by my side¹ - d. malfoy

Thirty

MOODY WAS thrown backward onto the office floor. Laura, still staring at the place where Moody's face had been, saw Dumbledore, Snape, and Professor McGonagall looking back at her out of the Foe-Glass. She looked around and saw them standing in the doorway, Dumbledore in front, his wand outstretched.

At that moment, Laura understood why people said Dumbledore was the only man Tom feared. He looked intimidating.

Dumbledore stepped into the office, placed a foot underneath Moody's unconscious body, and kicked him over onto his back so that his face was visible. Snape followed him, looking into the Foe-Glass. Professor McGonagall went straight to Harry and Laura.

But Laura went straight over to Snape, hugging him tightly. She needed to hug someone. Snape hesitantly returned it.

"I'm glad you made it back safe," Snape said under his breath.

"Come along, Potter, Pickering," McGonagall said softly. Laura could tell she was upset. "Come along... hospital wing..."

"No," Dumbledore said sharply.

"Dumbledore, they ought to– look at them- the two of them have been through enough tonight-"

"They will stay, Minerva, because they need to understand," Dumbledore said curtly. "Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery. They need to know who has put them through the ordeal they have suffered tonight and why."

"Moody," Harry said. He was still in a state of complete disbelief. "How could it have been Moody?"

"Harry, I don't think that was really him," Laura said softly.

"That was not Alastor Moody," Dumbledore said with a nod. "You have never known Alastor Moody. The real Moody would not have removed you from my sight after what happened. The moment he took you two... I knew, and I followed."

Dumbledore then sent Snape and McGonagall to go grab some things. He mentioned something about a large black dog that piqued Laura's interest.

"Minerva, kindly go down to Hagrid's house, where you will find a large black dog sitting in the pumpkin patch," Dumbledore said. "Then, if you could find Belle and Felix Potter and bring the three of them to my office, tell them I will be there shortly, then come back here."

Laura knew her parents would be getting involved. She didn't realize it was that important that Dumbledore was meeting them before she could even see them.

Then Dumbledore opened a trunk, needing seven keys to arrive at the final pit-like opening. Inside this pit sat the real Mad-Eye Moody. His wooden leg was gone, his magical eye looked empty, and chunks of his hair were missing.

They put the Polyjuice Moody into a chair, binding him to it so he couldn't escape. They waited for the effects of the potion to wear off. It left them with pale skin, slight freckles, and a mop of fair hair.

"Crouch!" Snape exclaimed. Both he and McGonagall arrived back at the same time. Snape had a house elf at his heels. "Barty Crouch!"

"Good heavens," Professor McGonagall said, stopping dead and staring at the man on the floor.

The house elf peered around Snape's leg. Her eyes opened wide, and a piercing shriek rang through the room.

"Master Barty, Master Barty, what is you doing here?" she flung herself onto the man's chest.

Laura stood there and watched as Dumbledore gave the man the Veritaserum that Snape brought.

Laura watched as Barty Crouch Jr. revealed the truth. Her eyes widened as he explained how his mother sacrificed herself to let him be free, how they staged her death afterward, and how his father kept him under the Imperius Curse.