The Other Black Book 4

Chapter 28 - The Dream

Harry started by answering the burning question: the third task would be a maze filled with spells and creatures Hagrid was supplying.

"If that's all it was, why were you so late?" Hermione asked.

"Aura, will you stop pacing!" Ron said, and Aurora froze. She hadn't even realized she was pacing. "He's here, he's fine." Ron looked at Harry. "She had another one of her 'bad feelings' and wouldn't stop pacing. It was making me dizzy the amount of times she walked in circles."

"Your bad feelings are starting to get freaky," Harry said. "Like, really freaky."

"Starting to?" Ron asked.

"What happened?" Aurora asked.

And Harry launched into his story. He'd been talking to Krum aside from the others, and they got interrupted by Mr. Crouch.

"It was weird," Harry said. "There were times that he was talking to a tree, thinking it was Percy, then realized what he was doing and started gasping at me, saying he needed to see Dumbledore. Said he'd done a stupid thing and needed to see Dumbledore. He didn't even recognize me. He started trying to talk to a tree again, and I told Krum to stay there and I went to get Dumbledore, but before I could leave he - Crouch - came back to reality and said something about a lot of stuff being his fault. Bertha Jorkins, his son... something about Voldemort getting stronger." Hermione and Ron flinched at the name but Harry, too focused on his retelling, didn't seem to notice. "I left to get Dumbledore, left Krum with Crouch asking him to keep him there, but Snape stalled me outside of Dumbledore's office. By the time I finally got down there, Crouch was gone and Krum was knocked out. Dumbledore got Hagrid and revived Krum with some spell, Snape had apparently gotten Moody... Dumbledore sent Hagrid to get Karkaroff, Moody went into the forest to find Crouch... Karkaroff insulted Dumbledore after Krum said that Crouch attacked him. Hagrid, well, he got scary and Dumbledore sent him to take me back to the castle."

"Did Crouch mention anything else about his son?" Aurora asked. "Either when he was talking to the tree or when he was actually there and talking to you?"

"Not really. Something about a concert and how he'd recently received a bunch of O.W.L.s, but nothing really important, why?"

Aurora didn't answer. She fell silent as Hermione and Ron began asking questions.

"It comes down to this," said Hermione, rubbing her forehead. "Either Mr. Crouch attacked Viktor, or somebody else attacked both of them when Viktor wasn't looking."

"It must've been Crouch," said Ron at once. "That's why he was gone when Harry and Dumbledore got there. He'd done a runner."

"I don't think so," said Harry, shaking his head. "He seemed really weak - I don't reckon he was up to Disapparating or anything."

"You can't Disapparate on the Hogwarts grounds, haven't I told you enough times?" said Hermione.

"Okay...hows this for a theory," said Ron excitedly. "Krum attacked Crouch - no, wait for it - and then Stunned himself!"

"And Mr. Crouch evaporated, did he?" said Hermione coldly. "Oh yeah..."

"What if it was whoever put Harry's name in the cup?" Aurora offered.

It was daybreak. Harry, Ron, Aurora, and Hermione had crept out of their dormitories very early and hurried up to the Owlery together to send a note to Sirius. Now they were standing looking out at the misty grounds. All four of them were puffy-eyed and pale because they had been talking late into the night about Mr. Crouch.

"What did Mr. Crouch actually say?" Aurora asked.

"I've told you, he wasn't making much sense," said Harry. "He said he wanted to warn Dumbledore about something. He definitely mentioned Bertha Jorkins, and he seemed to think she was dead. He kept saying stuff was his fault....He mentioned his son."