February 1995

When they reached the stile at the end of the road, a large black dog was waiting for them, a few newspapers in his mouth.

"Hey Padfoot," Bethany greeted.

The dog sniffed her bag eagerly, and set off up the mountain path.

Hermione climbed the stile and jogged after him, the other three following close behind.

"How much further?" Bethany asked after a while.

"Just round this corner," Hermione answered. She turned to Ginny as they reached the cave entrance and gave her a leg up onto the outcrop. Then she transferred and leapt up.

Buckbeak opened his huge orange eyes as she turned human again, and she steered Ginny over to him. "Keep eye contact and bow."

The hippogriff regarded them imperiously for a minute, just long enough for Hermione to worry, then bowed back, allowing Ginny to pat his feathery neck.

"He's beautiful," she murmured. "Aren't you?"

Buckbeak preened under the praise, leaning into her petting like a cat.

Hermione turned back to the cave entrance, in time to see Padfoot shift back into Sirius, Ron and Bethany standing beside him.

She hugged him, as the other two bowed to Buckbeak, and Sirius tossed the papers on to the floor before embracing Bethany as well.

"How are you?"

"Better than I was Tuesday morning," Bethany said. "At least Ron and Hermione have stopped oversleeping."

Hermione rolled her eyes. The sleeping draught had had a side-effect - she had been finding it difficult to get out of bed in the morning.

Sirius's gaze turned to the other two fourth years, lingering longer on Hermione. "But you're both alright now?"

"Both fine," Ron answered for her, stroking Buckbeak's neck. "This is Ginny, by the way - my sister."

"It's nice to finally put a face to the name," Sirius said with a smile, shaking her hand.

"What are you doing here?" Bethany asked quietly.

"Fulfilling my duty as godfather," Sirius answered. "Don't worry - I'm pretending to be a loveable stray."

"Not sure that's possible, mate," James said, materialising to lean against the wall.

"Not sure that's possible," Hermione repeated, earning two sniggers and a fake-insulted look. "He said it, not me."

"Thanks Prongs," Sirius said, before turning back to Bethany, sobering up at the anxiety on her face. "I wanted to be on the spot. Things … Well, let's just say they've been getting fishier. I've been stealing papers every time someone throws one out and, by the looks of it, I'm not the only one that's noticed."

Ron picked up the yellowing Daily Prophets from the floor and unrolled them, holding them so Ginny could see them as well.

Bethany was still staring at Sirius. "But what if you're seen?"

"You three … four … and Dumbledore are the only people round here who know I'm an Animagus."

Hermione decided not to tell him that the twins also knew - they weren't going to breathe a word, after all, and she didn't really want to have that discussion. She saw Ron nudge Bethany and hand her the papers, and she moved over to scan the headlines: Mystery Illness of Bartemius Crouch, one read, while the other stated Ministry Witch Still Missing - Minister of Magic Now Personally Involved.

Bethany shuffled the papers to read the story about Crouch, her eyes rising into her hair line. "They make it sound like he's dying," she said finally, looking up. "But he can't be that ill if he managed to get up here …"

"Probably stress from putting up with Weatherby," Ginny said dryly. "I know it turns my stomach."

"Our brother's Crouch's personal assistant," Ron explained, for Sirius's benefit. "He says Crouch is suffering from over work."

Sirius frowned. "He's calling him Weatherby?"

"Yeah," Ron said, sniggering. "He'll learn it eventually."

"He did look ill the last time I saw him up close," Bethany said. "That was Halloween. And if he's gotten worse …"

"Getting comeuppance for sacking Winky, isn't he?" Hermione asked edgily, feeding Buckbeak the chicken bones she'd found in the kitchens. "Bet he's feeling the difference now she's not there to feed him and wash and iron his clothes and clean his house … Bet he's wishing he'd never done it now."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Hermione's become obsessed with house-elves."

Hermione gave him a dirty look, but Sirius looked intrigued. "Crouch sacked his house-elf?"

"At the World Cup." Bethany launched into the story of the Dark Mark, Hermione adding details here and there.

By the time they had finished, Sirius was pacing up and down, apparently deep in thought. "Let me get this straight - you saw the elf in the Top Box first, right? She was saving Crouch a seat?"

"Right," the four agreed together.

"But Crouch never turned up?" Sirius asked.

"No," Bethany answered. "I think he said he'd been too busy."

Hermione nodded in confirmation but said nothing, watching Sirius pace around the cave once before coming to a halt. "Beth, did you check your want after you left the Top Box?"

"Erm …" Bethany frowned in thought, then shook her head. "No. No, I didn't need to use it until we got into the woods. And then I all I could find were the Omnioculars. Are you saying someone in the Top Box stole my wand?"

In hindsight, it made far more sense than Bethany's wand just 'falling' out of her pocket - and the Top Box was the only real opportunity.

However …

"Winky didn't steal that wand," Hermione said firmly.

"There were other people there," Sirius reminded her. "Who was sitting behind you?"

"Loads of people," Bethany answered. "Cornelius Fudge …"

Ginny snorted. "I doubt he's got the brains to conjure a regular snake, let alone the Dark Mark.

Bethany grinned. "… the Bulgarian Minister …"

Hermione shook her head. "I got the impression he was firmly against You-Know-Who, judging by the way he reacted to you. And Malfoy."

"Malfoy!" Ron interrupted. "I bet it was Lucius Malfoy!"

"No, definitely not."

Hermione jumped, startled by the new voice. "Bloody hell, Lily, don't do that!"

"Sorry," Lily said, smiling sheepishly

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Were you keeping an eye on them then?"

James snorted. "Absolutely. Do you really think I'd let that son of a …?"

"James!"

"Beth can't hear me!" James protested.

Lily glared at him. "Hermione can!"

Hermione sniggered. "They were keeping a very close eye on Lucius Malfoy, it wasn't him."

Ron looked almost disappointed, but Sirius just nodded. "I would have been surprised if he did. He went to a lot of trouble to keep himself out of Azkaban - running around in a crowd causing mayhem is one thing, but he wouldn't have done anything more than that, not without Voldemort to hide behind. Was there anyone else in the Top Box?"

"No," Bethany answered. "Just us and the Weasleys."

"And Ludo Bagman," Hermione reminded her.

"I don't know anything about Bagman, except that he used to be a Beater for the Wimbourne Wasps," Sirius said. "What's he like?"

"He creeps me out," Bethany said frankly. "Keeps offering to help me with the Tournament."

"Does he now?" Sirius asked with a frown. "I wonder why he'd do that."

"He says it's because I'm the underdog," Bethany said. "That he's taken a liking to me, but … it makes me feel uncomfortable."

"Rita Skeeter said something about Bagman, remember?" Hermione said, reluctantly. "Said she knew things about Bagman that would make my hair curl. And," she added, before any of them could bring up the Witch Weekly article, "we saw him in the woods as well, didn't we? Just before the Mark was fired."

"He said he'd lost track of time," Ron said.

"He hadn't even realised the Death Eaters were on the march," Hermione said.

"It's worth bearing in mind," Sirius said. "So Winky found the wand - how did Crouch react?"

"Shaken," Bethany answered. "Went and searched the bushes himself."

Hermione sniffled, still sore over the whole thing. "He sacked her - just because she hadn't stayed in her tent and been trampled to death!"

Ron groaned. "Hermione, would you give it a rest with the elf?!"

"No, she's got the measure of Crouch better than you have," Sirius told him, not unkindly. "If you want to know what a man's really like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals." He ran a hand through his hair distractedly. "All these absences of Barty Crouch … doesn't bother to watch the World Cup … goes to a lot of trouble to reinstate the Triwizard Tournament, and then stops attending … if he's even taken so much as an hour of work before this because of illness … And what you said about your brother … he was always meticulous with names."

"Do you know Crouch then?" Bethany asked.

"Of course he does," Hermione answered. "Sirius used to be an auror and Crouch used to be head of Magical Law Enforcement. He would have been your boss, right?"

"Correct as always, Hermione," Sirius said with a humourless smile. "But that's not why he sticks in my mind. He was the one who gave the order for me to be sent to Azkaban … without trial."

Hermione tried to speak, but the only thing that escaped was a a sort of strangled squeak. They had talked about the conviction, tried to figure out how it had even happened - but she had never even considered the possibility that there hadn't even been one.

Ron looked horrified. "But … But … But that's illegal! They can't keep anyone in Azkaban for more than a month without trial. And you're Lord Black! How did they even get away with it?!"

Sirius shrugged. "Apparently murdering scum like me don't deserve trials."

Hermione hugged him a split second before Bethany did, and he wrapped an arm around each of them.

"But he would have been your boss," Ginny protested. "Surely he would have known …"

"Crouch never liked me. And he didn't care," Sirius said bitterly. "He just wanted to put as many Death Eaters away as possible, and if a couple of innocents got caught in the net, it was their fault for getting in the way."

"But why didn't anyone care?!" Hermione demanded.

"Because everyone was scared," Sirius said gently. "My family … Well, they're not the nicest people in the world. I don't blame anyone for doubting me."

"Whether they thought you were guilty or not, Sirius, other people got a trial," Ginny said heatedly. "Even Malfoy got a trial, even if it was a farce and completely corrupt and pointless."

"Didn't anyone think about me?" Bethany asked, her face tear-streaked. "Did they not think that one day I'd find out, and I'd want to know why?!"

Sirius sighed. "It was a very dark time. Measures were taken everywhere that shouldn't have been …" he grimaced. "You're too young. You wouldn't understand."

Ron made an annoyed noise in his throat. "That's all anyone seems to say to us! Try us, why don't you?!"

A ghost of a smile flickered on Sirius's face, and he sat down on one of the boulders, letting Hermione tuck herself under his arm. "Alright, I'll try you. Imagine a world were Voldemort is at full power. You don't know who to trust, who to believe. You don't know who works for him, who supports him, or who supports you. The wrong thing said to the wrong people could kill your entire family. Every day you hear more news of death, disappearances … you have to deal with the relief that it's not someone you know, the guilt for feeling so relieved, and the fear that tomorrow it might be your siblings, your friends, your children … people you care about, people you love …"

His voice shook on the last word, and Bethany sat down on his other side, as Ron and Ginny sank on to the floor, listening attentively.

"Times like that bring out the worst in some people, and the best in others." Sirius grimaced. "Barty Crouch rose to the top very quickly. People were scared; they wanted someone who would fight back against the Death Eaters in a way that would actually stop them. Crouch was always very outspoken against the Dark Arts, and Dark Magic in general."

"Aren't they the same thing?" Ron asked.

"No," Sirius answered. "And it should still be taught. The only difference between Light and Dark Magic is emotion. The Lumos Charm is Light Magic, because it relies on your magical core. The Patronus Charm is Dark Magic because casting it requires strong emotion to power it. The Dark Arts are magic that corrupt your soul to cast them, and they can be Light or Dark Magic."

"Wait, there are Light spells that are Dark Arts?" Ginny asked, sounding startled.

"Not very many," Sirius conceded. "For it to damage your soul, generally speaking, you need some emotion behind them. At some point, the Ministry tried to regulate the use of Dark Magic, maybe because it had been associated with a couple of tyrants. But a lot of the Darkest spells are family magic, and the Ministry can't control them, not without making themselves very unpopular."

"You don't touch Family Magic," Ron and Ginny chorused.

Sirius nodded. "Exactly. Crouch came from a Light family. He bought into the Ministry line on Dark Magic."

"But the Malfoys are a Dark family," Ron said, frowning. "So … if the Ministry's so against it …"

Sirius chuckled humourlessly. "The Ministry is against Dark Magic when it suits them, Ron. When it's handing them bags of gold, they're suddenly okay with it. But Crouch … he was very against Dark Magic, but he started ordering very harsh measures against Voldemort's supporters. The Aurors were given the power to kill, rather than capture."

"But surely that makes sense," Bethany said. "I mean … if you're fighting someone who's trying to kill you, surely at some point you have to make that decision, don't you?"

Sirius sighed. "Yes. Yes, of course. But you have to remember, Beth, that the Aurors aren't soldiers or mercenaries. They're law enforcement. Nevertheless, most of us agreed with that stance. But several of us were authorised to use the Unforgivables against suspects as well, and a lot of people didn't like that."

"But the Unforgivables are Dark Magic, aren't they?" Ginny asked.

"Actually, no," Sirius said. "The Cruciatus is. If you don't want to hurt someone, you'd just knock them off their feet maybe. The Imperius Curse … it's kind of borderline. You do need to want to control someone - you can't do it by accident - but it also depends how magically powerful you are. The Killing Curse is a Light Spell. If you cast the Killing Curse, even if you didn't really want to kill someone, it's still going to kill them." He sighed. "Nevertheless, a lot of us felt the Unforgivables were crossing the line. But Crouch was very popular in the Ministry - a lot of people felt he had the right idea. And a lot of people were calling for him to become Minister after Millicent Bagnold retired."

"So why didn't he?" Ginny asked. "How come we ended up with Fudge instead?"

Sirius smiled grimly. "Crouch's son was caught with a group of Death Eaters shortly after the end of the war. Apparently, they were trying to fin Voldemort and restore him to power."

"Crouch's son was caught?!" Bethany repeated.

"Did Crouch try to get him off?" Hermione asked.

Sirius chuckled affectionately. "Go back to your original opinion of Crouch, Hermione, and tell me if he seems like that kind of man to you."

Hermione frowned. "Well, no, but … surely no one would want their child in there, no matter what they'd done!"

"Anything that tarnished his reputation had to go," Sirius said wearily. "You saw how he treated Winky because she connected him even faintly with the Dark Arts again. Crouch's fatherly affection stretched just far enough to give his son a trial - by all accounts, it was nothing more than an excuse to show the world just how much he hated the boy. And then he sent him straight to Azkaban."

"He gave his own son to the Dementors?" Bethany asked quietly.

"I couldn't believe it," Sirius admitted. "I just … couldn't."

"What if I ended up doing something like that?" Bethany asked. "Or Hermione?"

"I'd be furious," Sirius said honest. "But I'd still love you. And no matter what you did, I'd never want you near those things. I certainly couldn't have been the one to lead the investigation and the trial."

"Surely he shouldn't have been allowed to," Hermione said.

"He shouldn't," Sirius conceded. "I don't know if Junior was a Death Eater or if he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I watched them bringing him in, watched them through the bars. He wasn't much more than nineteen - he was at school with me, a few years below - but he looked so much younger, this … pale wisp of a kid. He ended up in a cell near mine, was screaming for his mother by nightfall. He went quite after a few days. They all did in the end … except when they screamed in their sleep …"

Hermione could almost see the shutters fall, as the light in his eyes flickered and dimmed. She and Bethany moved in unison, wrapping their arms around him, trying to bring him back to the present.

"So he's still in Azkaban?" Ron asked awkwardly.

"No," Sirius answered, his voice dull. "He died about a year after they brought him in."

"He died?" Ginny repeated, seemingly before she could stop herself.

"He wasn't the only one," Sirius said softly. "Most people go mad in there … stop eating … lose the will to live … You could always tell when a death was coming - the atmosphere would change. And he did look pretty sick when he arrived. Crouch and his wife were allowed a death-bed visit - he had to practically carry her out. I think he died as well, actually, not long afterwards. Broken heart probably. And after they both died, people started to feel a bit more sympathetic, started wondering how a kid from such a good family had gone astray like that."

"And they all blamed Crouch," Hermione concluded.

"More or less," Sirius agreed, sounding more present. "Crouch lost it all, when he nearly had everything. Got shunted sideways into International Magical Co-Operation, while Fudge got the Minister post. Merlin knows how he managed that though - last time I saw him, he was a desk clerk for the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad."

"But Fudge didn't help your cause either, did he?" Bethany asked, then frowned. "For that matter, neither did Dumbledore. Arabella told me that she told the Ministry that you'd changed Secret Keeper, but he said she'd been Confounded."

Hermione kept her mouth shut, keeping her promise to Lily not to say a word.

"Is that why Remus and Mandy didn't believe it?" Ron asked.

"Remus wasn't even in the country when we changed," Lily said softly.

"Remus wasn't in the country?" Hermione asked.

"No," Sirius answered. "He was on a job for Dumbledore. And if Dumbledore told him I was the Secret Keeper and that Arabella had been Confounded, I can understand why he'd believe that."

"But a Confundus Charm would have worn off eventually, right?" Ginny asked.

"But the alternative was Dumbledore being wrong," Sirius said simply. "That scares people."

"What about Mandy?" Hermione asked, trying to steer the conversation away from Dumbledore. "Was she in the country?"

"Yes," Sirius and James answered in unison.

Hermione sighed. "You can't even see him; how the hell did you do that?!"

Sirius smirked, apparently not needing to ask what had happened. "Great minds think alike. Mandy was in the country when we changed Secret Keeper, but she left for Albania two days later."

"Didn't she notice a difference?" Bethany asked.

"Mandy didn't visit James and Lily in those two days, I don't think," Sirius said gently. "A lot of my memories of that week are fuzzy - I don't even remember the Fidelius Charm being recast, I just know it happened. Besides, she and Peter were dating at the time."

"What?!" Ron asked incredulously. "How the hell did that happen?!"

Sirius chuckled. "I mean, we were all surprised, but … You have to remember, Ron, that the Peter you saw in the Shack last June was not as he was last time I saw him. I don't know how long they'd been together, at least a year that I knew of. One of the reasons I didn't think twice about us changing Secret Keeper was because he seemed to adore her - forget James and Lily, I would never have dreamed that he'd hurt her like that."

"That poor girl," Hermione murmured, remembering the pain that seemed to have been floating around Mandy when they'd met her at the World Cup.

Suddenly, it made a lot more sense.

"I do not blame her in the slightest," Sirius said firmly. "She would rather believe him a martyr than a traitor, and I understand that entirely."

Hermione wanted them to get away from the subject of the Secret Keeper. More and more it looked like Dumbledore had not just done nothing about Sirius being arrested, but actively ensured that he remained in Azkaban. It made her feel sick, and keeping her promise to Lily was getting harder by the second.

Bethany came to her rescue unintentionally. "Moody says Crouch is obsessed with catching Dark wizards."

Sirius wrinkled his nose. "Yeah, I had heard he'd become a bit manic about it. If you ask me, Crouch thinks that catching one more Death Eater will bring back his popularity."

"And he sneaked up here to search Snape's office!" Ron finished, throwing a triumphant look at Hermione.

"No, that doesn't make sense at all," Sirius said.

Ron seemed to deflate. "Why not?"

"Why would Crouch sneak up here to search Snape's office, when he could just as easily keep an eye on him without looking suspicious by continuing to judge the Tournament?" Hermione asked practically.

"What do you think, Sirius?" Bethany asked. "Was Snape a Death Eater?"

Sirius looked thoughtful. "I was at school with him, as you may have guessed - he was in our year. Slimy, oily, greasy-hared git, he was; not as bad as some of the other Slytherins when it came to blood purity, but certainly went along with it. Most people took no notice of Remus's monthly disappearances, or that he looked so ill, but Snape did - he would actually seek Moony out. Lily used to call it 'kicking a man when he was down'."

"That's because it was," Lily scowled.

"Snape knew more curses arriving at Hogwarts than most people did finishing it," Sirius continued. "And he was part of a group of Slytherins who nearly all turned out to be Death Eater. As far as I know, he was never even accused of it, but that doesn't mean much. Plenty of them were never caught. And, as much as I hate to admit it, Snape's clever enough and cunning enough to keep himself out of trouble. He's certainly managed to convince Dumbledore to trust him, rightly or wrongly."

"Well, he knows Karkaroff pretty well," Ron said darkly, "and he seems pretty intent on keeping that quiet."

Bethany nodded in agreement. "Karkaroff came into Potions yesterday," she explained for Sirius's benefit, "said that Snape was avoiding him. I hung around afterwards to eavesdrop."

Sirius chuckled. "That's my girl! What did he say?"

"Well, I couldn't really hear," Bethany admitted, "but Karkaroff seemed really worried. He showed Snape something on his arm, but I couldn't see what. Karkaroff said it was getting clearer, and that it hadn't been this clear since something else, but Snape cut him off and kicked me out."

"Something on his arm?" Sirius repeated. He sounded bewildered, and looked bewildered, but Hermione didn't miss the flash of panic that crossed his eyes, not the sense of trepidation that rose in the air. "Well, I've no idea what that could have been … but if Karkaroff's worried, and he's looking to Snape for help …" he grimaced. "There's still the fact that Dumbledore trusts Snape - and I know he trusts where a lot of people wouldn't, but I just can't see him letting Snape teach if he ever worked for Voldemort."

"So why do Moody and Crouch want to search his office then?" Ron questioned.

"Well, I wouldn't put it past Moody to have searched every teacher's office," Sirius said. "Very paranoid, that man."

Bethany giggled. "That's exactly what Hermione said."

Sirius beamed. "That's my girl," he repeated. "It's understandable Moody's like he is, after everything he's seen. James and I were halfway there after just a few years. I'll say this for Moody though - never used Unforgivables if he could help it; stuck to his guns on that one. Crouch … Crouch is different. His obsession was always more … personal almost, probably even more so now. You said your brother's his personal assistant?" He asked Ron, who nodded. "Any chance you could ask him if he's seen Crouch recently? You could ask him about Bertha Jorkins while you're at it." He picked up the other paper, frowning at it. "I was at school with her as well. Didn't know her too well, but I won't deny I'm getting worried."

"I'll try," Ron said. "But it won't be easy. Percy thinks the sun shines out of Crouch's …"

"What's the time?" Ginny interrupted, much to Hermione's relief.

Bethany checked her watch, more out of habit than anything. "Do you know, Hermione? Mine hasn't worked since Wednesday."

"That might have something to do with jumping into a lake, Beth," Hermione reminded her, checking her own.

Sirius's gaze fell on the bracelet Bethany wore around her wrist. "Where did you get that?"

Bethany turned a little pink. "It was a gift."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "From?"

"Someone," Bethany answered vaguely.

"It's three-thirty," Hermione said hastily, before the discussion could devolve into an interrogation. "We need to get going."

Sirius stood up with them. "Listen, I don't want you sneaking out." His words were directed at Bethany, though his eyes flickered to Hermione as well. "Just send notes - I still want to know what's going on. But you are not to leave Hogwarts without permission - it'd be a lot easier for someone to attack you."

"No one's tried to attack me yet," Bethany protested, "except for a dragon and a couple of Grindylows."

Sirius scowled. "I don't care. I'll be damned if I'm going to lose you too. Understand?"

Bethany nodded, the slightly rebellious look on her face softening, and Sirius pulled her into a fierce hug, pressing a kiss to her hair.

"We'd better go," Ginny said reluctantly. "It was nice meeting you."

"Likewise," Sirius said with a grin.

"You three go ahead," Hermione told them. "I want a quick word." She waited until the other three were out of earshot, before letting her smile fall. "You know what Karkaroff showed Snape."

"I know," Sirius said heavily. "I … Death Eaters have the Dark Mark branded on their left forearm. They used it to identify one another and communicate with Voldemort. If the Mark's getting clearer, it means Voldemort's getting stronger. Pair that with Bethany's dream, and … Well, it doesn't bode well." He put a hand on Hermione's shoulder. "I want you to promise me something …"

"I'll keep an eye on her," Hermione said softly. "Make sure she doesn't do anything stupid." She smiled weakly. "I've had practice."

Sirius sighed. "I want you to promise me that you'll both take care of yourselves. Watch your backs, don't trust blindly, be ready for anything."

"What will you be doing?" Hermione asked.

"The only thing I can do," Sirius said grimly. "Carry on doing this, and hope it actually makes a difference."