𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 | 𝐟. 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

{ 73 }

── ⲇ ──

Ron, Hermione and Y/n all waited for Harry's return. It was late at night when Harry finally returned, he was being escorted by Hagrid.

Harry rushed right over to the three. And he came bearing alarming news.

── ⲇ ──

It was the next day. Early morning, the four set up to the owlery to send a note to Sirius.

"So, let's go through this one more time." Y/n spoke up, rubbing her temples. "You were with Krum, then you saw Crouch, he was out of his mind and when you went to get Dumbledore and came back, he had allegedly attacked Viktor and was gone?" Y/n recalled what Harry had told them.

Harry nodded. "Yes. He said he wanted to warn Dumbledore about something. He definitely mentioned Bertha Jorkins and he seemed to think she was dead. He kept saying stuff was his fault... he mentioned his son."

"Well that definitely was his fault." Hermione scoffed, speaking testily.

"He was out of his mind." Harry said. "Half the time he seemed to think his son and wife were alive. And he kept talking to Percy about work and giving him instructions."

"I'm sure Percy would be thrilled that Crouch was thinking about him in his moments of madness." Y/n chuckled softly.

"And... remind me what he said about You-Know-Who." Ron spoke hesitantly.

"I told you. He said he's getting stronger." Harry spoke dully.

"But, you said it yourself, he was mad." Ron said in false confidence.

"He was sanest when talking about Voldemort." Harry said, Ron winced at the name. "If Snape hadn't held me up..." Harry spoke bitterly. "Why couldn't he have just gotten out of the way?"

"Maybe he didn't want you to get there!" Ron quickly spoke. "Do you think he could've gotten there before you and Dumbledore?"

"Not unless he could turn into a bat or something." Harry responded, Y/n side-eyeing him.

"We need to see Professor Moody." Hermione proposed. "We need to find out whether he found Crouch or not."

"If he had the Marauder's Map, it would've been easy." Harry said.

"Unless Crouch was already outside the grounds." Ron spoke up. "Because it only shows up to the boundaries, doesn't —"

"Shh!" Hermione shushed him.

Someone was climbing up the stairs to the owlery. "That's blackmail, that is, we could get in a lot of trouble for that—"

"We've tried being polite, it's time to play dirty, like him. He wouldn't like the Ministry of Magic knowing what he did—"

"I'm telling you if you put that in writing, it's blackmail!"

The door banged open and there stood Fred and George, frozen in their place when they saw the four standing there.

"What're you doing here?" Ron, Fred and Y/n asked. "Sending a letter." Harry and George responded. "What, at this time?" Y/n and Fred both spoke, looking at each other testily.

"We won't ask if you don't." Fred smiled, mocking a bow and pointing to the door. "Well don't let us hold you up."

"Who're you blackmailing?" Ron asked. Fred's grin dropped and he stared at Ron. "Don't be stupid, I was only joking." George spoke up.

"Didn't sound like it." Ron intercepted, furrowing his brows.

Fred and George looked at each other before Fred faced Ron. "I've told you before, Ron, keep your nose out if you like the shape it is. Cant see why you would, but—"

"It is my business if you're blackmailing someone." Ron spoke hotly. "George's right, you could end up in serious trouble for that."

"Like I said, I was only joking." George said, taking the letter from Fred and attaching it to the nearest barn owl. "You're starting to sound like our dear older brother. Keep it up and you'll soon be named prefect."

"No i won't!" Ron said, offended.

"Then stop telling people what to do." He and Fred then left the owlery. Y/n huffed. "I'm gonna go with them. Keep me informed on anything." She walked out the owlery and followed after the two twins.

"So, what're you planning, love?" Y/n spoke up, walking up to Fred's side. "Nothing to concern your pretty little head about." He told her, sending her a quick smile.

Y/n rolled her eyes. "Fine, don't tell me." She walked ahead of the two. Fred sighed. "Don't give in, brother." George whispered to him, dramatically speaking.

"I know you two would do anything to get the money you need for the joke shop, but there is such a thing as going too far." Y/n turned back to look at him. "Just saying." She shrugged and continued to walk to the Great Hall.

The two brothers looked at each other, her words playing in their heads as they contemplated if perhaps they've gone too far.

── ⲇ ──

The next morning, they received a letter from Sirius. Y/n moved on over from Alicia's side to Harry's side. "Is it from Snuffles?"

"Yeah." Harry replied and began to read the letter.

"Harry - what do you think you are playing at, walking off into the forest with Viktor Krum? I want you to swear, by return owl, that you are not going to go walking with anyone else at night. There is somebody highly dangerous at Hogwarts. It is clear to me that they wanted to stop Crouch from seeing Dumbledore and you were probably feet away from them in the dark. You could have been killed.

Your name didn't get into the Goblet of Fire by accident. If someone's trying to attack you, they're on their last chance. Stay close to your sister, Ron and Hermione, do not leave Gryffindor Tower after hours, and arm yourself for the third task. Practice Stunning and Disarming. A few hexes wouldn't go amiss either. There's nothing you can do about Crouch. Keep your head down and look after yourself. I'm waiting for your letter giving me your word you won't stray out-of-bounds again.

Sirius"

"Who's he to lecture me about being out of bounds?" Harry scoffed, shoving the letter into his robes. "Your godfather." Y/n replied, in a 'duh' tone of voice.

"He's worried about you! Just like Moody and Hagrid, listen to them." Hermione said sharply.

"No one's tried to attack me all year," said Harry. "No one's done anything to me at all-"

"Except put your name in the Goblet of Fire," said Hermione. "And they must've done that for a reason. Harry. Snuffles is right. Maybe they've been biding their time. Maybe this is the task they're going to get you."

"Look," said Harry impatiently, "let's say Sirius is right, and someone Stunned Krum to kidnap Crouch. Well, they would've been in the trees near us, wouldn't they? But they waited till I was out of the way until they acted, didn't they? So it doesn't look like I'm their target, does it?"

"They couldn't have made it look like an accident if they'd murdered you in the forest!" said Hermione. "But if you die during a task-"

"They didn't care about attacking Krum, did they?" said Harry. "Why didn't they just polish me off at the same time? They could've made it look like Krum and I had a duel or something."

"Harry, I don't understand it either," said Hermione desperately. "I just know there are a lot of odd things going on, and I don't like it.... Moody's right - Sirius is right - you've got to get in training for the third task, straight away. And you make sure you write back to Sirius and promise him you're not going to go sneaking off alone again."

Y/n looked down at her watch. "It's time to get to class. I'll help you with hexes and spells during break, alright? Take care." She pensively told the three before walking away, joining her friends.

"I'm sure she knows loads of hexes." Ron said.
"Oh, she does." Harry replied, recalling the number of hexes and jinxes she places on her books.