The Wolf's Lion ~ Harry Potter (Editing)

Chapter Forty-Three | The Mystery of Bartemius Crouch

Ron, who had a handful of dusty papers, was leafing through them. He handed a copy each to his friends, so Ariana's eyes poured over the yellowing paper. Their headlines, Mystery Illness of Bartemius Crouch, the second, Ministry Witch Still Missing - Minister of Magic Now Personally Involved, grabbed her interest. A few lines in particular caught her eye.

Hasn't been seen in public since February... House appears deserted... St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries decline comment... Ministry refuses to confirm rumors of critical illness...

"They're making his supposed illness sound quite serious," Ariana said, passing the paper over to Harry.

Harry quickly read the article, his eyes darting back and forth as they skimmed over the words. "But he can't be that ill if he managed to get up here...."

"My brother's Crouch's personal assistant," Ron informed Sirius and Remus. "He says Crouch is suffering from overwork."

"Mind you, he did look ill, last time I saw him up close," said Harry slowly, turning to look at Ariana. "Remember?"

"Mm, I agree. He looked a little like we do now," she hummed, recalling how the man had looked quite run-down during their last encounter.

"When was that?" Remus asked, tearing bits of bread from the loaf in his hands.

"February," Ariana replied. "Not long after the second task. An hour or two at most."

"What did he want?" Sirius questioned, tossing the bones from the chicken drumsticks to Buckbeak, who ate then as Hermione patted his neck.

"He apologised for not speaking to us sooner and let us know our parents would be proud of us," Harry said, a hint of sadness in his voice, which turned to wistfulness.

Sirius ran a hand over his unshaven face. "All these absences of Barty Crouch's... It's not like him. If he's ever taken a day off work because of illness before this, I'll eat Buckbeak."

Ariana's eyes automatically moved to the Hippogriff, watching fire a moment as he searched the dusty ground for bone fragments he may of missed beforehand.

"D'you know Crouch, then?" Harry enquired, looking between the two men.

Sirius's face darkened. He suddenly looked as menacing as he had the night the Gryffindor students first encountered him, when they had right him to be a murderer who was about to add Harry to his list of victims.

Remus nodded, grimacing. "He was the one who sent Sirius to Azkaban without a trial."

"What?" asked Ron and Hermione in unison.

"You're kidding!" said Harry, both shocked and angry.

"You're joking." Ariana's eyebrows raised, shifting into a more comfortable position.

"No, he's not," said Sirius, taking another great bite of chicken. "Crouch used to be Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, didn't you know?" Harry, Ron, Ariana and Hermione shook their heads. "He was tipped for the next Minister of Magic," Remus spoke up, leaning forward with a tiny groan. "Barty Crouch is a great wizard, powerfully magical - and power-hungry. Oh, never a Voldemort supporter," he added, reading the look on Ariana and Harry's faces.

"No, Crouch was always very outspoken against the Dark Side. But then a lot of people who were against the Dark Side... well, you wouldn't understand... you're too young..." Sirius stated, although it seemed like he wanted someone to challenge him, so Ariana happily did.

"Something tells me we can handle it," she said, one corner of his lip twitching up. "Why don't you try us."

Sirius grinned. "All right, I'll try you...." He walked once up the cave, back again, and then said, "Imagine that Voldemort's powerful now. You don't know who his supporters are, you don't know who's working for him and who isn't; you know he can control people so that they do terrible things without being able to stop themselves. You're scared for yourself, and your family, and your friends. Every week, news comes of more deaths, more disappearances, more torturing... the Ministry of Magic's in disarray, they don't know what to do, they're trying to keep everything hidden from the Muggles, but meanwhile, Muggles are dying too. Terror everywhere... panic... confusion... that's how it used to be.