Eventually Madam Pomfrey had gotten around to dealing with Harry and the hostages. Harry was the worst off, with a nice collection of minor cuts and bruises, but he insisted that the little girl he now knew to be Gabrielle Delacour, Fleur's little sister, was healed first. Madam Pomfrey had just nodded at him and went to deal with the girl.
Grandfather Charlus went and spoke to Madam Pomfrey as well, and Harry overheard him asking her to do a "full documentation" of the girl's injuries. He was sure the girl's parents, who were still off shouting at Dumbledore, would want a copy considering their Veela daughter was placed in the hands of merpeople, especially as it was done without their informed consent. Madam Pomfrey had agreed and began to work on the girl, surprising everyone there be being able to talk to the girl in fluent French
"So how do you think they will score the task?" Ron asked
"Who cares?" said Harry, just glad it was over.
"Nah mate, think about it. Technically you were the only one to finish the task, you rescued all the hostages from a real situation not just a fake one, and they can't even use the shark as an excuse because you fought that off as well."
Harry shrugged. "And technically I cheated by waking up two of the hostages early and getting help from them."
"Non, your friend is right," came Fleur's voice from the bed next to her sister's. "You saved my sister. Veela and ze siran, Uh… ze merpeople, we do not get along. There is no way zey would have let me take her from the village. They would have tried to kill us both. Whatever the judges say, Monsieur Potter, you will always 'ave ze gratitude of me and my family."
Harry was just about to insist it was nothing when a man's voice came from the entrance to the tent. "My daughter is correct, Heir Potter. Your actions today protected one of the three most important people in my life and I would officially offer my gratitude and acknowledge that my House owes you a debt." Both of Fleur's parents stood in the entrance. Madame Delacour rushed straight to her daughters to see how they were doing while her husband came to talk briefly with Harry and his group.
Harry almost reflexively went to say it was nothing and that they owed him nothing, but the lessons he had had from his grandfather kicked in. If Harry acted as his instincts told him to, he would be insulting the family, and just because he acknowledged something it didn't mean he had to collect. "You're more than welcome, Monsieur Delacour. We're just happy your daughter is safe."
"As are we. If you ever have need of my family, don't hesitate to ask." The man nodded to Harry and Grandfather Charlus then he went to check on his daughters. Soon Madam Pomfrey finished with Gabrielle and came to fix up Harry, healing the cuts in seconds and giving him a pot of bruise paste to deal with the rest.
Hermione immediately took charge of the bruise paste and told him to take off his jumper and t-shirt. Sirius and Charlus then had a good laugh at Ron teasing Harry about being whipped. Harry just laughed as well, which after the last few hours felt like a minor miracle. Madam Pomfrey accepted it as it let her move on to the other hostages and deal with them.
Once Harry and the others exited the tent, they discovered that plenty had been going on while they were waiting for Madam Pomfrey. It was the twins who told them that Barty Crouch had been arrested for releasing the shark into the lake, so because they were a judge down they had delayed the awarding of the points until at least tomorrow.
"That was fast. I would have thought it would take the D.M.L.E. longer to hear about the shark," said Harry.
"Harry, the Aurors were already here," Hermione said, sounding exasperated. "How did you not notice them before the task?"
That surprised Harry and all he said was "uh…" as his brain tried to catch up.
"Harry, the Aurors are investigating whoever put your name in the Goblet as an attempted murder. The tasks are the most likely time for whoever it is to try something. Of course the Aurors were here watching. Then someone added a goddamn shark to the lake. Of course they are going to arrest them and question them. Especially as it is Crouch, who has history with Sirius," Ron explained to Harry.
Harry's brain finally caught up. "Sorry, I was just too focused on Grandfather being at the bottom of the lake. I wasn't paying enough attention to what was happening around me." He felt rather stupid now.
Hermione, who was pretty in tune with Harry's moods, saw where his thoughts were going and decided that she wasn't going to let Harry start thinking that way again. He had made great strides in becoming more confident since he was taken in by Charlus, and she wasn't going to let him backpedal. "Harry, everyone gets distracted or tunnel vision sometimes, it's normal. That's why we have friends and family. They pick up the slack when you can't, and in return you do the same for us when we can't. You had more than enough of a reason to be distracted, so don't worry about it." She pulled him into a side hug as they walked.
-ϟϟϟ-
Head Auror Rufus Scrimgeour waited outside the office of the Director of the D.M.L.E., Amelia Bones. After five minutes, at some unknown signal, the director's secretary said it was OK for him to go in. Scrimgeour entered the office that he hoped would be his one day, even if he only wanted it as a stepping stone to get the minister's office.
"What's the problem, Scrimgeour? I already have the Minister breathing down my neck because we have arrested a head of department. He is worried that this will become a media circus, worse I can't say his fears are without merit. Please say you're not going to make my life harder." She didn't even look up from her mountain of paperwork as she spoke.
"Ma'am, I don't know if it will make things easier or harder for you, but prisoner Crouch while under interrogation has shown signs consistent with hostile mind magic. I'm requesting permission to have him moved to the secure ward at St. Mungo's and for him to undergo a full mind magic sweep," Scrimgeour said.
The director sighed and looked up at him. "Are you sure there is mind magic in play?"
"Yes ma'am."
"And you have at least tried to hit him with a finite charm first?"
"Yes ma'am." He had to force himself not to grumble. He had made that mistake once as a rookie and had never been allowed to live if down.
"Fine, take him to St. Mungo's secure ward for a full O.P.C.C.&.I. scan. I assume you have the parchment work ready for me to sign?" Scrimgeour didn't say anything and just added the small stack of forms to his boss. Bones gave them all a quick look to make sure she was signing what she thought and then added her signature to the documents before handing them back. "Just make sure this doesn't leak to the press. We don't know what the scans will reveal yet. Last thing we need is for someone to tell the press a ministry head is the victim only to need to walk that back later."
Scrimgeour nodded. The ministry would look ridiculous if they blamed everything on mind magics and then found out Crouch was actually guilty. "Understood ma'am. But…how to put this delicately, ma'am…ours isn't the only department that leaks. The minister's office-"
Director Bones cut him off. "I am well aware of our minister's predilection for blabbing to the press. Let me worry about him. Just get the scans done." Scrimgeour recognised the last sentence for the dismissal it was and he strode out of the office to go make the necessary preparations for a prisoner transfer.
-ϟϟϟ-
The day after the second task was an absolute storm. The Prophet had the story about the shark eating Victor Krum's left arm in a special evening edition the day before, and at breakfast there must have been well over a thousand owls dropping letters and howlers off for Dumbledore. There was a huge commotion from the hospital wing as well, as at least twice as many owls tried to deliver letters of condolence and get well soon gifts to the international Quidditch player. Hermione even suggested that it would be even worse over the coming days as it was likely that only the British news had gotten the story out so quickly. The magicals from around the world were probably only finding out today with their morning paper, which meant their response would only likely appear tomorrow at the earliest.
That's not to say a ridiculous amount of mail was the worst thing that happened that day. At lunch the minister for magic turned up with a man Harry recognised as the Bulgarian minister of magic, having met the man earlier at the World Cup. There was also a man and a woman whom Harry took to be Krum's parents with him, and none of the three Bulgarians looked like they were anything less than pissed off. To the trio, it looked like Fudge was in full 'pass the buck' mode, and for some reason they didn't know the Minister of Magic was pointing the finger directly at Dumbledore. Dumbledore of course didn't want to have all the students witnessing him being shouted at, so he quickly bundled them all up to his office.
Alicia was the only student who had been allowed to visit Krum in the hospital wing, and it was from her that Harry learned that Victor was not doing well. Physically he was recovering as well as Madam Pomfrey could expect, but he was taking the loss of his arm badly. Of course, losing a limb would be a terrible blow and not something you could just get over, but Victor had also lost his position as one of the world's best Seekers, something that was most likely a core aspect to who he saw himself as. It was going to take a lot of work, most likely with a mind healer before Victor even started to recover.
-ϟϟϟ-
Sirius Black had spent most of his time since the summer when he had finally been granted his freedom living life to the full as much as he could. He had tried to turn everyday into a party. Even when Harry's name had come out of the Goblet of Fire, he spent some time most days preparing his godson as best he could, then it was right back out trying to catch up on all the living he had missed whileche was in Azkaban.
Since Christmas, however, he had started to pull himself back together. Now he was outside the D.M.L.E. director's office flirting with a secretary while he waited to speak to Amelia Bones. That the young woman was ten years his junior didn't seem to bother him in the slightest, and Sirius was charismatic enough that the young woman wasn't too bothered about being distracted.
The door opened and the person Sirius was there to see stepped out. "Black, if you would please stop harassing Miss Moonshine, as she has actual work she needs to do, unlike some." Her tone was cool and no nonsense, but Sirius knew her well enough to see she wasn't actually upset.
"Afternoon boss," Sirius said using the same title he had given her when she was his reporting officer. "I was hoping to have a word about what went down yesterday."
"You know I can't talk about that Black. It's an ongoing investigation," Director Bones said by rote.
"Amy, it's me here. I know the drill. What I need to know is whether Harry is out of danger. Your lot arrested Crouch yesterday. Was he the one targeting harry?
Director Bones didn't answer but instead asked. "Have you had lunch yet, Sirius?"
Sirius understood straight away that if he wanted information he was going to have to play along. "Nope. I was going to go to this muggle place I know nearby once I finished up here. But I would love to have lunch with an old colleague and catch up. My treat."
The director nodded and took her D.M.L.E. badge and left it in her office. "Miss Moonshine, I am going out to lunch. If anything comes up I should be back inside an hour." Then she quickly transfigured her robes into muggle attire and led Sirius to the D.M.L.E. Disapparition point so he could Side-along her to where they were going to get lunch.
They appeared in a side alley off a generic-looking city street, and Sirius led her out onto the street. There was a fish and chip shop that was right next to a chain bakery that sold sandwiches, cakes, and pastries. Sirius asked what Amelia would prefer in her sandwich, and then he went and bought two sandwiches and a large bag of chips. After that, the two former colleagues went and sat on a park bench to eat, the bag of chips open on the bench between them.
"So what can you tell me?" Sirius asked before taking a bite of his coronation chicken sandwich.
"Not much," admitted Amelia. "For a start we don't know much yet. All we know is that Crouch is under some pretty serious mind magic. We do not know who did it, how long he has been under it, or even if he was made to target Harry. It's still possible that the shark was meant to attack one of the other champions. The Diggory boy's father works in the Ministry and he has ruffled a few feathers. The Delacour girl is Veela so she is a target for any anti-'half breed' activists." She used air quotes around the term half breed. "And Krum until now was one of the best Seekers in the world, everyone from rival countries to illegal gambling cartels could have a reason to hurt him. Hell the mind magic might have nothing to do with the tournament , and Crouch may have just wanted to get at you through Harry and didn't care what happened to the other champions. Sure, the most likely explanation is he was forced to target Harry, but you still remember how to conduct a proper investigation. You need to cover all angles."
"I wouldn't be surprised if he did it to get to me. He has proven he doesn't care about what happens to innocent people. Though I will admit his animosity towards me makes him the perfect target to control. If everything had gone perfectly, then it's not like the Aurors would need to look far for a motive. So what's happening now?" Sirius asked, fingers crossed that Amelia didn't clam up about an ongoing investigation.
"I really shouldn't say, but you know enough to work it out for yourself anyway. Crouch is in St. Mungo's and the Aurors are waiting on the evidence. Once Crouch gets his brain unscrambled, the healer's report and how he responds under questions will tell us where to look next," Amelia finished and took a bite of her roast beef and horseradish sandwich.
"So how's life been treating you?" Sirius asked and the two sent the rest of their lunch catching up as old friends.
-ϟϟϟ-
It was at dinner that night that three of the four champions were called in front of everyone to receive their scores. "Students, if I can have a few minutes of your attention and then we can dig into the wonderful selection that the kitchens have for us today?" Dumbledore said from up at the professors table. Harry looked over and had to keep from sighing. Once he had everyone's attention, Dumbledore continued. "Can Mademoiselle Delacour, Mister Diggory, and Mister Potter please come and stand at the front here?"
Harry and the two others stood up and walked to the front where everyone could stare at them. As he walked between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables, Harry looked at Dumbledore and noticed that, despite the fact that the man was trying to look as happy and grandfatherly as he normally did, he also looked tired. He must have had a lot of pissed off politically powerful people shouting at him all day, probably demanding answers he didn't have.
Harry lined up with the other champions facing the students and Dumbledore continued to talk behind them. "The matter of the score from yesterday's event still needs to be officially announced. Earlier today, I and the other judges, with the British Minister for Magic standing in for the Director of International Cooperation Bartemius Crouch, came to a decision. Once all the facts were in and we found that the shark had been magically enhanced, it was felt that it was not something that the champions could be readily expected to have prepared for and that this should be reflected in the scoring. That being said, it is also worth noting that Mr. Potter dealt with the same conditions as the rest of the champions, and was not only able to rescue his own hostage but saved the other three from a…deteriorating situation at the bottom of the lake, as well as facing the shark in combat during his return. As such, the judges have decided that the three champions who didn't retrieve their hostages will each receive forty points, whereas Mr. Potter will receive the full fifty points. That means, going into the third task,, the scores are:
Mr. Diggory 69 points.
Mademoiselle Delacour 73 points.
Mr. Krum 80 points.
And finally Mr. Potter on 88 points."
There was polite applause after each score. Normally there would be more enthusiasm, but the students weren't really into it. The tournament had been a game, a lark, just a bit of fun, but now someone was in the hospital wing with a permanent injury that had destroyed the rest of his life. Dumbledore spoke for a few more minutes, telling them the date of the final task and that the champions will get more information about what the task is exactly one month before.
Harry and the champions were soon let go to return to their seats and enjoy their dinner. That night was one of Harry's favourites, a rich and filling shepherd's pie, but his heart wasn't fully into enjoying it.
-ϟϟϟ-
It took St. Mungo's a week to straighten out Director Crouch's head. They compiled their reports and shipped them along with the director back to the D.M.L.E. Not for the first time, the officers who actually read the reports were really frustrated by the laws that said just what could go in these reports. The only way to determine what needs fixing is to do deep Legilimency on the subject, meaning that whomever it was who wrote the reports had delved deep enough in the memories to know exactly what Crouch did about who, what, why, where and when of the crimes that were being investigated. However, including any of that information in the reports was considered a violation of the right against being magically compelled to testify without consent.
While the paperwork was being examined, Tonks and Robards were handling the questioning. This was Head Auror Scrimgeour's idea, with Tonks and Robards trying a variation on good cop bad cop. Robards was going to be respectful to his former boss, whereas Tonks was to play the young annoying newcomer who didn't know how things were done. Basically, it was Tonks's job to be as annoying as she believably could and keep Crouch's stress levels so high he made a mistake.
Of course, interrogation is just another form of battle, and as anyone veteran of battles of any type will tell you, the plan never survives first contact with the enemy. In this case, the plan went out of the window with the first four words that came out of Crouch's mouth: "I need to confess." That had of course shocked everyone, not just the two Aurors in the room with Crouch but Director Bones and Head Auror Scrimgeour as well, who were watching from behind an illusionary wall.
"It started thirteen years ago, after my son was sent to Azkaban for his crimes. My wife was dying and she couldn't stand the idea of her little boy rotting away in Azkaban for the rest of his life. She hatched a plan and made me promise to help her. I knew it was wrong, but it was my dying wife's last request. I couldn't not do it for her. And I thought I could deal with it myself." Crouch stopped for a second to take a sip of water.
"My wife was always good at potions, and she had a few months to live. She made a lot of Polyjuice Potion and a bottomless flask. I applied for a deathbed visit so my wife could see her son one last time before she passed. It was easy after that. No one would suspect the head of the D.M.L.E. who imprisoned his own son of trying to break him out, so no one checked to see if we were carrying anything we shouldn't be. We were given the use of a private interview room, and from there it was easy. We had two doses of Polyjuice in one bottle, and the rest in the bottomless flask. My son's hair went in one and my wife's in the other. A quick switch of clothing and a drink of the Potions, and my wife took our son's place and died in that hell.
"Once I got Junior home I locked him in a room I had prepared for him. You have to understand, I never intended for him to roam free. He deserved to be locked away where he couldn't hurt good people. But he soon recovered from his Dementor exposure and he was growing strong. At first all it needed was a few potions to keep him down and compliant, but soon I had to employ stronger and stronger magic to keep him locked up. Eventually the only way I could hold him was with the Imperius curse. But either age is catching up to me or he is getting stronger, because he started to fight me off a little." Crouch paused for another sip of water. The Aurors didn't say anything, as the last thing they wanted was to interrupt and risk Crouch no longer being included to give full confession. Though it was more about junior now than Barty, he would be lucky to get life in Azkaban at this point; aiding in a jailbreak from Azkaban was a Dementor's Kiss offence.
Crouch continued. "It was easier to keep him under control if he was closer to me, so during the World Cup when I had to stay at the campgrounds for days to oversee the final preparations I took him with me. It was stupid. When the riot started I was distracted trying to save the muggle family, my control slipped, and Junior got free. He was the one who sent off the dark mark.
"But I got Junior back under control, and when I interrogated him later he hadn't done anything to anyone, he had just stolen the wand and cast the mark. He hadn't hurt anyone. I convinced myself that nothing of consequence had happened, so there was no need to turn him and myself in, I just needed to beef up my containment.
"Just as I thought everything was fine he turned up. I know Black had said he was still alive but I hadn't believed it. Peter Pettigrew bold as brass knocked on my front door and stunned me when I opened it. He freed my son and they took me captive, then Pettigrew left for a few hours and returned with what looked like a baby at first. But when he unwrapped it I saw it was the disgusting product of some of the most evil magic I had ever seen. Someone had taken a dead wizard child, maybe about a year old, and constructed a homunculus from it, then put some type of spirit in it. It spoke to me and told me who it was: You-Know-Who. He explained that the Potter boy hadn't killed him all those years ago, that had been broken, but he was not dead.
"He told me that the Potter boy was the key to restoring him to his former glory. Then the three of them interrogated me. They used everything from Legilimency to Veritaserum to get all the information they could about the Triwizard Tournament. Then they put me under the Imperius curse and used me like a puppet to turn the Triwizard Tournament into one big trap for Potter."
Silence hung in the air after Crouch finished his statement as they contemplated just how bad the situation was, which was finally broken by the director of the D.M.L.E. herself. "Well, fuck."