Disclaimer: I still do not own Harry Potter.
Author's Note: Oh my goodness, thank you so much for the wonderful reviews. You guys are amazing. I'm so glad you're enjoying the story so much. It really warms my heart to know that.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter.
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Susan Bones entered the Hufflepuff common room after the terrible announcement of Barty Crouch, Jr. being her teacher the entire year, her eyes full of grief and fury. Hannah Abbott was by her side in a much similar state. Several other Hufflepuffs from their year joined them; Ernie and Justin were stony-faced, and Susan knew them well enough that she realized their anger was simmering deep inside of them, just beneath the surface.
How had this happened? She already mistrusted several of the Hogwarts staff, but this was beyond her imagination. How had Dumbledore, who was supposed to be a great friend of Moody for many decades, not seen this? They had fought the last war with Voldemort together, and Moody had been a huge asset in taking many Death Eaters down. The fact that Crouch had been able to take his place and act his part for a whole year ... she simply couldn't wrap her mind around the concept.
And she now knew that Barty was responsible for Cedric Diggory's death as much as Voldemort was. He had set Harry up the entire time, throwing his name into the Goblet of Fire, pushing him along, making it possible for him to have reached the Triwizard Cup in order to be snatched from Hogwarts' grounds and taken into the clutches of the darkest wizard the world had ever seen. And Cedric had gone along for the ride, not knowing what was to await him when he got there. The fear that had been on his face, the desperation for someone to help him ... those last moments had been written into his expression, fixed there for the rest of eternity. Susan had so many memories of Cedric smiling, flying on his broom, helping people, loving Cho Chang, trying so hard to impress his parents, especially his father ... enjoying his life. And that life had been zapped from him like he was nothing more than an insect that needed to be eliminated. It made Susan feel sick inside; this disgusting plot could have been stopped at any time throughout the year, and yet it had progressed to its horrific conclusion.
And now, Harry was going through hell. Susan thanked Merlin that he was safe in hiding. She wished she knew where he'd been taken, but it was probably safer for her to know nothing. The less people who knew, the less chance Aurors, Voldemort or Death Eaters would have of finding him. The fact that Susan was just as afraid of Aurors getting hold of him as Death Eaters was a profound shock to her already battered heart. The image of the young boy in Azkaban, reliving the guilt of being unable to save Cedric over and over again, pummeled her mind, and she fought tears once again as she and Hannah reached the common room.
They sat down on one of the couches, and Ernie and Justin joined them. They also made room for Elly, the Muggle-born who was not handling the events of these past few days well. No one is, Susan thought to herself. The whole school's in chaos. I don't blame Elly for being homesick. The fact that it was the girl's first year made Susan furious. Hogwarts was supposed to be a place of magic and wonder, especially for Muggle-borns who had no idea what they'd been born into. For Elly, it had ended in tragedy. She had seen the death of her very first friend, who had comforted her and been there for her on her first night, when she'd been incredibly scared of the new surroundings and how well she would do in her classes. Cedric had been so good at taking care of people, Susan thought sadly. I wish he could help us all now.
As the five of them sat together, Susan heard many other voices surrounding them, all talking at once. The people who still thought Harry had murdered Cedric all clustered together, continuing their conspiracy theories. It was only the presences of her four friends that kept her from jumping up and shrieking at those morons until her throat was raw.
"Convenient, isn't it?" sneered Zacharias, who seemed to be the ringleader of the group. "How the so-called Barty Crouch Jr. is unable to give testimony? That cock-and-bull story about the Dementor kissing him is complete nonsense. Those professors just love darling Harry way too much to admit he's responsible."
"Wankers," Hannah muttered from beside Susan. It was a measure of just how angry she was that she was swearing. Hannah hardly ever swore. Susan wholeheartedly agreed with her assessment of this situation.
Elly put her head on Susan's shoulder. Susan put an arm around her, trying to let her know that she was safe with the four on the couch. She had barely said anything since she'd seen her friend's corpse lying lifelessly on the grass, eyes empty and staring. From Elly's other side, Justin put an arm around her as well.
Unfortunately, the story about Barty Crouch being kissed by the Dementor was all too believable to Susan. Anything to destroy the real evidence and pin this all on Harry, right? she thought disgustedly. Also, the Ministry were extremely eager to get rid of any Death Eaters. Aunt Amelia had told her all about the end of the war, where the Ministry had been so eager to throw every Death Eater into Azkaban that they'd given very short trials; some of them had been complete farces. In some cases, there hadn't been a trial at all. One of these cases had been Sirius Black, who'd been locked up one day after the war was over. Susan had heard the rumors about how he'd gotten into Hogwarts again at the end of her third year - the first two times he'd gotten in, he'd escaped, but nothing much was known about the third time, only rumor and speculation. She believed he had escaped again, as did Hannah. Amelia had always thought him guilty, but also thought it was extremely wrong on principle that he hadn't received a trial.
Where was her aunt anyway? She'd owled her the night Cedric was killed, and she hadn't responded. Be patient, Susan, she chided herself. You know it takes a while for an owl to go back and forth. But desperation drove her impatience - she'd give anything to hear from her.
Ernie broke the silence that had fallen over the group. "I'm bloody glad Dumbledore's gone," he said in a voice laced with accusation, disappointment, and anger. "It's good he's being questioned. The fact that he allowed this to happen ..."
Susan knew Dumbledore wasn't infallible - no human being was. But the truth of the matter was that she'd grown up hearing stories of how heroic he was; he was almost a God in the eyes of the wizarding world. His presence encouraged others to feel safe - how many times in her life had she heard, "There's no place more protected than Hogwarts. Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was ever afraid of. Nothing can happen to us while he's the Headmaster of this school."
But things HAD happened, hadn't they? The Chamber of Secrets had been opened, and her friend Justin was one of those that had been affected deeply. It was only due to luck that he hadn't died. Instead of the adults taking care of things, two twelve-year-old boys had done it. The rumor was that Harry and Ron had come out of the Chamber with a shaken but rescued Ginny, Harry covered in blood and grime and holding a sword. The story had been told so many times and in so many different ways that Susan didn't know what was true and what wasn't, but she knew Harry and Ron had saved Ginny.
Then, Sirius Black had come to the school THREE TIMES, and the Dementors hadn't stopped him at all, except there were rumors about the third time. But they couldn't be true, could they? Could a thirteen-year-old have really cast a corporeal Patronus? It couldn't be true. It just couldn't be.
And this year ... Hufflepuff House would never be the same again. Cedric had been a friend, a role model, an inspiration, a mentor ... and, as cheesy as it sounded, the champion of their hearts. Now he was gone, and the empty void he left behind was like a black hole that threatened to pull Susan under. And Harry was now suffering the burden of being accused of murder.
Susan answered Ernie, her words filled with conviction. "Me too. I don't trust him anymore."
Susan couldn't help but look over at Jeff and his group, who were so glad Harry was gone. After all, Jeff had gotten what he wanted, hadn't he? He didn't need any more people to sign his petition, because Harry was no longer here. The pain in Susan's heart spiked to a new level when she thought of all the vitriol the young boy was facing. She didn't blame him for Cedric's death, but she realized how easy it was to do so. Often, when a tragedy happened, blaming someone else was common. Susan was glad she knew better than to heap this on a young boy's shoulders, who'd risked his very life to bring Cedric back so everyone could have closure.
At that precise moment, the common room door opened, and Susan couldn't believe her eyes. "Aunt Amelia?" She couldn't get off the couch fast enough. There stood her aunt, looking businesslike and no-nonsense as usual. Her presence was so comforting that Susan couldn't help but burst into tears. All the loss, sorrow, and anger of the past few days came pouring out of her, and she ran into her aunt's arms, no longer caring about everyone else in the room. She honestly couldn't give a damn who saw her breaking down. Her aunt was here, and that was all that mattered.
The common room went silent as they watched the display. Hannah was in tears too, and Elly trembled as she leaned into Justin. Jeff and his cohorts sneered at the sight, while Zacharias and his buddies looked disgusted.
"Sue, sweetheart," Amelia said, which only made her neice cry all the harder. She usually never called her that unless something was very, very wrong. Susan had always known how much her aunt loved her, and she had always been treated very well, but Amelia Bones was a strict woman who kept her emotions buried inside. But now, she knew the girl needed comfort. Susan buried herself in her aunt, her tears falling onto her robes, reveling in the familiar scent of a woman who meant everything to her.
After a few more seconds, Amelia urged gently, "Come on, let's step outside so we can talk."
Tears still streaming down her face, Susan obeyed. They stepped out of the common room and walked along the corridor until they found a bench to sit on. Throughout Hogwarts, there were many of these little nooks; they were very useful for couples, Susan knew. A lot of cuddling and snogging went on in this castle, and she wondered how much the teachers knew about it.
As soon as they sat down, Amelia whispered, "I'm so sorry, Susie. I'm so sorry about Cedric. I know he was a good friend."
"It's not fair!" Susan cried, her raw grief tearing at her heart. "He-he was so good! He was only SEVENTEEN! He didn't deserve this!"
"No, he didn't," Amelia said softly. "And I'm so sorry it took me so long to get here. I did receive your owl, and I assure you I will do everything I can to help Harry Potter. I have been caught up in so much Ministry nonsense, and that's why I haven't been here until now."
Susan's sobs began to recede as her aunt continued to hold her close, rubbing circles on her back. "I was disgusted with what those Aurors did," she said quietly.
"Do you know who sent them?" Susan sniffled, slowly pulling away from her aunt.
"I will figure it out," said Amelia, and Susan could feel the anger rolling off of her. "I despise some of their methods of questioning. And I don't even like to contemplate what they would do to Harry. They fear that boy as much as they fear You-Know-Who."
"But why?" cried Susan, not hiding her distress. "Why do they fear him?"
"Because no one understands how it was that Harry was able to defeat that monster at fifteen months of age," said Amelia. "They worshiped him as a hero for it for many years, but once he came to the wizarding world he was feared as well as revered. He defied the very laws of magic, Sue. Anything he seems to do that's out of the ordinary is under scrutiny."
"He doesn't deserve it," Susan said quietly. "Neither Cedric nor Harry deserve what's happened to them."
"I know, sweetie. I know." Amelia put her arm back around Susan, and the stricken girl placed her head on the woman's shoulder. She had no tears left to cry, but felt just as lost and empty.
After a while, Amelia said softly, "Will you be okay going back to the common room for a while? I'm going to go and talk to the staff about all this business. I'm guessing classes were canceled today?"
"Yeah," said Susan, and slowly, she told her about the announcement this morning concerning Mad-Eye Moody and Barty Crouch, Jr. As she talked, Amelia's mouth thinned, and by the end she looked as livid as Susan had ever seen her.
"This settles it," she said, her temper barely kept in check. "I don't like what's going on in this school. And I don't mind saying that Dumbledore's better off at the Ministry right now. I wouldn't trust myself to be in the same room with him."
Susan nodded; she felt the same way. "Go and talk to the staff," she said softly. "I'll be fine."
"Are you sure?" Amelia asked. "You wrote to me about how some of your classmates are acting."
Susan sighed. "I have my friends," she said. "We're taking care of each other."
Amelia patted her shoulder. "Good. I'll come back to see you once I've had a little chat with the staff."
Susan almost felt sorry for them. Almost. It was never a good thing to be on the bad side of Amelia Bones. "Thank you so much for coming," she said, her gratitude evident in her tone.
"I will always be here for you, Sue," Amelia said, giving her neice one last squeeze and heading off down the corridor.
As Susan entered the common room again and rejoined her friends, she felt a little better. Her aunt was here, strong, steady, and true, and if anyone could make things better, she knew the woman who had nurtured and taken care of her would strive to do so.