to his dorms. Hesitantly, he stood in front of the sixth year's dorms and knocked. The only answer he got was a dull thud of something being thrown against the other side of the door. Taking that as a positive sign of life, considering who slept here, he opened the door and stuck his head through the gap, ready to pull it back in case he was pelted with Gobstones.
The first notable thing was the smell: his own room certainly wasn't all roses and daisies and yet Harry hadn't thought it possible for the pungent smells of sweaty laundry, mouldy food and failed experiments to mix together into an almost tangible smog. ''Merlin,'' he coughed, almost feeling for withdrawing. ''Can't you guys open a window at one point?''
''Something might escape,'' a voice said, and Harry looked at the rightmost of the six beds, where Lee Jordan lay, a giant tarantula resting on his chest. ''Hey Potter. Don't tell me that I got stuck with the wrong Weasleys, does ickle Ronniekins smell any better than these two stink bombs?''
''Nah, but at least we have one person who regularly airs the room and sprays perfume because his house plants would die otherwise,'' Harry answered, shrugging. ''And I'm sorry Lee, could you maybe let me speak to Fred and George for a bit?'' He looked over to the Twins, who hadn't said a word until now, being uncharacteristically quiet. The teens sat on one bed, looking as pale as Ginny had. It looked like even they were affected by a Death Eater's presence then. Lee sat up, raising his eyebrows in question, then nodding as it became clear that Harry wasn't going to give a more thorough explanation. Grateful about not having it made a big deal of, Harry walked towards the Twins and greeted them carefully, growing a bit worried as they mumbled their answers. Only when Lee had put his pet away and closed the door behind him, did they speak up.
''We're so sorry, that was incredibly stupid,'' one of the twins started, making a face.
''Yeah, but how could we have known that he was yet another lunatic out for your life?'' the other grimaced, leaving Harry utterly confused. As he was at a loss of words, they continued:
''When Ginny told us that he'd used a swamp-''
''-when Moody asked for a prototype we didn't think it would even fully function!''
''Must have improved it somehow.''
''We didn't want our genius to be used for evil!''
''Hold on, wait a minute,'' Harry finally interrupted. ''The room turning into a swamp was your doing?'' The silence that followed was deafening.
''You... didn't know,'' they concluded.
''Not until now.''
''Damn... I thought Ginny had told you.''
''So that's why she went to you,'' he mused, feeling relieved. If Barty's escape route had been made possibly by an invention of the Twins, they definitely wouldn't want that getting out, it could destroy their business. The rest of the information would be safe too then.
One of the Twins -Harry was just going to assume the left one was Fred for now to make it easier for himself- cleared his throat: ''We've been working on these portable swamps for a while and Ginny has helped us occasionally. We asked Moody about advice with spellwork a couple of times since he's so good with practical magic and he asked for a few samples about two weeks ago. Never in our lives would we have wanted it to hurt you!''
Harry had a hard time to keep from smiling to be honest. So he had the twins to thank for Barty's safe exit. They might not know how much he owed them, he'd find a way to repay them back double at least. ''It's okay,'' he quickly said. ''Really, it's fine. It's not the swamp itself that hurt me in the first place and Moody was very crafty, I'm sure that he'd have found something else to escape otherwise.'' Which was true, this product might have been the easiest method, Barty was always full of ideas.
''Still...'' George said, looking unconvinced.
''You know what,'' Harry started. ''Don't let this deter you in any way. I mean, yes maybe you should do thorough background checks on whoever you share unfinished merchandise with or sell it to in the future, but your stuff is absolutely amazing, and it can seriously help a lot of people who need a laugh. I can only dream of all the possibilities a portable swamp has in Snape's classroom alone. In fact, if it makes you feel better I'll place an order for ten of them once you've finished it. You can't even really say that Moody used it for evil, it was only meant as a distraction and to slow the teachers down.''
''Which still means that a murderer got away,'' Fred pointed out.
''Since when are either of you so negative? I thought that was supposed to be my specialty!'' Harry sighed dramatically. He'd had no idea that the risk-loving twins could even be this responsible. ''I've loved your products ever since I heard what you'd done to Dudley, don't let me down now. We'll need more laughs in the coming years, I'm sure. I won't tell anyone of the swamp and none of the teachers know that you had something like that in development. Hopefully by the time it's complete, they'll have forgotten too. Maybe change it to a jungle or something, I don't know. You're the creative minds here.''
''We could maybe tweak it a bit,'' George muttered, raising a questioning eyebrow at his brother, who got a thoughtful expression. ''How about a desert, complete with quicksand? Twenty percent chance that the caster themselves gets stuck in it and becomes the butt of their own joke? That'd be hilarious, especially when we add that in tiny print.''
''Sellable enough,'' the other replied, already a wicked grin spreading on his face.
''I'd invest in that,'' Harry smirked, glad to have them back to their usual selves. ''You know, maybe you can discuss it with another pranker I know... You might remember Padfoot from the Marauder's map?''
Both of them whipped their heads around to stare at Harry.
''Please do not tell me that you are trying to fool us now,''
''-Our heroes are nothing to joke about.''
Harry threw his hands up. ''I'm just saying that you might meet him this summer. And if I'm not too mistaken, Moony as well.
''We'd do anything!'' George exclaimed, excited.
''Good to hear. Then I demand that the both of you take whatever prize money I get out of this stupid Tournament and use it to improve your product line, get more ingredients or whatever and maybe rent a place. No clue of course how much I'll actually receive, considering that it was a shared win, but even 2500 galleons should buy you a bit.''
''Harry, we cannot!'' They both protested at once, at which Harry threw them a deadly glare.
''The both of you have helped me more than you might ever know,'' he stated, dead serious. ''And you'll help loads of others by following your dream and really opening a joke-shop. Just... don't tell your mother that I invested into it or she'll have my head.''
''Never yours!'' Fred scoffed. ''It's all Harry this, Harry that, Harry must be fed and get some sleep when you're there.''
''Harry is a guest here and doesn't need to clean!'' the other imitated his mother's voice, a twinkle in his eyes.
''Harry's far too thin to take up his own suitcase, go and help him!''
They continued their teasing until Harry jumped on the bed and started to stomp them, ending in them all being a cackling tangle of limbs. During the exchange, it looked like they'd all managed to hex each other too, George sporting a braided beard from Sirius' spell that Harry had learned over Easter, Fred having grown an extra pair of ears and Harry's hair being a neon green. When he finally had to give up, not knowing nearly as many good spells as they did, he bolted from the room and ran straight to Hermione, the only person who might be able to fix his hair up again. No matter what, he didn't wish to sport Slytherin colours during the award ceremony tomorrow.
Thank you so much to all of you for reading and reviewing ^^ I hope that you all liked this chapter.
We're getting closer to the end of the school year! I'm not entirely sure yet if I maybe should keep the chapter titles running or somehow put an indication in of what year they're set in... I had originally planned to write it in parts with interludes and such as I also did in Visitor, but I find that that's not going to work out here. Any ideas would be appreciated!
xx GeMerope