February 1995

By the time Hermione reached the stile, Bethany and Ron had disappeared, but Ginny was still waiting for her.

"Is everything alright?" Ginny asked anxiously.

"No less so than before," Hermione said honestly, linking arms with her as they strolled back through the village.

They took a horseless carriage to themselves back up to the castle, and Hermione fixed Ginny with a serious look. "What is it?"

Ginny fidgeted. "Has Fred said anything to you?"

"About what?" Hermione asked. "He's said quite a lot of things."

Ginny grimaced. "I overheard him and George arguing in the owlery the other day, saying something about how they couldn't put something in writing because it was blackmail."

Hermione frowned. "No, he hasn't said anything about that."

"I'm worried," Ginny admitted. "They've both been a bit … off."

That, Hermione had known; it had predated her relationship with Fred, but she had told herself that it was pre-NEWT stress - surely even they weren't immune to it, even if they didn't really care about the outcome.

"Can you talk to him about it?" Ginny asked.

Hermione sighed. "I can try. But if he tells me something …"

"You don't have to tell me," Ginny said hastily. "Of course you don't have to tell me. I just want him to be able to talk to someone about it. Whatever 'it' is."

So when they arrived back at the castle, Hermione went in search of her boyfriend (and it still made her smile, calling him that, even in her head).

As so often, Fred found her first, arms creeping around her waist, a soft kiss brushing her neck.

"Hi," she greeted softly, turning to face him.

"How was your visit?" Fred murmured.

"Illuminating," Hermione answered, taking his hand. "We need to talk. Not like that," she added, seeing the light in his eyes dim.

"Haven't come to your senses then?" Fred asked with a weak smile.

Hermione frowned. "What?"

"Never mind," Fred said. "Room?"

"Have you got somewhere else?" Hermione asked. "I think Beth was meeting Cedric there."

Fred thought for a second, then laced his fingers with hers and guided her up to the second floor. At one of the suits of armour, he seized its gauntleted hand and shook it heartily three times.

The armour saluted, and stepped to one side, revealing a small passageway.

The room it led in to was hardly bigger than the passageway itself, and Hermione wrapped her arms around Fred to keep her balance.

"Don't tell me you two use this regularly?"

Fred sniggered. "No, we don't both fit in anymore. Good hiding place though." He dipped his head to kiss her. "And it gives me an excuse to do this."

"You never need an excuse," Hermione said fondly. "We do need to talk though."

Fred sighed. "Okay. Serious time. What's up?"

"Ginny's worried about you and George," Hermione said bluntly. "She said she overheard an argument about blackmail. I know you well enough to know that you wouldn't do something like that, but if you're in trouble …"

"It's nothing you need to worry about," Fred interrupted, a little sharply. He immediately winced and softened his tone. "That … came out wrong. I just mean … it's our problem to deal with, Mya. You've got enough stuff on your plate."

Hermione didn't respond, maintaining eye contact.

"We're handling it," Fred said.

Still, she said nothing.

"There's nothing you can do anyway!"

Still, nothing.

"Bagman's an arsehole!"

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Well, I wasn't expecting that. I know he creeps Beth out. What did he do?"

"He paid us in leprechaun gold," Fred said softly, his gaze dropping to the floor. "After the match."

For a second, Hermione didn't quite understand what he meant, and then it hit her. "That disappears."

"Yep," Fred said dully.

"It must have been a mistake," Hermione said.

"Yeah, that's what we thought." Fred laughed bitterly. "We wrote to him. He wrote back saying we weren't legally allowed to gamble so we weren't entitled to the winnings."

"So he gave you your money back, right?" Hermione asked.

Fred snorted. "Don't be ridiculous." He sighed, all of the fight suddenly draining out of him. "We're done, Mya. That was all we had. Mum's burned all the order forms, and most of the products. We're done."

His voice cracked on the last word, and Hermione went up on her tiptoes to fling her arms around his neck, tucking his head into the crook of her neck.

There was nothing she could do, nothing she could say to make it better. All she could do was hold him, and pretend she couldn't feel the heat of his tears as they seeped into her shirt.

March 1995

Since the Yule Ball, Bethany had found that she and Hermione got along a lot better with Lavender and Parvati.

Not in the way they interacted with each other, but the dorm no longer seemed to be divided down the middle; they would chat about their days, exchange study tips (and hair care tips), and Bethany even found herself looking forward to Saturday nights, which had become a kind of unofficial 'Girls' Night'.

The Lionesses sometimes joined them, teaching the girls various charms specifically developed for witches that weren't taught at Hogwarts - spells to get creases out of skirts, to even out make-up, to fix fly-away hairs that escaped braids.

Not that the last charm helped Bethany in the slightest.

Lavender and Parvati knew of most of the spells - both witches were magically raised, Parvati pureblood, Lavender half-blood - but had never been taught them.

This particular evening, the conversation had been taken up by careers - Katie had just had her career meeting with Professor McGonagall.

Angelina and Katie were both aiming for professional Quidditch.

Alicia wanted to open a tea-shop in Diagon Alley, like Madam Puddifoots' in Hogsmeade (although 'far less gaudy', she had added, to Lavender's protests).

Lavender and Parvati wanted to go in to fashion in some way, combining Muggle and magical fashion.

Hermione wanted to do something to help equality for Muggle-borns and magical beings - but stopped just short of saying Magical Law, as she had the year before.

Bethany had avoided the question as much as possible, giving rather vague answers. She had already had Hermione's 'never too early' lecture in third year, and she was unsurprised later that night when the older girl slipped through her bed-curtains, when the other girls were asleep.

"Are you awake?"
"I know," Bethany said dully, staring at the ceiling. "I need to think about the future."

"I wasn't going to say that." Hermione set up a Silencing Charm, and settled down beside Bethany, who shifted over to make room for her. "Why not just say you haven't decided yet?"

Bethany didn't answer for a bit. "What happened to Magical Law?" She asked eventually.

Hermione sighed. "Doesn't seem possible. It's almost impossible for Muggle-borns to get into it."

"But you're not Muggle-born," Bethany said.

Hermione snorted. "Aren't I? Not like anyone knows, do they? They probably wouldn't believe I'm not."

Bethany shifted again so she was lying on her side. "Since when are you Miss Pessimistic?"

Hermione sighed. "You know the twins want to open a joke shop?"

Bethany raised an eyebrow. "And? You've gone mad with love and want to join them?"

Hermione didn't laugh. "No, but …" She sighed. "Promise you won't tell anyone."

"I promise," Bethany said immediately. She half-expected Hermione to admit to wanting to open a shop of her own, maybe selling items inspired by the Muggle-world.

But that wasn't what she said.

"Bagman sold them out," Hermione said flatly. "Paid the bet out in leprechaun gold and then refused to even pay the bet money back because they were too young to be gambling in the first place."

"He did what?!"

Hermione hushed her, in spite of the Silencing Charm. "Keep your voice down."

Bethany sat up. "No, that's … Wasn't that all they had?"

Hermione nodded glumly. "And Mrs Weasley burned a load of products and order forms last summer, they … Bagman's the head of department, Beth. Sirius didn't even get a trial. Malfoy's father basically owns the Ministry, despite everything he's done …"

"I thought we liked him now," Bethany said.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't say we like him, just … Draco's not his father."

"Fair," Bethany conceded, laying her head back on the pillow. "So, what, you're saying you're disillusioned by the justice system?"

"What justice system?" Hermione asked bitterly.

Well, she had a point.

Bethany could understand more and more why Moody was the way he was. She couldn't imagine working so hard to put criminals away, only to watch them hand over some gold, give some false platitudes, and then walk away without so much as a slap on the wrist.

No wonder he was always looking over his shoulder.

"Okay, but that's no reason to just give up," Bethany said. "Someone's got to change it. Why not you?"

Hermione didn't respond for a few minutes. "So what about you?"

"What about me?" Bethany asked.

"Why not just say you don't know?" Hermione asked.

Bethany wrinkled her nose. "Because I … Because I don't know that. Ron keeps talking about being an Auror, and I don't know if I like the idea because I want that, or because I know my dad was one, or because I feel like I have to because I'm the Girl-Who-Lived."

Hermione's grimace was only just visible in the darkness. "Yeah, okay."

"Also …" Bethany faltered. "Before Christmas, Cedric asked me something. He asked if I hadn't thought about it because I'm in fourth year and just haven't yet, or if it's because I'm not sure I'll live that long."

Hermione sucked in a breath, finding Bethany's hand between them and squeezing it. "And?"

"And I think he might be right," Bethany admitted softly. "My future is dependent on Voldemort. And he's not going to stop until he kills me. So there's not much point in me making plans, is there?"

Hermione didn't answer - maybe she didn't have one.

Sleep didn't come easily to either of them that night.

March 1995

Hedwig was still upset with Bethany for using other owls to write to Sirius, so Hermione and Ron were borrowing her as much as possible to send their own letters.

Not that Hermione had many to send - most of her letters were for Sirius too, so she couldn't use Hedwig either.

But a few weeks after Fred had told her about Bagman, she suddenly had a brainwave, and sent a letter of her own.

Hedwig returned a few days before the twins' 17th birthday, fluttering down to land in front of Hermione.

"Thank you," Hermione said, exchanging the letter for some bacon. She ripped the letter open with no real hope that it would contain anything helpful.

To her surprise, a second letter fell out, addressed to Messers. Frederick and George Weasley, and she tucked it away in her robes to read the first.

Hermione

Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention. We have had concerns about Ludo Bagman for some time (just between you and me, you understand), but this has led to a full investigation. Obviously, I cannot possibly divulge any information to you, and I couldn't possibly tell you that Ministry-sanctioned gambling has an account to pay out the winnings, or that Bagman has access to this account, or that this account seems to be mysteriously empty.

What I can tell you is that - unfortunately - Fred and George were underage at the time of the bet and therefore it should never have been made. For that reason, they are not legally entitled to the winnings.

Given that it was a Ministry employee who agreed the wager despite knowing this, in my opinion, there should still be compensation. With the outcome of the investigation, there may well be compensation, depending on how dry the vaults have been drained (again, just between you and me).

I have, however, included a letter to Messers. Weasley which contains a Gringotts bank draught for the value of their initial bet, which should help to put things a little right. If they do happen to have any other information they've picked up since, I solemnly swear that it would be very useful.

All the best

Mandy

Hermione grinned, jumping to her feet.

"Good letter?" Ron asked through a mouthful of scrambled egg.

Hermione didn't even bother to scold him. "Brilliant letter. Excuse me." She scanned the Great Hall, but found no sign of the twins, so went in search of them.

She found them on the fourth floor, sniggering in a way that suggested that the whole school should probably be on their guard for the next few days.

Fred sobered up immediately when he saw her. "We didn't do it."

"Am I immune?" Hermione asked, still beaming.

"Naturally," Fred said.

"Then I don't care." Hermione flung her arms around him and kissed him. "Hi."

"Am I missing something?" George asked.

Hermione handed Fred the letter from Mandy. "Read this."

Fred looked bewildered, but did as he was told. As he read, a smile slowly spread across his face. "Are you serious?"

"What?" George asked, sounding flummoxed.

Fred thrust the letter at him and took the second letter from Hermione, tearing it open to find the Gringotts draught, signed by Madam Amanda Cotswold, Deputy Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports.

George let out a strangled yell, seizing Hermione around the waist to spin her round in the air. "You genius!"

"Oi!" Fred protested. "My girlfriend!"

"I'll let you thank her properly," George said with a salacious wink. "I'll go and write to her, shall I?"

"Yeah, go ahead," Fred said, handing him the other letter with the bank draught. "And find somewhere safe for this." He grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her, giggling, down the corridor to one of the tapestries, which he swept aside to reveal a small alcove.

"You're not upset I wrote to her then?" Hermione asked.

Fred backed her into the wall, kissing her deeply. "You," he said reverently, "are exceptional. And I love you so much."

Hermione no longer blushed when he said things like that, but her heart still fluttered. "I love you too. I'm sorry I couldn't fix it entirely."

"You got further than we did," Fred told her firmly. "We didn't even think about writing to Madam Cotswold." He kissed her again, his body pressing hers against the stone in way that made her arch into him.

It wasn't the first time she had found herself in this position since the Yule Ball, but it still sent shivers down her spine, the way his hands gripped her hips, like he was struggling to control himself.

After what felt like an age, Hermione reluctantly broke the kiss between them. "The time …"

Fred just transferred his kisses to her neck. "You're fine."

"I've got class," Hermione protested, even as her head fell back against the wall to give him better access.

Fred hummed in agreement against her throat.

"I need to go," Hermione continued.

"Oh, dear," Fred said in mock-surprise. "Your robes appear to have undone themselves; how did that happen?"

Hermione couldn't help giggling. "Fred …"

"You could miss one class," Fred said, nipping her collar bone. "No one would care."

"I would," Hermione said firmly. She pressed firmly on his chest and he took a step back, just as she'd known he would. "Stop being a bad influence."

Fred leaned against the opposite wall, smirking at her. "Stop letting me be bad influence."

Hermione fixed her tie and re-buttoned her robes. "Don't tempt me."

Fred pulled her into another kiss. "You love me."

"I do," Hermione murmured against his lips. "But I need to go."

"Mya …"

His whine was mostly for show, and they both knew it - Fred would never genuinely try to convince her to skip classes, not when he knew how important school was to her.

"It's nearly my birthday," he said coaxingly.

"It's your birthday on Saturday," Hermione said primly. "And you'll have your birthday present then, and not before."

Fred's eyes lit up. "Ooh, what did you get me?"

Hermione smiled. "Well, you'll just have to wait and find out."

April 1995

Bethany was conflicted.

Not about the Tournament - that was almost constantly on her mind, but right at the back of it. She wouldn't be told about the third task until May 22nd, so there was no point even thinking about it until then.

No, it was Cedric she was conflicted about, or rather their physical relationship.

Or lack thereof.

He still kissed her, held her hand, pulled her close when he had the chance. And when they could steal a few hours in the Room of Requirement, he would shower her with affection.

Very respectful affection.

At first, Bethany had been very grateful for that. She wasn't ready for anything too intimate, and she was glad that Cedric hadn't pushed her or put any pressure on her.

She still wasn't ready, and she was still glad.

But she couldn't help feeling a bit jealous of Hermione, who would occasionally appear looking very ruffled, because Fred had pulled her into a broom cupboard, because he just 'couldn't help himself'.

Whenever Cedric kissed her, Bethany's heart raced, and yet she seemed to have no effect on him whatsoever.

But not for nothing was Cedric one of the top students of his year.

One Friday evening, after dinner, he caught up with her, wrapping an arm around her waist and gently but firmly guided her to the Room of Requirement.

Once they were inside, he pulled her into his arms. "What's wrong?"

"What makes you think something's wrong?" Bethany asked.

Cedric raised an eyebrow. "Well, I'm not an idiot for a start."

Bethany sighed. "I'm being … irrational."

"You're a teenager," Cedric said. "You're allowed to be irrational."

"Would it kill you to be a bit more irrational?!" Bethany asked, more snappily than she'd intended.

Cedric frowned. "Would … Do you want me to upset about it?"

"No! Yes!" Bethany sighed, pulling herself out of his arms. "I don't know."

"Well, that covers everything," Cedric said dryly.

"I told you I was being irrational," Bethany said a little miserably.

Cedric sat down beside her. "Alright. Just tell me. If it makes you feel better, I'll laugh about how irrational you're being."

Despite herself, Bethany smiled. "I just … Sometimes I feel like I'm a lot younger than you. And I know I am, but … sometimes I feel like you see me like that."

"Like I see you as a child?" Cedric clarified.

Bethany nodded with a wince. "You're very … careful. Not that I don't appreciate that, don't get me wrong. I've never felt pressured, or uncomfortable, or anything like that, and I do appreciate that. But I do get the feeling you're keeping me at arms' length sometimes. And then you say thinks like that."

Cedric grimaced. "It was a bit patronising, wasn't it?"

"Not necessarily patronising," Bethany said. "But it was a bit parental."

Cedric nodded. "I don't see you as a child, Beth. Yes, there's an age difference, and yes, I do have remember that because it would be easy to forget, and I don't want to pressure you or make you uncomfortable. But trust me," his eyes left hers to make a very slow sweep over her body, lingering on the curves just hidden by her robes, "I do not think of you as a child, Bethany. Not even close."

Bethany felt her entire body heat under his gaze. "Then why keep me at a distance?"

"Do you remember the Yule Ball?" Cedric asked. "Ron told you I only wanted one thing."

"I didn't believe him!" Bethany protested.

"But you did worry," Cedric said. "I didn't want to make you feel like he was right."

"Okay, but there's a big gap between only wanting one thing and not wanting it at all," Bethany said.

"Has someone said something?" Cedric asked.

"No, but … you do know you could have any girl at Hogwarts, right?" Bethany asked. "Some of who are a lot more … you know."

"No, I don't know."

Bethany rolled her eyes. "I'm serious."

"So am I." Cedric took her hand and tugged her towards him, as he'd done many times before.

This time, however, when he kissed her, he didn't keep a respectful distance between them, lifting her to straddle his lap, his hands gripping her hips to pull her closer.

"I don't care," he told her, between kisses, "what the other girls at Hogwarts want or do, alright? I want you, and only you." He pulled back, touching her face. "We take things at your pace, alright? But don't ever think I don't want you. You're beautiful and you drive me crazy on a daily basis."

"I do?" She asked softly.

Cedric nodded, the hand on her hip rubbing gentle circles through her robes. "I just want us to take our time. Is that okay?"

Bethany nodded hastily. "Yeah, of course; I'm not … I mean I don't …" She sighed. "I did say I was being a bit irrational."

Cedric chuckled, the sound travelling through her. "You're forgiven." He kissed her neck, his teeth grazing her skin just enough to elicit a gasp from her. "Apparently, I hadn't been very clear with my intentions." His mouth travelled down her throat, sucking hot kisses against her skin, until he was impeded by her school shirt. "Let me fix that."

May 1995

It had been over an hour since Bethany had left to meet Bagman and the other champions on the Quidditch pitch to learn about the third task.

Over an hour, and she still wasn't back.

Hermione was pretending to read, pretending that Fred tracing patterns on her arm as he chatted to his brother was enough to distract her from her worry.

Ginny came over to flop down in front of the fire. "Someone let Beth know Cedric's out there, looking for her."

Hermione froze. "Gin, Beth hasn't come back yet."

Ginny frowned. "That's weird. Maybe …"

Hermione didn't wait to hear the suggestion, closing her book and hurrying out of the Common Room, hoping that maybe Ginny had misunderstood.

Cedric smiled when he saw her. "Well, you weren't the Gryffindor I was looking for."

"Where's Bethany?" Hermione asked.

Cedric frowned. "She's not with you?"

"No," Hermione answered, her heart racing. "She never came back from the Quidditch pitch."

The portrait swung open again, and Ron, Ginny and the twins joined them.

"She never came back?" Cedric repeated. "We were only there for five minutes. Krum asked for a quick word, I said I'd meet her back at the castle … I was hoping I'd missed her or something."

"The Map," Fred said.

"Moody has the Map," Ginny said.

"Then we find Moody," George retorted.

At that moment, Bethany rounded the corner, but Hermione's relief was very short-lived - her face was whiter than she'd ever seen it, her entire body trembling.

The bickering siblings fell silent, and Bethany faltered, seeing the six waiting for her. Then she seemed to crumple, almost sprinting the rest of the way to fling herself into Cedric's arms.

Cedric held her close, murmuring in her ear, and Hermione averted her gaze, shutting down her Empathy to give them some privacy.

"Room of Requirement?" Ron suggested.

Bethany pulled away from Cedric. "Can't. Professor Dumbledore told me to go straight to Gryffindor Tower and stay there."

"I mean, technically," Fred said, in a way that told Hermione they were about to break rules, "this is still Gryffindor Tower, and the Room is in this tower, so it counts."

"That wasn't what he meant and you know it," Hermione said.

"If I may, my dears," the Fat Lady interjected, "I highly doubt the Headmaster is going to come looking for you this evening, Miss Potter. It seems to me that you need the support of all of your friends. So I won't tell if you don't."

Bethany looked so relieved at that, that Hermione couldn't bring herself to play devil's advocate any further.

George gave the portrait a deep bow. "Thank you, Lady Agnes. We will return as soon as we can."

"Lady Agnes?" Ron asked, as his brothers ushered him along the corridor.

"You didn't really think her name was the Fat Lady, did you?" Fred asked.

Hermione blushed - she hadn't even thought about it. Bethany didn't even respond, clinging to Cedric's hand, and when they reached the Room of Requirement, she curled up so close to him she was almost sitting on his lap.

"What happened, Beth?" Ron asked, surprisingly gently. "Is it the task?"

Bethany shook her head, mumbling something into Cedric's robes.

"The task is a maze," Cedric told them. "Like an obstacle course. Various spells and barriers and apparently Hagrid's lending them some of his pets."

A shudder ran around the group.

"Good luck," George said sombrely.

"That's not what got you freaked out though," Hermione said softly. "I know Viktor asked you for a word."

Bethany nodded, turning her head so they could hear her. "We walked to the edge of the Forest, behind the Beauxbatons carriage, and he asked me if the rumours were true."

"Which rumours was he talking about?" Fred asked.

"Me slaying a manticore in second year," Bethany answered.

Ginny snorted. "How ridiculous. Where do these things come from?"

"Did you tell him it was a basilisk?" Ron asked.

Bethany managed a smile. "Yeah, I don't think he believed me. Then Mr Crouch appeared out of the Forest."

"Mr Crouch?" Cedric repeated. "As in the judge, Mr Crouch?"

"Percy's boss?" Hermione added.

Percy had long-since replied to Ron's letter, informing them in a very annoyed tone that Mr Crouch was not as ill as was being reported, thank you very much, and that he was sending Percy instructions via owl.

Bethany nodded. "He didn't seem to realise that we were there to start with … he kept talking to a tree as though it was Percy."

Ron sniggered. "Easy mistake to make."

Ginny smacked his arm. "Ron! That's really bad! The poor man must be really ill!"

"I wouldn't call him a poor man," Hermione muttered. "But that's definitely more than the flu."

"He looked awful," Bethany said. "All dishevelled, and then … Then he grabbed me, and said that he needed to talk to Dumbledore … said he'd done a stupid thing, and Voldemort was getting stronger, and that it was all his fault."

Cedric tightened his arms around her. "Did he say anything else?"

"No, he started talking to the tree again, like his wife and son were still alive," Bethany said. "I told Viktor to watch him and ran to get Dumbledore, except I ran into Snape, who was … you know, Snape."

Cedric frowned. "More so than usual, you mean?"

"Snape was at school with Beth's dad," Hermione explained. "They hated each other, and Bethany unfortunately looks like her father. So as far as Snape is concerned, Beth is devil spawn. He thought you were up to something?"

"When doesn't he?" Bethany said grouchily. "By the time Dumbledore and I got there, Crouch had disappeared and Viktor was out cold."

Hermione gasped. "What happened?"

"No idea," Bethany answered. "When Viktor woke up, he said that Crouch had Stunned him. Karkaroff was furious, obviously."

"Write to …" Hermione immediately shut her mouth.

Cedric smiled wryly. "I do know, Hermione."

"Write to Sirius," Hermione finished. "I'll take it to the Owlery for you - write down everything." As letter-writing items appeared on the table, she glanced over at James and Lily who had just appeared.

"We followed Beth," James said, looking furious. "We never thought Krum might be in any danger. I can tell you this much though, Hermione, Crouch is - or was - either suffering from a Memory Charm or the Imperius Curse."

Hermione sucked in a breath. "Imperius Curse or Memory Charm," she said to Bethany.

"Where did that come from?" Cedric asked.

"You didn't tell him?" Hermione asked Bethany.

Bethany gave a little shrug. "It's your secret."

"They're your parents," Hermione said.

"Yeah, but it's your secret."

Hermione sighed, looking over at Cedric. "One more person isn't going to make a difference. I'm an Empath, I don't shout about it, Beth's parents hang around quite a bit."

"Wouldn't that make them alive?" Cedric asked.

Bethany nodded. "Yep."

"But … shouldn't someone have noticed that?"

"You'd think, wouldn't you?" Lily said dryly.

Hermione chose not to pass that on. "James says Crouch was either suffering a Memory Charm or the Imperius."

"Who'd put Crouch under the Imperius and why?" Bethany asked.

"Could he have put your name in the Goblet?" Ginny asked, wide-eyed. "Hermione watched the Map all night, remember? He was the only person who went near it!"

"Yeah, but who put him under?" Ron asked. "Pettigrew?"

Hermione turned to the Potters questioningly, but James shook his head. "Peter couldn't do that."

"He betrayed us," Lily said darkly. "I wouldn't like to take bets on what he would or wouldn't do."

"I didn't say he wouldn't," James said. "I said he couldn't. It takes a certain amount of magical power to keep someone under the Imperius Curse for as long as Crouch must have been, and Peter just doesn't have that power."

"Then who?" Hermione asked.

Nobody answered her.

AN: I may have a somewhat smutty excerpt from Fred's birthday that didn't really fit. Would anyone be interested in a oneshot?