Alduin had had to procure a new multi-way mirror for Harry anyway, so since he was in the shop already, he had also picked up one for Kingsley, to pair with his. He had a suspicious it would come in very useful, a suspicion which was confirmed when, not long after Harry had called him to tell him the culprit had been apprehended and that "Mr. Giacomo says it's not Moody but I don't get it", Kingsley called to let him know the actual culprit was Barty Crouch, having spent the past half a year under Polyjuice.

Alduin stared at him in mute astonishment. "...Barty?" He muttered. "Is everyone rising from the dead these days?"

"Apparently. They're interrogating him under Veritaserum now, so we'll soon know more about what happened, but..." Kingsley shook his head. "Such a shame."

"...does Eliza know?" Alduin asked a little stupidly.

Kingsley gave him a look. "No one but you, me, the three Aurors involved and Dumbledore know." He hesitated. "Do you want to tell her yourself?"

"I'll...talk to Mercurius and Ginevra, and then decide. I think Ginevra would be better for this, honestly."

Kingsley sighed. "I think so, too. Alduin...I'm sorry."

"Yes," Alduin said bitterly, "so am I." He hesitated. "Can I talk to him? After you're done with interrogations?"

Kingsley slowly nodded. "Monitored, of course," he added. "Are you sure it's wise?"

"No," Alduin replied, "but I have to."

For now, however, he ended the talk and Flooed Olive Hall.

"I need to speak to Mercurius," he told the elf who received him. "It's urgent."

The elf nodded and disappeared, to come back shortly afterwards to direct him to one of the parlours, where Mercurius was waiting for him, looking curious.

"What is it?" He asked. "Has something happened?"

"Yes," Alduin confirmed heavily. "I'm sorry I haven't got around to talk to you in the last few days – some rather urgent things have happened, in fact, but I've been busy..."

Mercurius nodded. "I've heard about Harry being kidnapped."

"Yeah...well, he was kidnapped by Barty."

Mercurius looked at him in incomprehension for a moment. "Barty is dead," he said slowly.

"Apparently not. I don't know any details, but Kingsley has just told me: he's been passing as Moody at Hogwarts for the last year. He's...still working for Riddle."

Mercurius' eyes widened. "It was him who kidnapped Harry?"

"Yes...and used him to bring Riddle back from the dead."

Merciurius stared some more, silent for a long time as a variety of expressions flickered over his face. "I'm sorry," he said then.

Alduin gave a mirthless laugh. "That's what Kingsley said too, but from you it makes even less sense. It's not like you're responsible for him."

"I've often wondered...even before, when he was first arrested...maybe if I'd been a better friend..."

"Don't be absurd. If there was someone to blame, it would have been Uncle Bartemius, but...ultimately, Barty made his choice alone. Yes, he was very young, but...it wasn't like some of the Slytherins. He had plenty of other options. It's on him, you know it is."

"Perhaps, but...hardly anyone is ever beyond reach, and..."

Alduin shook his head. "You and your sister really do have way too much Hufflepuff in you. I don't know where you got it from."

At that, Mercurius groaned, rubbing his face. "Oh gods, I'll have to tell Ginevra..."

Alduin nodded. "And...someone needs to tell Eliza."

At this, Mercurius closed his eyes. "It will have to be my sister," he said. "I...can't."

Alduin nodded in understanding. He understood completely, he did, though he also felt bad about putting this on her. But Ginevra, out of all of them, had been the least close to Barty. This was never going to be easy for anyone, but out of all the possible options, it was the best one.

"She'll have to tell her husband, too," Mercurius continued.

Alduin sighed. "Normally I don't give a damn about Jonathan, but...yeah. I don't...envy him this."

Mercurius shook his head. "You don't know the half of it. When Barty was arrested, Jonathan was the one hit the hardest. That was most of the reason they even got married, to be honest...she was his emotional support, his and Eliza's both, and she was in the house so often it just sort of...progressed naturally to a marriage."

Alduin sighed. "I always knew her boundless compassion would destroy her one day."

"It's going to be the same thing all over again..."

Alduin shook his head. "Jonathan is an adult. If it gets too much, tell her to take Elizabeth and get out of the house for a time. She's going to be hit by this too, he can't expect her to deal with it for him."

Mercusius looked at him. "You speak like you don't know my sister. She'd never do that."

Alduin sighed. "Yes. I know." If Elizabeth was still living at home, she might, but with the daughter safely at Hogwarts, her own well-being would never be enough of an incentive for Ginevra.

There was a silence. "Do you think I could speak to Barty?" Mercurius asked then.

"I arranged it with Kingsley that I would...I'll ask about you when I go there."

"Thanks."

There was another silence, and then Mercurius said: "If you don't mind...I think I'd like to call Daniel now."

Alduin immediately got up. "Of course. Say hello to him for me."

-hp-hp-hp-

There was no shortage of people who wanted to talk to Harry after his kidnapping, once whispers began to spread around the school.

Sirius sent him a letter as soon as he heard, asking for a night-time meeting at the Gryffindor common room Floo for the night after Crouch revealed himself. Harry had not even known the school fireplaces were open to floo calls, but he agreed easily enough, and was unsurprised when, once Sirius appeared, he was wearing a solemn face, few traces of the forever joking man Harry had first met through letters.

"Harry," he said, first thing, "how are you?"

"I'm fine – really, I am. Alduin and the Aurors got there before Pettigrew could do anything but nick me for a bit of blood."

"I should have killed him when I had the chance," Sirius growled.

"Then you would have never been free," Harry pointed out.

"A fair enough trade for Voldemort not returning!"

"He'd have come back anyway, sooner or later," Harry muttered. "Don't tell me you don't know that."

"Well, perhaps you could have at least been old enough to defend yourself properly before then!"

"That would have been nice," Harry conceded, "but I've been training for this since my second year, really. I mean, I wouldn't say I'm ready, but I'm doing what I can, you know?"

"I'm sure you are, and this is another thing I should thank Alduin about." To Harry surprise, there was no bitterness in his voice now, only resignation. "Keep at it, and Harry, be careful, all right? I know you have good protection, but...so did your dad and mum. Just...watch out."

"I will," Harry promised, with a lump in his throat, and as they ended the call, he hoped that ominous pronouncement would not haunt him whole night.

Once he got home for Easter, he promised himself, he would ask Alexandra for the Resurrection Stone. Maybe his parents would have some useful tips for him. This whole situation sucked, but maybe, if it could make him feel closer to his parents, there could be one bright thing about that at least.

It had shaken Harry more than he thought he would, the knowledge that Moody – or, well, Barty Crouch – had been in Riddle's service this whole time. He wasn't sure why – it could hardly beat Quirrell – but perhaps he'd been too young, in his first year, to really understand the consequences. Or maybe it was just the fact that Moody had Imperiused him, repeatedly, and had done the same to his friends. It twisted Harry's stomach.

Only Neville and Ron had been told the truth about Moody's identity, the following morning, and they were both incredulous that Dumbledore hadn't been able to tell his old friend was not himself for several months.

"Maybe the guy is really losing it," Ron muttered. "I mean, the manipulative shite he'd pulled before was one thing, but we all thought he had some grand plan, right? But unless he's in league with You-Know-Who, I don't see what grand plan this could be serving..."

"Like my cousin says," Harry said with a sigh, "if we understood why Dumbledore does what he does, our lives would be a whole lot easier."

With that, they left the empty classroom that was fats becoming their habitual place for secret conversations and headed for breakfast, only to be stopped by Hermione and Su on the way.

"Harry," Hermione said earnestly, "will you tell us what really happened?"

Harry hesitated for a moment. Should he? They were trying to avoid it being known publicly that Harry was positively claiming it was Riddle who'd kidnapped him. Would Hermione or Su spread it? How many people they talked to? Some of the other Ravenclaws at least, he knew…

Well, at the very least he could tell them what he'd say in the papers, and so he directed them to yet another empty classroom and gave the girls the same overview he'd given the Gryffindors at large.

At the end of it, Hermione was giving him an intent look. "There's something you aren't telling me," she said, "but that's fine. You have a right to your privacy. Thank you for giving us that much, at least."

"And good job for surviving that unscratched," Su said, looking impressed. "I'm not sure I could have managed that, even just long enough for help to come."

Harry protested that he'd hardly done much, but Su insisted that it was still more than she could have handled. Hermione just looked determined at those words, and Harry wondered if he should worry.

-hp-hp-hp-

When Alduin finally got a chance to speak to Barty, it was for the first time in quite a while that he seriously longed for a drink. Nevertheless, he resisted, and arrived at the Ministry holding cells doing his best to look calm and in control. He was searched and his wand was taken from him before he was accompanied by Giacomo and an Auror he didn't know inside the interrogation room, where Barty was waiting for him.

"Hello, Alduin," he said when he saw him, and his eyes looked feverish and mad. "You work at the Ministry now, too?"

"No," Alduin replied. "I came here to see you." He paused. "Why did you do it, Barty?"

"Why did I do what?"

"Why did you plot to kill my ward?"

"Your ward?"

"Harry Potter," Alduin qualified.

Barty frowned. "Ah. Yes. I'm sorry he is your ward, I suppose."

Alduin stared. "Don't tell me you didn't know."

"No, I did." Barty's frown deepened. "Why did you take him as your ward? You knew he was an enemy of the Dark Lord!"

"So am I, Barty," Alduin said firmly.

Barty waved his hand. "Don't talk nonsense. You're just misguided. You'll realize his greatness soon. You're a pureblood, after all, and no blood traitor."

"So are many others fighting against him," Alduin said firmly.

"Misguided. You'll see the light one day."

"And what made you see the light, Barty?" Alduin asked with a sigh.

"Richard," Barty said with a smile. "Richard Nott. He was really passionate about the cause, and he spoke to me so confidently, and then he recommended me to the Lestranges, who I think never paid attention to me before in my whole life….but Richard saw something in me, some potential, and then Bellatrix saw it too..."

Alduin closed his eyes. Bellatrix was eleven years older than Barty, and was, as Alduin well knew, the unattainable older beauty to him that Kingsley had been to Alduin. Of all the reasons to join the Death Eaters...and of course there was Richard Nott, one of the few truly devoted Death Eaters, who could smell weakness like the most perfectly trained hounds and must have spotted it in Barty immediately...him and Bellatrix working together would have been irresistible to Barty, who had never been particularly strong. Still…

"And what about us?" He asked. "What about your other friends?"

"I knew you'd see light in time," Barty said. "I looked forward to welcoming you in our ranks."

That, Alduin thought grimly, must have been Richard Nott's idea.

"And how did you get to help him now?"

Barty smiled his slightly mad smile. "He remembered me...he rescued me...of course I repaid him. He is my master."

Alduin left feeling more drained than he could remember feeling since finding out about the Horcrux in Harry. This was the saddest thing he had seen in his life, and he had seen many sad things in its course. He no longer though Mercurius should come and talk to Barty. Yes, Alduin had been friends with him...but Mercurius had been his best, closest friend. This would tear the man apart, and he was not sure even Daniel could help him put the pieces back together again.