Barty Crouch Jr

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florence pov

I walked into the common room and sat down beside Ron, Hermione and Harry in the couch.

Hermione and Ron turned to me in surprise.

"Flo?" Hermione asked. "What's up? What're you doing here?"

"I have something to tell you all." I said slowly. I looked at Harry, and he gave me a nod of encouragement.

This was our plan.

"Yeah?" Ron asked.

"I'm coming back."

"Really?!" Hermione gasped excitedly. "You're back?!"

Ron jumped up. "I swear to merlin Florence if you're joking right now Im gonna-"

"I'm not joking! I'm coming back." I laughed.

Hermione squealed and pulled the four of us into a giant hug.

"The gangs back together." Harry grinned as we pulled away and sat back down.

"What made you come back?" Ron asked.

"I'm done, Ron. I'm done letting other people control my life." I said. "It's my life and Ill live it how I want."

Hermione nodded. "I'm so happy you're back. I was going mad with these two."

"Watch it." Ron said.

---

Hermione and Ron were still ecstatic for my return. On the way to Hagrid's, they caught me up on everything I had missed, apparently it was a lot.

I caught them up on my life too, apart from what happened last night with Harry. We decided not to tell anyone we kissed because we don't want Hermione and Ron thinking I just came back for Harry. Because I didn't. I came back because I'm done letting other people control my life.

"Now I remember when I first met you all. Biggest bunch of misfits I ever set eyes on. Suppose you remind me of meself a little. And here we all are, four years later plus Florence!"

"We're still a bunch of misfits." Ron laughed.

"Well maybe, but we've all got each other." Hagrid said sweetly.

We were all walking together with Hagrid through the Forbidden Forest taking Fang for a walk. It was peaceful. I felt complete being with my friends again.  I didn't realise how much I had missed them until I was with them again.

"This is like a little secret place." I said as we walked under a canopy of small flowery trees.

"Who knew the forbidden forrest could be so pretty." Hermione agreed.

Then Hermione, Ron, and Hagrid began chatting.

Harry leaned over to me and whispered. "You're my favourite secret."

I nudged him and smiled nervously. "Behave Potter."

He grinned. "I'll try. You make it hard, you know."

I widened my eyes. "Sh."

He laughed as we all continued walking.

After a while Harry had walked ahead. He looked as though he was deep in thought. I decided to give him some space, and let him think. That's what I would've wanted.

"Oh and Harry of course. Soon to be the youngest Triwizard champion there's ever been! Hooray!" Hagrid continued his big speech to us all.

We broke into fits of laughter as Hagrid and Ron started singing our school song.

I glanced back over to Harry and saw he had frozen on the spot. He was grasping his scar and staring at something with a horrified look across his face.

"Stop! Guys! It's Harry!" I urged over the singing.

We all ran over and stopped beside Harry.

Then I saw it.

There was a lifeless body.

Not just any body.

Barty Crouch.

----

Harry and I walked to Dumbledore's office in complete silence. We were both in shock at what we had just witnessed.

Dumbledore had requested to see Harry in his office, we both agreed I should go with him. I wanted to go with Harry, because after what he had just discovered, I thought it'd be best to stay beside him.

Neither of us knew what to expect as we walked through the large doors. We heard a mixture of voices coming from somewhere in his office.

"A man has died here Fudge. And he won't be the last. You must take action."

"I will not. In times like these, the wizarding world looks to it's leaders for strength, Dumbledore!"

"Then for once show them some!"

"The Triwizard Tournament will not be cancelled. I will not be seen as a coward!"

We peered around the corner to see Cornelius Fudge and Dumbeldore arguing. Moody was stood in the corner, listening in.

"A true leader does what it right, no matter what others think." Dumbledore said, calmly.

"What did you say to me? What did you say to me?!" Fudge slammed his hands on the desk.

"Excuse me gentlemen." Moody interrupted. "It might interest you to know that this conversation is no longer private." He pointed his wand at the door to reveal Harry and I standing behind it.

"Oh children! How lovely to see you again!" Fudge said, nervously.

"We can come back later Professor." Harry offered.

"Oh not necessary, the minister and I are done. I'll be back in a moment." Dumbledore said as he urged Fudge out the door along with him.

Moody followed after them, shooting us an odd look as he passed.

This is the first time I've ever been in Dumbledore's office before. It was magnificent, with books lined along shelves, clocks and weird knik knaks on display, and a glowing liquid in a weird looking cauldron.

I began to walk towards it to have a look. Harry did the same and we peered over into the liquid. He pulled out his wand and waved it over the liquid. An image began to form of what looked like a distorted courtroom.

Suddenly I felt a strange spinning sensation spread throughout my body as I felt us leaving Dumbledore's office. I shut my eyes tightly until I felt the feeling stop.

I opened my eyes to see I was sitting next to Harry on a courtroom bench. Moody was sitting behind us and Dumbledore beside us.

"What's going on? Where are we?" I asked frantically.

Everyone around us ignored us for some reason.

"I'm not sure." Harry answered. He waved his hand in front of Dumbledore's face. No reaction.

I looked around the room. Barty Crouch was sitting at a large pedestal, Rita Skeeter in the seat below him, and ministry workers everywhere. In the middle of the room stood a cage, and inside stood a man. It took a minute for me to recognise who it was. 

Igor Karkaroff.

"Igor Karkaroff, you have been brought from Azkaban at your own request to present evidence to this council. Should your testimony prove consequential, the council may be prepared to order your immediate release." Crouch instructed. "Until such time, you will remain in the the eyes of the Ministry a convicted deatheater. Do you accept these terms?"

"I do sir." Karkaroff replied.

This must be a memory of some sort. Karkaroff has been out of Azkaban for ages and Barty Crouch is dead.

"And what do you wish to present?" Crouch asked.

"I have names, sir." Karkaroff said, in a shaky voice. Crouch nodded for him to continue. "There was, uh, Rosier, Evan Rosier."

Crouch scanned through a stack of papers and read over a few before saying "Rosier is dead."

"Dead? Oh I didn't know."

"If that is all the witness has to offer-"

"No! No, no. There was Lestrange! Bellatrix!"

I gulped and looked at the floor. That name.

Harry glanced over at me and must've seen my expression. "Hey, everything okay?"

"Yeah. Fine." I replied quickly.

"Bellatrix Lestrange?" Crouch asked.

"Yes, she was the leader in the torture of Frank and Alice Longbottom in use of the cruciatious curse."

Crouch whispered something to the guards behind him and they quickly shuffled out the room. Probably to go after Bellatrix.

"Very well. The council will deliberate. In the meantime you will return to your cell in Azkaban."

"No! What, please! Please, I have more! What about Snape? Severus Snape?!" Karkaroff said frantically.

Dumbledore rose. "As the council is aware, I've given evidence on this matter. Severus Snape was indeed a deatheater, and prior to Lord Voldemort's downfall, turned spy for us at great personal risk."

"It's a lie!" Karkaroff yelled as he grabbed the bars of the cage.

"Today he's no more a deatheater than I."

Karkaroff yelled over him. "Snape remains faithful to the dark lord!"

"Silence!" Crouch yelled.

Harry sent me a confused glance. I realised that he must've not known about Snape.

"Unless the witness possesses any genuine name of consequence this session is now concluded." Crouch demanded.

"Oh no no no no. I've heard about one more." He turned to look at a man in the room.

The man he looked towards began fidgeting around in his seat and looking frantically around the room.

"What's that?"

"I know for a fact this person, along with Bellatrix Lestrange, took part in the capture of, and by means of the cruciatious curse, torture of the auror Frank Longbottom and his wife!" Karkaroff exclaimed.

The man stood up and started to silently slip out of the room.

"The name. Give me the wretched name!" Crouch ordered.

"Barty Crouch Junior!"

Crouch Jr made a run for it. Spells were shot at him from every direction in the room and the guards grabbed him firmly.

Crouch's eyes widened and his mouth fell open. He turned his son and he looked utterly shocked. I would be too if I had just found out my son was a deatheater.

"Get your filthy hands off me!" Crouch Jr yelled as the guards dragged him up to the judge pedestal.

"Hello father." Crouch Jr said, with an evil smirk.

Crouch looked down at his son, broken hearted. "You are no son of mine." He replied, in a shaky voice.

Crouch Jr began to yell and the same spinning sensation that we felt on the way here returned. I squeezed my eyes shut as everything become distorted and when they opened, we were back in Dumbledore's office.

"Curiosity is not a sin children. But you should exercise caution." Dumbledore said from across the room.

We both quickly got up and walked towards him.

"Wh-what just happened? What was that?" I asked.

"It is a pensieve. Very useful if, like me, you find your mind a wee bit stretched. It allows me to see once more things I've already seen." He began to pace across the room. "You see, I've searched and searched for some small detail, something I might have overlooked, something that would explain why these terrible things have happened. Every time I get close to an answer, it slips away. It's maddening."

Harry stepped forward. "Sir? Mr Crouch's son, what exactly happened to him?"

"He was sent to Azkaban. Destroyed Barty to do it, but he had not choice. The evidence was overwhelming. Why do you ask?"

"It's just that I.....I had a dream about him."

Dumbledore stopped pacing and turned to Harry.

"It was in summer before school. In the dream, I was in a house. And Voldemort was there, only he wasn't quite human. And Wormtail and Mr Crouch's son."

Harry nudged my arm signalling for me to tell Dumbledore about my dreams.

"And me too Headmaster. Except my dreams are of a graveyard, and flashes of green light, and sometimes......screams." I said, hesitantly.

Dumbledore's expression said one thing.

Worry.

He walked over to the pensive.

"Sir, these dreams, what we see, you don't think it's.........actually happening, do you?" Harry asked.

"I think it's unwise to linger over these dreams, you two. I think it's best if you simply....cast them away."

I've never seen Dumbledore like this before. Even though he was telling us to forget them, he looked as though they mean something more than just dreams.

Shortly after this, he dismissed us. I had a feeling we would be retuning back soon though. Harry and I walked down the hallway, once again in silence because of shock.

"Did you know?" He asked, not turning to look at me.

"About?"

"Snape."

"Yeah. Lucius tells me everything. Although, I guess it isn't that much of a shock right? He is absolutely demonic."

Harry cracked a smile and nodded in agreement.

A door we were walking past swung open unexpectedly.

"It's a sign, Severus! You know that it means as well as I!" Karkaroff yelled. He was standing in the doorway with Snape, holding his left arm out to reveal his dark mark.

I gasped at the sight of it in real life. They both flipped their heads towards us. Their faces turning from angry to scared.

Karkaroff pulled his sleeve down quickly and brushed past us as he walked away.

"Potter! Bailey!" Snape yelled as we began to walk off in the opposite direction. "What's your hurry?" He asked.

Neither of us said a word.

"Congratulations, your performance in the Black Lake was.....inspiring." He said to Harry, mockingly. "Gillyweed, am I correct?"

"Yes sir."

"Indigenous." He walked back into the room, with Harry and I following after him. "A rather rare herb, Gillyweed. Not something found in your everyday garden. Nor is this." He said as he grabbed a potion off the shelf and held it out in front of us. "Know what this is?"

"Pumpkin juice, sir?" Harry asked sarcastically.

"Veritaserum. Three drops of this and you know who himself would be spill his darkest secrets. The use of it on a student is.......regrettably forbidden."

What is he talking about? Where is he going with this?

"However, should you ever steal from my personal stores again, my hand might just slip over your morning pumpkin juice."

Harry looked offended by this, but I just rolled my eyes. There no way Snape is dumb enough to use it up on a student.

"I haven't stolen anything." Harry said firmly.

"Don't lie to me." He snapped. "Gillyweed, may be innocuous but boomslang skin, lacewing flys? You and your little friends are brewing polyjuice potion, and believe me, I'm going to find out why!"

Just as I was about to say something, Snape slammed the door shut in our faces. Harry and I looked at each other with confused expressions.

"Is Hermione brewing it again?" I asked.

"Not that I know of. Myrtle did mention that she smelled it the other day."

"Probably just a first year experimenting." I shrugged, as we continued walking.

"Yeah......probably."


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