Dark Pasts { A Harry Potter Story }

Chapter 30 - Truth and Tragedy

We woke early the next day and went straight to the hospital wing. Harry was still asleep, so we made sure to not talk too loudly to wake him up. He looked peaceful, all the stress and pain of the night before gone from his face.

Mrs. Weasley and Bill were there, too. She looked very tired and worried still, but smiled at us nonetheless.

"Did you all sleep well?"

After some idle chat, we began to hear footsteps echoing down the corridor, and then a voice, which sounded like Professor McGonagall.

"The boy is still resting! He musn't be disturbed!" she shouted. "Besides, Dumbledore will want to now what you has happened — unbelievable!"

Hermione and I exchanged a confused look as another voice shouted back. It sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite identify it.

"They'll wake him if they don't shut up!" Mrs. Weasley said irritably.

"What are they shouting about?" Bill said. "Nothing else can have happened, can it?"

Ron, Hermione, and I looked at each other, wondering the same.

"That's Fudge's voice," Mrs. Weasley said. "And that's Minerva McGonagall's, isn't it? But what are they arguing about?"

The voice drew even closer.

"regrettable, but all the same, Minerva — " Fudge went on.

"You should never have brought it inside the castle!" Professor McGonagall shouted. "When Dumbledore finds out — "

The doors burst open.

"Where's Dumbledore?" Fudge demanded as Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape followed close behind.

"He's not here," Mrs. Weasley said angrily. "This is a hospital wing, Minister, don't you think you'd do better to — "

The doors opened again to reveal Dumbledore.

"What has happened?" Dumbledore asked sharply. "Why are you disturbing these people? Minerva — I asked you to stand guard over Barty Crouch — "

Barty Crouch? So he had been found? But why were they watching him?

"There is no need to stand over him anymore, Dumbledore!" she exclaimed. "The Minister has seen to that!"

"When we told Mr. Fudge that we had caught the Death Eater responsible for tonight's events, he seemed to feel his personal safety was in question," Professor Snape explained. "He insisted on summoning a dementor to accompany him into the castle. He brought it up to the office where Barty Crouch — "

"I told him you would not agree, Dumbledore!" Professor McGonagall interjected. "I told him you would never allow dementors to set foot inside the castle, but — "

"My dear woman!" Fudge said angrily. "As Minister of Magic, it is my decision wether I wish to bring protection with me when interviewing a possibly dangerous — "

"The moment that — that thing entered the room," Professor McGonagall interrupted him once more, screaming as I'd never seen her do. "It swooped down on Crouch and — and — "

A chill ran down my spine as she struggled to describe what had happened. But there was no need for her to say it aloud.

The dementors had sucked Barty Crouch's soul . . . because he was a death eater? That piece of information made no sense whatsoever. Mr. Crouch, whose own son had been sent to Azkaban for being a death eater, was known to be obsessed with catching dark wizards.