Disclaimer: All character and the world in this story belongs to JK Rowling. I own nothing.
A/N: This chapter is longer than the last two three chapters and I hope there aren't many mistakes. The chapter will push story towards the end. You might think that the initial part of the chapter may resemble to that of the canon because I was trying my best to do so and hence a few lines are picked from the original work. The article 'The-Boy-Who-is-Disturbed-and-Dangerous' is taken from the book with minor correction to suit the story here.
Please Review.
Chapter Fourteen: Penseive
Harry was in a free fall but it didn't feel the same, he knew what a free fall feels like, he had experienced it during a quidditch match in his third year, thanks to dementors. This time, there was no wind in his hair, his clothes weren't flying in the gust, the pull wasn't as strong as gravity. The feeling was somewhat similar to that of an elevator except there was no cabin.
His feet touched ground and the world around him materialized out of a whirlpool of silver smoke. He was standing in an oval shaped room with high stone ceiling, Harry could not find the basin window he had fallen from. There were no windows in the room, just a solitary door on the end of the room, the room was lit with torches hanging from the walls. There were benches along the sides of the room, rising in level, there were at the least two hundred people sitting in the room. There was a balcony just above the door where 30-40 people were sitting. Every occupant of the room was in black or dark grey cloaks and robes, every head had a pointy hat on top of it, the expressions on the faces were deadly serious, every eye was directed towards the door on the other end. Opposite to the door, there was a high seat occupied by none other than Barty Crouch.
The centre of the room had a stone chair, Harry had a very ominous feeling about it. There were chains hanging from it as if to tie the hands and legs of the occupant. Harry turned towards his left to see who he was sitting next to. To his surprise, it was Dumbledore.
"Professor?" Harry asked with a questioning look towards his headmaster but there was no response. Dumbledore was looking towards him but Harry had the feeling that he was looking through him as if he wasn't even there. He turned towards the other people occupying the room and he noticed that no one was paying him any attention, not even a glance. Then it clicked, but unless….
He stood and waved his arms energetically, stood on the bench and shouted 'hello' but nobody paid him any attention. This confirmed his theory, he was in a memory; he had experienced it before in his second year, thanks to Tom Riddle's diary. He turned back towards Dumbledore, he didn't look like the present-day Dumbledore, he looked younger, although he was still old with his long silver beard. Harry was brought out of his musings was the sound of gavel.
"Order!" Barty Crouch shouted from his high chair. He nodded towards the guards standing on either side of the door and they walked out of it, returning a few seconds later with company. Two guards were closely followed by three figures in black, a man in black robe flanked by two dementors. The dementors deposited the man in black cloak in the chair in the centre, the chains sprang to life and snapped themselves around his limbs. The guards stepped back and closed the door while the dementors were floating on either side of the chair, a couple of feet behind. Everyone in the room recoiled slightly when the dementors did not leave the room, Harry knew that everyone was feeling their worst around these filthy creatures. Harry was shocked when the cloaked figure raised his head, it was Karkaroff. He looked like he was about to faint, he looked younger, his hairs all black.
"The full bench of Wizengamot is present today for the emergency hearing regarding the plea of Igor Karkaroff concerning presentation of evidence and important information to the Ministry of Magic." Karkaroff straightened himself as best as he could with all the restrains as the case was announced.
"Igor Karkaroff, you are brought here from Azkaban with the understanding that you have some important information for the Ministry. If the information provided by you is found unhelpful, you will be held in contempt for wasting the time of this body. Do you understand."
"I do, sir." Karkaroff answered, fear was evident in his voice. "I want to help the Ministry in rounding the last supporters of the Dark Lord."
There were loud murmurs around the room at this announcement. Every eye was surveying Karkaroff's face, some with interest and the remaining with mistrust. There was a loud snort from the other side of Dumbledore, Harry leaned in to find who was sitting there because the snort sounded familiar. He was not surprised to find Mad-Eye Moody sitting there but he was surprised that the person sitting there had not become 'Mad-Eye' yet. His face had scars and marks and was missing bits and pieces of his skin and flesh but his both eyes were present.
"Crouch is going to let him walk away if he gets enough new names out of him. It took me six months and a piece of my nose to track down and capture this piece of filth. Let's throw him to the dementors once we get the names out of this bastard." Moody whispered to Dumbledore so no one else could hear him. Dumbledore wasn't impressed by his thoughts and made him aware with a small voice of dissent.
"Ah, I remember, you are not a fan of them, are you Albus?" Moody asked Dumbledore with a snort.
"No, Ministry was wrong to trust these creatures and allying with them is just indigestible to me Alastor." Dumbledore answered, his eyes boring into the side of Karkaroff's head.
"But this kind of filth deserve it." Moody answered and turned back towards the proceeding.
"…. I regret that I ever counted myself as his follower." Karkaroff continued until he was interrupted by Crouch.
"We have this speech of yours, we want names Karkaroff. If you are unable to provide us then we have no choice." Crouch spoke in his stern manner.
"No wait, I will give you names but you must understand that…. That no one else apart from the Dark Lord himself knew everyone."
"Yeah, so a rat like you can't betray him. He was genius in this regard, wasn't he Albus?" Moody asked in his sardonic manner.
"The names are some of the core members of his followers. I have seen them…."
"And helped them." Moody commented.
"…. Doing Dark Lord's bidding of their own free will." Karkaroff continued, "I am giving these names as a symbol of remorse for my actions in the…."
"Give me the names!" Crouch shouted which snapped everyone's attention and Karkaroff looked stunned.
"Antonin Dolohov, he used Crutiatus on muggles and non-believers."
"Arrested." Crouch said and Karkaroff's face fell, suddenly he looked panicked.
"Rosier, Evan Rosier?"
"Dead."
"Travers?"
"Arrested."
"Mulciber?"
"Arrested."
"Rookwood?"
"Augustus Rookwood, from Department of Mysteries?" Crouch asked, his interest piqued.
"Yes, that's the one." Karkaroff suddenly looked hopeful. "He networked inside and outside the ministry for information."
"Very well. If that's all, you will be escorted back to Azkaban while we decide upon the names." Crouch said while writing something on a parchment.
"No! Snape, Severus Snape. He was a Death Eater." Karkaroff shouted, he was on the verge of tears, he was rapidly losing all hope of freedom.
"He was indeed a Death Eater." Dumbledore said while rising to his feet. "But before the downfall of Voldemort, he turned to our side and acted as a spy at great risk of his personal safety."
"If you have no other names, guards, escort him back while this body reviews your plea." Crouch commanded and the two dementors closed the distance between the chair and themselves.
"No! No, wait! I have more names. Please listen to me!" Karkaroff pleaded, Crouch gave a wave to the dementors to stay back. "Ludovic Bagman, he was an informant for Rookwood."
The surroundings turned into a whirlpool of silvery mist, it felt pleasantly cold and a few moments later, surroundings settled into a new scene.
The scene changed but not much, instead of Karkaroff, now Bagman sat in the chair in the centre. The chains were absent and so were the tattered robes Karkaroff was wearing, Bagman was in silk robes which spoke that a lot of galleons changed hands for it.
"…. I did not know that he was in with You-Know-Who. I thought I was helping our side by giving him information. He offered to consider me for job in Ministry in future." Bagman was saying with a disinterested look on his face.
"We will put this to vote." Crouch announced.
The scene changed again in a whirlpool of silvery mist and settle after a few moments but this time it was much gloomier and every face in the room was deathly pale. There were now eight dementors who were dragging four people with them, these four people had chains hanging from their hands and legs, hindering their chances of running away. As they came closer to the centre of the room, three more chairs appeared out of nowhere. The four people were then seated and their limbs tied to the chairs.
In this four people, three were man and a woman. They were all black cloaks eerily similar to the Death Eaters he had seen during the quidditch world cup final. Two of the men were in their early-thirties and so was the woman, the remaining member of the group was very young, maybe nineteen or twenty. The woman sat in the chair as if it was a throne, a smile fixed on her face which was cascaded by black curls, she had thick eyelashes and brows which hooded her shining eyes. The two men sitting on her right looked nervous and their blank eyes were fixed on Crouch. The boy looked petrified with fear, he did not even raise his head.
"The body has heard the evidence against you for the heinous crimes previously unheard of." Crouch was saying, his eyes fixed on the woman in the chair who responded with a broad smile.
"Father, please…." The boy said in the most heart-wrenching plea.
"You are accused of capturing and torturing Aurors Frank and Alice Longbottom with the use of Crutiatus Curse for information regarding the whereabouts of You-Know-Who."
"I didn't father, please, I didn't do it." There were now tears rolling down his face. "Don't throw me to the dementors."
"I ask the jury to raise their hands if they believe, as I do, that this crime should be punished with a life sentence to Azkaban." Crouch asked and turned towards the members of the body who raised their hands in unison. Crouch stroked his gavel to mark the decision and pronounced the sentence.
"The Dark Lord will rise again, Crouch! And we will be rewarded beyond any of his other supporters."
"I am your son, father, please!" The youngest of the four pleaded.
"I have no son." Crouch said and waved to the dementors to take them away.
"It's time to return, Harry." He heard someone say that on his left. It was Dumbledore but it was not the one in the memory, it was the real one. "Come!" and with that Dumbledore held his elbow and the next moment he was standing in the office of the headmaster.
The office was dimly lit, the only source of light was the fireplace, the basin was still emitting the silvery glow. Dumbledore drew his wand from his robes and moved the basin to his desk with a flick of his wand. He motioned Harry to take a seat and walked towards his own. Harry was too afraid to say anything, once Dumbledore sat in his chair, Harry started to apologize in a stuttering manner.
"I am sorry, professor…. I was…. It was…. The cabinet was open…. I just wanted to see." Harry's apology came to an abrupt end when Dumbledore raised his hand to stop Harry from rambling further.
"Curiosity is not a sin Harry, on the contrary, it is one of the more interesting traits of humanity. But curiosity with caution is a dangerous thing indeed." Dumbledore looked Harry with a critical eye, Harry on the other hand was looking at the basin with a curious look. "It's called a Penseive, Harry. Sometimes, I find myself and I am certain that you have experienced it too, that there is simply too much in my mind." Harry chuckled at that thought and a smile appeared on Dumbledore's face but he schooled his features instantly.
"It helps to go through my memories, like a photo album at my leisure. It's easier to recognize patterns." Dumbledore continued with his explanation.
"How?" Harry asked, unaware that he had spoken it out loud. Even if that was barely audible, Dumbledore heard it and proceeded to answer.
"Let me show you." Dumbledore brought his wand-tip to his temple and a moment later withdrew it. Harry saw no change except a few of Dumbledore's silver hair were now stuck with a wand. When the wand-tip was half a foot away from Dumbledore's head, Harry realized that the strands were not hair but thoughts or memories. Dumbledore touched the wand tip to the surface of the silvery substance in the basin and it glowed for a second before turning back to normal, he then swirled the substance twice and the surface changed to a difference scene.
"It's darkening Dumbledore, Karkaroff's too." It was the face of Hogwarts' potion master staring out of the basin. Dumbledore tapped the basin thrice and the scene changed, one which was still clear in Harry's memory. It was the piece of parchment with Harry's name on it and Dumbledore handed that slip to Harry, his own shocked face was looking back at him.
"I wanted to know what happened before you came to inform me about the incident, Harry. I would have preferred to wait but time is of paramount importance right now." Dumbledore told him, his expression that of worry and contemplation, hidden from everyone unless they were looking for it. Harry could see how old Dumbledore must be, he looked exhausted, Harry knew that he was old but his age never shadowed his persona but his age lines were prominent at that moment.
"Err…. Sir, I could show you…. If you can do the thing with the memory you did right now." Harry asked hesitantly, unsure if this request was overstepping the line. Dumbledore contemplated for a moment before he nodded in agreement.
"Harry, close your eyes and follow my instructions." Harry obediently followed that command and closed his eyes shut. "Now, I would like you to think about the incident in full detail, think about what you want to show me. Feel that memory, concentrate on it." Dumbledore gently touched the tip of his was to Harry's temple. "When you are ready Harry, just nod." A moment later, Harry gave the signal to extract the memory; Dumbledore pulled his wand slowly away from Harry's temple a second later, the wand-tip held the strand of memory which Dumbledore deposited in the Penseive. Harry opened his eyes once the new odd sensation of memory extraction died to find Dumbledore swirling the content of the Penseive with his wand.
"See you soon, Harry!" With that, Dumbledore dipped his face into the substance, Harry sat there for the next minute while Dumbledore went through his memory. Dumbledore returned with a worried expression etched on his face.
"How are your nightmares Harry? Have you woken up due to one recently?" Dumbledore asked Harry, his twinkling blue eyes boring deep into his emerald ones, Harry felt like Dumbledore could see into him with that gaze. He was shocked with that statement, he had told about that to only three people and he had no idea how Dumbledore knew about it as he was not one of them. Dumbledore understood the underlying question in his shocked reaction.
"Do you think you are Sirius's only correspondent Harry. Your afternoon visits in Shrieking Shack through the Whomping Willow are not discreet, Harry." Dumbledore rose from his chair and walked to the window on his left side. "You should have informed me, Harry." No words were exchanged for the next few minutes as both occupants of the room were in deep thought, although thinking about completely different things.
Dumbledore broke the silence five minutes later, "you might not know this Harry, but every muggleborn and muggle-raised student has a wizarding guardian. In ordinary circumstances, that responsibility lies with the head of your house." He turned to look at Harry before continuing, "But you are quite an extra-ordinary person, Harry. After Sirius's incarceration, I was made your wizarding guardian. I was unaware of this till the day you opened your Gringotts vault after your eleventh birthday. I received a letter, informing about it."
Harry's jaw hit the floor at this news, he was unable to wrap his mind around this declaration. The revelation left him stunned and speechless for the next few minutes. Dumbledore had a sympathetic look on his face, he was sure that Harry must be feeling as if going through a rollercoaster of revelations but the look on Harry's face got a chuckle from Dumbledore.
"At present, the responsibility of your well-being lies with me and I would be glad to hand over this responsibility to your godfather the day he walks free of all charges." Dumbledore resumed his seat and fixed Harry with a calculating gaze. "I want you to understand what I am about to tell you Harry. I want you to keep me informed about your life and your problems, Harry and that means being honest with me. Do you understand?" Harry simply nodded in response. "Good."
"Now, I would like you to not think too much about this evenings events Harry. You have a tournament to worry about. Off you go then!" Dumbledore gave him a smile and the words told Harry that the discussion was over. As Harry started to walk towards the, door Dumbledore stood from his chair behind the desk and floated the Penseive to place it back in the cupboard.
Harry opened the door to the office and was about to walk out of there when a question surfaced in his mind. He turned back towards the headmaster, his right hand still on the doorknob and asked, "sir, what happened with Crouch's son?"
"He was sent to Azkaban on a life sentence, he died a year in his sentence. He was buried on the Azkaban island." Dumbledore had stopped in his tracks while answering, he had a questioning look on his face. "Why would you ask?"
"It's just…. I have seen, err…. I saw him in my dreams professor. In the room, with Wormtail, Voldemort was also there but he wasn't in his body. He was…." Harry trailed, unable to put the experience in words. Dumbledore understood his dilemma and returned to his desk with the Penseive.
"Fortunately, we have a mean to examine the situation." Dumbledore replied and motioned for Harry to retake the chair across from him. A minute later, all the memories of nightmares were deposited in the magical device and Harry was about to leave when something came up in his mind. Dumbledore was busy with the memories for the next fifteen minutes while Harry just sat there, thinking about everything that had happened since this tournament begin.
Dumbledore returned from his memory-examination, his face had gone pale and an undecipherable expression masked his features but his eyes twinkled with excitement. "I had been on the verge of exhausting my considerable patience. All my line of thoughts ended in a dead-end, some important piece of this puzzle was missing all this time. You have given me enough to think about Harry, thank you."
"Sir, I kind of…. I kept a secret last year from you sir." Harry's facial features turned apologetic. "It involves Trelawney."
"Professor Trelawney, Harry." Dumbledore corrected him but motioned him to continue.
"The afternoon of Buckbeak's execution, I was in her class. Every student had already left and I was about to leave when I saw a fallen crystal ball which I went back to return it. I was about to leave when she stumbled towards me." Harry paused here for a moment, collecting and organizing his thoughts. "She told me something, her eyes were glazed as if she was looking beyond. Her voice was not her regular one, it was hoarse. Then, she said…."
Dumbledore leaned towards him, he was transfixed at Harry's words. His eyes held an inquisitiveness of a child, there were thousand scenarios running in his head but his mind was on Harry's words.
"The Dark Lord lies alone and friendless, abandoned by his followers.
His servant has been chained these twelve years. Tonight, before midnight...
The servant will break free and set out to re-join his master.
The Dark Lord will rise again with his servant's aid, greater, more terrible than ever.
Tonight…. Before midnight…. The servant…. Will set out…. To re-join…. His master..."
Dumbledore moved back in his chair and slumped, if Harry thought that Dumbledore had gone pale after watching Harry's memories, now his face was ghostly pale. Dumbledore rose from his chair and walked to the fireplace, he stood leaning on the side of it, his eyes fixed on the cackling fire in it. Harry turned in his chair to keep his eyes on the headmaster, a hundred questions and a thousand worries bubbling inside him.
"But these were just nightmares and drunken words, they don't mean anything, do they?" Harry wanted the last part of the sentence to come out as a remark rather than a question. Dumbledore's sympathetic look told him that he wasn't successful with that effort.
"It was just a nightmare, Harry!" Dumbledore replied, turning back towards the fire. "Good night, Harry! I hope you don't have any of those tonight." Dumbledore didn't turn and Harry understood that he was finally dismissed.
He rose from his chair and walked out of the headmaster's office, down the stairway and towards the Gryffindor common room. A thousand jumbled thoughts were racing through his mind but there was nothing conclusive not even enough to direct towards a clue. He was walking towards the Gryffindor tower, mechanically, when he heard voices of disagreement coming from an out-of-use passage on the side of the corridor. He stepped closer to the corner to hear it better, he was unable to recognize the voices just yet but as he came closer to the edge, he recognized the speaker or speakers for that matter.
"I don't think that would be wise brother."
"I know but what choice do we have?"
"We will think of something, we always do, don't we?"
"It was two years' worth of savings!"
"I know it won't be easy to do again, even with the tournament bets, it will take time."
"He won't just hand over the galleons, we will need to push him."
"What's the guarantee that he would if we push him?"
"Next time we see him, we are talking to him, whatever it takes or we will tell dad."
"Telling dad would do us no good brother."
"Filing a formal complaint against him would?"
After a moment of silence, he heard footsteps coming in his direction so he instinctively turned and started to walk but in his haste, he forgot that his footsteps also echoed in the empty corridor. Before he could walk five steps, he heard a voice coming from the passage.
"Who's there?" One of the two voice asked, the source of the voice coming closer. A moment later, two lit wands were pointed at his face. "Hey guys!" Harry said with a sheepish smile which clearly showed his embarrassment at being caught eavesdropping.
"Blimey Harry, you almost gave us a heart attack."
"What are you doing here?"
"It's not the route from library."
"I could ask the two of you the same." Harry finally said to the Gryffindor twins, their ping-pong style irritating him. The twins shared a secretive look between them before looking at Harry and started laughing.
"Never ask pranksters…."
"What they are up to…."
"You might not…."
"Like the answer."
"But seriously guys, you are not involved in something illegal?" Harry asked, concern about the practical jokers coming to the fore.
"Don't worry Harry…."
"We know where to…."
"Draw the line." The twin again shared a look as if discussing something silently. The three Gryffindors started walking towards the tower with Harry in the middle and a step behind the twins.
"I think Forge…."
"Yes, Gred…."
"We can tell it to him."
"I think Hogwarts champion might help us." They again shared a look before one of them, who identified himself as Forge started to explain.
"During the quidditch world cup final, we placed the bet of forty galleons with Bagman that Irish would win but Krum will catch the snitch and obviously we won. Bagman was supposed to pay us four hundred galleons and he did but with Leprechaun gold. And since then, he has been avoiding us. It was two years' worth of savings so it's rather important."
Harry was thinking the whole thing as they turned to enter the corridor at the end of which was the entrance to the Fat Lady. He wanted to tell them what he found about Bagman this evening but decided better of it. Instead, he just warned them to be careful and don't get into serious trouble.
"That's very rich…."
"Coming from you, Harry…."
"'Stay out of trouble' he says…."
"doesn't know that we don't like…."
"To get caught…."
"And invite trouble."
The group had reached the portrait and after the password, it swung open to admit them inside. Hermione and Neville were sitting on a table in the corner of the room, studying while Ron was sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace, surprisingly, busy completing an assignment.
"What are you doing Ron?"
"huh! hey mate, nothing just some stupid assignment from Trelawney." This got Harry's interest so he asked him to tell him more. "Trelawney asked us to maintain a dream journal this year and predict our future based on them. It's so pointless that I can't even poke jelly with it."
Harry was chuckling and it became full blown laughter when Ron told some of his 'documented' dreams and predictions. They were so outrageous that Ron might get a good grade.
"You know mate, since you are not in the class this year, it's either Seamus or Neville who gets the brunt of her life-threatening predictions." Ron told him with a playful smile which transformed into a nostalgic one. "The class is no fun without you."
"You are a right git, Ron." Harry replied playfully, enjoying the banter after a long time. "Let's sit with those two, I need to tell you guys something."
The next hour, Harry told the majority of what happened that evening to the three Gryffindors, he told them about the task, Crouch, Penseive and his discussion afterwards. Harry noted their completely different reactions, Hermione had a contemplative look while Neville looked astonished and Ron was confused. He had not bared it all to them and had kept a few bits and pieces which were too private or unnerving. He neither told them about Trelawney's prediction nor the revelation of Dumbledore's wizarding guardianship of his nor the discussion with the twins. Afterwards, they left to their respective dormitories, calling it a day, to think about the load of information dumped on them in the last hour.
-X-X-
The Daily Prophet was silent about the 'Crouch sighting' and there was nothing of much importance. The day started as any other Sunday, Harry woke up late and went for breakfast and returned to the common room to do nothing much but was continuously pestered by Hermione to revise his coursework for the upcoming exams which were two months away. Hermione had left for library to search for a spell to aid Harry in navigating through the maze. Leaving the boys unsupervised to 'study' through the Sunday morning which very soon turned into a two vs one chess match series where Ron won five consecutive matches against Harry and Neville. The Gryffindor boys went to lunch earlier than usual where they were joined by Hannah and Susan. Susan sat next to Harry and Hannah sat next to Neville and across from Susan.
Harry gave a very heavily edited version of last night's events to Susan who also lost in thought afterwards. Harry's lunch was almost over when Hermione joined them on the Gryffindor table, sitting on the other side of Harry. Hermione noticed a green beetle on Susan's robes but before she could tell her, Harry slumped in his seat while holding his forehead, clearly in pain. Every eye turned towards the group and the great hall when silent, McGonagall rushed down from the teachers' table followed by Pomphrey and stood beside him, waiting for Harry to recover before checking him for the problem.
-X-X-
Harry was back in the gloomy room he had been visiting in his nightmares for the last ten months. He was standing behind the chair, while the form of Wormtail was lying on the ground, curled up and shivering. A white hand was pointing an ivory coloured wand towards him and a maniacal and raspy voice was chuckling.
"Please My lord, forgive me…." Wormtail cried, pleading for his life.
"It's a good thing that your mistake with Crouch was corrected Wormtail." Voldemort said in a hissing and venomous tone.
"Forgive me My Lord, show mercy." Wormtail pleaded for his life.
"I am not going to kill you, not yet, you have your uses." He laughed and the laughter was followed by, "Crucio" and the pain filled cries of Wormtail.
-X-X-
When Harry opened his eyes, and took notice of his surroundings, he found that his head was in Susan's lap and his hand was clutching his forehead where the bolt like mark was burning like fire. He also noticed that Hermione was kneeling on his side, her hand moving through his hairs and she was cooing comforting words in his ear. He was suddenly aware that he was in the great hall and it was completely silent, except for murmurs of confusion and interest.
McGonagall stepped forward and looked into Harry's eyes, Harry could see that she was genuinely concerned about him. "Mr. Potter, are you alright?"
In response, Harry nodded his head but flinched when the moment caused instant headache. Pomphrey stepped closer and diagnosed him for a moment and asked Hermione to escort Harry to the infirmary.
The group of six rose from the table and followed the two ladies to the infirmary. As they were leaving the great hall, murmurs and whispers grew louder with time and within a minute, Hogwarts rumour mill was running rampant with their absurd speculation, none of which were even remotely close. The group reached the infirmary where Harry was then given a dose of pain-relieving potion and was asked to spend the afternoon resting in the infirmary. Harry was about to object when he saw the glare directed towards him form the Gryffindor bookworm and his objection died even before coming into existence.
-X-X-
Harry woke up late the next morning due to the headache and the pain-relieving potion and he hurriedly got ready to go down to the great hall for breakfast. In the last six months, Harry had become accustomed to stares and glares but today when he entered the great hall, this assumption of his was going to be proven wrong. The moment he stepped inside the great hall's threshold, it went silent, every eye was fixed on him. Apart from a handful people, everyone was directing hostile gazes towards him and then there was Draco who had a smug smile on his face. Oh god, how much Harry wanted to wipe that smirk off his face that instance, no one could imagine. He sat next to Hermione who had a sombre expression on her face but her eyes held a fierce look of determination mixed with rage. Ron was sitting across from them with Neville on his left, Ron was busy shovelling food in his mouth but his face was red, most probably with anger. Neville was just sitting there with a hurt expression on his face, he was avoiding looking him in the eye.
The silence was too much for Harry so he asked the group in general about what was happening and in response, Hermione handed her today's Daily Prophet. The moment he saw Barty Crouch's face on the front page, Harry's face started to pale.
Crouch Spotted
By Rita Skeeter
The Director of Department of International Magical Cooperation, Barty Crouch, who has been absent from the public eye for more than four months was spotted this Saturday in Hogwarts grounds. The sighting did not result in anything substantial but it pushed the ministry to look into the matter more carefully.
The details about the event are yet incomplete and the available ones are dodgy at best. The two people who actually came across the lost director were none other than Hogwarts champion, Harry Potter and French champion, Fleur Delacour. The event unfolded around an hour after the dinner time while the two champions were wandering the castle grounds near the forbidden forest.
In Mr. Potter's words, "He stumbled upon us and fell face-first. He was muttering something incoherent. I asked Fleur to keep an eye on him while I bring Dumbledore, on my way I found professor Moody and told him about it and went to fetch Dumbledore. When we returned, Fleur was lying unconscious on the ground while professor Moody was searching the woods, there was no sign of Barty Crouch."
After the incident, Chief Warlock and the Minister of Magic had a long meeting after which an investigation was authorized in the case of Mr. Crouch's disappearance. Yesterday, aurors have searched Mr. Crouch's residence for any clues but the search had not produced any results. The house was locked from inside, all doors and windows were bolted and charm-locked. The house looked unused for months with a thick layer of dirt present, but there were some evidences which indicated that the house was in use. Fireplace was used a sometimes-last week, the bed was slept in around the same time, kitchen had a few food items, mostly under stasis charm. The most shocking thing was the dried blood stains on the carpet.
The Auror Corps are busy searching for Mr. Crouch, a search party had done an aerial survey of the forbidden forest in the early hours of Sunday. It is believed that Chief Warlock had blocked all the attempts of approaching Harry Potter or Fleur Delacour for a statement. It is believed that a memory had been provided by Mr. Potter, but it's authenticity is yet to be confirmed. The reporter believes that the memory might be incomplete if Mr. Potter had left the French part-Veela unconscious on the ground before informing the Headmaster.
Before Harry's anger could erupt and he could say something, Hermione asked him to turned to society page. Harry did as was asked by his girlfriend only to get his anger exponentially rise. There was the article about him, his 'problem' as was quoted, how he was dangerous; it was uncensored libel, assassination of his character in front of the whole British wizarding world, although he didn't care about his image much but it was painful to see your name being shown in such bad light. It brought too many memories from his 'no so happy' past. He rose from his seat and walked out of the great hall, followed a moment by his friends including Susan and Ron who had left his breakfast behind to support his friend. Harry only stopped when he reached an empty classroom and sat on a chair, his friends followed in afterwards and Hermione put a silencing charm on the door after locking it.
Harry slapped the newspaper on the desk in anger and the only words that came out were, "how did this happen?".
The-Boy-Who-is-Disturbed-and-Dangerous
By Rita Skeeter
The Boy Who defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is unstable and possibly dangerous, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. Alarming evidence has recently come to light about Harry Potter's strange behaviour, which casts doubts upon his suitability to compete in a demanding competition like the Tournament, or even to attend Hogwarts School. Potter, the Daily Prophet can exclusively reveal, regularly collapses at school, and is often heard to complain of pain in the scar on his forehead (relic of the curse with which You-Know-Who attempted to kill him). On Sunday last, midway through a lunch, your Daily Prophet reporter witnessed Potter fainting in the great hall, claiming that his scar was hurting too badly to continue studying. It is possible, say top experts at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, that Potter's brain was affected by the attack inflicted upon him by You-Know-Who, and that his insistence that the scar is still hurting is an expression of his deep-seated confusion. "He might even be pretending," said one specialists. "This could be a plea for attention." The Daily Prophet, however, has unearthed worrying facts about Harry Potter that Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, has carefully concealed from the wizarding public. "Potter can speak Parseltongue," reveals Draco Malfoy, a Hogwarts fourth year.
"There were a lot of attacks on students a couple of years ago, and most people thought Potter was behind them after they saw him lose his temper at a duelling club and set a snake on another boy. It was all hushed up, though. But he's made friends with werewolves and giants too. We think he'd do anything for a bit of power." Parseltongue, the ability to converse with snakes, has long been considered a Dark Art. Indeed, the most famous Parselmouth of our times is none other than You-Know-Who himself. A member of the Dark Force Defence League, who wished to remain unnamed, stated that he would regard any wizard who could speak Parseltongue "as worthy of investigation. Personally, I would be highly suspicious of anybody who could converse with snakes, as serpents are often used in the worst kinds of Dark Magic, and are historically associated evildoers." Similarly, "anyone who seeks out the company of such vicious creatures as werewolves and giants would appear to have a fondness for violence." Albus Dumbledore should surely consider whether a boy such as this should be allowed to compete in the prestigious Tournament. Some fear that Potter might resort to the Dark Arts in his desperation to win the tournament, the third task of which takes place on June 24th.
-X-X-
April 30, 1995
"Hey Padfoot, Moony." Harry said while hugging his godfather in the Shrieking Shack. It had been two weeks since the article was published in the Prophet.
"How are you doing, pup?" Moony asked, his eyes filled with genuine concern.
"As best I can Moony." Harry answered truthfully, it didn't make sense to hide things from these two honorary uncles of his.
"Tell us what happened Harry, I want to know the complete story." Sirius asked, all the joviality he was famous for was absent from his tone and demeanour. For the next twenty minutes Harry was busy telling the two Marauders about the evening and everything that transpired in full detail. By the end of his story, both the elders had a look of deep thought and contemplation which was mixed with their concern for the teenager. Hermione wasn't there with him today because Harry wanted to talk to them in private after the revelation of his guardianship and she understood it perfectly so he had no emotional support at the moment when Sirius and Remus went through the information Harry had dumped on them. The silence was getting uncomfortable for Harry but saved him by breaking the silence with a question.
"Harry, are you happy with the guardianship situation or should I ask Dumbledore to see if he can hand it over to me?" Remus asked with a fatherly smile on his face. Harry was touched to the core with the gesture and he could feel the warmth in his heart but he knew that it would be difficult for the guardianship to become legal due to Remus's Lycanthropy.
"You can Moony but I don't have high hopes for it." Harry flinched when he saw the hurt look on Remus's face. "Don't take it otherwise Moony, I would love to stay with you and I know I would enjoy it. When I spoke to Hermione if you could adopt me, she told that it might get into legal trouble with the ministry. I am sorry Moony." Harry gave him an apologetic smile.
"I understand Harry, I was just hoping that it might cheer you up." Moony answered with an understanding look on his face but his eyes betrayed his internal emotional conflict. He was feeling guilty for not being able to help Harry again and the reason remained the same, his Lycanthropy.
"Urgh…. Too much serious talk. Hey pup, how is Hermione?" Sirius asked his godson who turned pink in response to the question.
"She is good. She has been a great help throughout this tournament." Harry had a sheepish smile on his face, he was avoiding meeting Sirius's gaze.
"Moony, I think it's time for the talk, don't you agree?" Sirius asked, his eyes had a mischievous gleam which promised that whatever was coming won't be fun.
"I agree wholeheartedly." Remus replied and the next hour was spent by the Marauders giving 'the Talk' to Harry who was getting redder by the second. At the end of it he was unable to form any meaningful coherent sentences so the Marauders bid him goodbye and apparated away from the Shrieking Shack, leaving a thoroughly embarrassed Harry to his musings.
-X-X-
When Harry returned to the common room, he found Hermione sitting in front of fire with Mercury on the armrest of the couch and a book open in her hand. She was gently stroking Mercury's plumage and the owl looked at peace. Harry decided that he should go to his dorm as it would be very uncomfortable for a few hours may be days to be close with Hermione. But before he could reach to the stairs leading to the dorm, Hermione noticed him.
"Hey, where are you going?" Hermione asked, a frown coming to her face for being ignored by him.
"Err…. I was…. I just…." Harry was unable to answer without stammering. He turned beet red when he looked at her face and Sirius's words came back to his mind.
"Come here, would you?" Hermione asked what patting the seat next to her on the couch. Harry was unable to form a coherent answer so he just nodded and sat on the couch. He was actively avoiding her gaze and she caught him doing so which confused her immensely.
"Harry, what happened?" She asked with a concerned voice, her book shut closed and lying beside her. She scooted close to him and he practically jumped away from her which annoyed her even more.
"What's wrong with you?" She asked him a bit angrily, thinking that he was trying to avoid her which got her thinking. Her overly active brain led her to the thought that Harry might be thinking of breaking up with her as he had befriended the French champion since the second task, her insecurities exaggerated the scale of her thoughts.
"Nothing." Harry answered with as much confidence as he could muster. The attempt did not satisfy Hermione who looked a bit irritated.
"I know you Harry, at least don't lie to me." Hermione asked more sternly, her patience was being tested here. Harry decided that it would be better if he just told her so that she wouldn't push him. He sat down on the couch and squared his shoulders in an attempt to gather his courage and took a deep breath. "They gave me 'the Talk'."
"Oh." That was the only response Hermione could give before turning crimson herself, mirroring Harry's blush.
They were spared anymore awkwardness when Ron entered through the portrait hole followed by Neville and a few steps behind were Seamus and Dean. Neville looked angry while Ron looked embarrassed and flustered at the same time, he had a chess set in his hand. Ron dropped the chess set on the coffee table in the center and flopped down in the armchair on the side of the couch with his head in his hands. Neville took the seat opposite to him and sat straighter, his eyes boring into Ron, the other two Gryffindors stood behind the couch Harry and Hermione were sitting in.
"What happened?" Hermione asked Neville who just huffed and turned towards the fireplace. "What's going on?" the two boys were saved from answering the question as Dean answered it for them.
"Ron asked Susan out but in a very uncultured way. Nice work Ron!" He left the group to their 'conversation' and left with Seamus to sit by the window. Ron still held his head in his hands and said nothing, he just shook his head.
"Neville, please tell us what happened?" Harry asked the fellow Gryffindor who then turned towards them.
"We, I mean Seamus, Dean and we two, were sitting in the garden near the entrance hall and playing chess when Hannah and Susan crossed us. I went to talk to Hannah, Susan was wearing some kind of robe which was tight around her upper body. When I complemented that she looked good, this git here commented that 'rather than bones, he was more interested in flesh' while eyeing her. Hannah was going to smack him on head and I had to stop her." Hermione was livid and Harry was quite angry himself but before they could say anything Neville spoke again.
"Susan told him to behave but he thought that she liked the 'complement' and asked her if he can appreciate her in some private setting. Susan just left and so did Hannah. I just hope this doesn't affect me and Hannah."
"I was just asking her for a date." Ron said in a whinny tone which did not go well with his two friends. "Guys, I didn't mean anything otherwise. It was just a harmless joke."
"You need to grow up Ronald Weasley. Go and apologize to her, till then don't talk to me." Hermione rose from her seat and walked out of the common room, most probably to the library, with the book clutched in front of her.
"You are a genius at ruining the mood Ron. I think you should go and apologize now." Harry said coldly, clearly not liking his friend's behaviour towards his Hufflepuff friend. Harry picked Mercury and left the common room to go to the Owlery to meet Hedwig, leaving an angry and worried Neville in Ron's company.
-X-X-
June 23, 1995
Today was the final exam for the Hogwarts students and the atmosphere inside the castle was cheery and light after two difficult weeks filled with exams, one after the other. The last two months had gone past in a flurry and without anymore 'eventful' days.
For the prize of biggest drama of the period, two events were tied in the top spot. The first was the angry rant from Cho Chang about Zoe Walker stealing her boyfriend which took place in the great hall in mid-May, Cho had drawn her wand and so had Zoe but before the situation escalate any further, professor Flitwick intervened. This costed her 25 points and a detention if she did not apologize to the American champion, needless to say she took the detention and further angered the diminutive head of Ravenclaw house. The second event was Ron apologizing to Susan who had demanded a public apology which would teach Ron a lesson, everyone agreed on that and Ron was planning to apologize on the first Sunday of June. The event turned funny, except for Ron, when he lost his balance while going for the apology and fell face first in front of a full house in the middle of great hall. After the apology, Harry overheard twins telling someone that it was Angelina who had used a silent tripping jinx which was missed by almost everyone.
The period between Ron hurting Susan and his apology, he was getting a cold shoulder from the female population of the college and Harry and Neville weren't on very friendly terms with him either. When he showed some intent towards apologizing to her, Harry, Neville and Hermione to some extent started to get back to friendly terms with him.
Harry's day had got into a routine, the would go for a run and exercise in the morning with Hermione for company with Neville being present occasionally. After the classes, he would go back to the gym for practicing his spell-casting and defending practice (shielding, dodging) where Hermione would help Harry by casting stunners towards him. They had upped their training to learn and defend against possible threats present in the maze, including magical creatures and traps.
The remaining of their evenings and nights were spent studying for the exams or completing the assignments or learning about various things for the task. Neville was a regular in their study-group and Susan and Hannah had also joined them fairly regularly in the library. Ron would join them in the common room for studies when he wanted some help from Hermione.
When Hermione and/or Harry was not on good terms with him during the year, his performance had slumped and he was given a couple of detentions to teach him a lesson. At other times, he would somehow convince Hermione to help him or ask Neville for his assignments to copy. This had proved one thing, a bitter pill for Ron and his friends, that he was insincere about his studies and hardworking was not an attribute present in him.
Hermione had created a spell or rather modified a spell which would point towards North or whatever the caster wanted to point towards, unless the object in question was under a charm which would render the object unplottable. Hermione had explained to Harry that the charm was actually very simple, the incantation was 'Designandum' and the spell was cast while keeping your wand in your open palm. During the spell incantation, he must concentrate where he wanted it to point and the wand in his palm will rotate to point towards it. According to Hermione, the actual spell was to point towards north, 'Designandum Praemisit' which is quite a popular spell with travelers and sailors.
It was the night before the task and Harry was lying in his bed, trying to get some sleep before the final task of the tournament. Since the second task, his friends had started to believe that he could win it and they didn't shy away from pointing this out to him. With time, he had started to think positively about it which was a new thing to him. But this possibility also brought nervousness with it. Harry had never been this nervous before in his life, may be before his first quidditch match but never again. He was unable to sleep and his mind was going through his 'strategy' for the task which Hermione had helped him to go develop.
He was hoping that tomorrow would end on a positive note for him. But fate is a cruel thing.
A/N: Please review and tell how did you like the chapter, mistakes and corrections. The next chapter would be the final task and to get to that quickly, I had to move things a bit fast in this chapter. I hope you liked it.