LIKE LIGHTNING | Harry Potter x Reader Fanfiction

⁕ curiosity is not a sin ⁕

Y/N's POV

I didn't quite believe my ears. The boy had said "father". That meant that Mr. Crouch's son was sitting before us. His eyes were wide as he pleaded with his father. Harry and I shared a glance for a moment, not speaking any words in fear that we would miss any more of the session. 

"-that we have rarely heard the like of it within this court," Crouch continued, not even acknowledging that his own son was sitting in the chained chair in front of him, "we have heard the evidence against you. Accused on capturing an Auror-Frank Longbottom- and subjecting him to the Cruciatus Curse, believing him to have knowledge of the present whereabouts of your exiled master, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

"Father, I didn't!" Crouch's son yelled over and over. 

"You are further accused of using the Cruciatus Curse on Frank Longbottom's wife, when he would not give you information. You planned to restore He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to power, and to resume to the lives of violence you presumably led while he was strong. Now I must ask the jury-" 

"Mother!" Screamed the boy below, and the wispy little witch beside Crouch began to sob and rock back and forth. I felt a hole form in the stomach at the sight of her and my throat closed up, "Mother stop him! I didn't do it! It wasn't me!"

"Now I must ask the jury to raise their hands if they believe, as I do, that these crimes deserve a life sentence in Azkaban!" he bellowed. 

And in perfect unison, the witches and wizards along the right-hand side of the dungeon all raised their hands. The crowd began to clap; their faces perfect pictures of savage triumph. The boy began to scream and my gut lurched at the sound. 

"No! Mother, no! Don't let him send me there!"

The dementors glided back into the room and the other companions beside Crouch's son rose quietly in their seats; the women with heavy-lidded eyes looked up and said ferociously, "The Dark Lord will rise again, Crouch! Throw us into Azkaban; we will wait! He will rise again and come for us! He will reward us beyond any of his other supporters! We alone were faithful!" 

But the boy tried to fight the dementors, even though I could feel their cold, draining power start to suck the life out of them. The crowd was jeering at this point and some of them were even on their feet. The woman was swept out of the dungeon, the boy struggling behind her. 

"I'm your son!" he screamed up at Crouch. 

"I have no son!" Crouch screamed back and the wispy witch beside him gave a gasp and slumped in her seat, she had fainted. I almost made a move to grab her but remembered this was not actually happening. 

"I think, Harry, Y/N, it is time to return to my office." I heard a voice whisper from above and then a second later a felt myself rise into the air as the dungeon dissolved around me. For a moment there was nothing surrounding me but blackness and then I felt as if I was catapulted back to reality and I landed on the carpet. Albus Dumbledore was standing next to Harry and me. 

"Professor-" I managed to gasp out.

"I know I shouldn't've- the cabinet door was kind of open." Harry started to say, noticeably referencing only himself. 

"I quite understand." Dumbledore said as he lifted up the basin and carried up over to his elaborate desk and placed it upon the top. He motioned for us to move closer and we did. I stared at the stone basin, watching the contends return to their original silvery-white appearance. 

"What is it?" I asked, wondering if I had just overstepped my boundaries.

"This? It's called a Pensieve. I sometimes feel, and I am sure you know as well, that I simply have too many thoughts crammed into my mind."