▬▬ fifteen; the pensieve.
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"WHY WOULD YOU be in the woods so late anyway?" Asked an upset Lauren as her friends told her about finding Mr Crouch's dead body. She ignored the fact that they had already told her what had happened and just kept on asking them why they were there, what they had seen, who had done it.

"Just talking," mumbled Hermione as Ron started to ramble on about how this year is just as crazy as all the previous, but neither of them wanted to think about it. 

Lauren somehow managed to just turn the volume of his voice down. Her focus blurred and her eyes locked on her hands, and she found herself looking at them as if there was something weird about them. After she'd left Draco a few hours ago she had rushed to her bed and decided to tug in early, but as soon as her eyes had closed she'd been introduced to a new nightmare. When she woke up she had been a bit on the edge, feeling sick like she always did after these kinds of dreams. But the fright only hit her when her friends had come running into the room and just screaming out how they had found a man dead in the woods.

Mr Crouch had died, and he had died just like Lauren had dreamed about. Her nightmare about the man she had only met once had just become reality, and it was messing with her psyche. What was the most terrifying thing of all was how in the dream Lauren had been the murderer. She had seen it like she was the one casting a spell to his chest―stoping his life abruptly.

―

On the other side of the big doors, she could hear the loud discussion filled with frustration between Professor Dumbledore and Cornelius Fudge. And she knew Professor Moody was present as well because of his short comments to the argument.

She didn't understand how long she had been standing there until the stairs moved and Harry Potter joined her, giving her a curious look but as he also took notice of the speaking adults he remained silent.

"A man has died here, Fudge. And he won't be the last. You must take action," said Dumbledore's stern voice.

"l will not!" Responded Fudge loudly. "ln times like these, the wizarding world looks to its leaders for strength, Dumbledore!"

"Then for once show them some!"

"The Triwizard Tournament will not be cancelled. l will not be seen as a coward!" The hiding teenagers listened carefully and winced when the two men raised their voices even more.

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

"What did you say to me?"

"Excuse me, gentlemen. lt may interest you to know this conversation is no longer private," spoke Mad-Eye after being quiet for so long. 

Lauren groaned at Harry who had accidentally moved too close to the door, not aware of the Professor's good ability to see and hear much more than a regular person. Harry raised his hand to knock but the door opened itself, revealing the three men. 

Dumbledore and Fudge removed their angry expression and smiled friendly to the children. "Oh, Harry and Lauren!"

"Harry, how good to see you again," said the Minister of Magic.

"l can come back later, professor," Harry said glancing at Lauren, but he didn't say anything because he had no idea why she was there.

"Not necessary, Harry. The minister and l are done. I'll be back in a moment. Minister, after you. There you are. Your hat," said Dumbledore and handed Fudge his small black hat. "Oh, students, do feel free to indulge in a little Licorice Snap in my absence. But l have to warn you, they're a wee bit sharp."

And then they walked out, Mad-Eye limping behind and Harry and Lauren met each other's eyes. "What are you doing here?" They both asked in unison.

"Lauren, why are you here?"

"That's none of your business," she said.

He sighed, "well then I won't tell you either." Harry looked at the candy the Headmaster mentioned, and he took a hand-full, and out of the pile in his palm, he held one in the air. Then it jumped out of his grip all in a sudden, turning into a minium black monster that bit his finger. All candies in his hand became like insects and started to jump around in his face, and Lauren's only instinct was to laugh.

"Stop laughing at me!" Shouted Harry but not able to contain a grin when his best friend kept on laughing, he hadn't heard her do that in a while. 

When he removed himself from the floor and gave up on catching the weird candy they both noticed something coming out from a hidden door. He must've bumped into the doorknob, she thought.

It was wide and shallow dish looking thing made out of marble, but it must've been old because the white stone seemed very fragile. Around it, in a half-moon was mirrors. But what made her admire it was the bright blue light it spread in the room.

They didn't share any words but they both walked forward to it and stared down at the shimmering blue liquid inside. As they continued staring they soon felt themself falling. The office started to fade away and turn into another room, more like a big hall with a very high roof. Screams left their mouths as they were falling down towards the many people in the room, most of them sitting in bleachers around a metal cage.

They landed harshly on two chairs beside Dumbledore himself. Their wide eyes searched the crowded room and couldn't tell what anyone was saying because of the loud chattering. Harry held his wand tightly in his hand as he looked at Dumbledore, "Professor?"

The man didn't move, then someone behind them also said, "Professor."

"Yeah," responded Dumbledore and stretched out his hand towards Harry, but there was another man that shook it. A hand went right through Harry's stomach, making both him and Lauren gasp, and then went back and Dumbledore returned his focus to the centre of the hall like his students weren't there.

"I suppose we're ghosts or something," muttered a confused Harry as he looked around.

She bit her lip, "look at Dumbledore, he's younger. And so is Moody behind us, and look, there's Mr Crouch," she explained and pointed at the judge sitting opposite the hall. "We've travelled back in time, just by another way than you and Hermione did."

Harry was about to say something when a man was being hissed up into the cage from underneath the floor. His hands were chained together, his hair dirty and his face as pale as the snow. Guards tightened the sharp metal bars that pressed onto his skin.

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

The tired man Lauren and Harry had met as a Headmaster responded, "yes sir."

"And what do you wish to present?"

"l have names, sir. There was Rosier, Evan Rosier," said Karkaroff stammering. 

A man beside Crouch looked through papers before handing one to him, "Rosier is dead."

Mad-Eye leaned down closer to Dumbledore and chuckled, "He took a piece of me with him though, didn't he?" The Professor didn't respond and listened to the prisoner.

"l didn't know. . ."

"lf that is all the witness has to offer―"

"No, no, no." Said Igor. "There was Rookwood! He was a spy."

"Augustus Rookwood? Of the Department of Mysteries?"

"Yeah, the same. He passed information to You-Know-Who from inside the Ministry itself."

"Very well. Council will deliberate. ln the meantime, you will return to Azkaban."

"No!" Shouted the prisoner desperately making Lauren wince slightly. "Wait, please! Please, l have more! What about Snape? Severus Snape?"

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

"lt's a lie!" Roared Igor.

"Today he's no more a Death Eater than l," finished Dumbledore and sat down again.

"Snape remains faithful to the Dark Lord!"

"Silence!" Shouted Mr Crouch and hammered in the table. "Unless the witness possesses any genuine name of consequence this session is now concluded."

"Oh, no, no, no. I've heard about one more." She noticed the Professor roll his eyes, but she couldn't help but be curious about what Karkaroff had to say because now he suddenly seemed confident.

"What's that?" Groaned Mr Crouch.

"The name. . ."

"Yes?"

"l know for a fact this person took part in the capture. . . and, by means of the Cruciatus Curse. . . torture of the Auror Frank Longbottom and his wife! The name. . ."

"Give me the wretched name!"

"Barty Crouch. . ." Everyone gasped and some turned silent. Everyone turned their attention to the Judge. ". . .Junior." Lauren saw a younger man stand up from his seat ready to leave as his name was mentioned but Mad-Eye was quick with a spell that shot him to the ground, allowing guards to grab him tightly.

Then Lauren was pushed back and found herself in the office again. She saw Harry still attached to the water and pulled him backwards. 

"Curiosity is not a sin, Harry and Lauren," said Dumbledore and they turned around to see him standing by the table. "But you should exercise caution. It's a Pensieve," he said gesturing to the marble creation. "Very useful if, like me, you find your mind a wee bit stretched. lt allows me to see once more things I've already seen.

"You see, l have searched and searched for something. . . some small detail. . . something l might have overlooked. . . something that would explain why these terrible things have happened. Every time l get close to an answer, it slips away. It's maddening," he sat down on the stairs.

"Sir? Mr Crouch's son. What exactly happened to him?" Asked Lauren who recognized the man to be in the dream she shared with Harry.

"He was sent to Azkaban. Destroyed Barty to do it. But he had no choice. The evidence was overwhelming―Why do you ask?"

"Because he's in a dream both me and Lauren have," interrupted Harry, and Dumbledore stood up and walked over to the Pensieve. "He's in it. In the dream, I was in a house. And Voldemort was there, only he wasn't quite human. And Wormtail was there too. And Mr Crouch's son.

"Have there been others like this dream?"

Both children said, "Yes."

"Always the same one," said Lauren.

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

"l think it's unwise for you to linger over these dreams, Harry. As well for you, Lauren. l think it's best if you simply. . . cast them away." He attached his wand to his temple and then a glowing blue stripe left his head, and he guided it into the Pensieve.

▬▬ author's note ▬▬

There you go. The next chapter will start off exactly where this one leaves so stay alert tomorrow! 
Btw, this chapters his in honour of myself, I'm fifteen ;P Goodnight.

[ last updated: 24/11/20 ]
Stay tuned, thank you! <3