The Eagle and The Snake: A Tragic Love Story

13. Under Suspicion

The next morning, both Carly and Luna were summoned to Dumbledore's office, before breakfast.
Neither of them had any idea why they were there, so they both stood nervously next to each other, desperate to reach for the other's hand, but knowing that they couldn't.
Luna had never been in Dumbledore's office before, so she looked around the room at all the interesting things inside, to distract her from the fear she was feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Sorry to keep you waiting girls, please take a seat" instructed Dumbledore, as he entered the room, and gestured for them to sit in the two chairs in front of his desk.
Nervously, both girls sat down, as Dumbledore walked around them, and sat down in the headmaster's chair.
"So, you were probably wondering why I summoned you here this morning" continued Dumbledore.
"Yes, Professor" Carly said politely.
"Well, for starters I wanted to tell you that your brother Harry, will be alright, as he received no lasting injuries yesterday" informed Dumbledore.
"That's good to hear"
"I'm sure it is. However, I am afraid that I have some rather unfortunate news to bestow upon you"
"What kind of bad news, sir?".

"It is my regret to inform you, that your favourite teacher, Professor Moody, has been an imposter all this time. It turns out than a death eater, presumed dead, named Barty Crouch jr, has been mascarading as Moody all year" revealed Dumbledore.
Luna and Carly both faked shocked expressions, that they hoped would fool Dumbledore.
"How is that possible?" Questioned Carly.
"Barty Crouch escaped from Azkaban, with his parents help, many years ago. Last summer, he kidnapped Moody, and locked him in a trunk, before using Polyjuice Potion to disguise himself as him, so that he could sneak into Hogwarts" explained Dumbledore.

"Where is Barty now?" Questioned Luna.
"He is being held in the Defense Against the Dark Arts office" answered Dumbledore.
"Can we see him?" Quizzed Carly, who was desperate to talk to Barty, and find out how much trouble they were in.
"I am afraid that is not possible. You see, shortly after Barty revealed his story to me last night, the Minister for Magic arrived, and set 2 Dementors on him. The Dementors recognised him as an escaped convict, and they immediately sucked out his soul" replied Dumbledore.

Luna squeaked in horror, and raised her hands to cover her mouth.
"That's horrible" she whispered.
"Yes, it is, and rather unfortunate for me, as he can no longer give a testimony, and tell the Minister what he told me. Which is why the Minister does not believe that Lord Voldemort returned last night, because he didn't get to hear what I did" admitted Dumbledore.
"So, it's true then? Harry wasn't speaking nonsense last night. Voldemort is really back?" Asked Carly.
"Yes, I'm afraid he is... I know how disturbing this must be for you, since he killed both of your parents. But I want you to know that you are safe here, Miss Potter. And Voldemort will not be able to hurt you, while you are behind these walls".

"I don't feel very safe after what happened to Cedric- Wait, you said parents. Does that mean you know who both of my parents are?" Demanded Carly.
"I do. Your father James told me, shortly before he died, that your other parent was Regulus Black" answered Dumbledore.
"Who else knows about this?" Questioned Carly.
"I do not know. But I haven't told another living soul, I swear... I also happen to know that the two of you, are currently in a relationship. Which is a secret I have kept for some time"
"How do you-"
"Nothing happens in this school that I don't know about".

"Well, Barty was able to hide right under your nose" pointed out Carly.
"That is true. But he was a very talented death eater. You two are not, which is why I have known about your secret, ever since you started dating" informed Dumbledore.
"Are you going to tell on us?" Luna asked quietly.
"No Miss Lovegood. I am not" reassured Dumbledore.
"But what we are doing is against the law" reminded Luna.
"While you are at my school, you are under my protection. Which is why I have no desire to see you end up in Azkaban. Besides, you are not the only students who's secret love lives, I have kept hidden from the world... Although, I have to admit that I didn't know about Regulus and James".

"It seems my parents were better than me at another thing" sighed Carly.
"They did very well to hide their relationship from me, for so many years, not many people can manage that" admitted Dumbledore.
"Well, my parents were pretty great at everything, from what I've been told" replied Carly.
"That they were exceptional people".

"Professor, you still haven't explained why you asked to see us in particular, this morning. Why not just announce what happened, to everyone during breakfast?" Quizzed Carly.
"Oh, I do plan on informing everyone of the basics over breakfast, without going into too much detail" answered Dumbledore.
"Then why tell us first?" Asked Luna.
"Because, from what I've heard, you two had a closer relationship with the fake Moody, than any other student. Except perhaps Harry" replied Dumbledore.

Carly frowned, "Who told you that, Professor?".
Her palms began to sweat nervously, as she was worried that Dumbledore had figured out why her and Luna had been spending so much time with Barty.
"Several students revealed to me that Moody used to give you both private lessons, and he paid more attention to you in class, than anyone else in your year. I've heard that you used to go to him to get more assignments and homework, at all hours of the day. He also gave you both permission to access the Restricted Section of the library, whenever you liked, which is not something teachers do very often" informed Dumbledore.

"Was one of these students gossiping about us, my brother?" Sighed Carly.
"He did inform me that you and Luna had a strangely close relationship with Moody" admitted Dumbledore.
"Nosey little git" mumbled Carly.
"He was not alone, for Ginny Weasley also told me of her concerns for you. Barty's fondness of you both, troubles me as much as it did them... Since you spent so much time with him, did you ever notice anything strange about him? Or did he ever mention anything that made you suspect that he was hiding something?"
"Are you trying to accuse us of something, Professor?"
"Not at all. I just wanted to know if you had any hunch at all, that Moody was not who he said he was?".

"We don't know anything. So, I am afraid that we cannot help you" lied Carly.
"Is this true, Miss Lovegood?" Dumbledore asked Luna.
Luna took a deep breath before nodding her head, "Yes sir. Neither of us suspected that Moody was an imposter. We never knew the real Alastor Moody, so we couldn't have known that this one was fake. Besides, if you couldn't work out the truth, then I don't know why you expect us to have figured it out. We are only 3rd years, afterall".
"Yes. I suppose you are... Well, if you don't have any information to give me, then you had better go and head down to breakfast" instructed Dumbledore.
Both girls nodded their heads, and exited the room so fast, that it was almost as if they had apparated. Because they were both desperate to get out of Dumbledore's office, as quickly as possible.