Chapter 36- Snake in Lion’s fur

Moody’s stance changed from cheeky to tense in a second and he cried, “I don’t think so. You can’t stop the Dark Lord.” Before anyone could act he turned his wand on himself and cried, “Avada Kedrava”

“NO!” the four shouted as they lunged forward in vain. Moody’s body fell to the ground and started morphing. His magical eye got practically spit out of its socket, as did his wooden leg. In Moody’s place was the still boy and empty eyes of a young man in his thirties. He was dead, and with him the answers they wanted. He had died smiling, as if laughing at all of them.

XXXXXXX

Chapter 37- Friendly support

“And he turned the wand on himself?” Kingsley asked as the dicta-quill copied everything he said.

“For the hundredth time, yes,” Sirius answered, annoyed.

They had been at it for hours. They reported what had happened to the Auror Office and Rufus Scrimgeour, the Head of the Auror Office, said he would send a group of Aurors as soon as he could. The group of Aurors turned out to be the ones Sirius had asked to go to Crouch’s house, which consisted of Kingsley Shacklebolt, Nymphadora Tonks and Hestia Jones. They had taken their sweet time getting to Hogwarts and all they told Sirius was that they had apprehended a Death Eater at Crouch’s house and taken Crouch to St. Mungo’s. Then they had separated the professors into different classrooms and started taking their statements, but not before opening Moody’s trunk and finding the real Mad-Eye Moody locked there in a special compartment. According to Remus, he didn’t show up in the Marauder’s Map because the trunk must have been a magical space outside of Hogwarts.

“Sorry,” Kingsley said. “But you know procedure, Sirius. It was the last question anyway. We have his wand to confirm the statement,” he finished, turning the quill off.

“Good, now can you tell me what you found?”

“We found Pettigrew,” Kingsley said and Sirius straightened immediately. “He isn’t as devoted as Crouch Jr. and didn’t off himself. We gave him Veritaserum and he told us what they had found out from Bertha Jorkins, who Pettigrew and Bellatrix ran into in Albania. She told them that Crouch had helped his wife exchange places with their son right before she died. It was her last wish or something. Jr. had been kept under the Imperius all these years and Jorkins stumbled into him one time, when she took some papers to Crouch for him to sign. Crouch Obliviated her. What Crouch didn’t know was that Jr. was starting to fight the Imperious as of late. Winky, their house-elf, convinced Crouch to let Jr. go to the World Cup under an Invisibility Cloak.”

“That’s why she was there keeping his place for him,” Sirius nodded. “Jr. was there.”

“Yes, and he is the one that stole Neville’s wand in the Top Box and conjured the mark. Apparently the boy was quite fanatic and thought anyone who didn’t end up in Azkaban was a traitor,” Kingsley said.

“That from someone who had tried denying his culpability by pleading innocence of youth,” Sirius snorted.

“Yes, anyway. Long story short, Jorkins also told them about the Triwizard Tournament being hosted at Hogwarts and that Moody would be teaching. Voldemort thought it was the best opportunity to get Harry. So they “freed” Jr. from his father’s clutches and put the old man under the Imperius. They attacked Moody the morning of September first and made it look like one of Moody’s detectors had gone haywire.”

“The dustbins. I remember that,” Sirius nodded.

“Jr. came here and hoodwinked the Goblet to spit out Harry’s name as the Champion for a fourth school.”

“Just like he told everyone,” Sirius snorted shaking his head and rubbing his eyes. He was right there under their noses the whole time.

“Pettigrew was supposed to take care of Crouch. Apparently he had started fighting the Imperius and so they forced him to send letters to work with directions saying he was ill. He is in bad shape mind you. I don’t know if he’ll ever function again. Anyway, Pettigrew didn’t know much else. He said Voldemort wanted Harry and he was going to use the tasks to get him. He didn’t know exactly why he wanted Harry, but he knew it was for some kind of ritual for which an enemy was needed, probably to give Voldemort a body back or some rot like that. He also did not know how Crouch Jr. was going to get Harry. I don’t think Voldemort trusts Pettigrew all that much.”

“Did he say where Voldemort and Bellatrix are?”

“No, he couldn’t. It was obvious he knew because the potion kept trying to force him to talk, but he must be bound in some way to prevent it. We’ll keep trying.”

“Fidelius?”

“More likely a strong compulsion charm that doesn’t allow him to tell us. In the state Pettigrew said Voldemort was I doubt he would have been up to casting a Fidelius Charm and he would never trust anyone else with such a task. Snape didn’t have any lead?”

“No, we were all suspecting Karkaroff,” Sirius said grimly rubbing his eyes. “I bet Snape is one of the ones Jr. considered a traitor.”

“That’s not very good for us. There’s no telling what Bellatrix and Jr. told Voldemort,” Kingsley said worried.

Sirius nodded with a grim face, “Did he tell you how they escaped?”

“Yes,” Kingsley huffed. “Incompetence on our part.”

“What?”

“The charm that stopped Pettigrew from transforming weakened as time went on. Each time he was more able to transform until he managed it completely. Bellatrix, who was his cell neighbor, had been encouraging him. So once he managed it, he slipped out from a small crack in the door and opened her door. They were out of there hours before the Dementors came for their rounds and realized they were gone.”

“What? No one checked the charm?” Sirius asked outraged.

“It had been scheduled but Fudge cut it, unnecessary cost he said. Of course, he won’t let the people know that,” Kingsley growled angry.

XXXXXXXX

The news that Barty Crouch Jr. had been alive and posing as Mad-Eye Moody had been all over the papers the next morning. Fudge insisted that it was the work of lunatics and that Voldemort was dead and in no risk of returning. He made sure everyone knew Pettigrew had been caught and by reading the paper, you could almost believe it had been his idea and he had gone alone to apprehend him.

The Prophet delighted in the story about Crouch Jr.’s arrest and Crouch Sr.’s descent from glory, thanks to none other than Rita Skeeter who wrote one gut wrenching sad tale about the pureblood boy seduced by the dark side without his father’s notice while this same father was more preoccupied with fighting said dark side than with his family, culminating in the destruction of another family; the Longbottoms. She added a history of all the accomplishments of Aurors Frank and Alice Longbottom and how they fought valiantly until they were driven to madness by Crouch Jr. and the Lestranges, reminding everyone that one of the Lestranges was still at large.

Harry had been furious when he read this; he knew that when Bellatrix Lestrange escaped Azkaban, Dumbledore, Mrs. Longbottom and Sirius had used all their influence and high contacts to make sure that the details of what she had done wasn’t in the paper. The articles about her escape had mentioned she was one of Voldemort’s most loyal and deranged followers, that she had killed and tortured many, which was true even if she had only been tried for the Longbottoms. They had mainly focused on the reason why Pettigrew was arrested since it had to do with the Boy-Who-Lived and was public knowledge anyway. But now everyone knew about Neville’s parents and kept shooting him pitying glances, and a few even tried to approach, but backed off at Harry’s and Ron’s glares while Hermione kept chanting for Neville to ignore it.

Harry had thought that Hermione and Ron would have given Neville grief for not telling them, and consequently him too since he knew all along, but they had pleasantly surprised him by not mentioning it and immediately helping shield Neville from the others. When he pulled Hermione aside and asked her she said:

“Professor Black mentioned the Longbottoms in class last year, remember? I always knew Neville lived with his grandmother so I though they had died at first. Well,” she said embarrassed. “You know me. I need to know things. So I went to the library and looked them up when you were in your special lessons with Professors Black and Lupin, and Neville was in the greenhouse. They are mentioned in a few books about the fall of Voldemort and there are also back issues of the Prophet there. Ron had been with me when I found it. We decided to keep it to ourselves; we didn’t know if you knew but we thought Neville had the right to tell us when he was ready.”

“We?” Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh all right,” she huffed. “Ron thought so.” Harry’s eyes went wide and his eyebrows shot up at this. He had thought it would have been the other way around. “He said that many people have trouble talking about what happened in the war and that we should respect that. Then he took one of the old Prophets we had taken out and showed me the piece that talked about Fabian and Gideon Prewett. Remember, Professor Black mentioned them, said they were heroes too?” Harry nodded. Yes, he remembered. Sirius and Remus had been friends with them and had talked about them when reminiscing of lost friends. “They were Mrs. Weasley’s brothers,” Harry knew that too. “Ron said that Mrs. Weasley rarely talks about the war. She doesn’t like to remember why they died.”

Apart from the staring they were enduring, all seemed to be once again under control, if not for an unfortunate dream Harry had that same night.

He was back in the same room where he had seen the old man die. The high chair was there by the fire once again and the cold voice coming from the chair had hissed “Crucio” angrily. The woman on the floor was twisting madly in agony. An enormous snake was slithering around her, unaffected by her desperate cries. Harry could feel his head being split open as if he was the one under that horrible curse. Finally the curse was lifted and the cold voice said dangerously:

“All may not be lost yet, Bellatrix, if you follow my instructions. Do not dare question me again.”

Harry woke up panting and found himself being held down by Neville and Ron.

“Are you okay mate. You’ve being screaming bloody murder for the past few minutes,” Ron asked.

“I have to talk to my dad,” he gasped out and scrambled off of his bed. Not caring what time it was, he took off to the Marauder’s Quarters.

xxx

“Hagrid!” Hermione shouted, pounding on Hagrid’s cabin’s front door. “Hagrid that’s enough! We know you’re in there. Nobody cares if your mum is a giantess! Open up! You can’t let that foul Skeeter woman do this to you! Hagrid, open up or we’ll hex the door- Oh, Professor Dumbledore!” she blushed as the door was opened by the Headmaster.

“Why don’t you four come in before Ms. Granger sees the need to incinerate Hagrid’s door?” he said kindly, and Harry, Ron, Neville and Hermione entered the cabin sheepishly.

Hagrid was sitting at the table with four large mugs of tea. Behind one of them, Sirius was sniggering madly. Remus was doing a much better job of pretending not to be amused.

Dumbledore waved his wand and four new chairs appeared and the kids promptly sat down.

“Now,” Dumbledore said gently. “We were here telling Hagrid about the countless letters I’ve received from parents that remembered Hagrid fondly from their school days and do not want to see him gone.”

“Of course they don’t,” Harry said forcefully.

“Not all of ‘em,” Hagrid said hoarsely. “Some of ‘em wan’ me sacked.”

“Honestly Hagrid. Not everyone can have universal popularity,” Sirius snorted. “You can’t please everybody. Dumbledore here has at least an owl a week complaining about the way he runs the school.”

“You don’t hold universal popularity either Sirius,” Remus said calmly and Sirius looked at him shocked.

“You shouldn’t have said that Professor Lupin,” Neville said calmly. “Now Professor Black won’t leave his room anymore.”

 “I liked shy Neville better,” Sirius mumbled.

All of them, including Hagrid, chuckled, which was just what Neville intended.

“Anyway,” Hermione said firmly. “Rita Skeeter is a foul woman who only wants to stir people up. Don’t you remember what she wrote about Professor Black and Professor Lupin? So what’s it to her if they don’t want to make their relationship legal-“

“Hermione, we’re not--” Remus started, and Harry bit back a smile, but Hermione didn’t stop.

“We don’t care who your family is, we care who you are. That rot about giants is just that; rot.”

“Yeah,” Harry said firmly. “It’s like what they say about werewolves, and are you afraid of Uncle Moony? Of course not. He’s not evil like people say; dad is way worse than him and I don’t see anyone saying anything.”

“Hey!” Sirius cried out.

“Hermione’s right,” Ron said. “I mean look at Harry, he’s related to Malfoy and that psycho Bellatrix Lestrange and he’s okay.”

“I’m okay too,” Sirius offered.

“Of course you are Professor,” Neville said waving his hand at Sirius. “The point is, Hagrid, that you shouldn’t listen to other people. What they say doesn’t matter; it’s what you do that matters, and we want you back. Or else Hermione fighting with Skeeter will be for naught.”

“Yeh shouldn’ have done that ‘Ermione,” Hagrid said.

“It was worth it. I can take what she dishes out.”

“My little Gryffindors,” Sirius said proudly.

“When did you see Skeeter?” Remus asked.

“In Hogsmeade today, at the Three Broomsticks. Bagman was there too. Seemed a little ruffled. He was talking to some Goblins,” Harry said. “So Hagrid, what do you say? Will you stop hiding and come teach like the Gryffindor you are?”

“Well,” Hagrid started.

“I refuse to accept your resignation Hagrid. And I expect you back at work on Monday,” Dumbledore said firmly. “If you don’t believe me, ask Remus here how it goes. Good afternoon, all of you.” He finished nodding and left the cabin swiftly, pausing only to scratch Fang who was snoring by the door.

“Great man, Dumbledore…” Hagrid said with misty eyes. “He’s the one who stuck up fer me after me old man died. Got me the job as Gamekeeper. Even said I should get a new wand now that me name is cleared.”

“You should,” Remus said kindly. “You can always finish your education Hagrid.”

“Nah, I like me job. I’m an old dog now,” he said.

“Finishing your education doesn’t mean you have to leave your job Hagrid. You should do it for you, to make your life easier,” Ron said.

Hagrid shrugged, but there was a light in his eyes that hadn’t been there before.

“So what did you three do in Hogsmeade?” Sirius asked.

“We bought Gillyweed,” Harry showed them. “For the second task.”

“Thank God you figured it out,” Remus sighed. “We didn’t know how to hint at it anymore without outright saying it.”

“You shouldn’t be helping,” Hermione scolded.

“If Harry had entered the tournament by his own free will, we wouldn’t be. But that’s not the case, and all I want is to get him through this alive. Now that Crouch Jr. has been caught, things may have gotten less dangerous, but it’s far from finished. And we still have to worry, especially after recent developments which I am sure Harry mentioned,” Sirius said eyeing the kids and confirming his suspicions that Harry told them about his dream. “Oh, and Hermione.”

“Yes, Professor.”

“I am not gay and in love with Moony here.”

“Of course you’re not,” Hermione said soothingly. “They’re shy,” she whispered to the others.

XXXXXXXXX

“Here it is,” Andromeda handed an official looking parchment to Severus.

“That’s the seal?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said pleased and ducked as the cork of the champagne Albus had been opening flew through the air.

“This deserves a toast,” Albus beamed.

“We also have the rest of the paperwork, of course,” Ted said. “But that little piece of parchment is the most important. Since the PWA already has everything in order, we can start the next full moon.”

“In March then,” Remus beamed.

“Yes, sorry it was a week late for this month’s,” Andromeda said, but Remus cut her off:

“Believe me, this is great. One more moon doesn’t make a difference when you’ll change these people’s life forever.”

“Here Severus,” Sirius said, handing a goblet to Severus. “Stop drooling over that piece of parchment and let’s toast. You deserve it.”

Severus looked up from the seal for the first time and smiled.

“To Severus and the Pro-Werewolf Association,” Ted said firmly.

“Cheers,” the other five said as they toasted.

After taking a sip from her goblet Andromeda said. “By the way Sirius, could you introduce me to Hermione Granger? We’ve only spoken in letters and we have a proposition for her.

“What sort of proposition?” Sirius asked suspiciously.

“We want to offer her an internship,” Ted said. “That girl worked faster and more meticulous than the graduated interns we have.”

“But she’s fourteen,” Sirius said.

“Actually,” Albus said his eyes twinkling. “She’s fifteen.”

“She hasn’t taken her OWLs yet,” Sirius pointed out.

“We won’t have her full time,” Andromeda rolled her eyes. “I want to know if she would like to intern in the office during the summer, and if she could continue doing research as she did for us now.”

Sirius looked worried and exchanged glances with the others.

“I think Ms. Granger could do it. She is perfectly capable,” Severus offered. “In an insufferable know-it-all kind of way.”

“Can’t you just say she’s smart and let it be?” Remus rolled his eyes.

“Of course not,” Severus looked offended.

“Fine, but you’ll have to ask her parents,” Sirius said. “Hermione is known to bite off more than she can chew.”

“Fine by me,” Andromeda said.

XXXXXXXX

Sirius, Remus and Severus had been summoned to Dumbledore’s office the night before the second task and were calmly sitting in front of the Headmaster sipping some tea when Albus said:

“I called you gentlemen here today because for the second task, we will take what the champions will miss the most and place it at the bottom of the lake. To know what they’ll miss, each Headmaster or Headmistress cast a spell for their champion privately, and Harry’s results came back with somewhat of a three-way tie. More precisely, your names all came out. Since Severus can’t be the one chosen for obvious reasons, I ask the two of you which will be the lucky gentleman who gets to spend an hour underwater?”

“Moony!”

“Sirius!”

The two cries were simultaneous.

“Such display of Gryffindor courage astounds me,” Severus sneered.

“I am faculty,” Sirius said, “Therefore I can’t be the one.”

“I am faculty too,” Remus said outraged.

“I am Deputy Head of Gryffindor. I may be needed.”

“Minerva will be there,” Dumbledore said, “I am sure she can manage an hour without you.”

Sirius glared furiously and Remus smirked. His smirk faltered when he saw an evil grin spreading on Sirius face.

“I am older,” Sirius said crossing his arms and smiling slyly.

“What?” Remus asked, gobsmacked.

“I am thirty-five and Moony is thirty-four, so considering my advanced age he should go.”

“That is ridiculous! You just turned thirty-five and I’ll be thirty-five next month!” Remus cried outraged.

 “Now Moony. Don’t disparage the elderly. The fact stands that you were born in March of 1960 while I was born in January of 1960. Therefore it stands that young Moony should go.”

“I can’t believe that you are actually admitting your real age for the first time since you turned twenty-five to weasel out of this.”

“I have no idea what you are talking about,” Sirius said nonchalantly.

“You’ve been celebrating your thirtieth birthday for the last four years!”

“Not a clue!”

XXXXXXXXXXX

Harry was pulled out of the water by Sirius and Remus after they had helped him get Gabrielle Delacour out. Remus gave Harry, Gabrielle and Sirius warm towels.

“You looked wet Paddy,” he offered with a smirk.

“Weaseled out on a technicality,” Sirius mumbled as he dried himself up.

“Let’s go,” Remus said, “Madam Pomfrey has to make sure you are all okay. And your sister is worried about you,” he finished kindly to Gabrielle, leading her towards a hysterical Fleur.

Sirius hooked his arm around Harry and shook his head, “I can’t believe you took that song seriously.”

“Well, how was I supposed to know?” Harry cried and he narrowed his eyes at a chuckling Sirius. “You shouldn’t laugh that much. You weighed me down a lot,” he said, patting Sirius flat stomach. Sirius’ eyes went wide and he started examining his stomach. Harry knew he’d get that reaction; Sirius worked out very hard to keep a fit body, he did not enjoy being called fat, not that he was.

Before Harry managed to get to Madam Pomfrey, he was accosted by Fleur Delacour, who hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek crying:

“Thank you, you saved ‘er, even though she was not your ‘ostage. Thank you.”

Harry blushed violently and shrugged mumbling, “Yeah.”

Sirius was laughing but stopped abruptly and also blushed as the girl did the same to him, “And you ‘elped Professor. Thank you so much.”

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