Then suddenly, before their very eyes, the face of the man on the floor began to change.
The scars were disappearing, the skin was becoming smooth; the mangled nose became whole and started to shrink.
The long mane of grizzled gray hair was withdrawing into the scalp and turning the color of straw.
With a loud clunk, the wooden leg fell away as a normal leg regrew in its place; next moment, the magical eyeball popped out of the man's face as a real eye replaced it; it rolled away across the floor and continued to swivel in every direction.
Before them lay Crouch Junior, with his pale-skinned, slightly freckled face, with a mop of fair hair, "This is the man you saw in the Pensieve, Harry," Dumbledore said from behind them.
There were hurried footsteps outside in the corridor. Snape had returned with Winky at his heels, with McGonagall right behind them.
"Crouch!?" Snape yelled, stopping dead in the doorway, "Barty Crouch!"
His tone sounded like he hadn't believed Lucifer.
McGonagall walked past him and when she got a better look at the man, she gasped, "Good heavens!"
Filthy, disheveled, Winky peered around Snape's legs. Her mouth opened wide and she let out a piercing shriek, "Master Barty, Master Barty, what is you doing here?" She flung herself forward onto the young man's chest, "You is killed him! You is killed him! You is killed Master's son!"
"He's not dead, not while he's still useful," Lucifer said darkly.
He looked at Dumbledore, who was staring at him most disapprovingly, but Lucifer knew that he and Dumbledore would never see eye-to-eye on letting known Death Eaters live, even in Azkaban.
"He is simply Stunned, Winky," Dumbledore said, turning to the Elf, "Step aside, please. Severus, you have the potion?"
Snape handed Dumbledore a small glass bottle of completely clear liquid.
Lucifer recognized it to be Veritaserum.
Dumbledore got up, bent over the man on the floor, and pulled him into a sitting position against the wall. Snape, and McGonagall were glaring down upon Barty Crouch; Winky remained on her knees, trembling, her hands over her face.
Dumbledore forced the man's mouth open and poured three drops inside it, then he pointed his wand at the man's chest and said.
"Rennervate," Crouch Junior opened his eyes.
His face was slack, his gaze unfocused. Dumbledore knelt before him, so that their faces were level, "Can you hear me?" Dumbledore asked quietly.
Crouch Junior's eyelids flickered, "Yes," he muttered.
"I would like you to tell us," Dumbledore said softly, "how you came to be here? How did you escape from Azkaban?"
Crouch took a deep, shuddering breath, then began to speak in a flat, expressionless voice, "My mother saved me. She knew she was dying. She persuaded my father to rescue me as a last favor to her. He loved her as he had never loved me. He agreed. They came to visit me. They gave me a draft of Polyjuice Potion containing one of my mother's hairs. She took a draft of Polyjuice Potion containing one of my hairs. We took on each other's appearance."
Winky was shaking her head, trembling, "Say no more, Master Barty, say no more, you is getting your father into trouble!"
Lucifer wanted to cut in and speak, but he knew it wasn't the time for it.
Crouch took another deep breath and continued in the same flat voice, "The Dementors are blind. They sensed one healthy, one dying person entering Azkaban, and they sensed one healthy, one dying person leaving it. My father smuggled me out, disguised as my mother, in case any prisoners were watching through their doors.
"My mother died a short while afterward in Azkaban. She was careful to drink Polyjuice Potion until the end. She was buried under my name and bearing my appearance. Everyone believed her to be me." His eyelids flickered.
"What did your father do with you, when he had got you home?" Dumbledore asked quietly.
"Staged my mother's death. A quiet, private funeral. That grave is empty. The House-Elf nursed me back to health. Then I had to be concealed. I had to be controlled. My father had to use a number of spells to subdue me. When I had recovered my strength, I thought only of finding my master... of returning to his service."
'His mother was a damn fool. She allowed this to happen. If he had stayed in Azkaban, he'd have probably died from malnutrition... son of a bitch...' Lucifer was angry at this revelation.
"How did your father subdue you?" Dumbledore asked.
"The Imperius Curse," Crouch said, "I was under my father's control. I was forced to wear an Invisibility Cloak day and night. I was always with the House-Elf. She was my keeper and caretaker. She pitied me. She persuaded my father to give me occasional treats. Rewards for my good behavior."
"Master Barty, Master Barty," Winky sobbed through her hands, "You isn't ought to tell them, we is getting in trouble..."
"Did anybody else discover that you were still alive? Did anyone know except your father and Winky?" Dumbledore asked him.
"Yes," Crouch said, his eyelids flickering again, "a Witch in my father's office. Bertha Jorkins. She came to the house with papers for my father's signature. He was not at home. Winky showed her inside and returned to the kitchen, to me. But Bertha Jorkins heard Winky talking to me. She came to investigate. She heard enough to guess who was hiding under the Invisibility Cloak. My father arrived home at the time. She confronted him. When she did, he put a very powerful Memory Charm on her to make her forget what she'd found out. Too powerful. He said it damaged her memory permanently."
"Why is she coming to nose into my master's private business?" Winky sobbed again, "why isn't she leaving us be?"
'Corruption in almost every branch and department of the Ministry... why does that not surprise me?'
"Tell me about the Quidditch World Cup?" Dumbledore asked him.
"Winky talked my father into it," Crouch Junior told them, "She spent months persuading him. I had not left the house for years. I had loved Quidditch. Let him go, she said. He will be in his Invisibility Cloak. He can watch. Let him smell fresh air for once. She said my mother would have wanted it. She told my father that my mother had died to give me freedom. She had not saved me for a life of imprisonment. He agreed in the end."
"Prison is the only place you ever belonged," Lucifer said, unable to stop himself.
"It was carefully planned," Crouch Junior continued, as though never interrupted, "My father led me and Winky up to the Top Box early in the day. Winky was to say that she was saving a seat for my father. I was to sit there, Invisible. When everyone had left the box, we would emerge. Winky would appear to be alone. Nobody would ever know.
"But Winky didn't know that I was growing stronger. I was starting to fight my father's Imperius Curse. There were times when I was almost myself again. There were brief periods when I seemed outside of his control. It happened, there, in the Top Box. It was like waking from a deep sleep. I found myself out in public, in the middle of the match, and I saw, in front of me, a wand sticking out of a boy's pocket. I had not been allowed a wand since before Azkaban. I stole it. Winky didn't know. Winky is frightened of heights. She had her face hidden."
"Master Barty, you bad boy!" Winky whispered, tears trickling between her fingers.
"So you took the wand," Dumbledore said, "and what did you do with it?"
"We went back to the tent," Crouch Junior continued, "Then we heard them. We heard the Death Eaters. The ones who had never been to Azkaban. The ones who had never suffered for my Master. They had turned their backs on him. They were not enslaved, as I was. They were free to seek him, but they did not. They were merely making sport of Muggles, which got most of them killed by the one known as Merlin's Descendant. I watched on as he slaughtered them mercilessly for what they were doing to the Muggles. But the sound of their voices before their demise awoke me. My mind was clearer than it had been in years. I was angry. I had the wand. I wanted to attack them for their disloyalty to my master. My father had left the tent; he had gone to free the Muggles. Winky was afraid to see me so angry. She used her own brand of magic to bind me to her. She pulled me from the tent, pulled me into the forest, away from the Death Eaters. I tried to hold her back. I wanted to return to the campsite. I wanted to show those Death Eaters what loyalty to the Dark Lord meant, and to punish them for their lack of it. It was then that I heard the Explosive destruction that killed so many Death Eaters. Without further hesitation, I used the stolen wand to cast the Dark Mark into the sky."
"Ministry Wizards arrived. They shot Stunning Spells everywhere. I saw a Wizard appear and he blocked some of the Stunners, but it was for his friends, not for me. One of the spells came through the trees where Winky and I stood. The bond connecting us was broken. We were both Stunned."
"When Winky was discovered, my father knew I must be nearby. He searched the bushes where she had been found and felt me lying there. He waited until the other Ministry members had left the forest. He put me back under the Imperius Curse and took me home. He dismissed Winky. She had failed him. She had let me acquire a wand. She had almost let me escape."
Winky let out a wail of despair.
"Now it was just Father and I, alone in the house. And then... and then..." Crouch's head rolled on his neck, and an insane grin spread across his face.
"My master came for me. He arrived at our house late one night in the arms of his servant Wormtail. My master had found out that I was still alive. He had captured Bertha Jorkins in Albania. He had tortured her. She told him a great deal. She told him about the Triwizard Tournament. She told him the old Auror, Moody, was going to teach at Hogwarts. He tortured her until he broke through the Memory Charm my father had placed upon her. She told him I had escaped from Azkaban. She told him my father kept me imprisoned to prevent me from seeking my master. And so my master knew that I was still his faithful servant - perhaps the most faithful of all. My master conceived a plan, based upon the information Bertha had given him. He needed me. He arrived at our house near midnight. My father answered the door."
The smile spread wider over his face, as though recalling the sweetest memory of his life.
Winky's petrified brown eyes were visible through her fingers. She seemed too appalled to speak.
"It was very quick. My father was placed under the Imperius Curse by my master. Now my father was the one imprisoned, controlled. My master forced him to go about his business as usual, to act as though nothing was wrong. And I was released. I awoke. I was myself again, alive as I hadn't been in years."
"And what did Lord Voldemort ask you to do?" Dumbledore asked.
"He asked me whether I was ready to risk everything for him. I was ready. It was my dream, my greatest ambition, to serve him, to prove myself to him. He told me he needed to place a faithful servant at Hogwarts. A servant who would guide Harry Potter through the Triwizard Tournament without appearing to do so. A servant who would watch over Harry Potter. Ensure he reached the Triwizard Cup. Turn the cup into a Portkey, which would take the first person to touch it to my master. But first-"
"You needed Alastor Moody," Dumbledore said, his blue eyes blazing, but his voice remained calm.
"Wormtail and I did it. We had prepared the Polyjuice Potion beforehand. We journeyed to his house. Moody put up a struggle. There was a commotion. We managed to subdue him just in time. Forced him into a compartment of his own magical trunk. Took some of his hair and added it to the potion. I drank it; I became Moody's double. I took his leg and his eye. I was ready to face Arthur Weasley when he arrived to sort out the Muggles who had heard a disturbance. I made the dustbins move around the yard. I told Arthur Weasley I had heard intruders in my yard, who had set off the dustbins. Then I packed up Moody's clothes and Dark detectors, put them in the trunk with Moody, and set off for Hogwarts. I kept him alive, under the Imperius Curse. I wanted to be able to question him. To find out about his past, learn his habits, so that I could fool even Dumbledore. I also needed his hair to make the Polyjuice Potion. The other ingredients were easy. I stole boomslang skin from the dungeons. When the Potions Master found me in his office, I said I was under orders to search it."
"And what became of Wormtail after you attacked Moody?" Dumbledore asked.
"Wormtail returned to care for my master, in my father's house, and to keep watch over my father."
"But your father escaped," Dumbledore said.
"Yes. After a while he began to fight the Imperius Curse just as I had done. There were periods when he knew what was happening. My master decided it was no longer safe for my father to leave the house. He forced him to send letters to the Ministry instead. He made him write and say he was ill. But Wormtail neglected his duty. He was not watchful enough. My father escaped. My master guessed that he was heading for Hogwarts. My father was going to tell Dumbledore everything, to confess. He was going to admit that he had smuggled me from Azkaban."
"My master sent me word of my father's escape. He told me to stop him at all costs. So I waited and watched. I used the map I had taken from Harry Potter. The map that had almost ruined everything."
"Map?" Dumbledore asked quickly, "What map is this?"
"Potter's map of Hogwarts. Potter saw me on it. Potter saw me stealing more ingredients for the Polyjuice Potion from Snape's office one night. He thought I was my father. We have the same first name. I took the map from Potter that night. I told him my father hated Dark Wizards. Potter believed my father was after Snape.
"For a week I waited for my father to arrive at Hogwarts. At last, one evening, the map showed my father entering the grounds. I pulled on my Invisibility Cloak and went down to meet him. He was walking around the edge of the forest. Then Potter came, and Krum. I waited. I could not hurt Potter; my master needed him. Potter ran to get Dumbledore. I stunned Krum. I killed my father."
"Noooo!" Winky wailed, "Master Barty, Master Barty, what is you saying?"
"You killed your father?" Dumbledore asked in the same voice he had so far used, "What did you do with the body?"
"Carried it into the forest. Covered it with the Invisibility Cloak. I had the map with me. I watched Potter run into the Castle. He met Snape. Dumbledore joined them. I watched Potter bringing Dumbledore out of the Castle. I walked back out of the forest, doubled around behind them, went to meet then. I told Dumbledore that Snape had told me where to come.
"Dumbledore told me to go and look for my father. I went back to my father's body. Watched the map. When everyone was gone, I Transfigured his body. He became a bone... I buried it, while wearing the Invisibility Cloak, in the freshly dug earth in front of Hagrid's cabin."
Lucifer felt a chill run down his spine, 'We were that close to Crouch's body... the Nifflers... I wonder if they saw and moved the bone around?'
There was complete silence, except for Winky's continued sobs. Then Dumbledore said, "And tonight..."
"I offered to carry the Triwizard Cup into the Maze before dinner," Crouch Junior whispered, "turned it into a Portkey. My master's plan worked. He is returning to power and I will be honored by him beyond the dreams of wizards."
The insane smile lit his features once more, causing Hermione to involuntarily shiver, as his head drooped onto his shoulder as WInky wailed and sobbed at his side.
Dumbledore stood up. He stared down at Barty Crouch Junior for a moment with disgust on his face.
He then raised his wand once more and ropes flew out of it, ropes that twisted themselves around Crouch Junior, binding him tightly.
He turned to McGonagall, "Minerva, could I ask you to stand guard here while I take Harry upstairs?"
"Of course," McGonagall said and pulled her wand out. She looked slightly uneasy, but her hand was quite steady as she aimed it at Crouch Junior.
"Severus," Dumbledore turned to Snape, "please tell Madam Pomfrey to come down here; we need to get Alastor Moody into the Hospital Wing. Then go down into the grounds, find Cornelius Fudge, and bring him up to this office. He will undoubtedly want to question Crouch himself. Tell him I will be in the Hospital Wing in half an hour's time if he needs me."
Snape nodded silently and swept out of the room.
"Lucifer?"
He turned to him, "could you take Hermione up to Gryffindor Tower with you and remain there until tomorrow morning?"
"Yeah," Lucifer agreed and turned to Hermione, she was looking at him with an unreadable face, "ready to go?"
"Yeah..." her voice was quiet as she let him lead her out of the office and up to Gryffindor Tower.
They arrived at the Fat Lady and Lucifer spoke the password to allow them entry.
Practically every Gryffindor was in the Common Room, and they were about to round in on them after they entered, but when they saw Lucifer's less-than-friendly visage, they immediately stopped and acted as though nothing happened.
He led Hermione over to an empty table next to the window.
He opened it, and some cool air blew it.
Rowena flew in moments later, but rested on the window sill, she had something in her beak.
Hermione recognized the squirming beetle immediately to be Skeeter, so she quickly snatched up the Beetle before Lucifer had the chance to.
"Good girl," he said to his bird.
Neither of them said anything to the other as he sat across from Hermione.
Neither of them had to say anything.
They were both there for Crouch Junior's interrogation, and after being asked to leave, it's safe to assume that Dumbledore would have Harry explain exactly what happened.
If Harry wanted to tell them, then he would, when he was ready.
xxxxxx
Author's Note
Happy New Year Guys?~🎉
If you want to Read my Complete book, including 8th Year, Marriage and having kids, ahead of everyone.
Support this novel, join me on Patreon!
Link - patreon.com/SmutDxddy
We have a stockpile upto Chapter 1030 for you to binge-read! 😋
Playing Cards with Pregnant Hermione on a n*de beach, if you'd like to Read now! 🍼
xxxxxxx
1 Extra Chapter - 100 Power Stone's! 😈