"The Dark Mark was placed over the house," said Madam Bones in a pointed tone.
"Bloody hell. But why would the Death Eaters take him out now?"
"He made plenty of enemies when he was head of Magical Law Enforcement," said Madam Bones.
"That was years ago. Why now? And why me?" Moody asked. "I'm retired."
"Kingsley is on assignment. Most of our Aurors trained up after the war, they've never investigated a case like this."
"You're more than capable, Bones."
"Of course I am. But Cornelius is there, and I could use someone to prevent me from murdering him."
"Merlin." Moody said, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers. "What's his theory?"
"Wants to find the house-elf. Thinks she may have been involved."
Madam Bones' tone indicated exactly how she felt about this theory. Moody groaned.
"Yeah, I can't let you suffer through that alone." Moody said.
"Harry-" Hermione said. "Do you think this could relate to what Professor Trelawney said?"
"Huh?" said Harry.
"You told us that she started talking in a strange voice during your Divination final. Something about a servant of the Dark Lord breaking free and joining him." (A/N - see Prisoner of Azkaban Chapter 16)
"Yeah, but she said that weeks ago."
"Also-" Ron began. "-this is Trelawney. You think that old bat actually saw the future?"
"Oh, it pains me to admit it but she may have." Hermione said. "I've been doing some reading on prophecies over the last week - just to prove that they were nonsense, mind you - and it turns out that sometimes they're not. And when they're made, the Seer behaves very much like what Harry described. We should tell them."
Harry groaned inwardly as Hermione got Moody's attention. There was no way they would believe that Trelawney had given a real prophecy. Ron slapped his hand to his face, covering his eyes.
"What is it, Granger?" said Moody.
"Professor Trelawney may have…made a prophecy to Harry about Mr. Crouch's murder." Even Hermione, ever confident when answering questions in class, trailed off a bit at the end of her announcement.
Moody and Madam Bones shared a meaningful glance before turning back to Hermione.
"How'd she sound when she said it?" Moody said, turning to Harry. "Was it in her own voice?"
Harry shook his head. "It was like…she was in a trance."
"What did she say?" Madam Bones said with a frown.
"She said that the Dark Lord's servant, who had been chained these twelve years, would set out to find him on the night we found Sirius and Pettigrew. I thought she meant Pettigrew, but he's still in Azkaban…right?"
Madam Bones nodded. "First thing we did was check all the cells." she said.
"Prophecies are tricky little devils." Moody said. "We should bring Potter," he said. "Maybe he can help figure out if this relates to what Trelawney saw."
**********
Not wanting to appear ignorant, Harry had not asked what the Dark Mark was. As it turned out, there was no need. The sky over Barty Crouch's home was filled with foreboding clouds at the center of which was the smoky image of a serpent crawling out of the mouth of a skull.
"Why would a Death Eater want to draw attention to a crime they committed?" Harry asked. "It's practically a confession."
"Fear." Moody said. "They know we'd suspect them anyway. Why didn't you dispel it, Bones?"
"I felt the reminder would do everyone some good." Madam Bones said. "Especially Cornelius. And I want it on the front page of the Prophet. There'll be no covering it up."
"Taking a page from Albus' book, eh?" Moody said.
Madam Bones nodded. "The way he handled the Pettigrew situation by writing to the Prophet was quite illuminating."
"Yeah, the press is going to be skulking around anyway," said Moody. "Might as well put them to good use."
The front entrance to the Crouch manor was guarded by a young woman with bubblegum pink hair, who brightened when she saw Moody.
"Wotcher, boss!" she said. "Coming out of retirement?"
"Temporarily, Tonks," said Moody with a nod. "What do you have for me?"
"It was a Killing Curse, that's for sure." she said. "No one else in the house. No evidence of anyone in or out, so the killer probably Apparated. Crouch's wand is gone, not sure why."
"What kind of wand did Crouch have?"
"Holly, eight and a half inches, unicorn hair. With an unusually thick grip." she said. "All Aurors have been instructed to keep an eye out for it."
"Good, good. Have you found the house-elf?"
Tonks shook her head. "Minister Fudge thinks-"
"I've been told what he thinks. What do you think?"
Tonks shrugged. "I can't imagine a house-elf offing someone, but then where is she? She doesn't have a reason to hide."
"No, she doesn't." Moody said. "She should be eager to help us catch the murderer. Something's not right here. Where's the body?"
"Upstairs. In the study." Tonks said.
As they came up the stairs, they met Fudge coming down. He was putting on his lime green bowler. He looked up in confusion.
"What are they doing here, Amelia?" he said, pointing an accusing finger at them.
"You dismissed the other Aurors when they didn't agree with you, so I thought we might have better luck with Alastor."
"But why is Harry Potter here?"
Madam Bones briefly made eye contact with Moody before answering. "He is being tutored by Alastor in Defense this summer. I assume that Alastor thought this would be a good learning opportunity."
"Enough talking." Moody said. He walked up the stairs past Fudge. Harry hesitated a moment but followed. Fudge and Madam Bones came upstairs as well.
Crouch's body lay on the floor; he was an older man, with a narrow toothbrush mustache and short, neatly parted gray hair. He looked quite peaceful, as if he had simply fallen asleep.
Moody knelt, opened Crouch's mouth, and looked inside. He gestured for Harry to join him on the ground. Harry did so, feeling a bit queasy. Moody still had the dead man's jaw in his hand, holding Crouch's mouth open.
"See that?" he said. He indicated Crouch's tongue, which had a bloody gash across it. "He bit his tongue. Often happens when the Cruciatus Curse is used on someone."
"C-Cruciatus?" said Harry.
"The torture curse. One of the three Unforgivables. Causes incredible pain all over the victim's body." Moody stood, and Harry followed suit with relief.
"Who was he?" Harry asked.
"Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, but that's not what got him killed, I'd wager. He was head of Magical Law Enforcement while Voldemort-"
"Don't say the name!" hissed Fudge. .
Moody rolled his eyes. "While You-Know-Who was in power. Put a lot of people in Azkaban."
"Including Sirius Black." said Madam Bones.
"It couldn't have been Sirius!" said Harry. "I was with him until nine o'clock last night."
"We don't know what time it happened." Madam Bones said. "I don't want to believe it was him either, Mr. Potter. But we must consider all options."
"It seems unlikely." mused Moody. "I doubt he has the strength for Unforgivables after his stint in Azkaban. 'Course, I also thought Peter Pettigrew was stone dead."
"Yes, I don't think it was Black either." Fudge said quickly. "That leaves the house-elf."
Harry was surprised that Fudge hadn't immediately accused Sirius as well. Then again, from the Minister's point of view, Sirius being guilty all along would be catastrophic for the Ministry and for Fudge - they would have released a murderer back into society.
"How would a house-elf know the charm to summon the Dark Mark?" Moody said. "There's not many that know it."
"Crouch would have been aware of it." Fudge said. "Maybe the house-elf overheard him mention it." Fudge folded his arms.
"If it heard that you think it's guilty, that could be why it's hiding." Moody said. "Who does the house go to now that Barty's dead?"
"He had no family," said Fudge. "He left everything to Hogwarts to do with as they please."
"Then we'd better get Albus in here."
**********
Professor Dumbledore arrived several minutes later via the fireplace in the study. The concerned look on his face intensified when he saw the body.
"How can I be of assistance, Minister?" he said.
"His house-elf, Winky belongs to you now, Dumbledore." Fudge said. "The house and everything in it was left to Hogwarts as Barty had no family. We can't find the blasted thing to question it."
"I see," said Dumbledore. He turned his head away from Fudge. "Winky, come here please."
Nothing happened.
"Winky, this is your new master, Albus Dumbledore. Please come here at once, we need your help to find who murdered Mr. Crouch."
Still nothing.
"Are you quite sure on the terms of the will, Cornelius?" Dumbledore asked.
Madam Bones answered. "I looked at the documents myself."
Dumbledore frowned. "Most curious."
"This is further proof of the elf's guilt." Fudge said. "If he were innocent, he would have come!"
The voice of Rita Skeeter could now be heard from downstairs, conversing with Tonks at the door.
"Blast that woman!" said Fudge. "Amelia, if you had been able to dispel that bloody Mark, no one would have contacted the Prophet!"
"Indeed." said Madam Bones, the faintest hint of a smile on her face. "We'd better go talk to her."
Madam Bones and Fudge left the study. When they were downstairs, Dumbledore addressed Moody.
"Alastor, may I ask why you have brought Harry here? Surely this isn't the sort of place for a boy his age?"
Moody took a swig from his hip flask. "Potter says that Trelawney may have delivered an actual, honest-to-Merlin prophecy the night Sirius and Pettigrew were discovered. Something about a servant of the Dark Lord, chained for twelve years, escaping that night. And now we have a murder committed by a Death Eater. I thought he might have some insight."
"Did the prophecy say anything else, Harry?" Dumbledore said. Like Moody and Madam Bones, he did not seem surprised by the news that Trelawney was not a complete fraud.
"It said the Dark Lord would rise again, more powerful than ever, with the help of his servant." Harry said. "When we captured Pettigrew, I thought that meant the prophecy hadn't come true. That's why I didn't say anything until now."
"Quite understandable," said Dumbledore. "Did the prophecy give any clue as to who this servant was?"
"No, sir," said Harry. "Just that they had been chained for twelve years, and that they would be released the night we found Pettigrew."
"And Bones said no one's escaped from Azkaban," said Moody.
"Except for Sirius Black." mused Dumbledore.
"Sir-" began Harry, a panicky feeling growing in his stomach. But Dumbleore held up a hand.
"I do not believe Sirius did this, Harry." he said. "My concern is that others might. He was in Azkaban for twelve years, and declared innocent on the night the prophecy refers to. And he had reason to hate Barty Crouch. We must find the real culprit."
"We've got two leads. The prophecy, and the house-elf," said Moody. "But we don't know who the prophecy refers to, or where the blasted elf is."
"Winky could very well be dead if she saw the murderer," said Dumbledore. "Though if that were the case, I would imagine, her body would be here as well."
"Maybe Winky went to Hogwarts," Harry said.
"Perhaps," said Dumbledore. "I will return and see if that is the case."
"This is damn peculiar," said Moody as Dumbledore left by way of the Floo. "I'm missing something. I hate it when I miss something."
Harry felt the same way. It seemed reasonable that the prophecy had been talking about Crouch's murderer. But if Pettigrew and the rest of the Death Eaters were in Azkaban, who else could have broken free that night?
"We should search the rest of the house room by room." Moody said. "Come with me."
Crouch's house was quite large, and it took a while to search. It was not until they reached the kitchen that they discovered something unusual. There were papers strewn about, and a small shelf on one of the walls was lopsided. A vase had slid off of it and shattered.
Moody examined the wall under the lopsided shelf and motioned Harry over.
"Look," he said, pointing at the wall. "Cracks in the plaster. And a bit of blood on the ground."
Harry picked up one of the papers. They were titled MINISTRY OF MAGIC - DIMC."
"Department of International Magical Cooperation." said Moody. "Barty was head of it."
"His signature is on some of the papers." Harry said. "But look at this one." He showed it to Moody - one of the signatures was incomplete. And there's another signature above his - Bertha Jorkins."
The pupil of Moody's magical eye expanded as he studied the signature.
"This ink looks fresh," he said. "Bertha must have come by to have him sign these documents."
"She could be the murderer!" Harry said.
"Bertha's not a murderer." Moody said. "Bit of a gossip, but not a murderer. Of course she could have been Imperiused - that's the other Unforgivable curse, allows you to control someone's mind."
"We should talk to her." Harry said.
"First I should tell Bones what we found."
**********
"Bertha Jorkins?" said Madam Bones, looking at the document through her monocle. "She left for Albania this morning. She'll be on holiday there for a month."
"Had she been planning to go there?" Moody asked.
"Oh yes. She's been talking about it for months." Madam Bones replied with a sigh. "I'll send some Aurors to track her down."
There was a bright flash of light, and Harry turned to see Rita Skeeter standing in the door to the kitchen, holding a camera reminiscent of the one Colin Creevey used.
"Well, this is interesting!" she said. "Mr. Moody, I thought you had retired. And what is Harry Potter doing here?"
"I called in Alastor to advise on the case." said Madam Bones. "He's tutoring Mr. Potter in Defense and thought this would be a good learning experience."
"And what is your theory of the case, Mr. Potter?" said Rita. "Do you think your godfather could have been involved?"
"No." said Harry immediately. "Sirius wouldn't do this. Anyway, whoever did this used Unforgivable Curses - after being in Azkaban for twelve years, Sirius isn't strong enough to have done that."
"Unforgivable Curses?" said Rita, her eyes widening. "How-"
"We were just leaving." said Moody. He put an arm around Harry and they Apparated away.