Squib On The Run (sequel to Squib In The basement)

40. Undercover Agent

As Cassiopeia sat watching Harry go into the maze, she thought it was probably a good idea that she hadn't seen the first two tasks, as she would have been a nervous wreck. If she had watched Harry in the 1st task she might have jumped over the fence and fought the dragon with her barehands, to protect him.
Unfortunately, for the third task, the crowd was unable to see what was going on in the maze. So, the audience just sat staring at the outside hedge, while the Hogwarts band played music to entertain them all.
All Cassiopeia could do was sit, anxiously rocking back and forth with Padfoot at her feet, waiting for the task to end.

It wasn't long until one of the champions sent up white sparks with their wand and had to be rescued by Moody and McGonagall.
Fleur Delacour; the Beauxbatons champion looked shaken, but otherwise unharmed.
The next to be rescued was Viktor Krum, who was unconscious, but didn't seem to be badly damaged.
His exit changed the mood outside the maze, as the champion would now be from Hogwarts school, so all of the students began cheering excitedly.

There seemed to be an agonisingly long time after Krum was rescued, before anything else happened.
Just as Cassiopeia was considering sneaking into the maze, there was a flash of light just outside the maze, and two bodies appeared on the floor.
The crowd burst into applause as they saw Harry and Cedric clutching the Triwizard cup, indicating that they had finished at the same time, and therefore had both won the tournament.

The applause slowly began to trickle out when everyone noticed that Harry was screaming, and Cedric appeared to be lying as still as a statue.
"He's back! Voldemort's back!... Cedric, he asked me to bring his body back... I couldn't leave him... Not there" cried Harry in anguish.
Cassiopeia didn't have time to think about what Harry had said as there was a sudden commotion in the stands as Amos Diggory pushed his way through the crowds.
"Let me through. Let me through!" Amos shouted.

The minute Amos saw his son, he dropped to his knees and let out a blood curdling scream.
"That's my son! That's my boy" he cried, holding Cedric's head in his hands.
Ministry officials tried to hold the crowds back, so that they couldn't see the body, and Severus Snape even removed his own cloak to cover the boy.
But there was no hiding what had happened.
A boy had died in the tournament.

As the crowd fell silent, Cassiopeia suddenly realised that Harry could no longer be seen by Cedric's body.
She immediately ran down the side of the stands, with Padfoot at her heels, and headed for Dumbledore, who was stood beside Snape and McGonagall.
"Dumbledore! Where is Harry?" Questioned Cassiopeia.
Dumbledore frowned and began to look around, "He must be around here somewhere".
"He's not here" insisted Cassiopeia.
"I told him to wait here with Alastor"
"Moody wouldn't have taken him somewhere without telling you"
"No he wouldn't have"
"So where is my godson?".

Dumbledore looked up at the castle, and then over to Snape and McGonagall.
"We must hurry. Harry is in danger" he announced.
"You're not coming without me" informed Cassiopeia.
Dumbledore looked ready to argue, but decided against it when he realised that time was of the essence.

The group ran towards the castle, and even though they were all out of breath, no one stopped to take a breather.
Dumbledore led them all, despite being the oldest in the group, and Cassiopeia was amazed by his physical fittness.
She followed him through the castle, towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.
The door leading to the office behind the classroom was locked, but Dumbledore waved his wand, and the door suddenly burst open, revealing Harry and Moody on the otherside.

When Cassiopeia saw Moody with his wand raised at Harry she didn't stop to think, she just threw herself at Harry, pushing him out of harms way.
Dumbledore then Stunned Moody and pushed him into an office chair.
"Are you alright?" Cassiopeia asked Harry, as she helped him back up.
Harry said nothing, but he nodded his head.
Cassiopeia took a good look at him and saw a deep cut along his forearm, but what scared her most was the haunted look in his eyes.
She threw her arms around him and held him close to her body, not caring who saw them.

Dumbledore waved his wand again, removing the Stunning spell, but keeping Moody under a body-bind curse. He would be able to talk, but not move.
Snape then removed a vial from his pocket and poured the contents down Moody's throat.
"Are you the real Alastor?" Quizzed Dumbledore.
"No" answered Moody begrudgingly.
"Is he in this room? IS HE IN THIS ROOM?" Questioned Dumbledore.
Moody's fake eye flicked to the large trunk in the room, and Dumbledore charged over to it, flicking his wand as he walked, causing it to swing open.
Everyone in the room then peered inside, seeing an ill looking Moody at the bottom of the trunk.

"Are you alright Alastor?" Asked Dumbledore, shouting down into the trunk.
"I will be" replied the figure.
"We'll get you out in a minute" promised Dumbledore.
The group then turned back to the Moody in the chair and watched as his body began to shake and tremble.
In no time at all the body of Alastor Moody had transformed into a shabby looking man who Cassiopeia recognised instantly.
"Barty Crouch jr" she gasped.
"I thought he was dead" Harry said quietly.
"It would appear not" mumbled Dumbledore.

The headmaster then summoned a house-elf named Winky from the school kitchen, and the elf seemed distraught to see her master's son in such a poor condition.
Over the next few minutes Barty and Winky revealed how he escaped Azkaban so many years before. He then told them how Voldemort had found him the previous summer, and helped him escape from his father's Imperius Curse.
Barty then revealed the worst news of all, that he had done everything in his power to hand Harry over to Voldemort that night, so that his old master could regain all of his power. And he had succeeded.

Once he had heard the whole story, Dumbledore sent McGonagall to fetch the Minister for Magic, and he instructed Snape to take the real Moody down to the hospital wing.
"We should head to my office once Severus is back, so we can talk in private" Dumbledore said quietly, as he looked from Cassiopeia to Padfoot.
"Just a minute, I need to talk to Barty first" informed Cassiopeia.
Dumbledore sighed, "Very well. You have until Severus returns, so make it quick".

Cassiopeia retracted her arms from around Harry, and cautiously approached Barty.
"It's been a long time since the two of us have seen each other" murmered Cassiopeia.
"Do I know you?" Frowned Barty.
"Not in this form. But the two of us used to regularly see each other. Particularly when we were babysitting a small blonde boy, who we had both sworn to protect, during a Blood Ceremony" revealed Cassiopeia.
It took Barty a few moments to put the pieces together, but when he did, his eyes widened in shock.
"Cass" he gasped.
"You got there in the end" replied Cassiopeia.

"What happened to you?" Questioned Barty.
"It's a long story. And I'd much rather hear about how you ended up becoming the loyal servant to a man I despise. So tell me, why did you join him?" Demanded Cassiopeia.
"The dark lord saw my potential, in a way my father never did. My master always wanted me around, and he always wanted my help. My father only ever saw me as a hindrance. I was never good enough for him" admitted Barty.
"That's not true. You were his pride and joy. He was always bragging about your achievements" reminded Cassiopeia.
"Boasting about my grades to his friends, doesn't mean that he ever actually liked me as a person. I didn't want to be like him, and he hated that".

"So, you found yourself a new family to replace him" spat Cassiopeia.
"The Malfoys and the Lestranges couldn't have been more welcoming" grinned Barty.
"I should have realised that the longer you spent with my family, the worse a person you would become. I should have tried to stop you" sighed Cassiopeia.
"You couldn't have stopped it from happening, it was inevitable. My own family was toxic, so I escaped it... As someone who was in a similar position, I thought that you would be able to sympathise with me. You left your family afterall, for something better"
"Better being the keyword. I didn't join the bad side"
"Bad is a point of view. I joined the side where my friends were. I joined the side where I was wanted, and where my talents could be recognised. So, for me, I joined the right side".

"What about Regulus? Your precious master killed your best friend, yet you continued to serve him. Why?" Quizzed Cassiopeia.
"The dark lord rewards loyalty. And he punishes those who betray him. I did not want to end up dead like Regulus, so I stayed loyal to my master" informed Barty.
"You don't deserve to speak my brother's name, for you betrayed him. You disgust me-" Cassiopeia stopped abruptly when she heard footsteps approaching.
She quickly turned her head and saw Snape re-enter the room.

As Cassiopeia took a step away from Barty, she saw a single tear run down his face. And since his arms were bound by Dumbledore's magic, he couldn't wipe the tear away.
Cassiopeia turned her back on him and placed one arm around Harry's shoulders, as she followed Dumbledore out of the room, with Padfoot close behind them.
Barty had put Harry's life in danger, so from then on, he was dead to her.